User:Grondemar/Drafts/TFA/New

Articles suggested here must already be featured articles that have not previously appeared on the Main Page. Articles do not have to be suggested to appear on the Main Page. Requests must be for dates within the next 30 days that have not yet been scheduled. There may be no more than five requests on this page at any time for a specific date, and two requests for nonspecific dates. If there are already five articles requested and if the article that you would like to request has a point value higher than the request with the lowest point value, you may replace it according to the instructions below. Today's featured articles are chosen by the featured article director, Raul654, or his delegate, Dabomb87. Requests are not the only factor in scheduling today's featured article (see Choosing Today's Featured Article); the final decision rests with Raul654. Please confine requests to this page, and remember that community endorsement on this page does not mean the article will appear on the requested date. See also User:Raul654/Featured article thoughts. It is helpful to put the request, with the estimated point score (see below), up for discussion on the talk page pending template up to 90 days before the requested date; requestors should return to move the request to this page during the 30-day timeframe if the article has enough points to replace another article. – Table of Contents – Dead links – Alt text

Featured content: Featured articles Featured lists Featured pictures Featured topics Featured article candidates (FAC): Featured article criteria Featured article log Featured article statistics Featured article review (FAR): Former featured articles Unreviewed featured articles/2020 Today's featured article (TFA): This month's queue About Today's featured article Recent TFAs and statistics Current TFA requests Potential TFA requests TFA oddities Most viewed TFAs Featured articles yet to appear as TFA Script to track TFA recent changes Featured article tools: Mentoring for FAC Nominators of featured articles promoted Recent changes to featured articles Random featured article

Calculating points: Points are the sum of choices for each of the following six criteria: Age (since promotion to featured article) Promoted between one and two years ago: 1 point Promoted two or more years ago: 2 points Timing (relevance to main page date request, select one of the following options) Date relevant to article topic: 1 point Decennial or quinvigintennial anniversary (10-year or 25-year multiples): 2 points Semicentennial anniversary (50-year multiples): 4 points Centennial anniversary (100-year multiples): 6 points Importance (select one of the following three) Widely covered: 2 points Vital article: 4 points Core topic: 6 points Contributor history The requestor is a significant contributor to the article, and has not previously had an article appear as Today's featured article: 1 point Diversity Subject underrepresented at WP:FA: 1 point Main page representation A similar article has not been featured on the main page: Within three months of requested date: 1 point Within six months of requested date: 2 points Deduct points if a similar article was recently featured on the main page: Within two weeks of requested date: −3 points Within one month of requested date: −2 points Notes Adding requests: The article must not have been previously featured as Today's Featured Article. History shows that articles with five or more points are almost never replaced. Accordingly, you must wait until there are 20 days or fewer before nominating such an article, to avoid tying up a slot for a long period of time, and to allow other articles their chance. Please nominate only one article at a time. Nominations are ordered by requested date below the summary chart. The archive of previously featured articles is here. If there are already five requests, and the article you propose to add has more points than one of the articles already requested, you may remove a request and add yours (explaining in your post the claimed point total) according to the following: If a requested article has at least five declarations and over 50% oppose votes (counting the nominator's declaration as a support) at least 48 hours after the request is initiated, it may be removed regardless of its point value. If item 1 doesn't apply, then if there are two requests for the same date, the request within that date with the lowest number of points may be removed, regardless of how many points articles outside that date may have. Otherwise, replace the request that has the least points. If there is a tie, choose the one with the highest percentage of opposes. In case of a tie in oppose percentage, replace the one with the fewest support votes. If support is equal, remove the article with the latest date. If the tied articles are for the same date, remove any one of them, at your option. Suggested formatting: The request should have a blurb that uses the same formatting as the ones used on the main page; see . Specifically: format it as one paragraph only; omit reference tags, alternative names, and extraneous bolding; trim birth/death dates to year only; link to the article title in bold; and limit total length (including spaces and markup) to roughly 1200 characters or fewer. The blurb should be preceded by a lead image when available; fair use images are not allowed. Use the following markup style for the image: <div style="float:left;margin:0.5em 0.9em 0.4em 0;">[[File:Jrobinson.jpg|100px|Jackie Robinson]]</div> Nonspecific date article: Two articles may be nominated by the community for use by the Director on dates which he determines, rather than being nominated for specific dates. The proposed TFAs may be replaced by articles which have higher numbers of points, according to the following rules: Points will be calculated per the usual (above) system, without including the points for "Timing". The article's targeted dates are the first seven days without scheduled articles after its nomination. Points based on similarity and main page representation are calculated as if the article's target is the first unscheduled day. If the article is not selected as a TFA by the seventh unscheduled day, it will be deemed rejected and may be replaced by any eligible article, regardless of points. It may also be removed for having a majority (by at least five) of oppose votes 48 hours after nomination. Community members may support or oppose, as they do for other nominations.

March 4

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893) was the 19th President of the United States (1877–1881). Taking office as president on March 4, 1877, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution. Hayes was a reformer who began the efforts that would lead to civil service reform and attempted, unsuccessfully, to reconcile the divisions that had led to the American Civil War fifteen years earlier. When the Civil War began, Hayes left a successful political career to join the Union Army. Wounded five times, most seriously at the Battle of South Mountain, he earned a reputation for bravery in combat and was promoted to the rank of major general. After the war, he served in the U.S. Congress from 1865 to 1867 as a Republican. Hayes left Congress to run for Governor of Ohio and was elected to three terms, serving from 1867 to 1871 and 1876 to 1877. In 1876, Hayes was elected president in one of the most contentious elections in American history. Losing the popular vote to Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, Hayes narrowly won the presidency after the Compromise of 1877, in which a Congressional commission awarded him twenty disputed electoral votes. (more...)

Recently featured: Kevin O'Halloran – Murder of Julia Martha Thomas – Warren County, Indiana

Discussion

March 5

The Battle of Barrosa (5 March 1811) was an unsuccessful French attack on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attempting to lift the siege of Cádiz in Spain during the Peninsular War. Cádiz had been invested by the French in early 1810, but in March of the following year a reduction in the besieging army gave its garrison of Anglo-Spanish troops an opportunity to lift the siege. A large Allied strike-force was shipped south from Cádiz to Tarifa, and moved to engage the siege lines from the rear. The French, under the command of Marshal Victor, were aware of the Allied movement and redeployed to prepare a trap. Victor placed one division on the road to Cádiz, blocking the Allied line of march, while his two remaining divisions fell on the single Anglo-Portuguese rearguard division under the command of Sir Thomas Graham. Following a fierce battle on two fronts, the British succeeded in routing the attacking French forces. A lack of support from the larger Spanish contingent prevented an absolute victory, and the French were able to regroup and reoccupy their siege lines. Graham's tactical victory proved to have little strategic effect on the continuing war, to the extent that Victor was able to claim the battle as a French victory since the siege remained in force until finally being lifted on 24 August 1812. (more...)

Recently featured: Rutherford B. Hayes – Kevin O'Halloran – Murder of Julia Martha Thomas

Discussion

March 6

Banksia cuneata is an endangered species of flowering plant in the Proteaceae family. Endemic to southwest Western Australia, it belongs to the subgenus Isostylis, which contains three closely related species with flower clusters that are dome-shaped heads rather than characteristic Banksia flower spikes. A shrub or small tree up to 5 m (16 ft) high, it has prickly foliage and pink and cream flowers. The common name Matchstick Banksia arises from the blooms in late bud, the individual buds of which resemble matchsticks. The species is pollinated by honeyeaters. Although B. cuneata was first collected before 1880, it was not until 1981 that Australian botanist Alex George formally described and named the species. There are two genetically distinct population groups, but no recognised varieties. This Banksia is classified as endangered, surviving in fragments of remnant bushland in a region which has been 93% cleared for agriculture. As Banksia cuneata is killed by fire and regenerates from seed, it is highly sensitive to bushfire frequency; fires recurring within four years could wipe out populations of plants not yet mature enough to set seed. Banksia cuneata is rarely cultivated, and its prickly foliage limits its utility in the cut flower industry. (more...)

Recently featured: Battle of Barrosa – Rutherford B. Hayes – Kevin O'Halloran

Discussion

March 7

Cyclone Elita was an unusual tropical cyclone that made landfall on Madagascar three times. Elita developed in the Mozambique Channel on January 24, 2004. It strengthened to become a tropical cyclone before striking northwestern Madagascar on January 28. Elita weakened to tropical depression status while crossing the island, and after exiting into the southwest Indian Ocean it turned to the west and moved ashore for a second time on January 31 in eastern Madagascar. After crossing the island, the cyclone intensified again after reaching the Mozambique Channel, and Elita turned to the southeast to make its final landfall on February 3 along southwestern Madagascar. Elita dropped heavy rainfall of over 200 mm (8 inches), which damaged or destroyed thousands of houses in Madagascar. Over 50,000 people were left homeless, primarily in Mahajanga and Toliara provinces. Flooding from the storm damaged or destroyed more than 450 km² (170 sq mi) of agricultural land, including important crops for food. Across the island, the cyclone caused at least 33 deaths. Elsewhere, the cyclone brought rainfall and damage to Mozambique and Malawi, while its outer circulation produced rough seas and strong winds in Seychelles, Mauritius, and Réunion. (more...)

Recently featured: Banksia cuneata – Battle of Barrosa – Rutherford B. Hayes

Discussion

March 8

Martha Layne Collins (born 1936) is a businesswoman and politician from Kentucky who was the state's 56th governor from 1983 to 1987. Prior to her election as governor, she was the 48th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, serving under John Y. Brown, Jr. She is the only woman to have been governor of Kentucky, and her election made her the highest-ranking Democratic woman in the U.S. at the time. She was considered as a possible running mate for Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale in the 1984 presidential election, but Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro instead. Her administration had two primary focuses: education and economic development. She secured an increase in education funding during a special legislative session in 1985 and successfully used economic incentives to bring a Toyota manufacturing plant to Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1986. After her term as governor, she became president of Saint Catharine College near Springfield, Kentucky. Her husband's conviction on charges of influence-peddling in 1993 damaged her hopes for a return to political life. She is currently an executive scholar in residence at Georgetown College. (more...)

Recently featured: Cyclone Elita – Banksia cuneata – Battle of Barrosa

Discussion

March 9

The 1910 London to Manchester air race took place between two aviators, Claude Grahame-White (pictured) and Louis Paulhan, who each attempted to win a £10,000 prize for flying from London to Manchester in under 24 hours. Grahame-White was the first to make the attempt, on 23 April 1910, but engine trouble forced him to land near Lichfield, where he had to give up because of inclement weather. Several days later Paulhan began his flight, with Graham-White, his aeroplane only just repaired, following several hours behind. Despite Graham-White's best efforts, Paulhan arrived in Manchester on 28 April, and won the prize. The event marked the first long-distance aeroplane race in England, the first take-off by a heavier-than-air machine at night, and the first powered flight into Manchester from outside the city. (more...)

Recently featured: Martha Layne Collins – Cyclone Elita – Banksia cuneata

Discussion

March 10

The Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR) was a British railway company established in 1893 that bored an underground "tube" railway deep below the streets of London. Construction began in 1898, but was delayed by funding problems that included the collapse of its parent company through the massive fraud of its main shareholder Whitaker Wright. In 1902, the BS&WR came under the control of American financier Charles Yerkes who quickly raised the funds to enable the line to be completed. When opened on 10 March 1906, the BS&WR's line served nine stations and ran completely underground in a pair of tunnels for 5.81 kilometres (3.61 mi) between Baker Street and its southern terminus at Elephant and Castle. Extensions took the northern end of the line to the Great Western Railway's Paddington terminus by 1913 and to Watford by 1917, with services covering a total distance of 33.34 kilometres (20.72 mi). In 1933, the B&SWR and its parent company, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, were taken into public ownership and, today, the railway's tunnels and stations form the London Underground's Bakerloo line. (more...)

Recently featured: 1910 London to Manchester air race – Martha Layne Collins – Cyclone Elita

Discussion

March 11

Gorgosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous Period, between about 76.5 and 75 million years ago. Fossil remains have been found in the Canadian province of Alberta and possibly the U.S. state of Montana. Like most known tyrannosaurids, Gorgosaurus was a bipedal predator weighing more than a metric ton as an adult; dozens of large, sharp teeth lined its jaws, while its two-fingered forelimbs were comparatively small. It lived in a lush floodplain environment along the edge of an inland sea. An apex predator, Gorgosaurus was at the top of the food chain, preying upon abundant ceratopsids and hadrosaurs. In some areas, it coexisted with another tyrannosaurid, Daspletosaurus. Though these animals were roughly the same size, there is some evidence of niche differentiation between the two. Gorgosaurus is the best-represented tyrannosaurid in the fossil record, known from dozens of specimens. These plentiful remains have allowed scientists to investigate its ontogeny, life history and other aspects of its biology. (more...)

Recently featured: Baker Street and Waterloo Railway – 1910 London to Manchester air race – Martha Layne Collins

Discussion

March 12

The birth control movement in the United States was a social reform campaign from 1914 to the 1940s that increased the availability of contraception through education and legalization. The movement was started by Emma Goldman, Mary Dennett, and Margaret Sanger, who were concerned about the hardships that childbirth and self-induced abortions brought to low-income women. In 1916, Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the US, but it was immediately shut down by police. A major turning point for the movement came during World War I, when many US servicemen were diagnosed with venereal diseases, leading to an anti-venereal disease campaign that treated contraception as a matter of public health. Sanger successfully opened a second birth control clinic in 1923. Legal victories in the 1930s continued to weaken anti-contraception laws and in 1937 the American Medical Association adopted contraception as a core component of medical school curriculums. In 1942, the Planned Parenthood organization was formed, creating a nationwide network of birth control clinics. (more...)

Recently featured: Gorgosaurus – Baker Street and Waterloo Railway – 1910 London to Manchester air race

Discussion

March 13

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found. Discovered on 25 March 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, Titan is the sixth ellipsoidal moon from Saturn. Frequently described as a planet-like moon, it is the second-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, after Jupiter's moon Ganymede, and it is larger by volume than the smallest planet, Mercury. Titan itself is primarily composed of water ice and rocky material. Its dense, opaque atmosphere meant that little was known of the surface features or conditions until the Cassini–Huygens mission in 2004. Although mountains and several possible cryovolcanoes have been discovered, its surface is relatively smooth and few impact craters have been found. Owing to the existence of stable bodies of surface liquids and its thick nitrogen-based atmosphere, Titan has been cited as a possible host for microbial extraterrestrial life or, at least, as a prebiotic environment rich in complex organic chemistry. (more...)

Recently featured: Birth control movement in the United States – Gorgosaurus – Baker Street and Waterloo Railway

Discussion

March 14

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is a first-person role-playing video game released in March 1992 for IBM PC compatible systems running DOS. Set in the fantasy world of the Ultima series, it was developed by Blue Sky Productions (later Looking Glass Studios). The protagonist has to find and rescue a baron's kidnapped daughter from an underground cave system that contains the remnants of a failed utopian civilization. It introduced many technological innovations and has been hailed as the first first-person perspective role-playing game with 3D computer graphics. Although it was not an immediate commercial success, the effects of critical acclaim and word of mouth caused sales to reach nearly 500,000. The game has been highly influential. It is said to have inspired "all 3D RPG titles from Morrowind to World of Warcraft", and the designers of BioShock, Tomb Raider and other major 3D games have cited it as an inspiration for their own work. It resulted in one sequel, 1993's Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds. (more...)

Recently featured: Titan – Birth control movement in the United States – Gorgosaurus

Discussion

March 15

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool. It has played at its home ground, Anfield, since its founding in 1892. The club has won eighteen League titles, the second most in English football, as well as seven FA Cups and a record eight League Cups. It has also won more European titles than any other English club, with five European Cups, three UEFA Cups and three Super Cups. The most successful period in Liverpool's history was the 1970s and 1980s, when the club won numerous honours both domestically and in Europe. The club's supporters have been involved in two major tragedies: the first was the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985, in which charging Liverpool fans caused a wall to collapse, killing 39 Juventus supporters. In the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, 96 Liverpool supporters died following a crush against perimeter fencing. Liverpool have long-standing rivalries with city neighbours Everton and with Manchester United. The team has played in an all-red home strip since 1964, and its anthem is "You'll Never Walk Alone". (more...)

Recently featured: Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss – Titan – Birth control movement in the United States

Discussion

March 16

Conan the Barbarian is a 1982 fantasy film. It is based on the stories by Robert E. Howard, a pulp fiction writer of the 1930s, about the adventures of the eponymous character in a fictional pre-historic world of dark magic and savagery. The film adaptation was written and directed by John Milius, and produced by Raffaella De Laurentiis and Buzz Feitshans. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger (pictured) and James Earl Jones, and tells the story of a young barbarian (Schwarzenegger) who seeks vengeance for the death of his parents. Filming took place in Spain over five months, in the regions around Madrid and Almería. Conan grossed more than $68 million at box-offices around the world, though the revenue fell short of the level that would qualify the film as a blockbuster. Academics and critics interpreted the film as advancing the themes of fascism or individualism, with the fascist angle featured in most of the criticisms of the film. Critics also negatively reviewed Schwarzenegger's acting and the film's violent scenes. Despite the criticisms, Conan was popular with young male audiences, and the film brought Schwarzenegger worldwide recognition. The film spawned a sequel, Conan the Destroyer in 1984, and a remake in 2011. (more...)

Recently featured: Liverpool F.C. – Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss – Titan

Discussion

March 17

Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922) was an Anglo-Irish polar explorer, one of the principal figures of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. His first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, from which he was sent home early on health grounds. Determined to make amends for this perceived personal failure, he returned to Antarctica in 1907 as leader of the Nimrod Expedition. In January 1909 he and three companions made a southern march which established a record Farthest South latitude at 88° 23′ S, 97 geographical miles (114 statute miles, 190 km) from the South Pole. For this achievement, Shackleton was knighted by King Edward VII on his return home. After the race to the South Pole ended in 1912 with Roald Amundsen's conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to what he said was the one remaining great object of Antarctic journeying—the crossing of the continent from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed. There followed a sequence of exploits, and an ultimate escape with no lives lost, that would eventually assure Shackleton's heroic status. (more...)

Recently featured: Conan the Barbarian – Liverpool F.C. – Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Discussion

March 18

"Abyssinia, Henry" is the 72nd episode of the M*A*S*H television series, and the final episode of the series' third season. First aired on March 18, 1975, and written by Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell, the highly rated episode was most notable for its shocking and unexpected ending. The plot of the episode centers on the honorable discharge and subsequent departure of the 4077th MASH's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (played by McLean Stevenson). The highly controversial ending to the episode, which has since been referenced and parodied many times, prompted an estimated 1,000-plus letters to series producers Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart, and drew fire from both CBS and 20th Century Fox. After the production of this episode, both Stevenson and Wayne Rogers, who played the character of Trapper John McIntyre, left the series to pursue other interests. These combined departures and their subsequent replacements signaled the beginning of a major shift in focus of the M*A*S*H series as a whole. (more...)

Recently featured: Ernest Shackleton – Conan the Barbarian – Liverpool F.C.

Discussion

March 19

Tom Swift is the name of the central character in five series of books, first appearing in 1910, totaling over 100 volumes, of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention and technology. The character was created by Edward Stratemeyer. His adventures have been written by a number of different ghostwriters over the years. Most of the books are published under the collective pseudonym Victor Appleton. The 33 volumes of the second series use the pseudonym Victor Appleton II. The character first appeared in 1910. New titles have been published as recently as 2007. Most of the various series focus on Tom’s inventions, a number of which anticipated actual inventions. The character has been presented in different ways over the years. In general, the books portray science and technology as wholly beneficial in their effects, and the role of the inventor in society is treated as admirable and heroic. Translated into a number of languages, the books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Tom Swift has also been the subject of a board game and a television show. Development of a feature film based on the series was announced in 2008. (more...)

Recently featured: "Abyssinia, Henry" – Ernest Shackleton – Conan the Barbarian

Discussion

March 20

Tom Derrick (1914–1945) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) during the Second World War. He was awarded the VC for his assault on a heavily defended Japanese position at Sattelberg, New Guinea, in November 1943. During the engagement, he scaled a cliff face while under heavy fire and silenced seven machine-gun posts, before leading his platoon in a charge that destroyed a further three. Derrick enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force in July 1941, joining the 2/48th Battalion. He was posted to the Middle East, where he took part in the Siege of Tobruk, was recommended for the Military Medal and promoted to corporal. Later, at El Alamein, Derrick was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for knocking out three German machine-gun posts, destroying two tanks, and capturing a hundred prisoners. He returned to Australia with his battalion in February 1943, and subsequently served in the South West Pacific Theatre where he fought in the battle to capture Lae. A year later, he returned to Australia for officer cadet training and was commissioned lieutenant in November 1944. During the Battle of Tarakan on 23 May 1945, he was hit by five bullets from a Japanese machine gun. Derrick died from his wounds the next day. (more...)

Recently featured: Tom Swift – "Abyssinia, Henry" – Ernest Shackleton

Discussion

March 21

The buildings of Nuffield College, one of the colleges of the University of Oxford, are to the west of the city centre of Oxford, England, and stand on the site of the basin of the Oxford Canal. Nuffield College was founded in 1937 after a donation to the university by the car manufacturer Lord Nuffield. He rejected the initial designs of the architect Austen Harrison, which were heavily influenced by Mediterranean architecture, describing them as "un-English". Harrison then aimed for "something on the lines of Cotswold domestic architecture", as Nuffield wanted. The college was built to the revised plans between 1949 and 1960. During construction, the tower, about 150 feet (46 m) tall, was redesigned to hold the college's library. Reaction to the architecture has been largely unfavourable. It has been described as "Oxford's biggest monument to barren reaction" and "a hodge-podge from the start". However, the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner thought that the tower helped the Oxford skyline and predicted that it would "one day be loved". The writer Simon Jenkins doubted Pevsner's prediction, though, saying that "vegetation" was the "best hope" for the tower, and for the rest of the college too. (more...)

Recently featured: Tom Derrick – Tom Swift – "Abyssinia, Henry"

Discussion

March 22

The ring-tailed lemur is a large strepsirrhine primate. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families. Like all lemurs, it is endemic to Madagascar, living in the gallery forests and spiny scrubland in the southern regions of the island. It is omnivorous, diurnal and highly social, living in groups of up to 30 individuals. Communities are matriarchal, a trait common among lemurs. Like other lemurs, this species relies strongly on its sense of smell and marks its territory with scent glands. As one of the most vocal primates, the ring-tailed lemur uses numerous vocalizations such as alarm calls. Experiments have shown that, despite the lack of a large brain, the ring-tailed lemur can organize sequences, understand basic arithmetic operations and preferentially select tools based on functional qualities. Despite being listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List and suffering from habitat destruction, the ring-tailed lemur reproduces readily in captivity and is the most populous lemur in zoos worldwide, numbering more than 2000 individuals. It typically lives 16 to 19 years in the wild and 27 years in captivity. (more...)

Recently featured: Buildings of Nuffield College, Oxford – Tom Derrick – Tom Swift

Discussion

March 23

Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Manchester city centre, 3 miles (5 km) south-southwest of Sale and 10 miles (16 km) east of Warrington. As of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of about 41,000. Historically a part of Cheshire, Altrincham was established as a market town in 1290, a time when most communities were based around agriculture rather than trade, and there is still a market in the town today. Further socioeconomic development came with the extension of the Bridgewater Canal to Altrincham in 1765 and the arrival of the railway in 1849, stimulating industrial activity in the town. Outlying villages were absorbed by Altrincham's subsequent growth, along with the grounds of Dunham Massey Hall, formerly the home of the Earl of Stamford, and now a tourist attraction with three Grade I listed buildings and a deer park. Altrincham today is an affluent commuter town, partly because of its transport links. It is also home to Altrincham F.C. and an English Premier League ice hockey club, Manchester Phoenix. (more...)

Recently featured: Ring-tailed lemur – Buildings of Nuffield College, Oxford – Tom Derrick

Discussion

March 24

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement is an environmental movement that calls for all people to abstain from reproduction to cause the gradual voluntary extinction of mankind. VHEMT supports human extinction primarily because it would prevent environmental degradation. The group states that a decrease in the human population would prevent a significant amount of man-made human suffering. The extinctions of non-human species and the scarcity of resources required by humans are frequently cited by the group as evidence of the harm caused by human overpopulation. VHEMT was founded in 1991 by Les U. Knight, an activist who became involved in the environmental movement in the 1970s and thereafter concluded that human extinction was the best solution to the problems facing the Earth's biosphere and humanity. Knight publishes the group's newsletter and serves as its spokesperson. Although the group is promoted by a website and represented at some environmental events, it relies heavily on coverage from outside media to spread its message. Many commentators view its platform as unacceptably extreme, though other writers have applauded VHEMT's perspective. In response to VHEMT, some journalists and academics have argued that humans can develop sustainable lifestyles or can reduce their population to sustainable levels. Others maintain that, whatever the merits of the idea, because of the human reproductive drive mankind will never voluntarily seek extinction. (more...)

Recently featured: Altrincham – Ring-tailed lemur – Buildings of Nuffield College, Oxford

Discussion