Earth and Science News- Earth and Science Videos and News // Current

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7 days ago

The Long and Warming Road

Who coined "the greenhouse effect"? Which year was the hottest on record? A timeline of climate change milestones, from... more

pjacobs51
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Technology Review: Blogs: TR Editors' blog: Electronic Wasteland

So what can we do about it? The United States, one of the largest producers of electronic waste, is one of 23 member countries... more

quanta
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Happy Halloween From Space

The Cassini team posted this image today, sending "bats wishes" for a happy, healthy and fun Halloween. And enjoy the... more

pjacobs51
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Why are we so obsessed with 'miracle' techno fixes?

This article poses an increasingly pressing question: Why are we so obsessed with "miracle" non-existent techno-fixes... more

JanforGore
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Multiyear ice in the Arctic gone

The multiyear ice covering the Arctic Ocean has effectively vanished, a startling development that will make it easier to open up... more

JanforGore
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Report: Americans getting better at conserving water

Americans are using less water per person now than they have since the mid-1950s, thanks to water-saving technologies and a nationwide push to safeguard dwindling supplies.

A report released Thursday by the U.S. Geological Survey also shows that industries as well as the general population are sucking up less water overall than in 1980, when the nation's thirst for water peaked.

Experts said it was particularly welcome news in the burgeoning West, where cities built in dry regions are grappling with intense disputes and ecosystem collapse tied to dwindling supplies.

"Even during a time of population growth and economic growth, we are all using less water," said Susan Hutson, a USGS hydrologist in Memphis, and an author of the report. "It's exciting to see we have responded to these crises by really seeking solutions."

California, in the third year of a withering drought, was the most water-hungry state in 2005, the most recent year for which figures were available.

California used about 9 percent of all water extracted from lakes, rivers and underground aquifers, followed by Texas, Idaho and Illinois. All told, those four states drew more than a quarter of the country's total freshwater supplies in 2005.

Nationwide, about 80 percent of the 410 billion gallons used each day went to produce electricity at thermoelectric power plants and to irrigate farm fields.

But as the drought and environmental battles persist in California, some of the state's most productive farmers are receiving as little as 10 percent of their normal supplies, forcing growers to leave hundreds of thousands of acres unplanted and lay off thousands of farmworkers.

This year, city dwellers, too, have been forced to shorten their showers and let their lawns turn brown under mandatory water rations.

"We still have collapsing ecosystems because of water use, we still have rivers and aquifers that are overtapped, and we still have rapid population growth," said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, an environmental think tank based in Oakland. "I guess the optimistic way to put it is, we're learning our lessons about smart water use but we have a long way to go."

http://current.com/groups/water-is-life/Americans are using less water per person now than they have since the mid-1950s, thanks to water-saving technologies and a... more

JanforGore
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8 comments

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8 days ago

Swine/Tamiflu Vaccines: Permanent side effects, suicidal, rages

http://current.com/http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=21087&name=TAMIFLU&sort=satisfaction&order=1

CarolynGillis
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2 comments

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9 days ago

The power of growing your own food

http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp_265468/The_Power_of_Growing_Your_Own_Food Is your lawn perfectly manicured but only contains... more

JanforGore
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3 comments

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9 days ago

Our own planet would kill us most of the time

Is our planet actually inhabitable to humans? Most of us would answer yes, but the answer's a lot more complicated, writes... more

pjacobs51
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27 comments

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9 days ago

In France, Brown Bears Desperately Need Women

The brown bear population has been declining in parts of France for decades, but now a group of scientists say they have an unorthodox solution. Just bring in more female bears. But not for the reasons you might think.

Normally relocating bears is frowned on as a way of saving populations. Conventional environmental science says that a declining population should not be moved until the sources of its decline have been addressed. But this group of French biologists say that in this case, they have population models that prove the cause of the decline in the population has to do with a gender disparity.

While you might think this solution is obvious, it isn't. You see, the problem with these bears isn't that there aren't enough females to breed a new population - in fact, there are. Instead, the problem comes from the bears' practice of co-rearing their young, with the fathers sticking around to care for their offspring. Because the babies take a while to mature, there will be long stretches where some males are fathers and others aren't. The single bears will fight the fathers. When single bears win, they murder the father's offspring so they can parent their own children. As a result, even a slight gender imbalance between the bears can result in viable offspring being killed over and over.

The scientists' study was published yesterday in PLoS One. A release about the study explains:

The researchers analyzed field data collected from 1993 to 2005 and found that the western sub-population had much lower reproductive success than the central sub-population. They suggest this could be the consequence of the western sub-population being inbred or having a male-biased sex ratio. In species with extended parental care, a male-biased sex ratio can induce sexually selected infanticide, a behavior in which males attempt to kill unrelated cubs to induce estrous in females, maximizing their opportunity to breed.

[Researcher Guillaume] Chapron and his colleagues used a population model to compute how many bears should be released to ensure viability, and showed the population could recover provided an adequate number of new females are translocated.

http://io9.com/5393058/in-france-brown-bears-desperately-need-womenThe brown bear population has been declining in parts of France for decades, but now a group of scientists say they have an... more

pjacobs51
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9 days ago

GMO Giant Monsanto Loses Another Day in Court

http://www.naturalnews.com/027352_Monsanto_GMO_Roundup.html

mae37
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2 comments

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9 days ago

Black carbon adversely effects climate and water supplies

http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/oct/28/slide-show-1-indian-kerosene-stoves-a-climate-hazard-says-al-gore.htm Nobel... more

JanforGore
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4 comments

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9 days ago

Birds Use Light, Not Magnetic Field, to Migrate

A cell in the eye may be worth two in the beak, at least when it comes to a migratory bird’s magnetic compass. In European... more

pjacobs51
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2 comments

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10 days ago

Water Is Life Group: Circle Of Blue

In highlighting organizations that work to bring fresh water to those who need it in our world, I first highlighted the work of... more

JanforGore
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2 comments

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10 days ago

Activists Meet With Feds Over Environmental Racism

ATLANTA -- Environmental and racial justice activists from six states met with federal Environmental Protection Agency officials Tuesday to demand a revamp of the agency they accuse of overlooking years of chronic environmental missteps in minority communities across the South.

That includes the dumping of toxic chemicals into landfills and drinking water sources that are disproportionately in black, low-income communities, said Robert Bullard, director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University and author of several books on what's been dubbed "environmental racism."

Bullard, who led Tuesday's meeting with EPA Region 4 Acting Administrator A. Stanley Meiburg, said his own studies have repeatedly shown that while environmental mishaps may occur throughout the country, they disproportionately occur in predominantly minority communities.

"It's not random," said Bullard, who led a predominantly black group that included community activists, environmental attorneys and families impacted by chemical waste.

They argued that EPA officials have been bullied into overlooking environmental transgressions, and demanded everything from apologies to families impacted by pollution to a floor-to-ceiling overall of the federal agency charged with protecting human health and the environment.

The demands come as President Barack Obama considers a permanent leader for the region, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Activists have zeroed in on the region they claim is among the most impacted by pollutants like coal ash in the nation.

In a statement, EPA officials said there were "no immediate or simple answers" to the concerns raised Tuesday, but promised a commitment to examining "the disproportionate burden pollution has placed on vulnerable populations."

"All Americans - regardless of race, age, income or gender - deserve a clean, healthy and livable community," the statement read. "EPA is committed to this goal."

But Bullard and others said they left with few direct answers and little hope that EPA officials were committed to major changes.

In a 2007 study, Bullard found that nationally, up to 56 percent of residents living within a 2 mile radius of commercial hazardous waste facilities were people of color.

Historically, power plants and factories have leaned toward building in low-income areas where land is cheaper and residents are perceived as less likely to put up a fight, according to Felicia Davis, an Atlanta-based activist with the Environmental Justice Climate Change Initiative.

She gave Early County, Ga., as an example: Activists there question a $2 billion plan to build the state's first new coal-fired plant in more than two decades in the 49 percent black community, despite above-average air pollution there.

"We have communities where poor people are literally being dumped on," Davis said.ATLANTA -- Environmental and racial justice activists from six states met with federal Environmental Protection Agency officials... more

mae37
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10 days ago

Swine/Tamiflu Vaccines: Side effects suicidal thoughts, thinking of stabbing myself with knives

Patient Comments:
Seizure PLEASE DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN TAKE THIS !

I got the H1N1 saturday evening .. i was laying in bed bout to cry and i got to thinking how i could make myself feel better, i started thinking bout knives and stabbing myself. so i lay in bed thinking bout this and tossing and turning about ready 2 cry!! I would not recommened anyone too take this medicine!!

Severe behavior problems, Fits of rage, Depression, Crying uncontrollably I gave my 4 year old son 2 doses of Tamiflu. After the second dose his behavior became very violent. He is usually a mild-mannered child and became 'a monster'. He was screaming, hitting, kicking etc. for hours. He looked as though he was out of it during these rages. I called his Doc the next day and they said to take him off of Tamiflu. It was terrible to see my boy have to deal w/ these side effects. Even 4 days later he is still showing some abnormal behaviors. NO TAMIFLU. We need to come together and get this drug out.

Violent uncontrollable dry heaving and severe nausea, crying uncontrollably due to utter misery and exhaustion. This was after only 2nd dose. I was witnessing this medical misjustice happening to my wife as she lay in a fetal position on the floor with her head in a trash can,because she was to weak to get to the bathroom. I will never forget my feeling of utter helplessness,believing my wife was going die right there. We all need to make sure that this drug is pulled off the market. How many have really succumbed from the treatment, when they blame it on the virus. Think about it. I don't believe that I'm allowed to say what I want. The war is on! Please,under no circumstance give this drug to your child.

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=21087&name=TAMIFLU&sort=satisfaction&order=1

hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, disorientated, anxiety, depression.... none of which I have EVER experienced before The first day of taking the Tamiflu I did not have any side effects. The evening of the 2nd day, about an hour after my 4th dose, I was attempting to study for an exam I had in a couple of days and started crying and repeating "the information won't go in my mind." My parents then told me to go to bed, and while in bed I started thinking of how I would feel better if I cut myself and released the pain, or if I would just hit my head against the wall. I NEVER have had suicidal thoughts before, nor have I ever hurt myself, so these thoughts confused me even more. I felt like a crazy person trying to talk themselves out of hurting themselves. Finally I rolled over and saw dark figures surrounding my bed. I turned on the light and rocked back and forth convincing myself I wasn't crazy and crying uncontrollably. My parent's came back later and found me and I told them what happened after I had calmed down. This was by far the scariest side effect I have ever experienced, I legitimately thought I was losing my mind. Over two hours later I am still extremely disoriented. I'd rather have H1N1 for a month than experience that again. I think the severity of the side effects stems from the fact that I had a decreased appetite and had barely eaten anything when taking the medicine.Patient Comments: Seizure PLEASE DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN TAKE THIS ! I got the H1N1 saturday evening .. i was laying in bed... more

CarolynGillis
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11 days ago

2nd Graders Help Cornell Researchers

"Scientists are turning to kids and adults in an effort to create a much clearer picture of the epidemiology of pigeons. Why... more

DeliaTheArtist
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11 days ago

Scientist jeopardizes career by publishing paper criticizing GMOs

Agro-ecologist Don Lotter published a paper titled "The Genetic Engineering of Food and the Failure of Science" in the... more

JanforGore
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29 comments

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11 days ago

NASA: 2012 Disaster Movie is "Misinformation"

Oct. 22, 2009 -- Contrary to what you may read on the Internet, the world is not going to end in 2012. A rogue planet named Nibiru is not on a collision course with Earth. And a solar flare won't toast the planet.
It's all fiction, though the makers of the film "2012" may lead you to think otherwise.
"I don't have anything against the movie. It's the way it's been marketed and the way it exploits people's fears," NASA scientist David Morrison at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., told Discovery News.
Morrison has launched a counter-attack through his "Ask An Astrobiologist" online column, which he says has gotten more than 1,000 questions about the end of the world.
Scientific misinformation about 2012 has been ramping up for a few years, with more than 200 books and 1,000 Web sites purporting to explain various doomsday scenarios. Sony Pictures is behind a particularly viral campaign to build publicity for its upcoming apocalyptic movie "2012," which debuts on Nov. 13.
The company has set up an interlinked family of Web sites and Facebook pages to infuse a sense of reality to its fictional work.
The lead character in the film, played by actor John Cusack, for example, is the faux author of a faux book about a murder, conspiracy and disaster aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, which, coincidentally, is poised for launch on a space station construction mission the weekend the movie debuts.
The fictional fiction, named "Farewell, Atlantis," has a Web site, a Facebook page to follow "author appearances," fans and friends, a faux publisher with a faux Web site, a faux press release and endorsements from the very real son of the late Carl Sagan.
There's also a fake institute that presumably dispenses "real" science supporting the movie's claims, as well as a fake news website that distributes fake press releases about a fake aerospace company winning government contracts.
Warren Betts, owner of a California-based publicity firm that peddles real science stories tied to movies, says the type of marketing campaign Sony is executing for "2012" is nothing new.
"It's been done before," said Betts, citing the 1999 horror movie "The Blair Witch Project," a story about a group of amateur documentary film-makers who have a really bad couple of days in the woods.
"Some people went to that movie and they thought it was reality, that it was an actual documentary," Betts said.
Morrison says Sony has crossed a line with promoting "2012."
"I think people are really, really worried about the world coming to an end. Kids are contemplating suicide. Adults tell me they can't sleep and can't stop crying. There are people who are really, really scared," he said.
"People are very gullible," he added. "It a sad testimonial that you need NASA to tell you the world's not going to end."Oct. 22, 2009 -- Contrary to what you may read on the Internet, the world is not going to end in 2012. A rogue planet named Nibiru... more