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| The world's oceans may be losing their ability to soak up extra carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, with the risk that this will help stoke global warming, two new studies say.
Absorption of atmospheric CO2 by the North Atlantic plunged by half between the mid-1990s and 2002-5, British researchers say in a paper published in the November issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research. The data comes from sensors lowered by a container ship carrying bananas, which makes a round trip from the West Indies to Britain every month. It has generated more than 90,000 measurements of ocean CO2. The finding touches on a key aspect of the global warming question, because for decades the ocean has been absorbing much of the CO2 released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. If the sea performs less well as a carbon sponge, or "sink" according to the technical jargon, more CO2 will remain in the atmosphere, thus accelerating the greenhouse effect. Ute Schuster, who led the research with Professor Andrew Watson of the University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences, admitted she was astonished by the data. "Such large changes are a tremendous surprise. We expected that the uptake would change only slowly because of the ocean's great mass," Schuster was quoted by the university in a press release Monday as saying. Research last year pointed to rising acidification of the oceans as a result of CO2 uptake, highlighting the risk of carbon saturation as well as a looming peril for biodiversity. Schuster was cautious about drawing too swift a conclusion from the new research. "Perhaps this is partly a natural oscillation or perhaps it is a response to the recent rapid climate warming," she said. "In either case, we now know that the sink can change quickly and we need to continue to monitor the ocean uptake." In another study also published on Monday, the researchers said that economic growth had caused levels of atmospheric CO2 to increase 35 percent faster than expected since 2000. Eighteen percent of the increase could be attributed to a decline in the efficiency of sinks -- the oceans as well as forests -- in soaking up airborne CO2. The remainder came from fossil fuels. "Fifty years ago, for every tonne of CO2 emitted, 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) were removed by natural sinks. In 2006, only 550 kilograms were removed per tonne and that amount is falling," said lead author Pep Canadell of the Global Carbon Project. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which like the Journal of Geophysical Research is published in the United States. Copyright AFP 2007, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium | |||
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Report: Soda May Seriously Harm Your Health!
Scientists Ruminate on Cow Stomach Fluid for Fuel Cells
By Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 29 August 2007 09:25 am ET
Fluid from the stomach of cows could help power alternative fuel cells, new research shows.
Electricity is generated in the new fuel cells by the breakdown of cellulose, which can be found in waste paper, other wood products and in the corn leaves and stalks that farms generate after a harvest.
Full Moon Sends More Dogs and Cats to Emergency Room
By Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience Managing Editor
posted: 15 July 2007 12:38 pm ET
Injuries and illness among dogs and cats seems to be higher during full moon than at other times of the month, a new study finds. But researchers don't know why.
The study, reported in the July 15 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, finds emergency room visits for these pets increases during or near the full moon. In studying 11,940 cases at the Colorado State University Veterinary Medical Center, the researchers found the risk of emergency room visits to be 23 percent higher for cats and 28 percent higher for dogs on days surrounding full moons.
The types of emergencies ranged from cardiac arrest to trauma.
"If you talk to any person, from kennel help, nurse, front-desk person to doctor, you frequently hear the comment on a busy night, 'Gee is it a full moon?'" said study leader Raegan Wells of the university's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. "There is the belief that things are busier on full-moon nights."
Belief does not make for good science, however. And despite the newfound numbers, Wells doesn't know what sort of lunacy is at play.
"It is difficult to interpret the clinical significance of these findings," she said.
Research into mysterious lunar connections has a long history of baffling and mixed results. A pair of studies in 2001 looked into how many humans are bitten by animals during full moons. British researchers found a lunar link, while the separate study in Australia uncovered no connection.
More recently, scientists found that beach pollution is worse during the full moon. That discovery, however, is linked to real variations in tides related to the lunar cycle.
Pinning animal and human behavior to the moon's movements has proved elusive. One suggestion for some observed changes is simply that more people (and pets) are out during the full moon because the night is bright and good for walking. This could lead to more mischief, too, and could explain the recent decision by some British police departments to increase patrols during full moon.
Full Moon Sends More Dogs and Cats to Emergency Room
By Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience Managing Editor
posted: 15 July 2007 12:38 pm ET
Injuries and illness among dogs and cats seems to be higher during full moon than at other times of the month, a new study finds. But researchers don't know why.
The study, reported in the July 15 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, finds emergency room visits for these pets increases during or near the full moon. In studying 11,940 cases at the Colorado State University Veterinary Medical Center, the researchers found the risk of emergency room visits to be 23 percent higher for cats and 28 percent higher for dogs on days surrounding full moons.
The types of emergencies ranged from cardiac arrest to trauma.
"If you talk to any person, from kennel help, nurse, front-desk person to doctor, you frequently hear the comment on a busy night, 'Gee is it a full moon?'" said study leader Raegan Wells of the university's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. "There is the belief that things are busier on full-moon nights."
Belief does not make for good science, however. And despite the newfound numbers, Wells doesn't know what sort of lunacy is at play.
"It is difficult to interpret the clinical significance of these findings," she said.
Research into mysterious lunar connections has a long history of baffling and mixed results. A pair of studies in 2001 looked into how many humans are bitten by animals during full moons. British researchers found a lunar link, while the separate study in Australia uncovered no connection.
More recently, scientists found that beach pollution is worse during the full moon. That discovery, however, is linked to real variations in tides related to the lunar cycle.
Pinning animal and human behavior to the moon's movements has proved elusive. One suggestion for some observed changes is simply that more people (and pets) are out during the full moon because the night is bright and good for walking. This could lead to more mischief, too, and could explain the recent decision by some British police departments to increase patrols during full moon.
What a day for snow in Argentina
BY BILL CORMIER, Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 07/09/2007 11:40:10 PM PDT
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Thousands of Argentines cheered and threw snowballs in the streets of Buenos Aires on Monday as the capital's first major snowfall since 1918 spread a thin white mantle across the region.
Wet snow fell for hours in the Argentine capital, accumulating in a mushy but thin white layer late Monday, after freezing air from Antarctica collided with a moisture-laden low pressure system that blanketed higher elevations in western and central Argentina with snow.
"Despite all my years, this is the first time I've ever seen it snow in Buenos Aires," said Juana Benitez, an 82-year-old who joined children celebrating in the streets.
Argentina's National Weather Service said it was the first major snow in Buenos Aires since June 22, 1918, though sleet or freezing rain have been periodically reported in decades since.
One man stripped to his shorts to welcome the snow. Children scraped snow off cars and threw snowballs. Motorists honked horns, some with small snowmen on their hoods. Some fender benders were reported on slick suburban streets.
The storm struck on Argentina's Independence Day holiday, adding to a festive air and prompting radio stations to play an old tango song inspired by the 1918 snowfall, "What a night!"
"This is the kind of weather phenomenon that comes along every 100 years," forecaster Hector Ciappesoni told La Nacion newspaper. "It is very difficult to predict."
The snow followed a bitter cold snap in late May that saw subfreezing temperatures, the coldest in 40 years in Buenos Aires. That cold wave contributed to an energy crisis and 23 deaths from exposure.
Two more exposure deaths were reported on Monday.
World News
Wet snow fell for hours in the Argentine capital on Monday, accumulating in a mushy but thin white layer, after freezing air from Antarctica collided with a moisture-laden low pressure system that blanketed higher elevations in western and central Argentina with snow.
"Despite all my years, this is the first time I've ever seen snow in Buenos Aires," said Juana Benitez, an 82-year-old who joined children celebrating in the streets.
Argentina's National Weather Service said it was the first major snow in Buenos Aires since June 22, 1918, though sleet or freezing rain have been reported periodically in decades since.
One man stripped to his shorts to welcome the snow. Children scraped snow off cars and threw snowballs. Motorists honked their hooters, some with small snowmen on their bonnets. Some fender benders were reported on slick suburban streets.
The storm struck on Argentina's Independence Day holiday, adding to a festive air and prompting radio stations to play an old tango song inspired by the 1918 snowfall, "What a night!"
"This is the kind of weather phenomenon that comes along every 100 years," forecaster Hector Ciappesoni told La Nacion newspaper. "It is very difficult to predict."
The snow followed a bitter cold snap in late May that saw subfreezing temperatures, the coldest in 40 years in Buenos Aires. That cold wave contributed to an energy crisis and 23 deaths from exposure.
Two more deaths from exposure were reported on Monday.
Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health
Expert links additive to cell damage
By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Published: 27 May 2007
A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.
The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse - can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.
The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.
Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.
Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed from sale.
Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria.
He told The Independent on Sunday: "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.
"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) backs the use of sodium benzoate in the UK and it has been approved by the European Union but last night, MPs called for it to investigate urgently.
Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat chair of Parliament's all-party environment group said: "Many additives are relatively new and their long-term impact cannot be certain. This preservative clearly needs to be investigated further by the FSA."
A review of sodium benzoate by the World Health Organisation in 2000 concluded that it was safe, but it noted that the available science supporting its safety was "limited".
Professor Piper, whose work has been funded by a government research council, said tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration were out of date.
"The food industry will say these compounds have been tested and they are complete safe," he said. "By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago."
He advised parents to think carefully about buying drinks with preservatives until the quantities in products were proved safe by new tests. "My concern is for children who are drinking large amounts," he said.
Coca-Cola and Britvic's Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi all contain sodium benzoate. Their makers and the British Soft Drinks Association said they entrusted the safety of additives to the Government.
Report: Soda May Seriously Harm Your Health
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
You may want to put that soda can down.
A common preservative found in drinks such as Coca-Cola, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Fanta and Diet Pepsi may cause serious cell damage, according to a report in Britain's The Independent.
Sodium benzoate has the ability to switch off vital parts of a person's DNA, according to research from a British university.
The problem is usually associated with aging and alcohol abuse, but new findings show that drinking soda with the preservative can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.
Sodium benzoate, which derives from benzoic acid, has been used for years by the carbonated drinks industry to prevent mold from developing in soft drinks. The ingredient has been the subject of concern on cancer, because when mixed with Vitamin C, it turns into a carcinogenic substance called benzene, the Independent reported.
Last year, a Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks found high levels in four brands that were removed from store shelves.
"These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether," said Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology.
Dancing Buildings!
By Bill Christensen
posted: 22 May 2007 12:00 pm ET
A series of rotating buildings based on Dynamic Architecture will be built around the world, starting in Dubai, U.A.E. The Dynamic Architecture concept was introduced by Florentine architect David Fisher.
The rotating buildings [VIDEO ] get their electrical power from wind turbines that are placed between floors and which rotate freely with the wind. Additional power is provided from solar cells on the tops of the individual floors.
Buildings based on Dynamic Architecture would use wind power to generate movement. Credit: Dynamic Architecture
Each individual floor is able to rotate slowly, based on commands issued by the owners of condos or apartments on that floor. I assume that the building owners can also take control, for coordinated movements of the floors. Note that the rotation of the floors is slow and uses power - the rotation of the floors does not produce power.
The building is constructed around a central core; each floor is composed of individual pie-like sections that are pre-built and hoisted up the central core (see illustration). The builder claims that rotating buildings can be constructed by just ninety people on the construction site; compare this to the typical skyscraper construction site, which may have up to 2,000 workers at a time.
Construction dates for the first building have not yet been announced, but the first one will be built in Dubai. Pre-fabricated units for the tower will be produced in a facility set up in Jebel Ali (a port 35 kilometers southwest of Dubai). The same units will then be shipped to eleven other major cities, including Moscow, Milan, New York and Tokyo, where similar towers will rise.
Science fiction writers have also made some use of the idea of rotating buildings. In his eccentric 1972 novel The Godmakers, Frank Herbert writes about a rotating house:
"Lewis was just telling me how our place is very much like his home on Chargon," Polly said.
"Old-fashioned, but we like it that way," Bullone said. "I don't like the modern trend in architecture. Too mechanical. Give me an old-fashioned tetragon on a central pivot every time."
(Read more about the rotating house)
For an overview of the rotating building and a quick look at the dynamic architecture that underlies it, take a look at this video.
Be sure to take a look at another "green" (that is, ecology-minded) Dubai building, one that was inspired by an ancient Middle Eastern design - Burj al-Taqa Dubai Energy Tower - High Tech Badgir.
Visit the Dynamic Architecture website; tip via Futurismic.
(This Science Fiction in the News story used with permission from Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction.)
Creepy Me!
By Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 08 May 2007 08:00 am ET
Plants are not a significant source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, according to new research that casts doubt on the results of an earlier study.
Like carbon dioxide, the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, methane acts like a blanket to trap the heat that Earth radiates away.
The biggest recognized sources of methane are emissions from wetlands and rice paddies, where bacteria in the mud break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen to produce methane, and the belching of cows and other animals.
Two studies, different results
Plants were never suspected to be a source of methane, until a 2006 study in the journal Nature measured methane emissions from several types of plants, including maize, basil and wheat. The atmospheric chemists who conducted the study concluded that plants accounted for about 10 to 30 percent of the methane annually emitted into the atmosphere.
This result meant that climate models would have to be re-factored to include this methane source; it also provided a potential explanation for the odd methane plumes detected over tropical rainforests. If linked to deforestation, the finding could also explain why methane levels had recently stopped rising.
The new study, published on April 27 in the online edition of the journal New Phytologist, involved plant biologists who also grew maize, basil and wheat along with other grew plants in carbon dioxide that contained a heavier form of carbon, carbon-13, instead of the more abundant carbon-12-this "labeling" meant that any methane emitted by plants would contain carbon-13 and so would be easier to detect.
Both groups tried to rule out any emission from bacteria that live in oxygen-free pockets in the soil-in the new study, the biologists grew their plants hydroponically, or without soil; the chemists in the first study also tried to detect methane from the soil itself and found none.
The biologists who authored the newer study found no significant emissions of methane from the plants they grew, even when they looked at a large amount of plants.
An open debate
The 2006 study was unable to pinpoint the mechanism plants might use to produce methane, and there is no known biological method that could do this, said lead author of the new study, Tom Dueck of Plant Research International in the The Netherlands, in a telephone interview.
"There's no physical mechanism or way for plants to produce methane," he said. "We can't think of any way they could."
Dueck faults the methods used by the chemists in the first study, saying that they could have essentially created a false methane emission reading.
The two groups plan to collaborate and re-run experiments to see why they got such different results and determine whether or not plants emit methane. But the set-ups for both studies were so different that the cause of the opposing results "could be anything," said co-author of the Nature study Thomas Röckmann of Utrecht University in The Netherlands.
"I really want to find out what this is," Röckmann told LiveScience, encouraging more scientists to reproduce their experiment.
Röckmann stresses that even if plants are found to be a significant source of methane, they are not responsible for global warming, because their contributions to greenhouse gas levels would have been around long before the recent rise in average global temperatures.
Snowball Fight Erupts over Frozen Earth Theory
By Michael Schirber, Special to LiveScience
posted: 06 May 2007 9:30 pm ET
Snowball Fight Erupts over Frozen Earth Theory
By Michael Schirber, Special to LiveScience
posted: 06 May 2007 9:30 pm ET
The theory that the Earth long ago froze completely over, like a giant snowball, is challenged by new data from desert outcroppings in Oman. The geological measurements indicate that even as glaciers spread across all the continents 700 million years ago, warm spells with liquid water were still common.
The question now is how did our planet resist becoming a popsicle.
"It was Earth's great escape," said geologist Philip Allen of Imperial College London. "The Earth experienced probably the most profound glaciation in its history, but somehow it pulled back from the brink of global catastrophe."
That theorized catastrophe has been called Snowball Earth. Climate models show that if large areas of land become covered with ice, more sunlight is reflected away, causing temperatures to drop further. This leads to runaway cooling, in which even the oceans freeze over for millions of years.
"It is hard to imagine a more extreme climate event than this," said geochemist Daniel Schrag of Harvard University.
Runaway cooling
Snow and ice reflect roughly 80 percent of sunlight back into space, while seawater reflects about 10 percent and dry ground somewhere in between the two. This reflected light counts as a loss of potential heat.
Climate models predict that if ice sheets stretch from the poles to about 30 degrees latitude (where New Orleans is now), then the reflection will become so great as to cool the planet. A colder Earth makes more ice and reflects away more sunlight in a positive feedback loop.
"It's kind of the reverse of the greenhouse effect ," Allen explained.
This runaway cooling likely occurred during the Cryogenian period, but how far it went is still not clear.
Could it happen again? The Sun has become 6 percent stronger since the Cryogenian, so it should be harder to freeze the Earth now. It's worth noting that ice sheets reached only New England (45 degrees latitude) during the last Ice Age 20,000 years ago, said Schrag.
The ice planet cometh
Schrag and others have been developing the Snowball Earth theory over the last decade, but the idea is not entirely new.
"Over the last 100 years, ideas of a fully glaciated Earth have come and gone," Allen told LiveScience.
Allen admits the Snowball Earth researchers have brought together an impressive array of data that attests to widespread glacier activity between 710 and 640 million years ago, in what geologists call the Cryogenian period.
Some of these glaciers sprung up near the equator, implying a very cold planet. Indeed, if ice did cover everything, the average global temperature is expected to have dropped to 70 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
Weathering the storm
On a Snowball Earth, liquid water would be locked under ice-in some places a half-mile thick. This sealing of the oceans could explain certain geologic features, like iron and carbonate deposits in Cryogenian rocks.
But Allen and his colleagues have found evidence that liquid water was still found on the surface during this time.
The research team measured the amount of water-induced weathering in sedimentary rocks from Oman. The results, described in the April issue of Geology, indicate that the Cryogenian climate swung several times between warm-wet and dry-cold, which the authors say is inconsistent with a deep freeze.
"Although [Snowball Earth] is a great idea, I am convinced it didn't happen," Allen said.
Previous work has discovered other problems with the theory, Allen continued. For example, wave ripples in sandstone from the same period could only have formed in the presence of open water.
There is also no evidence for the big chill causing any mass extinctions . Ocean-bound microorganisms, which were the dominant life forms back then, "carried on more or less business as usual," Allen said.
Snowball fight
However, Schrag argued that the fossil record is "terrible" from the Cryogenian period, so scientists don't actually know whether the business of life was disrupted or not. What is more certain is that a major evolutionary event-the appearance of multicellular animals-occurred a few million years after all the ice melted.
Schrag doesn't think this was a coincidence.
Moreover, he believes that Allen and others have a simplified "cartoon" picture of the Snowball Earth that they use to attack it.
"The model is much more dynamic than they assume," Schrag said.
It is wrong, according to Schrag, to say that no water would be around during a Snowball Earth. Greenhouse gases emitted by volcanoes would warm the planet enough for puddles to form near the equator, and geothermal vents would create ice-free oases where life could survive.
Handle with care?
Even though the debate over Snowball Earth will continue, it raises the question of how bad climate change can get. Allen, for one, believes that natural brakes exist to prevent the climate from snowballing out of control.
"The Earth is not fragile," Allen said. "It has seen many bizarre climate extremes but always rebuilds itself afterwards."
He imagines that some sort of negative feedback mechanism-perhaps provided by primitive life forms-turned on during the Cryogenian period to keep the oceans from freezing.
Might there be another negative feedback mechanism to slow down current global warming?
"You are either brave or stupid to rely on that," Allen said.
A new device placed in say, Iceland, could suck up atmospheric carbon dioxide emitted from vehicles as far away as Tokyo, making it a potentially useful tool in battling ever-rising levels of this greenhouse gas.
Carbon dioxide molecules trap heat emanating from the Earth's surface and send it back downward, warming up the atmosphere. Scientists think that steadily rising levels of this and other greenhouse gases will bring about potentially disastrous changes in Earth's climate.
Scientists have proposed many possible ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air: emissions could be reduced by using alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind power or alternative fuels, like ethanol or natural gas; and scrubbers could be placed on power plants to remove carbon dioxide and other gases from their exhaust.
But unlike these solutions, which reduce emissions, the new device captures carbon dioxide molecules that are already in the air and releases them as a pure carbon dioxide stream. This stream can be sequestered or used to enhance oil recovery.
"We are trapping carbon dioxide about 1,000 times faster than a tree does," said study leader Klaus Lackner of Columbia University.
The device has an opening that pulls air in and the carbon dioxide in the air sticks to absorbent compounds (or sorbents) inside the device.
"Once you have the CO2 attached to the sorbent, you have to pry it loose again," which is the costly part of the procedure, Lackner said.
The scientists who created the device point out one particular advantage: It could be placed wherever sequestered carbon dioxide would be stored, instead of where emissions occur. By contrast, scrubbers are impractical to use on cars, which contribute 20 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions, and it is difficult to retrofit power plants with the scrubbers.
The device has been tested in Arizona, and with some improvements, Lackner estimates that commercial versions could be ready to use in a few years. He envisions the technology being used to first compensate for emissions, then being used to drive carbon dioxide levels down, and finally combing the extracted carbon dioxide with hydrogen to make a liquid hydrocarbon fuel that is not a fossil fuel, though he says this advance is a good 50 years away.
- Top 10 Emerging Environmental Technologies
- Charge: Carbon Dioxide Hogs Global Warming Stage
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Charge: Carbon Dioxide Hogs Global Warming Stage
By Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 29 March 2007 02:02 pm ET
Carbon dioxide hogs the spotlight on the stage of chemical culprits causing global warming, but other greenhouse gases deserve some blame, scientists say.
"People need to be aware that it isn't just CO2 that's the problem," said Keith Shine of the University of Reading in England, co-author of an article in the March 30 issue of the journal Science discussing the many unknowns about the complex mixture of greenhouse gases emitted into Earth's atmosphere.
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Goldilocks and the GreenhouseAll the gases contributing to the greenhouse effect-a blanket of sorts that lets sunlight in but then traps the heat that it generates-should be studied more thoroughly for scientists to understand climate change fully, he said.
The pieces of the puzzle
Greenhouse gases absorb the infrared radiation coming from the planet's surface and re-emit it back to Earth, increasing the globe's average temperature. Carbon dioxide accounts for the bulk of this warming because so much of it has been released into the atmosphere in the last century.
"CO2 is the most important greenhouse gas-there's no question about that," Shine said.
While other greenhouse gases make up less of the atmosphere, they account for about 40 percent of the greenhouse gas radiation sent back to Earth. They can also be much more efficient at absorbing and re-emitting radiation than carbon dioxide, so they are small but important elements in the equation.
In fact, molecule-for-molecule some gases containing lots of fluorine are 10,000 times stronger at absorbing radiation than carbon dioxide.
"Greenhouse gases come in different strengths," Shine said.
But just what the role of many of these other gases is in terms of global warming has presented scientists with a tricky puzzle.
Mysterious methane
While carbon dioxide comes primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, methane-another greenhouse gas-can come from landfills, animal waste, the melting of permafrost and fossil fuel burning. Scientists are still debating what all of the natural sources of the gas are and how much methane is naturally found in the atmosphere.
"There's a wide variety of sources from which it comes," Shine said.
Scientists also don't know exactly what methane does once it's emitted into the atmosphere because it is very short-lived and reactive with other molecules.
The methane piece of the global warming puzzle is even more difficult to grasp because while its levels have steadily risen since the mid-19th century, they have leveled off in the past decade, and scientists aren't sure why-there could be less methane emissions or more destruction of the molecule as it reacts in the atmosphere.
Another big question scientists have about this trend, Shine said, is: "Is this a temporary blip or has it leveled off permanently?" That question is hard to answer since they don't know the reasons behind the slow-down.
Super-greenhouse gases
Other greenhouse gases make up an even smaller portion of the total greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but are more long-lived and less reactive than methane.
Chlorofluorocarbons, banned by an international agreement known as the Montreal Protocol because they eat up atmospheric ozone, are also greenhouse gases. While levels of this gas, formerly used in air conditioners and refrigerators, are no longer rising, the gas won't completely leave the atmosphere for many decades.
"We just have to wait for the atmosphere to cleanse itself," Shine said.
Other heavily fluorinated gases are very long-lived, almost permanent, in the atmosphere and are still being emitted. And their contributions to global warming still aren't completely known.
Mitigation
According to the Kyoto Protocol, which the United States did not ratify, countries were told to reduce their overall emissions, which they can achieve by controlling carbon dioxide, methane or any of the other greenhouse gases.
"It's an overall basket approach," Shine said.
But all of these missing pieces in the global warming puzzle make finding viable solutions to enforce the mandate of the Kyoto Protocol all the more difficult.
"If we don't know what they're doing," Shine said, "then we can't respond to them."
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Timeline: The Frightening Future of Earth
 and Ker Than posted: 19 April 2007 08:32 am ET |
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| Our planet's prospects for environmental stability are bleaker than ever with the approach of this year’s Earth Day, April 22. Global warming is widely accepted as a reality by scientists and even by previously doubtful government and industrial leaders. And according to a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is a 90 percent likelihood that humans are contributing to the change. The international panel of scientists predicts the global average temperature could increase by 2 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 and that sea levels could rise by up to 2 feet. Scientists have even speculated that a slight increase in Earth's rotation rate could result, along with other changes. Glaciers, already receding, will disappear. Epic floods will hit some areas while intense drought will strike others. Humans will face widespread water shortages. Famine and disease will increase. Earth’s landscape will transform radically, with a quarter of plants and animals at risk of extinction. While putting specific dates on these traumatic potential events is challenging, this timeline paints the big picture and details Earth's future based on several recent studies and the longer scientific version of the IPCC report, which was made available to LiveScience. 2007 More of the world's population now lives in cities than in rural areas, changing patterns of land use. The world population surpasses 6.6 billion. (Peter Crane, Royal Botanic Gardens, UK, Science; UN World Urbanization Prospectus: The 2003 Revision; U.S. Census Bureau) 2008 Global oil production peaks sometime between 2008 and 2018, according to a model by one Swedish physicist. Others say this turning point, known as “Hubbert’s Peak,” won’t occur until after 2020. Once Hubbert’s Peak is reached, global oil production will begin an irreversible decline, possibly triggering a global recession, food shortages and conflict between nations over dwindling oil supplies. (doctoral dissertation of Frederik Robelius, University of Uppsala, Sweden; report by Robert Hirsch of the Science Applications International Corporation) 2020 Flash floods will very likely increase across all parts of Europe. (IPCC) Less rainfall could reduce agriculture yields by up to 50 percent in some parts of the world. (IPCC) World population will reach 7.6 billion people. (U.S. Census Bureau) 2030 Diarrhea-related diseases will likely increase by up to 5 percent in low-income parts of the world. (IPCC) Up to 18 percent of the world’s coral reefs will likely be lost as a result of climate change and other environmental stresses. In Asian coastal waters, the coral loss could reach 30 percent. (IPCC) World population will reach 8.3 billion people. (U.S. Census Bureau) Warming temperatures will cause temperate glaciers on equatorial mountains in Africa to disappear. (Richard Taylor, University College London, Geophysical Research Letters:) In developing countries, the urban population will more than double to about 4 billion people, packing more people onto a given city's land area. The urban populations of developed countries may also increase by as much as 20 percent. (World Bank: The Dynamics of Global Urban Expansion) 2040 The Arctic Sea could be ice-free in the summer, and winter ice depth may shrink drastically. Other scientists say the region will still have summer ice up to 2060 and 2105. (Marika Holland, NCAR, Geophysical Research Letters) 2050 Small alpine glaciers will very likely disappear completely, and large glaciers will shrink by 30 to 70 percent. Austrian scientist Roland Psenner of the University of Innsbruck says this is a conservative estimate, and the small alpine glaciers could be gone as soon as 2037. (IPCC) In Australia, there will likely be an additional 3,200 to 5,200 heat-related deaths per year. The hardest hit will be people over the age of 65. An extra 500 to 1,000 people will die of heat-related deaths in New York City per year. In the United Kingdom, the opposite will occur, and cold-related deaths will outpace heat-related ones. (IPCC) World population reaches 9.4 billion people. (U.S. Census Bureau) Crop yields could increase by up to 20 percent in East and Southeast Asia, while decreasing by up to 30 percent in Central and South Asia. Similar shifts in crop yields could occur on other continents. (IPCC) As biodiversity hotspots are more threatened, a quarter of the world’s plant and vertebrate animal species could face extinction. (Jay Malcolm, University of Toronto, Conservation Biology) 2070 As glaciers disappear and areas affected by drought increase, electricity production for the world’s existing hydropower stations will decrease. Hardest hit will be Europe, where hydropower potential is expected to decline on average by 6 percent; around the Mediterranean, the decrease could be up to 50 percent. (IPCC) Warmer, drier conditions will lead to more frequent and longer droughts, as well as longer fire-seasons, increased fire risks, and more frequent heat waves, especially in Mediterranean regions. (IPCC) 2080 While some parts of the world dry out, others will be inundated. Scientists predict up to 20 percent of the world’s populations live in river basins likely to be affected by increased flood hazards. Up to 100 million people could experience coastal flooding each year. Most at risk are densely populated and low-lying areas that are less able to adapt to rising sea levels and areas which already face other challenges such as tropical storms. (IPCC) Coastal population could balloon to 5 billion people, up from 1.2 billion in 1990. (IPCC) Between 1.1 and 3.2 billion people will experience water shortages and up to 600 million will go hungry. (IPCC) Sea levels could rise around New York City by more than three feet, potentially flooding the Rockaways, Coney Island, much of southern Brooklyn and Queens, portions of Long Island City, Astoria, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, lower Manhattan and eastern Staten Island from Great Kills Harbor north to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. (NASA GISS) 2085 The risk of dengue fever from climate change is estimated to increase to 3.5 billion people. (IPCC) 2100 A combination of global warming and other factors will push many ecosystems to the limit, forcing them to exceed their natural ability to adapt to climate change. (IPCC) Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will be much higher than anytime during the past 650,000 years. (IPCC) Ocean pH levels will very likely decrease by as much as 0.5 pH units, the lowest it’s been in the last 20 million years. The ability of marine organisms such as corals, crabs and oysters to form shells or exoskeletons could be impaired. (IPCC) Thawing permafrost and other factors will make Earth’s land a net source of carbon emissions, meaning it will emit more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it absorbs. (IPCC) Roughly 20 to 30 percent of species assessed as of 2007 could be extinct by 2100 if global mean temperatures exceed 2 to 3 degrees of pre-industrial levels. (IPCC) New climate zones appear on up to 39 percent of the world’s land surface, radically transforming the planet. (Jack Williams, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) A quarter of all species of plants and land animals—more than a million total—could be driven to extinction. The IPCC reports warn that current “conservation practices are generally ill-prepared for climate change and effective adaptation responses are likely to be costly to implement.” (IPCC) Increased droughts could significantly reduce moisture levels in the American Southwest, northern Mexico and possibly parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, effectively recreating the “Dust Bowl” environments of the 1930s in the United States. (Richard Seager, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Science) 2200 An Earth day will be 0.12 milliseconds shorter, as rising temperatures cause oceans to expand away from the equator and toward the poles, one model predicts. One reason water will be shifted toward the poles is most of the expansion will take place in the North Atlantic Ocean, near the North Pole. The poles are closer to the Earth’s axis of rotation, so having more mass there should speed up the planet’s rotation. (Felix Landerer, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Geophysical Research Letters) |
Tomorrow Solar Eclipse :Solar and Lunar Eclipses 2007
| Partial Solar Eclipse Visible from Asia By Joe Rao SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist posted: 16 March 2007 06:02 am ET |
The first solar eclipse of 2007 takes place March 18-19 and will treat selected skywatchers in parts of Asia.
The alignment between the Sun, Earth and Moon is not, however, exact enough to produce a total eclipse; the Moon’s apparent position in the sky relative to the Sun will be displaced somewhat to the north. So only the southern portion of the Moon’s outer shadow (the penumbra) will touch the Earth, while the dark, narrow cone of the umbra completely misses the Earth and swings 288 miles (463 kilometers) above the Ural Mountains of western Russia. Only flying to that height would you be able to see the Sun totally obscured by the Moon.
The partial eclipse will be visible from much of Asia, with the exceptions of the Philippines, Indonesia and most of Japan’s Honshu Island. See the table below for specific local circumstances.
The penumbral shadow first touches Earth in the Bay of Bengal, just off of the Coromandel Coast of India at 00:38 GMT. It then sweeps up in a north-northeast direction, covering most of Asia by 02:00 GMT. The point of greatest eclipse occurs at 02:32 UT over Russia’s Perm Region, about 320 km. (200 miles) north of the Capital of Perm and not far from the town of Krasnovishersk (known for geological prospecting, discovery and exploitation of alluvial diamond deposits).
Hardy observers who are up at dawn in this part of Russia (the Sun rises around 7:30 a.m. local time) will witness—should weather conditions permit—a striking sunrise eclipse with 87.4-percent of the Sun’s diameter hidden by the passing New Moon. The Sun will emerge dramatically from beyond the eastern horizon resembling a delicate crescent with its cusps pointed up and tilted slightly to the right.
The penumbra will continue to pass over the Arctic, and in the process crosses the International Date Line going eastbound; as a consequence the local date of the eclipse falls back a day, to March 18. As it slides off the Earth’s surface it ends up brushing northern and central Alaska, producing a small bite out of the Sun’s upper right limb right around local sunset.
So here is an oddity: an eclipse that ends on the day before it starts!
The eclipse ends when the penumbra leaves the Earth along the sunset terminator in the Arctic Ocean north of Point Barrow, at 04:25 GMT. Local circumstances of the eclipse, which have been computed for twelve specific localities, can be found in the table below.
|
Place |
Time Zone |
First Contact |
Maximum Eclipse |
Mag./Alt. |
Last Contact |
|
Rawalpindi |
UT + 5 hr. |
(6:13 a.m.) |
6:44.3 a.m. |
.659/5.4º |
7:39.9 a.m. |
|
Perm |
UT + 5 hr. |
(7:21 a.m.) |
7:26.1 a.m. |
.873/0.6º |
8:22.3 a.m. |
|
Calcutta |
UT + 5½ hr. |
6:11.7 a.m. |
6:59.6 a.m. |
.427/16.3º |
7:51.2 a.m. |
|
New Delhi |
UT + 5½ hr. |
(6:28 a.m.) |
7:06.7 a.m. |
.573/7.5º |
8:00.8 a.m. |
|
Colombo |
UT + 6 hr. |
(6:44 a.m.) |
7:08.0 a.m. |
.092/3.0º |
7:31.3 a.m. |
|
Dhaka |
UT + 6 hr. |
6:43.2 a.m. |
7:32.4 a.m. |
.441/18.5º |
8:25.5 a.m. |
|
Bangkok |
UT + 7 hr. |
7:46.5 a.m. |
8:21.0 a.m. |
.166/26.7º |
8:57.2 a.m. |
|
Ulan Bator |
UT + 8 hr. |
9:26.3 a.m. |
10:27.0 a.m. |
.615/30.2º |
11:30.7 a.m. |
|
Peking |
UT + 8 hr. |
9:26.3 a.m. |
10:22.4 a.m. |
.486/40.6º |
11:20.9 a.m. |
|
Taipei |
UT + 8 hr. |
9:25.7 a.m. |
9:58.6 a.m. |
.108/49.7º |
10:32.4 a.m. |
|
Seoul |
UT + 9 hr. |
10:47.5 a.m. |
11:31.3 a.m. |
.196/48.5º |
12:16.0 p.m. |
|
Fairbanks |
AKST* |
6:32.5 p.m. |
6:55.3 p.m. |
.087/0.6º |
((7:00 p.m)) |
Mag. = Magnitude: That fraction of the Sun’s diameter that is covered by the Moon at maximum eclipse.
Times given correspond to the local time zone observed at each location. All times are for the calendar date of March 19, except those for Fairbanks which are in italic and are valid for the previous day (March 18). If First Contact occurs when the Sun is below the horizon, then the time of local sunrise is given in parenthesis instead; the eclipse will already be in progress at that time. For Fairbanks, double parenthesis under the time of Last Contact is for the time of local sunset; the eclipse will still be in progress at that time.
* AKST = Alaskan Standard Time which is UT minus 9 hours.
Solar and Lunar Eclipses
There will be two total lunar eclipses and two partial solar eclipses in 2007.
| March 3 | Total Lunar Eclipse | ||||||||||||
| The entire eclipse is visible throughout Europe, Africa, and western Asia. The eclipse in progress at moonrise in North and South America and in progress at moonset in eastern Asia and western Australia. The umbral partial phase begins at 21:30UT, totality begins at 22:44UT, totality ends at 23:58UT and the umbral partial phase ends at 01:11UT on Mar. 4. | |||||||||||||
| March 19 | Partial Solar Eclipse | ||||||||||||
| This partial eclipse is visible in most of Asia and northwestern Alaska. | |||||||||||||
| Times of maximum eclipse and magnitude at major cities: | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| August 28 | Total Lunar Eclipse | ||||||||||||
| The entire eclipse is visible mostly from the Pacific Ocean, The western United States, Canada, New Zealand, and eastern Australia will see the entire eclipse. The eclipse is in progress at moonrise in eastern Asia and western Australia, and in progress at moonset throughout most of North and South America. It will not be visible in Europe or Africa. The umbral partial phase begins at 08:51UT, totality begins at 09:52UT, totality ends at 11:22UT and the umbral partial phase ends at 12:23UT. | |||||||||||||
| September 11 | Partial Solar Eclipse | ||||||||||||
| This partial eclipse is visible throughout southern South America, southwestern Atlantic Ocean and part of Antarctica. | |||||||||||||
| Times of maximum eclipse and magnitude at major cities: | |||||||||||||
|
I wanna grow old with U..I wanna Die Lying in Ur Arms
"...What Can Grow Without Rain..."
...What Can Burn For Years Without End...
'A Stone Can Grow Without Rain ....
But Only 'LOVE' Can Burn Without End'
.......Dear, My Immortal Beloved......
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So hold me now.....Say it's not forever.....
"...One Last Breath ..."
The night before I'd been dept down in my mind to find thing that's gonna worth my life to live for . But I went through with one another. That's sound seems crazy, right?! Belive me, it was an incredible thought, not new and surprisingly it was not "LOVE". The idea that came up in my head and now I absolutely rely on and hold on with.
Not anything else except "IMAGINATION" which have driven my breath all along. Because, anything in the real world is not always turn out the way I want then I'm gonna hold on and try to live with it until "My One Last Breath" Trust me..It's all about the happiness.
"I came to tell you.....How it all began..."
Nothing seems to work out right...
I'm broken down again.
So hold me now....Say it's not forever
'Cause maybe someday..In time..
...Things will go my way...
.......Dear, Unknown Beloved......
I wish someone come and save me.
Someone, who's gonna be my only and one last hope.
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|
'Cause You 're gonna be "My One Last Hope".
*I just wanna shout out lound that... Love "Alex" To Die.. Mr. Mini Cooper!!!
Love Assay
As long as time flows in million years go by, people have been continued searching for what exactly love means. But even the greatest philosophers, could not assure its true meaning. Maybe love doesn’t want to define itself.
In many times while we decide to stop searching the meaning of it, and one day we just realize that we have already known how it is before how does it would be called. Actually, we might not try to find what does its mean. Because of we just use this simply word “LOVE” to express something that invisible to eyes or untouchable to hands, it is probably just something we can feel, something that can make us smile, something as our wishes in many ways of pleasure that might be happen to us and we absolutely believe that it does still be wherever there at somewhere in time.
Moreover, the other questions that people always wonder about love are “When, Where and How does the love come to us?” For such of these clues are much harder to find out what exactly of their answers should be than its meaning.
Someone says “Love is immortality”, it might be possible, because we’ll never know when we would be call or found its fall from the sky or where it would be happened or how it’s gonna be, it’s absolutely unexpected. As a long last sleeping flower’s seeds in our hearts, it seem want to be still like it’s gonna rest forever but one day when the rain comes it could not resist to keep on sleep anymore, it has to be waked up, it needs to grow, spring and blossom. No one can stop it and one day when it fades away by time, it has always left the new one again for the next coming spring. Love always left something beautiful to our life, love could be in everywhere even in the air, down to the earth and surround us as the realm of our hearts.
Overall those silly questions above, while people are searching for it madly, one thing that always has been forgotten is they got it already nearby their sides but they have never raise their heads up, look around themselves long enough to notice about it. Such loves from their own families or their friends, many times people have never realized the invaluable thing they already got, they only pay their attentions to the thing they want. Loves might be all around them right now but they have never looked carefully with their hearts, alas then it would become the last that they never met, finally one day that love had gone away and they could not do anything to bring them back then they will regret about that high value things they lost.
Nevertheless, even if there is love in everywhere they go or already stay by their sides but many people still try to spend their whole life to find the right one. Even, they already know that they are going to get hurt but they still keep walking to face it bravery, and that is why they completely agree to be defeated. Although they have to reach up higher than themselves, climb the cliff just only to see the top view from the highest peak like in their dreams even it would never been belong to them, at least only thing they are gonna get is just one breath of scene of the top air, one gaze of highest view in their eyes became to most pleasured memory of their life. Sometime love doesn’t always want to occupy or to be occupied and many times love becomes to painess but still graceful.
The thing is when everyone in this world is searching for their true love, be careful do not let that love steals who they really are from themselves, they’ll never happy with such love like that. Please do remember that “the greatest thing in human life is “Giving someone all your love is never assured love in return; just wait for it to grow in their hearts but if it doesn’t, be content it certainly grew in our hearts long last forever”.
Written By: Val d' Annivier*
World Highlight News 2006 Part II
World Highlight News 2006 Part II
Last time I post was all about the Ig Nobel Prizes, this one I'm gonna review about the other a bit more serous topics, Ohh trust me they're all pretty serious If you read them and were divined in your private silent time...you might loose you mind and yell to yourself that "What the hell going on Earth, now!!!" Something is going on backward as in the primative age while some not as we are jumping in the surreal Sci-Fi Dream Mystic Door in your house. It make me begin to believe Einstien much more about time is absolutely not continuous sequence, it walks then suddently stop, runs then stops, slides..then stops, jumps..then stops, etc. It's unpredictable! Who know what time decides to do next! If you guys read the "Einstien Dreams" Of Prof. Alan Lightman(MIT), I'm pretty sure that you know what I am talking about!!! All of those theories might be proof by every strange present situations around us now a day but many people still seem never notice them at all! Well, I now realized that I was too distributed my thoughts, before I pull you guys down the mistaken facts about the black holes and be swallowed by them..let's look at the past year incredible facts which were uncovered!
*Val d' Annivier*
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The Red Sea Parts Again
It parted once. It parted twice. And this time scientists are watching the whole thing. Satellite images show the Arabian tectonic plate and the African Plate are moving away from each other and parting the southern end of the Red Sea. This growing rift, which is tearing the northeast of Ethiopia and Eritrea from the rest of Africa, could eventually create a whole new sea.
Photo Credit: NASA
Amazon River Flowed Backwards in Ancient Times
The Amazon River apparently changed its mind a few times in history. South America’s majestic waterway currently flows east into the Atlantic Ocean. But scientists found this year that millions of years ago, the great river flowed east to west and at one time went in both directions at once.
Photo Credit: NASA
Rats Born to Mice in Bizarre Lab Work
Scientists produced healthy offspring from the cells of another species for the first time by taking rat stem cells involved in sperm production and implanting them in mice testicles. In the future, researchers hope to grow sperm of livestock or endangered species in mice or other lab animals.
Photo Credit: Takashi Shinohara, Kyoto University/PNAS
Good News About the Blues: Scientists Discover Gene Therapy for Depression
By Robin Lloyd
Special to LiveScience
posted: 28 December 2006
08:52 am ETw
Scientists have discovered a new gene that makes mice happy, a finding that suggests another avenue of drugs for improving depression in humans. The research represents the first time that depression has been eliminated genetically in any organism, said Guy Debonnel, a psychiatrist and professor at McGill University. Debonnel and his colleagues achieved this effect by creating and breeding mice lacking a gene also found in humans that affects the transmission of the mood-modulating chemical serotinin. Mice without the gene, called TREK-1, acted as if they had been treated with anti-depressants for at least three weeks, he said. By removing TREK-1 in mice, the animals performed as if they weren't depressed when confronted with five standard behavioral tests scientists use for depression in mice. If future scientists follow up on this research and find a compound which can effectively shut down the same gene in humans, then the same mood lift could be induced."This would be completely different, in terms of pharmaceutical approach, from everything else that is done today for the treatment of depression," Dubonnel told LiveScience.
A separate study earlier this year by Eric Nestler of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and his colleagues identified a different gene, called BDNF, as involved in depression, and found that removing it in mice made them tolerant of bullying and resistant to withdrawing socially from the rest of the mice.
Debonnel said that social withdrawal or defeat is not considered to stand in for depression by researchers in this field. Rather, social defeat is just a form of fear. Also, the earlier research tested just one behavioral expression. Debonnel's research focused on five classic, behavioral models of depression.
No Need To Sleep Anymore!! Did you all Get ready for 24-hour living?
A new wave of drugs will make it a breeze to go days without sleep, and give you a good night's shut-eye in two hours – are you ready for 24-hour living?
Neweast Ground-Breaking Medicine that could make you can't keep "SLEEPY" in your own private dictionary definition anymore! You 're gonna wake while your eyes were closed, you 're gonna no need bed room for sleep anymore and you can get resting while you are chill out on street as a stand by mode! How Tempting!
*Val d' Annivier*
The patent applications in this article included a near-invisible spy plane, a foot-controlled computer and cabling that repairs itself when damaged.
Scientists Create Cloak of Partial Invisibility
Writer H.G. Wells imagined it in his writing in the late 1800’s, and this year scientists inched closer to creating an invisible man. Duke University researchers created a cloaking device that can make objects invisible to microwave light. The device works by rerouting microwaves beam around it the way boulders in a stream divert flowing water.
Photo Credit: Dreamstime.com
Even the researchers still not succeed in 3 dimentions's invisibility but now the 2D invisibility could be appeared even it short in 1 in million part of second or invisible to some part of wave frequency not all visible ranges but Was it seem promissing to us to be sneak in someone's bed room as a biggest secret admirer, wasn't it?! How wonderful!!!
How merry our life is if we can steal someone we love; innocence sleeping look by waching him sleep peacefully as an invisible secret admirer !? he he...But I promise that I'm not gonna rape him!
*Val d' Annivier*
If 
as He said. Well--This--->
is true!
World Highlight News 2006 Part I
“Happy Belated New Year 2007”
Well, last year had gone by with any shocking News, including some good, some not and any unidentified stories (Could I call them as UFS?..Ahh..Yaak! I spoil my stupid joke here again!).
After any Famous News’s Reporters and publications had already done the most Top News 2006. Well, I think why could not make it up as my own one(Not Based On The World Interest But On My Own Interest..haha!).....This is my blog, isn’t it! Well, as I am a scientist then let's begin with the hottest neglegible scientific advances of lastest List of Ig Nobel Prize winners 2006 (This is my most favorite awards of the year!), well this year the ceremony was getting more colorful and pretty well matchy-matchy of the reserchers and their works's presentation proundly, how charming, brilliant and hillarous they are!
This is a list of Ig Nobel Prize winners from Last Year (2006). The awards are given based on their silliness more than anything else. Commenting on the 2006 awards, Marc Abrahams, editor of Annals of Improbable Research, co-sponsor of the awards, said: "The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honour the imaginative - and spur people's interest in science, medicine and technology."[1] However, all prizes were awarded for real achievements (except for three in 1991 and one in 1994 due to an erroneous press release) and are mainly intended to increase interest in science.
The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative -- and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology.
"Last, but not least, there are the Ig Nobel awards. These come with little cash, but much cachet, and reward those research projects that 'first make people laugh, and then make them think"
The 2006 Ig Nobel Prize Winners
The 2006 Ig Nobel Prize winners were awarded on Thursday night, October 5, at the 16th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, at Harvard's Sanders Theatre. You can watch archived video of the live webcast .
ORNITHOLOGY: Ivan R. Schwab, of the University of California Davis, and the late Philip R.A. May of the University of California Los Angeles, for exploring and explaining why woodpeckers don't get headaches.
He got this research topic from his curious about that why woodpeckers who are effected with severe crashing and hitting forces on theirs heads while they are pecking the tree more than 12000 times a day, but why they still have no complains about any headaches or got any wrong funtions in their brains!! How tempting..wasn't it!? Who would like to know how that kind of birds feel while they make a non-stope pecking rutine and they really want to get any "Woodpecker's Headaches" Diagnosis, It's unexpectable reserch indeed!
Anyway, after his study, the result was shown by their skulls were developed more thickness and they also got a unique foam like structure as more porosity than other species for vibrating force's reducing! Moreover, they also developed their safty belts protection as their 3rd eye lids membrane(nictitating membrane) would be suddently closed in a part of second before they decided to hit the tree! God! I wish I could be a Woodpecker One, how nice that I would never get a migrain!"
*Val d' Annivier*
Prof. Ivan! He just afraid that all audiences might missing his research topic, then he just had an idea about wearing this woodpecker's head before walked out for recieved his award! Charming!!!!!
REFERENCE: "Cure for a Headache," Ivan R Schwab, British Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 86, 2002, p. 843.
NUTRITION: Wasmia Al-Houty of Kuwait University and Faten Al-Mussalam of the Kuwait Environment Public Authority, for showing that dung beetles are finicky eaters.
"Their research revealed that how dung beatle's so picky about their meals!" Ooh..How delicacy they are, It might be possible that they were all originated in France, where the most sophisicated cookings were claimed!!! But the thing is who would like to know about that, except only people who wanna have involved relation with "Dung Beetles" or marry them!
*Val d' Annivier*
REFERENCE: "Dung Preference of the Dung Beetle Scarabaeus cristatus Fab (Coleoptera-Scarabaeidae) from Kuwait," Wasmia Al-
PEACE: Howard Stapleton of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, for inventing an electromechanical teenager repellant -- a device that makes annoying high-pitched noise designed to be audible to teenagers but not to adults; and for later using that same technology to make telephone ringtones that are audible to teenagers but probably not to their teachers.
Apparently, It was a real peacefulness between any teenages pupils and their teachers! Could I say "Make a sneaked out silent calls not classroom's Wars! " I wish I could be back in my teenage again, how wonderful when the old stricky teacher can not here my handy rings, Alas now I'm too old more than enjoyable this technology!"
*Val d' Annivier*
ACOUSTICS: D. Lynn Halpern (of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, and Brandeis University, and Northwestern University), Randolph Blake (of Vanderbilt University and Northwestern University) and James Hillenbrand (of Western Michigan University and Northwestern University) for conducting experiments to learn why people dislike the sound of fingernails scraping on a blackboard.
"This research applied in many times of the experiment by ordered their volunteers produced the various noises by scraping the gardenned forks on the slate, scrashing of the iron matterials and rubbing noise of foam sheet boards until reached the unbearable frequency, how creative they are! The results showed that the middle range-frequency of audible noises could be driven people went wild-crazy feeling as the nervouse monkey or dog's moaning when they heard the temple bells ringing and begin to find the way out to escape from that noises hearing as stuggling and climbing the wall out!" Wow! This might be the best way to generate the new kind of most effective weapon for wars!
Try to imagine about making this frequency noise's weapon and shoot out to the enemies while we pluged our ears to hearing this frequency, well suddently our enemies will drop thier guns or RPG and begin to climb on any objects or rubbing their bodies to each others while running back to escape from this Incredible Noise Pollution! How fun!"
*Val d' Annivier*
"Make the Awkward Frequency Noises Not Nuclear Bombs!"
Demonstration: Two of Old Profs. who won this prize were performing their results about the "Awkward Noises" from the gardening fork scraping on Slate Rock Sheet! How Cute They Are!!! I do really LOVE This Pic To Die! hehe! You see..How they proudly enjoy it!
REFERENCE: "Psychoacoustics of a Chilling Sound," D. Lynn Halpern, Randolph Blake and James Hillenbrand, Perception and Psychophysics, vol. 39,1986, pp. 77-80.
MATHEMATICS: Nic Svenson and Piers Barnes of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization, for calculating the number of photographs you must take to (almost) ensure that nobody in a group photo will have their eyes closed
"Bravo! Finally, we could solves this tired problem and shortern our time for group photo shooting! Thanks to Prof Nic&Piers on behalf of a damn tired group photo shooter!"
*Val d' Annivier*
MEDICINE: Francis M. Fesmire of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, for his medical case report "Termination of Intractable Hiccups with Digital Rectal Massage"; and Majed Odeh, Harry Bassan, and Arie Oliven of Bnai Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, for their subsequent medical case report also titled "Termination of Intractable Hiccups with Digital Rectal Massage."
"Umm, How can I say about this fabulous useful research..well firstly, we got the easy remedation of our suffering hiccups, besides this reseach gave us more pleasured by product results as helping our best way for reaching human sexual orgasm.
Wow!! How could we pay back for Prof. Francis Fesmire work! Brilliant! I bet he's the one who already got a happy sex's life!"
*Val d' Annivier*
PHYSICS: Basile Audoly and Sebastien Neukirch of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, in Paris, for their insights into why, when you bend dry spaghetti, it often breaks into more than two pieces.
" I'm so wondering about what situation could proper to apply this research usefully, it seemed tend to be the one of propability of the broken dried spagetti, may be it might useful for indicate the best taste of any spaketti producer for developing their spaghetti product to reach an optimized the best quality and taste if they can make most of thier dried broken spaketti through the 100% static value over 2 fractures in dried spagetti stick!" May be in the future the best quality in the world might belong to French's producers!"
*Val d' Annivier*
The Winner Of Chemical Nobel Award 1976 (Prof.William Liscombs) was performing the 2006 Physics Ig Nobel winning research about the real situation of dried spagetti broken fractions's propabality was more than 2 fractures oftenly. How Lovely!
REFERENCE: video and other details at <http://www.lmm.jussieu.fr/spaghetti/index.html>
CHEMISTRY: Antonio Mulet, José Javier Benedito and José Bon of the University of Valencia, Spain, and Carmen Rosselló of the University of Illes Balears, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, for their study "Ultrasonic Velocity in Cheddar Cheese as Affected by Temperature."
"How this topic beyond human imagination!, Wasn't it genius about their research, I'd never known about this kind stuff before, who gonna know about The Ultrasonic Wave could be generated and tranferred in Cheddar Cheesee! ..more than that the Ultrasonic Velocity was realated with the temperature factor..It was absolutely proof the wave theory as well that wave has the same property as the photon(or the mass objects)!"
*Val d' Annivier*
REFERENCE: "Ultrasonic Velocity in Cheddar Cheese as Affected by Temperature," Antonio Mulet, José Javier Benedito, José Bon, and Carmen Rosselló, Journal of Food Science, vol. 64, no. 6, 1999, pp. 1038-41.
BIOLOGY: Bart Knols (of Wageningen Agricultural University, in Wageningen, the Netherlands; and of the National Institute for Medical Research, in Ifakara Centre, Tanzania, and of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Vienna Austria) and Ruurd de Jong (of Wageningen Agricultural University and of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Italy) for showing that the female malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae is attracted equally to the smell of limburger cheese and to the smell of human feet.
"How Interesting! I think there are some equations of the smell of limburger cheese and our feet smell could resolve these problems or actually the limburger smell was really like our feet!, don't you think I'm right!?" Well, this usefulness showed us clearly that if we really hungry and suddenly smell the wonderful hot limburger, do not bend down ward to our feet, it might be risk to lost them as our suppers!"
*Val d' Annivier*
Demostation On Stage!: How similar of mosqutoes attraction between Limburgercheeze and human feet smell!
Today On Earth! "Why Earth is Closest to Sun in Dead of Winter!"
Why Earth is Closest to Sun in Dead of Winter
By Mary Lou Whitehorne
Special to SPACE.com
posted: 02 January 2007
9:00 am ET
It’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere and we’re at our closest point to the Sun. Closest? Yes, you read that right. Closest. For northerners, the winter solstice has just passed. But the truth is, on January 3, 2007, Earth reaches perihelion, its closest point to the Sun in its yearly orbit around our star.
At first glance, it makes no sense. If Earth is closest to the Sun in January, shouldn’t it be summer? Maybe, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere. So what does this mean?
Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle. It is elliptical, or slightly oval-shaped. This means there is one point in the orbit where Earth is closest to the Sun, and another where Earth is farthest from the Sun. The closest point occurs in early January, and the far point happens in early July (July 7, 2007). If this is the mechanism that causes seasons, it makes some sense for the Southern Hemisphere. But, as an explanation for the Northern Hemisphere, it fails miserably.
Figure A. The noontime position of the Sun in the sky, plotted over a year, produces a figure eight-shaped curve known as the analemma. Earth’s elliptical orbit produces the curve of the analemma. Its lowest and highest points are, respectively, the winter and summer solstices. The vertical line running through the analemma is the meridian. This view shows the Sun at noon on 4 January 2007, the day of perihelion – Earth’s closest approach to the Sun.
Figure B. Mars is tilted with respect to the plane of its orbit, just like Earth, only a touch more, at 25.2ฐ. But Mars' orbital eccentricity is more than five times larger than Earth's. Combined, these facts produce the Martian analemma above.
Figure C. Earth’s orbit is almost, but not quite, a perfect circle. This view shows Earth at perihelion on 3 January 2007, when our planet is at its closest approach to the Sun. The 3.3% difference in Earth-Sun distance between January and July does not cause seasons, but it does produce an effect known as the equation of time.
In fact, Earth’s elliptical orbit has nothing to do with seasons. The reason for seasons was explained in last month’s column, and it has to do with the tilt of Earth’s axis. But our non-circular orbit does have an observable effect. It produces, in concert with our tilted axis, the analemma.
If you plot the noontime position of the Sun in the sky over a one-year period, it produces a figure-eight shape on the sky (Figure A). This is the analemma. You may have seen it drawn on a globe of Earth. The shape results from the combination of two things: the 23.5° tilt of Earth on its spin axis, and the elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
The highest point on the analemma is the Sun’s noon position on the summer solstice. The lowest point marks the winter solstice. The difference in the Sun’s noontime height in the sky is caused by Earth’s tilted axis. What about the left-to-right variation in the analemma’s curve?
That’s where our elliptical orbit comes in! Look at Figure A again. Notice the vertical line running up from the south point on the horizon? That’s the meridian. The meridian runs straight up and over the sky, from due north to due south.
If Earth's orbit was a perfect circle, the Sun would cross the meridian at noon every day (ignoring daylight savings time). But our orbit is slightly oval-shaped. In July, we are at our furthest point from the Sun, and Earth moves slower than average along its path. In January, we are closer to the Sun, and Earth speeds up a bit in its orbital progress. The result of this change in speed means the Sun crosses the meridian a little early, or a little late, depending on where Earth is in its orbit. For all points along the curve to the left of the meridian, the Sun is “slow.” It crosses the meridian after 12:00 p.m. For all points along the curve to the right of the meridian, the sun is “fast,” crossing the meridian slightly before noon.
Astronomers call this the equation of time. It is marked on many sundials. The equation of time is defined as the difference between true solar time (determined by the Sun’s position in the sky) and mean solar time (the time told by your watch). The two times can vary by as much as 16 minutes over the course of a year.
Earth reaches perihelion on January 3, 2007 (Figure C). The Earth-Sun distance will be 147,093,602 km. Aphelion, the greatest distance from the Sun, occurs on July 7, 2007, when the Earth-Sun distance will be 152,097,053 km.
The difference between the two is 5,003,451 km, (3.3 percent), and not enough to cause the seasons. Even though, at this time of year, we're as close to the Sun as we can get, for the Northern Hemisphere, it will always be winter.
Happy perihelion!
Dog Quote.
Dog is the only one on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
Merry X'mas To You All...
I know what you guys think about this shot and how stupid I was..to using 70-300 mm Tele Lens for this kind of still almost tiny object as this one! Well, I admited that I really felt that how idiot I was with the unexpected content too!
The thing is that night I shot this one I was waked up in the mid of the night with some upset stuffs which still stucked in my head then I really had no I dea to shake them off..so I sudently picked my camera which there was still lowest ISO slide inside it..more the bad thing than that my wider lens was borrowed by friend, well I used my SLIK Pro 300's tripod which I didn't rent it to friend, fortunately. Well here..I shot it anyway as you see...Lacked of DOF, focus and poor contrast but fullfiled me with my relaxation as well, It was such a really relief when I pressed the shutters 'till that roll out and began smile again in the darkness was all arounded me as a fool!
Then you see how crazy I always am... But anyway I post this to reminds myself and give you all my best wishes to be pretty content that who you really are and want to be...Don't listen to what people thought about you too much. Just listen to your heart...because those all people didn't share your birth, pain and fall apart with you at the same time...
Nothing perfect here on Earth! Only, the thing that pretty enough in your thought .. that is just the best thing that you should deserve ..what exactly you can got in your human's life and feel happy to live with...
"Merry Christmas to All You guys!"
P.S. Sometime, something "SHIT" could bring your smile paint on your face again while you still not realize that there is something completely happen on your lip!
*Val d' Annivier*
Just ADDED:*****
First of all, I have to confess that I didn't mean to post this "Topic" below. But some people made me lost my temper, anyway "So Be It" who think this topic is really nonsence, rediculouse or "Idiot" to them, well it might be better way that you guys do not talk to me any more..Because I'll pull all your wise brians down to "Mariana Trench"!!!
I couldn't bear to have any those brilliant friends who lack of any imaginations as they called themself as "Wiseman" in the real world, believe me you guys should not jump down from the top of Everest to be my friends as me! I'm so glad to be friend with any people who were called as "Stupid, Idiot, Loser, Freak, Geek and Crack Pot" much more because they are all talk to me as the same language or at least we have some of the same interest directions!
So if anyone don't be like that.."Go Away" and Please leave me alone!, if you don't..come here closer to me..I'm gonna give you guys a really special Christmas's Gift by kick your wise Balls uprise just softly to send it back inside as your internal organ like you used to got it in "Embryo" stage again!! Do not put your golden crown on crap pile. Believe me, it's not gonna worth your unvaluable time to paid for...
Did all you wise guys ever see this line of Einstien
"Imagination is better than knowledge."
P.S. Thanks to Mr. Silversberg
*Val d' Annivier*
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Science Of Santa Claus
Jolly Old Elf Really Can Deliver Presents In One Night, Says Engineer
Science Daily — Don't believe in Santa Claus?
If you're skeptical of Santa's abilities to deliver presents to millions of homes and children in just one night, North Carolina State University's Dr. Larry Silverberg, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, can explain the plausible science and engineering principles that could allow the Jolly Old Elf to pull off the magical feat year after year.
With his cherubic smile and twinkling eyes, Santa may appear to be merely a jolly old soul but he and his North Pole elves have a lot going on under the funny-looking hats, Silverberg says. Their advanced knowledge of electromagnetic waves, the space/time continuum, nanotechnology, genetic engineering and computer science easily trumps the know-how of contemporary scientists.
Silverberg says that Santa has a personal pipeline to children's thoughts -- via a listening antenna that combines technologies currently used in cell phones and EKGs -- which informs him that Mary in Miami hopes for a surfboard, while Michael from Minneapolis wants a snowboard. A sophisticated signal processing system filters the data, giving Santa clues on who wants what, where children live, and even who's been bad or good. Later, all this information will be processed in an onboard sleigh guidance system, which will provide Santa with the most efficient delivery route.
Silverberg adds that letters to Santa via snail mail still get the job done, however.
Silverberg is not so naïve as to think that Santa and his reindeer can travel approximately 200 million square miles -- making stops in some 80 million homes -- in one night. Instead, he posits that Santa uses his knowledge of the space/time continuum to form what Silverberg calls "relativity clouds."
"Based on his advanced knowledge of the theory of relativity, Santa recognizes that time can be stretched like a rubber band, that space can be squeezed like an orange and that light can be bent," Silverberg says. "Relativity clouds are controllable domains -- rips in time -- that allow him months to deliver presents while only a few minutes pass on Earth. The presents are truly delivered in a wink of an eye."
With a detailed route prepared and his list checked twice through the onboard computer on the technologically advanced sleigh, Santa is ready to deliver presents. His reindeer -- genetically bred to fly, balance on rooftops and see well in the dark -- don't actually pull a sleigh loaded down with toys. Instead, each house becomes Santa's workshop as he utilizes a nano-toymaker to fabricate toys inside the children's homes. The presents are grown on the spot, as the nano-toymaker creates -- atom by atom -- toys out of snow and soot, much like DNA can command the growth of organic material like tissues and body parts.
And there's really no need for Santa to enter the house via chimney, although Silverberg says he enjoys doing that every so often. Rather, the same relativity cloud that allows Santa to deliver presents in what seems like a wink of an eye is also used to "morph" Santa into people's homes.
Finally, many people wonder how Santa and the reindeer can eat all the food left out for them. Silverberg says they take just a nibble at each house. The remainder is either left in the house or placed in the sleigh's built-in food dehydrator, where it is preserved for future consumption. It takes a long time to deliver all those presents, after all.
"This is our vision of Santa's delivery method, given the human, physical and engineering constraints we face today," Silverberg says. "Children shouldn't put too much credence in the opinions of those who say it's not possible to deliver presents all over the world in one night. It is possible, and it's based on plausible science."
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by North Carolina State University.
Santa Claus Expected To Visit Kennedy Space Center To Install X-MAS Robotic Arm
Science Daily — KSC officials have learned that Santa Claus is planning a late-night landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) to install a new robotic toy distribution aid on his sleigh. Although KSC employees will be at home enjoying the holidays, the SLF will be left in full operational mode to accommodate the world-renowned sleigh commander, who has been granted special security clearance.
In response to a touch of arthritis in his joints, Santa spent months creating an EXtra-Manual Aid System (X-MAS). While the reindeer propulsion team is grazing in the lush grass adjacent to the runway, Santa will install X-MAS on the sleigh's midsection, directly between the cockpit and the cargo area. X-MAS will allow Santa to select the most appropriate toy at each child's home without having to reach backward, preventing arthritis flare-ups brought on by overextending his elbows in the chill night air.
X-MAS was inspired by the Canadian-built Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), installed on the International Space Station in April 2001 during Mission STS-100. A longer, stronger and more flexible version of the Shuttle's robotic arm, the SSRMS is 56 feet long when fully extended and has seven motorized joints. It is self-relocatable with a special latching end effector that can be attached to complementary ports located throughout the Station's exterior surfaces.
"If all goes according to plan, Santa will perform the Ground Integrated Functional Test (GIFT) immediately after installation of the X-MAS just to ensure that it works," said Tip Talone, director of the ISS/Payload Processing Directorate. "Our folks here gave Santa some pointers on testing methods. This means the families in the local area could be the first to receive their Christmas gifts with the new system."
Cloaked in darkness and miles away from the prying eyes of children, the SLF is an ideal North American rest stop for Santa and his team of reindeer. First opened for flights in 1976, it was specially designed for returning Space Shuttle orbiters. With its 15,000-foot-long and 300-foot-wide paved runway, the SLF is longer and wider than runways found in most commercial airports. Typically, 16 powerful xenon lights, each producing up to 1 billion candlepower, light the SLF during nighttime landing operations. However, so that Santa can retain his anonymity, the lights are always left off on Christmas Eve.
"It doesn't cost the government or taxpayers a penny," said a security supervisor who wished to remain anonymous. "We don't know for sure that he stops here every year. But there's too much ice in the North Pole for him to properly install the X-MAS. And since he did contact our security office to request clearance to land this Christmas Eve, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he stops here."
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by NASA/Kennedy Space Center.
Leonid Meteor
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How to Hear the Leonid Meteor Shower By Robert Roy Britt Senior Science Writer posted: 16 November 2006 08:18 am ET |
Meteor showers can be disappointing if your skies are cloudy or if you live in the wrong location. This weekend's Leonid meteor shower, for example, will be best viewed from parts of Europe and eastern North America.
Skywatchers elsewhere, including western North America, should see a typical rendition of the annual show—a few meteors per hour—but will miss the peak flurry, expected to start around 11:45 p.m. ET and last a couple hours.
The less fortunate can listen in, however.
Some meteor enthusiasts are already capturing snippets of faraway radio broadcasts that bounce off the electrified trails of Leonid meteors. A variation on the technique can be used to record pings of varying intensity and length amid background static. You can try to capture the sounds yourself, or you can hear a live broadcast of them on the Internet.
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"Meteors burn up in the atmosphere and leave an ionized trail which acts like a mirror to reflect transmitted signals from stations hundreds of miles away," explained Michael Boschat, a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. "Any meteor will be heard this way, but more are usually heard during meteor showers."
When and how
Many more meteors can be heard than seen, including faint meteors that would not shine bright enough to be noticed visually. So while a typical hour of pre-dawn skywatching this weekend might reveal just a handful of Leonids, Boschat is already hearing several dozen each hour.
Residents in western North America will miss this year's Leonid peak because the constellation Leo, from which Leonids appear to emanate, won't have risen yet. But listeners are not inhibited by the horizon.
"They can be heard before Leo rises and one will note an increase in the number per hour as the night goes on," Boschat said in an email interview. "At maximum they can continuously overlap each other, as happened to me in the 1998 and 2002 peaks."
Audibly, the Leonids continue for a while past dawn, too.
"Watching is better," Boschat admitted. "But if overcast ... this is the best way not to miss the shower. One can always visualize them zipping by in their mind."
You can listen to the Leonids at the Roswell Astronomy Club website or hear past events of varying types archived by the American Meteor Society.
Do it yourself
Boschat explained two ways you can create your own listening setup.
The least expensive way is to use a digital FM radio set to a distant known station frequency that you cannot hear. A meteor will reflect that signal so you will hear a brief bit of music or speech. For this to work, you can't have too many FM stations in your area because overlap from them will mute the meteor signal.
The second way is using an amateur radio set at a TV station known frequency. "For me I have to use Ch. 6 at 83.25 MHz. The other stations would be Ch. 2 at 55.25 MHz and Ch. 4 at 67.25 Mhz."
The latter method requires an amateur radio with a dipole antenna, however, a setup "that could be a bit beyond the scope of some observers," Boschat said.
TIME praises King Bhumibol as Asian Hero!
'Time' magazine honours Our Beloved King as 'Hero'.King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Over 60 years, a beloved monarch has used his moral authority to guide Thailand through many crises
By Robert Horn
As a single shot shattered the stillness of Bangkok's Borompimarn Palace on a steamy June morning in 1946, the land some still called Siam changed forever. Twenty-year-old King Ananda was dead. The manner of his passing—by accident, suicide or murder—endures as Thailand's deepest mystery. The pistol smoke barely had time to clear before the mantle of kingship passed to Ananda's 18-year-old brother, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Some, including a new magazine in Asia named TIME, pondered whether the "gangling, spectacled" teenager could survive the deadly intrigues of a fabled and faraway Oriental land.
The odds were against him. All across Southeast Asia, monarchies were being extinguished—kings and princes stripped of power, driven into exile or executed. Yet young Bhumibol steadily grew in stature, not least by launching over 3,000 royal projects to help the poor. Even as a communist insurgency raged, he personally delivered relief to remote villages. Bhumibol also quietly counseled and sometimes openly cajoled governments, always urging them to put public interest first. Having sat on the throne for 60 years, he is the world's longest-reigning monarch. His stewardship has been so masterful that in times of crisis Thais invariably turn to one man: King Bhumibol. Indeed, on two occasions—October 1973 and May 1992—with Thailand descending into chaos, the King, armed only with his moral authority, intervened to end bloodshed.Today, a group of generals has again seized power. They have pledged to give Thailand a fairer and lasting democratic system. Once more, Thailand's people will look to King Bhumibol, trusting him to ensure that the generals keep their promise.
Time magazine has named His Majesty the King as one of the "60 Asian Heroes" who it says have shaped the destiny of Asia throughout the last six decades.
In a special edition marking the 60th anniversary of the magazine's Asian edition, Time said His Majesty had been an inspiration to Thais, adding that he had helped the country through many political crises.
"Having sat on the throne for 60 years, he is the world's longest-reigning monarch. His stewardship has been so masterful that in times of crisis Thais invariably turn to one man: King Bhumibol," the November 13 edition says.
"Indeed, on two occasions - October 1973 and May 1992 - with Thailand descending into chaos, the King, armed only with his moral authority, intervened to end bloodshed."
It also referred to the September 19 coup, when the military ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
"Today, a group of generals has again seized power. They have pledged to give Thailand a fairer and lasting democratic system. Once more, Thailand's people will look to King Bhumibol, trusting him to ensure that the generals keep their promise," the article concludes.
'Time' magazine honours King as 'hero'
C O V E R
: For six decades, TIME has chronicled the triumphs and travails of Asia. In this special anniversary issue, we pay tribute to the remarkable men and women who have shaped these times.
: They were opposite in nature, but they shared a passion for freedom and justice, and together created a giant of democracy
: A Philippine widow harnessed the power of prayer and protest to overthrow tyranny
: A daughter takes up the fight for freedom begun by her father
: This legendary warrior defied Afghanistan's Soviet invaders, only to be assassinated by al-Qaeda
: The Maoist who reinvented himself, transformed a nation, and changed the world
: Indonesia's other hero of independence was a leader of quiet strength
: In defeating the French at Dien Bien Phu, he heralded the end of imperialism
: China's most forward-looking city owes much to a no-nonsense Scottish knight
: Victorious in battle, he went from soldier to statesman, and created a new Japan from the ashes of war
: Pakistan, the nation the Quaid-i-Azam founded, needs him and his values more than ever
: Smart, tough, pragmatic—an enduring symbol of Asia itself
: A master filmmaker with an eye for darkness and complexity
: A philosopher and economist who preaches tolerance to a divided world
: His voice was a conduit to heaven
: She overturned traditional notions of what it meant to be a Chinese woman
: From Hiroshima to Tokyo, he defined the look of Japan
: In an era of high-tech wizardry, the anim้ auteur makes magic the old way
: As Freddie Mercury, he showed the world just how hard a Parsi boy could rock
: His avant-garde installations launched an entirely new school of art
: In voicing her Eurasian identity, she defined a people
: Her on-screen charisma gave the world an icon of Chinese resolve
: A serendipitous sports injury led a Japanese boy to become a maestro
: The literary magician conjured up a new, postcolonial landscape
: The richest man in Asia built a global empire out of an ailing British conglomerate
: Friends and partners for 40 years, they made Sony an icon of Japan's rebirth
: The engineer who turned Taiwan into a PC-manufacturing powerhouse
: How a student from Taiwan brought Yahoo! to the world
: A late bloomer invented the instant noodles that fueled the Asian Miracle
: From a Bombay bedsit, he launched an economic revolution
: Four dazzling Japanese designers inspired the cloistered world of high fashion to look East
: A Nobel laureate banker envisions an end to poverty
: His iron will and just-do-it spirit propelled South Korea's industrial rise
: Hong Kong's masters of global manufacturing
: The video-game guru who made it O.K. to play
: His boldness and spectacular wealth reflect India's growing financial might
: The greatest living exponent of his craft
: China's legendary gymnast has combined sporting agility with commercial muscle
: Sport has no greater conqueror
: Sometimes we need to forget the film star and remember the athlete
: Pool isn't merely a beer-hall amusement—it's a path to the top
: Courage and comradeship took them to the greatest heights
: His spellbinding victories showed a nation that anything was possible
: Half Japanese by birth, all Japanese on the diamond
: He went through hoops to help China take its place in the world
: Tibet's spiritual leader is otherworldly, yet deeply engaged in this world. With remarkable subtlety, he teaches patience, humility and compassion
: A relentless investigator of Cambodia's killing fields seeks justice, not revenge
: Their scientific research on deadly diseases makes all of us safer
: This Buddhist monk helped end the suffering of the Vietnam War
: The Philippine press was terrified of covering a dictator's regime?until this duo came along
: A survivor of a prison camp exposes the horrors of Kim Jong Il's regime
: Her work in tobacco control helps save countless lives
: By preaching safe sex, Thailand's "Condom King" became a legend
: A grieving mother battles for the truth to be told about the Tiananmen massacre
: She fought?and died at the age of 30?for the rights of Afghan women
: Over 60 years, a beloved monarch has used his moral authority to guide Thailand through many crises
: The Saint of Calcutta spread love to the unwanted, the homeless and the abandoned
Ref: http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/
*Val d' Annivier*
Yellow Smile Thai's Style Coup d'état !!!
- Army Commander General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, named Chief of the Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy
- Navy Commander Admiral Sathiraphan Keyanon, named first deputy chief of CDRM
- Air Force Commander ACM Chalit Pookpasuk, named second deputy chief of CDRM
- Police Commissioner-General Pol Lt Gen Kowit Wattana, named third deputy chief of CDRM
- National Security Council Secretary-General Gen Winai Phatthiyakul, named Secretary-General of the CDRM
- Supreme Commander General Ruangroj Mahasaranon, named Chief Adviser to the CDRM
Sonthi has stated that a civilian prime minister would be appointed within the next two weeks.
On Thursday 21 of September, and to avoid confusion over the name of the new administration, the Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) spokesman Lt General Palangkun Klahan asked the local press to report its name in full because “The name is important in relaying a right message and its shortened version might be misleading". Palangkun was referring to the 1992 coups staged by the National Peace-keeping Council adding “The goal of the CDRM is to heal the social divisions by improving the political system and not to cling to power” .
Others Facts:
Thailand's southern Muslims, who widely despised ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, say they hope the Muslim general, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, who overthrew him will follow through on his offer to hold peace talks with Islamic separatists. Sonthi, the first Muslim to head the Thai army, was previously tasked with resolving the bloody conflict that has claimed over 1,400 lives, and there is optimism that his conciliatory approach may now produce results
International reactions
Canada - In a press release, Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter MacKay said, "Canada is deeply concerned by these developments. We urge a peaceful solution to this crisis in conformity with the country’s constitution. Thailand has made marked progress in terms of respect for human rights and the rule of law, and Canada urges all parties to continue to uphold these values."[88] 
Netherlands - Herman van Gelderen, spokesman for the Dutch Foreign Minister, said the minister was "very worried" but could not comment further for want of information.[114]
Norway - Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stated, “The armed forces must step down to allow the return of the democratically elected government. I hope the situation will be resolved peacefully, and that the country returns to democratic order as soon as possible.” [115]
Sweden - Minister for Foreign Affairs and former President of the United Nations General Assembly Jan Eliasson stated, "I am very concerned about the information from Bangkok tonight that a military coup d'état has taken place. The situation is not yet clear, but it is imperative that political differences are resolved within the framework of the constitution, peacefully and in accordance with democratic principles and with respect for human rights. We are naturally following developments in Bangkok very closely".[116]
Denmark - Foreign minister Per Stig Møller denounced the coup, calling it "banana republic-like, that the military seizes power while the PM is out of the country. But it's not over yet, there's no conclusion yet. Thaksin has a lot of support outside Bangkok. So we'll have to see what happens when he returns home. I just hope it does not end in violence. I hope that democracy will be re-established in Thailand." [117]
United Kingdom - Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett stated, "We are never happy about military attempts to overthrow a government, if that is what is happening. But we very much hope there will be peace and the situation will be resolved and that some peaceful way out of the problem will be determined." [88] A Foreign Office spokeswoman later added, "There are elections scheduled for October and November and we are actively trying to find out whether those elections will go ahead or not. Obviously, we believe they should."
Ref: BBC News UK.
This is my turn to speak about Thai's Coup d'état as One of Thai People!
Sure, the World has right to be critic about Thai political Coup d'état 2006, even also blamed Gen.Sonthi Boonyaratglin or crashed our political virtue by theirs feet as we were the uncivilization! I can under stand and bare about that cricic, it's one common sense that they got as first negative flash idea in thiers brains, anyway it's hardly matter to us as they were expected, but for the one verry unrespected insult was Mr might be. President(Bush)'s opinion which was retold by his spokeman! All the thing the world said mostly were the pessimism, which I guess they didn't realize about the most of advances's evolutions of any creative knowledge sometime it was needed to begin with somthing sort of "Breaking Rules or Theory" but I didn't mean that any theory is bad, sure the thing is we have to learn and understand them all exactly what theirs mean before we 've totally forget out, never let they are framed us off any new freak ideas . Trying something new and harmonize them up to date with the present to face any unexpected circumstances. Besides all bad or negative comments is such pointed out clearly that we have a really different way of creed and lifestyle completely. Anyway we could blame no one because we all have been faced the different environments, physical factors, cultures, traditions, way of thinking, benchmarks, bliefs, or even the ethics, causing they might be never absolutely believe everything at first as by-products of thiers fates and experiences, may be that's the way that this present world have taught all of us to think that way first then all theirs goodwishes opinions and comments totally end up as the same decay directions.
The bottom line is "Don't only look at our visible dull outer surface, because it(Coup) actually might be a sweet coconut fruit not a red dilicious apple even if it has the plain hard peel covered and coconut flesh is also uneadiblea part because it is roughy thick brown firber. Moreover its seed cover is the most harden part as known as coconut shell but the deep inside ugly shell combine with white matter and liquid endosperms which are absolutely exquisited taste for us, don't you dare to argue, pals?!! Sometime all human doesn't need to eat the red dilicious's flesh apple to be keep us alive. Please, do not think that way because the one fruit's seed could be feed some people alive too. The Thai's Political's way likes a coconut not a red delicious, unlike the other counties Political direction, they are all red beautiful apples or even some just eager try to bacame that beautiful one to be accepted as member of civilize country but that is barely tempting thing to my country. We're pretty cottent who we are as just to be ugly a coconut better try to transform or cloning to be theirs pretty apple. Even it's hard to peel, difficult to excess inside, take so long time to get in but when we finally broken its shell, we shall discover a mavelous gift from heaven to stop our thristy and also hungry in the same time! Moreover it could be keep in every environment as long as it shoot out to be a new strongest generation once agian!
P.S. All of International Opinions above, I'm quite pleased about the Dutch's One because it seems open mind, general, doesn't look anything as other outsider's visible view, doesn't rush to just thing without the bothside of all imformation hearing and considered as a non-bias one.
Today Quote: "Don't just anyone before walking two moons on his moccacins!"
Writen By: Val d' Annivier*
Continued of my above opinions : I said what I saw from my own window!
You are My Only..You are My Treasure..I'll give You my Whole Things..Even If You Don't Want...
A common beauty, one might be most and only to someone who see its exactly by his heart.
"She is My Only Rose. Only one in my entire universe" thought Liitle Prince.
Little Prince: "..whatever one says to them. On my planet I had a flower; she always was the first to speak . . ."
But it happened that after walking for a long time through sand, and rocks, and snow, the little prince at last came upon a road. And all roads lead to the abodes of men.
"Good morning," he said.
He was standing before a garden, all a-bloom with roses.
"Good morning," said the roses.
The little prince gazed at them. They all looked like his flower.
"Who are you?" he demanded, thunderstruck.
"We are roses," the roses said.
And he was overcome with sadness. His flower had told him that she was the only one of her kind in all the universe. And here were five thousand of them, all alike, in one single garden!
"She would be very much annoyed," he said to himself, "if she should see that". She would cough most dreadfully, and she would pretend that she was dying, to avoid being laughed at. And I should be obliged to pretend that I was nursing her back to life--for if I did not do that, to humble myself also, she would really allow herself to die. . ."
Then he went on with his reflections: "I thought that I was rich, with a flower that was unique in all the world; and all I had was a common rose. A common rose, and three volcanoes that come up to my knees--and one of them perhaps extinct forever . . . That doesn't make me a very great prince . . ."
And he lay down in the grass and cried..
From: Le Petit Prince.
Written & Illustrated by Antoine de Saint Exupery.
*~Val d'Annivier~*
*Warning: This Page Really Needs A Hi-Speed Underground (IE).
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