Tsunami – this word is synonymous to a big threat in the Asia-Pacific region. Thousands of lives have been lost in all the Tsunami incidents which have ever taken place, with the recent most devastating one in Indonesia in the year 2004. Follow the Asia outline map and you will come to understand how big the blow was. Since then, scientists throughout Asia have become busy with researches on how to get the premonition of this dangerous natural calamity.
In India, then President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam heralded a target for the nation’s scientists to discover the Tsunami detector device as soon as possible. Surprisingly enough, researches showed great outcomes. Some of the vital discoveries were made in this field. The Japanese scientists concentrated more in the building technology which can shirk the chance of getting affected by these sudden attacks.
Apart from this a wall protection in the beach regions is also a major project in this country for the civil engineers. Although most of the common Asians have come to know about the presence of Tsunami after the 2004 incident, it is amazing to look back to the history of this natural calamity. There are, in fact, records in the Greek history which tell about great losses which were brought about by Tsunami. Peloponnesian War has records of Tsunami.

The world is eagerly waiting to witness the grand opening ceremony of Beijing 2008 Summer Games. With less than 40 hours before the curtain raiser of the Beijing Games, China Meteorological Administration announced that the weather condition will be favorable for the successful completion of the opening ceremony.

A brief shower on Friday, August 8, has been forecasted, while temperature would remain between 25º Celsius and 30º Celsius. The China Meteorological Administration department will closely monitor the weather condition during the Beijing 2008 Games. The National Meteorological Center has ensured that the next week will not see any extreme weather condition in Beijing and other venues of the 2008 Summer Games.

The Meteorological Service Center for the Beijing Summer Games has ensured that they will provide weather forecasts for every venue of the competition, 72 hours in advance. For special sport events, there will be hourly weather forecast, 24 hours in advance.

4 satellites are being used for monitoring the weather condition of China, especially Beijing. More than 150 automated weather stations have been established around the city, which will gather data every 5 minutes. To monitor the Beijing sky, 2 mobile radar stations and 7 Doppler radar stations are also being used.  

Thursday is expected to be cloudy and overcast. But, that will not affect the flight schedule at the Beijing Capital International Airport.

China is all decked up for the Beijing 2008 Summer Games. The Beijing City has been given a facelift before the Summer Games, which is due to start on August 8. But the local government is facing trouble in dealing with the air pollution, which has proven to be a threat to the city for years.

The sky of Beijing is still gray, and the thick cloudy haze obstructs views of the magnificent buildings of the locality. Air pollution has turned out to be one of the greatest concerns of the authority of the Beijing Summer Games. According to the Chinese President Hu Jintao, the event of Beijing 2008 is supposed to be “the largest international sports and cultural event in the world”.

A number of measures have been taken to cope up with the increasing pollution in the city. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau has done everything possible to ensure clear and good quality air. More than 3 million cars have been pulled off the roads; construction works have been put on hold; polluting factories in and around Beijing have been shut down for controlling the air pollution.

But, in spite of all the restrictions and pollution control measures, Beijing air is still suffocating and full of harmful chemicals, water vapor and particulates. We are still waiting for a clear Beijing sky! We are all waiting for the dazzling event of the Beijing 2008 Summer Games to bedazzle the world. Hope the shabby sky of Beijing will not overshadow the glory of the event!

It was so different in Albania this time! Last time I visited this Southeast European country in 1990, Albania was under a totalitarian regime. The Communists were in rule and they had done their bit to hold back the development in Albania. At that time, I could hardly notice the natural beauty of this nation. However, times have changed since the Communists lost elections in 1992.

Albania is no more a hostile nation in the eyes of the United Nations or World Trade Organization. Lately, even NATO accepted Albania as their member. These measures have given a major boost up in the economy of Albania. The government emphasizes on the liberalization of economy. This has resulted in the setting up of many mining industries in and around the capital of Albania, Tirana.

The other industry to have emerged in this period in Albania is tourism. The rugged mountainous landscape and Adriatic coastline of Albania are the main sources of attraction in the country. But, these were hardly noticed even a few years back due to the dinginess. So, the tourism and hospitality industries are working hand in hand to add a glow to Albania.

The businesspersons are encouraging the locales to wake up on the green issue. Deforestation has cut down to a high degree in Albania. The local government is taking steps to remove piles of rubbish, which were once a common sight in Tirana. The environmental problems are dealt in with much care nowadays in Tirana and the neighboring regions.

After this drive of ‘cleaning up Albania’, travel in Albania is really cool. It is nicer to view the mountainous landscapes at the backdrop of greeneries, when you look out of your windows from the Albania hotels. At least, I can claim that the view, which I got from my balcony of Theranda Hotel in Tirana, was really magnificent. Another good thing that I witnessed this time in Albania was that – the hotel staffs have grown themselves into smart Albania travel guides.

Argentina is facing continuous environmental issues like the other developing countries of the world. The major reasons behind the decline of the environmental condition in Argentina are water pollution, air pollution, deforestation and soil degradation. The country, which was once referred as Europe of South America for its natural resources, is now in a critical state.

A study shows, in 1914, about 105 million hectares of area on Argentina map was covered by forests. By 2005, two thirds of these forests have vanished as a result of deforestation. In present days, the area covered by forests measures to merely 33 million hectares. If this continues, by 2024 the native forests of Argentina will vanish completely. 

Increased use of pesticide has damaged both soil and water of Argentina. In 1991, 40 million liters of pesticide was reported to be used, which increased to 100 million liters by 1997—in just 6 years! Due to the over usage of pesticides, children living in the country have been greatly affected—their blood contains lead well above the normal limit, which is 10 micrograms lead per deciliter of blood. The local flora and fauna are also endangered due to the excessive usage of chemicals.

Argentina is considered to be the leader in generating greenhouse gases, which, when excessively generated, can be lethal. The air pollution has also been increased by the growing amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and other particulates in the atmosphere.

The national capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires is in critical condition due to lack of safe drinking water, which is resultant of increasing water pollution. The city depends solely on the Rio de la Plata River for drinking water. But Rio de la Plata River along with Parana River and Uruguay River is being contaminated by chemical residues of the factories located on the river banks. 

Argentine Government and the environmental NGOs working in the country are greatly concerned for the continuous deterioration of the environment of Argentina. A number of public awareness programs are being planned to cope with the situation. It is high time that people understand the necessity of greenery and nature. Otherwise, the beautiful country Argentina, home of the Andes, Rio De La Plata River and pampas, will be lost forever. The country, which was once green, will turn into a desert.

Storms are nothing new in the America map. There regular reports on various storms hitting especially the coastal regions. South Dakota faced a storm attack and huge loss of properties. Now Texas is facing another threat of these attacks. Edouard is the name of this expected devastating storm.
The meteorological department of Texas has warned the state government about an upcoming attack of Edouard in this very month of August. Louisiana and the eastern part of Texas is expected to be heavily damaged during this attack. Port O’Connor is one of the main coastal cities which are located in this region.
The origin of this storm has been point at the mouth of the Mississippi River. This place is about 390 miles away from the place called Galveston in Texas. At present the speed has been recorded as 5 miles per hour but the experts have expressed their worries saying that the storm may gain its strength as it enters the state.
2008 is going with a hectic pace as all these attacks are hampering the life in coastal USA. So the governments of these regions are in talks about relocating some of the important establishments which are based in these places. These calamities have also caused a frown in the face of various state governments as they are bringing huge blows to the agricultural development of the country.

Peru’s national Amazon Indian organization, AIDESEP had filed a court case against Perenco and Repsol-YPF, two European companies for entering the un-contacted Indians’ territories. The court case was mainly filed to bar these two companies from entering the area. However, a Peruvian judge has given the verdict that the 2 European oil companies can continue exploring in the remote part of the Peruvian Amazon.

While giving his verdict in favor of the companies, the judge has said that there is no sufficient proof which testifies the existence of the un-contacted Indians. The judge has also said that the threats posed by the companies will not in any way harm or endanger the fundamental rights of the un-contacted Indians.

Both the companies – Perenco and Repsol-YPF, have signed contracts to work in the northern Peruvian Amazon which is close to the border of Ecuador. However, researches show that at least two un-contacted tribes live in this area.

South Dakota authorities are finally in a situation to assess the damage caused by the severe storm that hit the northeastern part of the state on Thursday night. The storm was accompanied by hail and heavy rain. The gusts in Grant County were 115 mph strong, and the winds at Aberdeen were a notch higher than the 100 mph mark, according to the reports of the National Weather Service.

 The level of devastation was clear by Friday morning. It was just impossible to go anywhere as almost all major roads of the region were blocked by trees uprooted by the storms. Aberdeen and Webster, among other Northeastern cities in South Dakota, were hit hard by the calamity. Branches and stems are still lying almost anywhere one cares to look. The Red Cross of Brown County is helping with the rehabilitation and cleaning up process.

Reportedly, fire broke out at several houses because of power lines that were downed by the storm. The power situation is dismal. Among the damages, a trailer home at Groton area was smashed to bits, and roofs of several other buildings were blown off. An old school gym was completely razed at Columbia in Brown County. Trees fell on the roofs of many houses and cars, bringing heavy loss of property. Forecasters say that strong wind and heavy thunderstorm may continue to recur for a few days.  

Air Canada, the flagship air carrier of Canada has come up with a carbon offset program that will have longterm benefits on the environment of the country. The carrier, which is a preferred carrier for business travel, also plans to help its corporate clients to join the force for a greener tomorrow. Air Canada in conjunction with Zerofootprints, a popular carbon management firm.

So far, the carbon offset initiative taken up by Air Canada has financed a forestry project in Canada. This new initiative will help the corporate clients to meet their environmental goals. The companies will be able to choose from a wide range of Canada based carbon mitigation plans that include forest restoration, landfill gas recovery, repair of a hydraulic dam and tire recycling. It is estimated that the individual passengers can offset 9417 tons of carbon.

Being a socially responsible company, Air Canada has taken up this carbon offset initiative and has also helped their corporate clients achieve the green objective. By joining hands the companies and the carrier will be able to contribute to a cleaner and greener environment of Canada in near future.

It was the worst storm that South Dakota experienced in years. Moving through the roads of Aberdeen, the sights of uprooted trees blocking important road crossings and damaged electric poles and transformers clearly revealed the scale of devastation that the storm brought in its wake. The storm crashed at a speed that varied from 80 to 115 miles per hour on the night of July 31, Thursday, accompanied with heavy showers.  

Aberdeen, of all cities in South Dakota, was the worst affected. Road blockages and power cuts were the worst of problems, followed by large scale destruction of homes, cars and roadways. The picture was more or less same all over the Brown County. The authorities believe that it will take some time to clear up the mess and restore normalcy. There were losses of homes and road blocks in the Day county as well, where a number of trailer homes and cabins by the Waubay Lake were razed to the ground.

As the authorities are working double time to bring life back to normal, the people are yet to revived from the shock and terror that swept through the state on Thursday night.