Green Holiday wallpaper, Amazon deforestation accelerates, LA Proposes Major Solar Initiative

Green Holiday wallpaper

Amazon deforestation accelerates

The destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has accelerated for the first time in four years, Brazilian officials say.

Satellite images show 11,968 sq km of land was cleared in the year to July, nearly 4% higher than the year before.

This follows three years in the Brazilian government had been able to halt deforestation. Since poor Brazilian farmers are as subject to recessions and commodity prices as everyone else they fell to the temptation of letting more land be logged.

LA Proposes Major Solar Initiative

Under the mayor’s solar plan, the largest share of solar power, or 500 megawatts, would come from generating facilities built by private sector companies in the Mojave Desert. Another 380 megawatts would be achieved through smaller programs, including one that would help low-income residents add solar panels to their homes and another that would allow DWP customers to purchase shares of city-owned solar plants.

Both proposals establish goals for 2020, seven years after Villaraigosa’s second and final term as mayor, and must be approved by the five-member DWP commission.

A third component of the solar plan is already heading to voters in the March 3 mayoral election. That measure would allow the DWP to install and own 400 megawatts of rooftop solar panels by 2014.

I wouldn’t be surprised if President Obama makes greening up public buildings with solar panels was part of his plan to use infrastructure improvements and repairs as a way to stimulate the economy. Long term a win win situation. The more solar and wind is used the cheaper it becomes, while at the same time it grows as a major segment of the economy and source of jobs.

One family’s daring experiment: Christmas without all the stuff

“Despite the fact that people spend relatively large portions of their income on gifts, as well as time shopping for and wrapping them,” the researchers said, “such behavior apparently contributes little to holiday joy.” In fact, subjects who gave or received presents that represented a substantial percentage of their income, Kasser and Sheldon found, actually experienced less Christmas joy.

Of course, this makes perfect sense. We all know in our hearts that treasuring meaningful experiences and spending time in valued relationships—at Christmas or any other part of the year—make us happier [4] than getting more stuff.

But try telling that to the grandparents at Christmas time!

Obviously not an experiment that would work for everyone, but an interesting bit of sociology.

Lady Bug Yellow Flower wallpaper, Melamine standards and health policy, Mercury remains a problem in Florida fish

Lady Bug on Yellow Flower wallpaper

FDA Sets Melamine Standard for Baby Formula

Less than two months after federal food regulators said they were unable to set a safety threshold for the industrial chemical melamine in baby formula, they announced a standard that allows for higher levels than those found in U.S.-made batches of the product.

Food and Drug Administration officials on Friday set a threshold of 1 part per million of melamine in formula, provided a related chemical isn’t present. They insisted the formulas are safe.

Its strange that the FDA, still staffed with the anti-regulation zealots from the Bush administration would suddenly decide on this new threshold – without new scientific studies since October. The standards are the same ones that Canada and China has, but higher then those held by Taiwan. The FDA is saying that based on a look around at what some other countries are doing as long as there is not a mix of melamine and cyanuric acid the baby formula is probably safe. Who knows, maybe it is, but this is lazy haphazard way to set public health policy.

Florida looks at mercury contamination in fish

The findings suggest that dark waterways fed by wetlands in forest-covered areas have special characteristics that make it easier for mercury to accumulate in fish, said Barbara Scudder, a Geological Survey hydrologist. The research, which began in 1998, measured mercury in 367 stream basins nationally.

Fishermen and state agencies have known for years that mercury accumulates in Florida waters, apparently dropping from the sky as emissions from coal-burning power plants and other sources settle.

A 28-page state booklet lists hundreds of Florida lakes and river sections where people are warned not to eat certain kinds of fish more than once or twice a week, once a month, or ever, depending on the water’s condition.

One of those situations where one  wishes for a specific industrial polluter, making it much easier then regulating pollution that is coming from multiple sources all over the country, plus probably a little from China.

2008 Holiday wallpaper, Milford Sound wallpaper, Worm glue to repair humans

2008 Happy Holidays wallpaper – large

2008 Holidays wallpaper 1440x

Milford Sound New Zealand wallpaper

Some turkey facts from 2007 and the University of Illinois Extension,

* Ben Franklin, in a letter to his daughter, proposed the turkey as the official United States bird.
* In 2007, the average American ate 17.5 pounds of turkey.
97% or Americans surveyed by the National Turkey Federation eat turkey at Thanksgiving.
* Turkey consumption has increased 116% since 1970.
* Since 1970, turkey production in the United States has increased nearly 300 percent.
* In 2007, 271,685,000 turkeys were produced in the United States.
* In 1970, 50 per cent of all turkey consumed was during the holidays, now just 29 per cent    of all turkey consumed is during the holidays as more turkey is eaten year-round.
* The male turkey is called a tom.
* The female turkey is called a hen.
* The turkey was domesticated in Mexico and brought to Europe in the 16th century.
* Wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour.
* Wild turkeys can run 20 miles per hour.
* Tom turkeys have beards. This is black, hairlike feathers on their breast. Hens sometimes have beards, too.
* Turkeys’ heads change colors when they become excited.
Canadians consumed 138.6 million kg (Mkg) of turkey in the year 2005.
* Six hundred seventy-five million pounds of turkey are eaten each Thanksgiving in the United States.
* Turkeys can see movement almost a hundred yards away.
* Turkeys lived almost ten million years ago.
* Turkey eggs are tan with brown specks and are larger than chicken eggs.
* It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30 pound tom turkey.
* In 1920, U.S. turkey growers produced one turkey for every 29 persons in the
* U.S. Today growers produce nearly one turkey for every person in the country..
* The turkeys produced in 2007 together weighed 7.9 billion pounds and were valued at $3.7 billion.
* United States turkey growers will produce an estimated 271 million turkeys in 2008.
* Forty-five million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving.
* Twenty-two million turkeys are eaten each Christmas.

There are more at the link.

Imagine a group of crazed conservationists a few years back marching with signs saying “Save the Sandcastle worm”. There would be the usual willfully ignorant band of pundits whining about how those greenie weirdos are holding up progress. Kind of depends on how one defines progress, Worm ‘superglue’ may bind human joints

Sandcastle worms using their natural glue as a binder for their homes are a model for University of Utah researchers creating a synthetic version for humans

University of Utah bioengineers said they hope the synthetic version of this “superglue” can be used within the next few years to repair shattered bones in joints or the face, the university said in a news release.

“You would glue some of the small pieces together,” says Russell Stewart, associate professor of bioengineering and senior author of the study. “When you break the top of a bone in a joint, those fractures are difficult to repair because if they are not aligned precisely, you end up with arthritis and the joint won’t work anyway.”

In lab tests using cow bone pieces from grocery stores, a prototype of the synthetic sea-worm glue performed 37 percent as well as commercial superglue, he said.

There is a photo here of a sandcastle worm colony made of, what else, sand and some sea shell fragments.

Misurina Lake wallpaper, Solar powered slug, Sustainable holidays

Misurina Lake wallpaper

Solar-powered sea slug harnesses stolen plant genes – “Video: Watch a sea slug eat algae to nab some of its chloroplasts, and the genes that keep them functioning”/ Most of us have probably seen the insects that camouflage themselves as leaves or tree twigs, but this sea creature looks like a leaf with a small head.

10 Tips for a Sustainable Thanksgiving

1. Buy produce from your local farmers market.  Rather than eating grapes from Mexico, apples from Argentina or potatoes from China, purchase as much of your holiday produce from a local farmer! takepart with the Eat Well Guide to find one near you.

That Eat Well link is to their blog which has a search box for finding local farmers markets and if you feel lost they take comments.

Green Gift Guide: Low-Impact, Eco-Friendly Ideas For the Holidays

It is Better to Give Than to Receive
Re-gifting is generally considered bad form, but that doesn’t mean you apartment or house is doomed to overflow with all of your stuff plus whatever people give you. Uncluttered suggests a policy of out with the old, in with the new:

For the gifts that you do want, make sure you get rid of the old items in your home that they replace. If you receive a new pair of jeans, sell or donate an old pair. Likewise electronics equipment. Try and make the holiday season a zero sum gain in the accumulation of stuff. This advice won’t apply to all gifts, such as one of a kind gifts and consumables. However, for clothing and toys, it is an easy way to get rid of old items that have been replaced.

A week or so after the start of the new year is a great time to send the stuff you don’t want over to the Salvation Army. Shopping for locally made non-perishables is near impossible at the mall, but with Google’s help you might find locally made toys and clothes.

Bongo (antelope)

Bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) are African ungulates. unusual in that the male and female both have horns which they keep year round. They feed on leaves, vines, bark, grasses, fruits and the pith of rotting trees. They are also attracted to salt licks. Males weigh in at 240-405 kg (530 to 895 lb), females are slightly smaller. Rarely seen in large herds. They are usually found in small groups of six or seven individuals with a dominant male leader.

Olympic National Park wallpaper, Windspire’s innovative wind tower, Which mass transit is greener

Olympic National Park wallpaper

The Windspire wind turbine

The Windspire is a low cost, attractive, plug-n-produce wind power appliance that provides a safe and attractive method for harnessing power from the wind. At only 30 feet tall and 2 feet in radius, Windspire is distinguished by its sleek propeller-free design, ultra quiet operation, rugged construction, and affordable pricing.

I wouldn’t mind if i saw these scattered through some city apartments or suburban lawns – they’re not any more visually intrusive then utility poles or satellite antennas. On the other hand what constitutes an eye sore is pretty subjective. They’re an improvement over the very large traditional turbines we see now. Just doing some rough calculations (“2000* kilowatt hours per year in 12 mile per hour average winds”), one tower will produce about a 30 to 40 percent of the average household’s electrical use – because of the way some utility companies scale their billing according to usage and peak hours, that dollar and energy savings could be substantial. There is a downloadable pdf with specifications at the site. It looks a little like a modern sculpture of an upright egg beater.

Trains vs. Planes vs. Automobiles – Is it always greener to take public transportation?

Secondly, you can’t discuss the environmental impact of getting around without considering the infrastructure that makes travel possible. We have a tendency to focus on the environmental impact of the things that move—the cars, trains, and planes we see getting from point A to point B. But Chester and Horvath found that in some cases, construction is the biggest polluter. Roads were responsible for more particulate matter than tailpipes, for example. For rail travel, operating the trains actually accounts for less than half of a system’s greenhouse-gas emissions.

To flatly state a bottom line is complicated, but taking the bus is greener then most other forms of transport. Construction of mass transit systems is a huge burden on the environment, but this article doesn’t get into the point at which the initial construction of say an inner city rail system or interstate high speed train has a net benefit over the lifetime of the systems compared to keeping the status quo- inefficient fossil fuel car commutes.

Fla. wildlife officials to discuss reef health

Experts say hobbyists are no longer filling their tanks just with fish and dead coral. The growing popularity of living reef aquariums mean divers have started going after crabs, snails and other invertebrates that filter water, as well as eat algae and dead organisms.

One of those cases of toxic love of nature. People loving reefs and and the aquatic life around them and want the same effect in their home; destroying the wild version in the process.

And for my next trick