American City appoints first Executive Director for resilience

The city of Oakland, in the United States, appointed his first CRO (Chief Resilience Office), what if you can translate, in Portuguese, as Executive Director of resilience. The position now occupied by Victoria Salinas, a Chilean-American resident in the city, aims to create a map for resilience or urban resistance.

"The strategy will be linked to subjects such as earthquakes and climate change, ageing of infrastructure or economic crisis. The city will receive technical support and other advice through participation of the Rockefeller Foundation, "explained the city said in a statement.

In fact, the philanthropic foundation created by billionaire American family will invest approximately €74,5 million in 100 Cities Resilient Challenge, which Oakland is part. In all, will be 32 cities intervention stock, from all points of the globe.

According to the city of Oakland, Salinas will have between six to nine months to create an urban and social emergency plan. The responsible risk management specialist, has worked in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly in post-conflict civil war or natural disasters.

In Oakland, Salinas will have four fundamental objectives: develop an action plan for seismic phenomena, especially at the level of 24 thousand families living in dwellings that are not prepared for the violence of the phenomenon; sea level rise, extreme warming and rainfall accentuated; social vulnerability of many inhabitants of the city; and advanced age of many of the public infrastructure and dwellings.

In recent years, much of the innovation of cities has emerged of sustainability strategies and risk management. This appointment of Oakland, a city with 400 000 inhabitants, is proof that the future of cities is on social, economic and environmental coordination of all phenomena that surround it. And that must be managed in an integrated and integral.

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The tag that is taking the organic cotton to our homes (with video)

In 2004, when environmental concerns still weren't part of the radar of most large companies, the C&A acquired the first pieces of organic stock, at the time still mixed with conventional cotton. In less than a year, however, the company started the whole process of development of certified organic cotton and not mixed with the traditional cotton.

Today, organic cotton is 38% of the total sales of C&A cotton products, a percentage very interesting considering the very high number of annual sales of the brand. In 2013, these sales accounted for € 110 million already, according to Dominic Edwards, sales manager of the Iberian C&A.

Like many other multinational companies in the area, also the C&A sustainability objectives until 2020. "Our aim is that in 2020, 100% of our cotton is organic", explained the responsible.

The aim is ambitious and will not be easy to fulfill. In addition to the demand for organic cotton in the world, be growing, production is still low. "The organic cotton represents only 1% of the total market and cotton are in decline," advances Sunday Edwards.

To combat this shortage, the C&A launched an independent company that promotes the cultivation of organic cotton in the main production areas. Second Sundays Edwards, about 75% of the world's organic cotton has behind the projects C&A. only in India, are 60 thousand organic cotton farmers to cooperate with the Dutch multinational based in Belgium and Germany.

See the episode 280 of green economy and notice how the C&A is taking the lead to sustainable cotton industry.

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Unexpected diversity of plankton

At first glance, the plankton might not seem like anything more than small marine organisms which serve as food to the fish and whales. However, a marine scientist has been dedicated to counteract this tendency and to publicize the great diversity of these organisms.

Richard Kirby has dedicated the entire career studying and photographing the plankton, which exists in abundance in the ocean. In his book, "Ocean Drifters: the Secret World Beneath the Waves," the researcher puts the plankton under a microscope, showing the rest of the world its variety of shapes and colors.

Among the organisms are algae, bacteria, wandering animals and microorganisms that live in the sea or in fresh water. Microscopic algae and small animals that eat them float freely by sea, where support to the marine food chain.

The book includes high-resolution magnifications of plankton and explains how these organisms are being affected by global warming, which could have far-reaching implications for planetary ecology if the amount of available plankton in the oceans decrease, referred to the Daily Mail.

"Without the plankton, there would be no fish in the sea", indicating Richard Kirby, who is a professor at the University of Plymouth. The increasingly warm global temperatures are causing the warming of ocean waters and consequently altering the habitat of plankton and create changes in their abundance, distribution and seasonality ", indicates the expert.

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The art of rescuing elephants orphaned children in Kenya

The world day of the Elephant was this week and to mark the date the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a Kenyan organization that is dedicated to the rescue of orphaned elephants, disclosed several photographs which show the backstage of the Organization and the efforts made by attendants and volunteers to give a new life to the Cubs.

About 35,000 African elephants are slaughtered every year divided the prey of ivory. As such, there are many small elephants that are orphans and who require care to survive.

Elephant populations suffer not only losses due to illegal hunting, but also due to habitat destruction and human conflicts. Thus, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust travels all over Kenya to rescue little orphans.

The pictures, released by the organisation, and published by the Guardian, offer a unique vision of the efforts and difficulties that volunteers and attendants face to reach the animals and carry us to the crèches of elephants in their centers.

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The most spectacular lighthouses of the world

The headlights are an almost universal symbol of safety and orientation, which have helped the sailors to find the way home over the centuries. Although they are gradually losing their usefulness, the headlights remain monuments with an extreme marine weather resistance capacity.

In olden times, sailors were guided by bonfires built on hills, which later evolved into headlights. Over time, the headlights were becoming taller, stronger and closer to the sea.

Most of the lighthouses still standing today are living examples of the wonders of architecture and engineering practice and resilient, enduring the worst the sea has to offer. Although their guiding lights may soon stop sweeping the night sky, it is still possible to enjoy the beautiful and epic of these buildings.

We show you here some of the most beautiful lighthouses in the world. The majority is located on the coast of the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland. But also, we show him the harbor lighthouse and Nazareth.

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Creates an elephant herd cows confused with family

They say that elephants don't forget, but this little creates seems to have forgotten that animal was adopted and a herd of cattle as a family. The small elephant and his family will have mixed with a cattle belonging to mada Samburo tribe, Northern Kenya, and when panic set in, the offspring, with only a few hours of life, have been confused and left with the herd of cows, thinking they were his family.

The Samburu took care of the elephant, who could barely walk, until one of the villagers trekked the mountains below during 12:0 am to find help. But the villager was successful and managed to help the small elephant.

The area where the baby elephant was living with the Samburu was so remote that had to be sent a helicopter to make the rescue and transport the small creates for the nursery of elephants of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, expert caring for orphaned elephants.

The attendants called "Ndotto" the little elephant, the same name of the location where it was rescued. "With just over 50 pounds, the attendants could carry him the arms before sleeping in blankets and give you a special dose of milk", told the Daily Mail, the director of the Centre, Rob Brandford.

"Unfortunately, while in the care of the Samburu tribe, the little elephant was fed cow's milk-that is potentially dangerous for the elephants that do not tolerate this type of milk", said the director. "We will do everything in our power to remedy the effects and to be beside him in the coming weeks, months and years," he adds.

According to the director of the Organization, a rescue like that of Ndotto is quite expensive and given his condition will need full-time care. To help the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Ndotto, simply access the site, where you can make a donation.

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Russia: Moscow zoo animals are already feeling the effects of the embargo imposed by the Kremlin

Earlier this month, Russia responded to the sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States and lifted an embargo on food imported from these two powers, but also from Norway, Canada and Australia.

The ban will last until August 2015 and, during this period, companies of these 32 countries will no longer sell the Russian market products such as meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, among others.

Despite being imposed only 15 days, are already feeling the effects of the embargo. The animals in the zoo of Moscow are some of those who already feel the effects of trade sanctions, having their food rationed.

The handlers are looking for ways to replace the meat, fish, fruit and vegetables imported, but fear that the task to be difficult. The brown bears in the zoo, for example, have a special predilection for Polish apples, which are now banned from the food menu.

The only products that have not undergone embargo were the food for babies, and such exception left the animal keepers from zoos Russians little happy, as their animals had no such concerns regalia, the Daily Mail.

"Almost all products that animals consume in the Moscow zoo are imported," says zoo spokeswoman, Anna Kachurovskaya. "The main imported foods are fruits and vegetables. Many animals eat the apples bought in Poland, which are of good quality and cheap ".

According to the spokesman, the imported products that animals need are cheaper than domestic products and some food stuffs are rare or do not exist even in Russia.

"We cannot fail to feed the animals because of the sanctions. We are looking for new ways to buy the products. The problem, however, is not easy resolution because some of the animals are not ready to change the type of food to which they are accustomed. Some have geographic food preferences, "says Anna Kachurovskaya. An example of these animals are the penguins, that only eat fish that is fished in South America.

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