NASA - Ozone Resource Page

NASA - Ozone Resource Page

Daily Ozone

Portland Harbor Superfund Site Sinks Under Stigma

"Portland Harbor is a critical economic engine stalled by the uncertainty and stigma of being a Superfund site. It will take decades to restore the Lower Willamette River and the transition will be unpleasant, expensive and complex. And crucial.

It will take decades of fighting, negotiating, encouraging and cajoling to restore the Lower Willamette River and set a course toward a more sustainable future for Portland Harbor.

The transition is unlikely to be pleasant and almost certain to be expensive, time consuming and mind-numbingly complex. It is also crucial, to Oregon as well as Portland.

The harbor economy has brought prosperity to the region for 150 years, and it has the potential to do so for another 150 years into the future. But progress will remain sluggish until the river is cleaned up and the stifling weight of Superfund is lifted."

Ben Jacklet  Slideshow and longer article at this web site.

Just Plain Weird

Bull Run Risks Contamination by Portland Water Bureau Worker

A Portland Water Bureau worker accidentally drove his truck into Bull Run. Officials say it happened in a part of the reservoir that would not contaminant the drinking water source.

Alligator Spotted in Salmon Creek

An actual alligator was photographed in Vancouver, Washington's Salmon Creek. No one knows how it got there.

Steripen

A portable UV water purifier? MmmK.

5min Carbon, Water, Sulphur Cycles

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

Hydrosphere: Vast expanses of Arctic ice melt in summer heat

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.

UN Global Climate change

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!

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.

NASA Satellite Crashes

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.

HOT ISSUE: Should we deliberately move species?

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?

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!