New Yorks Steinhardt Gardens wallpaper, Solar technology could help with vision problems

New Yorks Steinhardt Gardens wallpaper

Solar technology gets personal, Flexible solar cell implant could restore vision. An implant would convert light into energy (an electrical pulse) to compensate for macular degeneration.

Tuvalu is a small island nation in the Pacific, Climate Change Reality : 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius? Life or death for Tuvalu?

We all know  (at least those who understand the scientific methods) that the burning of massive quantities of fossil fuels has destabilized the carbon cycle, since we are emitting every year approximately 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide in excess of what ecosystems and oceans can absorb. These contribute to thicken the layer of heat-trapping gases around the Earth, and warm its climate. The average warming over the last 100 years is of the order of 0.8°C, and has been called “unequivocal” by IPCC in its last report (www.ipcc.ch).

If sea levels continue to rise Tuvalu and many other island countries will not exist. The world’s glaciers continue to disappear – a major contributor to the increase in sea levels.

U.S. Offers $85 Million to Promote Efficiency

The United States will contribute $85 million over the next five years to a $350 million effort by industrialized countries to help spread efficiency and low-carbon energy sources in the developing world, the energy secretary was expected to announce Monday.

Its hard to dismiss $85 million as small change, but it is a bargain compared to the billions loaned to Citibank. Citi is now arranging to repay that loan. Italy, Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland are also participating in the energy technology program.

Dog House Winter wallpaper, Rare tree stolen from Washington Park Arboretum

Dog House Winter wallpaper

Rare tree stolen from Washington Park Arboretum

Someone apparently seeking a free Christmas tree stole a 7-foot conifer from the Washington Park Arboretum. The tree was one of the park’s rarest specimens, an imperiled species collected from the mountainous Yunnan province in China.

….”A Keteleeria is something that even most arborists have never heard of,” Hitchin said. “Or if they have, it’s just a reference in a book. To have a specimen in the flesh is just a tremendous thing.”(picture of tree at link)

Sad to think that in just a few weeks it will then be thrown in the trash.

Sea Level Is Rising Along US Atlantic Coast, Say Environmental Scientists

An international team of environmental scientists led by the University of Pennsylvania has shown that sea-level rise along the Atlantic Coast of the United States was 2 millimeters faster in the 20th century than at any time in the past 4,000 years.

The University of Pennsylvania can look forward to being lumped in with the vast international conspiracy to invent data that supports the fact of global warming.

Red Poppie wallpaper, Canna lillies may help filter water pollutants

Red Poppie wallpaper

Canna can: Ornamental eliminates pollutants from stormwater runoff

Rapid population growth and urbanization have raised concerns over stormwater runoff contamination. Studies on watersheds indicate that excess nutrients, specifically nitrate–nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus are found in stormwater runoff in many new urban areas. These pollutants degrade water quality and have an impact on the downstream ecosystem by contributing to the growth and decomposition of oxygen-depleting microorganisms.

The Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972 and some related water pollution control legislation were the forerunners of the Clean Water Act passed in 1985. Cannas to the rescue in 2010.

In a study published in a recent issue of the journal HortScience, a research team headed by Yan Chen of Louisiana State University’s Hammond Research Station, analyzed the nutrient removal abilities of herbaceous perennial ornamentals (canna, iris, calla lily, and dwarf papyrus) compared with those of wetland plants (arrow arum, pickerelweed, and bulltongue arrowhead) in three experiments. The nutrient recirculation system (NRS) was filled with a nutrient solution with total nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) concentrations of 11.3 and 3.1 mg/liter, respectively, to simulate high levels of nutrient contaminations in stormwater.

The results showed that ‘Australia’ canna had the greatest water consumption, total biomass production, and aboveground nitrogen and phosphorous content, followed by pickerelweed.

I planted some Canna lilies and ended up regretting it because they spread by their roots and crowded out the other flowers near them. They may redeem their reputation for me anyway if they prove to be good for pollution control. Besides removing the nitrates the plants themselves can be harvested for biomass.

In Attempting To Justify Her Denier Op-Ed, Palin Lies About Her Past Climate Change Views. Like many on her side of the political spectrum its a full time job keeping track of the untruths and walk backs. It would be boring except that for whatever reason(she has no scientific training) some people take her views seriously.

Snowman Wallpaper

Winter Stream and Forest wallpaper, Green commercial purchasing growing, Tires made of biosynthesized material

Winter Stream and Forest wallpaper

Study sees 25% buying growth by 2013

Global purchasing of green building materials–cement, insulation and wood products- will grow to $571 billion by 2013 from $455.3 billion in 2008, suggests a study by Allied Business Intelligence Research of New York. “Innovation, particularly in wood and insulation, is a key driver behind the growth of green building products,” suggests Larry Fisher, research director of ABI Research’s “next generation” practice.

One way to green-up the wood products used for renovations and construction is to reclaim wood from the buildings we tear down. Another way, which consumers can have a big influence, is to get timber products from sustainable forests. Forests that are maintained mostly for lumber and are selectively cut. Not clear cut.

Goodyear-Made BioIsoprene Tires at UN Conference

Copenhagen is hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and present at the event will be the world’s first concept demonstration tires made with bioIsoprene technology.

This breakthrough substance, which replaces a petrochemically produced ingredient used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber with renewable biomass, made its debut in the Danish city in early December.

The word bioisoprene is so new that its difficult to pin down the exact process and ingredients. Genencor, the company that will supply Goodyear simply says it is bio-based. Genecor does a lot of research in bio based materials ranging from algae to sugar cane. So its hard to say how green this material is. That there will be less demand on dwindling supplies of cheap crude oil from which tire rubber has been made sounds like good news. On the other hand if its like corn based ethanol it could be a trade-off. From an older article,

Goodyear and Danisco’s enzymes technology division Genencor will collaborate on a project to develop a process for manufacturing isoprene from renewable raw materials. Isoprene, a key ingredient in tires, is currently derived from crude oil. Genencor says it will spend $50 million during the next three years to develop a fermentation process for manufacturing bio-isoprene using genetically engineered bacteria. Goodyear will develop technology for isolating and purifying the bio-isoprene.

New gene therapy and stem cells save limbs

U.S. scientists say they have developed an experimental therapy that eliminates blood vessel blockage associated with old age or diabetes.

Lake Grass Sunrise wallpaper, Green jobs nudging the economy forward, Climate change negative effect on wildlife

Lake Grass Sunrise wallpaper

Job growth in California is going green

The report from Next 10, a nonprofit research group in Palo Alto, explores California’s “core green economy,” including areas such as research and advocacy, finance and investment, energy efficiency, recycling and building. The study, to be released today, determined that the number of green companies surged 45% from 1995 to 2008, and total jobs in areas such as energy efficiency, renewable fuels and clean tech grew 36%. During the same period general employment in the state expanded just 13%.

From January 2007 to January 2008 green jobs increased 5% while total jobs declined 1%.

Some of the so-called green jobs are not those that require new skills – the growth in solar and wind installation still requires good old-fashioned electricians, carpenters and welders. The growth in green jobs alone may not pull California or the rest of the nation out of the recession, but is generating enough investment and payroll to contribute a sizable push.

List of ‘Unsung’ Wildlife Affected by Climate Change Released

In a new report titled “Species Feeling the Heat: Connecting Deforestation and Climate Change,” the Wildlife Conservation Society profiles more than a dozen animal species and groups that are facing threats due to climate change impacts including: changing land and sea temperatures; shifting rain patterns; exposure to new pathogens and disease; and increased threats of predation.

* The report contains a cross-section of animal species around the globe, including:

* Bicknell’s thrush, a bird species that breeds and nests in the higher elevations on mountains in northeastern North America. Slight increases in temperature threaten this bird’s breeding habitat.
* Flamingos, a group including several species that are threatened by climate change impacts that affect the availability and quality of wetland habitat in the Caribbean, South America, Asia, and Africa.
* Irrawaddy dolphin, a coastal species that relies on the flow of fresh water from estuaries in Bangladesh and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Changes in freshwater flow and salinity may have an impact on the species long-term survival.
* Musk ox, a species that exists in the harsh environment of the Arctic Tundra. This Pleistocene faces a higher predation risk by grizzly bears, as more bears may move northward into the musk oxen’s tundra home.
* Hawksbill turtle, an ocean-going reptile with temperature dependent biology. Specifically, higher temperatures result in more female hatchlings, a factor that could impact the species’ long-term survival by skewing sex ratios.

Wildlife has a way of suffering regardless of what kind of fake climategate controversies humans dream up.

Over the years I’ve come to think of Fox News push polls as a kind of joke of the day – How often do you think former President Clinton kicks puppies – typifies the kind of polls they run. Now they’re padding their push polls with fake statistics, Fox News Falsifies Its Own Data About Climategate. When your poll adds up to more than a 100% of opinion on any topic its kind of dead give away. It’s also true that some phenomenon are not open to opinion – Joe thinks the sun revolves around the earth. Joe and I do not have a difference of opinion. Joe is simply wrong.