"The change first came to the attention of scientists when nomadic reindeer herdsmen, the indigenous Nenets, said they were losing sight of their reindeer in the new trees, Macias-Fauria said.
Until recently the shrubs common in this part of the Arctic stood at most about 3.3 feet (1 meter) high, too low to obscure a reindeer."
2012 is warmest year on record already...(quotes from some selected google results)
"April 2012 Selected Climate Anomalies and Events Map .... of 8.1°C (46.5°F)—the second warmest April in the 133-year record, behind 2007."
"The May 2011 to April 2012 heat wave bumped the last record-settingwarm year out of the way, which was November 1999 to October 2000 ..."
Happy Summer Solstice Month!
From a marketing blog:
Leave comments below! For every comment you leave and for every Retweet or Facebook share you get 100 awesome points.
Once you reach 10,000 awesome points you get a free unicorn*
*No one is actually keeping track of awesome points and for that reason…and ONLY that reason, no one will get a free unicorn."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120417113708.htm
By itself, education of women reduces numbers of offspring, by delaying having kids, reduced fecundity by starting family later, etc.
The conclusion:
Women who choose careers are even LESS likely to find eligible mates, education provides money and higher expectations!
| | The most significant type of environmental change brought about by Precolumbian human activity was the modification of vegetation. … Vegetation was primarily altered by the clearing of forest and by intentional burning. Natural fires certainly occurred but varied in frequency and strength in different habitats. Anthropogenic fires, for which there is ample documentation, tended to be more frequent but weaker, with a different seasonality than natural fires, and thus had a different type of influence on vegetation. The result of clearing and burning was, in many regions, the conversion of forest to grassland, savanna, scrub, open woodland, and forest with grassy openings. | |
"We've been able to separate the light reaction from the dark reaction and instead of using biological photosynthesis, we are using solar panels to convert the sunlight to electrical energy, then to a chemical intermediate, and using that to power carbon dioxide fixation to produce the fuel," Liao said. "This method could be more efficient than the biological system."
The researchers envision every rooftop in every conurbation with solar panels and a bio-generator, producing alcohol to run whatever one needs, directly or via electrical generator.
Photosynthesis has produced a huge majority of all energy humans have used through history; obviously wood fires, but also coal and petroleum were once plants...
What percentage of energy needs are provided by a rooftop (of a conventional house, 100sqM or 1075 sq ft of panels)?
Is it enough to run a car even, or a large percentage of household daily needs?
If our ethanol from grain production stopped tomorrow, that much more grain becomes available for food, or cattle feed.
We're already planting more corn http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_20290078/largest-u-s-corning-planting-since-1930s-expected than ever before.
Also, our "ownership" of the electrical generation capability may make us more discerning consumers, and more conservation oriented.
All of which stretches the limit on the number of people on the planet...
WHAT SOCIETAL GOVERNANCE IS IN PLACE TO HAVE TOTALLY DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY GET INTRODUCED WITHOUT CARE OR FORETHOUGHT.
(I sound like such a Luddite...)
FRISH
You object, religiously, to birth control? Fewer kids may be just what this world needs most.
Every one of us has the ability to act morally; it is up to the parishioner to do what's right.
Deciding that certain medical procedures are so sinful that they cannot be paid for is total bunk.
I'm beyond morally outraged, having paid taxes in support of "an elective war" in Iraq.
Please consider that the availability of birth control diminishes the power that men have over women.
I hope that's not too outrageous for anyone's religion.
Frish
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/diet-soda-addictive
Sure, all the talking head TV doctors SHOULD talk about how tap water is better for you than anything in a plastic bottle.
Here's the real story, we've let corporations obtain total control
of the creation, use, and disposal of unique chemical substances.
http://www.iss.it/binary/publ/cont/ANN_08_04%20Binetti.1209032191.pdf
"The number of new chemicals synthesized and marketed increases exponentially.
The database CAS REGISTRY at present contains more than 33 million organic and inorganic substances. However, the little information regarding the potential hazard associated with a large amount of chemicals is an old known problem in the European Union and also in the United States."
Wherever you live in the world, politicians that give the right answer about people versus corporations must be in office.
If only we could get our stuff together enough to make it happen, we really could take back some of it.
"This is good news," he said, adding that scientists expect levels to continue to decrease over time.
"We still don't have a full picture," Nies said, "but we can expect the situation will not become worse."
I'm not that reassured, honestly. FRISH
Can anyone explain a moral basis for a "preemptive attack" on Iranian assets, especially when no one really knows that they are building bombs?"
Frish
Hi Frish! Here's some people you might know on Google+. |  | ||||||||||||
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"He said 177 deep injection wells have operated without incident in Ohio for decades and the Youngstown well was closed within 24 hours of a study detailing how close a Christmas Eve quake was to the well.
The industry-supported Ohio Oil and Gas Association said the rash of quakes was "a rare and isolated event that should not cast doubt about the effectiveness" of injection wells.
Such wells "have been used safely and reliably as a disposal method for wastewater from oil and gas operations in the U.S. since the 1930s," the association's executive vice president, Thomas E. Stewart, said in a statement Monday.
