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By Janet Evans
Friday, Sep 12 2008, 08:40 PM
 Cows may have a sixth magnetic sense photo: flickr
If you ever find yourself lost in a field or in the woods…and don’t have a compass, moss on a tree or your new GPS…don’t fear…
Look to the animals to point you in the correct direction...they are able to sense magnetic fields.
This is a pretty cool article…
Have you ever noticed that herds of grazing animals all face the same way?
Images from Google Earth have confirmed that cattle tend to align their bodies in a north-south direction. Wild deer also display this behaviour - a phenomenon that has apparently gone unnoticed by herdsmen and hunters for thousands of years. In the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences, scientists say the Earth's magnetic fields may influence the behaviour of these animals. The Earth can be viewed as a huge magnet, with magnetic north and south situated close to the geographical poles. Many species - including birds and salmon - are known to use the Earth's magnetic fields in migration, rather like a natural GPS. A few studies have shown that some mammals - including bats - also use a "magnetic compass" to help their sense of direction.
Continued HERE
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By Janet Evans
Wednesday, Sep 3 2008, 05:47 PM
If your ship is traveling in Canada’s northern arctic, that is…
More ice shelf has broken loose.
Global warming.
"A chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away from Ellesmere Island in Canada's northern Arctic, another dramatic indication of how warmer temperatures are changing the polar frontier, scientists said Wednesday.
Large pieces of ice are seen drifting off the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf in this July file photo.
Derek Mueller, an Arctic ice shelf specialist at Trent University in Ontario, told The Associated Press that the 4,500-year-old Markham Ice Shelf separated in early August and the 19-square-mile shelf is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.
"The Markham Ice Shelf was a big surprise because it suddenly disappeared. We went under cloud for a bit during our research and when the weather cleared up, all of a sudden there was no more ice shelf. It was a shocking event that underscores the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic," said Muller.
Muller also said that two large sections of ice detached from the Serson Ice Shelf, shrinking that ice feature by 47 square miles -- or 60 percent -- and that the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf has also continued to break up, losing an additional eight square miles."
Continue the article HERE
Information from NASA
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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, 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
Monday, Jun 9 2008, 06:45 AM
 Siberian mountains
You’re being sent to Siberia!
The frozen tundra...
A death sentence for some ….
Because of Siberia’s remoteness, people would be exiled there with no hope of escape due to extreme temperatures, forests, animals; it was a huge prison….
At least that’s how it used to be in old-time Russia.
But times have changed.
Black Gold....
Photograph by: Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic June 2008
Under communist rule, the U.S.S.R. was a major oil producer, with western Siberia providing most of the supply. Soviet production peaked in 1988 at around 12.5 million barrels per day (bbd), two-thirds of which came from western Siberia. Just before communism collapsed in 1991, oil production began falling, bottoming out in the mid-1990s at a little over six million bbd. Not until the late 1990s did production take off again.
Meet the new Siberia à here
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Jun 1 2008, 02:05 PM
By Janet Evans
Saturday, May 17 2008, 02:05 PM
It's time to get rid of some of those misconceptions about animals that we've had since we were kids... |
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MYTH: Piranhas are deadly
FACT: As anyone who has ever seen You Only Live Twice will recall, James Bond's enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld keeps a pool filled with Amazonian piranha fish. "You will see that my piranha fish get very hungry," says Blofeld, stroking his white cat. "They can strip a man to the bone in 30 seconds." The point is soon demonstrated, at an unfortunate flunkey's expense. What a pity it's nonsense. Piranhas do have sharp little teeth, and can give you a nasty nip. And they do sometimes swim in large schools, but only to defend themselves against natural predators, such as river dolphins.
Piranhas are predators (of smaller fish and shrimp), and they do have to be kept in even-numbered groups in aquariums to stop them ganging up on an odd one out. But, whatever Blofeld says, they won't gang up on you.
from the Daily Mail, check out more facts regarding animal myths for
Sloths
Goldfish
Ostriches
Camels
Cows
Bats
Lemmings
Sharks
Dogs
Surprising Truths Behind Great Animal Myths à here
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By Janet Evans
Monday, May 5 2008, 06:40 AM
OR Global Warming….
This one will go under global warming, according to “some experts.”
What is it this time?
This....
"Two deaths in the waters off California and Mexico last week and a spate of shark-inflicted injuries to surfers off Florida's Atlantic coast have left beachgoers seeking an explanation for a sudden surge in the number of strikes.
In the first four months of this year, there were four fatal shark attacks worldwide, compared with one in the whole of 2007, according to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville."
Read the article from The Guardian Observer
Surge in fatal shark attacks blamed on global warming í here
I guess that's enough to convince me.
How about you?
Nah...it really wasn't.
How about some statistics.
The easiest place to find those...Wikipedia, :
In 2000, there were 79 shark attacks reported worldwide, 11 of them fatal. In 2005 and 2006 this number dropped to 61 and 62 respectively, while the number of fatalities dropped to only four per year. Of these attacks, the majority occurred in the United States (53 in 2000, 40 in 2005 and 38 in 2006). For the same period, the Global Shark Attack File records 69 unprovoked attacks of which five were fatal.
2008 attacks
An Austrian tourist died February 24, 2008 after being bitten by a shark while diving near the Bahamas in waters that had been baited with bloody fish parts to attract the predators.
A 16-year-old Australian boy died on April 8, 2008 after being attacked by a shark in the coastal town of Ballina, on the mid-coast. The boy died whilst bodyboarding when he and a friend were taking advantage of a teacher's strike; the teenager's friend is now being considered for a bravery award. The shark responsible was thought to be a bull shark.
A 66-year-old man died on April 25, 2008 off the coast of the Southern California city of Solana Beach. The species of shark was a great white shark. A 25-year-old man died on April 30, 2008 off the coast of Mexico. The species of shark was a nurse shark.
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Why Sharks Attack...
From HowStuffWorks:
Ninety percent or more of shark incidents are mistakes. They assume that we're something that we are not.- Gary Adkison, diver ("Sharkbite! Surviving the Great White")
Although shark attacks can seem vicious and brutal, it's important to remember that sharks aren't evil creatures constantly on the lookout for humans to attack. They are animals obeying their instincts, like all other animals. As predators at the top of the ocean food chain, sharks are designed to hunt and eat large amounts of meat. A shark's diet consists of other sea creatures -- mainly fish, sea turtles, whales, sea lions, and seals. Humans are not on the menu. In fact, humans don't provide enough high-fat meat for sharks, which need a lot of energy to power their large, muscular bodies.
If sharks aren't interested in eating humans, why do they attack us? The first clue comes in the pattern that most shark attacks take. In the majority of recorded attacks, the shark bites the victim, hangs on for a few seconds (possibly dragging the victim through the water or under the surface), and then lets go. It is very rare for a shark to make repeated attacks and actually feed on a human victim. The shark is simply mistaking a human for something it usually eats. Once the shark gets a taste, it realizes that this isn't its usual food, and it lets go.
The shark's confusion is easier to understand once we start to look at things from the shark's point of view. Many attack victims are surfers or people riding boogie boards. A shark swimming below sees a roughly oval shape with arms and legs dangling off, paddling along. This bears a close resemblance to a sea lion (the main prey of great white sharks) or a sea turtle (a common food for tiger sharks).
Shark Sensory System
Attacks have also frequently occurred when humans were spear fishing in ocean waters. Sharks are attracted to the signs given off by dying fish -- the smell of blood in the water and the electrical impulses given off as the fish struggles. Sharks detect these signals with their ampullae of Lorenzini, a set of "detectors" under the skin on a shark's snout. The ampullae are electrically sensitive cells that connect to the skin's surface through small tubes. Once a shark arrives on the scene, it may become agitated and aggressive in the presence of so much food. A hungry, excited shark can easily mistake a human for its usual prey.
There are cases in which sharks seem to attack out of aggression, rather than hunger. Very little is known about shark behavior, but it is believed that some species, including great whites, display dominance behavior over other sharks. This behavior can take the form of "punching" with the snout, or bites that don't do much damage to the tough skin of a shark. Unfortunately, when a shark makes a dominance display toward a human, these "gentle" bites can still cause horrendous damage.
Sometimes, the cause of a shark attack is simple to determine -- the shark is responding to human aggression. Nurse sharks, for example, are generally placid fish that lie still along the bottom of the ocean floor. For some reason, this makes some divers think that it's a good idea to pull their tails. Irritated nurse sharks have taught several divers to keep their hands to themselves. For this reason, shark attack statistics are divided between provoked and unprovoked attacks.
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I'm going to go with a theory of more people being in the water or changing patterns of other animal behavior in the waters that have drawn sharks to the areas.
But not global warming.
I can't remember the last year I've had my heat come on in May....but it did this week.
But if people really want to believe global warming is attracting sharks and causing attacks...
Then, get out of the water!
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Apr 28 2008, 04:55 PM
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Apr 8 2008, 06:40 PM
From Popular Science
Want to see a model for successful and rapid environmental action? Here, our list of the 50 communities that are leading the way. Does yours make the cut?
Chicago #9! ..... Milwaukee #22!
Wow! and Hmmm.....
How the Rankings Work:
We used raw data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society’s Green Guide, which collected survey data and government statistics for American cities of over 100,000 people in more than 30 categories, including air quality, electricity use and transportation habits. We then compiled these statistics into four broad categories, each scored out of either 5 or 10 possible points. The sum of these four scores determines a city’s place in the rankings. Our categories are:
- Electricity (E; 10 points): Cities score points for drawing their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric power, as well as for offering incentives for residents to invest in their own power sources, like roof-mounted solar panels.
- Transportation (T; 10 points): High scores go to cities whose commuters take public transportation or carpool. Air quality also plays a role.
- Green living (G; 5 points): Cities earn points for the number of buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as for devoting area to green space, such as public parks and nature preserves.
- Recycling and green perspective (R; 5 points): This measures how comprehensive a city’s recycling program is (if the city collects old electronics, for example) and how important its citizens consider environmental issues.
See the the first 25 below and then click the link to PopSci for the full list. Click here to launch the gallery to see six case studies on how our greenest cities are cleaning up
1. Portland, Ore. 23.1
· Electricity: 7.1 Transportation: 6.4 Green Living: 4.8 Recycling/Perspective: 4.8 America’s top green city has it all: Half its power comes from renewable sources, a quarter of the workforce commutes by bike, carpool or public transportation, and it has 35 buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
2. San Francisco, Calif. 23.0
· Electricity: 6.8 Transportation: 8.8 Green Living: 3.5 Recycling/Perspective: 3.9
· See how San Francisco turns wasted roof space into power, here.
3. Boston, Mass. 22.7
· Electricity: 5.7 Transportation: 8.7 Green Living: 3.4 Recycling/Perspective: 4.9
· CASE STUDY: Grass Power
Boston has preliminary plans for a plant that would turn 50,000 tons of fall color into power and fertilizer. The facility would first separate yard clippings into grass and leaves. Anaerobic bacteria feeding on the grass would make enough methane to power at least 1.5 megawatts’ worth of generators, while heat and agitation would hasten the breakdown of leaves and twigs into compost.
4. Oakland, Calif. 22.5
· Electricity: 7.0 Transportation: 7.5 Green Living: 3.1 Recycling/Perspective: 4.9
· See how Oakland's hydrogen-powered transit helps the city cut pollution, here.
5. Eugene, Ore. 22.4
· Electricity: 10.0 Transportation: 4.7 Green Living: 2.9 Recycling/Perspective: 4.8
· CATEGORY LEADER: Electricity
Much of the wet Pacific Northwest draws its energy from hydroelectric dams. But Eugene draws an additional 9 percent of its municipal electricity from wind farms. It also buys back excess power from residents who install solar panel
6. Cambridge, Mass. 22.2
· Electricity: 6.1 Transportation: 7.5 Green Living: 3.9 Recycling/Perspective: 4.7
7. Berkeley, Calif. 22.2
· Electricity: 6.2 Transportation: 8.4 Green Living: 2.9 Recycling/Perspective: 4.7
8. Seattle, Wash. 22.1
· Electricity: 6.2 Transportation: 7.3 Green Living: 4.7 Recycling/Perspective: 3.9
9. Chicago, Ill. 21.3
· Electricity: 5.4 Transportation: 7.3 Green Living: 5.0 Recycling/Perspective: 3.6
· CATEGORY LEADER: Green Space
In addition to the 12,000 acres Chicago has devoted to public parks and waterfront space, the U.S. Green Building Council has awarded four city projects with a “Platinum” rating, its highest award.
See how Chicago's power plants produce twice the energy with a third the carbon, here.
10. Austin, Tex. 21.0
· Electricity: 6.9 Transportation: 5.9 Green Living: 3.3 Recycling/Perspective: 4.9
11. Minneapolis, Minn. 20.3
· Electricity: 7.8 Transportation: 7.4 Green Living: 2.8 Recycling/Perspective: 2.3
· CASE STUDY: Citizen Enviro-Grants
If you’ve got a world-saving idea, the City of Lakes will give you, your church or your community group the money to get it done. Twenty $1,000 mini-grants and five $10,000 awards were distributed last year to programs ranging from household power-consumption monitors to “block club talks” about global warming. A similar initiative has sprung up in Seattle.
12. St. Paul, Minn. 20.2
· Electricity: 8.0 Transportation: 4.0 Green Living: 3.5 Recycling/Perspective: 4.7
13. Sunnyvale, Calif. 19.9
· Electricity: 7.3 Transportation: 6.8 Green Living: 2.2 Recycling/Perspective: 3.6
14. Honolulu, Hawaii 19.9
· Electricity: 6.0 Transportation: 7.8 Green Living: 2.6 Recycling/Perspective: 3.5
15. Fort Worth, Tex. 19.7
· Electricity: 8.3 Transportation: 4.6 Green Living: 2.4 Recycling/Perspective: 4.4
16. Albuquerque, N.M. 19.1
· Electricity: 7.6 Transportation: 5.5 Green Living: 2.4 Recycling/Perspective: 3.6
17. Syracuse, N.Y. 18.9
· Electricity: 7.0 Transportation: 4.9 Green Living: 2.6 Recycling/Perspective: 4.4
18. Huntsville, Ala. 18.4
· Electricity: 6.2 Transportation: 4.1 Green Living: 3.6 Recycling/Perspective: 4.5
19. Denver, Colo. 18.2
· Electricity: 5.9 Transportation: 5.2 Green Living: 3.0 Recycling/Perspective: 4.1
· CASE STUDY: Green Concrete
Fly ash, a by-product of coal-burning power plants, usually ends up in landfills. Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver found a way to reuse this industrial by-product. They add it at concentrations of about 20 percent to a new green concrete mix. The addition of fly ash also reduces the amount of sulfur- and carbon-spewing concrete production needed to finish a job. The mayor has signed an executive order requiring the use of green concrete in new city projects, and a $550-million infrastructure bond makes demand for the mix likely to grow.
20. New York, N.Y. 18.2
· Electricity: 2.8 Transportation: 10.0 Green Living: 3.4 Recycling/Perspective: 2.0
· CATEGORY LEADER: Transportation
More than 54 percent of New Yorkers take public transportation to work, beating the next-best metropolis, Washington, D.C., by 17 percent.
See how New York City turns its tides into electricity, here.
21. Irvine, Calif. 18.1
· Electricity: 4.2 Transportation: 6.8 Green Living: 2.9 Recycling/Perspective: 4.2
22. Milwaukee, Wis. 17.3
· Electricity: 5.0 Transportation: 4.9 Green Living: 3.1 Recycling/Perspective: 4.3
23. Santa Rosa, Calif. 17.2
· Electricity: 7.0 Transportation: 3.4 Green Living: 2.4 Recycling/Perspective: 4.4
· See how Santa Rosa taps geysers for watts, here.
24. Ann Arbor, Mich. 17.2
· Electricity: 4.6 Transportation: 4.8 Green Living: 2.9 Recycling/Perspective: 4.9
25. Lexington, Ky. 16.8
· Electricity: 5.9 Transportation: 3.6 Green Living: 2.3 Recycling/Perspective: 5.0
· CATEGORY LEADER: Recycling and green perspective
Lexingtonians recycle everything from surplus electronics to scrap metal, and they listed the environment as their third most important concern (behind only employment and public safety)—the highest ranking in our survey.
See No. 26 thru 50 on PopSci í here
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By Janet Evans
Wednesday, Apr 2 2008, 11:20 AM
Be prepared to be inundated in the years to come, with every story under the sun, the moon, the universe regarding global warming….
Especially with Al Gore and his $300 million campaign now going on.
But while this story from Australia was news to me, I guess it, and processes like it are nothing new to environmentalists.
Australia is now pumping carbon dioxide underground, deep into the Earth as if it was a giant Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon!
“Geosequestration”
Burp....Pass the Pepto-Bismol™, please.
This, to supposedly reduce greenhouse emissions.
This project is under criticism.
Read about it from the Associated Press
Australia Opens Carbon Burying Plant í here
A "CLEAN COAL" experiment will begin in Australia today injecting up to 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide into a deep underground storage site in Victoria.
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By Janet Evans
Wednesday, Apr 2 2008, 06:35 AM
 Bolts from the blue: A violent swirling mass darkens the skies over Grand Island,
Nebraska and creates a mini electrical storm
"They are the storm chasers, a rare breed of adventurers who delight in tracking tornados and watching them unfold.
And pictures taken by storm chasers Mike Hollingshead and Eric Nguyen show tornados can be both deadly - and hypnotically beautiful.
Storm chasers, who think nothing of driving 500 miles a day in the hope of finding a "big one", are a motley bunch of research scientists, local TV journalists competing to be first with the tornado warnings (not only saving lives but boosting viewer ratings, too) and adrenaline junkies.
Up to 800 twisters are reported in the U.S. every year and most of them are to be found in the Mid-West prairieland or, as the chasers have named it, "Tornado Alley".
The storms there are triggered by the unique weather of the Mid-West. It has a constant low pressure system that draws moist, warm air from the southern Gulf of Mexico towards the cool dry air of the Northern Rockies and the warm dry air of the Western deserts. "
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See the rest of the amazing photos and the entire article on the Daily Mail
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Mar 8 2008, 04:50 PM
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