7 wonders of the world

I know I said I would no longer update...but well, this is important to me. Okay not as important as the climate crisis plea, but still...

Here's the story...

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The Egyptian pyramids are the only surviving structures from the original list of seven architectural marvels. Long gone are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria. Those seven were deemed wonders in ancient times by observers of the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Candidates for the new list have been narrowed down to 21, including the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Taj Mahal and Peru's Machu Picchu. The public can vote until July 6 by Internet or phone. The seven winners will be announced July 7 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Choosing world wonders has been a continuing fascination over the centuries. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, keeps updating its list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 830 places.

The ``New 7 Wonders of the World'' campaign was begun in 1999 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, with almost 200 nominations coming in from around the world.

Weber ``felt it is time for something new to bring the world together'' and to ``symbolize a common pride in the global cultural heritage,'' said Tia B. Viering, spokeswoman for the campaign.

Weber's Switzerland-based foundation aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments. It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.

Nominations were whittled down by public votes to 77 last year. Then a panel of architectural experts, chaired by former UNESCO chief Federico Mayor, shortened the list to 21. Interest has grown as Weber and his 10-member team visit the 21 sites. Their final visit will be March 6 to New York's Statue of Liberty.

In addition to the Statue of Liberty, Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu, the finalists are the Acropolis; Turkey's Haghia Sophia; the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral; the Colosseum; Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle; Stonehenge; Spain's Alhambra; the Great Wall; Japan's Kiyomizu Temple; the Sydney Opera House; Cambodia's Angkor; Timbuktu; Petra, Jordan; Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer; Easter Island; and Chichen Itza, Mexico.

(http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/travel/16669370.htm)

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For those who are interested to take part in this, take a minute to vote for the new 7 wonders of the world. Just make your voices be heard, so you won't ask and rant why something is included when you don't agree or something, then you should vote.

Climate Crisis

...still not talking about me (still depressed and so on...), and although just a few friends are looking at my blog, maybe more people are looking at yours, so if you could post some facts about this in your blog, it would really help...

I'm no longer updating this journal though. pls check out http://elaney-g.livejournal.com/
or http://elaneyg.multiply.com/ - thanks!

WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING?

Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising.

The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, it’s already happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable.

We’re already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing.

The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years.

Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level.

The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade.

At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles.

Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years -- to 300,000 people a year.

Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide. (i worry about this the most...because i will have to say goodbye to majority of the philippines' land mass areas...)

Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.

Droughts and wildfires will occur more often.

The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050.

More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050.

There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together to solve this problem is now - take action.

10 simple tips:

1. Change light bulbs. - replacing one regular light bulb with compact fluorescent will save 150 pounds of carbon per year.

2. Drive less - walk, bike, take mass transit. you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you don't drive! (yes, elaine, pls. take mass transit!)

3. Recycle - you can save 2400 carbon dioxide per year by recycling half of your household waste.

4. Check your tires - keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage by 20%. every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20% of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!

5. Use less hot water - it takes a lot of energy to heat water. use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds of CO2 per year).

6. Avoid products with a lot of packaging - you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

7. Adjust your thermostat - moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer, you could saved up to 2000 pounds of carbon per year, just with this simple adjustment.

8. Plant a tree. - a single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.

9. Turn off electronic devices - simply turning off your television, dvd player, stereo and computer when they are not in use, will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

10. Spread the word. - watch Inconvenient Truth.

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i worry constantly that the best places to travel to will be gone by the time i have the means to go, it'll be run over by floods, storms, etc. before i get to see them. also, that malabon will no longer be if we keep having these violent storms throughout the year (remember, here in the phils. we still have super typhoons until november or early december!) i watched the dvd inconvenient truth last december, and yet i only found one copy among thousands available out there. gah.

so okay. check the website out...

http://www.climatecrisis.net/