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By Janet Evans
Monday, Aug 25 2008, 08:34 PM
The predictions are usually correct….
I’m speaking of the Farmers' Almanac. Actually, I think when I first put my blog up I had a link to Farmers' Almanac.
Farmers' Almanac 2009 goes on sale tomorrow and they have some nasty predictions for winter in our area. They start with the letter “F.” That would be FRIGID. They end with the letter “B.” That would be BRRRR.
It’s going to be cold this winter.
Read about it HERE
In the meantime, until you get your copy of Farmers' Almanac, you can check out the online version HERE or the original New Hampshire-based Old Farmers' Almanac (1792) :
Old Farmers' Almanac
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Aug 17 2008, 08:12 AM
And with the higher gas prices, and the prices of practically everything going up, it’s tempting to believe those deals that sound too good to be true.
Some of them may have basic scientific fact behind them, like this one…
Run Your Car On Water
and Double Your Gas Mileage…
Water can be used to fuel a car when used as a supplement to gasoline. In fact, very little water is needed! only one quart of water provides over 1800 gallons of HHO gas which can literally last for months and significantly increase your vehicle's fuel efficiently, improve emissions quality, and save you money.
Thousands of successful water-conversions around the world are proof that this technology works and will soon catch on! Some industry insiders say its just a matter of time before this water-burning technology will be standard in new automobiles. One expert estimates most cars will be using this technology by 2012, but until the auto manufacturers catch up, you can use this technology for yourself today at a very reasonable set-up cost.
You can go to the ad's website by clicking HERE
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Of course there are several things wrong with this picture...
They want you to convert your car to run with water and gas.
This does sound dangerous for the average person, even though they say it isn't.
And, it doesn't sound like it will work.
The Laws of Thermodynamics
Since you need to use electricity to separate the water into the "Brown's gas," doesn't that defeat the purpose of saving energy/money?
And aren't people too smart to fall for this anyway?
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Aug 16 2008, 06:45 PM
For years the German’s have been protecting their highest peak, the Zugspitz, by spreading reflective foil tarps over the ski slopes. They believe this “sun screen” of sorts will fight against “global warming.”
"The cover keeps off the heat and channels away rainwater," said Manfred Haas, who manages a team that grooms the ski area with bulldozers and graders. "Every autumn we make note of where the glacier has melted the most and cover those places the following spring."
Only the ski area on the mountain is covered with tarps
The German’s believe covering up glacial areas can highly reduce melting. But they also know that this is not very practical Now they've come up wih a wind screen.
"Geographer Hans-Joachim Fuchs in the western German city Mainz has another idea. He wants to harness the power of cold mountain winds -- so-called kabatic winds, or streams of cold, dense air that flow downhill -- with windscreens. The screens would keep the cool air on top of the glaciers, perhaps preserving them for a little while longer.
Fuchs has been proposing this idea for years, and this week he's putting it to the test. On Monday, Fuchs and 27 students headed to the Rhone glacier in Switzerland to install a windscreen measuring 15 meters long (50 feet) and 3 meters high at an elevation of 2,300 meters (7,545 feet) on the leading edge of the glacier. He'll be measuring the effectiveness of the screen to see if it's a viable solution."
Click on the picture to see a photo slide show of Fuchs and his students :
Read the full article about Fuchs and what a glaciolgist has to say
HERE
Don't you wish you could have a job like that?
"Windscreen Could Save Glaciers?" Covers over the ski slopes? There's a lot of crazy stuff going on that most of us have never heard about. I'll be waiting to hear the results of this colossal experiment. That's if a giant gust of mountain wind doesn't knock over the screen first.
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Aug 11 2008, 08:29 PM
I'm really scared...aren't you?
Prepare for extinction....the end of the world as we know it.
It's global warming...again.
We need to get prepared for four degrees of global warming, Bob Watson told the Guardian last week. At first sight this looks like wise counsel from the climate science adviser to Defra. But the idea that we could adapt to a 4C rise is absurd and dangerous. Global warming on this scale would be a catastrophe that would mean, in the immortal words that Chief Seattle probably never spoke, "the end of living and the beginning of survival" for humankind. Or perhaps the beginning of our extinction.
The collapse of the polar ice caps would become inevitable, bringing long-term sea level risesof 70-80 metres. All the world's coastal plains would be lost, complete with ports, cities, transport and industrial infrastructure, and much of the world's most productive farmland. The world's geography would be transformed much as it was at the end of the last ice age, when sea levels rose by about 120 metres to create the Channel, the North Sea and Cardigan Bay out of dry land. Weather would become extreme and unpredictable, with more frequent and severe droughts, floods and hurricanes. The Earth's carrying capacity would be hugely reduced. Billions would undoubtedly die.
Watson's call was supported by the government's former chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, who warned that "if we get to a four-degree rise it is quite possible that we would begin to see a runaway increase". This is a remarkable understatement. The climate system is already experiencing significant feedbacks, notably the summer melting of the Arctic sea ice. The more the ice melts, the more sunshine is absorbed by the sea, and the more the Arctic warms. And as the Arctic warms, the release of billions of tonnes of methane – a greenhouse gas 70 times stronger than carbon dioxide over 20 years – captured under melting permafrost is already under way."
Continued HERE
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I don't know...
It's mid-August, and I just got back from Boulder, Colorado.
They had a heat wave of upper 90 degree weather for the last week of July and first week of August. This past week it was in the 80's with the nights in the upper 50's.
Two days ago this picture was taken of me on Mt. Evans next to a lake, standing in snow. Yes, I said snow, in the United States, in mid-August....
Global warming?
Right.
August on Mt. Evans (Colorado) in the snow. Must be that La Niña ...
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By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Aug 5 2008, 06:40 AM
 Smog returned to Beijing's skies on Monday, despite claims by Chinese officials that drastic
anti-pollution measures had slashed the chances of Olympic events having to be rescheduled.
Well, it looks like it depends what day it is as to whether you need to wear a mask in China to protect yourself from air pollution just to walk the streets. Let's face it...it's just plain ugly. And you hate to think of athletes practicing and then competing in this pollution.
The aerial photo taken on August 2, 2008 shows the Peking University Gymnasium,
in Beijing, China. The table tennis competition of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will
be held there. (Xinhua Photo)
While it looks very bad on August 4th, here is a slideshow of most of the buildings on August 2nd...
Slideshow of Beijiing Olympic Venues
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Aug 2 2008, 07:05 AM
 A black bear makes his way across the 13th fairway during the second round of the
U.S. Senior Open on Friday. Nobody was harmed, and neither was the bear.
John Mummert / AP
Talk about getting back to nature! If you go golfing in the Denver area, be prepared for just about any type of local wildlife to grace you with its presence. Worrisome enough would have been watching out of the corner of your eye for a mountain lion to come charging out of the woods. Now golfers in Colorado need to be on the alert for black bears.
"Although tournament officials were prepared to tranquilize the animal and stop play were it to become aggressive or spooked, after several minutes the bear crawled through a drainage pipe on the ninth hole that leads to the West Course, then went through another drainage pipe and into the wilderness, leaving unnerved galleries and golfers behind.USGA spokesman Pete Kowalski said wildlife experts were called in and would be on the course throughout the rest of the tournament in case the bear or its chums decide to return for another look around."
Black Bear Plays Through At U.S. Senior Open
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Jul 31 2008, 06:55 AM
I’ve mentioned before that I have family in Vermont. My dad, sister and her family, nephew and family and a sister-in-law (my brother passed away a few years ago) are all living in Vermont as transplants from Connecticut, Florida, and Michigan. Vermont natives are very down to earth people. Once you live there a few years it’s easy to follow suit and quickly become one of the crowd, as my family has done.
They all live pretty far from large shopping centers and big entertainment. They do gardening. My brother used to chop wood for a month to help with heating for the winter. It was unbelievable how much wood he would store up.
The people of Vermont are worried about winter and the state of Vermont has put out an "energy plan" for citizens. They sure ar fortunate the state is so helpful. I guess the officials are all real down to earth citizens, too. Why do I say that?
"MONTPELIER -- Vermonters will have access to more state trees, low-interest loans and energy advice to help them heat their homes this winter, with a little culinary advice thrown in to make their food budget go farther.
[...]
More than 50 state lots will be available for cut-your-own firewood, and harvested wood will be collected at sites for low-income Vermonters. Lunderville said this was unlikely to be of much help this winter because the wood would not be seasoned enough to burn, but should become more useful next year.
A committee is being formed with state officials, church leaders, utility representatives and others to reach out to those who have not previously qualified for state help but might be pushed over the edge by increased heating and food costs.
No- or low-interest loans will be available for low- and middle-income Vermonters looking to make energy-efficiency improvements to their homes. Homeowners might also be able to use home-equity loans to pay their fuel bills.
Fuel dealers, worried about how they will cover the higher upfront payments for fuel, might see help from banks guaranteeing their credit.
Canning workshops will be offered at five locations around the state to teach people how to can and freeze vegetables from the garden to ease food costs through the winter. The first workshop will be at 6 p.m. Monday at the Milton Grange."
from the Burlington Free Press
Officials Introduce Energy Plan - Vermont
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Access to lots to cut down firewood that isn't even usable this year?
Canning workshops?
I dream about living in Vermont almost everyday....
I'm glad it's just a dream.
Some energy plan!
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Jul 17 2008, 07:02 AM
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Jul 15 2008, 12:16 PM
People like to blame George Bush for everything nowadays…well, for the past seven years anyway. Being a Conservative and a Republican, and a fan of President Bush (for the most part) I’m not going to be playing that game.
I have also noticed that besides President Bush being blamed for everything under the sun….yes, the sun, the warm, warm sun…global warming climate change is next in line for being blamed for everything wrong in the world.
So, I’m happy to say that last May and June as I was withering in pain equal to if I would have birthed my two children at the same exact moment in time, when I could have been cursing George Bush….it really was global warming that was to blame.
You see, global warming is now thought to be to blame for increasing kidney stones! Who knew?
So maybe I better think about moving someplace much cooler, because even though I'm currently not in an at-risk state, I’ve got a s*#%load more of them lingering there just waiting.
And while I thought perhaps President Bush might do something before November to really get me going….you know, get me so upset, so riled that those stones would implode....I'm worried global warming is going to really heat things up.
Go figure.
Read about it on ABC News É here
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Jul 14 2008, 07:05 AM
I was having a conversation with my father last night. He lives in northern Vermont, almost on the Canadian border. We almost (luckily) avoided politics, which we usually have to put on boxing gloves for when we have discussions. I don’t know if his skewed views are from his surroundings in Vermont, from Canada, or if he has radically changed in his older years from the person I knew growing up. But we disagree on everything.
He happened to mention that my brother-in-law, who lives in Connecticut with my sister and has been retired for several years, was asked to take a temporary job and jumped at the chance. If you’ve ever driven through Pennsylvania and looked at the sides of the roads as they cut through the hills, you may have noticed the ridges in the stone in the hills. Those ridges are made by jackhammers. That’s what my brother-in-law did all his life…run the jackhammer while making roads. He made good money but lost his hearing doing it.
My sister and her family are down-to-earth country people. They, like so many people in the Northeastern United States, heat their homes with oil furnaces. They have to plan ahead in summer as to how much oil they believe they will need for the winte, as they have to pay for it all at once. There is no budget billing as with the electric/gas company. When my brother-in-law that took that phone call, he took the job knowing that the price of furnace oil was going to cost so much he didn’t know how he was going to afford it.
Our electric bills in the midwest are horrible enough, but could you imagine paying $5 a gallon when you need 800 gallons of heating oil? I expect we will hear of many deaths this coming winter from people who couldn't afford heat. Many more than usual.
These are typical wood pellets, produced primarily as a wood
industry by-product for use as a heating fuel. (MPR Photo/Bob Kelleher)
Enter the creation of wood pellets....for people who can afford the initial switchover to a new furnace...
What a great concept.
Homeowners who use heating oil see alternatives à here
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By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Jul 8 2008, 06:25 PM
We’ve all heard of the Lost City of Atlantis.
Maybe you’ve seen the movie Waterworld.
With the threat of global warming climate change and the ice caps melting, causing more water, there is a concern of the need of additional places for people to live. After the typoons in Asia, that is another reason to have alternate living sources.
In comes the “Lilypad.”
Floating cities....
"Based on the design of a lilypad, they could be used as a permanent refuge for those whose homes have been covered in water. Major cities including London, New York and Tokyo are seen as being at huge risk from oceans which could rise by as much as 3ft by the end of this century.
This solution, by the award-winning Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut, is designed to be a new place to live for those whose homelands have been wiped out.
The 'Lilypad City' would float around the world as an independent and fully self-sustainable home. With a lake at its centre to collect and purify rainwater, it would be accessed by three separate marinas and feature artificial mountains to offer the inhabitants a change of scenery from the seascape.
Power for the central accommodation hub is provided through a series of renewable energy sources including solar panels on the mountain sides, wind turbines and a power station to harness the energy of the waves. "
I guess Mr. Callebaut didn't see the movie Waterworld.
I did.
Even though it was fictional....that doesn't mater.
Who the heck wants to float around on a "lilypad " for the rest of their lives.
People were meant to live on land, not on the water.
I suppose if that happens, we may as well evolve and form gills.
Temporary, yes...permanent...no.
Read the story from the Daily Mail à here
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By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Jul 8 2008, 11:58 AM
Having some technology troubles sent me to the web for a reinstall of a program….
I had an interesting find....
Take a peek at my Righty Blog “Hug a Tree” for a look at how you can save the environment : )
Here ç
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Jul 6 2008, 09:23 AM
The Beijing Summer Olympic organizers have reported that they don't see there will be any major problems next month even though China has been through rioting, a major earth quake, flooding, now mold, algae and even locusts.
View this stunning slide show of the removal of blue-green algae from Qingdao, China beaches.
Bloomberg Slide show algae removal China
About 10,000 people are scooping algae out of the sea at the eastern city of Qingdao, while officials in Inner Mongolia are preparing to fight off a plague of locusts that may arrive in the capital city during the Olympics. It's unbelievable what the Chinese people have gone through these past several months because of the wrath of nature. You have to wonder how much manpower is going into the Olympics at the expense of their people. Read an article from Bloomberg í here
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Jun 30 2008, 01:26 PM
Arctic sea ice is seen off the coast of Uummannaq, North Greenland.
It’s true…the ice at the North Pole could melt by the end of summer…
This would be the first time this has ever occurred.
What does that mean? A hotter planet.
The disappearance of Arctic sea ice may mean an even hotter planet, since the region's ice pack helps cool the earth by bouncing the sun's rays back into outer space. This reflective property, known as albedo, also prevents the rays from reaching the ocean, where heat is absorbed. Less sea ice means more dark open water to absorb the heat, which melts the sea ice even further. "Losing the ice sheet means losing an important way of cooling down," Mahoney said. "As a result, global warming would accelerate as the ice retreats."
Read the article from ABC News
Me? I’ll have to wait and see what happens.
I still blame any major “global warming” on the loss of rain forests.
When our world leaders can get a handle on that, which has been out of control for 30 years, then we can start micromanaging daily living.
Scientists believe North Pole ice may melt completely, but briefly, for the first time this summer. Tony Blair talks to Maggie Rodriguez about his efforts to make climate change a real global issue.
Also re-visit:
The Camouflaged Cause of So-called Global Warming
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By Janet Evans
Wednesday, Jun 18 2008, 06:50 AM
It looks like we may need to send an energy expert out to check this meter…
It seems to be running a bit too fast.
What’s that you say?
This home was made to be energy efficient a year ago?
But this home still burned “213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month.”
How can that be?
Whose house is this? í here
All the more reason for people to be reminded to not worship this í here
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Jun 14 2008, 02:40 PM
The Department of Water and Power workers in Los Angeles, as well as local officials and community activists
opened a white tub from where they poured 400,000 black colored balls into the water. image (c) Dakota Smith
In Los Angeles, these black, shimmering plastic balls are as good as black gold; for helping to eliminate bromate from a local reservoir. Bromate is a cancer-causing reaction to sunlight and chlorine.
So while we’re fighting the battle of plastic bottles that emit toxic chemicals....plastics will do just the opposite for drinking water in this case.
Chemicals…you can’t live with them; and you can’t live without them.
Read the story from the Houston Chronicle ç here
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Jun 14 2008, 09:15 AM
By Janet Evans
Friday, Jun 13 2008, 11:10 AM
 Remnants from a Boy Scout uniform sit in the rubble left by a tornado t
hat struck at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch, seen Thursday, June 12, 2008,
near Little Sioux, Iowa. Four Boy Scouts were killed and 48 people were
injured when the tornado tore through their Mid-America Council camp
Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Matt Miller,POOL)
Lost Boys....
Maybe not forever, but that’s what they remind me of.
Just look at the picture of Zach Jessen, speaking to Iowa’s Gov. Chet Culver.
Look at his face to understand some of what I mean.
Zach Jessen a survivor of the tornado that killed 4 scouts Wednesday night
talks with Iowa Gov. Chet Culver Eight-year-old Cub Scout Baileigh Rohde
holds a candle and looks up at Boy Scout Josh Dohse, left, during a candlelight
vigil in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, June 12, 2008, for the four Boy Scouts killed
after a twister flattened their camp in Iowa Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
You sense it when the boys describe their ordeal of when that devastating tornado struck
Wednesday as they waited for a rain storm to pass by; with statements like this,
“When I got up,” Cody said, “there was a boy right in front of me, face down, in a pool of blood. I had never seen that before."
Look at the trees snapped like twigs....
Laura Inns/Omaha World-Herald, via Associated Press
An aerial view of the remnants of a building destroyed at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa.
Lost boys….except this wasn’t Neverland. This was very real.
"I was going to the Lord's side, and I was going to go there flying," recalled Bowerman, who was wearing a splint on his wrist. "It felt like I was about to be lifted up. I just hugged the ground as much as I could."
Eight-year-old Cub Scout Baileigh Rohde
holds a candle and looks up at Boy Scout
Josh Dohse, left, during a candlelight vigil
in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, June 12, 2008,
for the four Boy Scouts killed after a twister
flattened their camp in Iowa Wednesday night.
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
I suppose what I'm really saying is boyhood lost.
It just breaks my heart.
from the Seattle Times
Here Ê
Scouts' Training Helped On Night of Terror
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Jun 12 2008, 11:54 AM
Thinking of alternative ways to take care of that lawn for the rest of the season?
 Perhaps something a little less of an alternative?
How about an electric lawn mower?
It's something to think about.
And it's certainly cost effective after the initial investment.
from the Christian Science Monitor
Earthtalk: Greener ways to cut the grass í here
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Jun 9 2008, 09:30 PM
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