North American 18 years invents anti-Coli water filter

Many teenagers 18 years spend the summer traveling or simply hang out with their friends, rather than stay in the lab of schools or universities and give rise to your creativity. Meghan Shea, however, is the exception to the rule, and went on to invent a system of cheap and effective water filter by clearing 99% of the bacteria e. Coli.

According to FastCoExist, the idea came about two years ago, when Shea embarked on a summer scholarship in science at Texas Tech University, where he was supposed to have worked with a professor of microbiology. However, he was too busy and left her working alone, with the position of search mission about water purification.

Shea began studying the white Acacia, a tropical tree very common, identified as purifying source, although this study has never been developed in depth.

Thus, she built a filter through the PVC pipe with crushed seeds, superimposed with layers of common water filter materials such as charcoal or soil. This is not the best water filter, but if you happen to reside in an area where there are many Acacias, is a type of structure that can build quickly and cheaply.

Earlier this month, the Popular Mechanics recognized Shea as the innovative of the year of the new generation. She began her studies this fall at Stanford, and the Philly.com site already reported that the pré-cientista is already patenting your filter.

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Driver who avoided suicide on 25 April Bridge between the honorees by the noble House of Citizenship

Paul Tough, who stopped the passenger bus driving and thus prevented a suicide on board the April 25 Bridge, was one of three people honored by the noble House of citizenship, who delivered their first three accolades at a ceremony held at the Hall of the national headquarters of the Public Security Police.

Jane Bridges and Miguel Leitão were the other two honored citizens. The first was honored for having created an informal network covers collection, subsequently converted into material and equipment, to users of IPSS in the municipality of Ílhavo.



Through the public recognition and homage of these examples, the noble House of citizenship symbolizes its mission to stimulate and motivate a more active citizenship, at the same time that values the importance of character, integrity, honor and humanity as core values for a society with greater solidarity and more happy.

The praises were given by Superintendent Paul flower, public security police, and João Teixeira, Executive Secretary of the National Body of Listeners, accompanied by the mentor of the noble House of Citizenship, Rui Silva.

This was the first of the Ceremonies of awarding Commendations to the noble House of citizenship intends to carry out all over the country and that will culminate in the delivery of citizen's Noble Titles in February 2014.

The noble House of citizenship will continue to receive proposals from citizens who intend to pay their recognition by a Noble who have witnessed or who have been the target. Just for that, access www.nobrecasadecidadania.pt.

The proposals will then be assessed by the Council of Institutional belonging to the National Authority for Civil protection, the National Body of wiretaps, the Directorate General education, the General staff of the armed forces, the Theology Faculty of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, the Grace-reflection group and support for corporate citizenship, the INEM-National Institute of emergency medicinethe League of Portuguese firefighters, the Portuguese Platform of NGOs for development, and the Public Security Police.

The noble House of citizenship also has a Committee of Honour consisting of Antonio Barros Cardenas, Daniel Serrão, General Loureiro dos Santos, Júlio Isidro, Manuel Sergio, father Victor Mr Melicias, Pedro Bacelar de Vasconcelos and Rosario Farmhouse, which will decide on the delivery of Titles of Noble Citizen.

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Spanish Winery will take 65 hectares of trees in California

As the wine industry in California continues to grow, the winemakers seek to appropriate areas for the cultivation of grapes out of valleys and closer to the coast. But the Spanish Artesa Vineyards and Winery seems to be taking this mission too far, with his plan to destroy 62 acres of redwoods and coastal spruces to make room for new vineyards.

The Artesa Vineyards and Winery has received permission from the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in California to cut thousands of trees in Sonoma County. Unable to receive the news lightly, environmentalists sued the Agency, claiming that the approval violates state environmental laws. With heights of up to 24 meters, the Redwoods concerned provide a crucial habitat for local wildlife and protect watercourses from erosion.

Chris Poehlmann, President of a small organization called Friends of the Gualala River, says the wine industry is moving towards the coast as the interior valleys of California heat and reveal consumers prefer cool weather grapes such as pinot noir.

Sam Singer, spokesman for the winery, argues that the trees have only 50 years old, which means technically still do not form a forest. The company proposed to save only two trees that reveal to be older than the other.

Friends of the Gualala River, Sierra Club's Redwood Chapter and The Center for Biological Diversity are the names of the three organizations that have advanced with an action against the producer in 2012.

The Redwoods are the tallest trees on the planet, reaching more than 107 feet tall and live to be 2,000 years old. If this decision forward, we are facing a huge loss for the ecosystem of Sonoma County and an even bigger blow to the morals and ethics of big business.

According to Inhabitat, a study indicates that the areas most appropriate to receive vines in major wine-producing regions of the world may be reduced between 19% to 73% by 2050.

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17 natural beauties of an increasingly stressful

Our daily stressful leaves us little time to dedicate to nature. Many times, this same day-by-day leads us to forget how simple and beautiful is our planet â€" one that still stands original.

The next 17 photographs represent this beauty that, every day, we forgot. Distant locations are paradisiacal, which represent a small part of the Planet that has not been destroyed by man, either by its inaccessibility or by the laws that protect it.

If you have 10 minutes to lose this Sunday, pass them to see photos-click on the photo to find out the exact location of the natural paradise.

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Sale of bikes already surpasses that of cars in 23 European countries

Both the bike and the car were invented in Germany, why is ancient taste of Europeans by both means of transport. However, in the last year, the sale of bicycles supplanted the car in 23 of the 27 Member States of the European Union.

For example, in Italy, the sale of bicycles supplanted the car for the first time since World War II, while in Spain, for the first time, the sale of bicycles are at the top of the table.

Researchers attribute this change to the car's European global recession of 2008, of which the EU economy is still slowly recovering.

The sale of cars reached its minimum for the last 20 years in the first half of 2013. The biggest discrepancy arises in Romania, with a sale of 380 thousand bicycles, against 72 thousand cars. Germany already has sold the largest number of bicycles, in particular, 3.9 million against three million cars.

Many European Governments have instituted policies favourable to the use of bicycles as well as infrastructures which promote cycling as an alternative to highway driving.

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New York Metro needs urgent renovation

The water continues to run through the streets of Midtown Manhattan, leaking underground inlets, penetrating in the ventilation grates and inside the tunnels.

A year ago, Hurricane Sandy reached New York causing a massive storm of four meters, as the town had never seen. Nine of the 14 subway tunnels below the River were flooded and the subway service was shut down for a few days.

Experts say that the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has taken precautions in order to lessen the impact. Before the storm began, she withdrew the trains of the areas prone to flooding, the electrical signals present in the tunnels, which were inundated, and workers blocked with wood and sandbags metro entries subject to floods. Later, the water has been removed and replaced the electrical signals. According to the newspapers, in one week approximately 80% of subway service has been restored.

Klaus Jacob, climate scientist at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in New York and the most responsible for demonstrating how such flooding would affect the metropolitan city, stated that these preparations of the MTA allowed the city to gain a lot of time and save money on takeover of the system.

"Instead of the subway closure between one to 10 days, this could have been closed for at least three weeks, which would cost in the order of EUR 1 billion, corresponding to two and a half times the daily economic production of New York City," explained the responsible.

A 100-year flood

Klaus Jacob demonstrated the risks of extreme weather events and the way in which climate change may exacerbate them, having been involved in long-term sustainability plans and works with stakeholders such as the MTA, New Jersey Transit, among others.

Two years before the hurricane Sandy, the Governor of New York presented a report on how the State should adapt to climate change. This report anticipated the effect that a 100-year flood, with a probability of 100 to occur at any time, have the infrastructure of the city.

Stipulated that the majority of metro tunnels were flooded, probably in less than an hour and, if the 14 tunnels down the River were targeted by floods, would take about five days to remove the water.

Many of the predictions since report were frighteningly confirmed at the time of occurrence of Hurricane Sandy, said Klaus Jacob. Nevertheless, to have held warning reports and to develop strategies that minimize the impact of the flooding, the MTA warned a lengthy closure of the metro and a huge waste of money.

However, other transit operators were not so wary. According to Klaus Jacob, the New Jersey Transit did not withdraw his trains before the wave arrives, having lost much of the rolling stock. When the website Mashable questioned him about the losses, the NJ Transit refused to respond. According to the latter site will have lost about a quarter of its fleet which, a year later, was already operational.

There is no absence of danger

According to Klaus Jacob, according to the result provided for under the circumstances, the MTA preparations for Hurricane Sandy were admirable. However, the city does not spent money in deep changes of future transport infrastructure protection. This explains that the vulnerability is the same when the hurricane occurred.

The same States that, to make the necessary changes, it would take several years and the investment of millions of euros. For example, many of the subway tunnels with surface stations are located in areas with the possibility of flooding and water passes easily through the bars of ventilation, so these should be sealed and replaced by ventilation systems such as those that are used in tunnels below the river. According to Klaus Jacobs, the technology is available, everything depends on the policy.

Certainly recur Sandy storms and its effects become more severe as the level of the river rises. In the latter case, these problems cannot be solved with engineering solutions, but with retreat. According to Klaus Jacobs what these solutions do is buy us time.

Jacob Klaus also States that the issue lies in the fact that we haven't been made aware of the terms cost of climate change for the world.

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Hamburg will build green network which will cover 40% of the city

There is a European Centre which promotes cycling as the main means of transport and that is developing a project to construct a network dedicated to bicycles and pedestrians, without road and paths that connect the parks and playgrounds of the city to the suburbs.

Welcome to Hamburg, whose green project will cover 40% of the city. "Will call parks, recreational areas, playgrounds, gardens and cemeteries through green paths," says Angelika Fritsch, spokesman for the Department of urban planning and environment, the Guardian Sustainable Business.

"Other cities, including London, have green rings, but this network will be only to cover an area from the suburbs to the city centre. Within 15 to 20 years, it will be possible to explore the city, solely, by bicycle and on foot ".

The network will link animal habitats still green, allowing the creatures cross the city without the risk of being run over. Most likely, and most importantly, the network will absorb CO2 emissions and will help prevent floods that occur during storms.

"Hamburg has always been a green city with many parks," says Jens Kerstan, leader of the Green Party in the city Parliament. "The Green Network makes sense in terms of adaptation to climate change, especially when our residents are progressive when it is this adaptation. Many want to give up cars, which is very unusual in Germany ".

Indeed, climate change left the towns with few solutions or develop plans as the Green network. Fritsch said that due to the sea currents, Hamburg is well positioned to combat higher temperatures, although these are already affecting.

Today, the average annual temperature is 9 degrees, 1.2 degrees more than 60 years, "reports Dr. Insa Meinke, director of the North German Climate Bureau at the Institut für Küstenforschung. According to data of this Institute, Hamburg had five hot days (over 30 degrees) in the summer of last year, compared with two in 1952.

According to Fritsch, given that residents, especially children, the elderly and sick, suffer when temperatures increase, the need to make the climate of the city as comfortable as possible.

Climate change also are already affecting the level of the water in the harbor. "Compared with 60 years ago, sea levels rose 20 centimeters," explains Meinke. "While big city, Hamburg is really at risk. Storms may raise even more water, between 30 to 110 in 2100 ". In other words, Hamburg need green network, because this will help to limit the effects of the floods.

Copenhagen was a pioneer and successful in this project. But, unlike this, it won't be long for the Green network is complete in Hamburg. Currently, this is being developed by 30 townspeople, assisted by members of the seven urban districts.

This network will cover about seven thousand hectares. Fritsch believes that won't be just a means of travel, but will also climb, swim, water sports, enjoy the restaurants and make picnics, being in a calm space and observe nature and animal life within the city. "This reduces the need to ride in a car at the exits to the weekend, reducing the environmental impact," he adds.

A modern urban life: walking, cycling, observe nature right where you live. Climate changes are already causing futuristic solutions and pró-natureza.

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