%feed http://www.designboom.com/art/liudas-parulskis-vanishing-trolleybus-vilnius-lithuania-studio-vieta-09-01-2016/ liudas parulskis' vanishing trolleybus blends into the urban landscape of vilnius, lithuania
the installation invites pedestrians and passersby to observe the trolleybus at its vanishing point, and capture a unique moment in time.
the sculptural milieu of semi-nude sleeping figures includes the likes of taylor swift, kim kardashian, donald trump, george W. bush, rihanna, bill cosby, and west himself.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/aug/31/bjork-build-bridges-technology-somerset-house-london-virtual-reality-vulnicura Björk: ‘I build bridges between tech and the human things we do'
Icelandic singer brings her 360-degree VR show to London's Somerset House, putting the universe of Vulnicura on display
Few will be surprised to learn that Björk admits she can be something of a control freak when it comes to her musical output.
“When I make my music I am a bit of a tyrant it is my world and people follow my vision,” she says with a giggle. “But with the visuals it's more of a collaboration.”
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F112309315%40N06%2F29352998676%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 London Canary Wharf
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ftheatlantic%2Finfocus%2F%7E3%2FXHSji5DNWNk%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Photos From Burning Man 2016 (27 photos)
Every year, participants in the Burning Man Festival descend on the playa of Nevada's Black Rock Desert to form a temporary city—a self-reliant community populated by performers, artists, free spirits, and more. An estimated 70,000 people from all over the world came to the 30th annual Burning Man to dance, express themselves, and take in the spectacle. Gathered below are some of the sights from this year, photographed once again by Reuters photographer Jim Urquhart.
Participants dance and climb on an art installation as approximately 70,000 people from all over the world gather for the 30th annual Burning Man arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada on August 31, 2016. (Jim Urquhart / Reuters) images
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seattletimes.com%2Fnation-world%2Fphotos-of-the-day-sept-1-2016%2F%3Futm_source%3DRSS%26utm_medium%3DReferral%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_photos-of-the-day&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Photos of the Day: Sept. 1, 2016 Explore the news of the day with these images from around the world. images
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F170552083%2Fhold-on-by-justin-rosenberg&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Hold on by Justin Rosenberg
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F100817536%40N05%2F28759649974%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Thames
Leafhopper (Erythroneura vulnerata) collected in Thousand Islands National Park, Ontario, Canada, and photographed at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (sample ID: BIOUG20537-E04; specimen record: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_RecordView?processid=CNTIC3917-15; BIN: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_BarcodeCluster?clusteruri=BOLD:ACU6078)
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%feed https://www.pinterest.com/pin/7881368077822585/ Self-medicating butt Self-medicating butterflies: woolly bear caterpillars use toxic food to fight parasites. #SensationalButterflies pin-gaia
Labrador sulphur (Colias nastes) collected in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, and photographed at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (sample ID: 04HBL003042; specimen record: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_RecordView?processid=LCH042-04; BIN: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_BarcodeCluster?clusteruri=BOLD:ACE5358)
%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/PuWdz2Y6MmI/binary-star-system-discovered-hosting-three-giant-jupiter-sized-planets.html Binary Star System Discovered Hosting Three Giant Jupiter-Sized Planets
Scientists have discovered three giant planets in a binary star system composed of stellar ''twins'' that are also effectively siblings of our Sun. One star hosts two planets and the other hosts the third. The system represents the smallest-separation binary in which both stars host planets that has ever been observed. The findings, which may help explain the influence that giant planets like Jupiter have over a solar system's architecture.
New discoveries coming from the study of exoplanetary systems will show us where on the continuum of ordinary to unique our own Solar System's layout falls. So far, planet hunters have revealed populations of planets that are very different from what we see in our Solar System. The most-common exoplanets detected are so-called super-Earths, which are larger than our planet but smaller than Neptune or Uranus. Given current statistics, Jupiter-sized planets seem fairly rare--having been detected only around a small percentage of stars.
This is of interest because Jupiter's gravitational pull was likely a huge influence on our Solar System's architecture during its formative period. So the scarcity of Jupiter-like planets could explain why our home system is different from all the others found to date.
The new discovery from the Carnegie team is the first exoplanet detection made based solely on data from the Planet Finder Spectrograph--developed by Carnegie scientists and mounted on the Magellan Clay Telescopes at Carnegie's Las Campanas Observatory, shown at top of page. PFS is able to find large planets with long-duration orbits or orbits that are very elliptical rather than circular, including the new trio of planets discovered in this `"twin'" star study. This special capability comes from the long observing baseline of PFS; it has been taking observations for six years.
Led by Johanna Teske, the team included a number of Carnegie scientists from both the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism in Washington, DC, and the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, CA, as well as Steve Vogt of the University of California Santa Cruz.
"We are trying to figure out if giant planets like Jupiter often have long and, or eccentric orbits," Teske explained. "If this is the case, it would be an important clue to figuring out the process by which our Solar System formed, and might help us understand where habitable planets are likely to be found."
The twin stars studied by the group are called HD 133131A and HD 133131B. The former hosts two moderately eccentric planets, one of which is, at a minimum, about 1 and a half times Jupiter's mass and the other of which is, at a minimum, just over half Jupiter's mass. The latter hosts one moderately eccentric planet with a mass at least 2.5 times Jupiter's.
The two stars themselves are separated by only 360 astronomical units (AU). One AU is the distance between the Earth and the Sun. This is extremely close for twin stars with detected planets orbiting the individual stars. The next-closest binary system that hosts planets is comprised of two stars that are about 1,000 AU apart.
The system is even more unusual because both stars are "metal poor," meaning that most of their mass is hydrogen and helium, as opposed to other elements like iron or oxygen. Most stars that host giant planets are "metal rich." Only six other metal-poor binary star systems with exoplanets have ever been found, making this discovery especially intriguing.
Adding to the intrigue, Teske used very precise analysis to reveal that the stars are not actually identical "twins" as previously thought, but have slightly different chemical compositions, making them more like the stellar equivalent of fraternal twins.
This could indicate that one star swallowed some baby planets early in its life, changing its composition slightly. Alternatively, the gravitational forces of the detected giant planets that remained may have had a strong effect on fully-formed small planets, flinging them in towards the star or out into space.
"The probability of finding a system with all these components was extremely small, so these results will serve as an important benchmark for understanding planet formation, especially in binary systems," Teske explained.
The Daily Galaxy via Carnegie Institution for Science
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/f7vJB0juW9Q/russia-announces-space-mission-to-land-a-rocket-on-jupiters-ganymede-largest-moon-in-our-solar-syste.html Russia Plans Mission to Land a Rocket on Jupiter's Ganymede, Only Moon with its Own Magnetic Field --"100-Kilometer-Deep Ocean a Hotspot for Life"
In a video uploaded to YouTube on August 3rd (below), engineers from the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, proposed an orbiter and lander mission to Ganymede. The video suggests a launch could come in the next decade. Although the commentary is in Russian, the video appears to suggest that Ganymede may be as good a candidate or better for life than Europa.
In March of 2015, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revealed the best evidence yet for an underground saltwater ocean on Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon. The subterranean ocean is thought to have more water than all the water on Earth's surface. Identifying liquid water is crucial in the search for habitable worlds beyond Earth and for the search for life, as we know it.
"This discovery marks a significant milestone, highlighting what only Hubble can accomplish," said John Grunsfeld, recently retired assistant administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. "In its 25 years in orbit, Hubble has made many scientific discoveries in our own solar system. A deep ocean under the icy crust of Ganymede opens up further exciting possibilities for life beyond Earth."
Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system and the only moon with its own magnetic field, shown above. The magnetic field causes aurorae, which are ribbons of glowing, hot electrified gas, in regions circling the north and south poles of the moon. Because Ganymede is close to Jupiter, it is also embedded in Jupiter's magnetic field. When Jupiter's magnetic field changes, the aurorae on Ganymede also change, "rocking" back and forth.
By watching the rocking motion of the two aurorae, scientists were able to determine that a large amount of saltwater exists beneath Ganymede's crust, affecting its magnetic field.
A team of scientists led by Joachim Saur of the University of Cologne in Germany came up with the idea of using Hubble to learn more about the inside of the moon. "I was always brainstorming how we could use a telescope in other ways," said Saur. "Is there a way you could use a telescope to look inside a planetary body? Then I thought, the aurorae! Because aurorae are controlled by the magnetic field, if you observe the aurorae in an appropriate way, you learn something about the magnetic field. If you know the magnetic field, then you know something about the moon's interior."
If a saltwater ocean were present, Jupiter's magnetic field would create a secondary magnetic field in the ocean that would counter Jupiter's field. This "magnetic friction" would suppress the rocking of the aurorae. This ocean fights Jupiter's magnetic field so strongly that it reduces the rocking of the aurorae to 2 degrees, instead of 6 degrees if the ocean were not present. Scientists estimate the ocean is 60 miles (100 kilometers) thick -- 10 times deeper than Earth's oceans -- and is buried under a 95-mile (150-kilometer) crust of mostly ice.
Scientists first suspected an ocean in Ganymede in the 1970s, based on models of the large moon. NASA's Galileo mission measured Ganymede's magnetic field in 2002, providing the first evidence supporting those suspicions. The Galileo spacecraft took brief "snapshot" measurements of the magnetic field in 20-minute intervals, but its observations were too brief to distinctly catch the cyclical rocking of the ocean's secondary magnetic field.
The new observations were done in ultraviolet light and could only be accomplished with a space telescope high above Earth's atmosphere, which blocks most ultraviolet light.
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The Daily Galaxy via Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Image Credit: NASA/ESA and USGS Astrogeology Science Center/Wheaton/NASA/JPL-Caltech
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/k_TWET8n8kQ/-nasa-astrobiology-doubts-claim-of-37-billion-year-old-fossil-earths-skies-were-orange-and-oceans-gr.html NASA Astrobiology Doubts Claim of 3.7 Billion Year Old Fossil --"Earth's Skies were Orange and Oceans Green"
In a newly melted part of Greenland, Australian scientists found the leftover structure from a community of microbes that lived on an ancient seafloor, according to a study in Wednesday's journal Nature. The team have found what they think is the oldest fossil on Earth, a remnant of life from 3.7 billion years ago when Earth's skies were orange and its oceans green.
The discovery shows life may have formed quicker and easier than once thought, about half a billion years after Earth formed . And that may also give hope for life forming elsewhere, such as Mars, said study co-author Martin VanKranendonk of the University of New South Wales and director of the Australian Center for Astrobiology.
"It gives us an idea how our planet evolved and how life gained a foothold," VanKranendonk said.
"It would have been a very different world. It would have had black continents, a green ocean with orange skies," he said. The land was likely black because the cooling lava had no plants, while large amounts of iron made the oceans green. Because the atmosphere had very little oxygen and oxygen is what makes the sky blue, its predominant color would have been orange, he said.
Scientists had thought it would take at least half a billion years for life to form after the molten Earth started to cool a bit, but this shows it could have happened quicker, he said. That's because the newly found fossil is far too complex to have developed soon after the planet's first life forms, he said.
In an outcrop of rocks that used to be covered with ice and snow which melted after an exceptionally warm spring, the Australian team found stromatolites (shown at top of the page surviving in Antarctica), which are intricately layered microscopic layered structures that are often produced by a community of microbes. The stromatolites were about .4 to 1.6 inches high (1 to 4 centimeters).
It "is like the house left behind made by the microbes," VanKranendonk said. Scientists used the layers of ash from volcanoes and tiny zircon with uranium and lead to date this back 3.7 billion years ago, using a standard dating method, VanKranendonk said.
In this photo provided by Allen Nutman, a rock with the stromatolites, tiny layered structures from 3.7 billion years ago that are remnants from a community of microbes that used to be live there.
The dating seems about right, said Abigail Allwood , a NASA astrobiologist who found the previous oldest fossil, from 3.48 billion years ago, in Australia. But Allwood said she is not completely convinced that what VanKranendonk's team found once was alive. She said the evidence wasn't conclusive enough that it was life and not a geologic quirk.
"It would be nice to have more evidence, but in these rocks that's a lot to ask," Allwood said in an email.
The Daily Galaxy via AP and Nature
Image credit: (Laure Gauthiez/The Australian National University via AP)
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/roz8oC1cP6k/the-rise-and-fall-of-galaxies-10-billion-years-ago-our-milky-way-was-much-smaller-but-forming-stars-.html The Rise and Fall of Galaxies --"10 Billion Years Ago Our Milky Way Was Much Smaller, but Forming Stars 30 Times Faster Than Today"
"Ten billion years ago, galaxies like our Milky Way were much smaller, but they were forming stars 30 times faster than they are today," said Casey Papovich of Texas A&M University.
An international team of astronomers has charted the rise and fall of galaxies over 90 percent of cosmic history. Their work, which includes some of the most sensitive astronomical measurements made to date, is published by The Astrophysical Journal.
The FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey (ZFOURGE) has built a multicolored photo album of galaxies as they grow from their faint beginnings into mature and majestic giants. They did so by measuring distances and brightnesses for more than 70,000 galaxies spanning more than 12 billion years of cosmic time, revealing the breadth of galactic diversity.
The team assembled the colorful photo album by using a new set of filters that are sensitive to infrared light and taking images with them with the FourStar camera at Carnegie's 6.5-meter Baade Telescope at our Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. They took the images over a period of 45 nights. The team made a 3-D map by collecting light from over 70,000 galaxies, peering all the way into the distant universe, and by using this light to measure how far these galaxies are from our own Milky Way.
The deep 3-D map also revealed young galaxies that existed as early as 12.5 billion years ago (at less than 10 percent of the current universe age), only a handful of which had previously been found. This should help astronomers better understand the universe's earliest days.
"Perhaps the most surprising result is that galaxies in the young universe appear as diverse as they are today," when the universe is older and much more evolved, said lead author Caroline Straatman, a recent graduate of Leiden University. "The fact that we see young galaxies in the distant universe that have already shut down star formation is remarkable."
But it's not just about distant galaxies; the information gathered by ZFOURGE is also giving the scientists the best-yet view of what our own galaxy was like in its youth.
"ZFOURGE is providing us with a highly complete and reliable census of the evolving galaxy population, and is already helping us to address questions like: How did galaxies grow with time? When did they form their stars and develop into the spectacular structures that we see in the present-day universe?" added Ryan Quadri, also of Texas A&M.
In the study's first images, the team found one of the earliest examples of a galaxy cluster, a so-called "galaxy city" made up of a dense concentration of galaxies, which formed when the universe was only three billion years old, as compared to the nearly 14 billion years it is today.
"The combination of FourStar, the special filters, Magellan, and the conditions at Las Campanas led to the detection of the cluster," said Persson, who built the FourStar instrument at the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena. "It was in a very well-studied region of the sky--'hiding in plain sight.'"
The paper marks the completion of the ZFOURGE survey and the public release of the dataset, which can be found here: http://zfourge.tamu.edu/DR2016/data.html.
The Daily Galaxy via Carnegie Institution for Science
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%feed http://www.flickr.com/photos/europeanspaceagency/29095579420/ Mars team
This week, the ExoMars mission control team at ESA's centre in Darmstadt, Germany, is training to prepare for next month's arrival at the Red Planet.
Under the watchful eye of Flight Operations Director Michel Denis, the team was taken through a series of realistic simulations that rehearsed both ‘nominal' when everything goes as planned and ‘contingency' the opposite situations.
The team is actually a ‘team of teams' a number of spacecraft operations engineers working under the spacecraft operations manager, supported by diverse specialists from areas including flight dynamics, ground station operations, software and network support, and simulations and training as well as the ExoMars team from ESA's technical centre in the Netherlands.
Teams from the builder of the Mars orbiter, Thales Alenia Space France, and the builder of the Schiaparelli lander, Thales Alenia Space Italy, also took part in the ‘sim'.
Today, ExoMars has completed 80% of the 500 million km trip to Mars, and is 121 566 000 km from Earth. Schiaparelli is set to separate from its parent craft on 16 October and, three days later, will land on Mars as the orbiter fires its main engine to begin circling the planet.
Credit: ESA
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/bgHqNtqEF_M/humans-are-losing-control-chinese-artificial-intelligence-program-defeats-world-masters-at-planets-o.html "We're Losing Control" --Chinese AI Program Defeats World Masters at Planet's Oldest Most Difficult Board Game
"AlphaGo is not only a milestone in the quest of AI, but also an indication that IT now has entered a new era," said Fei-YueWang, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and secretary general of the Chinese Association of Automation. The computer's win signaled a significant evolution of information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI), according Wang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As the result, IT is no longer information or industrial technology, the New IT is Intelligent Technology. The world has entered the fifth era of intelligent technology.
The world's oldest board game still has a few moves to play. Go, a game of strategy and instinct considered more difficult to master than chess, was created roughly in the same era as the written word. The game is uniquely human - or, it was. Last year, a computer program called AlphaGo defeated an internationally ranked professional player.
In a recent editorial published in the IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica, Wang argues that core principles of automation and Al must be rethought as the world navigates an IT paradigm shift.
Wang sketches the progress of robotic and neural machine-human interaction in a timeline of five "control" eras. Automation evolved from the pure mechanics of ancient water clocks and steam engines to the eventual development of electric circuits and transfer functions that gave way to power grids. Digital computers and microprocessors signaled the third shift and paved the way for the fourth - the Internet and the World Wide Web.
In the first four controls, physical and mental realities were approximated as accurately as possible and adjusted through the use of dual control theory. A machine with a set of conditions and a goal could succeed or fail. As the machine acts, it also investigates to learn what action may result in a better future outcome.
Between the physical and mental spaces, another reality in need of double control exists. Augmented, or artificial, reality bridges the gap of actuality and imagination. Pokémon GO is a prime example, as people navigate the physical world to find fictional creatures with only experience as a guide. The parameters and goals shift with each new exposure.
"In Control 5.0...only association revealed by data or experience is available, and causality is a luxury that is no longer attainable with limited resources for uncertainty, diversity, and complexity," Wang said.
Recognition of all three worlds and the dual learning roles of each, according to Wang, will be essential in the fifth era of intelligent technology.
The Daily Galaxy via Chinese Association of Automation
Image credit: Google
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/AT-AnPC11Pk/-is-alpha-centuaris-proxima-b-habitable-an-in-depth-look-by-rory-barnes-of-nasas-virtual-planetary-l.html "Is Alpha Centuari's Proxima b Habitable?" --A Deep Look by Rory Barnes of NASA's Virtual Planetary Lab
If humanity is to survive beyond the lifetime of our Sun, we must leave our Solar System and travel to the stars. If Proxima b is habitable, then it might be an ideal place to move. Perhaps we have just discovered a future home for humanity! But in order to know for sure, we must make many more observations, run many more computer simulations, and, hopefully, send probes to perform the first direct reconnaissance of an exoplanet. The challenges are huge, but Proxima offers a bounty of possibilities that fills me with wonder. Whether habitable or not, Proxima b offers a new glimpse into how planets and life fit into our universe.
The discovery of Proxima b is the biggest exoplanet discovery since the discovery of exoplanets. The planet is not much bigger than Earth and resides in the “habitable zone” of the Sun's nearest stellar neighbor. This planet may represent humanity's best chance to search for life among the stars. But is Proxima b habitable? Is it inhabited? These questions are impossible to answer at this time because we know so little about the planet. However, we can extrapolate from the worlds of our Solar System, as well as employ theoretical models of galactic, stellar, and planetary evolution, to piece together realistic scenarios for Proxima b's history.
The possibilities are varied and depend on phenomena usually studied by scientists in fields that are considered distinct, but an integrated perspective — an astrobiological perspective — can provide a realistic assessment of the possibility that life could have arisen and survived on the closest exoplanet.
As an astrobiologist and astronomer at the University of Washington, and a member of NASA's Virtual Planetary Lab, Roy Barnes has investigated the habitability of planets orbiting red dwarfs for years. His research involves building computer models that simulate how planetary interiors and atmospheres evolve, how stars change with time, and how planetary orbits vary. The discovery of Proxima b has me very excited, but being Earth-sized and in the habitable zone are just the first two requirements for a planet to support life, and the list of requirements is much longer for planets orbiting red dwarfs than for stars like our Sun.
If Proxima b is in fact habitable, meaning it possesses liquid water or even inhabited, meaning life is currently present, then it will have traversed a very different evolutionary path than Earth. This difference is frustrating, in that it will make our initial interpretations challenging, but also exciting, as it offers the chance to learn how Earth-sized planets evolve in our universe. Whether Proxima b is a sterile wasteland or teeming with life, we are now embarking on an unprecedented era of discovery, one that may finally provide an answer that age-old question “Are we alone?”.
What to make of Proxima b? It is at least as massive as Earth, and may be several times more massive. Its “year” is just over 11 days and its orbit may be circular or significantly elongated. Its host star is only 12% as massive as our Sun, 0.1% as bright, and it is known to flare. It may be joined to the stars Alpha Centauri A and B, 15,000 astronomical units (AU) away, by their mutual gravitational attraction.
All three stars contain substantially more heavy elements than our Sun, but we know very little of the composition of Proxima b, or how it formed. The new data point toward the presence of a second planet orbiting in the system with a period near 200 days, but its existence cannot be proven at this time. These are the facts we have and from them we must deduce whether Proxima b supports life.
Proxima b was detected via the radial velocity method, which does not provide a direct measurement of the planet's mass, only a minimum mass. So, the first question we'd like to answer is whether the planet's mass is low enough to be rocky like Earth. If the planet is much larger, it may be more like Neptune with a thick gaseous envelope. While we don't know where the dividing line between rocky and gaseous exoplanets is, models of planet formation and analyses of Kepler planets suggest the transition is between 5 and 10 times the mass of Earth. Only about 5% of allowed orbits place Proxima b's mass above 5 Earth masses, so it is very likely that this planet is in the rocky range.
The next question to ask is if the planet actually formed with water. Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen, the first and third most common elements in the galaxy, so we should expect it to be everywhere. Close to stars, however, where Proxima b resides, water is heated into its vapor phase while planets are forming, and hence it is difficult for planets to capture it. Planets that form at larger distances can gather more water, so if Proxima b formed farther out and moved to its current orbit later, it is more likely to be water-rich.
At this time, we don't know how the planet formed, but three scenarios seem most probable: 1) the planet formed where it is from mostly local material; 2) the planet formed farther out while the gas and dust disk that birthed the planetary system still existed, and forces from that disk drove the planet in to its present orbit; or 3) the planet formed elsewhere and some sort of system-wide instability rearranged the planets and b ultimately arrived in its current orbit.
The first method is how Earth and Venus formed, and so Proxima b may or may not possess significant water if it formed in this way. The second method produces planets that are very water-rich because water is more likely to be in its ice phase farther out in the disk and so the forming planet could easily gather it up. The third method is inconclusive as the planet could have come from an interior orbit and formed without water or farther out and be water-rich. We conclude that it is entirely possible that this planet has water, but we cannot be certain.
Next let's consider the clues from the stars themselves. Computer models of the evolution of our galaxy suggest that stars enriched in heavy elements like Proxima cannot form locally (25,000 light-years from the galactic center) as there just aren't enough heavy elements available. But closer to the galactic center, where star formation has been more vigorous and transpiring for longer, stars like Proxima are possible. Recent work has found that stars in our local solar neighborhood with compositions like Proxima must have formed at least 10,000 light-years closer to the galactic center. It would seem Proxima Centauri has wandered through our galaxy and this history may have played an important role in the evolution of Proxima b.
Computer models of the evolution of the Milky Way galaxy suggest Proxima Centauri has moved outward at least 10,000 light-years from where it formed, shown by the orange circle. The Sun and Earth probably formed near where they orbit today (blue circle), which is where we find Proxima Centauri, too.
The orbit of Proxima around Alpha Centauri A and B, assuming they are gravitationally connected, is large compared to other multiple star systems. In fact, it is so large that A and B's hold on Proxima is weak and the effects of the Milky Way galaxy have shaped Proxima's orbit significantly. The mass of the Milky Way as a whole causes Proxima's orbit to vary both in shape and orientation continuously.
Proxima is also susceptible to gravitational encounters from passing stars that can change its orbit. Recent simulations by Nate Kaib have found that these two effects can often lead to close passages between the stars in a multiple star system that disrupt their planetary systems. The disruption is often powerful enough to eject planets from the system and completely rearrange the orbits of the planets that remain.
New simulations by Russell Deitrick are revealing that this scenario is a real concern for Proxima, too; there is a significant probability that at some point in the past, Proxima swooped in close enough to Alpha Centauri A and B to cause its planetary system to break apart, hurling Proxima b's siblings into deep space. If such a disruption occurred, Proxima b may not have formed where we find it today because its orbit would have been affected by this disruption.
Even if Proxima is not currently bound to Alpha Cen A and B, it appears to be travelling with them, and it is very likely the stars formed from the same cloud of dust and gas. If they formed together, they should have similar compositions and nearly identical ages. Connecting their ages is important because it is very difficult to measure the ages of low mass stars like Proxima Centauri. Astronomers can estimate the age of Alpha Cen A via asteroseismology, the study of “starquakes.”
Stars bigger than the Sun vibrate with large enough amplitudes that brightness fluctuations can be observed, and careful monitoring of the pulsations can reveal a star's age. Recent work by Dr. Michaël Bazot has found that Alpha Cen A is between 3.5 and 6 billion years old. This range is larger than we would like, but Proxima is certainly old enough to support life, and Proxima b might even be about the same age as Earth!
Next we turn to clues from the Proxima Centauri planetary system. The vast majority of the energy used by life on Earth comes from our Sun, and small stars like Proxima can produce energy for trillions of years. The host star is almost as small as stars come, so for a planet to receive as much stellar energy as Earth, Proxima b must be about 25 times closer in than Earth is from the sun. This distance is where the habitable zone lies.
While Proxima is much dimmer than the Sun, it is still a thermonuclear explosion, and, everything else equal, life seems more likely at larger distances. And indeed the close-in orbit does produce numerous obstacles that life on Earth did not have to overcome. These include a long formation time for the star, short and energetic bursts of energy in UV and X-ray light, strong magnetic fields, larger starspots, larger coronal mass ejections, and gravitational tidal effects that cause rotational properties to change and frictional heating in oceans (if they exist) and the rocky interior.
The history of Proxima's brightness evolution has been slow and complicated. Stellar evolution models all predict that for the first one billion years Proxima slowly dimmed to its current brightness, which implies that for about the first quarter of a billion years, Proxima b's surface would have been too hot for Earth-like conditions. As Rodrigo Luger and Barnes recently showed, had our modern Earth been placed in such a situation, it would have become a Venus-like world, in a runaway greenhouse state that can destroy all of the planet's primordial water. This desiccation can occur because the molecular bonds between hydrogen and oxygen in water can be destroyed in the upper atmosphere by radiation from the star, and hydrogen, being the lightest of the elements, can escape the planet's gravity. Without hydrogen, there can be no water, and the planet is not habitable. Escaping or avoiding this early runaway greenhouse is the biggest hurdle for Proxima b's chances for supporting life.
Figure 2: Proxima Centauri's habitable zone has moved inward since it formed, which may mean that planet b lost its water shortly after it formed, when the system was 1—10 million years old. The habitable zone, shown in blue, doesn't arrive at the orbit of planet b until almost 200 million years after it formed. This early brightness may be the biggest obstacle for life to have gained a foothold on Proxima Centauri b.
As the star dims, the water destruction process halts, and so total desiccation is not inevitable. If some water remains, the atmosphere may also contain large quantities of oxygen leftover from the water vapor destruction. While having large amounts of water and oxygen may sound like a good recipe for life, it almost certainly is not. Oxygen is one of the most reactive elements, and its presence in the young atmosphere of Proxima b would likely prevent the development of pre-biotic molecules that require conditions with little oxygen to form. Life on Earth formed when no oxygen was present, and photosynthesis ultimately produced enough oxygen for it to become a major component of our atmosphere. Note that the destruction of only some water leads to the rather surprising possibility that the planet could possess oceans and an oxygen-rich atmosphere, but has been unable to support life!
Another intriguing possibility is that Proxima b started out more like Neptune and the early brightness and flaring eroded away a hydrogen-rich atmosphere to reveal a habitable Proxima below. Such a world was investigated by Rodrigo Luger, Barnes and others, and was found to be a viable pathway to avoid total desiccation. Essentially the hydrogen atmosphere protects the water. If Proxima b formed with about 0.1-1% of its mass in a hydrogen envelope, the planet would lose the hydrogen but not its water, potentially emerging as a habitable world after the star reached its current brightness.
This wide range of possible evolutionary pathways presents a daunting challenge as we imagine using space- and ground-based telescopes to search for life in the atmosphere of Proxima b. Nearly all the components of an atmosphere imprint their presence in a spectrum, so with our knowledge of the possible histories of this planet, we can begin to develop instruments and plan observations that pinpoint the critical differences.
For example, at high enough pressures, oxygen molecules can momentarily bind to each other and produce an observable feature in a spectrum. Crucially, the pressures required to be detectable are large enough to discriminate between a planet with too much oxygen, and one with just the right amount for life. As we learn more about the planet and the system, we can build a library of possible spectra from which to quantitatively determine how likely it is that life exists on Proxima b.
While the early brightness of the host star is the biggest impediment to life, other issues are also important. One of the original concerns for the habitability of planets orbiting red dwarfs was that they would become “tidally locked”, meaning that one hemisphere permanently faces the host star. This state is similar to the rotation of our Moon, in which the same tidal forces that raise waves in our ocean have caused the Moon to show only one face to Earth. Because it is so close to its star, Proxima b may be in this state, depending on the shape of its orbit.
For decades, astronomers were concerned that such a tidally locked planet would be uninhabitable because they believed the atmosphere would freeze and collapse to the surface on the permanently dark side. That possibility is now viewed as very unlikely because winds in the atmosphere will transport energy around the planet and maintain sufficient warmth on the backside to prevent this freeze out. Thus, as far as atmospheric stability is concerned, tidal locking is not a concern for this planet's potential habitability.
Although tidal locking is not very dangerous for life, it is possible for tides to provide large amounts of energy to the planet's atmosphere and interior. This energy is often called “tidal heating” and is a result of the deformation of the planet due to changes in the host star's gravitational force across the planet's diameter. For example, if the planet is on an elliptical orbit, when it is closer to the star, it feels stronger gravity than when it is farther away. This variation will cause the shape of the planet to change, and this deformation can cause friction between layers in the planet's interior, producing heat.
In extreme cases, tidal heating could trigger the onset of a runaway greenhouse like the one that desiccated Venus, independent of starlight. Proxima b is not likely to be in that state, but the tidal heating could still be very strong, causing continual volcanic eruptions as on Jupiter's moon Io, and/or raising enormous ocean waves. Based on the information we have now, we don't know the magnitude of tidal heating, but we must be aware of it and explore its implications.
The host star's short, high energy bursts, called flares, are also a well known concern for surface life on planets of red dwarfs. Flares are eruptions from small regions of the surfaces of stars that cause brief (hours to days) increases in brightness. Crucially, flares emit blasts of positively-charged protons, which have been shown by Antigona Segura and colleagues to deplete ozone layers that can protect life from harmful high-energy UV light.
Proxima flares far more often than our Sun and Proxima b is much closer to Proxima than Earth is to the Sun, so Proxima b is likely to have been subjected to repeated bombardments. If the atmosphere could develop a robust shield to these eruptions, such as a strong magnetic field that then flaring could be unimportant. Alternatively if it exists under just a few meters of water. Therefore, flares should not be considered fatal for life on Proxima b.
The concern over flaring naturally leads to the question of whether the planet actually does have a protective magnetic field like Earth's. For years, many scientists were concerned that such magnetic fields would be unlikely on planets like Proxima b because tidal locking would prevent their formation. The thinking went that magnetic fields are generated by electric currents moving in the planetary core, and the movement of charged particles needed to create these currents was caused by planetary rotation. A slowly rotating world might not transport the charged particles in the core rapidly enough to generate a strong enough magnetic field to repel the flares, and hence planets in the habitable zones of M dwarfs have no atmospheres.
However, more recent research has shown that planetary magnetic fields are actually supported by convection, a process by which hot material at the center of the core rises, cools, and then returns. Rotation helps, but Dr. Peter Driscoll and I recently calculated that convection is more than sufficient to maintain a strong magnetic field for billions of years on a tidally locked and tidally heated planet. Thus, it is entirely possible that Proxima b has a strong magnetic field and can deflect flares.
So is Proxima b habitable? The short answer is “It's complicated.” Our observations are few, and what we do know allow for a dizzying array of possibilities. Did Proxima b move halfway across the galaxy? Did it endure a planetary-system-wide instability that launched its sibling planets into deep space and changed its orbit? How did it cope with the early high luminosity of its host star? What is it made of? Did it start out as a Neptune-like planet and then become Earth-like? Has it been relentlessly bombarded with flares and coronal mass ejections? Is it tidally heated into an Io-like (or worse) state? These questions are central to unlocking Proxima's potential habitability and determining if our nearest galactic neighbor is an inhospitable wasteland, an inhabited planet, or a future home for humanity.
The last point is not as rhetorical as it might seem. Since all life requires an energy source, it stands to reason that, in the long term — by which I mean the loooong term — planets like Proxima b might be the ideal homes for life. Our Sun will burn out in a mere 4 billion years, but Proxima Centauri will burn for 4 trillion more. Moreover, if a “planet c” exists and slightly perturbs b's orbit, tidal heating could supply modest energy to b's interior indefinitely, providing the power to maintain a stable atmosphere.
%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/akPEyz9J9Xc/nasa-discovers-most-distant-galaxy-cluster-in-the-cosmos-going-through-an-amazing-growth-spurt.html NASA Discovers Most Distant Galaxy Cluster in the Cosmos --"Going Through an Amazing Growth Spurt"
“This galaxy cluster isn't just remarkable for its distance, it's also going through an amazing growth spurt unlike any we've ever seen,” said Tao Wang of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) who led the NASA study.
A new record for the most distant galaxy cluster has been set using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes. This galaxy cluster may have been caught right after birth, a brief, but important stage of evolution never seen before.
The galaxy cluster is called CL J1001+0220 (CL J1001 for short) and is located about 11.1 billion light years from Earth. The discovery of this object pushes back the formation time of galaxy clusters the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity by about 700 million years.
The core of CL J1001 contains eleven massive galaxies nine of which are experiencing an impressive baby boom of stars. Specifically, stars are forming in the cluster's core at a rate that is equivalent to over 3,000 Suns forming per year, a remarkably high value for a galaxy cluster, including those that are almost as distant, and therefore as young, as CL J1001.
The diffuse X-ray emission detected by Chandra and ESA's XMM-Newton Observatory comes from a large amount of hot gas, one of the defining features of a true galaxy cluster.
“It appears that we have captured this galaxy cluster at a critical stage just as it has shifted from a loose collection of galaxies into a young, but fully formed galaxy cluster,” said co-author David Elbaz from CEA. Previously, only these loose collections of galaxies, known as protoclusters, had been seen at greater distances than CL J1001.
The results suggest that elliptical galaxies in galaxy clusters like CL J1001 may form their stars during shorter and more violent outbursts than elliptical galaxies that are outside clusters. Also, this discovery suggests that much of the star formation in these galaxies happens after the galaxies fall onto the cluster, not before.
In comparing their results to computer simulations of the formation of clusters performed by other scientists, the team of astronomers found that CL J1001 has an unexpectedly high amount of mass in stars compared to the cluster's total mass. This may show that the build-up of stars is more rapid in distant clusters than simulations imply, or it may show that clusters like CL J1001 are so rare that they are not found in today's largest cosmological simulations.
“We think we're going to learn a lot about the formation of clusters and the galaxies they contain by studying this object,” said co-author Alexis Finoguenov of the University of Helsinki in Finland, “and we're going to be searching hard for other examples.”
The result is based on data from a large group of observatories in space and on the ground including Chandra, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope, ESA's XMM-Newton and Herschel Space Observatory, the NSF's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) , the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique Northern Extended Millimeter Array (IRAM NOEMA), and ESO's Very Large Telescope. .
The Daily Galaxy via NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/bnEUrahjHXM/a-voyage-to-alpha-centauris-habitable-planet-in-the-year-3030-video.html A Voyage to Alpha Centauri's Habitable Planet in the Year 3030 (VIDEO)
Don't miss this! Join Polygon's Charlie Hall as he mans an expedition to Alpha Centauri in Elite Dangerous, while space expert, Loren Grush, joins him to discuss last week's announcement that astronomers using European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescopes in Chile and other facilities have found clear evidence of a planet orbiting the closest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri may ultimately prove to be a habitable planet could that harbor an advanced technological civilization.
The long-sought world, designated Proxima b, orbits its cool red -dwarf parent star every 11 days and has a temperature suitable for liquid water to exist on its surface. This rocky world is a little more massive than the Earth and is the closest exoplanet to us -- and it may also be the closest possible abode for life outside the Solar System.
Red Dwarfs “may be one instance in which older is better,” said Seth Shostak, senior astronomer and director of California-based SETI. “Older solar systems have had more time to produce intelligent species.”
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Frandi-hutter-epstein%2Ffatherhood-plummets-testo_b_11763796.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Fatherhood Plummets Testosterone... Maybe. It's so easy to tie things to hormones. We usually think of it as a woman's thing. Fat after a baby? It's her hormones. Cranky when she's hitting her late 40s? It's her hormones.
But what about men? In the July issue of Hormones and Behavior, scientists link a man's sinking testosterone levels during his partner's pregnancy to an increased investment in fatherhood. The study tracked 27 heterosexual couples, measuring everyone's testosterone (men and women) three to four times during the pregnancy. Then they all filled out a survey about their investment, commitment, and satisfaction when the baby turned 3-and-a-half months.
The study confirms earlier research suggesting that men with lower levels of testosterone are better nurturers than higher-testosterone men who are thinking more about making babies than taking care of them. This kind of thinking meshes with the old fashioned notion that links all things manly and macho with testosterone and all things cuddly with estrogen. It's a notion that some doctors have been fighting against every since testosterone was named testosterone.
In 1927, when the University of Chicago's Dr. Fred Koch eked out .0007th of a gram of active ingredient from 44 pounds of bulls' testicles, he refused to give the newfound hormone a name. "It is our feeling that until more is known about the chemical nature of the hormone no name should be given," he wrote in a scientific article, "The Testicular Hormone." Eight years later, University of Amsterdam's Ernst Laqueur purified the substance and called it testosterone. There was griping about the name. The problem was testosterone implied that it's from the testicles and only from the testicles, which it isn't. And that implies it's just a man's hormone, which it isn't. The adrenal glands make testosterone. So do ovaries -- in tinier amounts. Dr. A. S. Parkes, a British endocrinologist, loathed the name: "The idea of maleness and femaleness as clearly defined endocrine states was finally shattered by the early work on the steroid hormones," he said in lecture to the Zoological Society of London. But it wasn't.
Hormones do impact behavior. And maybe they are onto something. Women know all too well about monthly mood swings with our hormones going this way and that. But still, I'm not convinced about the testosterone-parenting thing. Along with the strengths of their study (repeated sampling of testosterone and tracking parents throughout pregnancy), they admit to a few weaknesses. For one, it was small. More importantly, they didn't compare parenting attitudes between fathers with plummeting testosterone to fathers without a decline.
So where does that leave us? Well, its nice to see that at least 27 of these new fathers, according to this study, are enjoying their newborns and finding satisfaction with the diaper changing. I'm just not persuaded that the lower testosterone is the main cause of their new parental urges. Maybe the guys in this study just like being new dads.
-- 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.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2104223-stars-burning-strangely-make-life-in-the-multiverse-more-likely%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Stars burning strangely make life in the multiverse more likely Supporters of the multiverse often cite a specific reaction in stars that seems tuned for life, making our universe improbable but now there's a new idea gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fvrinda-manglik%2Fits-time-for-world-leader_b_11818224.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 It's Time For World Leaders To Support Fossil Free Finance
Starting this weekend, the G20 -- a group representing the governments of 20 of the world's biggest economies, including the United States and China -- will have its annual summit, this year in Hangzhou, China. Our focus is fossil free finance -- that is, shifting the trillions of dollars funneled toward dirty and outdated fossil fuels each year to the modern clean energy solutions that can and will meet the growing global energy demand; it's time for G20 country governments to get serious about stopping subsidies to fossil fuels.
The G20 summit takes place annually, with a consistent focus on international economic cooperation amidst a changing global context. Since last year's G20 summit in Turkey, one of the biggest changes in the global context has been the adoption of the Paris Agreement -- an accord agreed upon by 195 countries and signed by over 175 nations to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius. As my colleague Maura Cowley previously noted, the Paris Agreement calls for "making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development."
Finance is the engine that moves us away from a world powered by fossil fuels that wreak havoc on the climate to a world powered by clean energy that enables a stable climate.
Last November, a report from the Overseas Development Institute and Oil Change International found that the country governments comprising the G20 are providing $444 billion in annual subsidies for the production of fossil fuels -- which is four times more than global investment in clean energy. This is disappointing, as G20 countries first made a commitment to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies in the medium term way back in 2009.
While the Paris Agreement is a new development in the backdrop of the G20 summit, it is not new to see calls for fossil free finance directed at the G20. Last fall, ahead of the 2015 G20 summit in Turkey, 63 civil society organizations sent a letter calling on the finance ministers of the G20 and the Turkish G20 presidency to "advance commitments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies."
Ahead of this year's summit in China, the Sierra Club's International Climate & Energy Campaign has launched a Fossil Free Finance campaign, with an opportunity to take action by telling President Obama and other G20 leaders to phase out fossil fuel subsidies by 2020. Last week, 130 investors controlling $13 trillion of investments called upon G20 countries to quickly ratify the Paris Agreement, to accelerate investment into clean energy, to disclose climate risk in order to assist with carbon pricing, and to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. And just this week, three of the world's biggest insurers -- Aviva, Aegon, and Amlin -- released a statement indicating that the G20 should end fossil fuel subsidies in four years, by 2020.
The Sierra Club's Fossil Free Finance campaign targets two sides of the same coin: subsidies and divestment -- that is, pulling stocks, bonds, and investment funds out of fossil fuel industries. As noted in an article by Thijs Van de Graaf and Mathieu Blondeel, campaigns around fossil fuel divestment and fossil fuel subsidies would benefit from joining forces and seizing the potential partnership between the campaigns.
We hope the G20 leadership will demonstrate its commitment to the Paris Agreement and a safe climate future by making commits to fossil free finance on the side of divestment as well as subsidies.
-- 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.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fsarah-hodgson%2Fleash-aggression-whos-the_b_11799320.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 From Leash Reactivity To Leash Aggression: 5 Steps To Influence Your Dog or Puppy
If only I had a golden dog biscuit for the times I've heard the phrase "My dog is a bully" while out walking my dogs. Often hollered from the backend of a leash, people assume that the one who pulls the hardest, barks the loudest, and inflicts the most pain must be a real bully.
Or should I say, that people wrongly assume...
I'm here to set the record straight. When talking about dogs, or kids for that matter, aggression (aka bullying) is rarely a sign of strength or savvy. Real bullies are poorly socialized, insufficiently nurtured individuals who lack boundary control and the ability to process bad feelings.
Does that describe your dog? Probably not. Many leash aggressive dogs are pussy cats at home. So what gives?
To understand the nature of leash reactive dogs, learn how to interpret their communicative poses. Here is a sampling of the posture illustrations from my most recent book Modern Dog Parenting, Raising Your Dog or Puppy to Be a Loving Member of Your Family, St. Martins Press. Each one represents an emotional reaction: memorize these and you'll be able to translate what dog's think and feel.
Defensive Posture
Frustrated Posture
Fearful-Defensive Posture
Now consider what happens when you're out walking your dog.
From your perspective, leash walks are bonding time: an excellent way to get out and give your dog exercise.
Your dog doesn't always share your worldview, however. Strolling along tethered to the end of a 6-foot strap can get be monotonous and restrictive. Given the choice your dog, like all other dogs, would run along freely following a scented pathway, picking and choosing friends by her standard.
Although dogs can be conditioned to accept the restraint and learn to adapt to our social habits, if you haven't made the effort, chances are your dog has pulled you. And if you've been pulled, you've likely found yourself on the receiving end of what I affectionately call a CHW: A Canine Holy War.
What does that look like? CHWs may include any of the following:
Stare downs
Raised hackles
Leash lunging
Defensive barking
Snarls and growls
Leash spinning, often paired with redirected aggression toward you or another familiar dog
An all out dog fight
To fully understand why dogs feel stressed during their leash walks you'd have to be a dog. The next best thing? Learn to think like them: I can help you there.
In the long, intertwined history of people and dogs, the leash and leash walking are relatively new inventions, designed for convenience and safety. Humans walk in straight lines, confident in the belief that they are in charge because they are holding the leash.
But restricted, linear movement is unnatural for dogs, who prefer to meander and explore. Dogs start out pulling on the leash to increase the meandering. Humans pull back to increase the restriction. This combination of straining to get away and pulling back puts pressure on the dog's collar or body, and in a response known as oppositional reflex, the dog pulls back. A feeling of entrapment causes the stress hormones to flow.
Put yourself in your dog's paws or imagine trying to do a similar thing to a child.
Dog's respond to anxiety the same way all mammals including people, do: they get frustrated or frantic. Some dog's pull harder, while others increase movement back and forth. Neither response reflects joy, and when forced into the personal space of another dog or person their stress skyrockets.
What does a dog do when their stress skyrockets? The same thing you'd do: they react. But dogs don't react as people do: they react like dogs do. Read the bulleted list above.
To rehabilitate your leash reactive or aggressive dog will take some effort on your part.
Step One: Off-Leash Control Practice your first step off leash: Specifically indoors, and away from all distractions. Remember, if your dog doesn't prioritize your voice in the quiet of your home, she won't listen to you outside either.
Teach your dog to Follow, Stay, Watch and Find it- all directions and games you'll use on your walks. My book Modern Dog Parenting outlines positive lessons; my YouTube channel visualizes these routines too.
When you walk, move with enthusiasm. Fake it if you must. Walks are your dog's big adventure and he'll only alert to you if you reflect his excitement. Use treats, praise and toy play when introducing words: reward your dog's cooperation. Step Two: Teach Your Dog ESL Research now shows what dog parents have known for centuries: that dogs are communicating all the time, as well as responding to our reactions to their behavior. Sure they don't understand words: but they get the meaning by the tones we use.
To teach your dog to alert to words think of her like an ESL student (English as Second Language). Start with words that represent your daily routine, like inside, outside, car, and upstairs. Use a tone that's clear and directive: the kind you'd use when asking "Pass the Salt." Add hand signals and praise your dog for listening.
Step Three: Dress for Success Before you use your new skills outside, equip your dog for success. Be compassionate when choosing your dog's body wear. Many collars and harnesses restrain dogs ineffectively.
If your dog strains at the leash, you're using a poorly devised or fitted collar or harness. Flat or pronged collars can intensify leash aggression. Many dogs condition to the annoyance.
Test other collars or harness restraints. My favorites include the Gentle Leader, Easy Walk and other front clip harnesses.
Step Four: Positive Leash Conditioning Before you set out with your new resolve, make sure you're using the right leash. Flexi-lease, while super for solitary field or beach meanderings, should not be used anywhere else. A sturdy 6-foot leash made of leather or nylon are ideal.
Hold the leash, like you would someone's hand: gently, gently. Relax your arm straight, and guide your dog back, using treats to sweeten the deal. If she lurches forward, calmly change direction or stop. Reward your dog with praise, treats or toys each time she looks up or cooperates with a direction.
Step Five: Leash Reactions Before dogs are positively conditioned to their leash walks, many strain ahead, assuming a self-protective stance when they see something or someone who isn't immediately identifiable. When this happens too often, these same dogs start to scan the distant plains for strangers in their midsts. True, your suburban cul-de-sac may not resemble a dangerous wilderness, but old habits die hard.
Use happy talk, rewards and games like Find it to engage your dog as you walk with her. If you're approaching an unfamiliar person or animal, check your dog's reaction. If your dog is frightened or agitated, move away or pass by quickly.
Remember the goal is to walk with your dog, not tethered to her. Walks should bring about the calm you experience when walking hand-in-hand with someone you love. It is a learned habit: it takes some practice to get it right.
Read Modern Dog Parenting to learn some tips to get started. If you need coaching, find someone in your area or reach out to me for Skype or private lessons. If you nip your leash issues early on, they can often be addressed in a single session.
Now, the next time you experience leash aggression, reconsider it. It has as little to do with conscious decision making as your reaction would if I were to drag you along on a short tether and were to force your greeting strangers against your better judgment.
You don't have to delve deeper too deeply into the psychology of dogs to learn that dogs think, act, and relate much like a 2-3-year-old toddler. And whether you have children, you can certainly remember being one. Close your eyes and imagine having to explore your world, day after day, on the end of a short tether. What emotions would that leave you with?
-- 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.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2016%2F09%2F01%2Fpope-urges-faithful-to-save-planet-from-debris-desolation-and-filth_n_11818174.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Pope Urges Faithful To Save Planet From 'Debris, Desolation And Filth' Pope Francis called on Thursday for concerted action against environmental degradation and climate change, renewing a fierce attack on consumerism and...
%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160831133521.htm Discovery one-ups Tatooine, finds twin stars hosting three giant exoplanets Scientists have discovered three giant planets in a binary star system composed of stellar 'twins' that are also effectively siblings of our Sun. One star hosts two planets and the other hosts the third. The system represents the smallest-separation binary in which both stars host planets that has ever been observed. The findings may help explain the influence that giant planets like Jupiter have over a solar system's architecture. astronomy
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%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160831085626.htm The genesis project: New life on exoplanets Can life be brought to celestial bodies outside our solar system which are not permanently inhabitable? This is the question with which experts are dealing in a recent essay. astronomy
%feed http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2016/09/01/watch-autonomous-cars-completely-eliminate-traffic-jams/ Watch: How autonomous cars could completely eliminate traffic jams Humans, as it turns out, are pretty crappy drivers. Of course, we knew this already. What you might not have known is, we're also directly responsible for most of the traffic problems we face on roadways. While we blame congestion, traffic lights and other cars for our traffic woes, as this video shows: it's mostly us. Unlike machines, humans are reactionary drivers. When a red light turns green, we react to the car in front of us moving, not the light itself. If each of us — even several cars back at a stoplight — reacted at the same time,…
%feed http://thenextweb.com/opinion/2016/08/31/theres-nothing-outrageous-about-jessica-albas-inclusion-in-planet-of-the-apps/ There's nothing ‘outrageous' about Jessica Alba's inclusion in ‘Planet of the Apps' The shortage of women in tech is troubling. What's more troubling is a woman, in tech, trying to keep women out of tech. Sadly, that's exactly what Gizmodo's Sophie Kleeman did with her recent piece titled ‘Apple's Decision to Cast Jessica Alba in Its Reality Show Is an Outrage.' The piece pines over the admittedly-odd casting decision while completely ignoring several bigger picture scenarios. According to Kleeman: But now, as other fine minds in tech blogging point out, the people in charge have gone and ruined it by casting Jessica Alba as a mentor to app developers. You know, Jessica Alba? That…
%feed http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/08/31/bill-nye-is-bringing-his-bow-tie-to-netflix/ Bill Nye is bringing his bow tie to Netflix Once known as ‘The Science Guy' Bill Nye is now here to ‘Save the World.' His new talkshow, according to Netflix, sounds a bit like Comedy Central's ‘The Daily Show' with Nye subbing for Trevor Noah and science taking the focus away from politics and pop culture. Each episode will tackle a topic from a scientific point of view, dispelling myths, and refuting anti-scientific claims that may be espoused by politicians, religious leaders or titans of industry. So, basically the opposite of a Trump speech. Nye, you may remember, starred in a PBS-syndicated educational program called ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy'…
%feed http://thenextweb.com/apps/2016/08/31/transmission-is-living-up-to-its-name-by-spreading-nasty-malware-again/ Transmission is living up to its name by spreading nasty malware (again) For the second time in under a year, security researchers have spotted a particularly nasty bit of malware in popular Mac BitTorrent client, ‘Transmission.' The discovery came just five months after its last brush with malware — the first viable ransomware ever found on the Mac. Security researchers at ESET discovered the newest bug, called OSX/Keydnap. Apparently, the malware was being spread through a recompiled version of Transmission that was temporarily distributed through its own website. OSX/Keydnap executes in a similar fashion to Transmission's last malware infection, KeRanger, in that it adds a malicious block of code to the core…
%feed http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/1/12749452/sony-xperia-xz-compact-camera-ifa-2016 Sony is betting the Xperia XZ and X Compact on an unconvincing camera
I know it's true of every modern phone, but it's especially true of Sony's new pair of Xperia handsets: the camera will be the most important factor in deciding the fortunes of the Xperia XZ and Xperia X Compact. Introduced at IFA 2016 in Berlin today, Sony's Xperia XZ triples down on camera technology with a new laser autofocus, RGBC-IR white balance sensor, and its traditionally strong 23-megapixel imaging sensor. The Japanese company's new flagship even has a dedicated shutter button. And the Xperia X Compact is a smaller, less powerful vessel for that same upgraded camera system.
One of the reasons the camera is going to be so pivotal is that the rest of the specs are not all that impressive: the Xperia XZ has the Snapdragon 820,...
%feed http://www.notimpossiblenow.com/community/ocean-expeditions-news-from-the-ocean-clean-up Ocean Expeditions: News from The Ocean Cleanup and Oceanographer Julia Reisser By Julia TraversIn just a few years, The Ocean Cleanup has come a long way. It was four years ago that then teenager Boyan Slat introduced his soon-to-be viral ocean cleanup concept during a TEDx Talk, and in 2013 The Ocean Cleanup was founded. Below, read about a few of their incredible recent ...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F128462909%40N04%2F29098438140%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 London skyline
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Fthesalt%2F2016%2F09%2F01%2F492091546%2Fhow-gmos-cut-the-use-of-pesticides-and-perhaps-boosted-them-again%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 How GMOs Cut The Use Of Pesticides — And Perhaps Boosted It Again
There's new and detailed data on the impact of genetically modified crops on pesticide use. Those crops replaced insecticides, and, at first, some herbicides. But herbicide use has rebounded.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjustin-adams%2Fthe-next-agriculture-revo_1_b_11781772.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Next Agriculture Revolution Is Under Our Feet
By Justin Adams, Global Managing Director of Lands at The Nature Conservancy, and Bianca Moebius-Clune, Ph.D., Director at the Soil Health Division, USDA-NRCS
At the core of agriculture is innovation. Advancements in agricultural technology throughout the past century have allowed farmers to feed a population that has grown from less than 2 billion people to more than 7 billion today.
But, as demand for food continues to grow, our lands are stretched to their limits and crop yields struggle to keep up the pace, the world will need farmers to make another leap. By just 2050, global agricultural production must increase by 60 percent, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Some previous agricultural breakthroughs, though, have come with serious environmental costs to both people and nature. With a changing climate exacerbating today's challenges, it is clear the next agriculture revolution will require solutions that not only increase food production, but also sustain the health of our communities, our land and water, and our climate.
The next revolution
One such solution lies with the soil under our feet. About 70 percent of fresh water worldwide is used to produce food, and 95 percent of food is produced on land. Although historically there has been insufficient attention to the value of healthy soils, the data and case examples are clear: healthy soil is critical for long-term agricultural production.
Perhaps Franklin Delano Roosevelt put it best, as the devastating Dust Bowl swept across the U.S. Midwest in the 1930s: "A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself." We have greatly reduced soil erosion in the United States since the time of the Dust Bowl. But we are still losing soil faster than nature can replace it in many places on the planet, and losing its ability to function biologically and physically. According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, every year we lose around 24 billion tons of fertile soil globally (about 2 billion tons/year in the United States, by estimates in the 2012 Natural Resources Inventory), and it takes roughly 2,000 years to generate 10 centimeters or not quite four inches of topsoil. In order to achieve global long-term food security while better protecting our communities and our environment, we must take soil health more seriously.
The good news is that while it may take hundreds of years to geologically build soil, farmers have demonstrated that they can increase organic matter and improve soil function in just a few years, through soil health management systems. This represents the hope in healthy soil -- the potential of regenerative agriculture.
Recently, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization identified soil organic carbon, soil erosion and soil nutrient imbalance as the top three threats to global soil health. These three elements are intimately related. Increase organic carbon, for example, and the others can improve too.
From nutrient management to carbon storage
Poor nutrient management costs everyone. When farmers pay for improperly planned application or overuse of fertilizers and other soil amendments (and the labor, and fuel to apply them), or when needed nutrients are lost to the environment due to poor soil physical and biological functioning, consumers see higher prices in supermarkets and restaurants.
The environment takes a hit, too: nutrients enter water systems instead of growing food. They stimulate algal blooms that contaminate drinking water and suffocate aquatic life. We saw this on the Ohio River in the summer of 2015, and we see it every summer with the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone, which has been averaging an area the size of Connecticut for the past few years--caused largely by excess nutrient loss from agricultural soils.
Likewise, better nutrient management coupled with other soil health practices have far-reaching positive impacts. For example, a resilient, well structured, healthy soil that drains well after extreme rainfall events, along with better nutrient (nitrogen) management can reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide -- strengthening the significant opportunity for farmers to be a part of the global climate solution. Producers can increase soil carbon stocks and sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while also improving the soil's ability to retain nutrients through many strategies: such as decreasing disturbance, growing diverse crops and cover crops to maximize the time each year that living roots are building soils, keeping the soil surface protected, and adding amendments such as biochar or compost. And strategic crop rotations and nitrogen-fixing cover crops can also improve nutrient use efficiency, while limiting erosion and increasing soil carbon sequestration. (Paustian et al., 2016)
Better soil health management can often achieve these environmental benefits at a lower cost than other approaches -- and for farmers there is real profit potential. Improving infiltration and water-holding capacity, for example, can significantly reduce irrigation water needs, lessen dust pollution, and improve nutrient uptake by plants, which can reduce input costs, and reduce plant stress, disease and pest pressure. Over time, these practices reduce the risk of yield loss due to these stressors, and can bring about a material increase in crop yields and quality. Importantly, we must work with the agricultural industry to find the right policies and business models that unlock this sort of economic potential for both the land owners as well as the farmers who are often tenants on the land.
Better soil health starts with collaboration
With farming and ranching occurring in all 50 of the United States and on roughly 40 percent of land around the world, there is global opportunity to continue building on the success of our soil conservation work and to share and learn from new experience. It starts with collaboration.
One example is the long-standing collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) team at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). We've worked jointly with influential farmers like Tim Smith, who was recognized for his leadership in sustainable agriculture by being selected as a 2015 Champion for Change. We recently visited Tim in Iowa to learn how he is focusing on soil health and what is working well.
"Soil health is an awareness," Tim told us. "There's more going on than having [particular] chemical properties ... We're also thinking about the biological properties that exist in the soil that really make the soil work."
Being on Tim's farm let us feel the effect of healthier soil. He contrasted "square and bare" fields that had been traditionally tilled with those that had cover crops. We saw how the fields that had cover crops absorbed water more quickly and kept it in the soil longer. Tim emphasized that these fields are producing more food with less water on the same amount of land.
"Conservation is very important to me," Tim said. "It deals with the land, the soil -- something we cannot replace. This farm has been in the family for 135 years. And a lot of times, I ask other farmers, 'Because of the way we farm and the practices we use, what's our soil going to be like in another 125 or 130 years? Are we going to have the same soils that we have now?'"
As part of his efforts, Tim is involved with the Soil Health Partnership, which is a farmer-led project focused on testing and sharing new approaches to improving soil health. Led by the National Corn Growers Association, both The Nature Conservancy and NRCS are active in the partnership. (See videos on what The Nature Conservancy is doing regarding soil health here).
Cross-sector action
Soil health might not grab the headlines, but it might just be the most important agricultural conservation endeavor of our lifetime. If we want to meet the growing demand for food while strengthening the health of our communities, our land and water, and our climate, we need to support innovation in soil health and ensure farmers have broad access to the practices and incentives that can shift the paradigm. Part of this is working with businesses and other stakeholders to create new service offerings and innovative finance approaches coordinated with this transition.
There is emerging collaboration in the public sector as well, such as the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's new soil science interagency working group that will receive input from 15 different federal departments and agencies. The working group to be co-led by USDA, USDI and NASA, will contribute to finding innovative ways of protecting America's soil.
This is an opportunity to take responsibility -- together -- for the land that feeds us and our children. We invite farmers, ranchers, and consumers alike to join in collaboration in this next agricultural revolution -- a revolution that starts under our feet.
-- 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.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fnoah-greenwald%2Ftaking-a-stand-for-washin_b_11803782.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Taking A Stand For Washington's Wolves It's been a sickening week in the Pacific Northwest.
Snipers, including gunners in helicopters, have snuffed out half of Washington state's Profanity Peak wolf pack and have put the rest of the pack in the crosshairs. This wolf family has been shattered by the loss of the breeding alpha female and five other members. All that's left is an adult male and a few 4-month-old pups.
By the time you read this, the pack could be wiped out -- 12 percent of the state's fledgling wolf population in just a few days.
Sadly it's another reminder that although we've come a long way in terms of tolerating predators like wolves and grizzly bears on our landscapes -- there's still much more to be done.
The situation with the Profanity Peak pack highlights much of what's wrong with how we manage conflicts between recovering wolf populations and livestock grazing. Rather than ensure ranchers are using proven non-lethal measures to the fullest extent to avoid losses, we instead blame wolves for doing what wolves have always done, namely preying on ungulates, and kill them whenever cattle are lost.
In the case of the Profanity Peak pack, the cows were being grazed on public lands in a high risk area, and few deterrence measures were being utilized. According to Dr. Robert Wielgus of the large carnivore lab at Washington State University, the rancher in question, Len McIrvin, refused to enter into a "cooperative damage prevention agreement" to work with state wolf researchers to avoid conflicts and was grazing his cows over a known den site, leading Dr. Wielgus to conclude in the Seattle Times that loss of cows was "predictable and avoidable."
Adding insult to injury, we've been here before. In 2012 the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the same agency currently targeting the Profanity Peak pack, killed seven members of the Wedge pack in response to cattle losses by the same rancher.
This highlights a fundamental problem with killing wolves to protect cows. If non-lethal measures are not used to reduce the risk of losing cattle in the first place, than the whole vicious cycle is likely to repeat itself once more wolves move back in. And what incentives do ranchers have to change their practices if the state comes in and kills wolves at taxpayer expense every time they start losing cows?
Earlier this year, the state agency did enact a protocol whereby it will not kill wolves until there has been loss or injury of four cows in a calendar year and unless the rancher who lost cattle is removing dead cows that may attract wolves to the area and carrying out at least one deterrence measure.
Although a step in the right direction, there are a number of problems with this approach. First and foremost, simply requiring a rancher to do any single measure fails to ensure that non-lethal deterrence measures that are likely to be effective are being utilized. Indeed, the one measure Mr. McIrvin apparently took was to delay release of cow calf pairs until the calves were big enough to hopefully avoid attracting wolves. After cows were already lost, he also apparently added a range rider to unsuccessfully deter further losses. Given that he was grazing his cows over a known den site, however, these measures had little chance of success.
A better approach and one utilized in Oregon is to require ranchers to work with the state to develop a conflict deterrence plan for the specific grazing allotment and enact measures with a high likelihood of success.
The second problem with the approach is that it fails to build in enough tolerance for minor losses of cattle to wolves. The approach of killing wolves in response to cattle losses is based on the fundamentally flawed idea that once wolves start preying on cows, they will switch to singularly focusing on them and the situation will quickly escalate, but this is often not the case.
In reality, wolves are a coursing predator that move through large territories searching for opportunities to take ungulate prey with little risk. If cattle overlap with their territory and the risk is low because of a lack of non-lethal deterrence, they will prey on them when they're in that portion of their territory, but then often move on.
We saw this at work in Oregon. In 2011, the Center for Biological Diversity and our allies stopped the state of Oregon from killing wolves in the Imnaha pack. The state insisted that the pack was chronically depredating cattle and that the situation would only get worse, but after we worked out a strong protocol with the state requiring tolerance of some cattle loss and utilization of non-lethal measures, only a small number of depredations occurred over the next several years and the pack stuck mostly to native prey.
Predators, including wolves, typically cause a small fraction of cattle losses with disease, accidents and even lightning causing many more deaths. In many cases, wolves with cattle in their territories may end up taking a couple cows in addition to native ungulates, but particularly if non-lethal deterrence measures are effectively used, such events will be infrequent and should be a normal part of ranching.
But by only requiring four injuries or losses in an entire year, which could happen in a single depredation event, Washington's protocol does not allow this process to play out before the state steps in and tragically starts killing wolves at taxpayer expense.
This is particularly problematic on public lands, where the American public has a right to expect that a beloved species like the wolf -- which was nearly wiped out for the benefit of ranchers but for which we have now expended substantial resources to recover -- will be treated with tolerance and respect. Instead, the state of Washington for the second time has stepped in to kill wolves for the benefit of a rancher who has shown considerable resistance to taking common sense measures to protect his cows on land we all own. This is a travesty and one that should not be allowed to occur again.
-- 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.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Faiko-stevenson%2Fnasa-planet-warming-at-fa_b_11790020.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 NASA: Planet Warming At Fastest Pace In 1,000 Years The planet is warming at an unprecedented pace not experienced in the past 1000 years. That's according to NASA.
That means that it is "very unlikely" that global warming will stay within the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit set by nations last December. Gavin Schmidt director of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies said:
In the last 30 years we've really moved into exceptional territory. Maintaining temperatures below the 1.5C guardrail requires significant and very rapid cuts in carbon dioxide emissions or co-ordinated geo-engineering. That is very unlikely. We are not even yet making emissions cuts commensurate with keeping warming below 2C.
The news comes two days after experts declared that man's carbon impact on the planet is now so profound that a new geological epoch -- the Anthropocene -- needs to be declared. This would formally mark end of the Holocene era characterized by 12,000 years of stable climate when all of human civilisation developed.
Prof Chris Rapley, a climate scientist at University College London says:
Since the planet is our life support system -- we are essentially the crew of a largish spaceship -- interference with its functioning at this level and on this scale is highly significant. If you or I were crew on a smaller spacecraft, it would be unthinkable to interfere with the systems that provide us with air, water, fodder and climate control. But the shift into the Anthropocene tells us that we are playing with fire, a potentially reckless mode of behaviour which we are likely to come to regret unless we get a grip on the situation
And, although a 2C temperature rise may not sound like much, the World Bank says that it is enough to push millions of people into poverty as basic resources such as food and water slip out of reach. It expects conflicts over both commodities to erupt over the next couple of years.
According to James Hansen, Nasa's former top climate scientist often dubbed as the grandfather of climate science, global warming will usher in a 2 to 5 meter sea level rise by the end of this century:
Social disruption and economic consequences of such large sea level rise could be devastating. It is not difficult to imagine that conflicts arising from forced migrations and economic collapse might make the planet ungovernable, threatening the very fabric of civilization.
The current conflict in Syria, exacerbated by widespread drought, may be a mere harbinger of things to come. And given the assumed accelerated pace of melting, all this could happen just decades from now, not centuries.
The news comes as monthly temperatures continue to smash records. July was the hottest July since records began over 130 tears ago. And, 2016 is expected to be the warmest year in history, following a record 2015 and 2014:
"It's the long-term trend we have to worry about though and there's no evidence it's going away and lots of reasons to think it's here to stay," says Schmidt, "This is a chronic problem for society for the next 100 years."
According to the United Nations, world temperatures are expected to race past the 4C mark before the turn of this century. Such a temperature change will bring about changes not seen since the last Ice Age, ushering in a mass extinction event.
"In a rational world, this is what every presidential debate would focus on. Forget the mythical flood of immigrants -- concentrate on the actual flooding," writes climate activist Bill McKibben.
Although last year's Paris climate deal was hailed as a historic turning point after over 20 years of failed negotiations, nine months after that accord was inked, only 23 nations representing just 1.1 percent of global emissions have formally ratified it.
That list includes no G20 nation thus far. In order to become enshrined in law, at least 55 nations representing 55 percent of global emissions must sign up.
It requires all nations to create zero emissions by the second half of this century. The zero part is important as carbon emissions remain trapped in the atmosphere for centuries, meaning that even if all emissions stopped tomorrow, world temperatures would continue to march upwards for decades to come.
Last week, a coalition of investors managing some 13 trillion in assets called on the G20 to ratify the deal by the end of this year. The groups two largest members, the U.S. and China have promised to do so before December, but together they only account for 40 percent of global emissions.
Moreover, Donald Trump, the Republican Party's presidential nominee has vowed to scrap the deal if elected this November. And, whilst no country can single handedly cancel the accord, the former star of the Apprentice could undermine the emission cuts promised by the Obama administration, and weaken the resolve of other leaders skeptical about the deal.
Although renewable energy is fast catching up with fossil fuels as a legitimate source of power, according to Microsoft founder Bill Gates, "we need an energy miracle" on par with the the "personal computer. The internet. The polio vaccine."
Much like the abolition of slavery, the end of apartheid and the spread of universal suffrage, radical change can happen when brave people stand up and demand to be heard: In the words of Leonardo DiCaprio:
Climate change is real; it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.
-- 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.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2104196-where-will-we-find-the-first-telltale-signs-of-the-anthropocene%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Where will we find the first telltale signs of the Anthropocene? The Anthropocene is the proposed geological period dominated by human influence on the environment. Now the task is to find one spot that bears its hallmarks gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjon-forrest-dohlin%2Fplanning-for-a-healthy-new-york-seascape_b_11783646.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Planning For A Healthy New York Seascape Imagine arriving home one day, excited to see how work is going on the beautiful new deck you're installing. But the contractor's in a snit because there's a truck in the driveway blocking his way. That would be the electrician your husband hired to fix that old faulty wiring in the kitchen. You knew he was coming but you didn't know it was today. And now the repair man can't access the fuse box because your son's emo band Strawberry Slo-Jam has taken over the basement.
What the heck is going on? Everyone in the family needs to access the house, but there's a little coordination problem. Here in the city of islands, we have a similar challenge with our own home waters. The rich, diverse ocean wilderness that is New Yorkers' heritage and responsibility is an incredible place to fish, swim, and play. Its amazing wildlife includes everything from sharks, sea turtles, and shorebirds to whales, dolphins, and deep sea coral.
A humpback whale feeding offshore near New York City. Image: Julie Larson Maher/WCS.
But this beautiful seascape - which contributes $22 billion to the state's GDP, supports more than 313,000 jobs, and offers countless recreational, cultural, and spiritual benefits - can also be crowded, noisy, and unpredictable. And it gets worse every day. A patchwork of more than 140 laws and 20 federal authorities currently govern the ocean, coasts, and lakes enjoyed by 20 million people.
Offshore wind installations are likely coming with the announcement of a proposed lease sale of 81,130 acres off of Long Island. Traffic at our already-busy port continues to increase while giant cargo ships grow ever larger thanks to maritime advances like the recent Panama Canal expansion. Rising sea levels and extreme weather events associated with climate change are reshaping our shores and threatening coastal communities.
Protecting the integrity of our ocean backyard requires us to understand how to accommodate all these uses. No one wants to wade through Strawberry Slo-Jam to get to their fuse box. That's where ocean planning comes in. Building on several years of work, New York and five of our neighboring states - together with federal agencies, tribes, and regional fisheries managers - have come together to create the first draft of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan.
Canyon Lobster. Image courtesy of Deepwater Canyons 2013 Expedition, NOAA-OER/BOEM/USGS.
To do so, they worked with stakeholders and scientists to gather the most up-to-date information on ocean use by humans and wildlife to produce a document that provides a framework for sustainable economic development while conserving our vulnerable marine ecosystems. But if this plan is going to work, it needs the support of all who care about our ocean habitat.
This draft of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan is a great first step, but it's not perfect. To maintain commitment to the plan's Healthy Ocean Ecosystem goal, the plan needs to set December 2016 as a deadline for identifying habitat critical for the health of our area's fish, sea turtles, whales, and other marine life, and commit agencies to conserving areas of high biodiversity.
Better understanding these areas will enable us to more thoughtfully balance decisions on ocean development with ecological impacts, while also allowing for appropriate human activities to continue. The plan should also make certain that agencies identify a set of objective indicators of ocean health to enable regular evaluation of the plan's effectiveness in achieving its goals throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
Here at the Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium, and across all WCS's zoos in New York City, education staff and high school volunteer docents are engaging kids in songs about sea life and playing a newly developed ocean planning board game with visitors to raise awareness about these issues. We are encouraging visitors to compose letters and drawings and sign a petition in support of smarter marine planning that WCS will submit to the Regional Planning Body (RPB).
New York Aquarium staff fitting an acoustic tag on a sand tiger shark off the coast of Long Island. Image: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS.
In the meantime, the federal and state agencies that created the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan are intent on collaboration and transparent dialogue among those who manage the uses of the ocean, and to give the public a chance to discuss present and emerging issues with decision-makers. WCS's New York Aquarium and zoos have engaged visitors to join in that conversation. The plan is available for review and comment through September 6.
Take the time to add your voice to those who realize the value in promoting ocean health and coordinating multiple human uses of our busy ocean. If we act together, we can gain control of the situation; plan for responsible, long-term use of our resources; and protect our beautiful ocean home. There's no reason we can't have our beautiful deck and some long-overdue rewiring at the same time. Okay...and maybe a little Strawberry Slo-Jam, too.
-- 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.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Ftomas-insua%2Fthe-pope-the-patriarch-an_b_11817898.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Tomás Insua: The Pope, The Patriarch And The Christian World Are Praying For Climate Justice Today - G20 Leaders Should Take Note Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, in a prayer service on the Greek island of L...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fedward-flattau%2Fa-post-trump-world_b_11817702.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Edward Flattau: A Post Trump World Given Donald Trump's denial of human-influenced climate change, what kind of world awaits us environmentally if he should get his way?
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdr-mariappan-jawaharlal%2Fbook-review-what-a-fish-k_b_11796698.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Dr. Mariappan Jawaharlal: What A Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins by Jonathan Balcombe When my first daughter was about six years old, I took her fishing for the first time in a small pond near Amherst, Massachusetts. I bought two fishin...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fnoah-greenwald%2Ftaking-a-stand-for-washin_b_11803782.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Noah Greenwald: Taking A Stand For Washington's Wolves It's been a sickening week in the Pacific Northwest.
Snipers, including gunners in helicopters, have snuffed out half of Washington state's Profanity...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F116261233%40N04%2F29384639805%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Deers with friends
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F09%2F01%2Frare-footage-of-pallass-cat-cubs-in-mongolias-zoolon-mountains%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Rare Footage of Pallas's Cat Cubs in Mongolia's Zoolon Mountains
By Matthias Fiechter
The Pallas's cat is a small, little known wild cat species living in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia. Through a new research initiative “PICA” (Pallas's Cat International Conservation Alliance) launched earlier this year, conservationists are hoping to better understand this feline. The project is still in its early stages, but it has already produced some outstanding, rare footage of Pallas's cats, including video of wild cubs.
The footage (featured at the top of this post) was taken by a set of remote-sensor research cameras stationed in the Zoolon Mountains, in Mongolia's Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park. One sequence, shot during the night, shows three Pallas' cat cubs curiously examining the camera, while another snippet features an adult cat in broad daylight looking for signs of other animals.
The Pallas's Cat (Otocolobus manul) diverged from its Leopard Cat ancestor about six million years ago, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The conservation status of the cat is assessed as Near Threatened, close to qualifying for a Threatened category on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in the near future. Major threats include degradation and fragmentation of habitat. Mongolia is probably its stronghold, IUCN says. Image of a Pallas's Cat in its range in Mongolia courtesy of the Snow Leopard Trust/RZSS/Nordens Ark.
First Footage of Pallas's Cat Cubs in This Part of Mongolia?
“This is the first footage of Pallas's cat cubs taken in this part of Mongolia as far as we know and is a valuable discovery from our project partners Snow Leopard Trust”, says David Barclay, Cat Conservation Officer at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).
The cameras are part of the new international Pallas's cat conservation project, PICA, founded by the RZSS, Nordens Ark, a Swedish breeding center and zoo Nordens Ark, and U.S.-based conservation organization Snow Leopard Trust that aims to gather more information on the Pallas's cat, one of the world's least-studied felines.
“If we're hoping to conserve this mysterious cat, we need to first understand it, and we're hoping this study will bring valuable new insights.” — Emma Nygren, Nordens Ark
“We still don't know much about the Pallas's cat's behavior, or even it's true range,” says Emma Nygren, a conservation biologist at Nordens Ark who coordinates the research project. “If we're hoping to conserve this mysterious cat, we need to first understand it, and we're hoping this study will bring valuable new insights.”
The Snow Leopard Trust, which has been working in this part of Mongolia for more than a decade, is a technical and logistical partner in the project. “We're surveying these mountains for snow leopards anyway. The Pallas's cat shares the same habitat and is equally elusive, so it's a logical extension of our work to also look at them,” says Gustaf Samelius, Assistant Director of Science at the Snow Leopard Trust.
The study, which was made possible by the generous support of Fondation Segré, will continue for at least three years.
Matthias Fiechter is the Communications Manager for the Snow Leopard Trust, a Seattle, Washington-based charity with a mission to conserve the snow leopard and its mountain ecosystem through a balanced approach that considers the needs of local people and the environment.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland was founded by visionary lawyer Thomas Gillespie in 1909 ‘to promote, facilitate and encourage the study of zoology and kindred subjects and to foster and develop amongst the people an interest in and knowledge of animal life'. The Society still exists to connect people with nature and safeguard species from extinction. Please visit here for information on all our conservation projects.
Nordens Ark is a Swedish non-profit foundation working to protect endangered species through conservation breeding and reintroduction programs as well as through research, field conservations programs and education. Nordens Ark was founded in 1989 and focus on applied conservation actions in Sweden as well as abroad. The foundation works with a wide range of species from snow leopards and Pallas's cats to Lesser White-fronted Geese and Lemur-leaf frogs.
The Snow Leopard Trust, based in Seattle, Washington, is a world leader in conservation of the endangered snow leopard, conducting pioneering research and partnering with communities as well as authorities in snow leopard habitat to protect the cat. Please go to www.snowleopard.org for more information about our research and conservation programs.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fpeter-neill%2Fwhere-does-water-come-fro_b_11817240.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Peter Neill: Where Does Water Come From? Where does water come from? It seems such a simple question, and the answer is known from our earliest science lessons when we are introduced to the w...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F08%2F31%2Fdod-tests-environmentally-friendly-motor-oil%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 DOD Tests Environmentally Friendly Motor Oil
By Sarah Martin and Annie Reisewitz
The Department of Defense is taking action to be an environmental leader at defense facilities across the U.S.
Currently, the DOD, headed by the Defense Logistics Agency, is testing the use of biosynthetic motor oils on their non-tactical vehicle fleets. Several environmentally friendly lubricants companies have supplied bio-based motor oil to the DOD for demonstration projects across the U.S., including at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. With nearly 40% of pollution in waterways coming from used motor oil, this is welcome news to help advance a new technology that need wider acceptance by large motor oil consumers.
Every year 10 billion gallons of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon, in the form of motor oil and other industrial lubricants, are released into the environment due to human activity. The majority of this coming in the form of silent oil spills, leaks from cars, and improper disposal of used oil—all contributing to the degradation of our environment and our water supply.
Almost all of the motor oils on the market today are made from refined petroleum. For years, the use of biosynthetic oils has been promoted as an environmentally friendly alternative but was long thought of as a “wouldn't that be nice” pie-in-the-sky idea that wouldn't work on a large scale in part due to the difficulty of using vegetable oils in high heat conditions like automotive engines. However, recent scientific advancements, including by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have made this petroleum alternative dream very much a reality.
credit: John/Wikimedia Commons
If the tests by the DOD shows that biosynthetic oils perform just as well, if not better, than the current oil being used, the switch to biosynthetic oils may be made Air Force and possibly DOD wide for use in their fleet of 200,000 vehicles in the future.
Increased availability of bio-based lubricant fluids would provide product source diversity; create additional options for government and commercial users as well as the average consumer; reduce dependence on oil imports; and decrease pollution in rivers and oceans.
Environmental as well as usability performance has become important to consumers and regulators. Today, these motor oils and lubricants made from non-toxic, environmentally friendly plant-based oils can protect us, and our environment and they are comparable to or better than petroleum oil when it comes to performance.
In the past, environmentally friendly lubricants have faced performance questions. But extensive testing has proven that biosynthetic oils not only exceed the most challenging environmental standards but also provide performance benefits not attainable with petroleum-based products alone.
This large-scale change by the DOD would have widespread positive implications for our environment. While their testing will continue for the next 12-18 months there are steps that you can take to help reduce your environmental footprint. Ask your mechanic for a bio-based alternative the next time you go in for an oil change. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, just one gallon of motor oil can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water, so your small changes add up to a better environment.
About the authors:
Annie Reisewitz is a communications and marketing consultant for environmental and green technology initiatives. She manages the Silent Oil Spills public awareness campaign.
Sarah Martin has worked in environmental communications for the past several years. She works on the Silent Oil Spills campaign.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fepic-memory%2F29082794690%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Super low tide in London, Houses of Parliament and the Eye - 31.8.2016 (evening of bday)
London's famous houses of parliament and the London Eye as seen from the Thames shore. Today was a magical day in London. Although the sky wasn't orange or pink, it was a subtle blue. Beautiful for pictures.
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%feed http://twitter.com/PompousGet/status/771341492967407616 NORTH AMERICAN ENDANGERED & PROTECTED SPECIES 80 CITES 1995 Leather Limited 2500 https://t.co/mfMqjIa9kv https://t.co/iZs1n5p6sN https://t.co/mfMqjIa9kv
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Flindahall.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F149791776929&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Francis Aston Scientist of the DayFrancis William Aston, an... http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/~/media/voting/images/mass%20spectrography_detail.jpg
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fmathiasappel%2F29094565030%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Red Panda
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2104175-spoiler-alert-why-strange-signals-are-never-really-from-aliens%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Spoiler alert: Why strange signals are never really from aliens Given the wealth of planets in our universe, aliens must be dwelling somewhere, right? Maybe. But we're never going to get our sci-fi moment, says Jacob Aron gaia
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F09%2F01%2Fwhat-the-river-knows-amstel-river-at-amsterdam-the-netherlands%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 What the River Knows: Amstel River at Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photographs by Basia Irland
My name, Amstel, is derived from the old Dutch, Aeme-stelle, which means “water area.” In the 13th Century, a small fishing village, Amstelredam, was constructed near my mouth beside a dam. Today we know that town as Amsterdam. As early as the 11th Century, farmers began building dikes to try and keep me from flooding these low lands. In 1936 my mouth was filled in and sealed shut, so that today I end at Muntplein Square, although I remain connected to a body of water called the IJ by flowing underground through pipes. The IJ (an ancient Dutch word for water) used to be a bay, but currently is considered more of a lake. During the Dutch Golden Age in the 1600's Amsterdam was the wealthiest city in the world and one of the most important ports. My extensive system of canals, built during this time, is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Looking along a canal toward the Zuiderke Church, built in 1611 (and once painted by Monet).
I flow south to north through this flat and low-lying city, which is the capital of the Netherlands. Parts of me are below sea level, and some of the land around me was reclaimed from the nearby sea or marshes. Dutch children must learn to swim at an early age and receive diplomas for that effort. Some dive from houseboats and swim in my water, careful to dodge the variety of boats that are found day and night, moving upon my body.
A boy dives into the Amstel River.
All kinds of boats ply the river and canals.
I have a beer named after me! The Amstel Brewery is located along my shore, as are other breweries, and my water is sometimes used in the production of these beers. Renowned artists have painted my portrait including Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), Willim Witsen (1860-1923), and Piet Mondrian (1872-1944).
With the flat terrain, the inconvenience of driving a car, and over 400 kilometers (249 miles) of bike paths in Amsterdam, humans prefer to get around by bicycle. With well over a million bikes, it is no wonder so many two-wheelers are dredged out of my stomach each year.
Amsterdam is located on approximately ninety islands and linked by over 1,400 bridges that cross back and forth. Some of these bridges are especially wonderful at night, when their lights reflect on my dark water. One in particular, the Magere Brug, uses an Old Dutch design called a ‘double swipe'. In earlier times it was opened by hand, but now an electronic mechanism raises its two sections to let boats pass underneath to enter one of the many canals that traverse Amsterdam.
Magere Brug with the full moon.
Any visitor to this city will notice a lot of plastic trash floating on my surface, and there are currently attempts to clean up my 100 kilometers (60 miles) of canals. One such venture, Plastic Whale, is a company that fishes plastic bottles and other debris from my water and transforms the trash into material to make a boat that will be used to fish for more plastic. Boat Number Seven is constructed from over seven thousand plastic bottles that might otherwise have found their way out to sea.
Someone else who recycles trash from the canals is my dear friend, the meerkoet. These waterfowl use floating debris to create their unkempt nests, which are seen everywhere wedged amongst the houseboats. The meerkoet live on my surface, and enjoy tickling my ribs when they dive down to feed on plants. The monogamous pairs also eat aquatic insects, seeds, grass, and small animals, and they are one of my favorite playmates as I flow through Amsterdam.
A meerkoet and its nest in a boat tire.
A meerkoet nest built from river debris.
Fulbright Scholar, Basia Irland is an author, poet, sculptor, installation artist, and activist who creates global water projects. She is Professor Emerita, Department of Art and Art History, University of New Mexico, where she established the Arts and Ecology Program. Irland works with scholars from diverse disciplines building rainwater harvesting systems; connecting communities and fostering dialogue along the entire length of rivers; filming and producing water documentaries; and creating waterborne disease projects around the world. She lectures and exhibits internationally and is regularly commissioned to do artistic river restoration projects. Check out her work at basiairland.com
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fampphirephotography%2F29369596145%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Beach Sunset - New London Pride
Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2016%2F09%2F01%2F492203116%2Fwant-to-make-better-predictions-researchers-explore-where-we-go-wrong%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Want To Make Better Predictions? Researchers Explore How
Analyzing an event by breaking it down into details might seem like a good way to predict the outcome, but social science research suggests that when most of us do it, we make worse predictions.
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%feed http://twitter.com/RS_Paris/status/771295771857604608 In a world of 7 billion people, how can we protect endangered species ? https://t.co/yBGOY0dyQC @CITES @John_CITES https://t.co/M425JoycV4 https://t.co/yBGOY0dyQC
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Finternational%2Feurope%2Fjean-marie-guehenno-on-european-defense-after-brexit-a-1110352.html%23ref%3Drss&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 German Caution, French Decisiveness: How Brexit Affects EU Defense Policy What's next for the European Union after Brexit? When it comes to defense policy, Germany and France need to step up to the plate. For Germany this will mean greater spending -- and more foreign deployments. general
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FScience360NewsServicePictureOfTheDay%2F%7E3%2FoI8uBpl8ltA%2Fkilauea-lava-flows-ocean&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Kilauea lava flows to the ocean
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Rivers of lava from the volcano Kilauea leave a lava tube at a bench of new land at the Ka`ili`ili sea entry. The steam in the background is right at sea level and is caused by the boiling hot lava meeting the cool ocean water. With each wave, parts of these flows are covered by water, generating a blinding cloud of hot steam. Kilauea is the youngest and southeastern-most volcano on the big island of Hawaii. Topographically Kilauea, which is located on the southernmost flank of Mauna Loa, was thought to be an extension of its giant neighbor. However, research over the past few decades clearly shows that Kilauea has its own magma-plumbing system, extending to the surface from more than 60 kilometers deep in the Earth.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FScience360NewsServiceBreakingStory%2F%7E3%2FyLRwzeydNxc%2Ftasmanian-devils-evolve-resist-deadly-cancer&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Tasmanian devils evolve to resist deadly cancer
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Tasmanian devils are evolving in response to a highly lethal and contagious form of cancer. A National Science Foundation-funded researcher and an international team of scientists discovered that two regions in the genomes of Australia's iconic marsupials are changing in response to the rapid spread of devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), a nearly 100 percent fatal and transmissible cancer first detected in 1996. The Washington University study suggests some Tasmanian devil populations are evolving genetic resistance to DFTD that could help the species avoid extinction. Additionally, the genomic data will support future medical research exploring how animals evolve rapidly in response to cancer and other pathogens.
Image credit: Menna Jones, University of Tasmania
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%feed http://twitter.com/zooinspectors/status/771274340293812224 @CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species) is not working it for these #animals WHY? https://t.co/8ubBnIaBnX https://t.co/8ubBnIaBnX
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%feed http://twitter.com/TaylorPriest2/status/771269006237978624 In a world of 7 billion people how can we protect wildlife? #conservation #wildlife #CITES https://t.co/ps9RWvYLEi https://t.co/ps9RWvYLEi
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Fhealth-shots%2F2016%2F09%2F01%2F492103236%2Fpoll-most-americans-want-congress-to-make-zika-funding-a-high-priority%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 POLL: Most Americans Want Congress To Make Zika Funding A High Priority
That's what 76 percent said in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey. Half the respondents also said they'd be uncomfortable traveling to places in Florida where mosquitoes are spreading Zika.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2016%2Fsep%2F01%2Fshrinking-violets-field-guide-shyness-joe-moran-review&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Shrinking Violets by Joe Moran review how to understand shyness
Is being shy a boon or a burden? Should it be fought against? This sparkling cultural history ranges from Jane Austen to Silicon Valley
Joe Moran, like many of us, is shy. He is hopeless at small talk and feels he “should probably wear a badge that says: ‘Please do not expect sparkling conversation'”. Like most shy people, he has a dread of being boring. Thankfully Shrinking Violets, his “field guide” to shyness, exhibits all the sparkle and fluency on the page he might lack when chatting to strangers. Though he touches on his own experience, it's not a memoir, full of shaming revelations (of course it isn't): Moran says he prefers to hide “behind the human shield of people more interestingly and idiosyncratically shy than me”.
So he investigates the fifth Duke of Portland (1800-1879), who was so shy he communicated by posting notes into letter boxes inside his house, and asked the workers on his Welbeck Estate “to pass him as if he were a tree”. The duke is notable for spending a chunk of his vast fortune excavating grand, illuminated tunnels beneath his land so that when taking a walk he would never risk a meeting.
In the 80s, cardigan-wearing indie kids embraced the idea of being shy "as a personal and political philosophy"
As Hilary Mantel has said, the condition began to be regarded as "a pathology, not just an inconvenient character trait"
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2F4UtACmCS_Us%2Fevery-breath-we-take&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Every breath we take Research from a cinema in Germany shows how the breath of a crowd can reflect how they're feeling, as Stephen Ornes reports science
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2FhwIhHKVHihg%2Fevery-breath-we-take&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Every breath we take Research from a cinema in Germany shows how the breath of a crowd can reflect how they're feeling, as Stephen Ornes reports science
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Fsep%2F01%2Ffrontline-bloody-battle-save-africa-elephants&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Gentle giants: on the frontline of the battle to save Africa's elephants
Across Africa, elephant poaching is happening on an industrial scale. Though elephant killing is down in Kenya and conservationists are hopeful, the battle to save the largest animals on the Earth is far from being won
In the Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya, when the fierce heat of the sun has softened into a gentle evening glow, David Daballen and I climb into a jeep to find some elephants.
As we drive through the savannah, Daballen, a conservationist at Save the Elephants, points out family groups and individuals within them. “These are the Butterflies, this group is Storms, here are the Spices,” he says. We have been looking out for Cinnamon, the Spices' matriarch, and suddenly there she is: around 50 years old, huge and tuskless, having been born without any precious ivory. Close to her is Habiba, who was orphaned along with seven siblings when poachers killed their mother in 2011. The orphans were adopted by Cinnamon and the rest of the Spices.
They are a crucial part of the ecosystem, and an iconic species. Can you imagine them no longer existing?
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F08%2F160831133124.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 First test of oral rabies vaccine brings hope to the world's rarest canid A new study reports on field trials of the oral vaccine SAG2 in Ethiopian wolves, Africa's most threatened carnivore and the world's rarest canid. The trials are the first ever conducted in wild populations of an endangered carnivore. gaia
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%feed http://twitter.com/WildlifeCrimes/status/771231560129388544 .@John_CITES: “In the right circumstances, trade can be an incentive for managing wildlife sustainably” https://t.co/HMa5GplLmX https://t.co/HMa5GplLmX
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ozy.com%2Frising-stars%2Fin-these-video-games-you-care-for-badger-babies-and-wolf-pups%2F71164&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 In These Video Games, You Care for Badger Babies and Wolf Pups Swedish video game studio Might and Delight is making the fur fly. general
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ozy.com%2Ftrue-story%2Flimousine-confessions-inside-the-car-with-a-celebrity-chauffeur%2F71408&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Limousine Confessions: Inside the Car with a Celebrity Chauffeur "There are a lot of fringe benefits - I've had clients autograph certain things for me without my asking." general
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F08%2F160831102812.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Bird bugs shed new light on malaria infection A study into bird malaria could provide important clues about the causes of parasite co-infections in animals, including people, report investigators. They found that not only the bird's habitat but also the interactions between parasites can impact a bird's risk of malaria infection. gaia
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A USAF RC-135 Rivet Joint Taxiing at RAF Mildenhall during sunset
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fchristiepurchase%2F29265179082%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 August Sun over the Thames
Gorgeous August sunset over the Thames River in London, Ontario.
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Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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Ampphire Photography 2016. New London Pride - August 27th 2016.
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%feed http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/08/31/491947946/how-an-edible-battery-could-power-medical-robots-you-swallow?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology How An Edible Battery Could Power Medical Robots You Swallow
Tiny devices sent into the human body for diagnosing and treating diseases run on batteries that may contain toxic materials. Researchers have come up with a safer battery made of natural pigments.
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%feed http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/31/491817890/how-snapchat-became-a-virtual-confessional-for-sexual-assault-victims?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology How Snapchat Became A Virtual Confessional For Sexual Assault Victims
A journalist wanted to tell the stories of two rape victims while protecting their identities. How would he do it?
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%feed http://www.npr.org/2016/08/31/492057152/fbi-warns-state-election-offices-to-be-wary-of-hackers?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology FBI Warns State Election Offices To Be Wary Of Hackers
The FBI and other government security agencies are protecting against cyberattacks that might affect the elections. Hackers tried to gain access to two state voter registration databases this summer.
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%feed http://www.npr.org/2016/08/31/492057159/how-1-video-game-is-trying-to-make-the-leap-to-esport?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology How Video Game 'Overwatch' Is Trying To Make The Leap To eSport
There's lots of money to be made by turning a video game into a competitive sport, or eSport. There are millions of fans watching video game athletes compete for millions of dollars in prize money.
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%feed http://www.npr.org/2016/08/30/491984291/facebook-faces-trending-news-problems-after-firing-curators?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology Facebook Faces Trending News Problems After Firing Curators
On Friday, news site Quartz reported that Facebook fired its "news curators" and replaced them with algorithms to compile the news that ends up on Facebook's "Trending" news section. Many users took note when a fake article about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly was trending.
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%feed http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/30/491925278/-ifafricawasaschool-who-would-be-the-nerd-jock-most-popular?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology #IfAfricaWasASchool, Who Would Be The Nerd? Jock? Most Popular?
A trending hashtag on Twitter invites people to personify countries in Africa with various schoolyard archetypes.
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London's famous houses of parliament and the London Eye as seen from the Thames shore. Today was a magical day in London. Although the sky wasn't orange or pink, it was a subtle blue. Beautiful for pictures.
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science
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fnzinga-young%2F5-things-i-learned-in-my-first-year-as-a-vegan_b_11735832.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 5 Things I Learned In My First Year As A Vegan
Learning the atrocities of the meat and dairy industries and living more ethically are part of it, but here are other things I learned during my first year as an ethical vegan.
Exploitation is everywhere.
I was on vacation when I realized the $5 I paid to take a picture with a python was supporting its captivity. Colored candies I bought for my niece seemed vegan at the time, but were probably dyed with bug juice. Getting my sunscreen and multivitamins right was hard enough, but every few months I learned something new.
I didn't realize how pervasive animal exploitation is in our culture.
I didn't realize how pervasive animal exploitation is in our culture until I had to become more mindful. I'm a lot better now, but I'm sure there are a few more "uh oh" moments left in me.
Vegans are nicer in person.
My experiences with vegans online and offline have been very different.
Some online vegans can be pretty intense. Honest questions from aspiring vegans and differing views from well-meaning people are subject to brutal criticism in Facebook groups. There are more great vegans on social media than unnecessarily judgmental ones, but I have yet to meet a rude vegan offline.
The people I've met have been lovely. We can discuss differing opinions without raising our voices. We may not always agree, but we honor and respect each other for being different parts of the same fight.
I'm not sure if the anonymity of the internet makes people bolder or if I'm not in the right circles, but my view of vegans changed for the better when I started connecting in person.
If you maintain a consistent argument and fight for full liberation, you're called a rigid abolitionist who's too stuck in your ways.
If you work for incremental change and improved conditions for farm animals, you're called a dirty welfarist who's doing more harm than good.
And let's not get started on vegans who urge us to consider the human rights issues tied into animal exploitation.
As a new vegan, I started to believe these reviews of vegan thought leaders, but I have yet to meet anyone from differing camps who wasn't passionate about animal liberation. The methods may differ from person to person, but the ultimate goal of freedom for all animals seems to be the same.
Connecting with vegans helped me formulate my own opinion about the biggest names in the movement. I may still disagree with their tactics -- especially ones that disrespect other social justice movements -- but everyone seems to be making an impact the best way they know how.
Intersectionality matters.
With a situation as dire as systematic murder, it's easy to focus solely on what's best for non-human animals. That's why it's important to have vegan organizations with a broader perspective. Groups that understand all oppression is intertwined and remind us that fighting for animals doesn't mean disregarding other injustices.
Collectively Free protests the forced impregnation of dairy cows and the underpaid Ethiopian workers that keep your favorite coffee shop in business.
Veganism is certainly about animals, but it doesn't mean we disrespect our own species along the way.
Veganism is certainly about animals, but it doesn't mean we disrespect our own species along the way.
I should be doing more.
I spent a lot of this year buying vegan without being vegan. I was caught up in vegan consumerism without doing anything to inspire change. I hope my latest initiative helps vegans everywhere get those closest to them to understand the importance of a vegan lifestyle.
My goal is to have a bigger impact during my second year of veganism. For more on my initiative to get our friends and family to go vegan, visit Wanyama Box.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fsheyna-e-gifford-md-ma-ms%2Fthe-write-questions-advic_b_11727068.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Write Questions: Advice From The Wrong Side Of The Lens
Photo by Rhododendrites (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I am unashamed to admit it: I am terribly proud of my people.
To what "people" am I referring here? To doctors? To scientists? To astronauts and aspiring astronaut-types? I'm surely proud of all those people. Today, I'm referring to another group to which I belong; to something I've done on and off for more than half my life; to one of the most important things I've ever done, as well as one of the most important things that occurs in a truly free and democratic society. I am referring, of course, to the press.
My people - journalists - are amazing. We bust in doors behind which lie nefarious activities that undermine the basic tenets of our civil liberties. We point the spotlight on violations of human rights. We call "foul" when justice isn't being served and, in that sense, are our own sort of justice. Therein lies the agony and the ecstasy of the media: with words, sounds, and images, we convene trials, summon the accused, calls witnesses, and cause judgments to be made. Like an outstanding attorney, an excellent journalist solicits input from relevant experts and arranges concrete evidence in such a way that the jury - our audience - can make an informed decision. In outstanding journalism - not editorial, just plain ol' features about life and the people who live it - there's no need to prosecute or to defend. The facts, well-presented, do that for themselves. The facts, poorly presented or not presented at all, twist and maul the truth and raze our ability as professionals to educate, empower, and vouchsafe civilization.
Photo By Txbeaker [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
These days, both facts and the way in which they are presented are more malleable than ever. When I first got into the field, it wasn't so. Back then, I inked an honest-to-god press. The thing was a behemoth - a giant born from the black depths of global mechanization. You basically had to wrestle it in order to get your paper out. Every word you fed into that thing you thought about. Then you thought about it twice and twice again, because lord knows you didn't want to go more rounds with that infernal machine than was absolutely necessary. My summer at The Otter Valley News and Views is witnessed by the ink particles still embedded deep within the lining of my lungs.
Photography used to follow a similar plodding, dedicated to-the-point-of-cultish course. At The Daily Californian, we photographers rolled our own black-and-white film, ran up and down at sporting events at nearly the same pace as the players, and worshiped the smell of fixer in the morning- or at least pretended to, because what we sweated (and sometimes bled) for mattered. Our shots were a critical part of the process. They provided more than just meaning and context. Photographs printed on paper drew people in: they gave the words our colleagues penned the opportunity to inform readers and transform the world for the better. That was before I graduated from college, before I built something that flew into space, before I ever laid hands on a patient. Long before I ever saved someone's life, through journalism, I was able to have a significant, positive impact on the lives of my fellow human beings. And also: really great calves.
So here I am, 18 years and several degrees later, dealing first-hand with journalism from the far side of the lens. A lot has changed. For one, the cameras are now in my face, not hanging about my neck as they ought to be. The questions will be coming my way. In 48 hours, my exit from "Mars" will be attended by 55 members of the media (and my brother, who has promised to heckle me "like a reporter"). On either side of me will be five very nice, very smart, very tired innocent bystanders: my crewmates, who have born a ceaseless onslaught of media for the last 12 months with an impressive amount of grace.
In return for our patience, we've had some outstanding coverage. My most sincere thanks to VICE, The History Channel, The Surge, BBC Stargazer, The University of Rhode Island, The British Journal of Medicine, Radio New Zealand, Voices from L5 and many others for your thoughtful, thorough, and accurate pieces. We've also had our share of "What the heck is this? We don't play xBox! No one has actually been chosen to go to Mars! As for sending robots ahead of time to build our shelters for us... it's a cool idea, but not, as some people would have you think, "a done deal." Those last two informational travesties resulted from what increasingly passes for reporting: taking a story written by someone else, distilling it (badly), sprinkling it with Googled facts, and passing it off as news.*
Here we arrive at something else that's changed since that fateful day when I talked my way into a job shooting mayoral candidates, house-fires, extra softball innings, and other natural disasters for a living: As much good journalism as there is (more than ever, really), really bad media abounds.
What's the disparity between good journalism and...not? Here's my view: a journalist gathers and contextualizes information such that readers can imbue it with social relevance and personal meaning. Making up facts, distilling other peoples' articles without adding value, and lifting quotes from blogs posts rather than conducting interviews is not journalism. It takes up space in news feeds, but it isn't news. Predigested and filling, it lacks mentally nutritional value while giving readers a serious case of brain gas.
True, there's always been fluff out there. Also true: like the scarlet letter, sensationalism used to be highly visible from a distance (and for the same reason). Clearly marked by cheap newsprint yellowing before it even hit the stands or by super-glossy covers with garish titles, these tabloids practically glowed when held against a dark background. If you wanted news, you had to pluck off your doorstep or out of a metal box at a busy intersection.
These days, good journalists and bad media are jammed into the same space. No books, no covers: just the great equalizer of pixels on a screen. In the digital age, the friendly labeling we once counted on to help us discriminate between medicine and poison - between information and aggrandizement - has faded away. A text from your mother and a text from a scammer claiming that your mother is in the hospital and needs $10,000 for a procedure appear exactly the same way on your phone's LCD. An opinion piece written on an iPad on the way home from work may look as, or more, legitimate than a Pulitzer-winning piece of investigative reporting. On the surface, these two often appear the same.
That's one major change since I got into this business in 1996. The other is that properly trained, properly-paid journalists are vastly outnumbered by people under deadline to write click-bait.
So: what's a simulated astronaut to do?
Fundamentally, my job, whether I'm an astronaut or a reporter or a doctor, is to make things work: to take the limited resources at hand and deliver a victory for the home team. Ship me anywhere in the 'verse. Make the delay 20 minutes, 200 hours, or 40 days and 40 nights. Whatever the apparent barriers, I won't abandon my people - many of whom are or could be good writers who aren't given the time or training to make their product what it rightfully should be. I can't change that right now, but I can help even the odds stacked against us all by expediency, mediocrity, and inertia.
On 8/28 you will be able to ask us any question in the world. To help even the odds, here's a list of questions we've already answered many, many times:
What have you learned?
What do you miss?
What did you eat?
Have you seen The Martian?
How did it feel to not have the Sun and the wind in your face for a year?
What's the first thing you're going to do?
What's been the biggest challenge about being on Mars?
Do you guys argue? How do you deal with conflict?
What do you do if someone gets sick?
Have there been any disasters during the mission?
Do you really want to go to Mars?
Did this mission - do any simulations - help pave the way for the human exploration of Mars?
How is this simulation different from Mars?
How did your families react to your decision to go into isolation?
Did you always want to be an astronaut?
Have you ever felt like quitting?
What will be the hardest part about coming back to Earth?
Would you do it again?
Are any of you signed up for the one-way trip?
We're very glad that people are curious enough about our mission to ask any question that comes to mind. At the same time, anyone locked in a box with no direct access to the outside world, no fresh food except the small amount that they can grow in whatever space they aren't sleeping on, and only five flatmates can easily imagine what they are going to miss: more friends, family, sunshine, wind, flowers, pineapple, sushi, long walks in the woods, and tailgating at Cal games (go Bears!). If "What do you miss?" was a mystery, thanks to the power of Reddit, six crew blogs, and countless news articles, that mystery has been solved.
To my fellow journalists out there: there are much better questions to be asked and answered. For the record, the questions that were truly mysterious until I arrived on "Mars" and have never/rarely been asked by the media are:
What turned out to be replaceable? What foods were replaceable, or even better/easier to make? What new favorite food took the place of the old one that you can't have?
You can't talk directly to your family - how well do the other things that you can do compensate for that? And how well does your new family, your crew, compensate for it?
While nothing can replace sunshine and wind, how well do the new adventures that you get to have compensate for their temporary loss? How well does the new filter between you and the world function to give you a sense of peace and the ability to accomplish things that you would struggle to accomplish otherwise, with the world knocking at your door?
Now that you have been there for a year, what message do you have for the people of Earth about their planet?
What message do you have for the folks designing the human Mars missions?
Name one total disaster - suits, radios, experiments, food recipes - and how, if you were able to salvage something from it, you did.
Name an epic win and how you accomplished it.
How is human society going to have to change to survive and thrive on Mars?
What do you expect will be extremely challenging for you when you return to Earth and what's your plan for overcoming that challenge?
What do you think will be the thing that you remember most - the dreaded memory and the cherished memory?
What's the weakness that could have torn this mission apart? What's the strength, or strengths, that saved it?
Did you find all the media attention flattering or annoying? How weird is it to be a journalist inside a Mars mission?
Did any of you get sick or get hurt? If that had happened on Mars would you have been alright?
Do you think that six people will be enough - or too many?
Did you get enough support from the people of Earth? What else could we have done to help this mission?
Do you plan to drive right away, or will you be re-integrating back into the operation of heavy machinery slowly?
What advice do you have for choosing the next crew?
Would you have tried to vote from space? How do you think that future Mars crews should handle the political process?
We talk a lot about the science of these missions - what the role of art, music, entertainment during these long voyages?
In a place where there's no money and nothing to buy, what do you value?
When we ask the right questions, we get people thinking, challenging assumptions, and pushing the boundaries of what ought to come next. These are free from me to you. Go to!
We Martians are ready to meet the press. We've been getting ready all year. All that we ask in return for the time that we're giving you the minute we hit dirt - I have to let you photograph me before I can so much as hug my husband - is this: be journalists. Be the truth-advocates who held this country together for hundreds of years. Adventurers like us are always good for a story. We scientists have been keeping things interesting for the last few centuries. Astronauts - bright and shiny! - are the new kids on the block when it comes to popular coverage, and deservedly so. We've faced dangers and made sacrifices for twelve long months, and we thank you for your attention. So please, come one and come all to the show. And when you come, bring the right questions. When the hatch opens and we finally present ourselves to you, that's the signal: It's YOUR turn to be the hero. To write our way into the future. To find the facts, solicit the opinions, and frame the stories that will make the last year - our lives in service to science and Earth and all of humankind - meaningful. To make the fact that I waited 366 days PLUS 10 minutes to hug my husband worthwhile. So let's do this, people. We scienced the heck out of this. Now, let's write the heck out of this.
You ask. We'll answer. Make me proud.
Courtesy of Wikimedia commons, public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=197374
*Corrections were requested to all of these articles.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fquora%2Fare-dogs-really-that-diff_b_11794770.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Are Dogs Really That Different From Wolves? How are dogs and wolves similar and different? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.
How are dogs and wolves similar and different? In a word? Intensity. Take any behavior exhibited by even the most uninhibited dog, then turn it up to thirty-seven and you've got that same behavior in a wolf.
Put another way, dogs dig holes; wolves dig mines. Dogs might rip up your sofa, a wolf will reduce one to feathers,splinters, springs and bits of fabric no more than a one-inch square.
I like to call wolves "raw dogs", "proto-dogs", or "the blueprint". Even with captive bred wolves, they exhibit a broader and more complex range of behavior than what I've experienced with dogs.
Even primitive dog breeds (more "wolf like" dogs) seem to be less adept at solving problems and more inclined to look towards a human for help.
Wolves have around 33% more gray matter than a comparably sized domestic dog. In general, I've witnessed the ability among wolves and high content wolfdogs to solve problems quickly that stymy dogs until they give up.
Aqutaq [my wolf], for example is incredibly adept with a lead line. She fully understands the concept of the line and that it connects us in such a way that we must be on the same side of any tall obstacle. She might be sixteen feet in front of me and on the wrong side of a tree, yet she'll anticipate this issue, and alter course such that she moves to pass the tree on the side that matches mine.
If she becomes entangled while moving through brush, she also understands to retrace the path of the line to unwind it.
Physically, they're very similar, although domestic dogs can eat foods that contain many more carbohydrates as a result of their long-term association with people. Wolves are also only reproductively active once a year, whereas dogs can cycle multiple times. Pound for pound wolves are stronger, have better endurance, have a much greater bite force, and are faster than all but a very select few breeds of dog.
For those that are curious, in my life I've had many different breeds of domestic dogs including:
Malamutes
Shepherd-Collies
Border collies
Dachshunds
Pomeranians
Heinz-57 mutts
Varying wolfdog mixes
Selectively bred high-content wolf dogs
Wild-caught wolves (the one that ate me)
Offspring of same wild caught wolf
Offspring of lower-content wolfdogs
This question originally appeared on Quora. - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fthembile-joyini%2Fhigh-seas-biodiversity-ag_b_11771196.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 High Seas Biodiversity Agreement: the importance of sustainable access and benefit sharing As African States, we are fully cognisant of the contribution of oceans and seas to our development. In this regard, the far-reaching positive implications as well as the benefits of the BBNJ process will be understood and appreciated even more, now that we are standing at a juncture where ocean-based economic development is at the top of the agenda for many Governments.
We welcome and appreciate the fact that the process towards the negotiation and adoption of an Internationally Legally Binding Instrument under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is potentially one of the most significant in international environmental law-making in the twenty-first century. It promises to address legal, governance and regulatory gaps in UNCLOS, including the issues identified in the package agreed in 2011, namely the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, in particular, marine genetic resources and questions on the sharing of benefits; measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments; capacity building and transfer of marine technology.
We are also of the view that the application of the common heritage of mankind principle in the new treaty would serve both to promote a sustainable access regime and ensure a benefit-sharing regime. The sharing of benefits is the key element for which the common heritage of mankind is best known. As John Noyes observes, benefit sharing reflects the idea of the need to promote the development of developing countries--an idea that is reflected in a multitude of international law instruments. The rationale for a benefit-sharing element of the common heritage of mankind is captured in the famous statement of the then Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations, Ambassador Pardo, warning against the failure to implement the common heritage of mankind principle. Ambassador Pardo warned that, "There would be intolerable injustice that would reserve the plurality of the world's resources for the exclusive benefit of less than a handful of nations. The strong would get stronger, the richer would get richer, and among the rich themselves there would arise an increasing and insuperable differentiation between two or three and the remainder." Ambassador Pardo's argument, and, indeed, the foundation of the common heritage of mankind principle's benefit-sharing component, is based on the pursuit of a more equitable framework.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Ocean Unite, an initiative to unite and activate powerful voices for ocean-conservation action. The series is being produced to coincide with theUN's Preparatory Committee Meeting(Aug 26-Sept 9) on an internal legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and is a part of HuffPost's "What's Working" initiative, putting a spotlight on initiatives around the world that are solutions oriented. To read all the posts in the series, read here.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjohn-w-traphagan%2Fis-signal-from-hd164595-e_b_11775266.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Is Signal From HD164595 Evidence Of Aliens Or Just Another False Alarm? Social media and news outlets the past few days have been abuzz with the prospects of a strong signal apparently coming from the star unromantically known at HD 164595, which is about 94 light years from Earth. Reading news reports, one would think that the signal was intercepted last week, but actually it was picked up over a year ago in May of 2015.
Indeed, the buzz is reminiscent of extensive news coverage that surrounded KIC 8462852, now known as Tabby's Star, last year when it was suggested by Penn State astronomer Jason Wright that the star's odd dimming behavior might be the result of an alien civilization building a mega-structure blocking the star's light. We've also seen recent fascination with the discovery of a rocky planet orbiting inside the habitable zone around Proxima Centauri, which is quite near (by galactic standards) Earth at a little over 4 light years distant. It's our next-door neighbor.
Scientists have been careful in expressing optimism over these unusual discoveries, noting that neither of the candidates for extraterrestrial civilizations are anything more than interesting at this point. There is no evidence right now that something artificial is going on either around KIC 8462852 or HD 164595 and it's not even certain that the signal under discussion now came from HD 164595.
Both METI International, using the Boquete Optical SETI Observatory in Panama, and the SETI Institute, using the Allen Telescope Array in California, have plans to train their observational equipment on HD 164595 to see if anything interesting might emerge that supports, or discounts, the idea that the signal was artificial. Perhaps something intriguing will show up.
However, SETI astronomer Seth Shostak makes several good points about the problems with HD 164595 being a signal from a civilization. For example, it would have required a great deal of power to generate the signal we received -- either the equivalent of all of humanity's power usage on Earth if it were aimed directly at us or the equivalent of the entire power output of the Sun if the broadcast was omnidirectional.
Neither of these conditions are impossible, but they should raise eyebrows. Oddly enough, it's the argument for the lower level of power usage that should raise significant questions. If the signal were a beacon aimed at Earth, we are forced to ask, why? At 94 light years away, as Shostak notes, our television and other signals have not yet had time to reach HD 164595. How would they know we are here? Of course, 94 years ago they may have had technology that would allow them to detect our presence, even if we were not sending out much in the way of signals at that time. But it's difficult to imagine how they would pick up the presence of Earth civilization as it existed in 1920. And if they were somehow able to do this, why would they send a message to a civilization that didn't look as though it could respond?
Perhaps they are both prescient and very patient. They knew that a century later, humans would have the capacity to send out signals at the speed of light, so they anticipated that. And they are patient enough to wait two centuries for an answer.
This explanation is possible, but if that alien civilization were anything like us, it would seem pretty unlikely. It's best to expect other explanations will work better for this signal until we have more evidence. Of course, if the signal doesn't appear again, it may be little more than another fascinating data point like the WOW! Signal, that showed up once leaving little more than a tantalizing mystery.
The public and news media should keep in mind that science is a system of organized skepticism. And it's that way for a good reason; skepticism keeps us from drawing unwarranted conclusions from what we observe. When it comes to SETI, we should avoid getting too excited about possible signals of artificial and extraterrestrial origin, because usually there is a better explanation than little green men from Alpha Centauri, whether or not it's a beautiful place that we ought to see.
-- 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.
science
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%feed http://twitter.com/zooinspectors/status/771114254036561921 @CITES Convention International Trade in @endangered Species notprotecting #elephants see @BFFoundation Ivorytrade https://t.co/aTZMN4MvXN https://t.co/aTZMN4MvXN
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twitter
%feed http://twitter.com/ProtectWild/status/771108663239008256 In a world of 7 billion people how can we protect wildlife? Article by @John_CITES #IUCNCongress #CoP17 @UNDP @CITES https://t.co/alMbd2jZcF https://t.co/alMbd2jZcF
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images
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fsculptorlil%2F29335861026%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Sunrise 31 Aug 2016
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F143280163%40N07%2F29290684161%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 London Eye
I'd already got a couple of shots of the Eye on my walk around, however I realised the light had changed and managed to get back just in time to grab this shot in between the commuters who use the area.
Big Ben and Houses of parliament at dusk, London, UK
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science
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.theregister.com%2Ffeed%2Fwww.theregister.co.uk%2F2016%2F08%2F31%2Fobject_dents_sentinel1a_satellite%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Drama in orbit: Brazen UFO attacks Earth's Sentinel-1A satellite
Plucky climate-change probe fends off cosmic intruder
The European Space Agency's Sentinel-1A satellite has been hit by an unidentified flying object while in orbit. Panic not: the probe remains fully operational.…
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gaia
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Fsea-otters-killed-california-santa-cruz-beaches&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Shooting deaths of sea otters in California prompt investigation
Bodies of four male sea otters, a federally protected animal whose killing can be punishable with jail time, washed up on beaches over course of eight days
Federal and state officials are investigating the shooting deaths of California sea otters, after the bodies of four male otters were found washed up on beaches near Santa Cruz.
On Monday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced a $10,000 reward for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for fatally shooting three sea otters that were found between 12-19 August.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fcarol-browner%2Fthe-game-changer-new-york_b_11803042.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Game Changer: New York's Clean Energy Standard and Nuclear Energy For years, I've said that when it comes to the challenge of fighting climate change, we will need every tool available to reduce carbon pollution and create opportunities for new clean energy technology.
Yet, despite a world that demands more carbon-free energy - not less - public policies have left some of the tools in the toolbox. Until now.
Last month, with the help of Governor Andrew Cuomo's leadership, the New York State PSC took unprecedented action in passing a Clean Energy Standard that, in addition to ensuring ample opportunity for more wind, solar, and energy efficiency, recognizes the important role of existing carbon-free nuclear power. This is a game-changer: never before has nuclear received economic credit for its environmental benefits.
New York State is now the first government to include nuclear in its clean energy policy, providing a mechanism that will help keep New York's nuclear energy plants open. In the wake of an energy market that did not previously adequately value this power, the state faced the very real prospect of having these plants shut down.
The consequences of these shutdowns would have been dire, as New York's existing nuclear power plants provide the majority of its carbon-free power. In fact, New York's nuclear plants provide 61 percent of the state's emission-free electricity and avoid 26 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, equating to a societal value of almost $1.2 billion annually based on federal estimates.
Not only does New York recognize that meeting its own carbon reduction targets would be impossible without nuclear, achieving the carbon pollution reductions set forth in the federal Clean Power Plan would become virtually impossible in the near term. Any premature nuclear plant shutdown would represent a setback in the state reaching its clean energy goals.
The same goes for states across the country, where nuclear is the source of the bulk of our carbon-free power today. For example, in the case of the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in late 2014, the plant's output was replaced by natural gas-fired generators, which produced an additional 3.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in New England in 2015.
And, a recent report issued by Bloomberg New Energy Finance found that if currently unprofitable nuclear energy plants were to shut down and were replaced with gas-fired generators, there would be an increase of 200 million tons of carbon pollution from power plants every year.
Across the country, a number of other states face the prospects of premature nuclear plant shutdowns, threatening our position as a clean energy leader. The timing couldn't be worse. The ten hottest years on record have all occurred since 1998. More carbon pollution will only exacerbate the problem.
Now more than ever, states should look to New York as a model as to how they can fairly value all forms of clean energy for their carbon free attributes.
Last month's news represents a meaningful step in the fight against climate change that will impact our energy policy outlook for decades to come. This is a worthwhile cause that Governor Cuomo should be acknowledged for undertaking, not only for the sake of cleaner air, but for establishing a common sense and fair policy of recognition for nuclear that ensures that nuclear power remains a vital component of our clean energy strategy for years to come.
-- 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
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gaia
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fcarol-browner%2Fthe-game-changer-new-york_b_11802988.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Game Changer: New York's Clean Energy Standard and Nuclear Energy For years, I've said that when it comes to the challenge of fighting climate change, we will need every tool available to reduce carbon pollution and create opportunities for new clean energy technology.
Yet, despite a world that demands more carbon-free energy - not less - public policies have left some of the tools in the toolbox. Until now.
In August, with the help of Governor Andrew Cuomo's leadership, the New York State PSC took unprecedented action in passing a Clean Energy Standard that, in addition to ensuring ample opportunity for more wind, solar, and energy efficiency, recognizes the important role of existing carbon-free nuclear power. This is a game-changer: never before has nuclear received economic credit for its environmental benefits.
New York State is now the first government to include nuclear in its clean energy policy, providing a mechanism that will help keep New York's nuclear energy plants open. In the wake of an energy market that did not previously adequately value this power, the state faced the very real prospect of having these plants shut down.
The consequences of these shutdowns would have been dire, as New York's existing nuclear power plants provide the majority of its carbon-free power. In fact, New York's nuclear plants provide 61 percent of the state's emission-free electricity and avoid 26 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, equating to a societal value of almost $1.2 billion annually based on federal estimates.
Not only does New York recognize that meeting its own carbon reduction targets would be impossible without nuclear, achieving the carbon pollution reductions set forth in the federal Clean Power Plan would become virtually impossible in the near term. Any premature nuclear plant shutdown would represent a setback in the state reaching its clean energy goals.
The same goes for states across the country, where nuclear is the source of the bulk of our carbon-free power today. For example, in the case of the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in late 2014, the plant's output was replaced by natural gas-fired generators, which produced an additional 3.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in New England in 2015.
And, a recent report issued by Bloomberg New Energy Finance found that if currently unprofitable nuclear energy plants were to shut down and were replaced with gas-fired generators, there would be an increase of 200 million tons of carbon pollution from power plants every year.
Across the country, a number of other states face the prospects of premature nuclear plant shutdowns, threatening our position as a clean energy leader. The timing couldn't be worse. The ten hottest years on record have all occurred since 1998. More carbon pollution will only exacerbate the problem.
Now more than ever, states should look to New York as a model as to how they can fairly value all forms of clean energy for their carbon free attributes.
Last month's news represents a meaningful step in the fight against climate change that will impact our energy policy outlook for decades to come. This is a worthwhile cause that Governor Cuomo should be acknowledged for undertaking, not only for the sake of cleaner air, but for establishing a common sense and fair policy of recognition for nuclear that ensures that nuclear power remains a vital component of our clean energy strategy for years to come.
-- 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
1472678520000
twitter
%feed http://twitter.com/BrettWHowell/status/771091207669878784 In a world of 7B people how can we protect #wildlife? #iucncongress #COP17 #CITES @conservationx @perctweets https://t.co/MfjRvWYnGN https://t.co/MfjRvWYnGN
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general
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fvideo%2Findex%2F497933%2Fadapting-to-hearing-loss-in-old-age%2F%3Futm_source%3Dfeed&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Adapting to Hearing Loss in Old Age
The slow decline of hearing in old age is frustrating and alienating. Tyler Trumbo's short documentary, The Sound Inside, follows three elderly people who are taking a lip-reading class to mitigate the effects that hearing loss will have on their lives. The film focuses heavily on sound design and mirrors the silence and muffled noises that have become these characters' realities. “When you can't hear, you don't know what you can't hear,” says one woman. “Without the hearing aid, suddenly I feel like I've dropped in a black hole. All I hear is the noise in my head.”
general
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twitter
%feed http://twitter.com/katzyna/status/771086545667313665 In a world of 7 billion people how can we protect wildlife? @John_CITES https://t.co/TKCU72elwc #caviar #cacti #rosewood #orchids #CoP17 https://t.co/TKCU72elwc
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images
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fchearn73%2F29081227340%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 This is London
Big Ben and Houses of parliament at dusk, London, UK
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science
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2Fn70n7EAoTrc%2Fus-board-gives-student-assistants-unionization-rights&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 US board gives student assistants unionization rights Decision overturns a 2004 ruling, but university representatives disagree with verdict science
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science
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2FOTg0BsvlcdU%2Fwhy-use-silicon-qubits-for-quantum-computing&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Why use silicon qubits for quantum computing? Andrea Morello believes that classical computing might hold the key to quantum computing science
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fhung-vo%2Fthe-world-is-completely_b_11786892.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The World Is Completely Urbanized In 2008, the United Nations declared that the world passed an unprecedented, but silent, benchmark: for the first time in history, the world is more urban than it is rural. This event had been anticipated for some time and was subject to constant academic reference in support of an "urban age" thesis. This conceptualization has been used in support of "city growth" and to justify the dominance of the city -- simultaneously conceptualized as the urban -- over other geographies and settlement types. In more recent years, this topic has been revisited by critical urban theorist Neil Brenner, Professor of Urban Theory at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Contrary to popular beliefs, Brenner argues that the world has been completely urbanized and warns of the danger in fetishizing "cityness."
Brenner and his colleague, Christian Schmid, have already deconstructed the flawed methodologies deployed by United Nations demographers to quantify the global urban population in an earlier publication. These demographers rely on UN Member States to individually report data on its population, which vary greatly by country. Mexico and China could have different urban populations depending on which official methods were used. Meanwhile, in India, an urban area has to satisfy these requirements:
i. A minimum population of 5,000 ii. At least 75 percent of the male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits; iii. A density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km.
Not considering these practices, the natural inconsistency of UN Member States' reporting also raises questions over the accuracy of our urban age. UN reports could use data from Member States that can be nearly a decade old. If this is the case, what use does this narrative have in framing our decision-making at the local, state and global level, when the data is epistemologically and methodologically flawed in a way that makes international comparisons meaningless? Meanwhile, equating "urban" with "city" is problematic because it suggests that once a city's administrative boundary ends, the area is suddenly non-urban. This is only useful for planners to demarcate a line where services to a city's electricity, plumbing, water and the like become unavailable to developers wanting to build outside this border.
In his new piece titled "The Hinterland, Urbanised?", Brenner contends that the "capitalist form of urbanization continues to produce contextually specific patterns of agglomeration, but it also relentlessly transforms non-city spaces into zones of high-intensity, large-scale industrial infrastructure -- operational landscape." Because these landscapes lie outside our commonly perceived "urban" and beyond our immediate view in a conceptual "outside" or "blind field", it has subsequently evaded our attention and critical inspection. These sites range from deforested areas in Mato Grosso, Brazil, to phosphate mining pits in central Florida, to desert-agro-industrial infrastructures in Saudi Arabia. Brenner says "spaces of the non-city have been continuously operationalised in support of city-building processes throughout the global history of capitalist uneven development." These urban areas, which can be found throughout the world, even in "extreme territories", reflect a global or planetary urban phenomenon.
Image of a phosphate mining pit in Florida in 2011. USGS snapshot.
Brenner's investigation of contemporary urban conditions raises critical questions about the nature of our urban world from epistemological, pedagogical, and practical dimensions. If the entire world is urbanized in varying scales across the globe, how can planners and decision-makers respond to these changing geographies and develop comprehensive action plans? Surely the roles and responsibilities of managing these operational landscapes do not end with a city's administrative boundaries. Are state and national governments equipped with the professional knowledge and are in a position to ethically manage these sites?
The recent protests organized by the Sioux tribe to halt the construction of a $3.8 billion crude oil pipeline project in North Dakota clearly demonstrates the need for new forms of collaborative and participatory governance to curve the negative impacts of capitalist urbanization. The severity of the urban condition could be ascertained through taking a brief glance at the following map representing the various oil and gas pipelines in the United States. If complex and dense infrastructures are commonly associated with urban areas, wouldn't these expensive pipelines constitute those structures, too, and suggest large-scale "urban-ness"? This is just one of the many visualizations of our extensive urban framework--think about the effects when multiple layers of infrastructures and conditions, such as air pollution, are layered upon one another.
Image of gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines in the US. NPMS
It is clear that the world is more urban than commonly understood, or even completely in varying degrees. Decision-makers and planners must work in an open, democratic, and participatory manner to engage citizens in the development and management of these operational landscapes; otherwise, we will continue to allow "the silent violence of accumulation by dispossession and environmental destruction in the world's hinterlands and operational landscape." For aspiring planners (broadly defined) like myself, how can we re-imagine or fantasize about an alternate, more equitable and sustainable reality for these landscapes?
With the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) just around the corner, the urban--as more narrowly conceived by the global community--is entering the forefront of national and international agendas. The international community needs to leverage this opportunity to more critically examine our existing and emergent urban conditions in an effort to ameliorate the urban condition and honor the spirit and commitment of Agenda 2030, by "transforming our world".
-- 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.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2Fmg23130893-300-court-rules-in-favour-of-queensland-megamine%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Court rules in favour of Queensland mega-mine Australia's federal court has rejected a bid to block a giant coal mine in central Queensland that could harm the Great Barrier Reef gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmarc-bekoff%2Fa-new-book-called-cat-wars-calls-for-killing-all_b_11801966.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 A New Book Called 'Cat Wars' Calls For Killing Free-Ranging Cats
Cat Wars calls for a massive assault on all free-ranging cats
“From a conservation ecology perspective, the most desirable solution seems clear—remove all free-ranging cats from the landscape by any means necessary.” (Cat Wars, pp. 152-153)
Along with numerous other people, I've been wondering when killing “in the name of conservation” is going to stop. Some people think it's simply business as usual, and there aren't any workable non-lethal humane alternatives. Killing members of one species to save others of their species, or killing individuals of one species to save individuals of another species, is all well and good and that's the way it is. Some people say they don't like the killing but don't do much to stop it. Our human-dominated world presents numerous frustrating and complicated challenges. We're living in an epoch called the Anthropocene, the “age of humanity.” We're all over the place ― here, there, and everywhere ― and we're the cause for the unprecedented loss of other animals, their homes, and destructive climate change. Actually, we're living in the “rage of inhumanity” because there are far too many of us and we think we're the only show in town.
The move from wolves to cats was dishearteningly seamless. Simply put, the authors of Cat Wars are confirmed bird advocates and activists and foes of all free-ranging cats. To wit, their book calls for a no holds barred, one-sided war on cats, in which the authors conclude, “From a conservation ecology perspective, the most desirable solution seems clear—remove all free-ranging cats from the landscape by any means necessary.” (pp. 152-153; please click here for information on the phrase “by any means necessary”). The authors use the phrase “free-ranging” to refer to feral, outdoor, and community cats.
Clearly, the authors are not advocating removing free-ranging cats softly, nor are they advocating any form of euthanasia or mercy killing. Rather, they are advocating outright and unregulated removal “by any means necessary.” When I asked some people what this meant to them, answers ranged from trapping, snaring, poisoning, bludgeoning, and shooting. A number of people feared we would see violence “in the name of science.”
Lest anyone say that these are hysterical responses, one only has to read the very words that Marra and Santella wrote. It's not asking too much from people to write what they mean, and although the authors surely read through their manuscript many times as did reviewers and editors, the phrase “by any means necessary” remains. Cats are vilified and no attention is paid to the emotional lives of these sentient beings.
Even those who endorsed this book can't agree on what it's actually all about. The comments on the back cover range all over the place. For example, Jonathan Franzen calls the book a “compassionate handling of a highly fraught issue,” Ted Williams sees it as a “dispassionate examination of America's free-ranging cat debacle,” whereas Scott Weidensaul claims the authors offer “commonsense solutions to one of the most polarizing issues in avian conservation.” It seems as if they didn't read the same book. In my opinion, this book is thoroughly dispassionate, and I shudder when I think that the call for an all out war on free-ranging cats “by any means necessary” could refer to anything that could possibly be called “compassionate handling” or “commonsense solutions.”
Collateral damage: In addition, the authors don't seem to care much about what's called “collateral damage,” the harming and killing of non-target species. Some of the methods of removing they sanction are incredibly non-selective and it will not only be free-ranging cats who are harmed and killed. I'm sure dogs and as well as other animals, including cats who escape the confines of their home, will be among the slaughtered.
What Cat Wars is all about
The phrase “by any means necessary” is among the most reprehensible statements I've ever seen, and of course, in addition to it being morally repugnant, it is not based on science and it won't work. And, think about the horrific lesson it offers to youngsters. The authors totally ignore the cognitive and emotional lives of cats, and view them as mere disposable objects. I'm glad I'm not their dog, and I'm surely glad I'm not their cat. The suggestion to wage war on free-ranging cats essentially lays out what this sensationalist, fear-mongering, and one-sided book is all about. I suppose one might congratulate the authors for being so transparent about their dismissive attitude.
The description for Cat Wars, published by a prestigious university press, reads:
In 1894, a lighthouse keeper named David Lyall arrived on Stephens Island off New Zealand with a cat named Tibbles. In just over a year, the Stephens Island Wren, a rare bird endemic to the island, was rendered extinct. Mounting scientific evidence confirms what many conservationists have suspected for some time―that in the United States alone, free-ranging cats are killing birds and other animals by the billions. Equally alarming are the little-known but potentially devastating public health consequences of rabies and parasitic Toxoplasma passing from cats to humans at rising rates. Cat Wars tells the story of the threats free-ranging cats pose to biodiversity and public health throughout the world, and sheds new light on the controversies surrounding the management of the explosion of these cat populations.
This compelling book traces the historical and cultural ties between humans and cats from early domestication to the current boom in pet ownership, along the way accessibly explaining the science of extinction, population modeling, and feline diseases. It charts the developments that have led to our present impasse―from Stan Temple's breakthrough studies on cat predation in Wisconsin to cat-eradication programs underway in Australia today. It describes how a small but vocal minority of cat advocates has campaigned successfully for no action in much the same way that special interest groups have stymied attempts to curtail smoking and climate change.
Cat Wars paints a revealing picture of a complex global problem―and proposes solutions that foresee a time when wildlife and humans are no longer vulnerable to the impacts of free-ranging cats.
It's difficult for me to figure out why Princeton University Press would publish this book, not because it calls for a repulsive and outright war on cats, but rather because it lacks the scientific rigor that characterizes numerous other books they've published.
“Cat people” versus “bird people”: A false dichotomy
Early in Cat Wars there is a rather insidious attack on pro-cat people as not caring about the environment and wildlife, which is most likely completely untrue. On page 28 we read, “More and more people are valuing birds and swelling the ranks of bird-watchers. Likewise, there are more cat owners in America now than at any time in history. But far fewer people, it seems, can summon affection for both cats and wildlife—and empathy for those they perceive to be on the ‘other side.' As each side has swelled in numbers, the stage has been set for ‘bird people and ‘cat people' to square off, forgetting, perhaps, that they are all animal lovers in the first place.”
It's hard to imagine that people who favor removing free-ranging cats “by any means necessary” truly love them. When I hear this I always say, “I'm glad they don't love me.” Yet, in another essay, we're told that Dr. Marra claims to like cats.
Along these lines, the third chapter of this book is called “The Rise of Bird Lovers and Cat Lovers: The Perfect Storm.” This chapter is the authors' interpretation (read: “skewed”) of the history of “bird lovers” and “cat lovers.” It concludes by saying that “Many cat advocates will aggressively contest the damage that free-ranging felines inflict upon bird populations. They will likewise deny the diseases that free-ranging cats spread to other mammals and even humans. But their hearsay and denials pale in the light of evidence of cat impacts on islands and the emerging hard science on their impacts on mainlands.” Again, the myth is repeated and developed that cat advocates are misguided, dangerous, and delusional people.
In chapter 4, titled “The Science of Decline,” the authors write, “After forty-five years of bird population decline, it seems obvious that our currently available legal instruments are failing.” (p. 55) It recognizes that human activities are “largely responsible for the declines of bird species” (p. 56) and it is “difficult to identify with any precision the relative impact of a mortality factor, such as the free-ranging cat, to all birds that make these journeys over such large spatial areas and wide expanses of time—and most bird species (>75 percent) in North America migrate!” (my emphasis; p. 57) This comment hardly supports the authors' thesis that cats are responsible for a significant number of bird deaths.
The authors then go on to write about cats as dangerous vectors for disease (Chapter 5 is called “The Zombie Maker: Cats as Agents of Disease”), and they conclude, “Free-ranging cats clearly pose a significant threat to a number of wild animals … [the] solution is to remove them—once and for all—from the landscape.” (p. 94)
In chapter 8 titled “A Landscape with Fewer Free-Ranging Cats: Better for Cats, Better for Birds, Better for People” we read, “From a conservation ecology perspective, the most desirable solution seems clear—remove all free-ranging cats from the landscape by any means necessary.” (p. 152-153) Any means possible, of course, opens the door for killing cats using incredibly brutal methods. In addition, the public is blamed for being “blissfully unaware” of the significance of the problems at hand (p. 153).
In this chapter we also read, “Perhaps the greatest obstacle to convincing humans to take greater responsibility for their pets and act more responsibly on behalf of their environment and the health of the greater society is the growing ignorance and indifference about the natural world.” (p. 166) This is a most insulting charge for which these authors offer absolutely no scientific support at all. It's just more blaming a public that is supposedly “blissfully unaware.”
Here are a few more snippets:
“It is abundantly clear that free-ranging cats are not the primary threat to the future of birds and other wildlife. Habitat destruction, climate change, and pollution all come to bear on the well-being of wildlife populations; if we as a society hope to maintain these species for future generations, we need to act on all fronts to stem the tide. In the same light, we must act on many different fronts to reduce the populations of free-ranging cats and reduce their impact on native animal populations, both as predators and as vectors of disease. No one solution will prove a silver bullet; only a multipronged strategy will begin to reduce the number of free-ranging cats in the wild. A landscape with no (or at least fewer) free-ranging cats is the only hope for mitigating the toll these animals take on native wildlife and diminishing the spread of disease from cats to human populations.” (p. 145-146)
“Perhaps the owners did not view the birds and mammals that fall prey to domestic cats as sentient beings but instead as playthings for their beloved companions.” (p. 149)
“There is little question that free-ranging cats—both the unowned and the owned pets allowed to roam freely outside—pose a pending ecological and public-health disaster.” (p. 170)
Note that the authors recognize the victims of cat attacks as sentient beings, but feel it's totally fine to kill other sentient beings such as the cats and other nonhumans who will fall prey to efforts to kill all free-ranging cats.
There will be blood: A conservation problem from hell
In a previous essay called “Thousands of Cormorants to be Killed: There Will be Blood” I wrote about an excellent piece by science writer Warren Cornwall called “There Will Be Blood,” and noted it is a must read for anyone interested in keeping up with current discussions and debates about the supposed need to kill animals of one species to save those of another species. At the beginning of his essay Mr. Cornwall writes, “The pressure to reach for a gun to help save one animal from another is stronger than ever. And it has triggered a conservation problem from hell.” He's right. Mr. Cornwall also notes that the history of conservation is “tinged with blood.” For example, noted conservationists John Audubon and Aldo Leopold were quite comfortable killing members of one species to save members of another species, and so too are many conservationists nowadays.
If some people, even very few, choose to follow Marra and Santella's advice to wage war on all free-ranging cats, there will indeed be blood, and an incredible amount of pain, suffering, and death.
What should the future of conservation look like? When will the killing stop?
Should we kill for conservation? Open discussions and debates about the vexing and daunting question that centers on asking if we should kill for conservation are much-needed as we head into a future where more and more species will become imperiled and endangered because of what we are doing to them and to their dwindling habitats. We choose to destroy their homes and then we choose to destroy them. There is something very wrong, disheartening, and disingenuous about this course of action and the ways in which we decide who lives and who dies.
We're going to have to make difficult choices in the future, and choosing not to kill in the name of conservation is a viable option that is now on the table. Do we really want to continue the bloody history of conservation strategies? Time will tell, but times truly are changing. However, you wouldn't know this from Cat Wars. I suppose teachers could use this book as an example of “conservation gone bad” and how not to solve the problems at hand.
Harness anger into positive action: The killing of all free-ranging cats truly is a murderous experiment, is ethically indefensible, and likely won't work. Even if it did work, it's morally repugnant and shouldn't be pursued. All in all, I don't see how Cat Wars will change anyone's mind about cats, because it is so sensationalist, one-sided, and so utterly anti-cat. My brief discussion here is only the tip of the iceberg of what is covered in this misleading and sensationalist book. If you disagree, please harness your anger into positive action.
Killing cats “in the name of science”: Readers and cats beware
On the one hand, really I didn't want to write this essay and surely didn't want to call attention to this unveiled diatribe against cats. On the other hand, I'm sure that with the title it has it will attract a good deal of attention. I hope people who choose to read Cat Wars will do so very carefully. It's sickening and disheartening in far too many places, but that's the price of admission. If you're looking for a fair and balanced account of the situation of hand, this is not the book to read. Even if you don't especially like cats, this book surely isn't “the cat's meow.” Indeed, if taken seriously, this book will lead to the loss of the wide range of vocalizations for which cats are well known as well of the lives of many other hapless and innocent individuals who are caught in the crossfire.
Returning to the authors' stance on all free-ranging cats, please keep in mind that the authors advocate removing cats “by any means necessary” ostensibly “in the name of science.” This is a thoroughly heartless conclusion that will undoubtedly lead to horrific pain, suffering, and death not only for cats, but also for other animals, because some people surely will appeal to science and say something like, “Scientists said it's ok to do this.” It is not.
Marc Bekoff's latest books are Jasper's Story: Saving Moon Bears (with Jill Robinson), Ignoring Nature No More: The Case for Compassionate Conservation, Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed: The Fascinating Science of Animal Intelligence, Emotions, Friendship, and Conservation, Rewilding Our Hearts: Building Pathways of Compassion and Coexistence, and The Jane Effect: Celebrating Jane Goodall (edited with Dale Peterson). The Animals' Agenda: Freedom, Compassion, and Coexistence in the Human Age (with Jessica Pierce) will be published in early 2017.
-- 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.
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!["1.]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/07/1.-Looking-toward-Zuiderkerk-Church-600x450.jpg")
Looking along a canal toward the Zuiderke Church, built in 1611 (and once painted by Monet).!["2.]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/07/2.-A-boy-dives-into-the-Amstel-River-600x450.jpg")
A boy dives into the Amstel River.!["3.]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/07/3.-All-kinds-of-boats-ply-the-river-and-canals.-600x450.jpg")
All kinds of boats ply the river and canals.!["4.]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/07/4.-Magere-Brug-with-the-full-moon-600x450.jpg")
Magere Brug with the full moon.!["5.]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/07/5.-A-meerkoet-and-its-nest-in-a-boat-tire.-600x450.jpg")
A meerkoet and its nest in a boat tire.!["6.]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/07/6.-Meerkoet-nest-built-from-river-debris-600x450.jpg")
A meerkoet nest built from river debris.!["Beach]("http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8395/29369596145_f0c7725cbd_m.jpg")
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What's next for the European Union after Brexit? When it comes to defense policy, Germany and France need to step up to the plate. For Germany this will mean greater spending -- and more foreign deployments. ![]("https://media.science360.gov/files/pic-day/9cf12072-8a89-4eab-b93f-8c989f394df8-largeImage.jpg")
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!["2016-08-26-1472243990-276678-Curtis_and_Mitchell_Columbian_operation.gif"]("http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2016-08-26-1472243990-276678-Curtis_and_Mitchell_Columbian_operation.gif")
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