Review Game

Sekarang ini makin banyak game beredar dengan variasi jenisnya yang mengagumkan. Banyak orang Indonesia berpikiran bahwa game hanya memiliki dampak negatif. Permasalahannya adalah banyak game yang beredar adalah game-game yang merusak dan yang tak ada konten edukasi di dalamnya. Banyak anak-anak yang ketagihan game yang merusak tersebut, sehingga mereka berjam-jam duduk di depan komputer, play station dan semacamnya. Padahal jika diarahkan dengan benar, game bisa menjadi sarana belajar yang menyenangkan dan diyakini lebih efektif. Hal ini dikarenakan siswa secara simultan baik sadar ataupun tidak mengalami fase pembelajaran yang disisipkan dalam alur permainan game. Yang pasti, suasananya tentu menyenangkan.

Namun tidak semua jenis game berdampak negatif. Salah satunya adalah game bertemakan edukasi yang banyak membantu memberikan pengetahuan bagi para pemainnya, baik dari pendidikan eksakta (matematika, fisika, biologi, sejarah dsb) ataupun pendidikan umum.
Oleh karena itulah, saya mencoba mengenalkan beberapa game yang sifatnya edukatif atau bisa disebut sebagai game edukasi. Berikut adalah beberapa review game edukasi yang bisa saya tuliskan.


Judul Game : Ranch RushPengembang : FreshGames and Aliasworlds
Entertainment
Publikasi : FreshGames and GameHouse
Tahun Peluncuran : 2008
Sistem : OS Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Processor
800MHz or faster, 256MB RAM, DirectX 8.0 or better

Bagaimana jika game Dinner Dash digabungkan dengan Harvestmoon? Iya, jawabannya adalah game Ranch Rush. Mini game terbaru dari rumah produksi GameHouse ini menawarkan konsep gameplay-nya Dinner Dash dan tema Harvestmoon. Ranch Rush menawarkan mode Single Player dengan total 80 level yang menantang dan bervariasi. Kemudian beberapa opsi, seperti mode Expert dan galeri piala juga dikemas ke dalam game ini.
Saat memulai Single Player, pemain akan berperan sebagai Sara, seorang anak perempuan yang ceria yang akan membantu Boss-nya dalam mengelola dan menyelamatkan sebuah kebun yang berantakan sebelum diambil alih oleh pihak Developer.

Gameplay
Masih dengan konsep gameplay Diner Dash, yakni “Click at the right Point” yang artinya mengharuskan pemain mengklik pada point yang benar untuk mengerakan karakter dan melakukan sesuatu. Hanya dengan tema yang bukan lagi menjadi sebuah pelayan restoran. Kini, pemain akan mengelola sebuah kebun seperti halnya dengan game Harvestmoon.
Di game ini, pemain akan bercocok tanam, seperti melakukan pembelian tanah subur, kemudian membeli benih, ada total 6 macam benih yang terdapat dalam game ini. Setelah itu benih ditaburkan di tanah yang subur tersebut dan tunggu beberapa saat, maka benih tersebut akan tumbuh dan berbuah. Setelah itu, sudah saatnya kita memanem hasil tanam kita. Caranya klik karung benih, maka dengan langsung Sarah berlari ke sana dan mengambil benih, kemudian klik ke tanah subur, maka dia akan berlari ke sana dan menaburkannya. Tunggu beberapa saat, tumbuhan yang di tanam akan tumbuh dan menghasilkan buah. Lalu klik ke tumpukan keranjang untuk mengambil keranjang dan klik ke tanaman yang tadi untuk memanem hasilnya. Setelah itu, klik ke gudang penyimpanan untuk menyimpan hasil panen yang siap di jual. Begitulah cara mainnya.
Nah, pada game ini lebih menarik dan lebih bervariasi. Karena pemain tidak hanya bercocok tanam dengan 6 jenis tanaman saja, yaitu bunga, tomat, jagung, gandum, anggur, dan labu. Tapi juga memelihara binatang, seperti sapi, pemain harus memberi makan sapi untuk mendapatkan susu segarnya, memelihara lebah untuk mendapatkan madunya, dan juga mesin produksi untuk membuat saus tomat, domba untuk mendapatkan benang wol, dan lain - lain.
Tantangannya, pemain harus menyelesaikan pesanan pelanggan dalam kurun waktu yang telah ditentukan. Pada level yang termudah, pemain diberi waktu yang cukup banyak untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pelanggan yang sedikit saja dan pada level yang tersulit, diberi waktu sedikit dalam memenuhi kebutuhan pelanggan yang sangat banyak. Tinggal bagaimana strategi pemain dalam memanajemen kebunnya untuk memproduksi hasil yang dibutuhkan oleh pelanggan dalam waktu yang tepat.
Tidak hanya itu saja, berbagai kendala akan menghalangi dan membuat pemain cukup sibuk dan repot. Dimana tanaman akan diserang oleh hama dan pemain harus membeli alat semprot pestisida dan menyemprotkannya. Kemudian mesin pembuat saus tomat dapat rusak, dan harus membeli tool box untuk memperbaikinya, lalu dalam mengambil madu, pemain harus menunggu lebah-lebah pergi dari sarangnya. Dan ini tidaklah mudah, mereka tidak akan pergi dari sarangnya jika pemain berdiri telalu dekat dengan sarangnya.
Disamping itu, perletakan sarang lebah mesti jauh dari posisi tanaman bunga, karena lebah-lebah tersebut akan memakan waktu yang lama untuk kembali ke sarangnya dan ini memberikan kesempatan waktu lebih banyak untuk pemain dalam mengambil madunya. Jikalau terserang lebah, maka Sarah akan struk sebentar sambil mengusir lebah dari wajahnya dan kemudian berlari ke gudang penyimpanan. Kejadian ini akan memakan waktu pemain. Jadi pemain harus berhati-hati.
Di game ini, pemain harus membeli segala sesuatu dengan uang yang didapatkan. Caranya klik tombol bergambar Kereta shopping di bagian kanan bawah. Di layar shopping akan di bagi menjadi beberapa bagian, yakni Crops, pada bagian ini dapat membeli tanaman. Animals, pada bagian ini dapat membeli binatang. Gears, pada bagian ini dapat membeli mesin produksi. Dan Upgade, dimana pada bagian ini, pemain dapat membeli sarung tangan cepat, sepatu boot super cepat, mesin produksi super cepat, dan sebagainya. Tapi sebelumnya, pemain harus membuka item – item tersebut dengan melewati level – level tertentu.


Kelebihan
• Game ini lebih menarik dan lebih bervariasi
• Memiliki desain interface yang menarik dan lucu
• Grafis yang ditampilkan sudah cukup bagus untuk sebuah game mini, penuh dengan warna cerah dan menarik
• Efek gambar semi 3D juga tampak pada layar

Kekurangan
• Musik yang mengiringi game ini kurang bervariasi sangat dengan warna musik ala dunia koboi.
• Tidak dapat berpindah tempat seperti pada game Harvestmoon



Judul Game : Dunia Mewarnai DK
Pengembang : DivineKids
Publikasi : DivineKids
Tahun Peluncuran : 2010

Merupakan free game Indonesia untuk anak dengan opsi dan tampilan yang menarik. Game ini di tujukan untuk anak-anak yang masih kecil, tapi tidak menutup kemungkinan anak-anak yang lebih besar menggunakannya.
Anak-anak akan diajak mewarnai gambar dengan berbagai macam palet warna. Terdapat 10 macam gambar unik dan lucu yang siap untuk diwarnai. Hasilnya sang anak dapat mengeprint hasil karyanya. Mereka bisa berekperimen warna untuk pengetahuan yang kaya akan warna. Software bagus untuk digunakan dalam dunia pendidikan.
Inilah sepuluh gambar yang dapat diwarnai:




Kelebihan:
• Fitur sederhana
• Mudah memainkannya
• Terdapat 10 gambar dan pewarnaannya secara blok sehingga mudah digunakan oleh anak-anak
• Hasil mewarnai dapat langsung dicetak
Kekurangan
• Sistem permainan yang terlihat sama membuat game ini terlihat kurang bervariatif
• Sangat sedikit efek suara




Judul Game : Alpha Attack
Pengembang : Miniclips.com
Publikasi : Miniclips.com
Tahun Peluncuran : -

Alpha Attack adalah permainan keterampilan. Membunuh musuh dengan menekan huruf yang sesuai pada keyboard komputer. Tekan spasi untuk menjatuhkan bom kepanikan yang akan menghancurkan semua musuh yang merupakan huruf di layar sekaligus. Kalahkan pula kata bonus untuk melengkapi kata-kata "life" atau "bomb" dan dapatkanlah sebuah ekstra nyawa atau bom panik ekstra. Gunakan "pause/break" Tombol untuk menghentikan permainan. Membunuh alien selarut mungkin untuk mendapatkan skor yang lebih tinggi (max 100). Jangan biarkan alien menyerang kota Kita. Untuk setiap blok itu yang Kita selamatkan, Kita akan diberikan skor bonus di akhir babak. Juga jika Kita menghancurkan semua musuh dalam satu babak, Kita akan mendapatkan 1000 poin ekstra. Akurasi ini penting, jangan memukul keyboard kita secara acak sebagai bonus kita di akhir tahap akan dimodifikasi dengan tingkat akurasi Kita.
Terdapat tiga tingakatan permainan, diantarany: Easy untuk permainan tingkat mudah, Medium untuk permainan tingkat sedang dan Hard untuk permainan tingkat yang sulit.





Kelebihan:
• Grafisnya dan suara yang bagus.
• Progress tersimpan.
Kekurangan
• Monoton
• Tidak ada karakter yang muncul

Tentang Game yang Saya Sukai
Jenis Game yang saya sukai adalah jenis game simulasi dan petualangan seperti Sim City dan Roller Coaster Tycoon yang saya pikir dapat membantu mengembangkan pemikiran strategi dan skill perencanaan.
Usulan game yang saya inginkan adlah game-game edukasi seperti yng saya deskripsikan di atas. Tak perlu tujuan rumit seperti membantu mengembangkan pemikiran strategis dan skill perencanaan. Nmun bisa juga yang bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kemampuan anak-anak dalam pelajaran matematika, membaca, dan mengeja.
Seperti game World of Warcraft, saya kira mampu mendorong orang untuk berpikir ilmiah. Selain itu, game edukasi yang bermanfaat dalam membangun hubungan sosial, mengasah kemampuan berpikir, mampu membentuk karakter pemain hingga mengajarkan ilmu ekonomi dan politik sekalipun. Sehingga masyarakat khususnya di Indonesia tidak selalu menilai buruk game-game yang ada.

Poles Apart

The Earth has two pole regions, the South Pole (the Antarctica) and the North Pole (the Arctic). The name Antarctica was coined to mean “opposite to the Arctic.” While the South Pole lies on a continental land mass, the North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean amidst waters that are almost permanently covered with constantly shifting sea ice. This makes it impractical to construct a permanent station at the North Pole (unlike the South Pole).

Besides being on the opposite sides of the Earth, South Pole and North Pole have differences. Antarctica is the coldest area in the world. The North Pole is significantly warmer than the South Pole because it lies at sea level in the middle of an ocean, rather than at altitude in a continental land mass.
Temperatures at the South Pole average around −25 °C. As the six-month "day" wears on and the sun gets lower, temperatures drop as well: they reach −45 °C around sunset (late March) and sunrise (late September). In winter, the temperature remains steady at around −65 °C. The highest temperature ever recorded was −13.6 °C (December 27, 1978), and the lowest was −82.8 °C (June 23, 1982). Temperatures at the North Pole can range from about −43 °C to −26 °C in winter (January), perhaps averaging around −34 °C. Summer temperatures (June, July and August) average around the freezing point (0 °C,).

Partly because of the climatic difference, South Pole and North Pole are also opposites when flora is considered. There are no tundra or tree lines on the South Pole but on the North Pole the tundra is well developed and a visible tree shrub line is identifiable. The South Pole has only penguins, but the North Pole has several terrestrial mammals including foxes, reindeer, lemmings, caribou, fox, wolf and bear. Both poles, however, have similar marine life that includes whales, porpoises and seals.

No human activity exists on the South Pole outside scientific stations. The North Pole, on the other hand, has native people and ethnic groups living on the continents that surround the North Pole.

The sea ice at the North Pole is typically around two or three meters thick, though there is considerable variation and occasionally the movement of floes exposes clear water. Studies have shown that the average ice thickness has decreased in recent years. Many attribute this decrease to global warming, though this conclusion is disputed by some. Reports have also predicted that within a few decades the Arctic Ocean will be entirely free of ice in the summer months. This may have significant commercial implications. So we must try hard to decrease this melting process.

Green Revolution

Green Revolution refers to the transformation of agriculture that happened from 1950 to 1980. One significant factor in this revolution was government's request to establish an agricultural research station to develop more varieties of wheat that could be used to feed the rapidly growing population of the country. The Green Revolution allowed food production to keep up with world population growth. The world population has grown by about four billion since the beginning of the Green Revolution and many believe that, without the Revolution, there would have been greater famine and malnutrition.

The projects within the Green Revolution spread technologies that had already existed, but had not been widely used outside industrialized nations. These technologies included pesticides, irrigation system, synthetic fertilizer and improved crop varieties.

There are a number of reason forthis problem. While agricultural output increased as a result of the Green Revolution, the energy input to produce a crop has increased faster, so that the ratio of crops produced to energy input has decreased over time. Green Revolution techniques also heavily rely on chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, some of which must be developed from fossil fuels, making agriculture increasingly reliant on petroleum products. It need more cost.
Green Revolution agriculture relies on extensive use of pesticides, which are necessary to limit the high levels of pest damage that inevitably occur in monocropping - the practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area.
Industrialized agriculture with its high yield varieties are extremely water intensive. In the world, agriculture consumes 85% of all fresh water resources. Also the water quality is being compromised. Fish are disappearing through another form of agricultural run off as well. When nitrogen-intensive fertilizers wash into waterways it results in an explosion of algae and other microorganisms that lead to oxygen depletion resulting in “dead zones”, killing off fish and other creatures.
The spread of Green Revolution agriculture affected both agricultural biodiversity and wild biodiversity. There is little disagreement that the Green Revolution acted to reduce agricultural biodiversity, as it relied on just a few high-yield varieties of each crop.

Finally, the Green Revolution has brought about social and political conflict that has interfered with food production. The problem lies in the cost of the new agricultural methods. Only the lager landowners can afford to make the necessary investment for maximum production of the new grains. With their profits, the large landowners then buy land from the smaller landowners. This way, the large landowners become ever richer and the number of landless poor peopleincreases. Social tensions naturally increase in this situation.

Green revolution has not only positive but also negative effect. Governments and farmers need to look at the overall picture and long-term effect. They need to find new methods that will better meet the needs of the world’s hungry people and will also be less destructive.

Save Our Water

Water is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life
In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. On Earth, it is found mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground in aquifers and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. A very small amount of the Earth's water is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.
Water on Earth moves continually through a cycle of evaporation or transpiration (evapotranspiration), precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land.

Water pollution is one of the main concerns of the world today. The governments of many countries have striven to find solutions to reduce this problem. Many pollutants threaten water supplies, but the most widespread, especially in underdeveloped countries, is the discharge of raw sewage into natural waters; this method of sewage disposal is the most common method in underdeveloped countries, but also is prevalent in quasi-developed countries

"Australia is the driest populated continent on earth, (Antarctica is drier, but does not support the population of Australia), but we are the greatest consumers of water per person.The average annual rainfall in Australia is 469 mm/yr, well below the global average of 746mm/yr. 70% of our continent is classified as desert or semi-desert, with little or no precipitation. On average, each Australian consumes around 100,000 litres of fresh water per year. When you factor in the water used to produce the food we eat and the products that we use in everyday life, we are each responsible for using about 1 million litres of water per year, or a total of about 24,000 GigaLitres. That's enough to fill Sydney Harbour 48 times over! About 70% is attributed to agricultural irrigation, 9% to other rural uses, 9% to industrial uses and 12% to domestic use"
Remember, with all our one small thing we do can create a large impact:).
Lets's save our water in kitchen!
• When washing dishes by hand, don’t rinse them under a running tap. If you have two sinks, fill the second one with rinsing water. If you have only one sink, stack washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a pan of hot water.
• Use the minimum amount of dishwashing detergent (when washing dishes by hand) as this will reduce the amount of rinsing required.
• Use a plugged sink or a pan of water. This saves running the tap continuously.
• Use only as much water as you need in the kettle to cut your electricity costs at the same time.
• When boiling vegetables, use just enough water to cover them and keep the lid on the saucepan. Your vegetables will boil quicker and it will save you water, power and not to mention preserving precious vitamins in the food.
• Flow controlled aerators for taps are inexpensive and can reduce water flow by 50%.
• Don’t use running water to defrost frozen food. Ideally place food in refrigerator to defrost overnight - this is also the healthiest option.
• Where convenient and appropriate, try to capture ‘warm-up’ water for use on plants, rinsing dishes, washing fruit and vegetables, or other cleaning tasks.
• Check for leaks and, if there are any dripping taps, replace washers or other components as required. Dripping taps can waste 30 – 200 litres of water per day, so make sure they are turned off properly.
• Insulate hot water pipes. This avoids wasting water while waiting for hot water to flow through and saves energy.
• Make sure your hot water system thermostat is not set too high. Adding cold water to cool very hot water is wasteful.
Let's save our water in the bathroom!
• Three star rated showerheads use no more than 9 litres of water per minute, while old style showerheads use 15 – 20 litres per minute. If you shower for six minutes, a water efficient showerhead can save up to 50 litres of water for each shower, or up to 20,000 litres of water per person per year.
• Consider an instantaneous water heater if your water has a long way to travel from the water heater to the bathroom. But talk to a plumber before you do to make sure it will work adequately with your three star shower.
• Use a bucket to collect water while waiting for the shower to get hot
• Take shorter showers. Limit showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down, and rinse off. Remember that shorter showers also save on energy costs associtated with heating water.
• Shaving your legs in the shower takes more time and hence uses more water. Fill a container with warm water and use it to shave your legs before you get into the shower - then you only need the running shower to rinse off.
• Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth. A running tap uses about 16 litres of water per minute. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for rinsing.
• Don’t rinse your razor under a running tap. Fill the sink/basin with a little warm water for rinsing. This is just as effective as running water and far less wasteful.
• Look for information about the water efficiency performance of any product when making a purchase, however also check to see if the marketing claims are independently verified or substantiated.
Let's save our water in laundry!
Of all water consumed in the home, about 15 - 20% is used in the laundry. This high utility room is major consumer of not only water, but also energy and detergents.
• Look for clothes washers that have a four or more star rating (WELS label) and seriously consider buying a front loading washer.
• Look for information about the water efficiency performance of any product when making a purchase, however also check to see if the marketing claims are independently verified or substantiated.
• If you are buying a new clothes washing machine, choose one with an economy setting or a four star water conservation rating.
• Adjust the water level to suit the size of the wash load - some new water efficient models will even do this for you.
• Wait until you have a full load before washing and you’ll save 10 litres of water for every wash and cut your electricity costs as well.
• Remember that some old washing machines can use up to a bathtub full of water per load.
• Use the sud-saver option, if your old machine has one, when you have several loads to wash.

The Shrimps That Can See in Twelve Colors

KOMPAS.com - Humans see three colors that, combined, allow us to enjoy the visible light spectrum. The mantis shrimp sees 12 colors, ranging into the near-ultraviolet to infrared parts of the spectrum. The creature can also distinguish different forms of polarized light.

Scientists now say this sea shrimp's remarkable eye could inspire a new generation of DVD and CD players. Mantis shrimp found on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and have the most complex vision systems known to science.

Special light-sensitive cells rotate the plane of the oscillations, or polarization, of a light wave as it travels through it. This allows the shrimps to convert linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light and vice versa.

Manmade devices called quarter-wave plates perform this essential function in CD and DVD players and in circular polarizing filters for cameras. But these artificial devices only tend to work well for one color of light. The shrimp's eyes work almost perfectly across the whole visible spectrum, from near-ultraviolet to infrared, the researchers found.

"Our work reveals for the first time the unique design and mechanism of the quarter-wave plate in the mantis shrimp's eye," said University of Bristol researcher Nicholas Roberts, lead author of a paper on the work, published in the journal Nature Photonics. "It really is exceptional – out-performing anything we humans have so far been able to create."

Polarization vision is used by animals for sexual signaling or secret communication that avoids the attention of predators, the researchers explained in a statement. It could also help them find and catch prey by offering a clearer underwater view.

"What's particularly exciting is how beautifully simple it is," Roberts said. "This natural mechanism, comprised of cell membranes rolled into tubes, completely outperforms synthetic designs. It could help us make better optical devices in the future using liquid crystals that have been chemically engineered to mimic the properties of the cells in the mantis shrimp's eye."

How to Detect The End of World

KOMPAS.com - A MOVIE called Vanishing of the Bees opened in cinemas across the UK earlier this month. It's a feature-length documentary about the "mysterious collapse" of the honeybee population across the planet - a phenomenon that has recently attracted a great deal of attention and hand-wringing.

The idea that bees are disappearing for reasons unknown has embedded itself in the public consciousness. It is also a great story that taps into the anxieties of our age. But is it true? We think not, at least not yet.

First, the basics. Pollination by bees and other animals - flies, butterflies, birds and bats - is necessary for the production of fruits and seeds in many wild and cultivated plants. More than 80 per cent of the planet's 250,000 species of flowering plants are pollinated by animals.

Agriculture is a large-scale beneficiary of these pollination services, so claims that pollinators are in decline have triggered alarm that our food supply could be in jeopardy, that we may be on the verge of a global "pollination crisis".

Claims of such a crisis rest on three main tenets: that bees are responsible for the production of a large fraction of our food; that pollinators are declining worldwide; and that pollinator decline threatens agricultural yield. Numerous scientific papers, many media stories and even a European Parliament resolution in 2008 present each of these as an uncontested truth. But are they?

Our analysis of data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reveals a different perspective on the pollination crisis - one that is less catastrophic than that depicted in the movies (Current Biology, vol 18, p 1572, and vol 19, p 915).

The first tenet - that bees are responsible for the production of a large fraction of our food - is simply untrue. Pollinators are important for many crops, but it is a myth that humanity would starve without bees.

About 70 per cent of the 115 most productive crops, including most fruits and oilseeds, are animal-pollinated. These account for nearly 2.5 billion tonnes of food a year, about a third of global agricultural production. However, few of these crops depend on animal pollination completely, owing largely to their capacity for self-pollination.

On top of that, production of many staple foods does not depend on pollinators at all: carbohydrate crops such as wheat, rice and corn are wind-pollinated or self-pollinated. If bees disappeared altogether, global agricultural production would decrease by only 4 to 6 per cent.

What of pollinator decline? Claims of global bee disappearance are based on collections of (often extreme) regional examples, which are not necessarily representative of global trends. These examples tend to come from parts of Europe and North America where little natural or semi-natural habitat remains.

Stocks of domesticated honeybees, the most important crop pollinator of all, have also decreased considerably in the US and some European countries in recent decades. However, these declines have been more than offset by strong increases in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Indeed, the number of managed honeybee hives worldwide has increased by about 45 per cent in the past five decades.

There have also been scare stories about "colony collapse disorder" and the spread of Varroa mites in the US and Europe. Again, these are real phenomena, but they are short-term blips rather than the driving forces of long-term trends. Instead, the long-term declines seem to be consistent with the economic dynamics of the honey industry, which seems to be shifting to developing countries in search of cheaper production.

Finally, does a low abundance of pollinators significantly affect agricultural productivity? It is true that a lack of pollinators, especially bees, can limit the yield of many crops and wild plants. It is also true that the yields of many pollinator-dependent crops have grown more slowly than that of most non-dependent crops.

However, contrary to what we would expect if pollinators were in decline, the average yield of pollinator-dependent crops has increased steadily during recent decades, as have those of non-dependent crops, with no sign of slowing. Overall, we must conclude that claims of a global crisis in agricultural pollination are untrue.

Pollination problems may be looming, though. Total global agricultural production has kept pace with the doubling of the human population during the past five decades, but the small proportion of this that depends on pollinators has quadrupled during the same period.

This includes luxury foods such as raspberries, cherries, mangoes and cashew nuts. The increased production of these crops has been achieved, in part, by a 25 per cent increase in cultivated area in response to increased demand for them.

This expansion may be straining global pollination capacity, for two reasons. Demand for pollination services has grown faster than the stock of domestic honeybees, and the associated land clearance has destroyed much of the natural habitat of wild pollinators.

The accelerating increase of pollinator-dependent crops therefore has the potential to trigger future problems both for these crops and wild plants. These problems may grow as decreasing yields of raspberries, cherries and the rest prompt higher prices, stimulating yet more expansion of cultivation. So although the current pollination crisis is largely mythical, we may soon have a real one on our hands. (Marcelo Aizen is a researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina and Lawrence Harder is a professor of pollination ecology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada)

World's Largest Cruise Ship Sails for US Port

HELSINKI, KOMPAS.com – It's five times larger than the Titanic, has seven neighborhoods, an ice rink, a golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater. The world's largest cruise ship is finally finished and Friday it began gliding toward its home port in Florida.

The Oasis of the Seas will meet its first obstacle Saturday when exits the Baltic Sea and must squeeze under the Great Belt Bridge, which is just 1 foot taller than the ship — even after its telescopic smokestacks are lowered.

To be on the safe side, the ship — which rises about 20 stories high — will speed up so that it sinks deeper into the water when it passes below the span, said Lene Gebauer Thomsen, a spokeswoman for the operator of the Great Belt Bridge.

Once home, the $1.5 billion floating extravaganza will have more, if less visible, obstacles to duck: a sagging U.S. economy, questions about the consumer appetite for luxury cruises and criticism that such sailing behemoths are damaging to the environment and diminish the experience of traveling.

Travel guide writer Arthur Frommer has railed against Oasis and other mega ships he calls "floating resorts," suggesting that voyages on such large vessels are "a dumbing down of the cruise experience."

Oasis of the Seas, which is nearly 40 percent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship, was conceived years before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths.

"Obviously we did not want or anticipate she'd be born into the most significant economic downturn since the Depression," Royal Caribbean International President & CEO Adam Goldstein told The Associated Press in an interview earlier this month. "Even in this environment, we're excited about her."

It sets sail as cruise lines clamor to increase capacity, adding newer — and bigger — ships to their fleets. The Oasis of the Seas has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members. Company officials are banking that its novelty will help guarantee its success.

The enormous ship features various "neighborhoods" — parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including palm trees and vines among the total 12,000 plants on board. They will be planted after the ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale.

In the stern, a 750-seat outdoor theater — modeled on an ancient Greek amphitheater — doubles as a swimming pool by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a diving tower with spring boards and two 33-foot high-dive platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests.

Accommodations include loft cabins, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and 1,600-square-foot luxury suites with balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.

One of the "neighborhoods," named Central Park, features a square with boutiques, restaurants and bars, including a bar that moves up and down three decks, allowing customers to get on and off at different levels.

The liner also has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children. Frommer suggests that such ships should never even leave port: "Who would know the difference?"

"If the life on ship were a vital one, then you might justify building a ship so large," Frommer told the AP in an e-mail exchange. "But when the activities program consists largely of ziplines, surf-boarding, rock-climbing, a boxing ring, and imitations of Cirque de Soleil, when the lecture program deals with napkin-folding (the subject matter on other humongous ships operated by the same company), then there doesn't seem much appeal to well-read, intellectually curious people."

Paul Motter, editor of Cruisemates.com, has said that other critics have also complained that these huge ships flood ports of call, dumping 5,000 people all at once in an area.

Motter said suites are sold out for most of the sailings. Junior suites are mostly sold out and there is availability in inside, ocean view and balcony rooms.

He said ticket prices are still high for the Oasis, running $1,299 to $4,829, compared with $509 to $1,299 on the company's next most popular ship, Freedom of the Seas.

While environmentalists have said that the ship does not do enough to reduce air pollution and burns more fuel than a land-based resort, engineers at shipbuilder STX Finland said environmental considerations played an important part in planning the vessel. It dumps no sewage into the sea, reuses its waste water and consumes 25 percent less power than similar, but smaller, cruise liners.

"I would say this is the most environmentally friendly cruise ship to date," said Mikko Ilus, project engineer at the Turku yard. "It is much more efficient than other similar ships." The Oasis of the Seas is due to make its U.S. debut on Nov. 20 at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida.