The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main physiographic regions. The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps. While the northern ranges from the Bernese Alps to the Appenzell Alps are in Switzerland, the southern ranges from the Mont Blanc massif to the Bernina massif are shared with other countries such as France, Italy and Liechtenstein; the Swiss Alps comprise all the highest mountains of the Alps, such as Dufourspitze, the Dom, the Liskamm, the Weisshorn and the Matterhorn. The other following major summits can be found in this list of mountains of Switzerland. Since the Middle Ages, transit across the Alps played an important role in history; the region north of St Gotthard Pass became the nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the early 14th century.

The Alps cover 65% of Switzerland's total 41,285 square kilometres surface area, making it one of the most alpine countries. Despite the fact that Switzerland covers only 14% of the Alps total 192,753 square kilometres area, 48 out of 82 alpine four-thousanders are located in the Swiss Alps and all of the remaining 34 are within 20 kilometres of the country's border; the glaciers of the Swiss Alps cover an area of 1,220 square kilometres — 3% of the Swiss territory, representing 44% of the total glaciated area in the Alps i.e. 2,800 square kilometres. The Swiss Alps are situated south of the Swiss north of the national border; the limit between the Alps and the plateau runs from Vevey on the shores of Lake Geneva to Rorschach on the shores of Lake Constance, passing close to the cities of Thun and Lucerne. The not well defined regions in Switzerland that lie on the margin of the Alps those on the north side, are called the Swiss Prealps; the Swiss Prealps are made of limestone and they do not exceed 2,500 metres.

The Alpine cantons are Valais, Graubünden, Glarus, Ticino, St. Gallen, Obwalden, Schwyz, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Fribourg and Zug; the countries with which Switzerland shares mountain ranges of the Alps are: France, Italy and Liechtenstein. The Alps are divided into two main parts, the Western Alps and Eastern Alps, whose division is along the Rhine from Lake Constance to the Splügen Pass; the western ranges occupy the greatest part of Switzerland while the more numerous eastern ranges are much smaller and are all situated in the canton of Graubünden. The latter is part of the Central Eastern Alps, except the Ortler Alps which belong to the Southern Limestone Alps; the Pennine and Bernina Range are the highest ranges of the country, they contain 38, 9 and 1 summit over 4000 meters. The lowest range is the Appenzell Alps culminating at 2,500 meters. Western Alps Eastern Alps The north side of the Swiss Alps is drained by the Rhône, Rhine and Inn while the south side is drained by the Ticino.

The rivers on the north empty into the Mediterranean and Black Sea, on the south the Po empty in the Adriatic Sea. The major triple watersheds in the Alps are located within the country, they are: Piz Lunghin, Witenwasserenstock and Monte Forcola. Between the Witenwasserenstock and Piz Lunghin runs the European Watershed separating the basin of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea; the European watershed lies only on the main chain. Switzerland possesses 6% of Europe's freshwater, is sometimes referred to as the "water tower of Europe". Since the highest dams are located in Alpine regions, many large mountain lakes are artificial and are used as hydroelectric reservoirs; some large artificial lakes can be found above 2,300 m, but natural lakes larger than 1 km2 are below 1,000 m. The melting of low-altitude glaciers can generate new lakes, such as the 0.25 km2 large Triftsee which formed between 2002–2003. Switzerland has been using this concerning transition in climate as a positive opportunity to develop new innovations and to change the ways that energy is being produced in the country.

Switzerland depends on the use of hydroelectricity to power nearby communities, but as glaciers melt and stop refreezing, the melting that creates the energy ceases to exist. Researchers have been evaluating how the topography will change as the glaciers begin to decrease and they are looking more into potential construction costs, energy production, future problems they might encounter with these new developments. Switzerland is one of many countries that need to begin to think about the future of energy production in response to climate change. Switzerland is paving the way for a new wave of innovation and creative problem solving that the rest of the world will need to follow; the following table gives the surface area above 2000 m and 3000 m and the respective percentage on the total area of each canton whose high point is above 2000 metres. PERMOS is an operational monitoring service, its main goal is to create long-term scientific documentation of the permafrost changes in the Sw

Proud is a 2004 film directed by Mary Pat Kelly and stars veteran actor and activist Ossie Davis, in his final film performance. The motion picture was filmed in Elmira NY and Buffalo, NY; the screenplay was written by Kelly based on her non-fiction book Proudly. Proud was an Official Selection of The Third Annual Buffalo International Film Festival in 2009. Mary Pat Kelly and Lorenzo Dufau introduced the screening; the film focuses on the meritorious service of the USS Mason of World War II, the first US Navy ship with a predominantly African American crew, how three of the men were honored in January 1994 for their meritorious service. Reggie Austin as Dubois Vernel Bagneris as Larry's Father Marcus Chait as Lieutenant Westin Michael Ciesla as Yeoman Of The Flagship Ossie Davis as Lorenzo DuFau Eric LaRay Harvey as Kevin / James Graham Rashad Haughton as Hank Fields Janet Hubert as Larry's Mother Albert Jones as Larry / Young Lorenzo DuFau Kidada Jones as Gordon's sister Jeffrey Nash as Marcus / Gordon Buchanan Denise Nicholas as Gordon's Mother Edward O'Blenis as Watkins Aidan Quinn as Commodore Alfred Lind Stephen Rea as Barney Garvey Darnell Williams as Thomas Young, War Correspondent When the film was released Ronnie Scheib, film critic at Variety magazine, gave the film a mixed review, writing, "A weird hodgepodge, Proud is part history lesson, part family saga, a lyrical nod to the Old Sod, a Navy recruitment flag-waver and a war actioner.

Earnest, intermittently rousing pic, skedded for a fall opening, should coast on Davis' masterful perf before being archived by cable for suitable occasions... Pic's overall structure is determined both by Davis' narration and by the presence of black war correspondent Thomas Young, assigned to cover the Mason, his frequent to-the-camera interviews with sailors abstractly punctuate the film, creating a broader sociological framework... Aside from excellent combat scenes, pic is uneven; the bigoted animosity of a petty officer, for instance, or the Admiralty's dismissal of the captain's praise of his crew's valor as exaggeration unfold with the leaden sententiousness of a grade-school pageant."Critic Marcia Davis with The Washington Post wrote, "The high purpose of Proud is not matched by the film's execution, however. It don't go expecting a traditional Hollywood feature film, it is rather oddly executed and uneven, unlike the well-known and controversial Glory, which won Denzel Washington his first Oscar, or the brilliant A Soldier's Story, adapted from Charles Fuller's A Soldier's Play.

Proud is something of a hybrid, part documentary -- with actual footage from the Mason -- and part dramatization. It is at times poignant when it talks about the longing of black men to be treated as men and what they went through to prove their worthiness, it can be a bit of an unrestrained flag-waver on black American patriotism." Nominated Black Reel Awards: Best Independent Film, Mary Pat Kelly. Film festivals High Falls Film Festivals: November 11, 2004, New York. Tribeca Film Festival: April 23, 2005, New York, New York. Lake Placid Film Festival: Lake Placid, New York. Urbanworld Film Festival: New York, New York. Buffalo International Film Festival: Buffalo, New York Proud on IMDb Proud at AllMovie Proud film trailer on YouTube

The Mechanical Engineering Industry Association has its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and represents around 3,200 members, making it the largest industry association in Europe. The Association represents the interests of the predominantly medium-sized companies in the mechanical engineering industry towards policymakers and society, as well as towards business, the scientific community, public authorities and the media. With more than 1.3 million employees and a turnover of around EUR 232 billion mechanical and plant engineering is Germany's largest employer in the industrial sector. German machinery production is valued at EUR 224 billion and Germany's mechanical and plant engineering sector is export-oriented. In addition, VDMA sees itself as a platform that provides its member companies with various networks where they can discuss technological challenges, interdisciplinary issues and many other topics; the association was founded in 1892. VDMA concentrates its efforts on eight key topics: Markets and economy – VDMA provides its members with country-specific and economic data, which they can use as a planning basis for their business decisions.

Research and production – VDMA provides its member companies with a network, where new trends and technologies in production can be discussed so that they can forge new paths as part of Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung. One of many examples here is Industrie 4.0. Energy and environment – VDMA supports the German federal government's energy and climate protection goals and promotes an ambitious implementation of the European Union's Energy Efficiency Directive. German mechanical and plant engineering makes an important contribution to this by providing and using energy efficient technologies. VDMA combines the topic areas of technology and energy policy in various formats such as the VDMA Forum Energy, where VDMA pools the energy policy-related activities of the associations and the sector's expertise on energy; the Forum Energy acts as a voice for the investment goods industry and represents the interests of mechanical and plant engineering towards policymakers and the public. Social and economic policy – Mechanical and plant engineering is the largest industrial employer in Germany, with more than one million employees.

VDMA's core activities therefore include analysis and discussion of social and economic policy issues. The Association publishes its joint positions on economic policies regarding the following topics on an annual basis: labor market and wage policy, foreign trade policy, education policy, securing a skilled workforce, energy policy, Europe policy, research policy, social security, tax policy, technology policy, environmental policy and a sustainable state. Profession and training – VDMA is involved in activities relating to apprenticeships, degree programs and professional qualifications. VDMA's Education department is the main contact in this field. Companies and management – strategic positioning, operative management, human resource development, corporate social responsibility and many others. Against this backdrop, the Management Services department at VDMA is the first point of contact regarding management issues. Law and taxes - VDMA's team of economic lawyers specialized in the investment goods industry work on the topics of law and taxes.

Standardization and technology policy Standardization and technology policy facilitate technological and economical collaboration on a national and international level. VDMA supports the competitiveness of mechanical engineering via the DIN Standards Committee Mechanical Engineering. Furthermore, the Standardization department coordinates activities regarding the creation of VDMA Specifications – the standardization process for mechanical engineering. Campaigns highlight VDMA's activities and focus on topics that are important from VDMA's point of view. "Arbeit 4.0" – Everything remains different Industrie 4.0 will not only make economic processes and production process more efficient, but help to change the world of work. Mechanical and plant engineering plays an important role here as both a provider and a user of Industrie 4.0 technologies. Www.allesbleibt-anders.net Blue Competence – The sustainability platform The mechanical and plant engineering industry shows that sustainability increases profitability.

This realization holds true for other sectors and other parts of the world. The idea behind Blue Competence is to show that sustainable business can be a great help to both customers and producers in mechanical engineering. "Talentmaschine" – The mechanical engineering portal for the next generation VDMA uses the online portal Talentmaschine.de to reach out to school and university students who are interested in technology and looking for an apprenticeship, internship or traineeship. The portal offers a nationwide overview of job listings in mechanical engineering, gives the around 3,200 VDMA members a handy tool that helps them find new talent. "Maschinenhaus" – The VDMA initiative for student success Increasing student success in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering at all German universities is an important objective for VDMA. The aim is to help make more engineers available on the labor market. "Wir unternehmen was" – CSR is an important topic in mechanical engineering Many mechanical engineering companies in Germany not only develop sustainable products and processes, but make a contribution to society with great commitment and responsibility.

This commitment is as vari