User:Wiki User 68/My Portal
Wiki User 68/My Portal
 |
 |
| |
.gif)
Wiki User 68 hails from the Great British Isles specifically England which is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.[1][2][3] Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population,[4] whilst its mainland territory occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. England shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west and elsewhere is bordered by the North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, Bristol Channel and English Channel. The capital is London, the largest urban area in Great Britain, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most, but not all, measures.[5]
England became a unified state in the year 927 and takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled there during the 5th and 6th centuries. It has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world[6] being the place of origin of the English language, the Church of England, and English law, which forms the basis of the common law legal systems of countries around the world. In addition, England was the birth place of the Industrial Revolution and the first country in the world to industrialise.[7] It is home to the Royal Society, which laid the foundations of modern experimental science.[8] England is the world's oldest parliamentary system[9] and consequently constitutional, governmental and legal innovations that had their origin in England have been widely adopted by other nations.
Selected Panorama
Selected Article
Cornwall (/ˈkɔrnwɔːl/, Cornish: Kernow [ˈkɛrnɔʊ]), constitutional Duchy and palatine, is a county of England, United Kingdom, located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of 526,300, covering an area of 1,376 square miles (3,563 km²).[10] The administrative centre and only city is Truro.
The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited by Neolithic and then Bronze Age peoples, and later (in the Iron Age) by Celts. Cornwall is part of the Brythonic (Celtic) area of Britain, separated from Wales after the Battle of Deorham, often coming into conflict with the expanding English kingdom of Wessex before King Athelstan set the boundary between English in 922 A.D. and Cornish people at the Tamar.[11] Absorption into England (or not) is highly problematic, and it should be noted that the Cornish language continued to be spoken until the late 18th century, when the last native speaker of Cornish died in 1777.[12][13] A revival of Cornish was begun in the early 20th century, led by Henry Jenner and has progressed further over recent decades; 300 people were in 2000 said to speak Cornish fluently (study by Kenneth MacKinnon). Today, Cornwall's economy struggles after the decline of the mining and fishing industries, and has become more dependent on tourism. The area is noted for its wild moorland landscapes, its extensive and varied coastline and its mild climate.
Cornwall is the homeland of the Cornish people and diaspora, and is considered one of the six "Celtic nations" by many residents and scholars.[14] The County and Duchy continues to retain its distinct identity, with its own history, language and culture. Some inhabitants question the present constitutional status of Cornwall, and a self-government movement seeks greater autonomy. [15][16]
Selected Picture
Selected Natural History
The Krâvanh Mountains, or literally "Cardamom Mountains" (Khmer regular script: 
, Chuor Phnom Krâvanh; Thai: เขาบรรทัด, Khao Banthat), is a mountain range in the south west of Cambodia. The highest elevation is Phnom Aural at 1,813 meters (5,948 ft) high. This is also Cambodia's highest peak.
The mountain range extends along a southeast-northwest axis, and is continued to the southeast by the Dâmrei Mountains and to the northwest by an extension into Thailand territory (Chanthaburi Province) known as the Soi Dao Mountains (Khao Soi Dao). The southern boundary of the Cardamoms is in Koh Kong Province and the northern boundary is in Veal Veang District in Pursat Province.
This range of mountains formed one of the last strongholds of the Khmer Rouge and many part are largely inaccessible. The inaccessibility of the hills, however, helped to preserve the area; the mountains now form an endangered ecoregion. The mountains contain many "jar sites" scattered around the mountains. The jars are a unique feature to the mountain. They are 60 cm high and carry the bones of deceased Cambodians. Local legends suggest the bones are the remains of Cambodian royalty.
The mountain range is home to fourteen endangered and threatened mammal species including the Asian elephant, Indochinese Tiger, Malayan sun bear and Pileated gibbon, Irrawaddy and humpback dolphins, and half of Cambodia’s bird species. It is the last place on earth with Siamese crocodiles and is the only habitat remaining in Cambodia for the nearly extinct batagur baska, or "Royal turtle".
The population of the Cardamom Mountain Range is extremely poor, and threats to the biological diversity of the region include habitat loss due to illegal logging, wildlife poaching, and forest fires caused by slash-and-burn agriculture. Among the international conservation organizations working in the area are Wildlife Alliance, Conservation International, Fauna and Flora International and WWF (conservation organization).
Dense tropical rain forest prevails on their western slopes, which annually receive from 150 to 200 inches (3,800–5,000 mm) of rainfall; only 40 to 60 inches (1,000 to 1,500 mm) fall on the wooded eastern slopes in the rain shadow facing the interior Cambodian plain. On their slopes cardamons and pepper are still grown commercially.
Tourism is relatively new to the area. In 2008, Wildlife Alliance launched a community-based ecotourism program in the village of Chi Phat, marketed as the "gateway to the Cardamoms". However the number of international visitors remains very small in comparison to the tourism development of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, or Phnom Penh.
Selected Technology
Algae fuel, also called algal fuel, oilgae,[17] algaeoleum or third-generation biofuel,[18] is a biofuel from algae.
The record oil price increases since 2003, competing demands between foods and other biofuel sources and the world food crisis have ignited interest in algaculture (farming algae) for making vegetable oil, biodiesel, bioethanol, biogasoline, biomethanol, biobutanol and other biofuels. Among algal fuels' attractive characteristics: they do not affect fresh water resources,[19] can be produced using ocean and wastewater, and are biodegradable and relatively harmless to the environment if spilled.[20][21][22] Algae cost more per pound yet can yield over 30 times more energy per acre than other, second-generation biofuel crops.[citation needed] One biofuels company has claimed that algae can produce more oil in an area the size of a two-car garage than an football field of soybeans, because almost the entire algal organism can use sunlight to produce lipids, or oil.[23] The United States Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require 15,000 square miles (40,000 square kilometers), which is a few thousand square miles larger than Maryland, or 1.3 Belgiums.[24] This is less than 1/7th the area of corn harvested in the United States in 2000.[25][26]
As of 2008, such fuels remain too expensive to replace other commercially available fuels, with the cost of various algae species typically between US$5–10 per kg dry weight.[citation needed] But several companies and government agencies are funding efforts to reduce capital and operating costs and make algae oil production commercially viable.
In the news
- 21 May 2024 – Singapore Airlines Flight 321
- A Singapore Airlines flight from London, England, to Singapore makes an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, after experiencing severe air turbulence over the Bay of Bengal, resulting in one death and at least 30 injuries. (BBC News)
- 4 May 2024 – 2024 London mayoral election
- Sadiq Khan wins re-election as mayor of London, England, with 43.8% of the vote, becoming the first London mayor to be elected to a third term. (BBC News)
- 30 April 2024 – 2024 Hainault sword attack
- A man attacks people with a sword after crashing a car into a house in Hainault, London, England, United Kingdom, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, including two police officers. (BBC News) (The New York Times)
Selected Biography
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American president in United States history. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004, and as a community service organizer, civil rights lawyer, and university lecturer. (Full article...)
Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He worked as a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree, and practiced as a civil rights attorney in Chicago before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.
Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for United States Senate in 2004. Obama's unexpected landslide victory in the March 2004 U.S. Senate primary made him a rising star in the national Democratic Party, with his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004 further raising his visibility. He was elected by a landslide margin to the U.S. Senate in November 2004.
After a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination, becoming the first major African American candidate for President. In the 2008 general election, he defeated Republican candidate John McCain and was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2009.
Selected Geography
Bouvet Island is located at 54°26′S 3°24′E. It is 49 km² in area, 93% of which is covered by glaciers which block the south and east coasts.[1]
Bouvet Island is the most remote island in the world. The nearest land is Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, over 1,600 km (1,000 miles) away to the south, which is itself uninhabited.
It has no ports or harbours, only offshore anchorages, and is therefore difficult to approach. Wave action has created a very steep coast. The easiest way to access the island is with a helicopter from a ship. The glaciers form a thick ice layer falling in high cliffs into the sea or onto the black beaches of volcanic sand. The 29.6 km (18.4 miles) of coastline are often surrounded by an ice pack. The highest point on the island is called Olavtoppen, whose peak is 780 m (2,559 ft) above sea level. A lava shelf on the island's west coast, which appeared between 1955 and 1958, provides a nesting site for birds.
Because of the harsh climate and ice-bound terrain, vegetation is limited to lichens and mosses. Seals, seabirds and penguins are the only fauna.
Despite being uninhabited, Bouvet Island has the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) .bv, though it is not used.[2] A handful of amateur radio expeditions have gone to this remote location (call signs used here begin with 3Y). There is no telephone country code or area code, and no telephone connection (except by satellite, but there is nothing installed). There is no postal code and no postal distribution. Ships approaching the Bouvet Island fall within the UTC Z time zone. There is a Norwegian law [3] saying that the time zone of Norway is UTC+1, except for a part of year (daylight saving time). This suggests that the legal time zone for the Bouvet Island also should be UTC+1. However, since this law does not apply for the Norwegian Antarctic territories (Bouvet Island, Peter I Island, Queen Maud Land), UTC Z is the proper time zone for Bouvet Island.
Categories
Selected quote
Primeval man stumbled along with peering eyes, and slow, uncertain footsteps. Now we walk briskly towards our unknown goal.
- Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle
- (22nd May 1859 - 7th July 1930).
- The Stark Munro Letters, 1894.
Did you know?
- ...that optimistic estimations of peak oil production forecast the global decline will begin by 2020 or later, and assume major investments in alternatives will occur before a crisis, without requiring major changes in the lifestyle of heavily oil-consuming nations. These models show the price of oil at first escalating and then retreating as other types of fuel and energy sources are used?[27]
- ...that if the Greenland ice-sheet melted through global warming, it would raise the global sea level by 7 meters, or 22 feet?
Topics
Related portals
WikiProjects
 |
 |
 |
| WikiProject Africa | WikiProject Cape Verde | WikiProject Council |
Things to do
- Keep finishing off the various Portals that need creating/completing and start writing content on the relevant interested issues.
- Be bold. Wikipedia is for the people, by the people and needs YOU as a contributor to spread global knowledge.
Wikimedia
- ^ The Countries of the UK statistics.gov.uk, accessed 10 October, 2008
- ^ "Countries within a country". 10 Downing Street. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- ^ "ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Date: 2007-11-28 No I-9. "Changes in the list of subdivision names and code elements" (Page 11)" (PDF). International Organisation for Standardisation codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions -- Part 2: Country subdivision codes. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
ENG England country
- ^ National Statistics Online - Population Estimates. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
- ^ The official definition of LUZ (Larger Urban Zone) is used by the European Statistical Agency (Eurostat) when describing conurbations and areas of high population. This definition ranks London highest, above Paris (see Larger Urban Zones (LUZ) in the European Union); and a ranking of population within municipal boundaries also puts London on top (see Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits). However, research by the University of Avignon in France ranks Paris first and London second when including the whole urban area and hinterland, that is the outlying cities as well (see Largest urban areas of the European Union).
- ^ England - Culture. Britain USA. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
- ^ "Industrial Revolution". Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ "History of the Royal Society". The Royal Society. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
- ^ "Country profile: United Kingdom". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ^ "T 09: Quinary age groups and sex for local authorities in the United Kingdom; estimated resident population Mid-2006 Population Estimates". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ^ Stenton, F. M. (1947) Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Clarendon Press; p. 337
- ^ Ellis, P. B. (1974) The Cornish Language and its Literature. London: Routledge; ch. 5: the death of the language (pp. 95-124)
- ^ [1]
- ^ Payton, Philip (1996). Cornwall. Fowey: Alexander Associates
- ^ The Duchy of Cornwall - history supported by references to primary source material
- ^ "Country profiles: England". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ "Oilgae.com – Oil from Algae!". Retrieved 2008-06-10.
- ^ Alternative Fuels
- ^ Cornell, Clayton B. (2008-03-29). "First Algae Biodiesel Plant Goes Online: April 1, 2008". Gas 2.0. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
- ^ ""'Green Dream' Backed by MPs"". Eastern Daily Press. January 2003. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Friends of Ethanol.com biodegradable ethanol [dead link]
- ^ "Low Cost Algae Production System Introduced". Energy-Arizona. 2007-08-28. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
- ^ "Why Algae?". Solix Biofuels. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Hartmanwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Major Crops Grown in the United States". U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
- ^ Dyer, Gwynne (2008-06-17). ""A replacement for oil"". The Chatham Daily News. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ "CERA says peak oil theory is faulty". Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA). 2006-11-14. Retrieved 2008-07-27.