Small World Servers

Forecasts gave Gulf Coast cleanup crews 3-day advance warnings about where oil might wash ashore

So-called source rocks hold the answer.

An oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico leaves an oily sheen on the water just months after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

August & September are prime time for hurricane formation.

The world's most established fisheries certifier is failing on its promises as rapidly as it gains prominence, according to leading fisheries experts.

Officials are warning that the Hurricane Earl may swing by the U.S. East Coast before curving back out to sea. What would happen if a major hurricane struck New York City?

Aircraft from government agencies swarm Hurricane Earl.

I'm definitely big on Babbel, the online language learning platform, and wanted to let readers know that they recently released a new browser-based speech recognition feature.

This unique tool encourages users to practice the language they are learning out loud and gives them the opportunity to fine-tune their pronunciation. Some traditional e-learning software includes this sort of tool, but none of them do it online in quite the same way. It is also one of the first applications to incorporate the new Adobe Flash Player 10.1.

• Foreign language pronunciation training online
• Real-time technology based on the new Adobe Flash Player 10.1
• Speech recognition with Babbel iPhone apps also planned

Babbel integrates a unique speech recognition tool into its language learning system. The feature encourages practice and gives the opportunity to fine-tune pronunciation skills. This adds yet another dynamic dimension to online language learning.

The browser-based speech analysis gives learners an instant evaluation, letting them know how close their pronunciation is to that of a native speaker. Included in all Babbel courses, the feature will take effect automatically. No installation is necessary beyond the latest Flash Player.

Active speech

Many students of foreign languages, regardless of their level, lack speaking practice and often shy away from direct communication. Breaking out of the shell can take courage that is not always at hand. The idea of the speech recognition feature is to give them the confidence to open their mouths. "We're encouraging learners to speak and improve their pronunciation with a technical tool before they have to face real-life situations", says Markus Witte, Managing Director of Babbel.

In a new kind of exercise integrated into the Babbel courses, learners hear a word or phrase and are prompted to repeat it back. The quality of the pronunciation is then rated on a scale of 0-100. A result of 50 or higher means that the utterance is generally understandable. Beyond that point, the user can continue to polish their pronunciation to desired perfection.

New technology from audio software experts

The Babbel founders have an extensive background in audio technology. Among them are the original developers of TRAKTOR, the world renowned DJ software. This professional-level technology has been channeled into the online language learning system Babbel and made accessible for anyone online.

The new speech recognition tool marks a milestone in online language learning and underscores Babbel’s technological lead. It works directly with the popular Flash Player and is the first to make use of its new capabilities

Another implementation of speech recognition technology is planned for the recently released Babbel iPhone apps.

Babbel is an online language learning system. Along with the website, there are apps for iPhone and a downloadable vocabulary trainer. Both beginners and returning learners will find interactive exercises for studying English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and Swedish. Among diverse kinds of courses there are Basic and Advanced Vocabulary, grammatical exercises and pronunciation training. More than 700,000 people from over 200 countries have already registered with Babbel, while the iPhone apps have had at least 100,000 downloads.

Free Language has reviewed Babbel for the seven languages it's currently working for. Have a look at their articles to find out much more about this unique language-learning platform:

Babbel English
Babbel French
Babbel German
Babbel Italian
Babbel Portuguese
Babbel Spanish
Babbel Swedish

Go ahead, try Babbel!

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The Rainforest Alliance has launched a new certification aimed at helping cattle farms improve their environmental and social performance.

Instead of asking how much cap-and-trade will cost, we should be asking how much it saves us. The glacier in the room is that the real costs won't come from cap-and-trade, but from climate change itself.

Coral reefs are sensitive to climate change and track sea level. New observations show that an extensive coral reef existed in the southern Pacific Ocean thousands of years ago. Researchers used multi-beam sonar, coring, and dating to examine a relict reef discovered in water about 20-25 meters (65-82 feet) deep around Lord Howe Island in the southern Pacific Ocean.

The world is heading for the next major climate change conference in Cancun later this year on course for global warming of up to 3.5C in the coming century, a series of scientific analyses suggest. The failure of last December's UN climate summit in Copenhagen means that cuts in carbon emissions pledged by the international community will not be enough to keep the anticipated warming within safe limits.

The powerful international body set up to advise governments on the effects of global warming needs a major overhaul if it is not to repeat errors that damaged its credibility and gave succour to climate change sceptics, an independent investigation has concluded.

The Marxist philosopher says environmentalism is a new opiate of the people, Bill Gates has privatised part of our intellect, and reality is incomplete

The IPCC must change how it operates if it is to regain the public's trust, according to a major review

 A maker of carton packaging for drinks and liquid foods has developed a new carton format that reduces the carbon footprint of packages by almost a third.

The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to begin idling nine coal-fired power generation units in the next fiscal year as it moves toward cleaner sources of energy.

Bad weather is good news for some researchers.

Yahoo: Canada: Living Green Shopping Lots of earth-friendly products for babies, kids, adults and the home as well as green living guides and info on Earth Day Canada.

Living green requires a look at the way we live our lives, and then actively finding ways to make the necessary changes to help our environment. Thankfully, the choice to make these changes is becoming easier and easier because living green no longer means having to sacrifice quality or price.

Our Living Green feature showcases sustainable eco-friendly products and helpful hints on how to better preserve our planet. From organic skincare to Energy Star-compliant appliances and electronics, we have you covered.

Visit Yahoo: Canada: Living Green Shopping.

PUBLIC not told about potentially dangerous gases spread over hundreds of kilometres for fear of causing alarm.