Gaia has become one of the world's most popular religions, although many regard it as a philosophy. Of 4m people in 170 countries surveyed in an online poll, more than a quarter said they subscribed to the Gaia world view. Adherents believe that the planet is a single living organism made up of complex interdependent systems and that protecting the natural environment is vital to its health. Gaia was the name of the ancient Greek Earth goddess. SA
Cracks continue to appear in the Siberian oil pipeline as a result of geomagnetic storms. These are swirling clouds of electronic particles caused by solar events known as CMEs (coronal mass ejections). Smaller cracks have also been found in other pipelines around the world. Repairs are believed to be costing oil companies hundreds of millions of euro-dollars. SA
Cars return to Singapore. This tiny, heavily populated state led the world in radical anti-car legislation after realising that as much land was given over to roads as to housing - 11% by 1995. Road-pricing was introduced in the mid-1970s, along with swingeing car taxes. In the 1990s a Toyota cost E$99,000. But wealthy residents, including a large number of British expatriates, put pressure on the government for the return of private transport. DL
|
