May 10,2013 Annular Solar Eclipse: Visible in Australia and the Pacific islands
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May 10,2013 Annular Solar Eclipse: Visible in Australia and the Pacific islands – Video
May 10,2013 Annular Solar Eclipse: Visible in Australia and the Pacific islands - Video
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May 112013
May 112013
MAJURO, Marshall Islands: A drought has left areas of the Marshall Islands facing “dire” water shortages with aid agencies scrambling to ship relief to affected communities, officials in the Pacific nation said Wednesday.
With almost no rainfall since late last year on some of the northern islands, the government this week issued a disaster declaration as villages began rationing water to preserve supplies.
“We’ve got 3,700 people without drinking water, the situation is dire,” national water advisor Tom Vance said on Wednesday following a trip to Mejit Island.
Health officials said water tanks were running low and water from wells had turned brackish, making it unsafe to drink. Without rain, the only other source of liquid for the islanders is coconuts.
“The situation is increasingly desperate if this drought persists in the northern islands and atolls,” said Chief Secretary Casten Nemra, who is heading the emergency relief program.
The United States and Australian governments this week announced $100,000 in emergency aid grants, with the US also donating four reverse osmosis water-making units which are expected to arrive in the next few days.
The Marshall Islands government said it hoped to buy more of the units and send a ship to the disaster zone carrying 450 collapsible water containers filled to capacity.
Nemra said the drought had severely damaged local food crops and there were health fears for the population, with cases of diarrhoea, conjunctivitis, influenza and other illnesses already being reported.
“The northern Marshall Islands is under incredible level of hardship and reports indicate that conditions will get worse in the coming days,” he said. -AFP
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Pacific's Marshall Islands facing drought emergency
May 102013
California Pacific Coast – endless beaches
beaches everywhere… music by Artist: Joe Keller Title: Softie Title: Gwendolen.
By: JCVdude
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California Pacific Coast – endless beaches – Video
May 022013
Fridge and Freezer Replacement Program In Cook Islands to Reduce Energy Consumption-ADB
RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS (2 MAY 2012) A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed today by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Government of the Cook Islands, and the white goods retailers-Motor Centre and the Cook Islands Trading Corporation Ltd. The MOU supports the Fridge and Freezer Replacement Program which is one of several energy efficiency projects being developed and implemented under the Promoting Energy Efficiency in the Pacific-Phase 2 Project.
The project, co-financed by: ADB, the Government of Australia, the Global Environment Facility and the Asian Clean Energy Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership aims to reduce energy consumption in the residential, commercial and public sectors through the implementation of energy efficiency measures, and to establish policy frameworks to help Cook Islands move away from fossil fuel dependency.
The Fridge and Freezer Replacement Program will encourage households to replace their old inefficient fridge/freezer (5 years or older) with high energy efficient models. The program, financed by ADB, will subsidize participating retailers in the Cook Islands, enabling them to sell new high energy efficient fridge/freezers at the market price of a low energy efficient one.
Its estimated that around 40% of household electricity costs in Cook Islands is for refrigeration, said Martina Tonizzo, Project Team Leader from ADBs Pacific Department. By using an energy efficient fridge, the average household would save around NZ$200 to NZ$300 per year on electricity.
The program will reduce electricity consumption in the Cook Islands by promoting high energy efficient fridge/freezers. Under the program, the retailers will offer rebates between NZ$150 and NZ$500 to customers purchasing selected high efficient fridge/freezer models, in exchange for their old, working low efficient fridge/freezer of similar capacity.
The fridge/freezer replacement program aims to initially cover 325 households in Cook Islands over a one year period. It is expected, the program will quickly transform the fridge/freezer market from low energy efficient to high energy efficient models, resulting in a reduction of electricity consumption of approximately 20-30% for each participating household. Significant cost savings in household electricity bills and increased awareness of energy appliance labeling and the benefits of using energy efficient appliances are also expected benefits of the program.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members 48 from the region. In 2012, ADB assistance totaled $21.6 billion, including cofinancing of $8.3 billion.
ENDS
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Fridge and Freezer Replacement Program In Cook Islands
Ben Namakin, Kiribati CAN Pacific Islands talking at CBA7 in Dhaka, Bangladesh - Video
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Apr 282013
Ben Namakin, Kiribati CAN Pacific Islands talking at CBA7 in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Ben Namakin of Kiribati on why he is establishing a Climate Action Network for the Pacific region, his hopes for what can be achieved and the threats that fa…
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Ben Namakin, Kiribati CAN Pacific Islands talking at CBA7 in Dhaka, Bangladesh – Video
Pacific Islands - Video
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Apr 252013
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20000 to 30000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is s…
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Pacific Islands – Video
Apr 122013
Atolls and other low-lying islands in the Pacific Ocean may not slip under the waves but they will likely become uninhabitable due to overwashing waves
By Julia Pyper and ClimateWire
U.S. protectorates like the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia can also expect to become increasingly uninhabitable. Pictured: Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. Image: Flickr/Matt Kieffer
As ice caps melt and sea levels rise, islands around the world could eventually become completely submerged, like real-world cities of Atlantis.
Scientists have determined that the tides could consume low-lying islands in the next 50 to 150 years. But they’ll become uninhabitable well before they’re underwater, and that day might not be in the too distant future.
A study by the U.S. Geological Survey released yesterday finds that the two northwestern Hawaiian atolls of Midway and Laysan and Pacific islands like them could become inundated and unfit to live on during this century.
A fierce storm in 2008 drew researchers’ attention to the issue of overwash, where ocean water comes ashore, damages property and natural resources but doesn’t permanently submerge the island. On islands that are less than a thousand feet long and where fresh water turns brackish less than a dozen feet deep, overwash can have a crippling effect.
“If you have an overwash event, all of a sudden, you’re salinating that fresh water; you basically kill the agriculture due to salt loading, and if you get [salt concentrations] over a few parts per thousand, it’s no longer fit for human consumption,” said Curt Storlazzi, a research oceanographer at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center and lead author of the study.
“You may have an island, but without fresh water and agriculture, you can’t live there, anyway,” he added. “It’s like, do you care that in 100 years your house will be underwater? Or do you care that in 20 or 30 years ocean water is going to come through the side of your house a couple times every year?”
Not drowned, but uninhabitable To measure sea-level rise, scientists have historically used passive “bathtub” models that flood a given area in a concentric range. To better understand the effects of overwash, USGS used dynamic modeling that takes into account storm winds and wave activity coupled with sea-level rise of between 0.5 and 2 meters (1.6 and 6.5 feet).
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Storm Surges, Rising Seas Could Doom Pacific Islands This Century
Fijians seek new ways of travel - Video
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Apr 102013
Fijians seek new ways of travel
The Pacific Island nation of Fiji is facing a transport crisis. The sparsely populated scattered islands require boats to get around. But rising fuel prices …
By: AlJazeeraEnglish
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Fijians seek new ways of travel – Video
Apr 072013
North Sydney Bus Charters (TV.4697) in Pacific Highway (HD)
MY TRANSPORT FORUM: http://www.transportuniversal.com/forum/ North Sydney Bus Charters (TV.4697) seen in Pacific Highway, Pymble. Ex STA MKIV Merc 2760, now …
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North Sydney Bus Charters (TV.4697) in Pacific Highway (HD) – Video
Mar 212013
World Bank and Marshall Islands launch new strategy to strengthen partnership
First project to help reform telecoms sector and improve connectivity for 53,000 people
Washington, March 19, 2013 – The World Bank launched its first Country Partnership Strategy with the Government of the Marshall Islands, beginning its support to strengthen the Pacific Island nations economy and reduce poverty. The Banks Board of Directors discussed the strategy today and approved its first project, a $3 million plan to help reform the telecommunications sector and boost access to mobile phones and internet for the country’s 53,000 people.
The Marshall Islands is one of the worlds least connected countries, and telecommunications access is low. Just two percent of people subscribe to internet services, and only about one-quarter have a mobile phone. This hinders development efforts. It imposes a heavy toll on communities, including the countrys many overseas workers, government and local businesses. Communities in the outer islands are particularly disadvantaged.
The project aims to help the country attract new investment in telecommunications and bring down service costs, including through increased competition. In the Pacific region and Papua New Guinea, such reforms have given over two million more people access to mobile phones, with much cheaper calls.
We welcome our renewed partnership with the World Bank, and look forward to working together on an ambitious agenda, said the Honorable Dennis Momotaro, Minister of Finance. The telecommunications project is an ideal starting point improving telecommunications will make it easier for families and friends to keep in touch, promote business opportunities, and link communities to essential services.
The strategy was developed in consultation with the government and other stakeholders, and marks a deepening of the engagement between the Marshall Islands and the World Bank. In addition to the initial focus on telecommunications, the four-year strategy outlines other potential assistance to help improve the management of revenues and fisheries a key source of income for the country and its people. Other proposed areas of engagement could include support to strengthen the role of women, and measures to improve the sustainability of the energy sector and reduce high fuel costs.
Together with the government and our partners, this is a plan to build a more vibrant economy, said Franz Drees-Gross, Country Director for the Pacific Islands at the World Bank. It is the start of a critically important Partnership that will strive to better connect the country, and to get a better deal and lasting benefits from its resources.
The Marshall Islands will receive assistance through grants from the International Development Association. A US$3 million grant is being provided for the ICT Sector Development Operation, the first of a series of three operations to address telecommunications reform which will be implemented by the Marshall Islands Ministry of Finance.
ENDS
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World Bank and Marshall Islands strengthen partnership
Navy sends Freedom to Singapore amid cuts
Freedom
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Mar 132013
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2013/03/ap-navy-sends-lcs-freedom-singapore-amid-cuts-031213/
By Audrey McAvoy – The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Mar 12, 2013 7:50:30 EDT
ABOARD THE FREEDOM The U.S. Navys hottest new ship and the centerpiece of its renewed focus on Asia isnt its largest vessel, or its most technologically advanced. But it has advantages that its bigger siblings lack.
The 388-foot Freedom is small enough to move among the many islands and shallow waters of Southeast Asia, a trait that allows the Navy to train alongside similar-sized vessels in the regions navies and build relationships with them.
All this, the Navy believes, will help it make sure the regions critical waterways stay open to the trillions of dollars in oil and other trade that passes through each year. Its an objective so important the Navy is sending the Freedom to Singapore this month even as automatic federal spending cuts carve into its budget.
We hold our commitment to them, to our area, our theater, so highly that this deployment has not been affected, said Rear Adm. Hugh Wetherald, the U.S. Pacific Fleet deputy chief of staff for plans, policies and requirements.
The Navy and the Pacific Fleet are still on watch, he said.
Freedom on Monday sailed to Pearl Harbor, into the prime mooring spot the Navy often reserves for ships it wants to show off. The blue and gray camouflage painted on its sides designed to confuse hostile small boats and make it less visible from shore stood out amid the plain gray hulls of the other surface vessels in port.
Until now, most U.S. ships visiting Southeast Asia have been aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers and other large boats well equipped for jobs such as firing cruise missiles or defending against fighter jets.
But they dwarf smaller ships U.S. partner navies from other countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand use for missions such as patrolling the seas, catching pirates, and stopping human and drug trafficking.
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Navy sends Freedom to Singapore amid cuts
PISCES: Pacific Islands Schools, Connectivity, Education and Solar Project - Video
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Mar 112013
PISCES: Pacific Islands Schools, Connectivity, Education and Solar Project
Speaker/Performer: Laura Hosman, Illinois Institute of Technology Sponsor: CITRIS (Ctr for Info Technology Research in the Interest of Society) Remote island…
By: citrisuc
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PISCES: Pacific Islands Schools, Connectivity, Education and Solar Project – Video
Tour the islands this weekend at Pasifika
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Mar 042013
Want to visit 10 Pacific Islands in just two days? Avoid the jetlag and do just that at this weekend’s colourful Pasifika Festival.
Feb 272013
The US Army's: 7th US Cavalry Compilation With Great Patriotic Music
The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army Cavalry Regiment, whose lineage traces back to the mid-19th century. Its official nickname is “Garryowen,” in honor of the Irish air Garryowen that was adopted as its march tune. Following its activation the Seventh Cavalry Regiment patrolled the Western plains for raiding native Americans and to protect the westward movement of pioneers. From 1866 to 1881, the regiment marched a total of 181692 miles (292342 km) across Kansas, Montana, and the Dakota Territories. The regiment was constituted on July 28, 1866 in the regular army as the 7th Cavalry. It was organized on September 21, 1866 at Fort Riley, Kansas as part of an expansion of the regular army following the demobilization of the wartime volunteer and draft forces. From 1866 through 1871, the regiment was posted to Fort Riley and fought in the American Indian Wars. A total of 45 men earned the Medal of Honor while serving with the 7th Cavalry during the American Indian Wars: 24 for actions during the Battle of the Little Bighorn, two during the Battle of Bear Paw, 17 for being involved in the Wounded Knee Massacre or an engagement at White Clay Creek the next day, and two during other actions against the Sioux in December 1890. The 7th Cavalry Regiment was dismounted on February 28, 1943, and started packing up for deployment to the Pacific Theater, still part of 1st Cavalry Division. The 7th Cavalry staged at Camp Stoneman, California on June 18, 1943, and departed …
By: F Obamastein
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The US Army’s: 7th US Cavalry Compilation With Great Patriotic Music – Video
Astoria Oregon - Video
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Feb 272013
Astoria Oregon
www.makaiohana.com An overview of the northern most town on the Oregon coast. Astoria is a city of 10000 people on the Columbia River, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Astoria is the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies. The city lines the south banks of the Columbia River, and the north banks of Young's bay. Surrounded by water and tall evergreen Douglas Fir, Hemlock and Spruce trees, Astoria, is rich in scenic beauty, with a vista of the Pacific Ocean and its endless miles of sandy beaches viewed from a top of Astoria's historic Column. Discover why Astoria is a delightful romantic getaway. Visit Astoria's many cafe's and unique shops. Tour nationally acclaimed Columbia River Maritime Museum Explore maritime history from dugout canoes to sail ships. Walk the bridge of a World War II warship, marvel at the 44-foot motor lifeboat plowing through a wave in a rescue mission.
By: makaiohana
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Astoria Oregon – Video
Feb 232013
Snake Population to Be Bombed With Poison Mice
2/23/13 – In Guam, pest control is a little more complicated than buying a better mousetrap. In fact it can require a few helicopters. To combat the invasive population of brown tree snakes, the US Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services will air drop mice laced with the painkiller acetaminophen into the dense jungles on the island. “We are taking this to a new phase,” said Daniel Vice, assistant state director of US Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services in Hawaii, Guam, and the Pacific Islands. “There really is no other place in the world with a snake problem like Guam.” There are an estimated 2 million brown tree snakes on Guam with around 20 to 30 snakes infesting every acre of the island. The snakes showed up on the island after World War II, arriving on US military ships from other parts of the Pacific war theater including Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia. The snakes have decimated Guam's native bird population, wiping out nearly all species. Growing between three to ten feet, the snakes have affected humans by causing power outages and occasionally biting residents. Robert Reed, the project leader of brown snake research for the US Geological Survey, says the snakes are “changing the face of Guam.” “If you walk through Guam forests, you end up completely covered in spider webs because without birds, [the population of ] spiders and their prey have exploded,” said Reed. To fight the invading species the US Department of …
By: FreshJuiceNews
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Snake Population to Be Bombed With Poison Mice – Video
