Time to Eat the Dog? | The Intersection

Posted on by

Today a link to this story hit my inbox:

..the revelation in the book “Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living” by New Zealanders Robert and Brenda Vale has angered pet owners who feel they are being singled out as troublemakers.

……

Combine the land required to generate its food and a “medium” sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) — around twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4×4 driving 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) a year, including energy to build the car.

26731701

While admittedly, I haven’t read the book, it appears the authors are just as hard on cats for killing wildlife, producing toxic waste, and eating Fancy Feast. In fact, no pet is innocent… not even goldfish. BUT there’s a big elephant in the room on this one (hopefully included in detail once readers get beyond the eye-catching title).

While the cumulative ‘eco-pawprint’ of our furry friends may be large, the trouble isn’t really about pets specifically. Rather, the point is that here on planet Earth, we (humans included) eat lots of protein. Food production (for dogs, cats, people, and more) has a gargantuan impact. Thus, the largest part of this equation–by far–has everything to do with the overwhelming carbon footprint of the meat industry.

The solution would be shifting average diet away from meat. Is it possible? Yes. Likely? That’s more complicated.


Details Of White House NASA Policy Continue to Dribble Out

Posted on by

Moon mission gets help in Congress, Houston Chronicle

"Fearful that the White House might scale back manned space exploration, a bipartisan group of lawmakers slipped a provision into a massive government spending package last week that would force President Barack Obama to seek congressional approval for any changes to the ambitious Bush-era, back-to-the-moon program. The little-noticed legislative maneuver could yield massive payoffs for the Houston area, which has tens of thousands of jobs tied to manned space exploration. The congressional action hands NASA supporters additional leverage in their behind-the-scenes campaign to persuade Obama to budget an extra $3 billion a year to finance the return of astronauts to the moon by 2020 rather than revamping -- and cutting -- the manned space effort."

New Course for Space Exploration Promotes Private Firms, WS Journal

"While no firm decisions have been made and budget numbers remain in flux, there appears to be broad agreement inside the administration over using private rockets and capsules to access the orbiting space station. "There is clearly a recognition that if you want to do that, it should be done seriously and with enough funding" to succeed, according to one senior administration official involved in the deliberations."

Study: Velociraptor’s Cousin Had a Venomous Bite and Saber-Teeth | 80beats

Posted on by

dinoskullEarlier this month DISCOVER covered the 213-million-year-old fossils of the theropod Tawa hallae, a dinosaur ancestor that could show how early dinos spread around the world. Now, in a study (in press) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, another research team has uncovered a surprise in the bones of a theropod from almost 100 million years later. By that time, these creatures may have adopted a clever new weapon: venom.

Sinornithosaurus lived 125 million years ago in what’s now China, and while it might have been covered in feathers (and the size of a turkey), the researchers say it attacked like modern rear-fanged snakes. Rear-fanged snakes don’t inject venom. Instead, the toxin flows down a telltale groove in a fang’s surface and into the bite wound, inducing a state of shock [National Geographic].

Looking at the dinosaur’s skull, study author David Burnham says his team found a pocket that they believe Sinornithosaurus could have used to store venom. A groove runs from there to the base of the fang, the team says. Like rear-fanged snakes, the venom Sinornithosaurus used was probably not lethal. The researchers suggest it instead caused rapid shock, allowing the dinosaur to subdue its prey [BBC News]. Today’s komodo dragons may use a similar blast of venom to weaken their targets.

Burnham says the dinosaur probably ate the birds that lived in the forests of that time and place. Short front teeth were probably used “to pluck the feathers off their victims,” wrote the researchers, who suggest that other members of Sinornithosaurus‘ family, including the velociraptors of Jurassic Park fame, had the same venomous capabilities [Wired.com]. What Burnham doesn’t know is how far back venom goes—if dinosaurs 125 million years ago possessed the ability, it possibly could date to even earlier reptiles.

Related Content:
80beats: New Fossil Suggests Dinosaur World Domination Started in S. America
80beats: T. Rex May Have Been Hot-Blooded, Sweaty Beast
80beats: Did a Throat Infection Take Down Sue, the Famous T. Rex?
80beats: Four-Winged Dino Cliches the Case for Bird Evolution
80beats: Miniature T. Rex Was a Man-Sized Monster

Image: National Academy of Sciences


The Year in Science 2009: What Was Important? What Changed Everything? | The Intersection

Posted on by

It is getting to be that time of year again–that time of year when everybody summarizes the year. So this is an open thread to ask for your picks: What happened in science, technology, and medicine in 2009 that was really important, potentially historic or groundbreaking, or simply worth remarking upon?

I certainly have my ideas, but I want to hear what others think as well….


ARC PAO: Asleep At The Wheel

Posted on by

Keith's note: Earlier this month the LOIRP - Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project did a live webcast from Building 596 at NASA Ames Research Park. The project's co-lead Dennis Wingo and myself were the prime participants. NASA ARC PAO put a terse web page online about the webcast at the last minute. In so doing they used a Lunar Orbiter image. The LOIRP is all about the retrieval and reprocessing of these images in higher resolution than was possible in the 1960s. So, what image (low res and hi res) did ARC PAO use on their webpage? They used a 40 year old blurry, muddy original image - not one of our new crisp ones. It has been two weeks. Either ARC APO is clueless as to what the LOIRP is doing just outside their gates or they are just lazy and do not care to get it right. Go figure.

Keith's update: ARC PAO has now added one of the restored images to this webpage.

What is Basic Climate Science Literacy? | The Intersection

Posted on by

Climate-Literacy-CoverIn the last post, I asked whether we should go back to basics on climate science. I also wondered how to do so in a way that wouldn’t be a waste of time and energy, by requiring me to re-write things that have been written a hundred times.

But I may have found a solution: NOAA’s Climate Program Office has done a nice brochure about the basics of climate science literacy, which are enumerated as the following:

CLIMATE LITERACY: The Essential Principles of Climate Science

  1. The Sun is the primary source of energy for Earths climate system.
  2. Climate is regulated by complex interactions among components of the Earth system.
  3. Life on Earth depends on, is shaped by, and affects climate.
  4. Climate varies over space and time through both natural and man-made processes.
  5. Our understanding of the climate system is improved through observations, theoretical studies, and modeling.
  6. Human activities are impacting the climate system.
  7. Climate change will have consequences for the Earth system and human lives.

Anyone who wants can read the brochure for further explanation of each point. I actually am surprised that the greenhouse effect is not one of these 7 major points, but is subsumed under 1.

But anyway, it is interesting to contemplate whether climate “skeptics” take issue with any of these basics, or whether they are indeed “climate science literate” by this standard. For after all, the complicated data and “hockey stick” type issues that “skeptics” seem to seize upon don’t appear to have much to do with these basics; and yet these basics are all you need to know that global warming is a serious concern and that we stand to get fried.

So perhaps finding clarity about who accepts the basics can provide a firm foundation for further discussion. So let’s hear it, “skeptics”: Has NOAA gotten anything wrong in its attempt to spread climate science literacy on a pretty rudimentary level?


Marinduque Mountains

Posted on by

Marinduque's beaches and smaller islands that you could conquer for a day have been photographed endlessly. But not many have really taken the paths less trodden such as the interiors perhaps because of the tropical heat. The interior roads are also not regularly served by public vehicles often not more than two trips if you are coming from the capital town.But now the current administration has

New Home …

Posted on by

Well I moved into my new home on Thursday 4 December and finally I have time to upload some photos No wonderful writing at this stage...am very busy preparing for Christmas etc.

Compare the customer mind of the wedding dress

Posted on by

Discount wedding dress in the domestic market of the convergence is the basic fabric wedding and the majority of brandbased fabric with chiffon. for majority of chemical fiber blending mainly emphasis on the appearance of feeling. Wei Fu wedding products and the main consideration is related to skin comfort health and other factors as well as gorgeous texture and other characteristics in th

Brief Introduction for Aion Scout

Posted on by

Scout classes have perhaps the highest learning curve in aion kina but can also be the most rewarding with proper control. It contains two classes Assassin and Ranger .Their advantages is Fast in movement and swift in attackaion kinah both classes also have some form of stealth in their arsenal for those of you that like to ninja your way beyond dimensional rifts.You will start paly with a d

Day 328330 Karamea New Zealand

Posted on by

Sunday December 20thWe woke to another wet morning. Like wersquove mentioned before it seems to rain mostly on the weekends. On a doccie we saw they said that itrsquos because of the way we humans pollute the air during the work week that causes rain on the weekends. Apparently the water molecules attach themselves to dust and pollutants and then fall as rain when they become heavy enough. T

China Facts

Posted on by

The People's Republic of China is located in the eastern part of the Asian continent the Pacific West Coast. Its land area of about 9.6 million square kilometers second only to Russia and Canada is the world's third largest country. Chinese territory north of Heilongjiang middle of the river north of Mohe latitude 53 30 ' James Shoal south to the southern tip of the Nansha Islands latitud

Workshop and Strike

Posted on by

This last week I took a short vacation from writing to spend some time with a dear friend of mine who came to visit me in Kathmandu from Taiwan where she works as an English teacher. We had a wonderful week of visiting and sightseeing but as it has little to do with my purpose on this site Irsquoll spare the details. If yoursquore interested please write me individually. This also marks a

Sandy Beach but no sand

Posted on by

DAY 408My cold is well and truly coming out now I stayed in bed until 9.00 but soon got bored and got up. I had some breakfast put a load of towels in the washing machine and did some reading.Helen received a phone call from Jason but it was for us Kristy Jasonrsquos partner was asking if we wanted to go into Wagga with them for some lunch we thought it would be a great idea to head out fo

Xilang Shan Xiaogu shan and Noodles

Posted on by

We head out for the park and this is where Man HillXilang Shan is said to resemble a young man bowing and scraping to a shy young girl represented by Lady Hillxiaogu shan. Other hills nearby are named after animals like Crab Hill Swan Hill Dragon Head Hill. In the actual park were lots of elderly men playin card games and also a board game translated to 'Go' I think all looked confusing bu

The End Of The Sticks

Posted on by

Simply absorbed the scenery today took a little stroll along the river and took some snaps. Food was provided by a lady on sticks Again But sooooo good Time to head home to pack for the next adventure Its gonna be a long one

Lamb Chop

Posted on by

DAY 409I was up bright and early this morning and went in to the kitchen it was like the Mary Celeste as quite as the grave.The kettle was put on and tea was made I knew this morning that Helen and Robert were up at Hazeldene weighing sheep ready for market Helen had told us what was happening so we wouldnrsquot feel like we have been abandoned.This morning Ross Jilbert from Landmark would

Winter To Destinations Aspen

Posted on by

Last Year I went to Aspen city for vacation of Christmas and took the best adventure to there along with Skiing and Christmas fun. Nevertheless this winter couldnrsquot complete due to more rush to there. I forgot that we go to Aspen city so we couldnrsquot take any reservation to there two or three month before. When I searched then found not empty any resorts or inn to Aspen city. Thus w