News items and other various tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share with his friends.
As a side-effect of global warming, the fabled Northwest Passage has opened up for the first time in recorded history. Wonder if anyone is actually going to use it for commercial shipping?
Link #1: http://www.esa.int/…
(via Slashdot)
Link #2: http://news.bbc.co.uk/…
For some time now I have been wondering why we can’t just directly create the stuff that we currently rely on nature to provide: oil, food, etc. These items are basically made from four very plentiful elements—carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen—and I see no reason why we can’t just combine the elements in the right manner to create what we need. A company named LS9 has made a step in the right direction. They have developed bacteria that take corn-based sugars and convert them to oil. (They hope to eventually use switchgrass instead of corn.) One neat thing is that gasoline created from this oil is free of contaminants, such as sulfur, that exist in natural oil.
Link: http://www.technologyreview.com/…
(via Slashdot)
A recent study has revealed that office printers release a significant amount of toner particulates into the air. Some printers were as bad as cigarettes in the amount of particles released. Printer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard, of course, was very quick to send out a press release denying the claims.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
No matter what you do, there always seems to be side effects.
The official mileage estimates for hybrid vehicles, long known to be too high, have been reduced. The Toyota Prius, for example, had its city mileage drop from 60 to 48 MPG.
Link: http://www.wired.com/…
(via digg)
Penn and Teller played a joke on some environmentalists, getting them to sign a petition demanding that dihydrogen monoxide be banned. Dihydrogen monoxide is more commonly called water.
Thanks to Burt for this link.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/…
Billions of honeybees have vanished worldwide. Dubbed “colony collapse disorder,” this has serious implications for farmers who rely on bees to pollinate their crops. An initial but much-discredited report (link #2) suggested that cell phone radiation was responsible, but now scientists are looking at a fungal infection as the likely culprit.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/…
(via digg)
Ethanol is being touted as an alternative fuel because it emits less greenhouse gases than gasoline. Unfortunately, all is not wonderful in ethanol land. A recent study found that the overall health effects of ethanol would be slightly worse than gasoline, because ethanol exhaust has increased amounts of ozone—which contributes to smog and kills people with respiratory problems.
So while ethanol would free Americans from the oil tyranny of the Middle East and would reduce greenhouse gas emissions (thus saving coastal cities from flooding), its health benefits are actually worse.
Link: http://www.iht.com/…
(via digg)
Link #2: http://news.bbc.co.uk/…
The Associated Press has written an interesting article about the computer industry’s efforts at recycling. Computers and other consumer electronics contain a number of toxic materials, and just throwing them away is not a good idea. I know that Micro Center accepts computers and consumer electronics for recycling at no charge, and I imagine that other computer retailers probably do the same.
Back in 1980, an entire Louisiana lake drained into an underground salt mine, sucking in the surrounding landscape, 11 barges, and saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico. The freshwater lake, with a maximum depth of 10 feet, was transformed into a very deep (1300 foot) saltwater lake. Nine of the barges resurfaced after the lake stopped draining. The video has some good footage, and more information is available at Wikipedia.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/…
(via Neatorama)
For those trying to live a green life, here’s a small septic tank which breaks down animal waste in a sanitary and environmentally-friendly way.
Link: http://www.gardeners.com/…
(via Neatorama)
The 2006 hurricane season is officially over, with only 5 hurricanes—none of which hit the United States. Much better than the previous 2 years.
Link: http://www.physorg.com/…
Chad Cloman
Denver, CO USA
