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Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

Our planet often can seem otherworldly.  Case in point, consider these pictures of trees completely cocooned in the webs of an infinite number of spiders following the record floods that hit Sindh Pakistan at the end of last year.

Because of the amount of flooding and the time that it took for the water to begin to recede, the spiders took to the trees.  To add to the mystery, the people in the area report that there appeared to be fewer mosquitoes than they expected, especially given the amount of standing water that there had been.  Their thinking was that the webs caught the mosquitoes, thereby reducing the risk of malaria.  Amazing.

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A giant cave column swagged in flowstone towers over explorers swimming through the depths of Hang Ken, one of 20 new caves discovered last year in Vietnam.

A climber ascends a shaft of light in Loong Con, where humidity rises into cool air and forms clouds inside the cave.

Maureen’s Seventh Grade Geography class may want to dig into Hang Son Doong, the massive cave recently discovered in Central Vietnam.  Even the english translation of its name, Mountain River Cave, gives some poetic insight into its strange and endless subterranean world.  National Geographic‘s photographs illuminate an underground universe no less fantastic than a combination of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. “There’s a jungle inside the mammoth cavern.  A skyscraper could fit too.  And the end is out of sight.”  At over 300 feet wide, and 800 feet tall there is enough for an entire New York City block of 40-story buildings. “There are actually wispy clouds up near the ceiling.”

Click here to look at the all the photos – you’ll be amazed.

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This heron gave me the opportunity yesterday to stop, catch my breath, and take a moment for reflection(s) while riding home from work.

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Eyjafjallajokull

In the Norse creation myths life sprang out of a world made up of only fire and ice.  It might have looked something like the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull shown above.   Click here to see other must-see Eyjafjallajokull photos at Boston.com.  National Geographic also has some really cool pics here.

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On our last night in New Orleans, the 19 students and 6 faculty of this year’s Service trip are taking some time to reflect on our experiences.

Seeing the lower 9th ward – with some new construction from Habitat for Humanity and the Make it Right Project, but also many houses still in a state of destruction, surrounded by empty lot after empty lot. Experiencing the current state of the bayou, and learning about the costal erosion and the danger the city of New Orleans faces because of it.

Dana Brozost-Kelleher and Iman Abdul-Ali playing in the school yard with students.

Remember playing at recess with students of Mcdonogh 42, a charter school in the Treme area who’s students were all affected by Katrina in one way or another, and building them a rooftop garden to enjoy.

As all of the students experienced through group work, it’s difficult to even think about losing your family, your most treasured possessions, and the house you grew up in. Looking around at the destruction and emptiness that still exists in the city is the reason we’re here, and the reason we need to keep coming back, and keep contributing as much time as we can, to help rebuild a city rich with culture, diversity, and history.

the BURKE 2010 NOLA team leaning up against a newly cemented levee wall in the Lower 9th Ward.

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I’m writing from the McKendrick-Breaux House, the B&B the 2010 NOLA trip is staying at in the beautiful Garden District. It’s been an amazing trip (i’ll be sure you all get to see some of the 100′s of photos we’ve taken along the way) but I wanted to highlight one event we had yesterday, that changed my context for this trip, and the events of Katrina and the Levees Breaking.

Yesterday we met with author and playwright John Biguenet. I know him from working on one of his plays two years ago, Rising Water. He, and his family, live in New Orleans, and although they left just before the storm, he came back about four weeks later when the NY Times invited him to be their first ever guest columnist and asked him to document the state of the city. He did so in a series of blogs and videos you can find HERE

Among the many great and informative things he had to say, he really put in context what actually happened. He diagrams where the storm actually hit, and how New Orleans was completely passed over and left with little damage until hours later when the levees broke. He explained how the levee’s should have been 60′ deep but instead they were anywhere between 4′ and 20′ deep, and that while the Army Core of Engineers admitted fault (hidden in a 6,000 page document several years later) they still have not done anything tangible to rectify the situation.

One of the most eye-opening things he had to say was how, as a writer, it was his job to help the american people find a context to understand what had happened. Paraphrasing what he said: America has no ability to really understand the almost-full destruction of a city, as it’s something we’ve never had to deal with. The area affected by the levees breaking is (5?) times the size of Manhattan, making this man-made disaster much larger than anything we’ve ever seen on our land before. Europeans understood because they’ve seen their cities destroyed many times in history. We’ve never rebuilt an entire major metropolitan city before, both culturally, and physically, so how can we understand what that takes?

It was a really inspiring two-hour discussion we had with him, and definitely a moment that changed the trip for me, and my context for what really happened.

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Seeing the Light

Why's this man unhappy?

Could the day be coming soon when people look at the pic on the left and wonder what Thomas Edison is holding in his hand?  Lomox, a Welsh company, is developing light-emitting wallpaper and paint that may begin to replace light bulbs as soon as 2012.  According to a TimesOnline article, the wall coating will illuminate all parts of a room with an even glow, which mimics sunlight and avoids the shadows and glare of conventional bulbs.  And the developers claim that the new LED technology is 2.5 times more efficient than energy saving bulbs.  When can we start re-painting at Burke?

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Everybody needs one of these under their tree or menorah:  A team of scientists at MIT has developed a new, more energy efficient bicycle wheel that gives riders a boost when they need it.  Similar to a hybrid car, the Copenhagen Wheel harvests energy when rolling and braking, and uses that stored energy to power the bike.  For a bit more WOW factor, your iPhone can wirelessly connect to sensors in the wheel to lock/unlock your bike, change gears, select how much the motor assists you and viewing real-time info about energy usage, maps and pollution.  Cool!  Take a look at it in action:

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Verde Casa

… Speaking of houses, the 2009 Solar Decathlon ended a week or so ago down on the Washington Mall.  Sponsored by the Dept. of Energy, 20 US and international teams competed to build the most energy-efficient and cool-looking solar powered homes. Team Germany took home 1st Prize for largest net production of electricity.  California won best architecture and Minnesota had best engineering.   I believe that students from the 7th grade had a chance to visit the exhibition and judge for themselves.  Check out this Discovery Channel video for a “window” into the solar house of tomorrow – today.  H/T James Williams over at Discovery Earth.

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Superhero Supply Outlet

Are you a superhero? A sidekick? Or considering a position in superheroism? Then you MUST check out the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company.  It has everything you need to stay faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive.  Really!

And, what makes BSSC even better than being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, is that all the money goes to a non-profit called 826nyc.org.  826nyc says that it is “dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.”  Super!

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Don’t have a window in your office?  Tired of looking at the photos on your wall?  Want to get away from that Word doc you’re supposed to be working on?  Tense and nervous and you can’t relax? Then you’re a candidate for the Cloud Appreciation Society. Check it out.  It has spectacular photos of all types of clouds… including a huge gallary of clouds that look like things.  Great site.  H/T Bad Astronomy.

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The Burke Environmental Club needs one of these!   GM (yes that GM!!) has partnered with Segway to make The Puma and unveiled it today!

I want one!

The Puma!

It’s a 300-pound, zero-emissions vehicle, powered by a lithium-ion battery and dual electric wheel motors. It carries two (seated) passengers at speeds of up to 35 MPH with a range of up to 35 miles between charges. Energy consumption is said to be equivalent to 200 MPG. It features all-electronic acceleration, steering, and braking; vehicle-to-vehicle communications; digital smart energy management; two-wheel balancing; and a dockable user interface that allows off-board connectivity.

I wan one!

I want one!

“Imagine small, nimble electric vehicles that know where other moving objects are and avoid running into them.  Now connect these vehicles in an Internet-like web and you can greatly enhance the ability of people to move through cities, find places to park, and connect to their social and business networks,” Larry Burns, GM’s VP of R&D and strategic planning, said in a statement.

It’s only a prototype at this point, but Burke’s Environmental Club should start saving up for one.  My guess is that this little baby might be just cool enough to park right at Burke’s front door at 8:15am on school days!  Wanna take a spin?

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Mount Redoubt

Mt Redoubt Alaska

Mt Redoubt puts on a light show

Know what this is?  Mount Redoubt in Alaska erupted for the 5th time this century on March 22.  Its ash clouds rose 65,000 feet into the sky, disrupting air traffic, and depositing ash on Anchorage, about 110 miles to the northeast.  The picture to the left shows lightning in the ash cloud; friction from the ash particles generates a huge static charge in the cloud and when the voltage gets high enough, bang!  You can find more great photos here.

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