Low cost flights and put French TGV cars on Red

Although it's exciting traveling through the countryside to great speeds, the economic situation of France means that fewer people are willing to pay large sums to travel on the network of the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV).

According to the Quartz, the SNCF, the public company that manages the French rail network, entered the red in 2013, the net losses of 180 million, which compares with the profit registered in 2012, about €376 million. The negative results of the previous year due mainly to a sharp depreciation of € 1.4 billion in the value of the high-speed rail network.

"The TGV is not profitable enough to cover the costs of maintenance and renewal of its fleet," admitted the SNCF. Other factors contributing to the low adhesion and damage of the TGV are the low cost flights and cars, which currently constitute as most economic alternatives to the TGV.

For this year, SNCF expects a "slight improvement" but the TGV passenger volume should continue to fall. To boost revenue, and infrastructure services divisions are planning projects outside of France.

Photo: 8: 00 / Creative Commons

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Australia Approves the disposal of sediments on the great barrier reef for expansion of coal Harbour

The authorities of the marine park of the great barrier reef Australia approved the release of up to three billion cubic metres of sediment in the marine reserve of the great barrier reef.

The sediments will come from dredging to expand the Abbot Point port terminal, in the province of Queensland, for the construction of what will be the biggest coal port in the world, referred to Inhabitat. The port, in operation since 1984, is located near the border of Navy great barrier and the aim is to increase to 70 million tons the amount of coal that annually there will pass. Increasing the capacity of the port is expected to create more than 15 thousand jobs and increase profits for up to €2,7 billion (R$8,8 billion).

This decision "can smother the corals and marine plants," Salina Ward, a marine biologist at the University of Queensland and one of 233 scientists who signed a petition against the draft sediment deposition.

The reservation of the great barrier reef is composed of around 3,000 corals and provides habitat for more than 1,600 species of fish, extending over 2,600 kilometres off the coast of Australia. The great barrier was considered a world heritage site by Unesco in 1981. The site concentrates on about 10% of the total existing coral reef on the planet.

Last year, Unesco indicated that it was considering putting the Great Barrier in the list of endangered sites in 2014 due to the threats it faces, ranging from the dredging for the ports of fossil fuels, increasing the movement of ships in the region and the impacts caused by agricultural developments.

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Why do cats like to knock down objects?

If you have a cat will already be accustomed to that he drop various objects for no apparent reason. However, this behavior has an answer: to knock down objects, cats are developing their survival instincts.

Cats, like humans, often feel the need to touch the objects stop the better understand. But why is that instead of simply touching objects, they feel compelled to throw them to the ground? According to Mikel Delgado, an expert on domestic cats, this behavior can be seen as a form of joke. However, the games of cats may not be as simple as they seem.

"The banter to animals are a way to practice and develop the tools they need to survive, like hunting, but usually a way overhyped," says Delgado, quoted by Dodo. "In a sense, the cats can therefore test how things work in the world â€" ' what happens if you touch this? That amount of force need to drop this? How fast it falls '? ". According to Delgado, the cats, in addition to the sensitive whiskers, also have sensitive coat on back of legs and many nerve endings in the feet, which transmit information to the brain under the "prey", which in this case are the objects.

Another possible explanation for the fact that cats drop objects is the attention. "Many cats drop objects from high places, especially during the night and early morning, to wake up the humans", indicates Delgado. "The attention given by humans reinforces this kind of behaviour in many cats, what makes them continue to drop the objects".

Photo: librarian / Creative Commons

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Urban Habitats may be a refuge for biodiversity

With the process of urbanization and industrialization, the cities were gaining ground natural habitats, often leading to the destruction of these and endangering native species of these spaces.

However, the cities that are located within or near these hotspots of biodiversity can accommodate a wide variety of wildlife, and may even become a refuge for many species of plants.

A recent study-"Urban biodiversity hotspots wait to get discovered: The example of the city of Ioannina, NW Greece" â€" prepared by Greek investigators tried to figure out how far the cities located in biologically important areas may provide suitable habitat for a wide diversity of plants. To this end, researchers focused in Ioannina, a town in northwestern Greece, near several protected areas national or European level, including a National Park, an urban forest of pine trees and a Lake, referred to the Science for Environment Policy, an environmental news service of the European Commission.

In all, investigators have identified about 11 different types of habitats which contained 379 species and subspecies of plants, including native and non-native species. About 27 (7%) of the species were plants with conservation interest that were endemic to Greece or the Balkans, or who were considered to be in danger by the EU. Non-native plants represent 11% of the total of identified species.

The habitats where these plants were found were classified by scientists as semi-natural or anthropogenic (local extensively altered by human activities). The semi-natural sites account for the smallest portion of non-native species and the largest proportion of species of conservation interest. However, approximately 68% of all species and subspecies have been found in anthropogenic habitats and the widest range of habitats or biodiversity of flora was found on the outskirts of the city or within the city itself.

In this way, the findings of the study indicate that there are European cities in which anthropogenic habitats are important for protecting biodiversity.

Foto:  OiMax / Creative Commons

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U.s. Olympic skier wants to adopt dogs of Sochi

After the story of the Russian millionaire who built a shelter to 140 of 2,000 dogs of Sochi that were going to be slaughtered, now is the time of Gus Kenworthy, American athlete to compete in the Olympic Winter Games, to be in the spotlight of the media. This skier wants to take home, besides the obvious medals, a dog and their four dogs.

Kenworthy saw the family of dogs in the vicinity of the Gorki Media Center and decided he had to help animals. "The dogs are adorable," said the skier at the end of the semifinal of slopestyle, cites the USA Today.

The athlete found a temporary shelter for animals and equipment to carry on the plane and is trying to be vaccinated next week. According to Kenworthy, who posted a photo of animals on Twitter, several friends and family elements provided to adopt animals, being that the skier should keep at least one of the dogs. "I have received many messages from friends and family who would like to stay with them, including the mother of dogs" reveals Kenworthy.

Follow Gus, on Twitter, here. It's the quickest way to know, within a few days, if the skier managed to bring the dogs to the United States.

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Germany: polar bear dies after eating coat and bag from zoo visitor

A polar bear at the Zoo from Stuttgart, in Germany, died after eating a jacket and bag that were thrown by a visitor to your space. Anton, of 25 years, died on Sunday night, after several attempts of handlers to save him â€" tried to threw up the bag and coat, but to no avail.

According to the zookeepers, cited by The Local, the animal showed strange behavior for days, which only became clear when he began spitting bits of materials of the coat and wallet. The zoo's veterinarian gave him, then medicines for which the animal threw up the rest of the pieces, which didn't happen.

"There must have been something quite tasty on her jacket, something that Anton could not resist," their handlers, Andreas and Jürgen Wössner Diesenhofer. Usually, the animal just tore the objects and garments that fell to his cage.

How and why the coat and wallet were thrown in a cage of Anton remain unclear. However, the electrified fence that surrounds the space bear has not deterred in the past 20 years about 200 child shoes were thrown in water, add about 50 baby dolls, hundreds of hats, cameras, cell phones and glasses.

The zoo veterinarian appealed it to visitors to inform employees and attendants of items by accident fall into the spaces of the animals. "If we knew that something was in the cage we might have been able to save Anton," says Tobias Knauf-Witznes. Anton could have lived another 10 to 15 years, hadn't eaten the coat and wallet. The animal died of serious internal injuries and inflammations.

Anton is not the first animal to die in Stuttgart zoo due to ingesting that objects that were left by visitors. A hippo died a few years ago of intestinal obstruction after swallowing a tennis ball and an elephant seal died after swallowing a teddy bear.

Foto:  Elfboy / Creative Commons

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20 breathtaking hotels

The tourism sector is one of the most CO2 emissions issue: there's the air travel, the construction of hotels in protected land, with high maintenance or the food is ordered from the other side of the world.

However, more and more hotels they can take advantage of its biodiversity and minimize its impact on her. Sites that show you below, in essence, try to do it.

See the names of the hotels and their sequence of images.

1. Äscher Cliff, Switzerland

2. Hotel Kakslauttanen, Finland

3. Ladera Resort, the Caribbean island of Montserrat

4. Rayavadee Krabi, Thailand

5. Hotel Ristorante Grotta Palazzese Polignano a Mare, Italy

6.Panchoran Retreat, Bali

7.Hotel Ubud Hanging Gardens, Indonésia

8. Attrap Reves, France

9. Katikies Hotel-Oia, Greece

10. Hotel Le Sirenuse, Amalfi coast, Italy

11. Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden

12.The Cambrian Hotel, Adelboden, Suíça

13.Homestead Resort and Spa, Utah, Estados Unidos

14.Villa Escudero, Philippines

15. Hotel-Restaurant Öschinensee, Switzerland

16. Astarte Suits Hotel, Greece

17.Hotel the Moulin du Roc, Franca

18. Juvet Landscape Resort, Norway

19.Montana magic Lodge, Chile

20. Giraffe Manor, Kenya

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