After making a mere $84 million at the U.S. box office, Star Trek Into Darkness is considered by some to be a disappointment. Perhaps the problem is that it was a touch confusing. To help our readers better understand it, we've complied and answered these Frequently Asked Questions about the movie.
Protecting your car is not the only reason to have auto insurance. It?s also designed to protect you and other people that are out there driving. You need to make sure your insurance covers all you need it to. You can use your auto insurance policy to its greatest benefit by applying the ideas in this article.
You need to understand the different coverage types offered when you are searching for an auto insurance policy. There is more involved in the cost of your insurance policy, than just the number of cars you have covered. For example, bodily injury coverage is important, as it covers any injury that is your fault in case of an accident.
If you?re insuring a teenager, check what it would cost to add them to a current policy, and then compare that to what their own policy would cost. Depending on the type of car your teenager drives, it might be cheaper to have them on a separate policy.
Most people incorrectly believe that insurance rates will definitely decrease as a person reaches the age of 25. The fact is that insurance rates actually drop as soon as a driver turns eighteen if he or she is a safe driver.
There are optional protections past legal protections that can further protect you. Your premium might be more expensive, but the extra options are often worth it. If you get into an accident with someone who does not have insurance or you are the victim of a hit-and-run, you?ll be sorry if you don?t have uninsured motorists coverage.
The person who drives the car on the car insurance policy is the only one being insured ? you should always remember that. Sometimes, people allow a friend to borrow their vehicle, but if this friend wrecks, your insurance company will not pay for the damage. You can alter your car insurance policy to cover other drivers that use your car, although you will need to pay an additional charge.
Property damage liability coverage is an important feature of your car insurance policy that you must get. This liability will cover damages your car causes during an auto accident. Most states require this sort of coverage, anyway. If you get in a car accident, you will save money on replacing a vehicle or parts if you have damage liability.
To start saving money right away, raise your deductibles. Although your premiums will be lower each month, this action can be chancy if you don?t have the self-control to save money for your deductible. In the event that you are involved in an auto accident, the out-of-pocket cost can be high. The higher you set the deductible, the lower your insurance premiums will be.
Now that you have learned a bit more about auto insurance, use the skills you have learned to examine your existing policy. It is possible that your policy lacks some coverages you need, and has some that you don?t.
Dear Insurance Adviser, I'm in my late 20s. Because of my ignorance on the matter and despite the fact that I'm a single adult with no dependents, I selected term life insurance as one of the benefits of my job. I lost the job about less than a month ago because my position was eliminated. I would not like to continue to pay the premium on the policy, as I don't have any income, but I am presented with the option of converting that employer life insurance. Seems I don't truly need life insurance at this point.
What do you suggest I do? Should I waive the option to convert the coverage, or should I convert it and continue to pay a premium to avoid difficulties in obtaining life insurance in the future? -- Jane
Dear Jane, As a general rule, you shouldn't buy life insurance if no one is financially dependent upon you. So, I agree with your assessment that you don't really need life insurance now.
When you have life insurance through an employer, it usually comes with the right to convert the coverage to a permanent life insurance policy, which can build up cash value, when you leave the job. Who should convert? Those who have existing health problems that would keep them from getting life insurance on their own in the open market, now or later.
"But what about future insurability?" you ask. What if, later on, you have a family and a mortgage and you want to protect family members from the financial consequences of your premature death? Isn't that a reason to convert? No, but if you're worried about that, there is a better, cheaper way to accomplish the same thing. Buy term life insurance with premiums guaranteed to stay level for 30 years.
A woman in her late 20s in good health who's a nonsmoker can buy $250,000 to $300,000 in coverage today for about $15 to $20 a month, with the price locked in for 30 years. I wager that it would cost far less than converting your employer life insurance policy and would provide much more coverage. You're not, by any means, buying all the life insurance you will ever need. But you have hedged your bet.
Are you currently amongst the look of your home by means of interior design? You are not even close to on your own, and also the subsequent write-up will help you understand design. The subsequent advice is just what you will be planning to go through is proven successful.
One thing everyone ought to keep in mind each time they are designing a room is usually to make or build a mood. Take into consideration that distinct disposition while you are choosing which goods for the room. As an example, if you?re attempting to create a tranquil environment, use hues which can be gentle and comfortable.
Consider using wallpaper to merely 50% in the wall surface. Redecorating wall surfaces could cost quite a bit of cash or else organized appropriately. A great way to save money is to only wallpaper component of your walls. Give your wallpaper a bolder edge and fresh paint the remainder wall structure. This will save you money in your pocket.
Make sure that any work space practical when developing is functional. It is rather important to take into account the lighting and cozy household furniture within an office space.
Get artistic when choosing countertop-shirts for the kitchen area counters. Standard granite is always well-known, but consider utilizing definite, cork or perhaps wood. These special options may be equally affordable and include character for your kitchen area look exclusive.
They must match the complete look of the space. You do not need to have to place them like all others does. Try out holding them inside the proper angles or facets. You will get white colored area which will transform the design of an area by shifting the way your images are installed.
Color is a great purchase, as you need to acquire a high quality merchandise to do the job correct.Inexpensive fresh paint will not likely only put on away but may lead to problems for your wall space, needing expensive improvements. Purchase high quality painting logo and add endurance to your layout.
This is possible by guaranteeing object placed on your mantle in the correct way. An inappropriately-stability mantle could be annoying and really feel of a whole place.
In case you have a lot of products, make sure your walls are quite obvious. A lot of people just own far more stuff than the others. When you have tons of valuable items or special items which you don?t want in storing, tend not to add more artwork on the wall space. Whatever else might make your residence appear jumbled.
This a part of a property is generally the most gloomiest and darkest.
In case you have plenty of valuables, utilize a basic style in your wall structure room. Some individuals just very own more items than the others do. Unless you desire to sets your accessories into storing, attempt maintaining the surfaces ordinary. Whatever else could make your own home look chaotic.
Should you be making a room appear more wide open and roomy, use softer and lighter weight colors.This is often specifically helpful when beautifying tiny place or a crowded area. You can make tiny areas truly feel spacious if you select the right colours.
A pedestal bathtub appearance excellent within a pedestal-variety bath tub. Most of these bathtubs are quite beautiful. The tub can also have a hand held bath, or you can simply have a pole that comes from your bathtub. There are lots of options that one could find at home improvement stores.
This lets your child be a part of clearing up and organize. It will also help keep your area nice and clean so that it is a far more enjoyable location to be in.
Extra resources Place mats can make a very good inclusion in virtually any area. However, big area mats should not be found in small areas.
If you wish to place up a sconce, tend not to group your focal point. If holding them near a looking glass, you wish to give it ample place and allow it to inhale and exhale.
One of the most inexpensive and fastest methods to modify up your spaces layout is usually to paint around the surfaces. Wall space typically begin being drab before long and want new painting.
Don?t select a bed furniture that?s too big for your room. A small place by using a California queen mattress is going to be also crowded. Additionally, it limit the amount of usable room which you can use to feature other furnishings.
There are specific household furniture sections and lights options that can make a space look more available. You have many tips available for setting up a tiny living area.
A fantastic suggestion for making an old area seem new is by setting up a completely new skylight. Skylights provide direct sunlight and lightweight on the inside. Skylight producers these days are generating some remarkable patterns that may truly enhance the design of your property.
fast loan Spend some time assessing the hue and colors you can expect to utilize in your layout. Because this is the place you will likely are living for a while, it?s important that you strategy these things carefully.
Bonuses If you locate yourself overloaded through your assets, it really is possibly best that you simply retail store your unwanted items in a storage space system, consider renting a model for storing up until you can tuck those things aside.
Art is a great supplement to any room in the house.Art work can complete a boring walls right into a chat beginner at a party. Consider the frame of mind of the room you need to resolve and obtain graphics that works well from it. To make sure that your artwork is provided with the highest effect, mount the artwork in the wall structure at eyesight stage.
It does not have wonderful light fixtures. Some stores have low-cost variations of chandeliers or expensive furnishings that you can get for inexpensive. By doing this, if you detest the design of the newest chandelier, there is no need to truly feel poor about removing that chandelier and exchanging it.
You can find less costly things to increase your property on the market on the internet or at flea market segments and thrift retailers.You save some money on redecorating by doing this by not buying it at the lawn transaction and in addition make the room look amazing.
Make certain you?ve got a good finances. Believe up about each your best and optimum finances, and put together an volume that you would be prepared to spend.In case you are uncertain of your costs you will swiftly manage around price range and skip crucial things.
Tend not to really feel afraid or nervous when figuring out how to style your property. With the right know-how, redesigning a space could be a breeze. Just use the minds and creativity from this report and you?ll be on the right path!
When Samsung unveiled its first 4K Ultra HD TV at CES this year, it said other sizes would follow, both larger and smaller than the initial 85-inch version. Now it's apparently ready to fulfill part of that promise, announcing in Korea that 65- and 55-inch models will launch next month. Of course our next question is how these smaller models will compare to the $39,999 MSRP 85S9 UHD TV in price. Hopefully they'll follow the path blazed by Sony, which recently introduced models at that size with pricing well below the $10,000 benchmark, although we expect Seiki's 50-incher will still hold the crown for value pricing. The press release mentions they will feature Samsung's upgradeable Smart TV platform and the "micro dimming ultimate" LED lighting of their larger cousin, but the odd "Timeless Gallery" frame / stand (pictured above on the 85-incher) was not listed.
Shifts in global water systems -- markers of a new geological epoch: The AnthropocenePublic release date: 19-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Terry Collins
tc@tca.tc
416-538-8712
Contact: Alma van der Veen
49-228-731846
aveen@uni-bonn.de
Global Water System Project
Experts in Bonn to detail how science can help people mitigate or adapt to major global human-induced water system changes
A suite of disquieting global phenomena have given rise to the "Anthropocene," a term coined for a new geologic epoch characterized by humanity's growing dominance of the Earth's environment and a planetary transformation as profound as the last epoch-defining event -- the retreat of the glaciers 11,500 years ago.
And in Bonn, Germany May 21-24, world experts will experts will focus on how to mitigate key factors contributing to extreme damage to the global water system being caused while adapting to the new reality.
"The list of human activities and their impact on the water systems of Planet Earth is long and important," Anik Bhaduri, Executive Officer of the Global Water System Project (GWSP).
"We have altered the Earth's climatology and chemistry, its snow cover, permafrost, sea and glacial ice extent and ocean volumeall fundamental elements of the hydrological cycle. We have accelerated major processes like erosion, applied massive quantities of nitrogen that leaks from soil to ground and surface waters and, sometimes, literally siphoned all water from rivers, emptying them for human uses before they reach the ocean. We have diverted vast amounts of freshwater to harness fossil energy, dammed major waterways, and destroyed aquatic ecosystems."
"The idea of the Anthropocene underscores the point that human activities and their impacts have global significance for the future of all living species -- ours included. Humans are changing the character of the world water system in significant ways with inadequate knowledge of the system and the consequences of changes being imposed. From a research position, human-water interactions must be viewed as a continuum and a coupled system, requiring interdisciplinary inquiry like that which has characterized the GWSP since its inception."
Among many examples of humanity's oversized imprint on the world, cited in a paper by James Syvitski, Chair of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and three fellow experts (in full: http://bit.ly/Yx4COp), and in a new "Water in the Anthropocene" video to debut in Bonn May 21 (available at gwsp.org and http://www.anthropocene.info):
Humanity uses an area the size of South America to grow its crops and an area the size of Africa for raising livestock
Due to groundwater and hydrocarbon pumping in low lying coastal areas, two-thirds of major river deltas are sinking, some of them at a rate four times faster on average than global sea level is rising
More rock and sediment is now moved by human activities such as shoreline in-filling, damming and mining than by the natural erosive forces of ice, wind and water combined
Many river floods today have links to human activities, including the Indus flood of 2010 (which killed 2,000 people), and the Bangkok flood of 2011 (815 deaths)
On average, humanity has built one large dam every day for the last 130 years. Tens of thousands of large dams now distort natural river flows to which ecosystems and aquatic life adapted over millennia
Drainage of wetlands destroys their capacity to ease floodsa free service of nature expensive to replace
Evaporation from poorly-managed irrigation renders many of the world's rivers dry -- no water, no life. And so, little by little, tens of thousands of species edge closer to extinction every day.
Needed: Better water system monitoring and governance
The water community stresses that concern now extends far beyond 'classic' drinking water and sanitation issues and includes water quality and quantity for ecosystems at all scales.
Says GWSP co-chair Claudia Pahl-Wostl: "The fact is, as world water problems worsen, we lack adequate efforts to monitor the availability, condition and use of water -- a situation presenting extreme long term cost and danger."
"Human water security is often achieved in the short term at the expense of the environment with harmful long-term implications. The problems are largely caused by governance failure and a lack of systemic thinking in both developed and developing countries. Economic development without concomitant institutional development will lead to greater water insecurity in the long-term. Global leadership is required to deal with the water challenges of the 21st century."
"Humanity changes the way water moves around the globe like never before, causing dramatic harm," says Bonn conference keynote speaker Joe Alcamo, Chief Scientist of the UN Environment Programme and former co-chair of the GWSP. "By diverting freshwater for agricultural, industrial and municipal use, for example, our coastal wetlands receive less and less, and often polluted, freshwater. The results include decreased inland and coastal biodiversity, increased coastal salinity and temperature, and contaminated agricultural soils and agricultural runoff."
Adds Charles Vrsmarty, co-Chair and a founding member of the GWSP, which receives input from more hundreds of international scientists: "By throwing concrete, pipes, pumps, and chemicals at our water problems, to the tune of a half-trillion dollars a year, we've produced a technological curtain separating clean water flowing from our pipes and the highly-stressed natural waters that sit in the background. We treat symptoms of environmental abuse rather than underlying causes. Thus, problems continue to mount in the background, yet the public is largely unaware of this reality or its growing costs."
Aims of the Bonn meeting
Featuring 60 special topic sessions, "Water in the Anthropocene" is a capstone event for the GWSP, which is developing "Future Water," the water-related component of the emerging new multi-dimensional international collaborative environmental research framework, Future Earth.
A goal of the meeting is to synthesize major global water research achievements in the last decade and help assembling the scientific foundations to articulate a common vision of Earth's water future.
It will recommended priorities for decision makers in the areas of earth system science and water resources governance and management.
And it will constitute a scientific prelude to October's Budapest Water Summit, a major objective of which is to elevate the importance of water issues within the UN General Assembly negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals -- a set of globally-agreed future objectives to succeed the UN Millennium Development Goals in 2015.
Observers expect adoption of "water security" as a Sustainable Development Goal
Water expert Janos Bogardi, Senior Advisor to GWSP, says the absence of defined global water quantity and quality standards for personal use, agriculture and healthy ecosystems are critical gaps as the world community develops its next set of shared medium-term objectives.
"These definitions constitute a cardinal challenge today for scientists and politicians alike. It is important to reach consensus in order to make progress on the increasingly important notion of 'water security'," says Dr. Bogardi, stressing that changing terminology will not in itself solve problems. "Replacing the word 'sustainability' with 'security' is not a panacea."
With respect to quantity, less than 20 liters daily for sanitary needs and drinking is deemed "water misery" while 40 to 80 liters is considered "comfortable." (Current US per capita average daily consumption is over 300 liters; daily usage in urban Germany is about 120 liters per capita and in urban Hungary, where water is relatively expensive, the figure is 80 liters.)
Missing also are authoritative scientific determinations of how much water can be drawn without crossing a "tipping point" threshold into ecosystem collapse. While there is no general rule, GWSP scientists say withdrawals of 30% to 40% of a renewable freshwater resource constitutes "extreme" water stress, but underline scope to continue satisfying needs if water is returned and recycled in good quality. Mining fossil groundwater resources is by definition non-sustainable.
The GWSP is developing water quality guidelines for people, agriculture and ecosystems in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.
"The urgency of formulating the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and a tracking system for their success means that quite soon the SDG negotiators must offer-up water targets," says Dr. Vrsmarty. "Whether they focus predominantly on continuing the Millennium Development Goals (narrowly on drinking water and sanitation for human health) or formulate a more comprehensive agenda that simultaneously optimizes water security for humans as well as for nature remains an open question. The water sciences community stands ready to take on this challenge. Are the the decision makers?"
Definitions of water security
In 2007, World Bank expert David Grey and Claudia Sadoff of IUCN, defined water security as "The availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments and economies."
Their use of the term "acceptable" acknowledges that water security has relative, negotiable meanings.
In March, another formulation was set out by UN-Water, the United Nations' inter-agency coordination mechanism for all water-related issues.
It defined water security as: "The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability." (see http://bit.ly/1864vMG)
###
About the Global Water System Project (gwsp.org)
The Global Water System Project seeks to answer the fundamental, multi-faceted question: How are humans changing the global water cycle, the associated biogeochemical cycles, and the biological components of the global water system and what are the social feedbacks arising from these changes?
GWSP Core Themes:
1. What are the magnitudes of anthropogenic and environmental changes in the global water system and what are the key mechanisms by which they are induced?
2. What are the main linkages and feedbacks within the earth system arising from changes in the global water system?
How resilient and adaptable is the global water system to change, and what are sustainable water management strategies?
GWSP gratefully acknowledges support of its activities provided by the four Global Environmental Change programmes of the International Council for Science -- DIVERSITAS, International Human Dimension Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) -- and by national and international research funding agencies. The GWSP International Project Office received decade-long support from the Ministry of Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMBF).
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Shifts in global water systems -- markers of a new geological epoch: The AnthropocenePublic release date: 19-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Terry Collins
tc@tca.tc
416-538-8712
Contact: Alma van der Veen
49-228-731846
aveen@uni-bonn.de
Global Water System Project
Experts in Bonn to detail how science can help people mitigate or adapt to major global human-induced water system changes
A suite of disquieting global phenomena have given rise to the "Anthropocene," a term coined for a new geologic epoch characterized by humanity's growing dominance of the Earth's environment and a planetary transformation as profound as the last epoch-defining event -- the retreat of the glaciers 11,500 years ago.
And in Bonn, Germany May 21-24, world experts will experts will focus on how to mitigate key factors contributing to extreme damage to the global water system being caused while adapting to the new reality.
"The list of human activities and their impact on the water systems of Planet Earth is long and important," Anik Bhaduri, Executive Officer of the Global Water System Project (GWSP).
"We have altered the Earth's climatology and chemistry, its snow cover, permafrost, sea and glacial ice extent and ocean volumeall fundamental elements of the hydrological cycle. We have accelerated major processes like erosion, applied massive quantities of nitrogen that leaks from soil to ground and surface waters and, sometimes, literally siphoned all water from rivers, emptying them for human uses before they reach the ocean. We have diverted vast amounts of freshwater to harness fossil energy, dammed major waterways, and destroyed aquatic ecosystems."
"The idea of the Anthropocene underscores the point that human activities and their impacts have global significance for the future of all living species -- ours included. Humans are changing the character of the world water system in significant ways with inadequate knowledge of the system and the consequences of changes being imposed. From a research position, human-water interactions must be viewed as a continuum and a coupled system, requiring interdisciplinary inquiry like that which has characterized the GWSP since its inception."
Among many examples of humanity's oversized imprint on the world, cited in a paper by James Syvitski, Chair of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and three fellow experts (in full: http://bit.ly/Yx4COp), and in a new "Water in the Anthropocene" video to debut in Bonn May 21 (available at gwsp.org and http://www.anthropocene.info):
Humanity uses an area the size of South America to grow its crops and an area the size of Africa for raising livestock
Due to groundwater and hydrocarbon pumping in low lying coastal areas, two-thirds of major river deltas are sinking, some of them at a rate four times faster on average than global sea level is rising
More rock and sediment is now moved by human activities such as shoreline in-filling, damming and mining than by the natural erosive forces of ice, wind and water combined
Many river floods today have links to human activities, including the Indus flood of 2010 (which killed 2,000 people), and the Bangkok flood of 2011 (815 deaths)
On average, humanity has built one large dam every day for the last 130 years. Tens of thousands of large dams now distort natural river flows to which ecosystems and aquatic life adapted over millennia
Drainage of wetlands destroys their capacity to ease floodsa free service of nature expensive to replace
Evaporation from poorly-managed irrigation renders many of the world's rivers dry -- no water, no life. And so, little by little, tens of thousands of species edge closer to extinction every day.
Needed: Better water system monitoring and governance
The water community stresses that concern now extends far beyond 'classic' drinking water and sanitation issues and includes water quality and quantity for ecosystems at all scales.
Says GWSP co-chair Claudia Pahl-Wostl: "The fact is, as world water problems worsen, we lack adequate efforts to monitor the availability, condition and use of water -- a situation presenting extreme long term cost and danger."
"Human water security is often achieved in the short term at the expense of the environment with harmful long-term implications. The problems are largely caused by governance failure and a lack of systemic thinking in both developed and developing countries. Economic development without concomitant institutional development will lead to greater water insecurity in the long-term. Global leadership is required to deal with the water challenges of the 21st century."
"Humanity changes the way water moves around the globe like never before, causing dramatic harm," says Bonn conference keynote speaker Joe Alcamo, Chief Scientist of the UN Environment Programme and former co-chair of the GWSP. "By diverting freshwater for agricultural, industrial and municipal use, for example, our coastal wetlands receive less and less, and often polluted, freshwater. The results include decreased inland and coastal biodiversity, increased coastal salinity and temperature, and contaminated agricultural soils and agricultural runoff."
Adds Charles Vrsmarty, co-Chair and a founding member of the GWSP, which receives input from more hundreds of international scientists: "By throwing concrete, pipes, pumps, and chemicals at our water problems, to the tune of a half-trillion dollars a year, we've produced a technological curtain separating clean water flowing from our pipes and the highly-stressed natural waters that sit in the background. We treat symptoms of environmental abuse rather than underlying causes. Thus, problems continue to mount in the background, yet the public is largely unaware of this reality or its growing costs."
Aims of the Bonn meeting
Featuring 60 special topic sessions, "Water in the Anthropocene" is a capstone event for the GWSP, which is developing "Future Water," the water-related component of the emerging new multi-dimensional international collaborative environmental research framework, Future Earth.
A goal of the meeting is to synthesize major global water research achievements in the last decade and help assembling the scientific foundations to articulate a common vision of Earth's water future.
It will recommended priorities for decision makers in the areas of earth system science and water resources governance and management.
And it will constitute a scientific prelude to October's Budapest Water Summit, a major objective of which is to elevate the importance of water issues within the UN General Assembly negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals -- a set of globally-agreed future objectives to succeed the UN Millennium Development Goals in 2015.
Observers expect adoption of "water security" as a Sustainable Development Goal
Water expert Janos Bogardi, Senior Advisor to GWSP, says the absence of defined global water quantity and quality standards for personal use, agriculture and healthy ecosystems are critical gaps as the world community develops its next set of shared medium-term objectives.
"These definitions constitute a cardinal challenge today for scientists and politicians alike. It is important to reach consensus in order to make progress on the increasingly important notion of 'water security'," says Dr. Bogardi, stressing that changing terminology will not in itself solve problems. "Replacing the word 'sustainability' with 'security' is not a panacea."
With respect to quantity, less than 20 liters daily for sanitary needs and drinking is deemed "water misery" while 40 to 80 liters is considered "comfortable." (Current US per capita average daily consumption is over 300 liters; daily usage in urban Germany is about 120 liters per capita and in urban Hungary, where water is relatively expensive, the figure is 80 liters.)
Missing also are authoritative scientific determinations of how much water can be drawn without crossing a "tipping point" threshold into ecosystem collapse. While there is no general rule, GWSP scientists say withdrawals of 30% to 40% of a renewable freshwater resource constitutes "extreme" water stress, but underline scope to continue satisfying needs if water is returned and recycled in good quality. Mining fossil groundwater resources is by definition non-sustainable.
The GWSP is developing water quality guidelines for people, agriculture and ecosystems in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.
"The urgency of formulating the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and a tracking system for their success means that quite soon the SDG negotiators must offer-up water targets," says Dr. Vrsmarty. "Whether they focus predominantly on continuing the Millennium Development Goals (narrowly on drinking water and sanitation for human health) or formulate a more comprehensive agenda that simultaneously optimizes water security for humans as well as for nature remains an open question. The water sciences community stands ready to take on this challenge. Are the the decision makers?"
Definitions of water security
In 2007, World Bank expert David Grey and Claudia Sadoff of IUCN, defined water security as "The availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments and economies."
Their use of the term "acceptable" acknowledges that water security has relative, negotiable meanings.
In March, another formulation was set out by UN-Water, the United Nations' inter-agency coordination mechanism for all water-related issues.
It defined water security as: "The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability." (see http://bit.ly/1864vMG)
###
About the Global Water System Project (gwsp.org)
The Global Water System Project seeks to answer the fundamental, multi-faceted question: How are humans changing the global water cycle, the associated biogeochemical cycles, and the biological components of the global water system and what are the social feedbacks arising from these changes?
GWSP Core Themes:
1. What are the magnitudes of anthropogenic and environmental changes in the global water system and what are the key mechanisms by which they are induced?
2. What are the main linkages and feedbacks within the earth system arising from changes in the global water system?
How resilient and adaptable is the global water system to change, and what are sustainable water management strategies?
GWSP gratefully acknowledges support of its activities provided by the four Global Environmental Change programmes of the International Council for Science -- DIVERSITAS, International Human Dimension Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) -- and by national and international research funding agencies. The GWSP International Project Office received decade-long support from the Ministry of Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMBF).
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke painted an upbeat picture on Saturday for the potential of innovation to lift living standards, delivering a sweeping look at the last 100 years that included memories of his 1963 South Carolina home.
Bernanke made no reference to monetary policy or the immediate outlook for the U.S. economy in prepared remarks to graduates of Bard College at Simon's Rock, Massachusetts.
But the die-hard baseball fan did manage to work in a reference to one of the sport's greats.
"Is it true, then, as baseball player Yogi Berra said, that the future ain't what it used to be?," the chairman said, noting the existence of serious skepticism that leaps in computers and other information technology would yield the same dramatic boost to growth and living standards as previous episodes of industrial revolution.
"Nobody really knows; as Berra also astutely observed, it's tough to make predictions, especially about the future. But there are some good arguments on the other side of this debate."
Bernanke delivers testimony on the U.S. economy on Wednesday before the congressional Joint Economic Committee.
His words will be parsed for any hint that he favors tapering Fed bond purchases, currently running at an $85 billion monthly pace. But recent U.S. economic data has been mixed, and economists polled by Reuters continue to expect the bond buying to continue until later this year, if not into early 2014.
Bernanke did not tip his hand during his comments to graduates, but he did offer some rare insights into his childhood home in Dillon, South Carolina to illustrate how life has not changed all that much in the last 50 years.
"We had a dishwasher, a washing machine, and a dryer. My family owned a comfortable car with air conditioning and a radio, and the experience of commercial flight was much like today but without the long security lines," he recalled.
There was no internet, but there was a color television "although, I must acknowledge, the colors were garish and there were many fewer channels to choose from."
After pointing out that the so-called IT revolution had not been as transformative as all that, Bernanke then went on to outline several areas where technology may only have scratched the surface in exploiting the potential for change.
He argued that IT and biotechnology have tremendous scope to improve healthcare - which absorbs a considerable amount of U.S. household income and where costs are projected to rise - as well as the potential for the development of cleaner energy.
"As trade and globalization increase the size of the potential market for new products, the possible economic rewards for being first with an innovative product or process are growing rapidly," he said. "In short, both humanity's capacity to innovate and the incentives to innovate are greater today than at any other time in history."
(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
USSR and the USA. Batman and Joker. Christoph Waltz and... well, everyone. It's pretty tough to look at the world's best-known rivalries and exclude one of history's finest -- that being, of course, Sonic and Mario. The gritty battle between Nintendo and Sega gave fans on both sides plenty to converse about over the years, and one might say that the video game industry as a whole benefited from the back-and-forth. Now that Sega is a shell of its former self, though, the company's most iconic character is turning to its archrival in search of shelter. On the console side, Nintendo will be the exclusive home for Sonic games going forward, with the Wii U and 3DS set to become the homes for the next three titles -- details of which should be revealed "in the coming weeks."
Meanwhile, Android users will be pleased to know that Sonic the Hedgehog was released today in the Google Play store. It's available for $2.99, while iOS users are also being granted a free update to coincide.
MALMO, Sweden (Reuters) - Denmark's Emmelie de Forest won Eurovision on Saturday before an international TV audience of around 125 million, securing the coveted crown of euro-pop with a folksy ballad backed by flutes and drums.
The barefoot 20-year-old stole the show as predicted by bookmakers with "Only Teardrops" in a final that saw 26 countries battle it out in the southern Swedish city of Malmo for the top prize in glitzy European pop music.
"I could feel the fans and all the energy in the arena. ... It's a once in a lifetime experience. I'm just the happiest girl in the world," de Forest said after the event. She said she was proud to win in Sweden as her late father was Swedish and a Eurovision fan.
Denmark, which has won the contest twice before - most recently in 2000 with the Olsen Brothers' "Fly on the Wings of Love" - was clearly in the lead even after just half of the votes were cast.
The show's host, Swedish comedian Petra Mede, went ahead and announced the country's win before the final votes were read out, with the red and white Danish flag flashing on her gown in a classic over-the-top Eurovision moment.
Azerbaijan took second place in the competition with "Hold Me", followed by third place for Ukraine with "Gravity".
"How many times can we win and lose? How many times can we break the rules between us? Only teardrops?" the Danish performer sang, beaming ear-to-ear as she repeated her winning song to the audience against a fiery backdrop.
Denmark's victory means the contest will move just across the bridge between Sweden and Denmark next year, keeping the contest in the Nordics for a second year running after Loreen won last year's contest in Azerbaijan with her dance track "Euphoria".
"It's nice to give the prize to someone else. I have had such a fantastic year," Loreen told Reuters.
Singers from Russia to Romania competed as Eurovision returned to the homeland of ABBA, the Swedish band it propelled to global superstardom.
There was no shortage of ABBA nostalgia Saturday night.
Former ABBA members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus composed the opening act together with Swedish DJ Avicii, and the Swedish singer Sarah Dawn Finer belted out the ABBA classic "The Winner Takes It All" before votes were revealed.
Though Sweden opted to tighten the budget for this year's show after Azerbaijan spent lavishly last year, pop fans around the world still got their usual three-hour dose of heavy-duty kitsch.
Famed as much for the costumes and characters on stage as its - sometimes - catchy tunes, Eurovision's line-up included a 2.4 meter (7 foot 10 inch) tall Ukrainian who carried singer Zlata Ognevich, and a lesbian kiss in Finland's "Marry Me", which drew media controversy.
SPIRIT OF UNITY
Eurovision was started in the 1950s to help foster a spirit of unity after World War Two.
In an attempt to ensure that musical quality takes precedence over geographically motivated bloc voting from television viewers, professional judges now account for 50 percent of a performer's score.
The other half comes from the number of telephone and SMS votes each contestant receives, with fans unable to vote for their own country's entry.
Eurovision fans crowded into downtown Malmo's squares and parks on an unusually hot sunny day ahead of the contest, with music blaring and boats cruising the canals.
"It's the festival feel, the fun, the unity - everyone's out to have a bit of fun," said Eurovision fan David Sherrit, who flew in from Britain for the show. "The music is quite awful, but we really come here because it's great fun and you can have a laugh at yourself and each other."
In its nearly six-decade history, Eurovision has been a launching pad for the likes of Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias and Olivia Newton-John. ABBA won the contest with "Waterloo" in 1974.
(Additional reporting by Ilze Filks; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Jackie Frank)
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) ? Jessica Korda shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Hall of Famer Karrie Webb after the second round of the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic.
Korda had seven birdies in her second straight bogey-free round to reach 13 under on The Crossings course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Magnolia Grove complex.
"I'm hitting the ball good and I'm having a lot of fun out there," said Korda, coming off a two-week break to rest a wrist injury. "I feel really comfortable out here. This is definitely one of the stops I wanted to come back to and I hope we can keep this event as long as possible because I really like it."
The daughter of former tennis players Petr Korda and Regina Raichrtova, the 20-year-old Korda won the 2012 Women's Australian Open for her lone LPGA Tour title.
"Right now it's Friday, so I think really the tournament starts back nine on Sunday," Korda said. "So right now, it's great to have the lead and I feel good."
Webb also had a bogey-free round, birdieing the last three holes for a 63.
The 38-year-old Webb won the last of her 38 LPGA Tour titles in 2011. The Australian played alongside Korda and Brittany Lincicome the first two rounds.
"When you're playing with Jess and Brittany, if I hit a really good one I'm 20 yards behind them," Webb said. "In certain parts of the golf course where they can carry parts that I can't, I'm 40 yards behind them, so I'm the little short one out there trying to keep up with the big girls."
Korda birdied three of the four par-5 holes.
"I reached every single one today, so that's been really nice," Korda said. "Yeah, we give Webby a hard time. She did outdrive me on the first hole today and she's like, 'What's going on?' And I'm like, 'Did you work out last night?' ... We were just keeping it kind of light out there and having a good time."
Chella Choi was two strokes back at 11 under after a 66.
"Today and yesterday my putting was really good," Choi said. "My confidence is better."
Sydnee Michaels had a course-record 62 to join Pornanong Phatlum and Thidapa Suwannapura at 10 under.
"It feels so good to finally have a good round because I've been struggling the last few weeks and going through some swing changes," Michaels said. "The week off last week I just said, 'You know what, I'm just going to go back to what feels good.' So I hit a lot of balls and just kind of got back to where I was feeling good over the ball again. So, it feels so good to finally have a good round."
Phatlum shot a 65, and Suwannapura had a 67.
Lisa McCloskey shot a 68 to reach 7 under after she and her mother, Maria, were involved in a multicar accident on their way home after the first round. The tour rookie and former University of Southern California player had an array of scrapes from the airbags and a sore thumb and only got about 30 minutes of sleep.
"I think I came out here with no expectations, just-make-the-cut kind of thing," McCloskey said. "I probably would have been happy with even par or a couple over. But I don't know, the putter was really working for me on the front nine, and then the back nine things kind of slowed down. I think I kind of got a little bit tired, but I finished with two really good pars, so I'm happy."
Defending champion Stacy Lewis was 4 under after her second straight 70. She had a double bogey in the par-3 14th after hitting in the water.
"I made too many mistakes and you can't do it when people are shooting lights out," said the second-ranked Lewis, the winner this year in consecutive events in Singapore and Phoenix.
Michelle Wie missed the cut with rounds of 74 and 75. Lincicome also missed the cut, shooting 75-70.
Yahoo has a problem: it has no idea what it's doing, or how it's going to do it (outside of teenage dream hires). Some people who claim intimate knowledge say the company is going to do it by throwing a serious Hail Mary: buying Tumblr for $1,000,000,000. That's one billion.
It?s not the first time Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has been interested in the New York-based hipster blogging service. As an executive at Google, she had closely watched its fast growth, along with that of Foursquare. Since she took over at Yahoo, several sources said that she has met with its top execs, including founder and CEO David Karp.
But sources said that interest has gotten stronger more recently, coming at the same time as Tumblr has been stepping up its efforts to raise a large funding round that could value the New York company at $1 billion.
Given how little Tumblr's shows it can earn, this would be a major (risky!) purchase. But nothing urges By God, Yes, Make that major purchase like the stench of financial ruin, and it'd be a godsend for Tumblr. The supremely popular service is, well, supremely popular, but a revenue dearth combined with leadership doubts about founder David Karp mean the property isn't as sweet as it might've been in years past?a billion dollars is generous. But at least we can assume Yahoo would take care of all the porn.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Twenty-three youths have died in the past nine days at initiation ceremonies that include circumcisions and survival tests, South African police said Friday.
Police have opened 22 murder cases in the deaths in the northeastern province of Mpumalanga, according to spokesman Lt. Col. Leonard Hlathi. He said an inquest is being held into the 23rd death, of a youth who complained of stomach pains and vomited.
Initiation ceremonies are common in South Africa, where youths partake in various activities as a rite of passage into adulthood, usually over the course of three weeks. Some 30,000 youths signed up for initiation this year.
In addition to being circumcised, the boys and young men are put through a series of survival tests which sometimes include exposure to South Africa's chilly winter conditions with skimpy clothing. Their faces are painted with red clay and they also are given herbal concoctions to drink.
Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa, described the experience in his autobiography as "a kind of spiritual preparation for the trials of manhood."
Hlathi said that all the deaths occurred at government-registered initiation sites where medical practitioners usually are present. The government became involved to prevent such unnecessary deaths.
Mathibela Mokoena, chairman of the House of Traditional Leaders in Mpumalanga, says the Department of Health was alerted before the initiation ceremonies began, but only showed up after the first few deaths were reported. He said the department has now agreed to have officials present for the remainder of the ceremony.
Popo Maja, head of communications at the Health Dpartment, said: "We would want to find out why they were done without the supervision of medical personnel.
The deaths are the highest recorded in Mpumalanga, surpassing the previous highest toll of eight some years ago, Mokoena said. He said early investigation by the House of Traditional Leaders showed some schools were negligent, leaving the youths in the care of young men instead of experienced adults.
Mokoena said some of the initiates were not in ideal health when they enrolled. He said new legislation is being introduced outlining procedures to be followed, and including a punishment of a life ban for those found negligent.
The suspected causes of the deaths were not released pending the results of post-mortems. Most deaths in the past have been caused by infection and loss of blood after circumcision.
Government spokeswoman Phumla Williams said the government is sending condolences to the families and urged creation of "better and safe initiation schools that will ensure the safe passage of young initiates to manhood and prevent the unfortunate loss of lives."
NEW YORK (AP) ? Signs of a slowing economy combined with comments from a Federal Reserve official helped pull the stock market down Thursday.
There was plenty of discouraging news. Applications for unemployment benefits rose last week and manufacturing slowed in the mid-Atlantic region. Wal-Mart sank after warning that its customers were spending less at its stores.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42.47 points to 15,233.22, a loss of 0.3 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 8.31 points to 1,650.47, down 0.5 percent. It was only the third drop for the S&P 500 this month. Both indexes closed at record highs the day before.
"We've had such a tremendous run," said J. J. Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. "On a day with a bunch of disappointing data, you're looking for some good news to hold on to."
The manufacturing report from the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve sent bond prices up and turned stocks lower in morning trading. The stock market recovered before noon, then spent most of the day with slight gains until shortly after 3 p.m.
That's when news crossed that John Williams, head of the Federal Reserve's San Francisco branch, told an audience that the Fed could end its bond-buying program this year. But Williams' comments made clear that the Fed would only curtail its stimulus effort when the economy looked strong enough. Within the last hour of trading, the S&P 500 dropped 5 points.
Cisco jumped 13 percent, or $2.68, to $23.89. The network-equipment maker turned in quarterly results late Wednesday that beat analysts' expectations, with the help of better revenue from the U.S. and emerging markets. Cisco's performance is often considered a gauge of the technology industry's strength, and tech stocks fared better than the rest of the market Thursday. Technology was the only one of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index to close higher.
The Nasdaq composite index lost 6.37 points to 3,465.24, a drop of 0.2 percent.
Wal-Mart fell 2 percent. The world's largest retailer turned in weaker sales and a dim forecast for profits. The company blamed bad weather and delayed tax refunds for earnings and sales that fell short of what analysts had expected. Wal-Mart's stock lost $1.36 to $78.50.
Companies have reported record quarterly profits this earnings season. Seven of every 10 in the S&P 500 have trumped analysts' earnings estimates, according to S&P Capital IQ. Earnings have climbed 5 percent over the year before.
But revenue has looked weak: six out of every 10 companies in the S&P 500 have missed forecasts, and revenue has edged up just 1 percent. Without higher sales, companies are getting more of their profits from laying off staff and other cost-cutting moves.
Scott King, an investment adviser at Unified Trust Co. in Lexington, Ky., said that if the market is going to keep climbing this year, sales will have to start rising. Analysts are looking for that to happen as economic growth gains strength later this year.
"It's hard to see how companies can squeeze more earnings growth out of cost savings," King said. "At some point, the economic numbers and revenue have to pick up."
The Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve reported that manufacturers in the region said business conditions slumped this month. Orders for manufactured goods and shipments have been weak.
In Washington, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to 360,000. That suggests companies are laying more people off, just one week after applications for benefits hit a five-year low.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped to 1.88 percent from 1.94 percent late Wednesday. It's a sign that traders are shifting money into lower-risk investments like U.S. government debt.
Gold prices fell slightly and the price of crude oil edged higher. Gold fell $9.30 to $1,386.90 an ounce. Crude oil rose 86 cents to $95.16 a barrel in New York.
Among other companies making moves:
? Tesla Motors jumped 9 percent, or $7.41, to $92.25. The electric-car maker it said it aims to raise $830 million from the sale of stocks and convertible bonds to pay off a loan from the federal government. Tesla has surged 65 percent since May 8, when it announced its first profitable quarter.
? Semiconductor maker Advanced Micro Devices plunged 13 percent, the biggest drop in the S&P 500 index. A Goldman Sachs analyst advised investors to sell AMD, arguing that its shares had become too expensive. AMD had shot up 83 percent this year before Thursday's plunge on hopes that the company can cash in on making chips for video game consoles. AMD lost 55 cents to $3.83.
? Amyris fell 3 percent after a law firm filed a class action suit against the specialty-chemicals company, saying it misled investors about its production capabilities. Amyris lost 11 cents to $3.09.
When you were a child, there was a good chance your mother or father would advise you to, ?Stop, look, and listen? before crossing the street. Those same wise words still apply today when replacing home windows. By utilizing the trifecta of stopping, looking, and listening you?ll be able to figure out if it?s time to go forward with a home improvement project.
Replacing home windows is a big decision. To help you make the wisest choice possible, you need to use your senses and best judgments at all times. Here are the three best ways to make your decision with confidence.
Stop
Replacing home windows takes a lot of research and thought. Before you do anything at all, stop and think about what the project will cost you. What does your current budget look like? Should you finance the project or try to pay it off all at once? What kind of ROI can you expect down the road should you sell your home? These questions ? and more ? all deserve a good amount of your time and thought.
Look
Perhaps you?re still a bit unsure if you actually need to be replacing home windows or not. What is it about your current windows that you should be looking for? For starters, can you see daylight between the window frame and the sash? That?s a big sign that replacing home windows pretty soon might be the best choice.
Another red flag is if you see condensation between the glasses of your dual pane windows. If you have single pane windows, look for it on the inside. When condensation appears it might be time for a home improvement project.
You should also look and check for air leaks. Do this by going to your local hardware store to purchase products that blow non-toxic smoke towards your window. If any seeps through then you know you have a problem.
Listen
The last thing you?ll want to do is to listen to your windows. No, we don?t mean to lay them down on the couch in a therapist-client type setting. Simply close your current windows and pay attention to how much outside noise you?re able to hear. Also, do your windows rattle when large trucks rumble by? These are additional key signs that it?s time to replace them.
Replacing home windows can help with everything from energy bills to creating a peaceful environment in your home. If you still have questions, make sure to contact the HomeProHub Referral Service today.