Featured Articles

Like The Everglades The Way They Are? Thank Garbage

Like The Everglades The Way They Are? Thank Garbage

Mar 23 2011 | comment(s)

Tree islands, patches of high, dry ground a meter high that dot the marshes of the Florida Everglades, are elevated enough to allow trees to grow and provide a nesting site for alligators and a refuge for birds, panthers, and other wildlife.

And those critters may have anthropogenic garbage left by early man to thank for it.   Garbage mounds left by prehistoric humans might have driven the formation of many of those  Everglades' tree islands, distinctive havens of exceptional ecological richness in the sprawling marsh that are today threatened by human development.
Chavez: Capitalism Ended Life On Mars

Chavez: Capitalism Ended Life On Mars

Mar 23 2011 | comment(s)

The great thing about being a dictator is you can make any ridiculous claim and no one in your country can dispute you -so if Kim Jong Il wants to claim he is Batman, well, okay.

Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez has declared himself a science expert recently, further asserting capitalism is so awful it killed life on Mars.  Yes, he is scientifically asserting that Mars once had water and "it would not be strange that there had been civilization on Mars, but maybe capitalism arrived there, imperialism arrived and finished off the planet."

Happy World Water Day!
Court Puts California's Global Warming Program On Hold

Court Puts California's Global Warming Program On Hold

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

While lauded by activists as leadership, the Air Resources Board in California and its mandate of a controversial cap-and-trade scheme was always scientifically and economically suspect (see California grossly overstates emissions to get mandates passed) and it has turned out to be ethically questionable also.
Are You Reassured?

Are You Reassured?

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

There has clearly been enough controversy around the risks and hazards created by the Fukushima reactor problems over the past days.  Part of the controversy seems to originate with the idea that if a risk to public health is being suggested, then this is scaremongering and clearly an anti-nuclear sentiment.  On the other hand, if the risk is downplayed, then this is viewed as being pro-nuclear and representative of industry favoritism.

I would suggest that when examining such risks that there are actually two perspectives that need to be considered and that we must be especially aware of the reliability of scientific data in reassuring the public.
Japan, Earthquakes, And The Role Of Social Media During A Crisis

Japan, Earthquakes, And The Role Of Social Media During A Crisis

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

Because of the time difference, many discovered the news of the Tohoku earthquake hours after the 9.0 magnitude tremor was recorded 81 miles off the Japanese East Coast - an earthquake so epic that the resulting tsunami reached across the Pacific and the coasts of America and New Zealand.   But also for much of the waking world, news about the unfolding crisis happened instantaneously - because of the amazing reach of social media. 

Send me an e-mail?

Send me an e-mail?

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

The New York Times has not just gone astray with its payment scheme; it’s gone completely off the deep end, gotten lost in the forest, fallen off the cliff and into a pit, and is knee-deep in any other mixed and fractured metaphor you can devise... linguistically.

Bracket blowup for Etsy/NASA contest

Bracket blowup for Etsy/NASA contest

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

Back in October I made my picks for the hotly contested Etsy/NASA contest.  And now the winners are announced.  Neither of my picks (stenciled glass bottles and wooden toy blocks for alien children) made it.  And, well, I'll say I'm not leaping up to buy any of the winners.  Still, it was a neat little contest with interesting implications.

Alex
DIY satellite news every Tuesday here and at Project Calliope
Reading The Cryosphere

Reading The Cryosphere

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

Reading The Cryosphere

A picture is worth a thousand words - but only if you can speak the language.

When examining satellite images of the cryosphere it helps to know something of the mechanisms which can create the effects seen.  The skills needed in interpreting these images can be developed by looking at Google Earth or Wikimapia images without any annotations.  Check the history of an area and then go relic hunting.  Alternatively, look at some satellite images, find something odd and then try to guess what it is.  In general, form follows function.  For example, banks of earth in grids or rings not known to be prehistoric indicate that a site was probably once connected with pyrotechnic activities.
How Many Nuclear Energy Cheerleaders to Change a Light Bulb?

How Many Nuclear Energy Cheerleaders to Change a Light Bulb?

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

As we are already talking about light bulb jokes, the many useless comments to my rather more serious articles lately got me to compile the answer to the following question, although it is certainly not a joke:


Question: How many in favor of nuclear energy does it need to change a light bulb?

Lunch Box For A Theoretical Physicist

Lunch Box For A Theoretical Physicist

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

Lacking the papers to prove I am a theoretical physicist, I have built something working class: a lunchbox

The box contains Yoplait Yogurt, Del Monte 100 Calorie Mixed Fruit, and White Cheddar Cheese Smart Food Pop Corn (note: all product placements are unpaid). The apple included indicates I work on gravity.

[The video is a reading of the content contained herein, so click or skip]
Inland areas and coastal development

Inland areas and coastal development

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

Coastal areas and inland water bodies , salt marshes have their own flora and fauna. High tides and low tides have their role to play. During monsoon season rain water allows the growth of certain halophytes as their seeds require non saline water for their germination while they need saline water for their growth. Salicornia is one such plant. Rhizophora with its special pneumatophores meant for gaseous exchange is another plant of coastal marshes. Different algal material also grows in the coastal waters depending on the ocean Once the plants are there the sea animals get their food and a sort of ecosystem based on saline water , rain water, salt marshes, sandy beaches develop in which flora and fauna supports each other.
I Like Whales Even Though They Eat Squid

I Like Whales Even Though They Eat Squid

Mar 22 2011 | comment(s)

I'll confess it. Even though they're the divas of the ocean, the quintessential charismatic megafauna, even though they overshadow all the other weird and wonderful marine life, I still like whales. And our oceans need them, just the way our land needs wolves and tigers and pandas and elephants.

So I designed a super-nerdy t-shirt:



I submitted it to a Threadless challenge for the Oceanic Preservation Society. If you like it, go vote it up!
Japan Tohoku Earthquake And Tsunami Warnings – Reading The Signals I

Japan Tohoku Earthquake And Tsunami Warnings – Reading The Signals I

Mar 21 2011 | comment(s)

At the Top of the World.
The massive 9.0 M earthquake at Tohoku, Japan, 11. March 2011 literally shook the entire planet. The signals were read even at the top of the world, close to the north pole. Read on to learn about earthquake and tsunami observations in general before you take a look at the unique earthquake recordings from the high-north.

by Bente Lilja Bye and Ove Christian Dahl Omang

Norwegain Mapping Authority's Geodetic Laboratory in Ny-Ålesund, Norway
Ny-Ålesund Geodetic Laboratory, Svalbard, Norway. Credit: Ove Christian Dahl Omang
Carbene Is Genie In A Bottle

Carbene Is Genie In A Bottle

Mar 21 2011 | comment(s)

In the days of yore, organic chemistry was considered a branch of science that dealt with endless interactions involving carbon atoms as atomic and molecular interactive forces were not understood.
WHITE COTTAGE ROSE or Rosa alba Linn. has medicinal properties also.

WHITE COTTAGE ROSE or Rosa alba Linn. has medicinal properties also.

Mar 21 2011 | comment(s)

Rosa alba Linn. Rosaceae Stem,flowers It is cultivated to some extent in Bulgaria and Turkey for extraction of oil (otto) from the flowers. Common Uses . The flower is bitter, acrid, pungent, with a flavor , cooling, Astringent to the bowels, aphrodisiac, sures "tirdosha" stomatitis, leprosy, biliousness, burning sensation, purifies the blood, improves the complexion, the taste the appetite (Ayruveda) . The flower smells sweet, enriches the blood, carminative, laxative, lessens inflammation, useful in cold and catarrah of the nose, headache, toothache, bronchitis, hiccough, diseases of the lungs, ophthalmia, rheumatism, applied to piles, the perfume is a tonic for the brain and the heart. (Yunanai)
How many Bloggers to Change a Light Bulb?

How many Bloggers to Change a Light Bulb?

Mar 21 2011 | comment(s)

Yesterday I had to explain what a light bulb joke is - to somebody from Mongolia – they seem to not have discovered that joke yet or don’t find it funny. The joke in question was already highly on the meta level, that is, the answer was not involving a number at all and only funny if you already heard at least a few of those typical how many to screw in or change a light bulb jokes:

Question: How many Feminists does it need to screw in a light bulb?

Answer: THAT’S NOT FUNNY!

How The Media Hurt The Japanese People

How The Media Hurt The Japanese People

Mar 20 2011 | comment(s)

How The Media Has Hurt The Japanese People


First and foremost I have a personal message for the 180 or so heroes who have been working in shifts around the clock to save their nation from a worse disaster than the one that Japan has already suffered.


To the Heroes of Fukushima: 

May you each be most correctly and sincerely honored - not just by by your own nation, but by the whole world.  You have risked your lives to save others.  You are morally remarkable people who have actively taken part in serving our global society.  Through your diligence and perseverance you have become public role models.  You each deserve at least these three medals of honor:

"Large Spectrum" Cancer Suppressor Gene Discovered

Mar 20 2011 | comment(s)

Portuguese researchers have discovered a "broad spectrum" cancer suppressor gene called LRP1B which acts by removing proteins crucial for cancer development from the tumor environment.

The fact that LRP1B does not act on the tumor itself (in this study thyroid tumors) but, instead, on molecules which are known to be important to many different cancers is what makes it so interesting. Because this means that LRP1B, and also therapies capable of inducing it (or mimicking its effect), could in theory be used to treat a variety of cancers.
Moon and Sky

Moon and Sky

Mar 20 2011 | comment(s)




Friday night a storm moves in.





Raindrops start to lazily fall.

Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Truth: Locally Chernobyl

Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Truth: Locally Chernobyl

Mar 20 2011 | comment(s)

For decades we have been told that with the lessons learned from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, nuclear energy is safe. As the still unfolding mayhem at the Dai-Ichi plant in Fukushima, Japan, proves, nothing could be further from the truth.