Amazon // Current

Scientology doesn't like to be badmouthed

British bookstores, and the British arm of the online retail site Amazon, have been forced to pull the sale of a new book critical... more

TrevTar
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21st century Santa's grotto

Some peeks inside Amazon.co.uk's distribution warehouse in Swansea ...

mischabarrett
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Frustration-Free Packaging

If opening packages has become your worst nightmare, then check out what Amazon is doing to create easy-to-open,... more

Jael
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The journey of the world’s dust

"The Amazon rainforest owes its fertility in great part to the tons of dust that make a lengthy journey over the Atlantic Ocean every day.

Where does this dust come from? From Africa, of course. The valley of Bodélé, situated in the Sahara Desert in the north of Chad is a narrow, rapidly producing, and very effective dust-machine.

The valley of Bodélé has unique geographical characteristics that make it the world’s largest dust supplier. Two mountain chains running nearly parallel to each other shape this natural “wind tunnel,” which becomes increasingly narrow as it approaches the Atlantic coast. As the wind penetrates the valley it picks up speed and more dust—it has been known to stir up dust clouds observable by satellite.

This narrow valley supplies 56 percent of the total dust arriving annually to the Amazon, at the same time contributing various mineral nutrients and fertilizing the soil. In the end, this means that 50 million tons of particles finer than sand make the more than 6,000-mile journey across the sea each year, feeding life on the other side of the world.

The dust not only enriches the forest soils but, incidentally, also is associated with the cycle of proliferation of plankton in the Atlantic Ocean through its contribution of nutrients required for the plankton’s breeding.

According to some scientists, the world’s dust supply—which increases in volume between 2,000 and 3,000 million tons annually—intensifies respiratory problems, contributes to climate change, and is the primary cause for a phenomenon known as “red tide,” where plankton density becomes so great that it colors the sea red.

This massive daily production of nearly 700,000 tons of African dust has increased as much as10 times in the last 50 years. But as stated above, the world’s dust supply does not only come from Africa. Developments such as deforestation and an increase in droughts also add to the world’s growing dust. Other factors can also contribute a few extra tons—pollution from vehicles, the emissions of toxic smoke from factories, as well as other sources related to human technology.""The Amazon rainforest owes its fertility in great part to the tons of dust that make a lengthy journey over the Atlantic... more

TravG73
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17 days ago

Why Amazon want you to "Window Shop"?

allows you to virtually browse through the best-selling Amazon.com products in various categories.

mashdata
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20 days ago

Amazon now lets us window-shop - doom for the highstreet?

Just in time for the chilly winter winds, Amazon have launched a 'WindowShop' website that it says will allow users to... more

purplefox
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21 days ago

Bestseller: Sarkozy voodoo doll

THE Nicolas Sarkozy "voodoo manual" hit the top of Internet retailer Amazon's bestseller list in France today,... more

Apocalipstick
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25 days ago

Nazis hoped to build empire in the Amazon

According to a new book, titled The Guyana Project: A German Adventure on the Amazon, the Nazis sent scientists to a remote region... more

nazbags
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25 days ago

Indians plead for world’s help to save uncontacted relatives

Four Indians, including one man whose first contact with the outside world was just four years ago, have journeyed to Paraguay's capital city, Asunción, to appeal for help to save their uncontacted relatives, whose forest home is being rapidly destroyed.

The Indians' forests are being illegally bulldozed by Brazilian companies who want it to graze cattle for beef. Satellite photos show that the amount of their land being destroyed has doubled since May this year.

Esoi Chiquenoi, who was contacted in 2004 and has relatives still uncontacted in the forest, says, 'I'm appealing to the authorities to stop the destruction of our forest. My family is there now. That's where our houses are. More and more notices are appearing on our land prohibiting us from entering. We're losing our forest.'

Gabide Etacori says, 'The savages are the ones who are destroying the forest. We're the ones who really know the area – it's where our historical sites and burial grounds are. (Our relatives) need the forest to eat and for water; if the forest is destroyed they will die.'

The Indians, from the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode tribe, have met with representatives from various government departments and other organisations. They hope to apply enough pressure on the authorities to stop the destruction of their forest, which is being carried out illegally by the firms Yaguarete Porá SA, River Plate SA, and BBC SA.

The Totobiegosode live in an area of Paraguay known as 'the Chaco.' The number of uncontacted Totobiegosode, who are exceedingly vulnerable to any form of contact with outsiders, is not known. They are the only uncontacted people in South America outside the Amazon.

Survival's director, Stephen Corry, said today, 'This is a great opportunity for the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode to make their views and demands clear and draw further attention to the plight of their forest and uncontacted relatives. The Paraguayan government must sit up and take notice – if not, the uncontacted Indians may well be wiped out.'Four Indians, including one man whose first contact with the outside world was just four years ago, have journeyed to... more