History.

Conception and start: 2004–2007.

In 2004, confronted with scientific findings, WWF Australia met with advertising agency Leo Burnett Sydney to "discuss ideas for engaging Australians on the issue of climate change". The idea of a large scale switch off was coined and developed in 2006, originally under the working title "The Big Flick". WWF Australia presented their concept to Fairfax Media who, along with Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, agreed to back the event. The 2007 Earth Hour was held on March 31 in Sydney, Australia at 7:30 pm, local time.  In October 2007 San Francisco ran its own "Lights Out" program inspired by the Sydney Earth Hour. After their successful event in October, the organizers decided to rally behind the Earth Hour being planned for March 2008.

2008.

Earth Hour 2008 was held internationally on March 29, 2008 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time, marking the first anniversary of the event. 35 countries around the world participated as official flagship cities and over 400 cities also supported. Landmarks around the world turned off their non-essential lighting for Earth Hour. Some websites took part in the event, with Google's homepage going "dark" on the day.  According to a Zogby International online survey, 36 million Americans—approximately 16 percent of the United States adult population—participated in Earth Hour 2008. The survey also showed there was a 4 percentage point increase in the level of interest in environmental issues such as climate change and pollution directly after the event (73 percent pre-event versus 77 percent post-event). Tel Aviv scheduled their Earth Hour for Thursday March 27, 2008 to avoid conflict with Sabbath. Dublin moved their Earth Hour to between 9 and 10 p.m. due to their northern geographical location.  According to WWF Thailand, Bangkok decreased electricity usage by 73.34 megawatts, which, over one hour, is equivalent to 41.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The "Bangkok Post" gave different figures of 165 megawatt-hours and 102 tonnes of carbon dioxide. This was noted to be significantly less than a similar campaign initiated by Bangkok's City Hall the previous year in May, when 530 megawatt-hours were saved and 143 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission were cut.  Philippine Electricity Market Corp. noted that power consumption dropped by about 78.63 megawatts in Metro Manila, and up to 102.2 megawatts on Luzon. The maximum demand drop of around 39 MW was experienced at 8:14 p.m. in Metro Manila and of around 116 MW at 8:34 p.m. in the Luzon grid.  Ontario used approximately 900 megawatt-hours less electrical energy during Earth Hour. At one point, Toronto saw an 8.7% reduction in consumption as compared to a typical March Saturday night.  Ireland, as a whole, had a reduction in electricity use of about 1.5% for the evening. In the three-hour period between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 pm, there was a reduction of 50 megawatts, saving 150 megawatt-hours, or approximately 60 tonnes of carbon dioxide.  In Dubai, where external lighting on several major city landmarks was turned off and street lighting in selected areas was dimmed by 50%, the Electricity and Water Authority reported savings of 100 megawatt-hours of electricity. This represented a 2.4% reduction in demand compared to before the hour began. The best result was from Christchurch, New Zealand, with the city reporting a drop of 13% in electricity demand. However, national grid operator Transpower reported that New Zealand's power consumption during Earth Hour was 335 megawatts, higher than the 328 megawatt average of the previous two Saturdays. Melbourne, Australia reduced demand by 10.1%. Sydney, being the city that participated in both the 2007 and 2008 Earth Hours, cut electricity consumption by 8.4%. This is less than the previous year's 10.2%; however, Earth Hour executive director Andy Ridley made the claim that after factoring margin of error, the participation in this city was the same.  The worst result was from Calgary, Canada. The city's power consumption actually went up 3.6% at the hour's peak electricity demand. Calgary's weather plays a large role in power consumption, and the city experienced weather 12 °C (around 22 °F) colder than the previous Saturday's recorded temperature in the inaugural year. Enmax, the city's power supplier, has confirmed that in all subsequent years, Calgarians have not supported the Earth Hour initiative, noting that power consumption changed only marginally during the hour in 2010 and 2011 (1% or less) and in 2012 and 2013 showed no appreciable change in power usage at all.

2009.

Earth Hour 2009 was from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time, March 28, 2009. The campaign was titled "Vote Earth" and was dubbed "the world's first global vote" with one billion votes was the stated aim for Earth Hour 2009, in the context of the pivotal 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. WWF reported that 88 countries and 4,159 cities participated in Earth Hour 2009, ten times more cities than Earth Hour 2008 had (2008 saw 400 cities participate).  Among the participants in 2009 was, for the first time, the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.  In Egypt, the lights went out on the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza from 8:30 to 9:30 pm.  The Philippines saw participation from 647 cities and towns; over 10 million Filipinos were estimated to have joined in the hour-long lights-off. This was followed by Greece with 484 cities and towns participating, and Australia with 309.  Despite official organizers WWF stating that the event is not about the reduction in electricity, a number of public institutions reported on electricity savings in their cities to see participation numbers. The Canadian province of Ontario, excluding the city of Toronto, saw a decrease of 6% in electricity usage while Toronto saw a decrease of 15.1% (nearly doubled from 8.7% the previous year) as many businesses darkened, including the landmark CN Tower.  The Philippines was able to save 611 MWh of electricity during the time period, which is said to be equivalent to shutting down a dozen coal-fired power plants for an hour.  Swedish electricity operator Svenska Kraftnät recorded a 2.1% decrease in power consumption from its projected figure between 8 p.m. and 9 pm. The following hour, the corresponding number was 5%. This is equivalent to the consumption of approximately half a million households out of the total 4.5 million households in Sweden.  According to Vietnam Electricity Company, Vietnam's electricity demand fell 140 MWh during Earth Hour.

2010.

Earth Hour 2010 was held from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time on March 27. In Israel, the hour was held on April 22.  126 countries participated in Earth Hour 2010.  In the United States polling showed that an estimated 90,000,000 Americans participated in Earth Hour as lights were turned off around the country, including landmarks such as Mount Rushmore, the Las Vegas Strip, the Empire State Building and Niagara Falls.  Some cities and landmarks took the opportunity to make more long-term adjustments to their everyday power consumption. In Chicago, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) developed lighting guidelines to reduce light pollution and reduce the carbon footprint of downtown buildings. Mount Rushmore in South Dakota started powering down each night around 9 p.m. instead of 11 p.m.  In Vietnam, electricity demand fell 500,000 kWh during Earth Hour 2010, which was three times larger than the first time the country joined the event in 2009.  In the Philippines, 1,067 towns and cities pledged participation in 2010 and over 15 million Filipinos participated in the event.  About 4000 cities participated, including landmarks such as Big Ben, the Empire State Building, the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, the Parthenon, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Forbidden City.

2011.

Earth Hour 2011 was the biggest year in the campaign's five-year history, reaffirming it as the largest ever voluntary action for the environment. In 2011, the tagline "Beyond the Hour" was adopted by organizers as a way to encourage people to take their commitment to the cause beyond the 60-minute event. Together with agency Leo Burnett, Earth Hour unveiled an updated planet themed logo that included a small plus symbol to the right of the signature "60" which was used in previous years. The 60+ symbol continues to be the main logo used by campaign organizers around the world.  Earth Hour 2011 took place in a record 5,251 cities and towns in 135 countries and territories on all seven continents. It had an estimated reach of 1.8 billion people across the globe. In addition to this, the campaign's digital footprint grew to 91 million.  In India, Earth Hour 2011 was held on March 26, 2011 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 pm. IST, flagged off by the Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit and Earth Hour 2011 Ambassador and Bollywood actress Vidya Balan in the presence of Jim Leape, Director General, WWF International. Rosebowl channel suspended broadcasting from 8.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. to mark the observance of Earth Hour.  In Azerbaijan, Maiden Tower darkened for Earth Hour.  The Philippines, which has been an active participant of the Earth Hour, had an early "earth hour" when power was accidentally interrupted, plunging Metro Manila and nearby provinces into darkness. After power was restored, major buildings, commercial centers and residential areas in Metro Manila and most provinces continued to turn off their lights, while participating channels in the Philippines, ABS-CBN and Cartoon Network halted their transmissions for an hour.  30 provinces and cities in Vietnam took part in Earth Hour 2011 with the main event held in Nha Trang. The nation's electricity demand fell 400,000 kWh, one-fifth less than the previous year's. Vietnam managed to save 500 million VND (US$23,809) thanks to the saved power.  YouTube promoted the Earth Hour by changing its logo, and by adding a switch on/off feature near the title of each video, so that users could change the background colour from white to black.  One of the least co-operative areas traditionally has been Alberta; in 2008, Calgary's power consumption went up during Earth Hour. The trend continued in 2011 when Edmonton's power usage also increased. While Calgary's power usage went down in 2011 during the event, electricity officials could not distinguish their readings between normal usage and a conscious attempt to participate.

2012.

Earth Hour Global headquarters was moving from Sydney to Singapore in February 2012. A launch event took place at ION Orchard on February 20, with the move supported by Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) and WWF-Singapore.  Earth Hour 2012 was observed on March 31, 2012, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (participants' local time). It took place in more than 7000 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories, making it the biggest growth year for the campaign since 2009. It was also the first year that Earth Hour was celebrated in space, with Dutch astronaut André Kuipers tweeting at various moments during the event's trek around the globe.

2013.

Earth Hour 2013 was held across the world on Saturday, March 23 at 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time to avoid taking place after European Summer Time began, ensuring a greater impact for the lights-off event. It was also changed to avoid coinciding with the Christian Holy Saturday, which fell on March 30 of that year.

Africa.

In 2013, the world's first Earth Hour Forest began in Uganda, an ongoing project that aims to restore 2700 hectares of degraded land. Standard Chartered Bank-Uganda pledged to help fill the forest with more than 250,000 trees.  Earth Hour commemorations in Madagascar had as their highlight the distribution of one thousand wood-saving stoves to victims of the cyclone Haruna in the southern town of Toliara, extensively damaged in February 22 storm. WWF-Madagascar and ADES (Association pour le Développement de l'Energie Solaire) distributed an additional 2,200 wood-saving stoves later that year.  Former President of Botswana, Festus Mogae promised to plant one million indigenous trees over four years, as part of his "I Will If You Will" challenge for Earth 2013.

Europe.

WWF-Russia launched its 2013 campaign aiming to secure more than 100,000 signatures from Russian citizens to petition for amendments to the current forest legislation. The petition reached more than 127,000 signatures before the Earth Hour event, ensuring the legislation was debated in the State Duma by politicians.

2014.

Earth Hour 2014 took place on Saturday, March 29, during the same 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local timeslot. Earth Hour Blue was launched as a global crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platform for the planet. "It is all about the collective effort of individuals around the world getting together to help fund or add their voice to support on-the-ground environmental and social projects that deliver real outcomes."  The Earth Hour 2014 Report highlighted a broad range of environmental outcomes achieved by the movement across 162 countries and territories around the world. More than US$60,000 was raised on the Earth Hour Blue platform for grassroots environmental projects run by WWF. The movement also saw campaigns to help protect Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the launch of a Blue Sky App in China, and the delivery of thousands of wood efficient stoves to communities in Madagascar.

2015.

Earth Hour 2015 took place on Saturday, March 28, again between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. local time. The tagline for the global campaign was "Change Climate Change", returning to the movement's original focus to initiate citizen action on global warming. A day before the event, over 170 countries and territories had confirmed their participation; with more than 1200 landmarks and close to 40 UNESCO world heritage sites set for the switch off.  For the second year running, Earth Hour Blue aims to raise funds for WWF organized climate focused projects on a crowdfunding platform. This year, crowdfunding projects include solar light distribution in the Philippines and India, and wildlife based projects from Colombia, Uganda and Indonesia.  Uniquely participating in the Earth Hour activity are the inhabitants of an island called Sibuyan in the Philippines who turned on their lights to elevate the message of using renewable energy. The island's source of electricity is a mini-hydro power plant.

2016.

Earth Hour 2016 was on Saturday, March 19, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. during participants' local time. It was also changed to avoid coinciding with the Christian Holy Saturday, which fell on March 26 of that year. It was the 10th anniversary of the campaign's beginnings in Sydney, Australia. Östersund in Sweden cancelled the 2016 event, following a spate of sex attacks, highlighting safety as a subject for discussion when saving resources. Almost all the countries in the world observed Earth Hour.

2017.

Earth Hour occurred on Saturday, March 25.

2018.

Earth Hour 2018 took place on March 24, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in participants' time, in order to avoid coinciding with Christian Holy Saturday which fell on March 31.

2019.

Earth Hour 2019 was held on March 30, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 pm. A total of 188 countries participated in Earth Hour 2019. Miss Earth 2018 Nguyễn Phương Khánh from Vietnam was designated as the Earth Hour Ambassador to implement several environmental protection activities. As ambassador, Phuong Khanh urged everyone to voluntarily turn off unnecessary lights and equipment for an hour, contributing to spreading the message "Save Energy, Save Earth - Energy saving, Earth protection".

2020.

Earth Hour 2020 took place on Saturday, 28 March and it went digitally due to global COVID-19 health crisis. 190 countries and territories came together to support this movement and few of the many public personalities such as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Pope Francis, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indian film star Amitabh Bachchan, UN Environment Goodwill ambassador Dia Mirza, Kenyan singing sensation Nikita Kering, Colombian model Claudia Bahamon and British Singer Songwriter, Cat Stevens also participated in Earth Hour 2020.

Organizations that support Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is supported around the world by UNESCO, the UN Environment Programme, the International Trade Union Confederation, Woodland, CBRE Group, the National Hockey League, FIFA, UEFA, Hilton Worldwide, Girl Scouts of the US, World Organization of the Scout Movement, HSBC, World Association of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Philips, IKEA, The Body Shop, ING Vysya Bank, and more.

Measurement of reduction in electricity use.

The Earth Hour Global FAQ page states: A 2014 study published in "Energy Research and Social Science" compiled 274 measurements of observed changes in electricity demand caused by Earth Hour in 10 countries, spanning 6 years, and found that the events reduced electricity consumption an average of 4%. The study noted the policy challenge of converting Earth Hour's short-term energy saving into longer-term actions, including sustained changes in behaviour and investment.

Criticism.

Bjørn Lomborg, author of "The Skeptical Environmentalist", wrote, "It is vital to make solar and other new technology cheaper than fossil fuels quickly so we can turn off carbon energy sources for a lot longer than one hour and keep the planet running... Fossil fuels literally gave us an enlightenment, by lighting our world and giving us protection from the fury of the elements. It is ironic that today's pure symbolism should hark back to a darker age." Lomborg also pointed out the feel-good factor Earth Hour creates, noting that it is an "ineffective feel good event" that makes people feel they are doing something for the environment, while in reality the amount of carbon emissions reduced by the earth hour is negligible.  Other criticisms of Earth Hour have included the following:

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event is held annually encouraging individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric lights, for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on a specific day towards the end of March, as a symbol of commitment to the planet. It was started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007. Since then, it has grown to engage more than 7,000 cities and towns across 187 countries and territories to raise awareness for energy consumption and effects on the environment.

Hodina Země je každoroční mezinárodní klimatická akce založená Světovým fondem na ochranu přírody (WWF), která se pořádá vždy poslední sobotu v březnu (až na výjimky kvůli Velikonocům). Domácnosti, podniky i veřejné instituce a zejména významné kulturní památky při ní po dobu jedné hodiny, vždy od 20.30 do 21.30 místní času, vypínají své osvětlení a elektrické spotřebiče, na podporu zvýšení informovanosti o změnách klimatu.


Description.

Adults are length and have a wingspan. The head, neck and underparts are white; the relatively short bill is yellow with a dark ring; the back and wings are silver gray; and the legs are yellow. The eyes are yellow with red rims. This gull takes three years to reach its breeding plumage; its appearance changes with each fall moult. The average lifespan of an individual that reaches adulthood is 10.9 years

Distribution and habitat.

The ring-billed gulls' breeding habitat is near lakes, rivers, or the coast in Canada and the northern United States. They nest colonially on the ground, often on islands. This bird tends to be faithful to its nesting site, if not its mate, from year to year.  The ring-billed gull is a familiar sight in American parking lots, where it can regularly be found congregating in large numbers. In some areas, it is displacing less aggressive birds such as the common tern.  They are migratory and most move south to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, and the Great Lakes.

Vagrancy.

This gull is a regular wanderer to western Europe. In Ireland and Great Britain it is no longer classed as a rarity, with several birds regularly wintering in those countries.

Diet.

Ring-billed gulls forage in flight or pick up objects while swimming, walking or wading. They also steal food from other birds and frequently scavenge. They are omnivorous; their diet may include insects, fish, grain, eggs, earthworms and rodents. These birds are opportunistic and have adapted well to taking food when discarded or even left unattended by people. It is regarded as a pest by many beach-goers because of its willingness to steal unguarded food on crowded beaches. The birds congregate at beaches, marinas, docks and parks where people will hand feed them. The gull's natural enemies are rats, foxes, dogs, cats, raccoons, coyotes, eagles, hawks, and owls.

Status.

In the late 19th century, the ring-billed gull was hunted for its plumage. Its population has since rebounded and it is probably the most common gull in North America.

The ring-billed gull ("Larus delawarensis") is a medium-sized gull. The genus name is from Latin "Larus" which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific "delawarensis" refers to the Delaware River.

Racek šedý ("Larus hyperboreus") je jedním z největších druhů racků. Od všech ostatních racků, kromě racka bělokřídlého ("Larus glaucoides"), se v dospělosti liší bílými špičkami křídel. Světlejší špičky křídel jsou charakteristické i pro mladé ptáky. Racek šedý hnízdí v arktických oblastech Evropy, Asie a Severní Ameriky. V mimohnízdní době se zdržuje v blízkosti hnízdišť, jen malé množství ptáků zaletuje dále na jih. Živí se především rybami, příležitostně i mršinami a vybírá také vejce a mláďata z hnízd jiných mořských ptáků. Většinou žije samotářsky, v době hnízdění se rackové sdružují do malých skupin, často hnízdí poblíž kolonií jiných mořských ptáků, kde kradou vejce. Výjimečně zaletuje také do České republiky, kde byl pozorován například v lednu 2012 v Praze na Vltavě, nebo v prosinci 2018 na jezeře Most.


Special opening.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the show (when counting the shorts), the entire opening sequence is replaced with a black screen that reads, "20 Years Ago..." followed by a showing of "The Tracey Ullman Show" Simpsons short "Family Portrait".

Plot.

Driving home after a trip to the dentist, Homer takes the Simpson family to an ice cream parlor, where he buys the store's millionth ice cream cone. This results in Homer's appearing on Kent Brockman's TV news talk show "Smartline". Kent is disgusted that he is forced to do a fluff piece instead of an in-depth, intellectually stimulating discussion of the conflict in the Middle East. During the interview, Homer accidentally knocks Kent's cup of coffee into his lap, making him swear in pain.  After the commercial break, Kent apologizes, but is relieved to find that nobody saw his on-air faux pas. However, Ned Flanders sees Kent's infamous newscast during his nightly ritual of reviewing TV content, and gets people of a like mind to e-mail the Federal Communications Commission about the incident. The next day, during the Channel 6 newscast, Kent finds out that he is under scrutiny for his indiscretion and that the station has been fined a whopping $10 million. He is demoted to weekend weatherman with his rival, Arnie Pye, as the new anchorman. Later, Lindsey Naegle speaks to Kent, assuring him that his job is safe, but fires him after she finds "cocaine" in his coffee cup (actually Splenda, but Naegle does not care because it is the best excuse to fire him for cause).  The next day, at the Simpsons' home, Homer finds Kent sleeping on their couch, after Marge took him in amid fears that he might kill himself. While watching TV, Lisa wonders why the cable channel Fox News can be so conservative while the Fox Network broadcasts sexualized content. Kent replies that Fox deliberately airs programs with morally reprehensible content so that they will be fined by the FCC, with the fines being funneled to the Republican Party. According to Brockman, everyone in the entertainment business knows this, but no one is brave enough to report the scam. Lisa goads him into blowing the whistle on the scam, using her web camera and uploading the revelation onto YouTube. Kent's subsequent webcast is so successful that Springfield's Republican Party members are less than thrilled about Kent threatening their ill-gotten gains, so Naegle and Krusty the Clown hatch a plan to stop him.  The next day, Lisa and Kent are confronted by the party members, who offer him his old job back with a 50% raise, which Kent accepts instantly, before apologizing to Lisa. At home, Lisa complains to Homer that today's media figures have no bravery or integrity. Homer consoles her by telling a horrifying secret that Kent told him about the Fox network, only for all references to the secret to be reduced with an announcer praising the network's programming. Before the closing credits, Homer tries again to tell the Fox network's horrible secret, only to be cut off by the 20th Century Fox Television and Gracie Films logos.

Production.

This episode, formerly known as "The Kent State Massacre", was renamed in light of the Virginia Tech massacre, which occurred only a month before the episode was set to air. The episode was intended to spoof increased fines by the Federal Communications Commission in the wake of the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. However, a month before the episode aired, Don Imus was suspended and subsequently fired for remarks he made on the air about the Rutgers University women's basketball team, through events closely paralleling the events of this episode.

Reception.

The show was viewed by 9.80 million viewers.  Robert Canning of IGN named the episode one of his three favorites of the season, stating that it "ended the season on a very high note". Canning also gave it a score of 9.3 out of 10 and called it "an episode full of highlights", adding, "This was a fantastic way to both end the year and celebrate the 400th episode milestone. The well-balanced finale reminded us how wonderfully the show can handle biting satire while remaining true to the family situation comedy at its core. If every future episode could be guaranteed to remain this smart and funny, we wouldn't have a problem with the show staying on the air for another 18 seasons."

"You Kent Always Say What You Want" is the twenty-second episode of "The Simpsons"' eighteenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 20, 2007 as part of the one-hour season finale, alongside the episode "24 Minutes". It was the milestone 400th episode of "The Simpsons" and was written by Tim Long. The episode guest starred Ludacris as himself and Maurice LaMarche as the Fox announcer.

Jak si Kent pustil pusu na špacír (anglicky "You Kent Always Say What You Want") je 22. díl 18. řady amerického animovaného seriálu "Simpsonovi". Premiéru v USA měl 20. května 2007. Scénář napsal Tim Long.


History.

Ice Hockey existed in amateur form in Sheffield, but the sport began its return to an era of arenas and stadium size crowds with the opening of the Sheffield Arena in 1991 and the creation of the Sheffield Steelers — the ice hockey team that was to occupy the new arena. The Sheffield Arena was built as part of the city's facilities for the staging of the World Student Games, and is a sizeable stadium originally seating 8,500 and located close to the city centre. Ronnie Wood and David Gardener-Brown were at the helm as the Marketing Director at the club and set about promoting ice hockey to a city raised on the footballing success of Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. Wood had a specific target, seeking to attract children and families to the city's new sporting Arena. They also began taking players to local football matches and parading them around the ground with mascots in an attempt to pull in football fans too. Another marketing ploy was to give certain players nicknames to help the crowd associate with the new (and as yet unknown) players.  The Steelers were named in honour of Sheffield's industrial past, much like the American football team of the same name based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the sharing of nicknames is merely a coincidence. The American football team actually predates Sheffield's team by 58 years and was already popular worldwide due to their dominance in the National Football League in the 1970s. Sheffield and Pittsburgh are considered sister cities.  The Sheffield Steelers were the first ever fully professional ice hockey team in Great Britain, and O'Brien suggested that there was a lot of resentment from the followers of other hockey teams who saw them as a "cheque book hockey club" able to buy whoever they chose. Likewise, Sluyter questions the authenticity of the majority of Steelers fans in the club's early days. Sluyter suggested hockey fans of teams like Cardiff, Fife and Nottingham were ice hockey fans first and foremost, while Steelers' supporters were only Steelers fans, and knew very little of ice hockey outside of Sheffield. However, it made little difference as Sheffield began breaking several British ice hockey attendance records, and in March of that year added an extra 1,200 seats to the Arena to meet the growing demand.  Sheffield Steelers had begun their first ever season in English Division One of the British Hockey League. One year later Sheffield Steelers won promotion into the British Premier League, before going on to win this in 1995 — the last team to do so before the formation of the new British Ice Hockey Super League (ISL) that year.  On Sunday 3 December 2006, the Steelers played in their 1000th ever game. The game was against the Basingstoke Bison at the Hallam FM Arena, for which special orange jerseys had been made for the match. The Steelers lost the game 3–2 and the jerseys were all auctioned off at the game.

2000–present.

In the 2000–01 campaign the Steelers completed a Grand Slam, becoming only the second club to win the Autumn Cup, League, Challenge Cup and Playoff Titles in the same season. They retained the Play-off title the following season, the first team to achieve this in the Superleague era, beating Manchester Storm on penalties in the Play-Off final, held at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham in front of a full house.  David Matsos was appointed as coach for the 2006–07 season. He led the Steelers to a fourth-place finish in the league and a place in the Challenge Cup Finals. The club broke an Elite League Attendance record against the Manchester Phoenix with an attendance of 7,339.  In 2007 team Owner Bob Phillips and his wife sold their other Elite League club the Cardiff Devils in order to concentrate on building the Steelers. The club won that season's Elite League Playoff Championship after beating the Coventry Blaze 2–0 in the final with goals from Johnathan Phillips and Dan Tessier. The Steelers were knocked out of the following season's Knockout Cup and Challenge Cup early, but finished first in a league campaign that saw them lose just three times in regulation. They made this a double by beating Nottingham Panthers 2–0 in the Play-Off final. The Steelers season ended in the Quarter Finals of the Play-offs after being knocked out by the Cardiff Devils.  The 2010–11 season was preceded by a "walk-out" of Steelers management and office staff, after a vote of no confidence in Owner Bob Phillips. Phillips put the club up for sale, and in December 2010 Paul Ragan, the CEO and owner of the Cardiff Devils, finalised acquiring the rights to the Sheffield Steelers. The Steelers were at the top of the league for the majority of the season, battling it out with the Cardiff Devils,.and won the league after back-to-back victories against the Braehead Clan. The Steelers were tied on points with Cardiff but won the league having more regulation time wins. After several rounds of negotiations, Simon decided not to renew his contract, and Ryan Finnerty was installed as player/coach after. During that season Sheffield Steelers became the first EIHL team to win a medal in Europe after their appearance in the Continental Cup superfinal.  Tony Smith took over as sole owner in August 2011 after buying out Paul Ragan. The Steelers won the 2013–14 Play-Off final 3–2 against Belfast Giants.  At the end of season 2014–15 they beat the Cardiff Devils to clinch the Elite League title with 74 points. On 20 April 2015, they parted company with coach Gerad Adams. They soon brought in Paul Thompson, former GB coach, as Head Coach and General Manager. At the end of season 2015–16 they became only the second club in the history of ice hockey to become back to back champions when they defeated the Fife Flyers on the final day of the season to take the title.  Paul Thompson left the Sheffield Steelers on 1 October 2018, citing personal reasons. He was replaced as Head Coach by Tom Barrasso. On 16 April 2019 the club announced that Aaron Fox had been appointed as Head Coach and General Manager of the club. On the 8th March 2020, the Steelers won the 2019-20 Challenge Cup beating Cardiff Devils 4-3 - their first Challenge Cup title for 17 years.

Current squad.

"2020-21 Elite Ice Hockey League season"

Honoured members.

The Steelers have retired the numbers of six players. Ronnie Wood's number 7 and Tim Cranston's number 4 have been retired. Tony Hand's number 16 and Ken Priestlay's number 9 were retired on 21 January 2003 at a challenge match against the Dundee Stars, with Ron Shudra's number 26 retired in summer 2009. Tommy Plommer's number 11 has also been retired.  Eight people who have been associated with the Steelers have been inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame. Alex Dampier, who coached the Steelers from January 1993 to the end of the 1997–98 season, was inducted in 1995 and Mike Blaisdell, who coached and occasionally iced for the Steelers between 1999 and 2004, was inducted in 2004. On the player front, Chris Kelland was inducted in 2002, Rick Brebant in 2004, Paul Adey in 2006, Scott Neil in 2007, and most recently, legendary players Tim Cranston and 'Rocket' Ron Shudra in December 2010.  The Steelers started their own Hall of Fame in 2005 in which honoured members are voted for by the fans. There are two Hall of Fames: The Players Hall of Fame and the Backroom Staff Hall of Fame. Ken Priestlay, Tommy Plommer, Scott Allison and Tim Cranston were inducted to the Players Hall of Fame in 2005 and Ron Shudra and Mike Blaisdell were inducted in 2006. David Simms, responsible for Press and Media at the club, and Andy Akers, Equipment Manager, were inducted to the Backroom Staff Hall of Fame in 2006 and Mike O'Connor, General Manager, was inducted in 2007.

Honours and awards.

League Championships  Play Off Championships  Autumn Cups  Challenge Cups  20–20 Hockeyfest Tournament  Player of the Year Trophy  Coach of the Year Trophy  The Ice Hockey Annual Trophy (Leading British points scorer)  First Team All-Star Second Team All-Star

Grand slam winning teams.

The Steelers have won the of all available trophies twice in their history. In the 1995–96 season they won the Benson & Hedges Cup, the league championship and the playoffs. In the 2000–01 season they won the Benson & Hedges Cup, the Challenge Cup, the league championship and the playoffs. The players who played for the Steelers those seasons were:

1995–96 team.

Goaltenders  Defenders  Forwards

2000–01 team.

Goaltenders  Defenders  Forwards

Season-by-season record.

"Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against"

The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the FlyDSA Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The club's main (title) sponsor is Sheffield Window Centre.

Sheffield Steelers je hokejový klub z Sheffieldu, který hraje Britskou hokejovou ligu v Británii. Klub byl založen roku 1991. Jejich domovským stadionem je Sheffield Arena s kapacitou 13 500 lidí.


Construction.

She was laid down in July 1927 at Govan by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd and launched on 12 December 1928. She was commissioned on 30 April 1930.

Service history.

Inter-war period.

In September 1931, "Norfolk" was part of a mutiny that later became known as the Invergordon Mutiny. She later served with the Home Fleet until 1932 and then went to the America and West Indies Station between 1932 and 1934. From 1935 to 1939, she served with the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, before coming home to refit in 1939, being still in dockyard hands when war was declared.

Second World War.

At the outbreak of war in 1939, "Norfolk" was part of the 18th Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet, and was involved in the chase for the German small battleships and, along with the pocket battleship. She was soon receiving numerous repairs for damage that she had received, not to mention vital modifications to the ship. Her first repairs were carried out in Belfast, after damage from a near-miss by a torpedo from, the submarine responsible for sinking the battleship at Scapa Flow.  Shortly afterward, bomb damage that she had received from a heavy air raid by "Kampfgeschwader" 26 at Scapa Flow on 16 March 1940 forced her into yet another repair, this time on the Clyde. After these repairs had been completed, "Norfolk" proceeded to the Tyne Shipyard for a new addition to her equipment – a radar set.  In December 1940, "Norfolk" was ordered to the South Atlantic on trade protection duties, operating from Freetown as part of Force K and also tasked with the hunt for "Admiral Scheer" and, in January 1941, the German auxiliary cruiser. In February, she escorted Atlantic troop convoys, but by May she had returned to Icelandic waters. "Norfolk" was the second ship to sight the German battleship. She and her near sister—from the earlier County-class— continued to trail the German battleship; the cruisers later joined the battleships and as part of the force that finally sank "Bismarck". From September onward, she was employed as an escort for the arduous Arctic Convoys. During this period, her sister "Dorsetshire" had been bombed and sunk by Japanese torpedo and dive bombers in the Pacific Theatre as part of the British Eastern Fleet's attempts to dodge Japanese advances on Ceylon. "Norfolk" was part of the cruiser covering force of Convoy JW 55B when it engaged "Scharnhorst", on 26 December 1943. She scored three hits on the German ship, and received several 11-in shell hits (all passing through the thin-skinned ship without exploding) in return, before she withdrew; "Scharnhorst" was later caught and sunk by the battleship and her escorting cruisers and destroyers. She sustained damage (especially to X-turret and barbette) in that confrontation, and she was subsequently repaired/refitted (losing X-turret in favour of additional AA guns) on the Tyne, which prevented her from being involved in the historic D-day landings. "Norfolk" was the flagship of Vice Admiral Rhoderick McGrigor off North Norway during Operation Judgement, Kilbotn, an attack by the Fleet Air Arm on a U-boat base which destroyed two ships and on 4 May 1945, in the last air-raid of the war in Europe. When the war came to a close, "Norfolk" left Plymouth for a much needed refit at Malta, after transporting the Norwegian Royal family back to Oslo after their five-year exile in London. This was followed by service in the East Indies as the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief East Indies.

Post-war.

In 1949, "Norfolk" returned to Britain and was placed in Reserve. She was sold to BISCO for scrapping on 3 January 1950. On 14 February 1950, she proceeded to Newport, arriving on 19 February, to be broken up after a long and proud service of 22 years, in which she gained the "Norfolk" lineage the majority of her battle honours, including her last.

HMS "Norfolk" was a heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy; along with her sister ship she was part of a planned four-ship subclass. She served throughout the Second World War. She was also involved in the sinking of the German Navy's battleships and.

HMS Norfolk byl těžký křižník sloužící v Royal Navy v období druhé světové války. Byl jednou ze dvou jednotek třídy Dorsetshire, která byla třetí skupinou třináctičlenné třídy "County".


Early life.

Berry was born Maria Halle Berry; her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry at age five. Her parents selected her middle name from Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother, Judith Ann (née Hawkins), is white and was born in Liverpool, England. Judith Ann worked as a psychiatric nurse. Her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was an African-American hospital attendant in the psychiatric ward where her mother worked; he later became a bus driver. Berry's parents divorced when she was four years old; she and her older sister, Heidi Berry-Henderson, were raised exclusively by their mother.  Berry has said in published reports that she has been estranged from her father since her childhood, noting in 1992, "I haven't heard from him since [he left]. Maybe he's not alive." Her father was very abusive to her mother. Berry has recalled witnessing her mother being beaten daily, kicked down stairs and hit in the head with a wine bottle.  Berry grew up in Oakwood, Ohio and graduated from Bedford High School where she was a cheerleader, honor student, editor of the school newspaper and prom queen. She worked in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. She then studied at Cuyahoga Community College. In the 1980s, she entered several beauty contests, winning Miss Teen All American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986. She was the 1986 Miss USA first runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas. In the Miss USA 1986 pageant interview competition, she said she hoped to become an entertainer or to have something to do with the media. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges. She was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she finished sixth and Trinidad and Tobago's Giselle Laronde was crowned Miss World. According to the "Current Biography Yearbook", Berry "...pursued a modeling career in New York... Berry's first weeks in New York were less than auspicious: She slept in a homeless shelter and then in a YMCA".

Career.

Early career.

In 1989, Berry moved to New York City to pursue her acting ambitions. During her early time there, she ran out of money and had to live briefly in a homeless shelter. Her situation improved by the end of that year, and she was cast in the role of model Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series "Living Dolls", which was shot in New York and was a spin-off of the hit series "Who's the Boss?". During the taping of "Living Dolls", she lapsed into a coma and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. After the cancellation of "Living Dolls", she moved to Los Angeles. She went on to have a recurring role on the long-running primetime serial "Knots Landing".

1990s.

Berry's film debut was in a small role for Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" (1991), in which she played Vivian, a drug addict. That same year, Berry had her first co-starring role in "Strictly Business". In 1992, Berry portrayed a career woman who falls for the lead character played by Eddie Murphy in the romantic comedy "Boomerang". The following year, she caught the public's attention as a headstrong biracial slave in the TV adaptation of "", based on the book by Alex Haley. Berry was in the live-action "Flintstones" movie playing the part of "Sharon Stone", a sultry secretary who seduced Fred Flintstone.  Berry tackled a more serious role, playing a former drug addict struggling to regain custody of her son in "Losing Isaiah" (1995), starring opposite Jessica Lange. She portrayed Sandra Beecher in "Race the Sun" (1996), which was based on a true story, shot in Australia, and co-starred alongside Kurt Russell in "Executive Decision". Beginning in 1996, she was a Revlon spokeswoman for seven years and renewed her contract in 2004.  She starred alongside Natalie Deselle Reid in the 1997 comedy film "B*A*P*S". In 1998, Berry received praise for her role in "Bulworth" as an intelligent woman raised by activists who gives a politician (Warren Beatty) a new lease on life. The same year, she played the singer Zola Taylor, one of the three wives of pop singer Frankie Lymon, in the biopic "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". In the 1999 HBO biopic "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge", she portrayed the first black woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and it was to Berry a heart-felt project that she introduced, co-produced and fought intensely for it to come through. Berry's performance was recognized with several awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award.

2000s.

Berry portrayed the mutant superhero Storm in the film adaptation of the comic book series "X-Men" (2000) and its sequels, "X2" (2003), "" (2006) and "" (2014). In 2001, Berry appeared in the film "Swordfish", which featured her first topless scene. At first, she was opposed to a sunbathing scene in the film in which she would appear topless, but Berry eventually agreed. Some people attributed her change of heart to a substantial increase in the amount Warner Bros. offered her; she was reportedly paid an additional $500,000 for the short scene. Berry denied these stories, telling one interviewer that they amused her and "made for great publicity for the movie". After turning down numerous roles that required nudity, she said she decided to make "Swordfish" because her then-husband, Eric Benét, supported her and encouraged her to take risks.  Berry appeared as Leticia Musgrove, the troubled wife of an executed murderer (Sean Combs), in the 2001 feature film "Monster's Ball". Her performance was awarded the National Board of Review and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress; in an interesting coincidence she became the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for Best Actress (earlier in her career, she portrayed Dorothy Dandridge, the first African American to be nominated for Best Actress, and who was born at the same hospital as Berry, in Cleveland, Ohio). The NAACP issued the statement: "Congratulations to Halle Berry and Denzel Washington for giving us hope and making us proud. If this is a sign that Hollywood is finally ready to give opportunity and judge performance based on skill and not on skin color then it is a good thing." This role generated controversy. Her graphic nude love scene with a racist character played by co-star Billy Bob Thornton was the subject of much media chatter and discussion among African Americans. Many in the African-American community were critical of Berry for taking the part. Berry responded: "I don't really see a reason to ever go that far again. That was a unique movie. That scene was special and pivotal and needed to be there, and it would be a really special script that would require something like that again."  Berry asked for a higher fee for Revlon advertisements after winning the Oscar. Ron Perelman, the cosmetics firm's chief, congratulated her, saying how happy he was that she modeled for his company. She replied, "Of course, you'll have to pay me more." Perelman stalked off in a rage. In accepting her award, she gave an acceptance speech honoring previous black actresses who had never had the opportunity. She said, "This moment is so much bigger than me. This is for every nameless, faceless woman of color who now has a chance tonight because this door has been opened."  As Bond girl Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson in the 2002 blockbuster "Die Another Day", Berry recreated a scene from "Dr. No", emerging from the surf to be greeted by James Bond as Ursula Andress had 40 years earlier. Lindy Hemming, costume designer on "Die Another Day", had insisted that Berry wear a bikini and knife as a homage. Berry has said of the scene: "It's splashy", "exciting", "sexy", "provocative" and "it will keep me still out there after winning an Oscar". The bikini scene was shot in Cadiz; the location was reportedly cold and windy, and footage has been released of Berry wrapped in thick towels in between takes to try to stay warm. According to an ITV news poll, Jinx was voted the fourth toughest girl on screen of all time. Berry was hurt during filming when debris from a smoke grenade flew into her eye. It was removed in a 30-minute operation. After Berry won the Academy Award, rewrites were commissioned to give her more screentime for "X2".  She starred in the psychological thriller "Gothika" opposite Robert Downey, Jr. in November 2003, during which she broke her arm in a scene with Downey, who twisted her arm too hard. Production was halted for eight weeks. It was a moderate hit at the United States box office, taking in $60 million; it earned another $80 million abroad. Berry appeared in the nu metal band Limp Bizkit's music video for "Behind Blue Eyes" for the motion picture soundtrack for the film. The same year, she was named #1 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.  Berry starred as the title role in the film "Catwoman", for which she received US$12.5 million. An over-US$100 million movie; it grossed only US$17 million on its first weekend, and is widely regarded by critics as one of the worst films ever made. She was awarded the Worst Actress Razzie Award for her performance; she appeared at the ceremony to accept the award in person (while holding her Oscar from "Monster's Ball") with a sense of humor, considering it an experience of the "rock bottom" in order to be "at the top". Holding the Academy Award in one hand and the Razzie in the other she said, "I never in my life thought that I would be up here, winning a Razzie! It's not like I ever aspired to be here, but thank you. When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there's no way you could be a good winner." Her next film appearance was in the Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC television movie "Their Eyes Were Watching God" (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, with Berry portraying a free-spirited woman whose unconventional sexual mores upset her 1920s contemporaries in a small community. She received her second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her role. Also in 2005, she served as an executive producer in "Lackawanna Blues", and landed her voice for the character of Cappy, one of the many mechanical beings in the animated feature "Robots".  In the thriller "Perfect Stranger" (2007), Berry starred with Bruce Willis, playing a reporter who goes undercover to uncover the killer of her childhood friend. The film grossed a modest US$73 million worldwide, and received lukewarm reviews from critics, who felt that despite the presence of Berry and Willis, it is "too convoluted to work, and features a twist ending that's irritating and superfluous". Her next 2007 film release was the drama "Things We Lost in the Fire", co-starring Benicio del Toro, where she took on the role of a recent widow befriending the troubled friend of her late husband. The film was the first time in which she worked with a female director, Danish Susanne Bier, giving her a new feeling of "thinking the same way", which she appreciated. While the film made US$8.6 million in its global theatrical run, it garnered positive reviews from writers; "The Austin Chronicle" found the film to be "an impeccably constructed and perfectly paced drama of domestic and internal volatility" and felt that "Berry is brilliant here, as good as she's ever been".  In April 2007, Berry was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Kodak Theatre at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the film industry, and by the end of the decade, she established herself as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, earning an estimated $10 million per film.

2010s.

In the independent drama "Frankie and Alice" (2010), Berry played the leading role of a young multiracial American woman with dissociative identity disorder struggling against her alter personality to retain her true self. The film received a limited theatrical release, to a mixed critical response. "The Hollywood Reporter" nevertheless described the film as "a well-wrought psychological drama that delves into the dark side of one woman's psyche" and found Berry to be "spellbinding" in it. She earned the African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama. She next made part of a large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy "New Year's Eve" (2011), with Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Biel, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Sofía Vergara, among many others. In the film, she took on the supporting role of a nurse befriending a man in the final stages (De Niro). While the film was panned by critics, it made US$142 million worldwide.  In 2012, Berry starred as an expert diver tutor alongside then-husband Oliver Martinez in the little-seen thriller "Dark Tide", and led an ensemble cast opposite Tom Hanks and Jim Broadbent in The Wachowskis's epic science fiction film "Cloud Atlas" (2012), with each of the actors playing six different characters across a period of five centuries. Budgeted at US$128.8 million, "Cloud Atlas" made US$130.4 million worldwide, and garnered polarized reactions from both critics and audiences.  Berry appeared in a segment of the independent anthology comedy "Movie 43" (2013), which the "Chicago Sun-Times" called "the "Citizen Kane" of awful". Berry found greater success with her next performance, as a 9-1-1 operator receiving a call from a girl kidnapped by a serial killer, in the crime thriller "The Call" (2013). Berry was drawn to "the idea of being a part of a movie that was so empowering for women. We don't often get to play roles like this, where ordinary people become heroic and do something extraordinary." Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" found the film to be "an effectively creepy thriller", while reviewer Dwight Brown felt that "the script gives Berry a blue-collar character she can make accessible, vulnerable and gutsy[...]". "The Call" was a sleeper hit, grossing US$68.6 million around the globe.  In 2014, Berry signed on to star and serve as a co-executive producer in CBS drama series "Extant", where she took on the role of Molly Woods, an astronaut who struggles to reconnect with her husband and android son after spending 13 months in space. The show ran for two seasons until 2015, receiving largely positive reviews from critics. "USA Today" remarked: "She [Halle Berry] brings a dignity and gravity to Molly, a projected intelligence that allows you to buy her as an astronaut and to see what has happened to her as frightening rather than ridiculous. Berry's all in, and you float along". Also in 2014, Berry launched a new production company, 606 Films, with producing partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. It is named after the Anti-Paparazzi Bill, SB 606, that the actress pushed for and which was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown in the fall of 2013. The new company emerged as part of a deal for Berry to work in "Extant".  In the stand-up comedy concert film "" (2016), Berry appeared as herself, opposide Kevin Hart, attending a poker game event that goes horribly wrong. "Kidnap", an abduction thriller Berry filmed in 2014, was released in 2017. In the film, she starred as a diner waitress tailing a vehicle when her son is kidnapped by its occupants. "Kidnap" grossed US$34 million and garnered mixed reviews from writers, who felt that it "strays into poorly scripted exploitation too often to take advantage of its pulpy premise — or the still-impressive talents of [Berry]." She next played an agent employed by a secret American spy organisation in the action comedy sequel "" (2017), as part of an ensemble cast, consisting of Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Julianne Moore, and Elton John. While critical response towards the film was mixed, it made US$414 million worldwide.  Alongside Daniel Craig, Berry starred as a working-class mother during the 1992 Los Angeles riots in Deniz Gamze Ergüven's drama "Kings" (2017). The film found a limited theatrical release following its initial screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, and as part of an overall lukewarm reception, "Variety" noted: "It should be said that Berry has given some of the best and worst performances of the past quarter-century, but this is perhaps the only one that swings to both extremes in the same movie". She played Sofia, an assassin, in the film "", which was released on May 17, 2019 by Lionsgate.  In 2017, she provided uncredited vocals to the song, "Calling All My Lovelies" by Bruno Mars from his third studio album, 24K Magic.  Berry competed against James Corden in the first rap battle on the first episode of TBS's "Drop the Mic", originally aired on October 24, 2017.  She is, as of February 2019, executive producer of the BET television series "Boomerang", based on the film in which she starred. The series premiered February 12, 2019.  Berry will make directorial debut with "Bruised" in which she plays a disgraced MMA fighter named Jackie Justice, who reconnects with her estranged son. Filming began in 2019 with shooting in Atlantic City and Newark.

Personal life.

Relationships and marriages.

Berry dated Chicago dentist John Ronan from March 1989 to October 1991. In November 1993, Ronan sued Berry for $80,000 in what he claimed were unpaid loans to help launch her career. Berry contended that the money was a gift, and a judge dismissed the case because Ronan did not list Berry as a debtor when he filed for bankruptcy in 1992. According to Berry, a beating from a former abusive boyfriend during the filming of "The Last Boy Scout" in 1991 punctured her eardrum and caused her to lose eighty percent of her hearing in her left ear. Berry has never named the abuser but has said that he is someone well known in Hollywood. In 2004, former boyfriend Christopher Williams accused Wesley Snipes of being responsible for the incident, saying "I'm so tired of people thinking I'm the guy [who did it]. Wesley Snipes busted her eardrum, not me."  Berry first saw baseball player David Justice on TV playing in an MTV celebrity baseball game in February 1992. When a reporter from Justice's hometown of Cincinnati told her that Justice was a fan, Berry gave her phone number to the reporter to give to Justice. Berry married Justice shortly after midnight on January 1, 1993. Following their separation in February 1996, Berry stated publicly that she was so depressed that she considered taking her own life. Berry and Justice were officially divorced on June 24, 1997.  Berry married her second husband, singer-songwriter Eric Benét, on January 24, 2001, following a two-year courtship. Benét underwent treatment for sex addiction in 2002, and by early October 2003 they had separated, with the divorce finalized on January 3, 2005.  In November 2005, Berry began dating French Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, whom she met at a Versace photoshoot. Berry gave birth to their daughter in March 2008. On April 30, 2010, Berry and Aubry announced their relationship had ended some months earlier. In January 2011, Berry and Aubry became involved in a highly publicized custody battle, centered primarily on Berry's desire to move with their daughter from Los Angeles, where Berry and Aubry resided, to France, the home of French actor Olivier Martinez, whom Berry had started dating in 2010 after they met while filming "Dark Tide" in South Africa. Aubry objected to the move on the grounds that it would interfere with their joint custody arrangement. In November 2012, a judge denied Berry's request to move the couple's daughter to France in light of Aubry's objections. Less than two weeks later, on November 22, 2012, Aubry and Martinez were both treated at a hospital for injuries after engaging in a physical altercation at Berry's residence. Martinez performed a citizen's arrest on Aubry, and because it was considered a domestic violence incident, was granted a temporary emergency protective order preventing Aubry from coming within 100 yards of Berry, Martinez, and the child with whom he shares custody with Berry, until November 29, 2012. In turn, Aubry obtained a temporary restraining order against Martinez on November 26, 2012, asserting that the fight began when Martinez threatened to kill Aubry if he did not allow the couple to move to France. Leaked court documents included photos showing significant injuries to Aubry's face, which were widely displayed in the media.  On November 29, 2012, Berry's lawyer announced that Berry and Aubry had reached an amicable custody agreement in court. In June 2014, a Superior Court ruling called for Berry to pay Aubry $16,000 a month in child support (around 200k/year) as well as a retroactive payment of $115,000 and a sum of $300,000 for Aubry's attorney fees.  Berry and Martinez confirmed their engagement in March 2012, and married in France on July 13, 2013. In October 2013, Berry gave birth to their son. In 2015, after two years of marriage, the couple announced they were divorcing. The divorce became final in December 2016.

Legal issues.

In February 2000, Berry was involved in a traffic collision and left the scene. She pleaded no contest to misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident.

Activism.

Along with Pierce Brosnan, Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke, Téa Leoni, and Daryl Hannah, Berry successfully fought in 2006 against the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas facility that was proposed off the coast of Malibu. Berry said, "I care about the air we breathe, I care about the marine life and the ecosystem of the ocean." In May 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the facility. Hasty Pudding Theatricals gave her its 2006 "Woman of The Year" award. Berry took part in a nearly 2,000-house cell-phone bank campaign for Barack Obama in February 2008. In April 2013, she appeared in a video clip for Gucci's "Chime for Change" campaign that aims to raise funds and awareness of women's issues in terms of education, health, and justice. In August 2013, Berry testified alongside Jennifer Garner before the California State Assembly's Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that would protect celebrities' children from harassment by photographers. The bill passed in September.

Public image.

Berry was ranked No. 1 on "People" "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" list in 2003 after making the top ten seven times and appeared No. 1 on "FHM" "100 Sexiest Women in the World" the same year. She was named "Esquire" magazine's "Sexiest Woman Alive" in October 2008, about which she stated: "I don't know exactly what it means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it." "Men's Health" ranked her at No. 35 on their "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" list. In 2009, she was voted #23 on "Empire"'s 100 Sexiest Film Stars. The same year, rapper Hurricane Chris released a song entitled "Halle Berry (She's Fine)", extolling Berry's beauty and sex appeal. At the age of 42 (in 2008), she was named the "Sexiest Black Woman" by Access Hollywood's "TV One Access" survey. Born to an African-American father and a white mother, Berry has stated that her biracial background was "painful and confusing" when she was a young woman, and she made the decision early on to identify as a black woman because she knew that was how she would be perceived.

External links.

!colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;"| Acting roles

Halle Maria Berry (born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the romantic drama film "Monster's Ball" (2001), becoming the only woman of African American descent and the only woman of color to have won the award.

Halle Maria Berry (IPA: ; * 14. srpna 1966, Cleveland, Ohio, Spojené státy americké) je americká herečka, modelka a královna krásy, jež byla považována za nejkrásnější afroamerickou ženu své doby, jednalo se o jeden ze sexuálních symbolů 20. století. Získala cenu Emmy a Zlatý glóbus za film "Černá Carmen Dorothy Dandridge" a v roce 2001 Oscara za nejlepší ženský herecký výkon v hlavní roli za výkon v "Plesu příšer". Je tak první a zatím jediná žena afroamerického původu, která vyhrála cenu za nejlepší ženský herecký výkon. Je jedna z nejlépe placených hereček v Hollywoodu. Také se účastnila produkce některých svých filmů.


Personal life.

Crahan was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1969. He majored in Creative Writing. He performed in bands such as Heads on the Wall and One Cup of Fat before forming The Pale Ones, which would later become known as Slipknot. Crahan married his wife Chantel in June 1992, in Des Moines, Iowa. They had four children together: Alexandria, Gage, Gabrielle, and Simon. Crahan is also a filmographer and photographer, having published a Slipknot photo album "The Apocalyptic Nightmare" in 2012. In 2012, he also made his debut acting appearance in the film "The Devil's Carnival". He is also a collector of baseball cards. He is a smoker and has been willing to break the law to smoke inside venues along with other members of Slipknot, even when subject to a significant fine.  On May 18, 2019, Crahan announced on multiple social media networks, that his youngest daughter, Gabrielle, had died at the age of 22. Allegedly, her cause of death was a drug overdose and her death came only days after she celebrated five months of sobriety.

Career.

Film career.

In June 2016, Crahan made his directing debut with the film "Officer Downe" based on the graphic novel "Officer Downe" written by Joe Casey and Chris Burnham. Crahan also directed the music video for the song "A-M-E-R-I-C-A" by Motionless In White, and "We Are" by Hollywood Undead.

With Slipknot.

In 1995, Crahan formed a metal band known as the Pale Ones with fellow musician Paul Gray, which featured himself as the band's drummer. Wanting to expand the band's percussion section, Crahan brought in Joey Jordison to fill in as drummer while Crahan's efforts were focused on percussion. The vocalist playing a second percussion kit gave the band a layered, distinctive drum sound. In 1996, they released a song known as "Slipknot", and through Joey's suggestion, the band changed their name to Slipknot and released their first official album. This album would later become known to the band as their demo. Crahan felt that the original vocalist for Slipknot was too guttural, and was the primary reason for Slipknot's inability to get a record deal. He brought in Corey Taylor from another local band called Stone Sour, whose vocals were more melodic. Slipknot got a record deal a couple years later and released their first official album in 1999. Slipknot gained major notability the same year by touring with Ozzfest. In Slipknot's early years, Crahan brought several dead cow heads on stage.  As well as lending his percussion talents to the band, Crahan has also sung backing vocals on a number of songs Slipknot has both recorded and performed live. He also wrote the original draft of "Tattered & Torn," which originally appeared on the band's first album, "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." which featured the original singer of Slipknot before Corey Taylor was brought in as a replacement. A second version of "Tattered & Torn" was released on their self-titled album, and is the version that most people know.  Outside Slipknot, Crahan has founded Big Orange Clown Records, a vanity label within Sanctuary Records, which has so far signed the metalcore band Gizmachi. He also acted as director for, and assembled Slipknot's 2005 DVD, "", while the band was on hiatus.  He also performed with To My Surprise, recording guitar and vocals for the band's self-titled debut album. The band received little interest due to their album being released amidst the success of Slipknot members Corey Taylor, James Root and Joey Jordison's side projects, Stone Sour and the Murderdolls, respectively. To My Surprise was later dropped by Roadrunner Records. In 2007, Crahan began performing as drummer for Dirty Little Rabbits. The band was a supporting act for Stone Sour during their North American tour in Summer 2007, and have released one EP, titled "Breeding". They have since signed a deal with The End Records as of November 2008.  In 2009, he contributed to Bring Me the Horizon's remix album, "", by remixing the track "Sleep With One Eye Open". Also in 2009, Shawn remixed Coheed and Cambria's "Welcome Home" and a Suicide Silence track on their "Wake Up" EP entitled "Wake Up (Clown of Slipknot Remix)". In 2010, he contributed to Escape the Fate's "This War Is Ours" deluxe edition, by remixing the track "This War Is Ours (The Guillotine Part II)," and in 2011, he remixed "Angels of Clarity" for Dead by April on their compilation album "Stronger." Crahan has confirmed the formation of a brand-new side project called The Black Dots of Death who released their debut studio album "Ever Since We Were Children" on March 28, 2011. He is the director of many of Slipknot's music videos, DVDs and other artistic projects. He also directed the "We Are" videoclip from the band Hollywood Undead  Crahan generally wears clown-style masks while performing with Slipknot; however, on occasion, when performing the band's song "Vermilion", all band members will wear their own death masks instead.  He also features as the carny "Tamer" in "The Devil's Carnival", a short film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman to be screened on tour beginning in April 2012.

Influence on Slipknot.

Crahan has been credited with several things that Slipknot is known for, such as their large percussion section and their masks. Crahan began wearing a clown mask to rehearsals when the band was still fairly unknown, spawning the mask theme that the band is known for today.  Crahan has had several masks throughout his career with Slipknot, all of which are clown themed except for his "death mask", which was used in the video for the song "Vermilion". Crahan's earliest known mask and perhaps his most referenced one is one that he used during Slipknot's earliest self-titled album which is a happy looking clown mask, balding with long orange hair.

Discography.

With Slipknot With To My Surprise  With Dirty Little Rabbits  With The Black Dots of Death  Guest appearances and remixes

Michael Shawn Crahan (born September 24, 1969), more commonly known by his stage persona "Clown", is an American musician who is one of the two percussionists/background vocalists and co-founder of the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Slipknot. When performing with Slipknot, he is also known as #6. As of 2013, Crahan is the last remaining original member in Slipknot.

Michael Shawn Crahan (* 24. září 1969), také známý jako Clown (Klaun) nebo pod číslem #6, je americký bubeník působící v kapelách Slipknot, To My Surprise a Dirty Little Rabbits.


List of species.

A list of "Passiflora" species is found at List of Passiflora species.

Distribution.

"Passiflora" has a largely neotropic distribution, unlike its family Passifloraceae, which includes more Old World species (such as the genus "Adenia"). The vast majority of "Passiflora" are found in Mexico, Central and South America, although there are additional representatives in the United States, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. New species continue to be identified: for example, "P. xishuangbannaensis" and "P. pardifolia" have only been known to the scientific community since 2005 and 2006, respectively.  Some species of "Passiflora" have been naturalized beyond their native ranges. For example, the blue passion flower ("P. caerulea") now grows wild in Spain. The purple passionfruit ("P. edulis") and its yellow relative "flavicarpa" have been introduced in many tropical regions as commercial crops.

Ecology.

Passion flowers have unique floral structures, which in most cases require biotic pollination. Pollinators of "Passiflora" include bumblebees, carpenter bees (e.g., "Xylocopa sonorina"), wasps, bats, and hummingbirds (especially hermits such as "Phaethornis"); some others are additionally capable of self-pollination. "Passiflora" often exhibit high levels of pollinator specificity, which has led to frequent coevolution across the genus. The sword-billed hummingbird ("Ensifera ensifera") is a notable example: it, with its immensely elongated bill, is the sole pollinator of 37 species of high Andean "Passiflora" in the supersection "Tacsonia".  The leaves are used for feeding by the larvae of a number of species of Lepidoptera. Famously, they are exclusively targeted by many butterfly species of the tribe Heliconiini. The many defensive adaptations visible on "Passiflora" include diverse leaf shapes (which help disguise their identity), colored nubs (which mimic butterfly eggs and can deter Heliconians from ovipositing on a seemingly crowded leaf), extrafloral nectaries, trichomes, variegation, and chemical defenses. These, combined with adaptations on the part of the butterflies, were important in the foundation of coevolutionary theory.  The following lepidoptera larvae are known to feed on "Passiflora":  The generally high pollinator and parasite specificity in "Passiflora" may have led to the tremendous morphological variation in the genus. It is thought to have among the highest foliar diversity among all plant genera, with leaf shapes ranging from unlobed to five-lobed frequently found on the same plant. Coevolution can be a major driver of speciation, and may be responsible for the radiation of certain clades of "Passiflora" such as "Tacsonia".  The bracts of the stinking passion flower are covered by hairs which exude a sticky fluid. Many small insects get stuck to this and get digested to nutrient-rich goo by proteases and acid phosphatases. Since the insects usually killed are rarely major pests, this passion flower seems to be a protocarnivorous plant.  Banana passion flower or "banana poka" ("P. tarminiana"), originally from Central Brazil, is an invasive weed, especially on the islands of Hawaii. It is commonly spread by feral pigs eating the fruits. It overgrows and smothers stands of endemic vegetation, mainly on roadsides. Blue passion flower ("P. caerulea") is holding its own in Spain these days, and it probably needs to be watched so that unwanted spreading can be curtailed.  On the other hand, some species are endangered due to unsustainable logging and other forms of habitat destruction. For example, the Chilean passion flower ("P. pinnatistipula") is a rare vine growing in the Andes from Venezuela to Chile between 2,500 and 3,800 meters altitude, and in Coastal Central Chile, where it occurs in woody Chilean Mediterranean forests. "P. pinnatistipula" has a round fruit, unusual in "Tacsonia" group species like banana passion flower and "P. mixta", with their elongated tubes and brightly red to rose-colored petals.  Notable and sometimes economically significant pathogens of "Passiflora" are several sac fungi of the genus "Septoria" (including "S. passiflorae"), the undescribed proteobacterium called "Pseudomonas tomato" (pv. "passiflorae"), the "Potyvirus" "passionfruit woodiness virus", and the "Carlavirus" "Passiflora latent virus".

Use.

Ornamental.

A number of species of "Passiflora" are cultivated outside their natural range for both their flowers and fruit. Hundreds of hybrids have been named; hybridizing is currently being done extensively for flowers, foliage and fruit. The following hybrids and cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:  During the Victorian era the flower (which in all but a few species lasts only one day) was very popular, and many hybrids were created using the winged-stem passion flower ("P. alata"), the blue passion flower ("P. caerulea") and other tropical species.  Many cool-growing "Passiflora" from the Andes Mountains can be grown successfully for their beautiful flowers and fruit in cooler Mediterranean climates, such as the Monterey Bay and San Francisco in California and along the western coast of the U.S. into Canada. One blue passion flower or hybrid even grew to large size at Malmö Central Station in Sweden.  Passion flowers have been a subject of studies investigating extranuclear inheritance; paternal inheritance of chloroplast DNA has been documented in this genus. The plastome of the two-flowered passion flower ("P. biflora") has been sequenced.  The French name for this plant has lent itself to "La Famille Passiflore", a highly successful children's book series by Geneviève Huriet, and an animated series based upon it. These have been translated into English as "Beechwood Bunny Tales" and "The Bellflower Bunnies".

Fruit.

Most species have round or elongated edible fruit from two to eight inches long and an inch to two inches across, depending upon the species or cultivar.

Ayahuasca analog.

A native source of beta-Carbolines (e.g., passion flower in North America) is mixed with "Desmanthus illinoensis" (Illinois bundleflower) root bark to produce a hallucinogenic drink called prairiehuasca, which is an analog of the shamanic brew ayahuasca.

Traditional medicine and dietary supplement.

"P. incarnata" (maypop) leaves and roots have a long history of use as a traditional medicine by Native Americans in North America and were adapted by European colonists. The fresh or dried leaves of maypop are used to make a tea that is used as a sedative. Passionflower as dried powder or an extract is used as a dietary supplement. There is insufficient clinical evidence for using passionflower to treat any medical condition.  Passionflower is classified as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a food ingredient in the United States.

Adverse effects.

Passionflower is not recommended during pregnancy because it may induce contractions. Consuming passion flower products may cause drowsiness, nausea, dizziness, abnormal heart rhythms, asthma, or rhinitis.

Chemistry.

Many species of "Passiflora" have been found to contain beta-carboline harmala alkaloids, some of which are MAO inhibitors. The flower and fruit have only traces of these chemicals, but the leaves and the roots often contain more. The most common of these alkaloids is harman, but harmaline, harmalol, harmine, and harmol are also present. The species known to bear such alkaloids include: "P. actinea", "P. alata" (winged-stem passion flower), "P. alba", "P. bryonioides" (cupped passion flower), "P. caerulea" (blue passion flower), "P. capsularis", "P. decaisneana", "P. edulis" (passion fruit), "P. eichleriana", "P. foetida" (stinking passion flower), "P. incarnata" (maypop), "P. quadrangularis" (giant granadilla), "P. suberosa", "P. subpeltata" and "P. warmingii".  Other compounds found in passion flowers are coumarins (e.g. scopoletin and umbelliferone), maltol, phytosterols (e.g. lutenin) and cyanogenic glycosides (e.g. gynocardin) which render some species, i.e. "P. adenopoda", somewhat poisonous. Many flavonoids and their glycosides have been found in "Passiflora", including apigenin, benzoflavone, homoorientin, 7-isoorientin, isoshaftoside, isovitexin (or saponaretin), kaempferol, lucenin, luteolin, n-orientin, passiflorine (named after the genus), quercetin, rutin, saponarin, shaftoside, vicenin and vitexin. Maypop, blue passion flower ("P. caerulea"), and perhaps others contain the flavone chrysin. Also documented to occur at least in some "Passiflora" in quantity are the hydrocarbon nonacosane and the anthocyanidin pelargonidin-3-diglycoside.  The genus is rich in organic acids including formic, butyric, linoleic, linolenic, malic, myristic, oleic and palmitic acids as well as phenolic compounds, and the amino acid α-alanine. Esters like ethyl butyrate, ethyl caproate, "n"-hexyl butyrate and "n"-hexyl caproate give the fruits their flavor and appetizing smell. Sugars, contained mainly in the fruit, are most significantly d-fructose, d-glucose and raffinose. Among enzymes, "Passiflora" was found to be rich in catalase, pectin methylesterase and phenolase.

Etymology and names.

The "Passion" in "passion flower" refers to the passion of Jesus in Christian theology. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this plant, particularly the numbers of its various flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion:  The flower has been given names related to this symbolism throughout Europe since that time. In Spain, it is known as "espina de Cristo" ("thorn of Christ'"). Older Germanic names include "Christus-Krone" ("Christ's crown"), "Christus-Strauss" ("Christ's bouquet"), "Dorn-Krone" ("crown of thorns"), "Jesus-Lijden" ("Jesus' passion"), "Marter" ("passion") or "Muttergottes-Stern" ("Mother of God's star").  Outside the Roman Catholic heartland, the regularly shaped flowers have reminded people of the face of a clock. In Israel they are known as "clock-flower" (שעונית) and in Greece as "clock plant" (ρολογιά); in Japan too, they are known as tokeisō (時計草, "clock plant"). In Hawaiian, they are called lilikoʻi; "lī" is a string used for tying fabric together, such as a shoelace, and "liko" means "to spring forth leaves".  In India, blue passionflowers are called Krishnakamala in Karnataka and Maharashtra, while in Uttar Pradesh and generally north it is colloquially called "Panch Pandav" (referring to the five Pandavas in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata). The five anthers are interpreted as the five Pandavas, the divine Krishna is at the centre, and the radial filaments are opposing hundred. The colour blue is moreover associated with Krishna as the colour of his aura.  In northern Peru and Bolivia, the banana passionfruits are known as tumbos. This is one possible source of the name of the Tumbes region of Peru.  In Turkey, the shape of the flowers have reminded people of Rota Fortunae, thus it called Çarkıfelek.

Taxonomy.

"Passiflora" is the most species rich genus of both the family Passifloraceae and the tribe Passifloreae. With over 550 species, an extensive hierarchy of infrageneric ranks is required to represent the relationships of the species. The infrageneric classification of "Passiflora" not only uses the widely used ranks of subgenus, section and series, but also the rank of supersection.  The New World species of "Passiflora" were first divided among 22 subgenera by Killip (1938) in the first monograph of the genus. More recent work has reduced these to 4, which are commonly accepted today (in order from most basally to most recently branching):  Some studies have shown that the segregate Old World genera "Hollrungia" and "Tetrapathaea" are nested within "Passiflora", and form a fifth subgenus ("Tetrapathaea"). Other studies support the current 4 subgenus classification.  Relationships below the subgenus level are not known with certainty and are an active area of research. The Old World species form two clades - supersection "Disemma" (part of subgenus "Decaloba") and subgenus "Tetrapathaea". The former is composed of 21 species divided into sections "Disemma" (3 Australian species), "Holrungiella" (1 New Guinean species) and "Octandranthus" (17 south and east Asian species).  The remaining (New World) species of subgenus "Decaloba" are divided into 7 supersections. Supersection "Pterosperma" includes 4 species from Central America and southern Mexico. Supersection "Hahniopathanthus" includes 5 species from Central America, Mexico and northernmost South America. Supersection "Cicea" includes 19 species, with apetalous flowers. Supersection "Bryonioides" includes 21 species, with a distribution centered on Mexico. Supersection "Auriculata" includes 8 species from South America, one of which is also found in Central America. Supersection "Multiflora" includes 19 species. Supersection "Decaloba" includes 123 species.

Passiflora, known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae.

Mučenka ("Passiflora") je rod vytrvalých, většinou popínavých bylin, ale také keřů z čeledi mučenkovitých. Většina z nich se vyznačuje nápadnými pravidelnými květy neobvyklých tvarů i barev (například "Pasiflora racemosa" vytváří hrozny červených poupat, která po jednom rozkvétají do asi 10 cm velkých jasně červených květů). Najdeme ale i druhy s květy zcela nenápadnými (např. "Passiflora suberosa" má nejvýše 2 cm velké květy zelené barvy). Květy vyrůstají z paždí listů a kvetou obvykle jen jeden den. Jejich počet výrazně závisí na tom, jak se rostlině daří – v ideálních podmínkách není výjimkou, že z paždí listu vyrostou květy hned dva, nebo i čtyři. Poupata je rostlina schopna vytvořit i na úponcích, kterými se přidržuje opory. Celý rod obsahuje přibližně 520 druhů, mučenka modrá se pěstuje po celém světě, v teplejších krajích jako okrasná, jinde jako pokojová rostlina, a mučenka jedlá (marakuja) v subtropech kvůli plodům (bobulím).


Equation.

The equation is: where  The COP for heating and cooling are thus different, because the heat reservoir of interest is different. When one is interested in how well a machine cools, the COP is the ratio of the heat removed from the cold reservoir to input work. However, for heating, the COP is the ratio which the heat removed from the cold reservoir plus the input work bears to the input work: where

Derivation.

According to the first law of thermodynamics, in a reversible system we can show that formula_7 and formula_8, where formula_9 is the heat transferred to the hot reservoir and formula_10 is the heat collected from the cold reservoir.
 Therefore, by substituting for W,
  For a heat pump operating at maximum theoretical efficiency (i.e. Carnot efficiency), it can be shown that where formula_14 and formula_15 are the thermodynamic temperatures of the hot and cold heat reservoirs respectively.  At maximum theoretical efficiency,
 which is equal to the reciprocal of the ideal efficiency for a heat engine, because a heat pump is a heat engine operating in reverse. (See thermal efficiency of a heat engine.)  Note that the COP of a heat pump depends on its duty. The heat rejected to the hot sink is greater than the heat absorbed from the cold source, so the heating COP is 1 greater than the cooling COP.  Similarly, the COP of a refrigerator or air conditioner operating at maximum theoretical efficiency,
  formula_18 applies to heat pumps and formula_19 applies to air conditioners and refrigerators. Values for actual systems will always be less than these theoretical maximums. In Europe, the standard tests for ground source heat pump units use 35 °C (95 °F) for formula_20 and 0 °C (32 °F) for formula_21. According to the above formula, the maximum achievable COP would be 8.8. Test results of the best systems are around 4.5. When measuring installed units over a whole season and accounting for the energy needed to pump water through the piping systems, seasonal COP's are around 3.5 or less. This indicates room for improvement.

Improving COP.

As the formula shows, the COP of a heat pump system can be improved by reducing the temperature gap formula_24 minus formula_25 at which the system works. For a heating system this would mean two things: 1) reducing the output temperature to around which requires piped floor, wall or ceiling heating, or oversized water to air heaters and 2) increasing the input temperature (e.g. by using an oversized ground source or by access to a solar-assisted thermal bank ). Accurately determining thermal conductivity will allow for much more precise ground loop or borehole sizing, resulting in higher return temperatures and a more efficient system. For an air cooler, COP could be improved by using ground water as an input instead of air, and by reducing temperature drop on output side through increasing air flow. For both systems, also increasing the size of pipes and air canals would help to reduce noise and the energy consumption of pumps (and ventilators) by decreasing the speed of fluid which in turn lower the Re number and hence the turbulence (and noise) and the head loss (see hydraulic head). The heat pump itself can be improved by increasing the size of the internal heat exchangers which in turn increase the efficiency (and the cost) relative to the power of the compressor, and also by reducing the system's internal temperature gap over the compressor. Obviously, this latter measure makes such heat pumps unsuitable to produce high temperatures which means that a separate machine is needed for producing hot tap water.  COP of Absorption chillers can be improved by adding a second or third stage. Double and triple effect chillers are significantly more efficient than single effect, and can surpass a COP of 1. They require higher pressure and higher temperature steam, but this is still a relatively small 10 pounds of steam per hour per ton of cooling.

Example.

A geothermal heat pump operating at a formula_18 of 3.5 provides 3.5 units of heat for each unit of energy consumed (i.e. 1 kWh consumed would provide 3.5 kWh of output heat). The output heat comes from both the heat source and 1 kWh of input energy, so the heat-source is cooled by 2.5 kWh, not 3.5 kWh.  A heat pump with formula_18 of 3.5, such as in the example above, could be less expensive to use than even the most efficient gas furnace except in areas where the electricity cost per unit is higher than 3.5 times the cost of natural gas (e.g. Connecticut or New York City).  A heat pump cooler operating at a formula_19 of 2.0 removes 2 units of heat for each unit of energy consumed (e.g. an air conditioner consuming 1 kWh would remove 2 kWh of heat from a building's air).  Given the same energy source and operating conditions, a higher COP heat pump will consume less purchased energy than one with a lower COP. The overall environmental impact of a heating or air conditioning installation depends on the source of energy used as well as the COP of the equipment. The operating cost to the consumer depends on the cost of energy as well as the COP or efficiency of the unit. Some areas provide two or more sources of energy, for example, natural gas and electricity. A high COP of a heat pump may not entirely overcome a relatively high cost for electricity compared with the same heating value from natural gas.  For example, the 2009 US average price per therm () of electricity was $3.38 while the average price per therm of natural gas was $1.16. Using these prices, a heat pump with a COP of 3.5 in moderate climate would cost $0.97 to provide one therm of heat, while a high efficiency gas furnace with 95% efficiency would cost $1.22 to provide one therm of heat. With these average prices, the heat pump costs 20% less to provide the same amount of heat.  The COP of a heat pump or refrigerator operating at the Carnot efficiency has in its denominator the expression T - T. As the surroundings cool (T reducing) the denominator increases and COP reduces. Therefore the colder the surroundings, the lower the COP of any heat pump or refrigerator. If the surroundings cool, say to 0 °F (-18 °C), COP falls in value below 3.5. Then, the same system costs as much to operate as an efficient gas heater. The yearly savings will depend on the actual cost of electricity and natural gas, which can both vary widely.  The above example applies only for an air-source heat pump. The above example assumes that the heat pump is an air-source heat pump moving heat from outside to inside, or a water-source heat pump that is simply moving heat from one zone to the other. For a water-source heat pump, this would only occur if the instantaneous heating load on the condenser water system exactly matches the instantaneous cooling load on the condenser water system. This could happen during the shoulder season (spring or fall), but is unlikely in the middle of the heating season. If more heat is being withdrawn by the heat pumps that are in heating mode than is being added by the heat pumps that are in cooling mode, then the boiler (or other heat source) will add heat to the condenser water system. The energy consumption and cost associated with the boiler would need to be factored in to the above comparison. For a water-source system, there is also energy associated with the condenser water pumps that is not factored in to the heat pump energy consumption in the example above.

Seasonal efficiency.

A realistic indication of energy efficiency over an entire year can be achieved by using Seasonal COP or Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) for heat. Seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) is mostly used for air conditioning. SCOP is a new methodology that gives a better indication of expected real-life performance, using COP can be considered using the "old" scale. Seasonal efficiency gives an indication on how efficient a heat pump operates over an entire cooling or heating season.

The coefficient of performance or COP (sometimes CP or CoP) of a heat pump, refrigerator or air conditioning system is a ratio of useful heating or cooling provided to work required. Higher COPs equate to lower operating costs. The COP usually exceeds 1, especially in heat pumps, because, instead of just converting work to heat (which, if 100% efficient, would be a COP of 1), it pumps additional heat from a heat source to where the heat is required. For complete systems, COP calculations should include energy consumption of all power consuming auxiliaries. COP is highly dependent on operating conditions, especially absolute temperature and relative temperature between sink and system, and is often graphed or averaged against expected conditions. Performance of Absorption refrigerator chillers is typically much lower, as they are not heat pumps relying on compression, but instead rely on chemical reactions driven by heat.

Topný faktor tepelného čerpadla udává poměr vyprodukovaného tepla a spotřebované energie, jinými slovy poměr topného výkonu k příkonu. Je jedním ze základních parametrů, které stanovují „účinnost“ tepelného čerpadla. Čím vyšší topný faktor je uveden na tepelném čerpadle, tím levnější je samotný provoz zařízení.