Adventures on a Canopy Raft

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A new viewpoint for research.

How do researchers study the tops of rain forests? One way is to use a canopy raft, which is flown up and settled on the very tops of trees.

Canopy rafts are extraordinary things. they’re basically enormous nets attached to an inflatable frame and are dropped onto trees from airships, resulting in a viewing platform like no other which can also be used as a base from which to hang using climbing gear. the raft above is the solvin bretzel, a new design by gilles ebersolt which due to its pretzel-inspired shape is both safer to use and more effective than older versions. researchers can spend days at a time on the raft (hence the tent) and due to its extremely light weight the trees are left unharmed…

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Horrific Amount of Deforestation in the Amazon from 2000-2008

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Only Remnants of the Rainforest Remain

NASA’s Earth Observatory has some amazing satellite photos of the deforestation of the Amazonian rainforest over the past 8 years. At the link, click on the years posted below the picture to see the progression.

The state of Rondônia in western Brazil is one of the most deforested parts of the Amazon. In the past three decades, clearing and degradation of the state’s original 208,000 square kilometers of forest (about 51.4 million acres, an area slightly smaller than the state of Kansas) has been rapid: 4,200 square kilometers cleared by 1978; 30,000 by 1988; and 53,300 by 1998. By 2003, an estimated 67,764 square kilometers of rainforest-an area larger than the state of West Virginia-had been cleared…

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Desperately clinging to the past, Newspapers struggle to preserve their legacy

Desperately clinging to the past, Newspapers struggle to preserve their legacy

Newspapers struggle to preserve their legacy

Raymond Alvarez:  The White House says there will be no bailout for newspapers.

The media has languished in the grips of depression for 15 years, shedding jobs, and losing ad dollars and subscribers. Indeed, print publishers lately are showing themselves to be yet another example of an old line business that won’t survive.

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Amazon Launches The New Kindle DX For Magazines, Newspapers and Textbooks

Launch Of The New Kindle DX For Magazines, Newspapers and Textbooks

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with the new Kindle DX

Amazon unveiled the Kindle DX this morning, an e-reader with a 9.7 inch screen that is 2.5 times larger than the Kindle 2, which debuted earlier this year. (Pics)

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Amazon Developing Larger Screen Kindle

Amazon Developing Larger Screen Kindle

 Amazon has big plans for the Kindle

The Kindle has been a huge success. With that success, some copycats have emerged. Some of those plan to have a larger screen. So, to keep up, Amazon is planning to develop another Kindle according to the WSJ. Supposedly this comes from people who have seen a version of the device. This one would have “a larger screen”.

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FLEPia – World’s First Color e-Book Reader

FLEPia - World’s First Color e-Book Reader

FLEPia

That Kindle 2 – we love it, especially for reading books without pictures. But for magazines, blogs and newspapers, color is essential, and that’s where this Fujitsu FLEPia e-book reader represents a breakthrough, towering over all the rest. Shipping in Japan April 20 (and who-knows-when to the U.S.), it’s the world’s first color e-book reader. But there’s one major drawback: It costs $1000. Ouch. And we thought the Kindle’s $359 price was too high.

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Top 5 Tech Toys Of 2009 And 5 More On The Way

Top 5 Tech Toys Of 2009 And 5 More On The Way 

2008 was a good year for gadgets, and we’re hoping that ’09 will be just as impressive. We’re only a month in so far, but Palm, Dell, Sony and even Amazon have all dropped hints about what the companies have in store. We’ve collected the five big announcements that have us drooling, as well as five more that we’d like to see happen before 2010.

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Handbags Made From Recycled Pet Fur

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If you thinking making clothes out of human hair is weird how would you feel if I told you humans are making clothes from their pet’s fur? It isn’t much different from using sheep’s wool or natural animal fibers from Alpaca, Angora, Llama or Camel. Right? Danelle German doesn’t think so.

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Vent-Miser Programmable Energy Saving Vent

Vent-Miser Programmable Energy Saving Vent 

Vent-Miser 

Having central heating is easy and convenient, but not very cost effective. For one thing, you’re heating rooms that are not in use. Most homes do not need every single room to be the same temperature. hat’s where this device comes in handy. The Vent-Miser Programmable Energy Saving Vent saves you money by controlling individual room temperature.

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