The "most Portuguese village of Portugal" is built in the middle of giant boulders

Located in Beira Baixa, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, near the border with Spain, Monsanto is the most Portuguese village of Portugal, where the homes merge with granitic formations.

The human presence on this site dates back to the Paleolithic period and archaeological finds indicate that Monsanto was inhabited by the Romans, Visigoths and Arabs. In 1165, the Moors were defeated by d. Afonso Henriques and the place of Monsanto was donated to the Knights Templar. In 1174, received the first Charter.

Monsanto could be like any other Portuguese village, hadn't been built under large granite formations. In the early days of the village, the inhabitants did not know or had means to cut rock and as such were the houses and streets that have adapted to the site and not the other way around. Many of the houses still retain Monsanto porticos in Manueline style, dating from the late 16th century, referred to in Inhabitat.

Monsanto is a living example of how people have adapted to preserve the integrity of the site for centuries.

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Science4you challenges college students to develop prototypes of educational toys

The Science4you, Portuguese company dedicated to the production, development and marketing of educational toys, in partnership with the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, has just launched a contest for the public University designated "you teach!", through which challenges students of this level of education to make prototypes of toys related to sustainable development.

The initiative "will you teach!" is inserted in the draft Sustainable Europe Project, an initiative of the European Commission, promoted by the Jacques Delors European information centre under the Management Partnership established between the Portuguese Government and the European Commission.

"The competition is aimed at students of higher education across the country, from all areas of education, who are attending any academic year. Each team must be composed of three elements, "explains the Science4you said in a statement.

College students should develop a prototype of an educational toy that, apart from innovative, should integrate the theme of sustainable development.

The inscription of staff can be made here. The prototypes can already undergoing Science4you until 31 August. The five best works were entitled to participate in the National Final, which will be held in September, at Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa.

The elements of the winning team will receive an InterRail through Europe with a duration of 15 days.

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Giraffe gives birth on zoo under the watchful eye of father

After 15 long months of pregnancy, a giraffe from a Dutch Zoo has given birth to a new creates â€" and all under the watchful eye of a concerned parent.

Once the giraffe is the tallest animal that inhabits the Earth, the newborn has fallen from a height of about 2 metres during birth. However, the small giraffe survived the crash with no major scratches, just confused. The birth occurred at GaiaZoo in Kerkrade, the Netherlands.

A giraffe's pregnancy lasts between 400 to 460 days. Usually, born only a Cub at a time, although I have been registered pregnancies of twins. Normally, the small giraffes are born with 1.8 meters. Most giraffes can run a few hours after birth.

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England: families forced to live alongside garbage mountain

The residents of Cornwall Drive in St Paul's Cray, Brombley, near London, are forced to live next to a mountain of garbage for three years. The pile of trash is located down the street and reaches more than 12 feet tall and more than 18 meters wide â€" piling up a total of 18,000 tons of garbage.

During the summer, residents are prevented from enjoying their gardens or open the Windows to ventilate the House due to the unbearable smell that emanates from the mountain of garbage. The houses on the street have already lost business value, and the residents fear for their health and for their children.

Residents accuse the company that manages the location of fails to deliver payments to that trash can be sent for treatment or for recycling. "It's a nightmare. The dust, the trucks and their noises. The smell is sometimes nauseating, like burning plastic. Sometimes enters into the House. I've been sick several times because of it, "says Alan Cowburn, a resident of the street.

Currently, the case is in court, but still nothing has been decided about the future of the mountain of garbage.

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The fish have feelings too

Fish are the most common pet and, currently, are more sought after as food than meat. For years it was argued â€" in particular the scientific community â€" that the fish do not feel pain the same way as mammals, do not possess physical structures to do so.

However, a new study comes to disprove this theory. The investigation, conducted by Culum Brown of Macquarie University in Sydney, concluded that the fish not only feel pain the same way as mammals are also capable of relatively complex social interactions.

"A review of the evidence for the perception of pain indicates strongly that fish experience pain in a manner similar to the rest of the vertebrates," said the study, quoted by Dodo. "If we look at the fishes ' pain receptors is striking similarities with the same human receptors on pain receptors in all vertebrates are derived from a common ancestor to the fish," says the study.

The review also cites scientific studies that reveal complex cognitive capacity in fish: since long-term memories, traditions rooted, cooperation with other animals and the use of tools. Fish can recognize other animals of the same species and some researchers argue that the fish if they can recognize themselves.

Foto:  dbnunley / Creative Commons

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Marine pollution causes damage of €9,5 billion per year

Marine pollution caused by plastic particles dispersed in the oceans represents a financial loss of €9,5 billion per year ($ 28.6 billion), according to the document Valuing plastic, presented during the historic United Nations Environment Meeting.

The document covers marine pollution by plastics, above all the microplásticos were, and is more a warning about the dangerous plastic waste that sail by ocean currents and form islands floating in the oceans.

The study points out that the cost of natural capital in the use of plastic, each year is €55 billion ($ 165 billion). This account includes the impacts caused by the pollution of the seas, sea and other sources.

"The plastic plays a crucial role in modern life, but its environmental impacts cannot be ignored," explained or under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive director, Achim Steiner.

In addition to the financial losses, there are several other damage caused by plastic waste: death or diseases of marine animals, like turtles, damage to critical habitats, such as coral reefs, chemical contamination, dispersal of invasive species in plastic fragments, which causes losses to the fishing industry and tourism. Finally, there are several reports of animals that get stuck in the plastic, like whales and dolphins.

Read the full report of the study on Unep's website (opens PDF).

Foto: DanCentury / Creative Commons

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Italian police released images of the interior of the Costa Concordia

The January 13, 2012, the Italian coast suffered one of the most severe attacks on its sustainability: the sinking of the Costa Concordia, a cruise ship that sank off the island of Giglio, Tuscany.

In the disaster, 32 of the 4,200 passengers eventually died, and the ship turned out to be, until today, in the waters of Giglio. Now, at a time that the ship will be sent finally to Genoa, to be dismantled and sold, the Italian police have released some images of the interior of the infrastructure.

The images are creepy and show what's left â€" that's too-luxurious ship: furniture, various possessions, books, papers, clothes, flowers, vases, shops and cafés.

The last 30 stabilization devices were placed today and the ship will be ready for the five-day trip to Genoa. A journey that, incidentally, is being heavily criticized by organizations such as Greenpeace, which allege that she is dangerous. "Drag the ship to Genoa are five days at sea. Environmental risks are huge, since there are dangerous fluids that can be released. And the structure itself may collapse, "explains Luca Lacoboni, Greenpeace Italy.

"We cannot allow another disaster and there is closer to ports, which can be accessed with less risk," he concluded.

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