The Earth Swiches Off

On 27 March 2010, in the cadre of Earth Hour organized by WWF, more than 3000 cities in 83 countries all around the world switched off the light for an hour.

At 20 30 local time the normally vibrant night view of Sydney went dark for an hour. Earth Hour, organized for the fourth time by the WWF, started in Sydney in 2007, when more than two million people turned their lights off to express their opinion about climate change. After just four years, the initiative has grown into a worldwide support for the green planet.

WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), the world's largest and immensely respected, independent conservation organization, wants to raise the awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. This global phenomenon is seen as a vote for Earth and a livable future. "We think we are going to have 100 million people around sending message that climate change is real and we need to take action now", said WWF CEO Carter Roberts. Organizers also hope that their message will be taken seriously by the world leaders at the climate change summit in December in Copenhagen, Denmark.

With more than 3000 cities in 83 countries, this initiative seems to convince numerous people and companies that switched off their lights and other electric appliances for one hour. Landmarks like the Sydney Opera House, the Empire State Building, Big Ben, Egyptian Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis, St. Peters Basilica or the Bird's Nest Sadiom and the Water Cube in Bejing are among the most well know participants this year. the widespread attention gave a good opportunity to some vigilants restaurants to organize candlelight dinners for their customers.

Earth Hour is a unique innitiative showing the hope for a better future and the force of unity and cooperation.

Earth Hour SlideShow:

Billionaire Quest

The Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu is the World’s richest person in 2010, beating Bill Gates and Warren Buffett according to Forbes Magazine’s annual list.

Forbes Magazine made the Billionaires’ List for the 24th time, at this occasion containing 1,010 names. For the third time in three years, the richest man is new. Owning last year the third place, Carlos Slim Helu with his $53.5 billion anticipated Bill Gates who was the last year’s winner. It is the first time since 1994 that a non-American is at the top, which is not at all a surprising as US economy is recovering more slowly from the economical crisis than certain other parts of the world.

Carlos Slim Helu, the 70-year-old Mexican mogul, raised his wealth with 53% ($18.5 billion) in the last twelve months beating Bill Gates with a close $0.5 billion. Slim presides over a varied empire of telecom, real estates, hotels, banking and owns stocks in about 200 companies. The son of a Lebanese immigrant, he succeeded in privatizing the Mexican national telephone company in the 1990s. Now he possesses the two giant telecom companies in Mexico named TELMEX and América Móvil, which hold the majority of the telephone market in the Central-American country.

This year’s billionaires hold a capital of $3.6 trillion that is a 50% increase from 2009. This year was a wealth mine for most of the richest people in the world as the average net is $ 3.5 billion, a $500 million increase from last year. In 2010, the number of billionaires raised with 220 that is still less than the 2008 record with 1,125 names. The silver-medalist Bill Gates with $53 billion is followed by Warren Buffett with his total fortune of $47 billion. Asia made big surprises this year as this region added 104 tycoons. United States has the biggest number of billionaires, a little more than 400, followed by China with 89 and Russia with 62.

JFK

Air traffic controller at JFK suspended after allowing his young son to give instructions to several pilots.

At the JFK Airport, the sixth biggest airport in the US, an unanticipated incident took place in February. One of the traffic controllers brought his son to his workplace in the tower and allowed the elementary-school-aged child to radio instructions to pilots that were expecting to take off in the busy early evening hours. The child appeared to be supervised by his father who in fact told the child the necessary directives. Although the control tower is in the highly secure area of the airport and it is strongly supervised, there can happen to be some unofficial visits.

After the registered tape was discovered on the Internet, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) placed the controller and his supervisor on paid administrative leave and started a thorough investigation. The FAA said in a released statement “Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic. This behavior is not acceptable and does not demonstrated the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees.” The event stirred controversy all around the world and altered into a momentary heated debate at a time when air traffic security after 9/11 is at a great stake. Some opinions state that the occurrence received far too much publicity and the pilots on the tape apparently were enjoying the situation and had a good time, one pilot even saying “Wish I could bring my child to work.”

The SeaWorld Killer

Dawn Brancheau, the 40 years old trainer at SeaWorld Orlando, Florida died after being attacked by a killer whale on Wednesday.

Dawn Brancheau worked at SeaWorld for the last 16 years but her career began before that at shows with sea lions and dolphins in New Jersey and Mississippi. The victim was one of the most experienced trainers in the park where the extravagant shows with dolphins and whales attracted numerous visitors. The 5,500 kg whale, which was named Tilikum, nicknamed Telly, belongs to the largest specie (Orcinus orca) of the dolphin family. Despite the several eyewitnesses, the death of the female trainer is not clear yet.

The investigation focuses greatly on how the incident happened as there are contradictory reports about the event. Jim Solomons, the Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman said that Brancheau apparently slipped and fell into the tank and was fatally injured by one of the whales (Reuters). On the other hand, though, witnesses state that the whale grabbed the trainer into the water by her waist shaking her violently and subsequently killing her. The killer whale shows were suspended at SeaWorld after this tragic accident took place.

It seems that Telly will remain at the Florida aqua park despite his bad reputation and the mortal accidents he has been involved recently and in the past as well. In 1991, the orca was one of the three whales made responsible for killing a female trainer in Canada. In 1999, the whale was involved in a mysterious death when a naked man was found drowned in unclear circumstances. The Park stated that they would examine their safety regulations. “We are going to make any changes we have to, to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” declared Chuck Tompkins, chief of animal training at SeaWorld Parks. Tompkins also said that the whale is not able to survive in his natural habitat as he was captive for a long time and that killing Telly was neither a good option as he participated in a breeding program.

On Sunday morning, the show restarted in front of several hundreds spectators in the marine park’s outdoor stadium with a tribute to Brancheau.

The End: Vancouver 2010

After 17 days of outstanding athletic achievements, Vancouver bid adieu to the 21st Winter Olympic Games with a fastidious closing ceremony.

The statistics of this Olympic Games are rather astounding: 6,500 athletes and team officials in total out of whom 2,632 were athletes, 50,000 broadcast hours of the Games across all media platforms all around the world, 10,800 media representatives, 3.5 billion estimated worldwide television viewers, 1.6 million tickets sold, 18,500 volunteers, and more than 600 cultural events in two months.

The “radiant, jubilant, spontaneous, peaceful” ceremony started with a countdown and the focus was on talent, humor and innovation, the three most important exports of the hosting country. In the spirit of “one nation of athletes”, the 2,600 athletes processed together and not grouped up according to their country. The event also featured the two most important moments of the ending ceremony. John Furlong (the Chief Executive Officer of this Game) emphasized in his speech the enormous force of the Olympiad to unite people, the importance of athletes, as “best ambassadors we have for a better world” and the shocking, sorrowful death of the young Georgian athlete Nodar Kumartiashvilli . Jacques Rogge, the IOC President expressed his gratitude to Canada: “Thank you to the people of Canada, for your generous hospitality, your warmth, and this unique and joyous celebration of Olympism… Thank you to the thousands of marvellous volunteers. Your competency, your kindness and your smiles are worthy of a gold medal!” The official handover of the Olympic flag by Vancouver Major Gregor Robertson to Andy Pakhomov mayor of Sochi was impressive with an ample show presenting some chief aspects of Russian culture and sport. The later part of the ceremony flaunted extravagant performances from artists as Michael J. Fox, Michael Bublé or Avril Lavigne. As all the Olympic Games, the remarkable show ended with the traditional fire works.

Sochi 2014, it’s your turn!