Silly things — we have to have priorities, don't you know?
(h/t +Scott Randel; via http://cheezburger.com/8333966336)
I think that I shall never see / excellent signal from a tree
Category: Environment
Tusk to tusk
These walruses seem to be having a problem. Must just be one of those random things.
Originally shared by +Kee Hinckley:
"It's another remarkable sign of the dramatic environmental conditions changing as the result of sea ice loss"
35,000 walrus come ashore in northwest Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Pacific walrus that can’t find sea ice for resting in Arctic waters are coming ashore in record numbers on a beach in northwest Alaska.
Wolves Changing Rivers
It's sort of the butterfly effect, only tighter scale and and more explainable: introducing wolves to Yellowstone National Park caused changes in the rivers in the park. How? Watch and see.
Very cool.
Originally shared by +Yonatan Zunger:
And now I want to share with you one of the most interesting short videos I've seen in a while. It's about the idea of trophic cascades: how a small change to an ecosystem can lead to tremendous consequences. In this case, the change was the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone in the 1990's, after a 70-year absence.
The direct effects of the wolves were small: the wolves eat a few deer, but apart from that mostly keep to themselves. But the indirect effects were huge.
It started because the deer, who had been running roughshod over the entire park, quickly figured out that places like valleys were not good places to be a deer when there are wolves about. This led to trees being able to grow in those areas for the first time in decades.
The effects of that are complex and profound, and I encourage you to watch the video, because I can't possibly summarize it better than it does. Everything from the animals to the plants to the very physical geography of the rivers was changed.
The key lesson of this is that ecosystems are connected. You can't make a single change to one and expect it not to have consequences, including very far-reaching ones of a sort you couldn't ever have predicted. This is a general property of all large, strongly-interacting systems, including societies, and it's worth keeping in mind whenever things change.
Looks Like Nuke Times Again
So what's most disturbing in this article?
– A major radiation incident at the WIPP facility, leading to a shutdown and growing backlog of nuclear waste storage?
– Investigations into same that indicate all sorts of problems with the operations at WIPP?
– Proposals to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build many, many more plutonium triggers for thermonuclear weapons, at a time when we already have many, many plutonium triggers stockpiled and we keep paying lip service to nuclear non-proliferation and, supposedly, to reducing nuclear stockpiles?
– That all the national nuclear labs are now being operated by for-profit LLCs that, surprisingly, keep coming up with proposals that involve spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build nuclear weapons that are not demonstrably needed?
– That Congress seems more than happy, on both sides of the aisles, to keep those for-profit LLCs making plenty of profit and plutonium triggers?
Time for more gin.
Congress pushes nuclear expansion despite accidents at weapons lab
Weapons watchdog says government’s position ‘increasingly hypocritical’ as US prepares to increase production of warheads in spite of safety and environmental concerns
Don't drink the (warm) water
So I'd ordinarily argue against small bottles of water as a horribly inefficient and wasteful (and expensive) way of delivering water, but there's some reason to think that water that's been left in its bottles for a while in hot conditions might not be the healthful quenching treat one might be looking for.
More study needed, etc., etc., and, yeah, we're talking about more extreme conditions that the ordinary bottle is likely to go through. On the other hand, what sort of lower levels of BPA and antimony are you comfortable with?
Don’t drink the (warm) water, study says
There’s an old saying: “Don’t drink the water.” But a scientist warns Americans not to drink water from plastic bottles if it’s been sitting in a warm environment for a long time. A research team examined 16 bottled water brands at 158 degrees for four weeks. The study found that as bottles warmed over the four-week period, antimony and BPA levels increased.
We can repair the environment? Inconceivable!
You mean to tell me we can globally recognize a problem we are causing, mandate industries change their practices in order to stop making it worse, and not only apparently reverse the problem but do so without destroying the economy and civilization to boot? _Madness!_
The Earth’s Ozone Layer Increases for the First Time in 35 Years
In what could be a big boost for proposed science-based policy solutions to global climate disruption, the Earth’s ozone layer has increased for the first time in 35 years.
Northern Flicker on the back rail
I downloaded my real camera to the computer last evening, and overnight Google auto-awesomed some of the sequences. This guy has been an occasional visitor to our bird feeder this summer.
The Frayed Boot of Louisiana
A lengthy, fascinating, and terrifying essay on the growing inaccuracy of the traditional Louisiana "boot" shape, as land sinks from petrochemical extraction, shoreline wetlands wash away due to levees, and the water level rises.
Louisiana Loses Its Boot
The boot-shaped state isn’t shaped like that anymore. So, we revised its iconic outline to reflect the truth about a sin…
Deficit spending (water-wise)
We're busy making up budget shortfalls by dipping into our savings account. Or, worse, our one-time inheritance. Which sometimes you have to do, but which we seem to be doing without any recognition of the fact.
If You Think the Water Crisis Can’t Get Worse, Wait Until the Aquifers Are Drained
As drought ravages surface water supplies, we’re pumping groundwater to save us. And it will-for a while.
I’ve lived in Denver almost 20…
I’ve lived in Denver almost 20 years, and it still strikes me weird every time I hear and see a gull.
Marmot 1, Photography 0
A time lapse video in Glacier National Park, Montana, thwarted by a curious marmot. The time lapse sections were edited/compressed as planned, stopping when the marmot showed up …
(via http://space.io9.com/this-timelapse-was-derailed-by-an-inquisitive-marmot-1622507266))
“Tremors” Under the Sea
Yikes!
(h/t +Yonatan Zunger)
Reshared post from +Carlos Esteban
Eunice aphroditois (colloquially known as the Bobbit(t) worm), is an aquatic predatory polychaete worm dwelling at the ocean floor.
This organism buries its long body into an ocean bed composed of gravel, mud, or corals, where it waits patiently for a stimulus to one of its five antennae, attacking when it senses prey.
Armed with sharp teeth, it is known to attack with such speeds, its prey is sometimes sliced in half.
It's all about the fracking
Colorado communities are getting uppity, deciding that they don't want (or want only with significant restrictions) fracking in their back yards. There's been contention in the courts, and it looked like there'd be some dueling ballot propositions on the matter before a kick-the-can-down-the-road compromise came along this past week.
So it's not at all surprising why the Koch Bros. and other petrochem organizations are contributing so heavily to the campaign for the next AG of Colorado. As highlighted on her campaign page regarding business matters (http://www.cynthiacoffmanforag.com/issues/the-boardroom/):
'If elected as your Attorney General, I will continue to take legal action and fight back when local jurisdictions break the law with their attempts to ban hydraulic fracturing. Efforts to outlaw hydraulic fracturing effectively deprive landowners and companies of their property rights in contravention of the law. Similarly, bans pertaining to oil and gas processes result in an odd patchwork of regulations that serve to impede activity deemed necessary by the Colorado General Assembly. Such regulatory red tape prevents the development of the state’s mineral resources and is in direct conflict with Colorado law.
In those instances when interest groups and local governments try to usurp authority from law-abiding landowners and individuals in the oil and gas industry, I will enforce the law – even if it means taking overreaching, anti-drilling jurisdictions to court.'
Ah, yeah. No.
Why The Koch Brothers Are So Interested In Who Becomes The Next Attorney General Of Colorado
A large group, which has received significant funding from the fossil fuel industry and dark money groups backed by petrochemical billionaires Charles and David Koch, will apparently far exceed Coffman’s own fundraising totals.
Do you like hummers?
They are very, very cool. Weird, but cool.
Reshared post from +Les Jenkins
Hummingbirds are weird.
Meanwhile, in today's depressing water supply news
I've recently posted about drought and aquifer depletion in Texas, and California's state-wide drought and its impact on agriculture. Here's another bit of jolly news coverage about in-between — the Colorado River, itself stressed by drought, and the depletion of aquifers in those areas that would normally be drawing water from it instead.
The not-so-mighty Colorado River?
It used to make the desert bloom for vegetables and provide ample water for LA and Phoenix. But it’s no longer up to the task.
The California Drought
Well, that's a depressing picture.
And for those few yahoos pointing and laughing at the dumb liberals in that zany state, remember that laughter when you wonder why the fruits, vegetables, and nuts in your grocery store are suddenly a hell of a lot more expensive.
Watch the drought take over the entire state of California
It started off bad, then it got worse. And then it got much, much worse.
Capybabies!
TEH CUTEZ!
(Oddly enough, capybaras came up in conversation last night. Don't recall why.)
(h/t Stan)
Five Baby Capybaras Born at Zoo Berlin – ZooBorns
Zoo Berlin recently welcomed five baby Capybaras to their South American exhibit! Born just several weeks ago, the five pups, along with mother, Lucia, explored their enclosure for the first time! Careful to stay close to mother and each other,…
The Cooling Chain and Global Warming
In 1995, 7% of Chinese households had a refrigerator. In 2007, that was up to 95%.
Cooling accounts for 15% of electricity consumption worldwide, and that number can only increase — even as escaping refrigerant gasses are already a substantial portion of greenhouse gasses.
Americans take refrigeration for granted — 70% of all the food we eat is chilled artificially at some point. In china, less than 25% of the nation's meat supply is similarly refrigerated along the way; only 5% of vegetables are similarly preserved.
Refrigeration not only lets us have fresh produce nationally year-round, it's directly related to massive declines in food spoilage and related illness and death, which massively declined in the US as refrigeration was introduced. In China today, nearly half of everything that is grown rots before it even reaches the retail market.
How do we fight against climate change and greenhouse gasses, even as the world wants to live as well as we do?
What Do Chinese Dumplings Have to Do With Global Warming?
A refrigeration boom is changing the way Chinese people eat — and threatening the planet in the process.
Why, yes, all fracking opponents are idiots, I believe it now!
Lovely ad by "Environmental Policy Alliance" (about more here http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance) that basically calls people opposed to fracking gullible idjits and basement-dwelling losers. Except for the ones that are young, street-protesting radicals.
Though what really gets me is the visual diss of "Firefly". _Now they have gone too far._
Okay, so political ads that make fun of the other side, dredge up dubious assertions, and pretend to be from non-partisan or even beneficent organizations ("But they Environmental Policy Alliance as trees in its logo! It must be a bunch of nice people who love the environment!") are nothing new. But, c'mon — there are enough people in the state of Colorado who have grave doubts or opposition to fracking that simply identifying them all as buffoons seems more likely to stir up further opposition. An ad like this is clearly aimed at encouraging the base who already support the sentiment ("Hey, Larry, did you see that commercial about those stupid anti-frackers? Hi-larious!"), but by being too irritating they run the risk of engendering the other side to more vigorous action.
Indeed, the only thing I find more irritating than this ad is the +The Denver Post's new new "You've exceeded your free article views this month" message, which is why I'm not posting through a share of the DP's article.
The water crisis in the Texas panhandle
It's not just the panhandle, of course — the Ogallala Aquifer extends across multiple states (including Colorado). But, in a classic example of the Tragedy of the Commons, Texas has not had any restrictions on individual land owners pumping out however much water they want to pump out (or sell).
(I'll also note the cattle trough below which would probably lose less water if it were canopied or otherwise covered, and the first photo in the story showing a nicely watered lawn around Mr Spinharne's flag pole.)
Oh, well — I don't have the answers, except that I'm sure it will come down to less government regulation and letting the free market make it all better for everyone.
Reshared post from +Les Jenkins
More on Texas' pending water crisis.
The Last Drop: America’s Breadbasket Faces Dire Water Crisis
Editor’s note: This story is one in a series on a crisis in America’s Breadbasket –the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer and its effects on a region that hel…