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2008 1,300 Mile Kayaking Odyssey: Young Wisconsin couple circumnavigating Lake Sup...
(Marquette, Michigan) - It’s a 1,300 mile, two month odyssey - kayaking around the always beautiful and sometimes treacherous Lake Superior
Ashland, Wisconsin residents Alissa Weitz and Brian Castillo are promoting the protection of Lake Superior - the world’s largest freshwater lake.
The twenty somethings departed Bayfield, Wisconsin on July 1 and hope to complete their journey by September.
The kayaking duo left Marquette, Michigan on Tuesday afternoon, July 22, 2008 to continue their journey.
They arrived in Marquette for Lake Superior Day 2008 - this year that was July 20 2008.
Lake Superior Day is sponsored by the Lake Superior Bi-national Forum and is held annually on the third Sunday of July.
Alissa and Brian spent Lake Superior Day hiking with friends and swimming including jumping off the tall cliffs at the city's "black rocks."
A big part of their quest is educating the public about protecting Lake Superior and why the largest of the Great Lakes is so important..
The trek takes them through the Canada and the United States including Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Averaging 25 miles a day - with their longest day was about 40 miles.
They encountered water temperatures as low as 38 degrees, fog outside of Marquette, rough waves outside of Houghton, Michigan that prevent them from rounding the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula - and instead cut through the Keweenaw Waterway.
Thanks to Down Wind Sports in Marquette, Brian picked up a new kayak because of problems with the one used during the first part of their trek.
Weitz is a native of Dubuque, Iowa and Castillo is a native of Madison, Wisconsin.
Alissa is 26 years old and Brian is 23 years old.
Graduates of the Northland College outdoor education program in Ashland, Wisconsin, the couple were competitors working for different kayak guiding companies when they met two years ago and fell in love.
The Kayaker's (Alissa Weitz, Brian Castillo) "Session on Superior" blog about trip around the lake:
http://www.sessiononsuperior.blogspot.com
This video was made in cooperation with the Cedar Tree Institute, the Earth Keeper Initiative, the Earth Healing Initiative and the Turtle Island Project – all northern Michigan-based non-profits seeking to protect Lake Superior.
And special thanks to the Lake Superior Binational Forum for helping make this video possible..
Greg Peterson for Earth Keeper, Earth Healing and Turtle Island TV
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News coverage of Alissa, Brian:
Marquette paper:
http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/513...
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Ashland paper:
Marquette Photo:
http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2008/07/24/news/doc48...
Story prior to trip:
http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2008/07/02/news/doc48...
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WX Channnel:
http://uservideo.weather.com:80/item/GY56YQ4K0TH0B3CS
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Lake Superior Binational Forum
Lissa Radke, LSFB US Coordinator
715-682-1489
http://www.superiorforum.info
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Northland College in Ashland, WI:
http://www.northland.edu/Northland
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Down Wind Sports:
http://www.downwindsports.com/index.html
Owners: Bill Thompson, Todd King, Jeff Stasser and Arni Ronis
Marquette: 906-226-7112
Houghton: 906-482-2500
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Sea Kayak Specialists:
http://www.seakayakspecialists.com
Sam Crowley, Nancy Uschold
906-250-4238
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EcoSuperior Enviro:
http://www.ecosuperior.com
Environment Canada:
http://www.ec.gc.ca
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Video made in cooperation with:
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Turtle Island Project official website:
http://www.turtleislandproject.org
Earth Healing Initiative official website:
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
Cedar Tree Institute: (Michigan Earth Keepers, Manoomin Project and the 2008 Zaagkii Wings & Seeds project)
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.org
Earth Keeper TV
http://www.youtube.com/yoopernewsman
Turtle Island TV (youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/MunisingWhiteHorse
Earth Healing TV
http://www.youtube.com/user/EarthHealingTV (Marquette, Michigan) - It’s a 1,300 mile, two month odyssey - kayaking around the always beautiful and sometimes treacherous Lake Sup... more -
Mysterious Northern Lights Understood
People have long marveled at the majestic and mysterious northern lights that light up the skies over the polar regions of countries like Canada and in Scandinavia. Scientists have known for years that these undulating auroras are caused by a storm of charged particles high above Earth. And although a sight to behold, the forces triggering these lights can endanger satellites and air travelers near the poles. But researchers were in the dark about just what forces acted on these so-called magnetic substorms to produce the shimmering lightshows that dazzle us—until now.
Scientists have debated for decades whether local electrical disruptions in Earth's magnetic field or far-flung happenings in the so-called magnetotail (the tapering region of the magnetic field that points away from the sun) lead to the flare-ups of these substorms and their associated auroras.
Researchers say they were able to pinpoint the source by using measurements of magnetic fields recorded by five satellites that were sent into space as part of NASA's THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) project, which is designed to track "space weather" events called substorms as they unfold. The answer: these substorms form when Earth's magnetic field lines collapse on each other, showering the upper atmosphere with captured radiation from the sun where it sparks the auroras primarily over Earth's polar regions known as the northern and southern lights (aka the aurora borealis and aurora australis, respectively).
"Charged particles from the sun blow up Earth's magnetic tail like a balloon, and then for some reason the balloon leaks," says study co-author Stephen Mende, a physicist at the University of California, Berkeley.
You can read more by clicking the link- it's a multi page story or by visiting the links below
http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=:ePkh8BM9E2...
http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=:ePkh8BM9E2...
http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=:ePkh8BM9E2...
Please join the conversation by commenting below. People have long marveled at the majestic and mysterious northern lights that light up the skies over the polar regions of countries l... more -
Canto Della Terra/Song of the Earth
Andrea Bocelli uplifts my soul when I am feeling weary of this world and its despair. His voice makes me believe there is hope. This song particularly (along with Sogno) uplifts my spirit and is not only a song of love, but a song to celebrate our Earth. Perhaps a positive vibe will go a bit of the way to truly changing this world. I hope so, because to be honest I have been losing hope in people of late. I hope this song uplifts you as it does me.
And just as a sidenote: We need the mighty sun to save our planet and ourselves.
Translation of the song:
Yes I know
My love, that you and I
Are together briefly
For just a few moments
In silence
As we look out of our windows
And listen
To the sky
And to a world
That's awakening
And the night is already far away
Already, far away
Look at this world
Spinning with us
Even in the dark
Look at this world
Spinning for us
Giving us hope and some
Sun, sun sun
My love, you are you my love
I hear your voice,
And I listen to the sea.
It sounds just like your breathing
And all the love you want to give me
This love
That is there, hidden
Hidden among the waves
All the waves in the world
Just like a boat that....
Look at this world
Spinning with us
Even in the dark
Look at this world
Spinning for us
Giving us hope,
And some sun, sun, sun,
Some sun, sun, sun.
Look at this world
Spinning with us
Giving us some sun,
Mighty sun
Mighty sun
Mighty sun Andrea Bocelli uplifts my soul when I am feeling weary of this world and its despair. His voice makes me believe there is hope. This s... more -
Two-year-old dies after father forgets him in hot car
A two-year-old French boy has died of excessive heat because his father forgot him in the family car, reports France Info radio.
Pedestrians in the south-eastern town of Pont de Cheruy noticed the unconscious boy in the car late on Tuesday afternoon and called rescue workers. However, attempts to revive the child failed, and he died later in hospital.
According to reports, his father had forgotten all about the child's presence when he parked and locked the car, which was exposed to intense sunshine.
Authorities said that the child had been locked in the car for nearly three hours.
Temperatures in the town reached 25 degrees Celsius in the streets, but police estimated that it was as hot as 45 degrees in the car.
An autopsy is to be performed on the boy to determine the cause of death, which appears to have been dehydration.
How is this even possible, for a parent to forget the existence of their child for three hours!?
A two-year-old French boy has died of excessive heat because his father forgot him in the family car, reports France Info radio. ... more -
Exposure to sunlight may be key to weight loss
A lack of sunshine could help explain high levels of obesity, researchers have found.
Studies showed that levels of vitamin D - of which sunlight is the most natural source - tend to be lower in the bodies of overweight people.
Insufficient vitamin D in the blood interferes with the hormone leptin, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full.
The research into vitamin D levels was carried out by Aberdeen University and is published in the scientific journal Bone. Between 1998 and 2000, data was gathered on 3,100 women living in the north east of Scotland.
Estimates were taken of how long they had been exposed to sunlight the previous year and the amount of vitamin D they obtained from food such as eggs and oily fish.
Researchers found that those with an average body mass index (BMI) of 34 - which is above the BMI measure of clinical obesity - produced 10% less vitamin D than those of average weight.
Dr Helen Macdonald, of Aberdeen University's department of medicine and therapeutics, said: "The link between low vitamin D levels and obesity is significant... We think that obese people are not getting enough sunshine, or that what vitamin D they do have is going into fat stores and is not accessible.
"The fact that obese people are prone to low vitamin D levels is a concern in terms of heart disease, the functioning of the immune system and other diseases such as cancer.
"Lifestyle is also a huge factor. Even when there is beautiful sunshine, we are concerned that people are not getting out there and enjoying it."
Dr Macdonald, who led the study, said that comparisons would be made with similar research in Surrey to establish how specific the problem is to Scotland.
Is this something that you've experienced directly? I know loads of women who've lost weight or simply lost interest in when they've been in hot countries with plenty of sunshine for long periods, so it seems very relevant. Could it be that a healthy outdoor lifestyle could do even more good to our bodies than we realised? And if so, shouldn't our bosses be compelled to send us outside right this minute!
A lack of sunshine could help explain high levels of obesity, researchers have found. ... more -
.......Solar Clothes Dryer
This is the work of my friend John Raven.......
He is a very talented writer.............................
Use to perform as Bad McFad....doing extremely crazy stunts.....
This is a joke......please do not send money...........................
What is not a joke is how we have turned our back on Solar energy......
The amount of electricity.....propane.......natural gas....used daily
in the World to dry clothes is enormous..........................................
People are in worse shape physically due to a lack of exercise......
Like hanging up clothes..................................................................
Please keep all negativity....both John and I are allergic................. This is the work of my friend John Raven....... He is a very talented writer............................. ... more -
Solar powered golf carts
"Smart Energy Stuff offers a variety of solar-powered golf carts, from $6,000 to $9,000. The costs are on par with those of regular electric-powered golf carts, but they come with the added sweetener of one-time state and federal tax credits of up to $990.
"Things are tight," said Njoku, a Nigerian-born New York City transplant who has lived in Fayetteville with his wife for the past three years, "and tight people are holding onto their money. What we're trying to do is give them products that will save them money and also be very green."
Smart Energy Stuff sells other solar-powered products, such as a sun-powered water heater, electric panels and outdoor lights.
A self-professed "solar geek," Njoku said he is a civil engineer and architect by trade with a natural affinity for cars and all things solar."
Just saw this and I think it's great! "Smart Energy Stuff offers a variety of solar-powered golf carts, from $6,000 to $9,000. The costs are on par with those of regular el... more -
Those lacking sun are twice as likely to die
Low vitamin D levels could reflect age, lack of physical activity and other lifestyle factors that also affect health, said American Heart Association spokeswoman Alice Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University. Low vitamin D levels could reflect age, lack of physical activity and other lifestyle factors that also affect health, said American H... more
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BioSolar focused on petroleum-free solar cells
BioSolar has been cited in recent news media reports exploring the increasing demand for bio-based solar cell components, which will help the entire industry make photovoltaic solar cells more financially viable by substantially lowering the cost of the cells through the use of petroleum-free materials.
In this week's CLEANTECH column in energy trade publication California Energy Circuit, (CLEANTECH: Making Solar Power Fossil Free), energy correspondent William J. Kelly discusses the concept of life-cycle testing - utilizing the entire life-cycle of a product and its components to determine its total carbon footprint - noting that solar cells generate 0.04 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilowatt of electricity generated.
The article goes on to note that clean energy researchers see that level declining dramatically due to improvements in the materials used to make the solar cells.
"This article recognizes that BioSolar's BioBacksheet is quickly becoming a driving force in a shift to replace plastic petroleum-based solar cell components with environmentally-friendlier fossil-free ones derived from plant-based products," said Dr. David Lee, CEO of BioSolar.
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Solar power is peace. BioSolar has been cited in recent news media reports exploring the increasing demand for bio-based solar cell components, which will h... more -
Sun's rays alone can power Australia by 2030
Australia could be totally reliant on solar energy by 2030 if the current obstacles of technical inertia, lack of political will and entrenched interests can be overcome, a leading CSIRO scientist says. ''Australia should be building a solar backbone,'' atmospheric physicist Mike Raupach told a national climate change conference at the Australian National University yesterday.
Pursuing large-scale geosequestration projects to reduce Australia's rising greenhouse emissions was not the answer and ''is fighting against the way the Earth's systems want us to go'', he said.
Dr Raupach, a contributing author to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, said Australia's greenhouse emissions were growing faster than in any other developed nation in the world, driven by increasing per capita wealth and the ''aggressive consumption'' of the average urban lifestyle.
''We need a cap on total emissions at around 500 billion tonnes of carbon, which means an 80 per cent reduction in emissions for developed countries, and perhaps a 90 per cent reduction for Australia.''
The climate-change threat was ''somewhere between severe and extreme''. A gap was emerging between ''what the economists tells us is possible'' and what scientists insisted was necessary to tackle the problem, Dr Raupach said.
Significant reductions in Australia's greenhouse emissions were ''technically achievable and affordable'', with low-cost mitigation measures including improved refrigeration, lighting, heating and car fuel efficiencies, better building insulation and reduced travel, with carbon offsets invested in renewable energy rather than biosequestration or tree-planting projects, he said. The director of the University of Adelaide's climate research institute, Professor Barry Brook, told the conference that ''to have a reasonable chance'' of avoiding a future increase of 2 degrees of global warming, developed nations must achieve ''at least an 80 per cent reduction in emissions'' by 2050 and begin levelling off emissions ''by no later than 2015''.
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And if Australia can do it, so can the United States.
Australia could be totally reliant on solar energy by 2030 if the current obstacles of technical inertia, lack of political will and e... more -
Is the sun "dead"?
Dark spots, some as large as 50,000 miles in diameter, typically move across the surface of the sun, contracting and expanding as they go. These strange and powerful phenomena are known as sunspots, but now they are all gone. Not even solar physicists know why it’s happening and what this odd solar silence might be indicating for our future. Dark spots, some as large as 50,000 miles in diameter, typically move across the surface of the sun, contracting and expanding as they... more
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It's so hot in New York, Yankee fans boo the sun, and cheer the cloud...
That's just how hot it was in New York on Monday...
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..........QUESTION--ONE...............
Please join.......United Friends Of.......Earth.....no dues....no uniforms.........
just do everything you can to help change the direction we are going..........
.......Give Mother Earth the respect she deserves......................................... Please join.......United Friends Of.......Earth.....no dues....no uniforms......... ... more -
New Jersey Ranks Second For Solar Installations In The United States
Nexus Properties has begun installing fields of solar glass panels on the rooftops of their two large parking garages flanking the Trenton AMTRAK/NJ Transit station -- a first for commuter parking garages in New Jersey.
The solarization of the two parking garages reinforces the state's smart growth strategies, said Joseph L Fiordaliso, Commissioner of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. "New Jersey ranks second to California in solar installation in the United States; we're in the top 10 worldwide," he proudly added. "We now have over 2,500 solar installations completed. What Nexus is doing and what we're doing as a state is very impressive and environmentally important."
Andrea Sussman, a managing member of Nexus, said the solar fields will be installed on the rooftops of Clinton Commons and Station Plaza Park and Ride. Each field will contain 662 individual solar panels that measure 2.5 feet by 5 feet. The combined solar fields are expected to reduce electric consumption at the garages by 467,500 kwh annually -- enough energy savings to heat and light 50 homes for a year, according to PSE and G.
On many days, the solar fields will generate surplus energy that will be routed to PSE and G's electronic grid, said Bill Harris, vice president of operations for Nexus. He said Nexus will also prepare several docking stations in each of the garages for electric vehicles.
"Parking patrons utilizing this form of renewable energy will have their cars recharged by the power of the sun while they take mass transit to and from their place of work," he said. "As electric vehicles gain in popularity, we'll be able to convert additional parking spaces to docking stations."
Nexus Properties has begun installing fields of solar glass panels on the rooftops of their two large parking garages flanking the Tre... more -
Cost of solar panels expected to plummet
"Solar photovoltaics have their challenges, from shortages of silicon to the sheer cost of purchasing and installing solar panels, but a new report from the Prometheus Institute says that both these problems will be addressed over the next few years, leading to cheaper solar and an abundance of capacity to produce.
Based on their research, Travis Bradford, president of the Institute, says that prices for traditional silicon-based panels should fall from $3.66 per watt (2007 figures) to $2.14 per watt in 2010, and more impressively, thin-film PV should go to $1.81 per watt from $2.96. When coal, currently the least expensive source of power, is around $2.10 per watt to generate*, the expected drop in price for solar will make it far more competitive." "Solar photovoltaics have their challenges, from shortages of silicon to the sheer cost of purchasing and installing solar panels, but... more -
Kitesurf in ITALY - 151 h2O Sports
A group of Italian Kiter struggling with the sea in storm
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IRB Rugby Sevens Twickenham day one
A trip to the IRB sevens at Twickers on the day when the sun was out and the pimms was flowing!
Tags: IRB,international,rugby,union,sevens,twickenham,sun,pimms,
A trip to the IRB sevens at Twickers on the day when the sun was out and the pimms was flowing! ... more -
Sunscreen health risks?
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a new study showing that nearly all Americans are contaminated with oxybenzone, a widely-used sunscreen ingredient. This chemical so far has been linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage, as well as low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. Oxybenzone is also a penetration enhancer, a chemical that helps other chemicals penetrate the skin. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a new study showing that nearly all Americans are contaminated with oxybenzone, a widely... more
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Light can now be used to treat cancer. Why are we not told?
Photodynamic therapy treats cancer without the side effects of chemo. It relies on tumour-killing drugs that are activated only by light.
Photodynamic therapy treats cancer without the side effects of chemo. It relies on tumour-killing drugs that are activated only by lig... more -
Cancer gone in seven days?
Skin cancer capital of the world ... a range of new melanoma treatments are being trialled in Australia. Professor Thompson said an earlier trial of 20 patients showed between 60 and 80 per cent of tumours were successfully treated with one injection Skin cancer capital of the world ... a range of new melanoma treatments are being trialled in Australia. Professor Thompson said an ea... more
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