Public Radio International (PRI)

Amazing photos today on Twitter #frifotos. This one is from...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:06:26 -0500

Amazing photos today on Twitter #frifotos. This one is from @implausibleblog . #frifotos is a trend started by @epsteintravels . This week’s theme is Shadow. Go tweet your own favorite photo of brilliant shadows using #frifotos, or post them to tumblr share with us at Public Radio International!

pritheworld: A view of the CCTV and TVCC towers on the...

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:53:30 -0500

pritheworld:

A view of the CCTV and TVCC towers on the afternoon of January 12, the afternoon of January 13 and one week before the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics in 2008. Beijing saw previously unheard of levels of pollution over the weekend with air pollution being so bad it was “off scale,” according to the air pollution monitor at the U.S. Embassy. (Photos courtesy of Chas Pope/Flickr)

Beijing was wrapped in a suffocating blanket of smog over the weekend.

Pollution, according to air monitors at the U.S. Embassy, was so bad the index used to measure such things doesn’t even go as high as the monitoring equipment recorded. But people who were outside didn’t need fancy equipment to know that the air was bad, they merely had to look up - or out. They were lucky to see the top of buildings, or even a couple blocks down the streets.

For those commenting on smog blur in the pic, pollution only 357 on air quality index then, compared w/ 775 sat night! twitpic.com/bv7c9h

January 14, 2013

@angshah Here you go. yfrog.com/oe3jwpinj

January 14, 2013

@angshah 3.45pm, Sanlitun area. That’s facing east. No filter, and I opened the screen on the window to take this.

January 14, 2013

With air toxic even by Chinese standards, Weibo weighs in: 33.5 million posts on “pollution,” 26m on “fog”, 4.7m on “PM 2.5.” And counting.

January 14, 2013

01-14-2013 03:00; PM2.5; 523.0; 515; Beyond Index

January 13, 2013

PRI’s The World’s Mary Kay Magistad has lived in Beijing for 14 years and says that this is the worst air quality she can recall. In past years, the government has denied the problem of air pollution, but more recently began releasing more air quality data and expanding programs to reduce emissions.

Of course, China isn’t the first country to deal with bad pollution.

In an interview this spring with Yale Environment 360, the environmentalist Ma Jun connected his cause in Beijing to past efforts in London and Los Angeles:

Many Western cities have gone through a very polluted stage. London used to suffer very badly from “London fog,” which was really smog. At first, people didn’t know the major source of air pollution was burning coal; then they realized it was a big problem, and London gradually phased out coal-fired power plants within city limits. That greatly reduced the discharge of sulfur dioxide, starting in the 1950s. Los Angeles faced a different type of air pollution — it was less about coal and more about car emissions. The way that L.A. addressed air-quality problems was by increasing mileage standards and fuel quality, and also by improving the emissions-control devices installed on cars.

“The Great Smog of 1952” in London led to Britain’s Clean Air Act. Recently, California also enacted a cap and trade program that will require about 350 companies to pay for their carbon dioxide emissions.

Chinese officials are pointing to a phenomenon known as a temperature inversion as the cause for this record-breaking pollution. That too has a historical precedent in the western world. In Donora, Pa., in 1948, some 20 people died and hundreds were hospitalized when a temperature inversion trapped pollution in the small city. The situation was so bad, night practically turned to day; environmentalists trace the aftermath of Donora to the creation of the U.S. Clean Air Act.

And while there are no figures available about whether this weekend’s incident led to any direct deaths, a Greenpeace study found more than 8,000 premature deaths each year can be traced to bad air in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi’an.

"What children probably need to hear most from us adults is that they can talk with us about..."

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:24:41 -0500

“What children probably need to hear most from us adults is that they can talk with us about anything, and that we will do all that we can to keep them safe in any scary time.”

- Mr. Rogers, on talking with children about tragic events in the news. (via theatlantic)

ourpresidents: Draft of FDR’s “Day of Infamy” Speech. December...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:48:29 -0500

ourpresidents:

Draft of FDR’s “Day of Infamy” Speech. December 7, 1941.

A few hours after learning of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dictated a short address to be delivered to a Joint Session of Congress the following day.

His handwritten revisions—visible in this December 7 draft of the speech—made the “Day of Infamy” speech one of the most memorable in American history.

Read more about the drafting of this significant speech.

–from the FDR Library

PRI’s The World reports on cancer awareness, detection and...

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:16:25 -0500

PRI’s The World reports on cancer awareness, detection and treatment around the world, including new research from African scientists. Interactive Global Cancer Map.

ourafrica:

Bashar Shglila captures life in the Libyan deserts, from the sky—-sundown.

This is Africa, our Africa

In contrast to the newest USDA nutrition guide, the “Food...

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:10:59 -0500

In contrast to the newest USDA nutrition guide, the “Food Plate,” introduced in 2011 by Michelle Obama, this USDA 1943 “Basic Seven” wheel includes butter as one of the food groups and doesn’t include any suggestions on controlling portions. See a slideshow of historic food guides from the USDA here .

“Life in Color: Purple” – National Geographic’s exquisite...

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 10:29:30 -0500

“Life in Color: Purple” – National Geographic’s exquisite gallery of photos depicting the purple places in our world.

inothernews: FOUR MORE YEARS President Obama at campaign...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:09:31 -0500

inothernews:

FOUR MORE YEARS President Obama at campaign headquarters in Chicago early Wednesday morning. (Photo: Doug Mills / New York Times)

What are you thinking right now, with President Barack Obama winning re-election?

wnyc: WNYC’s Resources: Our After-Sandy FAQ | Transit...

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 17:51:01 -0400

wnyc:

WNYC’s Resources:

Our After-Sandy FAQ | Transit Tracker | How You Can Help

New York’s slowly coming back to life.

election: An interesting snapshot of who actually voted in the...

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:23:21 -0400

election:

An interesting snapshot of who actually voted in the last Presidential election. Not a lot surprising here - older, richer, married better educated folks turn out in the highest numbers. Oh, and women. But you may be surprised to see what states had the highest and lowest turnout.

Just 54 days til Election Day. What, if anything, do you think will be different about these numbers come November?

via votifi

n-a-s-a: Milky Way Over Abandoned Kilns Image Credit: Tom...

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:05:04 -0400

n-a-s-a:

Milky Way Over Abandoned Kilns

Image Credit: Tom McEwan

goyalla: Picture of Libyans appalled by the attacks against the...

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:33:57 -0400

goyalla:

Picture of Libyans appalled by the attacks against the consulate

Benghazi is against terrorism | Libya

Libyan Ambassador Christopher Stevens died in an attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya after protests broke out there and in Cairo. Three other American diplomatic staff members were also killed. President Obama strongly condemned the attack earlier this morning. More.

14-billion-years-later: Taking a break from actual science to...

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:09:14 -0400

14-billion-years-later:

Taking a break from actual science to post a cool aerial shot of some geography. This is in fact a view of the Betsiboka River in Madagascar and shows the different colours caused by different sediments. Also it looks like some weird octopus or jelly fish.

kqedscience: Smallest Fossil Footprints Found“The world’s...

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:29:04 -0400

kqedscience:

Smallest Fossil Footprints Found

“The world’s tiniest fossil footprints have been found in Canada. Researchers say they were left behind by a scurrying salamander-like creature 315 million years ago.”

picturedept: Remembering 9/11/2001 (via Newsweek)

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:08:24 -0400

picturedept:

Remembering 9/11/2001 (via Newsweek)

planetmoney: We’ve written before about how China’s growing...

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:44:53 -0400

planetmoney:

We’ve written before about how China’s growing middle class is buying more stuff that’s made in America.

Turns out, the same thing is happening in Mexico, which buys more U.S. stuff than China.

penamerican: Staff from the British Library map collections...

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:15:24 -0400

penamerican:

Staff from the British Library map collections displaying a page from the 1.75 metres tall Klencke Atlas which was made in 1660

A trendy restaurant in Charlotte offers the homeless a meal and...

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:45:45 -0400

A trendy restaurant in Charlotte offers the homeless a meal and a job. But there’s a catch.

The restaurant is called The King’s Kitchen and serves up Southern comfort food from pan-fried chicken to creamed corn. It’s owned by Jim Noble, who says profits from the restaurant support a bible fellowship program.

The homeless who come to the restaurant for a meal and/or a job must attend church service. Non-Christians need not apply. More.

(Photo: Chefs cooking at The King’s Kitchen. By Kevin Sullivan/Here & Now)

doctorswithoutborders: Bayer Attempting To Block Affordable...

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:33:50 -0400

doctorswithoutborders:

Bayer Attempting To Block Affordable Patented Drugs In India

German pharmaceutical company Bayer is challenging an intellectual property decision in India that allows more affordable generic drugs to be produced in the interests of public health. You can see the extent of the price differences in this image.

Learn more about the case.

Graphic by Will Owen

nationalpostsports: Another amazing photo from the Paralympics:...

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:27:44 -0400

nationalpostsports:

Another amazing photo from the Paralympics: China’s He Junquan bites on a towel to aid his start in the men’s 50m Backstroke S5 race at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park. The S5 category is for swimmers with major limb loss of two limbs or with full use of their arms and hands but no trunk or leg muscles; swimmers with moderate coordination problems.