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Wild tigers, the most beautiful and majestic creatures are on a path toward extinction. Once found in almost the entire world, their population has reduced to just about three thousand and five hundred in the wild and most clustered in fragmented areas making up less than 7 percent of their former range in Asia. Their numbers have declined in the wild from perhaps 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, to more than 10,000 in the 1980s to less than 3,500 today, a study says.

The new study — to which researchers from the conservationist group Panthera, the World Bank, the University of Cambridge and others also contributed — identifies 42 key areas that have concentrations of tigers with the potential to grow and populate larger landscapes. Eighteen are in India — the country with the most tigers — eight in Indonesia, six in Russia's Far East and the others scattered elsewhere in Asia.

The study was issued ahead of a major U.N. conference in Japan next month at which nations are expected to agree on new targets to try to halt the decline in the loss of plant and animal species.

Tiger's habitat in India, Russia, China and Southeast Asia has been carved up, their prey has
been taken away from them and tigers are killed, their parts used in traditional medicine. Despite the millions of dollars that have been spent to save one of the most charismatic and iconic species on the planet, if current trends continue—and there's little reason to expect they won't—tigers will be all but extinct in the wild some day soon.

"Wild tigers are right on the brink," says John Robinson, executive vice president for conservation and science at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

In practicality, there exist just forty two sites in Asia that have any tigers living. It therefore
becomes imperative upon the governments, within whose control the areas lie, to conserve and
protect the grand tigers.

Tigers Are in Peril

Clean energy may also be called green energy or renewable energy, is a term used to describe energy that is derived from resources, like the sun and the wind -- resources that are continually available to some degree or other all over the world.

The use of natural energy sources to provide heating and electricity is rapidly increasing in popularity among homeowners. Wind power is growing at the rate of 30% annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 158 gigawatts (GW) in 2009, and is widely used in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Sunlight is the source of most renewable energy power, either directly or indirectly. The sun can be harnessed to produce solar energy -- electricity for heating, cooling, and lighting homes, offices, entertainment complexes, airports, and a variety of other industrial structures. Hydroelectric power is produced from streams, rivers, and waterfalls that flow downhill, their tremendous power turning large turbines that convert the flow to electricity. Geothermal energy taps the Earth's internal heat in the form of steam for a variety of uses, including electric power production, and the heating and cooling of buildings. Some new systems are in development for harvesting even more power by injecting water back into underground heat sources to produce more steam. Organic plant matter, known as biomass, can be burned, gasified, fermented, or otherwise processed to produce electricity, heat and biofuels for transportation.

Advantages of Clean Energy

Clean Energy can be considered only energy that doesn’t pollute at all and doesn’t use resources that can’t be easily renewed. It comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat. An additional reason why clean energy can be so desirable is because it tends to come from sources that are free. While harnessing this energy costs money, wind and sun aren’t owned by anybody in particular. After the initial cost of; solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal energy systems, the only cost to the consumer relates to any required maintenance. You could even sell excess electricity back to your national grid.

Some limitations of Clean Energy

Renewable resources are often located in remote areas, and it is expensive to build power lines to the cities where the electricity they produce is needed. The use of renewable sources is also limited by the fact that they are not always available — cloudy days reduce solar power; calm days reduce wind power; and droughts reduce the water available for hydropower.

Despite some negative consequences to the environment from things like wind farms or use of hydroelectric power, these tend to be minimal in comparison to the use of petroleum or non-clean coal. By making the switch to natural and renewable energy sources, you will be doing your part in helping to improve the quality of the environment and the air we breathe.

Clean Energy

Muslims from all over the World Condemn Burning of Quran on 9/11

Labor Day is a legal holiday of United States that is over 100 years old. On the first Monday in September, Labor Day honors the social and economic contributions that the American worker has made to the growth health and prosperity of the country. It was first celebrated in this country in the 1880s -- at a time when people commonly worked 12-hour days. The first Labor Day rally, in 1882, was in support of an eight-hour workday. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. There is still some doubt about who first proposed a holiday to honor workers. Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." But McGuire's claim on Labor Day history has been challenged; many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. The Socialist Party held a similar celebration of the working class on May 1. This date eventually became known as May Day, and was celebrated by Socialists and communists in commemoration of the working man. In the U.S., the first Monday in September was selected to reject any identification with Communism.

Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. The holiday is often regarded as a day of rest and parties. A street parade to exhibit to the public
"the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Many colleges and some secondary and elementary schools begin classes immediately after Labor Day. State parks, swimming pools, and campgrounds are all quite busy on Labor Day, as vacationers take one last advantage of the waning hot season.

Today, Labor Day is observed not only in the U.S.but also in Canada, and in other industrialized nations. While it is a general holiday in the United States, its roots in the working class remain clearer in European countries.

The Labor Day

A strong earthquake damaged much of New Zealand's South Island early yesterday. The quake had a magnitude of 7.0, down from an initial assessment of 7.4, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It struck about 35 miles from Christchurch, a city with a population of some 386,000 people on the east coast of South Island. An aftershock with a magnitude of 5.7 struck not far from the epicenter about 20 minutes later, the survey said.

The earthquake struck at 0435 on Saturday local time(1635 GMT on Friday), when most people would have been asleep. A resident of Christchurch Wright Hadlee said,
"The house felt like it was on wheels, like it was rolling around on marbles".

A state of emergency was declared and army troops were on standby to assist after the quake, which hit 19 miles west of Christchurch, according to the state geological agency GNS Science. No tsunami alert was issued. Police from Auckland and other areas were flying in to help with recovery efforts. Roads had been blocked by rubble, power and traffic lights were out, and gas and water supplies disrupted, while chimneys and walls had fallen from older buildings.

Roughly 100 people were being treated for minor bumps and cuts after the strong quake, hospital officials said. Two people suffered more serious injuries. Minister of Civil Defense John Carter stressed the low number of casualties.
"I think we've been extremely lucky as a nation that there's been no fatalities," Carter told reporters.

Christchurch International Airport was closed after the quake as a precaution, as experts checked runways and terminal buildings, a spokesman said.

Experts said the low levels of injury reflect the strict building codes that apply in New Zealand,
which records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year.
"New Zealand has very good building codes ... (that) mean the buildings are strong compared with, say, Haiti," which suffered widespread death and devastation in a magnitude 7.0 quake this year, earth sciences professor Martha Savage said.

A severe earthquake hits south New Zealand: No deaths reported

Aldi Suganda,a 2-year-old Indonesian boy whose chain-smoking had much of the world fuming has kicked the habit. The tubby toddler of South Sumatra, who reportedly smoked 40 cigarettes a day, has broken his nicotine addiction through a 30-day rehabilitation program, the Jakarta Globe reported Thursday.

Aldi made international headlines this year, after cameras in his quiet fishing village of Musi Bbanyuasin caught the two year old happily indulging in his chain-smoking addiction. The video went viral shortly after appearing on You Tube, and sparked outrage after viewers learned that the tot already had a two-pack a day habit!

The tubby toddler got hooked on cigs when his father gave him a smoke to keep him quiet. One cigarette led to another and soon Ardi was throwing tantrums if he didn't get his tobacco fix.

After the video was released last spring, the child was placed in state custody. After receiving “Indonesia” in Indonesia’s capital, Aldi is now smoke-free.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, chairman of Indonesia's National Commission on Child Protection said,

“He has quit smoking and the most important thing is that he doesn’t ask for cigarettes anymore” .

His addiction was reportedly overcome by encouraging the boy to play with other children his age. Therapists also kept Aldi busy with activities.

Aldi’s parents have said they were previously unaware of the dangers of smoking, using the cigarettes to keep their child happy as they worked long hours at a street market.According to Earth Times, the baby's brain appears to have shrunk, and he may exhibit further health problems in the future.

The smoking baby has finally broken his nicotine addiction.

Apple Announcement: 4th generation Apple iPod Touch 4G