Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin by working to limit the number of tourists visiting the Galapagos Islands or Antarctica to protect their spectacular wildlife The Galapagos in the Pacific Ocean gave Darwin insights into evolution on his famed voyage around the world aboard The Beagle. Many species — from mockingbirds to tortoises – differ from those on the South American mainland.

Among nightmare scenarios for Antarctica, first sighted in 1820, penguins might get bird flu. Or new seeds unwittingly brought by tourists might thrive and displace lichens and mosses found nowhere else on earth. A big cruise liner might run aground, spilling oil and coating beaches used by seals. But a group of environmentalists, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, wants the numbers capped — it hasn’t proposed an exact figure, but says it shouldn’t be too far above current levels.

And the unique wildlife is of the Galapagos is similarly under threat from people with both tourism and immigration from the South American mainland. See a BBC report here, for instance, saying that tourism rose to more than 173,000 last year. The United Nations in 2007 added the Galapagos to its list of world heritage sites in danger. AATO says the numbers are tiny — enough people to fill a football stadium across a continent bigger than the United States.

Elgin Baylor

Elgin Baylor, the former Los Angeles Clippers general manager who left the team last fall after 22 years, has sued the franchise, the NBA and team owner Donald Sterling alleging employment discrimination. Baylor plans to hold a news conference Thursday to discuss the lawsuit, which also names club president Andy Roeser, Douglas said in a fax sent Wednesday.

The lawsuit maintains that Baylor was "discriminated against and unceremoniously released from his position with the team on account of his age and his race" and that he was "grossly underpaid during his tenure with the Clippers, never earning more than $350,000 per year, when compared with the compensation scheme for general managers employed by every other team in the NBA."

The NBA is named in the lawsuit, according to Douglas' fax, as "a joint venturer/partner of condoning, adopting and ratifying this discriminatory practice since the league is fully aware of salaries paid to all of the general managers." Clippers attorney Robert H. Platt said in a statement Wednesday night that he had not seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment on Baylor's specific allegations.

Hearing Aid

hearing aid may not look like much, but it could be very expensive. "It's a range usually from around $1500 to maybe $3500 for just one hearing aid," said audiologist Caroline Roberts with Blount Hearing and Speech Services in Maryville. Roberts says the high cost can prevent people who need the devices most from being able to hear.

"Seventy percent of our patient base lives at or below the poverty level," said Hearing and Speech Foundation Executive Director Megan Venable Smith. "They pay nothing for anything. The doctor visits, the hearing aids, the ear molds, the batteries--we cover everything." Some recycled hearing aids can be given to patients on the spot, but others are sent to the manufacturer, who also donates refurbishing services.

Outdated, broken or damaged hearing aids that are donated to the program can be sent back to the original manufacturer to be used for parts. Roberts says the program has put more than 400 hearing aids on area residents in the first year alone. To donate a hearing aid to the Hearing and Speech Foundation, contact Megan Venable Smith at (865) 977-0981 or simply mail or drop off the device at the office, located at 1619 E. Broadway in Maryville, TN, 37804.