BP loses appeal to reduce compensation by the spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, BP admitted an appeal in the Supreme Court of the United States to reduce the amount of consequential damages. However, the supreme organ of Justice made known this Monday the final verdict and ruled that the oil company will have to pay the compensation stipulated in the multi-million dollar agreement 2012.



The 2010 spill killed 11 people and was the largest maritime oil spill in history of the United States. Since then, the oil company paid compensation already amounting to €1,87 billion. The agreement with American Justice assumes a total compensation of €3,45 billion. Additionally, the company had to pay €3,66 billion in fines, writes the Inhabitat.

According to BP, the agreement was interpreted incorrectly by the administrator appointed by the Court, which resulted in the payment of any compensation to companies that failed to prove that their losses were caused by the stroke. Indicates that oil company paid € 366,000 a hotel which closed due to a fire that had no relationship with the stroke and € a 539,000 kindergarten which closed before the oil disaster.

However, the Supreme Court turned down the request by the company to reduce the value of any compensation and sentenced that BP will have to pay the amount agreed in 2012. BP has set aside € 35 billion to pay claims and fines resulting from the Deepwater Horizon platform spill.

"On behalf of all our stakeholders, we will continue to defend the investigation of suspicious orders or implausible and combat fraud," says oil spokesman, Geoff Morrell. In total, BP estimates pay €7,9 billion in compensation to businesses harmed by the spill, but false compensation claims may increase the value.

Foto: EPI2oh/Creative Commons

Read More

Russia: Siberian reindeer wants to use police to fight crime

The large snowfalls and freezing temperatures, the order of -30 degrees Celsius, aren't enough to catch the criminals in northern Russia. Siberian police want to maintain order in the region but argues that the snowmobiling is not sufficient for this purpose. Thus, the police of Siberia want to trade the bikes by reindeer.

The police argued that the animals are more reliable machines and can run faster than the bikes in deep snow thanks to its adaptable hooves. Some areas of the Arctic region of Siberia are only accessible through the reindeer. The Siberian press reports that a gang of indigenous people are using these animals to escape quickly from the crime scenes, leaving the sleds and the police along the way. Of 163 crimes-mostly brawling among drunks, thefts and acts of vandalism-that occurred in the municipality of Yamalsky, in Western Siberia, 127 were committed by indigenous minorities.

In statements to the press in the region, writes the Daily Mail, the police claim that their snowmobiling can be damaged and running out of fuel, which does not happen with the reindeer. The police believe that the animals will bring advantages in policing remote areas and for two years asking for higher authorities to "recruit" reindeer.

The reindeer hooves are unique because they can adapt to the seasonal weather conditions. In the summer, when the ground is softer, the funds of the hoofs of reindeer act as sponges to provide traction. In winter, the ends of the hooves are protruding, allowing them to drill into the ice and prevent from slipping. During the winter, the reindeer actually use the hooves to dig the deep layers of snow to search for one of his favorite foods: lichens.

Additionally, the sight of reindeer is also quite better than the lights of the sleds because the animals can see ultraviolet lights. Snow reflects about 90% of the UV rays and this vision help the animals and see clearly in low light and very white environments, where the objects overlap with the landscape.

Foto: Cmphoto4/Creative Commons

Read More

Giraffes are phasing out silently

As the human population continues to expand and the poaching is decimating African animal life, giraffes â€" as the Lions, elephants and rhinoceroses â€" are one of the animals in danger.

According to Julian Fennessy, director of Giraffe Conservation Research, an organization of animal conservation, the giraffes are facing a "silent extinction". According to Fenessy, the populations of these animals are smaller than previously thought.

Giraffes are hunted for their meat, skin and bones â€" the inhabitants of Tanzania, for example, believe that the use of bones and brains of giraffes can cure diseases such as HIV. In the last 15 years, the overall number of giraffes decreased 40%, of 140,000 animals to 80,000, according to the data collected by Fennessy and his colleagues.



Foto: safari-partners/Creative Commons

Read More

8 million pieces of trash entering the oceans and seas every day

Every day, the seas and oceans are polluted with eight million pieces of junk, according to a study by the OSPAR Commission, an International Convention founded in 1992 to prevent maritime pollution and that counts with the participation of 14 European countries, including Portugal.

According to OSPAR, this number, even grotesque, continues to grow, mainly due to increased use of reusable plastic parts â€" packaging, bags for storing newspapers or plastic film that protects the clothes have come online, for example.

Much of the responsibility of retailers over when your product arrives in stores, but there are companies that cannot stay immobile watching the natural resource which makes them live, the sea, being destroyed day by day. "it's no surprise that some of the brands that are leading this [raising] are linked to the surf," he explained, in a text of opinion published in The GuardianThomas Callan, freelance investigator specializing in environmental and social policies.

Callan refers to Surfers Against Sewage (SAS-opens PDF), which wants a greater responsibility of brands across the supply chain, which enables greater control of pollution that their products can cause and thus keep the healthier oceans.

According to the charge, the EPR (Extended producer responsibility) can have many forms, including innovative products, packaging design, instructions for recycling the product when this ceases to be useful or even financial incentives to recycle.

The Finisterre, which draws durable clothing from certified textiles, uses packaging made from corn being composted with very little non-biodegradable plastic. Although more expensive, the packaging ensures the Finisterra is go against the natural resource that maintains your business profitable.

"If we're going to until the end of the world to get a product to be as responsible as possible, so it makes no sense to wrap it in something that goes against all its purpose", explained to The Guardian Ernie Capbert, director of brand of Finisterre.

Only in the United Kingdom, approximately 350,000 tons of used clothing is sent to the trash every year, as well as their packaging. When drawing clothes lasting several years and include a packing virtually biodegradable, the Finisterre ensures your part in protecting the oceans.

Another of the Coalition marks is the Riz Boardshorte, a surf brand of London which uses 100% recycled and recyclable textiles for their shorts. As the raw material is hard to find, the Riz encourages customers to send the ones you don't use, offering a 25% discount on the purchase of the next couple who said the maketing and sustainability cannot walk hand-in-hand?

Foto: afu007/Creative Commons

Read More

The beauty of a American Ghost Town

The song "After the Gold Rush", one of the biggest hits of Neil Young's career, this is the author's concerns with nature and planet Earth, metaphorical perspective of gold rush-Gold Rush-, which from the mid-19th century led millions of people to migrate to dozens of destinations worldwide, building new cities and civilizations.

One of those destinations â€" probably the most known â€" is the u.s. State of California, which received thousands of workers and their families, building cities that ended up forgotten in time, when the "fever" ended.

One of them is Bodie, Mono County, which grew from 1859 and arrived to have a population of 10,000, until the gold that was holding the place began to run low in the mid-80 of this century. Later, a fire reduced the population to 698, in 1910. From the 60 years of the 20th century, the town was integrated into the State Park.

Today, Bodie is just another of the American ghost towns â€" and there are dozens of them in California-but continues to draw people from all over the world. As the British Cat Burton, author of these photos.

"The most fascinating part of the city is the interior of buildings. After abandoned for so long, I was hoping they were destroyed and empty. Instead, there are various buildings full of furniture, "explained Burton to the Daily Mail.

"If it weren't for the dust until we would think that someone there lived," continued the British, who explained that many of the buildings appeared to have been left behind from one day to the next, as the coroner's Office and the school.

. fancybox-wrap {position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; z-index: 8020; }. fancybox-skin {position: relative; /* margin-top: 20px! important; */backgroun d: #222222; color: #74b32e; text-shadow: none; -webkit-border-radius: 2px; -moz-border-radius: 2px; border-radius: 2px; }. fancybox-opened {z-index: 8030;} . fancybox-opened. fancybox-skin {-webkit-box-shadow: 0 10px 25px rgba (0, 0, 0, 0.5); -moz-box-shadow: 0 10px 25px rgba (0, 0, 0, 0.5); box-shadow: 0 10px 25px rgba (0, 0, 0, 0.5); }. fancybox-outer,. fancybox-inner {position: relative;} . fancybox-inner {overflow: hidden;} . fancybox-type-iframe. fancybox-inner {-webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch;} . fancybox-close {backgroun d: url('wp-content/themes/codistage/styles/fancybox/exit.png') no-repeat; width: 25px; height: 25px; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 5px; }/*. ng-gallery-image img {width: 565px; height: 393px;}*/Uma cidade fantasma americana 1 of 18 jquery (document). ready (function ($) {var thumbContainerWidth = 0, thumbs = Array (), selectedIndex = 1, thumbIndex = 1, imageOffset = 7; $ ('. ng-gallery-thumbnail-box '). each (function () {thumbs.push($(this)); }); /* thumbnail navigation */$ ('. ng-greensavers-thumb-next '). unbind (). bind (' click ', function (e) {e.preventDefault(); if (thumbIndex < == (thumbs.length-imageOffset)) {$ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). stop (). animate ({left:-$ (thumbs [thumbIndex]). position (). left}); thumbindex + +; } }); $ ('. ng-greensavers-thumb-prev '). unbind (). bind (' click ', function (e) {e.preventDefault(); if (thumbIndex > 1) {$ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). stop (). animate ({left: $ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). position (). left + ($ (thumbs [thumbIndex-1]). position (). left-$ (thumbs [thumbIndex-2]). position (). left)}); thumbindex--; } }); $ (window). load (function () {/* set thumbnail container width */$ ('. ng-gallery-thumbnail '). each (function () {thumbContainerWidth = thumbContainerWidth + $ (this). width () + 10; }); $ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). width (thumbContainerWidth); }); });

Read More

The Peneda-Gerês National Park is the ninth most valuable tourist destination in the world

The Peneda-Gerês National Park is considered to be the ninth most valuable tourist destination in the world by Trivago search engine that compares prices from more than 700 thousand hotels throughout the world and that, with this list, unveiled the most appreciated with regard to the relationship between quality and price.

According to the ranking, which considers the tourist destinations with added value for every euro spent, the Portuguese Park is also the fourth most valued European destination, behind Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chora (Greece) and Megalo Papigo-(Greece). Overall, the most valued is the fortified town of Ait-Ben-Haddou in Morocco and, moreover, already considered a world heritage site by Unesco.

In the top 100 there are five other Portuguese locations: Peniche (59th place), Barnes (69), Figueira da Foz (73), Vila Nova de Milfontes (86) and Ericeira (95).

See some photos of Minho Park but rather the complete list of the top 10.



2. Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

3. Chora (Greece)

4. Merzouga (Morocco)

5. Bhaktapur (Nepal)

6. Megalo Papigo-(Greece)

7. Sucre (Bolivia)

8. Pingyao (China)

9. Gerês (Portugal)

10. Yangshuo (China)

. fancybox-wrap {position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; z-index: 8020; }. fancybox-skin {position: relative; /* margin-top: 20px! important; */backgroun d: #222222; color: #74b32e; text-shadow: none; -webkit-border-radius: 2px; -moz-border-radius: 2px; border-radius: 2px; }. fancybox-opened {z-index: 8030;} . fancybox-opened. fancybox-skin {-webkit-box-shadow: 0 10px 25px rgba (0, 0, 0, 0.5); -moz-box-shadow: 0 10px 25px rgba (0, 0, 0, 0.5); box-shadow: 0 10px 25px rgba (0, 0, 0, 0.5); }. fancybox-outer,. fancybox-inner {position: relative;} . fancybox-inner {overflow: hidden;} . fancybox-type-iframe. fancybox-inner {-webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch;} . fancybox-close {backgroun d: url('wp-content/themes/codistage/styles/fancybox/exit.png') no-repeat; width: 25px; height: 25px; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 5px; }/*. ng-gallery-image img {width: 565px; height: 393px;}*/O belo Gerês 1 of 20 jquery (document). ready (function ($) {var thumbContainerWidth = 0, thumbs = Array (), selectedIndex = 1, thumbIndex = 1, imageOffset = 7; $ ('. ng-gallery-thumbnail-box '). each (function () {thumbs.push($(this)); }); /* thumbnail navigation */$ ('. ng-greensavers-thumb-next '). unbind (). bind (' click ', function (e) {e.preventDefault(); if (thumbIndex < == (thumbs.length-imageOffset)) {$ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). stop (). animate ({left:-$ (thumbs [thumbIndex]). position (). left}); thumbindex + +; } }); $ ('. ng-greensavers-thumb-prev '). unbind (). bind (' click ', function (e) {e.preventDefault(); if (thumbIndex > 1) {$ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). stop (). animate ({left: $ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). position (). left + ($ (thumbs [thumbIndex-1]). position (). left-$ (thumbs [thumbIndex-2]). position (). left)}); thumbindex--; } }); $ (window). load (function () {/* set thumbnail container width */$ ('. ng-gallery-thumbnail '). each (function () {thumbContainerWidth = thumbContainerWidth + $ (this). width () + 10; }); $ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). width (thumbContainerWidth); }); }); Fotos: Feliciano Guimarães/Pedro Dias/amaianos/plapa/Rui Fernandes/Rui Reis/Aires Almeida/Luis Mota/Jose Sa/francisco satierf/Cláudio Franco/Creative Commons

Read More

Singapore artist uses bicycle tires to paint famous landmarks

Thomas Yang is an artist based in Singapore which creates unique artworks using bicycle tires. Monuments such as the Eiffel Tower, Tower Bridge or the Empire State Building were created through the meticulous placement of tires on a white screen.

"The idea came when I was toying with the idea of how to paint using a bike. The tires were the first that came to mind. Subsequently, explored the characteristics of each pattern of tire and I came to the conclusion that could possibly paint a few known buildings, "says Yang to Bored Panda.

Thomas Yang, which is a bicycle enthusiast, has created four different paintings: "The Cyclist's Empire" (Empire State Building), "God Save the Bike" (Tower Bridge), "Bycicle Mon Amour" (Eiffel Tower) and "The Unforbidden Cyclist" (forbidden city). From each original 100 copies were produced, which were quickly sold.

"The process of creation was actually quite difficult. For each of the works were required at least 40 essays ", explains the artist, who chose only buildings of cities with some culture tied to bicycles. For the creation of the four works were necessary 20 tires and each of the copies come with a special description related to bicycles and a number of editing.

. fancybox-wrap {position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; z-index: 8020; }. fancybox-skin {position: relative; /* margin-top: 20px! important; */backgroun d: #222222; color: #74b32e; text-shadow: none; -webkit-border-radius: 2px; -moz-border-radius: 2px; border-radius: 2px; }. fancybox-opened {z-index: 8030;} . fancybox-opened. fancybox-skin {-webkit-box-shadow: 0 10px 25px rgba (0, 0, 0, 0.5); -moz-box-shadow: 0 10px 25px rgba (0, 0, 0, 0.5); box-shadow: 0 10px 25px rgba (0, 0, 0, 0.5); }. fancybox-outer,. fancybox-inner {position: relative;} . fancybox-inner {overflow: hidden;} . fancybox-type-iframe. fancybox-inner {-webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch;} . fancybox-close {backgroun d: url('wp-content/themes/codistage/styles/fancybox/exit.png') no-repeat; width: 25px; height: 25px; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 5px; }/*. ng-gallery-image img {width: 565px; height: 393px;}*/ Edifícios famosos criados com pneus de bicicleta 1 of 9 jQuery(document).ready(function($) { var thumbContainerWidth = 0, thumbs = Array(), selectedIndex = 1, thumbIndex = 1, imageOffset = 7; $ ('. ng-gallery-thumbnail-box '). each (function () {thumbs.push($(this)); }); /* thumbnail navigation */$ ('. ng-greensavers-thumb-next '). unbind (). bind (' click ', function (e) {e.preventDefault(); if (thumbIndex < == (thumbs.length-imageOffset)) {$ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). stop (). animate ({left:-$ (thumbs [thumbIndex]). position (). left}); thumbindex + +; } }); $ ('. ng-greensavers-thumb-prev '). unbind (). bind (' click ', function (e) {e.preventDefault(); if (thumbIndex > 1) {$ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). stop (). animate ({left: $ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). position (). left + ($ (thumbs [thumbIndex-1]). position (). left-$ (thumbs [thumbIndex-2]). position (). left)}); thumbindex--; } }); $ (window). load (function () {/* set thumbnail container width */$ ('. ng-gallery-thumbnail '). each (function () {thumbContainerWidth = thumbContainerWidth + $ (this). width () + 10; }); $ ('. ng-thumbnails-container '). width (thumbContainerWidth); }); });

Fotos: 100copies.net

Read More