Kind doodgeslagen om huilen tijdens WK

(Novum/AP) - Een man uit Texas heeft zijn 2-jarige stiefdochtertje doodgeslagen omdat het kind maar bleef huilen tijdens de WK-voetbalwedstrijd van de Verenigde Staten tegen Ghana. De 27-jarige man werd zaterdag gearresteerd en is maandag aangeklaagd, liet de politie weten.

Volgens de politie werd het kind hard geslagen en had het enkele gebroken ribben. Een schroef of moer was hardhandig in haar keel gestopt om het te doen voorkomen alsof het meisje gestikt was.

NOS blijft WK-streams blokkeren voor buitenlandse bezoekers

De NOS blijft buitenlandse bezoekers die WK-video's willen bekijken tegenhouden. Ook WK-streams op eurovisionsports.tv zijn gestaakt. De omroep zegt niet anders te kunnen vanwege 'harde contractuele verplichtingen' aan de FIFA.

Roeland Stekelenburg, hoofd van de afdeling Nieuwe Media van de NOS, gaat in een blogposting in op de vele klachten die de omroep zou hebben ontvangen over het blokkeren van buitenlandse bezoekers die een WK-stream willen openen. Volgens Stekelenburg is de NOS gedwongen tot het instellen van ip-filters omdat de verkregen uitzendrechten voor zowel tv als internet alleen binnen de landsgrenzen geldig zouden zijn.

De NOS had via het Eurovisie-platform nog een tijdelijke uitgang gevonden om landgenoten in het buitenland te bedienen met videostreams van Nederland 1. Stekelenburg zegt dat de omroep ook deze route heeft moeten afsluiten nadat het dit keer kritiek kreeg van buitenlandse zenders. Zij zouden de streams zien als oneerlijke concurrentie.

Stekelenburg stelt dat de strenge regels voor het streamen van internetcontent door sportbonden als de FIFA mogelijk in de toekomst door de EU wordt aangepakt. Enkele Europarlementari�rs zouden er bij Eurocommissaris Neelie Kroes, verantwoordelijk voor de Digitale Agenda, op hebben aangedrongen om te bekijken of er geen sprake is van oneerlijke concurrentie.

Garfield - :)

Yes.. he's here! Finally again!
And the subject today is orange, the color of the dutch soccer team!
(as usual a tune under the toon)


Hello folks

It was Germany yesterday (sorry you brits, no hard feelings, it is simply joying the joy and glory), and today it is Holland! The cat and his meal are in orange, as well as me, our room and the flag. Now it gets serious and yes, I talk about football/soccer.

Have a wonderful orange day, take care and til next time (and to the fish, farewell:P)
-------

Goedemiddag.

Gisteren een grandioze dag voor duitsland, en vandaag zo een voor Nederland! Nu ja, ze moeten het nog even waarmaken, maar de tegenstander is relatief onbekend en (dus???) zwak. Tsja, Italie eruit knikkeren.. dat kan ook niet elk team, dus we gaan weer heerlijk op het puntje van de stoel, oranje vlaggetjes en vlaggen, t shirt, er kan niets mis gaan wat het supporteren betreft!

Een fijne oranje dag vandaag, en je ziet het, zelfs de maaltijd van Garfield is vandaag oranje :)

Tot de volgende keer (en voor de vis, tot in het nirwana)

Cul de Sacs and 11 Other Unexpected Things That Are Making You Fat

Add another to our endless series of things that make you fat, many of which have to do with planning and design. The Harvard Business Review reports on a new study by Lawrence Frank of the University of British Columbia, that analyzed conditions in King County, Washington; he found that residents in neighbourhoods with grids and interconnected streets travelled 26% fewer miles by car than did those who lived in the neighbourhood of cul-de-sacs.

The HBR concludes:

Recent studies by Frank and others show that as a neighborhood's overall walkability increases, so does the amount of walking and biking--while, per capita, air pollution and body mass index decrease.

We have been down this road before; we have written that the The End of the Cul-de-Sac is Nigh. Grids are more efficient in their use of land, cost less to service and give people more options. We have also noted that:

2. Cars Make You Fat

There is an inverse correlation between obesity rates and the rates of cycling, walking and biking. Felix Salmon calls it the Urban Diet, noting that people who don't have a car can't fill their fridges with a ton of food, and have to give a lot more thought to what they eat. (Not to mention the fact that they walk and bike more).

Ryan Avent concurs:

The bottom line is that there is a very strong correlation between living in sprawl and being obese.

I concluded:

It is all a big conspiracy; the automobile created suburban sprawl, bigger and fuller fridges, the proliferation of fast food restaurants and the decline in the use of bikes. The system is rigged to put people in cars and take them to Wal-Mart for cheap high-fat food and McDonalds for more, faster.

More in TreeHugger More things that make you fat:

3. Where You Live Makes You Fat.

CalorieLab maps the obesity rate in the United States. What makes Mississippi the fattest state and Colorado the skinniest? It certainly can't be Colorado's love of bicycles, judging by their congressmen. I am told that the love of deep-fried food affects Mississippi and the four fat states surrounding it. Or could it just be too hot and languorous there? And why are Washington and Oregon, where everyone bikes and kayaks to work every day, pleasantly plump compared to Montana and Utah?

More: You Are Where You Eat: Obesity Maps of North America

4. The Recession Makes You Fat.

You don't see a lot of obesity in pictures from the Depression. But over at Planet Green, Kelly quotes a woman who is changing her shopping habits:

"If I buy four litres of milk it's costing me almost $7.00 but if I can go buy two-litre bottles of Coca Cola, it's going to cost me two and change. That's a problem that I have... ."

More in TreeHugger

5. The Suburbs Make You Fat.

Researchers are finding that suburban dwellers are significantly fatter than their urban counterparts, primarily because they drive everywhere, even to the fitness club.

"In a livable city, it should be possible and pleasant to reach restaurants, shops and entertainment on foot. Those who insist on riding bicycles should be able to do so safely and find bike racks on every street. An efficient subway or light-rail system not only makes it cheap and easy to get around town while legally drunk, it also provides more walking opportunities from home to station and station to destination."

More in TreeHugger

6. Architecture Makes You Fat.

A stair that you want to use

Tim Townshend, a Newcastle academic and former town planner, is one of those suggesting that our public spaces - our cities, suburbs, shopping centres - are enforcing a culture that consumes energy without expending it, encouraging inactivity and poor eating habits. One of Townshend's more frivolous suggestions is that we make stairwells a more attractive option by fitting them with piped music (although it's this, arguably, that made lifts loathsome in the first place)."

That, besides the number of gyms and liposuction clinics, is why New Yorkers are skinny compared to the nation as a whole. "In very dense urban environments, you get local shops and facilities mixed up together," says Townshend. "People tend to use those more. There's an awful lot more walking involved, just because of the inconvenience of driving." High-density housing, in other words, can help create what is known in the trade as the "eco-slob" effect, whereby the healthy, environmentally friendly option is also the path of least resistance."

7. Cheap Gas Makes You Fat

A recent study by Charles Courtemanche of Washington University in St. Louis looks at the relationship of gas prices and obesity. He found that in the years where gas prices were stable or declining in real dollars (graph right) the obesity rate climbed constantly. More at Cheap Gas Makes You Fat

8. Being Surrounded by Fast Food Restaurants Makes You Fat.

A new Canadian study has determined that there is a direct relationship between a city's obesity rate and the number of fast food restaurants per capita.

"We found there was actually a fairly strong relationship, a strong correlation between the two, that those cities that had higher obesity and overweight rates tended to have a higher density of at least the larger fast-food restaurant chains, so there were more restaurants per person in those cities."

More in You Are Where You Eat

9. The Government Makes You Fat.

Michael Pollan notes that Government policy determines what we eat and why "the most reliable predictor of obesity in America today is a person's wealth." He quotes a study by Drewnowski of the University of Washington, who determined that a dollar will buy 1200 calories of cookies or chips but only 250 calories of carrots. If you don't have a lot of money, the most rational thing to do is buy junk food to get the most calories for your buck.

More at Michael Pollan: The Government Makes You Fat

10. Gender Bender Chemicals Make You Fat.

Experiments at the University of California at Irvine by Bruce Blumberg indicate that endocrine disruptors make you fat. He looked at the fungicide Tributyltin.

"What we discovered," Blumberg said, is that tributyltin disrupted genetic interactions that regulate fat-cell activity in animals. "Exposure to tributyltin is increasing the number of fat cells, so the individual will get fatter faster as these cells produce more of the hormones that say 'feed me,'" Blumberg said. The exposed animals, he added, remain predisposed to obesity for life.

More at Gender Bender Chemicals Also Make You Fat

11. McMansions Make You Fat.

We do go on about living with less and complain about monster houses, but perhaps it is because bike riding vegetarian treehuggers simply take up less space. Dean Johnson, who may have is tongue planted in his cheek, plotted increases in house square footage against increases in obesity in the US and found this surprising correlation. Did Americans grow to fit the environment or did the houses grow to fit the Americans? Supersized Houses and People

London's Embassies Show Sustainable Projects

Images by B. Alter: Norway

As part of the London Festival of Architecture, twenty eight embassies are celebrating the best of their country's architecture. Strange creations like Italy's photo-reactive skin on its front door and Helsinki in a container are popping up in unexpected places.

But we loved these moss-filled rooms created by PUSHAK, a Norwegian architecture firm consisting of 4 women. Called Moss Your City, the walls and partitions have been covered with moss from the countryside. Inspired by the relationship between architecture and landscape, they are giving a 21st century look at moss.

There is a clean fresh smell and a feeling of softness as you wander amongst the small spaces. Usually considered a weed, moss has ancient associations: Japanese temple gardens, and the Victorian period of plant collecting and love of ferns. Modern architecture is starting to use it on the outside of buildings because it can act as a buffer on noisy streets and it absorbs dust and pollutants. Not mention that it looks lovely and green.

You can grow your own: moss sticks to vertical surfaces and gets its nutrition from rainwater. Here's an easy recipe using buttermilk and beer ( sounds good enough to eat).

Latvia

On to the next... Give a cheer for spunky little Riga, their whole exhibit was created out of foldable cardboard: display stands and benches. They are showing the challenges of your classic European city: history contrasted with contemporary architecture.

Estonia

This stunning bell is from Estonia. The River Bell is sited dramatically in the courtyard of Southwark Cathedral. Against the backdrop of this historic building, the bell plays "the music of silence." It consists of a bell, a cornice and a Gothic wheel, and is lit up at night.

Finland

The Finnish Institute has created The Nest, an abstract timber garden. It is like a pergola, consisting of a mesh of decking and offering shelter from the sun. It was built as part of The Wood Program, a one year programme in Finland that "aims to increase knowledge of the architectural, ecological and technical aspects of wood in contemporary architecture."

The Netherlands

And lastly, on this fast tour of the world, the Netherlands. The architects have created the Ark, which is a floating barge that will be reworked as an office. This model, in water and mounted in sand, is a conceptual view of sustainable living on water.

The Netherlands

The architects' theme is "Timber is the New Concrete" and the office that they create to fit into the barge will be all wood. It will be moored on the Thames and the firm of dRMM will use it as their office.

10 Unbelievable, Unlikely Animal Friendships

Photo via The Daily Mail

Friendship is good for your health -- whether you're human or animal. Take this baby macaque, abandoned by its mother and close to death until it became best friends with a pigeon. The macaque is thriving and the pair are inseparable. But they aren't the only tear-jerking, unbelievable friendships you'll find in the animal world: From a sheep that brought a baby elephant out of a deep depression to natural enemies that snuggle down together for every nap, these 10 heartwarming relationships are incredible and unforgettable.

Trees Photographed in Infrared

oooo how beautiful!

It's no secret, we like trees. Yes, we've even been know to hug one or...six. But trees photographed using infrared not only look huggable but also magical, and somewhat edible! I half expect to see Oompa Loompas amongst the candy-like forest.

Below is an infrared photo of a tree along with its natural counterpart:

With infrared photography, a film or image sensor sensitive to infrared light is used which blocks out most of the visible light spectrum. With foliage this creates a "wood effect." It makes tree leaves and grass as reflective as snow. The effect is named after infrared pioneer Robert W. Wood and not the trees themselves. Enjoy and watch out for the Oompa Loompas!

Like this article? Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook.

you know why those things are happening in Africa, and not in the western world?
Because no one gives a sh*t about what's happening there.

The "Largest Mass Poisoning in History": Arsenic in Bangladesh

Image: Asia Arsenic Network

Mass poisonings due to arsenic contaminated water in Bangladesh are the tragic unintended consequence of humanitarian efforts to alleviate disease in Bangladesh by building many deep tube wells to produce water for drinking and irrigation. On Saturday, the results of a ten year, large population study of the link between arsenic contamination and diseases or death in Bangladesh were published in The Lancet. The study's authors come to a disturbing conclusion:

More than twenty percent of deaths in the study population of 12,000 Bangladeshis can be attributed to arsenic poisoning. Half of Bangladeshis, up to 77 million people, have been exposed to the toxic metal, known for causing cancer and long term effects on organs such as the liver, skin, kidney and the cardiovascular system. The WHO is quoted calling the case the "largest mass poisoning of a population in history" by escience news.

The news gets worse: the study suggests that lowering arsenic exposure in people whose earlier test results established a high baseline level does not reduce the mortality rate. In other words, just getting clean water to people already exposed may not help prevent the chronic risks of arsenic poisoning.

It all started with millions of deep tube wells installed in the 1970s by humanitarian organizations trying to reduce deaths from waterborne pathogens. The switch away from disease-carrying surface waters to "clean" deepwell supplies successfully lowered deaths from waterborne illnesses. But as time went by, consumers of the deepwell water and crops irrigated with the well water began to show mysterious symptoms that were determined to result from arsenic exposure. Arsenic drawn out of the deep aquifers has now spread the contamination to surface waters and sediments underlying them, leaving no source of safe water.

Only a quarter of the 12,000 people studied were exposed to levels within the WHO-established safe guideline (under 10 micrograms per liter). The upper quartile had exposures averaging 27 times the WHO limit. This is the first study that is based on individual samples instead of estimated group exposures. Samples were collected by more than a hundred people who traveled to remote regions of Bangladesh to test well water and collect biological samples which can establish the level of actual exposures in individual people. The large test population and ranges of exposures allows better definition of the dose-response reaction to arsenic. It is hoped that this and further studies can help to define health effects of exposure to low levels of arsenic, similar to levels found in some regions of the US and other countries.

More on Arsenic in Drinking Water:
Getting to the Bottom of the World's Biggest Mass Poisoning Case
Low Levels Of Arsenic In Drinking Water May Suppress Human Immune Response To Influenza
'Nanorust' Removes Arsenic From Polluted Water
Inexpensive Arsenic Filtration System Based on Cattails Could Help Clean Up the Drinking Water of 57 Million People"
All-Purpose Water Filters For Humanitarian Projects
NASA Testing Breakthrough In Water Safety

The Persistent Myth of the Internet as Energy Hog

In fact it is not surprising me, that 'the internet', computers, are not the largest energy consumers. It is as with all things, the huge ones keep theirselves out of spot (with a support from all decison makers).

Enjoy the 8 per cent, and don't feel guilty until the other energy consuming has gone back so far that 'digital' energy got over 20 per cent. ;)

The Internet has wired the world together, accelerated globalization at breakneck speeds, and allowed every media imaginable to be accessed and downloaded, regardless of place. So it must be a massive energy consumer, right? I mean, if all that imagery imparted unto us from science fiction movies and spy thrillers is any indication, all those flashing lights and bandwith have to be powered by something, right? Well, according to a trio of well-respected scientists, the concept of the internet as energy hog is consistently overblown:

For some reason, the power used by computers is a source of endless fascination to the public. Most folks think that the power used by computers is a lot more than it actually is, and that it's growing at incredible rates. Neither one of these beliefs is true, but they reflect a stubborn sense that the economic importance of IT somehow must translate into a large amount of electricity use. That incorrect belief masks an important truth: Information technology has beneficial environmental effects that vastly outweigh the direct environmental impact of the electricity that it consumes.

So begins a guest post by Dr. Jonathan Koomey over at Climate Progress. The piece is a response to a recent Guardian story, The dark side of cloud computing: soaring carbon emissions, which evidently makes a number of incorrect assumptions about the energy costs of the internet -- again.

Koomey notes that the specter of a popular study published over a decade ago, which claimed that computing accounted for 8% of the nation's energy consumption, and would soon skyrocket to 50%, has never been successfully completely chased from the rafters. Subsequent studies have of course found that the internet and computing hardly account for 1% of US energy consumption, and that it's preposterous to imagine it would ever account for half. Note that the total amount of energy consumed by internet use is climbing -- but the amount of energy use it offsets by providing more efficient services is too (and the internet is getting more efficient all the time, too).

But the Guardian article does show how the issue captures the public interest -- just recall the fracas over the Facebook data centers a few months back for proof. And yet, it's an issue that appears to be consistently overblown. Joe Romm sums it up as follows:

So Google, Youtube, blog, and flickr as much as you want. If you are worried about your carbon footprint, buy 100% green power and do an efficient retrofit on your house to cover your emissions -- and let the Internet keep saving people energy and resources.

It's an important thing to keep in mind as we continue to grow ever more internet-dependent. In terms of energy, it's a good thing. Read the full piece over at Climate Progress.

Sunrise Solstice at Stonehenge

Sunrise Solstice at Stonehenge
Credit & Copyright: Max Alexander, STFC, SPL

Explanation: Today the Sun reaches its northernmost point in planet Earth's sky. Called a solstice, the date traditionally marks a change of seasons -- from spring to summer in Earth's Northern Hemisphere and from fall to winter in Earth's Southern Hemisphere. The above image was taken during the week of the 2008 summer solstice at Stonehenge in United Kingdom, and captures a picturesque sunrise involving fog, trees, clouds, stones placed about 4,500 years ago, and a 5 billion year old large glowing orb. Even given the precession of the Earth's rotational axis over the millennia, the Sun continues to rise over Stonehenge in an astronomically significant way.

cool :):):)

Reinventing the Dish and the Drainboard to Make Dishwashing Easier

Collin is convinced that dishwashers are greener than handwashing, but I am not so sure; one or two people can take a long time to fill one up, and his calculations don't take into account the embodied energy making the dishwasher, the space it takes up and the cost of buying and maintaining the thing. We have a Bosche that needs a $500 repair and are washing by hand these days, and I have found that the standard dishrack could use a bit of a redesign. H2O Visions shows a few ideas that might make the job easier. Above is a new dishrack design from DBA.

H2O visions describes it as:

a unique design that employs a gradation in the spacing of flexible rods for holding dishes of all sizes and shapes. On one end of the rack, the rod spacing is denser, providing enough support for cutlery and more delicate items. The sparser arrangement on the other end leaves enough room for larger bowls and pans. Made entirely from recycled polypropylene, the dish rack rods are connected by a flexible mesh, allowing the rack to be twisted open and rinsed. A minimal and lovely addition for the counter-top landscape, this rack could be just the thing for a tired routine.

I saw a similar idea at ICFF from UK design company Black + Blum; their new "High and Dry" has soft fingers to support wineglasses.

A contemporary and highly functional dishrack inspired by architecture. The sculptural shape folds down to a flat compact shape for easy storage. The wave of spikes can be used to hold even your most delicate champagne glasses upright. There is a drainage tray which has an ingenious flip up spout so that you can chose to drain or not, depending on your kitchen set up.

It was an editor's pick at Metropolis, who noted that "Sometimes the best designs at ICFF aren't furniture."

Another interesting approach is to redesign the plate and the cup so that they don't need a dishrack at all. Treehugger favourites Giffen Termeer created drip-dry dishes:

The Drip-Dry dish set-comprised of a plate, bowl, and cup-come equipped with a handy little stand of their own, based on fragments of tree branches. After washing, the self-sufficient dishes can be stood up on end and placed on a towel to dry, sans rack.

More at H2O Visions

Last year we wrote about Studio Gorm's Flow2 kitchen:
Rethinking the Kitchen: Flow2 kitchen by Studio Gorm.

Next! :(

Chevron Drilling Oil Well in 8,530 Feet of Water, Says it Doesn't Need Relief Well

Images: Google Maps & Chevron

Everything will be fine, trust us
If 5,000 feet is deep enough to make it very hard to fix any problems with an oil well, it would seem that 8,530 feet would deep enough to warrant extraordinary precautions (if you're going to be drilling at all, not something I'm in favor of). But Chevron, who's drilling a well at this depth off the coast of Newfoundland says that a relief well isn't necessary (even though a relief well could probably have avoided the Deepwater Horizon disaster).

Flag of Newfoundland & Labrador

Mark MacLeod, Chevron's Atlantic Manager, said: "We believe all wells can be drilled incident free. We believe this well will be drilled incident free and we won't need a relief well."

Well, you can believe what you want Mark, but the facts are that not all wells are incident free, and that when there's an incident, it can ben so bad as to negate anything that was gained by skimping on extra safety measures.

Canadian regulators have asked Chevron to take extra precautions (more tests on the blowout preventer, etc), but that's not enough. The last thing we need is a repeat of the BP Gulf Spill in the North of the Atlantic.

Do the right thing, Chevron (and if you won't regulators should make you - even if the risks of an incident are low, the impact is so high...).

Via Reuters

More on Oil Spills
What Happens When BP Spills Coffee? (Video)
BP Buys 32 Oil Cleanup Machines from Kevin Costner (Video)

Staple Food Prices to Rise Up to 45% Over Next Decade, UN FAO Warns

Rice field in Japan, photo: mrhayata via flickr.

The new Agricultural Outlook 2010-2019 report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has been released, warning that the price for many staple food products is projected to rise between 15-45%, adjusted for inflation. Balancing that is the projection that global food production over the next decade will be able to expand to keep pace with growing human population.

The FAO projects average wheat and coarse grain prices to increase 15-40% over the next ten years, as compared to the average levels between 1997-2006. Vegetable oil prices are expected to increase more than 40%, with dairy prices increasing 16-45%. Prices for livestock are expected to increase, but to a lesser degree than other farm commodities.

Food Distribution & Pricing, Not Production, Cause of Continued Hunger
Distribution and price spikes, rather than food production itself, remain the factor in rises in hunger and lack of food security. The FAO says that though agricultural output with grow more slowly over the next decade than it has in the past, growth will still be sufficient to meet future increases in global human population. By 2050 the FAO says a 70% increase in food production will be required to keep pace with projected population growth.

Read the full report: OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2010-2019

hat tip: Mongabay

Like this? Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

More on Food Security
We Need to Produce 70% More Good in Next 40 Years
Rethinking Food Production For a World of Eight Billion
Food Shortages Drive Global Prices to Record Highs
Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?

Six Selfish Reasons You Don't Want Dead Oceans

Photo by foodiesathome.com via flickr.

TreeHugger asked Andrew Sharpless, CEO for the Oceana ocean protection organization, why we really personally care about the health and fate of the world's big water bodies. Many of us, after all, live far from the coast. TH asked Sharpless to please tell us how and why the health of the oceans affects each of us directly.

Here are his replies:

1. You May Eat Seafood, Too.

"First of all, you get most of your seafood from the oceans," Sharpless said. "So if you enjoy seafood, the health of the oceans should be very important to you." In fact, right now is a good time to help save the Gulf seafood industry by actually indulging in its products. Many delicacies including Gulf oysters, and wild-caught Gulf shrimp, are available in stores and according to NPR, there are three tiers of protection to help make sure seafood affected by the spill doesn't make it to market.

2. And Even If You Don't, Someone Else May Want To.

If you are concerned about hunger and feeding the world's burgeoning population, you should be very concerned about keeping our oceans healthy. Over a billion people, most of them very poor, rely on seafood as a major source of protein, Sharpless says.

Photo by stanrandom via flickr.

3. Fishermen Aren't the Only Water Workers.

If you are worried about the economy and jobs, you should care about the ocean. "Hundreds of millions of jobs around the world - ranging from fishermen to lifeguards - depend on healthy seas and fisheries," Sharpless said. The current economic situation in the Gulf, where jobs are being lost and businesses are folding due to the ongoing oil spill, is proof positive that a body of water is only an economic engine when it stays healthy. Sharpless says over 200 million people worldwide rely on the ocean's bounty for their livelihoods.

Photo by Jerry Reid, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wikimedia via flickr.

4. Oceans Are A Climate Change Temp Control.

"The oceans play a large role in regulating the planet's temperature," Sharpless says, "making them crucial to helping us combat climate change." Since the Industrial Revolution, the oceans have absorbed 30 percent of the carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere, moderating and masking its global impact. Eventually, Sharpless explains, the oceans may not be able to absorb as much carbon dioxide, hastening climate change. And, this excess carbon is already making the oceans more acidic, and making it more difficult for coral reefs, phytoplankton and shellfish to form their shells. This includes many animals that are the base of the marine food chain and critical to the oceans' overall health. Coral reefs in particular, the nurseries of the seas and home to a quarter of all marine life, could be devastated by acidifying oceans.

But couldn't oceans soak up CO2 even if they were overfished and polluted? To a certain degree, Sharpless replied. "As long as you don't kill all the photoplankton, the oceans will continue to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. So overfishing is not likely to have a direct impact on the ability of the oceans to help regulate the climate of the planet. Pollution is another matter, since some forms of pollution can clobber the microscopic algae-like plants that grow in the ocean and which pull down a lot of CO2."

Photo by Tim Calver via Oceana.

5. Collapse Is No Fun for Coastal Tourists.

"if you enjoy going to the ocean," Sharpless says, "and enjoying the wonder of the seas, you should care about what is happening. We are on the verge of a collapse- because of overfishing and pollution. If we lose the life that forms the basis of so much of our oceans, everything else that depends on it is going to change. This is already happening in places like the Costa del Sol where famous beaches are now periodically, overrun by swarms of jellyfish, in places like Cape Cod where cod is now only a memory, in famous diving spots like Shark Ray Alley in Belize where there are few sharks to be found."

Photo Jim Brickett via flickr.

6. Saving Oceans Saves Your Bacon...Literally.

According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, 29% of the fish in the world are used as food for animals or for other fish, Sharpless explains. After aquaculture, much of it gets fed to pigs and to chickens. A smaller portion goes into pet foods and pharmaceuticals. Since 1981, the proportion of fishmeal used in aquaculture has been increasing. "So the answer is fishing does connect to your (ham) steak and bacon, and in a direct way," Sharpless said. "If the world's wild fisheries continue their collapse, there will likely be price increases in store for you at the pork and chicken counter."

See some great ocean clips at TreeHugger:
Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Our Oceans (Hint: We're Screwed)
TED Talk: Ocean Photographer Brian Skerry Reveals Amazing Images (Video)
TED Talk - Edith Widder Discovers New Deep Sea Life By Mimicking Bioluminescence (Video)

Star Trails and Tajinastes

astronomy photograpy is phenomenal

Star Trails and Tajinastes
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel L�pez

Explanation: What bizarre planet do these alien creatures inhabit? It's only planet Earth, of course. In this well-composed scene, the sky is filled with star trails around the north celestial pole. A reflection of the Earth's daily rotation on its axis, star trails are familiar to photographers who fix their camera to a tripod and make long exposures of the night sky. But the imposing forms gazing skyward probably look strange to many denizens of Earth. Found on the Canary Island of Tenerife, they are red tajinastes, rare flowering plants that grow to a height of up to 3 meters. Hidden among the rocks of the volcanic terrain, tajinastes bloom in spring and early summer and then die after their seeds mature. On the distant horizon, below and left of the celestial pole, lies the Teide volcano.

Are Cut Flowers Killing the Wildlife in Kenya's Lake Naivasha?

Photo via joebeone

Flamingos are landing at Lake Naivasha in Kenya. This might seem like a good thing at first - more wildlife is a sign of vitality, right? But there's one problem. Flamingos like salt water and Lake Naivasha is a fresh water lake. Or at least, it's supposed to be. The flamingos are one of many signs showing that the chemistry of the lake is changing and that spells bad news for the flora and fauna that call it home. While there is a debate raging on what is causing the pollution and problems for the lake, several fingers point to the flower farming industry.

Circle of Blue reports, "Lake Naivasha was a site visited by several journalists following the major UN conference for World Water Day in Nairobi. The lake, which is listed as protected by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, was once an incredible tourist attraction. Development around the lake has resulted in deforestation and now wildlife is disappearing. In the meantime, two of the rivers that flow into the lake, Malewa and Gilgil, are drying up and a thick algal soup develops among the papyrus groves on the lake's margin. The algae, just like the flamingos, shouldn't be there."

Hippo pods have been devastated by the shrinking water levels - stranded between farmland and a disappearing water source, and flora and fauna at the base of the food chain are disappearing.

While climate change is in part to blame, agriculture is taking a major toll from pulling water to polluting what is left. Flower farming seems to be a major culprit, and because Kenya is the top flower supplier for the European Union, the debate over how much impact flower farms are having on the lake is a hot one. According to the Kenya Flower Council, the industry earned US$585 million in 2008 - so which is more important, the tourism around a healthy Lake Naivasha, or the flower industry?

According to Circle of Blue, over 50 farms line the lake's shore, and half of the water withdrawls from the lake go to the farms. The water being pumped back in is polluted with pesticides and fertilizers. While a handful of individual big companies are concerned, they make up only about 25% of all the companies, which means there aren't many advocates for figuring out solutions to keep the lake healthy and the flower industry booming.

"We suspect some chemicals are being released to the lake from the flower farms," said Geoffrey Mwirikia, the chairman of one of the lake's fishing associations. "But the government says it's not the farms."

The massive impact of agriculture on water sources is no secret - China dumps millions of gallons of commercial fertilizer into their rivers every year with dire consequences, and here in the US, agriculture is causing massive dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. So while the government and flower companies say the farms aren't to blame, it's difficult to believe that they aren't at lease a big part of the cause of Lake Naivasha's woes.

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More on Water Pollution and Agriculture
A Tale of Two Will Allen's: "Industrial Agriculture One of Most Polluting & Dangerous Industries"
Conservation Farming: Zambia Sets an Example. Will Other Nations Follow?

We have no airco, that's the cheapest way :P

How About 90% More Efficient Air Conditioning?

Photo: Pat Corkery/NREL

The National Renewable Energy Lab has Done It!
As Lloyd and other sensible people keep pointing out, if our buildings and cities were better designed, we would need a lot less air conditioning, and in many cases none at all. That should be goal #1. But because it's doubtful that's ubiquitous A/C is going away any time soon, it can't hurt to make the technology more efficient (keeping buildings cool is using about 5% of the energy used in the US). That's exactly what the engineers and scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have done.

Image: NREL

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has invented a new air conditioning process with the potential of using 50 percent to 90 percent less energy than today's top-of-the-line units. It uses membranes, evaporative cooling and liquid desiccants in a way that has never been done before in the centuries-old science of removing heat from the air. (source)

This is Going to be Huge Someday
The problem with most evaporative cooling A/Cs is that they only work well in dry climates and add humidity to their cool air output. The NREL's technology, which they call DEVap, solves that problem by using liquid desiccants to remove the humidity from the air that has been cooled down. Combining those two things isn't new, but nobody has quite made it work well so far. Until now, that is.

And the energy savings aren't the only benefit of DEVap.

Because DEVap uses salt solutions rather than refrigerants, there are no harmful chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) to worry about. A pound of CFC or HCFC in refrigerant-based A/Cs contributes as much to global warming as 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. A typical residential size A/C has as much as 13 pounds of these refrigerants.

NREL is planning to keep improving the tech for a few years, and then license it to industry. So don't expect to see commercial versions of the DEVap for a few years...

Via NREL, Technology Review

More on Energy Efficiency
US Department of Energy Announces Stricter Efficiency Standards for Water Heaters
Energy-Saving Dynamically Tinted Glass Could Make Most Buildings More Efficient
Aiming for 300 Million Negawatts: Ontario to Announce Energy Efficiency Program for Big Industry