Convention citoyenne pour le climat

PHUKET: The first two white cards handed out for “points” in the Phuket We Free Dive Suunto Series have highlighted the unique format of the competition, which ranks the control, safety and beauty of the dive above time and distance. “I value any clean dive far above a longer or deeper one that ends with a barely conscious diver,” explained Association Internationale pour le Développement de l’Apnée (AIDA) judge Richard Wonka. “Freediving is a beautiful sport, it’s only the ego – which all of us carry around with us – that spoils its reputation.” Two white cards and two red cards were handed out to contestants by Mr Wonka and AIDA judge Sarah Whitcher at the dynamic without fins event on March 30 in Chalong. These cards count toward the grand prize of a Suunto D6i dive computer ( story here ). Related news 500k baht stolen from Singaporean family in Phuket villa 4 hours ago PLTO continues crackdown on illegal taxis 7 hours ago … [Read more...] about Video Report: Phuket’s Suunto Series – seeing in red and white

PHUKET: Thailand-based Minor Hotel Group is splashing out 3 billion baht on the acquisition and remodeling of Bundarika Villas and Suites on Phuket’s northern west coast. As first reported by Phuket Gazette Property Columnist Bill Barnett in June, the Bundarika Villas Suites located on 23 rai Phuket’s north west coast on Layan Beach, was purchased with “an adjoining 32 rai land parcel of undeveloped property allowing for a significant expansion”. The 77 villas and suites of the Bundarika Villas and Suites will be re-branded to the Minor Hotel Group’s core brand as Anantara Phuket Layan Resort & Spa in 2013. Dillip Rajakarier, CEO Minor Hotel Group, said, “We are very excited to announce this new addition to Minor’s portfolio and what will become a second Anantara resort in Phuket. Bundarika offers guests an exclusive retreat and is ideal to be re-branded to an Anantara next year after renovation and an operational improvement program.” Related news 500k … [Read more...] about Minor Hotel Group pours B3bn into Phuket resort

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin As any sourdough bread enthusiast can attest, beneficial microbes live all around us. Estimates suggest the Earth harbors as many as a trillion microbial species. Many make our lives better, enabling us to do everything from fermenting foods to synthesizing human insulin. Those possibilities attracted the attention of Tara Karimi, an academic researcher specializing in biologically inspired technologies. Her brother, Moji Karimi, worked with a company that wanted to sequence the DNA of microbes living in oil and gas wells. Both Karimi siblings were passionate about sustainability; when their professional lives intersected, they started thinking about ways their knowledge of science and technology might help reverse climate change. Ultimately, their collaboration led to Cemvita Factory, a biotech startup they founded in 2017. Today, their focus is to bring biotechnology to the energy transition with applications such as … [Read more...] about How Oil-Eating Microbes Could Revolutionize The Energy Transition [Video]

BP Plc posted its second-highest quarterly profit on record and announced a further $2.5 billion of share buybacks, capping a stellar period for Big Oil after Russias invasion of Ukraine pushed up energy prices. (Source: Bloomberg) When Bernard Looney took over as chief executive officer of BP Plc in 2020, he promised to quickly decarbonize the British oil major, cutting oil and gas production by 40 percent by 2030 and channeling billions of dollars into wind and solar projects. It was a stronger version of the “Beyond Petroleum” slogan BP once used. On Tuesday, Looney altered course. The company put out some fine words about its commitment to green energy and several billion dollars in investment to back it. But in tandem, it promised shareholders it would invest heavily into oil and gas projects. Instead of a 40 percent output cut, oil and gas production would fall by 25 percent by the end of the decade. Don’t say it out loud — because Looney took pains to emphasise that … [Read more...] about Don’t say it out loud, but BP is back into petroleum

The disdain shown by a large majority of the population to intellectual property rights discourages innovation at the domestic level, motivates the innovators to immigrate to foreign shores and register their innovations there. (Representative image) The total apathy of common Indians towards the intellectual property rights (IPR) of the originators is appalling. The use of pirated software, photocopied books, spurious books sold on traffic signals and footpaths, unauthorised copies of branded clothes and so on is unapologetically common. Propriety and ethics are not taught in schools. It is common to see parents encouraging their wards to buy the “cheaper” alternative regardless of its legality and authenticity. Many cities have infamous “markets” for pirated software and duplicate merchandise. Driving out from Delhi NCR region to nearby Uttar Pradesh and Haryana towns, one comes across “Bhatura King”, a fast-food joint chain. The name and logo used by this chain are cannily … [Read more...] about Why is an infringement of intellectual property acceptable but not royalty payments?

As it happens with most new advancements of technology, a discussion and a debate is emerging on what AI can or can’t do. (Representative image) On February 6, Sundar Pichai, CEO of tech behemoth Google and Alphabet announced ‘Bard’ , their experimental AI service. Google’s response comes nearly three months after a hitherto lesser-known company, OpenAI , announced ‘ ChatGPT ’ to the world. The last three months has seen a flurry of activity as an excited world embraced the tool, making it compose prose and poetry and figuring out how far it could go. Tech pundits even began to write articles that ChatGPT would be a great addition, but the company had to figure out how to make money. Even before the ink could dry on those articles, Microsoft announced Microsoft Teams Premium that featured services by OpenAI’s GPT-3.5, hoping to make their online meeting and collaboration tool much more intelligent. Three Key Impacts As it happens with most new advancements of … [Read more...] about Are we ready for AI that knocks out jobs, fuels disinformation, and is difficult to regulate?

As ESG becomes the core conversation in corporate boardrooms and for the allocation of capital, it is compelling brands and enterprises to improve their sustainability performance. (Source: Shutterstock) In a bid to enable 100,000 MSMEs turn ESG compliant in the next 24 months, Bizongo, a leading vendor digitization platform with embedded financing for brands and enterprises has launched Bizongo Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Scorecard. This will help bolster ESG consciousness among Indian MSMEs and larger enterprises. With this, Bizongo has also become the first B2B marketplace to offer ESG-related intelligence. Aniket Deb, Co-founder and COO, Bizongo, said, "In its essence, ESG is a framework that helps businesses build customer loyalty, attract investors, make operations sustainable, and improve financial performance. In line with this, Bizongo's ESG Scorecard will enable MSMEs on its platform assess their ESG performance and help them integrate it into their … [Read more...] about Bizongo launches ESG scorecard; aims to help one lakh MSMEs turn ESG compliant in the next 24 months

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin You’ve been hearing a lot about Greenville, South Carolina, in recent years—and that’s because it has something for everybody. With a population hovering around 75,000, South Carolina’s most charming town is where big city cool meets small-town America. Downtown’s tree-lined main street could be plucked from a postcard, and Reedy River, along with the roaring Reedy River Falls, ripple right through the heart of the city—lending it an even more special feel. And because so many global companies (including Michelin, BMW, and Bosch) have headquarters and operations in the area, Greenville boasts a wonderfully diverse population. There’s also an incredible number of locally-owned restaurants and shops ready to show you their own unique style of Southern hospitality, and the weather is blissfully mild—even during this time of year. So here, how to plan a winter weekend in Greenville with recommendations on where to eat and … [Read more...] about Why Now Is A Terrific Time To Visit Greenville, South Carolina’s Most Charming Town

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin After a long winter the impulse to escape to a beach somewhere in the Caribbean often overtakes travelers, however, there are some very compelling reasons to book your spring vacation in a snowy destination — even if you don’t ski. From sustainability factors to a true escape from the peak travel season crowds, thinking outside of the typical spring break box can have huge payoffs in terms of your travel experience —including a deeper connection to the destination and the people you meet there. Tom Wilkinson, Senior Product Manager with Exodus Travels, says that the tour operator’s trips in Northern Finland provide travelers with a memorable and impactful travel experience — one that suggests you pack a bathing suit, but doesn’t involve swimming through a cloud of someone else’s sunscreen. Here’s why you should consider a different kind of vacation this spring. Crowd control Forget lining up at the bar for an … [Read more...] about 5 Reasons To Consider A Cold Weather Trip This Spring Break

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin If you want to record a podcast or stream some live content, there are loads of great standalone microphones on the market in XLR and USB versions that will do a superb job. However, if you want to talk and move around a little when commentating on a ball game or playing a particularly vigorous game, a broadcast headset can often be a better bet. A headset combines a high-quality microphone and a pair of headphones into one unit and they have some specific advantages. Currently, the broadcast headset market is dominated by Audio-Technica and beyerdynamic . Now Audio-Technica has updated its headset offering with a new model in two different versions, with a choice of XLR and USB connections for the first time. A broadcast headset is great for ensuring that the microphone is always kept at a constant distance from the speaker’s mouth, even if they turn their head from side to side while, say, watching a ball game, a … [Read more...] about Reviewed: These StreamSet Headsets From Audio-Technica Are Great For Broadcasting And Livestreaming