In the plant kingdom, it is rare that a tree could challenge the longevity of the mighty redwood. The tall poplars are known to live for hundreds of years and it is actually not unusual to hear of ones that live over a millennium. Unfortunately, what years of growth and resisting weathering for just as long could easily be diminished by the acts of man. Due to the obvious sturdiness and strength of the redwood, builders have long preferred its wood for construction work. Aside from being durable, it has also been known to stand up well against anything that nature could throw at it especially out in the wild.

Quite expectedly, the process of reproduction does not come easy for the redwood. Since the trees have a long lifespan, their reproduction is relatively slow so much so that one human generation could actually miss out in the process. Coupled with the fact that the trees are being harvested for timber, it sets up for a very detrimental and dangerous situation. If the demand catches up with the supply, the redwood could in fact be added to the growing list of extinct plant species. Ironically, despite it’s ability to adapt and superb durability, it stands to lose out on the evolutionary game because it was simply too good.

Good thing the redwood has a lot of good people on its side. Aside from the nature lovers that champion the tree for its immense stature and awesome longevity, there are also a lot of other professionals such as arborists who are willing to go out on a limb to ensure the species’ survival. Just how far? A team assembled by Michigan-born arborist David Milarch scaled two hundred foot-tall redwoods just to get samples to further elucidate the reproductive processes of the tree. According to Milarch, the cutting edge in genetic technology could definitely help in ensuring the long term survival of the redwood.

Redwoods clone themselves and randomly mate with nearby trees by releasing their sex cells into the air. Thus, the mighty redwoods that we see now could be the perfect facsimile of those trees that stood mightily during the last throes of the Ice Age.

If everything works out, Milarch could definitely be on to something. More and more species could be in danger and many people like Milarch will have to step up to the plate to make sure that every species that need to be protected will have its fair chance at survival.

Nobody outside of news channels and state governments is paying attention to the major crisis in Pakistan, but if the situation escalates, it could potentially have consequences to a lot of people in the world. President Pervez Musharaf has recently declared a state of emergency to “curb extremism”. Curiously, the President also curtailed the powers and authority of the Supreme Court as well as the legislative body of the state. This is a virtual turn around from the democratic status of the country. According to reports, the Supreme Court was about to rule on the veracity of last month’s elections wherein Musharaf was able to muster enough votes to stay in power.

Opposition leaders and returning former head of state Benazir Bhutto has been very vocal in this apparent abuse of power by Musharaf. Why is this internal conflict telling and significant for us outsiders?

Pakistan is one of eight nations that has nuclear capabilities. If the nation were to disintegrate and fall into chaos, the nuclear warheads could easily find their way on the hands of extremists who could use them with wanton disregard for human life and other possible ramifications of their actions. Despite the close ties between Musharaf and the Coalition of the Willing in the War Against Terror, Pakistan continues to be a breeding ground for radicalism and Al Qaeda-inspired splinter groups.

People are protesting in the streets of the major city Islamabad and the police have not been exactly observing maximum tolerance. Reports have been pouring in that even peaceful demonstrations led by lawyers are being dispersed violently by riot police. Ironically, the more the country inches towards regime change, the more likely the fate of the world will be hanging in the balance due to the uncertainty of the security of the potential weapons of  mass destruction that Pakistan harbors.

The worst part? All we can do is wait. Let’s hope the Pakistanis can figure this out by themselves.

After dominating the airwaves, cable television and publishing fields, Oprah Winfrey is at it again. We all know that the 53 year-old multi-millionaire talk show host is not one who would rest on her laurels, so it’s not a big surprise that we’re seeing her again with yet another big business idea.

Oprah is now on Youtube!

Yup, it seems like this goddess of old media has now surrendered and assimilated  the inescapable charm and spontaneity of cyberspace. Oprah launched a channel that would show the behind-the-scenes footages of her talk show. The host of 22 years also said that  the channel would also  feature the contributions of fans of the show. Staying loyal to the Youtube concept, Oprah also plans of  guesting people who gained fame through the now popular video sharing website.

If this all goes well, Oprah will consolidate an astounding multimedia empire that utterly decides who breaks through. A mention in Oprah can merit an entire product line an immeasurable amount of potential profit and media mileage considering that millions of people watch the show everyday.  It is not  known how she’s going to give out prizes and freebies to the millions of potential Youtube viewers that she’ll get though.

According to Forbes.com, Oprah Winfrey continues to be the highest paid TV  personality.  The same site also named her as the most powerful celebrity as of the moment.