Going, Going... @ 03/22/2008 09:43 PM
From BBC News: Glaciers suffer record shrinkage:
The rate at which some of the world’s glaciers are melting has more than doubled, data from the United Nations Environment Programme has shown.
Average glacial shrinkage has risen from 30 centimetres per year between 1980 and 1999, to 1.5 metres in 2006.
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Martian Ice @ 03/13/2008 12:46 PM
Via BBC News: Huge ice deposits ‘seen’ on Mars:
Large volumes of water ice have probably been detected below Mars’ surface, far from the planet’s polar ice caps, scientists have said.
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Climate Change and US Transportation @ 03/12/2008 11:04 PM
Via National Geographic News: Global Warming to Affect U.S. Transport:
Flooded roads and subways, deformed railroad tracks, and weakened bridges may be the wave of the future with continuing global warming, a new study says.
Climate change will affect every type of transportation through rising sea levels, increased rainfall, and surges from more intense storms, the National Research Council said in a report released Tuesday.
Complicating matters, people continue to move into coastal areas, creating the need for more roads and services in the most vulnerable regions, the report noted.
“The time has come for transportation professionals to acknowledge and confront the challenges posed by climate change and to incorporate the most current scientific knowledge into the planning of transportation systems,” said Henry Schwartz Jr., past president and chairman of the engineering firm Sverdrup/Jacobs Civil Inc., and chairman of the committee that wrote the report.
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Something For Everyone @ 03/11/2008 10:15 PM
Via Science Blog: Possibly Once-Habitable Ancient Mars Lake Found:
Scientists studying images from The University of Arizona-led High Resolution Imaging Experiment camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have discovered never-before-seen impact “megabreccia” and a possibly once-habitable ancient lake on Mars at a place called Holden crater.
Via Slashdot: A One-Way, One-Person Mission to Mars:
Will humans ever really go to Mars? Let’s face it, the obstacles are quite daunting. Not only are there numerous, difficult, technical issues to overcome, but the political will and perseverance of any one nation to undertake such an arduous task just can’t be counted on. However, one former NASA engineer believes a human mission to Mars is quite doable, and such an event would unify the world as never before. But Jim McLane’s proposal includes a couple of major caveats: the trip to Mars should be one-way, and have a crew of only one person.
Via National Geographic News: Saturn Moon May Have Rings — A First:
Rhea, Saturn’s second largest moon, may be the first known moon with its own small system of rings, astronomers announced.
Via Lifehacker: If It Doesn’t Rot, Don’t Eat It:
Web site AlterNet interviews health author Michael Pollon to discuss the state of the food industry and its relation to our health. The interview offers several interesting health tips, but if you’re looking for quick and simple rules of thumb to add to your health regimen, Pollon suggests one tip that’s sure to help: “don’t eat any food that’s incapable of rotting.” This idea subscribes to the common wisdom that the more processed a food is (and therefore, less susceptible to rot), the less healthy it is. Granted, this isn’t an altogether new idea (nor is it without exceptions), but it is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind next time you’re reaching into your snack pantry.
And finally, from Dan Phiffer, via Boing Boing:
Left: All the water in the world (1.4087 billion cubic kilometres of it) including sea water, ice, lakes, rivers, ground water, clouds, etc. Right: All the air in the atmosphere (5140 trillion tonnes of it) gathered into a ball at sea-level density. Shown on the same scale as the Earth.
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Mars (or, Why I Love National Geographic) @ 03/04/2008 10:19 PM
Dry Debris, Not Water, Caused Recent Flows on Mars:
A dry landslide—not liquid water—is the most likely explanation for at least one of the bright streaks seen recently on Mars, a new study concludes.
PHOTO IN THE NEWS: First Mars Avalanches Seen In Action:
The first-ever picture of avalanches occurring on Mars might have had scientists yodeling for joy when they found it among the latest batch of images from NASA’s orbiting HiRISE camera.
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