Globe Stars

Hawaii Isles Seek World Heritage Status

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:36:00 +0000

Hawai'i, the fiftieth state, has a storied juxtaposition of politics with scenery befitting paradise found. Grover Cleveland's American business interests and political plotters engineered a faux crisis to rip the reigns of power away from Queen Liliʻuokalani late in the nineteenth century. The American Florentine style of the Iolani Palace is one of its unique charms along with the first World Heritage Site in the islands, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The new president of the United States was born in Hawaii. The current governor of the state is a republican along with the outgoing president of the United States. The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument received President George W. Bush ministrations to set it up as a UNESCO WHS alongside the recently refurbished visitor's museum of Mount Vernon on the mainland, in Virginia. Bush created the monument of islands and waters in Northwestern Hawaii in 2006. A decade and a half has elapsed since the last US offering to get on the prestigious list. Now the pristine Pacific Marine Park along with the Mariana Trench and the Rose Atoll near American Samoa spread out for 50 nautical miles in each direction.

Native Hawaiian fisherman William Aila said the UNESCO designation for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument has both natural history and cultural value. The designation would "put it on a much higher pedestal in terms of importance to the world." (James Maragos, U.S.. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE)

The Monument and the miles of Pacific Ocean it covers would be a first marine entrant for the coveted status. The ecosystems and range of marine life encompasses more than 7,000 different species, the largest albatross colony on the planet and the 23 endangered or threatened species including the habitats of the monk seal and green turtles are markers enhancing the application. The entire process takes eighteen months seeping one of the rare good tokens of Bush environmental legacy well into a President Obama's first term. Hawaii is currently suffering a steep decline in tourism which could also be helped and hurt with a WHS moniker in rare areas where 14 million birds call home. The unspoiled beauty is what makes it so valuable now as the new park legally bans commercial fishing and mining in the exclusive economic zone.

Papahanaumokuakea is being nominated as a “mixed” site (for both its natural and cultural resource values) because of its unique geology, ecology, biology, Native Hawaiian cultural heritage, and its significance to the world.
Native Hawaiians view the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) as an integral part of the archipelago and a deeply spiritual location.

Physical remnants of wahi kupuna (ancestral places) and oral traditions provide evidence of the various past uses of the islands and surrounding ocean by Native Hawaiians both as a home and a place of worship.

What a beautiful part of the world with a range of political viewpoints melding together to work together to garner the seal that graces less than 1000 sites on Earth. It is truly the embodiment of the spirit of Hawai'i.

Mahalo & Aloha.

well

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:04:00 +0000

Cuba Rescues Heritage Site Remnants

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:38:00 +0000

For major weather emergencies, Cuba's government mercilessly evacuates hundreds of thousands of people out of the way, under threat of guns if required. This summer,all over the island, Cuban citizens were on multiple forced migrations as hurricane after hurricane flooded the Caribbean's largest island beneath 5 story waves obliterating public housing tenements. Weather whammies came during the heaviest tourist season, inflicting greater harm on the Cuban economy. Grievously damaged are 500 year old beautiful period buildings in the Historic Center of Camagüey that make up the old district founded by Spaniards. Inland, the district forms the heart of a Cuban World Heritage Site that just received its place of honor in July of 2008.

Old Havana has a wealth of colonial architecture, historic hotels and Baroque construction beckoning beach going tourists. It was only recently that Cuba's second President Castro, Raul, made an overdue edict that Cubans could now stay at all the posh resorts and use cell phones, even though their earnings are paltry.

Fay, Gustav, and Hanna have strained resources as Ike smashed houses and businesses with the coup de gras being a watery shredding of Camaguey, their World Heritage Site since 1982.

He said: 'Havana has some of the best-maintained and impressive selections of colonial architecture in the world.
'But it also has a magnificent collection of 20th-century architecture. There were two or three architects working from the 1930s to the 1950s who would have been uttered in the same breath as Mies van der Rohe if not for the revolution. These buildings are in serious dangers from the conditions.'

Havana or La Habana is 500 kilometers away from Camagüey. Total damages are assessed at 5 billion dollars US. With a population of 11,000,000m nore than 10% are struggling to find the basic necessities in life amidst the rubble. The crumbled like brown sugar pieces of an inland cultural town will plummet down the priority list for now. Cuba's world class beaches and resorts are reopening as quickly as possible to protect tourism as high winds and monster rain took a bigger bite out of agriculture.

In Camaguey, the roof of the historic Teatro Principal was blown away and several other older structures suffered damage or collapsed altogether. The rivers Hatibonico and Tinima, which cross the city,overflowed and flooded nearby neighborhoods. Trees were uprooted by the strong winds and electrical cables are down everywhere. As of this writing, most of the city is still without electricity.

The amount of destruction and misery is prompting calls from the well of Cuban writers and artists to the US to ease sanctions to make a full recovery possible. UNICEF is rushing to the 2.5 million people in dire straits in the latest hurricane's wake.

London Piers Fast Going Up in Smoke

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:34:00 +0000

A hundred years of history alongside the water as Fleetwood Pier turned into a pile of smoldering, sodden ashes. Recently, London is putting out pier fires all too often. The latest wooden pier Fleetwood, was a shuttered landmark last year and a beacon to homeless seeking shelter. What is interesting is though the dilapidated pier is immediately recognizable, the fire burned from front to back leaving homes onshore safe. It was a historic eyesore, yet completely part of the landscape through the twentieth century where the London pier was a crown jewel of the community until Blackpool upstaged it with flashier tourist trappings and bigger name stars with local real estate interests.

Funny how a piece of history burns up in a blaze of flaming toothpick glory requiring over 90 firefighters, untold liters of water and in full view of all of its residents while wringing their hands ensues a dawning realization that it was something of the resort community's heritage to preserve. Nevermind, local teens trashed it in recent times and less fortunate people used it as a rough hotel to get out of the elements. What was the cost of the all out firefighting effort versus preservation of the pier, who knows, as Lancashire went into a deep decline with the increased scarcity of fish off its shores. Eighteen months ago, the pier had been up for auction for a million pounds with helium hopes of enticing real estate developers to put pricey homes on the docks. Now its all part of a police investigation into the fire's cause.

Built in 1906, Fleetwood Pier was the last such structure to arise out of the 'golden age' of pier building between 1860 - 1910.

With a promenade deck, a jetty stretching 600 foot (182 metres) and an
oriental-style pavilion, the pier was opened to the public in 1911.

A major fire gutted the structure in 1952, which was rebuilt a year later and continued to generate profit throughout the declining years of the seaside resort.

Another pier of historical value had a fiery send up within the last six weeks. Nothing but rubble was left of the prize winning 104 year old Weston-super-Mare's pavilion. It was privately held though a known grade II listed building on the English heritage list,cementing its merit as a national landmark. It is not everywhere in the world one finds donkeys on the beach. That followed the devastating loss of cultural parts of Camden Canal Market on Chalk Farm Road where the pre-hip shop in February 2008. One too many suspicious fires of landmarks...

Iraq's Fabled Marshlands Seek WHS Status

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:34:00 +0000

An Iraq tour package may not have many takers right now for the Fertile Crescent. But Iraqis and other partners are repairing the ancient marshlands devastated by a destructive Saddam and a never ending US military occupation. Many Marsh Arabs believe Iraq's marshes and wetlands were the designer set for the original Garden of Eden. The United Nations has been on site for four years restoring the militarized damage from a lackluster reconstruction, trying to regain their ecosystem and the culture of the indigenous Iraqis and encouragement for creating the biodiversity of the past. It has gone so swimmingly with a 58% restoration that a petition is being drafted by United Nations Environment Program to seek World Heritage Site status over the next two years.

The Iraqi Environment Minister Narmin Othman welcomed the plans.
She said the marshlands and centuries-old culture of the Marsh Arabs had been in danger of disappearing in an ecological and human tragedy.

The Arabs of the Marshland, receive the run off and waters of the Tigris & Euphrates along the once volatile border near Iran. That can be iffy as the The rivers are filthy from lack of sanitation, filled with bodies of the missing and a long occupancy by the US military upriver. Their Islamic faith practices mirrored Saddam's enemies he was fighting the long war with causing his maniacal order to drain the area and damn the consequences both great and small. Slaves and servants had long run away t this area to hide from despotic rules and occupiers. Farming & agriculture suffered, especially rice as a drought doubled the misery. Crops, cattle and herds of buffalo live amongst the wetlands. Marshlands of Mesopotamia are rich with history in the houses made of reeds, blood feuds and Ezra's Tomb which sometimes takes the place of a house of worship.

Iraq's retention of cultural artifacts came into question during the aftermath of the initial invasion of Iraq with lawlessness and the overt looting Baghdad's museums and other cultural sites. It is now taking an international effort to restore the marshes in the wake of the Iraq Iran war that obsessed Saddam to crazily drain the area, killing the marshes and wrecking a Shiite way of life that existed for centuries. Japan funded a good portion of the last four years with Italy agreeing to pick up the cost of the preparation for submission to UNESCO for the coveted site status.

2003 Marsh view Army Corps of Engineers

Ancient Golden Wreath Found in Copper Pot in Greece

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:15:00 +0000

A large ancient copper pot filled with dirty water and human bones contained a wreath of gold made in the time of Alexander the Great. The spectacular was found on a dig by a freshman worker. Greece, with its blindingly white buildings, rocky cliffs, sparkly Aegean seas is without peer the cultural birthplace of western civilization. Now, it has added another fantastic find to its immense collection of archaeological and anthropological puzzle pieces detailing life from more than two thousand years ago. Somebody robbed a fresh grave of one of noble or royal lineage after the burial, hiding the wreath in the middle of the bustling Aigai market with human bones in the pot with all the pieces dating back to the audacious empire building period of Macedonian King Phillip II, Alexander the Great's father's murder by stabbing from his aggrieved bodyguard at the age of 46. The Age of Aristotle. (AP Photo/Aristotle University)

"This happened quite soon after the original burial; it's not that a grave robber took it centuries later and hid it with the intention of coming back," excavator Chryssoula Saatsoglou-Paliadeli told TheAssociated Press. "It probably belonged to a high-ranking person."

The "impressively large" copper vessel contained a cylindrical golden jar with a lid, with the gold wreath of oak leaves and the bones inside.

"The young workman who saw it was astounded and shouted 'land mine!'" the university statement said.

Saatsoglou-Paliadeli, a professor of archaeology at the university, said the find probably dates to the 4th century B.C., during which Philip and Alexander reigned.

The Archaeological Site of Aigai (or Verdina) continues to cement why it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in the 20th session of the committee in 1996. The northern city of Verdina came into existence in 1922 with a mix of cultural heritages from Greek serf descendants, Bulgaria and Asia Minor. More than fifty years before the hills excited a cadre of archaeologists that royal tombs and burial mounds of the nobility were there. So many munificent artifacts including the tumulus, were found, they built a museum as part of a showcase and conservation effort in 1993. Alexander the Great's son's tomb was found untouched just like his grandfathers. All the found royal or minor nobility's treasures are part of the museum's exhibits.

Greece continues to unearth pieces of the past as the very ground changed from fires, seismic activity and the amount of people gives up its buried treasures. One of the big archaeological quests is discovering the final resting place of Alexander the Great. In Vergina in 1977, a royal cemetery had gold and silver trinkets, elaborate wreaths and other precious tokens such as The Golden Larnax, found alongside the remains of Phillip II. Those finds now reside in the Museum of Vergina augmented by the chronicler and critic of Philip's life, the orator Demosthenes.

A trip to Greece is filled with mind-bending ways to spend the time either in the ancient past or the modern wonders. For certain hotels one had to take a donkey up to enter as the narrow streets were made thousands of years ago. Yet, the marketplaces of Greece thrive into today. the people are clothed a bit differently but the activities remain the same, fresh food and fruits for travelers, a bit of gossip and a sense of community. Beneath all of that thousands of years in the past, somebody moved a body and wreath and buried it in the vessels of the day to be found in today's world.

market in Crete

Mont Blanc Beautiful Scenery & Deadly Avalanches

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:15:00 +0000

La Dame Blanche belts out a siren song, luring top skiers and avid hikers in all seasons. Near Chamonix, France, ten were crushed to their deaths today buried beneath snow and boulders of ice in another massive summer avalanche ,while 8 others survived with two still missing and buried. Since 1 July, a climbing toll of twenty died in a summer season rife with peril on Mont Blanc. The Alps are suffering from declining snowfalls and mushier snowpacks setting up perfect conditions for a raging wind to push massive amounts of snow and glacial ice off the mountaintops. Ravages of global warming and climate change enhance the risks of tangling with Mont Blanc. Ski tourists follow the best powder. Mont Blanc with the highest elevation in western Europe, almost 16,000 feet or 4,811 meters, remains an irresistible challenge whether its summer or winter.

They were among a party of climbers who were hit by a wall of snow 200m
(600ft) long and about 45m wide while roped together on Mont-Blanc du
Tacul.

The avalanche is believed to have happened at about 0300 (0100 GMT)
after a large block of glacier ice broke off higher up the mountain.
The group of climbers had been bivouaced on the slope below.

Avalanches are majestic to watch. In the Alps, summer is a season for deadly avalanches. Seasoned people arm themselves with all types of devices like EPIRB or Personal Locating Beacons with GPS to get located quickly by dogs or authorities. But so many times they are merely there to locate the remains when avalanches make areas impassable or threaten further slides, endangering rescuers. On the European table 2 or small avalanches lists death as one of the range of outcomes in an unstable area.

A climb to Mont Blanc du Tacul, part of the Mont Blanc massif, is done in well equipped stages. Both the Italians and the French have well traveled, for a glacier mountain, historic routes to follow across the mountain range. Passes are described as snow in the upper elevations or bridle path and road at the more modest or lower stages. There is always a veritable danger of avalanches as wind conditions shift and temperatures change. Reaching the summit where the Janssen Observatory once stood, is considered a pinnacle of the trip. Proposed as a World Heritage Site because its deemed where mountaineering originated with the official ascent of Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel Paccard in 1786 would require Italy, France and Switzerland to make a joint application for the protection the listing would offer. Conserving the mountain range has more of a sense of urgency as glacier melts and increased tourist visits to the area are altering its ecosystem and the mountains features.

Italy Finally Returns Aksum Obelisk to Ethiopia

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:15:00 +0000

For the past decade, Italy waged a cultural war with specially trained carabinieri to retrieve their looted art pieces and statuary back from the iron clutches of some of the world's most prestigious art museums and gallery collections. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia had to use UNESCO's diplomatic and enforcement resources to pry their rightful treasure from the almost 2500 year old Kingdom of Axum back from an outdoor tourist plaza in Rome, Italy. After 70 years of forced exile in Italy, and the hectoring of a vigilant professor, the Italian nation coughed up over $4 million USD for the return of the stolen 1700 year old, Obelisk of Axum after it sat in storage at Rome's Leonardo Da Vinci airport for three years waiting to return to the Horn of Africa. In 1980, UNESCO designated Aksum a World Heritage Site and still the Italian government could not be moved.

Despite signing various agreements that promised to return the monument, the Italian government showed no signs of doing so until the obelisk was badly damaged by lightning in a thunderstorm in 2003. (Photo of Obelisk in Rome 2002)

In 1937, under the orders of fascist Benito Mussolini, Italian soldiers hacked the more than a millennium old obelisk into three pieces for shipping back to Rome as part of augmenting his imperial claims that the Roman Empire was once again ascending. In 1947, the United Nations demanded that it be returned as Italy dug in its heels and made Ethiopia wage one after another diplomatic initiative to get their rightful cultural symbol returned. Fifty years later, Italy grants permission for the Obelisk's return to Ethiopia. Ethiopia had to upgrade its own runway for the plane carrying the returning pieces weighing over 160 tons and standing 24 meters or or 78 feet when fully installed.

The holy city of Axum or Askum and its royal rulers have a long heritage of Christian lineage with strong Muslim ties going back to the protection of the family of the Prophet. Ethiopia's collection of obelisks contains some which date back almost 5,000 years before the birth of Christ. The area is said to be the cradle of civilization with archaeological evidence dating back 5.9 million years. The kingdom of Axum is where this architectural stone specimen was carved and stood until its removal. The modern day return of the obelisk is said to herald the return of peace and prosperity to Ethiopia.

The obelisk pieces are so massive, it took six weeks for artisans, historians and construction contractors to erect the returned artifact monument in its place of origin in Northern Ethiopia, near the border of Eritrea. An Ethiopian national celebration is planned for 4 September, 2008 to commemorate its joyful return. The Italian government had museum curators put on an elaborate how upon receiving over 70 notable pieces back into their possession. The Northern Stelae Park, home of ancient obelisks, showcases the fallen Great Steale in all its broken glory.

Arctic Turmoil for Nations, People & Polar Bears

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:21:00 +0000

Nature and nations are wreaking havoc in a sloshing Arctic with overzealous map-making from concerned countries versus the faster loss of great slabs of ice before they reach the famed Shiretoko Peninsula. Hokkaidō, scene of this year's July G8 summit, is Japan's second largest island where tourists enjoy photographing and sometimes catching a quick ride on drifting blocks of ice. Within the past five years, drift ice is melting as it arrives in the Sea of Okhotsk. The sea between Russia and Japan freezes each winter into ice lily pads that ride the current to an isle, the World Heritage Site of Shiretoko. The lack of staying power for this ice deprives the area's ecosystem of necessary nutrients, temporary homes or safe havens for flocks of rare birds and imperils a vibrant tourism industry economic base for the area. In prior seasons, the frozen ice masses could last up to four months.(photo Tony McNicol)

The pursuit of those resources will be underscored this week as the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy sails north from Barrow, Alaska, on Thursday to map the sea floor of the Chukchi Cap, an area at the northern edge of the Beaufort Sea. The maps could bolster U.S. claims to the area as part of its extended outer continental shelf.

The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed last month what the oil industry had long suspected when the agency released an estimate that the area north of the Arctic Circle may hold as much as 90 billion barrels of
oil and 1,669 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, or roughly 13 percent of the world's total undiscovered oil and 30 percent of the undiscovered natural gas.

The dash to stake out territory across the Arctic has accelerated since Russia sent one of its submarines last August to plant the country's flag on the sea floor beneath the North Pole, provoking an outcry by other nations that viewed it as an unauthorized land grab.

Earlier this month, Canadian officials at a geology conference in Norway detailed their territorial claims to the Lomonosov Ridge, an underseas mountain range that runs beneath the North Pole. Canada argues that the ridge is part of the North American continent, not part of Siberia, as Russia has asserted.

The Northwest Passage is on its way to becoming open for shipping, more marine life, and international strife as the phony debate over drilling accelerates the years old diplomatic debate over the "true" Arctic owners (Russia, Canada, USA) of the natural resources presumably beneath the Arctic Ocean's floor. The USGS confirms collaboration between Canada and the USA on making a shared map while Russia disputes Canada's calim because their coastline borders more of the ocean.

Melting ice is causing trauma to the polar bear community as fishing becomes precarious, with sharks and killer whales following their prime blubber meal tickets, seals. One endangered polar bear suffered the indignity of being eaten by a Greenland shark off of Svalbard, home of the Noah's Ark of Seeds. Scientific arguments range from no way from the shark experts (except, the bone found in the shark's gullet proved it) to the Norwegian Polar Institute owning up to shock and theorizing that, maybe, the bear was already dead. The same slower shark species have also shown a taste for caribou in the past. Killer whales are expanding their northern Arctic territory in the colder waters while more sharks prefer warmer waters.

Jeffrey Gallant, the co-director of a Canadian-based shark research group, said: "There's no possibility a Greenland shark could predate a live adult white bear, unless it was injured or seriously ill."

He said the Greenland shark would not be able to afford the risk of injury, or the expenditure of energy needed to kill such a large and dangerous animal.

"There is far easier prey to be found," said Mr Gallant.

Redistribution of the drift ice and the loss of long standing hunting grounds portend more unsettling surprises as humankind and marine life adapt to climate changing events pushing economies and behaviors of all involved into the unknown.

Collapsed Arch Topples Over on Photography Spot

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:13:00 +0000

Wall Arch Before & Wall Arch After

Gravity seems to be the final culprit that pulled the sandstone Wall Arch, into the 43rd pile of decorative desert rubble last week in a park in southern Utah. Arches National Park has a variety of unique and world famous arches, including the iconic oft photographed Delicate Arch, that are susceptible to erosion from wind as rainfall rarely tops 250 mm (10 inches) per year. Moab, Utah welcomes a wealth of BASE jumpers, four wheelers, mountain bikers, hikers, canyon explorers and many budding and professional photographers among almost a million tourists gravitating to the park to capture their magical photograph.

As part of their caretaker portfolios, the United States Park Service has responsibility for maintenance inside Arches National Park. These rock formations reside atop a 300 million year old sea of salt that gives the Entrada sandstone such beautiful contrasting rust and salmon hues compacted alongside the layers of creamier Navajo Sandstone against backdrops of cerulean skies. It also foretells the eventual crumbling of the formations of such notables as the Double O Arch and the rock ruins from the over 300 foot long Landscape Arch that tumbled to its doom in 1991.

The arch (sic Wall Arch) is along Devils Garden Trail, one of the most popular in the park. For years, the arch has been a favorite stopping point for photographers.

The arch, first reported and named in 1948, was more than 33 feet tall and 71 feet across. It ranked 12th in size among the park's estimated 2,000 arches.

Closure of the trail by the Park Service is temporary until the area poses no danger to hikers. It makes the beauty of the photographs taken of the arches more important as their are no guarantees as to how much longer they will last with the geological conditions that are gifts from the Jurassic era. The area is also an important ecosystem with incredible biodiversity of flora plus midget faded and Western rattlesnakes, Western collared lizards and mountain lions. Geologists expressed concern that this particular rock formation is not yet stable with a possibility of further slides. (Double O Arch)

Whatever is left in southeastern Utah in the park will take on a different form and shape from the natural forces and be photographic magnets in a new way. (North Window and South Window Arches)

Beijing Spotlights Its History Amid 2008 Olympics

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:52:00 +0000

From yesterday's Peking to today's Beijing (北京), the journey to becoming host for a 21st century summer Olympiad adds to the mystique of one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of the People's Republic of China. Eight hundred years of recorded history are beneath the feet of the 5,000,000 athletes and tourists pouring into the area for the 2008 Olympics. Dragons denoting good luck will be found along Wangfujing Street with the sounds of Pinyin being spoken along the boulevard once hosting residences of Chinese nobility or a Qing Dynasty princess. The Bingfanghulu on a skewer has delighted tourists for eight centuries.

Emperors of the Ming & Qing Dynasties have propelled the Forbidden City into iconic status. Nearby, the events of 1989 at Tiananmen Square inside the heavenly gates put China's quest to host the Olympics in dire peril and the vestiges and protests of human rights mar China's bid to this date. That is against a forgotten back history of other colonial powers, British & French, burning the Old Summer Palace in revenge in the 19th century. The wreckage remains as a ruin and reminder of allowing others to lead China. That history is partially what led UNESCO to commission the former Garden of Clear Ripples or Summer Palace, a marvelously landscaped area next to man-made Kunmig Lake, as a World Heritage Site in 1998. The Ming Dynasty Tombs just inside Beijing's limits features a serenity walk to the 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors Tombs that are part of a separate Chinese World Heritage Site.

Modern Beijing is fighting copious amounts of pollution and corruption as it cements itself as an independent world power on 08.08.08 in front of billions as hosts of The Games. The yin and yang of all that is Beijing is quintessentially will be on display for throngs of tourists and folks like me to comment upon. Beijing Capital International Airport welcomes weary travelers who can perk up immersing themselves into 5,000 years of Chinese cultural history for two sports-packed, intense human drama filled weeks alongside the quadrennial special that is the 2008 Olympics. The Opening ceremonies launches with a 3.5 hour show that kicks into high gear with the parade of nations.

China invented gunpowder around 200 B.C. and organizers aim for a show-stopping fireworks display. The effort will include rockets launched from 1,800 sites around the city.

At the National Stadium, fireworks "will explode into dragon-shaped fountains of red peonies and yellow dragons," the Beijing Today newspaper reported last month. The display will climax with 2,008 "smiley face" fireworks, accompanied by photographs of people smiling around the world, the paper said.

Zhang, who directed films including "Raise the Red Lantern" and "House of Flying Daggers," spent three years working on the project but has appeared frustrated by the task. Among other things, fitting millennia of culture into 50 minutes is tough, particularly when the expectations of 1.3 billion Chinese are riding on the decisions, he told Shanghai's Oriental Sports Daily.

"Seeing how China's 5,000-year history is so brilliant, we can't just give an overview or make it like a history class," he said.

China went to extraordinary lengths to build architectural showcase venues called Water Cube (Beijing National Aquatic Center) and spectacular The Birds Nest (Beijing National Stadium) whose formal names do an injustice to their majesty and innovation. China, open before us for only the next two Olympic weeks will be treat and travesty as the world learns a few of their secrets as cultural treasures go on display with extremely tight security and their ambitions stay hidden close to the Forbidden City's only off limits place even to cars, Zhongnanhai, China's version of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Tiananmen Square (L) & Mao's Mausoleum scene of practice fireworks display. (Photos courtesy of Reuters, Barrio/Magen)

Rideau Canal Celebration with Zero Carbon Goal

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:28:00 +0000

In 1812, upper Canada, an entity of the British Crown, hurried to put up the best available defense against invasion from their southern neighbors, a motley confederation of northeastern states so named, United States of America. Communication to the British naval base in Kingston would be more efficient, in case of a war emergency, with a way to travel and deliver supplies faster. The Canadians ingenious solution for protection was a riff on an old idea, a canal. It took twenty years for the Royal Sappers & Miners to make the Rideau Canal flow forth. It is continuing to work in fine form today, earning the rare approbation of UNESCO as a World Heritage Site 175 years later.

Festivalgoers arrived riding bicycles or public transit and toting reusable food and drink containers. A special calculator will be used to find out how much emissions there were as a result of the festival, and carbon credits will be used to help offset the impact.

“We’re aiming for zero, but we could end up in the positive,” said Gauthier.

In the year since achieving premier status, Rideau Canal, located in a much colder clime in Ottawa is ecstatic over a rise in tourism while spots like Hawaii are horrified at this season's high hotel vacancy rates. The flotilla is a Canadian and tourist crowd favorite but came with an environmental fair this year. During the winter it turns into one of the world's ongoing ice rinks.Making the canal truly a community endeavor, an Adopt-A-Meter of the longest operating canal in North America garnered avid interest and participation in purchasing carbon offsets for $20 Canadian dollars per meter. Food aficionados found delights up and down the walks alongside the beautiful canal as the reenactment took place above the canal's locks. (Ottawa Citizen)

"Without the Rideau Canal, we would not be the capital of this country. It used to be the economic motor of this city. And if you've had a chance to cycle, walk or canoe along it, you know the active living side of it," he said.

For its part, Ottawa Tourism has been using the UNESCO designation "front and centre" in its marketing ventures, said spokeswoman Jantine Van Kregten.

"It's the crème de la crème of tourism. The most important and most significant social, cultural and educational places to visit. We're now on that very exclusive list," she said.

In anticipation of more international visitors, the Bytown Museum, located at the bottom of the locks where the canal meets the Ottawa River, has invested in an audio tour in six languages -- English, French, Spanish, German, Mandarin and Japanese.

Making the canal live and integral to the community goes a long way towards keeping the prestigious honor. It wasn't that long ago that some Canadian politician had the idea of turning it into a thoroughfare for cars spewing exhaust everywhere. Quebec has a couple of WHS, but this is Ontario's first foray and they are justifiably proud and anxious to make it last another two centuries. Economic vitality is great as long as the merits of being environmentally friendly coexists with an influx of tourists.

So far, they have it exactly right.

Spain's Chic Beach Resorts Battle Jellyfish Invasion

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:57:00 +0000

Mesmeric movements of schools of jellyfish are beautiful from a distance, but they are growing exponentially in number and stings in the warm southern waters off Mallorca, Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. In some cases, there are more than a dozen jellyfish per square meter. The coastal picture warps into shards of pain when an individual is stung accidentally trodding upon or splashing to close to the jellyfish. Spain's beautiful autonomous archipelago is among the lush places beckoning resort goers in the heat of the summer season. Mallorca, land of the beautiful serene beaches and teal seas, is staving off a bloom of jellyfish that is marauding from Nice to the Iberian coast from conditions that bespeak the ill health of our ocean systems. (Dani Cardona/Reuters)

“These jellyfish near shore are a message the sea is sending us saying, ‘Look how badly you are treating me,’ ” said Dr. Josep-María Gili, a leading jellyfish expert, who has studied them at the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Spanish National Research Council in Barcelona for more than 20 years.

The explosion of jellyfish populations, scientists say, reflects a combination of severe overfishing of natural predators, like tuna, sharks and swordfish; rising sea temperatures caused in part by global warming; and pollution that has depleted oxygen levels in coastal shallows.

These problems are pronounced in the Mediterranean, a sea bounded by more than a dozen countries that rely on it for business and pleasure. Left unchecked in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, these problems could make the swarms of jellyfish menacing coastlines a grim vision of seas to come.

To keep the waters inviting boats are tasked with using nets or wet vacuuming up jellyfish straight from the southern waters closest to the prime beach areas off the Balearic Islands. Pelagia Noctiluca and the venomous Portuguese Man O'War whose sting is potentially fatal are sharing the sea coast off the shores of the islands. These areas reap the majority of the season's profits during the traditional European vacation, making the top resorts in the area take extreme measures to ensure safety and prompt attention to clients. Spain boasts no private beaches and the jellyfish are taking full advantage.

Next year could be worse.

2 August, 2008

Temple War: Cambodia vs Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:22:00 +0000

An 11th century peaceful Temple, Preah Vihear, is the scene of turmoil and troops after a 8 July award of World Heritage Site status to an ecstatic Cambodia. Outrage poured from Thai citizens. A border dispute rages as the Hindu temple is just inside the official Cambodian border. Thailand's military moved in. Cambodia's most ferocious troops were sent to defend, leaving one of the world's great cultural artifacts and tourism sites in a potential war zone. The militarized area around the temple is filled with mines, yet the soldiers are posing in each other's pictures and swapping cigarettes.

The soldiers here are armed with an eclectic mix of weapons. Thais have state-of-the-art American rifles; the Cambodians are using the stuff of past conflicts, especially Chinese-made B40 rocket-launchers from the Vietnam War era. The B40s were unstable then, so what are they like now?
It is the wet season, and the rains lash down, soaking everything. "We are living like worms," a Thai soldier says of life in his trench.
The Thai soldiers seem to go out of their way to be polite, almost as if they were embarrassed to have made an armed entry into Cambodian-held territory, whether or not it is disputed land. You could call it a gentlemanly invasion.

Ironically, this Khmer temple graces the top of a 525 meter (1, 720 feet down) Pey Tadi cliff, making for gorgeous panoramic views that now has few trees or the indigenous wildlife. To get to the Prasat Preah Vihear from Tailand's side requires a trip through Khao Phra Wihan National Park Now, the question is how each military exits the temple and its environs with their national pride intact and the site, pristine. In Siem Reap province, the two foreign ministers haggled and pressed their claims as thousands of troops stayed put, delaying the necessary meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission. Great difficulty ahead as one of the world's benighted landmarks, dedicated to King Jayavarman VII, swarms with armed troops as the Temple complex is set to become a stunning backdrop for an election celebration with the Cambodian First Lady Bun Rany in attendance at the new pagoda inside.

UNESCO knew the facts. The site has a bloodied storied history. More recent, in 1954, Thailand's army moved in to protect the temple/castle as the French exited Cambodia. On the 15th of June, 1962, the International Court of Justice judgment stated the kingdom of Cambodia became the legal custodian of an area of less than two square miles surrounding the temple. Cambodia's civil war in 1970, left the defeated soldiers against the Khmer Rouge still in control of the landmark. Now, Thailand agreed to the redrawn map, but it chafes that the Cambodia became official holder of the title. Thais pique is political as they walked away from the process, as a consequence the UNESCO decision suffered a delay in 2007. Acceptance of the Cambodian ownership is harder because Thailand had occupied the disputed area though the redrawn maps put Cambodia in control. The OCA or Overlapping Claims Area is believed to contain oil or other fossil fuels which are under constraints from mining. The WHS designation is dependent on the area preserving its current condition and any changes require approval.

None of this is going to bring a surfeit of international tourists and their money (which also can do great harm) to the area's environment until the dispute is mediated.

PS - not adding date this was written July 31st yet...

Contact Globe Stars

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:23:00 +0000

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Last Updated 31 August, 2008

Bottomfeeding for Publicity at Lake Baikal

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:25:00 +0000

Lake Baikal not only contains 20% of the worlds fresh water, but being the deepest lake required two submersibles or mini-submarines to explore the bottom. This is a rare example that will not happen elsewhere on the planet. Certain Russians, held in high esteem by the current power elite within the Kremlin, were hoping to be in the Guiness Book of records with a dive that would reach depths of almost 1700 meters. Using the UNESCO World Heritage Site for a cheap Russian stunt to get a record while putting the veneer of science and Russian pride out front is not why the designation was earned in the first place. The waters, no ice, of 25 million year old Lake Baikal are relatively unspoiled with ample opportunity to study the ecosystem and find means of further conservation. The lake is often referred to as the Galapagos of Russia and yes, developers had thought a pipeline in the area in 2006 was a great idea.

The expedition was led by Artur Chilingarov, a pro-Kremlin member of parliament and Arctic explorer who led the submarine team that controversially planted a Russian flag on the sea bed below the North Pole last August.

Mr Chilingarov said just before the mission that the aim of the record-breaking attempt to reach the bottom of Lake Baikal was to preserve the unusual habitat of the lake, which was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1996 because of its unique and rare wildlife.

The 18-tonne mini-submarines, Mir-1 and Mir-2, which already hold the world record for a manned dive in seawater, had to shed weight to make them less buoyant in freshwater. The mission went well even though Mr Chilingarov had anticipated difficulties. "There are technological problems, fickle weather conditions. Freshwater dictates special conditions," he had said before the expedition.

Russia has some of the most pristine natural areas left with Volcanoes of Kamchatka, though currently besieged by hungry bears and along the Curonian Split, near Kalingrad. Lake Baikal is the site where the mini-subs only made it so far, but did break a barrier by having Natalia Komarova on board. A race to the bottom for publicity adds no value to doing the slow steady work of understanding the biodiversity and the effect of the temperature on the lake would have a much longer lasting positive effect. This event at Lake Baikal was characterized as a success early as news of the record was released and it did not happen.

Resources & Links

noreply@blogger.com (Maureen) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:28:00 +0000

Climate Change & Global Warming

Conservation Focus

Cultural & Historical Landmarks

Photography Sites - GS Recommends
This Makes My Day

Seven World Wonders According to GS

Tourism & Travel News & Necessities
Shunya

Wonder & Whimsy GS Recommends

World Heritage Spots Featured on the Web
UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Official Site of UNESCO WHS)

        Other UNESCO WHS Content
Our Place - A Photographic Celebration of the World's Heritage (A UNESCO partner)
UNESCO Map Index of Sites (by each location)
World Heritage Sites in the US (UNESCO partner site)

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Content of Resource & Links last updated 31 August, 2008