Striking photos show cherry blossoms blooming in eerily empty gardens and parks around the world - Insider - INSIDER
Monday, April 6, 2020The Washington, DC, Tidal Basin appeared to be empty in this shot taken March 24.
Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Washington, DC police closed streets on March 22 around the Tidal Basin to prohibit people from congregating around the trees in response to crowds that gathered to view the flowers earlier in the month, the Washington Post reported.
All around the world, popular landmarks that are surrounded by the stunning flowers remain eerily quiet.
https://www.insider.com/cherry-blossom-season-empty-world-landmarks-coronavirus-2020-4
AgraFlora’s 2.2 Million Square Foot Delta Greenhouse Moves Toward Licensing - Yahoo Finance
Monday, April 6, 2020February 28, 2020.AgraFlora believes that the Company has taken the last major step towards licensing, having submitted robust responses to Health Canada’s requests in February and now again in March. Preparations have commenced to start cultivating once the license is obtained, including completing our genetics transaction to pursue our high-potency, low-cost product strategy.Furthermore, AgraFlora would like to applaud Health Canada and its individual employees for maintaining licensing operations as we all navigate the challenges created by the COVID-19 crisis. While there is no guarantee as to the timing of the license grant, or if there will not be any further requests for additional information, based on available information the Company believes it has submitted all required information.About AgraFlora Organics International Inc." data-reactid="16" About AgraFlora Organics International Inc.https://agraflora.com/." data-reactid="17" AgraFlora Organics International Inc. is a leading cannabis company building shareholder value through the development of revenue generating operating assets in the global cannabis industry. AgraFlora is focused primarily on the Canadian cannabis industry; the world’s most advanced and regulated legal cannabis market. Flagship Canadian assets include: Edibles & Infusions, a fully automated manufacturing facility in Winnipeg, MB for white-label and consumer branded edible production; Propagation Services Canada, a large-scale commercial greenhouse in Delta, BC focused on reshaping the Canadian flower market with high-potency, low cost cannabis flower, and AAA Heidelberg, a craft focused cannabis producer in London, ON. In addition, AgraFlora’s wholly owned subsidiary Farmako GmbH is scaling towards its goal of being Europe’s leading distributor of medical cannabis. Farmako currently has active distribution operations in Germany and expects to commence active operations in the United Kingdom in 2020. For more information please visit: https://agraflora.com/.ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman & CEOT: (604) 398-3147&nbs...https://finance.yahoo.com/news/agraflora-2-2-million-square-210010496.html
Before It's Too Late - The Smart Set
Monday, April 6, 2020Sudeten Germans, but most Czechoslovaks understood Hitler’s offer of protection for what it was: justification to invade Czechoslovakia, just as he had invaded Austria in March. Some Austrians had greeted the Nazis with flowers; the Czechoslovaks were ready to greet them with lead.
But Czechoslovakia’s general mobilization would come to naught. On September 30, the government announced that it was forced to accept the Munich Agreement, in which its allies — Great Britain and France — had conceded to the Third Reich’s invasion of the Sudetenland. Less than a year later, World War II would begin.
In his latest book, The Bell of Treason, University of Cambridge historian P. E. Caquet details the history of the Munich Agreement. Caquet not only engagingly recounts Czechoslovakia’s betrayal by its supposed allies, but convincingly argues that the British and French would have saved themselves years of brutal war if they had stood by their commitments to Czechoslovakia and halted the Third Reich on their own terms — before having to face Hitler on his terms.
I recently spoke with Caquet about The Bell of Treason, Nazi propaganda, and the inevitability of war against the Third Reich. Our conversation below has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Arvind Dilawar: What inspired you to re-examine the events leading up to the Munich Agreement? Why now?
P. E. Caquet: I have always wanted to tell the story of Munich, especially from the vantage point of the Czechoslovaks. It is the most interesting and the most poignant vantage point both because the Czechoslovaks understood best what was going on and because they stood in the very midst of the crisis. Czechoslovakia was where the drama was. Afterward, Czech and Slovak historians were prevented from telling that story themselves because they found themselves under Communist censorship for 40...https://www.thesmartset.com/before-its-too-late/
Flower One Provides Corporate Updates and Announces Date for Fourth Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call - Yahoo Finance
Monday, April 6, 2020Please note that all figures listed in this release are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted." data-reactid="21" TORONTO and LAS VEGAS , March 9, 2020 /CNW/ - Flower One Holdings Inc. (the "Company") (FONE.CN) (FLOOF) (F11.F), a leading cannabis cultivator, producer and innovator in Nevada , today announced unaudited preliminary fourth quarter and full year 2019 revenue results, initiated revenue guidance for the first quarter of 2020 and provided additional business updates. Please note that all figures listed in this release are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.Flower One Holdings (CNW Group/Flower One Holdings Inc.)"Through exceptional execution and adherence to our strategic long-term growth plan, we exceeded our revenue expectations for 2019 based upon our preliminary numbers for the year," said Ken Villazor , Flower One's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our focus and proven proficiencies in large-scale cultivation, manufacturing and distribution differentiate Flower One from other cannabis companies. It has been just over seven months since our first sale of product out of our flagship Nevada greenhouse facility. In that short period of time, we've gained an overwhelming amount of knowledge of and data on cannabis cultivation, extraction and inventory management as well as on compliance, product launches and retail distribution. Through this learning experience, we've accumulated a vast amount of proprietary know-how that will continue to position us well in the competitive cannabis space going forward."Kellen O'Keefe , Flower One's Chief Strategy Officer, added, "Our brand portfolio continues to grow. The strength of our brands has provided us an entry point into almost every dispensary in the State, with retail penetration topping 95%. We are also seeing an increased number of white label brands interested in leveraging our unique capabilities. We are excited about both our pace of sales and our brand partners launched to-date, and over the coming months, we will continue to direct our efforts on delivering industry-leading performance."Operational Highlights: " data-reactid="36" Operational Highlights: Greenhouse & Production Facility Improvements: The Company continues to make operational improv...https://finance.yahoo.com/news/flower-one-provides-corporate-updates-110000950.html
The perfect destination foHere is why Germany is the perfect destination for your next holidayr your holiday! Discover nature in Germany - Emirates Woman
Sunday, January 26, 2020Black Forest National Park, Baden-Württemberg, South GermanyPerfect for cleansing your lungs. The remarkable feature of this national park is that some areas have been able to develop for more than 100 years without human intervention. This means that all the animals and plants that are found here live in authentic, natural surroundings.You can use Deutsche Bahn trains all over Germany, where it uses 100% green energy. In addition, you can take the InterCity Express for a unique experience, as it is a high-speed train that connects all major cities in Germany with speeds of up to 300 km / hour, and this is one of the fastest ways to reach between Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne!Check out their Instagram: GermanyTourismAr, and Facebook: Germany Tourism Arabia– For more about Dubai’s lifestyle, news and fashion scene straight to your newsfeed, follow us on Facebook Media: Supplied...https://emirateswoman.com/germany/
Germany's second-highest traffic bridge opens - DW (English)
Sunday, January 26, 2020Mosel River in western Germany. Within Germany, the new bridge in the Rhineland-Palatinate is second only to the 185-meter-high Kochertal bridge in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg. Read more: World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Germany's Harz region Authorities expect about 25,000 vehicles a day to cross the bridge that now provides a direct link between the regions of Eifel and Hunsrück. Several hundred people gathered for the bridge's opening on Thursday. Over the weekend, thousands of pedestrians crossed the bridge by foot as part of the opening festivities. "Today is a good day for the Rhineland-Palatinate," said State Premier Malu Dreyer. She added that she was convinced "that the bridge will help advance our economically strong state even further and will strengthen ties between the people in Eifel and Hunsrück." Europe's largest construction project The controversial building project kicked off eight years ago. Some critics argued that the massive bridge would destroy the area's idyllic vineyard landscape, while environmentalists argued it would pollute the ground water. Others spoke out against the cost. The building of the bridge was part of a greater road project that included the construction of an additional 25 kilometers (16 miles) of federal highway. The total project is estimated to havecost €483 million ($535 million), with €175 million dedicated to the bridge alone. Read more: Everything you need to know about the German ...https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-second-highest-traffic-bridge-opens/a-51355455
The Pesticide Industry's Playbook for Poisoning the Earth - The Intercept
Sunday, January 26, 2020The study produced results that echoed what the Americans had found.
Drifting clouds of neonicotinoid dust from planting operations caused a series of massive bee die-offs in northern Italy and the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany. Studies have shown neonicotinoids impaired bees’ ability to navigate and forage for food, weakened bee colonies, and made them prone to infestation by parasitic mites.
In 2013, the European Union called for a temporary suspension of the most commonly used neonicotinoid-based products on flowering plants, citing the danger posed to bees — an effort that resulted in a permanent ban in 2018.
In the U.S., however, industry dug in, seeking not only to discredit the research but to cast pesticide companies as a solution to the problem. Lobbying documents and emails, many of which were obtained through open records requests, show a sophisticated effort over the last decade by the pesticide industry to obstruct any effort to restrict the use of neonicotinoids. Bayer and Syngenta, the largest manufacturers of neonics, and Monsanto, one of the leading producers of seeds pretreated with neonics, cultivated ties with prominent academics, including vanEngelsdorp, and other scientists who had once called for a greater focus on the threat posed by pesticides.
Syngenta AG’s headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, on Feb. 4, 2015.
Photo: Philipp Schmidli/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe companies also sought influence with beekeepers and regulators, and went to great lengths to shape public opinion. Pesticide firms launched new coalitions and seeded foundations with cash to focus on nonpesticide factors in pollinator decline.
“Position the industry as an active promoter of bee health, and advance best management practices which emphasize bee safety,” noted an internal planning memo from CropLife America, the lobby group for the largest pesticide companies in America, including Bayer and Syngenta. The ultimate goal of the bee health project, the document noted, was to ensure that member companies maintained market access for neonic products and other systemic pesticides.The planning memo, helmed in part by Syngenta regulatory official John Abbott, charts a variety of strategies for advancing the pesticide industry’s interests, such as, “Challenge EPA on the size and breadth of the pollinator testing program.” CropLife America officials were also tapped to “proactively shape the conversation in the new media realm with respect to pollinators” and “minimize negative association of crop protection products with effects on pollinators.” The document, dated June 2014, calls for “outreach to university researchers who could be independent validators.”
The pesticide companies have used a variety of strategies to shift the public discourse.
“America’s Heartland,” a PBS series shown on affiliates throughout the country and underwritten by CropLife America, portrayed the pollinator declines as a mystery. Onea href="https:/...https://theintercept.com/2020/01/18/bees-insecticides-pesticides-neonicotinoids-bayer-monsanto-syngenta/
'Flower Power': Photovoltaic cells replicate rose petals: Scientists increase the efficiency of solar cells by replicating the structure of petals - Science Daily
Tuesday, August 20, 2019Scientists at the KIT and the ZSW (Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg) now suggest in their article published in the Advanced Optical Materials journal to replicate the outermost tissue of the petals of higher plants, the so-called epidermis, in a transparent layer and integrate that layer into the front of solar cells in order to increase their efficiency.
First, the researchers at the Light Technology Institute (LTI), the Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), the Institute of Applied Physics (APH), and the Zoological Institute (ZOO) of KIT as well as their colleagues from the ZSW investigated the optical properties, and above all, the antireflection effect of the epidermal cells of different plant species. These properties are particularly pronounced in rose petals where they provide stronger color contrasts and thus increase the chance of pollination. As the scientists found out under the electron microscope, the epidermis of rose petals consists of a disorganized arrangement of densely packed microstructures, with additional ribs formed by randomly positioned nanostructures.
In order to exactly replicate the structure of these epidermal cells over a larger area, the scientists transferred it to a mold made of polydimethylsiloxane, a silicon-based polymer, pressed the resulting negative structure into optical glue which was finally left to cure under UV light. "This easy and cost-effective method creates microstructures of a depth and density that are hardly achievable with artificial techniques," says Dr. Guillaume Gomard, Group Leader "Nanopothonics" at KIT's LTI.
The scientists then integrated the transparent replica of the rose petal epidermis into an organic solar cell. This resulted in power conversion efficiency gains of twelve percent for vertically incident light. At very shallow incidence angles, the efficiency gain was even higher. The scientists attribute this gain primarily to the excellent omnidirectional antireflection properties of the re...https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160624110028.htm