On:

Noise pollution from vehicles, oil and gas fields and urban sprawl is becoming a major threat to wildlife. In Canada, traffic noise is causing the number of frog species to decline. In Africa, the numbers and different species of primates is falling if the animals live near roads. In The Netherlands, 60% of bird species avoid roads. In response to urban noise, some birds have to sing at higher frequencies, so they are better able to hear each other.
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On:

HARPS is not the same as the mysterious Alaskan installation known as HAARP, which is mentioned in this week’s Dreamland. HARPS, located in Chile, stands for High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher and is part of the huge ESO international telescope system, which is searching for new planets. Since it powered up 5 years ago, HARPS has discovered more than 75 new planets in 30 difference solar systems, and recently, they’ve discovered 32 more. Will some of them have intelligent life?
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On:

Stop polluting & start stopping – Do you get riled when you see drivers coast through stop signs, as if they were just a “suggestion?” Some experts think that stop signs are part of the problem instead of a solution. And taxi drivers in China may be playing loud radios but at least they’re breathing again.

According to Canadian traffic expert Said Easa, intersections with stop signs can be some of the deadliest places on the road. In 2005 the Ministry of Transportation reported 62,000 crossing and turning collisions at stop-sign controlled and other types of intersections throughout Ontario, resulting in nearly 150 deaths and approximately 16,000 injuries. That’s nearly five times the number of fatalities as rear-end collisions in the same year.
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On:

Space is getting as crowded as a public beach in the summer, with everyone heading for the moon and leaving their trash behind. It’s time to set up some international rules!

How best to cope with the rising tide of orbital space debris? What international rules of behavior are required? Can space travel go “green?”

Researcher Ray Williamson says, “[This] is a recognition that the world needs to come together to develop appropriate international legal instruments to guide space activities for the future.” Before you blast off, Be sure to pack litter bags?

The key to getting into space may have to do with (believe it or not) sound. Find out all about it on this week’s Dreamland!

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