X

Posts

May 02, 2013

+
11:34 AM | Milestone Nears on Curve Charting the Human Imprint on the Atmosphere
A famous curve of carbon dioxide levels is close to passing a milestone.
Dot Earth
Environment
+
11:12 AM | MSc Project: No Novel Crops
A couple of weeks ago I introduced my MSc project here on the blog. In essence I am looking at what makes UK gardeners choose to grow novel (unusual) crops in their veg patches and on their allotments, how they learn to grow and use those crops, and what role the internet plays in them sharing what they’ve learned with other gardeners. The flip side to that is that there are plenty of veg growers in the UK who don’t chose to grow novel and unusual crops – people who […]
Emma Cooper's blog
Environment | Anthropology
+
9:57 AM | Even baby sharks can bite!
Shark embryos are apparently as deadly as the older members of their family can be. It has been discovered that shark embryos eat their littermates in the womb, with the largest embryo eating all but one of its siblings.
Science Club
Environment | Marine Biology
+
2:36 AM | Divide and conquer: Canadian environmental protection
Earlier this week, I joined many Canadians in celebrating the Ontario government stepping in to support the Experimental Lakes Area for a year. Stephen Harper claimed the federal government didn’t [...]
Watershed Moments: Thoughts from the Hydrosphere
Geography | Environment
+
2:16 AM | “just and stable titles to water”
I spent the morning in an Albuquerque court listening to a fascinating legal argument about water rights. The real issue, involving the way central New Mexico’s largest irrigation district allocates water, remains undecided  - this morning’s ruling was issued based on procedural issues rather than the substance at hand. So I’ll have more cracks at [...] Related posts: Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: NM Water Rights Ruling In Arizona, push-back against instream water rights Mormons […]
Inkstain (John Fleck)
Environment | Geosciences
+
1:35 AM | Tree rings and the black death
My fascination with tree rings (buy my book!) is mostly about climate stories. But the rings tell other tales as well: According to folklore from the valley Hallingdal, between Oslo and Bergen, a young girl was locked into a farm storehouse to protect her from the Black Death. The pandemic killed tens of millions in [...] Related posts: On the persistence of anti-Semitism Tree rings as history tool Tree Rings’ Tale – Teacher Feedback
Inkstain (John Fleck)
Environment | Geosciences

May 01, 2013

+
9:32 PM | A Battery Charger for Electric Cars That Works 4 Times Faster Developed
Scientists from the Chalmers University of Technology have created an integrated motor drive and a new battery charger for plug-in vehicles. Using this technology an electric car’s battery will charge in only 2 hours (instead of typical 6-8 hours). Researchers also managed to reduce the cost of the device by around $2,000. Read more »

Haghbin, S., Khan, K., Zhao, S., Alakula, M., Lundmark, S. & Carlson, O. (2013). An Integrated 20-kW Motor Drive and Isolated Battery Charger for Plug-In Vehicles, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 28 (8) 4013-4029. DOI:

The Daily Fusion
Environment | Energy
Citation
+
9:01 PM | A Google Duo and a Media Maven Explore a Hyper-Connected Planet
A brisk chat between Googlers and a media maven about the emerging Knowosphere.
Dot Earth
Environment
+
8:47 PM | Eurostat: in 2011 Renewable Energy Share in the EU Went Up to 13%
STAT/13/65 26 April 2013 Renewable energyShare of renewable energy up to 13% of energy consumption in the EU27 in 2011 In 2011, energy from renewable sources1 was estimated to have contributed 13.0% of gross final energy consumption in the EU27, compared with 7.9% in 2004 and 12.1% in 2010. The share of renewables in gross final energy consumption is one of the headline indicators of the Europe 2020 strategy2. The target for the EU27 to be reached by 2020 is a share of 20% renewable energy […]
The Daily Fusion
Environment | Energy
+
6:31 PM | What does an average human look like?
It turns out Wikipedians have had a very detailed discussion on the topic. Their current selection on the article for “Human” is of a southeast Asian man and woman, both farmers, who are not wealthy but not destitute, either. Given population demographics, that’s probably about right. But what’s interesting to me is the background—a rolling [...]∞
Per Square Mile
Environment | Geography
+
6:28 PM | While you’re waiting for the bus May 1, 2013
Stuff worth reading The limits of climate adaptation are social, not physical or economic Technology can’t save us if we won’t use it The Slow and Painful Death of Freedom in Canada A lot can happen in a decade.
Gravity's Rainbow
Biology | Environment
+
5:13 PM | Photo stories of resilience runners-up
Resilience can mean many things to different people, spanning art, culture, history, language, science and nature, to name but a few. What is fascinating about resilience is that it may not be limited to words.  Photography can be used to explore a highly ambiguous term by revealing its meaning through pictures.  Not long ago IHRR [...]
Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience Blog
Environment | Geosciences
+
5:13 PM | Nature’s Must-Read Special Issue on GMOs
By now it has become clear, as British environmental writer Mark Lynas said in a speech this week at Cornell University, that controversy over GMOs represents one of the greatest science communications failures of the past half-century. Millions, possibly billions, of people have come to believe what is essentially a conspiracy theory, generating fear and [...]
Collide-a-Scape
Environment | General Science
+
5:00 PM | Rock, Tree, Human
As a Brooklyn (New York) resident for over 15 years, I’ve never thought much about whether or not I was living on high ground, within a floodplain or an evacuation zone, or how I might secure my windows during a … Continue reading →
The Nature of Cities
Ecology | Environment
+
4:38 PM | Observed Earth: A New View of the Sky
A new view of the sky above, created by an artist for whom photographs are just the starting point.
Dot Earth
Environment
+
2:56 PM | Air Quality Awareness Week: EPA Clean Air Science
By Maggie Sauerhage Impatiently, you watch the second hand tick, tick, tick around the clock. Is it possible that it’s slowing down? Finally, it hits the 12 and you hear that magical sound: RRRRING! It’s time for recess! You jump out of your seat, knocking over your chair, and run to freedom alongside your classmates. [...]
It All Starts with Science
Environment
+
2:52 PM | Welcome to Frog Week!
From May 1 to May 9, we will be posting all about frogs! Make sure you check back in to learn more about our hippity hoppity friends!
Wild Wire
Ecology | Environment
+
2:44 PM | Extreme Weather in a Warming World, and the American Mind
A new survey shows how extreme weather influences public attitudes on global warming.
Dot Earth
Environment
+
2:08 PM | Billions of Gallons of Raw Sewage Were Unleashed by Superstorm Sandy
By The Editors Imagine all of Central Park covered with a pile of sewage 41 feet high. That’s the amount of waste overflow caused by Hurricane Sandy, according to a report released today by Climate Central. Taking data from the eight states hit hardest by the storm, the organization found that 11 billion gallons of untreated and partially treated wastewater flooded into waterways from Washington, D.C., to Connecticut when Sandy came aground six months […]
OnEarth
Energy | Environment
+
1:57 PM | In America, we pump water out of the ground to put it in our rivers
From Atlanta, another example of a concept we’re seeing increasingly here in the western United States – groundwater augmentation of dwindling river supplies: Georgia’s efforts to quench metro Atlanta’s thirst include a $1 billion proposal to pump water from one aquifer to another and then release it into the Flint River in times of drought. [...] Related posts: In the southeast, back to not fightin’ over water? Albuquerque’s Water Atlanta’s Remarkable Water […]
Inkstain (John Fleck)
Environment | Geosciences
+
1:21 PM | Genome Socks
Did you see my post on the Mongolian Death Worm? The specimen photo that came with it showed some mastery in the art of knitting. I am not into knitting so much. My abilities in this craft are extremely limited. More than 25 years ago I was able to produce approximately half a shawl but that was it.However, I do admire all these knitting masters that can produce pretty much everything and come up with new knitting patterns. I have been made aware that DNA has also found its way into knitting […]
DNA Barcoding
Environment | Biology
+
10:00 AM | A new herpetofauna update from Cambodia
The Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary (KPWS) is the largest protected area in Cambodia, located in the Northern Plains of the country close to the Thai border. This area is characterised by a low population density and very limited agricultural presence, which provides an ideal setting for the natural habitat that consists of deciduous forests and grassland savannahs with some scattered semi-evergreen forest galleries.
Science Club
Environment | Marine Biology

April 30, 2013

+
9:59 PM | Data Modelling Tool Suggests Best Sites for Tidal Turbines
A new tidal energy modelling tool developed by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) and HR Wallingford can be used to find the most efficient sites for tidal energy converters, tidal arrays or tidal barrage schemes around the UK and French coastlines. Read more »
The Daily Fusion
Environment | Energy
+
6:30 PM | San Gabriel Valley, California
Jennifer Medina, reporting for the New York Times: “This is kind of ground zero for a new immigrant America,” said Daniel Ichinose, a demographer at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. “You have people speaking Mandarin and Vietnamese and Spanish all living together and facing many common challenges.” ∞∞
Per Square Mile
Environment | Geography
+
6:16 PM | Air Quality Awareness Week: Air Sensors 2013
Currently, the best way to know what the air quality is on any given day is to check the Air Now website (www.airnow.gov), sign up for “EnviroFlash” e-mail alerts (www.enviroflash.info/), and to check  your local media outlets, both print and broadcast, for announcements about “Air Action Days”—particularly on sultry summer days when they are most [...]
It All Starts with Science
Environment
+
5:13 PM | The Better to See You With
By Melissa Mahony To early mammals, the world looked something like the beginning of The Wizard of Oz: colorless. But at some point, a group of primates began seeing reds, greens, and blues -- and many shades of pink, yellow, and aquamarine in between. Scientists have long thought that color vision -- called trichromacy -- developed in primates sometime after they stopped hunting at night and began waking up with the sun. By the light of day, the thinking […]
OnEarth
Energy | Environment
+
4:20 PM | AIA Top 10 Green Buildings
Guess what’s not on the list? A building with trees on the roof. ∞∞
Per Square Mile
Environment | Geography
+
3:57 PM | April Blog Love Challenge: Day 30
Well, yesterday got away from me and today I’m still not feeling well, but hopefully I can finish the April Blog Love Challenge with a full set of blogs for today: Weeding the Web has done a round-up of blogs written by Head Gardeners. World Vision presents The Masterchefs of Melghat. JibberJabber UK shares a recipe for Honey-chocolate flapjacks. Ancient Foods points us to a brief report about possible fertilizer use 5000 years ago. And The Garden Deli has some good news for […]
Emma Cooper's blog
Environment | Anthropology
+
3:45 PM | Two Enzymes Are Better Than One, Study Finds
Researchers from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that two approaches to breaking down cell walls of biomass, if used together, are more effective than either method alone. Enzymes’ ability to break down cell walls faster will lead to less expensive biofuel production. Read more »

Resch, M., Donohoe, B., Baker, J., Decker, S., Bayer, E., Beckham, G. & Himmel, M. (2013). Fungal cellulases and complexed cellulosomal enzymes exhibit synergistic mechanisms in cellulose deconstruction, Energy & Environmental Science, DOI:

The Daily Fusion
Environment | Energy
Citation
+
3:41 PM | DNA Barcoding Online Course
One of the projects that currently keep me busy is the development of an online course that introduces attendees to the principles of DNA Barcoding. We are working closely with our experts for distance education here at the UofG and this week is the start of the advertisement campaign for the first offering. This course is an exclusively web-based course which is offered over an eight week period starting on July 8th. On average, six to eight hours of study time are required each week to study […]
DNA Barcoding
Environment | Biology
456789101112
7,978 Results