Squid Point of View & Unrelated Stuff

Humans 49: Animals 1

2011-10-21T09:11:00.002-05:00

At last body count, most of the escaped animals near Zanesville, Ohio were shot. Jack Hanna, I thought you would surely rescue more than you did. We need laws preventing whackos from keeping wild predators NOW.

Lifetimes of Freshwater Discovered.....

2011-07-25T09:08:00.003-05:00

NASA ESA

140,000,000,000 times more water than Earth has been found far far away....

Cloud Communities

2011-06-23T05:47:00.002-05:00

As you look up at clouds, do you realized that they have a hidden community of microflora and microfauna as well as pathogens??? Begin your aeroecology reading with http://www.suite101.com/content/life-in-the-clouds-a135968 which reveals that only recently has man "discovered" that clouds are teaming with life....

Climate Change

2011-06-11T04:53:00.007-05:00

For all of you that need more convincing that the Climate Is Changing aka climate change aka global warming...Check these links...

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhCY-3XnqS0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

First Artificial bacterium

2010-05-21T10:29:00.004-05:00

And we thought it would be grey goo, asteroids, or global warming as doomsday scenario....today's news reports a rogue alchemist (jk) and his team created a computer designed bacterium with NO natural DNA. It's name is Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0. Will it mutate or "get loose" in the environment? Don't we have enough bacteria around without creating new variants?
How this Dr. Frankenstein do this with no state or federal oversight?? Look how well Uncle Sam protected our gulf shores........

2010-05-01T06:07:00.003-05:00

BoyCott British Petroleum!!!!

Ungreeness In My Neighborhood

2009-10-22T15:58:00.006-05:00

Why would a city grind up trees into big piles of mulch, disturb topsoil, build an artificial pond in a floodplain and yet be called a "Tree City" “Trees are vital to our environment,” say Garland Park Superintendent Barry Swisher. “They produce life-giving oxygen, help clean the air, provide habitat for wildlife and much more. At the same time they increase property values and help beautify the community.” so how do they explain these big piles of mulched trees! The above scenes are near Naaman Forest High School in Garland, Texas where a new retirement community will be built near a pristine floodplain forest called Spring Creek Forest Preserve.

Blog Action Day

2009-10-15T05:00:00.002-05:00

Spring Creek Forest (http://www.springcreekforest.org) is a minute floodplain forest and remnant prairie in a the vast concrete jungle known as the Dallas Metroplex......so how does a small tract of forest enter into the overall equation of climate change? Well, in a small way it helps maintain local climate with its trees, shrubs, and grasses.

One acre of trees provide enough oxygen for 18 people daily, absorbs enough carbon dioxide over a year to equal that produced from driving a car 26,000 miles, removes and store 2.6 tons of carbon from the atmosphere, and removes several tons of ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particles 10 microns or smaller that pollute our skies. Trees benefit local climate by reducing urban temperatures (much needed in a heat island like Dallas, Texas) 10-20 degrees during summer. Source: U.S.Forest Service, TCU, American Forests & Texas Forest Service

Natural areas such as forests and grasslands also help conserve water in a number of ways so preserve

them! They reduce landslides, erosion, and sediment; improve water purity by filtering pollutants;

and, in some cases, capture and store water. This is a cost-effective way to provide clean

drinking water in many places around the world.

With vast acres of forest clearing and conversion to agriculture, urban development, landfills, and

transportation corridors, the planet is losing all the benefits of trees (forests), grasslands, and open

spaces, so do what you can to preserve what's left and try to restore what you can through nonprofit

organizations and local goverment.

Look what they did to Spring Creek Forest.....

2009-08-17T14:56:00.011-05:00

Oh lets protect the forest trees in the Spring Creek Forest, say the city officials, and instead of putting the sewer pipe above ground we will put it underground through the Forest property. Sooo, to do this they put in a 35 foot road and another road, 15 feet wide to bring in big equipment to the edge of Spring Creek Forest to begin their "tread lightly" pipeline.......hmmmm something doesn't add up here. Carbon footprints, forest destruction, opening up the forest to more unauthorized trail traffic (motorized and by foot), inviting a host of invasive species to fill in the denuded landscape, welcoming feral cats and trashbirds, and fragmenting an already endangered bottomland hardwood habitat in North Central Texas. Cheers to the brainless mindset of urbanization and poor planning. On another note, the local "wildlife" group couldn't take time to come see the devastation although they were only 500 feet away and had to be kept "on schedule" with their dog walk, being social butterflies..... No one cared enough to walk over an see it. As for volunteer projects like controlling nuisance vegetation...its looking like a waste of time. Heck this reminds me of a typical major logging operation on a National Forest. ( I should know I used to work for them).

Ironically, the City of Garland was given the status of "Tree City". In order to qualify for Tree City USA status, a town or city must meet standards established by The Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters. These standards were established to ensure that every qualifying community would have a viable tree management plan and program. The fox is in the henhouse.

The Three Lost Tributaries...

2008-11-19T13:07:00.006-06:00

Today I stumbled upon three forgotten tributaries to Spring Creek located between Holford Road and North Garland Avenue......it was completed by accident as I was looking for Michael's, The Arts and Crafts Store locations on their mapper. I wondered why the gravel company had been allowed in the past to destroy these drainages which technically were Waters of the United States and protected by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This area is full of springs and seepage areas, hence the name for Spring Creek and surrounding communities such as Big Springs and Shiloh Springs. Further investigations may reveal more but I'm just amazed these creeks were not mapped on most maps nor detectable on Google Earth. I'm not sure how many years ago Chambers Construction Company was allowed to destroy these natural features...but I will investigate further....

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill? no problemo

2008-06-26T19:59:00.005-05:00

Well, the Supreme Court decided that ExxonMobil won't have to pay $2,000,000,000 in punitive damages for the IMFAMOUS 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Guess they figure out of sight out of mind....just remember that when you fill up with Exxon or Mobil.

What next?

2007-10-24T08:07:00.002-05:00

Update May 2008...This year's tornado season is bad, statistically speaking. Earthquakes have been active offshore (they couldn't explain the thousands of oceanic quakes off the northwest coast recently), and now we learn China had a 7.9 quake which tops the 7.5 they had in 1975.

As California burns, the Southeast dries up, and more severe global weather patterns are reported , you must be asking yourself by now, are these just weather anomalies or is it part of global warming. If you're still not convinced research it, "think" for yourself, and take some kind of action to make a difference. There are many ways to take action through environmental organizations, elected officials, state and federal environmental agencies, blogging, and networking. When Katrina hit, federal and other "scientists" blew it off as unrelated to global warming as talking heads like Rush Limpdog and others try to convince us there is no problem. You decide.

Planet in Peril

2007-10-23T22:11:00.000-05:00

Helping CNN advertise the premier of "Planet In Peril" Oct. 23rd and 24th.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/planet.in.peril/

Blog Action Day for the Environment !

2007-10-13T05:26:00.000-05:00

press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
August 15, 2007

BLOGGERS TO UNITE ON BLOG ACTION DAY

All Blogs Invited to Take Part in Joining Voices to Help Environment

An international initiative of bloggers known as "Blog Action Day" launched today, with the aim of uniting thousands of blogging voices, talking about one issue for one day. This year on Blog Action Day, which is slated for Oct. 15, 2007, bloggers will be discussing the environment.  Major blogs have signed up to participate, including Lifehacker, Dumb Little Man, Lifehack.org, Get Rich Slowly, Web Worker Daily, GigaOm, The Simple Dollar, Zen Habits, Freelance Switch, LifeClever, Unclutterer, Pronet Advertising, Wise Bread and many more. 

"For just one day, we'd like to unite as many of the millions of bloggers around the world and speak about one issue - the environment," said Collis Ta'eed, an Australian blogger from FreelanceSwitch.com, and a cofounder of Blog Action Day. "We want to display the potential and the power of the blogging community, which is a disparate community but one with an amazing size, breadth and diversity. By bringing everyone together for one day, we can see just how much can be achieved, and how much we can be heard." 

Blog Action Day is a non-profit initiative, and will be an annual event. As an alternative to blogging about the environment on Blog Action Day, bloggers can opt to participate by donating their blog's proceeds from Oct. 15 to one of several environmental organizations chosen for this purpose: Greenpeace International, The Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the Conservation Fund, and the Sierra Club.  Bloggers who would like to participate in Blog Action Day should visit BlogActionDay.org or email Collis Ta'eed at collis@eden.cc, so they can be listed on the Blog Action Day site. To participate, a blog just needs to write about the issue of the environment on Oct. 15, 2007, or donate its proceeds for the day to one of the chosen environmental organizations.

Strange microbes...

2007-10-05T11:07:00.000-05:00

Amoeba (and algae)!!! as emerging pathogens....With global warming many of our lakes and reservoirs are warmer and more shallow, creating conditions favorable for amoebic contacts with swimmers and other recreationists. Who knows what's happening to our oceans besides fish population crashes, whale slaughter, etc? Tabloids have called more attention to these organisms what have existed for a long long time.

Acanthamoeba is a genus of amoeba,one of the most common protozoans in soil, freshwater, and other microhabitats. The cells are small, usually 15 to 35 μm in length and oval to triangular in shape when moving Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthamoeba http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/acanthamoeba/

Six people have died this year after an amoeba called Naegleria fowleri infected them while swimming in Florida, Texas and Arizona. ...and soon infecting their brains! Try to find swimming places cooler than 80 degrees F. and wear nose plugs.

Pfiesteria piscicida, originally called the "cell from hell", is an extremely toxic dinoflagellate that "attacks" fish and humans who happen to swim near them along coastal beaches. People living and working along the U.S. coast began to suffer from open sores which would not heal, had headaches and memory loss. http://www.cdc.gov/hab/pfiesteria/default.htm

not to mention our plant friends necrotizing fasciiatus....nasty stuff in group A streptococcus (GAS), the "flesh-eating" bacteria and giardia lamblia, a flagellated protozoan that infects hikers, cats, and dogs, and untreated water supplies.

Death Spiral?

2007-09-23T11:42:00.000-05:00

...We're on a strong spiral of decline; some would say a death spiral. I wouldn't go that far but we're certainly on a fast track. We know there is natural variability but the magnitude of change is too great to be caused by natural variability alone... excerpt from BBC News this first day of fall. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7006640.stm

John Q. Public will just go about the day wired or unwired to mass consumerism, sports, hollywood gossip, blah blah blah with no clue or maybe a mild curiosity about the earth. Don't look for news like this in US news media....it's neither popular nor politically correct.

Weather anomalies or the new "normal" weather?

2007-08-23T08:20:00.000-05:00

Seems the weather news this year is not "normal". Any postulations as to why not besides the standard global warming response? Extreme flooding events in the United Kingdom, China, United States and elsewhere fill the news as well as wildfires in Australia, the American West and Southeast. The historical distribution and timing of rainfall is changing in many places....you see people interviewed who don't recall seeing such weather extremes. Just make sure you aren't living in a flood zone or, the other extreme, living near a tinderbox of vegetation and dead wood. Comments, conjectures welcome......

Panoramic Images around the Globe....

2007-08-05T08:35:00.000-05:00

A fascinating website at Berkeley....you can see 360 degree images of many places around the world. You need Quicktime (Apple) to view. Also I recommend that you download the locations onto Google Earth and you can just surf the world and find beautiful panoramas from Ka'ena Point Natural Reserve on Oahu to a Winter Garden in Finland !! Enjoy!

http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/worldwidepanorama/wwp/index.html

Here is a nice panoramic view of Rowlett Creek in Richardson, Texas......by Jonny Donut.

http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/worldwidepanorama/wwp1206/html/JonnyDonutCarroll.html

Solid Wastes

2007-06-08T20:55:00.000-05:00

It’s a shame that the City of Dallas or even the local disc golfers don’t care enough about their park to clean up a trashed stream tthat runs through BB Owens Park and eventually drains into White Rock Lake, one of the most popular recreation places in the city. I was shocked to see hundreds of pounds of plastic waste that has been DUMPED into this stream…it could not possibly be runoff from local parking lots or tributaries. One company located upstream of the park is First Floors, a carpet outlet located immediately upstream of BB Owens Park on at 10771 Estate Lane ……hmm I wonder if they know how it got there?
Many urban streams have a solid waste problem, from car frames and tires to sheet plastic, plastic bags to syringes. Ironically, there are regular volunteer clean-ups around White Rock Lake every year, but somehow they ignore the streams that drain directly into the Lake.....maybe someone should contact White Rock Lake's organization "For the Love of the Lake" or maybe EPA ?

Relative size of planets and stars

2007-04-26T18:58:00.000-05:00

Yes, this fascinating collection of our solar system and larger stars shows how
relatively SMALL we really are.....

Water Blurb

2007-04-20T16:57:00.000-05:00

So you want to pay more for water? Looks like global water managers are taking over some water supplies in China as well as some major cities in the U.S., including Atlanta. It their rush to capitalize on scarce or vital commodities, they have greedily snatched up water resources in countries that have given up local water supply control either by choice or necessity (no administrators or engineers or infrastructure). So plan on seeing that vital resources being priced sky high in the future…and yes, unless you have a well ,spring, cistern, stream, or lake then plan on paying whatever they ask. Gee, this sounds like the global gas market, but yes you CAN live without that commodity. Thank goodness air is free.

Even more serious is the fact that nations go to war over water just as they do oil or any other strategic resource.

Water Wars http://www.hewett.norfolk.sch.uk/curric/newgeog/Africa/waterwar.htm

Global Policy Forum: Water in Conflict

Newsweek: Wars for Water?

Pacific Institute: The Worlds Water http://worldwater.org/index.html

Concerned over some pet foods?

2007-03-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

Above: petrochem plant in Brazil by
copyright © 1985 Jim Pickerell (http://www.cgstock.com/3523)

Recently some pets were dying from a plastic industry chemical in some brands of pet food.

The culprit was melamine, a component of plastic kitchen ware and fertilizers. Lets open our eyes to what else is out there in our environment. The pets died quickly, but we might be dying more slowly....not to scare you, just to make you aware. To be updated occasionally.

Are Plastic Food and Beverage Containers Safe?

The answer is "no" they haven't been proven safe. This article details the reasons why

they are unsafe...with emphasis on phthalates in the chemical family known sometimes

as EDC's or endocrine disrupting chemicals.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Are-Plastic-Food-and-Beverage-Containers-Safe?&id=57347

Tox Town

An introduction to toxic chemicals and environmental health risks you might encounter in everyday life, in everyday places.

http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/chemical.php?name=phthalates

Adverse Effects of Plastics

In addition to creating safety problems during production, many chemical additives that give plastic products desirable performance properties also have negative environmental and human health effects. These effects include

Direct toxicity, as in the cases of lead, cadmium, and mercury
Carcinogens, as in the case of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP)
Endocrine disruption, which can lead to cancers, birth defects, immune system supression and developmental problems in children.

http://www.ecologycenter.org/factsheets/plastichealtheffects.html

The Bisphenol-A Debate: A Suspect Chemical in Plastic Bottles and Cans

Also known as BPA, this is also in the EDC family of chemicals...

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/bpa

Endocrine Disruptors

http://www.greenfacts.org/endocrine-disruptors/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_disruptor

Chemicals in our blood?

How about teflon components, also called "C8"?

http://www.mercola.com/article/teflon

Petroflourochemicals (PFCs)

http://www.ewg.org/reports/pfcworld/part2.php

http://www.ewg.org/reports/pfcworld/part3.php

Notes on Google Earth

2007-03-28T10:58:00.000-05:00

For you outdoor enthusiasts, I recommend you click on the following layers on Google Earth when you find your area of interest. For this example I used Big Bend National Park in Texas:

Click on Parks and Recreational Areas to highlight the major trails and waypoints such as Visitor Center and Campgrounds

Click on Geographic Features to highlight major peak names and other land features

Click on Google Earth Community to highlight other areas of interest as well as photos posted by other travelers. Under this category

I checked Earth Browsing, Travel Information, and Environment and Conservation. These map layers revealed such interesting features as scorpion habitats and minor campgrounds not shown on the Parks and Recreational Areas layer.

Click on Geographic Web to bring up Panoramio ( http://www.panoramio.com) which feature images posted by Panoramio users and Wikipedia information about the Park.

How some Japanese treat Dolphins....

2007-03-16T17:11:00.000-05:00

I couldn't even watch the entire video...I stopped it halfway to blog this. Thanks Nomar for sending me this to help tell others about this massacre...

Please, watch this video. It has disturbing images, but I think we all need to contribute to stop this massacre:

http://www.glumbert.com/media/dolphin

If, like me, you repudiate this act, add yourself to the list of all who have already signed to help, somehow, in stopping this atrocity. I already did a year ago. Here is the link:

http://www.petitiononline.com/golfinho/petition.html

Hola a todos,

Por favor, vean este video. Es fuerte, pero creo que todos debemos hacer nuestra parte por ayudar:

http://www.glumbert.com/media/dolphin

Si como yo, repudian este acto, súmense a la lista de aquellos que firmamos para tratar de parar esta atrocidad. Yo firmé hace un año.

http://www.petitiononline.com/golfinho/petition.html

Doom

2007-02-25T10:42:00.000-06:00

Natural Disasters, Doomsday, Armageddon, Theories, Conjecture, Fact, Megadeath?

Need something more to worry about besides wireless and wired news? Just look these topics over...I have not included Global Warming since it is covered elsewhere and is happening now. Comments are welcomed! Theoretically the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help us during a natural disaster...and we're covered under chemical, dam failure, earthquake, fire, flood, hazardous material, heat, hurricane, landslide, nuclear, terrorism, thunderstorm, tornado, tsunami, volcano, wildfire, and winter storm. whew! The list could go on and on to include avian flu and other pandemics, questionable scenarios like grey goo from nanotechnology gone bad, human overpopulation, global oil depletion and wars (5-7 year window to avert with alternative sources of energy?) , and other dangers.

I have excluded man-made disasters such as overpopulation, destruction of ecosystems, and weapons of mass destruction; "aliens" and "UFOs", disasters portrayed in Tribal doomsday prophesies(http://www.doomsdayguide.org), Bible prophecy, etc etc. For you who like to philosophize look no further than : http://www.anthropic-principle.com/primer1.html

Okay okay I jumped on the Y2K band wagon in 1999and was embarrased when i returned to work after New Year's Day 2000 LOL. The following scenarios are interesting, to

say the least.....Good luck shifting through factual to semi-factual stuff, misinformation

(information that is incorrect), disinformation ( Deliberately misleading information announced publicly or leaked by a government or especially by an intelligence agency) on the Internet. Read the following and decide for yourself what is entertainment and what may be serious stuff. Nothing on this blog constitutes endorsement by the blogger. An alternative is to watch the famous "Doomsday Clock" at http://www.thebulletin.org/ which basically factors in nuclear

risks and now, global warming.

Tsunami

http://www.armageddononline.org/tsunami.php

When was the biggest tsunami?

The biggest recorded tsunami was produced by the Great Kamchatka Earthquake of 17 October 1737. Its peak reached more than 50 m above sea level on the North Kurile Islands. The Kamchatka Peninsula has the greatest frequency of tsunami, about one event every 12 years. The largest death toll recorded for a tsunami was over 50,000 people on the island of Taiwan on 22 May 1782, followed by 36,417 deaths caused by tsunami associated with the eruption of Krakatau in the Sunda Straits of

Indonesia on 27 August 1883. There are probably larger death tolls, but there is no way to be positive.

***

Mega Update:

On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, triggered a tsunami-- a series of giant waves -- that inundated coastal areas of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and Malaysia, as well as Indian Ocean islands and parts of East Africa....it was the largest since the Good Friday Earthquake off Alaska in 1964, and the fourth largest since 1900, when accurate global seismographic record-keeping began. This tsunami killed

more than 200,000 people in 11 countries around the Indian Ocean.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/mega_tsunami_qanda.shtm

The La Palma Collapse(Canary Islands) - Mega-tsunami: Questions and Answers

National Threats from Tsunamis

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3023/

Supervolcano aka "Yellowstone Supervolcano" or "Yellowstone Caldera"

Purported to be a major catastrophe on our future horizon...but he probability is very small according to the US Government. A detailed discussion, including full-color illustrations, can be found in U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2005-3024, available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3024/.

http://www.thefarm.org/lifestyle/albertbates/akbp12.html reports this eye opening "megadeath"....

..." As recently as 1985, the editorial page of the New York Times, referring to the discovery of the120-mile-wide Chicxulub crater under the tip of the Yucatan and the connection by Luis Alvarez and others to the extinction of the last of the big dinosaurs 65 million years ago, declared, "Astronomers should leave to astrologers the task of seeking the cause of earthly events in the stars." At that time, just 18 years ago, 96% of scientists thought there was no connection between comets or asteroids and mass extinction events. By 13 years ago it was generally accepted, and published in school textbooks, that Chicxulub was the smoke from a celestial pistol that

extinguished 75 percent of life on Earth. These days we look a little more closely at large, crater-like depressions in the Earth's surface. That closer look has led to the discovery of a few dozen 'supervolcanoes' that have, like comets and meteors, punctuated history with mass extinction exclamation points. The largest of these is in Yellowstone Park, marked by a caldera 70 kilometres long and 30 km wide. Eight km beneath Yellowstone lies a huge magma chamber (40 km x 20 km x 10 km), slowly gathering pressure. Vulcanologists do not know when Yellowstone will blow again, but it

popped its cork 1.8 million years ago, 1.2 million years ago, and 640,000 years ago. You do the math.

Supervolcanoes are designated VEI8 - they are an 8 on the Volcano Explosivity Index. Each point on the index represents an eruption 10 times more powerful than the previous one. Mount St. Helens is a VEI5. The Greek Island of Santorini is a VEI6. When Santorini popped off 3500 years ago, cinders the size of Volkswagons were thrown out at speeds approaching MACH 2, rising 21000 feet before beginning decent. When Toba erupted in Sumatra 74,000 years ago, at VEI8, the force was 1000 times more explosive than Mt. St. Helens, and it ejected more than 10,000 times more ash."

Asteroids and Comets

http://www.nineplanets.org/asteroids.html

There are many web sites on this topic. Just a few follow:

Update: Due to budget contraints, NASA has dropped this project

http://hurlbut.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/Education/intro/NEARintro.html

I guess the Government is serious about monitoring and tracking potential near misses or direct hits by asteroids! It is a popular sci-fi theme, and hopefully, will remain in the fictional realm. NASA assures us that "Not that we know of! None of the asteroids or comets discovered so far is on a collision course with Earth. However, we can't speak for those that are not yet discovered. In principle, one of those could hit any time, but statistically the chances are very small."

http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/intro_impact.cfm

Pole Reversal

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/magnetic/reversals.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/magnetic/animals.html

Excerpt: ..."You could perhaps take comfort in the knowledge that these reversals happen infrequently—on average every 250,000 years—but maybe not when you consider that it's been over 700,000 years since the last reversal, and the next one may be currently underway.

" ...."...our planet's magnetic shield is rapidly weakening and may be ready to reverse its polarity, causing compasses to point south."

A Pole Reversal in 2012?

http://survive2012.com/geryl1.php

interesting conjectures arise....."...http://www.spiritual-endeavors.org/m-earth/apoleshift.htm

As the field reaches 'zero', or close to it (some estimate the magnetic field will be at 20% of normal during a reversal), complete with periods of rapid and radical changes, something much more threatening than the upcoming reversal will occur.

.ur. First, as the field weakens, so does what many believe is the natural navigatory force for many living creatures. Studies have shown that whales, dolphins, birds and even mollusks and mice use the geomagnetic field as a guiding device. Some, like mice, use it as a directional guide; while cetaceans use the total geomagnetic field as a map, not for directional information, as we would use a compass, but by navigatingthe contours of magnetic "hills and valleys" in a field that is anything but uniform. Without it, whales and dolphins would beach in record numbers, birds and other creatures would be 'lost', unable to find their home. The effect of a magnetic reversal on humans is less known. Confusion might reign, and some theorize a complete 'reboot' of the human mind - the brain IS known to contain magnetite - might occur.

Update: Added Nuclear War to the Disaster Scenarios, although it is Not a natural disaster:
http://threeworldwars.com, http://www.globalresearch.ca
and various other links conjecture about a nuclear disaster

What is "clean" anyway?

2007-02-15T21:57:00.000-06:00

We have bacteria on us, on our desks, in our digestive system, all around our house......they are here to stay... A research group at UGA in Athens, Georgia estimates the global population at around five million trillion trillion or 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 with 92-92% in the subsurface of soils. Just a few cause human disease and some benefit us. Recently, other researchers discovered at least 182 species of bacteria from skin swabs from the forearms of six people....they extrapolated an estimate of at least 250 species in our skin, a veritable zoo!

This Bug Could Ruin Your Day..

2007-02-01T14:11:00.000-06:00

Yes this virus could ruin your day, not to mention your friends and family, food supplies, and perhaps life as we know it. Don't panic...Uncle Sam will tell us when to start worrying

with their new Flu Rating System, much like Homeland Security's Alerts or National Weather Service's severe storm alerts, etc....

Avian Flu Pandemic predictions for U.S.

"Our results illustrate that the greatest economic cost is due to death (Table 6). Therefore, all other things being equal, the largest economic returns will come from the intervention(s) that prevents the largest number of deaths. A limitation of the model is that, beyond the value of a lost day of work (Table 3), the model does not include any valuation for disruptions in commerce and society. For example, if many long-distance truck drivers were unavailable to drive for 1 or 2 weeks, there might be disruptions in the distribution of perishable items, especially food. These multiplier effects are not accounted for in this model, mainly because an estimate of an appropriate multiplier will depend on who becomes ill, how many become ill, when they become ill, and for how long they are ill."

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no5/meltzer.htm

CDC

More info: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no5/melt_back.htm

Fact Sheet on Legal Authorities for Isolation/Quarantine

http://www.maphtc.iupui.edu/html/CD_Training/SARS/html/Quaratine/factsheetlegal.pdf

Bug Map…on Google Earth

http://declanbutler.info/blog/?p=58

http://facweb.furman.edu/~mwiniski/wordpress/2006/12/29/great-google-earth-feature-time-animation/

http://www.gearthblog.com/

Military Enforcement of Health Measures

In light of recent concerns that a strain of avian influenza could mutate to cause a pandemic, President Bush has suggested that Congress should authorize him to employ military forces to enforce any quarantine that might become necessary in the event of an outbreak in the United States. President Bush also suggested that the National Guard might be employed under federal rather than state control to carryout measures to contain such an outbreak. Critics of the proposal have expressed concern that an additional exception to the Posse Comitatus Act,which prohibits active military personnel from carrying out certain law enforcement activities without express statutory authority,would lead to a form of martial law, with the attendant threats to civil liberties

Source: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33201.pdf

Public comments on smallpox preparedness that would have implications for avian flu pandemic……

http://www.cchconline.org/pr/publiccomments.php3

CCHC'S SUMMARY OF CONCERNS REGARDING THE ACIP PROPOSAL

MANDATORY QUARANTINE MAY INCREASE EXPOSURE: The requirement that all individuals with confirmed, probable and suspected cases of smallpox infection be placed in a "Type C" facility may expose the noninfected (the not yet confirmed) to smallpox, leading to an increase in smallpox infection. It also appears to be proposed without a court order. (Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines, Guide C, page C-4 and C-5).

MANDATAORY VACCINATION VIOLATES FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE: The requirement that all persons entering a Type C facility must be vaccinated with smallpox vaccine exposes these individuals to the side effects of the smallpox vaccine. Most may be more than willing, but not all will agree to the vaccine. Small pox vaccine can cause severe side effects including death. This constitutes a state-imposed injection of a life-threatening substance, violating the individual's freedom of conscience and medical ethics. And, until proven otherwise, there is no guarantee that the vaccine will eliminate the risk of illness even for those who are vaccinated. In addition, unlike those who volunteer for vaccination, there is no requirement that these individuals read, understand and sign a consent form for the vaccination. (Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines, Guide C, page C-5)

MIXING POTENTIALLY NON-CONTAGIOUS WITH CONTAGIOUS: Although officials are to set up "Type X" facilities to house those with "uncertain diagnoses" they propose that these individuals may be placed in Type C facilities-with those who are confirmed to have smallpox. This requirement may expose these individuals to smallpox, endangering their lives. (Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines, Guide C, page C-5 and C-7)

LOSS OF FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT FOR NON-VACCINATED: Although the proposal states those refusing vaccination, who are assumed to be exposed, can be sent home ("Type R"), it allows government officials to detain them outside their home-without a court order. This permits state officials to impose a loss of freedom on those who choose to exercise their freedom of conscience. It also permits the livelihood of individuals to be threatend. Vaccination itself carries risks, including the risk of getting the disease from the vaccination, spreading the illness beyond the limited location of those actually diagnosed with smallpox through shedding of the vaccine, and death and disability as a side effect of the vaccination. Those who do not choose to get the vaccine are those who have chosen one risk over another. If the vaccine is effective-the only type of vaccine that should be given-those who are vaccinated need not fear those who are not. Those who choose not to be vaccinated should not be penalized for exercising their freedom of conscience.

POLICE POWERS VIOLATE DUE PROCESS: The proposal to provide "security staff " with the capacity to detain persons for examination and quarantine and the power to enforce mandatory isolation of contagious patients is cause for concern. As read the proposal would endow security staff with the power to enter homes and haul citizens away before there is any clear evidence of communicability or danger. This is a violation of due process rights and an individual's freedom of movement and security of home. And in the case of forced detention and vaccination, a violation of the person's right to a freedom of conscience. (Guidelines for Smallpox Vaccination Clinics, Annex 2, p. A2-10 and A2-17 and Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines, Guide C, p C-17)

With the implementation of such police powers, the agency should not expect to secure the second factor of the three factors noted as necessary for successful quarantine: public trust and compliance. (Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines, Guide C, page C-17)

ENDANGERMENT OF INDIVIDUALS THROUGH UNQUALIFIED STAFF?: Requirements for personnel are lax, leading to possible endangerment of human life. Medical Screeners, responsible for interviewing citizens to be vaccinated, determining exposure risk, ascertaining risks of vaccination, doing risk-benefit analysis and assessing medical contraindications need not be a physician or nurse. An undefined "paraprofessional" is allowed-perhaps someone who may not be held to a high standard of medical ethics. Training is not described. Although screeners can ask a "physician consultant" to make a final determination regarding vaccination risks, screeners may not have enough knowledge to know when to ask for help, or may be more liable to succumb to assembly line pressures during a crisis. (Guidelines for Smallpox Vaccination Clinics, Annex 2, page A2-9)

In addition, Vaccination Administrators also need only be paraprofessionals, although doctors and nurses qualify. Training is limited to a CDC video, and although practice and mock drills are encouraged, they are not required. So actual practice and experience are not necessary. Vaccinators must also "be prepared to respond to medical emergencies that may occur within the vaccination area." It is not clear that such vaccinators must be qualified in CPR, emergency training, first aid, IV insertion, anaphylactic shock, or any other emergency situations. There is little to assure that public that qualified people will be on hand to evaluate risks, and handle emergencies. (Guidelines for Smallpox Vaccination Clinics, Annex 2, page A2-10 and A2-11) .

EXPERIMENTAL VACCINE WITHOUT CONSENT?: It appears that only those volunteering for the vaccination would be required to give their consent to vaccination "if the vaccine is still on Investigational New Drug status". Medical screeners are to ensure that the consent form is "read, understood and signed" by each recipient. (Guidelines for Smallpox Vaccination Clinics, Annex 2, page A2-9). For individuals who are sick, but may or may not have smallpox, it appears the vaccination would be mandatory, regardless of the risks. This is a violation of medical ethics and freedom of conscience. (Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines, Guide C, page C-5)

GOVERNMENT HEALTH SURVEILLANCE ENCOURAGED: Year-around reports to state health officials of all patients with illness that includes fever and vesicular/pustular rash are proposed. There is no acknowledgement or requirement of patient consent. Neither is there a requirement that such patients be notified that their information may be disclosed, or has been disclosed. (Surveillance, Contact Tracing, and Epidemiological Investigation, Guide A, pg A-1)

GOVERNMENT DATA COLLECTION VIOLATES PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY: Proposed is health and personal data collection after the first report of a case of smallpox. Data to be reported includes name, birth date, social security number, race, occupation, address, prior medical conditions, phone number, date of fever onset, vaccination status, date and place of medical examination, and final diagnosis, including not smallpox. Data is reported on each suspected/probable/confirmed smallpox case without patient consent or notification. In addition, some of the data - social security number, birth date, race, prior medical conditions, and occupation - seem unnecessary for simple tracking of illness. If plans include additional research on these individuals, a specific research consent should be obtained. In addition, there is no clear rationale for collection of data on those who are not confirmed cases, leaving citizens vulnerable to arbitrary decisions regarding data collection. (Surveillance, Contact Tracing, and Epidemiological Investigation, Guide A, pg A-9)

Trees Out Boxes In

2007-01-23T21:15:00.000-06:00

Art Crumb's famous "Short History of America"
The trend continues but which panel at the bottom
is right? ecological disaster, techno fix, or the
ecotopian solution?
"LITTLE BOXES"
Little boxes on the hill side, little boxes made of ticky tacky.
Little boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow
one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky, and they all look just
the same.

And the people in the houses all went to the university
Where they were put in boxes, little boxes, all the same.
And there's doctors and there's lawyers, and there's business
executives
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just
the same.

And they all play on the golf course and drink their martini dry
And they all have pretty children and the children go to school
And the children go to summer camp and then to the university
Where they all get put in boxes and they all come out the same.

And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family
In boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow
one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just
the same.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Words and music by Malvina Reynolds
Copyright 1963 by Schroder Music Co.

Green Links

2007-01-14T09:46:00.003-06:00

These links are an addendum to the previous post of environmental links and reflect conservation, recycling, eco-friendly programs as well as investigative reporting beyond the big television networks and their sometimes obvious political propaganda.

http://www.greeneconomics.net/

http://www.greeneconomy.com/do/Home

http://www.sfenvironment.com/links/

http://www.greenthinkers.org/blog/

http://www.worldkids.net/clubs/green/links.html

http://www.ecomall.com/

http://www.planetpals.com/greenlinks.html

http://www.throwplace.com/directory/green_links.php

Society of Environmental Journalists SEJ

http://www.sej.org/foia/index4.htm

Investigative Reporting (From KERA)

Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR)
http://www.muckraker.org
Established in 1977, CIR sponsors and produces invesigative projects for television, radio, print and the Web.

Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
http://www.ire.org/
IRE provides educational services to reporters, editors and others interested in investigative journalism and works to maintain high professional standards.

Columbia Journalism Review
http://www.cjr.org/
Published bi-monthly since 1961 by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, CJR is a preeminent magazine for professional journalists. Its articles cover trends in the journalism and media industries, professional ethics, and the stories behind the news.

The Fund for Investigative Journalism
http://fij.org/
The Fund for Investigative Journalism awards grants to reporters seeking to undertake investigative projects without the backing of a major news organization. Past FIJ-supported projects have won a variety of awards -- among them Seymour Hersh's Pulitzer Prize for his report on the U.S. Army massacre in the Vietnamese village of My Lai.

The Center for Public Integrity
http://www.publicintegrity.org/default.aspx
The Center for Public Integrity is a non-partisan nonprofit organization that works to produce original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern.

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
http://www.pulitzercenter.org/
Established in 2006 as an independent division of the World Security Institute, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting identifies, sponsors, and distributes independent investigative reporting.

The Smoking Gun
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/
The Smoking Gun Web site uses materials gained via the Freedom of Information Act weigh in on cur

Statistics to Doom?

2007-01-14T09:38:00.000-06:00

Statistics to Doom?

Random researching inspired by seeing cars, cars, cars outside my windows near Dallas Texas…

Persons per square mile, 2000 2,521.5 (US Census Bureau)

Households, 2000 807,621 (US Census Bureau)

3,469.9 people per square mile (1,339.7/km²). (Wiki)

To quote the late environmentalist Edward Abbey, "growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell."

Sixty percent of U.S. households have two or more cars, according to 1996 estimates by Urban Decision Systems. Gross calculation: 807,621 X 0.60 X 2 = 969,145 automobiles

Texas fully congested. About a quarter of the Texas interstate system in metropolitan and urban areas is at 95 percent capacity, and an additional 40 percent has reached 80 percent capacity. Traffic is expected to increase 50 percent in the next 18 years.

Example one vehicle driven 15,000 per year with 18 mpg inefficiency

Your total emissions are: 7.38 tons of CO2

Is the media tired of anything related to overpopulation?

Retired Site…The "Paul Ehrlich and the Population Bomb" site has been retired from pbs.org. At least some websites still address this issue (http://dieoff.org/page27.htm)

Humans have destroyed more than 30 per cent of the natural world since 1970 with serious depletion of the forest, freshwater and marine systems on which life depends. -- [Guardian, 10/2/98]

We call the problem the kankyou mondai, the environmental problem. (http://buddycom.com/animal/envirimg/island/ecodecay.html)

How and why journalist avoid the population-environmental connection (http://dieoff.org/page118.htm)

???“…but the best hope for the environment in the twenty-first century lies in a religious revival around the world that recognizes the human obligation to environmental protection and enjoyment.” No comment, you be the judge on the statement that “Judeo-Christian tradition is the best basis for environmentalism.” (http://www.acton.org/publicat/randl/interview.php?id=301 )

Sources:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48113.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Dallas,_Texas

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/10/post_18.html

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_n12_v18/ai_18894247

http://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/almanac.html

http://www.sustainabletravelinternational.org/offset/index.php?c=1

http://dieoff.org

http://www.culturechange.org/e-letter-carsolution.html

http://buddycom.com/animal/envirimg/island/ecodecay.html

http://www.acton.org/publicat/randl/interview.php?id=301

Ent from Spring Creek

2007-01-13T13:33:00.000-06:00

yes with some imagination and Photoshop, you can create tree beings remotely similar to the Ents of Lord of the Rings.....here is a sycamore that had the right feature to begin creating an "ent" type being.....

A Squid Report

2006-12-22T08:13:00.000-06:00

I am so tired of seeing news about how little humans know about other species I decided to modify a news article about some Japanese researchers capturing and filming a giant squid....to poke fun at our ignorant species.....

Updated 12/22/2006 6:57 AM ape live — possibly for the first time — and says the elusive creatures may be more plentiful than previously believed, a researcher said Friday.

The research team, led by Tsunami Tentacle, videotaped the ape scuba diving off the Ogasawara Islands south of Tokyo earlier this month. The ape, which measured about 6 feet long, died while it was being caught.

"We believe this is the first time anyone has successfully filmed a bipedal ape that was alive," said Tentacle, a researcher with Oceania Science Museum. "Now that we know where to find them, we think we can be more successful at studying them in the future."

Bipedal apes, formally called Homo sapiens, are the world's most prolific vertebrates. Because they live in metal vehicles and little boxes and travel at fast speeds on land, they have long been wrapped in mystery and embellished in the folklore of little land monsters, appearing in ancient Squid myths or attacking the our kind in Jules Squid’s "20,000 Leagues Over our Heads."

The captured human was caught using a smaller type of Homo sapiens (midget) as bait, and was pulled into our capture device "after putting up quite a fight," Tentacle said.

"It took two squid to pull it in, and they lost it once, which might have caused the injuries that killed it," he said.

The human, a large male, was fully grown and was relatively large by ape standards. The longest one on record is 6.5 feet, he said.

Tentacle and his team had been conducting expeditions in the area for about three years before they succeeded in making their first contact two years ago. Last year, the team succeeded in taking a series of still photos of one of the animals in its natural habitat — also believed to have been a first.

Until the team's successes, most scientific study of the creatures had to rely on partial specimens that had washed into deeper parts of the ocean dead or dying or had been found in the digestive systems of very large sharks.

Tentacle said whales led his team to the human. By finding an area where humans dive, he believed he could find the animals. He also said that, judging by the number of sharks that feed on them, there may be many more bipedal apes than previously thought.

"There are believed to be 6,500,000,000 or so of them, and …. I don't think they are in danger of extinction at all."