Together we can fight to bring clean water to all of those who lack it.
Scrap Metal Beasts by Robert Jefferson Travis Pond
Ladies and Gentlemen, your new Decepticon designs.
"
… the think tanks and institutes that deny the reality or severity of climate change, or promote distrust of climate science, do so out of self-interest, ideological conviction or both. Some groups, like the fossil fuel industry, have an obvious self-interest in the continued use of fossil fuels. Others fear that if we accept the reality of climate change, we will be forced to acknowledge the failures of free-market capitalism. Still others worry that if we allow the government to intervene in the marketplace to stop climate change, it will lead to further expansion of government power that will threaten our broader freedoms.
But most Americans do not work for the fossil fuel industry, and most Americans accept that there is an appropriate role for government to protect human and environmental health. So why has the denial of climate change achieved so much traction?
In my travels, I have met many, many people who have told me that they are not in denial about climate change; they simply don’t know enough to decide. It strikes me that these people aren’t unlike my fellow jurors at the start of jury selection. They are trying to keep an open mind, something that we are routinely enjoined to do in many other aspects of daily life.
But just as open-mindedness can be the wrong answer in jurisprudence, it can also be the wrong answer in science and public policy. Since the mid-1990s, there has been clear-cut evidence that the climate is changing because of human activities: burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests. For the last decade or so it has been increasingly clear that these changes are accelerating, and worrisome.
Yet many Americans cling to the idea that it is reasonable to maintain an open mind. It isn’t, at least not to scientists who study the matter. They have been saying for some time that the case for the reality and gravity of climate change has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. But there’s the rub. The public seems to view scientists as the equivalent of the prosecuting attorney trying to prove a case. The think tanks, institutes and fossil fuel corporations take on the mantle of the defense.
We have to get over that flawed notion. Scientists don’t play the role of prosecutor trying to prove a case. Rather, they are the jury trying to evaluate the evidence. And they have rendered their verdict. The problem is not that scientists have become advocates, as some have claimed. The problem is that there is no judge, no recognized authority giving us instructions we accept, and no recognized authority to accept the scientists’ verdict and declare it final.
"Science historian and author (‘Merchants of Doubt’) Naomi Oreskes tackles American thinking on climate change in her recent Los Angeles Times article, ‘The Verdict is in on Climate Change’.
(Graphic credit: NASA)
(via plantedcity)
RogueSquid says: “NASA has confirmed that the unbalanced climate is in fact from Humans (Anthropogenic) causes. The diagram I quickly put together is to represent the heat from the sun; the large arrows are what we are taking IN for heat, and the little arrows represent what our Ozone is releasing. Unfortunately, we are taking IN more heat than we are letting go. With our over abundance of CO2 we are making it harder for the extra heat we DON’T need to leave, which is causing global warming. (:p Sorry for the silly diagram)”
Carbon Nanotubes
While not being particularly new to science, carbon nanotubes remain one of the more interesting and versatile new materials. At their basic level all they are is an allotrope of carbon in the shape of a cylinder, typically made by rolling a single atom thick sheet known as graphene or by deposition of carbon atoms. They also occur naturally in flames. The importance of carbon nanotubes lies in their incredible strength but also incredibly low density which gives them a specific strength (force per unit area divided by density or N·m·kg−1 for short) ~310 times greater than high carbon steel. Carbon nanotubes also have the predicted ability to carry an electrical current density that is 1000 times that of traditional conductors such as copper along with also being superb thermal conductors. The longest carbon nanotube to date clocks in at 18.5 cm (7.3 inches or 84% the width of a soccer ball) with the greatest length to width ratio being 132,000,000:1.
Images: 1, 2
Mobile app adds an element of gaming to home energy metering
There are few aspects of life that can’t be enlivened by a little friendly competition, and home energy metering is no exception. Enter German GreenPocket’s namesake smartphone app, which “helps consumers share their carbon footprint in a competitive and entertaining way on Facebook”. READ MORE…
Office Air May Contain Toxic Substances
In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists are reporting that the indoor air in offices is an important source of worker exposure to potentially toxic substances released by carpeting, furniture, paint and other items. Their report, which documents a link between levels of these so-called polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in office air and in the blood of workers, appears in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Office-Air-May-Contain-Potentially-Toxic-Substances-011912.aspx
- Tim De Chent, If the world’s population lived in one city… via Per Square Mile
So, if we can move past the haphazard historical, cultural, and biological reasons that people live where they currently are, we could pick a few hundred places in the world where there are good reasons to live, and move all the people to those places. Places with reliable water, equitable climates, available farmland. And then we can rewild the rest of the world.
(via juliefredrickson)
1 out of 6 species from Finding Nemo in danger of extinction
Unless conservation efforts are stepped up, many marine species will be introduced to future generations not in an aquarium, but by Pixar. A recent paper, which looked at the conservation status of the families of species that appeared in Finding Nemo, has some pretty stark findings. Many of the animals from the beloved movie, such as Sheldon the seahorse, Bruce the shark, Crush the sea turtle, Mr. Ray the eagle ray, and Nigel the pelican, are listed as threatened by the authors of the study. More troubling, we’re critically lacking in information for many beloved marine species. We may not now how precarious the ocean situation is until species or even entire families start disappearing.
Consumers need to face up to their throw-away tech-habit and expect at-home recyclable materials in their gadgets.
Recently, we have been watching a number of electronics concepts being shared around the web which have been cased in cardboard. These paper-based ideas look like novelty items but I believe that these actually point to a sustainable future.
More from Piers Fawkes in a thoughtful piece on PSFK:Piers Fawkes: For A Green Future, Electronics Need To Be Disposable @PSFK
A Wilson Chamber, also known as a cloud chamber, is used for detecting subatomic or electromagnetic waves that are energetic enough to detach electrons from atoms or molecules(called ionizing radiation). At it most basic, one of these chambers consists of a sealed environment containing a liquid cooled below its freezing point without becoming a solid(supercooled), supersaturated(contains more of the dissolved material than could be dissolved by the solvent under normal circumstances) water or alcohol vapor. When an alpha or beta particle interacts with this vapor, the vapor becomes ionized leaving a mist or condensation trail.
Once upon a time … check out this infographic on the history of recycling!
It’s time to confront our long-held, deeply ingrained belief that water should be forever free. “The tradition of free water has been fundamental since ancient times—as absolute as free air, or the right to take in mountain vistas,” writes Cynthia Barnett, author of Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis.
But this notion has finally run up against finite supplies and a hard reality: free water encourages waste, in part because, well, it’s free. Agriculture, businesses, governments, and individuals alike have little incentive to cut down on their use. Barnett suggests that “it’s time to at least listen to what the economists have to say,” but don’t expect politicians to lead the charge.
IPCC expected to confirm link between climate change and extreme weather
From the Natural Resources Defense Council (emphasis mine):
“This report should be a wake-up call to those that believe that climate change is some distant issue that might impact someone else. The report documents that extreme weather is happening now and that global warming will bring very dangerous events in the future. From the report you can see that extreme weather will impact everyone in one way or another. This is a window into the future if our political response doesn’t change quickly.”
(via guardian.co.uk, image of Pakistani floods via AP)
(via jtotheizzoe)
This is an artistic representation of genetic drift using colors to represent mutations in a population (each horizontal “row” represents one individual).
I highly, highly recommend clicking through to the animated version where you can watch colors compete for fitness in the population.
Really special artwork from a grad student here at UT-Austin.
(via jtotheizzoe)
