That’s right, those trees are so regularly irregular so you would be scared when you see such thing. They are all curved in knots and strange loops so the forest got name Dancing Forest. If you want to visit this forest you can find it on the Curonian Spit near Kaliningrad.

A polar ice cap is a high latitude province of a planet or natural satellite in the universe that is covered completely with ice. Polar ice caps form because of the high latitude regions receiving less of energy in the form of solar radiation from the sun than equatorial regions. It results in lower surface temperatures.

Thanks for photo to : digital

The Earths’ polar ice caps have distorted considerably over the last twelve thousand years or even more. Cyclic variations of the ice caps occur due to varied solar energy absorption as the planet or moon spins around the sun. Furthermore, in geologic point scales, the ice caps possibly will grow or disappear due to the climate variation. Anything can happen.

Arctic shrinkage is the diminution in size of the Arctic region. This is a variation in the regional climate as a consequence of global warming. Projections of sea ice loss points out the destruction of summer sea ice in the Arctic ocean within the coming few decades. In fact, according to studies, the destruction has already been started.

This fast change of Arctic to global warming looks like the high-sensitivity indicator of the climate change. Scientists also spot to the possibility for release of methane from the Arctic region. It will be through the melting of the permafrost and the methane clathrates.

The sea ice in the Arctic region itself is imperative to balance the global climate. Therefore, melting of these sea ice will make worse situation towards the global warming due to the effects where warming creates more warming by increased solar assimilation.

The sea ice is doomed to melt away within the next three centuries and it will as an aftermath will flood hundreds of millions of people out of their homes. This is the stark warning by scientists that current forecasts hideously overrate how long the ice sheet will continue to exist.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that a total meltdown is likely to take within 1,000 years or may be the risk is far greater than this. We can’t predict correctly, but strong indication gives this projection.

If the climate change crisis reached the point of ‘no return’ and it were to melt then the global sea levels would rise by 22ft and sip up most of the world’s coastal regions.

Not to forget that arctic sea ice acts like an air conditioner for the universal climate structure. It cools air and water and reflects solar emission back into the space. A warmer Arctic and thinner ice cap alters the equilibrium between the usually frozen Arctic and warmer lower latitudes. The disparity between icy high latitudes and warm equatorial regions is one that sets up the circulation patterns of winds, ocean and essentially the weather patterns. So, all of those things are matter to change as the ice cover changes. Thanks to sciencehax .

While the fall foliage in North America and East Asia takes on a fiery red hue, perplexingly, autumn leaves in Europe are mostly yellow in color.

A team of researchers has a new idea as to why the autumnal colors differ between the continents, one that involved taking a step back 35 million years in time.

Pigment processes

The green color of leaves during the spring and summer is a result of the presence of the pigment chlorophyll, which allows plants to capture sunlight and produce energy by the process of photosynthesis.

When the weather begins to turn cool in the fall, chlorophyll, which is sensitive to the cold, stops being produced. As the green fades, yellow and orange pigments called carotenoids (also responsible for the orange color of carrots) take over. These pigments were always present in the background of the leaves’ color, but can finally shine through as the green diminishes.

While this process has long been known to scientists, the mechanism that results in red hues has proved trickier to understand, particularly because of the energy the tree must use to produce them at a time when the leaves are about to die anyway.

The red color comes from anthocyanins, which unlike carotenoids are produced only in the fall. These red pigments act as sunscreen for the trees by blocking out harmful radiation and preventing overexposure to light. They also act as an antifreeze, preventing leaf cells from freezing easily in the autumn chill.

Some scientists have even suggested that the red colors ward off pests that would munch on the leaves if they were a more appetizing-looking yellow. It’s from this premise that scientists figured out what might be going on.

Color evolution

Until 35 million years ago, the idea goes, large areas of the globe were covered with evergreen jungles or forests composed of tropical trees, say Simcha Lev-Yadun of the University of Haifa-Oranim in Israel and Jarmo Holopainen of the University of Kuopio in Finland. During this phase, a series of ice ages and dry spells transpired, and many tree species evolved to become deciduous, dropping their leaves for winter.

Many of these trees also began an evolutionary process of producing red deciduous leaves in order to ward off insects, the researchers say.

In North America, as in East Asia, north-to-south mountain chains enabled plant and animal ‘migration’ to the south or north with the advance and retreat of the ice according to the climatic fluctuations. And, of course, along with them migrated their insect ‘enemies’. Thus the war for survival continued there uninterrupted.

In Europe, on the other hand, the mountains – the Alps and their lateral branches – reach from east to west, and therefore no protected areas were created. Many tree species that did not survive the severe cold died, and with them the insects that depended on them for survival.

At the end of the repeated ice ages, most tree species that had survived in Europe had no need to cope with many of the insects that had become extinct, and therefore no longer had to expend efforts on producing red warning leaves.

To back up this theory, the researchers offer an example of the exception that proves the rule: Dwarf shrubs, which grow in Scandinavia, still color their leaves red in autumn.

Unlike trees, dwarf shrubs have managed to survive the ice ages under a layer of snow that covered them and protected them from the extreme conditions above. Under the blanket of snow, the insects that fed off the shrubs were also protected – so the battle with insects continued in these plants, making it necessary for them to color their leaves red, the thinking goes.

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Via:ZuZuTop

Few doubt the brilliance of bird nest design, but it seems our feathered friends are just as ingenious when it comes to picking locations for their future homes. They need to be, when you consider the rate at which we’re gobbling up space on our planet. Yet looking at some of the bizarre spots birds mark out as prime real estate, anyone would think this business tells you something about each bird’s taste and character.
This collared dove isn’t going to be getting any peace and quiet nested in amongst the nuts and bolts fixings of some traffic lights at a very busy junction.

Bright lights big city
This thrush and its young family have gone a step further by nesting inside the traffic light itself in Leeds city centre, seemingly oblivious to the constant traffic.

Light and airy
How a bird’s nest complete with chirping chicks came to be in a kitchen lamp inside a house is anyone’s guess. The human residents must have been away on vacation for quite a long time.

Handyman about the house
Other garden birds opt for even more obscure nooks and crannies – like this robin, found nesting in a tool tidy. Perhaps it fancies itself as a bit of a DIY expert.

Check out my wheels
These nesting blackbirds were found in the wheel arch of a 4×4 police patrol car. In accordance with conservation laws, the young birds had to be left alone until they had flown the coup.

That’s just grate
Blackbirds have also been found nesting in other unusual garden locations like the mouths of wall-mounted lions’ heads. This one has plumped for an elevated grate.

Sculptural style
It’s actually not uncommon for storks to construct their stick nests close to human habitation and on man-made objects, and because they are seen as birds of good luck, they tend not to be persecuted.

Easy to contact
Weaver birds create the most elaborately woven nests of any birds, and when trees are scarce as they are in desert regions, telephone poles make equally good alternatives.Source

Different types of sea turtles especially the Olive Ridely turtles throng the coastline of Nosara, Costa Rica in big numbers to breed, laying eggs in the beaches. About 162 hectares of the coastline of Nosara is being protected as Ostional Wildlife Refuge to save the beauty of the shore and obviously the endangered species of Olive Ridleys. This is the reason; one would find paintings of turtles in the beaches. Also to preserve the beauty of coastline high-end hotels, tall apartments and casinos which are usually the favourite destinations near the beaches are prohibited here.

Many Eggs are Laid, But Few Turtles Survive

During a specific time, every year, hoards of Turtles reach the beach and lay eggs. A female lays about 100 ping-pong sized eggs after creating large hole but out of these a small number of eggs hatch out properly ensuring the maturity of new born. And only due to this, the female turtles lay such big number of eggs. And the trouble follows since the hungry sharks waiting in shallow seas feed on killing these kids when they move out and try reaching the Oceans.

Planned Harvesting

Wildlife organisations do harvest the eggs which were laid earlier, as due to the smaller size of beaches or coastline there’s not enough space for the large number of eggs, the turtles lay. They come in big groups during different weeks; hence destroy the already laid eggs for the same reason. Even it was a good business for black marketers since in old stories and all these were shown as a booster of sexual desire in humans. Due to structured harvesting, further endangering of this species of animals is prevented and alongside their poaching is prevented in large scale. The turtle population remains unaffected and the economy of the place is boosted. But still the place sees a lot of disparities between several groups.

Sanctuary for Turtles and Humans

The beaches of Nosara, Costa Rica act as a sanctuary and a safe habitat for the Turtles and the nature loving tourists who usually love peaceful places (far away from the busy and populated towns) would like to vacation here. But you have to adjust without most of luxuries of life like Cable TV, Hot Water Showers, etc as you won’t find these in Nosara coastline, even in the Hotels. Peace of mind is what you definitely get with the beautiful place being free of pollution, traffic; which is very much sought after for a happy vacation. In the turtle breeding season local food items, made from the turtle eggs like completely raw ones and omelettes are things to enjoy eating.

Alaska one of the most amazing states that is a part of world’s most powerful country USA has something for everyone. In true means many have described this part of world as the ultimate nature’s gift to earth. If someone has not visited and felt the beauty of Alaska then he/she needs to explore it at least once in his/her lifespan. Nature’s beauty is something that can’t be understood until and unless you experience it physically! So, it’s the right time for you to explore Alaska with Alaska cruise lines. The inhibit beauty among its mountains, glaciers, and ocean has dragged many attention since long days. Alaska as a perfect destination to spend holidays has a romance about it. This exact romance has really differentiated Alaska from other vacation spots. When comparing to rest of the United States, Alaska remains at the top slot as far as the nature’s gift to this land are concerned. It appears to be quite dissimilar to the other vacation spots present on United States.

Alaska cruise is something that many nature tourists prefer to book in the main season so that they can explore the nature more closely. Any other way is not that much effective for a nature tourist to accomplish his/her desire and this is the reason why the popularity of Alaska cruise is too high among travelers that seeks to pay a visit to the wonderful land of Alaska. As a traveler on an Alaska cruise you will find more good reasons such as getting up close and personal to the wonderful views of the Alaskan glaciers and sea creatures that gets more active during the month of May to September.

Global warming is another important fact that has certainly propelled many to see the glaciers at Alaska. The subsequent increase in temperature has really affected glaciers all around the world and Alaskan glaciers are not far from it. These formations that slowly grew over million of years have started melting. This single fact has certainly fueled interest in watching these great glaciers.

This is a lot of contaminated water – also known as leachate or garbage juice! This contaminated water is ten to 1,000 times more contaminated and damaging to the local surface and groundwater than sewage, although it contains few human disease organisms (pathogens) and much fewer than sewage.

All nations also produce huge quantities of scrap tires. Waste scrap tires present landfill problems. They are hard to compact, may rise to the surface over time in poorly compacted waste and provide dangerous breeding grounds for mosquitoes and rats, in the water which collects in them. They also unfortunately do not disintegrate to reduce their volume in stockpiling.

Also if industrial hazardous wastes are landfilled the waste materials that will often be found in the site will be such that the sites will later be classed as contaminated land and do not meet the contaminated soil criteria. This is to be expected where regulatory control is poor but the cost to the community is hugely greater than paying for good regulation in the first place.

It is not realized by many in the community at large that waste prevention and recycling are critical to reducing or stopping climate change. Waste-to-energy (WTE) plants create heat and electricity from burning mixed solid waste. Because of high corrosion in the boilers, the steam temperature in WTE plants may end up being less than 400 degrees Celsius. This has to be avoided because at these temperatures of combustion many hazardous by-products of incomplete combustion will be present which are very harmful to the local environment and the health of future occupants, if not cleaned up.

But, the adoption of large scale waste prevention and recycling will help address global climate change by decreasing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and saving energy (US Environmental Protection Agency).

The fact is that global warming, also known as the greenhouse gas effect, remains controversial in many quarters. Many still question the basis of the prediction of climate change. However, Under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the United States agreed in principle to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases to somewhat below 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012.

In 1997 global cooling was a big environmental worry and an issue back then, but few paid attention to that either, and the concerns were soon found to be unfounded. The perspective in global cooling is similar to the way people view global warming now.

Landfill methane is an excellent and frequently untapped resource. Most times gases are simply flared or burned in the atmosphere, which is much less contributory to the greenhouse gas build-up which worries us all, than just letting the methane (landfill gas) escape without flaring. Landfill methane is typically flared in the developed nations, and almost never flared in the developing world\’s nations.

Opinions about landfill gas as an emissions problem, and even the producer of significant greenhouse gas emissions vary across the US. We have been made aware that state regulators consider methane to be a minor problem in New Mexico, due to the dry climate. However, Albuquerque is treating at least one serious methane problem with a high priority. State-by-state analyses nevertheless, do show a large and untapped potential for biomass-fired electricity generation. A very separate question, of course, is how much of this potential makes financial, environmental, or political sense.

However, interest in the use of landfill gas to fuel electricity generation is growing. Landfill methane is collected at a growing number of landfill sites and burned for energy production which mitigates the global warming effect of the methane as well as producing electricity and/or heat.

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Melting ice also presented new navigation possibilities such as a short route to the Pacific Ocean, the EU executive said.

The rapid recession of sea ice, snow cover and permafrost were helping to accelerate global warming and the loss from the Greenland ice sheet would bring a swift rise in sea levels, it said in a paper.

States should develop a coordinated approach to the Arctic to ensure the EU was well placed to take advantage and to help minimise the damage from increased human activity, it said.

The EU should work particularly with Russia and Norway to facilitate environmentally friendly energy exploitation.

“The Arctic contains large untapped hydrocarbon reserves,” it said. “Arctic resources could contribute to enhancing the EU’s security of supply concerning energy and raw materials in general.”

The EU must keep its edge in sustainable energy exploitation and encourage research and innovation to facilitate oil and gas exploration in harsher climates and deeper waters, while insisting on full respect for environmental standards, it said.

Melting of sea ice would open new navigation routes and could considerably shorten sea trips from Europe to the Pacific as well opening new fishing areas, the paper said. Explorers had for centuries searched for such a route. On fisheries, it called for establishment of a regulatory framework for Arctic high seas not yet covered by international conservation regimes before new fishing opportunities arose.

“Until a conservation and management regime is in place for the areas not yet covered by such a regime, no new fisheries should commence,” it said.

Three EU states – Denmark through Greenland, Finland and Sweden – have Arctic territories, while non-EU states Iceland and Norway are part of the European Economic Area.

A report released in September by the European Environment Agency, the World Health Organisation and the European Commission found the minimum surface area of Arctic sea ice was only half the normal minimum measured in the 1950s.

It said the sea level rise could place four million Europeans at risk of flooding by 2100 along with €2 trillion of assets, from London to Athens.