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Against the desert Tokyo plants trees on top of the roofs
THE INCREASE OF TEMPRATURE LEVELS
We are at An environmental crossroads and it is time to decide. It may be enough to think of the our disappearing winters to realize that the Earth is progressively becoming drier. But do we desire an earth that is always green or an upcoming desert? While we wait for scientists to give us enlightened information about the greenhouse
effect, deforestation and our responsibilities in this
mess, urgent measures are becoming increasingly necessary. Believing that the important thing is to actually do
something, the Japanese have decided to plant trees on the roofs of Tokyo. Tokyo and its suburban areas have approximately 30 million inhabitants and this extravagant measure is a way to try to lower the temperature which has increased up 2.9 degrees in the last few years. Atmospheric experts have confirmed that this solution makes sense since plants favor the evaporation from the ground. surface to the
atmosphere. It may also be a way to re introduce some green in the oasis of cement of today's modern cities. We may also come to rediscover the importance of shadow; this is especially striking in the weekly magazine "D" - a supplementary magazine to "La Repubblica" - one may see the green from the Mauritius botanic garden and an image from the Paris-Dakar …a lovely and thought inducing photograph signed Olga D'Ali.
An agonizing continent
AFRICA AND THE WESTERN WORLD
According to recent research Africa, the black continent, is the cradle of civilization. Man was born there and there is a risk that he may die there as well. More than 17 million people have died of AIDS in the last 20 years, and 25 million more risk dying the same way in the next few years; a slaughter the western world seems to ignore. Medicine is too expensive for these poor populations; officially HIV treatment costs 10.000 dollars, yet an Indian company could sell the treatment for 350 dollars if only patent rights didn't prevent it. Pharmaceutical multinationals must defend their business, however, but this may prove to be the death sentence for the poor and sick inhabitants of up to seven countries.(Rug.Mar.) (by Libero, Corriere della Sera, Panorama)
The "Pink Panther" has
disappeared:
Lloyds offers a reward of 700 Million Lire
30 BILLION LIRE WORTH OF DIAMONDS
The "Pink Panther" was one of the largest and most beautiful diamonds in the world. It earned it's name
thanks to the pink colored light it reflected. This unique gem weighed 32.5 grams and was valued more than 30 billion lire. It disappeared during a flight between Switzerland and South Africa; a mysterious, "Topkapi-like" story which often contribute to the legend of precious stones. It took off , but simply never arrived to it's destination. Lloyds of London has promised a reward of 700 million lire to whomever may provide useful information to trace the diamond. Such a sum of money could also attract it's possible
thieves.
Disaster of the Environment
CRAZY IGUANA IS ARRIVING FROM THE GALAPAGOS
The Galapagos rise in a particularly dry part of the Pacific Ocean. The islands are 13 and they are
about 960 kilometers from the coast. Life on those equatorial islands comes from the sea and all
the creatures that live there are tied to the sea: penguins and other aquatic birds, otaries, water turtles,
hammer sharks and iguanas. This small scale apocalypse is threatening one the most prided ecological reserves. Until only a few weeks ago,
The Galapagos archipelago that was an uncontaminated paradise; today, as the result of the wreckage of an oil tanker, that area of the ocean has been polluted by greasy, deadly spills. The Darwinian theory of the survival of the fittest is having an unattended revival. According to Darwin this selection was natural, whereas now it will be guided by blind scientific/technological progress and not by the rules of nature. After the "crazy cow", we might come to know a "crazy iguana"!