An actual alligator was photographed in Vancouver, Washington's Salmon Creek. No one knows how it got there.
A portable UV water purifier? MmmK.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Just Plain Weird
Bull Run Risks Contamination by Portland Water Bureau Worker
An actual alligator was photographed in Vancouver, Washington's Salmon Creek. No one knows how it got there.
An actual alligator was photographed in Vancouver, Washington's Salmon Creek. No one knows how it got there.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
King salmon vanishing in Alaska: Human Caused or Nature?
Yukon King Salmon, a staple food of the Alaska natives, are failing to return to their ancestral rivers and streams leaving many without food and without income. Biologists speculate that "the mostly likely cause was a shift in Pacific Ocean currents, but food availability, changing river conditions and predator-prey relationships could be affecting the fish."
But the people know different. Pollock fishing has taken priority over preserving natural habitat and has been killing off King Salmon despite efforts to put caps on bycatch. All those King Salmon caught up in the Pollock fishing trawlers are dying instead of swimming upstream to spawn and perpetuate their lifecycle.
The people are angry. Alaska government officials are not so quick to blame human intervention for the loss. Other possible reasons for the severe decline in King Salmon in the Yukon are: changing ocean currents, plankton blooms and even the carnivorous nature of salmon. River conditions could be changing, too.
Vannishing King Salmon
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Hydrosphere: Vast expanses of Arctic ice melt in summer heat
Standing on the shore of the Arctic ocean 1500 miles north of Seattle in Canada, the ice level has receded twice as far out as it was 40 years ago. It used to be 40 miles out from land, now the ice is 80 miles off shore and still shrinking.
"Global average temperatures rose 1 degree over the past century but twice as much over the Arctic as elsewhere, most likely attributable to manmade greenhouse gases researchers say.
The United Nations Work on Global Climate Change has the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon in the Arctic Rim to see for himself the melting ice. He hopes to use this information to spur a world wide accord this December in the Copenhagen, Denmark to get a petition signed by major countries that would commit to limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Fat Boy Slim Evolution Video
Fat Boy Slim: Right Here, Right Now
A very cool geological time scale video all the way from the coalescing of the quantum vacuum to were mankind is today. Amazing graphics and cool song. just 3 minutes of your life!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Managing Carbon Emissions
Should we tamper with nature specifically to alter carbon emissions?
There is some thought that we could decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the ocean if we add iron to parts of the ocean to cause an increase in phytoplankton. Phytoplankton in the ocean are responsible for recycling half of the carbon dioxide on earth via photosynthesis.
Iron Hypothesis
NASA new carbon emissions tracking satellite plummets into the pacific ocean near antartica.
There is some thought that we could decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the ocean if we add iron to parts of the ocean to cause an increase in phytoplankton. Phytoplankton in the ocean are responsible for recycling half of the carbon dioxide on earth via photosynthesis.
Iron Hypothesis
NASA new carbon emissions tracking satellite plummets into the pacific ocean near antartica.
Should humans manipulate forests for maximum tree growth? Canada is taking seeds from trees that grow normally in the United States and replanting them higher north to see if they will fare better in the cooler climate as an experiment in forest management in the face of global warming. Some see playing God with nature as potentially disrupting balance as an unintended consequence.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Life As We Know It?
Why should we care about global climate change? Are we trying to preserve life as we know it, or lifestyle as we know it?
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Greening the Grave
We learn a lot about sustainable living and not leaving too big of a carbon footprint, but here is a place in Oregon that will help you choose a biodegradable casket!
We learn a lot about sustainable living and not leaving too big of a carbon footprint, but here is a place in Oregon that will help you choose a biodegradable casket!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Pale Blue Dot: This Precious Earth
"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
"Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
"The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
"It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."
— Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994 (Source: www.planetary.org)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Global Climate Change
IPCC
The world authority on environment control.
Environmental Protection Agency: Global Climate Change
The obvious source of US informtion about the environment.
Department of Energy: Biological and Environmental Research
The not-so-obvious source of US information about the environment--kinda scary section on the use of "human subjects" for research...
NOAA Climate Watch
From the surface of the earth to the stratosphere, they are on it.
Earthtrends:World Resources Institute
An international non-governmental organization promoting responsible environmentalism.
The world authority on environment control.
Environmental Protection Agency: Global Climate Change
The obvious source of US informtion about the environment.
Department of Energy: Biological and Environmental Research
The not-so-obvious source of US information about the environment--kinda scary section on the use of "human subjects" for research...
NOAA Climate Watch
From the surface of the earth to the stratosphere, they are on it.
Earthtrends:World Resources Institute
An international non-governmental organization promoting responsible environmentalism.
Nature Transformed
Nature Transformed
A website about Native American history and their impact on the environment up to present day US global climate change effects.
The National Humanities Center developed the site. Issues include things I never thought about such as "environmental racism" which locates toxic waste dumps in primarily black neighborhoods.
Very interesting information about natural climate changes thousands of years ago and extinction.
Also links to the various Natural History Museums of the US.
A website about Native American history and their impact on the environment up to present day US global climate change effects.
The National Humanities Center developed the site. Issues include things I never thought about such as "environmental racism" which locates toxic waste dumps in primarily black neighborhoods.
Very interesting information about natural climate changes thousands of years ago and extinction.
Also links to the various Natural History Museums of the US.
Geological Time Scale
Geological Time Scale puts things into perspective. The earth has been here for 4.6 billion years. Life (single celled creatures with no nucleus) began 3.8 billion years ago. Human civilizations have only been on earth about 10,000 years. The United States only 233 years. Marylhurst University 150 years. We, the students of ENV103A, less than 50 years.
What do you want to be remembered for?
What do you want to be remembered for?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Ethics: Geothermal Digging Vs. Potential Earthquakes
This is a really interesting computer model of how geothermal digging works and a California company that wants to dig 2 1/2 miles underground and break up the rock and pump water through it to create steam. There is a corresponding NY Times article about the controversy and a blog of comments on the various sides of the issue.
Geothermal Digging and Earthquakes
Opinions in the comments section varied from disdain to approval at the hopeful new source of clean, renewable energy.
This guy sums up my opinion:
Greed and stupidity among the human species will eventually be the death of us all and quite frankly mass extinction is what we deserve for trashing the planet and thinking that cheap energy sources is more important than a healthy planet!"--Norm
"There are no energy sources that do not have consequences resulting from exploitation. If we want energy, we have to decide which consequences we can tolerate. Otherwise, we need to go back to being hunter-gatherers."--Eric
Others had scientific responses that dubbed the article scare mongering and bad science. Another commenter pointed out that there is a greater travesty unfolding under the earth around NYC that is "hydraulic fracturing" to get at the layers of shale from which to extract natural gas. There is a fear that this will taint the water supply of millions.
As we accumulate more and more information we can each make up our own minds about the degree of the problem, how satisfactory are potential solutions, and what we each can do individually to try to make it better for all. The main thing to take from all of this is not to trust those with political or greed motives and to learn and evaluate for ourselves.
Geothermal Digging and Earthquakes
Opinions in the comments section varied from disdain to approval at the hopeful new source of clean, renewable energy.
This guy sums up my opinion:
Greed and stupidity among the human species will eventually be the death of us all and quite frankly mass extinction is what we deserve for trashing the planet and thinking that cheap energy sources is more important than a healthy planet!"--Norm
"There are no energy sources that do not have consequences resulting from exploitation. If we want energy, we have to decide which consequences we can tolerate. Otherwise, we need to go back to being hunter-gatherers."--Eric
Others had scientific responses that dubbed the article scare mongering and bad science. Another commenter pointed out that there is a greater travesty unfolding under the earth around NYC that is "hydraulic fracturing" to get at the layers of shale from which to extract natural gas. There is a fear that this will taint the water supply of millions.
As we accumulate more and more information we can each make up our own minds about the degree of the problem, how satisfactory are potential solutions, and what we each can do individually to try to make it better for all. The main thing to take from all of this is not to trust those with political or greed motives and to learn and evaluate for ourselves.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
If the Earthquake doesn't get you, the Tsunami will...
Cascadia Region Earthquake Workshop A very good example of a computer model.
Readiness for a potential magnitude 9.0 earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone from Vancouver, BC down to Northern California along the I5 corridor and the Tsunami that would follow along the coastline of Hwy 101.
Aren't you glad somebody is on this?
http://www.daretoprepare.org/ stock up on gallons of water and don't tell your neighbors...
Readiness for a potential magnitude 9.0 earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone from Vancouver, BC down to Northern California along the I5 corridor and the Tsunami that would follow along the coastline of Hwy 101.
Aren't you glad somebody is on this?
http://www.daretoprepare.org/ stock up on gallons of water and don't tell your neighbors...
Online Environmental Science Publications
Salon.com/Environment
Environment and Science: Reporting from Earth
It's your world, take care of it!
Grist
10 years of a beacon in the smog.
Portland Tribune: Sustainable Life
Portland Tribune Sustainable Life section of the local newspaper.
Environment and Science: Reporting from Earth
It's your world, take care of it!
Grist
10 years of a beacon in the smog.
Portland Tribune: Sustainable Life
Portland Tribune Sustainable Life section of the local newspaper.
Worst Science Job Ever...
From Craigslist:
Anatomy Laboratory Technician (Portland)
--------------------
Reply to: job-mycwk-1218052580@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-06-12, 9:11AM PDT
Anatomy Lab Technician
Join a rapidly expanding Portland business providing the medical community with anatomical specimens for research and education. Seeking a person with excellent understanding of human anatomy and ability to work in a fast paced environment.
Basic job duties include:
o Coordinating outgoing shipments
o Transportation of donors
o Procurement of anatomical specimens
o Basic laboratory sanitation and maintenance
Requirements:
o College degree with coursework in anatomy with human cadavers
o Good driving record
o Attention to detail
o Ability to lift and maneuver heavy objects
Anatomy Laboratory Technician (Portland)
--------------------
Reply to: job-mycwk-1218052580@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-06-12, 9:11AM PDT
Anatomy Lab Technician
Join a rapidly expanding Portland business providing the medical community with anatomical specimens for research and education. Seeking a person with excellent understanding of human anatomy and ability to work in a fast paced environment.
Basic job duties include:
o Coordinating outgoing shipments
o Transportation of donors
o Procurement of anatomical specimens
o Basic laboratory sanitation and maintenance
Requirements:
o College degree with coursework in anatomy with human cadavers
o Good driving record
o Attention to detail
o Ability to lift and maneuver heavy objects
Don't Worry, Be Happy!
The sky is falling...but NASA has it all under control...
Use of physical models to test computer models based on mental models:
Magnetic Shield Cracks Found: Big Solar Storm Predicted
NASA says huge solar particle buildup inside earth's magnetosphere could be from tears that, when the sun's polarity is aligned with earth's polarity, will allow a flood of solar particles inside that layer of earth's atmosphere where many communication satellites orbit, some solar flares may even reach the earth's surface damaging the electrical grid.
National Geographic Earth's Atmosphere
Layers of earth's atmosphere.
Video about Solar Particle Damage to communication Satellites
A video about exactly how solar particles could cause damage to communications satellites and earth's electricity grid.
NASA SORCE solar particle probe
NASA has a space probe named SORCE to detect solar particles headed toward earth.
Smart Grid Central/
Smart Grid Central about efforts to decentralize the world electricity grid so as to reduce dependence on communications satellites and earth based electric transformers.
PSU Smart Grid
PSU Seminar on Smart Grid
Use of physical models to test computer models based on mental models:
Magnetic Shield Cracks Found: Big Solar Storm Predicted
NASA says huge solar particle buildup inside earth's magnetosphere could be from tears that, when the sun's polarity is aligned with earth's polarity, will allow a flood of solar particles inside that layer of earth's atmosphere where many communication satellites orbit, some solar flares may even reach the earth's surface damaging the electrical grid.
National Geographic Earth's Atmosphere
Layers of earth's atmosphere.
Video about Solar Particle Damage to communication Satellites
A video about exactly how solar particles could cause damage to communications satellites and earth's electricity grid.
NASA SORCE solar particle probe
NASA has a space probe named SORCE to detect solar particles headed toward earth.
Smart Grid Central/
Smart Grid Central about efforts to decentralize the world electricity grid so as to reduce dependence on communications satellites and earth based electric transformers.
PSU Smart Grid
PSU Seminar on Smart Grid
Organizations Dedicated to Environmental Issues
Inspiring leadership for a sustainable world. Professional certification and recognition for environmentally sustainable construction, design and talent.
Environmentally Responsible Construction
Official alliance for energy contractors in Oregon to qualify for green rebates.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
George Taylor is NOT the Oregon State Climatologist
George Taylor, climate change skeptic, was never the "Oregon State Climatologist" as was widely reported, but was the manager of the Oregon State University "Oregon Climate Service". Due to his popular unconventional beliefs he was forced to resign in May 2008. .
George Taylor_(Oregon_State_University)
George Taylor_(Oregon_State_University)
Correction: Magnitude of Scale
In class we talked about the correlation of the circumference of the earth at approximately 25,000 miles to the moon at 250,000 miles away at an order of magnitude of about 10. This means that a physical model of a common globe of circumference of approximately 3 feet would have a corresponding moon a ball the size of the United States on the surface of that globe positioned about 30 feet away, an order of magnitude about 10.
I then said the distance to the sun would be an order of magnitude about 400. Actually, the distance from the earth to the sun would be about 93,000,000 miles, which would be an order of magnitude of 4,000. The sun has a circumference of approximately 2,713,406 miles around. That would correlate from a common globe to a ball about 300 feet around over 12,000 feet (2.25 miles) away.
So much space and such a tiny earth. The earth is a very special place.
I then said the distance to the sun would be an order of magnitude about 400. Actually, the distance from the earth to the sun would be about 93,000,000 miles, which would be an order of magnitude of 4,000. The sun has a circumference of approximately 2,713,406 miles around. That would correlate from a common globe to a ball about 300 feet around over 12,000 feet (2.25 miles) away.
So much space and such a tiny earth. The earth is a very special place.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Intro to Environmental Science
Concepts:
In this class we will go from approaching environmentalism from the global perspective, to the local level, to internalizing it all and forming a personal activism.
Water is the new oil.
Nature creates energy, people create power.
Consider the future of electronics waste.
Gardening is a great way to teach about science:
growing--biology
cooking--chemistry
soils-water--earth science
rain water--environmental science
What is "environmental science"?
Environmental science is the study and practice of the interaction between humans and the environment and how to make it mutually beneficial. It is human ecology.
Science is the active process of making models and testing them. It is the search for creative approach and solutions and the search for repeating patterns.
A scientific theory is an explanation, based on models, of how things work.
Examples of models are:
physical model: Biosphere II
mathematical model: String Theory
computer model: weather report (7 supercomputers in US)
Science is about:
what- empirical measurement, observation
why- philosophy, theory, models
A common model of the earth is a globe.
It is:
accurate- useful, sphere, tilted 23 degrees, land mass/water, topographical
inaccurate- political lines arbitrary, not flat at top and bottom, not wet, no atmosphere, much smaller than real earth.
On any common globe, the moon is approximately the same size as the United States.
The corresponding scale is:
earth- 25,000 miles circumference:: globe- approximately 3 feet circumference
moon- 250,000 miles away:: ball about 30 feet away
sun- approximately 100,000,000 miles away:: a ball about 12,000 feet away (more than 2 miles away from globe!)
The earth's ecosphere:
geosphere: 17,000 miles beneath the crust- land, rocks, minerals, core
atmosphere: 60 miles above the crust- air, gas
hydrosphere: water and ice on surface of earth
biosphere: surface of earth to 5 miles beneath crust- living things
The geosphere is by far the largest sphere, followed by the atmosphere, then the hydrosphere with the biosphere the smallest in scale.
The context of the earth is its connection to its parts, to us, and to the universe.
In this class we will go from approaching environmentalism from the global perspective, to the local level, to internalizing it all and forming a personal activism.
Water is the new oil.
Nature creates energy, people create power.
Consider the future of electronics waste.
Gardening is a great way to teach about science:
growing--biology
cooking--chemistry
soils-water--earth science
rain water--environmental science
What is "environmental science"?
Environmental science is the study and practice of the interaction between humans and the environment and how to make it mutually beneficial. It is human ecology.
Science is the active process of making models and testing them. It is the search for creative approach and solutions and the search for repeating patterns.
A scientific theory is an explanation, based on models, of how things work.
Examples of models are:
physical model: Biosphere II
mathematical model: String Theory
computer model: weather report (7 supercomputers in US)
Science is about:
what- empirical measurement, observation
why- philosophy, theory, models
A common model of the earth is a globe.
It is:
accurate- useful, sphere, tilted 23 degrees, land mass/water, topographical
inaccurate- political lines arbitrary, not flat at top and bottom, not wet, no atmosphere, much smaller than real earth.
On any common globe, the moon is approximately the same size as the United States.
The corresponding scale is:
earth- 25,000 miles circumference:: globe- approximately 3 feet circumference
moon- 250,000 miles away:: ball about 30 feet away
sun- approximately 100,000,000 miles away:: a ball about 12,000 feet away (more than 2 miles away from globe!)
The earth's ecosphere:
geosphere: 17,000 miles beneath the crust- land, rocks, minerals, core
atmosphere: 60 miles above the crust- air, gas
hydrosphere: water and ice on surface of earth
biosphere: surface of earth to 5 miles beneath crust- living things
The geosphere is by far the largest sphere, followed by the atmosphere, then the hydrosphere with the biosphere the smallest in scale.
The context of the earth is its connection to its parts, to us, and to the universe.
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