Mick Bell on YouTube via Laughing Squid
Police in Sunshine Coast (Australia) got a surprise during the recent storm & flooding of the coastal area. The churning seas whipped out a heavy dose of foam that completely enveloped the road near the coast . As the cops stood watch, out comes a stealthy surprise – a car, completely covered in the foam! Scary to say the least!
(Source: via Reddit)
Image Courtesy: Imgur.com via Reddit
And here is the funny road safety campaign video featuring the sign above. How much I wish America adopted this blunt, yet funny style of conveying the message. Our American campaign signs are boring compared to the Aussies’. PERIOD!
(Source: New York Times)
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ONE is wearing a couture gown, another just a pair of red underwear. One is lugging a huge bouquet of flowering rhododendrons on his shoulder, another a suckling pig. They are all riding bicycles in the middle of streets downtown, and they are all shown from behind, having passed by, headed toward some unknown destination — a party, a garden, a pig roast.
The photographs are by Bridget Fleming, 30, who moved to the Lower East Side from Australia in 2008. She is halfway through an ambitious project to capture downtown denizens riding on two wheels down each of the approximately 200 streets below 14th Street. She posts some of the photographs on a blog, Downtown From Behind, and hopes the project, which she describes as a glamorous ode to “the heartbeat of New York,” will culminate this spring with a gallery exhibition and Web site.
Image Courtesy: Downtown from Behind
Click here for more on this story and for the awesome interactive.
(Source: Washington Post & Kidzworld)
On May 15, 2010, after 210 days at sea and more than 22,000 nautical miles, 16-year-old Jessica Watson sailed her 33-foot boat back to land. The courageous teenager from Queensland, Australia is now entered the record books as the youngest person to sail solo, unassisted, and nonstop around the world. Ever since her return she was busy dealing withe media frenzy and somehow managed to find time to write a book, True Spirit, sharing her experiences from this journey around the globe. Recently, she was in New York to promote her book and sat down for an interview with CBS’ Early Show (shown below). Listening to her not only makes you feel proud of her achievement but also appreciate the daring sense of exploration that many of us won’t even have at our 20s and 30s. Here is her interview with Early Show’s Harry Smith:
Read more: http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/
The Australian Intelligent Transport Systems Summit 2009 (ITS 09) will showcase the latest in transport technology in Australia together with new innovations from around the world. In addition to the Summit being a fantastic opportunity to learn from leading experts and discover new ideas, the program will also provide delegates the unique opportunity to be part of discussions and decision-making to take ITS for Australia into the next generation.
Road safety, congestion and sustainability are just some of the challenges facing, transport networks around Australia (and the world). Meeting these challenges requires close consultation from all state and federal governments, as well as the systematic implementation of intelligent transport systems technology (ITS).
ITS technology helps our transport and road users to utilise infrastructure more effectively and efficiently. It is the link that will help all state, territory and federal governments meet their transport challenges. This was the pre cursor in establishing Australia’s first ITS Summit. Improving road and rail safety.
Themes:
The program will include:
(Source: WorldChanging & Times of India)
The prospect of a worldwide carbon tax for airline passengers is gathering pace after the Australian government demanded the inclusion of the aviation industry in the global climate change treaty.
The Australian administration has proposed that airlines are set a carbon dioxide reduction target as part of the treaty that will emerge from the Copenhagen summit this year. The latest plan would see responsibility for any aviation deal handed over to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is overseeing the treaty talks.
The proposal is one of four suggestions for dealing with aviation emissions that will be discussed in Copenhagen. If the Australian plan is accepted, it is likely that airlines will join a global emissions trading scheme. British Airways backed a global scheme last week and its chief executive, Willie Walsh, said it would force up fares as airlines pass on the multibillion-dollar cost of acquiring carbon credits.
Also on June 9, 2009, according to Times of India, some of the world’s largest airlines called for the industry to set global emissions targets as part of efforts to include aviation in a broader climate agreement at the end of the year. The seven airlines, including Air France/KLM and British Airways, along with international NGO The Climate Group, have backed a range of emissions reduction targets for negotiators involved in UN-backed climate talks to consider.
The proposals, from carbon-neutral growth, a 5 percent reduction and a 20 percent reduction in emissions through to 2020, using a 2005 base-year, will be presented to negotiators at the latest round of climate talks being held this week in Bonn, Germany.
The carriers, part of the Aviation Global Deal Group, said in a statement that participation in an international carbon trading market would be crucial to meeting their goals.
Under the group’s proposal, a proportion of the sector’s emission allowances would be auctioned to generate revenues for climate change initiatives in developing countries.
“Based on the scenarios assessed, auction revenues of up to $5 billion per annum could be generated to support activities such as climate adaptation programmes and initiatives to combat tropical deforestation,” the group said in the statement.
The group also proposed that airlines’ carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are based on the carbon content of their annual fuel purchases and that CO2 pollution should be addressed through a global sectoral agreement, rather than a patchwork of regional schemes.
Environmental campaigners welcomed the Australian proposal. Joss Garman, of Greenpeace, said: “Scientists project that unless world leaders take action, ships and planes would eat up 50% to 80% of the world’s carbon budget by 2050, making it essential that governments end these industries’ special treatment and include them in a strong Copenhagen treaty.”
Click here to read the entire article report.
