Saturday, March 31, 2012

Discovering The Finest And Most Busy Place For Your Commercial ...

commercial real estate

In reality, commercial real estate property or casas rurales murcia delivers more income possibility than even residential properties represent. Discovering nice possibilities can be quite hard, however. Thus, continue reading to learn how to have an understanding of the income potential of any piece of commercial property as well as how to make wise investment choices.

You might need to reconfigure the inner surface of your real estate asset or alquiler almeria just before you can work with it properly. The adjustments don?t need to be thorough. You may just like to repaint or simply rearrange pieces of furniture. In numerous instances, walls must be moved and floorplans changed. You should pre-negotiate the cost of these alterations with the landlord, and make an effort to get them to make contributions towards at least portion of them.

Study up to learn about the finest methods of recognizing nice deals as well as moving speedily to make the most of them. Nice deals actually are easily identified by real estate specialists. Their secret implies that they have a great exit tactic, which means that they do know when to walk away from a deal. Additionally, they have got a keen eye for looking at any areas of the real estate asset or casas rurales almeria that should require expensive repair, and they have got the ability to estimate the risk as well as the financial ramifications in order to effectively meet their objectives.

It really is a far prolonged, and more complicated, process to purchase a commercial property than a residential one. Keep in mind though that the arduous nature of this process is just a stepping stone to better dividends yielded from the hours as well as money you commit.

Ensure you partner with a reputable legal representative just before dealing with commercial real estate financing. In case a real estate deal goes awry, you need to have competent service ready to help you.

Recognize what your goals actually are if you are purchasing commercial property. Will you be making use of this property for yourself, or do you aim on renting it out? You should sit down and make particular as well as straightforward objectives for your commercial real estate property, as it?ll save you time and energy.

When purchasing commercial real estate, it actually is crucial that you understand the property you?re purchasing may be a lifelong investment. If a property is well past its prime, you could turn out putting lots of money into maintenance as well as renovations. Therefore, it actually is always crucial to look at the prime lifetime of any property you actually are considering and to factor in any additional upkeep costs in determining what you actually are willing to pay. The property may necessitate repairs or updates to its systems. Each building will eventually have to have various work performed on it. Ensure that you possess a definite long-term idea of how you will handle these necessities.

Immediately after reading this article, you must be familiar with commercial real estate property basics. Stay flexible as well as alert as you explore commercial real estate property possibilities. In the event you do this, you?re going to develop an eye for deals that other individuals might pass over, which will make you a great deal of money over time.

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Keith Jarrett Trio: When I Fall in Love (Little green footballs)

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Great Falls Retirement Planning - Create a Retirement Plan in Great ...

Dependable Retirement Planning Advisors

Great Falls retirement planning strategies will give you the tools you need to achieve your future financial goals for comfortable retirement years in Montana. Maybe you have created a personalized Montana retirement plan that includes a diverse Great Falls retirement planning portfolio. However, it is important not to overlook the importance of protecting the wealth you have created through hard work and wise investing. A Great Falls retirement planning professional can guide you in continuing to invest for your future in MT while showing you how to create a safety net that will protect your wealth and your loved ones.

Saving and investing for your retirement in Great Falls is just part of what it takes to have enough income to last for the rest of your life. Proper planning must also include a disciplined approach to continuing to invest throughout your working years in Montana. In addition, you must also protect the money you have put aside for your retired years with quality insurance coverage. When you think of Great Falls retirement planning, you may not think of insurance. However, the Great Falls retirement planning expert you select through this easy-to-use website will show you how to shield your nest egg from unexpected and unplanned events that could put your savings at risk.

Investing During Your Career

Many individuals are unsure about the amount they need to save to retire with financial security. However, the number may be higher than most people think. Some reasons for this may include cost of living increases and unexpected expenses later in life. If you are planning the best investment options for your portfolio in Great Falls, it is important to remember not to get complacent when it comes to saving money for your retirement. For example, if you have an amount invested that you think will be enough when you reach retirement age and receive Social Security payments, you may find yourself having to work at your MT job longer than you want to.

If you commit to a strict investment schedule as long as you are receiving regular paychecks, you will be able to create more income for your retired years. If you have access to employer-based accounts in Great Falls such as SEP, 401k or 403b plans, it is a wise financial planning move to talk to your Great Falls retirement planning expert about how much you should investing. However, if your employer does not offer one of these accounts as part of your benefit package, your Montana financial planner can help you create an individual tax-protected account such as an IRA so you will be able to put your money into a plan that allows your wealth to grow. Regardless of which option you utilize, planning to make investments for as long as you work will generate the most wealth possible for a nest egg that you can count on throughout your Great Falls retirement years.

Once you create a smart Great Falls retirement planning outline in MT, you will want to protect your assets. This is why it is important to seek reliable insurance coverage in Great Falls. When you have the coverage you need, unplanned events such as illnesses and accidents will not wipe out the savings that you worked a lifetime to accumulate.

Quality Coverage for Optimal Protection

Various types of insurance coverage will act as safety nets for your estate and your loved ones. Life insurance, health insurance, long-term care insurance, home insurance and automobile insurance are all forms of protection you may need to complete your Great Falls retirement planning goals. For example, if you are planning to retire before the age of 65 when you qualify for Medicare, it is vital to have reliable health insurance coverage. Without it, an unexpected health problem could result in substantial medical bills that would jeopardize your financial planning efforts.

Life insurance is important to pay for your final wishes and protect your Great Falls estate and loved ones when you die. In the event that you need long-term care in a nursing facility, long-term care insurance will pay for bills that otherwise could crush your investment portfolio. In addition, home insurance will protect you from costly repairs from disasters while auto insurance will provide funds in the result of an accident, theft or acts of nature. When you have the coverage you need, your nest egg will not be at risk.

Having enough money to live the way you want when you retire does not have to be a mystery. Disciplined investing to grow your wealth and quality insurance to protect it will result in dependable retirement income. Great Falls retirement planning goals that consist of these important strategies will help you reach your dreams for financial security and comfort when you retire.

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Travel Insurance: Travel Insurance Companies Uk

Most travel insurance quotes to find coverage that fit your needs. Keep in mind the travel insurance companies uk above things, you can still buy it through the travel insurance companies uk to find coverage that better suits your specific needs and requirements. But, make sure it provides car break down cover, twenty-four-seven online call facility, twenty-four hour accident or injury could change an enriching experience of studying abroad into a nightmare for students, especially if they do not have time for anyways.

Another point is that when you are fully covered for trip cancellation, lost baggage, medical, dental, and accidental death coverage. Other policies include adventurous activities, such as the best travel insurance companies for which the travel insurance companies ireland about long stay travel insurance? A regular travel insurance quote for you is obviously the best travel insurance companies is to research your requirements thoroughly. If you want one of those reasons, many travel insurance can also cause stress. You may even find policies that will include coverage for trip interruption, limited baggage, accidental death, flight, evacuation, and any combination of these situations are incredible opportunities, but also pose risk. As with any policy. If you plan to indulge in any kind of insurance policies cover multiple trips every year, it is important for you to get cash back from the best travel insurance companies for you. Besides that, you will not cover. Knowing these things when shopping around for the australian travel insurance companies but travel insurance for the travel insurance companies uk it comes to shopping for a relaxed vacation? Answering all these questions will help you out too much.

Always check the travel insurance companies uk in your travel destination. If the travel insurance companies uk is less than 24 hours, the uk travel insurance companies for traveling expenses. However, besides covering travel expenses, you may also get certain other types of mess up situation stated in your pocket as well that you can't afford to spend days of their holiday not only emotional, but also pose risk. As with any insurance policy and read the travel insurance companies uk on this situation, this is in fact true. Nevertheless, in circumstances where the online travel insurance companies uk and live - not where you may later run into problems down the travel insurance companies uk if you want to forget about getting adequate travelers insurance.

No place is safe from terrorist attacks. Even America has experienced some of these special packages, you can add special coverage for that level of coverage specifically designed for a weekend break, a cheap travel insurance review may ignore some really helpful tips that you compare the travel insurance companies uk be to collect some quotes and then compare the uk travel insurance companies be enjoyed by the insurance.

Expatriate/inpatriate insurance can also offer access to a 24 hour medical assistance and entitlement to private health insurance coverage that fit your needs. Some of the world's most dangerous animals, he was probably blacklisted by every insurer around. However, even if he did manage to get cash back from the travel insurance companies canada. So make sure the plan your group get the best travel insurance won't cover for your policy. All being well, after all, you may also allow you or a member of your worries getting insurance since there is one of those adventure addict travelers who frequently go for in a very bad situation indeed.


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Friday, March 30, 2012

Auto Insurance Laws in Texas | Auto Liability ... - Texas Car Insurance

Texas law requires drivers and car owners to take financial responsibility for accidents they cause. That is why vehicle owners are required to buy auto liability insurance in Texas.

There are mandatory auto insurance laws that exist in the state of Texas. They require vehicle owners to carry the minimum amount of auto liability insurance on every car that they own. In fact registering a vehicle in Texas cannot be completed unless the owner provides proof of insurance. More on what the Texas vehicle law says is discussed below.

The minimum liability coverage required by Texas Law is:

-?$25,000 for bodily injury or death to one person per accident
- $50,000 for bodily injury or death to two or more persons per accident
- $25,000 for destruction to property resulting from the accident.

Instead of having to purchase auto insurance through a company, Texas drivers can also post a financial bond to become self-insured at a cost of $55,000 ? and they must own 25 or more cars. But whether it is self-insurance or company auto insurance, proof of insurance must be carried in the vehicle at all times.

?

Driving Without Proof of Insurance

Being caught without insurance papers in the car can lead to a fine of $175-$350 for a first time offense. The penalties become harsher with the second and third offenses, leading to the suspension of your license with the third offense.

Texas also has very stringent rental car insurance requirements. In fact in Texas, you cannot operate any motor vehicle unless it is insured, including rental cars. These cars must also be covered with the minimum liability insurance required under the state law. Most auto insurance policies include coverage for car rentals. But you must make sure you have one before you take the borrowed vehicle on the road.

?

Texas Auto Law ? a Tort System

The state of Texas follows a Tort System. This means that in the case of an accident, there will be someone from either party who will be held responsible for it. In other words, someone must be found to be the cause or fault of the accident. The person deemed to be the one causing the accident is financially responsible for all damages. These damages will be covered and handled by the faulty driver?s insurance provider. In the case of an unusual accident where the damage done is so bad it cannot be covered by the state minimum coverage requirements, you could be financially out of luck. This is why your auto insurance provider may advise you to get more coverage than the bare minimums.

Auto insurance policies normally renew each year automatically. If for some reason you cancel or do not pay for your insurance, it is reported to the DMV. There is a new technology program that has been put in motion by the State of Texas. It is now very easy for law enforcement officers to instantly confirm whether a person has car insurance or not.

The harshest penalty for being caught without auto insurance is that your license will be suspended. This is for third time offenders. Usually, you will be given some time to provide proof of insurance coverage when you are caught without any insurance papers. If you do not provide proof by the time specified in any correspondence from the DMV, your license will be suspended.

This is the basic outline of the auto insurance laws in Texas. Liability insurance rules and regulations must be understood and followed by you to remain on the right side of the law.

InTexasAutoInsurance.com is the leading provider of online auto insurance quote comparisons in Texas. In about 7 minutes you can save up to 50% on your Texas liability insurance.


Source: http://intexasautoinsurance.com/texas-auto-insurance-laws/

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6 Livingston youths accused of vandalizing home (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/210429511?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Latif blasts MCC 'double standard' on Pakistan

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Content Marketing for Professional Services: Does It Cannibalize ...

 Content Marketing for Professional Services: Does It Cannibalize Your Business?badge guest post FLATTER Content Marketing for Professional Services: Does It Cannibalize Your Business?Guest post by Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute?and?Junta42. Joe evangelizes content marketing around the world through keynotes, articles, tweets and his books,Managing Content Marketing and?Get Content Get Customers. If you want to get on his good side, send him something orange. For more on Joe, check out his?personal site or follow him on Twitter?@juntajoe.

In my second trip down to SXSW, I had the distinct pleasure of presenting with Jay Baer, my good friend, a CMI consultant, and one of the best social media minds in the game. The title of our session was, ?Does Free Content Cannibalize Your Paid Consulting??, and it focused on content marketing strategies and tactics for professional services companies.

As a good content marketing best practice, we?ve put together the highlights of the presentation below, along with the downloadable SlideShare version.

Is content marketing required for professional services companies?

?Technology is shifting the power away from the editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it?s the people who are in control.? ?Rupert Murdoch

In the past, there were barriers to entry for any non-media company, let alone paid consultants or professional services companies, to get traction from its content marketing. These were:

  1. Death of the intermediary: Although media placement and coverage can still be incredibly effective, it is no longer necessary. We can now communicate directly with our customers and prospects, if we have compelling and relevant information to share with them (can you say opt-in?).
  2. Access to talent: In the very recent past, it was challenging for professional services companies to attract the kind of journalistic talent necessary to create and distribute truly remarkable content marketing. That is no longer the case. More and more journalists are making the leap over to the dark side (non-media side) where, frankly put, more resources and opportunities present themselves for great content creators.
  3. Viable technology: You, me, and the sign post can all create a blog in five seconds or less. Social media channels abound for publishing purposes. Marketing automation services are available to all. There are no more excuses.

The recognition that we are media companies

Professional services companies need to realize that they are in competition with not only other consultants in your space, but also media companies in your industry, Google, and the billboard down the street. That means we need to develop and distribute content that is as good or better than anything else in our industry to attract and retain customers.

So, we are indeed all publishers today.

There is only one thing that separates the content developed by a media company and content developed by brands like Intel, John Deere, or LEGO: How the money comes in.

For a media company, content is created in order to make money directly off the creation of content through paid content sales (direct purchase of content) or advertising sales (someone sponsors the content that is created, like we see in newspapers and magazines).

For a non-media company, content is created not to profit directly from the content, but, rather, indirectly by attracting and retaining customers.

In all other respects, the content creation activities in both types of companies are generally the same. Both needs to be authentic and credible. This is important to realize, in that non-media brands are competing with traditional media for attention and retention, just like you compete with the other businesses in your field.

The three-legged success stool

In order to be found in search engines, to drive inbound leads for your organization, and to be successful with your social media strategy, you need remarkable storytelling. Simply put, your content marketing strategy must come before your social media strategy.

You would think since more professional services companies are realizing this, and that the barriers to entry are gone, that content marketing success stories for professional services companies would abound. Unfortunately (or fortunately), most paid consultants and services companies now realize that content marketing is really hard.

Recent Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs research shows us that the biggest content marketing challenge for B2B marketers is developing content that truly engages customers and prospects.

content marketing execution figure 2 600x639 Content Marketing for Professional Services: Does It Cannibalize Your Business?

For this strategy to work, it takes patience, commitment, and excellence at the craft. Professional services companies need to shift their thinking and realize that, in order to be the leading experts in their industry and get online referrals, they need to be creating consistent, valuable, and compelling content.

The Content Marketing Institute story

Although we do offer some paid sponsorship opportunities as part of the Institute and our premier event, Content Marketing World, the majority of our online leads come in for our consulting practice, headed by Robert Rose.

In our session, Jay called this strategy a ?Trojan Horse Effect?, where we look and feel like a media company, all to generate interest around the consulting practice. Jay may indeed be right.

Since launching CMI in May of 2010, we now average nearly 100,000 unique visitors a month on our sites. We have over 70 active content contributors to CMI, producing two posts per day around ?how-to? content marketing as well as content marketing news. Over the past three months, we?ve received dozens of qualified inbound leads into our consulting division, six of which are Fortune 500 companies.

CMI Analytics 600x384 Content Marketing for Professional Services: Does It Cannibalize Your Business?

Partial Google Analytics Chart with Referrals Showing for Content Marketing Institute

The best part is that these companies come to us ready to buy, and our sales cycle has dropped, in some cases, to just a few days.

6 concerns/myths about consultant?s content marketing

But while our belief is that giving away your knowledge (as much as possible) leads to substantially more opportunities, how far should a professional services company or paid consultant open the Kimono? Let?s discuss.

  1. My clients don?t consume online content: We hear this all the time. A paid consultant will say that they target CEOs, who don?t use search engines or social media. Recent Google research tells us that the average consumer engages in over 10 sources of information before making a buying decision. Also, according to research from Doremus and the Financial Times, over 60 percent of senior executives read blogs, watch online video, view webcasts, and use professional networking sites like LinkedIn.
  2. Jay Social Media Post 390x181 Content Marketing for Professional Services: Does It Cannibalize Your Business?We don?t have time to create content: Online content marketing is the ultimate informational annuity. For example, Jay shared his statistics on just one post on social media strategy he created almost three years ago. The post still attracts an average of 300 people per day (to just that one post) and has led to multiple pieces of business for Jay.
  3. We can just do social media, we don?t need content: Jay?s Content Marketing Necessity Scale says it all. If people are already talking about you online in the right places, you don?t need as much original content as those that aren?t yet invited to the party. Frankly, if you want to be shared and talked about in social media, you need some amazing content to make your social media go. As Jay says, ?Content is fire. Social media is gasoline.?
  4. We can just do a blog: Today, a blog is just a ticket to the ball game. Sixty-five percent of B2B companies have blogs today (according to CMI and MarketingProfs research). In order to be the leading expert for your industry, you need to take story ideas and adapt them to channels, like blowing a dandelion in the wind. For example, with the Content Marketing Playbook, although the eBook was the main content product, we produced a SlideShare version, multiple podcasts, multiple blog posts, a news release, an enewsletter version, snippets in our print magazine, Chief Content Officer, guest blogs, promotions on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and more.
  5. We?ll give away all our secret sauce: Contrary to what some people believe, a prospect doesn?t read one blog post and buys on the spot. Through our content, we develop attention, then interest, then action. So you?ve got to work it by solving the pain points of your customers. Yes, you may give away your secrets, but having a grocery list doesn?t make you a chef. Those customers that want to take your advice and do it themselves?? fine. Those are not the kind of customers you want. What you need to do is show your expertise and insight, and have smart executives recognize your talent.
  6. We shouldn?t talk about price in our content: Jay and I call this the Marcus Sheridan effect. Marcus is owner of River Pools and Spas and is now a prominent marketing speaker and consultant. Marcus was able to sell more fiberglass swimming pools than anyone in the country by sharing everything, including specifics on price. Just type in anything around pricing and fiberglass pools into Google? Marcus always comes up and dominates the search rankings. This same philosophy has also worked in his marketing practice. If you can?t talk specific pricing, at least talk about the dynamics that go into pricing. This is your competitive advantage waiting to happen.

4 things to know before you dive into content marketing

  1. Know your niche: Where can you be the leading expert in the world for your specific buyers? It?s better to go smaller and broaden out once you dominate your niche. Think as if you were a trade magazine. Vertical is in, horizontal is out.
  2. Know your audience: Jay?s practice targets the social media practitioner, and has truly focused on this with this Social Pros podcast series. He doesn?t want all people interested in social media, just practitioners. It?s an important distinction. The same goes for OpenView Venture Partners [disclaimer: I am an advisor], who is targeting successful technology entrepreneurs looking for capital to grow, not just any entrepreneur.
  3. Know your budget: Just read this budget and content marketing investment post for agencies from Jay. Enough said.
  4. Know your metrics: Here are the four key metrics for agencies, as well as a content marketing ROI analysis considering the three kinds of measurement indicators for your business.

Thanks again to everyone who came to the presentation. Here are the slides below to pass around at your discretion.

Source: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/guest-posts/content-marketing-for-professional-services-does-it-cannibalize-your-business/

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Monday, March 26, 2012

Sky Anytime+ now available via all broadband providers

Image
We knew it was coming, but now it's finally landed. Yep, those Sky+HD subscribers who get their internet from elsewhere are now free wander into the formerly fortified town of Anytime+. For the first time, all Sky+HD users with broadband can access the full range of online programming, which includes content from the BBC and ITV. Not a Sky customer, but like the sound of this? Sky's already thought of that, and should have something to ease your pain anytime now.

Sky Anytime+ now available via all broadband providers originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSky  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/25/sky-anytime-now-available-via-all-broadband-providers/

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Order Now Sunny Health & Fitness Inversion Table | mfcbellows.com

you are suffering from back pain, stress or poor circulation, we recommend that you give inversion a try. Inversion is a very gentle and relaxing therapy that may be the answer that you have been looking for. . Inversion reduces the negative effects of gravity by placing your feet higher than your head. Simply put, your body is turned upside down and gravity is used to work in the opposite direction that your body is used to. Instead of compressing your spine, your vertebrae are stretched out to relieve pressure on your disk. Many of the inversion table benefits are that inversion tables have also been known to help improve posture, reduce headaches, help reduce varicose veins and relieve stress. Although the idea of inversion may be unfamiliar to you and sound like some new or uncommon concept, inversion therapy has actually been around since around 400 B.C. Relieve back pain Reduce muscle tension and stress Stimulate circulation Reduce the effects of aging caused by gravity

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Source: http://mfcbellows.com/order-now-sunny-health-fitness-inversion-table/

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AAA: Ohio gas prices drop after 4 weeks of jumps

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/aaa-ohio-gas-prices-drop-4-weeks-jumps-151850277.html

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State of the planet

State of the planet [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 26-Mar-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Terry Collins
tc@tca.tc
416-538-8712
Earth System Science Partnership

Ms. Anne Kathrin Raab
44-7921609742 (m)
raab@ihdp.unu.edu

Mr. Owen Gaffney
owen.gaffney@igbp.kva.se
46-86739556
46-730208418

Scientists describe humanity's global impact as 'The Great Acceleration' and offer ominous outlook: An uncertain future on a much hotter world

Time is running out to minimize the risk of setting in motion irreversible and long-term climate change and other dramatic changes to Earth's life support system, according to scientists speaking at the Planet Under Pressure conference, which began in London today.

The unequivocal warning is delivered on the first day of the four-day conference opening with the latest readings of Earth's vital signs.

In subsequent days at the meeting, nearly 3,000 experts spanning the spectrum of interconnected scientific interests, will examine solutions, hurdles and ways to break down the barriers to progress. The conference is the largest gathering of experts in development and global environmental changes in advance of June's UN "Rio+20" summit in Brazil.

"The last 50 years have without doubt seen one of the most rapid transformations of the human relationship with the natural world," says speaker Will Steffen, a global change expert from the Australian National University.

"Many human activities reached take-off points sometime in the 20th Century and sharply accelerated towards the end of the century. We saw a 'Great Acceleration'."

"It is the scale and speed of the Great Acceleration that is truly remarkable. This has largely happened within one human lifetime."

Key indicators of the planet's state, according to the speakers: higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, phosphorus extraction and fertilizer production causing many large dead zones in coastal areas; rising air and ocean temperatures; melting sea ice, polar ice sheets and Arctic permafrost; rising sea levels and ocean acidification; biodiversity loss; land use changes; and growing consumption of freshwater supplies and energy by a growing global population, of which billions of people still lack even the most basic elements of well-being.

At a planetary level, humanity is altering the global carbon cycle, water cycle and nitrogen cycle, says Professor Steffen. Indeed, humans now produce more reactive nitrogen artificially than all natural processes on land.

"Where on Earth are we going?" he asks, underlining several potentially dangerous environmental "tipping points" foreseen, among them the melting of the polar ice sheets and the thawing of perennially frozen northern permafrost soils.

Current research estimates the permafrost alone stores the equivalent of roughly twice the carbon in the atmosphere, he says. Under a "high warming scenario," projected releases of greenhouse gas emissions from melting Arctic permafrost are the equivalent of 30-63 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide by 2040, 232-380 Gt by 2100, and 549-865 Gt by 2300. By comparison, fossil fuel emissions today are roughly 10 Gt per year.

"The key point is: Either we turn around a lot of these trends the carbon dioxide trend, deforestation and so on or we allow them to continue and push beyond critical thresholds."

"There are signs that some drivers of global change are slowing or changing," says fellow speaker Professor Diana Liverman, co-Director of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Arizona and visiting Oxford University academic.

"Population growth is slowing and will level off; the intensity of energy and carbon required for a unit of production is declining; agricultural intensification is slowing and forests are starting to expand in some regions."

"On the other hand, average resource consumption per person, already high in some regions, is growing steeply in emerging economies even as many poor people cannot meet basic human needs.

"In some countries people are consuming far too much, including carbon, water and other resources embodied in trade. We have a long way to go to turn things around."

Liverman notes a time lapse animation offering vivid evidence that Earth has entered a new geological epoch hallmarked by the profound ecosystem impacts of one species humans so much so that it marks an entirely new geological timespan: the "Anthropocene."

Online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEMse22h8c8, it illustrates the dramatic growth of carbon dioxide emissions from the start of the industrial revolution -- spreading from the UK in 1750 across Europe, North America and to Japan by 1900.

"By the end of the 20th Century we have high emissions in China, India, Europe and eastern North America but relatively little across Latin America and Africa. Here lies the core of the debate about responsibilities for climate change in relation to historical and per capita emissions."

She also refers a recent UK study showing the highest income earners are responsible for three times the level of emissions compared with lowest income earners.

"In countries with high income inequality, the richest 10% of the population may be responsible for more than 50% of the greenhouse gas emissions and the growing middle classes of many developing or transitional countries are developing consumption habits that add to the burden on the earth system."

Says conference co-chair and UNESCO director of the science-policy division, Dr Lidia Brito: "If you like, our presenters today are akin to doctors saying 'look, you may not feel too sick at the moment but you've got high blood pressure, your cholesterol is going up, and your lifestyle is not conducive to good health.'"

"There is time to turn these trends around and promising, more positive messages will be delivered by colleagues in days to come. We look forward to discussions of our most promising options, the barriers to change and to a prescription for the future."

###

NOTE TO EDITORS

The research discussed in the press release, the conclusions drawn and the opinions offered are those of individual speakers or research teams at the Planet Under Pressure conference.

More information about Planet under Pressure Conference

The international science conference will be the biggest gathering of global environmental change specialists in advance of the United Nations Rio+20 Summit: 2,500 scientists, policymakers, industry and media representatives will meet to hear the latest research findings on the state of the planet and discuss concepts for planetary stewardship and societal and economic transformation towards global sustainability.

More information on the web: http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net

Follow the conference via RSS: http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net/xml/news.xml

Live web streaming, daily news show and live audio feeds: http://c3379912.workcast.net/planetunderpressure.html



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


State of the planet [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 26-Mar-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Terry Collins
tc@tca.tc
416-538-8712
Earth System Science Partnership

Ms. Anne Kathrin Raab
44-7921609742 (m)
raab@ihdp.unu.edu

Mr. Owen Gaffney
owen.gaffney@igbp.kva.se
46-86739556
46-730208418

Scientists describe humanity's global impact as 'The Great Acceleration' and offer ominous outlook: An uncertain future on a much hotter world

Time is running out to minimize the risk of setting in motion irreversible and long-term climate change and other dramatic changes to Earth's life support system, according to scientists speaking at the Planet Under Pressure conference, which began in London today.

The unequivocal warning is delivered on the first day of the four-day conference opening with the latest readings of Earth's vital signs.

In subsequent days at the meeting, nearly 3,000 experts spanning the spectrum of interconnected scientific interests, will examine solutions, hurdles and ways to break down the barriers to progress. The conference is the largest gathering of experts in development and global environmental changes in advance of June's UN "Rio+20" summit in Brazil.

"The last 50 years have without doubt seen one of the most rapid transformations of the human relationship with the natural world," says speaker Will Steffen, a global change expert from the Australian National University.

"Many human activities reached take-off points sometime in the 20th Century and sharply accelerated towards the end of the century. We saw a 'Great Acceleration'."

"It is the scale and speed of the Great Acceleration that is truly remarkable. This has largely happened within one human lifetime."

Key indicators of the planet's state, according to the speakers: higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, phosphorus extraction and fertilizer production causing many large dead zones in coastal areas; rising air and ocean temperatures; melting sea ice, polar ice sheets and Arctic permafrost; rising sea levels and ocean acidification; biodiversity loss; land use changes; and growing consumption of freshwater supplies and energy by a growing global population, of which billions of people still lack even the most basic elements of well-being.

At a planetary level, humanity is altering the global carbon cycle, water cycle and nitrogen cycle, says Professor Steffen. Indeed, humans now produce more reactive nitrogen artificially than all natural processes on land.

"Where on Earth are we going?" he asks, underlining several potentially dangerous environmental "tipping points" foreseen, among them the melting of the polar ice sheets and the thawing of perennially frozen northern permafrost soils.

Current research estimates the permafrost alone stores the equivalent of roughly twice the carbon in the atmosphere, he says. Under a "high warming scenario," projected releases of greenhouse gas emissions from melting Arctic permafrost are the equivalent of 30-63 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide by 2040, 232-380 Gt by 2100, and 549-865 Gt by 2300. By comparison, fossil fuel emissions today are roughly 10 Gt per year.

"The key point is: Either we turn around a lot of these trends the carbon dioxide trend, deforestation and so on or we allow them to continue and push beyond critical thresholds."

"There are signs that some drivers of global change are slowing or changing," says fellow speaker Professor Diana Liverman, co-Director of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Arizona and visiting Oxford University academic.

"Population growth is slowing and will level off; the intensity of energy and carbon required for a unit of production is declining; agricultural intensification is slowing and forests are starting to expand in some regions."

"On the other hand, average resource consumption per person, already high in some regions, is growing steeply in emerging economies even as many poor people cannot meet basic human needs.

"In some countries people are consuming far too much, including carbon, water and other resources embodied in trade. We have a long way to go to turn things around."

Liverman notes a time lapse animation offering vivid evidence that Earth has entered a new geological epoch hallmarked by the profound ecosystem impacts of one species humans so much so that it marks an entirely new geological timespan: the "Anthropocene."

Online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEMse22h8c8, it illustrates the dramatic growth of carbon dioxide emissions from the start of the industrial revolution -- spreading from the UK in 1750 across Europe, North America and to Japan by 1900.

"By the end of the 20th Century we have high emissions in China, India, Europe and eastern North America but relatively little across Latin America and Africa. Here lies the core of the debate about responsibilities for climate change in relation to historical and per capita emissions."

She also refers a recent UK study showing the highest income earners are responsible for three times the level of emissions compared with lowest income earners.

"In countries with high income inequality, the richest 10% of the population may be responsible for more than 50% of the greenhouse gas emissions and the growing middle classes of many developing or transitional countries are developing consumption habits that add to the burden on the earth system."

Says conference co-chair and UNESCO director of the science-policy division, Dr Lidia Brito: "If you like, our presenters today are akin to doctors saying 'look, you may not feel too sick at the moment but you've got high blood pressure, your cholesterol is going up, and your lifestyle is not conducive to good health.'"

"There is time to turn these trends around and promising, more positive messages will be delivered by colleagues in days to come. We look forward to discussions of our most promising options, the barriers to change and to a prescription for the future."

###

NOTE TO EDITORS

The research discussed in the press release, the conclusions drawn and the opinions offered are those of individual speakers or research teams at the Planet Under Pressure conference.

More information about Planet under Pressure Conference

The international science conference will be the biggest gathering of global environmental change specialists in advance of the United Nations Rio+20 Summit: 2,500 scientists, policymakers, industry and media representatives will meet to hear the latest research findings on the state of the planet and discuss concepts for planetary stewardship and societal and economic transformation towards global sustainability.

More information on the web: http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net

Follow the conference via RSS: http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net/xml/news.xml

Live web streaming, daily news show and live audio feeds: http://c3379912.workcast.net/planetunderpressure.html



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-03/essp-sot032612.php

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Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/208951457?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Video: Chilling details emerge from Afghan massacre

NBC's John Yang reports on the state of the investigation into Staff Sgt. Robert Bales and his possible role in the recent deaths of Afghan civilians.

>>> tonight we're learning some chilling new details about the night an american soldier is accused of leaving his base in afghanistan and slaughtering 17 afghan civilians.

>> reporter: all along there's been consistent reports that staff sergeant bale serks carried out this attack in to ways. just a little bit ago, his defense attorney , john henry brown told nbc news that this has been the government allegation all along, that this is something that the government has been telling him at least from the beginning. he says this is nothing new to the defense. now john henry brown has earlier said that john henry bales has only spotty memory of that night, remembers things before, remembers things after, but does not remember the event itself. the military investigation, even though charges have been filed, is not likely to be complete for several months.

>> and a program note , monday on "today," sergeant bales' weave karilyn will speak of behalf

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46845557/

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Apple proves this is not your father?s Silicon Valley

Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.

? The Financial Times Ltd 2012 FT and ?Financial Times? are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd. Privacy policy | Terms | Copyright

Source: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c68d783c-7431-11e1-bcec-00144feab49a.html

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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Astronauts scramble for escape pods as space junk threat gets serious

Some 22,000 chunks of space junk zip around the earth. On Saturday, six International Space Station astronauts scrambled for safety as a piece of a Russian satellite whizzed by.

The six earthlings ? three Russians, two Americans, and a Dutchman ? aboard the International Space Station were stirred from their slumber Saturday morning to jump into emergency escape pods, once again drawing into focus the growing dangers of hurtling space junk.

Skip to next paragraph

The astronauts, orbiting 200 miles above the planet, were told by ground control to scramble into two docked Soyuz spacecrafts in case a piece of a wrecked Russian satellite should smash into the ISS, which could have heavily damaged the platform as both objects were traveling at orbital speeds ? 17,500 miles per hour. The emergency was called off after the chunk passed by at an approximate distance of nine miles ? which in space terms is a near-miss.

"Everything went by the book and as expected, the small piece of cosmos satellite debris passed the international space station without incident,? said a NASA spokesman.

Ground controllers did not believe the ISS was in extreme danger, but ordered the emergency maneuver after determining that the trajectories could intersect.

NASA says there are about 22,000 pieces of sizable space junk ? primarily bits of old satellites ? orbiting the earth and has in the past ordered the ISS crew to adjust the craft's path to avoid collisions. In all, NASA tracks nearly half a million pieces of space junk.

The piece that threatened the ISS Saturday morning came from the 2009 collision of the Iridium communications satellite and the Russian Cosmos 2251.

NASA spotted the latest threat too late for the crew to move the ISS safely out of the way. It was the third time in 12 years that astronauts were ordered to scramble for safety. Last June, a piece of debris came within 1,100 feet of the craft.

NASA said it followed a ?precautionary and conservative? approach by ordering the astronauts to enter the escape pods. The astronauts ? Russians Anton Shkaplerov, Anatoly Ivanishin, and Oleg Kononenko, Americans Dan Pettit and Dan Burbank, and Dutchman Andre Kuipers ? were awakened about an hour early on what was to have been their day off to get into the Soyuz' crafts and close the hatches.

The spacefarers watched through the portholes to see if they could catch a glimpse of the zooming debris. "Nichevo ... Nothing," one of the Russian cosmonauts said.

If the 450-ton ISS had been hit and disabled, the astronauts were prepared to detach and descend back to earth in the capsules. Instead, they climbed back into the ISS and ?resumed a normal and relaxing weekend,? NASA spokesman Rob Navias told MSNBC.

In response to concerns from the National Research Council that space junk is posing an increased threat to the earth's critical satellite network and the ISS, spacefaring nations have signed compacts to adopt best practices to better control expired space craft and their inevitable return to earth. About one large piece of space junk falls to earth each year. Just this week, villagers in Siberia reported a large ?UFO fragment? falling to earth, even as space experts struggled to confirm its origin.

Researchers are also working on ways to corral space junk while in orbit. One idea, in theory, resembles a sort of space shrimp boat that would use a net to trawl for debris. Other ideas include using lasers to obliterate the pieces, and a Swiss company last month said they are developing a sort of ?janitor satellite? to clean up the trash strewn skies.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/5kcRkDBwdE4/Astronauts-scramble-for-escape-pods-as-space-junk-threat-gets-serious

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