Countdown is on for Hawke’s Bay’s Largest Ever Eco Show

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Countdown is on for Hawkes Bays Largest Ever Eco Show Tipped to be a Crowd Pleaser

15th May 2012

Jade Promotions, the countrys largest provider of home, garden and lifestyle events is gearing up for the Hawkes Bay Better Home & Living Show being held at Pettigrew Arena, Taradale, in just ten days.

Show organisers have hand- picked 100 exhibitors that will be showcasing eco-friendly products & wares especially for visitors interested in improving the health and wellbeing of their family through better housing, sustainable living, better food and transport. The show, trialled and launched three years ago, in the home town of Jade Promotions is the brainchild of co-owner Daniel Joll.

It has proved so popular, that this year we are hosting the show over three days now including Friday 25th, Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May 2012. It has four distinct sections Better Homes, Better Gardens, Better Bodies and now a brand new section Better Transport. We are really excited about Hawkes Bay businesses getting behind us this year and we provide an economic boost to the region by employing locals prior, during and after the show.

It follows hot on the heels of a very successful launch of the same show in Wellington where we filled the Westpac Stadium and more than 10,700 people flooded through the doors.

We realise that Hawkes Bay numbers will be smaller reflecting the region but latest figures show despite economic downturn home-owners are still surging ahead with either renovating or building and local people take pride in their gardens and bodies so this show is tipped to please garden enthusiasts and people looking for healthier lifestyles, he said.

This year Havelock North based qualified landscape architect and successful author Janet Luke will wow garden lovers with an amazing display on offer which is all about green urban living.

Ever heard of a gutter garden, upside down bucket garden or a vertical wall garden, not to mention a top bar beehive?

Whether you have acres to spread out on or just a small patio area there is something for everyone at this show and Janet will showcase Japanese quail in a moveable hutch, these birds lay an egg-a-day and are great for a balcony when there is just no room for chooks.

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Countdown is on for Hawke’s Bay’s Largest Ever Eco Show

Colourblind artist wants cyborg eye in Irish passport

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A colourblind artist from Barcelona is hoping Irish authorities will allow him to be photographed for his passport wearing an electronic eye. Related Stories Pining dogs Skype 'chat' with owners during work Bing poll reveals that 60% of workers hate their career choice Change.org: Petition website that ignited a US protest movement is launching in the UK Apple founder Steve Wozniak: I don't have ...

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Colourblind artist wants cyborg eye in Irish passport

National Geographic announces its Emerging Explorers for 2012

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Public release date: 15-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Caroline Braun cbraun@ngs.org 202-862-8281 National Geographic Society

WASHINGTON (May 15, 2012)A cyborg anthropologist, a pilot, a digital storyteller and zoologist, a crisis mapper and a guerrilla geographer are among the 15 visionary, young trailblazers from around the world who have been named to the 2012 class of National Geographic Emerging Explorers.

National Geographic's Emerging Explorers Program recognizes and supports uniquely gifted and inspiring adventurers, scientists and storytellers, who are pushing the boundaries of discovery, adventure and global problem-solving while still early in their careers.

The Emerging Explorers each receive a $10,000 award to assist with research and to aid further exploration. The program is made possible in part by the Panasonic Corporation.

The 2012 Emerging Explorers are U.S. cyborg anthropologist Amber Case; U.K. digital storyteller and zoologist Lucy Cooke; U.K. behavioral ecologist Iain Couzin; Mexican underwater archaeologist Guillermo de Anda; chemist Yu-Guo Guo of China; conservationist Osvel Hinojosa Huerta of Mexico; U.S. pilot and educator Barrington Irving; conservation biologist Krithi Karanth of India; Swiss crisis mapper Patrick Meier; U.S. archaeologist Sarah Parcak; U.S. data scientist Jake Porway; U.K. guerrilla geographer Daniel Raven-Ellison; U.S. archaeologist Jeffrey Rose; engineer and renewable energy advocate Ibrahim Togola of Mali; and archaeologist Daniel Torres Etayo of Cuba. The new Emerging Explorers are introduced in the June 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine, and comprehensive profiles can be found at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/emerging.

National Geographic Emerging Explorers may be selected from virtually any field, from the Society's traditional arenas of anthropology, archaeology, photography, space exploration, earth sciences, mountaineering and cartography to the worlds of technology, music and filmmaking.

"National Geographic's mission is to inspire people to care about the planet, and our Emerging Explorers are outstanding young leaders whose endeavors further this mission. We are pleased to support them as they set out on promising careers. They are innovators in their respective fields and represent tomorrow's Edmund Hillarys, Jacques Cousteaus and Dian Fosseys," said Terry Garcia, National Geographic's executive vice president for Mission Programs.

Cyborg anthropology is a framework for understanding the effects of objects and technology on culture. Cyborg anthropologist Amber Case studies the interaction between humans and computers and how our relationship with information is changing the way we think, act and understand our world. She believes that how we interact with machines and technology in many ways defines who we are. She has observed an increasingly symbiotic relationship between people and technology, and she feels that today's technologies amplify our humanness. Her research in mobile software and data visualization has helped influence business strategy and productivity for people online. Her insights are shaping new products, the way tech insiders think, and ideas that will make technology a more empowering, rather than frustrating, part of daily life. She is the founder of Geoloqi, a company building cutting-edge, location-based technologies for mobile phones.

Digital storyteller and zoologist Lucy Cooke is on a one-woman crusade to champion ugly, unappreciated and unloved creatures and show why they deserve our attention, study and protection. Through her popular and quirky blogs, online videos, films and TV programs, she reaches a wide audience, spreading her conservation message that if we only care for "cute" and best-loved species, other enormously crucial parts of the web of life could vanish forever. Frogs top her underdog list. Over a third of all amphibians are heading for oblivion. It's the worst extinction crisis since the dinosaurs were wiped out and one that will reverberate through the entire food chain, but they don't grab headlines like pandas or polar bears. Cooke hopes to inspire people to share her sense of wonder, amazement and love of nature's freaks. "Once you understand why they're ugly or odd, I hope you'll appreciate and want to save them as much as I do," she says.

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National Geographic announces its Emerging Explorers for 2012

Colourblind artist wants to be world’s first cyborg

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A colourblind artist is hoping to become the first human to be officially recognised as a cyborg on his passport after being fitted with an electronic eye. Related Stories Pain road map under construction Suspended after YouTube filmed abusive rant Tyrone family pet torn apart by "wolf-like" dog Hero praised for saving burger choke man in Ballymena Dangerous estates left unfinished across ...

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Colourblind artist wants to be world’s first cyborg

Beaches fly flag for England

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An increasing number of England's beaches have won Blue Flag awards this year, bringing the country into the top 10 worldwide.

For 2012, 79 English beaches have received the awards, nine more than in 2011. The area with the most Blue Flags this year is Thanet in Kent, with nine, followed by Torbay, in Devon, and Cornwall, both with five.

New awards for 2012 included Herne Bay in Kent, Seaton Carew Centre in Tyne and Wear, and Bridlington North and Bridlington South in East Yorkshire.

However, around 30 per cent of the beaches might not reach tougher water quality standards being introduced next year, according to Keep Britain Tidy.

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Beaches fly flag for England

Blue Flag success for Island beaches

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Sandown beach scooped both a Blue Flag and Quality Coast Award.

BEACHES on the Isle of Wight have topped the table in the latest Blue Flag awards.

Three beaches have scooped both Blue Flag and Quality Coast Awards and 11 have been given Quality Coast Awards by Keep Britain Tidy, which runs the Blue Flag scheme.

The 14 awards put the Island at the top of the table in the South East for the second year in a row. Thanet was second with ten awards.

Shanklin, Sandown and Ventnor retained their Blue Flag and Quality Coast Awards, while Colwell, Cowes, East Cowes, Gurnard, Seagrove, Springvale, Totland and Yaverland once again earned Quality Coast Awards.

The awards are made for beaches that meet criteria on issues including water quality and litter levels.

In a statement, Cllr George Brown, Isle of Wight Council cabinet member for tourism said: "Once again we have had excellent news from the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign about our beaches.

"This retains our number one standing as the best tourism destination in the south east for quality beaches and shows the hard work to maintain our beaches over the last years has been worthwhile.

"This is very good news for the Island as we build up to the main tourism season."

Earlier this month ten Isle of Wight beaches on the IW have received top accolades from The Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

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Blue Flag success for Island beaches

Eight North East beaches awarded Blue Flags

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EIGHT beaches in the North East have been awarded Blue Flags for their water quality and top notch facilities.

The first class beaches are Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Roker and Seaburn in Sunderland, Sandhaven at South Shields and in North Tyneside King Edwards Bay, Longsands South, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay.

The Blue Flag is the internationally recognised benchmark standard for beaches and is based on accessibility, cleanliness and lifeguard services, as well as water quality. The beaches have also been given Quality Coast Awards for beach management. England is now ranked in the worlds top 10 countries for having the most Blue Flag beaches out of 46 countries taking part in the Blue Flag scheme.

The awards follow top ratings earlier this month 29 beaches in the North East which were recommended in the Marine Conservation Societys Good Beach Guide.

Phil Barton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy which is responsible for the Blue Flag scheme in England and the Quality Coast Awards said: We urge more holidaymakers to take advantage of the North Easts award-winning seaside resorts this summer.

Its great to see that beaches along our coastline have achieved high standards of excellence for visitors. With eight beaches in the region receiving both Blue Flags and Quality Coast Awards, what better way to holiday in the North East than to visit one of these local award-winning beaches?

John Kelly, portfolio holder for safer city and culture on Sunderland City Council said: It is always great news for everyone in the city and all our many visitors that Blue Flags continue to fly proudly over both Roker and Seaburn beaches this summer. These flags also recognise the hard work of council staff in maintaining the seafront and beaches for residents and visitors.

Cullercoats Bay in North Tyneside qualified for a Blue Flag after narrowly missing the water quality standard last year. The council responded by capping an old culvert, which was considered to be the source of the potential contamination.

North Tyneside Mayor Linda Arkley said: This is fantastic news. Tourism is worth over 240m to the local economy and we know that our coastline is the main reason people come here.

Thats why were so delighted to have a full complement of beach awards.

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Eight North East beaches awarded Blue Flags

Flying a flag for beaches

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EIGHT beaches in the North East have been awarded Blue Flags for their water quality and top notch facilities.

The first class beaches are Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Roker and Seaburn in Sunderland, Sandhaven at South Shields and in North Tyneside King Edwards Bay, Longsands South, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay.

The Blue Flag is the internationally recognised benchmark standard for beaches and is based on accessibility, cleanliness and lifeguard services, as well as water quality. The beaches have also been given Quality Coast Awards for beach management. England is now ranked in the worlds top 10 countries for having the most Blue Flag beaches out of 46 countries taking part in the Blue Flag scheme.

The awards follow top ratings earlier this month 29 beaches in the North East which were recommended in the Marine Conservation Societys Good Beach Guide.

Phil Barton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy which is responsible for the Blue Flag scheme in England and the Quality Coast Awards said: We urge more holidaymakers to take advantage of the North Easts award-winning seaside resorts this summer.

Its great to see that beaches along our coastline have achieved high standards of excellence for visitors. With eight beaches in the region receiving both Blue Flags and Quality Coast Awards, what better way to holiday in the North East than to visit one of these local award-winning beaches?

John Kelly, portfolio holder for safer city and culture on Sunderland City Council said: It is always great news for everyone in the city and all our many visitors that Blue Flags continue to fly proudly over both Roker and Seaburn beaches this summer. These flags also recognise the hard work of council staff in maintaining the seafront and beaches for residents and visitors.

Cullercoats Bay in North Tyneside qualified for a Blue Flag after narrowly missing the water quality standard last year. The council responded by capping an old culvert, which was considered to be the source of the potential contamination.

North Tyneside Mayor Linda Arkley said: This is fantastic news. Tourism is worth over 240m to the local economy and we know that our coastline is the main reason people come here.

Thats why were so delighted to have a full complement of beach awards.

The rest is here:

Flying a flag for beaches

More English beaches gaining Blue Flag awards

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More beaches judged good for cleanliness, but tougher standards mean fewer are likely to make the grade next year The number of England's beaches gaining Blue Flag awards for cleanliness has increased in 2012. But about 30% of the beaches might not reach tougher water quality standards being introduced next year, said Blue Flag scheme organisers Keep Britain Tidy. For 2012, a total of 79 English ...

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More English beaches gaining Blue Flag awards

Four beaches lose Blue Flag title

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15 May 2012 Last updated at 07:31 ET

Four of Devon's best-known beaches have lost their prestigious Blue Flag awards from Keep Britain Tidy.

Croyde, Woolacombe and Preston Sands failed to meet the necessary standards. Bigbury-on-Sea did not apply for the flags, which are awarded annually.

Sandy Bay was awarded a flag, however, bringing Devon's total to 12 - five of which were awarded in Torbay. Westward Ho! received its ninth Blue Flag.

A total of 79 beaches received Blue Flags in England - nine more than 2011.

Forty-one countries take part in the Blue Flag programme, which is managed internationally by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and in England by Keep Britain Tidy.

A Blue Flag application costs 792 and awards are based on a number of criteria, including water quality, environmental management, beach services and safety.

Keep Britain Tidy spokeswoman Helen Bingham said water quality was the reason Croyde, Woolacombe and Preston Sands lost their flags.

More stringent water quality standards will be introduced next year under the new EU Bathing Water Directive, which organisers have said could result in 30% of English beaches losing their flags.

From 2013, Blue Flag beaches will also have to provide warnings to beach users when nearby combined sewer overflows discharge, if that discharge could temporarily affect the bathing water quality.

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Four beaches lose Blue Flag title

If the Mayans were right, it was probably about Internet comments | Bad Astronomy

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A little while back, I was at Utah State University to give a public talk about the threat from asteroid impacts and what we can do to stop them (PLUG ALERT: if you want me to come talk at your venue, my agent would love to hear from you).

While I was there I was interviewed by Utah Public Radio, and that interview is online.

I was also chatted up by the local TV station, KSL. I think it went OK, and they put it online as well:

[You may have to refresh this page to get the video to load.]

While I rather wish I had stated succinctly that even the basis of the "Mayan 2012 doomsday" nonsense is itself a gross misinterpretation of Mayan history, culture, and calendar, I think I was pretty clear. I have to walk a fine line sometimes: debunking crap doomsday scenarios like 2012 while also warning of real dangers like asteroid impacts while neither over- or understating that danger. Its a delicate balance.

A balance, Ill note, which is apparently completely lost on some of the commenters on the KSL website who are saying Im totally wrong and that the doomsday is coming in December [Note: I checked just before posting this, and most of the really over-the-top comments have been deleted, and I thank the forum moderators for that]. The sheer blind eye some have toward reality is stunning.

I know some people have deep beliefs they hold true, and are willing to deny whats right in front of their face if they have to. I also know its the Internet out there, where people dont read past the first line or watch a video past the first few seconds. Still, the denial and to be blunt dickery is breathtaking. One person actually said they hoped the Universe kills me so they dont have to listen to my "drivel" [that was one of the comments deleted, BTW].

Of course this isnt the first time Ive had someone wish me dead, or that Id shut up. Duh. But what I find fascinating is the irony. One complaint I hear about critical thinking is that it takes away hope, takes away beauty, and replaces them with despair and the ugly nature of reality. And yet here we see people shredding their critical thinking to hold fast to a doomsday scenario that is as ugly as it is hopeless.

If they actually applied a bit of skepticism, theyd see the 2012 doomsday garbage for what it is. But they cleave unto it as fervently as a drowning man to a life preserver.

I dont think I have anything particularly profound to add to this; Im just shining a light on it for you to see. Be aware of this, and always remember peoples ability to be paradoxical and completely embrace a nonsensical danger while denying the real one.

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If the Mayans were right, it was probably about Internet comments | Bad Astronomy

Psychedelic space station stars and cities | Bad Astronomy

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The view from the International Space Station is always pretty cool, but when an astronaut points the camera at the Earths horizon and takes a series of short exposures, adding them together gives a view right out of Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s:

[Click to psilocybinate.]

Whoa, man!

Astronaut Don Petit took the pictures to make this composite. Basically, its a series of eighteen 30-second exposures added together so the motion of the ISS around the Earth makes the stars trail, the cities blur, and your mind expand, dude.

The brown and green glow over the horizon is the atmospheric aerosol layer; molecules that absorb sunlight during the day and release that energy at night. The red glow above that puzzles me; Ive written about it before. It might be a reflection of lights from inside the space station, but I suspect its actually the aurora; it follows the curve of the Earth, and as you can see from the star trails the camera was pointed toward the poles the direction youre likely to see an aurora.

You can see faint star trails above the bright ones too, with a different center of curvature those probably are from an internal reflection. Either that or the camera got moved, but that seems unlikely! Several people pointed out to me that the fainter trails above the stars are from the solar panels. I shouldve realized that myself!

This picture is one of several posted to Flickr, including this one which looks like its from the last scene of "2001: A Space Odyssey". But theyre all worth looking at, if only for their alien beauty.

After all, the photographer was literally high when he took them!

Image credit: NASA

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Psychedelic space station stars and cities | Bad Astronomy

Big Picture Science: Antivaxxers (and updates) | Bad Astronomy

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I do a roughly monthly segment with astronomer Seth Shostak on Big Picture Science, a radio show/podcast done by The SETI Institute. This month, Seth and I talked about the American Airlines dustup when they were planning to run an interview with reality-impaired antivaxxer Meryl Dorey. This story is a great victory for reality, and Ive already written about the back story.

Never forget: this antivax issue is more than important: it is literally life and death. Because of lowering vaccine rates, pertussis outbreaks are so prevalent health officials in the state of Washington have declared it to be an epidemic. The governor has had to dip into emergency funds to the tune of $90,000 to finance an information campaign to get the word out.

But the money is secondary to the idea that babies and people with immune deficiencies are at risk of dying from a disease that is essentially totally preventable if everyone got their vaccinations and boosters.

I cannot state that any more simply. The antivax crowd says vaccines cause autism, vaccines cause neurological problems, vaccines hurt your immune system. None of that is true. The real danger is when people believe the antivax propaganda. Infants too young to be vaccinated themselves rely on herd immunity if enough people are vaccinated the disease has no place to live. And when we as a community dont vaccinate, people get sick, and some people including those infants, usually just a few weeks old die.

Talk to your board-certified doctor, and if they say its OK, get vaccinated. You may save more than one life doing so.

Related Posts:

- Followup: Antivaxxers, airlines, and ailments - UPDATE: partial Complete success with American Airlines! - Whooping cough outbreak in Boulder - Stop antivaxxers. Now.

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Big Picture Science: Antivaxxers (and updates) | Bad Astronomy

Help find Hubble’s Hidden Treasures | Bad Astronomy

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I worked with Hubble Space Telescope data for about ten years, and one of the most amazing things about that was seeing the images fresh off the mirror. Knowing that no human on Earth had ever seen that particular object that sharply was a thrill.

Not every Hubble observation gets turned into a gorgeous image, though. A lot of them dont need to be for scientific publications, for one thing, and for another not every observation is of a targeted object for a specific purpose. Because of that, there are probably hundreds and hundreds of amazing objects galaxies, nebulae, star clusters buried in the data, waiting to be found.

Thats where you come in: the folks at the European Space Agencys Hubble HQ are holding a contest they call Hidden Treasures. You can look through the Hubble observation archive for images and tweak them using online tools they provide, or you can really roll up your sleeves and use professional astronomical software to prettify the images. Theyve made a video explaining the Hubble archive, which may help.

The contest has nice prizes (an iPod Touch, an iPad, and other "goodies"), but you have to hurry: it ends May 31. I know, Im late to the game here, and I apologize. But if this sounds like something youd like to do, go dive in! I can tell you as someone with (a lot) of first-hand experience here: its huge fun. And who knows? You might find something beautiful, something interesting, or even something no one has ever seen before.

Related Posts:

- When beauty and science collide - A spiral that can beat you with two arms tied behind its back - Happy 22nd, Hubble! - Desktop Project Part 26: Carina will keelhaul your brain

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Help find Hubble’s Hidden Treasures | Bad Astronomy