Socyberty » environment

Benefits of Climate Change

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:00:13 +0000

Despite rumours to the contrary, global warming is still with us. A report from the U.N. in 2007 stated with a 90% certainty that the major causes of this warming are man-made; so people can take steps to slow this change and combat climate change. In the last 5 years this situation has not changed, although people have continued to take small steps towards reducing their impact on global warming.

There are many things that negative things that could happen as a result of this warming – such as increased flooding of coastal areas due to rising sea-levels, or an increase in water shortages in areas where water scarcity is already a problem. There some benefits that could arise from an increase in the rate of climate change that we can see already, so perhaps there is reason to be positive.

Perhaps the most obvious benefit will be that the coldest areas of the planet, areas such as the Arctic, Antarctic and Siberia; will have milder climates that will allow a greater number of plant and animal species to live there. Unfortunately there are other species such as the polar bear that may cease disappear as their icy habitat is lost. But the loss of Arctic ice will have another positive effect, as the Northwest Passage through Canada’s formerly-icy north opens up to sea transportation, saving thousands of kilometres in transportation distances. This important transport route has been sought after for hundreds of years, but in 2007 the European Space Agency clamed the route was fully clear of ice for the for the first time since records began.

The benefits would not stop there however. Energy consumption in colder areas would be greatly reduced as less heating is needed, and public bodies would not need to spend so much to alleviate the very coldest of the weather. Agriculture could also increase in the coldest areas, and tourism would also benefit as people seek to escape the stifling heat on the rest of the planet.

However people who live away from these remote, sparsely populated areas will find themselves at a significant disadvantage. Those currently suffering the winter cold might look forward to a period of warmer weather, but there are many more disadvantages to climate change than there would be benefits of it. In addition to disadvantages mentioned above, stormy and unpredictable weather would become more widespread; and deaths from extreme heat would also increase.

But if we do not take action against climate would be wise to focus on the few ways that we will improve our living conditions rather than on the many ways that we will make them worse.

Murdering Mountain Tops

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:33:40 +0000

Ecologists are horrified at the destructive nature of the practice known as mountain top removal mining, which involves the destruction of the summit ridge of a mountain, in order to extract raw materials from the rocks, often with devastating consequences for the natural beauty of the area concerned.

It is normal practice for coal seams in their entirety to be removed from mountain tops, hills or ridges by simply removing all of the rock above them, and though, theoretically, the removed rock is repositioned to approximate the original feature shape, the reality of this mining method is anything but eco-friendly.

Not only is the clear cutting of native hardwood forests in these areas an affront to all environmentalists, but the subsequent use of dynamite to destroy hundreds of feet of mountaintop, followed by waste dumping in nearby valleys makes the blood of protesters boil, and rightly so.

Families and communities close to such mining sites have not only the environmental devastation to bear witness to, but must also put up with continual noise pollution from blasting as close as 300 feet from their homes, often going on 24-7.

On the US coalfields of Appalachia at this moment one of the worst environmental and human rights catastrophes in US history is ongoing, whole communities driven from homes and businesses by mountaintop removal coal mining causing flooding and landslides along with the din of the blasting.

A growing body of evidence is demonstrating the awful truth ot this type of shows mining destroying Appalachian forests, as well as and dangerously polluting vital headwaters, because spoilage laden with toxic mining by-products gets dumped in so-called valley fills.

Recent studies are damning, in that they show all too graphically how serious the environmental impacts are of mining this way. Lost natural habitats and bio-diversity which can neither be reversed or repaired, along with unseen adverse human health threats..

Even if the human race desperately needs man resources obtained in this way, the price in environmental terms is far too high for any of us to truly find acceptable. Those with a real concern for nature, wildlife and the future of the planet must work together to put a stop these mountaintop mining disaster before we take it that one step too far, if indeed we have not already done so.

The Hazards of The Office Romance

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:43:39 +0000

Office workers. (Wikipedia image)

Company Policy First

Before officemates even consider being drawn into an office romance, they should ascertain whether company policy allows it. If not, then two officemates becoming involved with each other will be tantamount to playing with fire, in more ways than one.

Maintain Professionalism

If ever officemates do get involved with each other, they must always remember to separate the personal from the professional. Both parties must never allow the relationship to affect the quality of their work. They should avoid romantic behavior in the office, as well. There must be no displays of affection in their place of work. Such behavior should be kept outside of office hours, and preferably where it cannot be witnessed by coworkers or, especially, bosses. Likewise, if those involved are having a lovers’ quarrel, there should be no hint of this in the office, particularly in how they work with each other. Manifestations of personal differences can only have an adverse effect not only on how they perform on the job, but on whether they will continue to keep their jobs.

Respect Office Hierarchy

The office romance that is really potentially hazardous to the office environment, and to the continuing professional health of the employees involved, is the kind between personnel of different ranks. Such a relationship can hurt the chances of getting a raise or a promotion for those involved, at the very least. And, unavoidably, such a relationship will always carry an air of inappropriateness to it. One executive reports that when she brought her boss and an employee with whom he was in a relationship to a meeting, you could feel everyone’s eyes on them, and the tension was so thick you could practically hold it.

Often, feelings are difficult to hide, and if officemates have romantic feelings for each other, these are bound to surface sooner or later. Some office-sharing sweethearts may choose to carry on a romance in defiance of company policy that forbids it. In this case, those involved must at least be very discrete about their relationship. In the end, this is the question employees in such a situation must ask themselves: Is it worth risking the loss of their jobs?

Salvage Still a Problem

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:37:53 +0000

The race against time is getting ever more urgent around the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise liner, rescue divers retrieving a 13th body, that of a woman wearing a life jacket, on Sunday, as the ship continues to slip. In the way that floating platform legs are tensioned, it is being put forward now that a mooring system consisting of tendons, attached to the structure and connected to a foundation on the seabed, be employed ASAP

This 114,500-ton giant ran aground with more than 4,200 people aboard 9 days ago, yet passengers unaccounted is an unclear number as the liner may have been carrying unregistered passengers. The rescue efforts must go on, but preventing an environmental disaster is also vitally important.

It can clearly be seen that this huge wreck is undergoing daily movements, resting on two stone benches on the bottom, close by the edge of a 200ft underwater cliff edge, the ship laid at a 24v degree angle, but these pictures – above and below- taken six days apart are graphic displays of the reason for alarm, the funnel much nearer the water

Since fuel recovery operations might take between two and four weeks, possibly during rough seas, experts are now seriously thinking that anchoring the ship to the reef to prevent it from sinking is vital, so that the Smit Salvage company can drill into the ship’s fuel tanks and pump out 2,300 tonnes of fuel oil inside them.

With the vessel continuing to shift dangerously, the inclination now more than 80 degrees, sensors recorded a shifting at a rate of about 0.39 inches an hour overnight. Remember that these seas are home to the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals, over 700 species including fin whales, sperm whales, dolphins, tuna, billfish and sharks potentially threatened

Should the liner slide off the shelf to the sea floor 290 feet below 500,000 million gallons of heavy fuel could be spilled into this pristine Tuscan wildlife sanctuary. It is said that 21 steel ropes, 4in diameter are needed to chain the Concordia to the reef and the sea bottom, the project achievable in only two days, and urgently needed. Let us hope action is taken in time.

Proof That Decriminalizing Marijuana Can Help The Economy

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:24:34 +0000

Do you recall stories of Boarder Agents finding tunnels with up to 32 tons of marijuana that was being trafficked into the United States? The only reason why those tunnels exist is because of the United States’ policy on Marijuana. If the government held Marijuana to the same standards as tobacco or alcohol, it would be grown here privately and not smuggled into the Country by criminals.

This article is a small sample of things that would change if Marijuana was decriminalized.

An American Citizen is charged for a Marijuana related crime every 30 seconds. There were 1,663,582 marijuana related arrests in 2009 (13.0 percent of the total arrests in 2009)

“The U.S. federal government spent over $15 billion dollars in 2010 on the War on Drugs, at a rate of about $500 per second.” Said drugsense.org

Can you believe that? That would cost the Fed 1.5 trillion over the next 100 years. And that’s just at the Federal level; local governments also spend money cracking down on Marijuana. This requires larger police forces, larger jails, and of course, the problem of people being locked up for possessing a dried flower.

Additionally, if you didn’t stop at decriminalization, and allowed for it to be sold under local restrictions like alcohol and tobacco, the expected tax revenue federally would be 6.2 billion annually. That’s 0.62 trillion in 100 years… That equals a 2.1 trillion federal savings over 100 years, without counting inflation.

That 2.1 trillion could be used to help pay for our huge debt, and help balance budgets for States and other local governments. And I’m not including the commercial and tax benefits of Hemp, that’s a separate but similar issue. Because Marijuana “Cannabis” is the drug, and Hemp, a rope like byproduct derived from Marijuana that cannot be used as a drug… The economic benefits of Hemp are much larger than Cannabis, because it is likely to replace cotton as the main material for fabric, replace trees for paper, as ass produce more than 5000 other products. (To learn more about Hemp, Read http://socyberty.com/issues/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-hemp/ )

In conclusion, decriminalizing Marijuana would have many great benefits for our economy, people, and environment.

Remembering 2011

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:51:30 +0000

2011 was an interesting year to say the least. There were protests, insurrections, and revolutions by oppressed people desiring change on every continent. The occupy movement which started on Wall street and spread around the globe demonstrated that people could organise in peaceful protest..

There were environmental disasters like the earthquakes in Japan. Mass fish, bird, other wildlife and allot of celebrity deaths. R.I.P Heavy D! In between all this there were great moments in sports, media, music and entertainment.

Also there were massive illegal, unsanctioned, detainment and assassinations without people ever being tried in court. While most Americans were eating Turkey and stuffing, the president was reviewing a bill which abolishes the Constitution and institutes martial law. Under The NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) Section 1031 which has been changed to Section 1021 gives the president the right to assassinate any US citizen suspected of being a terrorist. No proof…suspected. Google Bill NDAA for more information and check the video about it below. Along with a collection of clips highlighting the triumphs and tragedies of 2011.

New Year and Our Environment: We Overdid The Firecrackers

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 07:12:37 +0000

This was too smoky in some places

Happy New Year to you my friends, I wish you, this to be the best year of your life with the grace of God. In our place people used firecrackers but not that much as this place is a little out of the city limits and my fellow citizen are a bit orthodox type and have faith in old traditional ways of celebrations such occasions.

We danced Bhangara to the tunes of big drums and had a lot of fun you know the Punjabi ways. Some of them had some drinks but none was out of control. I was away for most of the day and came back in the evening to have fun with friends in the evening. This really was full of joy. There was nothing as smoky as I heard from some parts of our country and some other countries, where some people even died or injured seriously due to firecrackers.

The problem seems to be these days that people have, forgotten the good ways of the occasions and have taken every thing for simple fun and wasting money. I am not saying that fire crackers are as bad a thing which should not be used but going out of the way and overdoing it certainly too bad.

The way people are wasting so much of money on such unproductive things is really so disgusting, especially when the environment is on the stake. I am sure this needs a serious thinking before this is too late.

JOY to Me AND YOU ~ Smiles and Inspiration 2012 ~ Volume Two Issue 23 Day 357 of 365 12/23/11

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:48:26 +0000

I’ve grown to realize the joy that comes from little victories is preferable

to the fun that comes from ease and the pursuit of pleasure.

~ Lawana Blackwell, The Courtship of the Vicar’s Daughter

We all grow everyday and unfortunately sorry to say we all inch closer to our final act which is to pass on. Sorry to bring that up but if we are going to inspire each other then we must also learn to face the facts of life and death. I love that song Joy to the World you know the holiday one.
Joy to the world; The Lord is come!Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare him room.And Saints and Angels Sing!
That song if you want the rest of the lyrics just click on this line and you will be taken there. Just come back to this page. : )
Awesome Christmas Song!
So understand that we are the earth, you and me. So we have either chosen to receive his gift and love or we have not received it. Let every heart prepare him room. Is he in your heart? Have you made him some room in there?
May the Saints and Angels Sing! Great line : )
So we have that joy in our heart you and me, lets say that we both do, you the reader and me the author in charge of this essay. I will confirm right here that I do. I accepted that king into my heart at the age of 15 in an old country church here near my home. I have that room for him in my heart. Love that peace and joy and hope that my love shines and is a beacon to another.
So that joy resides in us, we want to share it but often find we are rejected. Does that mean we let the other person effect our joy? No, but sometimes we let that happen. Don’t let that happen. Let your joy sing out, let your smile broaden. Let your laughter ring out. If you let those emotions flow freely they will get it. They will ultimately want what your have. It will start to grow on their spirit like moss grows on a tree, or rain clings on a window pane. Sure it may fade once you move on but it will linger.
Thats truly what we want from our joy anyway to linger. Let the energy flow of the world do the rest.
You make the deposit of joy, or you plant the seed and move forward. Flow freely and let your joy become part of the energy flow around you.
Don’t let another drop your joy or smile. Don’t allow the wonders of the evening news to cause you despair. No not even the weather should bring you down. For we all need the rain, and the snow and the dark clouds. Because after the rain and the dark clouds will come the light of the sun.
The light of the Son! May the Saints and Angels Sing ! ! : )

This weeks affirmation fits right here :

I live with an abundant attitude. I appreciate what surrounds me, I see love and possibility in everything that is presented to me. When challenges confront me, I welcome them because I see growth and opportunity. It is a new chance to share in my knowledge of appreciation and love. I am grateful for everything that brings me love and joy. Love surrounds me. Joy flows freely from my spirit. I am grateful! I appreciate and look forward to the new year and I will live in gratitude for all that I have.

Trust in these words this week, Say them, repeat them and each day watch the shift in your beliefs.

Words with power, with emotion and words that will help affirm your design of a better you.

Use your mirror time and face time each day to acknowledge that you are loved and that you are truly grateful for all that you have.

By your creator, and by the reflection in that mirror. You are loved. Take the time for you! It is within you right now to make your day more joyful, happier, and designed the way you choose. Its your turn to act!

Smiles as always sent your way. Today and always. : )

*****************************************************

On this day in history

1688 – As part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England flees England to Paris after being deposed in favor of his nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary.

1783 – George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland.

1823 – A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas, is published anonymously.

1893 – The opera Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed.

1913 – The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve.

1914 – World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt.

1916 – World War I: Battle of Magdhaba – Allied forces defeat Turkish forces in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.

1919 – Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 becomes law in the UK.

1937 – First flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber.

1938 – Discovery of the first modern coelacanth in South Africa.

1940 – World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis (Υ-2) sinks the Italian motor ship Antonietta.

1941 – World War II: After 15 days of fighting, the Japanese Imperial Army occupies Wake Island.

1947 – The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.

1948 – Seven Japanese convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo.

1958 – Dedication of Tokyo Tower, the world’s highest self-supporting iron tower.

1968 – The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are released after eleven months of internment in North Korea.

1970 – The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City is topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world.

1972 – A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000.

1972 – The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, having survived by cannibalism.

1979 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.

1982 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces it has identified dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach, Missouri.

1986 – Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.

1990 – History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88% of Slovenia’s population vote for independence from Yugoslavia.

2002 – A MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat.

2003 – Petro China Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, killing at least 234.

********************************************************************************************

My daily recipe for today. Hope you enjoy : ) From allrecipes.com

Apple Pie Ham

**************************************************************************************

New Feature Only on Thursday Weekly Sudoku Puzzle

Sudoku by Sudokuhints.com

**************************************************************************

Your Daily Prayer

Lord, thank you for today and all its majesty and beauty.

Thanks for the gift of our free will may we all choose wisely.

Thank you for all the abundance that I have in my life.

Help me to understand all the possibilities that come along with this abundance.

May I seek to explore and surround myself and allow it to flow freely from me.

May I stand out among the crowd and give freely the love that burns inside my spirit.

Help my free flowing spirit to feel your presence, your spirit, your love, your direction.

Help me to look forward and move forward with faith, hope, love and grace.

May I share a smile, a sincere smile and perhaps a kind word or deed.

Allow my faith and light to always burn bright. Never let that joy alter because of another spirit.

Guide my light to another whose light may be dim. May my joy and smile brighten their day.

Help me to live a life by design that I choose not one that is chosen for me.

Guide me and help me to rediscover my inner strength. Help me to focus on love and sharing my love with others.

Help me to focus my strength on making a difference with the simple actions in life.

On keeping things more attainable and filling this time of year with the simple things of life.

Giving thanks

Showing appreciation

Expressing the real reason for the season.

For the power of words and your words that you placed in the Bible.

Thanks for the gift of love may I understand that everything was designed with love and only man and his wrong intentions created hate.

Help all of us to become better givers of self.

Help us to become the gift that this world needs.

A bit kinder, more gentle, more in tune with the power and influence we really do all have.

To share to be that beacon of light.

To share a simple sincere smile.

To reach out with our hands and arms to help another person get a foot hold once again.

Help me to make a difference with a simple sincere smile, a kind word or even a act of kindness or love.

I give you praise and the glory for all of that

With humility and gratitude I thank you

Amen

*****************************

Daily Information

A very cool time piece for the web

Sunrise

Sunset

Next Full Moon

Days till Spring

Sharing a smile ~ Sending you love ~ Pass it on

: )

brought to you by Make ME Smile Online

written by Victor Yakin copyright protected 2011

The Effects of Deforestation

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:05:35 +0000

That forests worldwide confer uncountable benefits on man and his immediate environment is an indisputable fact.Aside paper products and timber,forests provide wildlife habitat and recreational facilities. They prevent soil erosion and flooding, help provide clean air and water and contain tremendous biodiversity. They defend the environment against global climatic changes.By way of photosynthesis,forests produce life-giving oxygen and take in carbon dioxide, the chemical largely responsible for global warming. Thus by reducing the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,forests decelerate the effects of global warming.

Image via Wikipedia

However,huge portions of the richest forests are being destroyed for timber, agriculture and wood fuel. In the 1990s, for example,the rain forests of the Brazilian Amazon River basin were being depleted at an estimated rate of 14million hectares(35million acres)yearly. In its 2005 report titled ”Global Forest Resources Assessment ” the Food & Agricultural Organization revealed that forested areas of the world(4billion hectares or 10billion acres)were declining at a rate of about 7.3million hectares or 18million acres annually, equivalent in size to Sierra Leone or Panama. This was, however, a decline when compared to the period between 1990 and 2000 when the slide was at an alarming pace of 8.9million hectares (22million acres) of forests yearly.While Africa, south of the Sahara and South America continued to have the largest net loss of forests, Asia and Europe showed a net gain due to landscape restoration, forest planting and natural forest expansion.
In Canada and the US, deforestation comes largely in form of extensive logging or clear cutting.This destoys plant and animal habitat,leaving the landscape bare and unproductive.Due to lawsuits by environmentalists between the late 1980s and the early 1990s for breaching the National Environmental Policy Act, a more sustainable ecosystem management policy, requiring foresters to focus on conserving natural habitats instead of maximizing tree harvest,was adopted.
Rapid deforestation,especially in the Tropics,damages the thin layer of soil and this is further worsened by heavy rainfalls.It has been estimated that globally,agriculture accounts for 28%of 2 billion hectares of soil degraded by human activities, overgrazing for 34% and deforestation,29%.
In conclusion,the effects of deforestation include reduction in total species richness,shrinking biodiversity,reduction of soil nutrients, the lowering of the local water table leaving less water available for plants
and loss of human lives due to decreased natural resources.To reduce deforestation,it is advisable to adopt the soil management methods and these include the following options:(i)strip-cropping (ii) planting crops along the contours of slopping lands to reduce erosion and run-off (iii) terracing (iv) the growing of legumes to restore soil nitrogen (v) boycotts of multinational corporations responsible for exploitative logging and (vi)formulating policies aimed at reducing population growth,poverty and expanding access to health and education.

Image via Wikipedia

What Surrounds You? ~ Smiles and Inspiration 2012 ~ Volume Two Issue 21 Day 355 of 365 12/21/11

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:13:49 +0000

For most people, we often marvel at the beauty of a sunrise or

the magnificence of a full moon, but

it is impossible to fathom the magnitude of the universe that surrounds us.

~ Richard H. Baker

Perhaps we should start to try and fathom the beauty all through out our world.

Not the world our world. Yes there is plenty beauty.

Common people who the media calls ‘layaway angels’ that pay off layaways for folks and turn their Christmas and faith in man kind to a higher plane.

The person in the driveway of a Starbucks who pays for the drink behind him and only hopes that the person pays it forward, or backward as is this case and does the same. Then that person does, and the next and the next for an entire hour.

Thats the beauty that surrounds us. Fact is it is in every one of us.

So what surrounds you? Before you answer that question take a second, meditate on the question, maybe a full minute or two.

What surrounds you?

No matter what you answered the same thing that surrounds each of us is there for you too.

Things like beauty, majestic sunrises and sunsets, resources that allow us to live, nature that lives in harmony.

Emotions like love, joy, happiness, laughter, empathy, intense euphoria, peace, kindness.

They surround you as much as they surround me.

So lets focus on these things. Lets call them into our world, our perception, our focus today.

Tomorrow and the next day. Don’t stop at just one day.

Tis the season to be jolly right?

Then live with that spirit in your soul. Look at the beauty.

Do we all get down at times. Sure we do. But it is how we bounce back, and how soon we bounce back that matters most.

We are all creatures of love.

We are all focused on something make that something that is worth your attention be that love, joy, kindness and goodness that can and should surround us all.

This weeks affirmation fits right here :

Trust in these words this week, Say them, repeat them and each day watch the shift in your beliefs.

Words with power, with emotion and words that will help affirm your design of a better you.

Use your mirror time and face time each day to acknowledge that you are loved and that you are truly grateful for all that you have.

Smiles as always sent your way. Today and always. : )

*****************************************************

On this day in history

1620 – Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

1826 – American settlers in Nacogdoches, Mexican Texas, declare their independence, starting the Fredonian Rebellion.

1861 – Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.

1872 – Challenger expedition: HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sails from Portsmouth.

1883 – The first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army are formed: The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment.

1907 – The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in in Iquique, Chile.

1910 – An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, kills 344 miners.

1913 – Arthur Wynne’s “word-cross”, the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.

1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world’s first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theater.

1941 – World War II: A formal treaty of alliance between Thailand and Japan is signed in the presence of the Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew.

1946 – An 8.1 Mw earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kill over 1,300 people and destroy over 38,000 homes.

1962 – Rondane National Park is established as Norway’s first national park.

1967 – Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, after living for 18 days after the transplant.

1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.

1969 – The Gay Activists Alliance is formed in New York City.

1969 – The United Nations adopts the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

1973 – The Geneva Conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict opens.

1988 – A bomb explodes on board Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.

1992 – A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 56 people.

1994 – Mexican volcano Popocatepetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts gases and ash.

1995 – The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.

1999 – The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid.

2004 – Iraq War: A suicide bomber killed 22 at the forward operating base next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers.