An ecological paradise in the abandoned village of Espingueira, Cape Verde (with videos)

The locality of Espingueira, in the North of the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde, ever been completely in ruins. Today, however, she is a pit of sustainability, as a result of the investment of an Italian family who fell in love with the place.

"The Spinguera ecolodge came out of my father's dream, who fell in love with the island and saw something special in this abandoned village," explained the Italian Larissa Lazzari to green economy. "I was in love, hence the suggestion of reconstruct the ancient ruins instead of creating a new venture", explained the responsible.

At the age of 36 years, Larissa is proud to say that spent almost a third of his life, 11 years in Cape Verde. And that's where it intends to build family and see their children grow, continuing his father's dream of reconciling the hospitality industry to sustainability.

Today, tourists from various countries give a new life to abandoned village, several years ago, by Cape Verdeans, due to drought. "From 1967 to 1978 it didn't rain in Espingueira", explained the master builder Antonio Santos, project manager.

The construction of Spinguera lasted four years and manpower came from the nearest village. "I was alone among 16 to 18 men," joked. "Little by little we did everything."

The houses are made of stone and lime and has 12 rooms. Complete the ecolodge a reception, a restaurant, a bar and other facilities of the hotel. "Respect for the environment and for the people, culture and local architecture is our vocation."

The hotel is powered by electricity generated locally, with the help of the wind and the Sun. The water comes from a hole but, as scarce resource, guests are invited to save her.

See the episode 266 of the green economy, dedicated to morabeza Cape Verde.

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Thawing polar ice cap could unleash billions of pieces of plastic to the sea

The Arctic polar caps that are now melting will liberate more than a billion pieces of plastic to the sea over the next 10 years. According to a new study, there are billions of servings of plastic fangs icy regions. As the ice caps are melting, the plastic will be released into the food chain, threatening marine life, clogging waterways and harming the ecosystem of the oceans.

The study, published in the journal Earth's Future, indicates that there is a considerable amount of junk trapped in the ice, which was identified by the research teams. Most of this garbage is comprised of microplastic, the remains of plastic objects decomposed or from cosmetics containing microspheres, referred to Inhabitat. As the ice forms, this microplastic gets stuck in ice until the ice melts.

Scientists hope that at least two billion cubic metres of Arctic ice melt in the next decade, releasing microplásticos were simultaneously. During the investigation, scientists found among the 38 234 pieces of plastic per cubic meter of ice. This means that, in the worst-case scenario, the estimated one billion pieces of plastic released can be low. Additionally, the plastics act as magnets, attracting other pollutants become more toxic and dangerous to marine life.

Foto:  { pranav } / Creative Commons

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10 de evidence that traffic is killing us slowly

Miss de mobility is one of the oldest issues of urban sustainability, a real challenge and that every city, large or small, have de face. Many of the major cities on the planet lived years after years of ignoring the problem, leaving for future generations and future rulers da Discovery solution.

Now, all has little time to develop strategies de traffic mitigation, either through da public transport expansion â€" a solution man, especially at a time when Europe is in a financial crossroads, encouraging de sharing cars, use da bike or telecommuting.

The Brazilian site sustainable planet left that that would have been one of the worst scenarios always de transit de world â€" last Friday, Are placed one million automobiles de Paulo on the streets, due to the strike of public transport â€" to prove that traffic is running out not only with our patience and our life.

On that day, in São Paulo, the rain made an appearance in the city, which worsened the congestion and 251 km queue de originated â€" was the slowest morning da da city history. See the 10 ways in which traffic is killing us.

1. Pollution

Pollution caused by vehicles causes 4,600 deaths for years just in the State Are de Paulo, Brazil. The pollution generated is responsible for reducing 1.5 years de de da population lives in the metropolitan area Are de Paulo, which concentrates more de 20 millions de people. The cost of medical care for people who suffer cardiorespiratory diseases linked to cars de reaches almost to € 325 million ($ 1 billion) per year.

2. Obesity

A study da de University Sydney, Australia, shows that people who lead daily to work have a tendency to 13% de stay overweight or become obese. And that remains when they do exercise and take time for leisure or after the trips.

3. Hyperglycemia

A study da de da de University Medicine School Saint Louis and the Cooper Institute in Dallas, USA, reveals that drive more de 16 miles a day is associated with larger indices de glucose (sugar) in the blood.

4. high cholesterol

Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the earlier study also relates to drive to work every day with high cholesterol, which is linked to cardiovascular diseases.

5. Depression

Among the 4,297 interviewed for the research University da de Saint Louis, it was proven that those who spent more time in traffic had larger trends to depression, anxiety and anti-social behavior.

6. Anxiety

A search of the Office of National Statistics in Britain, shows that people who take more de half an hour to move up to the work showed the highest rates de stress and anxiety, as well as greater dissatisfaction with life in General.

 7. high blood pressure

Get to work on time de tip can temporarily raise your blood pressure even if there's no congestion. This was proven in a survey made by the University de Utah, USA. Thus they separated two groups on a simulator test de de direction.

For both groups was given a scenario in which the respondent was late for a meeting in which to gain money, but one of the groups conducted a simulation with more cars on the road, while the other is not. Although coming at the same time and with the same average speed, the group that left in de simulation via with more cars showed faster heartbeat and picos de da blood pressure elevation, increasing the potential risk de stroke.

8. Sleep impaired

De 2012 Edition da Regus Work-life Balance, a survey is made annually in 80 countries with about de 16 thousand workers, shows that whoever spends more 45 minutes in de ida or back from work declares having a sleep worse and shows signs more evident de exhaustion.

9. Relationships destroyed

De still accordance with Regus, who makes time-consuming travel between work and home puts more pressure on family and friends. These workers have 40% more chance de separated conjugal partners de.

10. body aches

Backaches, necks, arms and legs are common when the matter more de two hours in traffic. But don't worry, at least this can be relieved with a few exercises de stretching.

Foto:  Oran Viriyincy / Creative Commons

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As the forests if recovered from the fires in the time of dinosaurs?

There are 66 million years ago, the forests recovered of the fires the same way today, according to a team of researchers at McGill University and the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada.

The research â€" which began with the excavation of fossil plants preserved in rocks deposited in the last days of the age of the dinosaurs â€" found that, in some of them, there was an abundant record of fossilized coal.

The excavations may reveal more information about the climate of our planet in prehistory. Studies are still being developed, but there is already one conclusion: the annual average temperature in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, was 10 to 12 C warmer than today, being six times greater than rainfall. These features did not prevent, however, that the recovery of forests was equal to that of our days.

"In the excavation of fossil plants preserved in rocks deposited in the last days of the age of the dinosaurs, some of them [were] preserved with abundant fossilized carbon, and others without him," said Hans Larsson, one of the researchers. "From this, we can reconstruct the Cretaceous forests were like with and without the disturbance of fires."

The diversity of plants and animals can be affected by forest fires, and the discovery will help scientists understand it immediately before the dinosaurs being extinct. The study was published in the Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeocology, according to the Red Orbit.

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Beijing: the chaos of the world's busiest metro

Citizens of Beijing are already accustomed to public transport overcrowded, to the immense traffic jams and the intense smog and the option of cycling is not feasible for the most part. This week, public transport users are faced with yet another obstacle: a system of airport-style security in some metro stations. The result was massive queues and long waits to take the subway.

The Beijing subway network is the busiest in the world, with about 10 million trips per day between about 200 stations. This means that a temporary malfunction can form numerous groups on platforms.

Now, in addition to the usual safety inspection where users spend the trunk for similar machines at airports, people also have to be inspected, such as at airports. About nine metro stations in Beijing have already installed the system and, according to Beijing police, verification "should take no more than 30 minutes".

The authorities have installed a security system tighter after terrorists shooting explosives for a market full of people in Urumqi, in Western China, causing the death of more than 30 people earlier this month, the City Lab.

Besides more stringent control in subway stations, Beijing also introduced a fleet of helicopters that watch and photograph various real-time transport centres. Additionally, police officers patrolling subway stations began to be fitted with guns.

However, Beijing citizens say they don't feel safe, despite the strengthening of security. As Avid users of social networks that are users of the Beijing metro rushed to post photos of the queues in social networks, questioning purpose of such measures.

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House with energy balance that transcends the barriers of the interior and the exterior

The architect Buzz Yudell and his wife Tina Beebe built a House that is a lab green housing. This House, called Georgina Residence, was designed to have an energy balance, use the least amount of energy and water and have a great connection to the outside.

The glazed housing merges with the outside but provides at the same time, the privacy required, since it is located in an urban area of Santa Monica, California.

The couple had previously a home on Malibu Beach area, but got tired of housing and decided to move to Santa Monica. In order to be close to work, friends and services, Buzz and Tina have acquired a plot of land in the city and built a sustainable housing, referred to the Inhabitat. The House consumes as much energy as one that generates annually and allows the exploration of new sustainable strategies.

In the old housing, the couple had a great connection with the surrounding environment, this connection who wanted to keep in the new housing. Thus, the barriers between the inside and the outside of the new House have become flexible with the help of transparent materials, operational Windows and sliding doors. Sunlight and passive design strategies play a key role in the overall design of the dwelling. The House is equipped with air conditioning once the ventilation system and shadow let you regulate the temperature in a natural way.

The materials used in the construction of the House include recycled products and reusable bamboo. As for energy systems, the couple opted for the incorporation of LED bulbs and a high-efficiency gas boiler. Additionally, the housing features a green roof, with grass and a permeable insulation and a run-off system and exploitation of waters. The room is also equipped with a solar collector and photovoltaic panels that provide the 100% of the energy necessary for its operation.

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Global warming can change the color of the butterflies

A study recently published-and it took 18 years to develop â€" concluded that the butterflies and dragonflies of light colors thrive in warmer environmental conditions â€" and that the butterflies and dragonflies darker prefer the colder climates. The investigation examined the natural habitats of these insects in Europe during the many years in which it took place.

According to the investigation, the body of these insects plays an important role in the absorption of energy by the Sun, which serves as fuel for the flights and to regulate body temperature.  The insects of darker colors absorb more solar energy than lighter colors and therefore can survive in colder climates. By contrast, the lightest insects survive better in warmer climates, since they can reflect sunlight and not sobreaquecem.

According to these new findings, climate change means changes in habits of various insects. "We know that the butterflies and dragonflies clearer better adapt to warmer climates and also we have shown that the effects of climate change in the places inhabited by species are not future consequences but rather gifts, with nature and ecosystems to change in real time," says Carsten Rahbek, of Imperial College London and author of the study.

"We demonstrated for two major groups of insects a direct connection between the climate and its color, which has impact on geographical distribution," explains the researcher. This means that in the future, with the rising temperatures of the planet, butterflies and dragonflies darker can evolve and become gradually lighter to support better the warmer temperatures.

The team of researchers analysed data on the location of Pan-366 species of butterflies and dragonflies species 107 between 1988 and 2006. The colors were analyzed from the wings and bodies and created maps with the locations where the insects can be found.

Foto: tdlucas5000 / Creative Commons

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