antlion

Over 35 years ago.

Another day it occurred to me that time as we know it doesn’t exist in the lawn, since grass never dies or is allowed to flower and set seed. Lawns are nature purged of sex and death. No wonder Americans like them so much.

The forest was on fire. The trees were scared, and felt powerless. The two candidates offered to save them. The axe, whose handle was wood, suggested that if their neighbors were “relocated”, the rest of the forest would be safe from the fire. On the other hand the old growth tree in a clearing suggested that fire was a natural part of the forest, and they’d all be okay. In the end the axe was elected, but the forest all burned.

Before tractors, almost the entire food chain involved animal slavery, since farms used draft animals. For that matter, even transportation was based on animal slavery (horses). Many of the sustainable and high performance fabrics like wool, silk, and leather are now replaced by synthetic fossil-derived plastics. But petroleum is also an animal product.

To be vegan, is to choose fossilized animal products and services over fresh.

70% of those almonds are exported. But you should take a pathetic dribble of a shower.

For those who don’t know, the flow restriction plug can be removed from most shower heads. But you didn’t hear it from me.

More details available at Investor Day in late September

This is huge news (albeit a half year old) that changes our understanding of clouds, and any other form of water evaporation. Light at 45 degrees, and with a specific polarization, has the potential to be more efficient at evaporation than heat is. It may have applications in food processing, to reduce the energy of spray evaporation. The scientists involved wanted to be sure that this was really happening, so they tested and documented 12 different ways to verify it.

Current mainstream mitigation measures may be insufficient to halt sea-level rise, implying that radical measures may be required. Geoengineering—which can be described as a mechanism to mitigate unprecedented sea-level rise—has garnered scientific interest in line with the present state of climate change. This study investigates traditional and modern geoengineering techniques through a systematic literature review. The results suggest that conventional and pioneering techniques can decrease sea-level rise, and those optimal results would be achieved through the cooperation of methods. Ultimately, findings from this review informed five strategies: tactical application of conventional geoengineering; optimisation through technique alignment; adaptation to receding coastlines; a global platform for project collaboration; and progression of research capabilities. These strategies, in turn, informed a procedural guideline for policymakers who seek to mitigate sea-level rise.

Precipitation enhancement, commonly called “cloud seeding” or “weather modification” is a scientific method to artificially stimulate clouds to produce more rainfall and snowfall than would be produced naturally. The primary mechanism is to inject substances, such as silver iodide or ice crystals (cloud seeding agents), into the clouds, enabling snowflakes and raindrops to form more easily. Various cloud seeding programs have been operational since the late 1950s. The majority of programs continue for a number of years during winter months and as conditions warrant. The following is a summary on previous cloud seeding programs in California.

“The biggest thing with comfort is that I can lie in my bed and use [the Link]. Any other assistive technology had to have someone else help or have me sit up. Sitting causes stress mentally and on my body which would give me pressure sores or spasms. It lets me live on my own time, not needing to have someone adjust me, etc. throughout the day.”

— Noland Arbaugh, PRIME Study participant