street life

Burgeoning cities face catastrophe, says UN


The rapidity of urbanisation means that a ­billion ­people now live in slums such as Kibera in ­Nairobi, Kenya.

· Urban dwellers to outstrip rural population next year
· Big rise in poverty, slums and pollution feared

Humanity will make the historic transition from a rural to an urban species some time in the next year, according to the latest UN population figures. The shift will be led by Africa and Asia, which are expected to add 1.6 billion people to their cities over the next 25 years.

The speed and scale of inevitable global urbanisation is so great most countries will not be remotely prepared for the impact it will have, Thoraya Obaid, executive director of the UN Population Fund, says. "In human history we have never seen urban growth like this. It is unprecedented."...

teaching science

New ideas for teaching science lessons

「我看‧世界攝影比賽」

當你走到街上或到外地旅遊時，甚麼東西會深深吸引你？高聳入雲的摩天大廈？迷人的風景？還是令人垂涎的美食？許多人只留意都市的璀璨，卻遺忘了背後生活困 苦的一群。今個夏天，宣明會誠邀全港中學及大專生一同運用鏡頭拍攝繁華鬧市背後貧困一群的生活實況，藉此鼓勵他們關心世界上有需要的人。

greenpeace china

「綠色和平光影十年」圖片展及分享會

中國綠色和平網站

中國綠色和平十周年

merger of 2 stars

Collision of titans caught

...astronomers have determined, for the first time, the properties of a rare, extremely massive, and young binary star system...



...As the stars age and swell in size, they will begin to transfer substantial amounts of mass to each other. This process could begin in a million years. The stars are orbiting so close to each other that they are likely to merge as they evolve, producing a single extremely massive star like the more massive member of the Eta Carinae binary system. Eta Carinae is one of the most massive and luminous stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, with perhaps 100 solar masses.

‘The merger of two massive stars to make a single super star of over 80 suns could lead to an object like Eta Carinae, which might have looked like LH54-425 one million years ago,’ says Sonneborn. ‘Finding stars this massive so early in their life is very rare. These results expand our understanding of the nature of very massive binaries, which was not well understood. The system will eventually produce a very energetic supernova.’...

abort rocket

Abort system on NASA craft would hurl astronauts to safety

greenpeace's noah's ark

How Greenpeace rebuilt Noah's Ark

Noah’s ark has been rebuilt in near Mount Ararat by Greenpeace to highlight the dangers of climate change.
Environmental activists held up banners in several languages that read: "Save the climate now" and released more than 200 pigeons that they said would symbolically convey that message to world leaders.
Construction of the ark was timed to raise awareness of climate change ahead of next week’s G8 summit.

green agenda in june

Rachel Dixon round up the best of the month's green-themed festivals, lectures and campaigns



If you're interested in food and based in or near London, you can't go wrong this month. Peter Singer will provide food for thought as he debates the ethics of meat eating and factory farming at the ICA on June 1). The following week, John Mackey, the founder of Whole Foods Market, will give Compassion in World Farming's 40th anniversary lecture (Institute of Engineering and Technology, June 5). The theme will be 'Food for the Future'...

basil

Seasonal eating recipes: lots of basil, please

Make pesto, pasta or pudding - or stick it in a G&T


It's a herb, not a garnish.

...When confronted with fresh basil, there's surely nothing better than a simple insalata caprese, with the sweetest vine-ripe cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. It's hard not to lapse into dreamy-eyed reminiscences about meals in the sunshine in Italy at this point, but I think we'll all be happier if I don't...