Tag Archives: world

Night Vision and a Copter Save 200 Horseshoe Crabs

by Myrna Posted on May 28, 2013

After a 30-minute nighttime pursuit by a police helicopter, two men were arrested and charged with illegally taking the animals from Jamaica Bay. Link to article:  Night Vision and a Copter Save 200 Horseshoe Crabs ; ;Related ArticlesIsraeli Electric Car Company Files for LiquidationWal-Mart Is Fined $82 Million Over Mishandling of Hazardous WastesBooks: ‘Storm Kings’ Review – Where Tornadoes Dug In, So Did They ;

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Night Vision and a Copter Save 200 Horseshoe Crabs

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Wal-Mart Is Fined $82 Million Over Mishandling of Hazardous Wastes

by Myrna Posted on May 28, 2013

Wal-Mart pleaded guilty to seven counts related to the improper discarding of hazardous wastes in California and Missouri. View the original here –  Wal-Mart Is Fined $82 Million Over Mishandling of Hazardous Wastes ; ;Related ArticlesIsraeli Electric Car Company Files for LiquidationFood Companies Seeking Ingredients That Aren’t Gene-AlteredNight Vision and a Copter Save 200 Horseshoe Crabs ;

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Wal-Mart Is Fined $82 Million Over Mishandling of Hazardous Wastes

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Mold responsible for Irish potato famine may be gone for good

by John Graham Posted on May 22, 2013

Mold responsible for Irish potato famine may be gone for good

By John Upton

Shutterstock

Scientists used modern genetic sequencing and rotten old museum samples to peer back in time at the cause of the potato blight that led to more than 1 million deaths in Ireland in the 1840s.

The fungus-like water mold that ravaged the country’s potato crop sent hungry Irish survivors fleeing for far-flung new countries — which is why so many people now justify getting wasted every St. Patrick’s Day, saying they’re sure they have an Irish ancestor somewhere in their family tree.

What the scientists found was a strain of Phytophthora infestans that is different from similar water molds that are still ravaging the world’s crops. From the BBC:

Researchers in the UK, Germany and the US analysed dried leaves kept in collections in museums at Kew Royal Botanical Gardens, UK, and Botanische Staatssammlung Munchen, Germany.

High-tech DNA sequencing techniques allowed them to decode ancient DNA from the pathogen in samples stored as early as 1845.

These were compared with modern-day genetic types from Europe, Africa and the Americas, giving an insight into the evolution of the pathogen.

“This strain was different from all the modern strains that we analysed — most likely it is new to science,” Prof Sophien Kamoun of The Sainsbury Laboratory told BBC News.

“We can’t be sure but most likely it’s gone extinct.”

Thing is, the scientists can’t figure out what made the water mold so devastating. From an article in Nature:

[Plant Geneticist Detlef] Weigel’s team also found nothing in the nuclear genomes of the famine strains to explain their ferocity. In fact, the strains lack a gene found in modern strains of P. infestans that overcomes the plant’s resistance genes. And, surprisingly, the famine strain seems less lethal than the P. infestans strains that now cause US$6 billion in crop damage per year. “It seems rather that the potatoes were unusually susceptible,” he says.

OK, all very interesting. But given that the mold strain responsible for the Irish famine appears to have gone extinct, we have some advice for the scientists who are done analyzing the infected old potato leaves: Burn them.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who

tweets

, posts articles to

Facebook

, and

blogs about ecology

. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants:

johnupton@gmail.com

.

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Mold responsible for Irish potato famine may be gone for good

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Dot Earth Blog: Kids (and Teachers) in Peril, From Oklahoma to Oregon

by Myrna Posted on May 21, 2013

Why do communities fail to secure the buildings that house their children against momentous hazards? Taken from: Dot Earth Blog: Kids (and Teachers) in Peril, From Oklahoma to Oregon ; ;Related ArticlesDot Earth Blog: A Survival Plan for America’s Tornado Danger ZoneKids (and Teachers) in Peril, From Oklahoma to OregonDot Earth Blog: Who’s Escaping Climate Change ‘Mire and Muck’? ;

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Dot Earth Blog: Kids (and Teachers) in Peril, From Oklahoma to Oregon

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What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World

by Myrna Posted on May 18, 2013

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Take a photo of a glacier — it’ll last longer

by Gwenda Bischof Posted on May 17, 2013

Take a photo of a glacier — it’ll last longer

By John Upton

ShutterstockGlaciers, such as this one in Argentina, are melting and releasing their reserves of water.

Farewell, great lakes of ice and frozen rivers.

Scientists used satellite images and gravity measurements to peer more closely than ever before at the torturous drip-drip-drip from the world’s glaciers. What they discovered is not really much of a surprise: Ice Age glaciers have been methodically chiseled away by the warming effects of fossil fuel burning.

Global warming and black carbon are working fast: Glaciers outside of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are collectively losing an estimated 571 trillion pounds worth of ice annually, the researchers reported in a paper published Thursday in the journal Science.

Glaciers? Icesheets? Potatoes, potatoes, you say. Here’s the difference: The world’s ice sheets cover vast swaths in Greenland and Antarctica. Meanwhile, glaciers are rivers and lakes of slow-moving ice. You can find them at high altitudes in alpine regions around the world, and you’ll find them in lower elevations (including on and around ice sheets) as you approach the poles.

Although these glaciers contain just 1 percent of land ice reserves, they contribute about as much to the rising seas as the major stores of ice. The individual contributions of glaciers to the rising seas may be relatively small, but the cumulative impacts of their melts are substantial.

The researchers concluded that melting glaciers are causing the oceans to surge by 0.03 inches yearly, which works out to 30 percent of the total annual rise in recorded sea levels.

From a press release by NASA, which provided the data to the researchers from its Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE):

Current estimates predict all the glaciers in the world contain enough water to raise sea level by as much as 24 inches (about 60 centimeters). In comparison, the entire Greenland ice sheet has the potential to contribute about 20 feet (about 6 meters) to sea level rise and the Antarctic ice sheet just less than 200 feet (about 60 meters).

“Because the global glacier ice mass is relatively small in comparison with the huge ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica, people tend to not worry about it,” said study co-author Tad Pfeffer, a glaciologist at the University of Colorado in Boulder. “But it’s like a little bucket with a huge hole in the bottom: it may not last for very long, just a century or two, but while there’s ice in those glaciers, it’s a major contributor to sea level rise.”

The largest glacial losses during the study period from 2003 to 2009 were recorded from Arctic Canada, Alaska, coastal Greenland, the southern Andes, and high-mountain Asia. That’s pretty much all the major glacial regions, the exception being in Antarctica, where loss was minor.

So, there’s some good news for Antarcticans: Glacial melt is not as bad there as everywhere else.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who

tweets

, posts articles to

Facebook

, and

blogs about ecology

. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants:

johnupton@gmail.com

.

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Take a photo of a glacier — it’ll last longer

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The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power Is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World

by Myrna Posted on May 16, 2013

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Protected: Meet The Climate Trolls: a Three-Part Climate Desk Series

by dtynpwb Posted on May 16, 2013

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The Honest Life – Jessica Alba

As a new mom, Jessica Alba wanted to create the safest, healthiest environment for her family. But she was frustrated by the lack of trustworthy information on how to live healthier and cleaner—delivered in a way that a busy mom could act on without going to extremes. In 2012, with serial entrepreneur Brian Lee and environmental advocate Christopher Gavigan, […]

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Trident K9 Warriors – Michael Ritland & Gary Brozek

As Seen on “60 Minutes”! As a Navy SEAL during a combat deployment in Iraq, Mike Ritland saw a military working dog in action and instantly knew he’d found his true calling. Ritland started his own company training and supplying dogs for the SEAL teams, U.S. Government, and Department of Defense. He knew that fewer than 1 percent of […]

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World of Warcraft: Dawn of the Aspects: Part III – Richard A. Knaak

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader. […]

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World of Warcraft: Dawn of the Aspects: Part II – Richard A. Knaak

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader. […]

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World of Warcraft: Dawn of the Aspects: Part I – Richard A. Knaak

THE AGE OF DRAGONS IS OVER. Uncertainty plagues Azeroth’s ancient guardians as they struggle to find a new purpose. This dilemma has hit Kalecgos, youngest of the former Dragon Aspects, especially hard. Having lost his great powers, how can he—or any of his kind—still make a difference in the world? The answer lies in the distant past, when savage beasts cal […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of German shepherds and as t […]

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Hounded – Matt Ziselman

Living with three strong-willed, highly individual Dachshunds can be equal parts entertaining, frustrating and rewarding. Just ask Matt Ziselman. Armed with a fresh, creative voice that is unabashedly cranky one moment and profoundly poignant the next, Ziselman mixes hilarious canine stories, with heartfelt reminiscences from his own life, the results of whi […]

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All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition – Mel Bartholomew

Rapidly increasing in popularity, square foot gardening is the most practical, foolproof way to grow a home garden. That explains why author and gardening innovator Mel Bartholomew has sold more than two million books describing how to become a successful DIY square foot gardener. Now, with the publication of All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition , t […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, “Yes, […]

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Battle Missions: Death Worlds – Games Workshop

The Emperor’s realm encompasses a million worlds, each with its own potential dangers. Yet certain of these planets are so deadly that they are classified as death worlds. From man-eating flora and fauna to deadly poisonous atmospheres and many stranger things besides, on a death world it’s not just the enemy that your warriors have to worry about! Thi […]

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Protected: Meet The Climate Trolls: a Three-Part Climate Desk Series

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Senate Panel Advances Nominee for E.P.A.

by Myrna Posted on May 16, 2013

The committee voted 10-to-8 along partisan lines to send the nomination of Gina McCarthy to the Senate floor. Source –  Senate Panel Advances Nominee for E.P.A. ; ;Related ArticlesEconomic Scene: Insurers Stray From the Conservative Line on Climate ChangeProtected: Meet The Climate Trolls: a Three-Part Climate Desk SeriesStudy Finds Loss of Rain Forests Can Deplete Hydropower ;

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Senate Panel Advances Nominee for E.P.A.

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Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World

by Myrna Posted on May 15, 2013

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