New underwater world discovered in the Pitcairn Islands

An expedition has revealed a unique marine ecosystem in the waters of the Pitcairn Islands, British territory in the Pacific Ocean. The Islands are one of the most remote locations on the planet, thousands of miles from any continent and, so far, the Islands were able to escape the pollution and overfishing that decimates various marine ecosystems around the world.

The Islands are inhabited only by 53 people, most descended from mutineers 18th century sailors. Was the isolation of the territory which attracted the Pristine Seas expedition of National Geographic to the site.

"The isolation means that the Islands have been preserved the most possible crystalline," says the leader of the expedition Enric Sala, the Guardian. "As soon as you jump into the water and oxygen bubbles disappear is surrounded by sharks," indicates. Unlike other places in the world, the expedition found that on this site are the sharks who dominate the marine ecosystem around the Islands.

The grey-de-Shark Reef is the most common species, followed by the White tip of recife and xaréu-black. As for the carnivorous fish, the fish-unicorns and the fish-surgeon-de-bar-white are the most common species.

In addition to the marine diversity, the waters are extremely clear and transparent. "We couldn't believe it. The water was so clear that we could see up to 75 meters ", reveals the room. The clarity of the water means that the coral barriers thrived at depths greater than 100 metres, even at normal, which is a world record. In total, the exploration team identified 80 new species of fish, corals and algae in Pitcairn.

To preserve the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Islands, the inhabitants of Pitcairn are advancing a plan to create a protected area of 830,000 square miles around the Islands. If they are successful, this will be the largest marine protected area, higher than that which the Government of the United States wants to create.

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The macabre scenario of an abandoned asylum

Urban explorers, photographers who venture into long-abandoned buildings, are fashionable. Responsible for this new photographic trend is human curiosity, which searches the loneliness of a building all your old life and, perhaps, traces of explanations for leaving â€" so many times in a hurry, as we have read in Green Savers.

This time, the pictures are even more frightening. Johnny Joo documented the former Forest Haven asylum in Laurel, Maryland (United States), and collected evidence of a Dantesque scene: a 1925 building abandoned in 1991, when the 15 patients were moved to another location, most modern.

Composed of 22 buildings, this gigantic asylum still retains the appearance of the years 90-chairs, beds and even frames with messages. "The size of the complex was incredible, and as we jumped from building to building, trying to figure out how big it was. Each of the buildings was enormous, and at one point was 15, 14 to be visited. I loved ", explicuo Joo.

In addition to finding written records of former patients, Joo got several surgical equipment â€" a scary scenario and do remember movies or video games of terror and suspense.

Beyond all the mystique of abandoned buildings, there is a real problem of urban planning and sustainability. All these buildings could be reclaimed â€" some, all over the world, already are being â€" and it is necessary to send for recycling all the panoply of trash there found, much of it with toxic compounds, as seems to be the case.

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Land claimed by foreign investors could feed 550 million people

Land suitable for private and foreign investors in some of the poorest countries in the world could feed about 550 million people, reveals a new study.

The crops cultivated in these lands â€" dropped to wild life and natives â€" are often exported or used to produce biofuels, but this new study indicates that could end with malnutrition if the land was used to grow food for local populations.

Since 2000, at least 31 million hectares of land were acquired by foreign investors, seeking to ensure secure food supplies for developed countries or to increase production of its business. Most of these territories claimed lies in Africa, especially in Sudan. But Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are also sought-after locations, referred to the Guardian.

Buyers argue that foreign investment can increase the income of those countries, promote development and create jobs. However, opponents to these acquisitions indicate that in most cases the purchase takes place without the consent of the people who live there.

"Crucial to this debate is the knowledge of the magnitude of the phenomenon: how many people could be fed," indicates Maria Cristina Rulli, Professor at the Milan Polytechnic Institute and author of the study. The study found that even with the lands that are used for the production of biofuels, land purchased could handle between 300 to 500 million people if the returns offered by land were increased to the levels of Western industrialized agriculture. Even without this improvement, about 190 to 370 million people could be fed.

Foto: hdptcar / Creative Commons

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London: a bus stop made with 100,000 legos

To celebrate the 200 years of the movement of buses in London, Transport for London â€" in partnership with the LEGO and the Trueform mattress â€" installed a bus stop in London built from 100,000 legos.

The stop can be found in Regent Street, right in the heart of London. Everything was thought to detail and built using only legos, including signage, benches and walls, referred to Inhabitat. The installation took 14 days to build and are in operation between June 19 and July 15.

This year, Transport for London and the London Transport Museum celebrate various ephemeris bus-related, including the 60th anniversary of the iconic Routemaster and the 75th anniversary of the introduction of the bus models RT, as well as the year of the bus and the 100 years since London buses were sent to the line of combat in World War I.

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Climate change will make dangerous outdoor activities

If temperatures increase sharply by the end of the century, as is anticipated, open-air activities can be dangerous. According to a study led by climatologist Robert Kopp, of Rutgers University, in the United States, one hour of outdoor activity, even in the shade, you can take a moderately healthy person having a stroke.

According to Kopp, a blend of heat and humidity could be responsible for this situation. The ability of the body to cool down depends on the evaporation of sweat, but if the humidity is high, sweat cannot evaporate and people can die as a result.

Until recently, it was believed that climate change would remove people from their homes or cities, especially in developed countries, due to floods, floods or other storms and extreme phenomena that make life impossible. However, in recent years, there is growing evidence that the increase in temperature is the main environmental force that will remove people from their homes and countries of origin.

The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, accompanies more than 7,000 homes in Indonesia, over a period of 15 years, and concluded that the extreme disasters have a much smaller impact on migration than the stress caused by the heat.

Thus, people who live in these homes react especially at high temperatures. On the other hand, advances the Scientific American, the breakdown of agricultural productivity as a result of heat is probably the greater cause of migrations that existed in these 15 years.

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British discovers distress call on garment label

Remember this slave who denounced Chinese forced labour a note hidden in toy? A new case, like, just be reported, this time on the label of a piece of clothing purchased in Primark.

The piece was purchased by Rebecca Gallagher, of 25 years, which read on the label instead of information about washing, the following message: "we are forced to work exhausting hours".

When he saw the message, the young man tried to contact the Primark to ask for explanations, but was not heard by the company. In fact, the company turned out to provide explanations, but only after Rebecca denouncing the case to the press.

A Primark spokesman said that the code of conduct of the clothing store ensures that all its factories and suppliers must offer fair conditions of work employees and asked that Gallagher returned the dress for investigation.

Primark is one of the cheapest clothes stores in the world, having several times been investigated due to slave labor, explains the sustainable planet. In 2008, the company was denounced for hiring Indian children with 11 years for sewing the sequins of her clothes. This year, the brand has created the site Ethical Primark, in which informs consumers of their environment-related practices.

So far, no human rights organization commented on the case of Rebecca Gallagher. Some do it?

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A castle built from garbage

Located on top of a quarry disabled, in Washington State, there is the "Junk Castle", a dwelling that resembles a castle and was built from recovered materials and garbage, as the name indicates.

The castle was built in the Decade of 1970 by Victor Moore, teacher and artist, for only €367 and from parts found in a dump site. Although they can be found at the scene pieces and sculptures of various kinds, the Castle stands out from the other buildings.

The materials used in the construction of the building varies between tiles, metal cans, parts of washing machines, various boxes, trays and even car doors. Since I built the Castle, Moore never had major problems with the authorities concerning the construction and the building there remains today, referred to Inhabitat.

Now, the American wants to sell the property, which includes a main house, which was built from a warehouse of milling and hopes that the new owners keep the garbage Castle standing, since it attracts many visitors.

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