Tuesday, January 13, 2015

GM wants to sell electric car with autonomy of 320 kilometers in 2017

Leave a Comment
General Motors (GM) is expected to launch in 2017 a cheaper electric car and battery life up to 320 kilometres, according to The Wall Street Journal. The information, revealed also by AP, is expected to be announced today by the company itself, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the United States.

According to press reports, the car could cost up to € 25,000 ($ 80,000) in the United States and it's going to be called Chevrolet Bolt.

GM offers electrical level since the Chevrolet Volt, released in 2010, but this can only moved about 60 miles. Still, an improved version of the car will be presented this month.

In 2013, the global Vice President of product development at GM, Doug Parks, revealed that the company was working on an electric car with a range of 320 kilometers, revealing that this should be marketed from the € 30,000 ($ 92,000).

Foto: Camera Eye Photography/Creative Commons

Read More

Monday, January 12, 2015

7 nutrition trends for this year

Leave a Comment
With the arrival of the new year, many wish to adopt a healthier lifestyle, the food takes on a leading role. Phil Lempert, food industry analyst and founder of SupermarketGuru.com Web site, published in The Huffington Post some food trends for this year. Meet them in full.

1. smoked Foods

According to Lempert, the demand for smoked foods increased after the chefs started smoking and roasting the ingredients to add flavor to vegetable and meat alternatives even to cocktails.

Fermented 2.Alimentos

The expert notes that this year also will gain popularity the fermented products, such as milk products low in fat, especially the yogurt. According to Lempert, these foods are rich in Probiotics that improve our digestive health, as they may change the structure of the intestinal flora and contribute to weight loss.

3. Geração from

The analyst also highlights the food preferences of demographic group born after 1995, which brings a new set of values. Having been exposed early on to a variety of tastes in comparison with previous generations, the collective attitude of the members of generation Z is to appreciate the simplicity and health food. For example, prefer to microwave stoves. A study by NPD Group indicates that some of his favorite foods are eggs, omelets, sausages, potatoes and chicken.

4. gluten-free diet

Jenna a. Bell, a specialist in nutrition and food director and Pollock's welfare Communications, said in turn that the diet without gluten (a protein found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye and oats) will continue to be in fashion this year. It should be noted that this type of diet involves the Elimination of all such grain products such as bread, cakes, cookies, pasta and beer.

Unsaturated 5.Gorduras.

Nutritionists say that, this year, finally, trans fats, which now abound in our food, will start to be replaced by the "good" fats such as monounsaturated fats and polinsaturadas that help to reduce levels of bad cholesterol in the blood. According to nutritionists, these fats are typically found in fish, nuts or olive oil.

6. preference for local products

Consumers increasingly value local products, that can be more assured that are authentic and fresh foods.

7. natural foods

Another big trend of nutrition that awaits us in 2015 is the replacement of processed food by natural foods. Nutritionists draw attention to the importance of traditional cuisine, which gives primacy to natural products and spices, helps improve the quality of life and reduce the risk of suffering from chronic diseases.

Foto: Alice Henneman/Creative Commons

Read More

How to survive marine otters in icy waters without becoming hypothermic.

Leave a Comment
Many of the mammals that live in the ocean â€" and that during the winter have to face icy waters â€" turn to body fat to keep the internal temperature constant, as in the case of whales, walruses, dolphins, sea lions and many others.

The Sea Otter is also a mammal that swims in freezing waters in winter and not to die of cold has to maintain an internal temperature of about 37.7 degrees Celsius, almost twice the water temperature where nothing. But how does this animal to keep body temperature constant and avoid hypothermia?

Unlike the large mammals, the Otter is small, which means you're always losing heat. In evolutionary terms, the Otter is relatively recent, having only appeared there are 1.6 million years. Already the whales emerged there are 50 million years, the sea lions between 23 to 29 million years, which is enough time to adapt to life in the ocean.

The secret of the otters to cope with low temperatures is fur, which is the thickest of all the animals on the planet, about a million by 2.5 inches square, writes the TreeHugger. The hair, which is waterproof, lets still imprison air near the surface of the skin, which helps keep the temperature and gives the characteristic bright aspect of the otters when they're in the water.

It was also this hair that almost caused the extinction of the species. During the 19th century marine otters were hunted extensively almost to extinction, for the manufacture of hats and coats.

Although the population of otters have recovered gradually over the years, the International Union for conservation of nature continues to classify these animals with the status of threatened. Currently, the greatest danger for the otters is not hunting for the production of clothing, since the species is protected internationally, but oil spills.

The oil interferes with the impermeability of the hair, in addition to making the otters patients due to toxins that they ingest.

Marine otters play an important role in terrestrial ecosystem and mitigate some of the environmental impacts of human activity. The otters help protect the kelp-Kelp algae, an order large algae that belong to the class Phaeophyceae â€" of sea urchins, which in turn slow down global warming.

Thus, it is important to protect this animal, not only for not perish but also to mitigate global warming.

Foto: goingslo/Creative Commons

Read More

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Mysterious and legendary metal retrieved from the ship which sank in the 6th century BC.

Leave a Comment
Legend has it that, when Atlantis (pictured fictionalised) submerged in the ocean, took all the orichalcum can't. This metal, is quoted in various ancient texts, including the criticism of Plato, and considered the second most valuable metal after gold.

Now, a team of divers announced the discovery of 39 blocks of orichalcum on a ship that was wrecked in the 6th century BCE, near Sicily. According to Discovery News, the ship will have left Greece or elsewhere in Asia minor, and was carrying metal to Gela in southern Sicily, having been caught in a storm and wrecked the 300 metres from the harbour.

"Never found anything like it. We know the orichalcum of ancient texts and a few ornamental objects, "said Sebastiano Tusa, responsible for the Ministry of the sea of Sicily.

Experts claim that the orichalcum is a bronze alloy, developed by reaction of zinc ore, coal and copper metal. When the new bricks were analyzed by x-ray, explains the Discovery, it was discovered that the metal had 75 to 80% copper, 15 to 20% zinc and small percentages of nickel, lead and iron.

Currently, the team of Tusa's working in excavations related to the rest of the ship, which may reveal new findings about the work of artisans of antiquity.

Read More

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Most of the reserves of fossil fuels will have to be explored to avoid climate change

Leave a Comment
Most of the vast oil reserves of the former USSR, the United States, the Arctic and the Middle East, as well as coal from China and from the African continent may have to remain unfulfilled in order to avoid serious climate change. The conclusion of a new study that analyzed the fossil fuel reserves that cannot be exploited.

According to the study by two researchers at the University College of London, one-third of oil, half of the natural gas and more than 80% of the existing coal reserves will have to remain underground in order to avoid global warming more than two degrees Celsius by 2100. The study reinforces the idea that companies and investors should consider carefully the reserves of fossil fuels as financial assets. The idea also applies to countries whose economies rely heavily on these natural resources.

This is not the first research to calculate the amount of reserves that must be explored. However, the analysis of Christophe McGlade and Paul Ekins is the first to present a meticulous level of detail, indicating what could happen to the production of fossil fuels in the different areas of the globe.

"We now have tangible figures on the quantities and locations of fossil fuels that should be explored in an attempt to limit warming to two degrees Celsius," said Christophe McGlade to the Guardian.

Reservations must be indicated in the unexplored study result from the difference between the amount of greenhouse gases that would be released if all reservations were exploited and the maximum amount of these gases that can be released into the air so that the temperature does not increase by more than two degrees by the end of the century.

Foto: Gary Rides Bikes/Creative Commons

Read More

Friday, January 9, 2015

Singapore: collision between two cargo ships causes stroke for the Pacific

Leave a Comment
A freighter of Libyan crude and a freighter bulk oil Singaporean collided last week in the Singapore Strait, causing the spill of 33,000 barrels of oil to the Pacific.

According to the Sea Port Authority of Singapore, the ship from Libya, and the Singaporean vessel Alyarmouk, Sinar Kapua, collided at about 11 nautical miles northwest of white rock East of Singapore. Reuters writes that it was the damage caused in the cargo tanks from Alyarmouk, resulting from the collision, which caused the stroke.

The Alyarmouk traveling from Malaysia to China, while the Sinar Kapuas travelled from Hong Kong to Singapore. Maritime Port Authority of Singapore said that the two companies responsible for the vessels have already been called to clean the spill.

With the accident last week, the number of strokes in the Strait of Singapore rises to 11. The most violent occurred in 1997 when 28,463 tonnes were spilled into the sea.

Foto: United States Government Work/Creative Commons

Read More

Portugal guides already gathered 30 tons of Cork since 2005

Leave a Comment
Launched in 2005, the draft Action corkscrew, developed by Portugal guides, has allowed the collection of 30 tons of Cork Stoppers used, taking them to recycling. According to the Portuguese Association, the project has a "dual-objective: to contribute to the preservation of the environment, reusing a natural resource; and collaborate with institutions of social solidarity, since the value that results from the sale of the corks for [these].

With sampling points in the districts of Faro, Lisbon, Porto, Santarem, Viana do Castelo, Braga, Viseu and the autonomous regions of Azores and Madeira, Portugal guides have placed rolhões in cafes, restaurants, schools or hotel units. "We remain fully available to provide rolhões to all interested parties," said the Green Savers Sara Noble, President of the Association of Guides Portugal.

In addition to collection, Portugal Guides Association has carried out a series of initiatives to promote recycling of Cork Stoppers, such as exposure to Action Project Acorn "corkscrew", which was held in the Municipal Environmental Interpretation Centre of Viana do Castelo and the "Stopper" fair which took place at the gates of the city of Ponta Delgada and on which the tabs have put several products on display, all of them made from reusing corks.

Those interested in contributing to the collection of Stoppers Portugal Guides Association can contact the tabs of these districts and request a rolhão, combining the location and date for delivery. Subsequently, the guides do the replacement of the rolhão and the collection of corkscrews.

Read More