The weather has been rough this year. Hurricanes, rough winter and extreme summer heat. that extreme summer heat has caused more issues than just high electricity bills from running the air conditioner. The world's coral reefs have come under severe stress and scientists fear they are in danger of dying off.
The heat is causing the coral to shed its color, or bleach. Many corals have already expired and the dying isn't stopping now. Warm water in the Caribbean could cause coral there to undergo drastic bleaching within the next few weeks.
This is the second time coral has undergone a mass die-off. In 1998, some 16% of the world's shallow-water reefs died. However, scientists fear that in some areas, such as Thailand, the die-off this year will be worse than that of 1998.
Record high temperatures for the first eight months of 2010 have increased ocean temperatures which, in turn, placed stress on the delicate corals. Not only do corals add a breathtaking beauty to the landscape of the ocean, they provide a natural habitat for a variety of sea creatures.
The reefs themselves are millions of tiny polyps working hand-in-hand with algae. The algae capture sunlight and carbon dioxide and feed the polyps. It is the algae that bring the beautiful and vivid colors to the reefs. When temperatures rise, the metabolism of the algae speeds up and they create toxins rather than sugars to feed the polyps. The polyps reject the algae and bleaching occurs. The corals can possibly recover if temperatures drop to where the algae can reproduce. Continued heat eventually kills the polyps.
Some areas appear to be slowly recovering as temperatures slowly drop and some areas appear to not have been affected at all. The reefs of the Florida Keys have yet to suffer any effects of bleaching while serious bleaching has happened off the Texas-Louisiana border. The north Caribbean has experienced initial bleaching but are now experiencing cooler temperatures thanks to hurricanes and tropical storms. The southern Caribbean hasn't been so lucky.
The most famous coral reef in the world, Australia's Great Barrier Reef has many scientists worried. The Australian summer is just beginning and Australian waters are already above normal temperatures. The worry is if there is a bad monsoon season, the Great Barrier Reef will sustain serious bleaching.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39282717/ns/technology_and_science-the_new_york_times/
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Coral Faces Second Mass Die-Off
The weather has been rough this year. Hurricanes, rough winter and extreme summer heat. that extreme summer heat has caused more issues than just high electricity bills from running the air conditioner. The world's coral reefs have come under severe stress and scientists fear they are in danger of dying off.
The heat is causing the coral to shed its color, or bleach. Many corals have already expired and the dying isn't stopping now. Warm water in the Caribbean could cause coral there to undergo drastic bleaching within the next few weeks.
This is the second time coral has undergone a mass die-off. In 1998, some 16% of the world's shallow-water reefs died. However, scientists fear that in some areas, such as Thailand, the die-off this year will be worse than that of 1998.
Record high temperatures for the first eight months of 2010 have increased ocean temperatures which, in turn, placed stress on the delicate corals. Not only do corals add a breathtaking beauty to the landscape of the ocean, they provide a natural habitat for a variety of sea creatures.
The reefs themselves are millions of tiny polyps working hand-in-hand with algae. The algae capture sunlight and carbon dioxide and feed the polyps. It is the algae that bring the beautiful and vivid colors to the reefs. When temperatures rise, the metabolism of the algae speeds up and they create toxins rather than sugars to feed the polyps. The polyps reject the algae and bleaching occurs. The corals can possibly recover if temperatures drop to where the algae can reproduce. Continued heat eventually kills the polyps.
Some areas appear to be slowly recovering as temperatures slowly drop and some areas appear to not have been affected at all. The reefs of the Florida Keys have yet to suffer any effects of bleaching while serious bleaching has happened off the Texas-Louisiana border. The north Caribbean has experienced initial bleaching but are now experiencing cooler temperatures thanks to hurricanes and tropical storms. The southern Caribbean hasn't been so lucky.
The most famous coral reef in the world, Australia's Great Barrier Reef has many scientists worried. The Australian summer is just beginning and Australian waters are already above normal temperatures. The worry is if there is a bad monsoon season, the Great Barrier Reef will sustain serious bleaching.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39282717/ns/technology_and_science-the_new_york_times/
The heat is causing the coral to shed its color, or bleach. Many corals have already expired and the dying isn't stopping now. Warm water in the Caribbean could cause coral there to undergo drastic bleaching within the next few weeks.
This is the second time coral has undergone a mass die-off. In 1998, some 16% of the world's shallow-water reefs died. However, scientists fear that in some areas, such as Thailand, the die-off this year will be worse than that of 1998.
Record high temperatures for the first eight months of 2010 have increased ocean temperatures which, in turn, placed stress on the delicate corals. Not only do corals add a breathtaking beauty to the landscape of the ocean, they provide a natural habitat for a variety of sea creatures.
The reefs themselves are millions of tiny polyps working hand-in-hand with algae. The algae capture sunlight and carbon dioxide and feed the polyps. It is the algae that bring the beautiful and vivid colors to the reefs. When temperatures rise, the metabolism of the algae speeds up and they create toxins rather than sugars to feed the polyps. The polyps reject the algae and bleaching occurs. The corals can possibly recover if temperatures drop to where the algae can reproduce. Continued heat eventually kills the polyps.
Some areas appear to be slowly recovering as temperatures slowly drop and some areas appear to not have been affected at all. The reefs of the Florida Keys have yet to suffer any effects of bleaching while serious bleaching has happened off the Texas-Louisiana border. The north Caribbean has experienced initial bleaching but are now experiencing cooler temperatures thanks to hurricanes and tropical storms. The southern Caribbean hasn't been so lucky.
The most famous coral reef in the world, Australia's Great Barrier Reef has many scientists worried. The Australian summer is just beginning and Australian waters are already above normal temperatures. The worry is if there is a bad monsoon season, the Great Barrier Reef will sustain serious bleaching.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39282717/ns/technology_and_science-the_new_york_times/
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
ASPCA-Sponsored Petition Regarding Horse Roundups
Yesterday, I posted about horse roundups being conducted by the United States government (Bureau of Land Management, BLM). I was hoping to have a link to an online petition at the time I wrote the post but I didn't. Well, I've got one now.
If you'd like to sign the ASPCA sponsored petition you can do so here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/517/697/713/.
If you'd like to sign the ASPCA sponsored petition you can do so here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/517/697/713/.
ASPCA-Sponsored Petition Regarding Horse Roundups
Yesterday, I posted about horse roundups being conducted by the United States government (Bureau of Land Management, BLM). I was hoping to have a link to an online petition at the time I wrote the post but I didn't. Well, I've got one now.
If you'd like to sign the ASPCA sponsored petition you can do so here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/517/697/713/.
If you'd like to sign the ASPCA sponsored petition you can do so here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/517/697/713/.
Horses vs. Helicopters: Roundup in the US West
In ten of the fifty United States there is a showdown going on. It's between some 40,000 wild horses and the cowboys who are trying to round them up. But this isn't the kind of showdown we've all read about or seen in movies depicting the Old West. The cowboys aren't riding horses wrangling the animals to where they want them to go. The cowboys doing this roundup are swooping down on the horses in helicopters in this high-tech showdown. For the past month, the cowboys have been working in the states of California and Nevada and have caught over 1,200 wild horses.
Just how do the roundups work? Horses are spotted from helicopters then driven toward the trap site through a funnel shaped opening into a temporary corral. Once in there, a "judas horse" is released to lead the wild horses into the trap where they must become accustomed to their new lives. ("Judas horses" are animals specially trained to lead other horses into these traps.) Sometimes the horses manage to outsmart the helicopters and can escape. Most of the time, however, they do not.
According to animal rights activists, the roundups are cruel, expensive and unnecessary. Activists cite the hard running the horses do and the distance they travel as being unnecessarily stressful on the animals, particularly the young horses.
The government disagrees, however. On Tuesday, August 10, 2010, lawyers for the Obama administration argued that leaving the herds of wild horses on public range land would do the animals more harm than good. Administration lawyers filed papers in court stating the population of horses "will have devastating impacts on the other resources in the area and on the wild horses themselves". A roundup organized by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began the following day, August 11, 2010.
The current roundup hasn't been without tragedy. Seven horses have died in this roundup alone. Last winter, a roundup in Nevada caused more than 100 horse deaths.
According to the government, horses that are captured are offered for adoption. If they aren't adopted, they are housed on large private ranches, most often in Kansas and Oklahoma. The cost of holding 34,500 captured horses and burros in 2009 alone was a full 70% of the programs $40.6 million budget.
About the only thing both sides of this issue can agree on is that the population of wild horses and burros is great. Once that agreement is out of the way, the disagreements start. Critics of the program say the government is catering to the livestock ranchers over the animals who inhabit the land naturally. The livestock ranchers pay the government to graze their cattle on public land while the government receives no money for the wild horses that live there.
In 1971, the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed into federal law protecting the dwindling population of wild horses and made it against the law for anyone to round up horses for sport or profit.
I can't help but think that if a private individual was the one doing the helicopter roundups and running these horses to gather them for themselves (regardless of what they did with them) the administration would have them in court faster than you could say "giddyup". I guess it's okay, though, for the government themselves to do it. That's different.
Sources:
(I've included both the original NYT article and the MSNBC.com reprint because I find the reader comments included in the MSNBC article not only add to the discussion but are a very interesting gauge of public opinion on this issue.)
Horse Advocates Pull for Underdog in Roundups (New York Times Original Article)
Helicopters vs. Mustangs: Cruel, expensive and unnecessary, animal activists say (MSNBC)
Feds: Postponing CA-NV roundup will harm mustangs
Judge allows wild horse roundup in Nevada
Just how do the roundups work? Horses are spotted from helicopters then driven toward the trap site through a funnel shaped opening into a temporary corral. Once in there, a "judas horse" is released to lead the wild horses into the trap where they must become accustomed to their new lives. ("Judas horses" are animals specially trained to lead other horses into these traps.) Sometimes the horses manage to outsmart the helicopters and can escape. Most of the time, however, they do not.
According to animal rights activists, the roundups are cruel, expensive and unnecessary. Activists cite the hard running the horses do and the distance they travel as being unnecessarily stressful on the animals, particularly the young horses.
The government disagrees, however. On Tuesday, August 10, 2010, lawyers for the Obama administration argued that leaving the herds of wild horses on public range land would do the animals more harm than good. Administration lawyers filed papers in court stating the population of horses "will have devastating impacts on the other resources in the area and on the wild horses themselves". A roundup organized by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began the following day, August 11, 2010.
The current roundup hasn't been without tragedy. Seven horses have died in this roundup alone. Last winter, a roundup in Nevada caused more than 100 horse deaths.
According to the government, horses that are captured are offered for adoption. If they aren't adopted, they are housed on large private ranches, most often in Kansas and Oklahoma. The cost of holding 34,500 captured horses and burros in 2009 alone was a full 70% of the programs $40.6 million budget.
About the only thing both sides of this issue can agree on is that the population of wild horses and burros is great. Once that agreement is out of the way, the disagreements start. Critics of the program say the government is catering to the livestock ranchers over the animals who inhabit the land naturally. The livestock ranchers pay the government to graze their cattle on public land while the government receives no money for the wild horses that live there.
In 1971, the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed into federal law protecting the dwindling population of wild horses and made it against the law for anyone to round up horses for sport or profit.
I can't help but think that if a private individual was the one doing the helicopter roundups and running these horses to gather them for themselves (regardless of what they did with them) the administration would have them in court faster than you could say "giddyup". I guess it's okay, though, for the government themselves to do it. That's different.
Sources:
(I've included both the original NYT article and the MSNBC.com reprint because I find the reader comments included in the MSNBC article not only add to the discussion but are a very interesting gauge of public opinion on this issue.)
Horse Advocates Pull for Underdog in Roundups (New York Times Original Article)
Helicopters vs. Mustangs: Cruel, expensive and unnecessary, animal activists say (MSNBC)
Feds: Postponing CA-NV roundup will harm mustangs
Judge allows wild horse roundup in Nevada
Horses vs. Helicopters: Roundup in the US West
In ten of the fifty United States there is a showdown going on. It's between some 40,000 wild horses and the cowboys who are trying to round them up. But this isn't the kind of showdown we've all read about or seen in movies depicting the Old West. The cowboys aren't riding horses wrangling the animals to where they want them to go. The cowboys doing this roundup are swooping down on the horses in helicopters in this high-tech showdown. For the past month, the cowboys have been working in the states of California and Nevada and have caught over 1,200 wild horses.
Just how do the roundups work? Horses are spotted from helicopters then driven toward the trap site through a funnel shaped opening into a temporary corral. Once in there, a "judas horse" is released to lead the wild horses into the trap where they must become accustomed to their new lives. ("Judas horses" are animals specially trained to lead other horses into these traps.) Sometimes the horses manage to outsmart the helicopters and can escape. Most of the time, however, they do not.
According to animal rights activists, the roundups are cruel, expensive and unnecessary. Activists cite the hard running the horses do and the distance they travel as being unnecessarily stressful on the animals, particularly the young horses.
The government disagrees, however. On Tuesday, August 10, 2010, lawyers for the Obama administration argued that leaving the herds of wild horses on public range land would do the animals more harm than good. Administration lawyers filed papers in court stating the population of horses "will have devastating impacts on the other resources in the area and on the wild horses themselves". A roundup organized by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began the following day, August 11, 2010.
The current roundup hasn't been without tragedy. Seven horses have died in this roundup alone. Last winter, a roundup in Nevada caused more than 100 horse deaths.
According to the government, horses that are captured are offered for adoption. If they aren't adopted, they are housed on large private ranches, most often in Kansas and Oklahoma. The cost of holding 34,500 captured horses and burros in 2009 alone was a full 70% of the programs $40.6 million budget.
About the only thing both sides of this issue can agree on is that the population of wild horses and burros is great. Once that agreement is out of the way, the disagreements start. Critics of the program say the government is catering to the livestock ranchers over the animals who inhabit the land naturally. The livestock ranchers pay the government to graze their cattle on public land while the government receives no money for the wild horses that live there.
In 1971, the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed into federal law protecting the dwindling population of wild horses and made it against the law for anyone to round up horses for sport or profit.
I can't help but think that if a private individual was the one doing the helicopter roundups and running these horses to gather them for themselves (regardless of what they did with them) the administration would have them in court faster than you could say "giddyup". I guess it's okay, though, for the government themselves to do it. That's different.
Sources:
(I've included both the original NYT article and the MSNBC.com reprint because I find the reader comments included in the MSNBC article not only add to the discussion but are a very interesting gauge of public opinion on this issue.)
Horse Advocates Pull for Underdog in Roundups (New York Times Original Article)
Helicopters vs. Mustangs: Cruel, expensive and unnecessary, animal activists say (MSNBC)
Feds: Postponing CA-NV roundup will harm mustangs
Judge allows wild horse roundup in Nevada
Just how do the roundups work? Horses are spotted from helicopters then driven toward the trap site through a funnel shaped opening into a temporary corral. Once in there, a "judas horse" is released to lead the wild horses into the trap where they must become accustomed to their new lives. ("Judas horses" are animals specially trained to lead other horses into these traps.) Sometimes the horses manage to outsmart the helicopters and can escape. Most of the time, however, they do not.
According to animal rights activists, the roundups are cruel, expensive and unnecessary. Activists cite the hard running the horses do and the distance they travel as being unnecessarily stressful on the animals, particularly the young horses.
The government disagrees, however. On Tuesday, August 10, 2010, lawyers for the Obama administration argued that leaving the herds of wild horses on public range land would do the animals more harm than good. Administration lawyers filed papers in court stating the population of horses "will have devastating impacts on the other resources in the area and on the wild horses themselves". A roundup organized by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began the following day, August 11, 2010.
The current roundup hasn't been without tragedy. Seven horses have died in this roundup alone. Last winter, a roundup in Nevada caused more than 100 horse deaths.
According to the government, horses that are captured are offered for adoption. If they aren't adopted, they are housed on large private ranches, most often in Kansas and Oklahoma. The cost of holding 34,500 captured horses and burros in 2009 alone was a full 70% of the programs $40.6 million budget.
About the only thing both sides of this issue can agree on is that the population of wild horses and burros is great. Once that agreement is out of the way, the disagreements start. Critics of the program say the government is catering to the livestock ranchers over the animals who inhabit the land naturally. The livestock ranchers pay the government to graze their cattle on public land while the government receives no money for the wild horses that live there.
In 1971, the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed into federal law protecting the dwindling population of wild horses and made it against the law for anyone to round up horses for sport or profit.
I can't help but think that if a private individual was the one doing the helicopter roundups and running these horses to gather them for themselves (regardless of what they did with them) the administration would have them in court faster than you could say "giddyup". I guess it's okay, though, for the government themselves to do it. That's different.
Sources:
(I've included both the original NYT article and the MSNBC.com reprint because I find the reader comments included in the MSNBC article not only add to the discussion but are a very interesting gauge of public opinion on this issue.)
Horse Advocates Pull for Underdog in Roundups (New York Times Original Article)
Helicopters vs. Mustangs: Cruel, expensive and unnecessary, animal activists say (MSNBC)
Feds: Postponing CA-NV roundup will harm mustangs
Judge allows wild horse roundup in Nevada
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Government-Endorsed Wolf Killings in the United States
Some twenty years ago, the Endangered Species Act began protecting gray wolves in the United states. The animals had been poisoned to near extinction and the U.S. government took swift action to protect the animals. The wolves began making a recovery. Currently, at least 1,700 wolves inhabitat Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have a population of more than 4,000 gray wolves. Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah and the New England states are seeing a rise in wolf populations as well. Recent court actions have set the gray wolf as an endangered species in every state in America with the exception of Alaska and Minnesota.
That should be good news, right? One would think. The purpose of protecting an animal under the Endangered Species Act is to protect the animals on the list from being slaughtered. However, the gray wolf is finding themselves in the sites again and the government is looking through the sites.
Government agencies are seeking authority to conduct "conservation" and "research" hunts, gas pups in their dens and surgically sterilize adult wolves. Officials claim that the hunts and public wolf hunting is a necessity to prevent packs of wolves from forming and causing problems. The most shocking of all the governments proposals is to bury wolf pups in their dens and poison them with carbon monoxide gas. They say this method would be used only when the rest of the pack has already been killed. Idaho has proposed one method of controlling wolves by surgically sterilizing them then tagging the wolves to monitor them.
Hunts have already been held in Idaho and Montana in 2009. A court ruling in August of this year nixed plans for a hunt for this year. The usual method of controlling problem wolves is shooting them from the air or ground.
Democratic Senator Max Bacus from Montana wants ranchers in his state to have the freedom to shoot and kill wolves harassing their livestock. Montana and Idaho want to re-instate wolf hunting seasons giving them more politically correct and less-barbaric sounding names such as "conservation hunting" or "researching hunting".
The Center for Biological Diversity is none too happy about the plans to kill the wolves. They feel that recent court rulings underscore the importance of protecting the wolves.
You can read much more about this situation here. For more information on the Center for Biological Diversity, including any current actions they have may have underway to help protect the wolves, you can visit their website: Center for Biological Diversity.
That should be good news, right? One would think. The purpose of protecting an animal under the Endangered Species Act is to protect the animals on the list from being slaughtered. However, the gray wolf is finding themselves in the sites again and the government is looking through the sites.
Government agencies are seeking authority to conduct "conservation" and "research" hunts, gas pups in their dens and surgically sterilize adult wolves. Officials claim that the hunts and public wolf hunting is a necessity to prevent packs of wolves from forming and causing problems. The most shocking of all the governments proposals is to bury wolf pups in their dens and poison them with carbon monoxide gas. They say this method would be used only when the rest of the pack has already been killed. Idaho has proposed one method of controlling wolves by surgically sterilizing them then tagging the wolves to monitor them.
Hunts have already been held in Idaho and Montana in 2009. A court ruling in August of this year nixed plans for a hunt for this year. The usual method of controlling problem wolves is shooting them from the air or ground.
Democratic Senator Max Bacus from Montana wants ranchers in his state to have the freedom to shoot and kill wolves harassing their livestock. Montana and Idaho want to re-instate wolf hunting seasons giving them more politically correct and less-barbaric sounding names such as "conservation hunting" or "researching hunting".
The Center for Biological Diversity is none too happy about the plans to kill the wolves. They feel that recent court rulings underscore the importance of protecting the wolves.
You can read much more about this situation here. For more information on the Center for Biological Diversity, including any current actions they have may have underway to help protect the wolves, you can visit their website: Center for Biological Diversity.
Government-Endorsed Wolf Killings in the United States
Some twenty years ago, the Endangered Species Act began protecting gray wolves in the United states. The animals had been poisoned to near extinction and the U.S. government took swift action to protect the animals. The wolves began making a recovery. Currently, at least 1,700 wolves inhabitat Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have a population of more than 4,000 gray wolves. Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah and the New England states are seeing a rise in wolf populations as well. Recent court actions have set the gray wolf as an endangered species in every state in America with the exception of Alaska and Minnesota.
That should be good news, right? One would think. The purpose of protecting an animal under the Endangered Species Act is to protect the animals on the list from being slaughtered. However, the gray wolf is finding themselves in the sites again and the government is looking through the sites.
Government agencies are seeking authority to conduct "conservation" and "research" hunts, gas pups in their dens and surgically sterilize adult wolves. Officials claim that the hunts and public wolf hunting is a necessity to prevent packs of wolves from forming and causing problems. The most shocking of all the governments proposals is to bury wolf pups in their dens and poison them with carbon monoxide gas. They say this method would be used only when the rest of the pack has already been killed. Idaho has proposed one method of controlling wolves by surgically sterilizing them then tagging the wolves to monitor them.
Hunts have already been held in Idaho and Montana in 2009. A court ruling in August of this year nixed plans for a hunt for this year. The usual method of controlling problem wolves is shooting them from the air or ground.
Democratic Senator Max Bacus from Montana wants ranchers in his state to have the freedom to shoot and kill wolves harassing their livestock. Montana and Idaho want to re-instate wolf hunting seasons giving them more politically correct and less-barbaric sounding names such as "conservation hunting" or "researching hunting".
The Center for Biological Diversity is none too happy about the plans to kill the wolves. They feel that recent court rulings underscore the importance of protecting the wolves.
You can read much more about this situation here. For more information on the Center for Biological Diversity, including any current actions they have may have underway to help protect the wolves, you can visit their website: Center for Biological Diversity.
That should be good news, right? One would think. The purpose of protecting an animal under the Endangered Species Act is to protect the animals on the list from being slaughtered. However, the gray wolf is finding themselves in the sites again and the government is looking through the sites.
Government agencies are seeking authority to conduct "conservation" and "research" hunts, gas pups in their dens and surgically sterilize adult wolves. Officials claim that the hunts and public wolf hunting is a necessity to prevent packs of wolves from forming and causing problems. The most shocking of all the governments proposals is to bury wolf pups in their dens and poison them with carbon monoxide gas. They say this method would be used only when the rest of the pack has already been killed. Idaho has proposed one method of controlling wolves by surgically sterilizing them then tagging the wolves to monitor them.
Hunts have already been held in Idaho and Montana in 2009. A court ruling in August of this year nixed plans for a hunt for this year. The usual method of controlling problem wolves is shooting them from the air or ground.
Democratic Senator Max Bacus from Montana wants ranchers in his state to have the freedom to shoot and kill wolves harassing their livestock. Montana and Idaho want to re-instate wolf hunting seasons giving them more politically correct and less-barbaric sounding names such as "conservation hunting" or "researching hunting".
The Center for Biological Diversity is none too happy about the plans to kill the wolves. They feel that recent court rulings underscore the importance of protecting the wolves.
You can read much more about this situation here. For more information on the Center for Biological Diversity, including any current actions they have may have underway to help protect the wolves, you can visit their website: Center for Biological Diversity.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Massive Ice Island Breaks Off From Greenland Glacier
Scientists announced this past Friday that on Thursday, August 5, 2010 a massive island of ice four times the size of Manhattan broke off from one of the two main glaciers belonging to Greenland. This is the biggest event of this kind in almost 50 years. The massive island of ice will enter the Nares Straight between Greenland and Canada. The ice island is as thick as half the height of the Empire State Building and has an area of 100 square miles.
Andreas Muenchow, a professor of ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware said he expected a portion of ice to break off from the Petermann Glacier but he didn't believe the portion would be so large. The glacier was one of the two largest remaining glaciers in Greenland and had been growing in size for seven or eight years.
Muenchow says the fresh water in the island could keep the Delaware or Hudson Rivers flowing for more than two years or keep all public tap water in the United States flowing for 120 days.
Questions have been raised as to whether or not global warming has played a hand in the breaking off of this massive chunk of ice. As records of the sea water around the glacier have only been kept since 2003, Muenchow said, "Nobody can claim this was caused by global warming. On the other hand, nobody can claim that it wasn't."
This isn't the first chunk of ice to break off Greenland this year. In July, a piece of ice roughly one-eighth the size of Manhattan island fell from Greenland's Jakobshaven Isbrae glacier.
Muenchow speculates the ice island could do one of three things: fuse to land, break up into smaller pieces or slowly move south and block shipping routes.
For more information and to see a photograph of the ice island, you can check out this article at ouramazingplanet.com.
For further information about the ice that fell from the Jakobshaven Isbrae glacier, and to see photos from NASA, you can read this article.
Andreas Muenchow, a professor of ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware said he expected a portion of ice to break off from the Petermann Glacier but he didn't believe the portion would be so large. The glacier was one of the two largest remaining glaciers in Greenland and had been growing in size for seven or eight years.
Muenchow says the fresh water in the island could keep the Delaware or Hudson Rivers flowing for more than two years or keep all public tap water in the United States flowing for 120 days.
Questions have been raised as to whether or not global warming has played a hand in the breaking off of this massive chunk of ice. As records of the sea water around the glacier have only been kept since 2003, Muenchow said, "Nobody can claim this was caused by global warming. On the other hand, nobody can claim that it wasn't."
This isn't the first chunk of ice to break off Greenland this year. In July, a piece of ice roughly one-eighth the size of Manhattan island fell from Greenland's Jakobshaven Isbrae glacier.
Muenchow speculates the ice island could do one of three things: fuse to land, break up into smaller pieces or slowly move south and block shipping routes.
For more information and to see a photograph of the ice island, you can check out this article at ouramazingplanet.com.
For further information about the ice that fell from the Jakobshaven Isbrae glacier, and to see photos from NASA, you can read this article.
Massive Ice Island Breaks Off From Greenland Glacier
Scientists announced this past Friday that on Thursday, August 5, 2010 a massive island of ice four times the size of Manhattan broke off from one of the two main glaciers belonging to Greenland. This is the biggest event of this kind in almost 50 years. The massive island of ice will enter the Nares Straight between Greenland and Canada. The ice island is as thick as half the height of the Empire State Building and has an area of 100 square miles.
Andreas Muenchow, a professor of ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware said he expected a portion of ice to break off from the Petermann Glacier but he didn't believe the portion would be so large. The glacier was one of the two largest remaining glaciers in Greenland and had been growing in size for seven or eight years.
Muenchow says the fresh water in the island could keep the Delaware or Hudson Rivers flowing for more than two years or keep all public tap water in the United States flowing for 120 days.
Questions have been raised as to whether or not global warming has played a hand in the breaking off of this massive chunk of ice. As records of the sea water around the glacier have only been kept since 2003, Muenchow said, "Nobody can claim this was caused by global warming. On the other hand, nobody can claim that it wasn't."
This isn't the first chunk of ice to break off Greenland this year. In July, a piece of ice roughly one-eighth the size of Manhattan island fell from Greenland's Jakobshaven Isbrae glacier.
Muenchow speculates the ice island could do one of three things: fuse to land, break up into smaller pieces or slowly move south and block shipping routes.
For more information and to see a photograph of the ice island, you can check out this article at ouramazingplanet.com.
For further information about the ice that fell from the Jakobshaven Isbrae glacier, and to see photos from NASA, you can read this article.
Andreas Muenchow, a professor of ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware said he expected a portion of ice to break off from the Petermann Glacier but he didn't believe the portion would be so large. The glacier was one of the two largest remaining glaciers in Greenland and had been growing in size for seven or eight years.
Muenchow says the fresh water in the island could keep the Delaware or Hudson Rivers flowing for more than two years or keep all public tap water in the United States flowing for 120 days.
Questions have been raised as to whether or not global warming has played a hand in the breaking off of this massive chunk of ice. As records of the sea water around the glacier have only been kept since 2003, Muenchow said, "Nobody can claim this was caused by global warming. On the other hand, nobody can claim that it wasn't."
This isn't the first chunk of ice to break off Greenland this year. In July, a piece of ice roughly one-eighth the size of Manhattan island fell from Greenland's Jakobshaven Isbrae glacier.
Muenchow speculates the ice island could do one of three things: fuse to land, break up into smaller pieces or slowly move south and block shipping routes.
For more information and to see a photograph of the ice island, you can check out this article at ouramazingplanet.com.
For further information about the ice that fell from the Jakobshaven Isbrae glacier, and to see photos from NASA, you can read this article.
Monday, July 12, 2010
New Batfish Species Discovered
Did you ever think there could be good news related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill? No? I didn't either. Until now.
Two previously unknown species of bottom-dwelling fish have been discovered living in the Gulf of Mexico, in the exact same area affected by the BP oil spill.
The fish are called "pancake batfish" and are so named because of the way they clumsily "walk" along the sea bottom. Their manner of walking looks similar to a bat crawling. The fish prefer to stay in the deepest parts of the sea and, thus, are rarely seen.
Pancake batfish have round, flat bodies with giant heads and mouths that can be thrust forward. Arm-like fins are used to "walk" along the sea floor and they can excrete a fluid from a modified dorsal fin to lure prey.
John Sparks of the American Museum of Natural History in New York issued a statement Thursday, July 8, 2010, "One of the fishes that we describe is completely restricted to the oil spill area. If we are still finding new species of fishes in the Gulf, imagine how much diversity, especially microdiversity, is out there that we do not know about."
Sparks and his colleagues named the species Halieutichthys intermedius and H. bispinosus. A third already known species, H. aculeatus, lives only in waters affected by the spill. Until now, the three species had been considered a single species but enough differences were found to alert researchers they were dealing with more than a single species.
To see a photo of the new batfish species, check out this article.
Two previously unknown species of bottom-dwelling fish have been discovered living in the Gulf of Mexico, in the exact same area affected by the BP oil spill.
The fish are called "pancake batfish" and are so named because of the way they clumsily "walk" along the sea bottom. Their manner of walking looks similar to a bat crawling. The fish prefer to stay in the deepest parts of the sea and, thus, are rarely seen.
Pancake batfish have round, flat bodies with giant heads and mouths that can be thrust forward. Arm-like fins are used to "walk" along the sea floor and they can excrete a fluid from a modified dorsal fin to lure prey.
John Sparks of the American Museum of Natural History in New York issued a statement Thursday, July 8, 2010, "One of the fishes that we describe is completely restricted to the oil spill area. If we are still finding new species of fishes in the Gulf, imagine how much diversity, especially microdiversity, is out there that we do not know about."
Sparks and his colleagues named the species Halieutichthys intermedius and H. bispinosus. A third already known species, H. aculeatus, lives only in waters affected by the spill. Until now, the three species had been considered a single species but enough differences were found to alert researchers they were dealing with more than a single species.
To see a photo of the new batfish species, check out this article.
New Batfish Species Discovered
Did you ever think there could be good news related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill? No? I didn't either. Until now.
Two previously unknown species of bottom-dwelling fish have been discovered living in the Gulf of Mexico, in the exact same area affected by the BP oil spill.
The fish are called "pancake batfish" and are so named because of the way they clumsily "walk" along the sea bottom. Their manner of walking looks similar to a bat crawling. The fish prefer to stay in the deepest parts of the sea and, thus, are rarely seen.
Pancake batfish have round, flat bodies with giant heads and mouths that can be thrust forward. Arm-like fins are used to "walk" along the sea floor and they can excrete a fluid from a modified dorsal fin to lure prey.
John Sparks of the American Museum of Natural History in New York issued a statement Thursday, July 8, 2010, "One of the fishes that we describe is completely restricted to the oil spill area. If we are still finding new species of fishes in the Gulf, imagine how much diversity, especially microdiversity, is out there that we do not know about."
Sparks and his colleagues named the species Halieutichthys intermedius and H. bispinosus. A third already known species, H. aculeatus, lives only in waters affected by the spill. Until now, the three species had been considered a single species but enough differences were found to alert researchers they were dealing with more than a single species.
To see a photo of the new batfish species, check out this article.
Two previously unknown species of bottom-dwelling fish have been discovered living in the Gulf of Mexico, in the exact same area affected by the BP oil spill.
The fish are called "pancake batfish" and are so named because of the way they clumsily "walk" along the sea bottom. Their manner of walking looks similar to a bat crawling. The fish prefer to stay in the deepest parts of the sea and, thus, are rarely seen.
Pancake batfish have round, flat bodies with giant heads and mouths that can be thrust forward. Arm-like fins are used to "walk" along the sea floor and they can excrete a fluid from a modified dorsal fin to lure prey.
John Sparks of the American Museum of Natural History in New York issued a statement Thursday, July 8, 2010, "One of the fishes that we describe is completely restricted to the oil spill area. If we are still finding new species of fishes in the Gulf, imagine how much diversity, especially microdiversity, is out there that we do not know about."
Sparks and his colleagues named the species Halieutichthys intermedius and H. bispinosus. A third already known species, H. aculeatus, lives only in waters affected by the spill. Until now, the three species had been considered a single species but enough differences were found to alert researchers they were dealing with more than a single species.
To see a photo of the new batfish species, check out this article.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Sea Turtles Recovering After Gulf Rescue
More than one hundred sea turtles are on the road to recovery after having been rescued from the devastation in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans, Louisiana is caring for the sea turtles that include four Kemp's Ridley turtles that were completely covered in oil. Employees of the Aquarium meticulously cleaned the turtles, gave them antibiotics and fluids so the endangered reptiles could start working their way back to perfect health.
Visitors to the Audubon Aquarium can see the turtles. The reptiles will be living in their new, clean homes until the Gulf is perfectly safe for them to return to.
We are three months into this oil spill. Between April 30, 2010 and June 28, 2010 a total of 583 sea turtles were stranded in the spill. Four hundred and thirty two of those turtles were found dead. An additional four died after being rescued. A grand total of 136 sea turtles have been rescued and sent to various rehabilitation centers. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is currently working on removing some 70,000 sea turtle eggs from beaches that are at-risk from the oil.
For more information and to see a video of the turtles see this article. Check out "Little Dude". He's a shy one! They all look pretty happy and feisty in their new home, don't they?
The Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans, Louisiana is caring for the sea turtles that include four Kemp's Ridley turtles that were completely covered in oil. Employees of the Aquarium meticulously cleaned the turtles, gave them antibiotics and fluids so the endangered reptiles could start working their way back to perfect health.
Visitors to the Audubon Aquarium can see the turtles. The reptiles will be living in their new, clean homes until the Gulf is perfectly safe for them to return to.
We are three months into this oil spill. Between April 30, 2010 and June 28, 2010 a total of 583 sea turtles were stranded in the spill. Four hundred and thirty two of those turtles were found dead. An additional four died after being rescued. A grand total of 136 sea turtles have been rescued and sent to various rehabilitation centers. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is currently working on removing some 70,000 sea turtle eggs from beaches that are at-risk from the oil.
For more information and to see a video of the turtles see this article. Check out "Little Dude". He's a shy one! They all look pretty happy and feisty in their new home, don't they?
Sea Turtles Recovering After Gulf Rescue
More than one hundred sea turtles are on the road to recovery after having been rescued from the devastation in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans, Louisiana is caring for the sea turtles that include four Kemp's Ridley turtles that were completely covered in oil. Employees of the Aquarium meticulously cleaned the turtles, gave them antibiotics and fluids so the endangered reptiles could start working their way back to perfect health.
Visitors to the Audubon Aquarium can see the turtles. The reptiles will be living in their new, clean homes until the Gulf is perfectly safe for them to return to.
We are three months into this oil spill. Between April 30, 2010 and June 28, 2010 a total of 583 sea turtles were stranded in the spill. Four hundred and thirty two of those turtles were found dead. An additional four died after being rescued. A grand total of 136 sea turtles have been rescued and sent to various rehabilitation centers. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is currently working on removing some 70,000 sea turtle eggs from beaches that are at-risk from the oil.
For more information and to see a video of the turtles see this article. Check out "Little Dude". He's a shy one! They all look pretty happy and feisty in their new home, don't they?
The Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans, Louisiana is caring for the sea turtles that include four Kemp's Ridley turtles that were completely covered in oil. Employees of the Aquarium meticulously cleaned the turtles, gave them antibiotics and fluids so the endangered reptiles could start working their way back to perfect health.
Visitors to the Audubon Aquarium can see the turtles. The reptiles will be living in their new, clean homes until the Gulf is perfectly safe for them to return to.
We are three months into this oil spill. Between April 30, 2010 and June 28, 2010 a total of 583 sea turtles were stranded in the spill. Four hundred and thirty two of those turtles were found dead. An additional four died after being rescued. A grand total of 136 sea turtles have been rescued and sent to various rehabilitation centers. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is currently working on removing some 70,000 sea turtle eggs from beaches that are at-risk from the oil.
For more information and to see a video of the turtles see this article. Check out "Little Dude". He's a shy one! They all look pretty happy and feisty in their new home, don't they?
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Ian Somerhalder "Shaken" By Lack of Hollywood Support for Gulf Region
I just came across this article this morning or I most definitely would have shared it by now.
Actor Ian Somerhalder ("Damon", The Vampire Diaries & "Boone" Lost) has made two trips to the environmentally devastated Gulf region in recent weeks. On his most recent visit, Somerhalder slept in his rental car, what he called the "Prius cabana suite" because there was no where else to stay due to all the people who have flocked to the Gulf region to try and help tame "the beast" as he calls it. "The Beast", of course, being the BP oil spill.
Despite all the help in the Gulf, Somerhalder, a Covington, Louisiana native, notices there's something missing: his Hollywood peers.
"Coming from the entertainment world, I'm really shaken by how quiet Hollywood is", admits Somerhalder. While he assures his statements are made with the utmost respect for his peers and colleagues, he questions why there hasn't been a larger effort from Hollywood to raise funds to assist with the clean up.
Hollywood is usually always right there to lend a hand, and some big names, when something bad happens. But, I agree with Mr. Somerhalder, Hollywood has been surprisingly quiet on this whole issue. There have been some celebrities who are admittedly trying to do whatever they can such as Kevin Costner. But where have all the others been?
I applaud Mr. Costner and Mr. Somerhalder for their efforts and for standing up and doing what is right by putting themselves out there to help with this disaster. I truly hope some of their colleagues in Hollywood take a page from their book and jump in to lend a hand or lend their name to the efforts in the Gulf. The Gulf needs all the help it can get.
For more information, refer to the entire article including a video about Mr. Somerhalder's most recent trip to the Gulf.
Actor Ian Somerhalder ("Damon", The Vampire Diaries & "Boone" Lost) has made two trips to the environmentally devastated Gulf region in recent weeks. On his most recent visit, Somerhalder slept in his rental car, what he called the "Prius cabana suite" because there was no where else to stay due to all the people who have flocked to the Gulf region to try and help tame "the beast" as he calls it. "The Beast", of course, being the BP oil spill.
Despite all the help in the Gulf, Somerhalder, a Covington, Louisiana native, notices there's something missing: his Hollywood peers.
"Coming from the entertainment world, I'm really shaken by how quiet Hollywood is", admits Somerhalder. While he assures his statements are made with the utmost respect for his peers and colleagues, he questions why there hasn't been a larger effort from Hollywood to raise funds to assist with the clean up.
Hollywood is usually always right there to lend a hand, and some big names, when something bad happens. But, I agree with Mr. Somerhalder, Hollywood has been surprisingly quiet on this whole issue. There have been some celebrities who are admittedly trying to do whatever they can such as Kevin Costner. But where have all the others been?
I applaud Mr. Costner and Mr. Somerhalder for their efforts and for standing up and doing what is right by putting themselves out there to help with this disaster. I truly hope some of their colleagues in Hollywood take a page from their book and jump in to lend a hand or lend their name to the efforts in the Gulf. The Gulf needs all the help it can get.
For more information, refer to the entire article including a video about Mr. Somerhalder's most recent trip to the Gulf.
Ian Somerhalder "Shaken" By Lack of Hollywood Support for Gulf Region
I just came across this article this morning or I most definitely would have shared it by now.
Actor Ian Somerhalder ("Damon", The Vampire Diaries & "Boone" Lost) has made two trips to the environmentally devastated Gulf region in recent weeks. On his most recent visit, Somerhalder slept in his rental car, what he called the "Prius cabana suite" because there was no where else to stay due to all the people who have flocked to the Gulf region to try and help tame "the beast" as he calls it. "The Beast", of course, being the BP oil spill.
Despite all the help in the Gulf, Somerhalder, a Covington, Louisiana native, notices there's something missing: his Hollywood peers.
"Coming from the entertainment world, I'm really shaken by how quiet Hollywood is", admits Somerhalder. While he assures his statements are made with the utmost respect for his peers and colleagues, he questions why there hasn't been a larger effort from Hollywood to raise funds to assist with the clean up.
Hollywood is usually always right there to lend a hand, and some big names, when something bad happens. But, I agree with Mr. Somerhalder, Hollywood has been surprisingly quiet on this whole issue. There have been some celebrities who are admittedly trying to do whatever they can such as Kevin Costner. But where have all the others been?
I applaud Mr. Costner and Mr. Somerhalder for their efforts and for standing up and doing what is right by putting themselves out there to help with this disaster. I truly hope some of their colleagues in Hollywood take a page from their book and jump in to lend a hand or lend their name to the efforts in the Gulf. The Gulf needs all the help it can get.
For more information, refer to the entire article including a video about Mr. Somerhalder's most recent trip to the Gulf.
Actor Ian Somerhalder ("Damon", The Vampire Diaries & "Boone" Lost) has made two trips to the environmentally devastated Gulf region in recent weeks. On his most recent visit, Somerhalder slept in his rental car, what he called the "Prius cabana suite" because there was no where else to stay due to all the people who have flocked to the Gulf region to try and help tame "the beast" as he calls it. "The Beast", of course, being the BP oil spill.
Despite all the help in the Gulf, Somerhalder, a Covington, Louisiana native, notices there's something missing: his Hollywood peers.
"Coming from the entertainment world, I'm really shaken by how quiet Hollywood is", admits Somerhalder. While he assures his statements are made with the utmost respect for his peers and colleagues, he questions why there hasn't been a larger effort from Hollywood to raise funds to assist with the clean up.
Hollywood is usually always right there to lend a hand, and some big names, when something bad happens. But, I agree with Mr. Somerhalder, Hollywood has been surprisingly quiet on this whole issue. There have been some celebrities who are admittedly trying to do whatever they can such as Kevin Costner. But where have all the others been?
I applaud Mr. Costner and Mr. Somerhalder for their efforts and for standing up and doing what is right by putting themselves out there to help with this disaster. I truly hope some of their colleagues in Hollywood take a page from their book and jump in to lend a hand or lend their name to the efforts in the Gulf. The Gulf needs all the help it can get.
For more information, refer to the entire article including a video about Mr. Somerhalder's most recent trip to the Gulf.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Kevin Coster's "Dream Machines" Have Started Work in the Gulf
As you might remember, a while back, I blogged about an effort by actor Kevin Costner to help with the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. To recap, Coster, his brother and the company they established developed a vacuum-like machine that can supposedly remove up to 97% of oil from water.
Well, the machines have made their debut in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thirty-two of Costner's "dream machines" are going out into the waters on an oil finding barge. Over the next 60 days, the 32 machines will start to do their thing.
I truly hope this works. Something has to work in the Gulf.
To read a bit more about this, check out this short article.
Well, the machines have made their debut in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thirty-two of Costner's "dream machines" are going out into the waters on an oil finding barge. Over the next 60 days, the 32 machines will start to do their thing.
I truly hope this works. Something has to work in the Gulf.
To read a bit more about this, check out this short article.
Kevin Coster's "Dream Machines" Have Started Work in the Gulf
As you might remember, a while back, I blogged about an effort by actor Kevin Costner to help with the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. To recap, Coster, his brother and the company they established developed a vacuum-like machine that can supposedly remove up to 97% of oil from water.
Well, the machines have made their debut in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thirty-two of Costner's "dream machines" are going out into the waters on an oil finding barge. Over the next 60 days, the 32 machines will start to do their thing.
I truly hope this works. Something has to work in the Gulf.
To read a bit more about this, check out this short article.
Well, the machines have made their debut in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thirty-two of Costner's "dream machines" are going out into the waters on an oil finding barge. Over the next 60 days, the 32 machines will start to do their thing.
I truly hope this works. Something has to work in the Gulf.
To read a bit more about this, check out this short article.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
A New Savior in the Gulf Oil Spill? Kevin Costner?
The situation in the Gulf of Mexico seems to get worse by the day, doesn't it? They've tried capping the spill once and it failed. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil has spilled, and continues to spill out into the waters threatening animal and plant life as well as the economy of those who live and work in the Gulf.
But, there may be new hope and it is from a rather unlikely source. Kevin Costner.
Yes, you read that right. Bull Durham, Robin Hood, Dances with Wolves. That Kevin Costner.
No can deny that the situation in the Gulf is severe and something needs to be done ASAP before things get any worse. And, yes, they can get worse.
British Petroleum (BP) recently enlisted the help of movie star Kevin Costner who, along with his older brother, Dan, a scientist invented a vacuum-like machine that works using a high-powered centrifuge to suck up polluted water then separate it into oil and heavier water. Mr. Costner has spent 15 years and approximately $26 million of his personal fortune developing this machine with his brother.
In the mid 1990's, Mr. Costner founded the Costner Industries Nevada Corporation to fund eco-friendly research by his brother and a team of scientists. The firm invented the water cleaning device as well as a non-chemical battery.
Currently, there are 26 machines in Louisiana waiting to be deployed to do their jobs in the Gulf waters. Each machine can clean between 5 and 200 gallons of water per minute depending upon the size of the machine. Theoretically, this means the machines could clean up the oil as fast as it is polluting the waters. The water that is filtered out of the machines comes out 97% clean.
For more information on this ray of hope for the Gulf, you can read the independent.co.uk article.
I truly hope Mr. Costner's machines do the trick in the Gulf. He certainly has spent a great deal of time and money on this invention. Something needs to be done and right now, this solution does seem to add a bit of hope to an otherwise dark situation.
But, there may be new hope and it is from a rather unlikely source. Kevin Costner.
Yes, you read that right. Bull Durham, Robin Hood, Dances with Wolves. That Kevin Costner.
No can deny that the situation in the Gulf is severe and something needs to be done ASAP before things get any worse. And, yes, they can get worse.
British Petroleum (BP) recently enlisted the help of movie star Kevin Costner who, along with his older brother, Dan, a scientist invented a vacuum-like machine that works using a high-powered centrifuge to suck up polluted water then separate it into oil and heavier water. Mr. Costner has spent 15 years and approximately $26 million of his personal fortune developing this machine with his brother.
In the mid 1990's, Mr. Costner founded the Costner Industries Nevada Corporation to fund eco-friendly research by his brother and a team of scientists. The firm invented the water cleaning device as well as a non-chemical battery.
Currently, there are 26 machines in Louisiana waiting to be deployed to do their jobs in the Gulf waters. Each machine can clean between 5 and 200 gallons of water per minute depending upon the size of the machine. Theoretically, this means the machines could clean up the oil as fast as it is polluting the waters. The water that is filtered out of the machines comes out 97% clean.
For more information on this ray of hope for the Gulf, you can read the independent.co.uk article.
I truly hope Mr. Costner's machines do the trick in the Gulf. He certainly has spent a great deal of time and money on this invention. Something needs to be done and right now, this solution does seem to add a bit of hope to an otherwise dark situation.
A New Savior in the Gulf Oil Spill? Kevin Costner?
The situation in the Gulf of Mexico seems to get worse by the day, doesn't it? They've tried capping the spill once and it failed. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil has spilled, and continues to spill out into the waters threatening animal and plant life as well as the economy of those who live and work in the Gulf.
But, there may be new hope and it is from a rather unlikely source. Kevin Costner.
Yes, you read that right. Bull Durham, Robin Hood, Dances with Wolves. That Kevin Costner.
No can deny that the situation in the Gulf is severe and something needs to be done ASAP before things get any worse. And, yes, they can get worse.
British Petroleum (BP) recently enlisted the help of movie star Kevin Costner who, along with his older brother, Dan, a scientist invented a vacuum-like machine that works using a high-powered centrifuge to suck up polluted water then separate it into oil and heavier water. Mr. Costner has spent 15 years and approximately $26 million of his personal fortune developing this machine with his brother.
In the mid 1990's, Mr. Costner founded the Costner Industries Nevada Corporation to fund eco-friendly research by his brother and a team of scientists. The firm invented the water cleaning device as well as a non-chemical battery.
Currently, there are 26 machines in Louisiana waiting to be deployed to do their jobs in the Gulf waters. Each machine can clean between 5 and 200 gallons of water per minute depending upon the size of the machine. Theoretically, this means the machines could clean up the oil as fast as it is polluting the waters. The water that is filtered out of the machines comes out 97% clean.
For more information on this ray of hope for the Gulf, you can read the independent.co.uk article.
I truly hope Mr. Costner's machines do the trick in the Gulf. He certainly has spent a great deal of time and money on this invention. Something needs to be done and right now, this solution does seem to add a bit of hope to an otherwise dark situation.
But, there may be new hope and it is from a rather unlikely source. Kevin Costner.
Yes, you read that right. Bull Durham, Robin Hood, Dances with Wolves. That Kevin Costner.
No can deny that the situation in the Gulf is severe and something needs to be done ASAP before things get any worse. And, yes, they can get worse.
British Petroleum (BP) recently enlisted the help of movie star Kevin Costner who, along with his older brother, Dan, a scientist invented a vacuum-like machine that works using a high-powered centrifuge to suck up polluted water then separate it into oil and heavier water. Mr. Costner has spent 15 years and approximately $26 million of his personal fortune developing this machine with his brother.
In the mid 1990's, Mr. Costner founded the Costner Industries Nevada Corporation to fund eco-friendly research by his brother and a team of scientists. The firm invented the water cleaning device as well as a non-chemical battery.
Currently, there are 26 machines in Louisiana waiting to be deployed to do their jobs in the Gulf waters. Each machine can clean between 5 and 200 gallons of water per minute depending upon the size of the machine. Theoretically, this means the machines could clean up the oil as fast as it is polluting the waters. The water that is filtered out of the machines comes out 97% clean.
For more information on this ray of hope for the Gulf, you can read the independent.co.uk article.
I truly hope Mr. Costner's machines do the trick in the Gulf. He certainly has spent a great deal of time and money on this invention. Something needs to be done and right now, this solution does seem to add a bit of hope to an otherwise dark situation.
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