rising revenue from songs and albums bought on the Internet failed to offset the consumer flight from CDs.
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Despite Drop in CD Sales, Music Industry Is Upbeat - washingtonpost.com - 0 views
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The music industry has blamed piracy for the dive in CD sales and began suing downloaders and the file-sharing services in retaliation in 2003
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resumed in 2005 and hit its lowest point in more than a decade last year, when music companies shipped $9.2 billion in CDs.
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shared by Jilliane Velazco on 08 Dec 08
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Digital Music Sales Grow, but at Slower Rate - New York Times - 0 views
www.nytimes.com/...25music.html
grow slower music recorded music shortfall sales compact discs cds cd
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worldwide digital music sales rose to $2.9 billion last year, from $2.1 billion a year earlier. That was about 15 percent of overall sales, up from 11 percent a year earlier and less than 1 percent in 2003.
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In China, where piracy is rampant, the music industry is considering a lawsuit against Baidu.com, the largest Internet provider
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Pets 911 - Pets, Dogs, Cats provide health benefits to humans - 0 views
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# Senior citizens who own pets actually need less medical attention than those that do not. # Pet owners typically have lower blood pressure than non-pet owners, and one study actually proved that with as little as 10 minutes with a pet can lower blood pressure significantly. # Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than non-owners. # Pet owners have overall better physical health due to exercise with their pets. 70 percent of families surveyed reported an increase in family happiness and fun after acquiring a pet. # Children exposed to pets during their first year of life have a lower frequency of some allergies and asthma. # Children who suffer from autism have more pro social behaviors if they own a pet. # Owning a pet - especially a dog - helps children in families better adjust to the serious illness or death of a parent. # Pets decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation in their owners. # Having a pet may decrease heart attack mortality rates by 3 percent, which translates into 30,000 lives saved annually. # Positive self-esteem in children is enhanced if the child owns a pet. # Children owning pets are more likely to be involved in sports, hobbies, clubs or even chores. # Victims of AIDS who own a pet report less depression and reduced stress levels. # Many groups take therapy pets to visit residents of nursing homes, and the experience has shown to be a very positive one for both the pet and the individual. # The reverse is also true - the life of a pet is usually enhanced if its owner cares for it properly.
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Facts about bats: mammals - 0 views
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There are more than 1,000 species of bats in the world! They live on every continent of the world, except Antarctica. Bats do not live in areas where it is very hot or very cold, and there are some remote islands that are not home to bats.
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Bats are mammals. They account for more than 25 percent of all the mammals on the earth! Bats are the only mammals that can fly.
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Mother bats have one baby in their litter. The baby bats are called “pups.” When a pup is born, it usually has no hair and its eyes are closed. It clings to the mother bat and drinks milk from her. When the pup is about four months old, it learns to fly.
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Bats have teeth and chew their food. Seventy percent of all bats eat insects. One bat can eat more than a thousand insects in one hour!
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Many people do not like bats and are afraid of them because they think all bats have rabies. Rabies is a virus that is transmitted to animals and people through animal bites. A study by the University of Florida has shown less than one-half of 1 percent of all bats have rabies. It is more likely for a person to be bitten by an unvaccinated dog or cat.
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Bats are not a danger to people and are actually quite valuable. Very few carry rabies, and they help to control the insect population. They also help seed new plants and pollinate our crops!
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beaches in the U.S - 0 views
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Pollution at the nation’s 3,500 ocean, lake and bay beaches resulted in more than 25,000 closing or swimming advisory days last year, 28 percent more than in 2005, and the highest number in the 17 years that records have been kept, according to a new federal report released Tuesday.
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“Exposure to bacteria, viruses and parasites in contaminated beach water can cause a wide range of diseases, including ear, nose and eye infections; gastroenteritis; hepatitis; encephalitis; skin rashes; and respiratory illnesses,”
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Most at risk are small children, pregnant women, cancer patients and others whose immune systems are weak or compromised.
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“Children under the age of 9 had more reports of diarrhea and vomiting from exposure to waterborne parasites than any other age group,”
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“found that more than 10 percent of swimmers report contracting gastroenteritis or respiratory infections after swimming. Based on those results and beach attendance numbers, nearly 300 people could expect to contract a respiratory illness after swimming in Lake Michigan in Chicago on a summer weekend.
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“The study found skin rash and diarrhea to be consistently significantly elevated in swimmers compared to non-swimmers.
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an estimated 27 cases per 1,000 among children with any water contact, 32 cases among those with facial contact with the water, and 59 cases among those who swallowed water,
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“Aging and poorly-designed sewage and storm water systems hold much of the blame for beach water pollution. The problem was compounded by record rainfall, which added to the strain on already overloaded infrastructure.
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Global Warming: The Causes - 0 views
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In 2002 about 40% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions stem from the burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation. Coal accounts for 93 percent of the emissions from the electric utility industry. US Emissions Inventory 2004 Executive Summary p. 10 Coal emits around 1.7 times as much carbon per unit of energy when burned as does natural gas and 1.25 times as much as oil. Natural gas gives off 50% of the carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, released by coal and 25% less carbon dioxide than oil, for the same amount of energy produced. Coal contains about 80 percent more carbon per unit of energy than gas does, and oil contains about 40 percent more. For the typical U.S. household, a metric ton of carbon equals about 10,000 miles of driving at 25 miles per gallon of gasoline or about one year of home heating using a natural gas-fired furnace or about four months of electricity from coal-fired generation.
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Coral feefs-Sunscreen - 0 views
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n experiments, the cream-based ultra-violet (UV) filters -- used to protect skin from the harmful effects of sun exposure -- caused bleaching of coral reefs even in small quantities, the study found.
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But some 60 percent of these reef systems are threatened by a deadly combination of climate change, industrial pollution and excess UV radiation.
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The new study, published in U.S. journal Environmental Health Perspectives, has now added sun screens to the list of damaging agents, and estimates that up to 10 percent of the world's reefs are at risk of sunscreen-induced coral bleaching.
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Chemical compounds in sunscreen and other personal skin care products have been detected near both sea and freshwater tourist areas. Previous research has shown that these chemicals can accumulate in aquatic animals, and biodegrade into toxic by-products.
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Water Pollution - 0 views
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According to the American College Dictionary, pollution is defined as: �to make foul or unclean; dirty.
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Pollution arising from nonpoint sources accounts for a majority of the contaminants in streams and lakes.
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Many causes of pollution including sewage and fertilizers contain nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates. In excess levels, nutrients over stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae. Excessive growth of these types of organisms consequently clogs our waterways, use up dissolved oxygen as they decompose, and block light to deeper waters.
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Pollution in the form of organic material enters waterways in many different forms as sewage, as leaves and grass clippings, or as runoff from livestock feedlots and pastures.
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Three last forms of water pollution exist in the forms of petroleum, radioactive substances, and heat.
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These formations, called aquifers, are a vital natural resource with many uses. Nationally, 53% of the population relies on ground water as a source of drinking water. In rural areas this figure is even higher. Eighty one percent of community water is dependent on ground water. Although the 1992 Section 305(b) State Water Quality Reports indicate that, overall, the Nation�s ground water quality is good to excellent, many local areas have experienced significant ground water contamination. Some examples are leaking underground storage tanks and municipal landfills.
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As CD sales tank, the music industry changes its tune - US News and World Report - 0 views
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Sales of CDs fell almost 9 percent in 2002 and are expected to be down this year an additional 6 percent.
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Instead of buying music, fans are flocking to online services like Kazaa that allow users to digitally swap songs free.
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WWF - Giant Panda - 0 views
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The unique physical features of the species include broad, flat molars and an enlarged wrist bone that functions as an opposable thumb
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Biggest Cities | Galleries | Allianz Knowledge - 0 views
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1. Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan area: 34 million people City: 12.5 million people Tokyo is by far the largest urban region in the world. Despite its size and complexity, Tokyo has a very efficient public transportation, which accounts for almost 80 percent of all daily journeys in Tokyo.
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1. Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan area: 34 million people City: 12.5 million people Tokyo is by far the largest urban region in the world. Despite its size and complexity, Tokyo has a very efficient public transportation, which accounts for almost 80 percent of all daily journeys in Tokyo. Urban Detail: Tokyo Bay has been gradually filled up to create more space for housing and offices. Odaiba, an island entirely created out of waste material, became one of Tokyo’s most interesting tourist spots with futuristic architecture, shopping, and entertainment centers. (Photo: Miki Yokoyama)
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CD Sales Fall Faster Than Digital Music Sales Rise. Or Do They? - 0 views
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“In 2007… Physical sales of CDs and DVDs fell 13 percent to $15.9 billion. Sales of downloaded songs and mobile-phone ringtones rose 34 percent to $2.9 billion.“
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Cactus Goo - 0 views
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There, the residual water from boiling the flat, oval-shaped lobes of prickly pear for salads and other dishes was used to clear up cloudy water drawn from the river before use for cooking or drinking.
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Mucilage is the clear, gooey, viscous liquid from within the cactus which helps to seal water inside the plant so it can survive desert-dry conditions.
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She found that the mucilage binds to the dirt and causes the particles to coagulate, forming large enough clumps that they can settle out of the water.
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The group's more recent research has shown that the mucilage can also form a complex with arsenic, a carcinogenic water contaminant that can occur naturally or from industrial or agricultural pollution.
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"Sometimes we get 80 percent removal, and sometimes we get lower than 50 percent removal," Alcantar said. "We don't yet know exactly what it is; we haven't found what are the exact best conditions for the mucilage [to get the most arsenic removal]."
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Digital Sales Not Enough to Save Music Industry, says JupiterResearch | Tekrati Researc... - 0 views
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Digital music was a $1.3 billion business in 2007, but it still only comprised 10 percent of consumer music spending
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“The challenge remains for the industry to find new ways to compete with Apple, who remains the dominant player for portable media devices,”
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it will become even more critical to find new devices paradigms to capture consumer attention and new business models to sell content and services on those devices
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iTunes and other online music retailers are also changing the way music is purchased. Hot and popular are now giving way to Independent artists who are just as likely and able to make their material available on iTunes and other internet resources.
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How the Early Pilgrims Celebrated Thanksgiving - 0 views
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t is a basic notion that during the 1600's, accurately in the year 1621, the English settlers and the Wampanoag Indians got together and shared a fantastic fall harvest feast to celebrate the bounty from the rich earth. Today this celebratory feast is acknowledged to be one of the first Thanksgiving festivities in the early days of the colonies. While that long ago feast is supposed by a lot of people to be the first Thanksgiving celebration, it was, in fact, part of a long existing custom of celebrating the seasonal harvest and giving thanks for a good bounty of crops that would last through the long hard winter. Many Native American tribes of what would be named America, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Shawnee, Huron, Creek, Blackfoot and so many others would hold huge harvest festivals, consisting in ceremonial dances, races, games and other cheerful celebrations of gratefulness hundreds of years before the European peoples arrived. If you are like me, you are surely wondering the kind of meals served at the harvest feast. Historians, as usual, are not one hundred percent sure regarding it; however they are sure that pilgrims weren't eating pumpkin pies nor building castle towers with mashed potatoes. However, it is easy to think that the list of meat available during this period of time should surely include venison as well as several types wild poultry such as duck, goose as well as wild turkey. While there are hundreds of manuscripts describing such feast, the most detailed description of this celebration of late harvest date of 1621 and was written by a man called Edward Winslow. It is from his manuscript called "A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth" that historians have gleaned the greatest part of information about this first Thanksgiving celebration:
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Although the first Thanksgiving dinners were not concentrated on the turkey; today's usual meal primarily focuses around this animal. During the 17th century, vegetables were not as important as of today, so the meal of this period of time included a lot of different meats. The many types of vegetables we take for granted today were not available to the colonists. Freezing methods did not exist; which means that the vegetable consumption was based on seasonal harvests. Because the colonists and Wampanoag tribe had no refrigeration in the 1600s, they dried a lot of their foods to preserve them. They would dry corn, wild boar hams, fish, venison, and many wild herbs.
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Olympic Sailors - 0 views
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"You don't really want to go sailing around in pollution and I've never sailed in a place that's more polluted than this," said Australian coach Euan McNicol, a former skiff world champion.
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The most shocking story is that of Australian sailor Elise Rechichi, who swallowed water when she slipped on a boat ramp during a test event here in 2006. It took her 10 months to recover from severe gastric trauma that had her in and out of hospital.
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But Qu Chun, the 2008 Olympic sailing competition manager said the bloom has not been totally wiped out, estimating that 2-5 percent of the course was still affected, down from nearly a third a week earlier.
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Discovery News : Discovery Channel - 0 views
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Even small doses provoked large discharges of coral mucous -- a clear sign of environmental stress -- within 18 to 48 hours. Within 96 hours complete bleaching of corals had occurred.
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Pesticides, hydrocarbons and other contaminants have also been found to induce algae or coral to release viruses, hastening the bleaching process.
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An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 tons of sunscreen are released annually in reef areas, with 25 percent of the sunscreen ingredients on skin released into water over the course of a 20-minute submersion.