Baby Ape/Human Uncovered

selem3721.jpegThe remains of a baby who existed 3.3 million years ago have been uncovered in Ethiopia and reassembled after 5 years of painstaking diggs to uncover it. The Baby girl named Selam (meaning peace) is equal parts human and ape with an ape like upper body and a human like lower half. This discovery is suggesting to scientists that the species ‘Australopithecus afarensis’ was both a land dweller and tree climber.

It’s amazing to think that humans were around in some form or another a whole 3 million years ago. The first human like remains date back as far as 6.5 million years ago.

Plans are in the works to eventually create a model of the child once her complete skeleton has been unveiled. Then we will even be able to see a likeness of what her features would have looked like!

I found this incredibly interesting and thought I’d attach the actual human evloutionary timeline for your perusal.

The ascent of man

6.5m years ago
Earliest human lineages split from chimpanzees and gorillas, but share many traits with the apes.

5.8m years ago
The oldest human ancestor, Orrorin tugenesis, emerges and is thought to walk on two legs.

4m years ago
Australopithecus arrives with a brain no larger than a chimp’s. Makes home on the savannah and develops teeth for chewing tough food.

2.5m years ago
Homo habilis, right, the first modern human genus emerges. It has a brain half the size of humans today and begins to use primitive stone tools.

2m years ago
Homo ergaster arrives with a smaller face and teeth, but slightly larger brain. Develops hand axes and may have begun to harness fire.

1.8m years ago
Homo erectus or Java man, the first true hunter-gatherer settles in Asia.

600,000 years ago
Homo heidelbergensis lives in Africa and Europe. Its brain is similar in size to a modern human’s.

230,000 years ago
Neanderthals arrive in Britain and Europe.

195,000 years ago
Homo sapiens appears, but it is a further 45,000 years before the first signs of speech emerge.

95,000 years ago
The diminutive “Hobbit” people, Homo floresiensis, is believed to emerge in Indonesia.

 

Happy World Car Free Day!

people, not cars It’s that time of year again when we care for our fellow humans and we try to make the world a better place. It’s World Car Free Day!

Over in Europe they have Mobility Week, which is far better than just a day without cars. We should all celebrate non-auto transit.

I know in Toronto Yonge St. (a major street) is closed to cars today, and the Sierra Club is behind this. You can easily find out more about Canada Car Free Day. Also in Toronto the group Streets Are For People are encouraging more direct and creative action with tea!

I hope that where you live people have made an effort to stop polluting and live a healthier lifestyle!

Study At Yale – For Free!

Studying at Yale is beyond the means of most, with high admissions standards and a hefty price tag of about $46 000 a year for tuition and board.  Now, thanks to a new initiative to make the Ivy League school more accessible and a $755 000 grant, courses will be available for free on the internet.

This facility is already offered by other institutions including the likes of MIT and Princeton, Yale will be the first to offer videos to accompany course notes and transcripts of lectures. The initiative will include 7 first year courses.

The courses will not be counted as credits towards a Yale University Degree, nor will they substitute normal lectures.

Branson Takes On Global Warming

the future of coolRichard Branson has joined the fight to reduce global warming. Branson has pledged $3 billion over the next decade. The funds will be used to promote and develop alternate sources of energy. The announcement was made at the Clinton Global Initiative, a conference put together by the former president to fight global warming and help clean up the environment. The conference is attended by political, non profit and business leaders. This year’s conference has been far more successful than anticipated. Last year’s conference generated a total of $2.5 Billion in revenue directed at combating global warming; this year’s pledges already stand at $5.7 billion with 114 contributors. The ever charismatic Branson said he hopes the funds will help to preserve the environment for future generations.

30 ways to leave a non-lover

Canadian copyright guru Michael Geist has posted 30 Days of DRM: 30 Things You Can Do. It’s Canada-specific but you an adopt what he suggests to your locality.

Some of his suggestions:
Ask each political party where it stands on copyright.
Write to your local school board.
Buy online DRM-free alternatives
Write to Library and Archives Canada to ask that it support the preservation of Canadian heritage

To find out why DRM isn’t good check out what wikipedia has to say. Basically DRM can limit access to important documents and limit what you can do with things you buy.

Scroll To Top