Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Friday, February 14, 2020
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
World Environment Day
What is it?
World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on the 5th of June every year, and is the United Nation's principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. WED has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED has a new theme that major corporations, NGOs, communities, governments and celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes.
History
World Environment Day [WED] was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, resulting from discussions on the integration of human interactions and the environment. Two years later, in 1974 the first WED was held with the theme "Only One Earth". Even though WED celebration have been held annually since 1974, in 1987 the idea for rotating the center of these activities through selecting different host countries began.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Monday, November 26, 2018
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Buy Nothing Day
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| Black Friday crowds |
You have probably heard about Black Friday and all the offers and discounts stores offer today but, have you ever heard of the Buy Nothing Day?
BUY NOTHING DAY
Buy Nothing Day (BND) is an international day of protest against consumerism. In North America, Buy Nothing Day is held on the Friday after U.S. Thanksgiving, concurrent to Black Friday(November 27, 2015); elsewhere, it is held the following day, which is the last Saturday in November. Buy Nothing Day was founded in Vancouver by artist Ted Dave and then promoted by Adbusters magazine, based in Canada.
The first Buy Nothing Day was organized in Canada in September 1992 "as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption." In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, also called "Black Friday", which is one of the ten busiest shopping days in the United States. In 2000, some advertisements by Adbusters promoting Buy Nothing Day were denied advertising time by almost all major television networks except for CNN. Soon, campaigns started appearing in the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, France, Norway and Sweden. Participation now includes more than 65 nations.
Activities
Various gatherings and forms of protest have been used on Buy Nothing Day to draw attention to the problem of over-consumption:
- Credit card cut up: Participants stand in a shopping mall, shopping center, or store with a pair of scissors and a poster that advertises help for people who want to put an end to mounting debt and extortionate interest rates with one simple cut.
- Free, non-commercial street parties
- Sit-in
- Zombie walk: Participant "zombies" wander around shopping malls or other consumer havens with a blank stare. When asked what they are doing participants describe Buy Nothing Day.
- Whirl-mart: Participants silently steer their shopping carts around a shopping mall or store in a long, baffling conga line without putting anything in the carts or actually making any purchases.
- Public protests
- Wildcat General Strike: A strategy used for the 2009 Buy Nothing Day where participants not only do not buy anything for twenty-four hours but also keep their lights, televisions, computers and other non-essential appliances turned off, their cars parked, and their phones turned off or unplugged from sunrise to sunset.
- Buy Nothing Day hike: Rather than celebrating consumerism by shopping, participants celebrate The Earth and nature.
- Buy Nothing Critical Mass: As the monthly Critical Mass bicycle ride often falls on this day or near, rides in some cities acknowledge and celebrate Buy Nothing Day.
- Buy Nothing Day paddle along the San Francisco waterfront. This event is promoted by the Bay Area Sea Kayakers to kayak along the notoriously consumptive San Francisco waterfront.
- The Winter Coat Exchanges that started in Rhode Island and now have locations in Rhode Island, Kentucky, Utah and Oregon in which coats are collected from anyone who wants to donate, and anyone who needs a winter coat is welcome to take one.
While critics of the day charge that Buy Nothing Day simply causes participants to buy the next day, Adbusters states that it "isn't just about changing your habits for one day" but "about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste."
Other campaigns, such as Shift Your Shopping, attempt to redirect spending away from corporate chains and online giants toward locally owned, community-based businesses as a means to combat consumerism. Even some independent business advocates, such as the American Independent Business Alliance, recognize "Black Friday" frenzy does little for independent businesses and instead encourage people to consider giving gifts but not necessarily "things."
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Hurricanes
A tropical cyclone is a circular air movement over the warm ocean waters in the warm part of Earth near the equator. Most tropical cyclones create strong winds and heavy rains. While some tropical cyclones stay out in the sea, others pass over land. This can be dangerous because they can cause a lot of damage.
Tropical cyclones form when convection causes warm, moist ocean air to rise. They begin as a group of storm winds when the water gets as hot as 80 °F (27 °C) or hotter. The Coriolis effect causes the winds to rotate. These storms usually move westward in the tropics, and later move north or south into the temperate zone. The "eye of the storm" is the center. It has little rain or wind. The eye wall has much rain and the strongest winds. It is surrounded by rain bands and an area of strong winds.
Tropical cyclone, typhoon or hurricane
The term "tropical cyclone" is a general term. In various places they have other local names such as "hurricane" and "typhoon".A tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic is called a hurricane The same name is used for those that form in the eastern, central and northern Pacific. In the western Pacific a tropical cyclone is called a typhoon. In the Indian Ocean it is called a "cyclone".
Naming
Tropical cyclones are usually given names because it helps in forecasting, tracking, and reporting. They are named once they have steady winds of 62 km/h. Committees of the World Meteorological Organization pick names. Once named, a cyclone is usually not renamed..
For several hundred years hurricanes were named after saints. In 1887, Australian meteorologist Clement Wragge began giving women's names to tropical cyclones. He drew on history and mythology for names. When he used men's names, they were usually of politicians he hated. By World War II these names were based on the phonetic alphabet (Able, Baker, Charlie). In 1953 the United States stopped using phonetic names and began using female names for these storms. This ended in 1978 when both male and female names were used for Pacific storms. In 1979 the practice was extended to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic.
Impact
Gulfport, Mississippi: damaged city struck by Hurricane Katrina, 2005.
In the past these storms sank many ships. Better weather forecasting in the 20th century let most ships avoid them. When tropical cyclones reach land, they may break things. Sometimes they kill people and destroy cities. In the last 200 years, about 1.5 million people have been killed by tropical cyclones.
Wind can cause up to 83% of the total damages of a storm. Broken wreckage from destroyed objects can become deadly flying pieces. Flooding can also occur when rainfalls and/or storm surges pour water onto land.
There is a possibility of indirect deaths after a tropical cyclone makes landfall. For example, New Orleans, Louisiana suffered from poor sanitary conditions after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.[9]
Classifications
Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale
Category Wind speeds
Related classifications
Tropical cyclones are classified into different categories depending on their strength and location. The National Hurricane Center which observes hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern and Central Pacific Ocean classify them into the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Tropical cylones in other places such as the Western Pacific Ocean or the Southern Hemisphere are classified on similar scales. For example; if a tropical storm in the western Pacific reaches hurricane-strength winds, it is then officially recognized as a typhoon.
A tropical depression is an organized group of clouds and thunderstorms with a clear surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of less than 17 m/s (33 kt, 38 mph, or 62 km/h). It has no eye and does not usually have the spiral shape of more powerful storms. Only the Philippines are known to name tropical depressions.
A tropical storm is an organized system of strong thunderstorms with a very clear surface circulation and maximum sustained winds between 17 and 32 m/s (34–63 kt, 39–73 mph, or 62–117 km/h). At this point, the cyclonic shape starts to form, although an eye does not usually appear in tropical storms. Most tropical cyclone agencies beginning naming cyclonic storms at this point, except for the Philippines which have their own way of naming cyclones.
A hurricane or typhoon is a cyclonic weather system with sustained winds of at least 33 m/s (64 kt, 74 mph, or 118 km/h). A tropical cyclone of this strength usually develop an eye, an area of calm conditions at the center of circulation. The eye is often seen from space as a small, round, cloud-free spot. Surrounding the eye is the eyewall, an area in which the strongest thunderstorms and winds spin around the storm's center. The fastest sustained windspeed founded in tropical cyclones is thought to be 85 m/s (165 kt, 190 mph, 305 km/h).
Tropical cyclones form when convection causes warm, moist ocean air to rise. They begin as a group of storm winds when the water gets as hot as 80 °F (27 °C) or hotter. The Coriolis effect causes the winds to rotate. These storms usually move westward in the tropics, and later move north or south into the temperate zone. The "eye of the storm" is the center. It has little rain or wind. The eye wall has much rain and the strongest winds. It is surrounded by rain bands and an area of strong winds.
Tropical cyclone, typhoon or hurricaneThe term "tropical cyclone" is a general term. In various places they have other local names such as "hurricane" and "typhoon".A tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic is called a hurricane The same name is used for those that form in the eastern, central and northern Pacific. In the western Pacific a tropical cyclone is called a typhoon. In the Indian Ocean it is called a "cyclone".
Naming
Tropical cyclones are usually given names because it helps in forecasting, tracking, and reporting. They are named once they have steady winds of 62 km/h. Committees of the World Meteorological Organization pick names. Once named, a cyclone is usually not renamed..
For several hundred years hurricanes were named after saints. In 1887, Australian meteorologist Clement Wragge began giving women's names to tropical cyclones. He drew on history and mythology for names. When he used men's names, they were usually of politicians he hated. By World War II these names were based on the phonetic alphabet (Able, Baker, Charlie). In 1953 the United States stopped using phonetic names and began using female names for these storms. This ended in 1978 when both male and female names were used for Pacific storms. In 1979 the practice was extended to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic.
Impact
Gulfport, Mississippi: damaged city struck by Hurricane Katrina, 2005.
In the past these storms sank many ships. Better weather forecasting in the 20th century let most ships avoid them. When tropical cyclones reach land, they may break things. Sometimes they kill people and destroy cities. In the last 200 years, about 1.5 million people have been killed by tropical cyclones.
Wind can cause up to 83% of the total damages of a storm. Broken wreckage from destroyed objects can become deadly flying pieces. Flooding can also occur when rainfalls and/or storm surges pour water onto land.
There is a possibility of indirect deaths after a tropical cyclone makes landfall. For example, New Orleans, Louisiana suffered from poor sanitary conditions after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.[9]
Classifications
Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale
Category Wind speeds
- Five ≥70 m/s, ≥137 knots ≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h
- Four 58–70 m/s, 113–136 knots 130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h
- Three 50–58 m/s, 96–112 knots 111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h
- Two 43–49 m/s, 83–95 knots 96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h
- One 33–42 m/s, 64–82 knots 74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h
Related classifications
- Tropical storm 18–32 m/s, 34–63 knots 39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h
- Tropical depression ≤17 m/s, ≤33 knots ≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h
Tropical cyclones are classified into different categories depending on their strength and location. The National Hurricane Center which observes hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern and Central Pacific Ocean classify them into the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Tropical cylones in other places such as the Western Pacific Ocean or the Southern Hemisphere are classified on similar scales. For example; if a tropical storm in the western Pacific reaches hurricane-strength winds, it is then officially recognized as a typhoon.
A tropical depression is an organized group of clouds and thunderstorms with a clear surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of less than 17 m/s (33 kt, 38 mph, or 62 km/h). It has no eye and does not usually have the spiral shape of more powerful storms. Only the Philippines are known to name tropical depressions.
A tropical storm is an organized system of strong thunderstorms with a very clear surface circulation and maximum sustained winds between 17 and 32 m/s (34–63 kt, 39–73 mph, or 62–117 km/h). At this point, the cyclonic shape starts to form, although an eye does not usually appear in tropical storms. Most tropical cyclone agencies beginning naming cyclonic storms at this point, except for the Philippines which have their own way of naming cyclones.
A hurricane or typhoon is a cyclonic weather system with sustained winds of at least 33 m/s (64 kt, 74 mph, or 118 km/h). A tropical cyclone of this strength usually develop an eye, an area of calm conditions at the center of circulation. The eye is often seen from space as a small, round, cloud-free spot. Surrounding the eye is the eyewall, an area in which the strongest thunderstorms and winds spin around the storm's center. The fastest sustained windspeed founded in tropical cyclones is thought to be 85 m/s (165 kt, 190 mph, 305 km/h).
Monday, July 31, 2017
Listen to the radio in English (or in any other language)
If you want to listen to the radio in English, Radio Garden is a good option. It lets you rotate the globe and choose among the radio stations in the place and language you choose. Why don't you give it a try?
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Hilarious laws around the world
Read the following text and choose:
- three laws that are surprising
- three laws that shouldn't exist anywhere in the world
- three laws that should exist everywhere in the world
RIDICULOUS LAWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
1. Interracial marriage was still illegal in Alabama in 2000.
2. Since 1986, US authorities have had the legal right to access any 180-day old email, without a warrant.
3. In Mobile, Alabama, it is against the law to throw confetti or spray silly string.
4. In Saudi Arabia, it is illegal for any woman to drive a car. Right now, it’s illegal for them to vote too. Apparently it will become legal in 2015 (how sweet).
5. In Dubai, extramarital sex is against the law and could result in jail sentences for over a year. Which means that in rape cases, both the victim and the perpetrator could end up being charged with the same crime.
6. In Saudi Arabia, there is no minimum age for marriage. In 2008, a Saudi court refused an 8-year-old girl, who asked for a divorce from her 58-year-old husband.
7. In 29 states in the US it is legal to fire someone for being gay.
8. The only two states where divorce is illegal are the Philippines and The Vatican.
9. In Thailand it is illegal to step on money.
10. In Singapore, selling non-medical chewing gum or chewing normal gum is a fine of $1000. A second offense costs $2000 and being forced to clean a public area of the city for a day. If a person litters three times, they must clean the streets wearing a bib that reads “I’m a litterer.” Even pharmacists who sell the medical gum and forget to ID get two years in jail. Spitting is also illegal and can result in arrest.
11. In July 2013 a law was passed in China that states it is illegal for adult children to not visit their parents “often” in China. They are also required to attend to their parent’s spiritual needs.
12. There is a law in South Carolina called the no “mock proposal” law, which states that anybody above the age of 16-years-old is not allowed to perform a proposal if they do not mean it.
13. In Montana, “proxy weddings” are allowed for those serving in the military, which means a friend can pretend to be the groom or the bride and the union will still be considered valid. In some cases both the bride and the groom are absent.
14. In Iowa, it is illegal for a man with a mustache to kiss a woman in public.
15. In Britain it is illegal to handle a salmon in suspicious circumstances.
16. In Vermont, a wife needs the husband’s permission to wear false teeth.
17. In Britain, it is illegal to import potatoes into England or Wales if you have reasonable cause to believe that they are Polish.
18. In Utah you can marry your cousin, but only if you are both over the age of 65. Because, you know, when you turn 65 you’re known to have impeccable judgment.
19. In Britain you are not allowed to let your pet mate with any pet form the royal house.
20. In Kentucky, a woman cannot remarry the same man more than three times.
21. In France, it is stated as illegal to marry a dead person.
22. In Britain, it is illegal to carry a plank along the pavement.
23. In Britain it is illegal to operate a cow while intoxicated.
24.In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to tie a dollar bill to a string on the ground and pull it away when someone tries to pick it up.
25. In Florida, it’s illegal to fart in a public place after 6pm on a Thursday.
26.In England it is illegal to die in the House Of Parliament, but something tells me that if someone did do this, they wouldn’t face many repercussions?
27. By law, any whale or great Sturgeon caught in the UK is the property of the Queen.
28.In Samoa it is illegal to forget your wife’s birthday.
29.In Britain, oddly enough it is illegal to be drunk in the pub.
30. In Missouri it is illegal to drive with an uncaged bear
31. In Turin, Italy, dog owners must take their dogs on a walk at least three times a day.
32. In Honolulu, Hawaii it is illegal to sing loudly after sunset.
33. In Victoria, Australia, it is illegal to change a light bulb unless you’re a licensed electrician.
34.In the UK, a law still exists from the Middle Ages that requires all males over the age of 14 to be trained in shooting a long bow.
35. Bangladeshi children of 15 and older can be sent to jail for cheating on their final exams.
36.In Florida it is illegal for a divorced or a widowed woman to skydive on a Sunday afternoon.
37. In Switzerland, it is illegal to flush a toilet after 10pm. This one confounds me.
38.In Canada, any comic book that portrays illegal activity is banned.
39.In Argentina, there is a law that states that Argentine nightclubs must play the same amount of tango music as all other forms of music combined.
40. In China, it is a law that a person must be intelligent to go to college.
41. Married New Yorkers cannot get divorced on grounds of irreconcilable differences unless both marriage partners agree on those grounds.
42.In Tennessee it is legal to carry a loaded firearm into a bar. Seems safe.
43.In France, it is illegal to name a pig Napoleon. Apparently this is a slight to the great French general and emperor.
44. In Britain it is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the monarch’s head upside down on an envelope.
45.In Russia, Vladimir Putin just recently made it illegal to tell kids that gay people exist.
46. In Colorado it is illegal to collect rainwater. Apparently farmers and landowners are being punished for this.
47. In Cádiz, Spain, people attending a wedding mustn't throw rice to prevent guests getting injured and also to stop local pidgeons and sparrows from coming for food.
48. In 2007, the Chinese government passed an absurd law, which stated that it’s illegal for the Tibetan monks to reincarnate without the government’s permission.
49. In Melbourne, Australia, vacuuming your house between 10 pm and 7 am during weekdays and 10 pm and 9 am during the weekends is against the law.
50. Driving a dirty car is against the law in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. You will have to face fine if you deny this law.
51. A law passed in 2009 in Japan states that it is illegal to be fat. Yes, it is forbidden to be fat in Japan.
52. In Devon, Texas, it is against the law to make furniture while you are nude.
53. In Samoa, it is illegal to forget your wife’s birthday.
54. In Illinois, USA, giving a lighted cigar to a pet is illegal.
55. In Baltimore, Maryland, USA, taking a lion to the cinema is illegal.
47. In Cádiz, Spain, people attending a wedding mustn't throw rice to prevent guests getting injured and also to stop local pidgeons and sparrows from coming for food.
48. In 2007, the Chinese government passed an absurd law, which stated that it’s illegal for the Tibetan monks to reincarnate without the government’s permission.
49. In Melbourne, Australia, vacuuming your house between 10 pm and 7 am during weekdays and 10 pm and 9 am during the weekends is against the law.
50. Driving a dirty car is against the law in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. You will have to face fine if you deny this law.
51. A law passed in 2009 in Japan states that it is illegal to be fat. Yes, it is forbidden to be fat in Japan.
52. In Devon, Texas, it is against the law to make furniture while you are nude.
53. In Samoa, it is illegal to forget your wife’s birthday.
54. In Illinois, USA, giving a lighted cigar to a pet is illegal.
55. In Baltimore, Maryland, USA, taking a lion to the cinema is illegal.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Listen to the radio in English
If you want to listen to the radio in English, Radio Garden is a good option. It lets you rotate the globe and choose among the radio stations in the place and language you choose. Why don't you give it a try?
Saturday, December 31, 2016
New Year's Day
The New Year is widely celebrated in countries that share our calendar and, thus, start the New Year on the 1st of January every year.
In English-speaking countries most people sing "Auld Lang Syne" as the new year begins. This poem was composed by Scottish poet Robert Burns and was made popular by Scottish immigrants in Canada.
In the USA probably the most famous tradition is the dropping of the New Year ball in Times Square, New York City, at 11:59 P.M. Thousands of people watch the ball make its one-minute descent, arriving exactly at midnight. The tradition first began in 1907.
There are other common traditions all over the world:
New Year's Resolutions: It is believed that the Babylonians were the first to make New Year's resolutions, and people all over the world have been breaking them ever since. The early Christians believed the first day of the new year should be spent reflecting on past mistakes and resolving to improve oneself in the new year.
Fireworks: Noisemaking and fireworks on New Year's eve is believed to have originated in ancient times, when noise and fire were thought to dispel evil spirits and bring good luck. The Chinese are credited with inventing fireworks and use them to spectacular effect in their New Year's celebrations.
Read More:
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
Reading Comprehension: What's life like in Australia's poorest town?
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| Delungra- Wikipedia |
- Read the BBC article about Delungra.
- You can use:
- Wordreference to check words you dond't know
- Answer these three questions:
- Mention three positive aspects of the town.
- What do volunteers do?
- What services or facilities do local people miss?
- You can write your answers in a separate sheet of paper or post them as comments to this blog.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Imperialism and Nationalism
These are the materials we have in this blog for ESO-4 unit 6:
UNIT 6 - Imperialism and nationalism
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| Colonial powers by 1800- Wikipedia |
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