tagged w/ Earth and Science
-
Chemical dispersants help hide the spill -- it is the Corp's favorite technique.
The damage will be affecting us for decades to come.
The ripple affect will be coming in the next couple of years.
Make this information live so that we can make change.
Thanks.
StradChemical dispersants help hide the spill -- it is the Corp's favorite technique.... more
-
-
This is the sound of the earth spinning
-
-
Music & Film By Dean Omori
FREEDOM ENOUGH
Is freedom in a bottle
Is freedom sleeping rough
Is freedom everything you want
Is freedom in love
Too much freedom kills more than not enough
Is freedom on your side
Is freedom on your soul
Is freedom in the trenches
Is freedom in this world
Is the freedom you stole from your enemy
The freedom you take home
Is freedom in their memories
Is freedom in their cry
Is freedom in your suicide
Is freedom in your lies
Freedom march me home
Freedom’s a long long way to die
Freedom in your head
Freedom to smile
Is freedom what they allow ya
Is freedom what they sold
Is there freedom in a womb
Is freedom when they sell a little girl
Is freedom designed by men
So they can covet the world
Is freedom in your memories
Is freedom in their cry
Is freedom in your suicide
Is freedom in your lies
Freedom march me home
Freedom’s a long long way to die
Is freedom on your side
Is freedom on your soul
Is freedom in the trenches
Is freedom in this world
Is the freedom you stole from your enemy
The freedom you take home
Freedom in your head
Freedom on my ownMusic & Film By Dean Omori
FREEDOM ENOUGH
Is freedom in a bottle
Is freedom... more
-
-
Overwhelmed and saddened by the gargantuan size of the Gulf oil spill?
A little mathematical context to the spill size can put the environmental catastrophe in perspective. Viewing it through some lenses, it isn't that huge. The Mississippi River pours as much water into the Gulf of Mexico in 38 seconds as the BP oil leak has done in two months.
On a more human scale, the spill seems more daunting. Take the average-sized living room. The amount of oil spilled would fill 9,200 of them.
Since the BP oil rig exploded on April 20, about 126.3 million gallons of oil has gushed into the Gulf. That calculation is based on the higher end of the government's range of barrels leaked per day and the oil company BP's calculations for the amount of oil siphoned off as of Monday morning. Using the more optimistic end of calculations, the total spill figure is just shy of 68 million gallons.
For this by-the-numbers exercise, The Associated Press is using the higher figure.
For every gallon of oil that BP's well has gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, there is more than 5 billion gallons of water already in it. And the mighty Mississippi adds another billion gallons every five minutes or so, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
So BP chief executive officer Tony Hayward was factually correct last month when he said the spill was "relatively tiny" compared to what he mischaracterized as a "very big ocean."
But another big number that Hayward provided on Thursday also offers some troubling news. He said the reservoir of oil under the sea that is the source for the leak is believed to hold about 2.1 billion gallons of oil. That leaves about 2 billion gallons left to spew. So there are about 16 gallons of oil underneath the sea floor yet to gush for every gallon that has already fouled the Gulf. If the problem were never fixed, that would mean another two years of oil spilling based on the current flow rate.
More not-so-dreadful context: The amount of oil spilled so far could only fill the cavernous New Orleans Superdome about one-seventh of the way up. On the other hand, it could fill 15 Washington Monuments and two-thirds of the way up a 16th. If the oil were poured on a football field — complete with endzones — it would measure nearly 100 yards high.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100621/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_how_big_4Overwhelmed and saddened by the gargantuan size of the Gulf oil spill?
A little... more
-
-
Star Trek movie fans knew there was a reason to bring back the whales, Greenpeace knew that there is a reason for protecting the whale and now science backs up why our oceans need our whales - whale poo is good for CO2.
Whale dung which is rich in iron stimulates the growth of tiny marine plants - phytoplankton - which absorb CO2 during photosynthesis. The process results in the absorption of about 400,000 tonnes of carbon - more than twice as much as the whales release by breathing.
Support our largest poopers and protect the planet!Star Trek movie fans knew there was a reason to bring back the whales, Greenpeace knew... more
-
-
(CNN) -- World Oceans Day, June 8, arrives this year at a time when people are especially focused on the safety of waters threatened by the Gulf oil disaster. Yet it is also a time when more people are committing to work to preserve the oceans than ever before.
Among them is Roz Savage, who last week completed the third and final leg of her effort to row across the Pacific Ocean. Savage was one of dozens who took part in the Mission Blue cruise in April, organized by the nonprofit group TED to develop a strategy to save the oceans.
In her talk on the Mission Blue cruise, taped before the final leg of her Pacific journey, Savage estimated that her trip across that ocean required more than 8,000 miles of rowing, spending 312 days on her own in a 23-foot rowboat. Savage is the first woman to row solo across the Pacific, from the West Coast of the United States to Papua New Guinea. (Maud Fontenoy rowed a shorter route from Peru to Polynesia in 2005.)
Learn more about the "Mission Blue Voyage" http://blog.ted.com/2010/04/ocean_hope_at_m.php
VIDEO: http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2010/06/07/ted.roz.savage.ted
Page Link: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/08/savage.world.oceans/index.html(CNN) -- World Oceans Day, June 8, arrives this year at a time when people are... more
-
-
Its critics have suggested it amounts to little more than sitting inside a giant tin can in a Moscow hangar with no sun, no fresh water, no alcohol and (one assumes) no sex for 520 interminable days.
But as the six fearless volunteers this afternoon sealed themselves inside a simulated mission to Mars, grinning and waving goodbye to their families before "blast-off", scientists insisted they were embarking on an unprecedented experiment that was no laughing matter.
The crewmen – three are Russian, one French, one Chinese and one a Colombian-born Italian – won't emerge from their isolation until November 2011.
Their goal is to recreate a return journey to the red planet, spanning a year and a half, complete with simulated emergency situations and realistic psychological pressures.
The astronauts would be free to leave the experiment at any point, Fuglesang said, adding that he was confident none of them would.
Mars 500 is designed to recreate as closely as possible the conditions of a spacecraft hurtling through the solar system. A return flight to Mars – 34 million miles from Earth – would take between 18 months and three years.
The six crew will spend 250 days performing flight tasks and experiments along the way – with half of them spending 30 days "on the planet" and the others remaining "in orbit". Getting home will take a further 240 days.
The 550 sq metre complex that will be their home includes four windowless modules for sleeping, working, storage and for medical and psychological experiments. Each man has a tiny 6 sq metre room. TV is banned but the crew can send emails and communicate with "ground control" via an authentically Martian time delay of 20 minutes. They can also take books, DVDs and video games.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/03/mock-mission-mars-moscow-hangarIts critics have suggested it amounts to little more than sitting inside a giant tin... more
-
-
A few days ago there was this really huge hype all around the world about the Earth Hour, and the same hype reached to India as well. Pretty much everyday before the Earth Hour day, there would be something in the newspapers about it. Few big companies decided to celebrate the occasion at their India centers, also there were few people who happily wanted to be part of it, but overall the response to it was null. The reason was very simple- Earth Hour is of relevance to only those countries where there is 24x7 power supplies, in countries like India where people almost everyday celebrate Earth Hours, it really doesn’t make sense.
Read the complete post on the link below-
http://paragonist.blogspot.com/2010/05/in-india-its-earth-hour-everyday.htmlA few days ago there was this really huge hype all around the world about the Earth... more
-
-
-
The Future of our World
-
-
chandu
-
added this
-
3 years ago
- |
-
Coast Guard officials are considering setting the Gulf of Mexico oil slick on fire as it moved Tuesday to within 20 miles of sensitive ecological areas in the Mississippi River Delta.
Officials say it could become one of worst spills in U.S. history.
Oil is still leaking at a rate of about 42,000 gallons a day from the well, located some 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana beneath a drill rig that exploded and sank last week. Eleven workers are still missing following the incident, and are presumed dead.
BP, the well's owner, is racing to shut off the well using eight remote controlled submarines, but has had no luck as of yet.
"If we don't secure the well, this could be one of the most serious oil spills in U.S. history," Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry, head of a joint response task force, said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Twenty miles is the closest the slick has come to land so far.
Officials said oil slicks are sometimes set on fire, especially when they are near sensitive marsh areas where heavy equipment used to clean the oil may cause more harm than good.
If the slick is set on fire, it would be a controlled burn using fire-proof booms, and only done during the day, said Landry. It could begin as early as Wednesday.
The spill, measured from end to end, stretched as wide as 42 miles by 80 miles, although oil isn't necessarily covering that entire area.
Most of the slick is a thin sheen on the water's surface, ranging in thickness from a couple of molecules to the equivalent of a layer of paint. About 3% of it is a heavy, pudding-like crude oil.
At its current flow rate would take over 260 days to rival the Exxon Valdez disaster, which discharged some 11 million gallons into Alaska's Price William Sound. Still, even if it never compares to the Exxon Valdes spill's size, if it makes landfall it'll have serious ecological repercussions
NOT THE ANSWER - http://oilonthebeach.blogspot.com/
Protect Florida's Beaches from Oil Driling - www.protectfloridasbeaches.org
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jun/15/bill-nelson/sen-bill-nelson-says-offshore-drilling-wont-pay-fl/
http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/27/news/economy/oil_rig_gulf/index.htmCoast Guard officials are considering setting the Gulf of Mexico oil slick on fire as... more
-
-
Whale droppings could help fight global warming by 'fertilising' the oceans, according to a new study.
Researchers from the Australian Antarctic Division found that the naturally iron-rich whale excrement encourages growth of algae, therefore drawing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Advocates of "geo-engineering" have suggesed dumping iron filings in the sea to 'fertilise' the oceans but this offers a more natural process.
Steve Nicol, who helped carry out the research, said a larger population of baleen whales would boost the productivity of the whole Southern Ocean ecosystem and could improve the absorption of carbon dioxide, blamed for global warming.
"The plants love it and it actually becomes a way of taking carbon out of the atmosphere," he said.
Mr Nicol said the idea to research whale droppings came from a casual pub chat among Antarctic scientists in Australia's island state of Tasmania.
He exlained that iron is micronutrient in the Southern Ocean that helps algae bloom at the surface, which in turn absorbs carbon dioxide.
When krill eat the algae, and whales eat the krill, the iron ends up in whale droppings, and the iron levels are kept up in surface waters where it is most needed for more algae rather than sinking to the bottom.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7639614/Whale-excrement-could-help-fight-climate-change.htmlWhale droppings could help fight global warming by 'fertilising' the oceans,... more
-
-
-
The Universe in All its Splendor: What is Happening On the Ground and in the Cosmos?Sharing Information That Could interest Us! Be part of this group!
http://what-s-up-in-the-universe.ning.com/The Universe in All its Splendor: What is Happening On the Ground and in the... more
-
-
-
Stanford Report, April 13, 2010
Stanford researchers find electrical current stemming from plants
Stanford engineers have generated electrical current by tapping into the electron activity in individual algae cells. Photosynthesis excites electrons, which can then be turned into an electrical current using a specially designed gold electrode. This study could be the first step toward carbon-free electricity directly from plants.Stanford Report, April 13, 2010
Stanford researchers find electrical current stemming... more
-
-
Is the world falling apart? Surely it isn’t, though this year’s frequent earthquakes and the occasional volcano have left an exceptional path of ruin and misery, raising concerns that something very unusual is occurring.
Three strong earthquakes hit the Solomon Islands in early January, followed only weeks later by the 7.0 quake that leveled part of Haiti, leaving more than 1 million people homeless and killing more than 200,000. Korea and Japan were rocked. Then Chile was hit by an 8.8 earthquake, one of the biggest ever measured. More seismic events followed in Japan, Mexico, Sumatra and most recently western China. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010vacp.php
Violent Grinding
Regrettably, there is little doubt the number of significant earthquakes will rise. This is because the world’s major earthquakes repeat over and over again at plate boundaries, where a large portion of the planet’s population lives. The plates are driven rather smoothly by radioactively produced heat deep in the Earth’s mantle, but when these plates grind past each other the result is spasmodic and violent.
The time between a major earthquake and its successor on your local neighborhood plate boundary varies from several decades to a few hundred years. But the world’s population has increased by a factor of 10 in the past 200 years. Most people now live in cities, and more than half the world’s largest cities are located on plate boundaries.
Concrete Tombs
Not only have populations grown, the vulnerability of their dwellings has also increased. Concrete and steel multistory blocks have replaced wooden single-story constructions, and the quality of these new structures in developing nations is often appallingly poor.
Fire and Ice
Never before has it been possible to kill 1 million people in a single earthquake, but cities are now big enough to make this possible. Prominent among them are Los Angeles and Tokyo, which are well aware of their seismic future and have made preparations, whereas Istanbul and Tehran, where building codes are known to be unevenly applied, are much more vulnerable.
What about volcanoes, and why is Iceland now splitting apart? Previous eruptions there occurred in 1600 and 1820, so today’s eruption 190 years later is almost on schedule. But whereas Iceland’s volcanic eruption was not triggered by any nearby major earthquake, the eruption of one or more dormant volcanoes in the months and years following major earthquakes is quite common. It happened after the 1960 Chilean earthquake and will no doubt occur after this year’s disaster. Scientists attribute many eruptions to the violent shaking of volcanic subsurface magma chambers and the subsequent opening of conduits to the surface.
So the statistics of earthquakes and volcanoes shows the Earth to be going about her business as usual. The only difference is that its occupants have become recently aware of how busy the Earth actually is.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=azIHDSm58atcIs the world falling apart? Surely it isn’t, though this year’s frequent... more
-
-
-
When it comes to predicting earthquakes, toads - warts and all - may be an asset.
British researchers said Wednesday that they observed a mass exodus of toads from a breeding site in Italy five days before a major tremor struck, suggesting the amphibians may be able to sense environmental changes, imperceptible to humans, that foretell a coming quake.
Since ancient times, anecdotes and folklore have linked unusual animal behavior to cataclysmic events like earthquakes, but hard evidence has been scarce. A new study by researchers from the Open University is one of the first to document animal behavior before, during and after an earthquake.
The scientists were studying the common toad - bufo bufo - at a breeding colony in central Italy when they noticed a sharp decline in the number of animals at the site. Days later, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit, killing hundreds of people and badly damaging the town of L'Aquila.
Researcher Rachel Grant said the findings suggested "that toads are able to detect pre-seismic cues such as the release of gases and charged particles, and use these as a form of earthquake early warning system."
Initially puzzled by the toads' disappearance in the middle of the breeding season, the scientists tracked the population in the days that followed. They found that 96 percent of males - who vastly outnumber females at breeding spots - abandoned the site, 46 miles (74 kilometers) from the quake's epicenter, five days before it struck on April 6, 2009.
The number of toads at the site fell to zero three days before the quake, according to the study, published in the Zoological Society of London's Journal of Zoology.
"A day after the earthquake, they all started coming back," said Grant, the report's lead author. "The numbers were still lower than normal and remained low until after the last aftershock."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/31/tech/main6350557.shtmlWhen it comes to predicting earthquakes, toads - warts and all - may be an asset.... more
-
-
The mysterious 4-year-old crisis of disappearing honeybees is deepening. A quick federal survey indicates a heavy bee die-off this winter, while a new study shows honeybees' pollen and hives laden with pesticides.
Two federal agencies along with regulators in California and Canada are scrambling to figure out what is behind this relatively recent threat, ordering new research on pesticides used in fields and orchards. Federal courts are even weighing in this month, ruling that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overlooked a requirement when allowing a pesticide on the market.
"It's just gotten so much worse in the past four years," said Jeff Pettis, research leader of the Department of Agriculture's Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. "We're just not keeping bees alive that long."
This year bees seem to be in bigger trouble than normal after a bad winter, according to an informal survey of commercial bee brokers cited in an internal USDA document. One-third of those surveyed had trouble finding enough hives to pollinate California's blossoming nut trees, which grow the bulk of the world's almonds. A more formal survey will be done in April.
Beekeeper Zac Browning shipped his hives from Idaho to California to pollinate the blossoming almond groves. He got a shock when he checked on them, finding hundreds of the hives empty, abandoned by the worker bees.
The losses were extreme, three times higher than the previous year.The mysterious 4-year-old crisis of disappearing honeybees is deepening. A quick... more
-
-
jkw077
-
added this
-
3 years ago
- |
