WOW 
Thursday, 22. May 2008
Plant Cultures - Exploring Plants & People
Plants have an important part in our lives, from the clothes on our back to the food that we eat. Plant Cultures invites you to discover more about South Asian plants and the stories they have inspired.You will recognise the use of many of these plants in your own everyday life, but will also find some facts that might surprise you!
Plant Cultures - Exploring Plants & People
Tuesday, 20. May 2008
Sea Star Time Lapse
Amazing perspective, i've never really seen how a starfish moves ...Note: The first scene is tiny barnacles on a rock with little black snails.
Climate Change - Bloom
The BBC have launched a new website aimed at encouraging people to make the right choices and lower their carbon emissions. Bloom suggests actions you can take in every area of life to be more climate conscious. You just choose the action you're going to take, plant a 'seed' on your page, and watch the resulting flowers grow. Or bloom ...The site also aggregates BBC news on climate change-related issues, or you can search for audio or video content.
Monday, 19. May 2008
Plantwire
Plantwire is a fun, easy way to find and learn about plants.We provide information on many of the world's most beautiful, interesting, and important plants. You can search by plant name, flower color, or by tags. Our database now includes over 300 plants and is growing quickly. We provide general descriptive information, flower colors, and basic instructions on how to grow and propagate each plant. More than 6000 images are included.
Plantwire
(via The Presurfer)
Thursday, 15. May 2008
Earth Temperature Surface Since 1884
Earth temperature surface since 1884.
Video released by NASA and GISS.
Tuesday, 13. May 2008
Amazing Tapir
Related to the rhinoceros, called a mountain cow, and having a flexible nose like an elephant: An unusual pet! Spotlight on the Tapir!Four species of tapir inhabit the planet today.
All of them are endangered.
Friday, 09. May 2008
Coral Reef Color
Gaze at the vivid yellows, blues, and psychedelic swirls of a single emperor angelfish and you'll sense the whimsy of evolution.
Go on to explore its home in lush coral reefs and you'll soon hit sensory overload, assaulted by colors and patterns that range from sublime to garish. Coral reefs are unquestionably the world's most colorful places. But why?
Sights & Sounds of Color: A Fish's-Eye View.
See also: Coral Reef Color.
Fishing Osprey Style
The Osprey, also known as seahawk, fish hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey ... but fishing is not always easy ...Wednesday, 07. May 2008
ARKive - Images of Life on Earth
Above: Blue-spotted stingray (Taeniura lymma): See the cool video!
ARKive is a Noah's Ark for the Internet era - the world's centralised digital library of films, photographs and associated recordings of the 12,000 animals and plants threatened with extinction, according to the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red Lists of Threatened Species.
ARKive is leading the virtual conservation effort - finding, sorting, cataloguing and copying the key records of species, and building them into a comprehensive and enduring audio-visual record. ARKive aims to select and digitise an average of 10 minutes of moving footage, 6 - 10 stills and sound recordings (where appropriate), to compile a complete profile of each species' characteristic behaviour and appearance.
Coverage is still patchy and it is astonishing how much of the natural world is still unphotographed (there us an online appeal for images and sounds of rare species to join the ARK) but what is covered is fascinating.
ARKive - a unique collection of thousands of videos, images and fact-files illustrating the world's species.
Classified as Critically Endangered: Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)
Tuesday, 06. May 2008
Wild Film History
Wild Film History is a free-to-view digital library packed with films, interviews and photographs celebrating 100 years of wildlife filmmaking. The project brings together milestone films, interviews, pictures and texts dating from as far back as 1895, including contributions from past and present international wildlife stars, such as Oliver Pike (1900s), the extraordinary Martin and Osa Johnson (1920s), Cherry Kearton (1930s), Armand and Michaela Denis, (1950s & 60s), Johnny Morris (1960s & 70s) and Sir David Attenborough.
This picture shows a very young-looking David Attenborough in 1954 recording a frog chorus with an L2 EMI recorder:
Monday, 05. May 2008
2008 Cherry Blossom Timelapse
This timelapse was created by Dave Allen, BBG's Web Manager, from over 3,000 digital photos, one taken every 3 minutes from April 18 to April 26, 2008, of Brooklyn Botanic Garden's famed Cherry Walk.Enjoy also virtual-reality vistas: 360 Degrees of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Sunday, 04. May 2008
Natural World: Africa's Desert Garden
This film chronicles the magical transformation of a landscape. Every spring, a barren stretch of land 100 km inland from South Africa’s west coast is briefly transformed into the largest flower show on the planet. Thousands of brightly colored species are pollinated by oil collecting bees within the few precious weeks before the blazing summer heat turns the garden to dust.After seven months of scorching heat and searing winds, great Antarctic rainstorms sweep north and pound Africa’s west coast. Through the cold passage of winter, the desert slowly turns green and Namaqualand once again becomes the greatest garden on earth.
Enjoy this wonderful nature documentary by BBC broadcasted as part of BBC Natural World in 2006. Runtime: 48 minutes.
I wish you all a beautiful sunday and keep smiling!
Saturday, 03. May 2008
Water World: Sea Turtle
Sea turtles are one of the Earth’s most ancient creatures. The seven species found today became distinct from all other turtles at least 110 million years ago. The sea turtle’s shell, or “carapace”, is streamlined for swimming through the water. Unlike other turtles, sea turtles cannot retract their legs and head into their shells. Their color varies between yellow, greenish and black depending on the species.
Sea Turtles by Defenders of Wildlife.
See also:
Great sea turtle information resource by Seaturtle.org.
SWOT - the State of the World’s Sea Turtles.
With a Google Map to see global nesting.
SeaWorld
Physical characteristics, nesting habits, behavior, diet, and natural history of sea turtle.
Friday, 02. May 2008
Secrets of a Colossal Squid
In February 2007, a colossal squid was accidentally caught by New Zealand fishermen working in the Ross Sea near Antarctica. The 1,102-pound squid was already near death, but the fishermen didn't want to waste it. They hauled it onboard and managed to get it into their ship's freezer. New Zealand's Ministry of Fisheries later gave the frozen squid to The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa.
The frozen colossal squid was thawed this week. Te Papa who revealed the exact size of the squid on Thursday believe it is still the world's largest known squid.
Find out how this huge squid was caught, and what they know of its life history - also how they are going to thaw this enormous squid ice block!
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
See also The Papa's Blog, with recordings, videos and other squid things ...
At Discovery News: After waiting for the tentacles to defrost so the squid could be fully extended, the researchers measured its weight at 1,091 pounds and its length at nearly 14 feet. The squid's heft and large beak "confirm that it was almost certainly longer and is still the largest invertebrate specimen in the world," Te Papa spokesperson Jane Keig told Discovery News. She added that it also has the largest eye of any animal at about 10.5 inches in diameter.
View their slideshow of the colossal squid here: The Dissection of a Lifetime.
Colossal Calamari?
Yes, scientists sample the squid for posterity. Their conclusion? Tastes like ammonia.
Read more: Colossal Squid "Not Nearly As Tasty As Hoped" by Scoop.
Wednesday, 30. April 2008
Earthrace
The goal of Earthrace is to set a new world record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe, running 100% renewable biodiesel fuel, and with a net zero carbon footprint. The amazing Earthrace boat will make the attempt starting from Sagunto in Spain. Earthrace is also undertaking a two year promotional tour, visiting 100 great cities around the globe. The crew meet local people, talk about their experiences, and most of all connect with people about the need to get renewable fuels into our energy mix and to inspire them to do something themselves to minmise their impact on the environment.
The current record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe is currently 74 days, 23 hours and 53 minutes. This record was set by UK boat ‘Cable & Wireless Adventurer’ in 1998.
Round the world speed record started April 27, 2008. So stay tuned!
Check the speedboat and find it by Google Map.
