tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43518787510884519142024-03-14T13:02:37.928-04:00GEEcologyGEEcology represents the diversity of ecological passions found within the GEE team. GEE is a ecological consulting company specializing in all forms of habitat restoration and environmental solutions.bourbontrailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891081436861453128noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-55855550248774018732010-08-09T12:58:00.000-04:002010-08-09T12:58:06.456-04:00Patrick Dougherty Installation in Brooklyn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzYfiQpOwCaEa14q1paJo4FJ0kPqqiBbHm4iZrSy9O7qWa_w-_80H1gCTFMbcFXHwxQ2R2Ik1QgxvA8lOKYWQgxqNpE8PHV_EcV3yErZl2B9pCCwA_vZ1FHwOdvzRs2ykgmPPYUSyPKgA/s1600/PD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzYfiQpOwCaEa14q1paJo4FJ0kPqqiBbHm4iZrSy9O7qWa_w-_80H1gCTFMbcFXHwxQ2R2Ik1QgxvA8lOKYWQgxqNpE8PHV_EcV3yErZl2B9pCCwA_vZ1FHwOdvzRs2ykgmPPYUSyPKgA/s320/PD.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This month at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden artist <a href="http://www.bbg.org/discover/gallery/dougherty/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">Patrick Dougherty</span></a> is installing a unique sculpture made natural material. If you have seen the movie <i>Where the Wild Things Are</i> you may have recognized Dougherty's sculpture as the massive spheres of twigs made into their hideout (above image). For the Brooklyn Botanical Garden installation Dougherty has collected nonnative woody material, mainly <i>Salix atrocinerea</i>, from the Ocean Breeze Park on Staten Island. This was part of a larger effort to remove invasive species as outlined in the PlaNYC Sustainability Initiative.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0f0f0f; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>Dougherty started his installation last week at the garden and is scheduled to be finished by August 21st. <a href="http://www.bbg.org/visit/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">Visit</span></a> the BBG before August 21st to see the actual <a href="http://www.bbg.org/news/patrick_dougherty_installation_in_progress/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">installation</span></a> or the completed installation will remain up for the following year.bourbontrailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891081436861453128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-3062949666734609282010-05-05T10:40:00.001-04:002010-05-05T10:41:10.550-04:00Art Goes Organic...*sellouts*Salad for lunch? You got a little something on your lip there...I think it's the G train.<br />
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I'm not an art guy. But even my void of artistic appreciation was drawn in by the New York Times article about recent "organic art" trends. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/04/science/20100504_angier.html?ref=science">This stuff</a> is fantastic. Mosaics of cockroach carapaces and sardines, a bicycle made out of cow bones, and some Dutch guy with moss glued to his face. I will be honest though, when the times article mentioned <a href="http://www.levivanveluw.nl/work/landscapes">Levi van Veluw</a> using his flesh as soil, I got really excited. But he isn't. It's just glue.<br />
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Probably better for his skin in all honesty.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-41849795434165915102010-05-04T14:40:00.003-04:002010-05-04T14:43:15.767-04:00Pigweed for Everyone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/05/04/business/04weed_CA2/04weed_CA2-articleLarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/05/04/business/04weed_CA2/04weed_CA2-articleLarge.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The New York Times today has an article on the spread of Roundup-resistant weeds. Those who are familiar with the issue of the evolution of resistant pest species won't find too much additional information in the article, although it does point out some evidence that despite Monsanto's claims that the problem is manageable, they apparently are concerned enough to subsidize certain farmers' purchases of other herbicides to target resistant weeds.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Amaranthus_palmeri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Amaranthus_palmeri.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>On a whim, I looked up one spectacular-sounding weed highlighted in the article. According to the article, Pigweed (<i>Amaranthus palmeri</i>) "can grow three inches a day and reach seven feet or more, choking out crops; it is so sturdy that it can damage harvesting equipment. In an attempt to kill the pest before it becomes that big, Mr. Anderson and his neighbors are plowing their fields and mixing herbicides into the soil." <br />
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It turns out that this terrifying giant pigweed actually isn't so evil, and maybe even its resistance to glyphosate could be a benefit.<br />
<a name='more'></a>Pigweed was in fact once widely cultivated and eaten by Native Americans, and much like other amaranths, valued for the high nutritious value of its seeds and greens. It is also, as one would expect from a weed, pretty vigorous and drought-tolerant (and apparently already has Roundup-resistance built in). My proposal: Start cultivating and improving pigweed now -- but call it something different.<br />
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Link to NY Times article: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/energy-environment/04weed.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/energy-environment/04weed.html</a><br />
Link to Wikipedia article on pigweed: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranthus_palmeri">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranthus_palmeri</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-31426548663449097502010-05-03T15:33:00.000-04:002010-05-03T15:33:19.468-04:00Mapping Environmental Change - The Past 70 YearsI find it interesting how so many people in recent days have questioned the world's track record with handling oil drilling due to the recent disaster in the Gulf. I hate to break it to you people, but we have a terrible track record of existing...<br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/22/science/earth/20100422_environment_timeline.html?ref=earth">70 Years of Environmental Change</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-29939013159685686192010-04-29T16:54:00.001-04:002010-05-04T14:44:24.531-04:00TD Bank Five Borough Bike Tour This Sunday!Can you feel the excitement?! I can't, because it's only Thursday, but it's there, lurking just beneath the subconscious.<br />
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For all your bike tour needs make sure to check out the official website <a href="http://www.bikenewyork.org/rides/fbbt/index.html">here</a>. Everyone should make an effort and get out to experience it. Especially the festival at the end of the ride in Staten Island where I hear free beef jerky samples will be available.<br />
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Follow GEE's very own Sarah Welch and Zachary Lehmann while they bike from your smart phone! Text "where are zak and sarah" to 617-512-0145 and you will get a link to a google map showing their exact position along the ride!<br />
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Hope to see everyone there!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-58684429265444056592010-04-29T12:26:00.002-04:002010-04-29T12:29:10.186-04:00Digi-scoping: Glimpse of a Peregrine Falcon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCHnj34V_asreF2A8CZE2KJ_3w6admMEfKBVNdPPPi8OFNo9mZFpOcRi1Bzyq2flLTFFTR36iLhzxqMdtLIFiJ8m1FUx1DKqwwSbvUfiW1rPO7jm5O8LugNvAIzUuQJ9NzT3HT3tTC3Ye/s1600/PFalcon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCHnj34V_asreF2A8CZE2KJ_3w6admMEfKBVNdPPPi8OFNo9mZFpOcRi1Bzyq2flLTFFTR36iLhzxqMdtLIFiJ8m1FUx1DKqwwSbvUfiW1rPO7jm5O8LugNvAIzUuQJ9NzT3HT3tTC3Ye/s400/PFalcon.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>Monday I took this shot of a female peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) on Long Island. This was my first attempt at the technique called digi-scoping. "Digi-scoping" generally refers to using a digital camera to take photos through the eyepiece of a telescope. I used my inexpensive Sony Cyber-shot 7.2 mega pixels through the eyepiece of a Kowa scope. My camera was set to auto adjustment which sometimes causes a delay in the shot. As you can see it is a bit out of focus. Next time I will try to adjust the settings to get a clearer shot.<br />
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Her feathers are ruffled from the wind and she is perched on her left foot.<br />
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Stay tuned for more digi-scoping photos and news on peregrine falcons.bourbontrailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891081436861453128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-46327344643264296052010-04-22T16:22:00.002-04:002010-04-22T16:23:31.237-04:00Deodorant Guns<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opv4ysIR5AE/S88TO479xCI/AAAAAAAAAB0/0sIyFbcbnOs/s1600/landfill.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462606019546694690" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opv4ysIR5AE/S88TO479xCI/AAAAAAAAAB0/0sIyFbcbnOs/s320/landfill.jpg" style="display: block; height: 140px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 140px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;">China is planning to install 100 deodorant guns. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black;">I found this interesting and disgusting info reading METRO this morning. They are going to shoot fresh air over dump sites. Machines will spray chemical fragrance and industrial fans will spread it up to 160 feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black;">The amount of trash that Beijing produces is bigger than they can handle. Instead perfuming it, maybe they should clean it. Other cities have had this problem at some point too, but they did their homework and figured out how to motivate people to make less garbage. What if our government organized a little operation: "STINKY GONE." Can you imagine how awful and confusing that would be for our sense of smell?? Rotten food mixed with “clean linen” deodorant. It's similar to when you are too lazy to clean your house so you just spray some Febreze.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black;">New York is not the cleanest city in the world, but it is trying hard to maximize recycling and minimize garbage production. Like every other city in the world, it is very important for citizens to be on the same page as the city government. Cities should develop marketing strategies to inform citizens of the importance of waste reduction and recycling on individual and community levels. This would allow city officials to create a good cleaning plan. So Beijing -- it is cleaning time!</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black;">Find out more<a href="http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-03/beijing-deploys-giant-deodorant-cannons-freshen-city-landfill"> here</a>.</span></div></div><br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div>Beehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04413368794752152802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-10550873927124994822010-03-25T16:37:00.004-04:002010-03-31T15:33:47.904-04:00Dam!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.troutprint.com/Images/fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://www.troutprint.com/Images/fish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>For those of you web jockeys that don't know, I have recently become an avid fly fisher. The sport brings together a number of my favorite things into an exciting and elitist format that I can really dig my teeth into. I get to be outside, which is always a good thing. I get to make intricate little flies which brings me back to my modelling days of old. It also lets me "hunt" with an option of not actually killing the animal. So as my new obsession began to take hold, I decided to do something very unlike me. I subscribed to a local chapter of a activist organization, Trout Unlimited.<br />
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Trout Unlimited (TU) is a national organization with more than 150,000 volunteers spread across approximately 400 chapters. Many of the members are dedicated conservation professionals including experts, scientist, and even lawyers. They are constantly working towards fishery restoration and widely known for their influences on policy around prominent fisheries across the country. It seems a little conceded though, saying you are saving the country's waterways when really you just want a nice place to fish. But that works for me, and more importantly they get the job done, in a big big way.<br />
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How big? Try the largest dam removal project currently being undertaken in the world at a cost of $450 million. Not bad for a grassroots fishing group.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2007/06/26/PH2007062601922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2007/06/26/PH2007062601922.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>The dams of the Klamath River flows from Oregon through over 250 miles of California. The four dams on the river were put up quickly from 1918 to 1962. The dams cut off approximately 300 miles of spawning habitat for fish species. The colder water released from the reservoirs severely inhibited smolt (bait fish) growth. Algae and agriculture runoff were also contributing to the rapid decrease in water quality along the river's length. Finally things came to a head in 2002, when low flows, warm water, and relatively high fish density caused an epidemic among migrating salmon and steelhead. At least 35,000 adult spawners died.<br />
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Only after this fishery disaster was action finally taken. TU began hosting talks with the damn operators, farmers, and regulators. Slowly progress was made and an agreement was finalized to remove all four of the major dams along the waterway by 2020. It was a huge win for the conservationists and an example of what can be done if people are brought together to work through public issues such as these.<br />
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It's exciting to be a part of an organization with this kind of dedicate and 'no fear' attitude. I am really looking forward to begin getting more involved with TU, and hopefully someday maybe fishing the Klamath myself. For anyone interested I recommend <a href="http://www.tu.org/">visiting their website</a> and attending some of their chapter meetings. A lot of effort is currently being made to address the natural gas drilling in upstate New York.<br />
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Until next time, you can find me on my Croton River, not catching fish....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-79158715719505611772010-03-18T11:12:00.003-04:002010-03-31T15:48:52.819-04:00Everything Has an Impact<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://user.cloudfront.goodinc.com/community/andrewprice/1268438513-3082951833_8a7b27d903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://user.cloudfront.goodinc.com/community/andrewprice/1268438513-3082951833_8a7b27d903.jpg" /></a></div>There's never an easy solution.</div><div><br />
</div><a href="http://www.good.is/post/could-wind-turbines-actually-warm-the-globe/">Could Wind Turbines Actually Warm the Globe? - GOOD Blog - GOOD</a><br />
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(image source: GOOD)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-37755402552292039812010-03-15T10:34:00.003-04:002010-03-31T11:13:26.353-04:00Beekeeping in New York City<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/03/15/nyregion/15bees01_span/15bees01-articleLarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/03/15/nyregion/15bees01_span/15bees01-articleLarge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Keeping bees in New York City is illegal due to concerns about public safety -- unfounded concerns, according to the many people who keep hives anyway. According to the New York Times, the city may amend the health code this week to permit beekeeping of <i>Apis mellifera</i>:</div><div><br />
</div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/science/earth/15bees.html?hp">Bees in the City? New York May Make Hives Legal - NYTimes.com</a><br />
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</div><div>The New York City Beekeepers Association, brazen lawbreakers that they are, offer 12-hour beginner classes for $100 on their website, as well as a bunch of community information (and puns related to beekeeping).</div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.nyc-bees.org/index.html">http://www.nyc-bees.org/index.html</a><br />
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(Image cre<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">dit </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">)</span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-89969314023065649292010-03-11T09:24:00.002-05:002010-03-31T11:14:25.850-04:00Blood-red Waterfall of Primordial Ooze<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;">In Antarctica, there is a blood-red waterfall pouring down five stories from the Taylor Glacier. The water comes from a lake in which an ecosystem of microbes was trapped by the glacier about 2 million years ago. Since then, the organisms have evolved while sealed off from air, light, and most heat. "Primordial ooze" as <a href="http://atlasobscura.com/place/blood-falls">Atlas Obscura</a> says.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><a href="http://static.atlasobscura.com//images/place/blood-falls.2269.full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://static.atlasobscura.com//images/place/blood-falls.2269.full.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-69853766066815461282010-03-03T16:08:00.001-05:002010-03-31T11:15:27.448-04:00Earthquake Shifts Earth's Axis, Speeds Up RotationAccording to NASA scientists, the Earth's axis likely moved by about 3 inches following the major earthquake in Chile on February 27th. Earthquakes can shift the distribution of mass on the planet, changing the way it rotates.<br />
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The change is very small -- the length of a day shortened by just a millionth of a second. The quake may have caused some more obvious changes, too, perhaps shifting islands and raising Santa Maria Island (off the coast of Chile) by approximately 6 feet, according to a researcher at Liverpool University.<br />
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<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-01/chilean-quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-nasa-scientist-says.html">http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-01/chilean-quake-likely-shifted-earth-s-axis-nasa-scientist-says.html</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-57751590374800769462010-02-25T16:25:00.001-05:002010-03-31T11:29:22.243-04:00Bloomberg Commits to Water Quality Improvements In Jamaica BayIt's about time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nps.gov/gate/naturescience/images/Ospreys_on_Nest_JBWR_JBI_Photo_2_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://www.nps.gov/gate/naturescience/images/Ospreys_on_Nest_JBWR_JBI_Photo_2_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The city put out a press release today with some vague details on the new Jamaica Bay water quality improvement plan. While this is a step in the right direction I know I personally would have liked to see more details in the plan. However there is a substantial amount of money being moved into Jamaica Bay wetland restoration which as an avid birder always gets a thumbs up.<br />
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The release ran with this opening statement:<br />
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<span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Today marks a new beginning for Jamaica Bay - an amazing recreational and economic resource for New Yorkers," said Lawrence Levine, staff attorney for the NRDC. "The city has committed to address the biggest source of pollution that has plagued Jamaica Bay for decades. We look forward to continuing to work with Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Holloway to turn today's historic commitments into reality."</span><br />
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Some details of the planned improvements include the following:<br />
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<ul><li>Upgrade four sewage treatment plants to drastically reduce nitrogen discharges to the bay, on a schedule running through 2020</li>
<li>Spend at least $15 million on marsh restoration over the next five years, which could leverage nearly $30 million in additional federal funding through the Corps of Engineers</li>
<li>Resolve a long-running dispute over the city's Clean Water Act permits by agreeing to new, stricter permit terms that will lock in the treatment plant upgrades, and the resulting water quality improvements, in to the future</li>
<li>Improve water quality monitoring in the bay, which may include using new equipment to provide continuous, rel-time information on conditions in the bay</li>
</ul><div>Jamaica Bay is an incredibly unique and interesting natural attraction. Dozens of interesting bird species migrate through the wetlands of this Bay every year. A snowy owl has even been spotted moving through the area four years ago (my crew made that sighting, it was awesome). I've also heard there is good fishing here, although I'm not sure if there are any special restrictions on fishing in or around the bay.</div><div><br />
</div><div>All and all I'm happy to see the city put something on paper saying they will address the long ignored degradation of the bay. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the water quality of the entire region.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-57947854710927663002010-02-19T13:08:00.001-05:002010-03-31T11:30:01.225-04:00Welcome to the JungleESRI is a big fan of hammering you with updates about their GIS products as well as updates about the GIS community around the globe. Luckily for me a lot of their publications have environmental undertones which make them less like spam and more like...something useful. In their most recent issue of ArcWatch, I came across a very interesting article about using Lidar technology to map forests; and I don't mean where the forests are, but actually where individual plants are and how big they are.<br />
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Lidar stands for Light Detection And Ranging. Without getting into anything too technical, it basically uses pulses of light in the form of lasers to determine the distance to something. This technology has been used a lot to perform remote surveys of large areas to determine elevations and slopes of a landscape. Researchers from Forestry Tasmania have adapted the technology to measure the height of trees and to some degree the amount of foliage that tree has.<br />
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Suffice it to say that it is pretty awesome. Especially when you start seeing images of more than 1 plant at a time, you can tell very quickly that this technology will be able to measure a forest's vegetative cover to some extent. Forest managers are already drooling over the prospects.<br />
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Check out more details at the <a href="http://www.esri.com/news/arcwatch/0210/the-centurion.html">ArcWatch article here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-16091793552654031062010-02-12T12:45:00.003-05:002010-03-31T11:16:30.897-04:00PlasticThe last few days, some of us have been discussing the consequences of plastic bags and waste in general. I'm reading <i>The World Without Us</i> by Alan Weisman right now, and was terrified by his text on the pervasiveness of plastics -- that as plastics break down, they become available for consumption by smaller and smaller organisms, and therefore will eventually find their way through the entire food chain.<br />
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The blog at GOOD offers this list of ways to reduce plastic waste: <a href="http://www.good.is/post/our-10-favorite-innovations-for-reducing-plastic-consumer-waste/">http://www.good.is/post/our-10-favorite-innovations-for-reducing-plastic-consumer-waste/</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://user.cloudfront.goodinc.com/community/patrick/unpackaged.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://user.cloudfront.goodinc.com/community/patrick/unpackaged.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I'm most interested by the London store Unpackaged (<a href="http://beunpackaged.com/">http://beunpackaged.com</a>), which sells all (most?) products sans packaging -- customers bring their own reusable containers. (Image from GOOD's post on Unpackaged.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-17499850486590632182010-02-02T16:16:00.000-05:002010-02-02T16:16:43.190-05:00Turns Office Paper Into Toilet Paper?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPj8ssPIAVikbjIZx8WDX-unX1y-30OfuJQWoXyUeUMToHmbj5PjgUakiLvT5EntyajNGHqFNO4kEqoGWVuoZf2K0eueupMmfwDJkvi7IOpXyhMxuiFYkam2xk6nDxUPpREqkqntN21jo0/s1600-h/Toilet+Paper+Pyramid+by+Pygo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPj8ssPIAVikbjIZx8WDX-unX1y-30OfuJQWoXyUeUMToHmbj5PjgUakiLvT5EntyajNGHqFNO4kEqoGWVuoZf2K0eueupMmfwDJkvi7IOpXyhMxuiFYkam2xk6nDxUPpREqkqntN21jo0/s200/Toilet+Paper+Pyramid+by+Pygo.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>Came across this cool machine that takes paper in and gives you toilet paper. This is recycling in front of you eyes. I believe that one day( I hope soon) every house will have one of those, like water filter system...<br />
Check out the <a href="http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/bathroom-supplies/japanese-machine-turns-office-paper-into-toilet-paper-107404">link</a>... Happy recycling!<br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div>Beehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04413368794752152802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-57188586911751019702010-01-22T12:54:00.003-05:002010-01-22T12:56:33.633-05:00Cooperation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRcXsMRDGS-26Dz1pXbziZriuDogeIpK9gpGrAkuqh2n2OThyphenhyphenOzXKAOibOxum_oPypb843T_WJ1jacYtoi03T0rzWnv__FJRVsZTkNzWV9RDMYINjJBHl-5GiZEM9fRDtu4f-NW4mTHIZ/s1600-h/Ant+Plant,+Myrmecodia+echinata+by+nipplerings72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again the idea of co-evolution keeps entering my realm. This time at my Brooklyn Botanical Garden Botany course Uli, my professor, introduced us to the ant plant. </span><i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Myrmecophyte</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> plants, also commonly known as ant plants, native to south Asia are epiphytes. Epiphytes may often be considered parasitic but they only use their host for physical support. While the</span><i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Myrmecophyte</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> plant relies on trees for a home, the plant also is a host for a colony of ants. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Its swollen stem is a suitable location for ants to borrow in a claim their territory. This doesn’t have any negative effects on the plant and actually the ants provide nutrition via droppings and fend off any unwanted trespasser that may cause harm to the plant and their colony by attack. Another great example of co-evolution. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently heard the term cooperation used in terms of natural selection. Perhaps it is an organism’s ability to cooperate with other species to survive at a higher rate than the ones who are fighting. If so the </span><i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">homo genus </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">should soon find a more harmonious way to exist on this planet if we want to survive.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another fascinating blog to check out by the Natural History Museum Curator Susan Perkins explores a new parasite every day for a year at <a href="http://dailyparasite.blogspot.com/">Parasite of the Day</a>.</span><br />
</div>bourbontrailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891081436861453128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-72136685938699913442010-01-20T12:12:00.002-05:002010-03-31T11:31:23.601-04:00Evolutionary Weaponry -- Venom<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span>"If I spit, they will take my spit and frame it as great art." - Picasso<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/snake_main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/snake_main.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>His modesty is commendable, but really humans are millions of years behind other animals in terms of the quality of their spit.<br />
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There are many animals in the world today that utilize a variety of venoms to incapacitate prey. Most notable of these are snakes, lizards, spiders, and jellyfish. Few people are aware of the venoms that some mammals have, such as moles and shrews. But if the evolution of venoms occurred in multiple kingdoms at different times, where did they all come from?<br />
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The answer is ever so <i>cleverly</i> concealed in the opening quote of this article. Primitive forms of venoms usually are found in the saliva of organisms. This is evident even today in a number of monitor species and some fish. Scientists who specialize in the application of venoms for medicinal research have been studying the make up of various venoms and have reached a few conclusions through the use of DNA analysis. Namely that many of the enzymes and proteins that are found in venoms of a particular species are also found in other organs of their digestive system. This has lead researchers to believe that venoms started out as "strong" salivas.<br />
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Venom typically is made up of one of three (or some combination of) toxin classifications: cytotoxins, hemotoxins, and neurotoxins. The makeup of the venom is usually influenced by the hunting styles of the animal in question. Sea snakes for example require incredibly powerful venoms to kill fish almost immediately, otherwise they would not be able to catch them.<br />
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INTERESTING SIDE NOTE: the king cobra has venom potent enough to kill an adult elephant. But the strength of it's venom was only increased because it hunts other snakes, which had developed a resistance to it's venom.<br />
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Cytotoxins are considered the most primitive. They initiate the digestion of tissues before being swallowed. Most salivas do something similar, for instance in humans, we have enzymes that help us break down carbohydrates and sugars before it even gets to the stomach. Venoms simply have specialized enzymes and proteins which do essentially the same thing on living tissues. Cytotoxin venoms are also utilized by a number of species for defensive purposes, which sufficiently irritate attackers to allow for a hasty escape. Cytotoxins usually don't kill the prey, but can wound it sufficiently to make it easier to catch. Some cytotoxins can be incredibly potent and lead to deformities, such as those found in the brown recluse spider (<a href="http://images.google.com/images?rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS291US304&sourceid=chrome&q=brown%20recluse%20spider&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi">Pictures of brown recluse toxin effects on humans</a>. WARNING: graphic content.)<br />
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A more advanced toxin are the hemotoxins. Hemotoxins attack circulatory systems, usually preventing the coagulation of blood thus preventing the victim from being able to stop bleeding after the strike. However some more advanced hemotoxins do the exact opposite, and actually rapidly clots all the blood throughout the body of the victim.<br />
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The most frightening toxin, at least to me, are the neurotoxins. These toxins work between the synapses of the nervous system. Basically the eliminate the singles being sent from the victims brain stem to the muscles. In essence the victim is still alive when it begins to be eaten.<br />
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The evolutionary history of venoms in snake species is particularly interesting. Much to the dismay of my mother, snakes have also become a small obsession of mine. DNA researchers have determined that the ability to form these venoms, in snakes, arose from a single evolutionary branch over 100 million years ago in one of the earliest ancestors of modern snakes. All of the modern snakes of today have venomous potential, however only tree taxonomic families are now considered poisonous.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reptileexpo.com/images/center1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://www.reptileexpo.com/images/center1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And now after convincing you all that snakes are terrible animals to have around the house, I would like to encourage everyone to visit the New York Reptile Expo on Wednesday January 20th at the Westchester County Center in White Plains NY. I went last year and had an absolute blast. They have vendors there selling all sorts of reptiles. Monitors, snakes, geckos, chameleons, frogs, turtles, they literally have it all. It was that show where I bought my first corn snake, they make for great pets. Everyone should check it out, $10 to get in and see some of the craziest animals and people the greater New York area has to offer!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-72800031500154410822010-01-19T11:02:00.005-05:002010-03-31T11:17:35.369-04:00Living in the Future<div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1972, Geoffrey Hoyle wrote a book called </span><i><a href="http://2010book.tumblr.com/post/310745454/cover"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2010: Living in the Future</span></a></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. It is sometimes spot on -- "vision phones" -- and sometimes not so much -- "in the year 2010 everyone wears a jumpsuit and shoes."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find it interesting that so many futuristic predictions include uniformity of things like clothing and food production (here, food arrives in tubes and is automatically cooked), yet these particular items have actually trended the other way (at least, that's what I see around me in Brooklyn).<br />
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And while simplicity and sustainability are recognized with small, efficient homes and public transportation galore, electric gadgets are abundant too, and it always seems to be assumed that we will find a way to fuel all of this with clean energy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Go compare reality with Mr. Hoyle's predictions...<br />
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F<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">rom </span><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/13/2010-living-in-the-f.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Boing Boing</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-648102910790412582010-01-14T18:03:00.002-05:002010-03-31T11:17:02.759-04:00Moss GardeningI have started growing moss -- George Schenk inspired me. His wonderfully conversational book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moss-Gardening-Including-Liverworts-Miniatures/dp/0881923702">Moss Gardening: Including Lichens, Liverworts and Other Miniatures</a></i> is full of quirky stories mixed with technical details and beautiful images. My edition is printed on a heavy glossy paper which gives it an enticing density and a satisfying "thunk" when being closed.<br />
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Go buy it, everyone.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLFPz6HyqqOR8A6rd4y0myg0I5jurlbYPqmLUoJgxoGwpzkce2toqCgpaKq5PYnBWTgmWZlSOXUHRe5KMwM7zu5QTic8XxHrgssXXvSfZit1aD9YdOJpkGdThJPFDbhJc7O8fRyeH_O0/s1600-h/DSC_0128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLFPz6HyqqOR8A6rd4y0myg0I5jurlbYPqmLUoJgxoGwpzkce2toqCgpaKq5PYnBWTgmWZlSOXUHRe5KMwM7zu5QTic8XxHrgssXXvSfZit1aD9YdOJpkGdThJPFDbhJc7O8fRyeH_O0/s320/DSC_0128.JPG" /></a><br />
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But anyway -- here I'm growing an unidentified moss with delicate greenery on a slice of wood, under a thrift-store glass bowl (not shown). We'll see how long it lasts...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-17858822212333185742010-01-14T11:17:00.021-05:002010-03-31T11:31:44.751-04:00Open Source and Why it is Important<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Open source" is a computer term that is getting thrown around more and more these days and it is important to understand excatly what this concept is and how it affects everyone on, very literally, a global scale. As the residing tech expert on the blog I am taking it upon myself to try to enlighten those of a less tech-savvy nature. So lets start with the basics. What does open source mean exactly?</span></span><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Open source is a software production methodology which allows the program's source code to be viewed by the general public. Okay, so what does that mean? Basically it allows anyone in the world to look at the programming code, the raw language of the program, the stuff that makes the program work the way it does. Other third party programmers can then tailor their own programs to this code, digesting outputs from the original program to suite their individual needs. The best example of this are all of those crazy "apps" (short for application) you see on smart phones and websites these days.</span><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Take a look at any iPhone or (even better) Droid out there today. Chances are it is loaded with applications that do all sorts of things from playing games, to updating you on the weather, to translating your texts to a different language (Guten Tag!). Apple and Google didn't program these applications. That would have taken them decades and cost them millions of dollars. Instead they provided the source code for their respective phone's operating systems to other software developers. These developers then created these programs and either sell them back to Apple or put them up for sale on a web market. The point is neither Google nor Apple want to invest the time and money into making a weather app, even though it is obviously useful and would be consumed by a large number of people. Instead they basically allow someone else who has the resources to focus on that job specifically to do it faster and cheaper.</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">So now that we have an idea of what open source is technically, lets talk about why it is important and why there is so much buzz around the topic.</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">To start off, what are the down sides of open source programming? Why doesn't everyone do it? The answer is that like many other kinds of companies, software companies are greedy, and they have good reason to be. Even simple programs that cost relatively little to produce, if done well, can generate millions and millions of dollars in revenue for a staff of potentially only a few people. Look at MySpace or Facebook. Both are absurdity simple ideas from a programming perspective. Build a website that allows people to make a personalized profile that links to other profiles. Simple! No one related to the creators of either site will have to work a day of their life now. Software development is a funny business where the usefulness of your product vastly outweighs the content in most cases.</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">But what happens when the source code for your simple program is leaked? Your once novel idea is now being developed by hundreds of other programmers who stole your source code, effectively giving them a head start on their programs. Not so long ago open source code was considered suicidal, because it gives your competitors a look at exactly how your programs works. It will allow them to exploit defects and capitalize on your ingenuity. Of course open source is a bad idea, you will lose all of your potential revenue to competitors! Also apparently you become a communist...</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://clicknoise.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/open_source_communism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://clicknoise.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/open_source_communism.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">(NOTE: not actually from Microsoft, at least I'm pretty sure it isn't.) </span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">So why would someone give up the rights to make money on all of those apps? They don't! You can't run those apps with out the phones can you? In reality open source allows you to do something even more valuable than protecting your code. In essence open source creates a community dedicated to the development of your software platform. The computer game Half Life for example is entirely open sourced, which has lead to a myriad of other games developed by other people (including the world renown Counterstrike). All of this success feeds back to the original creators, Valve, and their original game. Everyone comes back for the solid community that is dedicated to a solid gaming engine.</span><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">As the internet continues to grow in capabilities and power more and more companies are realizing the power behind open source programming. Open source programming is beginning to change the way the world collaborates on projects. A great example of this is <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/lalitesh_katragadda_making_maps_to_fight_disaster_build_economies.html">Google's mapping software</a> which is making incredible strides at mapping the entire globe at an incredible level of detail. Open source programming makes projects like this possible. By freely sharing information and innovation the limits of technological progress knows no bounds.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-91624642224233041312010-01-12T09:35:00.001-05:002010-01-12T09:36:27.685-05:00Mapping New York's Shoreline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFr-VTQcaOHGzblFNLImsyuI-pIaS-JFOwzYvdXCar_AF3MWoIm7kVrGuRC95M0ZniJK_B2_NhtlGKUikq1drUs9YylRB1j-nX8VEKMUniap5zljllMR66I_yOFi7mCWQm8sbs8LBBgoWE/s1600-h/Map2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFr-VTQcaOHGzblFNLImsyuI-pIaS-JFOwzYvdXCar_AF3MWoIm7kVrGuRC95M0ZniJK_B2_NhtlGKUikq1drUs9YylRB1j-nX8VEKMUniap5zljllMR66I_yOFi7mCWQm8sbs8LBBgoWE/s200/Map2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>I can't wait to check out the current exhibit at the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">New York Public Library</span></a>. <a href="http://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/mapping-new-yorks-shoreline-1609-2009"><span style="color: #38761d;">Mapping New York's Shoreline, 1609-2009</span></a> is full of maps, books, atlases, journals, photographs and more that explore the original shoreline dating back 400 years ago and how it has evolved because of urbanization. Perhaps this can provide some inspirational thoughts to New Yorkers on how we can restore our intertidal zones.bourbontrailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891081436861453128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-19815410853993801112010-01-11T17:47:00.009-05:002010-03-31T11:33:01.203-04:00Viral Ancestry<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://matrix.ugo.com/images/galleries/matrix_reloaded_filmtv/matrix_reloaded_17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://matrix.ugo.com/images/galleries/matrix_reloaded_filmtv/matrix_reloaded_17.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>The title might not make sense immediately, please bear with me...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>The Matrix series may not have been as religious an experience for most of you as it was for me. A futuristic, apocalyptic, video-game like nightmare world were computers have taken over the world and harvest heat from human beings for power. Not to mention having the ability to fly, stop bullets, and take on any martial artist the world has to through at you. It's <i>freakin'</i> awesome, but I digress.<br />
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One of my favorite scenes in the series comes from the original film where the evil Agent Smith (picture right) has captured Morpheus, our heroic leader, and is giving him the typical villain monologue about why he wants to destroy humanity. The line he uses is classic:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus."</span><br />
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Well as it turns out, it might be true (see I told you I would bring it around eventually). An amazing new form of viral research has arisen recently in which DNA researchers search for ancient viral DNA structures in the genomes of organisms alive today, including humans.<br />
<a name='more'></a>40 million years ago, a virus called the borna virus infected our ape-like ancestors. The genes from that virus have been passed down ever since and can now be found in the genomes of every human being on the planet. It doesn't stop there, to date over 100,000 elements of human DNA have been found to likely come from viruses.<br />
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Typically these viral remains do not affect us in any adverse way, or at least we know little enough about them that scientist aren't raising any serious concerns yet. In fact some viruses have been shown to help ward off other viral invasions. Syncytin, a protein produced by one virus is even essential for a placental tube, necessary for birth, to exist at all. It's not all good unfortunately. Not enough information exists currently on the interaction of retroviruses and human health. It has been linked by some experts to protein deficiencies as well as a number of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.<br />
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Regardless of the effects, the questions these new findings bring up are exciting to think about. Are humans some kind of super virus? Are our superior brains all thanks to viral infections, bending our monkey ancestors to their evolutionary will? All of this coupled with a <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/henry_markram_supercomputing_the_brain_s_secrets.html">recent talk I hear on the TED website</a> about the brains evolution makes me wonder.<br />
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As much as I would like to talk about what retroviruses are and how they effect us, I have more work-based work I need to be doing. Not to mention I am not versed in this discipline in any way shape or form. I can however drop a series of links at the end of this blog and claim that I know what I am doing. Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrovirus">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrovirus</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.microbiologybytes.com/virology/Retroviruses.html">http://www.microbiologybytes.com/virology/Retroviruses.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/science/12paleo.html?pagewanted=1&ref=science">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/science/12paleo.html?pagewanted=1&ref=science</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-48578388860166486152010-01-08T11:34:00.005-05:002010-01-08T11:44:03.994-05:00Go, go (green) gadgets!Here is another interesting story regarding ecology and green development I found in the METRO newspaper that I pick up on my way to work:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.metro.us/_internal/cimg!0/cb69evuhf7ugx61i8v4oba3utc2sft3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://www.metro.us/_internal/cimg!0/cb69evuhf7ugx61i8v4oba3utc2sft3" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">House that works like a living tree</span><br />
A researcher invented a synthetic tree (shaped like a house) that also can get rid of CO2. Klaus Lackner, from Columbia University, answers our questions.<br />
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<b>How does your invention work?</b><br />
The “leaves” are made from a plastic material that absorbs CO2 when it is dry and releases it again when it is moist. Standing in the wind, the sorbent material loads up with CO2, it is then transferred into a chamber, from which the air can be removed and moisture is introduced. The plastic releases CO2 into the chamber, which is pumped out and compressed to liquid CO2.<br />
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<b>Where exactly can we install them?</b><br />
Anywhere, because the air mixes well and everywhere has the same CO2.<br />
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Also -- <b>Self-erasable paper</b>! Read more in the same article, <a href="http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/12/03/07/3036-82/index.xml">here</a>.<br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div>Beehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04413368794752152802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351878751088451914.post-68021427917055318582010-01-08T10:33:00.007-05:002010-03-31T11:33:36.296-04:00Ecoterrorism -- Whale Wars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;">I wonder if they were on former President Bush's axis of evil?<a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/01/07/world/07cnd-whalesspan/articleLarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/01/07/world/07cnd-whalesspan/articleLarge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
"If a whale is hit by an exploding harpoon near Antarctica and the world doesn’t have a way to witness that, does it make a sound?" - ANDREW C. REVKIN<br />
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I thought that was one of the more <i>eloquent</i> quotes I've heard in recent years. Mr. Revkin was talking to whale activists about the recent clash over Japanese whale hunting in the antarctic, which resulted in the sinking of a $1.5 million vessel owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). A video of the ordeal can be found below, taken from the deck of the Japanese whaling vessel the Shonan Maru 2.<br />
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As you can see from this footage the SSCS and the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) do not get along. Reports from the incident say that the SSCS attack whaling vessels every year, throwing acid and smoke grenades onto their decks. They also tangle propellers with long lengths of rope, and unfortunately, use their very expensive speed boats to block the whaling vessels progress. As a result the whaling ships spray down the SSCS crew with water cannons and apparently are now ramming smaller vessels. You should take note here that the SSCS vessel is flying a jolly rogers, I don't know if you can play the innocent activist card and fly a pirate flag at the same time. But what do I know, I am just a bird guy after all.<br />
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Each side of the conflict is obviously pointing fingers at the other. SSCS say that their boat was intentionally rammed by the Japanese vessel, while the ICR ship claims the SSCS parked their boat in their way with no room to maneuver around them. Interesting statement considering the following video of the same collision.<br />
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So why all the hostility anyway? Most people know that whaling is illegal. In fact almost all of the major coastal countries in the world signed onto an international agreement creating the International Whaling Commission to ban sea mammal harvesting for commercial use. Japan signed onto this agreement, but are using a loop hole to continue whale harvests. Under the commission Japan and Norway refused to give up rights to capture whales for scientific research. Meat that goes unused after the theoretical tests are run is then allowed to be sold. Effectively this allows Japan and Norway to continue to hunt whales so long as they paint a big RESEARCH sign on the side of their ships. Japan is planning to collect 1,000 whales this season. That's a pretty big sample size, I hope they find something interesting.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0