Tennis star Sharapova out of Olympics
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Friday, August 1, 2008
International tennis star Maria Sharapova will miss the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of a shoulder injury sustained during the WTA Rogers Open in Montreal, Canada.
Sharapova, 21, defeated Poland’s Marta Domachowska during the second round of the Open, but was in pain during the three-hour match.
“This is something that needs a lot of time to heal. It really hurts me to say I have to miss the Olympics,” she said on her official website, according to the BBC. “After Wednesday’s match I knew there was something seriously wrong with my shoulder.””There are so many mixed feelings because on Wednesday night they were almost positive there was something wrong with my nerve, which could have ultimately been much more serious,” Sharapova said, according to The Daily Telegraph. “But after Thursday morning’s tests, for the first time in a while, they were able to give me a different answer and a different problem. This is something that needs a lot of time to heal. It really hurts me to say I have to miss the Olympics.”
The Associated Press reports that Sharapova, three-time Grand Slam champion, has has two small tears in tendons in her shoulder, discovered through an MRI exam and other medical tests.
The tennis section of the Olympics will start on August 11 and run through to August 15. The U.S. Open tournament will start Aug. 25 and the Associated Press reports that Sharapova may also miss that tournament.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Sharapova joins former world No 1 and Athens Olympic silver medalist Amelie Mauresmo and fellow French star Mary Pierce on a list of tennis players not competing in the 2008 Olympics.
The Kommersant reported Friday that Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina will play for Russia in Beijing.
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5
Excellent Conference Venues, The Ticket To Successful Corporate Events
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Submitted by: John Arthur
As an event planner, you know that often the key to a successful conference or corporate event is finding the ideal conference venue for your corporate events.
Firstly, a corporate event can act as a great team building exercise within your company that will help keep employees motivated and on their toes. Secondly, it builds awareness amongst customers and clients on your company s brand and can be vital for a company s growth. This is why conference venues or meeting venues become an essential make-or-break element of a corporate event.
One of the best measurements in a conference venue s effectiveness is if it satisfies the majority of the people involved. The more people that are satisfied by the conference venue, the better the corporate event will proceed. Naturally, the content and effectiveness of your event is extremely important, however setting the right mood by using the perfect venue will be half the battle won.
Here are other measures to help you effectively find conference venues or meeting venues for corporate events:
Look At Previous Corporate Events
If the company has had corporate events in the past, secure a listing of their previous conference venues or meeting venues. Then find out if there has been any repeat business to these venues, this is a great indication that the venue has pleased both you and your attendees.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu8SbYYX0yQ[/youtube]
Find out the Budget
Find out the company s budget so you can have an estimated amount to work around. Itemise particulars in your budget list to avoid blowing the budget if unexpected bills come in.
Consider the Location
Location is a very important aspect, so you must consider the following:
Proximity
Make sure that conference venues meet the needs of the corporate events. For example if foreign delegates are expected, place the corporate event in a convenient location near the attendees accommodations. If the company is targeting a wider range of customers, you should look for conference venues that are easily accessible to a wider range of people, for example the venues proximity to public transport and taxi ranks.
Venue Size
This is another aspect you need to consider. Make sure that the venue is neither too small, making the area too cramped for the guests involved, nor so big that it gives the impression that the event is not very well-attended.
Setting
Generally, corporate events are best held in a venue that the event can take place without interruption from the general public. This can be achieved by choosing venues which offer all amenities, meeting rooms etc. in the one facility, however depending on the size of your corporate event and budget you may have some limitations to deal with.
Use Your Imagination
If you are holding a themed corporate event you should look for conference venues that will accommodate a themed party. It is best to check out if the venue can accommodate a stage, lighting etc., so that you can work with the venue to create a fabulous experience for your attendees. The venue will have experience with all sorts of different conferences so it might be worthwhile bouncing some ideas around with them.
Research the Internet
More and more conference venues are going online, making the search for a venue a lot easier and sometimes harder, as there are too many to choose from. How do you know that the promises and photos on the website are true indication of the conference venues facilities and service? Use your common sense and rely on word of mouth or contact one of many companies that do all of the legwork for you, from searching for the most suitable venues to booking your chosen venue for you. All you need to do is input your requirements making the task of finding a conference venue extremely hassle-free!
About the Author: Business Retreats Australia (
businessretreats.com.au/
) has over 20 years of experience in the corporate conference industry. We developed the most comprehensive database of meeting venues for all your corporate events,as well as access to great conference venues in Melbourne.
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University of Calgary scientist Keith cracks carbon capture conundrum
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Thursday, October 2, 2008
A University of Calgary research team developed a new method for extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air — a fundamental shift in carbon capture technology enabling capture of the most common greenhouse gas from so-called diffuse sources like aircraft, trucks and automobiles that represent half of the greenhouse gases emitted globally.
Professor David Keith, Director of University of Calgary’s (UofC) Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE) and a team of researchers from UofC’s Energy and Environmental Systems Group built and operated a prototype system this summer producing results that compared favourably with commercial carbon capture systems. Two ‘provisional’ patents have been filed on the technology but Keith warns there are still “many pitfalls along the path to commercialization.”
Using a process adapted from the pulp-and-paper industry that halves the cost of CO2 air capture in their custom-built tower, Professor Keith and his team captured the equivalent of about 20 tonnes per year of CO2 (approximately equal to the yearly output of one person in North America) directly from the air with less than 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity per tonne of carbon dioxide on a single square metre of scrubbing material.
“This means that if you used electricity from a coal-fired power plant, for every unit of electricity you used to operate the capture machine, you’d be capturing 10 times as much CO2 as the power plant emitted making that much electricity,” explains Professor Keith.
A report co-authored by Keith in the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology explains “nearly all current research on carbon capture and storage (CCS) focuses on capturing CO2 from large, stationary sources such as power plants. Such plans usually entail separating CO2 from flue gas, compressing it, and transporting it via pipeline to be [stored] underground.”
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Using CO2 air capture technology, “a company could, in principle, contract with an oil sands plant near Fort McMurray to remove CO2 from the air and could build its air capture plant wherever it’s cheapest — China, for example — and the same amount of CO2 would be removed,” says Professor Keith in a UofC press release.
“While it’s important to get started doing things we know how to do, like wind power, nuclear power, and ‘regular’ carbon capture and storage,” Professor Keith continues, “it’s also vital to start thinking about radical new ideas and approaches to solving this problem.”
ISEEE’s Executive Director David Layzell points out that “energy-efficient and cost-effective air capture could play a valuable role in complementing other approaches for reducing emissions from the transportation sector, such as biofuels or electric vehicles.”
