Mars exploration rover finds evidence of life-supporting water.
Soil samples analyzed from the area where the Mars rover Spirit came to a halt in April 2009 has identified a range of minerals that include hematite, silica, gypsum, and ferric sulfates. US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists believe that these substances appeared when liquid from melting snow seeped through the surface and carried the minerals down several layers below Mars’ crust. This soil could provide clues to other areas of Mars that may also contain water.

Moreover, scientists had once thought that water formed billions of years ago on the red planet. This discovery, however, is a sign that the liquid may have formed in the past several hundred thousand years.

What exciting findings, National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists! We can’t wait to hear more about the origins and evolution of life on our planetary neighbors.

During an April 2009 videoconference in South Korea, Supreme Master Ching Hai reminded that a growing understanding of Mars’ evolution may serve as tools to further humanity’s caring stewardship of our own endangered Earth and the life she sustains.


http://news.discovery.com/space/mars-rover-spirit-water.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8091965/Nasa-unveils-bold-plans-to-send-humans-one-way-to-Mars-
to-colonise-planet.html
http://www.indyposted.com/121483/life-on-mars-rover-gets-stuck-in-red-planet-mud/

Thorium could offer safe nuclear energy.
A number of scientists have been working with the substance thorium, which is more widely available than uranium, and believe that it may provide a clean, abundant source of nuclear energy. One ton of thorium is estimated to be able to provide as much energy as 200 tons of uranium or 3.5 million tons of coal.

Kirk Sorensen, chief nuclear technologist at Teledyne Brown Engineering:  The amount of thorium     that it would take to provide the amount of power needed to run your entire life is about the size of a marble that big.   

Also, unlike uranium, creating nuclear weapons from thorium is said to be nearly impossible. Research has been ongoing in terms of developing thorium fuel technology, particularly in Russia. Chief nuclear technologist of US-based Teledyne Brown Engineering, Kirk Sorensen, explained the benefits of creating nuclear power based on thorium, stating, “Conflicts that we see today based around energy could go away.  These energy sources … do not emit carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases, and do not produce dangerous waste, could enable us to have cleaner water, cleaner air and less intrusion on our environment from energy production.”

Our thrilled appreciation, Dr. Sorenson and other scientists as well as countries such as Russia, for your advancements with thorium as an alternative nuclear material. Wishing you continued success in its development as a clean and safe energy source that could bring abundant benefit to many lives.

http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-11-01/thorium-uranium-energy-alternative.html
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101028005956/en/Research-Markets-Thorium---Future-
Fuel-Nuclear
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/add4f6/thorium_the_futu

Extra News
Several miles from the source of the April 2010 Mexican Gulf oil spill, US scientists find deep sea coral that is either dead or dying, along with other unhealthy marine life, indicating a link to the Gulf eco-disaster.

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/11/05/Dead-dying-coral-at-gulf-oil-spill-site/UPI-86921288986165/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/05/bp-oil-spill-coral-damage_n_779839.html
http://www.oilspillnews.net/oil-spill/mexican-gulf-oil-spill-bps-mexican-gulf-oil-spill-costs-climb/

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston of Australia calls on his country to prepare for the worsening repercussions of climate change, saying that extra help will be needed in areas like already-vulnerable Pacific island states, which have little capacity to adapt.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101103/sc_afp/australiamilitarypacificdisasterclimate
http://www.theage.com.au/national/defence-to-boost-disaster-relief-role-20101102-17cep.html

Among those awarded the UN-sponsored Equator Prize 2010 is the Tsimané Mosetene indigenous group of the Bolivian Amazon, for their efforts to preserve their culture and traditions as well as the integrity of the natural environment.

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=615&Itemid=652&lang=en
http://www.boliviaweekly.com/un-awards-indigenous-group-prize-for-conserving-forests/1164/
http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/20101104/la-onu-premia-a-indigenas-bolivianos-
por-conservar-los_97470_188731.html