%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Frodwey2004%2F29140882606%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Sunset HC9Q4168-1a  

rodwey2004 posted a photo:

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F168962527%2Fcheers-by-anne&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Cheers! by Anne  

Cheers! by Anne

Anne: Photos

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Fhealth-shots%2F2016%2F08%2F23%2F490527970%2Fbeyond-slurpees-many-japanese-mini-marts-now-cater-to-elders%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Beyond Slurpees: Many Japanese Mini-Marts Now Cater To Elders  

Convenience is in the eye of the generation. Increasingly, corner markets in Japan target the 27 percent of residents over 65 — offering nursing care advice and home delivery of meals and groceries.

 
science  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F168986797%2Fpaulina-s-dream-by-rarindra-prakarsa&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Paulina's dream by Rarindra Prakarsa  

Paulina's dream by Rarindra Prakarsa

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | instagram

Rarindra Prakarsa: Photos

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FScience360NewsServiceBreakingStory%2F%7E3%2FiyPe8Fd_4hQ%2Fproton-pump-found-regulate-blood-ph-stingrays&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Proton pump found to regulate blood pH in stingrays  

Full Text:

Researchers have discovered the same enzyme used by “boneworms” to dissolve whale carcasses, and that helps promote photosynthesis in corals, also regulates blood pH in stingrays. The study could help scientists better understand the enzyme's function in human kidneys to regulate blood and urine functions.

Image credit: Scripps Oceanography/Martin Tresguerres/Jinae Roa

 
science  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FScience360NewsServicePictureOfTheDay%2F%7E3%2FjEwPy9agJU0%2Ftiny-origami-robot&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Tiny origami robot  

Full Text:

This tiny origami robot is made of laser cut PVC and polystyrene. Once heated, the body folds around a magnet and the robot is controlled using an external magnetic field, allowing it to move around on land or in water. Once finished, the robot can dissolve to nothing in acetone (except the magnet). The body of the robot is made of PVC, with creases where it is supposed to fold, and a magnet. Heating the magnet activates the sheet to self-fold into a functional 3-D robot capable of conducting basic tasks and behaviors like swimming, delivering and carrying blocks, climbing a slope and digging. The researchers have developed three models of the origami robot: A water-degradable model, whose outer layer dissolves in water; a conductive model (aluminum coated polyester); and an acetone-degradable model, whose entire body (except the magnet) dissolves in acetone. The researchers say these origami robots could be used to access unreachable sites and show promise for use in medical applications.

Image credit: Evan Ackerman/IEEE Spectrum

 
science  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F08%2F160822125448.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Scientists map migration paths of Arctic breeding birds  
Conservation of intertidal habitat -- 65 percent of which has been lost over the last 50 years -- is critical to the survival of countless birds during migration on the East Asian Australasian Flyway.  
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2016%2F08%2F23%2F490972873%2Fyou-vs-future-you-or-why-were-bad-at-predicting-our-own-happiness%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
You vs. Future You; Or Why We're Bad At Predicting Our Own Happiness  

Researcher Dan Gilbert says that human beings are the only animals that think about the future. But we don't always do the best job at predicting what will make us happy — or even who we will be.

 
science  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ozy.com%2Frising-stars%2Fcould-she-be-hillarys-secretary-of-space%2F70059&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Could She Be Hillary's Secretary of Space?  
Entrepreneur Laetitia Garriott de Cayeux is laying the groundwork for a policy on space for the masses.  
general  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F08%2F160822181814.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
'Cyclops' beetles hint at solution to 'chicken-and-egg' problem in novel trait evolution  
Beetles with cyclops eyes have given scientists insight into how new traits may evolve through the recruitment of existing genes -- even if these genes are already carrying out critical functions.  
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F08%2F160822100651.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Beetles pollinated orchids millions of year ago, fossil evidence shows  
When most people hear the word 'pollinator,' they think of bees and butterflies. However, certain beetles are known to pollinate plants as well, and new fossil evidence indicates that they were doing so 20 million years ago.  
gaia  

%feed  
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/22/490961959/fbi-releases-mobile-app-for-finding-bank-robbers?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology  
FBI Releases Mobile App for Finding Bank Robbers  

The new app enlists public's assistance in identifying bank robbers with wanted posters at your finger tips.

 
technology  

%feed  
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/08/22/490655700/uber-competitor-in-nyc-promises-drivers-benefits-even-employee-status?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology  
Uber Competitor In NYC Promises Drivers Benefits, Even Employee Status  

While Uber and Lyft both fight in courts to keep their workers as independent contractors, new ride-hailing startup Juno is moving to offer full employee status and other benefits.

 
technology  

%feed  
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/08/22/490895637/on-six-flags-virtual-reality-coaster-the-ride-is-just-half-the-thrill?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology  
On Six Flags' Virtual Reality Coaster, The Ride Is Just Half The Thrill  

Magic Mountain in Southern California has a roller coaster in which riders put on VR goggles to see an imagined world while their bodies undergo the physical thrills. How is it? We get a review.

 
technology  

%feed  
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/08/21/489765987/the-last-razor-repairman-in-paris?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology  
The Last Razor Repairman In Paris  

In a tiny shop from a bygone era, Jacques Guillaume gets calls about more than razors because there's nobody to fix things anymore. "Today, manual work like this is passé and obsolete," he says.

 
technology  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.theregister.com%2Ffeed%2Fwww.theregister.co.uk%2F2016%2F08%2F23%2Fmicrosoft_lost_a_city_because_it_used_bad_wikipedia_data%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Microsoft's maps lost a city because it used bad Wikipedia data  

Bing Maps relies on Wikipedia? Even a bit? Umm, guys, you do know anyone can edit it?

Microsoft has laid part of the blame for Bing Maps' mis-location of the Australian city of Melbourne by a whole hemisphere on Wikipedia.…

 
general  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fadam-m-roberts%2Fwildlife-and-12yearold-gi_b_11651080.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Wildlife And 12-Year-Old Girls  
Who takes to social media and calls a 12-year-old girl a "stupid bitch?"

There has been a firestorm of activity about a young lady from Utah named Aryanna who has been posting pictures on social media of her recent kills in Africa: zebras, giraffes, and many other animals shot with a gun or the pink arrows she pulled from her quiver. Aryanna refers to these hunts as a dream come true and something she will forever cherish.

Interestingly, she has also issued a lengthy formulaic defense of her barbarism, working through the checklist of pro-hunting claims to justify her young bloodlust: money from hunts goes back into conservation; these animals are not endangered; meat from the kills feeds poor African families; hunters are precise killers who only take the shot when they feel guaranteed in their ability to kill swiftly.

Time after time, Born Free has debunked these hunting myths in numerous fora. We have revealed the paltry sum from hunts that is actually returned to conservation efforts and the comparatively small amount of tourism revenue generated by thrill kills as opposed to non-lethal tourism activities; that hunting disrupts family systems and ecosystems, regardless of whether the species is predator or prey, endangered or plentiful; that there is much more community value from having wildlife alive to benefit local communities in perpetuity rather than a one-off slaughter; and that individual animals suffer from being shot (think Cecil), whether with bullet or arrow.

But, here's what really engaged my interest about this specific girl and this specific explosion of vitriol on both sides of the wildlife slaughter industry: I'm the father of a 12-year-old girl. I am looking at pictures of Aryanna, posing with her kills, poised to shoot an arrow. Here's what I see, aside from the horror of the kill: a little girl with her hair up, a backwards baseball cap, a t-shirt, jean shorts, and sneakers. My 12-year-old daughter, Mia, works hard to get her hair up just right, wears a baseball cap backwards, and wears t-shirts, jean shorts, and sneakers.

They are just little girls. Little girls who are influenced by their parents, by their fathers, and who view wildlife as amazing... just in very different ways.

Mia and I just returned from a week-long father/daughter summer trip to Yellowstone. Mia wanted to go to Wyoming. Mia wanted to see wildlife. And, there we were, hiking the Grand Tetons, looking up at bird nests, and driving through Yellowstone searching for wildlife: a herd of elk; a male with antlers taller than Mia; a lone coyote searching for food in the tall grass; chipmunks scurrying to and fro; and buffalo... so many buffalo!

For more than an hour, we sat watching hundreds of buffalo in the valley below grazing, dust-bathing--just really existing in peace. I glanced over at Mia, all of 12, and noticed the tears. My little 12-year-old was crying, so deeply and personally moved at the experience of seeing these animals--just living naturally and being there, in front of us.

As I read the Facebook posts and online commentary about Aryanna, I was truly astounded by the level of anger and viciousness. The incendiary language. The hate. Make no mistake; we who object to animal slaughter for sport, or fun, or commerce receive the hatred back ten-fold.

At the end of the day, they are, genuinely, just little girls. So, I teach Mia compassion, care, and concern for all living things. Aryanna's dad teaches her to kill animals for sport and to justify it with a litany of defenses.

I believe to my core that we should raise our children to respect other living beings: to protect them and, at the very least, to leave them alone to behave and live naturally in the wild. Mia believes this, too, and is literally moved to tears at the mere sight of thriving, heaving herds of buffalo.

Step one, I think, is to dial down the rhetoric in a significant way. We can believe different things but behave respectfully toward one another; it's what compassion is all about. Step two is a bit more challenging, though, isn't it? There is not a simple or straightforward strategy for changing minds. I doubt I will sway Aryanna's father and I know he will not sway me.

I wonder what might happen, however, if two 12-year-old girls, backwards baseball caps and all, could just talk to each other without external influence... or maybe build a friendship around humane activities. Perhaps fewer animals would suffer and their happiness in life would be equally strong.

Perhaps Aryanna would no longer see a giraffe or zebra as something to selfishly covet, dead, on display in her home. Perhaps she would desire a world with wild animals safe and free. Perhaps she would realize that she could enjoy nature while still shooting bullets and arrows at inanimate targets, just as the archers and shooters do in the Olympics. Perhaps there would be more common ground there than anyone might expect.

Maybe while Aryanna and Mia are exploring compassionate friendship, I'll buy her dad a beer.

Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Adam

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F59011893%40N08%2F28549632253%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
BABY ZEBRA  

Robert Aycock posted a photo:

A picture I took of a baby zebra at the zoo in Arizona. It's a beautiful creature and looks even better in black and white than in color. Then again, the zebra didn't change color, only the background. Enjoy.

Follow me in Instagram: www.instagram.com/bobbyaycock/

Please visit my Gallery at:
www.robert-aycock.artistwebsites.com

Please LIKE me on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/RobertAycockPhotography

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fjbredrebel%2F28547850623%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
by the side  

thatgirlwiththekicks posted a photo:

 
images  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdaniel-rutherford%2Fis-carbon-neutral-growth_b_11656784.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Is carbon neutral growth on the horizon for aviation? That depends on your definition.  
In October 2013, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the specialized UN agency that acts as the de facto regulator for aviation worldwide, established an aspirational climate goal of Carbon Neutral Growth (CNG) for the aviation sector from 2020 on. Since then, various working groups in ICAO have been meeting regularly to flesh out an industry proposal to promote carbon offsets through a global market-based measure (MBM) for decision at the ICAO's 39th Assembly next month.

Questions about the likely effectiveness of ICAO's MBM are many. Here we focus narrowly on the potential coverage of the MBM, and how consistent these various approaches are with ICAO's CNG goal. There is general agreement that the smallest and least developed countries, which have contributed little to historical emissions, should be exempted from the scheme. But those exemptions, if not made up by extra offsetting for the carriers that are included, would mean that the MBM would allow emissions growth beyond 2020. The question is how much.

There have been many iterations of ICAO's offsetting system along the way. A recent draft Assembly resolution proposed to implement the MBM in two phases. In Phase 1, states accounting for at least 1% individually or within the top 80% of aggregate international 2018 aviation activity in the form of revenue tonne kilometers (RTKs) must offset post-2020 emissions growth. Phase 2 would tighten the exclusion criteria via percent thresholds of 0.5% on an individual basis or 95% on an aggregate basis. Most recently, a news report indicated that the system may rely upon countries voluntarily "opting-in," with countries like the US, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, and the 44 European members of the ECAC as likely participants. India, on the other hand, has expressed hostility toward to any system covering its airlines.

So how do the current proposals stack up in terms of coverage? To figure this out, we estimated the coverage of several MBM systems based upon different threshold percentages (e.g., 1% and 80%) as well as any opt-in or opt-out countries (e.g., India). Key inputs included OAG Schedules data from 2016, growth rates from ICAO's 2013 Environmental Report and global average load factors from ICAO's Annual Report.

Several graphs depicting the estimated coverage of potential MBM approaches are shown below. The first graph shows the coverage of the current draft Assembly resolution, with excluded international aviation activity (2020 RTKs) shown in dark blue, post-2020 growth requiring offsetting shown in green, and growth not subject to offsetting shown in light blue. Surprisingly, what looks like near complete coverage on paper (~80% in Phase 1, and ~95% in Phase 2), ends up allowing for emissions growth that is not insignificant. Between 2020 and 2030, about 76% of growth, or 17% of total international RTKs, is covered in the base case scenario. This leaves behind about 8.6 trillion RTKs that would not be subject to carbon offsetting.



Why does a proposal that looks like 80% coverage on paper for the first five years end up covering only 56% of international activity? Two issues are at work, both related to ICAO's definition of a country's "individual share of international aviation activities." ICAO's approach is to define activity as the RTKs flown by air carriers registered to a given country via an air operator's certificate (AOC). If a foreign registered carrier provides most of the international flights to and from a country, this can make a decent sized market, like Brazil or South Africa, look small (and therefore exempt). However, once the list of exempt countries is determined, ICAO would exclude flights from all carriers flying to and from that country regardless of where there are registered. This makes sense to prevent airlines that do not need to pay for carbon offsets from having an unfair price advantage over included airlines, but has the side effect of allowing more emissions growth.

A second, and larger, effect occurs if the calculation of which countries would be exempt from the MBM and which flights would then be excluded are not properly aligned. The draft resolution's approach is generally understood to determine whether a country is exempt based upon its percentage share of global RTKs by departures only, or an equivalent value. The current proposal, however, excludes all flights to and from an exempt country, approximately doubling the coverage gap of the MBM. These two ways of defining aviation activity, combined, explain why what looks like 80% coverage on paper in fact leaves a 44% coverage gap through 2026.

Unfortunately, the numbers look even worse for an opt-in system focused on richer countries. The chart below shows our analysis of that system. When only the 48 countries identified in the article above are included under the MBM, the coverage falls significantly; in 2030, less than 22% of growth RTKs, or 8% of international RTKs, would be covered by the measure.



These estimates are subject to significant uncertainty, but clearly even the mandatory approach under consideration today would fall short of the CNG2020 goal. What could ICAO do to plug this gap? A number of solutions have been proposed. ICAO could base its exemption calculation upon all flights to and from a country regardless of where a carrier is registered, as recommended by industry. It could also tighten the exclusion criteria for a mandatory MBM, either by reducing the RTK numerical threshold or by aligning the method of exempting countries and excluding flights. Finally, the system could be designed so that uncovered emissions growth due to country exemptions is offset by carriers participating in the scheme, an idea advocated by environmental NGOs, but opposed by industry.

ICAO has struggled to develop an MBM for international aviation for the past 15 years. We'll know soon whether it succeeds this time and, if so, how close to its goal of carbon neutral growth it comes.

This blog was original posted at the International Council on Clean Transportation's staff blog.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdana-ellis-hunnes%2Fsustainable-fish-do-not-exist_b_11632622.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Sustainable Fish Do Not Exist  

Image Credit: Huffington Post Images

Right now, we humans are creating the biggest experiment of all time. We are experimenting with our oceans, with our fisheries, and with our climate.

When we walk into our local grocery store or fish market, we walk into the biggest farce of all time.

We see a plethora of fish and shellfish. We see the beautiful flaky whites, The thick fatty orange salmons, and the deep red tunas. We think nothing of it. Because they've always been there.

But, this will not always be the case.

Read the book, or watch the movie "The End of the Line" or "Racing Extinction." These movies highlights the plight of our oceans and their wildlife. In fact, the United Nations Environmental Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization, report that we are running out of fish. We have overfished or overexploited more than 80% of our fish stocks. We are running down the foodchain of fish.

We started out with the really big ones, the bluefin tunas, the swordfish, the groupers, the cods. Fisherman used to catch them when they weighed close to 400kg (~900 pounds). Now when they're caught, sometimes they barely weigh a quarter of that.

They are being caught younger and smaller. Even too young to reproduce. In fact, a number of the species have been declared as critically endangered and threatened with extinction by the International Union on the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Metaphorically speaking, eating these fish is like eating a rhinoceros, an elephant, an orangutan, or a cheetah.

And, while we may believe that consuming farmed fish is a more sustainable and ecological choice, and many groups are bent on convincing us of this, in many instances farmed fish are even worse for the environment.

Farmed fish not only harbor pests, diseases, require specialized dyes in chemicals in their feed; but, they in fact consume more wild fish then they create in flesh.

It takes approximately five pounds of wild small fish such as herring, menhaden, or anchovies to create one pound of salmon, a predatory fish. Not only that, but the proportion of the healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon is lower pound-for-pound than it would be simply in the smaller fish.

To further exacerbate the issue, medical institutions and nutrition establishments continuously recommend people to take fish oil. But, this also, is not sustainable. In fact, current statistical analyses and estimates indicate that in a "business as usual" world, we will run out of the fish we eat by 2048. That means, no more tuna, no more salmon, no more sushi. We are simply taking the fish out of the oceans faster than they can reproduce. We are simply consuming fish at rates that are too high to be ecologically sustainable.

Therein lies the rub. There are groups that advocate for consuming sustainably-grown fish; either wild or farmed. But the fact of the matter is, it's near impossible to grow or to take a fish in a sustainable way. In a way, nearly every fish humans eat is threatened with extinction.

And this will be felt worst for those who depend on the oceans for their livelihoods, for their food. This will disproportionately affect the poorest coastal countries and the poorest coastal peoples.

Nearly one-fifth of the worlds population roughly 1.2 billion people depend on the oceans as their main source of protein and as their main source of livelihood.

We are on the brink of a Global food-security crisis. We are on the brink of potentially a global-security crisis. For eons people have fought over resources. This may be no different, particularly when it involves hundreds of millions of starving people.

So, what can you do?

1. Never order bluefin tuna. It would be akin to eating a rhinoceros.

2. Look lower down the food chain. If you are going to eat fish, consume the small ones. The anchovies, the herring; the bottom of the food chain.

3. Skip that fish oil. You don't need it, there's no real benefit, and you can get those healthy oils from other foods including algal oils, flaxseed, seeds and nuts.

4. Ask your grocer where they source their fish. Confirm that it is not an endangered species simply renamed for marketing purposes.


To contact Dana: recipe.for.survival@gmail.com
Twitter: recipe4survival
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RecipeForSurvival/
PlanetExperts: http://www.planetexperts.com/author/danahunnes/

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdana-ellis-hunnes%2Fsustainable-fish-do-not-exist_b_11632622.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Dana Ellis Hunnes: Sustainable Fish Do Not Exist  
Right now, we humans are creating the biggest experiment of all time. We are experimenting with our oceans, with our fisheries, and with our climate.

Read more: Bluefin Tuna, Endangered Species, Sustainable-Fisheries, Farmed Fish, Iucn Red List, Green News

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Fhealth-shots%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2F490941346%2Fhow-big-really-is-the-zika-outbreak-in-florida%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
How Big, Really, Is The Zika Outbreak In Florida?  

So far, health officials know of 37 confirmed cases of people who contracted Zika from mosquitoes in Miami. But computer models suggest the underlying outbreak in Miami is bigger — and spreading.

 
science