Environment
Cul-de-sac communities increase air pollution, health risks
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Studies show higher emissions of greenhouse gases and higher obesity rates in poorly interconnected communities.
Environment
Wow this is one BIG beaver dam!
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It’s hard to imagine that a dam that is twice the length of Hoover Dam and is visible by satellite imagery would go unnoticed for 35 years. But then again, there aren’t that many visitors to Canada’s remote “Beaver Belt.”
Democracy & Civics
Voters paid to stay away from Philippine elections
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A new form of voter fraud was reported in the May 10 Philippine general elections: some qualified voters were paid to not vote.
Environment
Humongous telescope set for Chile’s Atacama Desert
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It is an astonishing instrument by any measure—by far the largest such telescope on earth and capable of spotting rocky, earth-like planets up to 100 million million miles away.
Democracy & Civics
Mexico the most dangerous country for journalists
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In the last 10 years, 62 journalists have been killed in Mexico, making it the most dangerous country in the world for journos.
Bay Area Toxic Tour
Newsdesk wins SPJ award
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The multimedia series Bay Area Toxic Tour: West Oakland was published by the nonprofit online news packager/distributor Newsdesk.org—and crowdfunded by through Spot.us.
Democracy & Civics
Thousands of Philippine voting machines on the blink
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Over 82,000 automated voting machines in the Philippines have failed to recognize candidates running for elected office, just days before the May 10 elections. The voting machine failures caused more unrest and fears of fraud among the candidates and voters.
Featured
Laugh your way to better health
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As funny as it may sound, laughter may be the new exercise, according to American health researchers. “A term I like to use is called laughercise,” said Dr. Lee S. Berk, a preventive care specialist and psychoneuroimmunology researcher.
Democracy & Civics
Mayhem looms in Philippine elections
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Welcome to the spectacle known as Filipino politics. According to Transparency International, an agency that surveys corruption levels in international countries, the Philippines finished 139th out of 180 countries in its 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Economy
Costa Rica ecotourism in trouble on Pacific Coast
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Hotel construction projects and a boom of vacation homes along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast is threatening the country’s famed bio-diversity and its ecotourism model, a newly published research project says.