Germany prohibits Uber transport service

The Uber transport service â€" or carpooling company urban, as we called â€" has just been banned in Germany, after a decision by the regional court of Frankfurt. According to The Guardian, the American company will pay up to € 250 000 for each trip, if "caught".

The Guardian noted that the complaint was made by the Cab Deutschland and the Court ruled that the Uber violates the Law of carriage of passengers.

Founded by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick, in 2009, under the name of UberCab, the company is expanding rapidly into Europe. However, she is being the target of criticism from taxi companies and lobby has been banned from operating in the city of Brussels, Belgium â€" anybody caught transporting a client of Uber can pay € 10 thousand.

In Germany, however, the Uber promise not to accept the Court decision. "You can't put brakes to progress. The Uber will continue with its operations in Germany, "said the company, which announced yet appeal the decision and, if necessary, exhaust all the possibilities.

The Uber lets call a taxi through an application for smartphone, which then will bind the private taxi drivers. Funded by Google and Goldman Sachs, the app can realize that cars are closer to the person who called them, saving you time and money.

The application also calculates the price of trip â€" which varies from city to city â€" and lets share taxis with others. At the end of the trip, the driver is evaluated.

Last summer, thousands of taxi drivers clogged cities like London, Paris or Madrid in protest against Uber. In April, the Uber was looking for a director-general for Portugal. Our country should not escape the rule of the protests.

Foto: bfishadow / Creative Commons

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People who live beside volcanoes

For 20 years the city of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea, was destroyed overnight, following the eruption of three volcanoes, Tavurvur and Vulcan, Rabalankaia. Thanks to a timely warning, a large part of the population and tourists managed to escape in time, as the ashes and lava invaded the houses and buildings of the town.

Despite having been destroyed and lost the status of the country's capital, Rabaul was not alone: who has rebuilt his life in ruins despite the threat of new eruptions or severe respiratory diseases.

Intrigued by this lack of respect for nature, the French photographer Eric Lafforgue flew Rabaoul to document the lives of these brave: he found children playing in abandoned buildings and person to eat eggs buried in the ash.

"The rain soaked thick ash fell on the houses, and about 80 percent of buildings collapsed with the weight," explained Lafforgue. The photographer explained have found the former mayor of Rabaul, which after the death of his wife in 1994 eruption, ended up living alone in front of Tavurvur.

There is also a hotel under the volcano Rabaul, which reopened in 2005 and who seeks adventurous tourists. "All rooms have a view of the volcano, and when the wind blows, we couldn't see anything because of the ash," concluded the photographer.

The old airport, destroyed by the eruption, is covered by three meters of gray. "Nobody knows why it was built at the foot of the volcano. See some of the pictures of Eric.

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Maria Bike: the project that will transform Lisbon into a city of women cyclists (with video)

Dear readers, let's give him a little advice: If you enter the site Mary Bike won't get out of there so early and, most likely, you will need to read the last sentence of the last urban cyclist interviewed by Laura Alves and Vitorino Courage.

The addictive project of two urban cyclists sought 20 women using the bike in your daily life, putting naked their initial fears and anxieties of pedaling in the midst of chaos Lisbon car, but also the joys contagious and that may influence others to become lovers of two wheels â€" without motor.

The site is a set of pictures and texts about these women, in order to show that the urban cycling doesn't have sex, weather station or geography. "We question the photographic process to proceed with as much ease as possible," explained to the green economy Vitorino Courage.

"I came to the conclusion to come to Lisbon is a bad option. My boyfriend had a bike, started coming to bike to work and challenged me to do the same, "explained to the green economy Katie Fonseca, who a year ago traded the car for the bike and it takes between 15 or 20 minutes to get to Lisbon, depending on the mood in pedaling.

"I gave up immediately," continues Katie, who shortly thereafter sold the car. And even the weather excuse. "If snowing or hailing eventually can come by bus. Otherwise, use the waterproof jacket and trousers and no rain to put fear. There is no bad weather, there are bad equipment ", he concludes.

This urban cyclist was paying $ 50 a month in fuel, off the cost of the insurance and other maintenance. Portugal is the European country with less urban cyclists, so the trend can only be of growth â€" and projects like Maria Bike can help change our mentality.

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Meat consumption is causing dangerous climate change

Eat less meat is "essential" to ensure that future demand for meat can be supplied and that "dangerous" climate change can be avoided. The findings are from a group of researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Aberdeen. The team stresses that the production of food, in particular meat, exceed the targets for emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, if current trends continue production.

Population growth, and an increasing tendency to diets high in meat, means that the growing agricultural production will not be sufficient to respond to the food needs for a population of 9.6 billion inhabitants in 2044, suggest researchers.

The increase of deforestation, the use of fertilizers and methane emissions by domestic cattle should cause emissions of greenhouse gases arising from food production increase by almost 80%.

"Agricultural practices are not necessarily at fault here, but our food choices Yes. It is imperative to find ways to achieve global food security levels without increasing grazing and cultivation land, "said Bojana Bajzelj, principal of Cambridge researcher, cites the Daily Mail.

"Food production is one of the main factors contributing to loss of biodiversity and a major contributor to climate change and pollution. Reduce food waste and the consumption of meat, more balanced diets, are essential options ", indicates the researcher.

According to the study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, current trends in food production means that in 2050 the farmland will have expanded 42% and the use of fertilisers increased by 45%, compared with 2009 levels. Research indicates that over the next 35 years, about one-tenth of the world's unspoiled rain forests disappear.

The researchers tested in the study a hypothetical scenario where all countries would have an average diet balanced, without excessive consumption of sugar, fats, meat and derivatives.

Foto: Asian Development Bank / Creative Commons

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The most colourful places on the planet

Although not always look, the land is a diverse and colorful place. Some landscapes are so intensely colored to appear surreal.

Since pink Lake in Senegal, the yellow fields of mustard, in China, or the volcanic formations of various colors in Yellowstone Park, the terrestrial landscape is diverse and some remain preserved almost since the dawn of life on the planet.

Thus, it is important to continue to take care of these sites so that the world will continue to be a diverse and colorful place.

Here are some of the most colourful landscapes on the planet.

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Photos:

1 â€" Fields of tulips, Netherlands

2 Lake Retba, Senegal

3-Black Rock Desert, Nevada, United States

4-mount Roraima, South America

5-rock formation from the Jurassic period, Arizona, United States

6 â€" Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone, Estados Unidos

7-Zhangye, China Danxia Geological Park

8 â€" mustard Fields, China

9-gate of hell, Turkmenistan

10 â€" volcanic crater of Dallol, Ethiopia

11 â€" marble Caves of Lake Carrera, Chile

12-Thorns, Namibia

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Aveiro passion for the bike Centennial uses to reach the business innovation (with video)

Aveiro, as we know, is synonymous with the bike, and this tradition in the centennial is seen much like a business. In the region there are dozens of factories connected to this sport and concept, businesses that leverage the know-how out of the ordinary of the city's inhabitants.

One of the last projects linked to two wheels has a formal name-bike technologic platform and Smooth mobility â€" but a much simpler goal: helping business and the public administration to develop projects linked to cycling and sustainable mobility.

"This challenge comes at a time when the country needs to create wealth and that the European Union recognises the importance of this theme. This is one of the areas in which the European Commission will bet for the period between 2014 and 2020, "said the green economy one of the researchers who coordinates the platform, José Carlos Mota.

The project uses modulation circuit systems, where they can simulate different traffic situations and introduce the bike in the urban environment. The platform has several projects in prototype phase â€" from bicycles and other garbage collection designed for the production of energy.

"The transport sector is what consumes more energy â€" about 33% of all the energy consumed in Europe. The intention is that the introduction of bicycles reduce this energy bill and, with the introduction of new components attached to the bicycle, it will boost the economy linked to the construction of the bikes ", advanced Daisy Rabbit, Department of mechanical engineering at the University of Aveiro.

Is also being developed a product aimed at children, which aims to encourage and accompany the first cycling â€" although it does not have pedals. "There are not many of these bikes on the market, is a custom bike. And there's also an evolutionary aspect: the child may use it, learn how to ride and, from the moment that dominates the balance, evolve into a bike without pedals, "concluded Martin Oliveira, director of the Superior School of North Aveiro.

In Portugal, the region of Baixo Vouga subregion registers the highest number of bicycle use, worth eight times higher than the national average. The University of Aveiro, highly reputable nationally and internationally, is a natural partner for the evolution in sustainable mobility, in order to enhance the environment and well-being of the city's inhabitants, but also their businesses.

Foto: ines saraiva / Creative Commons

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Floating bridge connects Ravejijn to its recyclable Island fortress

The Studio of architecture Ro-Ad drew a pontoon bridge and highly sustainable Ravelijn, Netherlands â€" the bridge connects visitors and tourists to the island fortress of the same name. The bridge takes another approach to architecture-she floats â€" and can be, he own, a tourist attraction.

According to Gizmag, the infrastructure is another way than a real bridge â€" she retrieves the ancient road traveled by boats, when the fortress was active. The aim, of course, is the same: get people to the fortress, and integrated into the landscape, and to serve as an emergency exit to connect to the city.

The bridge has a structure in accoya, a modified and treated lumber that is ideal for outdoor use and applications that require durability. She is resistant to fungal decay, as well as to the effects of swelling and shrinkage due to contact with water.

According to the architect of the project, Ad Kil, the bridge was designed to be easily disassembled and recycled. On the other hand, should not require major maintenance. If it is necessary, however, it is easily carried out.

With 80 metres in size, the bridge Ravelijn took three months to be built and is expected to last about 25 years.

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