In Focus

[C. Flower]

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, begins today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An outgrowth of the Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992, the conference is designed to bring together 50,000 delegates from state governments, institutions, and non-governmental organizations to create measures to reduce poverty while promoting clean energy, decent jobs, and sustainable use of resources. The conference has attracted many protests and parallel events, as diverse groups struggle to share the world stage and make their voices heard. Collected here are just a few of the scenes from Rio+20. [37 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...rio-20/100323/

Did anyone put together a ball park figure for the energy footprint of the event, and the total cost (including salaries of participants) ?

[Count Bobulescu]

Did anyone put together a ball park figure for the energy footprint of the event, and the total cost (including salaries of participants) ?

If someone at the UN has run the numbers they’ll be unlikely to make them public now that the event is widely seen as a flop. Not much agreement on anything there.

[Count Bobulescu]

Today marks the halfway point of the 70-day Olympic Torch relay through the United Kingdom. Since arriving in Cornwall on May 18, the flame has been carried through villages and cities, across lakes and mountain ranges, on foot, by train, on horseback, and through the air, from Cornwall to the Shetland Islands. By the time it reaches London to launch the 2012 Summer Olympics in 35 days, the torch will have passed through the hands of 8,000 torchbearers. [31 photos]

Giant’s Causeway up first, plus Carrick-a-Rede


http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...london/100325/

[Count Bobulescu]

Some fascinating photos on the making of the atomic bomb.


Starting in 1942, the U.S. government began quietly acquiring more than 60,000 acres in Eastern Tennessee for the Manhattan Project -- the secret World War II program that developed the atomic bomb. The government needed land to build massive facilities to refine and develop nuclear materials for these new weapons, without attracting the attention of enemy spies. The result was a secret town named Oak Ridge that housed tens of thousands of workers and their families. The entire town and facility were fenced in, with armed guards posted at all entries. Workers were sworn to secrecy and only informed of the specific tasks they needed to perform. Most were unaware of the exact nature of their final product until the nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945. Photographer Ed Westcott (the only authorized photographer on the facility) took many photos of Oak Ridge during the war years and afterwards, capturing construction, scientific experiments, military maneuvers, and everyday life in a 1940s company town (where the company happens to be the U.S. government). [29 photos]


http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...t-city/100326/

[Count Bobulescu]

Since these photos were taken 32,000 people including the US Air Force Academy, have been put under “mandatory evacuation with many more under precautionary evac. The fire has doubled in size to 24 sq .miles overnight. It is now at the outskirts of Colorado Springs, population 420,000.



Colorado Springs Fire Chief Rich Brown described the blaze as "a fire of epic proportions," as tens of thousands of Colorado residents and tourists have been evacuated ahead of the growing, potentially disastrous Waldo Canyon fire. This fire joins several others across the state, including the High Park fire, which has consumed nearly 90,000 acres since June 9. While no reports of deaths or injuries have surfaced, hundreds of homes have been destroyed, with many more threatened. Fire crews are doing their best to contain the fires and save what homes they can, as authorities urged residents to flee affected areas. [22 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...dfires/100328/

[Count Bobulescu]

Caves and tunnels have always been part of human life. We've grown more adept at shaping these underground shelters and passages over the millennia, and today we dig for hundreds of reasons. We excavate to find both literal and cultural treasures, digging mines and unearthing archaeological discoveries. We use caverns for stable storage, for entertainment, and for an effective shelter from natural and man-made disasters. And as the planet's surface becomes ever more crowded, and national borders are closed, tunnels provide pathways for our vehicles and for smugglers of every kind. Collected below are more recent subterranean scenes from around the world. (Be sure to see Part I as well.) [38 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...art-ii/100329/

[Count Bobulescu]

The indiscriminate nature of the damage in some of these fire photos is amazing.

Still burning near Colorado Springs, the Waldo Canyon fire is now the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history, claiming 346 homes and two lives. Residents of affected neighborhoods, who were briefly allowed to return and survey the damage, described "unreal" scenes where houses that burned down to their foundations stood side-by-side with homes that appeared completely untouched. While the Waldo Canyon fire is now 55 percent contained, it is only one of dozens of fires still blazing across the west. [36 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...ermath/100330/

The number of coalition soldiers killed in Afghanistan last month stands at 39, bringing the number for the entire war to 3,071 -- roughly one death every 30 hours since the initial invasion in October 2001. The soldiers who died in June 2012, all men, ranged in age from 21 to 47, with 29 hailing from the United States, four from the UK, four from France, and one from Italy. Civilian casualties also remain high, as locals are often caught in NATO bombings and are increasingly targeted by Taliban attacks. Overall levels of violence are slowly declining. But the lengthy process of demobilization and withdrawal remains in its initial phase, and civilians, soldiers and insurgents continue to die in Afghanistan in alarming numbers. Gathered here are images of those involved in this conflict over the past month, as part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan. [41 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...e-2012/100331/

[Count Bobulescu]

See #11 for the biggest magnet you are ever likely to see.

On July 4, scientists working with data from ongoing experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) announced the discovery of a new particle "consistent with" the Higgs boson -- a subatomic particle also colloquially referred to as the "God particle." After years of design and construction, the LHC first sent protons around its 27 kilometer (17 mile) underground tunnel in 2008. Four years later, the LHC's role in the discovery of the Higgs boson provides a final missing piece for the Standard Model of Particle Physics -- a piece that may explain how otherwise massless subatomic particles can acquire mass. Gathered here are images from the construction of the massive $4-billion-dollar machine that allowed us peer so closely into the subatomic world. [34 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...-boson/100333/

[Count Bobulescu]

I’m not much of a fan of bullfighting, but these people look like they are having one hell of a party.

Every year, the Festival of San Fermin attracts thousands of visitors to Pamplona, Spain. Lasting nine days, the festival kicks off with massive crowds at the Chupinazo in Pamplona town square, followed by a carnival, fireworks, many bullfights, and of course, the encierro, or "running of the bulls." Held since 1591, San Fermin remains a popular, if also dangerous and controversial, event: Several people have been injured already this year, and the festival continues until July 14. Collected here are some scenes from the first days of this year's Festival of San Fermin. [39 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...s-2012/100334/

[Count Bobulescu]

Some spectacular storm cloud photos.

Award-winning photographer Camille Seaman, best known for her earlier work depicting massive polar icebergs, recently turned her lens on another incredible natural phenomenon - storm clouds above the American Midwest. She partnered with experienced storm chasers and began to stalk a particular type of storm cloud - the supercell. On June 22, 2012, in western Nebraska, she encountered an enormous supercell and captured its many faces. With her permission, I've gathered here several images of that storm and a few other amazing storm shots from an earlier expedition she took in 2008. Ms. Seaman will soon be leading a photo workshop called Kazakh Migrations in far northwest China, and invites others to join her. [22 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...nsters/100336/

[Count Bobulescu]

The 99th Tour de France cycling race began on July 1, as 22 teams of nine riders raced first through parts of Belgium, then on to France in stage three. Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara held the overall lead until stage six, when Team Sky rider Bradley Wiggins overtook Cancellara, gaining the leader's yellow jersey, which he still wears as of today. The Tour continues until July 22, heading into the Alps for grueling mountain stages in the second half of the race. The entire tour will cover a distance of 3,497 km (2,173 mi). Gathered here are images from the first half of the 2012 Tour de France. Part 2 will be posted after the finish. [40 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...1-of-2/100337/

[Count Bobulescu]

The 24th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest has just wrapped up, and judges will soon be selecting the winners -- but voting for the Viewer's Choice award is open until Friday, July 20, at 9 a.m. National Geographic was kind enough to allow me to share some of these amazing entries with you here, gathered from four categories: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place, and Spontaneous Moments. [40 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...t-2012/100339/

[Count Bobulescu]

The 99th Tour de France cycling race began on July 1, as 22 teams of nine riders raced through Belgium, Switzerland and France. The entire tour covered a distance of 3,497 km (2,173 mi). Sky Procycling rider Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain became the first Briton ever to win the tour on Sunday, July 22. Gathered here are images from the second half of the 2012 Tour de France. [42 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...2-of-2/100341/

[Count Bobulescu]

Today marks the end of the 70-day Olympic Torch relay through the United Kingdom, leading to the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Since arriving in Cornwall on May 18, the flame has been carried through villages and cities, across lakes and mountain ranges, on foot, by train, on horseback, and through the air, from Cornwall to central London. The torch has passed through the hands of more than 8,000 torchbearers on its 8,000 mile (12,800 km) journey. Be sure to also see first half of the journey. And stay tuned: as the Opening Ceremony takes place tonight, I'll be gathering photographs, which I will post tomorrow morning, Saturday, July 28. [31 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...london/100342/


Last night the 2012 Summer Olympics kicked off with a huge Opening Ceremony in London's new Olympic Stadium, an event watched on television by an estimated 1 billion viewers. Performances paid tribute to British heritage and culture, from agrarian beginnings through pop culture successes like the Beatles and J.K. Rowling. Contingents from more than 200 nations marched in the athletes parade, and the evening was capped off by the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, a performance by Paul McCartney, and a huge fireworks display. Collected below is just a glimpse of last night's ceremony, as the 2012 Olympics are now underway. [44 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...remony/100343/

[Count Bobulescu]

Content Warning: If your sensibilities are offended by nekid bodies don’t click.

For 20 years now, New York-based photographer Spencer Tunick has been creating human art installations all over the world, calling together volunteers by the hundreds or thousands, asking them to remove their clothes, and photographing them in massive groups. His philosophy is that "individuals en masse, without their clothing, grouped together, metamorphose into a new shape." He aims to create an architecture of flesh, where the masses of human bodies blend with the landscape, or juxtapose with architecture. Collected here are images from several of his installations as they were being composed. Warning: The following photos all depict naked human bodies, and are not screened out. The nudity is central to Tunick's art. [33 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...tunick/100344/