Environment
There is an old gag which asks: "Why don't polar bears eat penguins?" The answer is that polar bears inhabit arctic regions, whereas penguins inhabit antarctic regions, as shown here.
There is a saying that the poles are where weather is made. Weather is a heat-driven system, the temperature difference between the poles and the equator, amongst other things, drives our weather. Air is constantly being either warmed or cooled in a planet-wide system, but air is warmed much more in the equatorial regions and cooled more in the polar regions. (Please note: this is a deliberate…
New Guide on Climate Literacy
A guide is now available to help individuals of all ages understand how climate influences them -- and how they influence climate. A product of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, it was compiled by an interagency group led by NOAA.
"This guide is a first step for people who want to know more about the essential principles of our climate system, how to better discern scientifically credible information about climate, and how to identify problems related to understanding climate and climate change."Tom Karl, director of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in…
Scientists have long contended that the Antarctic Peninsula is one of the most rapidly warming spots on Earth. Now, new research using detailed satellite data indicates that the changing climate is affecting not just the penguins at the apex of the food chain, but simultaneously the microscopic life that is the base of the ecosystem. The research was published in the March 13 edition of Science magazine by researchers with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) program. The LTER, which has 26 sites around the globe, including two in Antarctica, enables…
Are we living in an age of stupidity?
From the dawn of written history we have evidence of the development of the scientific method as a way of thinking. I believe the method has its origins in legal process. Perhaps early thinkers saw some form of 'good sense' underlying some of human law and wondered if nature obeyed laws of some kind.
The development of rules for speech such as grammar, dialectic, rhetoric and logic was, I believe, a response to the desire for quality of discourse in the assemblies where laws were made and lawbreakers were tried.
The study of language led to the study of…
Tiny creatures at the bottom of the food chain called diatoms suck up nearly a quarter of the atmosphere's carbon dioxide, yet research by Michigan State University scientists suggests they could become less able to "sequester" that greenhouse gas as the climate warms. The microscopic algae are a major component of plankton living in puddles, lakes and oceans.
Zoology professor Elena Litchman, with MSU colleague Christopher Klausmeier and Kohei Yoshiyama of the University of Tokyo, explored how nutrient limitation affects the evolution of the size of diatoms in different environments.…
The climate change skeptic asks - 'Given that the climate changes over millenia due to powerful natural forces, how could humans possibly contribute any significant effect to climate change, given our brief existence in geological time?'
I shall try to answer that question with examples from engineering which show how short-term pulse events can significantly affect long-term cyclic events.
The Influence of Short-Term Events on Long-Term Events.
Many observed events can best be understood in terms of cycles. The most obvious and visible cyclic events are the day/night cycle, the moon…
Natural burial is not just a 'green' option for eco-fixated non-religious people, according to researchers at the University of Sheffield. They'll be holding an event called "Natural Burial: Do we need a Headstone?" to be held in Sheffield on March 14 as part of the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Festival of Social Science.
There are now over 200 natural burial grounds across the UK ranging from extensions to local authority cemeteries to sites owned by charitable trusts or private individuals. The project, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, is…
I am not a gambler, except when it comes to my own life. I'm referring to my astronaut application a few years back. I was not happy the selection committee was happy for me being pregnant and used that as an excuse to not allow any further tests on me. I will forever hate that committee; but I love my son.
Anyways, I am not into gambling at all and I didn't particularly fancy going to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. My son on the other hand, some years after he'd left my womb, found Las Vegas to be a very good idea - so we went. I brought my son with me to one of the American Geophysical Union Fall…
In Los Angeles people are attributed to living 4 months longer now that particulate in the air has been reduced. The real present and future hazard to humanity is particulate in the atmosphere. The type that is produced from volcanoes, meteorite strikes, and pollution.
As a species we have very little written history. So after looking at the ice cores and tree rings it is evident that the earth has experienced prolonged winters for periods of years. These were caused by particulate blocking out the sun. It has happened in the past and it is probable it will happen again.
Can you imagine a…
This is big! Scientist have been puzzled about the fertile land of the Amazon that has been producing for after 500 years since the original natives were decimated by the Spaniards. After analyzing the soil they discovered it was full of charcoal.
A little bit about carbon: If you burn a tree or let it rot or compost the same amount of carbon is released. But if you turn it into charcoal then work it in the soil you lock the carbon up! Producing fertile land for centuries! Can you imagine fertilizer for centuries! This is exciting.
A bit about charcoal: It is used in water filters to take…