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Total solar eclipse dazzles thousands in Varanasi

  • Posted by
  • July 22, 2009

For three minutes and four seconds on Wednesday morning, an ethereal blue-grey darkness descended on this eternal city of light. To the east across the Ganga, it was like God’s own eye flashing in the sky above, giving pilgrims, bathers and eclipse-watchers in the jam-packed ghats sights they are unlikely to forget in their lifetimes. While clouds blotted out the view in most other places in India, the century’s most spectacular total eclipse of the Sun was witnessed in full glory in holy Benaras.

Air Pollution Linked to Diminishing IQ of Children

  • Posted by
  • July 21, 2009

A new study published in the August 2009 edition of Pediatrics shows a possible disturbing correlation between increased urban air pollution and decreased IQ points in children. The study sites polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), or “chemicals released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil, and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco” as the major perpetrators of inner- city air pollution, with a particular focus on motor vehicle use.

Rubber Sidewalks Give the Bounce to Concrete

  • Posted by
  • July 20, 2009

Rubber sidewalks are all grown up. Once perceived mainly as a safe surface for playgrounds, rubber sidewalks have developed into a means of preserving urban trees, reducing stormwater runoff, recycling tires, and curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

Comment on DVD Review: Earth From The Air

  • Posted by
  • July 18, 2009

The newly released “Earth From the Air” DVD is a compilation of the fascinating photographs taken by photographer Yann Arthus- Bertrand on his extensive world travels. Creating an aerial portrait of the globe, Bertrand has flown over hundreds of countries, snapping beautiful and thought- compelling pictures along the way. The subject matter of the photographs ranges from industrial architecture to exotic animals to natural wonders to the human struggle, and each image is as compelling as the next. The photographer’s goal is to inspire a deeper understanding and appreciation of Planet Earth in the face of the climate and population boom crisis, and he effectively reaches his audience through this DVD, supplementing his message with frequent written passages that elegantly fade into the screen in between scenes. Most feature statistics meant to, at best, elicit shock in the viewer, at worst, interest her. With blurbs like “20% of the world population consumes 80% of the world energy”, “1.6 billion people are overweight (of which 400 million are obese), 820 million are chronically undernourished”, and “1 in 4 species of mammal, 2 in 5 species of amphibian, 1 in 8 species of bird are endangered”, Bertrand captures his audiences’ attention in more ways than one.

Comment on DVD Review: Earth From The Air

  • Posted by
  • July 18, 2009

The newly released “Earth From the Air” DVD is a compilation of the fascinating photographs taken by photographer Yann Arthus- Bertrand on his extensive world travels. Creating an aerial portrait of the globe, Bertrand has flown over hundreds of countries, snapping beautiful and thought- compelling pictures along the way. The subject matter of the photographs ranges from industrial architecture to exotic animals to natural wonders to the human struggle, and each image is as compelling as the next. The photographer’s goal is to inspire a deeper understanding and appreciation of Planet Earth in the face of the climate and population boom crisis, and he effectively reaches his audience through this DVD, supplementing his message with frequent written passages that elegantly fade into the screen in between scenes. Most feature statistics meant to, at best, elicit shock in the viewer, at worst, interest her. With blurbs like “20% of the world population consumes 80% of the world energy”, “1.6 billion people are overweight (of which 400 million are obese), 820 million are chronically undernourished”, and “1 in 4 species of mammal, 2 in 5 species of amphibian, 1 in 8 species of bird are endangered”, Bertrand captures his audiences’ attention in more ways than one.

Are the deserts getting green?

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  • July 17, 2009

It has been assumed that global warming would cause an expansion of the world’s deserts, but now some scientists are predicting a contrary scenario in which water and life slowly reclaim these arid places.

They think vast, dry regions like the Sahara might soon begin shrinking.

Institute Studies Clash Between Wind and Raptors

  • Posted by
  • July 16, 2009

A new group is attempting to better reconcile high velocity wind power development with its impact on avian victims.

Exxon Plan to develop biofuel from algae

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  • July 16, 2009

Exxon Mobil Corp will invest $600 million over the next five to six years on trying to developing biofuel from algae, even though the oil major has said renewables will be only a small part of global energy supply.

Exxon, placing its largest financial bet on renewable fuels, is forming a research and development alliance with Synthetic Genomics Inc, a privately held company that focuses on gene-based research, the company said on Tuesday.

What caused global warming 55 million years ago?

  • Posted by
  • July 15, 2009

A runaway spurt of global warming 55 million years ago turned Earth into a hothouse but how this happened remains worryingly unclear, scientists said on Monday.

Previous research into this period, called the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, or PETM, estimates the planet’s surface temperature blasted upwards by between five and nine degrees Celsius in just a few thousand years.

What caused global warming 55 million years ago?

  • Posted by
  • July 15, 2009

A runaway spurt of global warming 55 million years ago turned Earth into a hothouse but how this happened remains worryingly unclear, scientists said on Monday.

Previous research into this period, called the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, or PETM, estimates the planet’s surface temperature blasted upwards by between five and nine degrees Celsius in just a few thousand years.