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Man falls 30 feet down hole in NYC sidewalk - Nation AP - MiamiHerald.comA man plunged 30 feet through a rusted-out metal plate on a New York City sidewalk as he stepped outside an Off-Track Betting Parlor to smoke a cigar.
Greenpeace Rocks: Group Drops Boulders into Swedish Seas to Prevent Bottom Trawling : TreeHugger
Greenpeace places boulders into the German North Sea to prevent bottom trawling in this August 2008 photo. The environmental organization placed 180 boulders into the sea off the Swedish coast earlier this week to curb bottom trawling there as
Technology Review: A Lunar Nuclear Reactor
Tests prove the feasibility of using nuclear reactors to provide electricity on the moon and Mars.
Technology Review: Energy-Aware Internet Routing
Software that tracks electricity prices could slash energy costs for big online businesses.
A New Test for Business and Biofuel - NYTimes.com
One of the nation’s wealthiest American Indian communities is a major investor in a start-up with the twin goals of making fuel from algae and reducing emissions.
A hard rain's gonna fall: Analysis shows climate change to yield more extreme rainfall
(PhysOrg.com) -- Heavier rainstorms lie in our future. That's the clear conclusion of a new MIT and Caltech study on the impact that global climate change will have on precipitation patterns.
Agricultural methods of early civilizations may have altered global climate, study suggests
Massive burning of forests for agriculture thousands of years ago may have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide enough to alter global climate and usher in a warming trend that continues today, according to a new study that appears online Aug. 17 in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.
Cheeky Ont. residents protest U.S. surveillance balloon
About 300 people dropped their drawers Saturday to give a balloon with a surveillance camera trolling
Brain’s Wrinkles Protect Against Head Banging | Wired Science | Wired.com
As you greet the new week by banging your head on your desk in office despair, rest assured: The brain's wrinkled surface protects you from non-existential
New study: Up to 90 percent of US paper money contains traces of cocaine
You probably have cocaine in your wallet, purse, or pocket. Sound unlikely or outrageous? Think again! In what researchers describe as the largest, most comprehensive analysis to date of cocaine contamination in banknotes, scientists are reporting that cocaine is present in up to 90 percent of paper money in the United States, particularly in large cities such as Baltimore, Boston and Detroit. The scientists found traces of cocaine in 95 percent of the banknotes analyzed from Washington, D.C., alone.
CMOHS.org - Private First Class JACKSON, ARTHUR J., U.S. Marine Corps
Asia Heading For Chronic Food Shortages Without Better Water Management, Report Says : TreeHugger
photo: David Wiley via flickr Last week we learned that India has some got some serious groundwater problems due to extensive irrigation of agriculture. Now, scientists meeting at World Water Week in Sweden are reinforcing and broadening that point,
Technology Review: Wi-Fi via White Spaces
A network design that uses old TV spectrum could produce better long-range wireless connectivity.
Technology Review: Bone-setting Glue
A new adhesive, inspired by aquatic worms, could help repair shattered bone.
How Mercury Becomes Toxic In The Environment
(PhysOrg.com) -- Naturally occurring organic matter in water and sediment appears to play a key role in helping microbes convert tiny particles of mercury in the environment into a form that is dangerous to most living creatures.
Scrubbing sulfur: New process removes sulfur components, CO2 from power plant emissions (w/ Video)
The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed a reusable organic liquid that can pull harmful gases such as carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide out of industrial emissions from power plants. The process could directly replace current methods and allow power plants to capture ...
Watching over the water system: Engineers design sensors to monitor pipes after earthquakes
After a big earthquake, it's key to keep the water system afloat. Water is necessary for life, and it fights the fires that often accompany such disasters.
New low emission coal technology will provide double power, reduce costs and help the environment
(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Queensland researcher has successfully completed a lab-scale test on a new technology which has the potential to revolutionise the way the world views and uses coal.
Cops Use Old Brink's Truck to Shame Suspects - WSJ.com
Peoria, Ill., has found a new way to fight crime: Park an unmanned, former Brink's truck bristling with video cameras in front of the dwellings of troublemakers.
Why humans can't navigate out of a paper bag - life - 18 August 2009 - New Scientist
Birds, rats and even hamsters are able to find their way around with ease, without maps or satnav. So how come we get lost so often?
U.K. Zoo Explores Vertical Farming for a New Angle on Animal Feed | GreenerBuildings.com
A UK Zoo has come up with a novel approach to locally sourcing some of its food for animals and dealing with the challenge of limited space: vertical farming.
Plastic in Oceans Leaches Chemicals: Discovery News
Unseen and odorless, microscopic particles of air pollution wafting over seas and across continents kill some 380,000 people each year, according to a new study.
Asian Bee-Eating Hornets Spreading Rapidly in France : TreeHugger
photo: Wikipedia France As if we didn't have enough to worry about with declines in bee populations... Reuters reports that colonies of bee-eating Asian hornets (Vespa veluntina) are spreading rapidly in southwestern France:
BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Methane seeps from Arctic sea-bed
Scientists say they have evidence that the powerful greenhouse gas methane is escaping from the sea-bed off Norway as the ice it is trapped in melts.
The Beehive Redesigned: New Hive for Urban Bees : TreeHugger
Image credit: Omlet Not content with having reinvented the modern chicken coop, the folks at UK-based Omlet are now launching an entirely new design of beehive, and it's creating quite a buzz. (Sorry!) According to the New York Times,
Observatory - Deep Sea Worms Release Glow-Bombs When Disturbed - NYTimes.com
Researchers say the phenomenon may help the worms distract potential predators.
Scientists learn why some drugs pack such a punch
By studying the intricate mechanisms at work in protein production, a Princeton-led team has discovered why certain kinds of antibiotics are so effective. In doing so, they also have discovered how one protein protects against cell death, shedding light on a natural cancer-fighting process.
Scientists develop high-yield deep water rice
(AP) -- A team of Japanese scientists has discovered genes that enable rice to survive high water, providing hope for better rice production in lowland areas that are affected by flooding.
Evolution of the appendix: A biological 'remnant' no more
The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers at Duke University Medical Center proposed that it actually serves a critical function. The appendix, they said, is a safe haven where good bacteria could hang out until they were ...
How Filmmakers Makers Used Spy Tech to Catch Dolphin Killers | Wired Science | Wired.com
To reveal a gruesome dolphin slaughter to the world, the makers of the documentary The Cove used spy drones, cameras disguised as rocks and a lot of
How to turn seawater into jet fuel - tech - 18 August 2009 - New Scientist
The US navy has shown it can take carbon dioxide and hydrogen from the ocean and turn it into fuel – but this is far from free energy
ALL Fish In US Streams Have Mercury In Them, New Study Reveals
From The AP: WASHINGTON -- A federal study of mercury contamination released Wednesday found the toxic substance in every fish tested at nearly 300 streams across the country, a finding that underscores how widespread mercury pollution has become.
Colleges See Rising Demand for Programs Addressing Green Industries - NYTimes.com
Universities and community colleges are responding to a demand from the public for degrees or ad hoc courses on sustainability.
Gittes,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful collection of meaningful linked articles on your latest blog.
Yin/yang, point/counterpoint, advance/retreat, relief/fear, solutions/problems
The one article I returned to the greatest number of times is entitled,
“Methane seeps from Arctic sea-bed”
The linked article contains the following passages,
“Scientists say they have evidence that the powerful greenhouse gas methane is escaping from the Arctic sea-bed.
Researchers say this could be evidence of a predicted positive feedback effect of climate change.
As temperatures rise, the sea-bed grows warmer and frozen water crystals in the sediment break down, allowing methane trapped inside them to escape.”
Definition: positive feedback -
A system's response to external stimuli leading to further changes that serve to reinforce the initial response, thereby creating and accelerating a cause and effect loop.
Today, I am feeling like “we” (the current inhabitants of planet Earth) have definitely entered the “big wind down” phase in Earth’s ecological/environmental history.
claudio
Gittes,
ReplyDeleteSecuring; clean water,safe food, and adequate shelter, that remains mankind's greatest and most important challenge.
claudio
Gittes,
ReplyDeleteI returned to reread the article entitled,
“Greenpeace Rocks: Group Drops Boulders into Swedish Seas to Prevent Bottom Trawling”
which contains the following passages,
“Last Monday, Greenpeace activists dumped about 180 massive boulders (0.5 to 3 tons each) into the waters off of Sweden. Why? It's simple: Big boulders make bottom trawling impossible.”
“Bottom trawling involves dragging chained nets over the sea floor to scoop up the catch. It's a devastating practice that can yield as much as 80 percent bycatch--unwanted marine life, which is then thrown back into the water, often dead or in grave health.”
“The granite rocks were dumped in two areas, Fladen and Lilla Middelgrund in the Kattegat, that are Natura 2000 sites, meaning they are designated as needing protection under the European Union's Habitats Directive. Both areas are home to unique and rich sea life that is being destroyed by the fisheries.”
I am both inspired and heartened by this particular Greenpeace action.
Every day must contain an act of resistance against the corporate monolith.
claudio