We’re seeing a lot of questions asked about the major humanitarian crisis in East Africa.

How did it come to this terrible humanitarian disaster? Is it possible to avoid something in the future? How can we help ten million people? And how can you ever be sure that your donation arrives?

In the fight against hunger Yahoo! supports the initiative ” Save The Children” and the Bob Marley family. On this page you will find answers to many unanswered questions and detailed instructions on how you can donate.

Please consider making a contribution and share your suggestions so that this tragedy will not remain silent in answering this question and share it in your Facebook status and Twitter:

• East Africa humanitarian crisis: What can we do to help?

Kate
Community Manager

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The familiar sight of HMAS Adelaide alongside Glebe Island Wharf will be no more, as the decommissioned warship begins the journey today, to her final resting place off the NSW central coast.

HMAS Adelaide (II) was a long-range guided-missile frigate, serving from 1980 to 2008. She was the second Royal Australian Naval vessel to carry the name; the first HMAS Adelaide was a light cruiser serving during from 1922 until World War 2. She was the first of the Adelaide class delivered to the Navy and has five sister vessels, 4 of which are still in service – Canberra, Sydney, Darwin, Melbourne and Newcastle.

Some of the ship’s roles were:

• area air defence
• anti-submarine warfare
• surveillance
• reconnaissance
• interdiction

She saw service in the first Gulf War, participated in peacekeeping operations in East Timor in 1999 and the Gulf in 2001 and 2004.

HMAS Adelaide is due to be sunk off Avoca Beach tomorrow, with the wreck to become an artificial reef to serve as a diving site. The planned scuttling of HMAS Adelaide has not been without controversy, it has already been delayed a year after environmental group “No Ship Action” won an injunction. The ship has since been stripped of hazardous materials, such as lead.

Have you ever been on board the Adelaide or another Naval vessel? What was your experience like? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Kate
Community Manager

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As promised, we wanted to award the author of the winning poem 100 points and the 3 runner-ups 50 points! See below for the winners:

Winner: Justice of the Poetical Piece – 100 points!

Autumn Leaves

Autumn days, they do come and do go,
During that time there is much to show,
Coloured leaves falling all on the street,
Quietly dropping and ever so discrete.

Red ones, yellow ones, and some are just brown,
Here and there, everywhere, in country and town,
Windswept, swirling, scattering in the wind,
Some caught under debris and are just pinned.

As the days go the leaves gather on the ground,
Building like a mountain rather than a mound.
Children playfully kick at them, up into the air
Autumn leaves fly around with no wanting or a care.

Runner-up: mtheoryrules – 50 points!

Autumn don’t leave me

they were the yellow, red, and orange
of an auburn orgy
golden individuals
some rusty brown at their edges
winters kiss would sweep them up in a breeze
baring them to some distant crumbled fate
but those that remained would gossip
speaking scandal in hushed rattled whispers
and each day there were fewer still
as the stragglers slowly surrendered
to the occupation of a seasons tyranny
then she was the only one remaining
clinging to life valiantly, holding fast
but the day came when she too fell
the final hope of autumn gone at last

Runner-up: Brigitta – 50 points!

Autumn

is it in your eyes again
that change of time and
mornings filled with mist
behold

sunsets longer
mornings colder
and memories on leaves
falling from trees

I hear the songs
deep from the sea
another season coming home.

Runner-up: Wolfgang Quinlan – 50 points!

An Ode to Autumn

Once healthy leaves, wither and die.
Turning red, and falling,
To the hard unforgiving ground
to be swept away in the wind

The dead swept away,
like a tsunami of misery,
in a world that knows only pain.
This is my world.

Darkness looms on the horizon.
Winter begins to set in.
The draining cold, seeps at my very soul.
Autumn – the season of our misery.

Well done to our winner and runners up! And thanks once a gain to everyone who submitted a poem, they were wonderful to read.

Kate
Community Manager

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On Saturday, March 26, 2011, at 8:30p.m., major cities and countries are encouraged to turn off their lights for one whole hour. Do you plan to participate in Earth Hour 2011?

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, in order to take a stand against climate change. Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever with 128 countries participating and landmarks across the country stood in darkness.

This year, WWF is encouraging everyone to go beyond the hour. Whether it’s turning off the AC and opening the windows or cutting back on water and taking shorter showers, one single action from you can help lead to a more sustainable Earth, even when the lights come back on!

If you do plan on participating, help spread the word through Facebook, Twitter or even YouTube. So start here and tell us what you plan to do for Earth Hour 2011.

“On Earth Hour 2011, I plan on….”

Thanks for reading,

Kate
Community Manager

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When was the last thing you thought about the tyres on your car? Is is something you only think about come registration time or something you worry about a lot?

Michelin, one of the top names in tyre manufacturing, are currently asking some questions in our Cars & Transportation category:

• Is saving money on fuel costs your biggest concern when buying a set of new tyres and why?
• Do you find that the type of Tyre you use changes your driving experience and why?

What are your thoughts? Answer via the questions above or leave a comment below!

Kate
Community Manager
Community Manager

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Is it just me or has there been an increase in natural disasters over the past few years? Maybe it’s just that we have greater awareness and media coverage available on a world level, or maybe it’s simply a side effect of the continuing issue of global warming.

In Australia alone over the past few years, we have experienced wide scale flooding, devastating bushfires, severe storms, cyclones, landslides and of course the never-ending drought. Last year alone saw over a hundred people perish in the Black Saturday bushfires that swept through Victoria, plunging our nation into mourning. We’re not alone; tsunamis, earthquakes – like the one experienced in Haiti last week, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters have touched every corner of the world, seemingly without rhyme or reason.

Here are some of the natural disasters experienced in Australia over the last 60 years:

• Drought – Since 2002, many areas of Australia have been affected by drought with little or no relief. Dams levels have been at all-time lows and water restrictions have become the norm. There have been other stretches of drought, most typically last 5-10 years in duration.
• Bushfires – Tasmania in 1967 with 264,270 hectares burnt out in 5 hours with 64 deaths and the loss of 1,400 homes; Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia in 1983 which saw 180 simultaneous fires across both states destroy nearly 2,500 homes and cause the deaths of 75 people; the Canberra bushfires in 2003, with 4 deaths and over 500 homes lost; and last, but by no means least – Black Saturday. These are the worst fires to date in Australia, with 400 separate fires across 4,5000km² in the state of Victoria. This resulted in 173 lives lost, 414 persons injured and is by far our worst bushfire to date.
• Heatwaves.
• Earthquakes – the most memorable would be the Newcastle earthquake in 1989, killing 13 people.
• Floods – Nyngan in NSW, 1990; Brisbane in 1974 with 4 fatalities recorded; Grafton and surrounding areas in 2009.
• Cyclones – Cyclone Ada in 1970, 14 deaths; Cyclone Tracy in 1974, 71 deaths; Cyclone Larry in 2006, no loss of life but a $A1.5 billion damage bill and long term affects to Australia’s agriculture, particularly banana crops.

With all of this in mind, we have asked the following question:

• What is the worst natural disaster seen in the last 60 years?

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below or answer our question on Yahoo!7 Answers.

Kate
Community Manager

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Last week, we had a chat with Lynne McGranger who plays Irene on Home and Away. This bubbly actress gave some great answers to your questions in this interview.

The wonderful thing about Yahoo!7 Answers is the conversation with celebrities isn’t one way, she also has the opportunity to ask you guys a question. After a bit of thought, Lynne explained that the environment has been on her mind recently. As she said:

It’s becoming more and more apparent that we all need to work together to help save the environment. After all, out of small things, big things grow! At my place we’re recycling water and using energy efficient light bulbs. I’m wondering what you’re doing in your home to help save the planet?

This is her question: What simple things have you done to make your home more environmentally friendly?

We think it’s a great question. With the global financial crisis, fluctuating unemployment predictions and swine flu, some of us have become a bit forgetful about the environment.

Here are some of the best suggestions so far, such as Doug M’s idea:

I am removing every plant from my garden that is not native to the district, starting with those that pose a threat to the native bushland (agapanthus, cotoneaster, sweet pittospurum, mirror plant, etc., etc.)

Jeetee suggests:

Save water by not flushing toilet constantly. the old saying if it’s yellow let it mellow if it’s brown flush it down..

Deeza07:

We use vinegar and bicarb to clean most surfaces. Vinegar kills germs and is a fantastic cleaner – great for bathrooms, floors, sinks, etc.

Whome?:

Use the first cycle of washing machine water (with suds) for the garden.

Well done, those suggestions are easy ways to make a difference! And if you haven’t answered yet or want to pick up some ideas for saving the environment, check out the question here – What simple things have you done to make your home more environmentally friendly?

Remember, every little bit helps!

Caitlin
Community Manager

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It’s a pretty exciting night for Australians. Earth Hour began in Sydney as an initiative by the City of Sydney Council and now it’s a huge global event with over 50 million people taking part last year. This year, they’re aiming for 1 billion people, which is a huge goal but if we all do our bit we can help make a difference.

Got some questions about Earth Hour? We’ve got the Answers!

What’s the point of Earth Hour?

It only exists to raise awareness of energy usage and the benefits of conservation. In reality, it does nothing in the way of actually significant energy usage reduction…

The hope of the creators is that this event will get people thinking about their energy choices the entire year. More

What should I do about Earth Hour as I have an event planned?

Perhaps you could incorporate it by turning out main lights in the hall for one minute. I probably wouldn’t turn them all out because who knows what might happen. Or perhaps you could set up a donation jar at the entrance and then donate the money to WWF, which is the organisation who organised Earth Hour. Have fun! More

How does wasting energy promote global warming?

Well, first of all, one of the main gases that cause global warming is carbon dioxide.

By saving energy, the power station that generates electricity to power your house doesn’t have to generate as much energy. Currently, the main method of generating energy is to burn coal, which produces a lot of carbon dioxide.

So, in short, we save energy –> power station doesn’t need to generate a lot of energy –> power station doesn’t need to burn too much coal –> less carbon dioxide is given off –> less carbon dioxide means slower global warming. More

Need more of a reason to join the cause? Check out this video from the organisers.

How about you, how will you be spending Earth Hour tomorrow night?

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As the Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett would like to ensure that your concerns about the environment are looked at and has turned to Yahoo!7 Answers to get the low-down from Australians like you.

While he is well known for his time as an Aussie rocker, these days Peter burns the midnight oil (excuse the pun!) coming up with environment policies and new ways to tackle climate change.

Peter will be choosing a Best Answer to his question and respond via a video which he will link to in his question, so share your ideas with Peter, the Labor Party and your fellow Australians…

What do you think the Australian Labor Government should do to tackle climate change?

Alana

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It has been many weeks coming, but we are finally able to announce that a winning response has been chosen for the Yahoo!7 Answers / Be a Better Planet $50,000 question!

The judges had the heavy going job of reading through and considering more than 1100 fantastic responses – many of which had truly inspiring ideas on how to use $50,000 to create a more sustainable environment in Australia. It was great to see that so many people put so much thought into their responses and certainly very difficult for the judging panel to choose just one winner.

In the end though, it was user Fritz whose answer was chosen as best –

“The best use of $50,000 for the planet would be as a reward to the greenest school in the country. The money could be shared out to schools who are implementing a go green program. It may be divided into $30,000, $20,000 & $10,000 to provide a number of prizes that would encourage schools to go green. It is our children who will be most affected and it is our children who need to change the way we use our planet.”

This answer was decided upon as the winner because it was a simple idea that can easily be implemented, but it has the potential to have a positive effect all over the nation. Yahoo!7 and Be a Better Planet are now working with a partner to create this incentive program for schools, and we will definitely keep you up to date as it progresses!

We have to say thanks one final time to the Be a Better Planet Judging Panel, which includes Planet Ark founder Jon Dee, University of Technology Professor Derek Eamus, Better Homes & Gardens presenters Jason Hodges and Joanna Griggs, New Idea editor Robyn Foyster, All Saints star Virginia Gay, media personality Annalise Braakensiek, Yahoo! founder David Filo and Yahoo!7 CEO Ian Smith. They certainly had their work cut out for them choosing just one winner out of so many brilliant responses.

And of course thanks again to everyone who took the time to answer – you’ve helped to make this competition a huge success and we hope to see you again soon on Yahoo!7 Answers!

Yahoo!7 Answers Team

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