Environment
gregladen | March 31, 2008
Jennifer Gooch's mission was to create a simple Web site where people could go to find their lost gloves. Even if no happy reunions ever took place, she was just content to spread a little goodwill.
But just a month since http://www.onecoldhand.com went live, the Carnegie Mellon University art student is busier than ever. She's reunited four gloves with their owners, is working on similar sites for cities around the globe, and is planning a book to showcase her found gloves.
Four. Wow, that is impressive, I would have thought zero.
Why do I think that? No, not because I think the dog…
voltagegate | March 31, 2008So Saturday was Earth Hour, and as if anyone reading this blog didn't know, lights were supposed to be cut off from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. to send a message to mysterious world power that the world was ready to cut down on energy use. Sort of.
I didn't honor the Earth Hour. We rarely have more than one light on in our home at a time on a daily basis because it's wasteful and increasingly expensive. I don't have a million electronic devices running 24/7, we walk to the store when we can (Heather can walk to work) and luckily, my commute is only about 15 minutes a day. In every daily activity, even…
illconsidered | March 31, 2008 Sipping from the internet firehose...
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
Top Stories:Wilkins Ice Sheet, Melting Arctic, Earth Hour, Soot, Poll, Solar Cycle 23/24, Late Comments Hurricanes, Keeling Curve, Temperatures, Paleoclimate, Glaciers, Satellites, DSCOVR Impacts: Forests, Corals, Floods & Droughts, Food vs. Biofuel, Food Production Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation Journals, Misc. Science, Pielke, Hansen Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax,…
cmcclain | March 30, 2008
I don't study hydrothermal vents. I rather enjoy the deep muddy ooze, and its organisms, that comprise much of the earth's surface. Not that I don't like vents, I just like the soft bottoms better. I have been often asked what I think the coolest thing about the deep sea, marine biology...and hydrothermal vents is. I guess people expect some Cousteau-esque answer where I describe being in a wet suit riding at top speed on a Zodiac chasing some charismatic vertebrate where I am poised to jump on its back with a satellite tag. Needless to say people are often disappointed with my answers…
revere | March 29, 2008If you are so paranoid you have trouble sleeping, the Quantum Sleeper is just the thing for you. It's a bed made to protect you from biological and chemical terrorist attacks, natural disasters (tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), kidnappers/stalkers and features bulletproof "saferoom" protection (hat tip Boingboing).
The basic Quantum Sleeper unit consists of an aluminum bed frame and headboard with polycarbonate, bullet proof plating that is designed to provide a protective barrier (shielding) between a perpetrator or environmental condition and the homeowners or occupants.
The…
sb admin | March 28, 2008Bloggers had a lot to say about food this week:
Tom Philpott at Gristmill contrasts the U.S. and Canadian approaches to regulating the use of ethanol distillers grains in cattle feed. Guess which countryâs regulators think the important thing is leaving cattle owners free to feed their animals whatever they please, even if the substance in question has been linked to beef being tainted with a deadly strain of E. coli?
Elanor at The Ethicurian (via Enviroblog) warns that EPA wants to deny communities information about the toxic gases coming out of confined animal feeding operations.
Lisa…
bioephemera | March 26, 2008
from Darwin's Natural Heir
Directed by David Dugan; produced by Neil Patterson
I am a specialized advocate: an advocate for the rest of life. I hope that doesn't sound pompous, but all of us should be advocates for the rest of life. -E.O. Wilson
Last Tuesday I visited the National Geographic Society for the premiere of "Darwin's Natural Heir," a documentary by Neil Patterson about the career and life of naturalist Edward O. Wilson. It's a nice little film, with some effective graphics and visual metaphors, and a good dose of humor. But I wasn't there to see the film. I was there to meet E.…
gregladen | March 26, 2008Welcome to Berry Go Round #3, the blog carnival deicated to all things botanical.
The previous installment, Berry Go Round #2, is located here, at Further Thoughts. If you would like to submit an item to the next Berry Go Round, you may use this handy submission form. The Berry Go Round Home Page is here.
Let us begin right away with the Artichokes. Seeds Aside has a piece on the relationship between the artichoke and the cardoon, both known in ADL (ancient dead language) as Cynara cardunculus. The phyloge relatinship between the two, and the story of domestication for each, is very…
clock | March 24, 2008Circadian Remodeling of Neuronal Circuits Involved in Rhythmic Behavior:
Circadian systems evolved as a mechanism that allows organisms to adapt to the environmental changes in light and dark which occur as a consequence of the rotation of Earth. Because of its unique repertoire of genetic tools, Drosophila is a well established model for the study of the circadian clock. Although the biochemical components underlying the molecular oscillations have been characterized in detail, the mechanisms used by the clock neurons to convey information to the downstream pathways remain elusive. In the…
illconsidered | March 24, 2008 Sipping from the internet firehose...
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
(skip to bottom) Top Stories:WGMS Report, X-Prize, Opportunity Cost Melting Arctic, Arctic Oil & Gas Claim, Earth Hour, PCA, ECO:nomics, G20 Hurricanes, GHGs, Temperatures, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Satellites, DSCOVR Impacts, Forests, Corals, Wacky Weather, Floods & Droughts, Food Production Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering Journals, Miscellaneous Science, Hansen Kyoto, Carbon…
grrlscientist | March 23, 2008tags: The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus, marine biology, environment, conservation, Jacques Cousteau, Susan Schiefelbein, book review
. . . I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and forever when I move . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world . . .
"Ulysses"
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
In the ten years before he died, world-famous…
cmcclain | March 23, 2008I've discussed Nautilus Mineral here at DSN previously. In the past, I have been admittedly biased against the company and their operations to mine the deep. Here I will try to provide a less biased viewpoint. My goal is simply educate the public on Nautilus's current operations, what concerns have been raised about these operations, and what unanswered questions remain.
Nautilus Mineral The Company.
Nautilus is based in British Columbia with extension offices currently in Brisbane and PNG. The company was formerly known as Orca Petroleum Inc. According to Yahoo Finance, Orca "…
nisbetmc | March 23, 2008While the PZ Myers Affair dominates discussion at Scienceblogs this weekend, it's important to remind ourselves that there is an invisible middle of perspectives from scientists, atheists and the religious that emphasizes shared common values rather than the continual drum beat of conflict. Indeed, there's much more to the relationship between science and religion than just the loud voices of Myers and the Expelled producers.
From a front page story at the Arizona Republic yesterday headlined "Churches Preaching Green."
Parishioners are being asked to embrace environmentalism in a variety of…
sb admin | March 21, 2008This week, bloggers look at whoâs making decisions about coal:
At Gristmill (home of David âcoal is the enemy of the human raceâ Roberts), Ted Nace explains how a bureaucratâs change of one number in a spreadsheet can lead to 132 fewer new coal plants being built, but Tom Philpott warns that Appalachian coal will be mined anyway â and shipped to China.
Keith Johnson at Environmental Capital explains how Kansas has become Big Coalâs new battlefield, and the role of state courts and officials in determining who wins.
At Appalachian Voices, jdub reacts to Hillary Clintonâs remarks about…
illconsidered | March 17, 2008 Sipping from the internet firehose...
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
(skip to bottom) Top Stories:WGMS Report, G20 Meeting, Criminal, Eco:nomics Conference Arctic Conflict, Antarctica, Chinese CO2, Gulf Stream, La Nina Winter, Zero Emissions, Earth Hour Hurricanes, Temperature Record, Sea Levels, ENSO Impacts, Forests, Wacky Weather, Floods & Droughts, Food vs. Biofuel, Food Production Transportation, Buildings, NAFTA CEC Report, Sequestration, Geoengineering Journals, Misc.…
hrynyshyn | March 14, 2008The protocols of polite company would discourage labeling anyone a liar, but it is hard to come up with a more appropriate way to describe those who receive their paychecks from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. This conservative think tank has in the past proved themselves to be enemies of reason and democracy. To that list we will have to add the truth, what with the appearance of its latest television ad designed to undermine support for action on the climate crisis.
In fact, I would challenge anyone still working with the CEI, or anyone associated in any way with the institute to…
sheril | March 10, 2008VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of "new" sins such as causing environmental blight.
The guidance came at the weekend when Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican's number two man in the sometimes murky area of sins and penance, spoke of modern evils.
Off to NYC, but this one's worth checking out... What will PZ say?
illconsidered | March 10, 2008 Sipping from the internet firehose...
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
(skip to bottom) Top Stories:OECD Environmental Outlook, Burning Tundra, Particulates Melting Arctic, Potential Arctic Conflict, Antarctica, Earth Hour Impacts, Forests, Corals, Wacky Weather, Floods & Droughts, Food vs. Biofuel, Food Production Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation Journals, Misc. Science, Seitz Obit. Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Optimal Carbon Reduction…
clock | March 7, 2008Antarctic Fish Species Adopts Winter Survival Strategy Similar To Hibernation:
Scientists have discovered an Antarctic fish species that adopts a winter survival strategy similar to hibernation. Scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the University of Birmingham reveal, for the first time, that the Antarctic 'cod' Notothenia coriiceps effectively 'puts itself on ice' to survive the long Antarctic winter.
Mysterious Eel Fishery Decline Blamed On Changing Ocean Conditions:
American eels are fast disappearing from restaurant menus as stocks have declined sharply across the North…
tlambert | March 7, 2008Monckton tells Glenn Beck how he organised the lawsuit against An Inconvenient Truth:
What happened is that I looked at Al Gore's movie with mounting horror and I identified three dozen scientific errors in it. So I had a weather mate of mine who takes an interest in these matters and also had the money to pay for a court case and I said I thought this film was rubbish. Two weeks later he rang up and said he wanted to do something to fight back against this tide of unscientific freedom-destroying nonsense, which is what global warming is really all about. And so I said, well, the best thing…