The Lumpen Proletarian

Rent-a-Goat in Action! Clearing Brush the Way Nature Intended It : TreeHugger

Photo: Rent-a-Ruminent LLC Could goats be the past and the future? We've written many times about goats being used to replace lawnmowers and to clear brush (for example, in Arizona, in North-Carolina, and even at Google's
Mountainview HQ). Well,

Toyota Engineers New Flower Species to Absorb Emissions at Prius Factories : TreeHugger

Toyota has long faced the criticism that the process of manufacturing Priuses has a larger environmental impact than most cars. So the giant automaker came up with what's probably the most bizarre solution imaginable--Toyota genetically engineered two brand new

Green is cool, but US land changes generally are not | Science Codex
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Most land use changes occurring in the continental U.S result in raised regional surface temperatures, says a new study by scientists at the University of Maryland, Purdue University and the University of Colorado in Boulder.

 

Warren Buffett Makes a $44 Billion (!) Bet on Trains, Buys BNSF : TreeHugger

That's Quite a Nice New Toy You Got There, and It's Not Even Xmas Has the Oracle of Omaha seen the future? If so, it seems to include more trains, because Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's investment vehicle, decided to

Flapping Wind Turbine Inspired by Bumble Bee Wings : TreeHugger

Images: Jetson Green Biomimicry is everywhere these days. It seems increasingly clear that design inspired by nature will play a great big role in our energy future. Case in point: Green Wavelength, an up-and-coming California engineering biz, has prototyped a

Prototype - Big Corporations Pool Their Green Innovations - NYTimes.com

Several major corporations are taking a hint from the open-source software movement and pooling their green innovations.

Technology Review: An App so You'll Never Forget

Adaptive-learning algorithms calculate how often people need to see information to remember it.

Findings - Ethnographic Study Looks at Gossip in the Workplace - NYTimes.com

A study at a Midwestern elementary school found the insults subtle and the conversations unpredictable.

Cases - A Life Apart, Without a Home, Friends or Regrets - NYTimes.com
A man at a homeless shelter was described as filled with thought but empty of feeling.

 

Reflective film can boost profits for apple growers

In a research report published in a recent issue of HortTechnology, scientists Ignasi Iglesias and Simó Alegre examined the effects of covering orchard floors with reflective films on fruit color, fruit quality, canopy light distribution, orchard temperature, and profitability. The experiments ...

First impressions count when making personality judgments, new research shows

First impressions do matter when it comes to communicating personality through appearance, according to new research by psychologists Laura Naumann of Sonoma State University and Sam Gosling of The University of Texas at Austin.

Lasers put a shine on metals

(PhysOrg.com) -- Polishing metal surfaces is a demanding but monotonous task, and it is difficult to find qualified young specialists. Polishing machines do not represent an adequate alternative because they cannot get to difficult parts of the surface. A new solution is provided by laser polishers.

BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Johnson saves woman from 'oiks'

London mayor Boris Johnson rescues a woman who was being attacked by an armed group of young girls.

John Wooden on true success | Video on TED.com [via claudio]

TED Talks With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father's wisdom.

Technology Review: Software Listens for Hints of Depression
A large-scale trial will test whether software can identify depressed patients.

 

Abroad - Scots Aim Lasers at Mount Rushmore and Other Landmarks - NYTimes.com

In an era of computer animation, making laser scans of old monuments may not sound special, but a Scottish team has achieved unprecedented levels of sophistication.

Study finds big air pollution impacts on local communities

Heavy traffic corridors in the cities of Long Beach and Riverside are responsible for a significant proportion of preventable childhood asthma, and the true impact of air pollution and ship emissions on the disease has likely been underestimated, according to researchers at the University of Southern ...

Hormone that affects finger length key to social behavior

The hormones, called androgens, are important in the development of masculine characteristics such as aggression and strength. It is also thought that prenatal androgens affect finger length during development in the womb. High levels of androgens, such as testosterone, increase the length of the ...

Early Life Hedged Its Bets to Survive | Wired Science | Wired.com

By forcing bacteria to evolve in ever-changing conditions, scientists have induced a behavior in which colonies formed by microbes with identical genes take

Clever fools: Why a high IQ doesn't mean you're smart - life - 02 November 2009 - New Scientist

IQ measures the brightness of our mental searchlight. But where we point it also matters

An Appraisal - Other Voyages in the Shadow of Lévi-Strauss - NYTimes.com
In 1978 I made my first reporting trip to the Brazilian Amazon, with an orange-and-white Penguin paperback edition of “Tristes Tropiques” as the only book squeezed into my gear.

 

California Water Overhaul Caps Use - NYTimes.com

Lawmakers passed bills to address a protracted drought in the biggest water overhaul since the 1960s.

What is unique in the brain of an Arabic speaker?

Literary Arabic is expressed in the brain of an Arabic speaker as a second language and not as a native language. This has been shown in a new study by Dr. Raphiq Ibrahim of the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities at the University of Haifa's Department of Learning ...

Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Technology Review: Spraying on Skin Cells to Heal Burns

A new technique in burn treatment provides an alternative to skin grafts in the operating room.

Researchers hail innovative plan to save rainforest, reduce greenhouse gas emissions

An innovative proposal by the Ecuadorian government to protect an untouched, oil rich region of Amazon rainforest is a precedent-setting and potentially economically viable approach, says a team of environmental researchers from the University of Maryland, the World Resources Institute and Save America's ...

Metal-Air Battery Could Store 11 Times More Energy than Lithium-Ion
(PhysOrg.com) -- A spinoff company from Arizona State University plans to build a new battery with an energy density 11 times greater than that of lithium-ion batteries for just one-third the cost. With a $5.13 million research grant from the US Department of Energy awarded last week, Fluidic Energy ...

 

New Digital 'Electronics' Concept May Continue Moore's Law

(PhysOrg.com) -- Computers of the future could be operating not on electrons, but on tiny waves traveling through an electron 'fluid,' if a new proposal is successful. The new circuit design, recently introduced by Dr. Héctor J. De Los Santos, CTO of NanoMEMS Research, LLC, in Irvine, California, ...

Inside the Army’s Far-Out Acid Tests | Danger Room | Wired.com

Dropping acid to boost the Pentagon's psychic powers was just the start. The Men Who Stare At Goats, the upcoming movie based on Jon Ronson's non-fiction

George McKelvey "My Teenage Fallout Queen" 1964 - Boing Boing

Lake Nicaragua - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pamukkale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia