Nasa image showing the full circle panoramic view from the Mars Phoenix lander. Photograph: Nasa/AP
Nasa scientists have confirmed there is water on Mars. The US space agency’s Phoenix lander has identified water ice in a soil sample analysed in its on board mini-laboratory.
Previous orbiting missions had beamed back data showing that there is water ice on the red planet, but Phoenix’s discovery is the first to find direct evidence. “I can now say I’m the first mission to Mars to touch and then *taste* the water,” came the message from Phoenix’s Twitter feed this evening.
Nasa has also announced an extension to the mission, which touched down on May 25. Phoenix will now operate until September 30, adding five weeks to its original 90 days of operations on the surface.
“Phoenix is healthy and the projections for solar power look good, so we want to take full advantage of having this resource in one of the most interesting locations on Mars,” said Dr Michael Meyer, chief scientist for the Mars exploration programme at Nasa headquarters in Washington.
The soil sample was scraped out of the roughly 5cm deep “Snow White” trench on Wednesday.
Two previous attempts to deliver fresh material to the lander’s on board oven failed when the soil became stuck inside the scoop. But this time the scientists allowed most of the material in the sample to be exposed to the air for two days. This meant that some of the water vaporised, making the soil easier to handle.
The find fulfils one of the Phoenix lander’s two main objectives, namely to “study the history of water in the Martian arctic”. Its other purpose is to study the potential for life in the ice-soil boundary.
In December 2006, Nasa scientists, using images from the orbiter, Mars Global Surveyor, found evidence of water flowing fleetingly on the surface. They compared images of the side of a crater taken in 2001 and 2005. The second showed gullies apparently caused by water bursting out of the crater wall.
SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT? (OR Shall I Say WATER for thought??)
Are you worried? I’m dismayed by people’s lack of interest in this topic. We can’t survive without water! Check this SLIDESHOW out and GET WORRIED and DO SOMETHING!
The sounds of English
There is a system of symbols for writing the sounds of English. We have a guide to these symbols and also videos to show how to pronounce each of the sounds.
There are also activities to practise identifiying the difference between certain sounds which may sound similar. Features of English
Information about different elements of English pronunciation.
There are also interactive and downloadable exercises to help you build your understanding of these areas.
Quizzes Interactive quizzes to test your knowledge of and help you learn about English pronunication.
“rainforests are worth much more left standing – both for the planet and for local communities.”
using this argument, an environmental group COOL EARTH wants to buy up AMAZON - find out their reasons why on this article, taken from from THE GUARDIAN.
It’s HIGH time we GOT worried about it all!
ThiEdu
_________________
Not cool
An environmental group has been stirring up anger with its campaign to buy up parts of the Amazon rainforest. Its tactics may end up making things worse
Cool Earth, a British environmental group, has declared itself to be “bewildered” at reports that the Brazilian authorities were investigating the activities of its founder Johan Eliasch for allegedly urging foreigners to buy up the Amazon rainforest. Hopelessly naive might be a better description.
Eliasch, a Swedish-born businessman, is a former deputy treasurer of the Conservative party, and now serves as Gordon Brown’s special representative for deforestation. In the course of a speech in 2006 he said that hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico had cost insurance companies “$75bn” (£38bn) and it might be cheaper to buy the entire Brazilian rainforest for “$50bn” (£26bn) thereby preventing deforestation and making hurricanes less frequent.
Eliasch has himself bought up around 400,000 acres of Amazon rainforest, an area about the size of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city. He made the purchase in 2005 and is believed to have paid around £8m for it.
According to its website, the idea behind Cool Earth is that “rainforests are worth much more left standing – both for the planet and for local communities.” His organisation, Cool Earth, invites people to donate money to “secure one area of land that would otherwise be sold to loggers and ranchers and to price deforestation out of the market”. The charity says that it puts its money into a local trust and that it “employs local people to do the work, helping them to get income from the forest without cutting it down, and make sure the rainforest is worth more standing than cut down”. “For as little as £70 you can protect a whole acre” it tells potential donors, while £35 protects half an acre.
So far, so worthy, but the combination of Eliasch’s remarks and activities have now caused a growing backlash amongst Brazilians outraged by the notion that they cannot be trusted to take care of the Amazon themselves.
Last week President Lula said that said that foreigners need to “understand that the Amazon has an owner, and that is the Brazilian people”. On Monday one of Brazil’s main newspapers reported that the police and intelligence services were investigating Eliasch for his claim about buying the forest and Carlos Minc, Brazil’s new environment minister, said he was shocked by the report. He announced that one of his first acts in his new post would be to open an inquiry into the matter and it has also been raised within the ministry for external affairs.
Brazil’s most popular television show, Fantastico, conducted an interview with Eliasch in which the reporter asked him to explain how Cool Earth came up with its costings for saying that “£35 saves 22 trees, six threatened animals, 11,000 insects and so on”. She also asked whether he considered the attempt to buy up the natural heritage of another country to be a form of neo-colonialism. Eliasch refused to say how much he had paid for the land that he has already bought, but denied that he intended to buy up the forest “piece by piece”. “I am just a person who adores trees“, he told the journalist.
Matthew Owen, the director of Cool Earth, has issued a statement saying that the organisation “does not own any land in Amazon, we fund conservation projects but we are not interested in owning lands which we think would be an inappropriate use of a UK-based charity.” He added, “the ownership of the Amazon is a very politicised topic and understandably the government wants to understand what all players are doing. We are successful in bringing … funding for the protection of the Amazon but there is no evidence whatsoever that we infringed any regulations.”
Cool Earth’s only real offence has probably been a marketing campaign, which might appeal to potential donors but is grossly insensitive towards the feelings of its intended beneficiaries – a bit like the “sponsor a black baby” adverts that some aid charities used to run. The reality is that the organisation could not buy up the Amazon, even if it wanted to, since much of it is already in public hands. However, as Greenpeace Brazil has pointed out, Cool Earth could actually exacerbate the problem caused by the profusion of false property titles which means that it might end up funding the grilleiros (land-grabbers) and buying lands that are already protected by law.
The storm that it has generated has also diverted attention from the far more worrying news of a sharp rise in the rate of deforestation this year as higher food prices push farmers to expand their slash-and-burn clearances. Tackling this will be the first priority of Carlos Minc, who was appointed to the post last month, following the resignation of the highly respected Marina Silva. The Brazilian government needs external help to support its efforts but Eliasch’s comments, which echo an earlier remark by Al Gore that “contrary to what Brazilians think, the Amazon is not their property” are patronising, offensive and massively counterproductive.
more about the Amazon issue on this video, from Fantastico:
‘Gosto de árvores, floresta’, diz maior comprador de terras na Amazônia
A ONG dirigida pelo empresário sueco é investigada pelo governo federal.
Ele diz que está apenas ‘tentando ajudar a proteger a Floresta Amazônica’.
‘Face up to Phrasals’? What’s it all about?
Phrasal verbs are quick, easy and fun with Face up to Phrasals! Follow the adventures of Fred, Betty, Daisy, Amanda and the rest of the gang - and learn about a new phrasal verb with every episode!
Who are Fred and Betty?
The first series of ‘Face up to Phrasals’ is all about Betty and Fred. They’ve been together for years, but Betty’s very upset with Fred right now. She’s about to tell him what’s made her so angry - listen in to their conversation and practice your phrasal verbs by logging on to Fred and Betty: Is this the End?
And what’s new?
Amanda and Daisy are the latest additions to the Face Up to Phrasals gang. They’ve known each other for years and have always done everything together… but it looks as if that’s about to change! Find out what’s going on ? and learn some new phrasal verbs - by logging on to Amanda and Daisy: A Friend in Need? There’s a new episode every week so be sure to come back every Wednesday!
It sounds like fun - how can I get involved?
Visit this page every week for the next twelve weeks to catch up on each new episode. If you want to chat about the Betty and Fred story and to practise using phrasal verbs join the BBC Learning English Facebook group. It’s quick and easy to do - just set up an account by logging on here, and then send a us friend request!
So, let us know which phrasal verbs you didn’t know and that you learnt surfing the BBC Face up to Phrasal verbs page! Leave a Comment!
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