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2009 Lüderitz Oil Spill
The 2009 Lüderitz oil spill began in April 2009 off the coast of Lüderitz, Namibia. The oil spill directly affected 171 African penguin The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiff ...s, with many more possibly threatened. The oil spill is in the area where the fishing trawler '' Meob Bay'' sank in June 2002, killing 19 seamen. The boat sank after a rope got caught in the propeller, which then detached causing water to flood into the engine room. However, an inspection of the site where the vessel had sunk showed that the wreck was not the source of the oil; the source of the spill could not be found but is thought to be bunker oil that was released by a large vessel passing through Namibian waters. In terms of wildlife affected, it was the largest spill in Namibian history accordi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lüderitz
Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, including some Art Nouveau work, and for wildlife including seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches. It is also home to a museum, and lies at the end of a decommissioned railway line to Keetmanshoop. The town is named after Adolf Lüderitz, founder of the German South West Africa colony. Economy and infrastructure The centre of Lüderitz' economic activity is the port, until the incorporation of the exclave Walvis Bay in 1994 the only suitable harbour on Namibia's coast. However, the harbour at Lüderitz has a comparatively shallow rock bottom, making it unusable for many modern ships. The recent addition of a new quay has allowed larger fishing vessels to dock at Lüderitz. The town has also re-styled itself in an attempt to lure tourists t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although Kazungula, it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres (660 feet) of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi, Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth of Nations. The driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia has been inhabited since pre-historic times by the San people, San, Damara people, Damara and Nama people. Around the 14th century, immigration, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. Since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Penguin
The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults weigh an average of and are tall. The species has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask. The body's upper parts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band. The African penguin is a pursuit diver and feeds primarily on fish and squid. Once extremely numerous, the African penguin is declining rapidly due to a combination of several threats and is classified as endangered. It is a charismatic species and is popular with tourists. Other vernacular names of the species include black-footed penguin and jackass penguin, due to the species' loud, donkey-like noise, although several rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oil Spills In Africa
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated lipids that are liquid at room temperature. The general definition of oil includes classes of chemical compounds that may be otherwise unrelated in structure, properties, and uses. Oils may be animal, vegetable, or petrochemical in origin, and may be volatile or non-volatile. They are used for food (e.g., olive oil), fuel (e.g., heating oil), medical purposes (e.g., mineral oil), lubrication (e.g. motor oil), and the manufacture of many types of paints, plastics, and other materials. Specially prepared oils are used in some religious ceremonies and rituals as purifying agents. Etymology First attested in English 1176, the word ''oil'' comes from Old French ''oile'', from Latin ''oleum'', which in turn comes from the Greek (''elaion'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2009 In Namibia
2009 in Namibia refers to the events which occurred and will occur in the year of 2009 in the Republic of Namibia. Incumbents *President: Hifikepunye Pohamba *Prime Minister: Nahas Angula * Chief Justice: Peter Shivute Disasters President Hifikepunye Pohamba declared a state of emergency in much of Northern Namibia on 19 March following the deaths of 90 people due to flooding. The flooding was considered some of the worst in memory and food shortages were possible. Thousands were displaced. An oil spill occurred off the coast of Lüderitz in the Atlantic Ocean in April. Economics In January, the International Monetary Fund predicted economic growth would drop by 50% in 2009, from 4% to 2% due to the global recession. Projections were cut again in March, down to 1.2% growth, according to Minister of Finance Saara Kuugongelwa. This was credited to a decrease in mining activities across the country. Politics Independence celebrations President Pohamba and other members of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2009 Industrial Disasters
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and Gupta started curving the bottom vertical line coming up with a -look-alike. The Nagari continued the bottom stroke to make a circle and enclose the 3-look-alike, in much the same way that the sign @ encircles a lowercase ''a''. As time went on, the enclosing circle became bigger and its line continued beyond the circle downwards, as the 3-look-alike became smaller. Soon, all that was left of the 3-look-alike was a squiggle. The Arabs simply connected that squiggle to the downward stroke at the middle and subsequent European change was purely cosmetic. While the shape of the glyph for the digit 9 has an ascender in most modern typefaces, in typefaces with text figures the character usually has a descender, as, for example, in . The mod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Man-made Disasters In Namibia
Artificiality (the state of being artificial or manmade) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity. Connotations Artificiality often carries with it the implication of being false, counterfeit, or deceptive. The philosopher Aristotle wrote in his ''Rhetoric'': However, artificiality does not necessarily have a negative connotation, as it may also reflect the ability of humans to replicate forms or functions arising in nature, as with an artificial heart or artificial intelligence. Political scientist and artificial intelligence expert Herbert A. Simon observes that "some artificial things are imitations of things in nature, and the imitation may use either the same basic materials as those in the natural object or quite different materials.Herbert A. Simon, ''The Sciences of the Artificial'' (1996), p. 4. Simon distinguishes between the artificial and the synthe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2009 In The Environment
This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 2009. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues. Events * The United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fibres. Promoting sustainability was one of its aims. * The town of Picher, Oklahoma in the United States is depopulated due to environment and health problems from mining operations. February *The 2009 USS ''Port Royal'' grounding of the United States Navy guided missile cruiser ''Port Royal'' occurred off Oahu, Hawaii. In the incident, the ship ran aground on a coral reef, damaging and necessitating repairs to both the ship and the reef. The incident received wide press coverage in Hawaii, at least in part because of the damage caused to a sensitive coral environment. *The West Cork oil spill was an oil spill off the southern coast of Ireland. March *The 2009 southeast Queensland oil spill occurred off the coast of s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maritime Incidents In 2009
Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island * Maritime County, former county of Poland, existing from 1927 to 1939, and from 1945 to 1951 * Neustadt District, Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, known from 1939 to 1942 as ''Maritime District'', a former district of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, Nazi Germany, from 1939 to 1945 * The Maritime Republics, thalassocratic city-states on the Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages Museums * Maritime Museum (Belize) * Maritime Museum (Macau), China * Maritime Museum (Malaysia) * Maritime Museum (Stockholm), Sweden Music * ''Maritime'' (album), a 2005 album by Minotaur Shock * Maritime (band), an American indie pop group * "The Maritimes" (song), a song on the 2005 album ''Boy-Cott-In the Industry'' by Classified * "Maritime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shipwrecks Of Namibia
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately three million shipwrecks worldwide (an estimate rapidly endorsed by UNESCO and other organizations). When a ship's crew has died or abandoned the ship, and the ship has remained adrift but unsunk, they are instead referred to as ghost ships. Types Historic wrecks are attractive to maritime archaeologists because they preserve historical information: for example, studying the wreck of revealed information about seafaring, warfare, and life in the 16th century. Military wrecks, caused by a skirmish at sea, are studied to find details about the historic event; they reveal much about the battle that occurred. Discoveries of treasure ships, often from the period of European colonisation, which sank in remote locations leaving few livin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
