Increase the Awesome

This guy does a great job of explaining the James Webb Space Telescope, and the awesomeness of NASA. I think even the non-nerds can appreciate this video, at least the first couple of minutes about the philosophy of increasing the awesome and decreasing the suck :).

Thanks to N and ACQ for sharing this! Apparently I was late to the party.

TIME's "The Perils of Plastic"

After a get away to Florida to visit friends and family for almost 2 weeks - I am on my way home (can you hear my sigh of relief?). I arrived at the airport early so I browsed the stores and my eye caught Steve Jobs staring at me from the cover of TIME Magazine and the words "Inside Steve's Pad" (I'm dying to try the iPad).


When I was trying to decide if it was worthy of buying, I noticed across the top "Environmental Special: The Perils of Plastic". Yup, I had to buy it...



Our government is catching on, finally, after a recent biomonitoring survey by the CDC. The survey found traces of 212 environmental chemicals in Americans, including toxic ones too many to list here as I'm typing this entry on my iPhone, on the plane (will not publish till we land and I can turn off airplane mode).

I'm thrilled to see this article in TIME. I know some people are rolling their eyes about this controversal topic... But to me, it all makes sense and a bunch of nay-sayers are starting to back pedal, including the FDA. Wonder why obesity, diabetes, autism, AD/HD, and auto-immune disorders are on the rise? They could be linked to plastics, specifically BPA (which is found in more than just your water bottles, try soda cans and canned foods) and phthalates (in cosmetics to IV bags). The scary part is that babies are already born with chemicals in their systems and then their bodies act like sponges mainly because they eat and drink more relative to their body weight.

I don't believe in the methodology that, "Chemicals are deemed safe until the EPA can prove that they are dangerous". Especially since the EPA has limited information from industry and like everything else, has limited funds and a bunch of red tape which makes the process take years.

I could go on and on about this... If you are interested in reading this article, email me (click envelope on the right side of this page) and I will email it to you once I scan it. Also, I have a bunch of other resources I've collected over the past couple of years that I could share, like a guide to the numbered plastics (what's in them, which are safest, etc.).

Check it out, but really I think it's only a matter of time until it's in front of everyone's faces. America seems to finally be catching on! The sad part is that the government, the way the regulation system works, fails to protect us. From the article, it sounds like proposals for regulation reform are coming soon. However, implementing change will take years. Reading this at least makes me think that maybe all these petitions I'm signing and letters to legislation are being read...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Drunk Monkeys

I'm not sure if this is sad or funny! I found the article "Humans Brought Monkeys to St. Kitts and Inadvertently Turned Them Into Alcoholics" on treehugger and had to share. I'd never heard of, or seen drunk monkeys... until now.

Link Between Cosmic Rays and Climate Change?

I stumbled upon this article, and the subsequent browsing brought back some memories of my Space Physics class that was several years ago. I remember this being a great topic of debate back then, seems like it still is... here's a clip from the ScienceNOW article by Phil Berardelli - "Do Clouds Come From Outer Space?"

Study Connects Cloud Cover With Cosmic Rays.

ScienceNOW (8/5, Berardelli) reported, "Most of Earth's clouds get their start in deep space. That's the surprising conclusion from a team of researchers who argue that interstellar cosmic rays collide with water molecules in our atmosphere to form overcast skies." A new study by Henrik Svensmark of the Technical University of Denmark found that over the past 22 years the five strongest coronal mass ejections from the sun, which would block cosmic rays from reaching the Earth, corresponded to a 7% decrease in cloud cover. "Svensmark argues that the findings suggest a link between cosmic rays and climate change. Because clouds...reflect light from the sun, fewer clouds would mean a warmer Earth." However, Jón Egill Kristjánsson of the University of Oslo noted that there has only been a "slightly upward trend" at most in cosmic rays. "That would mean either no increase in cloud formation or a slight increase--neither of which would warm the world."

Further reading if you're interested:
Study shows strong evidence that cloud changes may exacerbate global warming

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE: Cosmic Rays, Clouds, and Climate

*Random fact about me: I have always been fascinated with climate/weather, and for a while I dreamed of working for NOAA. It's still my back up plan (I have many plans - A, B, C, & D).

How to protect the oceans

This must watch video of TED prize winner and legendary ocean researcher Sylvia Earle's speech is 18 minutes long... it is definitely worth the time to watch, to contemplate her message, and hope her wish comes true! Before viewing this video, I hadn't heard of the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference that is held each year in Long Beach, California. TED's mission is simply defined as "ideas worth sharing", and the talks (a broad range of topics) are available to view on TED's YouTube page. But before you go explore the talks, you have to watch this first!

To watch in high quality click here.

So how can WE help protect the oceans? How about -

• Discarding waste properly
• Reducing the amount of packaging we consume
• Being conscientious of where the fish we eat comes from, and only eating seafood that is sustainably harvested (ask, do research... this makes me re-think how often I eat sushi)
• Wearing non-toxic sunscreen (did you know that the chemicals in sunscreen kill the coral reefs?)
  

This summer Project Kaisei will begin, and I'm looking forward to hearing of their findings and progress!

"Project Kaisei consists of a team of innovators, ocean lovers, sailors, scientists, sports enthusiasts and environmentalists who have come together with a common purpose. To study how to capture plastic waste in the ocean and how to capture, detoxify and recycle it into diesel fuel. This first research Mission, scheduled for the summer of 2009, will be critical to understanding the logistics that will be needed to make a successful clean-up operation possible as some of the technology required for such a feat has never been utilised under oceanic conditions."

Read all about their planned 70 day expedition to the "Plastic Vortex" this summer, and how you can contribute here.

Mercury & Fish Debate

I just read this article and browsed some of the links within the post. It contains interesting information about the controversy between the FDA and EPA on how much fish is safe to eat, and if the hazards of mercury content is outweighed by the benefits of Omega-3 fats and other nutrients.  Did you know,

"the EWG recommends that women of childbearing age and children under 5 not eat albacore tuna at all, because a significant portion of albacore tuna has very high mercury levels. People eating this tuna will exceed safe exposure levels by a wide margin." 

Granted I think they mean Albacore and not Light Tuna but it makes you go hmmm... The funny part for me is that I just started liking canned tuna... for years I couldn't eat it without gagging!  Do you know how much you can safely eat in a week? Check out the EWG tuna calculator here. They also have a safe fish list for women.

OK, mercury or not, I'm craving sushi!

That's not Tang...

This video, which had me crying laughing is about NASA's Water Recovery System on-board the International Space Station that turns urine into drinking water... There is some bad language so consider yourself warned!

That's Not Tang - watch more funny videos

It is very "green" to recycle sweat and urine into drinking water! It is also very economical for NASA considering it costs thousands of dollars to ship a pint of water to the ISS. You can read more about this on NASA's website.

Have you seen a pink dolphin?

Wow, at first I didn't believe what I was reading... I had to check and make sure I wasn't on The Onion. Check out this blog about a PINK dolphin. Image below by birdologist on flicker.

Here's a snipbit from the blog:

"The young dolphin, which was first sighted as a calf in June 2007 and photographed a few weeks later, gets its brilliant pink color and bright red eyes from blood vessels that lie just below its layer of blubber. This pink color is masked by pigments in the skin of normally-colored gray animals."

NASA Rover in Inaugural Parade

Here are some videos of NASA's Lunar Electric Rover (LER) that was in the Inaugural Parade yesterday! I know I'm delinquent on blog posts, but I'm off to a slow start this year. I have a few posts in the works that I hope to have posted in the next week - including one about my resolutions for 2009 with a recap of all the go-green changes I made in 2008.

For now, here's some cool NASA stuff!

Interview about JUNK

Dr. Marcus Eriksen was interviewed by Martha Stewart about what he found while crossing the Pacific Ocean this summer on JUNK. It's full of interesting information, and definitely worth watching! I followed JUNK's blog this summer as they crossed the Pacific - from southern California to Hawaii - on a raft literally made of junk. Why you ask? To raise awareness about pollution of our oceans. You can read my previous entry here.

Emptied Oceans

Heartbreaking. There's an article about this here.

Strange Days on Planet Earth

This video is an excerpt of the episode Plastic Plague from National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth 2. We have watched all of the episodes from season 1 and 2 over the past month... and wow, talk about eye opening information! The first season has four 1 hour episodes covering invasive species, climate change, the role of predators, and rivers/oceans. The second season has 2 episodes and investigates what is happening to all the fish, our water sources, the impacts of plastic in our oceans.

I highly recommend this docu-series, I found each episode fascinating (not boring). I think everyone should watch them - really they should be handing these DVDs out for free. We rented them from Netflix, since we missed when they aired on PBS. You can read more about this series, and what you can do at the Strange Days website.

JUNK

So what do you get with 15,000 plastic bottles and an old Cessna 310?

A sailboat. Yeah, really. On June 1st, Dr. Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal set sail from Southern California aboard JUNK to raise awareness about plastic in the oceans. They are sailing to Hawaii literally on a craft made of junk, with no motor, and they expect it will take ~ 6-7 weeks. You can read more about how the sailboat was constructed and follow their journey on their blog at wwww.junkraft.com (also linked under this page's blog list).

Live Like You Love the Ocean

Yesterday, June 8th was World Ocean Day. I'm disappointed that I missed it, and didn't have the opportunity to blog about it on the actual day. Those that know me personally know how much I love the ocean. I love being on the water, or even better underneath SCUBA diving. By nature, I am an observer and love to hover and watch (avoid touching at all costs) marine life in their habitat. I am always fascinated by the behavior of different species and how they interact - this goes with animals on land and water.

A handful of scientists are researching one of several gyres in the ocean called the "ever expanding" Great Pacific Garbage Patch (more like a bowl of plastic soup, reported to be twice the size of Texas or larger). Here they have found six pounds of plastic for every pound of algae. Considering that the ocean determines our food, and our climate... this is devastating. According to the U.S. Commission of Ocean Policy, 80% of plastic in the ocean is not from ships but from land. The improper disposal of consumer waste eventually travels from beaches and rivers to the ocean... to be pulled by currents and accumulate in ocean gyres. So... what can we do? I think Wallace J. Nichols, a senior scientist at the Ocean Conservatory said it best - "live like you love the ocean." Simply put less in, take less out, and protect the edge.

To commemorate World Ocean Day, people were challenged to make June 8th a day without plastic. I'm glad to say that without even realizing that it was WOD - I did it... I used my Klean Kanteen water bottle, my new reusable cotton produce bags (see my previous post), and my totes. Even though World Ocean Day for 2008 has passed, I challenge you to make your own "day without plastic" day. Then tell me about it!

For a list of articles about the impacts of plastic in our lakes and oceans click here. The article that brought the significance of this issue to my awareness is called Plastic Ocean, by Susan Casey.

NASA's 50th Anniversary

NASA is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year by sharing mission film footage (now in HD) collected over the past 50 years. The 6 part series, called When We Left Earth will be aired in 2 hour increments over the next 3 Sundays, beginning tomorrow June 8th. This article discusses how the film was brought out of storage and restored to make the series.

Check out the trailer for the series, it gave me goose bumps!