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#8 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:05 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.8 194858.1 ]

        LED Evolution Could Replace Light Bulbs

APO 15/04/2005 08:52

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By PETER SVENSSON
AP Technology Writer
   NEW YORK (AP) -- If a time traveler from a hundred years ago were to visit a home today, much of the technology would be completely alien. The television, cordless phone and computer would probably leave him flabbergasted. But on seeing a light bulb, he might say, "Ah! Here's something I recognize. A few of those grace my home, too."
   If the visitor comes back in 15 years, the fruit of Thomas Edison's bright idea may be gone. The likely replacement: light-emitting diodes, or LEDs.
   LED lamps were unthinkable until the technology cleared a major hurdle just a dozen years ago. Since then, LEDs have evolved quickly and are being adapted for many uses, including pool illumination and reading lights, as evidenced at the Lightfair trade show here this week.
   More widespread use could lead to big energy savings and a minor revolution in the way we think about lighting.
   LEDs have been around since the 60s, but have mostly been relegated to showing the time in an alarm clock or the battery level of a video camera.
   They haven't been used as sources of illumination because they, for a long time, could not produce white light -- only red, green and yellow. Nichia Chemical of Japan changed that in 1993 when it started producing blue LEDs, which combined with red and green produce white light, opening up a whole new field for the technology.
   And the industry has been quick to exploit it. LEDs are based on semiconductor technology, just like computer processors, and are increasing in brightness, energy efficiency and longevity in a way that's reminiscent of the way each year's new crop of processors is faster and cheaper than last year's.
   Just this week, researchers at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., said they had boosted the light output per watt of a white LED to almost six times that of an incandescent light bulb, beating even a compact fluorescent bulb in efficiency.
   The current generation of mass-produced white LEDs is not as effective. It's about twice as good as a light bulb of the same wattage, but the energy savings aren't enough to overcome the major drawback of being expensive.
   "It's hard to convince consumers based on energy savings alone," said Nadarajah Narendran, director of lighting research at Rensselaer. "If you look at compact fluorescent lamps, they're four times as efficient as incandescent lights, and how many homes have those? It's less than 5 percent penetration."
   But development is brisk, and the Department of Energy has estimated that LED lighting could cut national energy consumption for lighting by 29 percent by 2025. The total savings on U.S. household electric bills until then would be $125 billion.
   LEDs have other advantages that are propelling them into niche uses, despite their upfront cost.
   Current white LEDs will last up to 50,000 hours, about 50 times as long as a 60-watt bulb. That's almost six years if they're on constantly.
   That makes them attractive for places where changing bulbs is difficult or expensive -- like on the outside of buildings or in swimming pools. Osram Sylvania, the lighting subsidiary of German manufacturer Siemens AG, makes 27-foot long strips of flexible, adhesive tape covered in LEDs for such applications.
   Hotels are interested in using LEDs in bedside lamps to save them the trouble of replacing burned-out bulbs, said Jim Anderson of Lamina Ceramics, which showed off a 6-watt array of LEDs that produce light equivalent to a 20-watt halogen bulb.
   LEDs are also durable. Being solid-state, they can resist the vibrations in aircraft and cars, according to Narendran, who has worked with Boeing Co. on designs for aircraft cabins.
   General Electric Co. and smaller iLight Technologies of Evanston, Ill., make glowing LED signs that look like neon.
   Neon lighting is a leading cause of fires at restaurants and the signs are vulnerable to vandalism. By contrast, LED signs made of Plexiglas are tough. At the trade show, iLight exhibited an LED sign that still worked after taking a blast from a shotgun.
   The limitation: iLight's signs can't be made economically on a one-off basis, as done at small neon-sign shops around the country.
   The feature of LEDs likely to propel them into homes is aesthetic, not practical. Arrays that mix red, green and blue LEDs can produce any color of the rainbow. Instead of a dimmer, you might have three sliding knobs that let you mix color.
   "On a very hot day you might want blue light to cool it down a bit, or on a winter day you may want to simulate sunlight," said Steve Landau of Lumileds Lighting, an LED-making joint venture of Agilent Technologies Inc. and Philips Lighting.
   Qantas Airways Ltd., the Australian airline, recently outfitted its first-class cabin with LED lighting that shines a deep blue when it's time to sleep.
   A system like that would be too expensive for most homes, but industry experts believe the price will come down in a few years as the technology develops.
   "We are still in a very young research environment," said Norbert Hiller, vice president at Cree Inc. of Durham, N.C., which produces blue and green LEDs. "Our researchers keep surprising us."

#9 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:06 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.9 194858.1 ]

    EU Curbs U.S. Biotech Maize Feed, Grain Imports

RTos 15/04/2005 08:10

Copyright 2005 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU food safety experts temporarily banned imports of U.S. maize feed and grains unless there is proof they are free of an illegal genetically modified organism (GMO), the EU executive said on Friday.
     U.S. exports of corn gluten feed and brewers grains, a byproduct of ethanol, would have to be certified by an internationally-accredited laboratory to show there is no presence of Bt-10 maize, a GMO that is not authorized in Europe.
     The measures will enter into force early next week and be reviewed at the end of October, the European Commission said in a statement.
     U.S. exporters send 3.5 million tons of corn gluten feed to EU countries each year, a trade that is worth some 350 million euros ($449 million).
     Last month Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta said some of its maize seeds exported to the European Union from the United States were mistakenly contaminated with Bt-10. This insect-resistant strain is similar to Bt-11, a different maize strain that is approved for EU distribution.

#10 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:08 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.10 194858.1 ]

    U.S.-Russian Crew Flies to Space Station

RTos 15/04/2005 07:51

Copyright 2005 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.

    By Olga Petrova
     BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - A U.S.-Russian crew blasted off from Kazakhstan to the International Space Station (ISS) Friday morning to relieve the team manning the outpost and spend a daunting six months in orbit.
     The cigar-shaped Soyuz booster rocket lifted off from the vast central Asian steppe into the clear dawn sky at 6:46 a.m. (8:46 p.m. EDT Thursday), leaving only a white puff behind its orange flame.
     Since the U.S. shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry over Texas in February 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board, Russia has been sending missions to the station on smaller, single-use Soyuz spacecraft.
     The new ISS crew -- Russian commander Sergei Krikalev and U.S. astronaut John Phillips -- is scheduled to host the Discovery a month from now when it becomes the first U.S. space shuttle to dock at the station since the Columbia tragedy.
     Some 10 minutes after the launch from the Baikonur space center, which Russia leases from the ex-Soviet state, the crew's capsule separated from the Soyuz rocket and started its solo flight to the ISS. Docking is scheduled for Sunday morning.
     EU CONSTITUTION IN SPACE
     The successful launch was accompanied by rapturous applause of space officials, relatives and friends of the crew.
     European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori, 40, blasted off with Krikalev and Phillips and will spend 10 days in orbit conducting scientific experiments.
     Vittori, who said he would take Italian food and even some wine into space, also took the European Union's draft constitution into orbit, Russian news agencies quoted space officials as saying.
     Last week Italy became the first founding EU member to ratify the bloc's charter, which all members must accept for it to come into force.
     Vittori will return to earth on April 25 with the outgoing ISS crew, Russian cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov and American Leroy Chiao, who have been in orbit since October.
     Krikalev, 46, is a veteran of three long-duration space flights and two shuttle missions. Phillips turned 54 Friday.
     "This launch was a complete success," Anatoly Perminov, head of Russia's space agency Roskosmos, told journalists.
     "But we are looking into the future and are working on a multiple-use spacecraft called Clipper," he said.
     Perminov said the full-size metal model of the Clipper was now being demonstrated in Japan and would also be shown at space and aviation shows in Moscow and Paris later this year.
     But he did not say when the Clipper, designed to take up to six astronauts into space, could make its maiden trip.
     LANDMARK MISSION
     The U.S. space shuttle's redesigned fuel tank passed a critical test Thursday, boosting confidence that a two-year quest to recover from the Columbia accident was nearly over.
     The launch window for the Discovery opens on May 15 and closes of June 3.
     "Our international partners have worked with us very well, and all of us are very anxious about the (shuttle's) launch," Frederick Gregory, deputy administrator of the U.S. space agency NASA, told reporters in Baikonur.
     "We've tried to minimize the risk as much as possible."
     The Discovery will deliver critical equipment to the ISS, and also test in-flight heat shield repair techniques.

#11 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:09 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.11 194858.1 ]

   Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Has Baby Wholphin

APO 15/04/2005 07:50

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By JEANNETTE J. LEE
Associated Press Writer
   HONOLULU (AP) -- The only whale-dolphin mix in captivity has given birth to a playful female calf, officials at Sea Life Park Hawaii said Thursday.
   The calf was born on Dec. 23 to Kekaimalu, a mix of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Park officials said they waited to announce the birth until now because of recent changes in ownership and operations at the park.
   The young as-yet unnamed wholphin is one-fourth false killer whale and three-fourths Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Her slick skin is an even blend of a dolphin's light gray and the black coloring of a false killer whale.
   The calf still depends fully on her mother's milk, but sometimes snatches frozen capelin from the hands of trainers, then toys with the sardine-like fish.
   She is jumbo-sized compared to purebred dolphins, and is already the size of a one-year-old bottlenose.
   "Mother and calf are doing very well," said Dr. Renato Lenzi, general manager of Sea Life Park by Dolphin Discovery. "We are monitoring them very closely to ensure the best care for them."
   Although false killer whales and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are different species, they are classified within the same family by scientists.
   "They are not that far apart in terms of taxonomy," said Louis Herman, a leading expert in the study of marine mammals.
   There have been reports of wholphins in the wild, he said.
   Kekaimalu, whose name means "from the peaceful ocean," was born 19 years ago after a surprise coupling between a 14-foot, 2,000-pound false killer whale and a 6-foot, 400-pound dolphin. The animals were the leads in the park's popular tourist water show, featured in the Adam Sandler movie "50 First Dates."
   Kekaimalu has given birth to two other calves. One lived for nine years and the other, born when Kekaimalu was very young, died a few days after birth.
   Park researchers suspect the wholphin's father is a 15-foot long Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Mikioi.
   "He seems to be totally oblivious to this happening," Lenzi said.
   False killer whales do not closely resemble killer whales. They grow to 20 feet, weigh up to two tons and have a tapering, rounded snout that overhangs their toothed jaw.
   Atlantic bottlenose dolphins reach a maximum size of 12 feet and can weigh up to 700 pounds.
   Sea Life Park officials said they hope to decide on a name for the baby wholphin soon and move her to a large display tank in a few months.
   ------
   On the Net:
   Sea Life Park Hawaii: http://www.sealifeparkhawaii.com/

#12 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:09 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.12 194858.1 ]

          Feds Scale Back Endangered Toad Protections

APO 15/04/2005 07:48

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.

   LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Federal wildlife officials scaled back habitat protections for the endangered arroyo toad in five Southern California counties in part because of the costly impact on development and water deliveries.
   The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's final designation Wednesday of 11,695 acres in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties as critical habitat for the toad is dramatically lower than the earlier 182,360-acre plan struck down by the courts.
   In some cases, acreage was refined to exclude areas not used by the toad. Other areas were deleted after Interior Secretary Gale Norton determined protections or alterations to projects or developments required to protect the habitat would be too costly.
   The three-inch toad was placed on the federal endangered species list in 1994 because 75 percent of its habitat was lost to development. The toads are vulnerable to nonnative predators such as bullfrogs.
   Environmental groups said the final habitat designation falls short of what the amphibian needs to survive. The toad lives and breeds in slow-moving pools and open, sandy terraces by streams.
   "The radical reduction in the size of critical habitat is further evidence of the Bush administration's assault on the natural environment," said David Hogan, urban wildlands program director for the Center for Biological Diversity.
   The designation along the Whitewater River in Riverside County was cut from 1,997 acres to 333 acres, avoiding a windmill-studded area near Interstate 10 that is crucial to filling an over-tapped groundwater basin with water from the nearby Colorado River aqueduct.
   If the designation had remained, the Coachella Valley Water District would have had to pay $6.1 million to divert a pipeline.
   In the final designation, the federal agency also removed a critical habitat area proposed for the Santa Ynez River in Santa Barbara County for economic reasons, said Mike McCrary, an official with the Fish and Wildlife Service.
   An economic analysis performed by the agency estimated that designating that area as critical habitat could lead to costs totaling more than $20 million over 20 years -- mainly through effects on local water supplies.

#13 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:11 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.13 194858.1 ]

    Baby Rhino Named for Designer Marc Ecko

APO 15/04/2005 07:46

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.

   SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Designer Marc Ecko, who made a rhino logo into a fashion statement, now has a zoo rhino named in his honor. A 3-month-old Indian rhino born at the San Diego Wild Animal Park has been named "Ecko" in honor of the designer, who donated $150,000 to launch the International Rhino Foundation's project to save the species, park officials announced Thursday.
   The project will work with the Wild Animal Park to move Indian rhinos to reserves in India, protecting them from poachers who hunt the species for its horn. It also will support breeding exchanges between the park and zoos in India.
   Ecko founded his rhino-branded apparel line, Ecko Unltd., in 1992.
   He said that as he learned about the animal over the years, "a true affinity was born."
   "More than just a logo, the rhino took on a whole new meaning as we began to coexist with it. We always said that the rhino is a survivor, so when we overcame our early financial struggles it was only natural that we dedicate ourselves to giving back to the animal that provided the inspiration," Ecko said in a statement.
   The rhino project aims to double the populations of the Indian, Black and Sumatran rhinos, three of the planet's most endangered species.
   Only about 2,500 Indian rhinos are thought to live in the wild, nearly all of them concentrated in the Kaziranga National Park in India and in the Chitwan area of Nepal.
   "Rhino species are really at risk when small populations are restricted to one or two reserves," foundation program director Tom Foose said. "With all the eggs in just one or two baskets, a single catastrophe like a natural disaster, disease epidemic or human conflict can rapidly cause extinction."
   ------
   On the Net:
   www.marceckoenterprises.com
   http://www.rhinos-irf.org/
   http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/visitor--info.html

#14 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:11 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.14 194858.1 ]

    Four Pelicans Found With Slashed Pouches

APO 15/04/2005 06:05

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.

   HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Four pelicans have been found in recent weeks with their pouches slashed, wildlife officials said.
   A veterinarian Thursday stitched up an endangered brown pelican found in Huntington Beach on Sunday, said Sharon Weeks, development director of the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center. The bird also had a fish hook and fishing line in its wing.
   Pelicans use their pouches to catch fish and the injured birds could die of starvation and dehydration if not treated.
   Of the three other injured birds, one has died and two have been treated by the Pacific Wildlife Project in Laguna Niguel.
   Wildlife officials were investigating whether the birds were deliberately slashed or if the incidents are connected.
   In 2002 and 2003, as many as 20 dead or injured pelicans, some apparently shot, were found near Los Angeles Harbor.

#15 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:12 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.15 194858.1 ]

       Groups Seek Tougher Cruise Ship Waste Laws

APO 15/04/2005 07:48

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By JOHN PAIN
AP Business Writer
   MIAMI (AP) -- The cruise industry has gotten so big that all its ships together could hold each of Miami's 360,000 residents with room to spare. And just like cities, cruise lines have to deal with a nasty problem: the millions of gallons of sewage those people produce.
   While the industry is installing equipment that one executive says makes sewage and other wastewater almost as "clean as Perrier," environmentalists, state officials and some members of Congress are pushing to toughen what they call outdated marine pollution standards.
   They have worked on the Clean Cruise Ship Act with two environmental groups, the Bluewater Network and Oceana. Alaska, California and Maine have already passed stronger laws.
   But the cruise industry argues the new standards aren't based on science and that most water pollution comes from sources on land. The industry is waiting for federal Environmental Protection Agency data due in a few months that will show how well the new treatment systems worked on wastewater dumped in Alaska.
   "Public policy dictates that we make good informed decisions based on science and not based on two polarized groups," said Michael Crye, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, an industry group that represents companies like Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. He said complying with the bill would cost billions of dollars.
   Currently, the federal Clean Water Act from the 1970s lets cruise ships dump raw sewage anywhere outside of a three-nautical mile limit from U.S. shores. Inside that territorial water boundary, cruise ships can release sewage only after reducing its content of fecal coliform, a harmful bacteria found in human feces.
   The industry group has voluntarily agreed to exceed those rules. It says member lines treat all sewage and discharge it only when ships are at least four nautical miles from shore (12 miles for Royal Caribbean) and moving at least 6 knots to better disperse it. The same distances are used for the "gray water" drained from showers, sinks and washing machines. Each ship generates up to 1 million gallons of waste water per week.
   Environmentalists argue that self-imposed rules aren't enough, calling the monitoring for compliance spotty, at best.
   U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., and Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., plan to reintroduce their bill Thursday in Congress, where it died last year after receiving little support. It would apply to cruise ships able to carry at least 250 passengers.
   Under the act, cruise ships from 12 to 200 nautical miles from U.S. coasts could discharge sewage, bilge water or other wastewater only if they are treated to reduce levels of fecal coliform and other pollutants to meet standards much stricter than current law.
   Ships within 12 nautical miles of U.S. shores couldn't release any treated or untreated wastewater. Cruise companies would have three years to meet the standards. By 2015, all pollutants would have to be eliminated from wastewater before dumping. The Coast Guard would test wastewater samples for compliance.
   The cruise industry isn't alone in its opposition to the bill. While the EPA appreciates the attempt, it's premature to establish new national standards without the Alaska data, said Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Water.
   ------
   On the Net:
   International Council of Cruise Lines: http://www.iccl.org

#16 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:14 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.16 194858.1 ]

       Michigan Man Fights to Save Ash Trees

APO 15/04/2005 02:06

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By DAVID EGGERT
Associated Press Writer
   HARSENS ISLAND, Mich. (AP) -- State officials fear a 40-acre farm near the Canadian border could be hosting an unwelcome and infamous visitor: the emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle blamed for killing or infesting 7 million ash trees in Michigan.
   This 25 square mile island is separated from Canada only by the St. Clair River, a heavily used shipping channel that joins Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair.
   And the river has been identified by a national advisory panel of entomologists as a gateway for the beetle to move into uninfested areas of Canada and on to New York and Pennsylvania.
   Michigan's plan to contain and eradicate the beetle -- the pest also has been found in Ohio, Indiana, Maryland and Virginia -- includes cutting down every ash tree within 200 yards of trees containing the borer.
   That would include 72 trees on John Horvath's Silent Acres Farm.
   But the 68-year-old former U.S. deputy marshal blocked the way of state contractors who arrived to cut down his trees in March. He said he will fight the cutting plan in court if he has to.
   "They didn't anticipate that someone would say 'no,'" said Horvath, who's lived on the island since 1956. "But I was raised to ask questions. Why can't they fix the trees? If your kid's sick, you don't shoot the little guy."
   The standoff is on hold while the state agriculture director considers Horvath's appeal of a state order telling him to remove the ash trees. A decision is due soon.
   The stakes in the protracted dispute are high.
   Michigan and Canadian officials say the natural barrier offered by the St. Clair River is only partial protection -- and cutting trees is the best way to contain the pest from reaching the heavily forested Canadian side.
   "It's not easy to see trees removed that essentially still look healthy," said Deb McCullough, a Michigan State University forest entomologist who is studying the ash borer. "But this is being done for the greater good."
   Horvath's resistance has prompted a debate over the effectiveness of the state's plan to combat the invasive beetle, which was discovered in 2002 after apparently being imported from Asia in wooden packing crates.
   Critics have a common refrain: Destroy the bugs, not the trees.
   Dave Roberts, a specialist with Michigan State University Extension, argues that cutting ash trees within a 200-yard radius still lets 20 to 30 percent of the beetles escape because they can fly at least a half-mile. Pesticides, he said, can be highly effective in saving ill trees and preventing others from getting infested.
   "Why not let him treat his trees?" said Roberts, who has been visiting Horvath's farm to conduct research. "It would save the state money and let them concentrate on other areas."
   The state doesn't necessarily disagree that pesticides can work in certain situations. It offered Horvath the chance to treat 12 of his "landscape" trees. He cut down 14, which he says weren't infected, leaving 60 woodlot trees to be removed.
   But allowing that many trees to undergo treatment would increase the borer's risk of spreading to Canada, said Keith Creagh, deputy director of the agriculture department. "Pesticide application is not at this point in time a realistic option in trying to save large tracts of ash," he said.
   Horvath and his backers say the state's plan to cut down trees on Harsens Island is "arbitrary and capricious"; the state says its approach is reasonable and cost-effective.
   "We're standing our ground," Horvath said. "My trees are very, very, very important. My farm is all I got. It's beautiful. That's why I want to fight a little bit for it."

#17 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:16 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.17 194858.1 ]

       New Game Helps Kids Stay Safe on Internet

APO 15/04/2005 00:24

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.

   PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Having trouble navigating cyberspace, kids? Never fear -- George Jetson is here. Jetson, Kim Possible and other pop-culture characters are part of a new interactive game designed to help children understand and stay safe on the Internet. Called MySecureCyberspace, the game was the result of a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University's Cylab and its Information Networking Institute.
   Game users begin by watching a primer about the Internet -- a grainy, black-and-white movie with a booming narrator's voice and marching band score reminiscent of old news movie reels.
   With the help of Commander Omni, players -- dubbed cadets -- battle Elvirus and MC Spammer while learning to identify spam, delete viruses and identify suspicious people in chat rooms.
   The software also includes a Web portal.
   "The portal provides users with the tactical countermeasures to stay cybersafe and to better understand the legal, ethical and privacy issues related to a variety of cybersecurity threats," said Dena Haritos Tsamitis, the institute's head.
   The game will be available through a partnership with i-SAFE America, a nonprofit foundation that promotes safe and responsible use of the Web. The game will be tested in 20,000 households in Pittsburgh before being released to the general public later this summer, its creators said.
   ------
   On the Net:
   http://www.cylab.cmu.edu
   http://www.ini.cmu.edu
   http://www.isafe.org

#18 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:19 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.18 194858.1 ]

       Dinosaur Eggs Offer Clues on Reproduction

APO 14/04/2005 21:46

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By SIOBHAN McDONOUGH
Associated Press Writer
   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The rare discovery of eggs inside a dinosaur has given scientists new clues about the reproductive biology of the creatures and more support for the theory that birds came from dinosaurs.
   The pair of shelled eggs is the first of its kind found inside a dinosaur, said researchers who reported the discovery in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
   Scientists found the dinosaur produced eggs in some ways like a crocodile and in other ways like a bird. Crocodiles and similar primitive reptiles have two ovaries enabling them to lay a clutch of eggs. Birds have a single ovary and can only lay one egg at a time.
   The dinosaur's egg-producing capability lay somewhere in between, suggesting a link with the modern bird, researchers said. It could produce more than one egg, but only one from each ovary at a time.
   The theory that birds came from dinosaurs has been supported by many researchers, said Tamaki Sato of the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. But this latest research helps advance it, she added, calling it "strong evidence."
   There have been previous findings of round objects around dinosaur skeletons and scientists have suspected they might be eggs but because they did not have shells, there wasn't certainty, Sato said.
   "You have egg shells with this one," she said of the specimen at the National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan that was excavated from China. "This is the first time for sure."
   The scientists studied a dinosaur from a group of dinosaurs called oviraptorosaurians. This type of dinosaur -- probably 10 feet to 13 feet long -- is a subgroup of the theropods, thought to have been the ancestors to modern birds.
   The remains of the shelled eggs looked like pineapple-sized potatoes. The similar size of the eggs suggests the creature's two oviducts each produced a single, shelled egg at the same time, the report said.
   Matt Carrano, curator of dinosaurs at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, said the findings provide greater insights into the biology of the dinosaur and the evolution of birds.
   "It's a window into a particular stage of evolution," he said. "This particular dinosaur has characteristics that are birdlike but retains reptillian-like features."
   "You have oviducts but they're only doing one egg at time. Its biology is half way there between a bird and reptile."
   Carrano also said it tells something about birds.
   "The evolution of one egg at a time happened very early, before birds could fly, and then the evolution of only one oviduct happened later," he said.
   "That might be related to the origin of flight," he said, explaining that maybe birds wanted to lighten their body and so developed one oviduct.
   ------
   On the Net:
   Science: http://www.sciencemag.org
   National Museum of Natural History: http://www.mnh.si.edu/

#19 of 19 Posted 4/15/05 3:26 PM

From Gerard <Sysop> Posts 82654 Last 3/19/09
To All [Msg # 194858.19 194858.1 ]

    EPA Likely to Miss Nat'l Parks Deadline

APO 14/04/2005 21:04

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By JOHN HEILPRIN
Associated Press Writer
   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency seemed likely to miss a court-ordered deadline Friday for issuing new rules intended to improve the views and air quality in 156 national parks and wilderness areas.
   EPA officials were considering on Thursday whether to ask a federal court to extend the deadline. They also were consulting with the advocacy group Environmental Defense, which sued the agency to meet cleanup goals that Congress put in place 28 years ago.
   The group has sought to enforce the 1977 Clean Air Act amendments that set goals for improving the visibility in 35 national parks, 120 wilderness areas and Roosevelt Campobello International Park near Lubec, Maine, which is overseen by a U.S.-Canada commission.
   "My understanding is they're not done," EPA spokesman Rich Hood said of the rules.
   "We are reviewing all our options," he said Thursday. "Going to court ... might be one of those."
   The EPA agreed in August 2003 to establish by this April 15 new rules on haze that would require states to impose limits on air pollution that drifts over national parks.
   Affected parks include the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina, Yellowstone in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, and Yosemite in California.
   The rules would target 26 types of industrial facilities built between 1962 and 1977, including coal-burning power plants, industrial boilers, smelters, refineries, chemical and cement plants, and pulp and paper mills, Environmental Defense said. The haze is formed by the pollutants sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which other EPA rules also aim to cut.
   ------
   On the Net:
   Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov
   National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov
   Environmental Defense: http://www.environmentaldefense.org

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