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Fact Sheet: The Vegie Guide - March Presenter: Stephen Ryan, 12/03/2011 SERIES 22 Episode 05 - Sweet Corn The 17th March, St Patricks Day, is the day to plant Sweet Peas right across southern Australia. Simply rub the hard seed coat lightly on some sandpaper, soak them in water overnight and push them into the soil at the base of a support. By spring, your patch will be bursting with fragrance and colour, as well as attracting all those useful pollinating insects into the vegie plot. Information contained in this fact sheet is a summary of material included in the program. If further information is required, please contact your local nursery or garden centre. Copyright Restrictions: This fact sheet is for private and domestic information purposes only. It may not be copied, reproduced, sold or used for any other purpose without the express permission of the ABC.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19263000
Yoga has been recognized for some time as being effective in reducing high blood pressure, particularly the diastolic (lower) number, which is the most crucial. You can experience the relaxing effects of Yoga by committing to a short daily routine of breathing, exercise, and meditation. Yoga techniques improve your body’s strength and flexibility, teach you how to relax mentally and physically, and show you how to better manage stress reactions such as muscle tension (most commonly in the face, stomach, neck, shoulders, and breath), rapid heart rate, constricted breathing, and anxiety. The fastest and most effective way to reduce reaction to stress is to change your breath, and an immediate way to improve your breathing is to improve your posture. In Yoga, you learn to strengthen your back and stomach muscles so that you can sit and stand straighter; this releases pressure on your heart and lungs and allows you to breathe easier. Yoga breathing exercises teach you how to breathe more deeply and rhythmically; this has many effects, both physical and mental. Your respiratory muscles become stronger, and more oxygen reaches your bloodstream. Regular practice of breathing exercises will give you greater concentration, willpower, and steadiness. You’ll feel calmer, too, as you breathe, because your mind can’t think about upsetting things when it is focused on the breath. You can learn to use the breathing techniques whenever you feel stressed, fatigued, or anxious for immediate relief. Yoga exercise benefits your entire circulatory system, beginning with the production of blood, which takes place in the marrow of the long bones in the thighs. Improving circulation in the legs with daily Yoga stretching exercises helps to rejuvenate the blood. Yoga exercises stretch the body's major blood vessels, keeping them free-flowing and elastic; Yoga oxygenates the blood and pushes fresh nutrients to all peripheral vessels and capillaries. Improved circulation means that your brain will receive more oxygen, improving alertness, memory, and mood; vital organs receive a steady supply of the nutrients they need for optimal functioning. Yoga relaxation and meditation training teach you how to relax at will, allowing your body to release muscle tension almost as it occurs. Meditation training shows you how to access your inner source of strength and personal power, creating a support system that builds confidence and self-esteem, helps you learn to enjoy the present-moment, and increases self-awareness. The choice to practice Yoga will help you control your high blood pressure as it contributes to greater general health and well-being. Courtesy of the American Yoga Association	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19264000
CHART: MAKING GOOD CHOICES (UPPER ELEM/MIDDLE) "It is important to make good choices. A good choice is one that has a good consequence. One important good choice you can make is the choice to be drug free. Look at the choices below. Fill in more good choices in the chart." Already an abcteach Member? LOG IN TO ACCESS THIS DOCUMENT...	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19268000
Freeway noise can be much louder than expected over 300m in some atmospheric conditions Ovenden, Shaffer, Frenando. Impact of meteorological conditions on noise propagation from freeway corridors. J. Acous. Soc. Am. 126 (1), July 2009, 25-35. This study combined field recordings and new acoustic modeling to describe the effects of wind shear and temperature differentials on the distance over which road noise exceeds regulatory limits. The particular concern here is whether reducing the height of barrier walls (which is sometimes allowed when quiet road surfaces are used) will lead to increased noise at a distance. This study could offer important additional information for use in recent US National Park Service efforts to understand the ways that road noise affects the "effective listening distance" of animals nearby. The results MAY also have applicability to some wind farm noise issues, though extrapolation from these results must be made with extreme caution. The essence of this study's results is that sound may bounce off a layer boundary that is caused by wind shear or temperature layers at 30-50 meters high (a wind shear is a situation in which wind speed increases substantially with height, especially when there is a relatively sharp boundary between low and higher wind speeds). Most sound propagation models assume relative uniformity in the atmosphere; this study aimed to see how propagation differs from traditional models when the atmosphere is more varied. In some conditions, the researchers here found that while sound levels remain close to what traditional sound models would suggest at ranges of 200-300 meters, noise levels can actually increase at ranges of 300 meters and beyond, creating conditions in which regulatory limits are exceeded at these greater distances. In some conditions, increases occur in chaotic patterns at closer ranges, as well. The difference between traditonal sound models and the results here were as high as 15-20dB, and quite commonly occurred at 5-10dB. While there is much interest in what may be causing reports of excessive noise from wind farms, and this work may inform these inquiries, it should be noted that the wind shears studied here may not apply to many industrial wind farms. Most notably, the hub heights of turbines may well be above the level of the wind shears addressed here (especially in problematic situations in which night time wind shears trigger turbines into action), so that the noise is not reflected downward in patterns similar to those of ground-based noise such as traffic. However, there clearly are some atmospheric conditions in which wind farm noise is higher than expected, sometimes at surprisingly large distances, so consideration of these effects would be a very useful topic for further study. It is quite possible that the turbine sound that does project down toward the ground during wind shear conditions is subject to the same factors that create chaotic and at times surprisingly high levels at larger distances; this could partially account for unusually high noise levels reported by some neighbors at certain times. Exciting new models for assessing and visualizing extent of noise impacts in the ocean Clark, Ellison, Southall, Hatch, Van Parijs, Frankel, Ponirakis. Acoustic masking in marine ecosystems: intuitions, analysis, and implication. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395: 201-222, 2009. [DOWNLOAD (pdf)] This has to be one of the most exciting papers I've seen this year; reading it was downright joyous, especially in contrast to decidedly unsatisfying previous attempts to address cumulative impacts of ocean noise (mostly undertaken by large committees and resulting in vague and complex conceptual approaches that are nearly impossible to implement). By contrast, here we have, at last, a clear and strikingly rigorous approach to assessing the impacts of ocean noise sources on the communication of whales. As promised in the introduction, the authors "present an analytical paradigm to quantify changes in an animal's acoustic communication space" and "a metric to quantify the potential for communication masking." While of course, much uncertainty remains, both in some of the specific terms used in these metrics and in assessing the biological impact of reduced communication space, the tools provided here will open a vast and exceedingly useful new doorway for biologists and ocean managers. Researchers will find much to work with in the suite of new metrics and relatively simple functions used to calculate them, including factors that reflect "ancient ambient" conditions as well as "present ambient" and "present noise sources", a more nuanced twist on signal-to-noise ration called the "recognition differential", acknowledgement of subtle biological inputs such as "signal processing gain", and "potential communication space" for a sender, and for a receiver hearing multiple other animal senders….this is just a hint of the power of these combined metrics, and surprisingly, most of the functions are really quite simple, though they do of course interact in complex ways. The present examples focus on the effects of low-frequency shipping noise on low-frequency communication by large whales, and incorporate differences in the specific frequency ranges used by the three species addressed; the model can easily be used to address mid- or high-frequency noise sources and higher frequency animal sounds such as those used for echolocation. For the rest of us who are not designing new studies, though, the power of this approach is equally clear, and can readily inform both public awareness and policy-making. Extending the nascent idea of "communication space" (which has recently been introduced in terrestrial ecosystems by researchers at the National Park Service and Colorado State) into ocean habitats, we are presented with an intuitively obvious way to both imagine and assess the effects of ocean noise – measuring the area in which an animal can hear or be heard by others of its species. As its first application, this paper presents data from ongoing work at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary offshore from Boston Harbor. There, a network of hydrophones is collecting soundscape data that allows researchers to both pinpoint and track the locations of whales and ships, along with the actual received sound levels throughout an extended area. By plugging this data into their new equations, the researchers are able to, for the first time, quantify the effects of shipping noise on local populations of fin, humpback, and right whales. The results are both fascinating and sobering. Thanks to slightly different frequency bands used by each species, and the lower source level of right whale calls, the impacts of shipping noise on these three species vary substantially. On the day used for this initial analysis, two ships passed through the region (an average of six ships has been noted here). On a low-traffic day with two ships, the Communication Space for humpbacks were reduced by an average of 11%, fins by 33%, and right whales by a staggering 84%. For most of the day (from 5am until 5pm), right whale Communication Space was diminished by 88-98%. While we do not know how this vastly shrunken communication range affected the whales, the authors note that "we do know that these whales counter-call and use these episodes of calling to find each other and to aggregate, so one immediate cost is the loss of opportunities to form social groups. Right whales form aggregations during mating and during feeding, so one likely cost is the loss of mating and feeding opportunities." Back to the science-advancement side of things, the authors stress that this metric provides "a critical missing link to the major current dilemma of assessing noise impacts" that can, for the first time, "quantify biological cost within an ecological framework." They note that this model is a key step toward giving some practical form to the previous PCAD (Population Consequences of Acoustic Disturbance) model proposed by the National Research Council in 2005. There is still uncertainty in some key variables. Most strikingly, we don't know how far these species actually communicate; while we know they can be heard for tens to hundreds of kilometers, limited studies have only confirmed communication exchanges in the range of 20km, which is used in this model for now (if actual communication ranges are longer, as is entirely possible, then reductions in Communication Space would be much greater, especially for the fin and humpback whales). The authors note it was 1971 when Payne and Webb first raised the question of whether shipping might reduce long-range communication for some large whales, and that "that hypothesis was ignored for a quarter of a century." They conclude: "As the planet's dominant species, humans have choices to make. In the case of the ocean's acoustic ecological habitat, the choices we are making now have profound implications for the future of marine mammals. It is our opinion that the right choice cannot wait another 3 decades." Summary of human and natural noise in the sea John A. Hildebrand. Anthropogenic and natural sources of ambient noise in the ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395: 5-20, 2009. [DOWNLOAD] This is a good current overview of the known sources of both human and natural sounds that contribute to the cumulative background ambient noise level of the seas. For each noise source, the author includes frequency bands and source levels, as well as a sense of how widespread the source is. Some lesser-considered noise sources are included, such as acoustic modems used to transmit data from industrial and scientific sites at sea. The key omissions are sources that are still relatively rare, though increasing in number: undersea mining and oil and gas subsea processing installations. Unlike a similar presentation to the IWC a few years ago, the author does not attempt the much harder challenge of calculating the total sound energy that each noise source contributes to the global ambient noise budget (that paper ruffled some feathers by suggesting that seismic surveys may contribute nearly as much as shipping; it is likely that there is not enough solid data to assess how much air gun sound actually moves from continental shelves and slopes into the ocean basins). The paper also includes a good basic summary of sound measurement systems, and is a good starting place for those wishing to get up to speed on the diversity of ocean noise sources. The main take-away is familiar: at low frequencies, shipping is the dominant noise source (with some indications that seismic surveys are contributing more as they move to deeper water) and has impacts at ocean-basin scales; in mid-frequencies, sounds travel tens of kilometers, with wave and wind sounds dominant (with mid-frequency sonars from 300 ships, operating up to 10% of the time each, also significant); at high frequencies, sounds travel only tens to hundreds of meters, and the main source of noise is actually thermal noise of water molecules (with depth-sounder sonars on many to most ships also a factor). Specific data that may be worth holding in mind includes source levels of two important low-frequency sounds. Pile driving (increasingly used for siting offshore wind turbines) can be close to 200dB at 100m, with repetition every 2 to 4 seconds; since this takes place in relatively shallow waters, the impact is fairly local despite being low-frequency. Shipping noise varies from 195dB re uPa2/Hz for fast-moving supertankers to 140dB for small fishing vessels and 150-180dB re 1uPa for small private motorboats. Also of note is that wind turbines, after installation, are relatively quiet: the highest tonal component yet measured is 151dB re 1uPa at 180Hz, and broadband low frequency noise at four different wind farms was just 100-120dB re 1uPa. Parks and Sanctuaries: Collaborative noise management in protected areas Leila T. Hatch, Kurt M. Fristrup. No barrier at the boundaries: implementing regional frameworks for noise management in protected areas. Mar Ecol Prog, Vol. 395: 223-244, 2009. [DOWNLOAD] Yet another excellent and ground-breaking synthesis, this one highlighting the similar challenges and opportunities present in managing protected areas on land and in the sea. The authors, one of whom works for the National Park Service, and the other a National Marine Sanctuary, have both been active in focusing on the noise intrusions and impacts relevant to their respective jurisdictions. This paper addresses several important themes and calls for a more integrated and dynamic approach to managing the acoustic resources in protected areas. It's well worth reading the entire paper, which includes many useful insights, ideas, and case studies, including cogent discussions of the various management challenges that need to be overcome (including different cultures and priorities within agencies that need to collaborate, and a natural resistance to bringing more detailed and expensive-to-collect data requirements into EIS processes that have been sufficient in the past). Here, I'll highlight a few of the key passages. This excerpt frames the impacts of noise in a concise and new way: "Hearing extends animal awareness under all conditions, and is essential when vision is compromised." "Noise presents at least 4 threats: diversion of attention and disruption of behavior, habituation or ‘learned deafness’, masking of important signals, and spurious physiological stimulation. These threats present several costs: compromised physiological function, diversion of time and energy, failure to detect important cues, impaired acoustical advertisement and communication, and reduced utilization of important habitats or resources. All of these costs have consequences for fitness." "Terrestrial noise management is informed and encumbered by the history of community noise management. Historical noise studies and regulations focused on maximum tolerable conditions for humans, in terms of health effects or annoyance. The concept of preserving a high quality acoustic environment has been largely ignored until very recently….An enormous gulf separates the outstanding acoustical conditions that the NPS is required to protect and the noise exposures that result in health effects or high levels of annoyance." However, "In the marine realm, emerging noise management practices are not burdened by the history of community noise management….The broad mandate of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act provides a unique opportunity to create noise management practices and regulations that represent today’s best available science." "Parks and sanctuaries should be afforded heightened levels of noise protection. Sanctuaries should become quiet refugia for species, as well as enhanced environments for the development of science and technology that promote the research and management objectives throughout the regions they occupy." The authors note that current regulatory responses to noise are focused on the impacts of discrete sound sources on individual animals; they encourage a broader view that would take into account the ways that effects on species ripple through an ecosystem (e.g., effects on prey species will have an indirect but crucial impact on predators). They summarize several leading-edge computer models that are capable of ever more accurate and dynamic modeling of multiple sound sources and entire populations of animals in a region (though note that even these cannot yet take into account inter-relationships between species). There is also a time-scale limitation on most current impact analyses: the five-year span of most permits. As examples of noise in protected areas, the authors discuss both data and management approaches taken in Grand Canyon National Park and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (in each case, the protected unit with the longest history of acoustic monitoring). In the Grand Canyon, aircraft are audible for a third or more of the day in the entire park: "If a visitor does not want to hear aircraft at Grand Canyon, they need to be in a busy parking lot or near one of the rapids on the Colorado River." In Stellwagen, low frequency noise in the shipping lanes "were >82 dB 50% of the day and as high as 110 dB 5% of the day." The paper concludes with for elements of a "common ground" that these case studies suggest as cornerstones of a constructive forward motion in managing noise impacts: - Investment in expanded and continued acoustic monitoring, especially for "evaluating which sanctuaries contain relatively quiet versus relatively noisy conditions." - Development of new impact assessment tools, such as visual representations of acoustic data, and effective metrics with which to summarize and compare results. They stress that these metrics are most useful when they relate directly to "functional consequences" for animals that are easy for managers to interpret and for the public to understand (such as the newly emerging metric of reduced listening area). New modeling techniques offer several advantages, including "a rigorous framework for spatial interpolation, when acoustical monitoring data are sparsely distributed." The authors stress that the degree of uncertainty in the models' results needs to be emphasized, and that "in the face of considerable scientific uncertainty, the precautionary principle should be applied to ensure that areas of designated national importance fulfill their protective mandates." - Enhanced interagency coordination. In particular, "Noise should be addressed by emerging regional management frameworks (i.e. The Gulf of Mexico Program, West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health, Northeast Regional Ocean Council), and during the design, implementation and evaluation of protected areas." - Public engagement and education regarding the benefits of quieting natural areas. Humpbacks avoid boat noise at nearly 5 miles Sousa-Lima and Clark. Whale sound recording technology as a tool for assessing the effects of boat noise in a Brazilian marine park. Park Science 26:59-63. [DOWNLOAD] Using an array of pop-up recorders, this study was able to track eleven individual singing humpback whales and monitor their movements in response to four separate approaches by a tourist boats in the Abrolhos Marine National Park off Brazil, in the main humpback breeding grounds in the southwest Atlantic. Nine of the eleven whales moved away from the boat; of these, four continued singing and five stopped singing (these did not resume singing for at least 20 minutes). Six of the nine began moving away while the boat was more than 4km (2.5mi) away; this distance was chosen as the onset of the "exposure" period, since it had been previously shown to be the median distance at which humpbacks respond to boats. In fact, the mean distance at which the nine whales began moving away was 7.5km (4.7mi); previous studies have suggested that 8km is the greatest distance at which humpbacks would exhibit avoidance, with some studies suggesting they would not move until boats were within 300 meters. The authors note that earlier studies suggesting whales would only move when boats are closer "could be a reflection of smaller sampling areas or specific close-range analytical designs, it could also be a bias toward less sensitive whales." Earlier, the authors point out that other research had proposed that "individuals that are most sensitive to boat approaches would abandon preferred areas because of increased boat disturbance. Assuming this is true, only the individuals less sensitive to boat disturbances would remain in the area." This is a proposition that is gaining increasing credence within the research community (see Bejder et all 2009, below). The present authors continue, "The effect this selection for boat noise–habituated males could have on the population structure is unknown; it could affect female choice and consequently the distribution of breeding success among the males of this population." Importantly, the authors note that "during the post-exposure period, singers were still moving away from the boat, which suggests a residual avoidance of the disturbance area." Overview of new autonomous ocean noise recorders for use in small and large areas Van Parijs SM, Clark CW, Sousa-Lima RS, Parks SE, Rankin S, Risch D, Van Opzeeland IC. Management and research applications of real-time and archival passive acoustic sensors over varying temporal and spatial scales. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395: 21-36, 2009. [DOWNLOAD] Very good overview of the range of recent research using acoustic recorders, including both archival systems (deployed for weeks to years, with data downloaded periodically) and real-time systems (in which data is available on an ongoing basis remotely). Includes discussion of acoustic systems deployed in Brazil, Antarctica, the US, and Norway, as well as a series of studies using towed hydrophone arrays in the Pacific. The authors stress the importance of the different research designs and baseline information necessary to effectively study behavior that takes place on different scales, and suggest adaptation of long-standing terminology used in other fields to discuss relevant oceanic scales (synoptic scales for regional marine areas of >2000 km2, mesoscale as areas between 1 and ~2000 km2 in size and microscales as areas <1 km2). The importance and the flexibility of these new technologies is well expressed in the paper's conclusion: "Archival and real-time passive acoustic arrays are now among the lowest cost approaches for mesoscale monitoring of marine areas and can be used to monitor vocal marine life in areas difficult to survey by traditional visual methods. Fixed autonomous passive acoustic arrays sample continuously for prolonged periods of time, allowing assessment of seasonal changes in distribution and acoustic behavior of individuals without introducing into the environment the types of disturbances generated by the presence of survey vessels or aircrafts. Unlike more traditional visual methods, passive acoustic technologies can survey in darkness and remain active during adverse weather conditions. Further, the ability to retrieve and redeploy archival ARUs provides a level of flexibility in data acquisition that is not available with other fixed long- term monitoring systems." Whale watching boat noise and impacts on dolphins – including some key new findings on high levels of masking and sound peaks during frequent gear-shifting Jensen, Bejder, Wahlberg, Aguilar Soto, Johnson, Madsen. Vessel noise effects on delphinid communication. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395:161-175, 2009. [DOWNLOAD] This study was designed to determine how much the sounds of motorboats (whale watching or private recreation) reduce the communication ranges of dolphins and pilot whales. The researchers assessed natural background ambient noise in shallow (dolphin) and deep water (pilot whale) environments, as well as doing field measurements of the noise from two outboard motorboats, then deployed D-tags on pilot whales to assess received levels. The results reinforce some standard whale-watching guidelines, and highlighted some previously un-noticed impacts. Engine noise at 5 knots and 50m (typical limits for whalewatching) did reduce communication ranges significantly: by 26% in dolphins and 58% in pilot whales (living in quieter deepwater habitats). Slower speeds of 2.5 knots produced virtually no masking noise, suggesting that at the closest ranges, slower speeds are important (the authors take special note of the need for research vessels using "close follow" techniques to be aware of this, so as not to change behavior by their presence). Speeds of 10 knots produced dramatic reductions in communication range, even at 100 and 200 meters, though the researchers note more uncertainty about these results. In the tagging experiments, the pilot whales experienced often extreme masking noise levels within pilot whale whistle frequencies, up to 55dB above the levels that would begin to obscure communication; which the authors note that this "suggest(s) that vessel noise may be an important factor in determining range of communication signals in this deep-water environment with significant whale-watching and commercial marine traffic activities." In addition, whale watching boats shift shift gears quite often in order to remain in proximity of the dolphins or whales they are observing (as often as 2 or 3 times a minute); this study found that gear shifting creates pulses of much louder sound (up to 200dB re 1 uPa peak-peak) containing a much broader range of frequencies, especially higher frequencies. Since such unpredictable bursts of sound tend to elicit more powerful short-term behavioral responses, "steps taken to lessen the erratic movement and number of gear shifts of vessels…would lessen the impact." Finally, the authors note that this study only addresses communications masking, and that, while not investigated here, some higher frequency noises created by cavitation (especially at higher speeds) "has the potential to impact foraging toothed whales by masking weak echoes from their echolocation signals." Acknowledging differing underlying values as a key to breakthroughs in conservation conflicts Raphael D. Sangarin and Larry B. Crowder. Breaking through the Crisis in Marine Conservation Management: Insights from the Philosophies of Ed Ricketts. Conservation Biology, Volume 23, No. 1, 24-30. [DOWNLOAD] This short paper is well worth a read by all who have been frustrated by the lack of constructive progress in moving beyond contentious conflict in addressing environmental challenges. Here, two contemporary researchers (one with a focus on policy, and the other on marine conservation) sketch the three-part approach of Ed Ricketts, a mid-20th century marine ecologist (immortalized as "Doc" in Steinbeck's Cannery Row). In addition to his scientific work, Ricketts articulated an approach to science and policy that drew from Taoism, Buddhism, and his friendships with Steinbeck and Joseph Campbell. While the three aspects of Rickett's approach are far more philosophical than practical, they bear consideration in light of the seeming inability of the best intentions of both scientists and policy-makers to effectively turn the tide of ocean ecosystem collapse. At its heart, Ricketts' approach contains two key aspects. First, a clear and ongoing commitment to observing what is, rather than a focus on what should be – with a related emphasis on shifting relationships rather than facile attempts to assess simple cause and effect in what are always complex, holistic systems. Central to this approach is a conscious intent to avoid neatly preconceived ideas about who or what is to blame for the problem under consideration. Second, and most resonant for me, Ricketts emphasizes that most intractable conflicts over policy are, at root, reflective of differing underlying priorities, worldviews, or "sacred values." The key factor that drives "breakthroughs" is a shared commitment to be forthcoming about each party's underlying values. Sharing the diverse "core needs" is, in Ricketts' view, the foundation of a constructive search for mutually favorable solutions, rather than a mutually damaging fight to chip away at two widely different, predetermined positions. The authors suggest that today's rapidly expanding toolbox of monitoring technologies provides us opportunities to initiate the sorts of ongoing observations that underlay Ricketts' approach, and that developments over the last generation in policy and public engagement support an attempt to be more explicit about the underlying values that are too often unspoken as competing advocates argue their sides in a fight to "win" in policy decisions which have turned unwittingly into battles, thanks to a simplistic focus on particular causes and effects within systems that are spinning out of control due to countless inter-related factors. As in his time, it is not altogether obvious how to apply Ricketts' ideas in practice, but reading this brief overview of his thoughts, along with the context provided in relation to current attempts to define and enact Ecosystem Based Management in the oceans, is bound to spur some new perspectives among reflective policy players today. Related: A key paper cited by Sangarin and Crowder is another short essay perspectives piece, which suggests that the repeated failure of worldwide fisheries management might be ameliorated by inverting the traditional "trophic pyramid" that places humans at the top, and instead using a model that puts humans at the bottom, or at the tipping point of a circle which explicitly includes consideration of three key factors: ethics, corporate responsibility, and social justice. Bundy, Chuenpagdee, Jentoft, Mahon. If science is not the answer, what is? An alternative governance model for the world's fisheries. Front Ecol Environ 2008; 6(3): 152-155. [DOWNLOAD] Moderate seismic survey noise linked to increase in blue whale calling L. Di Lorio and C.W. Clark. Exposure to seismic survey alters blue whale acoustic communication. Biology Letters doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0651 [DOWNLOAD] This study found that a seismic survey in wide bay at the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway caused blue whales feeding and socializing nearby to double or triple their call rates. The calls were near-range communication signals, rather than the long, loud songs that are heard over hundreds of miles. The research was meant to simply learn more about these social calls, but during the study, their recordings began to pick up the pulses from a seismic survey. “The whales made more calls on days when the testing was happening. It seems they are having to repeat themselves in order to not lose information,” said lead researcher Lucia Di Lorio. During the four days in which survey sounds were heard, the whales also increased their call rates when the sparkers were audible than when they were not, and tended to rapidly increase call rates when the sounds appeared. The results were especially surprising, since the survey in question was using a much lower-power sound source (sparkers) than the airguns used in most surveys. The electronic sparkers top out at only 190dB, rather than the 230-240dB of airguns. Sparkers are slightly higher frequency as well, but still solidly centered in low-frequency bands of 30-450Hz, primarily 60-250Hz, very similar to airguns, and matching key blue whale communication frequencies. The study notes that “Our results clearly show that blue whales change their calling behaviour in response to a low-medium power technology that is presumed to have minor environmental impact. In fact, the mean sound pressure impinging on the (study) area, and thus probably on the whales present there, was relatively low, 131 dB re 1 uPa (peak to peak, 30 – 500 Hz) with a mean sound exposure level (SEL) of 114 dB re 1 mPa2 s. The increase in calls was a contrast to some other studies, which have found call rates reduced near seismic surveys, perhaps in part due to animals moving away; in some cases, animals call louder or change the pitch of their calls to cope with noise intrusions. This is the first study to find a marked increase in call rates, or repeating themselves, which Di Lorio suspects may be due to the key role of this area in socializing and feeding (i.e., the communication is time- and place-dependent, and cannot easily be postponed until a quieter time). The study concludes by noting that the St. Lawrence Estuary “is an important feeding area where blue whales acquire energy and also a place where this wide-roaming, highly dispersed population congregates to engage in social interactions. Reducing an individual’s ability to detect socially relevant signals could therefore affect biologically important processes. This study suggests careful reconsideration of the potential behavioural impacts of even low source level seismic survey sounds on large whales. This is particularly relevant when the species is at high risk of extinction as is the blue whale.” UPDATE: A skeptical note received by email from a longtime correspondent: “To me, given a detectable new sound, mammals tend to decrease vocalization if it induces fear, or increase vocalization if it stimulates interest. How a sparker could block communications rather eludes me, but whales responding to a pulse—be it noncoherent noise stimulates noise, or actual whale talk directed at the pulse—comes to mind….Sperm whales in the GOM seemed to alter click patterns and perhaps anticipated a pulse once they got the beat. That was a casual observation by one of the acoustic team - always thought that would have been a great add-on study but we were already at overload working on acoustic tracking for tagging purposes. More at home, my grey parrot, who talks quite a bit, of course becomes completely silent when visitors ask ‘if he talks?’ - his reaction to seeing new people is silence. Now, if you go into another room and play classical music, the next question is ‘how do you stop him?’ I think there is a complexity to animal behavior and acoustic responses and the reasons blue whales would increase calls could be many.” What do beaked whales hear? Finneran, Houser, Base-Guthrie, Ewing, Lingenfelser. Auditory evoked potentials in a stranded Gervais' beaked whale (Mesophlodon europaeus). J.Acous.Soc.Am 126(1), July 2009. 484-490. This study took place with a stranded beaked whale that was euthanized after three days in captivity; it was very ill (organ failure due to bacterial infection) throughout. Since beaked whales seem to be more affected by Naval mid-frequency active sonar, the study was designed to see whether beaked whale hearing is more sensitive than other closely related families of cetaceans. The results find a hearing sensitivity curve that is similar to those of dolphins and orcas, with no indication of greater hearing acuity. The highest frequency that could be heard was 80kHz (though this could be limited by hearing impairment in this individual, as one earlier study of this species found good sensitivity than at 80kHz , and did not test higher). Highest sensitivity was found at 40kHz (i.e. the animal can hear sounds at this frequency when they are relatively faint--higher and lower frequency sounds must be louder to be heard) No tests were done using frequencies below 20kHz; mid-frequency active sonar ranges from 2-10kHz. Some breeding birds avoid areas within 500-800m of wind turbines Pearce-Higgins, Stephen, Langston, Bainbridge, Bullman. The distribution of breeding birds around upland wind farms. Journal of Applied Ecology, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01715.x [DOWNLOAD] This comprehensive survey of breeding birds in non-agricultural British uplands (moors and grassland) included weekly surveys during the breeding season at 12 different wind farm sites, along with comparable nearby landscapes without turbines. Half the wind farms were from the previous generation (WAY back in the '90s), with hub heights of 40m and less; the other half had hub heights of 60-70m. Of the twelve species that were observed often enough to provide good data, five seemed relatively unaffected by turbines (including kestrel, lapwing, grouse, skylark, and stonechat), while 7 species were less likely to nest within 500m of turbines, with smaller (i.e., not statistically significant) effects extending to 800m, or roughly half a mile. For six of the species (buzzard, hen harrier, plover, snipe, curlew, and wheatear), numbers were reduced by 39-52%. The authors note that there is a pressing need for examination of the reasons for the depressed numbers: "we do not know whether our observations of avoidance of turbines reflect a behavioural displacement, the local population consequences of collision mortality or reduced productivity, or both. The distinction is important. If there is high mortality of birds breeding close to the turbines associated with collision (ed. note: or reduced productivity), then a wind farm may become a population sink if repeatedly colonized by naive birds. If, however, the birds simply avoid breeding close to the turbines, then…displaced birds may settle elsewhere with little cost." They also note that "Whether wind farms result in meaningful population-level effects at a regional and national scale depends both upon the mechanisms involved, and the overlap between bird distribution and wind farm development," and encourage new development to avoid high densities of open country species, until these factors can be more clearly understood. They note the contrast between these findings and those of Devereux et al (2008), which "may suggest that species occupying remote semi-natural habitats are more sensitive to wind farm development than species occupying intensive production landscapes." (Ed. note: The earlier study looked at wintering birds in farmland, rather than breeding birds in uplands.) Habituation often misused or wrongly assumed in impact assessments Bejder, Samuels, Whitehead, Finn, Allen. Impact assessment research: use and misuse of habituation, sensitization and tolerance in describing wildlife responses to anthropogenic stimuli. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395:177-185, 2009. [DOWNLOAD] This paper serves as an excellent review of an important line of reasoning that is skeptical of facile claims that animals readily habituate to human disturbances such as noise. While the paper may be seen by some as little more than a set of "what if" propositions designed to undermine the simple observation of animals not being affected by a disturbance (and in this way, proposing an extreme precautionary view that supposes the worst in situations where we do not have complete information), the underlying intent is more serious than this: when policy decisions are being made based on a simplistic assessment of the situation, then we should at least be aware of the limitations of our terms and our study designs. This paper adds clarity to these issues in important ways. The authors distinguish between true habituation (which is a learning process that occurs over time) and tolerance (which can be measured instantaneously), and suggest that most impact studies are designed in ways that can only confirm tolerance, since they do not track the responses of individual animals over time. Further, they point out that even studies of tolerance can be easily distorted if the most sensitive animals leave at the first disturbance, leaving more tolerant individuals as the "study group." Another key – and often ignored – factor is that any behavioral response is influenced by many factors, not just the invasive human disruption being studied; for example, increased human noise may be one factor in an animal's decision about moving away, but this decision is also dependent on other key factors, such as the quality of the site where the animal current is (e.g. for feeding, mating, resting), the distance to and quality of other suitable sites, the relative risk of predation or density of competitors in other sites, and any investment the individual or group has made to the site (e.g., establishing a territory, gaining dominant status, or acquiring environmental information). It is commonly assumed that avoidance or lack of avoidance of a human sound source is a good indicator of whether that sound has a negative impact; the authors stress that this is an unwarranted and often incorrect assumption, and point out that the few studies that have assessed both behavioral responses and physiological measures (heart rate, stress hormones) have often found physiological markers of a negative response even when animals exhibited little or no behavioral reaction, i.e., when they appeared to tolerate the intrusion. This paper serves as a good starting point for examining previous research that has raised similar questions about the design of behavioral response studies, and the use of these studies in making policy decisions (In particular, previous work by JA Gill and L Bejder). The core message here is that managers should be very cautious in assessing claims of habituation (since few studies truly are designed to prove habituation), and likewise that habituation or tolerance do not necessarily imply the lack of negative impacts on individuals or populations. As they conclude, "Most studies are restricted to monitoring short-term, observable, behavioral responses, (which) limits the scope of conclusions that can be drawn…The conclusion is likely to be specific only to the response variable that has been monitored…(while) animals may become habituated in one modality but not in another….The most effective course of action in impact studies would therefore be to complement behavioral assessment with monitoring of physical condition and physiological measures such as heart rate, body temperature and/or hormonal levels." "Worst case" wind turbine noise can occur 30% of summer/fall nights Clifford P. Schneider. Measuring background noise with an attended, mobile survey during nights with stable atmospheric conditions. Internoise 2009. [DOWNLOAD PAPER(pdf)] This well-designed study, by a retired New York State Department of the Environment staffer, sheds light on several key questions surrounding standard noise assessments of wind farms. Most strikingly, it quantifies the extent of one of the key atmospheric components of excessive wind farm noise, finding that stable night time atmospheres may occur two-thirds of the time in the summer and fall, with wind high enough at turbine height to trigger them into action on 30% of nights, increasing to 40% in June and July. On these "worst case" nights, turbine noise is likely to be significantly louder than local background ambient noise from late evening until the beginning of the pre-dawn bird chorus. Schneider's study also included a brief but useful test of whether a quick but systematic mobile sound survey can be used instead of set of arbitrarily-chosen monitoring sites (addressing questions about whether arbitrary site selection accurately measures local averages) – he did 10-minute recordings at 21 sites, one every mile along two rural roads, and compared the results to 5 baseline sites chosen arbitrarily around the same town. This study took place in the township of Cape Vincent, New York, which sits at the confluence of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, where two wind farm proposals would place 200 turbines in town, covering the majority of its land area. Local and state ordinances require sound to be within 5dB of average ambient noise levels; the wind developer's sound level report based their projected compliance on a day-night average of 45dBA. By contrast, Schneider's study focused in on the times when other wind farms have generated the most problematic noise impacts: nights when wind is low at ground level but high enough at hub height to trigger turbines to turn on. In these conditions, night-time background ambient sound levels are very very low, and turbine noise can dominate the nighttime soundscape. The results are striking, to say the least. Night-time sound levels were at or below the lowest that the researcher's meters could record, 25dBA, for most of the late-night hours at 4 of the 5 locations, and under 30dB from 9pm-4:30am at three; one site received shore waves and dropped below 35dB for just a few hours in the middle of the night. Average readings along the mobile monitoring route (which was traversed over the course of three nights) were similar, and generally ranged from 25-32dB, with one site at 36dB. By contrast, measurements near a wind farm in the region, also measured at several (10) locations, showed the quietest times of night (L90) ranged from 35-43dB, and the average (LEQ) from 36-45dB. Bottom line: wind turbine sounds are likely to be 10-15dB louder than background ambient sound on these "worst case" nights in Cape Vincent. But how often do such nights occur? In what is likely to be the section of the study with them farthest-reaching impact, the results suggest that turbines could be operating (hub height winds >4 m/s) on nights with very still, quite ground conditions (ground wind <1.5 m/s) for 42% of nights in June and July, and for a total of 30% of nights from June through October. This lines up well with the only other study that I know of that specifically addressed stable night air conditions, the van den Berg study that found such conditions occur about a third of the time in the Netherlands, with similar levels suspected in many temperate zones. Using New York State DEC standards for predicting human reaction to noise, which is based on increasing levels of industrial noise above background ambient, this study suggests that (counter to the developer's prediction that no residents will experience noise more than 5dB above ambient, i.e., loud enough to trigger complaints), the vast majority of households in town will find the noise "very noticeable" (9-14dB above ambient) on these nights, with 34% finding it "objectionable" (84 homes at 14-19db above ambient) and a further 19% finding it "very objectionable to intolerable" (48 homes at 19-25dB above ambient). It is important to note that these levels of audibility and possibly objectionable sleep disruption will occur on a minority of nights; indeed, on an annual basis, probably around 15% of nights. And, on those nights, just a portion of the population will be affected. This perspective is part of what has led to our current acceptance of relatively small setbacks from homes (often 1000-1500 feet). Our social decisions about wind farm siting will need to grapple with the question of how much disturbance we consider acceptable – in this case, a third to half of the residents of Cape Vincent may be looking at troubling noise levels for a third to half of summer and autumn nights. To protect most residents from most of the noise intrusions (keeping noise levels to 5-10dB above ambient) would require setbacks of 1km or so, which would likely mean more like 30-50 turbines in Cape Vincent, rather than the planned 200. Two other results are worth mentioning. As mentioned above, the systematic mobile sound assessments matched closely with those made at arbitrary locations, suggesting that either method is reliable. The author notes that the arbitrary locations that he chose were well away from buildings, while a systematic mobile survey with a random start avoids possible problems of subjectivity in site selection. He notes: "I could have increased the measures SPL (at the arbitrary locations) if I had located equipment closer to homes, barns, and roads, and if I had picked nights with moderate winds." Further, he notes that the attended metering used in the mobile survey allows identification and documentation of noise intrusions, some of which might be of interest in assessing either true ambient or noise conditions with turbines operating (i.e., a site with many cars passing will show elevated sound levels, compared to one with fewer; this increased noise could either lead to over-estimate of quiet times at these sites, or improperly suggest that turbines are the primary source elevating sound levels at a site.) Finally, this study's measurements of dBC (low frequency sound) found substantial variability at different sites, more variable than audible sound, including several sites where the difference between dBA and dBC approached 20dB; this suggests that later measurements with turbines operating may not necessarily suggest that the turbines are the source of such variability. Animal listening area and alerting distance reduced substantially by moderate human noise Barber, Crooks, Fristrup. The costs of chronic noise exposure for terrestrial organisms. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2010. [ARTICLE IN PRESS AVAILABLE HERE] This is one of the most important and interesting papers published this year. It emerges from the partnership between the National Park Service's Natural Sounds Program and researchers at Colorado State University, who have been working together for several years to create metrics that are more useful for assessing the biological impacts of moderate human noise on wildlife. The assessments presented here, along with the paper's review of recent studies documenting changes in foraging, anti-predator behavior, reproductive success, density and community structure in response to noise, form the basis for a much more cogent assessment of noise impacts on wildlife. The focus of this research is the ways that moderate increases in background noise can affect animals. The authors note that both air and road traffic in the US has tripled in recent decades; even in National Parks, noise is audible 25% of the time in more than half of sites assessed. Over 80% of US land area is close enough to roads for some low-frequency masking to occur, with passing trucks and motorcycles increasing the sound levels at 1km to 40dB(A). One of the new proposed metrics is the effective "listening area." Changes in listening area has impacts involving both communication and what the authors term "adventitious" sounds (sound made largely by movement, which are important in predator/prey awareness). For predators, the listening area is the area over which they might hear the rustling of their prey, and for prey, it is the area in which they are alerted to approaching predators, whether wingbeats or footsteps; in each case, the most important sounds are those right at the edge of audibility. Social groups rely on hearing each other's alarm calls or songs inviting mating; reduced listening areas for these calls result in effectively reducing the number of individuals in any given communication network. Each animal has its own auditory acuity, so can hear at different distances; but for all animals, increasing background noise will reduce their natural listening area in predictable ways. The authors note analyses of transportation noise impacts often assert that a 3dB increase in noise – a barely perceptual change – has "negligible" effects, whereas in fact this increased noise reduces the listening area of animals by 30%. A 10dB increase in background noise (Ed. note: likely within a few hundred meters of a road or as a private plane passes nearby) reduces listening area by 90%. Throughout, the authors stress the difficulties in separating noise-related effects of traffic from other related forces, such as habitat fragmentation or threat responses; there is also a fascinating short section citing studies showing behavioral changes in response to quiet recreation, sometimes even more dramatic than those caused by vehicles. Though only a few studies have directly addressed this ambiguity, many studies cited here provide strong indications that acoustic masking is a significant factor in behavioral changes near roads. Among the findings that caught my eye/ear: - Masking affects not only audibility, but understanding: "thresholds for discrimination between calls of the same species were consistently higher than were detection thresholds for the same calls." Not surprising, but easy to forget: background sound often obscures the words being said, though we can still hear the voice. - Bats that listen for ground movements of their prey hunt more in quiet areas than noisy ones; similarly insect-eating birds are more likely to avoid noisy areas than other birds. Masking can also make it more difficult for animals to tell what direction a call (such as a mating call) is coming from - Pronghorn antelope showed a marked shift in proportion of time spent foraging and in vigilance (looking around) when closer to roads: foraging dropped from 45% of the time to 35%, while vigilance increased from 40% to over 50%. - Two key studies of increased vigilance in clearly noise-triggered contexts: Ground squirrels showed a marked increase in vigilance behavior when hearing squirrel alarm calls at a site in a wind farm than in a quiet site (including a slightly less "relaxed" non-vigilance baseline state), and a lab study with chaffinches found that the mean time spent pecking (eating) between times scanning the area decreased when noise was introduced. The authors conclude by stressing: "Chronic noise exposure is widespread. Taken individually, many of the papers cited here offer suggestive but inconclusive evidence that masking is substantially altering many ecosystems. Taken collectively, the preponderance of evidence argues for immediate action to manage noise in protected natural areas….The costs of noise must be understood in relation to other anthropogenic forces, to ensure effective mitigation and efficient realization of environmental goals. Noise pollution exacerbates the problems posed by habitat fragmentation and wildlife responses to human presence; therefore, highly fragmented or heavily visited locations are priority candidates for noise management. Noise management might also offer a relatively rapid tool to improve the resilience of protected lands to some of the stresses imposed by climate change." Bias in Military (or Conservation) Funded Ocean Noise Research Wade, Whitehead, Weilgart. Conflict of interest in research on anthropogenic noise and marine mammals: Does funding bias conclusions? Marine Policy 34 (2010) 320-327. (Ed. note: This lay summary includes more analysis and interpretation by AEI than we generally include; some of this commentary questions the conclusions of the paper, and some of it addresses the underlying controversies surrounding ocean noise issues. I have attempted to be clear about which statements are simple summations of the report's data and findings, and which are AEI's reflections or perspectives. It is a long read, but the issues that triggered this study are important ones. Though the clear-cut results reported here are difficult to take at face value, it is well worth considering the underlying forces that drive tensions between environmental groups and Navy/industry actions in the seas.) In the United States, the US Navy funds about half of the research into the effects of ocean noise on wildlife. For many years, conservation groups have questioned whether this preponderance of funding is skewing research results, whether by constraining the types of questions being studied, or by leading researchers to downplay negative impacts of noise in order to continue receiving funding. This paper investigates the latter possibility, by comparing five recent reviews of the effects of ocean noise on wildlife, one funded by a leading environmental group, three that received substantial Navy funding, and two funded by organizations with no particular stake in the debate. The researchers compared the number of citations in each that showed an effect of noise, or not, or that showed both an effect and lack of effect. They also attempted to identify funding sources of the primary papers cited in each of these secondary reports, and to correlate the funding source with the same three parameters (noise shown to have an effect, noise causing no effect, or aspects of the primary research showing both effects and no effect). Using both simple citation counts and G-test statistical analysis to test for a null hypothesis of random connection between funding sources and outcomes, the authors report a significant correlation between funding source and proportion of citations reporting "no effect" of noise. The five review papers certainly show a trend, though it appears to AEI that three papers that form the anchors of that trend each may be somewhat shaped by its original intention. Reviews: Proportion of citations of each stance The authors recognize that the one conservation-funded paper ("Oceans of Noise", WDCS) drew almost only on studies that did show an effect of noise, and re-analyzed the trend with that one excluded; a significant effect remained, though it was half as strong. However, one of the "independent" papers, a chapter in a book on the ocean environment (Hildebrand), was perhaps similarly constrained by its purpose; it was titled "Impacts of Anthropogenic Noise," and was not necessarily intended as a comprehensive assessment of what does and does not cause an effect. On the other end of the spectrum of the five surveys, the only Navy-funded survey that diverged notably from the other independent paper (from ICES), was the third National Research Council report, which addressed the difficulties in determining when repeated behavioral disruptions of a portion of a population accumulates to the point of becoming "biologically significant." Thus, this survey could be expected to include more papers that were exploring the edges of impacts, and so it is not surprising that to do so, more citations would appear that show no effect. Given these underlying intentions of the two reports showing the fewest "no effect" citations, and the one showing the most "no effect" citations, it appears that the five papers being compared are not quite on the same playing field. The other three papers (ICES and the first two NRC reports on noise and marine mammals) showed no marked differences in balance between citations, with the Navy-funded reports actually having a lower proportion of "no effect" papers and higher proportion of "effect" papers than the ICES survey. Primary papers: funding sources and results reported Turning to the primary papers, the situation is not muddied by the variable intentions of the reviews. Here, there is a clearer trend of increasing conclusions of "no effect" as funding moves from conservation to no-agenda to industry and military funding. Again, the 19 conservation-funded papers nearly all reported an effect, with just one showing both effect and no effect to separate questions being investigated. The 67 military-funded papers, by contrast, were far more likely (2.3 times as likely) to come to a no-effect conclusion than papers funded by other (non-conservation and non-industry) sources. However, and significantly, less than 30% of military-funded papers came to that conclusion, while about 50% did report an effect of noise, and 20% showed both effects and lack of effects. Likewise, in the first two NRC reviews, about 20% of citations showed "no effect," while over 60% showed an effect; even the most "extreme" review had more citations showing an effect than not. Of special note is that the authors did not find any strong trend toward bias of results reported by independent, academic researchers receiving Navy funding for research studies - these studies showed a similar proportion of effect and no effect results as studies funded by neither the military nor conservation groups (though when comparing military-funded studies with all the others, including consevation-funded, a non-statisticially significant trend of 1.64 times more "no effect" findings was observed). As the authors stress in consideration of the possible bias of conservation-funded primary studies, conflicts of interest would be dangerous if scientists "orient(ed) their goals, methods, analysis or interpretation towards the perceived interests of the….community that funded them." The authors conclude that "much of the bias in military-funded research was in work carried out at military institutions, rather than in studies funded by the military but carried out at universities and other institutions." This seems to suggest that the concern about bias in funding alone is negligible, thus diffusing concerns that cash-strapped academic researchers are "cooking the books" to retain Navy funding. Research coming directly out of military offices is likely to remain less reliable as representing "the whole picture," as may research entirely funded by conservation groups. Still, by integrating and considering the full range of studies reported in all of these reviews, the public can get a pretty decent picture of current state of our understanding of the effects of ocean noise. Of note, though, is that the proportion of "no effect" to "effect" findings is slightly lower in military-funded studies. In addition, military-funded studies are more likely to report BOTH effects and lack of effects in a single paper; this could indicate either a more careful assessment of the margins where effects are just noticeable, or a tendency to split the difference in order to either underplay the effects or accentuate the non-effects to assuage funders. Overall, at both layers of analysis, it seems clear to AEI that the conservation-funded papers and survey report showed the most obvious "bias." However, this is not necessarily problematic (unless used as a baseline to suggest bias in others). As the authors note, "conservation groups do not fund research unless they have previously identified a potentially damaging effect," and since conservation groups' focus on precautionary approaches, and their mandate to "publicize activities that are potentially damaging to the environment" is quite transparent, it "should not be problematic unless threats are 'hyped' where there are none." (Note: while non-existent threats are rarely hyped by conservation groups, a more difficult question arises when moderate or minor threats are presented to the public as more dramatic than they may be.) The authors note that while these results could suggest that conservation funding may be considered problematic, "the argument can be made that their role as a preventative authority is necessary." Indeed, while primary research and even survey reviews funded by the military are evidently not overly biased toward finding no effect (since in both cases, they include far more results showing effects than not), it also appears to AEI that in practical terms, the EIS's generated by the Navy and the mitigation measures imposed by regulators on both military and oil and gas activities are largely grounded in the belief – and regulatory determination – that any effects of these activities are "negligible," to use the formal term. Thus the focus of the conservation community on funding research and publishing overviews that emphasize credible studies outlining observed negative effects is understandable, given these groups' role in raising public awareness and balancing the singular interpretation of the more nuanced research by the military and industry. It might be more fruitful to explore ways that the "balance" of Navy-funded studies and reviews serve as a fig leaf for actions that nearly always presume no harm. Another key question not yet considered with the rigor brought to this study is whether Navy-funded research is oriented toward studies that, by the questions being asked, may be more likely to come up with "no effect" findings, as apparently the investigations that conservationists tend to fund ask questions that lean toward those that are likely to show an effect. Similarly, the questions being asked can color the perceived importance of changing our ways of using sound in the sea. For example, a study might seek to identify "recoverable thresholds" of exposure (the maximum sound can an animal experience, causing temporary hearing shifts, but with their hearing returning to normal after a few minutes or hours), while another study may be looking for "behavioral thresholds" (the sound exposure that triggers behavioral changes). Implicit in the first question is the thought that as long as the effect is not permanent, it's acceptable; conversely, the second question implies a desire to minimize disturbance of animals. Indeed, the first question seeks the maximum sound level we can feel comfortable imposing, while the second inquires as to the minimal sound that the animal might be affected by. More to the point, though, many or most of the studies that do show effects are somewhat ambiguous (e.g., only a proportion of the population shows the effect, or the practical import of the change or effect is difficult or impossible to determine), while a finding of "no effect" is more clear-cut. It is not outlandish on the face of it for the Navy to say, as it does, that their actions are not likely to cause any major disruption of animal life: the only clear-cut evidence we have is that extremely loud sounds at very close range (tens of meters) can injure animals, while the rest of the research really is shades of grey. Nearly all of the controversy over military and oil and gas noise today boils down to differing interpretations of how important moderate behavioral changes are, and whether they should be avoided or not. And science is nearly incapable of shedding any definitive light on how important behavioral changes are, thus leaving the two sides largely reliant on their divergent faith: the Navy and oil industry's faith that the behavioral changes are transient and negligible, and environmentalists' faith that chronic behavioral disruption by human noise is bound to have negative consequences. Meanwhile, ethical questions about humanity's relationship to the natural world are outside the bounds of discussion on one side, and central to the whole discussion, on the other. In the end, studies like this – and indeed, reviews such as those considered here – are largely diligent exercises in quantifying an issue that has become, for all practical purposes, an exercise in divergent world views talking at and past each other. Two Pinger Studies: Harbour Porpoise Bycatch Reduced, Common Dolphins Show Little Response Palka, D.L., M.C. Rossman, A.S. VanAtten, and C.D. Orphanides. 2008. Effect of pingers on harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) bycatch in the US Northeast gillnet fishery. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 10(3):217-226. Berrow, S., R. Cosgrove, R.H. Leeney, J. O'Brien, D. McGrath, J. Dalgard, and Y. Le Gall. 2008. Effect of acoustic deterrents on the behaviour of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 10(3):227-233. Two studies of the use of pingers on gillnets came up with starkly different results for two key species of dolphins. The first, a long-term study of actual by-catch off the northeast coast of the US from 1999-2007, found that harbour porpoise bycatch was reduced 50-70% in fisheries that used pingers, with no bycatch at all in nets using 15cm mesh. Most importantly, there were no long-term increases in by-catch, which offers strong evidence that the porpoises are not habituating to the pinger sounds. However, the second study found that pingers that caused evasive responses in bottlenose dolphins had no effect on common dolphin behavior. A pinger source that allowed several types of signals to be tested also elicited no response in the common dolphins; the researchers conclude that “pinger, at their current state of development, may not provide a consistently effective deterrent signal for common dolphins.” Treefrogs Call More when Human noise intrudes Kaiser, K & JL Hammers (2009) The effect of anthropogenic noise on male advertisement call rate in the neotropical treefrog, Dendropsophus triangulum. Behaviour 146: 1053-1069. This detailed study of treefrog calls in an Amazonian neotropical forest showed a near-doubling of call rates when frogs were exposed to recordings of a variety of human noises. Engine noise, music, and intermittent engine noise were all tested. Call rates increased by roughly 75% in the presence of motor noise and music, and nearly tripled when motor noise was presented intermittently. The response of this species of frog, to increase call rates, matched their response to increased presence of other frogs of this species; a chorus of treefrog calls produced the same change as the same volume of anthropogenic noise. While other species were not studied, the researchers note that their observations suggest that other chorusing frogs responded similarly to the anthropogenic noise, also increasing their call rates, while solitary-calling frogs ceased their calls during noise, and resumed when the noise stopped. The researchers note that road construction and traffic are extending into ever more pristine habitats in neotropical forests worldwide. Unlike birds, frogs are considered incapable of short-term changes in call frequency (e.g., many birds have been shown to shift their calls to a higher pitch to be better heard in noisy urban environments); increasing call rates imposes a fairly substantial energetic cost on the calling males. The impact of increased noise on the effective call distance for males (or audibility distance for females), and the resultant difficulty of females to hear the calls was not studied, but is mentioned as another likely impact of increasing road noise in neotropical forests. Reef Fish Hearing Measured Parmenter, Colleye, Mann. Hearing ability in three clownfish species. Journal of Experimental Biology 212, 2023-2026 (2009) Recent years have seen increasing interest in the question of whether and how reef fish may use sound for communication or orientation; however, while it was known that fish make sounds, their hearing capacities have not been widely measured. This study used AEP to measure the auditory response of clownfish to various frequencies of sound. Clownfish were found to detect sound from 75Hz to 1.8kHz, and to be most sensitive to sounds below 200Hz. It’s long been known that the sounds made by fish are closely related to their size, with lower frequency sounds made by larger fish. Interestingly, younger (i.e. smaller) fish have best hearing sensitivity at frequencies lower than the sounds they make, but close to the dominant frequencies of larger fish calls. It is suggested that this allows juvenile fish to hear and localize the position of adults, which may be useful as juveniles return to their home reefs. Offshore wind farms: impact area on porpoises is small during operation, but potentially over 20km during construction These two papers, from related research teams, assessed the impacts of construction and operation of wind farms in Europe on local populations of harbor porposeis and harbor seals. Tougaard, Henriksen, Miller. Underwater noise from three types of offshore wind turbines: Estimation of impact zones for harbor porpoises and harbor seals. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125 (6), June 2009. 3766-3773. Underwater noise was recorded from three different types of wind turbines in Denmark and Sweden. The authors note that virtually all airborne noise from the turbine blades is reflected off the surface of the water, while vibrations from the machinery are transmitted through the tower and into the foundation, from where it radiates out into the water column and seabed. In general, turbine noise was only measurable above ambient noise at frequencies below 500Hz, with total SPLs of 109-127db re 1uPa rms, measured at 14-20m from the turbines’ foundations. By comparing measured sound levels with audiograms of harbor seals and harbor porpoises, the researchers determined that the sounds were only slightly audible for the porpoises at ranges of 20-70m, whereas harbor seals may hear the sounds at ranges of 100m to several kilometers. As a bottom line, researchers suggest that behavioral changes are very unlikely in harbor porpoises except at very close ranges, while seals may have some behavioral reaction out to a few hundred meters. For both species, masking is predicted here to be low to non-existent (due to differences between vocalization frequency patterns and the predominantly low-frequency turbine noise), and the sound is too low to cause physical injury, no matter how close the animals are. Tougaard, Carstensen, Teilmann, Skov, Rasmussun. Pile driving zone of responsiveness extends beyond 20km for harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena (L.)) (L). J.Acous.Soc.Am. 126(1), July 2009. 11-14. This study took place during construction of an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Acoustic T-PODs were placed in the wind farm and in two locations outside the wind farm, at 7 and 20km away. During pile driving operations, which generate high-intensity impulsive sounds (235dB peak-peak), detections of harbour porpoises declined at all listening stations. (The baseline was detections during construction, but without pile driving activity taking place) The declines were not dramatic (within the 95% confidence bars in most cases, barely beyond them in some cases), but were consistently found. There was no clear difference in detection rates at 7 and 20km, which implies that the displacement effect extends well beyond 20km. The differences inside the wind farm were minimal when pile driving was occurring, though total detections were lower inside the farm than outside at all times, suggesting that animals inside the construction zone were individuals who were more acclimated or tolerant of the ongoing construction noise. A Summary of Recent Studies of Wind Farm Noise Annoyance and Possible Health Effects The take-away from these new reports appears to be that while significant proportions of the population are affected by moderate wind farm noise, neither increasing wind farm noise nor even annoyance to it lead inevitably to health effects. There is an entire separate body of research investigating various attitudinal aspects related to stress and health, which only muddy the waters as we try to interpret these direct studies on wind farm noise. Some studies indicate that attitudes toward a noise source can affect both annoyance and stress responses, and that a subjective sense of being threatened can likewise increase physiological responses to noise; however, once again, these correlations are far from universal, so they cannot be used to "explain away" either annoyance or health impacts that do take place, any more than annoyance can be used as a clear indication of eventual health effects. There is far more gray than black and white in these reports. Still, they provide a concrete picture of annoyance and sleep deprivation increasing as turbine noise increases, along with a better sense of the proportion of affected neighbors who will experience these impacts at various distances and received sound levels. Clearly, 35-45dB is a range at which impacts on neighbors become far more widespread. The social question that will need to addressed is what proportion of nearby neighbors we will accept causing sleep deprivation or annoyance in: 10%? 20%? Where will we draw the line, beyond which we consider turbine placement too close? Minnesota Dept of Health Minnesota Department of Health, Environmental Health Division. Public Health Impacts of Wind Turbines. May 2009. [DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE] This state agency report provides a good overview of the current state of knowledge regarding wind farm noise propagation, with particular attention given to possible low frequency noise impacts. The report makes no dramatic recommendations, though the data presented suggests that audible and low-frequency noise could affect neighbors within a half mile to mile. Among the key pieces of information contained in this report, gleaned from previous research studies: - A reminder that the 2007 report on wind farms and human health from the National Academies of Science concluded that "noise produced by wind farms is generally not a major concern beyond a half mile" (i.e., under a half mile can be problematic). - Some individuals have extraordinary sensitivity to low frequency sound, up to 25dB more sensitive than presumed (average) thresholds at some frequencies - Some people can dismiss and ignore repetitive but low intensity noise, while for others, the signal will grow and become more apparent and unpleasant over time. These reactions may have little relationship to will or intent, and more to do with previous exposure history and personality. - The difference, in dB, between soft (acceptable) and loud (annoying) noise is much less at low frequencies, due to the our perceptual compression of the full audible range. - Compiled data from two recent Swedish studies (summarized below) suggest that wind farm noise levels of over 40dB(A) lead to annoyance in about half the population, while slightly lower sound levels of 35-40dB(A) leads to annoyance in about a quarter of the population. - A surprising study from New Zealand found that over half of household 2-2.5km AND 5-9.5km from wind farms could hear them at times (fewer in between heard them); these wind farms were in mountainous terrain, which likely explains the great distances at which they could be heard. - Two charts from a 2006 report by the UK Department of Transport and Industry suggest that low frequency noise (LFN) from wind turbines can be well above audible levels, and above the UK's night noise LFN criterion, at frequencies of 50-200Hz. Summary of Three European Studies Eja Pederson. Effects of wind turbine noise on humans. Third International Meeting on Wind Turbine Noise, Aalborg, Denmark, June 2009. This review by one of the leading researchers of wind turbine noise, annoyance, and health, compiles data from three studies, two in Sweden and one in Holland. The results, while indicating clear thresholds for annoyance and sleep disruption at sound levels often experienced by wind farm neighbors, also illustrate the subtleties inherent in making generalizations based on ambiguous data. The author makes a key introductory point: that wind farms "often are placed in rural settings considered places with low exposure (to) environmental stressors….in such a setting, even when the levels are comparably low, (wind farm noise could) be perceived as a potential health risk." The heart of the studies shows a correlation between increasing noise levels and annoyance. This effect was clearly stronger in the two flat, rural areas, than in a study that took place in a more suburban, rolling landscape that had more other noises present. A dramatic increase in proportion of people annoyed by turbine noise took place when the noise was over 40dB(A); here, 25-45% reported annoyance in rural settings, and 10% in the suburban area. At 35-40dB, annoyance ranged from 16-20% in rural settings but was only 5% in suburban; at 30-35dB, annoyance hovered around 10% in rural areas. The studies showed no direct correlation between noise levels and health effects related to stress (including headaches, tiredness, tenseness, and irritability); this is not surprising, since at all noise levels, a majority of the population was not annoyed, so also not likely to be stressed. Among those experiencing annoyance, there was a correlation with stress effects, but it was far from universal (correlations generally in the 1.25 range). Sleep disruption from any source was reported by 15-20% of rural respondents even at sound levels under 30db; some may interpret this as evidence of impact from wind turbines at very low sound levels, but it could as well be considered a baseline of sleep disturbance from non-wind farm causes. At sound levels of 30-40dB, 5-8% more rural residents reported sleep disruption, and as levels rose above 40dB, a total of 30-40% of rural residents reported being awakened. More Insight into Noise Perception and Annoyance Kerstin Persson Waye. Perception and environmental impact of wind turbine noise. Presentation at Inter-noise 2009. This is another paper that re-analyzes results from the several previous studies, including the Swedish and Dutch ones cited above (Waye and Pederson were co-authors of one of these earlier studies), and adds several interesting and important points to the discussion. First, she cites studies that suggest that the swishing nature of turbine noise is especially problematic, leading to a much higher correlation with annoyance than simple dB level measurements. Indeed, even at sound levels of only 35-40dB(A), when swishing was present, 45% of respondents reported being "rather" or "very" annoyed; over 20% were similarly annoyed at 30-35dB. Waye delves too-briefly into studies addressing the connection between SEEING turbines and being annoyed by them. This is an especially difficult question, but she cites studies suggesting very high correlations between visibility and annoyance, much higher than the related correlation between visibility and audibility. This ties into other studies suggesting that those who don't like seeing turbines, also don't like hearing them; again, though, it's important to remember that even these strong correlations are not universal, and many who experience noise issues are content to see turbines, if they are far enough away to not create audible disruptions to their recreational, work, and sleep life. In parsing the data from the three studies also addressed by Pederson, above, Waye adds two key pieces of information: first, all these wind farms consist of relatively small turbines, by current standards: 500-800kW. Second, our consideration of annoyance thresholds at various dB levels is greatly enhanced by also including a graph showing that, in addition to those annoyed at each sound level, another 40-70% of the population could HEAR the turbines, but did not report annoyance. For example, at 30-35dB, over half of rural residents reported hearing the turbines, while only 8-12% were annoyed; at 35-40dB (within most global regulatory limits), 85% heard them, while just under 20% were annoyed; and at 40-45dB (within common US regulatory limits), 95% heard them, while 45% were annoyed. Finally, Waye addresses a commonly reported finding: that annoyance levels are higher for wind turbines than for noise from less dynamic industrial sources, such as factories. She cites a study that shows that annoyance when indoors is pretty much the same, but that outdoors in rural settings, annoyance is significantly higher at sound levels above 35dB (annoyance at the one suburban wind farm was nearly identical to that from factory noise, again suggesting that expectations in rural setting plays a key role). Waye suggests that in rural settings, recreational and "restorative" aspects of outdoor experiences are impinged upon by wind farm noise. A final fascinating tidbit in her paper is that people who move from cities to the country are significantly more sensitive to noise than people who had always lived in the country; that is, those who actively chose to relocate to the country are more attached to the quiet nature of the landscape, while those who grew up there are more accepting of changes. (Ed. note: As with so many statistics in these studies, though, this should not be over-emphasized; surely many long-time locals also struggle with noise impacts. Indeed, the difference in sensitivity to noise, while an interesting finding, is just 15%) Low-Frequency Active Sonar Annual Report to NMFS Annual Report No. 1: Operation of the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) Sonar Aboard the R/V Cory Chouest and USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS 23) Under the National Marine Fisheries Service Letters of Authorization of 15 August 2007. Department of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, September 2008. [DOWNLOAD (pdf)] This report details the actual operations of the US Navy's two LFAS-equipped ships, from mid-August 2007 to mid-August 2008. Both ships remained close to the Asian Pacific coast, near China, the Philippines, and Japan. The Letter of Authorization issued by NMFS, allows the Navy to use LFAS for up to 432 hours per vessel each year. During this year, the Cory Chouest used the system for 25 days, totaling 71 hours of transmissions, and the Impeccable used it on 24 days for a total of 65 hours of transmissions. During these missions, both passive acoustic detection and an active "whale-finder" high frequency sonar were used to supplement visual marine mammal observers; no whales were heard via passive listening, one group of whales was spotted visually, and on 19 occasions, whales or turtles were spotted by the whale-finder sonar. Operations were suspended 43 times, including the 20 encounters just noted, and 23 times when the whale-finder sonar was not working correctly. Such shut-downs occur when whales may move within 1km of the ship; the whale-finder sonar reliably detects whales out to 2km away. Based on current population studies of whales in the region, the report estimates that LFAS operations injured no animals, and created possible behavioral reactions (received levels of 120dB or more) in less than 1% of most cetacean species, with no more than 3% of any species affected. The report notes that the LFAS source transmitter send out sound in a full 360 degrees, at a source level of 215dB or less, using a variety of signal types at 100-500Hz. The document provides a good overview of the Navy's EIS process since it began in 1996, along with court challenges and rulings from 2002-2008. Safety Thresholds for Ocean Noise Should Address Character of Signal, Not Just Loudness Michael Stocker. The importance of incorporating signal characteristics in the evaluation of noise exposure impacts on marine life. Acoustical Society of America presentation, May 2009. This paper is a literature review that presents evidence suggesting that our current reliance on simple amplitude (dB level) limits as the foundation of noise-exposure guideline for sonar and other ocean noise sources may not provide the assumed protection for animals. The author proposes several other characteristics of sound signals that may have biologically relevant effects that contribute significantly to possible injury or behavioral responses to human sound. Current safety thresholds are largely based on hearing tests with captive dolphins. A striking graphic in this paper shows the wide variability in these lab-based results from one species, with reported hearing thresholds varying by up to 50dB. This could well be due to large individual variations in hearing health among captive dolphins; the author stresses as well that the simple sine-wave-based signals used in most hearing tests may not be especially relevant to cetacean hearing. He notes that predominant natural ocean noises (waves, rain, etc.) are relatively simple sine-like sounds, so that ocean species may in fact be adapted to NOT hear them as well as sounds important to communication or which are threats. He concludes his overview of existing hearing studies: "It is clear that animal hearing systems are not just 'auditory frequency bins' but include complex ways of discriminating the characteristic differences between biologically useful signals, 'safe sounds,' and 'pernicious sounds.'" He then cites studies from Holland that have used various non-sinusoid signals to determine discomfort levels, and associated "discomfort zones" related to various signal differences; and, studies indicating that signals with high "kurtosis" (variability in sound levels and harmonic content) produce greater physiological damage than similarly-loud sounds with low kurtosis. The author concludes by noting that current regulations are based on simple lab auditory threshold tests that are favored because they are easily replicable, but which "only demonstrate the subject's sensitivity to the test signal and do not necessarily reflect the subject's auditory thresholds to the range of signals that they might encounter in their own habitat." He suggests that exposure criteria should be modified to reflect characteristics known to enhance behavioral responses or increase the risk of physiological injury; he proposes evaluation of the following signal characteristics: - Rise time of impulse signals - Periodicity of intermittent signals - Kurtosis, evaluated three ways: FFT of spectral distribution, amplitude variability, and spectral variability. Measuring Air Gun Propagation from New NSF Research Ship R/V Langseth Tolstoy, Diebold, Doermann, Nooner, Webb, Bohnenstiehl, Crone, Holmes. Broadband calibration of the R/V Marcus G. Langseth four-string seismic sources. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosysytems, Vol. 10, Number 8. August 2009. [DOWNLOAD (pdf)] This study marks the primary calibration of the new seismic survey vessel managed by Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) and often chartered by the National Science Foundation for academic surveys. The Langseth's air gun arrays are different than those on the previous vessel, the R/V Ewing, as it uses four identical 9-gun linear arrays of somewhat smaller air guns, rather than up to 20 separately towed and larger air guns. Tests were run in a deep water site and a shallow water site, since sound propagation varies considerably with depth. Sound levels were calculated using both 90% RMS (re 1uPa) and SEL (re:1uPa2s). The resulting exposure radii (safety zones to prevent exposure at the given level) are as follows: \|dB threshold RMS \|dB threshold SEL Interestingly, actual received levels at distances over 3km at the deep site were below the slope of the statistical "line" the data created at closer ranges; thus the very distant exposure radii are likely over-estimates. As has been widely noted in recent years, sound energy was concentrated in the 10-300Hz range (120-150dB energy spectral density at 1km), but continued to have significant energy up to 1kHz (100-120db shallow, 90-110dB deep) and 20kHz (60-80dB shallow, 20-60 ESL deep). Of special note in this study is the further clarification that, contrary to previous assumptions, differences between RMS and SEL are not consistent, but rather vary greatly with water depth. Reverberations in shallow environments create a smaller difference (about 8dB) than in deep water (about 14dB). Fin Whales Seem to Avoid Seismic Survey Castellote, Clark, Esteban. Mediterranean fin whale migration movements altered by seismic exploration noise. Presentation at Acoustical Society of America, May 2009. This study took place in the western Mediterranean, off the coasts of Spain, France, and northwestern Italy; its main purpose was to simply identify seasonal patterns of fin whales and better understand their migratory movements, using the now-common Cornell Marine Autonomous Recording Units (MARU), which are deployed for weeks or months, and then "pop up" for recovery. By chance, an medium-sized academic seismic survey took place in the vicinity of the recorders for ten days, from 8-17 December 2006, using 5 typical air guns and 4 small "sleeve" guns, totaling 1555 cubic inches. The resulting changes and in fin whale call rates strongly suggest that they shifted their migratory path, though given the limited "perspective" offered by two MARUs deployed near each other, and the fact that understanding of normal migratory pattern is limited, the study is not conclusive. During the ten days before the survey began, whale calls were heard fairly regularly; during the first three days of the survey, it appears that whales vocalized more, while moving to a different position relative to the recorders. The call rate was most dramatically higher on the 2nd day of the survey: whale calls were heard for over 20 hours, rather than the 6-8 hours that was more typical before and after the survey (some non-survey days peaked at 12-14 hours). The researchers note a dramatic change in bearing (angle at which most of the calls came from) during this peak early in the survey, which was followed by a dramatic drop in calls, to zero on the 4th day of the survey, and continuing at zero or close to it for two weeks after the survey was completed; presumably the whales moved out of range of the recorders (the peak in call rates may represent more whales being temporarily closer as their route shifted). By the beginning of January, whale calls sporadically rose again to near the levels before the survey, and, by January 7th, became more consistent, and back to the bearing that had been noted before. The researchers cite a few other studies that have shown displacement or changed vocalizing patterns near surveys, to bolster their sense that this study should be added to that emerging body of research suggesting behavioral effects that are not fully accepted yet by the scientific and industrial communities. Ocean Acidification Not Likely to Increase Ambient Background Noise Reeder, Chiu. Ocean acidification and its impact on ocean noise level: An analysis using empirical and physical models of acoustic transmission loss. Presented at ASA October 2009 meeting. Udovydchenkov, Duda. Ocean noise level change in response to ocean acidification. Presented at ASA October 2009. These two papers take a closer look at the widely-noted ocean noise implications of increasing ocean acidification (a combination of factors related to global warming is triggering a steady increase in the ocean’s pH, which decreases sound absorption). When the acidification results were first released there was much speculation that shipping noise would propagate farther, resulting in cumulative ambient noise increases throughout the oceans. These two papers, presented at this fall’s Acoustical Society of America meeting, both come to the same conclusion: low frequency noise will not be significantly increased due to ocean acidification; rather, the primary changes will occur at mid-frequencies. This calms concerns about shipping noise, but may (over time) lead to slightly larger areas being impacted by mid-frequency active sonar, some acoustic harassment devices used by fish farms, noise from recreational boating, and other mid-frequency noise. Rather than simply looking at the effects of sound absorption, both papers assessed the combined effects of many factors in sound propagation: seabed attenuation and boundary effects, waveguide physics, and the distribution of pH and absorption through different depths of water. The first paper looked at shallow water, a surface duct, and deep ocean, and found that the maximum change in noise transmission occurs at about 2kHz, with no significant change below 800Hz. The second paper notes that at low frequency, little sound is absorbed anyway, so pH-related absorption effects are much smaller than all the other effects, and that at high frequencies, sound does not propagate very far, also minimizing effects of decreased absorption; the authors note that effects can be sizable at middle frequencies. (Ed. note: for both papers, pre-conference abstracts do not quantify the mid-frequency effects; details will follow after the presentations and with later publication of results.) Sleep "Arousal" and Awakening Could be Cause of Wind Farm Health Woes Christopher Hanning. Sleep disturbance and wind turbine noise. June 2009 [DOWNLOAD REPORT] (Ed. note: this is not a peer-reviewed paper; it was written for an anti-wind group in Swinford, UK. However, Dr. Hanning, unlike some other physicians wading into industrial wind noise issues, is not writing outside his area of expertise. He's a renowned sleep disturbance expert: his school hospital named their sleep lab after him.) This report by a UK MD whose specialty is sleep disorders takes a comprehensive look at factors affecting sleep disturbance caused by nearby wind farms, and is highly recommended reading for anyone working to develop regulations at the local or state level. Hanning’s primary point is that external noise need not wake a sleeper to cause problems, and the repeated “arousals” can break the most restful periods of sleep. He notes that “The sleep, because it is broken, is unrefreshing, resulting in sleepiness, fatigue, headaches and poor memory and concentration.” These are precisely the symptoms often reported by people living near wind farms. He stresses that arousals are also associated with “physiological changes, an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, which are thought to be responsible for the increase in cardiovascular risk. Arousals occur naturally during sleep and increase with age (Boselli 1998) which may make the elderly more vulnerable to wind turbine noise. Arousals may be caused by sound events as low as 32 dBA and awakenings with events of 42dBA (Muzet and Miedema 2005), well within the measured noise levels of current wind farms” and the levels permitted by most jurisdictions. The report also summarizes other studies suggesting that night-time noise levels are often higher than sound models predict, as well as one that suggests that wind farms cause high levels of annoyance at lower sound levels than other common noise sources. He concludes that “While it may be possible to produce a reasonable acoustically based theoretical approach to calculating set back distances (Kamperman and James 2008b), it makes more sense to rely on recommendations from observations of the effects on real people at established wind farms.” Some Birds Choose Noisy Areas For Nests Francis, C.D., Ortega, C.P., and A. Cruz. 2009. Noise pollution changes avian communities and species interactions. Current Biology DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.052 A new study surveyed nesting birds in New Mexico woodlands with oil and gas compressors, and came up with a surprising result. While, as expected, most birds were more numerous in areas farther from the compressors, two species seemed to prefer these areas. Black-chinned hummingbirds and house finches had more than 90 percent of their nests at the noisy sites. The researchers dug a bit deeper, and found that nests in the quiet areas were more likely to be attacked by predators, with predator birds significantly less abundant around noisy sites. It is suggested that the noise may mask their calls or make it harder for them to find their prey. Increase in Noise Levels Leads to More Annoyance Than Similar Noise in Steady State Brown, Kamp. Response to a change in transport noise exposure: Competing explanations of change effects. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125 (2), February 2009 This literature review addresses an interesting question, and one that may be relevant to concerns about noise from wind farms. A long history of studies of human annoyance responses to traffic noise seems to suggest that a change in noise levels (for example, traffic noise increasing from 50dB to 60dB) triggers more annoyance than occurs when exposure is steady at the higher level (in this case, a steady 60dB). This paper reviews many proposed explanations for this affect; while no single explanation is identified as most likely, several common ones are shown to be unlikely, and a set of plausible explanations remains. Among the explanations that are rejected is the common assumption that the annoyance after an increase is transient, and over time will dissipate as people adapt to the new noise level; in fact, evidence suggests that annoyance remains for years after a change. Also of note is that the one study that looked closely at whether attitudes toward a noise source is related to annoyance after an increase in noise found that neither prior attitude nor changes in attitude could account for the increased annoyance. This paper, and its many citations, are highly recommended for anyone addressing community responses to new or increased noise sources. Harbor Porpoise TTS, Behavioral Response at Moderate Noise Levels in Lab Tests Lucke, Seibert, Lepper, Blanchet. Temporary shift in masked hearing thresholds in a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) after exposure to seismic airgun stimuli. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125 (6), June 2009. Field researchers have observed for years that harbor porpoises appear more sensitive to noise than most other cetacean species, moving away from noise sources at greater distances than typically considered problematic (belugas and bowhead whale mothers are also more behaviorally sensitive to noise). This study was the first that measured harbor porpoise auditory sensitivity in the lab, using Auditory Evoked Potential measurements (brain-wave scanners that note auditory brain activity), and the results confirm that this species' avoidance behavior occurs at relatively low sound levels, and may be linked to a similarly low threshold of TTS (temporary hearing loss). The test animal was a wild-born ten-year old porpoise who has lived in captivity in Denmark for most of his life; the testing facility is open to the sea, so background noise (ranging roughly from 60-80dB pressure spectral density) is dominated by local shipping sounds. A single small (20 cubic inches) airgun was used as the sound source, gradually moving closer until a TTS was observed at one of the 3 tested hearing frequencies (4, 32, and 100kHz). The airgun source sound was, as is typical, loudest at low frequencies (max of 150dB SPL at 300Hz), but had significant energy at higher frequencies as well (100-110dB SPL from 2kHz to 5kHz), at the relatively close range used in this test (14-150m). The key finding was that the airgun sounds caused TTS in the 4kHz hearing range at received levels of 165.5dB SEL (202.1dB peak to peak); perhaps more importantly, recovery was quite slow, with reduced sensitivity (i.e., sound had to be louder than normal to be heard) still measured at 29 hours post-exposure. Based on the pattern of recovery, the researchers estimate that the animal's hearing returned to normal at about 55 hours. Also striking was the clear avoidance of the airgun sounds exhibited by Eigil, the test animal. While there was no apparent avoidance during initial exposures at 145dB SEL (174dB peak to peak), at levels above this, he tried to move away, and eventually resisted being placed in the exposure station (a small part of the pool where he was constrained during the actual tests, and where received level from the airguns was highest). This avoidance of the testing location continued for the rest of the 4.5 months that the tests continued. Current US regulatory measures, while still evolving, have zeroed in on a proposed TTS threshold of 198Db (SEL) for both single impulses and multiple impulses; this is based on earlier TTS studies of bottlenose dolphins and belugas. The authors of this paper point out that these "mid-frequency" cetaceans may well have different hearing sensitivity thresholds than "high-frequency cetaceans" such as the harbor porpoise; thus, this study provides new information that could inform regulatory thresholds for seismic surveys and pile-driving (during construction of wind farms, bridges, or piers) in harbor porpoise habitat. The US Navy, in estimating the numbers of animals that will be behaviorally affected by sonar training, has been singling harbor porpoises out as more sensitive to disruption, and assuming that any animal exposed to 120dB will potentially change its behavior to some degree. SEL Metric Does Not Simplify TTS Assessment Mooney, Nachtigall, Breese, Vlachos, Au. Predicting temporary threshold shifts in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): The effects of noise level and duration. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125 (3), March 2009. This study, from one of the leading researchers investigating Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS; temporary decline in hearing sensitivity) after exposure to loud noise in dolphins, calls into question one of the key advantages of the Sound Exposure Level metric. SEL measurements are designed to measure total sound exposure over a given period of time; simply stated, SEL remains constant when sound intensity increases while duration decreases (e.g., twice as loud for half as long should result in "equal energy", or the same SEL). The assumption was that SEL offered an "equal energy" metric that could allow biologists and ocean regulators to set a SEL threshold that would apply to many types of noise exposure. However, this study indicates that a given SEL dB level (arrived at via a mathematical equation combining sound energy from many noise pulses over time) did not seem to induce TTS in the single captive dolphin used in this study. As with other metrics, higher SELs were required to induce TTS with shorter duration sounds. By extension, the hypothesis that TTS is caused by a given level of sound energy (the "equal energy" hypothesis) is called into question. The relationship appears to be logarithmic, rather than linear. In this study, the sound source was short (20ms) digitally generated tone bursts. Related: Mid-Frequency Sonar Must Be Very Loud/Close to Trigger TTS Mooney, Nachtigall, Vlachos. Sonar-induced temporary hearing loss in dolphins. Biology Letters, doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0099 The same team more recently found the same difficulty with using SEL to predict TTS when using a recording of a US naval mid-frequency active sonar; short duration MFA "pings" had to be ramped up to a SEL of 214dB (equivalent to 203dB SPL rms) to induce a modest TTS of 6dB, which faded rapidly back to normal hearing levels in 20-40 minutes, a higher SEL than had induced TTS using longer duration sounds in the above study. This was the first hearing test on dolphins to use actual mid-frequency active sonar signals; previous studies had used sonar simulations or tones at similar frequencies. Ed. note: The usual caveats are in order here, as a long-time captive dolphin may not hear as well as his wild relatives; it is often assumed that captive dolphins are less sensitive both physiologically (hearing loss from living in noisy pens) and behaviorally (habituated to noise, and given food to remain in the test area), though the relative lack of clear studies on wild animals makes this assumption difficult to confirm. Wind Turbines Do Not Seem to Displace Wintering Farmland Birds Devereaux, Denny, Whittingham. Minimal effects of wind turbines on the distribution of wintering farmland birds. Journal of Applied Ecology 2008, 45, 1689-1694. In what be the first study examining whether wind farms displace birds, this team studied bird distributions around two small wind farms in England (each had 8 2MW 60m hub-height turbines in two rows). Birds of four different functional groups (seed-eaters, corvids, gamebirds, and skylarks) were counted at five distances (multiples of 150m, out to 750m). After controlling for crop types and boundary effects, there was no overall significant difference in distribution by distance. One species was an exception to the overall findings: the largest and least maneuverable bird, the common pheasant, was more common as distance increased. Two other species not included in the overall study of functional groups were also less abundant within 150m: the mallard and the wood pigeon, also both less maneuverable than most of the other birds in the area (the authors note that counts were low enough for these that the pattern may have been skewed by a few large flocks). In some cases (skylarks and corvids), the data showed statistically significant increases in bird numbers closer to the turbines. The authors make a point of noting that this winter study needs to be complemented by similar investigations of distribution during the breeding season, when birds may be affected differently. This study did NOT study noise, but just the presence of the turbines. Related: Compressor Station Noise Can Reduce Forest Bird Abundance Bayne, Habib, Boutin. Impacts of Chronic Anthropogenic Noise form Energy-Sector Activity on Abundance of Songbirds in the Boreal Forest. Conservation Biology, Volume 22, No. 5, 1186-1193, 2008. This study used an innovative study design to separate the effect of noise from the also-important effects of habitat disruption and edge effects caused by energy development. The authors compared bird distributions around (quiet) well pads and (constantly noise-producing) coalbed methane compressor stations in the forest of Alberta. They found that areas near well pads had a passerine density of 1.5 times higher than areas near compressor stations; one-third of the species studied showed this affect. The noise levels produced by the compressor stations is typically 75-95 dB(A) at the source, sometimes reaching 105dB(A) at large facilities; compressor noise is commonly heard at distances of well over 1km in the boreal forest; with 5000 compressor stations in boreal Alberta, the question of noise-related displacement is potentially significant. In addition to the overall tendency for passerines to be found in greater numbers near quiet energy installations than noisy ones (with three species especially affected), seven other species showed less dramatic but still noticeable differences, while eleven other species showed no difference. Red-eyed Vireos, White-throated sparrows, and Yellow-rumped warblers were particularly affected, with chickadees, jays, and wrens showing little effect. Right Whales Experience Dramatic Variations in Noise During Annual Movements Along North American Coast Parks, Urazghildiiev, Clark. Variability in ambient noise levels and call parameters of North Atlantic right whales in three habitat areas. J. Acous. Soc. Am. 125 (2), February 2009. This study used pop-up recorders to examine ambient noise conditions and right whale calls in three of the species' annual habitats: The Bay of Fundy, Cape Cod Bay, and the coast of Georgia. While the variability of calls was subtle, there was some indication that louder call patterns were in response to the peak sound in an area, rather than the overall noise level. However, the seasonal variability of noise experienced by this population is the key finding here. Overall sound levels were highest during the summer season spent in the Bay of Fundy, and lowest in the winter off Georgia. Likewise, the percentage of time that the habitat was "loud" (ambient noise over 105dB re 1uPa in the 50-350Hz frequency range of right whale contact calls) varied dramatically: in the Bay of Fundy, it was loud 85-95% of the time, in Cape Cod Bay it was loud 53-63% of the time, and off Georgia it was loud only 20-30% of the time. While the quiet is surely appreciated during calving time in Georgia, the high proportion of noisy times in the Bay of Fundy could impede summer social interaction, perhaps including mating. The population of North Atlantic right whales is precarious, and slowly decreasing; the researchers conclude with the urgent observation that "Locating the mating grounds for right whales and quantifying the noise occurring in their breeding areas may be crucial in understanding how increases in ambient noise may limit the range of communication signals that are vital for successful reproduction." Orcas Increase Volume of Calls in Synch With Increasing Boat Noise Holt, Noren, V. Veirs, Emmons, S. Veirs. Speaking up: Killer whales (Orcinus orca) increase their call amplitude in response to vessel noise. J. Acous. Soc. Am. 125(1), January 2009. This study found that Southern Resident killer whales, who are nearly always within earshot of boat traffic, increase their call amplitude by 1dB for every 1dB increase in background noise levels. Call amplitudes ranged from 133-174dB re 1uPa (mean 155dB), while background noise (measured in the 1-40kHz band) ranged from 98-123dB (mean 110dB), as nearby boat counts ranged from 1-46. Of course, source levels of calls vary, based on the type of call; still, there was a significant correlation between call source level and background noise for all call types. The detailed analysis was restricted to the one call type with the largest sample size. It appeared that call amplitude was relatively unaffected until background noise reached 105dB, though the researchers note a small sample size below that level, and suggest further investigation to see whether there is a threshold at some point. Above 105dB, calls increased 1dB for each 1dB of increased boat noise. Interestingly, they found no increase in duration of calls; an earlier study had found that calls were longer in noisy conditions. The researchers suggest that this difference may be due to differences in study design, or due to the fact that the current study site did not provide any "no boat noise" conditions (i.e., perhaps call duration increases at the first appearance of background noise, with call amplitude increasing with the noise). Boats Reduce Foraging Time in Orcas Lusseau, Bain, Williams, Smith. Vessel traffic disrupts the foraging behavior of southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca. Endangered Species Research, Vol. 6: 211-221, 2009. This recent paper continues a line of research undertaken by this team throughout this decade, which investigates the ways that boat traffic changes orca behavior, with a special focus on foraging activity (a 2004 paper by these researchers suggests that reduced foraging is the most significant impact on an animals' energy budget; ie, the extra energy used in, e.g., avoidance is much less significant than the much larger decrease in energy received when foraging is reduced). As in their study of the northern orcas of BC, and in line with studies by others of delphinid species in other parts of the world, this study found that orcas around San Juan Island reduced their time spent foraging by about 21% when boats were within 400m (from 76% of the time to 60% of the time). They had hoped to identify behavior patterns when 100m, 400m, and 1000m or more from boats; unfortunately, in the San Juan Islands, boat traffic is nearly constant, and there were very few opportunities to observe orcas with boats more than 1000m away. In the end, the authors show a clear affect with boats within 100m and 400m, as well as an apparently smaller affect when boats were within 1000m. The authors note that it is possible that the 400m affect is mainly caused by boats not far beyond 100m (a study with finer spatial analysis would be needed to clarify this). Nonetheless, they show that the current whale watching standard of remaining 100m away is not sufficient to avoid disrupting the key foraging behaviors of orcas. Related: Number of Vessels May Play Larger Role than Proximity of Vessels Williams, Bain, Smith, Lusseau. Effects of vessels on behavior patterns of individual southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca. Endangered Species Research, Vol. 6: 199-209, 2009. This companion paper by the same research team does not address foraging, but rather looks at overall behavioral effects of the same boat traffic measured in the above study. They find that behavioral changes such as swimming speed and directness of travel path changed slightly in response to boats, and in general, they found that changes were more correlated to the number of boats within 400 yards than by the proximity of the boats, whereas current whale watching standards address only how close each boat is, rather than total numbers of boats. They also note that, given the difficulties in finding clear patterns within this noisy environment, it may be hard for managers to feel that the data is solid enough to warrant additional protections. However, the authors conclude with the observation that it appears that this population is food-limited (many researchers consider declining salmon runs to be a primary factor in population stagnation and sometimes dips), and suggest that reducing the ambient noise levels would improve the whales' ability to find the limited food that remains in the region. Ed. note: This paper's focus on numbers of vessels corresponds well with the Holt paper directly above, which finds overall ambient noise is closely tied to the number of boats in the vicinity. Soundscapes, Acoustic Daylight, and Fish Hearing Richard Fay. Soundscapes and the sense of hearing in fishes. Integrative Zoology 2009; 4: 26-32. This fascinating review offers a wide-ranging consideration of the implications of a simple observation: goldfish have an acute sense of hearing, though they do not vocalize or engage in any known sound communication. What are they listening to? Fay introduces several key lines of research into fish hearing, some dating from the 80s, and some from the past decade. His own research, along with that of several others, has demonstrated that fish can isolate multiple sound sources (though studies cited are limited to two distinct sounds, rather than much more complex mixes of sound). From there, Fay suggests that fishes' sensitivity to particle motion in water, via their lateral lines, provides them the ability to engage in what in human perception is termed "auditory scene analysis," or the perception of a complex environment by distinguishing the many sound sources and their motion through the soundscape. The most intriguing suggestion in the paper is less solidly fleshed out: that fish make use of reflections of ambient sound to build this "auditory scene." That is, ambient noise can act as "acoustic daylight," with subtle differences in the echoes of the overall ambient sound bouncing off specific objects being a source of perception (as light reflects off objects to create visual perception). Fay mentions one study in which goldfish were shown to be able to perceive a single point source of delayed (as if echoed) signal in a noise field; this was apparently done with artificial noise sources, though the researchers (and Fay) propose that it represents an ability of goldfish to perceive the fish bladder of another fish re-radiating ambient noise. This may well be true, though this (and one other related study that showed fish using echoes from self-produced sound) do not yet cross the chasm of showing that fish process complex acoustic scenes by using reflections of ambient noise. Yet the point of this review is not to "make a case" for these higher order perceptual abilities, but rather to open our minds to the likely fact that fish listen to much more than simply communication signals, which have been overlooked due to our "profound ignorance of the other possible sounds and sources that probably have biological significance to fish," and to suggest that "environmental soundscapes (are) most probably important sources of information." This more modest first step is clearly successful here, opening the way to future studies of the undoubtedly subtle and complex sensory world of fishes. IUCN Report Highlights Noise Impact of Shipping in Mediterranean, Calls for MPAs to Provide "Acoustic Comfort" Ameer Abdulla, Olof London (editors). 2008. Maritime traffic effects on biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea: Review of impacts, priority areas and mitigation measures. Malaga, Spain: IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation. 184 pp. [DOWNLOAD(pdf)] [WEBSITE] This comprehensive look at Mediterranean shipping, from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, includes a long section in the early pages on noise impacts. Due to the concentration of shipping in the Mediterranean, ambient noise is 40dB higher than in relatively shipping-free seas such as the Sea of Cortez. Among the recommendations made in regards to noise are that "Much effort should be devoted to developing a legal framework within which underwater noise is recognized and regulated as a threat," and the advocacy of MPAs that are designed to provide acoustic protection to critical and productive habitats, where "noise levels should not be allowed to exceed ambient by more than a given value, including noise from sources located outside the MPA." In addition, the report stresses the importance of moving rapidly to develop regional hydrophone networks with which to monitor noise and develop current "noise budgets," as well as the need for expanded research with Auditory Brainstem Response techniques to examine hearing sensitivity and changes due to noise exposure, and analysis of stress hormones in response to noise. The authors of the report forge important new ground as they summarize: "In addition to defining which impacts should be avoided or mitigated, we also need to draw up a model of 'acoustic comfort' that we should guarantee to animals, at least over sufficiently extensive protected areas. This is a novel concept. It means we should define the (near to) zero-impact noise level that a habitat should have for each type of marine life." Yet Another Study Shows Dramatic Decrease in Dolphin Foraging Near Boats Antonella Arcangeli and Robert Crosti. The short-term impact of dolphin-watching on the behaviour of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in western Australia. Journal of Marine Animals and Their Ecology. Vol 2, No. 1. 2009. [DOWNLOAD PAPER] Over the past few years, a steady trickle of new studies have indicated that many species may decrease foraging activity in the presence of boats. In many situations, it can be difficult to have enough sightings without boats to create a data set large enough to have statistically significant results (e.g., orcas in the Pacific northwest, or dolphins in the Mediterranean). Also, the presence of the observation boat can confound results. This study took place in a bay near Bunbury, 200km south of Perth, western Australia, a location where these limitations could be overcome. The weather conditions in summer are generally calm, allowing excellent observing conditions, with the observation inflatable's motor often shut down; observations were only made in quite calm seas (Beaufort 2 or lower). A large local population of dolphins offered plenty of data, and the population is generally stable in place, engaging in a series of regular behaviors over relatively prolonged timeframes. Behavior "without" boats present was noted when no boats (other than the observation inflatable) were within 350m; behavior "with" boats present was noted when tour boats came within 150m. (Ed. note: it would be interesting to consider the data when tour boats were 150-350m distant, to assess whether the observed effects extend to greater distances). Over the course of 65 hours of observation by a single observer, 1028 3-minute behavioral samples were taken, 781 with no boat (average duration 69 min.), and 247 with a tour boat present (average duration 47 min.). As usual with such studies, several behavioral states were analyzed: Traveling, Socializing, Resting, Milling, Feeding, and Diving. All showed some change in the presence of boats, with Traveling, Milling, and Diving all increasing in the presence of boats, and Socializing, Feeding, and Resting decreasing. Of these, the most relevant to an animal's energy budget all were negatively affected: Traveling increased from 27% of the time to 46%, Resting decreased from 31% to 20%, and by far the largest energetic impact was seen in Feeding, which reduced from 20% of the time to just 7.6% of the time. This is the most dramatic decrease in feeding seen in such studies (others have tended to find a 25-35% decrease in foraging). This may indicate that the relatively localized population had plenty of time to eat when the boats were not present, and chose to either leave or play with the boats when they were present. The study did look at attraction/deterrence, finding that in in 20% of cases, dolphins moved closer to the boats, while in 28% of encounters, they moved away (about half the time, there was no spatial difference, though behaviors may still have changed). The Discussion section of this paper includes an unusually detailed comparison of the findings and the contexts of this and several similar studies, as well as consideration of the ways that in other settings, were human activity is more prevalent, these behavioral changes could have longer-term, population-level impacts. Excellent Review of the Effects of Human-Generated Sound on Fish Popper and Hastings. The effects of human-generated sound on fish. Integrative Zoology 2009; 4: 43-52 This recent review is a great place to get up to speed on the current state of our knowledge regarding the effects of human sound on fish. It begins by sketching a sense of the "natural" and 21st-century aquatic world's acoustic nature, and proceeds to review various possible physiological and behavioral effects of human sounds ranging from sonars to pile-driving, seismic surveys, shipping, and even research vessels themselves. The authors note that a significant challenge to improving our understanding of the behavioral effects of noise sources is our inability to observe wild fish over large enough areas (fish-finding sonars can only see fish out to a few hundred meters, not enough to observe possible avoidance of noise sources). As is usually the case with ocean noise issues, the concerns about noise and fish far exceed the ability of our limited data to discern possible effects. As the authors note, "Because of a striking paucity of well-designed and controlled experimental data, very little is actually known...Human-generated sounds, even from very high intensity sources, might have no effect in some cases or might result in effects that range from small and temporary shifts in behavior all the way to immediate death." Following are some highlights of the 2008 Research Summaries; see archive pages linked above for more entries Pinger Study Illustrates Extreme Variability of Real-world Sound Propagation Shapiro, Tougaard, Jorgensen, Kyne, Balle, Bernardez, Fjalling, Karlsen, Wahlberg. Transmission loss patterns from acoustic harassment and deterrent devices do not always follow geometrical spreading predictions. Marine Mammal Science, 25(1): 53067 (January 2009) This study was designed to investigate why acoustic harassment devices, or pingers, on fishing nets do not always succeed in keeping dolphins away. The researchers did a series of recordings around pingers of several different styles, and found that the received sound levels did not simply increase as they came closer, but fluctuated dramatically; thus, animals approaching the nets may not have clear sense of how far away they are. While the results here are somewhat mixed for pingers (overall, the average sound level DOES go up as the animals approach, albeit mixed with large variations), the study offers a fascinating glimpse into the real-world factors that will often confound simple geometric or spherical-spreading models generally used to predict sound exposure levels around any sound source. The researchers suggest that many factors likely contribute to the variation: changes in directivity of the source, subtle differences in source level for each ping, and, most influentially, as a result of the constructive and destructive interference of direct, surface-reflected, and bottom-reflected sound waves. Ed. note: This graph is a great picture of the degree of variation seen. Note a routine variation of 10-15dB, with some more dramatic shifts: at 400m, the sound shifted from around 127dB to over 150dB; and again, at just under 200m, from just above 130dB to over 160dB (around a general average at that distance of perhaps 150db). Given the increasing concern among biologists about behavioral disruptions triggered by noise, it is extremely important to acknowledge that real-world exposures can vary to this degree; many more animals respond behaviorally at 150dB and above, than down at 120-140dB. Related: Beaked Whales Very Sensitive to Pingers; By-Catch Reduced to Zero over 11 Years Carretta, Barlow, Enriquez. Acoustic pingers eliminate beaked whale bycatch in a gill net fishery. Marine Mammal Science, 24(4):956-961 (October 2008). This study documents a dramatic shift in beaked whale bycatch by gill nets set for sharks and swordfish in the California Current. Over the first 6 years of data, 1990-1996, 33 beaked whales died in the nets; after installation of pingers in 1996, NO beaked whales were caught by the nets over the succeeding 11 years, though 260 cetaceans of 11 other species did drown in the nets. Ed. note: this result seems to dovetail well with observed reactions of beaked whales to other sounds; it appears they are especially sensitive to noise, perhaps at a wide range of frequencies. Passive Acoustic Detection of Beaked Whales: Easy Within 1km, Nearly Impossible Beyond 4km Zimmer, Harwood, Tyack, Johnson, Madsen. Passive acoustic detection of deep-diving beaked whales. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, November 2008, Volume 124, Issue 5, pp. 2823-2832. Beaked whales spend very little time at the surface, with foraging dives that last an hour or more, including about 30 minutes of active echolocation at the feeding depth. Visual detection is very difficult, so the possibility of using Passive Acoustic Detection (PAD) is an attractive complement to visual spotting. However, these high-frequency clicks attenuate rapidly. According to this paper, acoustic modeling suggests that in "good conditions,"e.g. wind speed of 2 m/s, a hydrophone close to the surface should detect beaked whales with a high probability within .7km. At the other end of the detection range, no whales would be detected at distances greater than 4km, except in very low ambient noise or unusually good propagation conditions. The detection curve generated by the models, drops steeply as distance increases, with a relative leveling off that suggest roughly 50% detection when whales are 1.5-3.5km distant. Additionally, the researchers substituted some actual dive profile data obtained in D-Tag studies, and found that in these instances, detection probability may rise somewhat, with 80% detection being possible at distances of 1.5-2.5 km. Actual detection of real whales is complicated by the fact that the sound of the clicks is highly directional; only clicks directed nearly directly toward the receiver will be heard at the modeled distances, but echolocating whales do scan in many directions, so at least some clicks from any whale should be detected. Finally, the relatively quiet interval between deep foraging dives can be as long as 110 minutes, meaning that listening time should be roughly 140 minutes to have a high probability of detecting if beaked whales are present. This, in turn, suggests that a slow-moving vessel (such as gliders or drifting buoys) will be more successful than a fast-moving active sonar vessel. (That is, if detections are only going to occur within roughly 4km, the listening platform should not move out of a relatively similar area during the 2-hour-plus PAD session.) Ed. note: While it has still not been confirmed to all observers' satisfaction, there is some evidence that beaked whales affected by mid-frequency active sonar may well have been tens of km from sonar vessels. Thus, PAD may be useful for avoiding nearby exposure, but may not fully mitigate for effects that could occur at greater distances, including fleeing in ways that disrupt the whales' post-dive recovery and oxygen/nitrogen rebalancing. Detailed Review of Sound Exposure Impacts on Puget Sound Orcas Released by NOAA Marla Holt, Sound Exposure and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca): A Review of Current Knowledge and Data Gaps. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-89, February 2008. 77pp. [DOWNLOAD REPORT(pdf)] This review includes summaries of most of the studies of ambient and shipping noise in the range of the southern resident orca pods of the Pacific Northwest. Topics covered include ambient sound patterns, shipping noise, whale watching noise, orca auditory capabilities and auditory effects of sound exposure, including masking and hearing loss, and behavioral changes in the presence of excess sound. An important section looks at the emerging concept of "zones of influence" of sound: the zones of audibility, response, masking, and hearing loss or injury. The report concludes with a section that assesses the likelihood of acoustic impacts and suggestions for future research. The report is a treasure-trove of clear information on noise/sound impacts. Among the points that stood out in my reading are the following. Ambient noise is generally elevated at least 10-15dB by small boats, and 20-25dB by large ships (another study indicates increases more in the range of 50-70dB in the presence of various boats). The section on hearing sensitivity makes a point about captive animal testing that is rarely noted: when animals receive negative reinforcement for reporting a "false positive" (i.e. responding as if hearing a sound, when no sound was played), they may well become conditioned to be conservative in their response to faint sounds, and so the results can easily underestimate the hearing sensitivity of the species (for orcas, only two studies have been done on captive whales to assess hearing sensitivity curves). Tentative measurements of the critical ratios for orcas (tentative because, again, there are few test subjects) suggest that they are more affected by masking than many other toothed whales: to hear a target sound in noise, the target sound must be 20dB louder than ambient at 10kHz, and 20dB louder than the noise levels at 80kHz. There are some indications that orcas spend less time feeding and more time traveling or resting when boats are nearby (within 100m or 400m); likewise, they may travel in less direct paths in the presence of boats within 1000m (though interestingly, one study suggests that when there are many boats present, paths are more direct; perhaps there is little use in trying to avoid boats in this instance). An interesting study (based on models, not measured/observed results in the field) suggest that the presence of boats can significantly decrease the detection range for an orca echolocating on a salmon: boats at 400m decreased the detection range by roughly 35-90%, and boats at 100m decreased the detection range to as little as 0-20m, or 90-100%. European Cetacean Society Workshop Addresses Offshore Wind Turbine Impacts on Marine Mammals Evans, P.G., Ed. ASCOBANS/ECS Workshop: Offshore Wind Farms and Marine Mammals: Impacts and Methodologies for Assessing Impacts. ECS Special Publication Series No. 49, February 2008. 70pp. [DOWNLOAD REPORT] Prospect of Widespread Offshore Development Requires Cumulative Impact Analysis Simmonds, Dolman. All at sea: renewable energy production in the context of marine nature conservation. This survey of potential conservation impacts of offshore wind development quotes several previous studies that address specific concerns. Madsen et al. (2006) comment that “if the very large offshore wind farms are realised... this could involve construction activities at several locations in the area [of the German Bight] simultaneously every summer for the next decade.” Madsen, P.T., Wahlberg, M., Tougaard, J., Lucke, K. and Tyack, P. 2006. Wind turbine underwater noise and marine mammals: implications of current knowledge and data needs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser., 309: 279-295. Wahlberg and Westerberg (2005) concluded that fish behaviour could be affected at ranges of several kilometres. Wahlberg, M. and Westerberg, H. 2005. Hearing in fish and their reactions to sounds from offshore wind farms. Mar Ecol Prog Ser., 288: 295-309. Carstensen et al. (2007) commented that ‘given the extensive plans for expanding the offshore wind energy sector, it is important to know the effect of single wind farms and well as the cumulative affects of several wind farms within the range of each marine mammal species”. Indeed, it would make good sense to consider the cumulative impact of all new developments on populations and yet, in our experience, this rarely seems to happen. Carstensen, J., Henriksen, O.D. and Teilmann, J. 2007. Impacts on harbour porpoises from offshore wind farm construction: acoustic monitoring of echolocation activity using porpoise detectors (T-PODs). Marine Ecology Progress Series 321: 295–308. UK Offshore Development Scaling Rapidly to Much Larger Facilities Prior, McMath. Marine mammals and noise form offshore renewable energy projects—UK developments. This paper notes that offshore wind farm development in the UK has taken place in licensing "rounds," with rapid increases in the size of wind farms being built. Round 1 was an initial demonstration phase, with eleven projects permitted so far (and five in operation), each relatively small in scale (less than 30 turbines) and relatively short construction phases (as short as one month). Fifteen Round 2 projects have been proposed (with four approved so far); these are larger developments often including hundreds of turbines. Round 2 construction will likely take place over a number of seasons, so construction disturbance will be longer and the impacts could be different than those seen in Round 1. In addition, piles of up to 6 feet in diameter have been proposed to support larger turbines; this will lead to substantially increased noise during construction, with disturbance impacts extending over tens of kilometers. Proposals for Round 3 are currently undergoing Strategic Environmental Assessment; however, the proposed capacity of development may be as much as four times the eventual level built out under Rounds 1 and 2 combined. Concern over cumulative impacts may be prominent during the consenting process, particularly if construction operations on adjacent sites takes place concurrently, giving rise to the potential for longer term and geographically widespread increases in underwater noise. Porpoises Numbers in Wind Farms Can Vary Dramatically Teilmann, Tougaard, Carstensen. Effects from offshore wind farms on harbour porpoises in Denmark. Included in: In a paper summarizing the results from acoustic monitoring at two Danish offshore wind farms, results clearly show a dramatic difference in harbour porpoise responses. At one wind farm, Horns Reef, porpoises numbers decreased modestly during construction (both inside the farm in in monitoring sites 10km away), and decreased a bit more during early start-up, when maintenance activity was highest, but rebounded to baseline (pre-construction) levels early in the first year of normal operations. However, at the Nysted wind farm, the decrease in porpoise numbers that likewise began during construction was not reversed during the first two years of operations: porpoises mostly avoid the wind farm (though numbers were slowly increasing by the end of the second year), while they returned to the areas 10km away once construction ended. The authors note two possible explanations for the different long-term impacts of the wind farms. The area around Horns Reef is an important harbour porpoise habitat, with a larger natural population density; it is possible that the "the porpoises around Nysted are not particularly interested in the area and will simply avoid it if disturbed." In addition, the area around Nysted is relatively sheltered, whereas Horns Reef has higher wind and waves, and thus a higher background natural ambient noise level, so that "the relative noise level from the turbines is higher and audible to the porpoises at greater distances at Nysted than at Horns Reef." The authors conclude that "it can be concluded that the same species may react differently to similar types of disturbance (wind farms) in different localities. This is an important conclusion for future monitoring programmes of wind farms and other offshore installations." Orcas Avoid Mid-frequency Sonar Signals, but not LFAS; Herring Unaffected Kvadsheim, Benders, Miller, Doksaeter, Knudsen, Tyack, Nordlund, Lam, Samarra, Kleivane, Godo. Herring (slid), killer whales (spekknogger) and sonar - the 3S-2006 cruise report with preliminary results. Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI). 30 April 2007 This paper reports preliminary results from an ambitious multi-national Controlled Exposure Experiment using acoustic D-tags, which allow researchers to record received sound levels while charting dive patterns. Six orcas were tagged, with 17 hours of data collected, with one animal exposed to LFAS signals, two to mid-frequency active sonar signals, and one used as a control, fewer samples than hoped. The whale exposed to LFAS signal did not change its behavior, nor did its companions. However, the group exposed to mid-frequency sonar signals ceased feeding and moved rapidly away; in addition, they exhibited an unusual dive pattern, diving roughly twice as deep (over 60m) as normal (20-45m), including a highly unusual reversal of their ascent (coming up to 15m from the surface, then retreating again to 60m). [Ed. note, not part of the report narrative, based on observation of included diagrams: Four other dives during the 35-minute sonar transmission were within the normal range of depth (the deep dive was the third of five dives during sonar transmission), with three longer than normal rest periods at the surface during the hour after sonar transmission ceased.] Received levels did not exceed 150dB re 1uPa. Looking at longer-term responses, while the experimental use of sonar in the herring trials did not seem to deter orcas from the general area, by contrast, no orcas were seen during three days of a planned Navy exercise in the area that included mid-frequency sonar use. The herring trials used bottom-mounted sensors to chart the mean depth of a school of herring as a sonar vessels passed nearby. Herring at shallow depths (25-50m) tended to show a minor downward reaction as the sonar source ship passed overhead, while herring located deeper, or in less dense schools, showed no detectable reaction; no horizontal avoidance was seen. While herring hearing curves suggest they should be able to clearly hear LFAS signals, but not mid-frequency signals, the responses were the same for all signals (including ship-only, no sonar), suggesting that the herring may have been responding to the sound of the ship, rather than the sonar signal; such reactions to ships have been seen for many fish species. A related trial using orca echolocation signals on the herring showed more of a response, suggesting that the herring could distinguish between the mid-frequency sonar and the orca sounds, but the three trials all produced slightly different response patterns, suggesting the need for further study. Review of Possible Ways that Increasing Ocean Noise May Affect Marine Mammals Peter L. Tyack. Implications for marine mammals of large-scale changes in the marine acoustic environment. Journal of Mammalogy, 89(3): 549-558, 2008. [DOWNLOAD PAPER(pdf)] In this wide-ranging literature review, Peter Tyack of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute sketches the history of research into the effects of noise on marine life, with some references as well to effects seen in terrestrial creatures. He begins by noting that while acute disturbance of individuals attracts the most attention, the likely more profound effects of chronic disturbance on population vitality (success in foraging and mating) are much harder to discern. Several examples are presented of studies that documented both temporary and long-term abandonment of key habitat when loud noise was present (including gray whales abandoning a birthing lagoon for several years, then returning when the salt production facility was abandoned, and dolphins moving away from foraging habitat when shipping traffic is heavy). Next, Tyack turns to a detailed examination of the question of whether global shipping may be dramatically decreasing the area within which whales can hear each other's calls, beginning with the thought that the unintentional consequences of increased shipping noise may be creating unexpected problems analogous to those created by the introduction of industrial-waste gasses into the atmosphere, which went unnoticed for decades. Following on models created in the 1970s, updated to take into account the hundred-fold increase in shipping noise since then, he notes that "the increase in ambient noise from shipping seems to have reduced the detectable range of low frequency whale calls from many hundreds of kilometers in the prepropeller ocean down to tens of kilometers in many settings today." (For example, the finback whale range shrank from at least 400km in the pre-engine ocean to 90km in the 1960s, down to 32km today.) He notes that, as populations of great whales fall, the separation between them may increase, with these increases in shipping noise compounding the challenge of finding mates or sharing information about active feeding grounds. However, he then goes on to point out that there is, so far, no clear evidence that the great whales do indeed communicate over long distances; clear responses to the calls of other whales have been seen only at ranges of 10km or less; the fact that a human acoustic sensor can detect a signal at 400km does not necessarily mean that the whales themselves rely on hearing signals at such distances. He suggests that acoustic tags may help to clarify whether distant, faint signals from conspecifics (whales of the same species) do in fact trigger any discernable reaction (calling in response, or moving toward the distant whale). While noting that it may be impossible to design scientifically valid studies to uncover the possible cost of "lost opportunities" when communication is drowned out by shipping noise, an indirect way to get at this question is within reach of researchers: if animals alter their calls in noisy conditions, we can infer that the noise is disrupting their normal communication channels. And indeed, Tyack notes a long list of studies that show such changes, such as beluga whales and manatees increasing the volume of their calls in noisy conditions, and an apparently dramatic increase in the frequency (pitch) of right whale calls in sections of the ocean where low-frequency shipping noise is more intense. While noting that these and other studies "suggest that vessel noise clearly does interfere with communication in marine mammals," Tyack also notes that we do not know how costly these adaptations are, or what noise level would preclude such compensation. Also, he asks, "When does noise so degrade the usefulness of a habitat that animals leave? Can this level be predicted by the compensation behavior?" As of yet, these are unanswered, and difficult to answer, questions. Finally, Tyack turns to research that show clear disturbance reactions to ocean noise, including killer whales staying 4km away from acoustic harassment signals near fish farms, dolphin numbers dropping to 8% of normal within 3.5 km of similar noise-makers on other fish farms (with those small numbers implying that the avoidance distance was far greater). He notes that the degree of displacement or behavioral response is not necessarily a direct indicator of the severity of impact, suggesting that "if an animal is in bad enough condition that the risk of altering behavior is high, then it may be less likely to show a disturbance response." For example, hungry animals will linger in a feeding area the longest. He also notes that some responses to noise may be caused by noise sources that resemble a predator's call (as in recent modeling Tyack has done that suggests beaked whale decompression sickness may result from a long series of near-surface dives as the whales flee sonar signals that they mistake for orca calls). He cites some compelling studies on terrestrial animals showing that repeated disturbance exacts high costs in reproductive success and overall health (including a study of geese that showed that when undisturbed, geese increased their body mass and had a 46% breeding success, whereas in nearby areas where farmers scared them off their fields, they did not gain mass and had a breeding success of only 17%). To conclude, Tyack suggests that there are several lines of research that have so far received little attention, which could help to move key understanding of noise impacts forward, including: focusing on the most vulnerable animals as subject of study into the effects of disturbance, further study of the possibility that predator responses underlay key behavioral impacts (including fleeing, increased vigilance, and avoiding habitats), and following up on the recent theory of allostasis (behavioral changes that allow an animal to maintain equilibrium in the face of external environmental changes or stressors) as a way of understanding the costs and benefits of changing behavior in the face of noise. Workshop Report: Encouraging Establishment of Noise-Free Zones in and Around Marine Protected Areas Agardy, Aguilar, Canadas, Engel, Frantzis, Hatch, Hoyt, Kashner, LaBrecque, Martin, Notarbartolo di Sciara, Pavan, Servidio, Smith, Want, Weilgart, Wintle, Wright. 2007. A Global Scientific Workshop on Spatio-Temporal Management of Noise. Report of the Scientific Workshop. 44 pages. [DOWNLOAD(pdf)] In June 2007, a workshop was held in the Canary Islands to consider the potentials for extending the management principles used in Marine Protected Areas to provide some protection from anthropogenic noise. Fundamental to the purpose and effectiveness of MPAs are "spatio-temporal restrictions" (STRs) of specific human activities: for example, excluding fishing, from a specific area (spatial restriction), or sometimes at times of special biological importance, such as spawning (temporal restriction). Few of today's MPAs are large enough to provide protection from "elevated levels of ensonification:" buffers of tens of kilometers would be necessary for protection from mid-frequency sound, and a hundred or more kilometers from low-frequency sound. Of today's 350 MPAs that include some cetacean habitat, 64 are large enough to provide some mid-frequency protection, 20 are large enough to provide at least some low-frequency protection (e.g. shipping), and only the 6 largest are probably sufficient to protect from shipping noise. (of course, shipping is not generally excluded from MPAs: this is merely a hint at the scale of noise STRs that would be useful.) The Workshop report includes several key sections: - Descriptions of some existing attempts to provide STRs focused on noise: In 2003, Brazil established a large buffer zone around a small existing MPA, to exclude the sounds of seismic survey airguns from entering the MPA (the buffer was withdrawn by a court due to jurisdictional issues; attempts are underway to re-establish it). In the Canary Islands, a 50 nautical mile buffer zone has been established around the islands, in which active sonar is not allowed (there have been some subsequent strandings that raise questions whether this is large enough a buffer). - Recommendations for MPA managers, centered on a framework for making management decisions regarding possible noise-related STRs. - Recommendation that noise-producers provide more information, and longer lead times prior to operations near MPAs, to allow for analysis of effects of proposed noise. A far-reaching element of this is a call for use of "detectability curves" to reflect how easy it is to find various species of whales, and to insure that more effort is made to find hard-to-detect whales, rather than assuming that they are not present if none are found using standard observational techniques. - Recommended measures that could reduce the noise impacts of the primary noise producing activities. - Suggested MPAs or proposed MPAs where noise-oriented STRs could be introduced, as case studies for future MPA management protocols. These include the PELAGOS Sanctuary in the northwestern Mediterranean, off France, Italy, and Monaco, the Alborian Sea/Strait of Gibraltar, the Bay of Bengal, and East Asian waters off Japan, China, and the Philippines. Ocean Fish Vary Widely in Startle Response to Noise Kastelein, van der Heul, Verboom, Jennings, van der Veen, de Haan. Startle response of captive North Sea fish species to underwater tones between 0.1 and 64kHz. Marine Environmental Research 65 (2008) 369-377. This study exposed eight marine fish species to pure tones ranging from 100Hz to 64kHz. The tests took place in specially designed quiet tanks; species were chosen in part due to their economic importance to fisheries. Some species did not respond to the sound at all, even at the highest dB levels that could be produced, while others exhibited very clear startle responses to a relatively narrow range of frequencies (generally 100-700Hz), at received levels of about 100dB (re 1uPa, rms) for the lowest frequencies, with the startle threshold increasing to the range of 160dB as frequency increased to 700Hz. Only one species responded to higher frequencies than this: Horse mackerel responses extended up to 2kHz. The species that did not startle at all were Atlantic cod, Pollack, Common eel, and Atlantic herring. Horse mackerel startled to the widest range of frequencies, with Sea bass also quite responsive; Thicklip mullet and Pout both startled to a narrower range of frequencies. Interestingly, for fish that have established audiograms, it appears that the startle response does not begin until the noise is 10-30dB above the hearing threshold; and, again, some fish showed no startle even at levels up to 45dB above their presumed hearing threshold. The researchers note that these results on captive fish to pure tones can not be reliably extrapolated to wild fish in varied contexts or to more complicated sounds, but suggest that the extreme variability seen here is an important consideration in more natural situations as well. They suggest further study using "sounds more similar to anthropogenic noise, to more complicated sounds, such as sweeps, and to the actual broad-band noise of, for instance, wind turbines and shipping..." Related research: Some Fish Affected by Sound of Pingers R.A. Kastelein et al. Effects of acoustic alarms, designed to reduce small cetacean bycatch in gillnet fisheries, on the behavior of North Sea fish species. Marine Environmental Research 64 (2007) 160180 Pingers are used in large fishing nets, to alert dolphins so they avoid entanglement and drowning. This study found that some pinger signals seem to affect he behavior of Sea bass, mullet, and herring (increased swimming speeds and/or movement toward or away from surface). The researchers note that "Pingers developed to reduce odontocete bycatch should not deter the fisheries’ target species from the gillnets, and should not deter target or non-target fish from ecologically important areas such as feeding and breeding grounds, or mask their communication sounds"	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19273000
UPDATE ON THIS STORY: As of this morning, a shift in the winds and an opening in the ice created a passageway for the trapped whales. As of 8:00 AM Quebec time, they were well on their way. Two scouts sent to check on the killer whales around 8 a.m. local time found a passage of water had been created in Hudson Bay all of the way to the open sea – nearly 25 miles away — and the ice hole that the animals had been trapped in was empty, said Petah Inukpuk, mayor of Inukjuak, an Inuit village home to 1,800, in Quebec. “They are free. They are no longer here. When there is a new moon, the water current is activated. It could have helped … completely trap them, but in this case it caused an open passage out to the open water,” he told NBC News, adding that they probably freed themselves overnight. “It was mother nature that helped them. … They are no longer icelocked.” [Source] ORIGINAL STORY POSTED LAST NIGHT: The famed orca, commonly known as the killer whale, has long captured the imagination of animal lovers the world over. From the whimsy of Free Willy, to the outrage of Japan’s brutal capture of orca pods, and certainly the horror of a trainer’s accidental death by an orca at Florida’s Sea World, this majestic beast (in truth, a dolphin, though the largest of the species) has inspired both terror and fascination. Still on the endangered list in some parts of the world (a status currently being argued in Washington State’s Puget Sound), the survival and well-being of the killer whale is important to many from the perspective of wildlife and marine preservation. Which is why the news of a family pod of twelve killer whales (some stories say the number is eleven) trapped in the rapidly closing ice of the eastern top of the Hudson Bay in Quebec, a death sentence for the group, has created such an outpouring of concern. CBC News covered the story: Twelve orcas were spotted at the breathing hole at the eastern top of Hudson Bay by an Inukjuak hunter Tuesday. The federal government is sending a team of experts tomorrow to evaluate whether they can be saved. Earlier Wednesday, Peter Inukpuk, mayor of the small Inuit village, called on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to send out an icebreaker to help the whales. He conjectured that the pod, consisting of two adults and a number of younger whales, could be a single family. He said it’s clear that the whales are in trouble. “It appears from time to time that they panic,” said Inukpuk. “Other times they are gone for a long time, probably looking for another open space, which they are not able to find.” It is believed that should the icebreakers get there in time, they would be capable of opening up a route for the jeopardized orca family. But getting them there is expensive, and their assignments are encumbered by logistics: there are currently three commercial ships stuck in ice on Quebec’s Saint Lawrence River and it’s likely they will be considered the priority, dooming the pod to imminent death. However, there are other methods of rescue that bear consideration. According to an article at WorldNews, sometimes the low-tech methods even work better: Geoff Carroll, a wildlife biologist with the who helped release two California gray whales in a similar situation that made international headlines in 1988, said his experience in the effort known as “Operation Breakthrough” also showed the power of other methods. “Our experience up here was that it seemed like the local knowledge and the low-tech approaches to working with the whales were the ones that worked best,” Carroll said. “It seemed like there were lots of high-tech efforts made to get those whales out and they kind of failed one after the other. What really worked was when we got local guys with chainsaws cutting one hole after another and we could kind of walk the whales out that way.” While this event is tragic in its own right, the disturbing fact is that it’s not as rare as we’d like to think. The reason? Yep…global warming. Whale expert Christian Ramp, a researcher with the Mingan Island Cetacean Study of Quebec, says orcas are not an “ice-loving species,” more typically moving north in pursuit of prey during the summer months but retreating from colder waters long before the ice moves in. In this circumstance? He said with climate change, it appears the animals are straying further and further north — and perhaps, staying too long. “It seems the ice dynamics are changing very quickly,” said Ramp. “Suddenly a huge expanse of open water is clogged up, and they miss the chance to get to open water. “The risk is that the hole freezes up, and they basically just drown.” […] “Ice entrapment is the main cause of mortality in many species,” Ramp said. Deborah Giles, a graduate student researcher at the University of California — Davis, agrees. She says clearly the biggest obstacle to the whales’ survival is if the hole ultimately closes; if they can keep it open, they have a fighting chance: Giles said food would likely not yet be a problem because the larger orcas should be able to survive on their fat stores for several weeks. But survival is less certain for the smaller mammals, including one that appeared to be nursing. While Mayor Peter Inukpuk believes the whales’ behavior indicates stress and panic, Giles thinks their leaping out of the water may also have other purposes: She noted that the animals may not be in distress, as the adult males could be seen engaging in the normal behavior of “spyhopping” — or shooting straight out of the water. “It’s possible that they are doing that not necessarily to get a bigger breath as somebody had indicated but rather to look around,” Giles said, adding that killer whales can see equally well above water as below. “It’s also possible that they coming up as often as there is (is) a way to keep that ice open,” she said. “They certainly, I would say, are smart enough to recognize that this is their breathing hole and they … don’t want to have that close up.” [Source] While the number of whales in this trapped group may be in dispute and the reasons for their actions a matter of interpretation, what cannot be argued is why this event occurred and why the unfolding story is of global importance: simply put, climate change affects us all – animal, vegetable, mineral. As scientists and politicians continue to debate its solution, as Republicans here in this country dismiss and dispute even the reality of climate change despite the abundant proof of its inexorable expansion, it seems important to pay close attention to real-life examples of its impact. To watch, with our own eyes, how this phenomenon is affecting our environment and the living things in it. It’s one thing to sit in a comfortable office and deny climate change, it’s another to stand on the edge of a rapidly diminishing ice opening and watch a family of glorious orca whales panic in the face of their death. If that doesn’t inspire an urge to get up and do something to help change the trajectory of this environmental crisis…you might just be a Republican. Watch the video below and if you’re so moved, click to The Nature Conservancy to find out how you can contribute to the preservation of our global oceans and their wildlife:	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19279000
Not only does it have over 800 illustrations and photographs but it's jam packed, full of information for your homeschool or any supplement to your children's learning. In my opinion it would make a great "Summer project" book to keep the kiddos on their toes and help them learn while having fun! The World Of Science is broken down into 7 different sections covering topics entitled: Matter and Chemicals - Energy, Motion and Machines - Electricity and Magnetism - Light and Sound - Earth and Life - Space and Time - and includes over 60 Science experiments. The photographs and diagrams are just right to help you teach your budding scientists. My 3 scientists range in age from 6 years old to 10 years and the information is shared in such a way that from my Kindergartner to my 5th grader, they were able to learn, understand, and enjoy what we've done so far. We've been studying the atmosphere, covered in the Earth and Life section. One of the things we learned about is the Greenhouse effect. The boys are looking forward to doing more and I have a feeling we'll have conquered all the experiments by the end of the summer. They love this type of learning and it sticks with them so much better than plain questions and answers! The World Of Science is a wonderful addition to our homeschool curriculum. I highly recommend it. We are using it as a supplement to our main course and it covers enough topics that it would make a nice addition to any curriculum. It reads much like an encyclopedia, thorough yet made for children to easily understand. The introduction begins with, "In the beginning God Created the Heavens and the Earth." It goes on to explain about the Scientific method, talks about Real science, various fields of science, and even an explanation as to why we should do science. I think every home could benefit by having such a well rounded resource. We used a tin tray I had on hand with a plastic lid that attaches recycled toilet paper/ or paper towel rolls for the seed cups sand and soil from outside & seeds from the dollar store (you could also use grass with roots or flowers from outside) 1. Place about 1 inch of sand in the bottom of container tray 2. Cut paper rolls down to 2 inches - 2 1/2 inches 3. Places cups in tray and push them down into the sand 4. Fill individual cups with soil 5. Use a finger to make a little hole to drop seeds into 6. Cover back up with the soil - Water them in well 7. Cover with plastic lid and set tray in indirect sunlight (you don't want to fry your little plants but they do need light - a windowsill is a good spot) Within just a few minutes the boys noticed that our little greenhouse was beginning to fog up and collect condensation on the plastic lid - before we've even sprouted our little carrots - they're understanding the "greenhouse effect" From other cool sites: Check out a couple of really fun ways to make your own greenhouses - grow some plants - and learn about the What kind of Science are you doing in your homeschool? Do you have any fun ideas to share?	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19285000
In Situ Measurement and Equalization of Sound Reproduction Systems The concept of frequency response is of basic importance to audio reproduction equipment. When analyzing electronic equipment, this characteristic is seldom a problem of measurement or interpretation. It is a problem, however, for acoustical transducers such as loudspeakers. Unlike electronic equipment which has both electrical input and output terminals, the loudspeaker has an electrical input terminal but an acoustical output. This acoustical output is further complicated by the fact that a room is always interposed between the loudspeaker and the acoustical measuring device. With the human as the ultimate evaluation instrument, various measurement and interpretation questions arise regarding frequency response, variations among listeners, and effect of program material. The major question, however, is just what the frequency response of a particular sound reproduction system should be. In order to answer these questions, several psychoacoustical experiments were devised, based upon a listener's ability to detect differences. These experiments and their results are described in detail as they relate to the following types of sound reproduction systems: 1) sound reinforcement systems, 2) studio monitoring systems, 3) home high-fidelity systems. Click to purchase paper or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES! This paper costs $20 for non-members, $5 for AES members and is free for E-Library subscribers.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19287000
Smart Phones Are Changing Real World Privacy Settings Thursday, May 10, 2012 TAU research finds that smart phone users develop new concepts of privacy in public spaces With endless applications, high-speed wireless Internet access, and free messaging services, smart phones have revolutionized the way we communicate. But at what cost? According to researchers at Tel Aviv University, the smart phone is challenging traditional conceptions of privacy, especially in the public sphere. Dr. Tali Hatuka of TAU's Department of Geography and Dr. Eran Toch of TAU's Department of Industrial Engineering have teamed to measure the impact of the smart phone phenomenon on privacy, behavioral codes, and the use of public space. Their early results indicate that although spaces such as city squares, parks, or transportation were once seen as public meeting points, smart phone users are more and more caught up in their technology-based communications devices than their immediate surroundings. Smart phone users are 70 percent more likely than regular cellphone users to believe that their phones afford them a great deal of privacy, says Dr. Toch, who specializes in privacy and information systems. These users are more willing to reveal private issues in public spaces. They are also less concerned about bothering individuals who share those spaces, he says. Inside a private bubble Dr. Hatuka says that smart phones create the illusion of "private bubbles" around their users in public spaces. She also believes that the design of public spaces may need to change in response to this technology, not unlike the ways in which some public areas have been designated as "smoking" and "non-smoking." Dr. Toch also notes that smartphones and personal computing devices are becoming more "context-aware," adjusting themselves in terms of brightness and volume to the user's location and activity. To examine how smart phones have impacted human interactions in public and private spaces, the researchers designed an in-depth survey. Nearly 150 participants, half smart phone users and half regular phone users, were questioned about how telephone use applied to their homes, public spaces, learning spaces, and transportation spaces. While regular phone users continued to adhere to established social protocol in terms of phone use — postponing private conversations for private spaces and considering the appropriateness of cell phone use in public spaces — smart phone users adapted different social behaviors for public spaces. They were 50 percent less likely to be bothered by others using their phones in public spaces, and 20 percent less likely than regular phone users to believe that their private phone conversations were irritating to those around them, the researchers found. Feeling lost without a phone According to the researchers, smart phone users were also more closely "attached" to their mobile devices. When asked how they felt when they were without their phones, the majority of smart phone owners chose negative descriptors such as "lost," "tense," or "not updated." Regular phone users were far more likely to have positive associations to being without their phones, such as feeling free or quiet. The next phase of the study will be a more in-depth analysis of how smart phone users incorporate this technology into their daily lives. It requires users to install an application that the researchers developed called Smart Spaces. The application is designed to track where the participants go over a three-week period and how they use their phones while there. This will give researchers a better idea of how smart phone users interact in both public and private spaces during the course of a typical day. Dr. Hatuka and Dr. Toch believe that their complete findings can reveal clues about the future of public space and how it will be designed in order to meet the needs of those it serves. "We are entering a new phase of public and private spaces," says Dr. Hatuka, suggesting that physical spaces need to be redesigned as arenas which could enhance personal interaction. For more technology news from Tel Aviv University, click here.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19289000
The organic vegetable industry is flourishing due to consumers preference for organically grown produce over traditionally produced vegetables. As a result, an increase in the variety and selection of many vegetables in retail supermarkets and restaurants throughout many countries has occurred recently. With the new regulation (October 2000) requiring organic seed sources for organically labeled vegetables, many organic growers are searching for certified organic seed. Smaller seed companies have produced the majority of organically produced seed to date. The commercial seed sector is starting to provide a more diverse selection of cultivars, yet there are still many hybrids that are not yet available. Organic farmers must use organic seed material if such seed are available. If not available, conventional seeds can be used. This request exists in all accredited standards for organic farming. In the EU-regulation on organic production methods, the derogation from the use of organic seed material will only exist until the end of 2003. After this date only organic seed material may be used according to the present formulation. Only a few countries in the EU have an organic seed production able to supply the market for organic seed material. It takes many years to develop a well functioning market for organic seeds. It is therefore unlikely that the derogation for the use of organic seed material will not be extended, since a majority of countries in the EU will still have a need for conventional propagated seeds. However, it will be needed to have standards and control procedures ensuring that organic seeds will be used if available. This includes definitions of “availability”. There is a need in both EU and in accession countries to develop criteria for seeds health in organic seeds and other seeds not treated with fungicides and to implement inspection procedures to control that conventional seeds are only used when organic seeds are not available. There are 251 different varieties of organic seed commercially available to organic farmers and growers, 98% of which are vegetable varieties and 1% are cereal varieties. There are no grasses or herbage legumes available. Of the major crops, only few of the varieties most commonly used by organic producers are currently available as organic seed. In general view that organic seed was in short supply. Based on 1997 data, demand for organic cereal seed is likely to double, demand for vegetable seed will triple, and demand for grassland seed will increase 7 or 8 times. With the current trend in organic seed production, these demands will not be met at the end of the derogation period unless a massive increase in production takes place. The problems associated with organic seed production could be broadly placed within three categories: 1) Marketing, 2) Technical and 3) Standards. Many were only perceived problems (not actual ones) that could be overcome through education, training and discussion. However, organic seed production must go ahead and that there are no real obstacles to cause delay. Comments and recommendations for future actions Press ahead with organic seed production. More rigorous policing of the current derogation is required. Make a rapid commitment not to extend the current derogation. Major improvements are required in organic variety testing to identify which varieties should be produced as organic seed. Further work is required on pest, disease and weed problems specifically related to organic seed production.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19293000
by Helen Leong A life of hard work as a gardener in San Francisco leads Leong Quong to become a prize-winning flower grower in Milpitas, California. Leong Quong was born on March 12, 1897 in China. He was the fourth child and one of seven brothers. They all lived in a small village called Dow Moon, Ha Jow region of China. He was considered well educated in those days. He learned to read and write in (Cantonese) Chinese. He was a very good student and told he would become a successful person. Photo of Leong Quong provided by Helen Leong Place of Origin Place of Settlement	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19295000
Celebrate American Diabetes Alert Day On Tuesday, March 24, the Administration on Aging (AoA) joins the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in its annual nationwide effort to educate the American public about the seriousness of diabetes and to encourage people of all ages to get tested for diabetes. Diabetes has become the greatest public health crisis of the next quarter century. To address the burden of this disease, the ADA is issuing an urgent call-to-action for Americans to find out their risk for type 2 diabetes during the 21st annual American Diabetes Alert® Day. Nearly 6 million Americans have diabetes, but don’t even know it. Another 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes, placing them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. On American Diabetes Alert Day, the ADA encourages people who are overweight, physically inactive, and over the age of 45 years to take the Diabetes Risk Test. The Diabetes Risk Test requires users to answer simple questions about weight, age, family history and other potential risk factors for type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Risk Test will show users whether they are at low, moderate, or high risk for pre-diabetes or diabetes. The Diabetes Risk Test is available in English and Spanish by calling the Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or by visiting www.diabetes.org/alert. Among the primary risk factors for type 2 diabetes are being overweight, sedentary, over the age of 45 and having a family history of diabetes. African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at an increased risk, as are women who have had babies weighing more than nine pounds at birth. Unfortunately, people with type 2 diabetes can live for years without realizing that they have the disease. While people with diabetes can exhibit noticeable symptoms, such as frequent urination, blurred vision and excessive thirst, most people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes do not show these overt warning signs at the time that they develop the disease. Often, type 2 diabetes only becomes evident when people develop one or more of its serious complications, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye damage, or nerve damage that can lead to amputations. To obtain a copy of the Diabetes Risk Test or for more information about diabetes (in English or Spanish), please visit www.diabetes.org/alert or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). # # #	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19303000
Obligation to Examine The follower of any belief system has an obligation to examine whether what they suppose to be true, actually is true. Theologian and educator John Locke (1632 – 1704) once said that, “He that examines, and upon a fair examination embraces an error for a truth, has done his duty more than he who embraces the profession of the truth without having examined whether it be true or no.” Locke’s statement is based on the logical assumption that if someone really has given a fair examination to any supposition they will discover the truth (or at least come closer to it) and embrace it, replacing that which was erroneous or what might be called only half true. It is not intelligent to say that something is believed, though it may be true, unless it has been thoroughly examined for its accuracy. Deviation from the truth usually happens very gradually and unless one has an inclination to give fair analysis to theological propositions, deviation from the truth in favor of opinions and creeds will take place. Nothing good comes from a lack of an honest examination regarding theological premise. However, many have placed a lack of scholastic review under the banner of faith. Some have even gone so far as to say that such intellectual examination is a bane to faith. In fact, those that do not fully pursue intellectual confirmation for what they suppose is true do not understand the nature of faith. Religion should be passionate if it is to be believed, but that passion must always be bridled by that which is known and can be understood within the mental capacities of man or else it is of little use. John Caird (1820 – 1898) was a professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow. Professor Caird said that the way to elevate religion above subjective caprice and waywardness and to distinguish between that which is true and false in religion, we must appeal to an objective standard. That which enters the heart must first be discerned by the intelligence to be true. Caird said that, “Feeling is necessary in religion, but it is by the content or intelligent basis of a religion, and not by feeling, that its character and worth are to be determined.” Those that subscribe to the Bible as the objective standard referred to by Dr. Caird, are, if the Scriptures are understood and applied properly, on solid ground for advocating a system that is at least worthy of consideration. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 17 (vv. 1-13) depict what has come to be called the “Transfiguration.” Three of Christ’s disciples (Peter, James and John) are with Jesus on what was probably Mount Hermon. Christ is “transfigured,” (v. 2) before them and Moses and Elijah appear with Him. While this is taking place, a voice from a bright cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” It is important that the wording does not say, “Obey Him” or “Worship Him.” Blind, unknowing obedience or unwarranted worship is never advocated in the Bible. The word “hear” as used in Matthew 17:5 means to hear with the ear of the mind. This is a vitally important point. The message conveyed was that if people really thoughtfully considered what Christ had to say they would come to know that it was logical, common sense and practical. “He that takes upon the opinions of any church in the lump, without examining them, has truly neither searched after nor found truth, but has only found those that he thinks have found the truth, and so receives what they say with an implicit faith (so called), and so pays them the homage that is due only to God,” says Locke. The truth is far too precious and scarce a commodity in the present world to treat its discovery with such a cavalier attitude. Those that follow Christ are to generate more answers than questions. That means being clear on why something is believed and being willing to share a well examined truth with a world that is desperately looking for reliable answers and solutions to its problems. This column is the opinion of Dr. M. Hildon Guy, President of the University of Christian Studies and Seminary in Eagle River. He has earned doctorates in theology, counseling education and apologetics. (www.universityofcss.org)	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19305000
Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux The most famous Native American book ever written, "Black Elk Speaks" is the acclaimed story of Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863 ... Show synopsis The most famous Native American book ever written, "Black Elk Speaks" is the acclaimed story of Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) and his people during the momentous, twilight years of the nineteenth century. Black Elk grew up in a time when white settlers were invading the Lakotas' homeland, decimating buffalo herds and threatening to extinguish their way of life. Black Elk and other Lakotas fought back, a dogged resistance that resulted in a remarkable victory at the Little Bighorn and an unspeakable tragedy at Wounded Knee. Beautifully told through the celebrated poet and writer John G. Neihardt, "Black Elk Speaks" offers much more than a life story. Black Elk's profound and arresting religious visions of the unity of humanity and the world around him have transformed his account into a venerated spiritual classic. Whether appreciated as a collaborative autobiography, a history of a Native American nation, or an enduring spiritual testament for all humankind, "Black Elk Speaks" is unforgettable. This special edition features all three prefaces to "Black Elk Speaks" that John G. Neihardt wrote at different points in his life, a map of Black Elk's world, a reset text with Lakota words reproduced using the latest orthographic standards, and color paintings by Lakota artist Standing Bear that have not been widely available for decades.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19311000
So if corn-fed cows tend to be less healthy in life, does that mean their beef is less healthy for us to eat? Would eating grass-fed beef be healthier for us in more ways than we think? Well that's one topic to ponder, but this blog post isn't actually about that. I came here today to make a different point entirely. Read that article again. Read this paragraph again: Studies have shown that corn fed beef (this includes meat and dairy) has lower nutritional value. It often contains more total fat, saturated fat, calories, and cholesterol. At the same time, it has a decreased amount of essential nutrients, such as vitamin E, vitamin c, beta-carotene, and omega-3 fatty acids. Grass fed beef, on the other hand, is lower in fat and calories. It has been shown that grass fed beef can have as much as 1/3rd less fat than corn fed beef. Additionally, it also contains more omega-3 fatty acids, which are the "good" fats. Omega-3 accounts for 60% of the fat found in grass fed beef. Now make a parallel comparison between cows and humans. Cows that eat an unnatural diet are fatter and unhealthier. Cows that eat the foods that they were intended to eat are healthier. Humans that eat unnatural diets are fatter and unhealthier. Humans that eat foods that they were intended to eat are healthier. Take it one step further and say that humans are supposed to eat meat. (I know there is some debate, but guess what, we wouldn't have been born with incisors if we weren't supposed to eat meat!) Therefore, healthy humans should eat healthy cows! That's actually a side note. The point I'm trying to make here is that we should be eating what our bodies were intended to eat. All the crap that sits on grocery store shelves is NOT healthy, no matter what the "made with whole-grains" or "healthy choice" labels say. And I'm not just preaching to you all, I'm talking to myself too. You can argue until the cows come home that you can't afford or don't have time to eat healthy but guess what, you can and do. Do your homework, plan your meals, you will not break the bank by eating the right way. And the benefits you'll see and feel in your body will make it all worthwhile. If you're new to this blog, you'll quickly realize that I truly believe that the reason this country is so sick is directly related to what we eat. Autoimmune disease is a combination of genetic predisposition plus environmental factors. Sure there are a ton of environmental factors that COULD be the trigger, but there are thousands, maybe even millions, of people out there healing themselves through diet. I am one of them. I'm living proof. Doctors and scientists are starting to catch up but sometimes I feel that they can't see past the end of their noses. I feel like the answer is staring at them in the face but for whatever reason they reject it. It's up to us to take control of our health. "Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food" - Hippocrates - see, this isn't a new concept!	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19312000
Over The Counter (OTC) Drug Abuse Teens are abusing some over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, such as cough and cold remedies, to get high. Many of these products are widely available and can be purchased at supermarkets, drugstores, and convenience stores. Many OTC drugs that are intended to treat headaches, sinus pressure, or cold/flu symptoms contain the active ingredient dextromethorphan (DXM) and are the ones that teens are using to get high. When taken in high doses, DXM can produce a "high" feeling and can be extremely dangerous in excessive amounts. Over-the-counter drug abuse also occurs with laxatives, diuretics, emetics, and diet pills, as teens try to achieve an idealized weight. Young people may start taking just a few diet pills but then graduate to full addiction and dependence. Ephedrine, caffeine, and phenylpropranolamine are just some of the dangerous and addictive substances found in diet pills. Herbal, sometimes referred to as "natural", weight loss products can be just as dangerous as diet pills. All of these substances act as stimulants to the central nervous system and much like speed, can have serious and potentially fatal side effects. Is your teen using OTC drugs to get high? A recent study found that six percent of 12th graders reported past year abuse of cough or cold medicines to get high. That amounts to about one in every 16 high school seniors. Where do teens get them? In many parts of the country, teens can easily buy OTC cough and cold remedies at any supermarket, drugstore, or convenience store where these products are sold. They can also get them from home, or order them over the Internet. And even if they do not order OTC drugs online, they can surf the Web to find information and videos on what drugs to try and mix together. How do teens abuse OTC drugs? Teens take large doses to get high, sometimes mixing these drugs with prescription drugs, street drugs, or alcohol. Some teens crush pills and snort them for an intensified effect. Could your teen overdose on OTC drugs? Yes. The point at which teens may overdose on OTC drugs varies depending on the amount of the drugs they took, over what time period, and if other drugs were mixed. Some OTC drugs are weak and cause minor distress, while others are very strong and can cause more serious problems or even death. If you suspect your teen has overdosed on OTC drugs, take them to the emergency room or call an ambulance immediately for proper care and treatment by a medical doctor. Other drug and alcohol interactions Mixing alcohol with certain medications can cause nausea and vomiting, headaches, drowsiness, fainting, and loss of coordination. It can put users at risk for internal bleeding, heart problems, and difficulties in breathing. Alcohol also can decrease the effectiveness of many needed medications or make them totally ineffective. Some of these medications can be purchased over the counter - at a drugstore or grocery store - without a prescription, including herbal remedies and others you may never have suspected of reacting negatively with alcohol. Before you or your teen take any prescription or OTC medication, carefully read the label, and/or consult with your family physician or local pharmacist. And never mix medications with alcohol. Parents should set clear rules and consistently enforce those rules against any underage drinking. Think that drug abuse among teens is limited to illegal substances like marijuana and club drugs such as Ecstasy? Think again. If you're like most parents, you're probably not aware that a number of over-the-counter (OTC) products can potentially be abused by teens looking to get high. But it's important to educate yourself about the potential abuse of consumer products found right in your home. It is important to know the facts about OTC product and medication abuse and make a habit of closely monitoring the use of certain household substances. Talk with preteens and teens about the proper use of all medications (including those that are available over the counter) and the health risks associated with their abuse. One category of products sometimes abused by teenagers that few parents know about is OTC cough and cold remedies. The OTC cough and cold medications available in your local pharmacy, supermarket or convenience store are safe and effective when used as directed. But some youth are drawn to an ingredient found in nearly half of these medications called dextromethorphan, or DXM. When taken in excessive doses, dextromethorphan can produce a high or cause psychoactive effects. What is dextromethorphan or DXM? Dextromethorphan is a cough-suppressing ingredient in a variety of OTC cold and cough medications. It is found in more than 125 OTC products and comes in various forms, most commonly in cough suppressants in caplet or liquid form. Medications in brands such as Robitussin, Vicks, and Coricidin HBP, are among those that can be abused. Why are teens abusing products that contain dextromethorphan? Dextromethorphan is a safe and effective cough suppressant when used as indicated on the product label. However, when taken in doses that far exceed the amount recommended, the ingredient may produce feelings of euphoria that some seek to get "high." A teenager looking to get high or experiment with drugs may turn to OTC cough and cold preparations that contain dextromethorphan because they are readily available at home or the local drug store. Dextromethorphan can also be purchased in a bulk powder form on the Internet. Some Web sites encourage teenagers to abuse dextromethorphan and actually offer "recipes" for the best way to achieve a high. What does dextromethorphan do? Depending on the dose, DXM's effects vary. Misuse of the drug creates both depressant and mild hallucinogenic effects. Users report a set of distinct dose-dependent "plateaus" ranging from a mild stimulant effect with distorted visual perceptions at low does to a sense of complete dissociation from one's body. If a child consumes large doses of a product containing dextromethorphan, it may cause a number of adverse effects, including impaired judgment and mental performance, loss of coordination, dizziness, nausea, hot flashes, dissociation, and hallucinations. Another major concern is the risk incurred when abusers get high and engage in activities requiring reasonable judgment and quick reactions, like driving or swimming. The effects induced by overdose of DXM can make these activities deadly. What else can I do? Talking with teens and staying in touch with their lives are the first steps to keeping them free from abusing consumer products and medications. Following are a few basic preventative steps that you can take to help your child understand the importance of using OTC medications responsibly and help discourage abuse of dextromethorphan. • Talk to your child. Speak with your children often about the importance of carefully following directions on the labels of all OTC medications. Help them understand the dangers of abusing OTC cough and cold medications. • Be mindful of the season. Your child can benefit from medicinal relief of cough, cold, and flu symptoms by taking OTC cough and cold preparations according to the instructions on the manufacturer's label. But be aware if your child is using cough and cold medications outside of cold and flu season or if he or she continues to self-medicate after symptoms have subsided. • Check your home. Take a quick inventory of all consumer products kept in your home. Be aware of the products in your medicine cabinet, and ask questions if you notice that any products are used frequently or disappear. • Monitor your child's Internet use. Unfortunately, there are Internet sources that sell dextromethorphan in a bulk powder form or encourage teens to share their experiences with abusing dextromethorphan. These individual sites are not regulated so it becomes increasingly imperative that you be aware of where your child is getting information on the Internet, what sites he/she is spending time on, or with whom he/she may be communicating. Ask them why they think the information that appears there is true or false. Do they think the source is credible? Ensure your child's Internet time is properly supervised.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19313000
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Chalcedony is one of the cryptocrystalline varieties of the mineral quartz, having a waxy luster. It may be semitransparent or translucent and is usually white to gray, grayish-blue or some shade of brown, sometimes nearly black. Other shades have been given different names. A clear red chalcedony is known as carnelian or sard; a green variety colored by nickel oxide is called chrysoprase. Prase is a dull green. Plasma is a bright to emerald-green chalcedony that is sometimes found with small spots of jasper resembling blood drops; it has been referred to as blood stone or heliotrope. Chalcedony is one of the few minerals other than quartz that is found in geodes. The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19315000
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Pressure cooking is a method of cooking in a sealed vessel that does not permit air or liquids to escape below a preset pressure. Because water's boiling point increases as the pressure increases, the pressure built up inside the cooker allows the liquid in the pot to rise to a temperature higher than 100 °C (212 °F) before boiling. The higher temperature causes the food to cook faster. Cooking times can be reduced by a factor of three or four. For example, shredded cabbage is cooked in one minute, fresh green beans take about five, small to medium-sized potatoes (up to 200 g) may be ready in five minutes or so and a whole chicken takes no more than twenty-five minutes. It is often used to simulate the effects of long braising or simmering in shorter periods of time. A safety valve releases steam when the pressure exceeds the safety limit for the cooker; usually the steam pressure lifts a weighted stopper allowing excess pressure to escape. There is usually a backup pressure release mechanism, in the form of a hole in the lid blocked by a plug of low melting-point alloy. If internal temperature (and hence pressure) gets too high, the metal plug will melt, resulting in a release of the pressure. A pressure cooker is often used by mountain climbers to compensate for the low atmospheric pressure at high altitude. Without it, water boils off before reaching 100 °C, leaving the food improperly cooked, as described in Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle: At the place where we slept water necessarily boiled, from the diminished pressure of the atmosphere, at a lower temperature than it does in a less lofty country; the case being the converse of that of a Papin's digester. Hence the potatoes, after remaining for some hours in the boiling water, were nearly as hard as ever. The pot was left on the fire all night, and next morning it was boiled again, but yet the potatoes were not cooked. I found out this, by overhearing my two companions discussing the cause, they had come to the simple conclusion, "that the cursed pot [which was a new one] did not choose to boil potatoes." A larger scale version of a pressure cooker, used by laboratories and hospitals to sterilise biological waste materials, surgical instruments etc. is known as an autoclave. The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19316000
The Convention recognized collective rights and deals, among other issues, with fundamental matters for indigenous peoples, like their rights over their territories, promotion of their culture and values, education in their own language, consultation and participation or the validity of their customary laws. Despite the limited number of ratifications, Convention 169 is a key instrument because it has had a great influence in the drafting of regulations, policies and programmes relating to indigenous peoples, both in the international and in the national level, and also because its binding nature created specific obligations for the ratifying countries. In the case of Spain, ratification of the Convention implies a relevant step in the process of supporting indigenous peoples, with consequences that go beyond the frame of international cooperation for development. Ratification gives rise to internal obligations, as national legislation needs to be adapted to the Convention. Pursuant to the principle of good faith in compliance with international treaties and obligations arising from the ILO Constitution, any State being party to a Convention is bound to adopt the necessary measures to make such Convention’s provisions effective. Thus, the Convention is transformed into an internal law which needs to be respected, promoted and guaranteed by all public institutions, and binding on all private actors, regardless of their purposes or activities. The provisions of Convention 169 are reinforced by those of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Both instruments are clearly complementary, and provide a specific legal frame which needs to be taken into account when dealing with any actions having an impact on the lives and rights of indigenous peoples. Documents relating to the Convention can be accessed through the following links. Text of the Convention. Web page of Pro-169 Very useful materials can be found at PRO169’s web page. The following stand out: Practice Guide on Convention 169, “The rights of indigenous and tribal peoples in practice”; and the publication “Implementation of Convention 169 by national courts in Latin America” (both in Spanish). You can also request ILO to deliver a “Tool Box” regarding the Convention’s implementation.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19321000
Restrictions of freedom The reasons for involuntary internment According to §6 of Act No. 576 on Healthcare, health-related services and on the amendment and supplementing of certain laws of 22 September 2004 (HHS), inpatient care can be provided without informed consent if: - the person has a mental illness or symptoms of a mental defect AND - poses a threat to him/herself or to his/her environment, OR - there is a risk of serious deterioration of his/her state of health. The procedure for involuntary internment If a patient is admitted to hospital for inpatient care without his/her informed consent, the healthcare provider must notify a court covering the territory of the inpatient health care facility within 24 hours. The court then rules on the legitimacy of the reasons for taking the person into inpatient care. Until the Court has made a decision, only life-saving medical care or measures to protect the person’s surroundings are permitted (§9 (4)). Duration of involuntary internment As soon as the reasons for involuntary admission cease to exist, either the patient must be released or s/he (or his/her legal representative/tutor) must consent to the further provision of health care (§9 (5)). In the case of a person who is unable to consent, their legal representative must be notified before they are released. There does not seem to be any mention of a set time limit after which the involuntary admission must be reviewed. Last Updated: mercredi 14 mars 2012	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19327000
Dementia in Parkinson's disease (PDD) by Kurt Jellinger While people with Parkinson’s disease have a higher risk of developing dementia than those without Parkinson’s disease, the majority will remain unaffected. Parkinson’s disease is known as a movement disorder. The movement disorder is due to dopaminergic neurons mainly in the substantia nigra. Motor symptoms always precede cognitive impairment by several years. Cognitive impairment is usually due to degenerative changes in limbic or neocortical structures, superimposed Alzheimer-type lesions and/or presence of cortical Lewy bodies, while degenerative lesions in subcortical neurotransmitter-specific loops are less important for the development of cognitive impairment. Idiopathic parkinsonism plus dementia Symptoms and course Symptoms of dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease will vary from person to person. The most common are memory loss and the loss of the ability to reason and to carry out normal everyday tasks (planning, organising, solving problems). Patients may become obsessional, and there may be a loss of emotional control with sudden outbursts of anger or distress. Medications may cause or aggravate visual hallucinations. Language problems (slower speech, not word finding difficulties). Symptoms often fluctuate so that the person will seem better or worse at different times. Gradually progressive, symptoms accumulate progressively. Duration of the disease: 4-5 years. Parkinson’s disease plus dementia has shorter survival than Parkinson’s disease without dementia (average between 5 to 10 years). With movement disorder, slowness in information processing (difficulty of communication) may lead to carer frustration. Causes and risk factors Abnormal aggregation of alpha synuclein in Lewy bodies. It is more than Lewy bodies accumulation (often associated with Alzheimer pathology). Families with familial PD (Several chromosomes involved) There are inherited form of Parkinson’s disease associated with mutation on chromosomes xxx. Parkinson’s disease is not RARE; however, only 10-30 % of the patients develop cognitive impairment / dementia. Prevalence 41:100,000 Care and treatment The movement disorder is treated by compounds augmenting dopamine transmission (dopaminergic substances and DA agonists). Medication may cause or aggravate hallucinations and psychotic symptoms. Antidementive drugs like in AD. European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA) Lizzie Graham EPDA Liaison/Project Manager 4 Golding Road Sevenoaks Kent TN13 3NJ United Kingdom Tel/Fax: +44 (0)1732 457683 firstname.lastname@example.org http://www.epda.eu.com/ Parkinson’s disease associations provide services for the movement disorders but have less information on the cognitive problems associated with the disorder. Alzheimer Europe 145 Route de Thionville L- 2611 Luxembourg Tel: +352 / 29.79.70 Fax: +352 / 29.79.72 email@example.com www.alzheimer-europe.org Last Updated: vendredi 09 octobre 2009	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19328000
Senate Oil Savings’ Greatest Hits The Best Provisions to Cut Our Consumption SOURCE: AP/Mark Humphrey Oil, oil, everywhere, but not a drop for fuel. This is the stark view of Gulf Coast residents who see a 24,500 square mile oil slick menacing their shores. The devastating BP oil disaster has clearly increased the urgency to dramatically reduce America’s oil consumption; and cutting our consumption would save consumers money, reduce foreign oil imports, help our economy, increase national security, and reduce global warming pollution. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated that oil use reduction (or “oil savings”) provisions would be a central element of the clean energy legislation he plans to bring to the Senate floor in mid July. And a number of other senators have introduced legislation that would either reduce oil use from many sources or focus on a specific sector. By selecting the best provisions from each bill it’s possible to craft a program that would reduce oil use by one-third or more by 2030. There are three primary ways to reduce oil use: make cars much more fuel efficient, launch cleaner alternative fuels such as electricity for cars and natural gas for trucks, and invest in public transportation. CAP evaluated the major oil savings proposals in senators’ bills that address all three of these needs and chose the provisions with the most oil savings in each category (see chart (.xls)). These provisions could form the basis for an oil savings section of a comprehensive clean energy and global warming bill. Proposed oil savings provisions that will make a difference Establish an oil savings goal: Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-OR) National Oil Independence Program is in discussion draft form. It would establish a goal of reducing oil use by eight million barrels-per-day in 2030, which equals current imports from every major nation except Canada. Improve fuel economy for cars and light trucks: Sen. Merkley’s plan would increase fuel economy requirements by 6 percent annually from 2017 to 2030. This would increase fuel economy standards to 44.8 miles-per-gallon for model year 2020, and to 60 MPG for model year 2025. These fuel economy standards are realistic. Sen. Merkley noted that “China will be requiring its vehicles to achieve 42.2 MPG by 2015." President Barack Obama also ordered the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation to develop new fuel economy and greenhouse pollution standards for model years 2017 to 2021. Begin fuel economy standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks: Fuel economy standards have never existed for these size trucks even though they’re gas guzzlers. Medium trucks get an average of 9.7 miles per gallon, while heavy trucks get 6.5 miles per gallon. Sen. Merkley’s plan would set the first standard for these vehicles of 15.8 MPG and 10.4 MPG, respectively, by 2030. This would save an estimated 400,000 barrels of oil per day. The Obama administration is also developing the first-ever fuel economy standards for these vehicles. Establish a “fee bate” program to encourage the purchase of fuel-efficient cars: A “fee bate” program encourages drivers to buy more efficient vehicles by providing cash back for buying cars that are more fuel efficient than the average vehicle in that class. This program is paid for by levying a surcharge on vehicles that are below average in fuel economy in a particular class. Two bills would establish a fee bate system to boost the purchase of high-efficiency cars. The Efficient Vehicle Leadership Act, S. 1620, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), and the Practical Energy and Climate Plan, S. 3464, sponsored by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), both have fee bate programs. Bingaman’s bill would provide $2,500 and $3,500 rebates for cars that are 50 percent and 75 percent more fuel efficient than the average car in their class. Sen. Lugar’s provision is very similar to S. 1620, which he has cosponsored. Charge up the electric car industry: One way to dramatically reduce oil use is by developing, producing, and using cars completely or primarily powered by electric batteries rather than gasoline. These cars also produce less global warming and other pollution compared to conventional gasoline vehicles, and are cheaper to operate too. The Chevrolet Volt, which is the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or PHEV, should be available later this year, and it could get 230 MPG. President Obama set a goal of 1 million PHEVs by 2015. Incentives for purchasing electric vehicles and creation of the infrastructure to recharge them are essential to meeting this goal. The Electric Vehicle Deployment Act, S. 3442, sponsored by Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Merkley, would establish a comprehensive program to boost electric vehicle use. In addition to providing incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles, it would also provide $800 million to five as yet unselected communities to deploy 700,000 electric vehicles by 2016. Fill up more trucks and buses with natural gas: Electricity is an excellent alternative fuel for passenger vehicles, but unfortunately it won’t work for heavier trucks and buses. The large amounts of energy needed to power these weightier vehicles would require too many batteries that would add too much weight and take up too much space. Instead, natural gas—in the form of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, or compressed natural gas, or CNG—is an ideal alternative fuel for these vehicles. Because many of these vehicles are short haul, centrally fueled vehicles, only a limited number of natural gas refueling stations are necessary. LNG or CNG produces one-quarter of the global warming pollution compared to oil-based fuels. And CAP analysis shows that by 2035 natural gas heavy trucks could reduce oil use by 1.2 million barrels per day, or 45 percent of the projected oil consumption of heavy trucks by 2035. These fuels are cheaper per mile compared to diesel fuel as well (if oil is more than $31 per barrel). The NAT GAS Act, S. 1408, sponsored by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), would create incentives for trucking companies and bus fleets to purchase trucks and buses powered by natural gas. It would also provide incentives for investments in natural gas fueling infrastructure. Versions of this proposal are also included in the American Power Act discussion draft sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), as well as in the Merkley proposal. Implement fuel-efficiency measures for off-road vehicles and other transportation: Off-road and construction vehicles, planes, trains, and boats all use oil-based fuels. Airplanes, for instance, consume about 15 percent of all finished petroleum products. The American Power Act and American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454, include very similar provisions to identify nonroad vehicles and engines that contribute to global warming pollution and provide cost effective solutions. Sen. Merkley’s plan, however, seems to have the most specific requirements. Invest in more efficient transportation infrastructure: Investments in public transit, high-speed rail, and other low-oil infrastructure are essential to reducing oil use after tackling vehicles and fuels. Transportation for America estimates that the efficiency measures in its “‘Route to Reform’ could reduce oil consumption by more than a million barrels a day by 2030.” The American Power Act, or APA, would invest $6 billion annually in “transportation infrastructure to increase efficiency and decrease oil consumption….[including] almost $2 billion for state and local projects that reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gases.” APA would fund other transit projects, too, and it would pay for these investments with revenue from the auction or sale of greenhouse gas pollution allowances. Boost renewable fuel use: The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 includes a renewable fuel standard that requires the production of 22 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022, which would save over half a million barrels of oil daily. Nonetheless, the production of these cleaner fuels could easily fall short of this requirement. The Practical Energy and Climate bill would include advanced biofuels as part of a reverse auction established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that will create significant incentives to encourage low-cost innovation and commercial scale deployment of advanced biofuels to push these U.S.-based fuels from the laboratory to the road. Paying for reduction programs Admittedly, funding for these and other programs may be difficult to come by during this era of trillion-dollar deficits. Only the American Power Act’s provisions come with their own revenue-generating mechanism: the funds from auctioning pollution allowances to the largest carbon emitters under a carbon limitation program. CAP estimates that the funds from APA’s limit on carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants alone could generate $80 billion annually for investment in these and other clean energy technologies. Eliminating $45 billion worth of tax loopholes for big oil companies could also provide revenue to fund oil savings programs. These taxpayer handouts are unnecessary in an industry where the five largest companies made nearly a trillion dollars in profits in the past decade. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) noted that, “In all of the climate bills, there are significant revenues generated, so that is a possibility. But if we did an energy-only bill, we’re going to be struggling about how to provide revenues.” This means that setting a shrinking limit on global warming pollution, closing tax loopholes, or creating some other reliable revenue stream is essential for funding the programs to significantly reduce our oil use. There’s a bipartisan theme to the oil savings measures listed here—the six different bills are sponsored by progressive and moderate Democrats and conservative Republicans. Taken together, they would jumpstart our nation’s effort to reduce our oil use while creating jobs and enhancing our national security. And the less oil we need, the less likely we are to search for it a mile deep below the surface where a BP-type blowout could devastate our health, economy, and environment. The American people overwhelmingly support efforts to cut our oil addiction and slash global warming pollution. Now they’re looking to the Senate for action this summer as part of comprehensive clean energy and global warming pollution reduction legislation. To speak with our experts on this topic, please contact: Print: Katie Peters (economy, education, health care, gun-violence prevention) 202.741.6285 or firstname.lastname@example.org Print: Anne Shoup (foreign policy and national security, energy, LGBT issues) 202.481.7146 or email@example.com Print: Crystal Patterson (immigration) 202.478.6350 or firstname.lastname@example.org Print: Madeline Meth (women's issues, poverty, Legal Progress) 202.741.6277 or email@example.com Print: Tanya Arditi (Spanish language and ethnic media) 202.741.6258 or firstname.lastname@example.org TV: Lindsay Hamilton 202.483.2675 or email@example.com Radio: Madeline Meth 202.741.6277 or firstname.lastname@example.org Web: Andrea Peterson 202.481.8119 or email@example.com	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19332000
backward and forward both run to need may they ,faster run to are computers If A Turing machine is fine for reasoning about computers, but it's not an ideal model for building them. Some more practical components of reversible logic were introduced in the 1980s by Edward F. Fredkin and Tommaso Toffoli, who were then working together at MIT. (Fredkin is now at Carnegie Mellon University, Toffoli at Boston University.) The components are logic gates, somewhat like AND and OR gates but designed for reversibility. In any reversible gate the number of inputs must equal the number of outputs. Moreover, each possible set of inputs must yield a distinct set of outputs. If this were not the case—that is, if two or more input patterns had the same output—then the reverse action of the gate would be ambiguous. The devices now known as the Fredkin gate and the Toffoli gate (see illustration on page 109) both have three inputs and three outputs; and, as required for reversibility, each input pattern maps to a unique output. In the Fredkin gate, one signal controls whether the other two data lines pass straight through the gate or else have their positions swapped. In the Toffoli gate, two of the signals control the third; if the first two bits are both 1, then the third bit is inverted. Like the NOT gate, both the Fredkin and the Toffoli gates are their own inverses: No matter what the values of the three input signals, running them through two successive copies of the same gate will return the signals to their original values. Both gates are also computationally universal, meaning that a computer assembled from multiple Fredkin or Toffoli gates (and no other components) could simulate a Turing machine or any other device of equivalent computational power. Thus the gates might be considered candidates for a real reversible computer. Of course logic gates are still just abstract devices; they have to be given some physical implementation with transistors or other kinds of hardware. Starting in the early 1990s, several groups have been designing and building prototypes of reversible (or nearly reversible) digital circuits. For example, at MIT a group including Michael Frank and Thomas F. Knight, Jr., fabricated a series of small but complete processor chips based on a reversible technology; Frank continues this work at Florida State University. At the University of Gent in Belgium, Alexis De Vos and his colleagues have built several reversible adders and other circuits. It's important to note that building a computer according to a reversible logic diagram does not guarantee low-power operation. Reversibility removes the thermodynamic floor at kT ln 2, but the circuit must still be designed to attain that level of energy savings. The current state of the art is far above the theoretical floor; even the most efficient chips, reversible or not, dissipate somewhere between 10,000 and 10 million times kT ln 2 for each logical operation. Thus it will be some years before reversible technology can be put to the ultimate test of challenging the three-zeptojoule barrier. In the meantime, however, it turns out that some concepts derived from reversible logic are already useful in low-power circuits. One of these is charge recovery, which attempts to recycle packets of electric charge rather than let them drain to ground. Another is adiabatic switching, which avoids wasteful current surges by closing switches only after voltages have had a chance to equalize. » Post Comment	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19333000
Joined: Oct. 2006 Ever hear of the Bacterial Flagellum? Upon electron microscope examination, it looks very much like a machine! In fact, it bears a strong resemblance to an outboard motor, you know, the kind you see on the back of those small aluminum-fishing boats. Any way, the Bacterial Flagellum is what scientists call an “irreducible complex system”. An irreducible complex system is made in such a way that if you take away any one part of the system, the system ceases to function. A good example of this is the common mousetrap. Take away any one part, and it ceases to function. In the case of irreducibly complex organisms, taking away any one part causes it to die. Question #6 The theory of evolution says that less complex organisms evolved into more complex life forms. How could the Bacterial Flagellum have evolved from a lower life form? What is its' transitional fossil?	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19344000
Shallow Water Surface Drifters In response to NOAA/COP funded research needs for high resolution Lagrangian analysis of Florida Bay interior basin flow fields, a shallow water drift buoy was designed and developed by AOML and RSMAS in Miami, Florida. Primary design guidelines required a device capable of operating in water depths of one meter or less for up to a two week period. Small size was a factor both in minimizing windage at the surface and in aiding deployment and recovery efforts. The drifter would also require onboard GPS for accurate positioning. The need for a high-resolution record of the drifterâ€™s track required GPS data to be logged onboard for post-recovery upload. However, in attempts to aid users in the drifterâ€™s recovery, a subset of these data would need to be transmitted to the users during deployment; this is handled by an onboard ARGOS transmitter. The hull is constructed of a 0.125 inch thick lexan, two-piece thermoformed shell in the general shape of a disc. The top is slightly domed and the bottom has molded fins in an attempt to couple the buoy to the water. Unfortunately, in the first Bay drift test the molded fins proved to be insufficient to keep windage to a minimum, so a "window shade" drogue has been incorporated with excellent results to improve coupling to the water (see Figure). The drogue is constructed of two crossed, flexible PVC sheets and is approximately 0.75 meters long. The shape of the buoy was analyzed to insure that it would be self-righting if turned over by a wave. When deployed, the hull floats with the top of the dome approximately 3 cm above the waterline. The dimensions of the hull are 33 cm in diameter by 15 cm high and the weight ready for deployment is less than 5 kg. To derive high-resolution currents, the position of the buoy must be determined frequently. A Motorola 12 channel GPS receiver is built into the electronics to collect this data. It computes 3 dimensional position information at pre-selected rates which are then stored in the buoy memory for later retrieval and subsequent data analysis. A relocation ARGOS satellite transmitter system is included in the electronics to recover the buoy at the end of each experiment. The ARGOS positions are used to get within the general vicinity of the buoy, and then a handheld ARGOS receiver on the boat is used to locate and retrieve the buoy.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19349000
A very popular species of sweet cherry. Large purplish-black cherry. Ripens early. (Pollinate with Bing or a different sweet cherry variety.) (zones 5–8) Excellent for the home orchard, the Black Tartarian cherry tree produces fruit with a sweet, rich, full bodied flavor. Begins bearing fruit 3-4 years after planting and will bear long into old age. The best pollinator for dark sweet cherries. An exceptionally productive, vigorous sweet cherry tree. It grows tall for a fruit tree maturing at 30' or more. The flowers are white, 1 1/4" in diameter borne in well distributed clusters of twos and threes. Foliage is a dark, waxy green. It bears early, ripening from mid-June to early July depending upon the location. Eventually one tree may produce 3–4 bushels of cherries. This tree prefers light, sandy soil, but will grow in other soils that are moist and well drained. If possible, plant on an elevated site with good air and soil drainage. It needs at least 6–8 hours of full sun daily and water during dry periods. The cherries should be left on the tree until mature. Sweet cherry trees require minimal pruning. Prune annually in late winter or early spring. (Pollinate with a different sweet cherry variety) (zones 5–8) The cherries are eaten by a variety of birds and mammals. The leaves and branches are browsed. This species was introduced from Russia to England in 1794 by Hugh Ronalds and named Ronald's Large Black Heart. It came to the United States in the early 1800s and has been popular ever since. The standard grows to 30' and dwarf grows to 12' - 15' in height. Standard spread grows to 30' and dwarf grows to a 12'-15' spread. This tree requires moist, well drained soil and is not drought tolerant. Simple, alternate, often obvate with a sharp tip, 5 1/2" long with teeth on the margin that are sharp and sometimes blunted. Thin, waxy and dark green color on top. Heart shaped about 1" in diameter and usually purplish black, but occasionally red depending upon the site. Flesh is dark red, thick, tender, juicy and sweet with a smooth stone that separates easily.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19358000
Facts About Poisons Children are naturally inquisitive and love to explore their world. Infants tend to put everything in their mouths and toddlers grab whatever looks interesting. Adolescents may experiment with drugs and other mind-altering substances. Consider these facts about poisonings in the United States: Each year, poison control centers receive more than 1.1 million calls about accidental poisonings among children ages 5 and under. Calls to poison control centers peak between 4 pm and 10 pm. Only 30 percent of caregivers are able to accurately measure a correct dosage of over-the-counter medications to their children. More than 90 percent of poisonings in children occur in the home. In children, approximately 60 percent of poisonings involve products other than medicines, such as plants, cleaning products, cosmetics, pesticides, paints, and solvents; 40 percent of poisonings involve medications. What is "the arsenic hour?" Peak calls to poison control centers occur between 4 and 10 p.m. In fact, dinnertime is such a busy time of day for most families that many times parents do not supervise their children as closely as usual. This is a common time of day for childhood poisonings to occur and has led poison center staff to call this time of day "the arsenic hour." The good news is that prompt treatment can prevent most serious reactions. And, of course, poison prevention is always the best cure. Be prepared for a poisoning emergency by posting the poison center telephone number by every phone in your home. The national, toll-free poison control center locator number is 800-222-1222. From here, you will be automatically redirected to the nearest Poison Center in your area. If you have a poisoning emergency, call your local poison center immediately. If the child has collapsed or is not breathing, call 911, or your local emergency medical services (EMS). Online Medical Reviewer: Kolbus, Karin, RN, DNP, COHN-S Online Medical Reviewer: newMentor board-certified, academically affiliated clinician Last Review Date: 04/21/2013 © 2000-2013 Krames StayWell, 780 Township Line Road, Yardley, PA 19067. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional's instructions.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19359000
Sunday 19 May Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) What’s the World’s Favourite Species?Find out here. Marabou stork fact file - Find out more - Print factsheet Marabou stork description With its huge, ungainly stature, balding pink head and enormous wedge-shaped bill, it is easy to see why many consider the Marabou stork to be a somewhat ‘ugly’ bird (2) (3) (4) (5). In flight, it soars elegantly with large, dark grey wings spanning almost three metres from tip to tip, but on the ground it walks hunched on long, gangly legs (3) (6). A fleshy, inflatable, pink wattle dangles conspicuously below its bill, and a white collar rings the base of its nearly featherless, pink neck (2) (3) (4). The back and tail are dark grey, like the wings, while the underparts are off-white (2) (4) (6). Although the natural colour of the legs and feet is dark grey, the build up of excrement makes them appear almost white (2) (5). Unlike the adults, immature marabou storks have a woolly covering to the head, and a darker plumage (5) (7). - Also known as - Marabout d'Afrique. Top - African Wildlife Foundation: - BirdLife International: - The act of incubating eggs, that is, keeping them warm so that development is possible. - IUCN Red List (October, 2009) - Alden, P., Estes, R., Schlitter, D. and McBride, B. (1996) Collins Field Guide to African Mammals. Harper Collins Publishers, London. - Burnie, D. (2001) Animal. Dorling Kindersley, London. - Burton, M. and Burton, R. (2002) International Wildlife Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish, New York. - Smithsonian National Zoological Park (September, 2009) - Liebenberg, L. (1990) A Field Guide to the Animal Tracks of Southern Africa. David Phillips Publishers, Cape Town. - Newman, K. (2002) Newman's Birds of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town. - BirdLife International (August, 2009) - view the contents of, and Material on, the website; - download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use; - teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User. Marabou stork biology Behaving more like a vulture than a stork, the marabou is a consummate scavenger, eating just about any animal it can find as carrion (2) (3) (5). Typically, it soars at height, scanning the ground for food, and often congregates around large carcasses with other scavengers such as vultures (2) (5) (6) (7). Furthermore, this species has taken full advantage of the encroachment of human settlements, frequenting dumps, slaughterhouses and fishing villages for discarded scraps (2) (3) (5). However, despite its slightly macabre reputation, the marabou does also take a variety of live prey including lizards, frogs, various insects, snakes, rats, mice and birds (5) (6) (8). A gregarious bird, the marabou stork is often seen in groups, with up to 1,000 individuals gathering in close proximity to roost at night (8). It also congregates to breed during the dry season, with colonies ranging in size from 20 pairs up to several thousand, often along with other species. The male arrives first and establishes a territory, whereupon it greets all newcomers with hostility, whilst inflating its throat pouch. Eventually, a courting female will be accepted by the male, and the pair will set about building a stick nest, around 10 to 30 metres above the ground in trees or on cliffs-ledges, and sometimes on buildings in towns and villages (2) (4) (5) 8). When the nest is finished, the female lays a clutch of two to three eggs, which are incubated over 29 to 31 days. The chicks fledge when around 13 to 15 weeks old, but do not reach sexual maturity until at least four years of age (4) (5).Top Marabou stork rangeTop Marabou stork habitatTop Marabou stork status Classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1).Top Marabou stork threats Owing to its indiscriminate feeding habits and its willingness to scavenge around human activities, the marabou stork population is actually increasing through large parts of its wide range (3) (5). However, despite the fact that it is usually considered an unattractive target for hunters (5), this stork is known to be traded at traditional markets in Nigeria (8).Top Marabou stork conservationTop Find out more To find out more about conservation in Africa, visit: For more information on this and other bird species please see: AuthenticationThis information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: email@example.comTop MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends. Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors. 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These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details. Any other use Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use. Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19366000
Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: October 1, 2000 Publication Date: N/A Interpretive Summary: Sarcocystis neurona is a single-celled parasite of companion animals. It causes a fatal neurologic syndrome in horses in the U.S., called eqine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Its full life cycle is not known. Opossums are its reservoir (definitive) host and horses are considered aberrant hosts. Scientists at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and the Montana State University describe the ultrastructure of Sarcocysti neurona stages (schizonts) found in tissues of horses. These results will be of interest to biologists and parasitologists. The ultrastructure events associated with nuclear division were studied in schizonts of Sarcocystis neurona. Merozoites developed by type 2 endopolygeny in which numerous merozoites began development internally and later budded at the schizont surface. The nuclear envelope remained intact during all nuclear divisions. The schizont nucleus enlarged to form numerous lobes, each of which contained an intranuclear spindle. Many spindles were formed before merozoite formation. Spindles were conical- shaped with the apex of the spindle located immediately beneath a pore in the nuclear envelope. Most spindle microtubles were discontinous, terminating at kinetochores on chromosomes, whereas a few microtubules were continuous extending between each pole of the nuclear spindle. Two centrioles, a Golgi complex and a plastid were closely associated with each pole of the nuclear spindle. Spindle microtubules shortened during spindle edivisions that occurred in early and intermediate schizonts prior to the formation of merozoite primoridia. The length of the spindle microtubules remained the same during the last spindle during merozoite formation. Separation of the chromosomes appeared to result from enlongation of each nuclear lobe which occurred simultaneously with elongation of the inner membrane complex and subpellicular microtubules surrounding the merozoite primordia. In schizonts, the plastid was disc-shaped, variable in size, and consisted of a granular core with ribosomes and small vesicles surrounded by 2-4 membranes. Plastids in merozoites were structurally similar to those in schizonts except that some of them were spheroidial in shape.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19368000
Oxford Classical Texts From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia Oxford Classical Texts (OCTs), or Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis, is a series of books published by Oxford University Press. It contains texts of ancient Greek and Latin literature, such as Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid, in the original language with a critical apparatus. Works of science and mathematics, such as Euclid's Elements, are generally not represented. Since the books are meant primarily for serious students of the classics, the prefaces and notes have traditionally been in Latin (so that the books are written in the classical languages from the title page to the index), and no translations or explanatory notes are included. Several recent volumes, beginning with Lloyd-Jones and Wilson's 1990 edition of Sophocles, have broken with tradition and feature introductions written in English (though the critical apparatus is still in Latin). Oxoniensis is an abbreviation used to denote mainly a single volume of the series (fully: editio Oxoniensis), rarely the whole collection; correspondingly, Teubneriana is used with reference to the Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana, a series with the same aim as the OCTs. Those who want some help in reading the classics may prefer the Loeb Classical Library, which includes English translations, or the Collection Budé, which includes French translations.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19370000
Trees of Life A Visual History of Evolution written by Theodore W Pietsch John Hopkins University \| ISBN 9781421404790 Hardback – 376 pages Member’s price: $82.80 Usually ships within 2–11 business days. For the past 450 years, tree-like branching diagrams have been created to show the complex and surprising interrelationships of organisms, both living and fossil, from viruses and bacteria to birds and mammals. This stunning book celebrates the manifest beauty, intrinsic interest, and human ingenuity of these exquisite trees of life. Theodore W. Pietsch has chosen 230 trees of life - from among thousands of possible contenders - dating from the sixteenth century to the present day. His arrangement gives readers a visual sense of the historical development of these diagrams and shows how, in Darwin's words, "from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." Pietsch's brief, accessible prose accompanies the diverse trees to fully reveal the engrossing history of human theories of evolution. Over the centuries, trees of life appeared in a wide variety of forms; some were revered as iconic while others incited intense controversy. The earliest examples were meant to portray the imagined temporal order in which God created life on Earth. More recent scientific trees represent hypothetical histories of life. Never before has the full spectrum of trees of life been brought together in a single volume. Pietsch has spent decades collecting and researching the origin and meaning of these evolutionary trees and presents a visually breathtaking and intellectually brilliant history of the form.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19374000
HERE. Drawing just the top face allows a focus on the eyes, and the beginning of a school year is a good time to declare goals. 1. You can download my template with paper lines already on it HERE. Printing on cardstock will be the easiest to work with. 2. Start by drawing the eyes in pencil, just above the paper. Follow the rule that two eyes should always be one eye-width apart. 3. Draw the top of the head, almost touching the top of the paper. 4. Draw the rest of the face and fingers on the side. Student’s names go at the top and they are to finish the sentence “My goals for the 2012-2013 school year are...". All lines are traced with a thin marker. The art is colored in with pencil crayons.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19376000
The King Palm tree is native to Australia, but can be grown and cared for in any tropical or sub tropical area where the temperature does not drop below freezing. This popular landscaping palm is also known as the Alexander or Alexandra palm. The King Palm grows quickly and while it can start as an indoor plant, it will eventually need to be transplanted outside. A full-grown palm will reach a height of 20 to 30 feet. Growing and caring for a King Palm tree is easy with proper planting, watering and feeding. The King Palm prefers sun and needs well-drained soil. This palm also reaches a height of 30 feet or more. Choose a spot where the full height of the plant will not interfere with power lines or other overhead obstructions. If the palm was purchased from a nursery or has been inside and is not used to full sun don’t plant it immediately in the sun. Place it outside in a shady spot and increase its exposure to sun slowly by an hour a day over several weeks time. Once it is acclimated to full sun plant it in the chosen spot. Dig a hole that is twice as wide as the root ball, but only as deep as the root ball is. If the roots are planted too deep they will not be able to grow properly. Use a shovel and score the sides of the hole to loosen the dirt. This will help the roots penetrate through the soil in its new home. Mix the soil from the hole and the pot the tree came in with sand to create a mix of 2 parts soil, 1 part sand. This will ensure proper drainage. Do not add any fertilizer at this time. Wet the bottom of the hole and shovel in a thin layer of the soil mixture. This will help reduce the shock to the plant when it is placed in its new home. Get the roots of the palm wet and place it in the center of the hole. Fill in the hole with the remaining soil and sand mixture. Add three inches of organic mulch around the palm tree. Water the plant thoroughly. Do not allow the soil around the new palm tree to dry out for the first two weeks. Water daily to ensure the ground stays wet. This helps the roots grow. King Palm trees require regular fertilizer treatments to grow to their full height. Do not fertilize until the King Palm has grown a new spear. Use a continuous release fertilizer that will feed the plant for several months at a time. Fertilize during growing season only and place the fertilizer at least two feet away from the trunk. Continue to water the palm as needed during dry times to keep the soil moist. Do not water too much as this will damage the palm. If the leaves are turning yellow and falling off before they dry out the plant may be too wet. Check the moisture of the soil the day after watering and adjust the amount of water accordingly. The King Palm will grow for many years when planted correctly and properly fed.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19379000
What are congenital hand differences? Babies born with hands that are different than the normal hand have a congenital hand difference. What causes congenital hand differences? The upper limb is formed between four and eight weeks after the sperm and egg unite to form an embryo. The embryo develops an arm bud at four weeks. The tip of the arm bud sends messages to each cell as the upper limb forms. Millions of steps are followed to form a normal arm. Failure of any of these steps to occur can result in a congenital hand difference. Research continues into further understanding of this embryonic process. Some congenital hand differences may occur due to a genetic cause. Many congenital hand differences just occur without an apparent cause. What are different types of congenital hand differences? One in twenty children is born with some difference from normal, either major or minor. The different groups of congenital hand differences include missing parts of the arm (failure of formation), webbed or fused parts of the hand (failures of separation), extra parts present in the hand (duplication), undergrowth or overgrowth of parts of the hand, or constriction band syndrome. What are common congenital hand differences? The most common congenital hand difference in the Caucasian population is webbed fingers (syndactyly - see Figure 1). The most common congenital hand difference in the black population is an extra, sixth digit on the little finger side (post-axial polydactyly - see Figure 2). The most common congenital hand difference in the Asian population is an extra thumb (thumb polydactyly - see Figure 3). Which congenital hand difference does my child have? Because there are so many different congenital hand differences, it is important that your child be evaluated by a hand surgery specialist to help determine if any treatment is needed. Some congenital hand differences are associated with genetic disorders or other medical problems. Your hand specialist may request further genetic evaluation by a geneticist, or may request further medical testing by your pediatrician or family physician. How do parents feel if their child has congenital hand differences? Immediately after the birth of a child with a a congenital abnormality, the patents may feel shock, anger and guilt. These are normal emotions. All the dreams of a perfect baby did not take place. Each family member must cope with their feelings. Rarely is there anything parents or doctors could have done differently. Your newborn doesn’t realize that he or she is different. The baby has all the normal needs of any newborn. The way the baby has formed is normal for him or her, without pain and without a sense of loss. Talk to your physician about support groups or professional help. Can congenital hand differences be treated? All babies born with congenital hand differences should be evaluated by a hand specialist to make an individual assessment of the type. Depending on the type of congenital hand difference, treatment may be recommended. For example, webbed fingers are surgically separated. Extra digits can be surgically removed with reconstruction of the remaining digit if necessary. Hand function can be improved if the functions of thumb pinch or finger grasp is compromised. Some congenital hand differences may need therapy to help improve hand function. In some cases, no intervention is necessary. Figure 1: Syndactyly between long and ring fingers Figure 2: Polydactyly, with an extra little finger Figure 3: Thumb polydactyly, with duplication of the thumb © 2006 American Society for Surgery of the Hand Find a Hand Surgeon near you. a) Helping Hands c) On the Other Hand d) Federation for Children With Special Needs e) Hands To Love f) Limb Differences	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19384000
American logistics spacecraft. Study 2005. Spacehab's Apex design provided a family of launcher-neutral maneuverable spacecraft that could be used for resupply of the ISS and return of payloads to earth. The Apex design was available to both commercial and government markets. The Apex vehicles were available in three different configurations: one-, three-, and four-meter diameter spacecraft. The smallest Apex could carry up to 300 kilograms to LEO, with the larger two spacecraft carrying cargo of up to 1,300 and 6,000 kilogram, respectively. The largest Apex vehicle could be outfitted to carry crew. The first flight of the Apex was planned for 2007. The vehicle was designed to be launcher-neutral, with an open architecture capable of serving different markets. More... - Chronology... Associated Manufacturers and Agencies Spacehab American manufacturer of spacecraft. Spacehab, Inc. , Houston, Houston, USA More... Commercial Space Transportation 2006 - Commercial Space Transportation Developments and Concepts: Vehicles, Technologies and Spaceports, Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation, January 2006. Home - Browse - Contact © / Conditions for Use	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19390000
Our government textbooks tell us that nobody in the ancient world had ever crossed the Atlantic before Columbus. But the voyage of the Mayflower only took 60 days. Are we honestly to believe that no one had ever previously taken the 60 day trip in all of human history? The great civilizations of ancient Egypt, Babylon, Sumer, Greece, Rome, and the sea-faring Phoenicians never wondered what was out West past 59 days sailing? (Image = Phoenician boat) If we accept this improbability, we have to accept many more along with it, because the native American cultures of the “New World” and the Eurasian cultures of the “Old World” were already far too similar to have naturally evolved separately. For instance, compare the Peruvians and Egyptians. The number of complex comparisons between the two peoples far surpasses serendipity. Both cultures believed in an immaterial soul which reincarnates through multiple physical existences. They both worshipped the Sun, Moon, and Stars, and held amazing astronomical knowledge, much of which has just recently been rediscovered. Both peoples built amazing stone pyramids, often containing boulders too heavy for modern cranes to lift, quarried from miles away. Both cultures embalmed/mummified their dead. Peruvian and Egyptian royalty both wrapped children’s heads in the practice of “skull elongation” (like trepanning) to attain higher consciousness. They both divided the year into twelve months. Both peoples had a women’s order of vestal virgins vowed to celibacy, and violating their vows was punished on both continents by their being buried alive. Both cultures offered animal sacrifices and divined the future by examining the animal’s entrails. They both built huge arches and strewed the road with flowers for returning home triumphant warriors/heroes. At the beginning of each agricultural season during a big celebration, the Kings placed their hands to the plough and ploughed the first furrow. Are we to believe such incredibly specific practices developed completely independent of one another? “When the Spanish missionaries first set foot upon the soil of America, in the fifteenth century, they were amazed to find the Cross was as devoutly worshipped by the red Indians as by themselves.” -Ignatius Donnelly, “Atlantis: The Antediluvian World” Ancient symbols like the cross and the swastika already existed in the Americas long before the Europeans came. Egyptian symbols like the “Akeru” back to back lion gods hieroglyph are found in Olmec temples from ancient Mexico. We have also found Mayan art and glyphs in Egypt. Modern Mayans and tribal Egyptians both recognize the languages found in their countries as that of their ancestors and both can read much of it. We’ve discovered artwork 2-3000 years old clearly depicting negroes and caucasians in Central America. The establishment remains silent on all these issues. The similarities between Old World European and American peoples are vast and difficult to accept as mere coincidence. The use of cement, bricks, arches and advanced masonry/architecture is found on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as roads, stone and suspension bridges; Metallurgy, ore mining of copper, tin, bronze, gold, silver, and iron; Sculpture, painting, engraving, agriculture, navigation, large sailing vessels, pottery, glasswork, and music; both Old and New Worlders fashioned the same weapons like bows and arrows, spears, swords, battle-axes, darts and slings; baptism, confession, penance all long existed on both continents. “If we find on both sides of the Atlantic precisely the same arts, sciences, religious beliefs, habits, customs, and traditions, it is absurd to say that the peoples of the two continents arrived separately, by precisely the same steps, at precisely the same ends. When we consider the resemblance of the civilizations of the Mediterranean nations to one another, no man is silly enough to pretend that Rome, Greece, Egypt, Assyria, Phoenicia, each spontaneously and separately invented the arts, sciences, habits, and opinions in which they agreed; but we proceed to trace out the thread of descent or connection from one to another. Why should a rule of interpretation prevail, as between the two sides of the Atlantic, different from that which holds good as to the two sides of the Mediterranean Sea? If, in the one case, similarity of origin has unquestionably produced similarity of arts, customs, and condition, why, in the other, should not similarity of arts, customs, and condition prove similarity of origin? Is there any instance in the world of two peoples, without knowledge of or intercourse with each other, happening upon the same invention, whether that invention be an arrow-head or a steam-engine? If it required of mankind a lapse of at least six thousand years before it began anew the work of invention, and took up the thread of original thought where Atlantis dropped it, what probability is there of three or four separate nations all advancing at the same speed to precisely the same arts and opinions? The proposition is untenable. If, then, we prove that, on both sides of the Atlantic, civilizations were found substantially identical, we have demonstrated that they must have descended one from the other, or have radiated from some common source.” -Ignatius Donnelly, “Atlantis: The Antediluvian World” Stubborn Egyptologists, Anthropologists and our government textbooks also claim that the ancient Egyptian, Sumerian, and Babylonian cultures all somehow started at the height of their civilization and rapidly devolved as their empires fell. This is standard accepted “fact” but how is it possible that such advanced cultures just magically appeared at the beginning of recorded history? “The region of Mesopotamia (Sumeria), which seems to have suddenly appeared out of nowhere (according to Academia), had a high knowledge of astronomy, architecture, a pantheon of gods, agriculture, gourmet foods, and courts. It is considered to be the cradle of civilization. Mesopotamia, in the north, encompassed the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, which flowed from the Garden of Eden, in the Genesis stories. The places known as Atlantis, Dilmun, and Lemuria are mentioned in the records of Sumeria. This is an obvious indication that these societies or cities pre-dated the Sumerian era. Therefore, the Mesopotamian civilization did not suddenly appear out of nowhere. It was more likely a relocated ancient ‘Lost Civilization’” -James Arthur, “Mushrooms and Mankind” (37) “One of the great mysteries that Egyptologists can never explain is this devolution, this retrograde. You look at the old kingdom, the pyramids, the type of hieroglyphs, the type of jewelry, the type of art produced, and then as it goes forward to the middle kingdom it devolves, it’s less advanced - to the new kingdom when they didn’t even build in granite or limestone anymore but in sandstone a much softer stone, easier to work with.” -Egyptologist Stephen Mehler, “Egypt and the Ancients.” Coast 2 Coast interview, August, 2004 Are we honestly to believe that advanced mathematics, medicine, astronomy, architecture, art, writing, and a complex spirituality were already fully developed from the very beginning of human civilization? “How does a complex civilization spring full-blown into being? Look at a 1905 automobile and compare it to a modern one. There is no mistaking the process of ‘development.’ But in Egypt there are no parallels. Everything is right there at the start.” -John Anthony West, Egyptologist “The ancient civilization of the land we call Egypt has been pronounced by archaeologists as flawless of its type from the very first. It reveals none of the painful steps from primeval beginnings passing through the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age, to that of Iron. It apparently burst upon the scene into exotic radiance, its perfected civilization accordingly having been described as a miracle. Science cannot admit any such miracle and another explanation must be forthcoming.” -Comyns Beaumont “What we call ‘Egypt’ lasted longer than the later Hellenic, Roman, Byzantine, Medieval, Renaissance, Enlightenment, Industrial, and modern ages put together and multiplied by three. The manipulators of history, therefore, purposely concentrate our attention on the latter days, in order to prevent us delving back into Egypt's past. They do so, understandably, for they have everything to lose once humankind becomes reintroduced to the archive of knowledge and wisdom that was common to our ancestors.” -Michael Tsarion, “Astrotheology and Sidereal Mythology” Buy The Atlantean Conspiracy Now	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19394000
The sun’s energy is an incredible bounty. The energy contained in solar rays make their way through our filtering atmosphere and is critical to life on this planet... and is fundamental to human survival. It can also provide for our comfort. The use of the sun’s power in solar energy design is usually identified in 2 contexts - Passive Solar - that which uses natural processes without mechanical equipment and additional electrical or gas energy to operate, and Active Solar - that which uses nature’s resources with the inclusion of mechanical equipment and hardware driven by electricity and gas. All solar design starts from a simple base - Passive Solar First. What can be achieved by using all of the natural resources available to meet specific needs? This is the basic question and tenet of Passive Solar applications whether it be applied to heating and cooling a building, lighting, heating water, cooking, etc. Passive solar applies both to buildings and equipment. Sound fundamentals of good passive applications and integration can beneficial and are directly related to active solar equipment use and implementation: by meeting needs with no mechanical equipment dependent on external energy incorporation, in improving conditions which reduce the amount and size of equipment required to meet needs, by improving the conditions for active solar equipment applications, and in minimizing the commensurate costs that accompany the purchase and use of any equipment, solar or non-solar. In short , Passive solar design and applications is the base which sets the conditions for effective active solar incorporation and use. Passive and Active solar applications should be considered as elements of the same palette - sort of the one-two punch of living with the sun, and the mutuality is undeniable. Both rely on the same design considerations of orientation, access to the sun, behavior of materials, and appropriate use of site resources, and vary only in the inclusion external energy of electricity and gas. Most active system guidelines even point out starting with passive considerations first. Besides providing for direct meeting of needs, Passive Solar design is a primary basis for enhancing the quality of active solar systems. Passive solar actions can result in the reduction of quantity of equipment needed to meet a particular task. For example, daylight is an available resource to meet illumination needs. Good day lighting design of buildings uses that resource effectively, and reduces the need and cost of daytime artificial lighting and equipment. The beginning point consideration is at the end use side of things whether using traditional equipment or using solar equipment. Considerable savings can be gained in applying natural energy actions to reduce the cost of both supplying equipment as well as running and maintaining it. Quite simply, the less work that needs to be accomplished by equipment, the less amount of equipment is needed, and the less it needs to run when used - this all translates to less cost for purchase of the equipment, and less on-going cost for running and maintaining. Passive solar applications mitigate the quantity of active solar equipment needed, and resulting the tandem of both is optimal. Information about the sun and how to use it effectively is common in both applications. Traditionally, the term Passive Solar has been identified with heating and cooling of buildings, but it has a broader context and application. There is, of course passive solar heating and cooling of buildings. There is also passive solar water heating, solar cooking, natural lighting, passive solar heating of pools, and even passive solar devices which move things - equipment, air, etc. Even the process of direct conversion of sunlight to electricity can be considered a “passive” action since it occurs through the appropriate use and placement of materials and capitalizes on the behavior of the combinations created, without infusing man-made energy sources and machines to make it work. Knowledge and understanding of natural processes is the heart of Passive Solar. Knowledge about the composition, attributes and behavior of sunlight and heat; the behavior of heat flow; the behavior and capacities of materials, both in nature and man-made; the sun’s annual, seasonal, and daily movement; diurnal and seasonal temperatures and conditions; human sensory response and comfort ; the patterns of nature and of people; and the physiology and psychology of the interaction between people and Nature, all are applied to effective solar application and utilization. NATURE’S CONTRIBUTION - a gift that also keeps us on our toes intense heat, cold) The conditions that nature provides, in the form of climate, is variable. Cold in the winter, hot in the summer, nice other times of the year. Arizona climate covers the entire spectrum with extremes at the desert and mountain locations. Simultaneously, nature also provides the tools for mitigation of the extreme conditions. Sunlight and materials for a warming system; breezes, water, earth, gravity, and materials for a cooling system. It is the application of these resources into a system that addresses conditions that makes passive, and active, solar so effective. The sun’s available energy varies in amount and impact through the year. The amount and intensity of energy from the sun that impacts the earth is affected by the composition of the earth’s atmosphere, and the angle of the solar radiation waves. The more dense the atmosphere, whether by clouds or smog, the less solar energy reaches the ground. Additionally the more directly perpendicular the sun is to the earth’s surface, the more concentrated the energy is in a given area and the more intense its impact. The highest capitalization of solar radiation for heat is when surfaces are perpendicular to the sun, allowing the most density of radiation at a given point. \|We know the sun’s position every day of the year and the amount of radiation that position provides, both to the earth’s surface, as well as to various positions of building walls and/or equipment. A south facing wall, or piece of equipment gets more energy from the sun than any other position. An angle directly perpendicular to the sun gets more energy per square foot than one that is at an angle. The sun is less available in the winter (shorter days) than in the summer. There is less solar energy availability in the winter than the summer due to the sun’s position at an angle to the earth and therefore more atmosphere to penetrate. We also know that cool air settles and warm air rises, and that this action occurs with fluids like water. We know about heat flow and capabilities of materials in their capacity to absorb, hold, and give up heat. We know how to let sunlight in, how to capture and create air movement for cooling, and prevent unwanted heat. THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN TUNE WITH NATURE \|Passive solar buildings are environmentally responsive and use nature’s elements in providing shelter and comfort to people in a manner that is healthy and minimally destructive of the environment; are non-depleting of natural resources; and use the building itself in the comfort creating process. They are characterized throughout the recent years with terms as “sustainable”, “renewability”, and “green”. Quite simply, these terms refer to the same thing - a nature incorporating , comfort generating, security providing environment in which the building composition itself is the “machinery” that creates protection, health and comfort, and incorporates appropriate solar equipment to attain higher degrees of performance. \|Arizona history is replete with examples of people living with the sun - both in using it as a resource as well as dealing with it’s negatives. Passive solar was integrated into Arizona architecture and buildings, both in private and public buildings. While incorrectly called Arizona’s first solar building, (there is no indication that this was a conscious effort since a number of cliff dwellings built in the same period by the same people do not show the same kind of solar application) the construction of Montezuma’s Castle does embody some solar principles of orientation, thermal mass, “overhangs” for summertime shading, and south facing winter courts \|Desert buildings used proper orientation, thick masonry walls, natural cross ventilation, indoor and outdoor living spaces, and natural and man-made shade for summer cooling, and south facing courts, and windows with tile floors which, when coupled with the thick masonry walls, provided for capture and storage of warmth during winter conditions. Higher elevations of Arizona utilized the similar principles with differing amounts of wall mass and windows for heating, and porches and cross ventilation for summer evening relaxation and sleeping. \|Arizona desert buildings, both private and public, used passive means of shading to provide respite from the intense sun. Passive solar equipment, in the form of water heaters, were prevalent in Arizona as well as Southern California. the historic Ellis-Shackleford House in Phoenix and the historic Tempe Bakery had direct gain solar hot water heaters. PASSIVE SOLAR ENERGY - PRELUDE TO SOLAR EQUIPMENT CONSIDERATION There are a number of passive energy fundamentals which can be considered in reducing the amount of equipment and/or its’ operation. ORIENTATION - It’s a necessary thing... Like all direct solar applications, capturing the sun as a resource is as simple as providing for its clear path to where it can do its work - be it heating water, cooking food, or warming a space. Orientation is a fundamental concept of solar use for passive, and active, systems - \|orientation of a solar device \|\|or orientation of a building \|\|or a solar cooker \| Orientation and a direct relationship with the sun is the first rule of solar energy use when trying to capitalize on its heat providing attributes. The sun’s traverses the sky every day - In the winter it is a low and short path and in the summer a long and high path - and even though the sun’s location is constantly changing, it is a predictable path that can be used in incorporating the sun’s energy to meet needs, and to exclude when we want to minimize the same. Applied knowledge of both the sun’s movement, position at any given time, and time of the year, as well as impact in the form of radiation (solar incidence) , enables us to take advantage of these attributes to meet needs, and to make use of our buildings and our equipment more effective and efficient. Proper orientation is critical to optimizing the solar resource. A properly oriented building can optimize solar gain for human comfort heating, and with proper shape and overhangs can minimize summertime overheating. Likewise, properly oriented solar equipment, be it a solar water heating panel or a photovoltaic electricity generating panel, will have optimum production and minimal negative impact. Using natural winter heating and minimizing summer heat impacts reduces the size of heating and air conditioning equipment as well as the energy, traditional or photovoltaic, needed to provide energy to these systems. Additionally, proper orientation allows for full benefit of the operation of electric solar panels and maximizing solar water heating operations. \| Proper building orientation also eases the integration of active solar equipment into the building form and shape, and mitigates the conflicts of solar installations contested in numerous subdivisions regulations. Proper orientation with direct exposure to the south, is best for passive solar heating of building spaces as well as the operation of solar equipment (water heaters, pv panels, cookers, pool panels, etc.). slight adjustments to the east or west of south allow for earlier or later use of the sun's energy, or for mitigating it. FORM - It’s a right thing \|Solar buildings employ a form and shape that is responsive to the elements of nature that impact upon it, as well as the solar equipment that is part of the passive/active solar approach. Elongated along the east west axis, an Arizona building optimizes the southern exposure for good wintertime direct heating, while minimizing the east and west exposures which are severely impacted negatively in the summer, especially in the Arizona desert areas. Good building form is also beneficial when it comes to integration of solar equipment. Instead of unsightly racks, collector panels can be blended into the building architecture, and seem as seamless as a skylight or clerestory window. For this reason roof design is important re: slopes and orientations to the sun’s path. (slide 28) Equally important is the integration of passive solar strategies to building additions such as thermal chimneys to accelerate cross ventilation, cooling towers, and north facing clerestories which incorporate hot water and pv panels on their back sides. LOCATION - It’s the effective thing \|Location of a building and the placement of the spaces within are a critical passive element in optimizing the use of natural resources for comfort, and proper placement also optimizes integrated solar equipment by minimizing piping runs and complex plumbing and electrical transfers. 90% of the winter sun’s energy is received at the earth’s surface between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. so open and continued exposure is important for natural heating. Habitable spaces that benefit from solar heating are best located on the south side of a building with support spaces (garage, storerooms, etc.) located to the perimeter and to the north side. In this way the sun can directly, or indirectly, provide it’s energy to warm the spaces which means less heating equipment. Additionally, ancillary spaces located to the perimeter east and west sides provide a thermal barrier zone to the habitable spaces, thereby reducing the heating and cooling loads to an easily manageable level. Proper orientation and spatial design allows for optimum use of the sun for providing thermal comfort in both winter and summer, and reduces the amount of heating and cooling equipment, as well as the energy required to run it. Additionally, proper location can reduce the amount of solar equipment needed in a radiant floor system and/or for pv systems which provide power to air conditioning and heating machinery. \|Good location planning extends to the integration of solar equipment as a building component by reducing piping runs and the commensurate “line losses” , thereby allowing more of the solar heat captured in a water heating system to get to the storage and/or use point. MATERIALS - It’s the smart thing: All solar heating and cooling systems are based on the ability to gather and store solar energy within a material for a period of time. This is accomplished by using a material which will hold heat until it is needed for heating, or capturing heat that will be dispelled at a later time. Solar water heaters use water. Solar buildings use their own structure - floors, walls, even roofs. Of course, some materials are better for this purpose than others. Glass, wood, and insulation are not good holders of heat. More dense materials like earthen materials (adobe, stone, brick, etc) and man-made materials like concrete are very good. This attribute is called thermal mass. Heating application of thermal mass is to select material(s) that will absorb heat from solar exposure during the day, hold that heat for a time during non-solar periods, then give it up as conditions warrant. The same action can be incorporated for building cooling. As an area heats up, heat can be absorbed into the thermal mass material in the walls, floor or ceiling, like a thermal sponge, then held until evening time where effective cooling practices using cross ventilation, night sky radiation and even whole house mechanical ventilation (remember - nighttime electricity rates are lower than daytime). This action is based upon fundamental principles of thermal transfer. Nature is always seeking to even out things so if there is a “difference”, there is a natural action which moves to make every thing the same or to even out. In the case of heat transfer, heat migrates to cold, so in a building, hot walls will radiate into cold spaces, and conversely, hot, summertime spaces will have their heat migrate to cooler walls. An analogy that has been used is one of 2 buckets of water - 1 full and one empty. If they are placed at an equal height, and there is a connection between the 2, below the water line of the first, water will flow to the second until there is an equal amount in the second where all action will stop because a balance has Passive solar buildings utilize the very fabric of the building as part of the comfort system for heating and cooling, and the addition of active solar system for running naturally heated or cooled water to through a thermal mass wall, floor, or roof structure enhances the performance of the system by the additional thermal mass capacity and heat capture/transfer attributes of the WINDOWS - It’s the clear thing. One of the major design considerations affecting a building’s energy consumption is the location and size of windows. Windows are the weakest point of the building envelope and usually the leakiest when it comes to energy, both in terms of losing heat in the winter, and gaining heat in the summer. A square foot of glass will lose 12 time more energy than a wood wall with insulation. As a rule, windows should be located primarily on the south side where they can be used as part of the heating system, as well as provide for natural lighting. That is the side where the sun is!. East and west sides of desert buildings should have minimal or no windows since these are the 2 worst exposures for early morning and late afternoon summer sun. East windows allow for early summer morning heat up and west windows allow for late afternoon negative impacts. Solar windows should be sized in accordance with the heating and cooling performance of the building. Typical oversizing to have the “feel of the great outdoors” is not an optimal situation when it comes to solar design. Clerestorey windows are a design tool for getting sunlight benefits (heating and lighting) to areas not able to be located at the south face. Clerestories also provide a mechanism for diffusing the direct impact of sunlight and moderating glare. Additionally, operable clerestorey windows are a good device for house ventilation cooling in the summer. Reverse clerestories, those opening to the north can be a benefit in desert conditions . Facing north, they provide even natural light to interiors and their angled backs can be a perfect mounting structure and angle for solar equipment like photovoltaic and solar water heating panels. THERMAL DECOMPRESSION - It’s the healthy thing A building trying to maintain a comfortable internal temperature will always be in conflict with the temperatures adjacent to the exterior. Heat always moves to cold - in the winter , interior warmth is moving toward the exterior cold. In the summer, the external heat is trying to move to the interior coolness. In both situations, the greater the difference in temperature between inside and outside conditions, the faster the movement of heat and the greater the amount of heat moved, and the more equipment is required to mitigate conditions. In temperate times when inside and outside are at or near the same temperatures, there is minimal movement and therefore minimal need for equipment. Add to this the fact that sudden and abrupt changes in temperature are not positive to the human body which has to react rapidly to changed conditions, and good passive site planning of thermal decompression is important for not only comfort, but for health. Thermal decompression simply means that there is layering of vegetation, landscape features, and built elements that gradually temper the environment to a point where the temperatures adjacent to the building are much closer to its internal temperature. This decompression approach establishes a condition where the difference between the internal temperature and the temperature on the building skin are much closer, so less heat is gained (or lost) and less mitigating equipment, and commensurate energy, is required. PASSIVE SOLAR APPLICATIONS - It’s first thing Natural Lighting - \|The sunlight received by a building will provide more than sufficient illumination to meet daily needs. Use of day lighting is a passive solar application. The sun’s capacity to provide light, when integrated correctly in a building, means no need to use artificial lighting during the day, which means no energy used for those lights, which means no utility cost, except at night when the sun doesn’t shine. Solar building design incorporates day lighting strategies of letting light into all spaces either directly with proper window placement, clerestories and even skylights, or indirectly with light reflecting color choices, light shelves, and transparent and translucent walls. This glazing has dual benefit - while providing for illumination, it can also provide for wintertime heating. Good passive design then incorporates both attributes of sunlight - illumination and heating, and the building construction and finishes are used to capitalize on both. Light colored surfaces and transparent/translucent interior panels for “bouncing” or directing sunlight for illumination, and dark, thermal mass surfaces for absorbing the sun’s rays for heating. Multi-faceted and multi-applicable, day lighting design is an effective passive solar approach which has a direct impact on the building’s However, addition of a solar electricity generation system (photovoltaics) allows for the capture of daytime sunlight and its transformation into electricity, which can then be stored and used in the night. Add to this the use of efficient fixtures and systems, and costs in both resources and dollars are further reduced. Water Heating - Batch or Integrated Collector/Storage (ICS) System Simply water in a tank within a container and exposed directly to the sun. This is the basis of batch/ breadbox, systems which combine collection, heating, and storage of water into a single component. Direct heating of the storage tank or tanks, makes this system compact, simple, and effective. These units are called a passive systems because they do not rely on equipment to make them function. When hot water is removed, it is replaced by an equal amount of "new" water. The "batch" approach has been used for quite some time and improvements in design have enhanced their effectiveness in increasing water heating capabilities. Newer systems use a number of small-diameter connected storage tanks connected to expose more of the water surface to the sunlight, heating the water at a faster rate. In some cases reflectors are integrated, bouncing more of the sun's rays onto the water tank, and when the sun falls, the reflectors, made of highly insulating material, fold over the glazing to insulate the tank. Some systems use evacuated glass tubes (like a thermos bottle) around the collector to keep heat loss to a minimum. Thermosyphon Systems. \|Hot water rises and cold water settles. This is because hot water is less dense than cold water due to its molecular "excitement" in being heated. In a typical water heater, colder water is at the bottom of a tank. When it is heated by the heating element or burner, it becomes less dense and rises to the top of the tank, while being replaced by cooler, settling water, which is, in turn heated, rises, etc.. This cycle is called a convective action. A thermosyphon solar water heating system incorporates natural convection to move fluid heated by the collector to a storage tank. In order to do this naturaly, the collector is located at some point below the storage storage tank. As the fluid at the bottom of the storage tank cools (more dense) it flows to the bottom of the collector where it is reheated making it rise back to the top of the storage tank. This process is continuous. As a result, thermosyphon systems do not need pumps and for that reason they are considered a passive system - that system that does not rely on equipment to make it function. \|Passive solar applications for heating and cooling a building mitigate expensive heating and cooling with conventional equipment driven by electricity and gas, and good passive design reduces the energy consumed and the allied cost of utility resources to maintain comfort. There are basic elements of passive energy buildings which use the form and materials to provide comfort. Some of these are applicable to solar equipment design and use, even to the point where there is solar equipment which are passive in their operation - i.e. thermal energy flows in the system naturally. Solar water heating is one type of equipment that can be a passive solar piece of equipment. A “batch” water heater and a thermosiphon water heater can be considered passive solar equipment - since they do not rely on out side energy source to make them function. Of course, when talking about passive and active solar, optimum conditions and control occur best when these two are coupled. Basics of passive applications are rooted in dealing with the sun (exposure to and capture of the sun’s energy when we want heat; protection from the sun when we want cooling), the materials used (for effective capture, storage, and use), and natural processes of physics for both). Every passive system for solar heating, whether it is heating water, or heating a building, requires exposure to the sunlight and trapping it - this is done by glazing - windows for a building and glass covers for solar panels. Every passive system is dependent upon materials which will absorb the sun’s heat, store a good quantity of it and easily distribute it. In a building, the effective material can be the structure itself, in the form of thermal mass. Thermal mass is characterized by those dense materials like concrete and earthen materials, and also by an extremely good material - water. These materials can readily absorb solar radiation, hold its warmth, and easily and evenly give it up to adjacent spaces. \|Heat capture, storage and distribution follow a natural and predictable behavior. Sunlight heats the surfaces it strikes. The amount of heat held within the material depends on the material composition - straw is a terrible holder, concrete is a better holder. When sunlight is no longer available the material gives its’ captured heat to adjacent cooler conditions. Generally there are 3 passive heating building concepts - Direct Gain, Indirect Gain and Isolated Gain These concepts have inherent within them cooling strategies and applications as well. Direct Gain - Simply stated, sunlight comes directly through windows into the space to be heated. The building materials struck by the sunlight are thermal mass materials - concrete/tile floor, masonry walls, or even strategically placed containers of water. Building windows act in exactly the same way as solar panel glazing - they let the sunlight (short wave radiation) in and inhibit heat (long wave radiation) from escape. Direct gain design system is always working, letting in not only direct sunlight but also the diffuse light of cloudy days, and the intense light of summer. Like any system, optimization is the goal - so the building eaves and overhangs become a designed-in optimizing element - summertime conditions, when heating is not required, are mitigated by keeping the sunlight off of the windows via the overhang, while in the winter, the sun is much lower in the sky and can easily skirt under the building’s brow. Heating is quite simple in this approach - sunlight, absorbed by the thermal mass materials, solid and/or liquid, is stored as heat. When the space cools in the evening, the heat migrates to the cooling spaces directly (radiation) or by air movement across the surface of the material (convection). For this approach, a careful consideration of the site, solar energy availability, and seasonal conditions, are all necessary to determine the appropriate amount of windows and thermal mass. Too many windows in an Arizona desert setting will result in a human cooker; too few windows in a Rim setting will result in not enough capture. This system has worked effectively in Arizona designs, as well as that sunniest of place of Liverpool, England. For effective cooling, such as the desert setting, Direct Gain Avoidance is the rule, BUT the thermal mass of the building can still be used in the cooling cycle. The materials, by nature of their thermal mass attribute, remain cool (or can be cooled during nighttime conditions - naturally by cross ventilation, or mechanical y by lowest cost energy driven fans). This coolness allows their absorption of unwanted heat in the building - acting as a sort of thermal sponge, moving heat away from people and holding to the evening, where cross ventilation or even whole house fans can dispose of the captured heat. Control of Direct Gain systems is done with the addition of movable insulation, either on the exterior or with interior blinds, and cross ventilation planning with placement of low wall vents on the cool side of the building, and high wall vents on the warm side of the building. Indirect Gain - Indirect gain is an “next step” of a Direct Gain system. Sunlight penetrates south facing windows, then strikes thermal mass located behind the window and between the sun and living space. There are basically three types of indirect gain systems, each defined by where the thermal mass is located. The three strategies are: Thermal Wall and Plenum Thermal Wall and Plenum - South facing windows front a thermal mass wall of masonry, and/or water, placed directly behind to create a vertical plenum or chase. The sun side of the thermal wall is typically dark to capture more of the solar spectrum. This mass absorbs, stores and distributes heat while acting as a buffer to the interior spaces, and moderates temperature changes and provides for extended use of thermal gain well into the evening. Sunlight passes through the glass and converts to heat energy as it impacts the thermal mass and is absorbed, slowly saturating or moving through the mass until it radiates into the living space - the wall is a delayed action radiator. At the same time the air trapped between the windows and the mass heats up, and the addition of vents at the top and bottom of the wall allow for direct passive heating. Warmed between the glass and the wall spills into the living space through the opened upper vent and since Nature abhors a vacuum, cooler room area enters the plenum through the bottom vent, and is heated by the sun warmed wall, rises, spills into the room and is replaced by cooler air again, and this natural convection process continues as long as there is sunlight. There are a number of examples of this application - the Trombe wall which uses masonry, earthen materials like, and water like Steve Baer’s water barrel. Variations in thermal mass wall materials vary from commercial water tubes to incorporation of stone. The Baer barrel wall installation provides for optimizing the heating capabilities as well as cooling of the adjacent spaces with the addition of movable insulating panels. During Winter conditions, Insulating panels are moved to allow for solar access to heat the water barrels, then at night the insulating panels are raised to cover the glazing and the barrels radiate their warmth to the space. In the summer heat, the insulation is raised and the barrels, with their cool water, act as absorbers, pulling unwanted heat from the spaces. At nightfall, the insulation is lowered, and the barrels give up their stored heat to the exterior by radiation and convection. the water, now cooled, is ready to act as a cooling absorber the next day. Sunspaces are a combination of Direct Gain and Thermal Wall systems, utilizing both approaches in tandem with a dedicated Direct Gain area (Sunspace) adjacent (fronting) the living space, with a Thermal Wall placed between the two. The Sunspace, has extensive south glazing and large daily fluctuations, while the adjacent living space is protected from these fluctuations by the Thermal Wall separating the spaces. Vents or operable doors and windows in the Thermal Wall allow warmed Sunspace heat to circulate to adjacent living spaces by natural convective actions during the day, and radiate the absorbed Sunspace heat to the living spaces in the evening. An additional usable area, Sunspaces are often used as solar greenhouses. Temperature control is best achieved with operable venting windows and cross ventilation. Sunspaces - green houses: Thermal Roof - The thermal Roof approach places thermal mass on the roof rather than at a wall, and is very effective as both a passive heating and cooling strategy. The system is both a radiator and an absorber and replaces standard heating and cooling mechanical systems and the inherent ductwork distribution system. Using water as thermal mass, roof ponds are constructed directly on top of heat conducting ceilings of metal pans or metal decking so there is direct thermal transfer. Movable insulation is placed above the ponds to facilitate better retention of heat in the winter and to prevent absorption of external heat in the summer. The operation is quite simple. During wintertime conditions, insulating panels are rolled or pivoted back, exposing water contained in UV inhibiting water beds to the sun. The ponds gather the sun’s warmth and at nightfall, the insulating panels are replaced to contain the gained heat and prevent loss to the cold night air. The heat stored in the bags, warms the supporting metal decking and the entire ceiling is a radiant ceiling throughout the cold winter night. The next morning, the insulating panels are removed when the sun appears and the cycle begins again. Summer cooling is a reverse process. Ponds, covered during the daytime heat, remain cool and act in concert with the supporting metal ceilings as a thermal sponge absorbing interior heat generated from people, equipment, and infiltration from the outside. At night, panels are removed and the ponds throw off their gathered heat to the night sky by means of radiation, convections, and if wet down, by evaporation. Roof pond heating and cooling is optimized when all living spaces except the bathrooms and high water use areas are covered by the system. In areas that generate humidity, like a shower, the metal ceilings will tend to “rain” due to the temperature difference of steam vapors and cool metal. Roof ponds, like Harold Hay’s Skytherm system, have been designed and used in the hot climate of Arizona and New Mexico to the moderate temperatures of the California coast and even planned for the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Isolated Gain - \|This is basically an indirect system where solar collection for heating are isolated from the living spaces, and while the system functions independently, heating can be called for by simply opening some floor vents and letting the natural behavior of hot air rise through the spaces. The most common application of this approach is the convective loop. Much like a thermosiphon water heater, heat transfer material of air or water, is moved across a collector panel system facing the sun, and circulated into a tank surrounded by rock (water transfer system) or a rock bin (air transfer system) in a continuous operating loop. Natural thermosiphoning occurs when the collector is lower than the heat storage area which is usually located under the building. A hybrid of this system can include moving heated water or air through a radiant floor system where the masonry floor itself acts as the thermal mass storage. This variation can also use cool water to create a “cool” floor by running house supply water, or water from an adjacent pool, through a floor system. Cool Towers - \| Evaporative cooling systems which utilize gravity effect on dense, cooled air to drop and spill into living spaces. The system is comprised of wet cooler pads mounted high in an area which provides no obstructions to air movement, which comes into contact with the pads. The warm dry air contacting the wet pads, cool and becomes more dense and heavier and falls down the tower, usually positioned over or adjacent to a major living space. The falling cool air, spills into the living space, pushing warmer out at strategic venting areas. As the process continues, the cooler air ponds in the area, providing a cool environment in Az. desert conditions. A variation to this system is the addition of a south facing thermal chimney to pull cool tower air through the house. Located at an opposite location from the cool tower, the thermal chimney provides an escape vent for interior warm air , which moves more quickly as it get heated and is driven out. This rapid venting has a drawing effect on the cool tower air and it is distributed more extensively through the building. The solar chimney can be set up to become a recirculating air heater during winter conditions. Natural Cooling - There are three sources of undesirable heat - direct summer sun solar gains through windows and glazing; heat transmission through the building envelope; and internal heat produced by people, their activities, and their equipment. Direct solar heat gain at windows and glazing can be easily controlled by shading the house - preventing the sun from reaching it (except for good day lighting and operation of solar equipment) and with external shading devices and vegetation as well as thermal insulating shutters. Heat transmission conditions can be nullified by setting up layers of thermal decompression with vegetation, built structure like porches, and water features. While there is not much that can be done to reduce natural heat production by people, equipment heat generation can be impacted by careful selection of energy efficient equipment and by good timing - do the laundry in the evening. Use of the sun for food preparation is fun, energy saving, and saves money, both in the cooking operation, and in the cooling costs saved when the heat is taken out of the kitchen during the summer. A variety of cooking tools from box cookers to slat faced ovens are available - whether they be commercial products or hand built by the inspiring solar chef. Passive Solar Energy has many faces and applications and an effective Passive solar building incorporates many of these elements. Natural processes and incorporation of building and site elements to provide for comfort as well as mitigation of untoward conditions are the hallmark of good passive design, and results in establishing a basis for reduction of equipment (solar and otherwise) for achieving comfort, and reduction of equipment purchase and operations costs. Passive solar energy is Direct, This presentation was constructed by the Arizona Solar Energy Association for the Arizona Solar Center, Inc. under contract with the Arizona Dept. of Commerce Energy Office, funded by the Dept. of Energy Million Solar Roofs program. Materials and information were provided by a number of sources. Financial support for this presentation has been provided by the Arizona Department of Commerce (Energy Office) and the U.S. Department of Energy through (DOE) Grant No. DE-FG51-01R021250. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Energy Office or U.S. DOE. The State of Arizona and U.S. DOE assume no liability for damages arising from errors, omissions or representations contained in this presentation.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19405000
Listen now 28 mins In 1997 the newly elected Labour government was quick to take measures against teenage motherhood. In 1999 they published a seminal document which became hugely influential in shifting both the public's and policy makers' ideas of the 'problem' of teenage pregnancy. The report was underpinned by a drive to tackle social exclusion. The report's tone was set in its foreword where Tony Blair described youthful pregnancy as leading to 'shattered lives and blighted futures'. But teenage fertility was highest 4 decades ago in 1971 with 51 births per 1000 in women under 20. Since then the numbers have halved. In this programme Miranda Sawyer hears from leading social scientists who argue that public policy has ignored evidence which shows that far from shattered lives and blighted futures, teenage mothers and their children can and do lead happy, healthy lives. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19424000
Books & Music Food & Wine Health & Fitness Hobbies & Crafts Home & Garden News & Politics Religion & Spirituality Travel & Culture TV & Movies Teaching Children About Money Children with developmental disabilities benefit like their mainstream peers when they learn basic facts about money, spending and saving. Early lessons about how money works helps build a sense of confidence and control in getting what they really want. When adults carried cash instead of credit cards and even when they wrote checks instead of using debit cards, children had many more opportunities to learn about money as they accompanied their parents around town. Store clerks learned to count back change when shoppers relied on cash, and coins were involved in almost every transaction. During our present economic crisis, financial advisors are suggesting that adults use money instead of plastic so that we have a better way to estimate how much we have left to spend. We can also help our sons and daughters understand the limits of their income by working with real money ourselves. Because many adults have stopped carrying cash and change, we may have to relearn better habits to protect money we carry from loss due to theft. Something that is helpful for children as well as adults is to check receipts every time we leave a checkstand, to catch mistakes made by the electronic register as well as to model responsible behavior for our children. There are helpful money recognition and counting games that feature replicas of coins that are made of plastic or cardboard and do not feel like the real thing. Something that my children enjoyed when they were learning about bills was to fold them so that visually impaired people could recognize the difference between a single one, a five and a twenty. They also enjoyed using photocopies of real bills with faces of people in the family in place of the presidents. Substituting real coins can often be done more economically than buying the replicas, but children often know or soon realize that real coins have value outside the classroom. Sometimes the feeling of change in their pockets or the sounds of coins jangling together make real coins irresistible. Providing your child with a simple wallet and showing them where to store bills and coins, IDs and pictures can help engage their interest, too. At home, it is helpful to use real coins so that children attach that real value to money when they want something at the store a parent does not buy. It is also helpful to have a play store at home, where a child can buy an item for five pennies or a nickel, or give up a dime to receive change. The concept of saving, borrowing and paying back money can be taught to children as they are learning the basic facts about money. Allowing your children to carry coins and then borrowing a few while paying for groceries or parcels can be exciting for them. Having a template of the coins that were in the pocket when you left home can help a child understand what coins need to be replaced when you pay them back at home. Many children will memorize the template after a few weeks or months without prompting. Something that may be difficult for children to understand is how one coin can be worth twenty five of another coin, and the satisfaction of having a small sack of pennies cannot be matched. The same can be true for dollar bills and a twenty. This makes it easy for vulnerable children and teens to be cheated. Just as knowledge and training can increase a child's confidence, theft can create a sense of vulnerability and shame. It is important to explain that some people are so tempted by the value of money, they do not resist the urge to take what is not theirs. We need to teach our children that they must resist that urge themselves, and that anything borrowed must be repaid by the person who had the lapse in judgment. It is important not to label any child as a thief, but instead to describe the behavior as theft. Children need to know that parents recognize their essential goodness no matter what their misbehavior may have been, and it sometimes helps to paint a multidimensional portrait of individuals who take what is not theirs. That being said, subtraction games can be played that feature sly animal puppets who take away objects we have already counted. Teaching children about money at home presents opportunities their teachers may not have in the classroom. Wonderful books that are useful in explaining basics to children are available for parents and teachers who prefer to benefit from the research and experience of veteran teachers and financial advisors. Browse at your local bookstore, public library or online retailer for books like Kumon - My First Book of Money - Counting Coins or Dollars and Cents, Teaching Math to People With Down Syndrome and Other Hands-On Learners: Basic Survival Skills - 2008, Can I Have Some Money? Max Gets It, or Raising Money Smart Kids: What They Need to Know about Money and How to Tell Them Teaching Numeracy by Sue Buckley Creative approaches to teaching and to differentiation by Sue Buckley Number fun? You can count on it! by Emma Saunders An update on Sam and the progress he has made in numeracy using Numicon by Wendy Uttley Content copyright © 2013 by Pamela Wilson. All rights reserved. This content was written by Pamela Wilson. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Pamela Wilson for details. Website copyright © 2013 Minerva WebWorks LLC. All rights reserved.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19433000
Proverbs 8 - Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible Christ, as Wisdom, calls to the sons of men. The will of God is made known by the works of creation, and by the consciences of men, but more clearly by Moses and the prophets. The chief difficulty is to get men to attend to instruction. Yet attention to the words of Christ, will guide the most ignorant into saving knowledge of the truth. Where there is an understanding heart, and willingness to receive the truth in love, wisdom is valued above silver and gold. (Pr 8:12-21) The nature and riches of Wisdom. About this commentary: Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible is available in the Public Domain.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19441000
\| Risk Factors The cerebellum is located in the lower part of the brain, towards the back. It plays a role in body movement, eye movement, and balance. A cerebellar stroke occurs when the brain’s blood supply to this area is interrupted. Without oxygen and nutrients from blood, the brain tissue quickly dies. This results in the loss of certain functions. A is a serious condition. It requires emergency care. Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc. There are two main types of stroke: An ischemic stroke (more common) is caused by a sudden decrease in blood flow to a region of the brain, which may be due to: - A clot that forms in another part of the body (eg, heart or neck) breaks off and blocks flow in a blood vessel supplying the brain (embolus) - A clot that forms in an artery that supplies blood to the brain (thrombus) - A tear in an artery supplying blood to the brain (arterial dissection) A hemorrhagic stroke is caused by a burst blood vessel that results in bleeding in the brain. Risk factors that you can control or treat include: Certain conditions, like: Medicines (eg, long-term use of birth control pills Lifestyle factors, such as , physical inactivity, diet high in sodium Risk factors you cannot control include: History of stroke, , or other type of cardiovascular disease transient ischemic attack (TIA)—With a TIA (“mini-stroke”), stroke symptoms often resolve within minutes. It may signal a very high risk of having a stroke in the future. - Age: 60 or older - Family members who have had a stroke - Gender: males - Race: Black, Asian, Hispanic - Blood disorder that increases clotting Symptoms of a cerebellar stroke come on suddenly and may include: - Uncoordinated movements of the limbs or trunk (ataxia) - Difficulty walking, including problems with balance - Abnormal reflexes - Vertigo (feeling of spinning or whirling when you are not moving) - Nausea and vomiting - Intense headache - Speech problems (eg, slurred speech) and difficulty swallowing - Problems sensing pain and temperature - Problems with vision (eg, eyes move rapidly, difficulty controlling eye movement) - Problems with eyes (eg, small pupil, droopy eyelid) - Loss of consciousness If you or someone you know has any of these symptoms, right away. A stroke needs to be treated as soon as possible. Brain tissue dies quickly. The doctor will make a diagnosis as quickly as possible so that you will be able to get the proper treatment. Tests may include: —a type of x-ray that uses a computer to make pictures of the brain - CT angiogram—a type of CT scan that evaluates blood vessels in the brain and/or neck —a test that uses magnetic waves to make pictures of the brain - MRA—a type of MRI scan that looks at blood vessels in the brain and/or neck Heart function tests (eg, —a test that uses sound waves to examine blood vessels - Blood tests - Kidney function tests - Tests to check your ability to swallow Immediate treatment is needed to: - Dissolve a clot (for ischemic stroke) - Stop bleeding (for hemorrhagic stroke) For an ischemic stroke, the doctor may give medicines to: - Dissolve clots and/or prevent new ones from forming - Thin blood - Control blood pressure - Reduce brain swelling - Treat an irregular heart rate For a hemorrhagic stroke, the doctor may give medicines to: - Work against any blood-thinning drugs you may regularly take - Reduce how your brain reacts to bleeding - Control blood pressure For an ischemic stroke, the doctor may do surgery to: For a hemorrhagic stroke, the doctor may: Remove a piece of the skull to relieve pressure on the brain ( - Place a clip or a tiny coil in an aneurysm to stop it from bleeding A rehabilitation program focuses on: - Physical therapy—to regain as much movement as possible - Occupational therapy—to assist in everyday tasks and self-care - Speech therapy—to improve swallowing and speech challenges Psychological therapy—to improve mood and decrease To help reduce your chance of having a stroke, take the following steps: that includes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and fish. - Maintain a healthy weight. If you drink , drink only in moderation (1-2 drinks per day). If you smoke, - If you have a chronic condition, like high blood pressure or diabetes, get proper treatment. If you are at risk for having a stroke, talk to your doctor about taking	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19444000
Punctuated equilibrium and molecular clocks? Dr. Peter Gegenheimer PGegen at UKans.nolospamare.edu Fri Sep 4 18:37:39 EST 1998 On Wed, 2 Sep 1998 15:16:45, Johnjoe McFadden <j.mcfadden at surrey.ac.uk> wrote: > Punctuated equilibrium and molecular clocks? > The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis of Gould and Eldridge, in which > evolution is proposed to go through long periods of stasis interspersed > with bursts of rapid evolution, is of course related to the fossil > record. However, periods of rapid evolution should also leave their > trace in molecular clocks. > Does the phylogenetic analysis of protein gene sequences suggest that > their evolution has in some cases been episodic? I guess the evidence, > if it existed, would come from comparison of sequence divergence of a > protein like globin with a molecular clock sequence (e.g. ribosomal RNA) > for the same group of species. Is their any evidence that over > geological periods of time (measured by the clock sequence) the protein > undergoes episodic bouts of evolution? Punctuated equilibrium is almost certainly driven by large-scale genome and chromosome rearrangements which will not be reflected in the sequences of individual genes. Rather, it is the organization & spatial/temporal patterns of gene expression which vary, driven perhaps by the relocation of epigeneitc regulation (e.g. DNA methylation or protein binding). As you can see, this is the hard-core McClintock line, and I think it will prove to be right. Sequences of core enzymes, such as rRNA (the catalytic component of the ribosome), cannot vary greatly over time without losing function. Sequences involved in developmental regulation and external form of an organism can vary \| Dr. Peter Gegenheimer \| Vox: 785-864-3939 FAX: 785-864-5321 \| \| Molecular Biosciences \| PGegen at UKans.edu \| \| Ecol & Evol Biology \| http://RNAworld.Bio.UKans.edu/ \| \| \| \| \| University of Kansas \| \| \| 2045 Haworth Hall \| "The sleep of reason produces \| \| Lawrence KS 66045-2106 \| monsters." Goya \| More information about the Mol-evol	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19450000
Women who live in neighborhoods lacking in close ties are more likely to have coronary artery calcification, a key marker for underlying heart disease, than those who live in more socially cohesive neighborhoods, according to a study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researcher Daniel Kim. Women who lived in the most economically deprived neighborhoods had more than double the odds of underlying heart disease. The study was published online last month in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Men appeared to be less affected by their social environments, with only those living in the poorest neighborhoods showing an impact. The study adds to the growing body of evidence that the physical and social environments in which people live and work can play a big role in health. The researchers examined health data from nearly 3,000 women and men aged 32 to 50 participating in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study and living in four United States urban areas: Birmingham, Alabama; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Oakland, Calif. They found heart artery calcification in about 11 percent of the women and 29 percent of the men. Perceived neighborhood cohesion was based on a survey in which study participants were asked to rate how well their neighbors get along and trust one another. Also taken into account in the study were Census data on income, education, and occupation grouped at the neighborhood level. “This is the first study to look at the relations between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and low social cohesion with coronary calcification in the United States,” said Kim. “Our findings are striking in that they show that these neighborhood factors can predict underlying heart disease in people without symptoms, as early as middle age.” According to the researchers, social cohesion, defined as strong, trusting relationships between neighbors, can improve people’s health by lowering stress and depression, fostering the sharing and reinforcing of healthy behaviors, and strengthening a neighborhood’s effectiveness in advocating for improvements in local services. Weak social cohesion took a toll on women’s health in both rich and poor neighborhoods, which may be related to women spending more time in their neighborhoods than men due to domestic roles such as raising a child and household chores, magnifying their exposures to any neighborhood hazards, according to the study. “If these neighborhood effects are in fact present,” said Kim, “interventions and policies to reduce the gaps in neighborhood social and economic conditions may be powerful ways to address the higher risks of heart disease and other conditions such as obesity that those living in poorer neighborhoods disproportionately appear to face.” Ichiro Kawachi, professor of social epidemiology and chair, Department of Society, Human Development, and Health at HSPH, was a co-author of the study. Tags: genetics, genomics	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19451000
Our planet has reached a staggering milestone: On October 31, 2011, the world population reached 7 billion people eking out a living. By the end of the century, it’ll top 10 billion. Unsustainable human population growth and overconsumption are the root causes of environmental destruction. They’re driving species extinct, destroying wildlife habitat, and undermining the basic needs of all life at an unprecedented rate. It has to stop. That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity has launched an ambitious new national campaign, 7 Billion and Counting. And we need your help. By hosting and attending local events, handing out Endangered Species Condoms, writing letters to the editor and taking this discussion online, you can play an important role in highlighting the connection between unsustainable human population, overconsumption and the extinction of plants and animals around the globe. We’re also giving you a way to understand this global crisis at a local level. Our new interactive map quickly shows which endangered species live where you do — and are threatened by the effects of unsustainable human population. So take action today to speak out about 7 billion, watch our video ad that’s reaching more than a million people a day in New York City’s Times Square, and then sign up for Pop X, our monthly e-newsletter on population and the species extinction crisis. The world’s human population has doubled since 1970 and shows no signs of letting up. After hitting a harrowing 7 billion people in October 2011, it has continued to skyrocket — and will do so for the rest of the century. Our planet is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. Hundreds of plant and animal species are disappearing from our planet every day, never to return. In fact, scientists say species today are going extinct 1,000 to 10,000 times faster than normal. They’re going extinct because of us — people. We’ve already witnessed the devastating effects of unsustainable human population growth on biodiversity: Species abundant in North America just two centuries ago — from the woodland bison of West Virginia and Arizona’s Merriam’s elk to the Rocky Mountain grasshopper and Puerto Rico’s Culebra parrot — have been wiped out by growing human numbers. The Center for Biological Diversity is the world’s only environmental group working full-time to raise awareness about the link between booming human population growth and wildlife extinctions happening around the world. In 2010, the Center — working through a network of more than 5,000 volunteers — gave away 350,000 Endangered Species Condoms. The colorfully packaged condoms are a lively way to get conversations started about how unsustainable population growth is crowding out other forms of life — and reducing the quality of our own. Through our new 7 Billion and Counting campaign, we’re giving away 100,000 more condoms as a way to keep the conversation going about unsustainable human population. Join our growing movement of people committed to elevating awareness of this ecological and human crisis.Get in-depth information on our resources page, join the discussion on Facebook and take action in our campaign to mobilize people on this critical issue. Talking about population means talking about saving species around the planet, whether it’s polar bears, wolves, bluefin tuna, penguins or the Miami blue butterfly. All of them — and all of us — are counting on you.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19452000
Researchers Identify Enzyme Involved in Deadly Brain Tumors One of the most common types of brain tumors in adults, glioblastoma multiforme, is one of the most devastating. Even with recent advances in surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, the aggressive and invasive tumors become resistant to treatment, and median survival of patients is only about 15 months. In a study published in Neuro-Oncology, researchers at Mayo Clinic identify an important association between the naturally occurring enzyme Kallikrein 6, also known as KLK6, and the malignant tumors. "Our study of Kallikrein 6 showed that higher levels of this enzyme in the tumor are negatively associated with patient survival, and that the enzyme functions by promoting the survival of tumor cells," says senior author Isobel Scarisbrick, Ph.D., of Mayo Clinic's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The findings introduce a new avenue for potential treatment of deadly glioblastomas: targeting the function of KLK6. The tumor cells became more susceptible to treatment when researchers blocked the receptors where the KLK6 enzyme can dock and initiate the survival signal. Researchers looked at 60 samples of grade IV astrocytomas — also known at this stage as glioblastomas — as well as less aggressive grade III astrocytomas. They found the highest levels of KLK6 were present in the most severe grade IV tumors. Looking at the tumor samples, researchers found higher levels of KLK6 associated with shorter patient survival. Those with the highest levels lived 276 days, and those with lower levels lived 408 days. "This suggests that the level of KLK6 in the tumor provides a prognosticator of patient survival," Dr. Scarisbrick says. The group also investigated the mechanism of the enzyme to determine whether it plays a significant role in tumor growth. Researchers also found glioblastoma cells treated in a petri dish with KLK6 become resistant to radiation and chemotherapy treatment. "Our results show that KLK6 functions like a hormone, activating a signaling cascade within the cell that promotes tumor cell survival," Dr. Scarisbrick says. "The higher the level of the enzyme, the more resistant the tumors are to conventional therapies." The study is the latest step in Dr. Scarisbrick's investigations of KLK6 in nervous system cells known as astrocytes. Glioblastomas arise from astrocytes that have grown out of control. Her lab has shown that KLK6 also plays a role in the perseverance of inflammatory immune cells that occur in multiple sclerosis and in aberrant survival of T-lymphocyte leukemia cell lines. "Our findings in glioma affirm KLK6 as part of a fundamental physiological mechanism that's relevant to multiple diseases and have important implications for understanding principles of tissue regeneration," she says. "Targeting KLK6 signaling may be a key to the development of treatments for pathologies in which it is necessary to intervene to regulate cell survival and tissue regeneration in a therapeutic fashion. Ultimately, we might be able to harness the power of KLK6 for the repair of damaged organs." Source: Mayo Clinic	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19453000
The “Garden of Manitoba” is the term that has often been used to describe the region between the Souris River and the Turtle Mountains in which Boissevain and Morton municipality are located. Eons ago, as the Lake Souris glacier retreated northward it left behind a sand loam which is well suited to dry land type farming. Sometime in the late 1500s, long after the glacier had receded, the first inhabitants of the area were the Assiniboine First Nation tribe. Their habitation has been documented by the many artifacts discovered in this area in recent years. The first white explorers arrived in 1738 and Alexander Henry (1806). The arrival of these explorers ultimately led to the further exploration and investigation of this region. Between 1873 and 1875 the Boundary Commission marked the international boundary. The trail they made was followed by a trickle of settlers coming west from Ontario who were looking for good land, good water and wood. In 1881 the first of several parties from Britain arrived in the area, not waiting for the railroad which was slowly extended to Boissevain by 1885. Originally called Cherry Creek, the name was changed in 1889 to Boissevain in honour of the Dutch financier Adolphe Boissevain whose banking firm introduced CPR shares for sale in Europe to increase the speed of the building of the railway. The motto on the Boissevain family crest now adopted by the town reads “No fear of the future nor regrets of the past”. Boissevain was incorparted as a town in 1906. The rural area around Boissevain is called Morton Municipality. It took its name from an early settler, George Morton. He was an energetic entrepreneur who built a store and grain warehouse in the area, which were only two of his many business ventures.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19466000
Quiz: First Marking Period (through page 14) \|Name: _____________________________\|\|Period: ___________________________\| This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions. Multiple Choice Questions Directions: Circle the correct answer. 1. Why does Melinda buy her lunch on her first day of school? a) She has plenty of money. b) So she can first see what is fashionable in what one brings for lunch. c) Because she wants to stand in line next to a boy. d) Her mother had not gone to the grocery store the day before. 2. How does Melinda get her potatoes and gravy on her blouse? a) A basketball player bumps into her. b) She trips on a girl's backpack. c) The person next to her in line flips her plate onto her. d) She trips over a blind boy's cane. 3. To what does the art teacher welcome... This section contains 364 words\| (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19472000
The history of the British Isles and its inhabitants, both human and canine, has long been entwined. Breed reveals the enduring and affectionate relationship between the British people and their dogs and explores the very beginnings of pedigree dog breeding in Britain. This is a "self delivery" pack which has been designed specifically for National Science and Engineering Week 2013. The science behind fingeprints is well known! What is not so well known is the link between fingerprints and footprints. Right Angle Events have launched a new education pack called ‘Toes for Turf’ comprising at least 4 hours of fun teaching material linked to Key Stage 1-4 Mathematics. We have designed a fantastic scheme especially for National Science & Engineering Week called "Toes For Turf". The science behind fingerprints is well known. What is not so well known is the science behind footprints or "feet prints". This activity enables students to take, classify and "lift" both fingerprints and foot prints. As the research on footprints is meagre, this scheme will allow students to make some discoveries about the correlation or otherwise between fingerprints and feet prints.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19483000
An Outline for the Research of Specific Archaeological Sites Formulated by Professor Martha Sharp Joukowsky Center for Old World Archaeology and Art This is a guide that students in Professor Joukowsky's classes use when completing site abstract-term papers. Site Abstract-Term Paper Select a site or wait for the site lottery and research it using the original excavation report(s), and write a site abstract-term paper that includes a paragraph on each section below represented with capital letters (these should provide you with a guide for the logical development of the report). This is to be a typewritten paper; the body is to be 4-9 pages in length. The "Harvard system" of in-text references is to be used, i.e., "Joukowsky (196245) states that there was ..."; footnotes are to be descriptive. The purpose of this research is to allow you to choose a specific site of interest and explore it in depth, using original archaeological site reports as part of your analysis. Be sure you cover the earliest report on the site, the most important work on it, and the latest book or article on it. An indispensable technique in archaeology is to be able to analyze sometimes verbose and confused reports, to extract the facts and to be able to organize them succinctly. Write up the results of your research using the form below as a guide. If you have any questions call Martha Joukowsky - Site name and location - Name of country, nearest modern township and local name of the site - Environmental description - Historical background - Discovery (who discovered the site and when) - Excavation aims and purposes - Reasons for excavation - goals of the project - Statement of archaeological problems resolved through excavation - Sponsoring institution(s) and name of the director(s) - Dates when work was carried out - Area and extent of work - Specialist studies and analysis - Artifact Studies - What was found (synopsis of strata) - Summary and synthesis of stratified cultural levels and assemblages; occupation levels and/or structures that relate to each; dates and periods of cultural levels, if possible. Mention how the dating of various levels was confirmed. - Artifact range and variations - Interpretation and conclusions - Cultural connections with other sites (parallels with similar or dissimilar cultures). What does the site bring to our knowledge of the area? - Cultural context and ideas the site represents, i.e., your subjective analysis of the remains--this is to give the site its meaning! - Bibliography--An annotated bibliography is to be included; it should list the books and articles you have read with a brief comment on each, such as, "up-to-date article but terrible pictures." Thus the bibliography should include the list of works you found useful with a critical comment about each. - Illustrations--The paper is to be amply illustrated with photocopies or your own original works. Don't forget to cross-reference the illustrations with the text. The sources for illustrations should be given on either the illustration itself, or in a listing. The selection of meaningful illustrations is important.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19484000
The incorrect use of vapor barriers is a serious issue in building design and construction. A vapor barrier is a Class I vapor control layer; it prevents the migration of water vapor past the point of its placement in an assembly. This can stop assemblies from getting wet (water vapor can’t get in past the vapor barrier), but it can also stop assemblies from drying (water vapor can’t get out past the vapor barrier). The articles in this section discuss where and how to use vapor barriers effectively. Specific topics include the distinction between air barriers and vapor barriers, the critical importance of climate in wall design, and the different classes of vapor control layers in the International Building Code.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19489000
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens. The regulations are aimed at reducing the estimated 3,000 deaths a year from foodborne illness. Just since last summer, outbreaks of listeria in cheese and salmonella in peanut butter, mangoes and cantaloupe have been linked to more than 400 illnesses and as many as seven deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The actual number of those sickened is likely much higher. The FDA’s proposed rules would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination, to include making sure workers’ hands are washed, irrigation water is clean, and that animals stay out of fields. Food manufacturers will have to submit food safety plans to the government to show they are keeping their operations clean. Many responsible food companies and farmers are already following the steps that the FDA would now require them to take. But officials say the requirements could have saved lives and prevented illnesses in several of the large-scale outbreaks that have hit the country in recent years.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19500000
The Federal Civil Service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada during the 1800's May 4, 2005: Beginning in 1867, with Confederation, a large number of civil servants arrived in Ottawa from each of the new provinces. In the early days government was small. The largest departments reflected the priorities of the day -- Agriculture, Post Office, Customs and Excise. Archibald Lampman, poet, worked in the Post Office Department. There was an early Department of Finance (1867) but it was only involved in accounting functions. There were no economists until the 1920's. The federal Income Tax was instituted in 1917 as only a temporary measure. They'll probably be abolishing it soon. When I first started working in the Department of Finance (for 30+ years), we were located in the Confederation Building. Prior to that time, the building housed the Department of Agriculture. The Post Office Building was located at Confederation Square, across from the East Photo Source: James Ballantyne collection, Library and Archives Canada View across Rideau Canal locks to Sappers Bridge and Ottawa Post Office, 1903 Reference Number: PA-133655 (copy negative number) The railway tracks shown in the photo are located between the locks and the Chateau Laurier Hotel. I believe that it was built by J.R. Booth. It crossed the Ottawa River and ran as far north as Maniwaki, Quebec. May 8, 2005: Geological Survey of Canada Charles Smith would like to contact Francis McDermott who is a descendant of Michael McDermott who was an early surveyor in the Bytown area. The reason for my interest is that I have transcribed the 1845 Ottawa River Journal of Sir William E. Logan, founder of the Geological Survey of Canada. Logan spent several days in Bytown, and he refers to Michael McDermott, the provincial land surveyor in Bytown. Perhaps Francis McDermott has an interest in these (limited!) comments. No, Logan did not come to Ottawa at the time of Confederation. He lived in Montreal. In 1845, the Geological Survey (GSC) was based there. The capital of Canada was then in Kingston. The Geological Survey moved to Ottawa in 1881, and it was located at the corner of Sussex Drive and George Street. A Historic Sites and Monument plaque now marks the site. The GSC moved to the Victoria Museum building in 1910. The GSC moved to Booth Street in 1959, where it is now located. To jog your memory, Mount Logan in the Yukon was later named after him. Perhaps you remember the recent fuss about changing the name of Mount Logan to Mount Pierre Thank you again. July 20, 2005: E-mail firstname.lastname@example.org (new e-mail address ... Al) April 23, 2006: Alexander Jeffrey Cambie and his wife Elizabeth Poston came from Quebec City. He worked in the Department of Agriculture and was a member of the Civil Service Masonic Lodge (see link below, dated July 1, 2009). January 29, 2008: Denise Dufour is researching her grandfather, Georges Blanchard, who worked at L’Imprimerie d’Ottawa, c. 1930. Printing services for the federal government have been a combination of contracting out and in-house printing since Confederation. I remember hearing a lot about "PP and S" around the kitchen table in the 1950's. "PP and S" stood for "Public Printing and Stationery" as the printing agency was then July 1, 2009: I am the secretary of Civil Service Masonic Lodge in Ottawa and I have been researching our The first meeting of Civil Service Lodge in Ottawa was held on November 14, 1865. Originally, all members of our lodge were required to be civil servants, thus the origin of our name. A history of our Lodge can be found at http://www.civilservicelodge.ca under Lodge History/Renowned Members. Here is an excerpt of names of Worshipful Masters of the Civil Service Lodge, between 1861 and 1900, as posted on our web site: Civil Service Lodge No. 148 AF&AM Names for search engine: Rowan, Hayden, Spink, Munro, Remon, Cambie, McLean, Walsh, Blyth, Coutlee, Rogers, Cassels, Maingy, Campbell, Boardman, Blair, Roper, Macdonnell, Saunders, Harris, Learoyd, Scott, Garrett. January 15, 2010: The Federal Government property known as the Experimental Farm, forms a major part of the Greenbelt which surrounds the City of Ottawa. Photo Source: Our Times, A Pictorial Memoir of Ottawa, page 105 August 10, 2010: Photo Source: National Capital Region Heritage, page 138 The Langevin Block, Wellington Street and Elgin Street designed by Thomas Fuller For many decades, this building housed the Department of External Affairs October 12, 2012: If you are researching ancestors who were in the Ottawa area in the early part of the twentieth century, you may find their names, date of birth, salary, Department and Branch in the Civil Service List of Canada. These hard-cover volumes are available at the Library of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society: Here are the entries from their catalogue today: View 971 CSL 1917 Civil Service List 1917 View 971 CSL 1918 Civil Service List 1918 Liste Du Service Civil View 971 CSL 1912 The Civil Service List of Canada, 1912 View 971 CSL 1913 The Civil Service List of Canada, 1913 View 971 CSL 1915 The Civil Service List of Canada, 1915 Search their catalogue for much more local history material. E-mail Al Lewis Back to Bytown or Bust - History and Genealogy in the Ottawa area	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19502000
June 01, 2008 The Heart of Fathering By Steve Dennis (LDS Life, June 2008) The idea for a special day to honor fathers began in Spokane, Washington in 1909 as Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a Mother's Day sermon. Having been raised by her father, after her mother died, Sonora wanted to acknowledge his selfless sacrifice and courage. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in 1910. The observance of Father's Day grew and in1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. Nearly a century later, fatherhood has become both something to celebrate and a significant social concern. Today more than perhaps at any other time in history there are many absent fathers. Nearly one third of children in United States are born to an unwed mother where often there is little commitment or involvement on the part of the father. Research has shown that fatherless children are more likely to drop out of high school, run away from home, abuse alcohol and other drugs, become pregnant as teens, and engage in delinquency and crime. Furthermore, the rates of poverty are significantly higher for single-parent families-- most of which are headed by mothers. While there are more absent fathers than ever before, there are also many nurturing and involved fathers. The rise in dual earner families and the loosening of gender roles have made fathering a hands-on activity that requires more than economic support and distant parenting. Protecting, feeding, playing, reading, comforting, bathing, clothing, correcting, empathizing, teaching, loving and supporting may all be part of family life for the involved dad. In fact, some may wonder if gender roles have become so blurred or similar that the distinct contributions of mothers and fathers have been diminished. In some settings, even the terms "mother" and "father" have fallen into disfavor because they are said to perpetuate gender discrimination. "Parent" is often the preferred term. Still, The Family: A Proclamation to the World makes it clear that "gender is an essential characteristic of individual, premortal, mortal, and eternal identify and purpose." It further states, "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. And these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obliged to help one another as equal partners." While some of the gender differences between males and females are certainly cultural constructions others are divine and part of God's great plan. Children benefit from the complementary roles of mothers and fathers. Each makes unique contributions. Research indicates fathers contribute significantly to a child's school achievement, identity formation, self-esteem, and development of appropriate limits and boundaries. Of course, for a variety of reasons, a father or mother may not be present. In such circumstances, we simply do our best to surround our children with positive and caring role models and trust in the Lord. Being a father is both a joyful and solemn responsibility that extends into eternity. It requires sacrifice and service. It results in heartache and happiness. But with an open heart and practice we can improve. Here are seven ways to be a better dad. - Nurture the relationship with your wife. It will have payoffs for your children. The apostle Paul wrote, "husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church" (Ephesians 5:25). Research indicates that fathers who feel good about the relationship with their wife are more involved with their children. During times of martial stress, fathers tend to withdraw from their children. - Protect your children. Children need protection from physical hazards and natural disasters, and more. Moral dangers abound on the Internet, television and throughout our society. Parents must be vigilant. Start by keeping your computer and television out of private spaces such as bedrooms. Like Captain Moroni, we must protect ours homes from the enemies of the family. His preparation included, "heaps of earth" "high timbers", and "watch towers". In an electronic age, our preparations and watchfulness will be different, but must be every bit as diligent. - Provide for your children. This includes economic sustenance, but also much more. Provide emotional support. Provide opportunities for growth and learning. Provide occasions of excitement and energy, but also times of peace and solace. Give liberally of your time. Elder Neal A. Maxwell has said, "The vital transfer of spiritual power and responsibility to the rising generation seldom occurs when fathers are too busy for such blessings..." (Ensign, 1985,8). - Be intentional in the creation of family routines and traditions. Routines and traditions develop unity, create expectations, and convey values. The stability and predictability they provide help children internalize values, develop self-confidence, and behave appropriately. Family Home Evening, scripture study, daily prayer, bedtime routines, reading together, playing together, vacations, dinnertime discussions, family councils, family walks or bike rides, gardening and on and on can all become regular routines or treasured traditions. - Preside with love and compassion. As the spiritual leader in the home, call your family together for prayer, initiate family scripture reading, personal interviews, or family councils. Be anxiously engaged in the governance of your home and family, but never domineering. Preside in council and full partnership with your wife and create ample opportunities for choice among all family members. Providing children with choices helps them develop personal responsibility and commitment. Coercion or forceful approaches may result in compliance, but rarely cultivate the change of heart necessary for children internalize behavior and develop a love of truth and respect for parents. - Participate actively in the breadth and depth of parenting. Play with your children, but do more. Learn about the development of children in general and your child in particular. Brigham Young advised parents to "study their [children's] dispositions and their temperaments, and deal with them accordingly" (JD 19:221). Prepare yourself and take part in the full range of parenting responsibilities. Elder M. Russell Ballard counseled, "On a day-to-day basis, fathers can and should help with the essential nurturing and bonding associated with feeding, playing, storytelling, loving, and all the rest of the activities that make up family life." (BYU Devotional, 19 August 2003) - Teach and discipline with encouragement and tenderness. Fathering is more than entertaining or having fun with our children. Elder Dallin H. Oaks warned, "I believe many of us are overnourished on the entertainment junk food and undernourished on the bread of life." (Ensign, May 2001, 82). Fathers must actively teach children life skills, gospel principles, and secular knowledge. Enos recorded of his father that, "he was a just man-for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." He obviously respected the words of his father for he further wrote "I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart." (See Enos 1:1-3). Likewise, Lehi set high expectations and encouraged his sons even when they murmured against him. To Lamam he said, "O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!" And to Lemuel he encouraged, "be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!" (See 1 Nephi 2: 9-10). Though our efforts may not be immediate, teaching with tenderness and love is never in vain. Fathers, view your awesome responsibility with a long term lens. In a very real sense we are not only parenting our children, but we are setting the foundation for generations to come. Each of our lives have been shaped by individuals long deceased. So too are we establishing the patterns of living that will influence our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to come. President Gordon B. Hinckley reminded us, "All that you have of body and mind will be transmitted through you to the generations yet to come, and it is so important, so everlastingly important, my brothers and sisters, that you do not become a weak link in that chain of your generations." (Regional conference, Oahu, Hawaii, 23 January 2000.) May the hearts of the fathers be turned to their children so in time the hearts of the children may be turned to God. Steve Dennis is a member of the faculty in the Department of Home and Family at Brigham Young University - Idaho	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19503000
Leading you to an educated decision. A type of dry coating, which is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The main difference between a conventional liquid paint and a powder coating is that the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form. The coating is typically applied electrostatically and is then cured under heat to allow it to flow and form a "skin." The powder may be a thermoplastic or a thermoset polymer. It is usually used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint. Powder coating is mainly used for coating of metals, such as "white goods", aluminum extrusions, and automobile and motorcycle parts. Newer technologies allow other materials, such as MDF (medium-density fiberboard), to be powder coated using different methods.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19504000
Madagascar is a truly unique place. As an island off the south-east coast of Africa, it has maintained a unique eco-system and habitat for wildlife – the most famous of which are the Lemurs. Its people come from southern Asia and from mainland Africa. This vibrant mix has produced colourful arts and handicrafts. The island suffers periodic natural disasters through regular cyclones and now faces political turmoil. Through all this, the ordinary people of the island have to struggle to maintain a livelihood in one of the world’s poorest countries. They do this by using what natural resources are available – including fibre from the giant Palm Trees. The Raffia is the largest of the Palm trees, and has giant leaves from which the strong fibre is made. We are working with a number of enterprises – supported by the European Union – that are involved in reforestation and the promotion of the local economy and protection of the habitat of wildlife. Local co-operatives hand-weave the fibre and create these colourful Summer Bags.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19505000
We have seen that the grand disparity that was believed to exist between the way Nature works here on earth and in the heavens is not valid. The question remains, however, can we learn everything we need to know by investigating phenomena here on earth and extending that result to the Universe at large? The answer must be no for the following reasons: 1) Who would have thought to look for a law of Universal gravitation without the precise measurements and detailed analysis of Brahe and Kepler? Cavendish's laboratory measurement of G was done in response to interpret results obtained for the solar system. 2) Even if someone would have used the Cavendish apparatus to map out the gravitational force between two bodies, independently of knowing Kepler's results, would we be able to infer a complete understanding of celestial motion? No. We know Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation is For example, there are certain aspects of Mercury's motion that can not be explained using the Newtonian form. The correct explanation of Mercury's orbital motion requires General Relativity. In fact, General Relativity predicts that the path of a beam of light will be bent in a gravitational field. This effect is too feeble to see in a lab on earth. It was first observed by starlight being bent near the disk of the sun in a solar eclipse. 3) If we consider then the solar system to be our laboratory, is that a big enough laboratory to establish all that could be known? The answer to this must be no too. In the 20th century, since Zwicky in the 1930's, it is known that either the gravitational force deviates from Newtonian gravity at large distances, or that there is substantial dark matter in and between galaxies. The density of dark matter is so low that it has an imperceptible effect on small scale motions, like that in the solar system. The data seem to favor the existence of some very large amount of unknown, maybe even exotic ( Is this the new celestial matter ?) type of matter. 4) Is the galaxy large enough as a laboratory to pin down all the Laws of Nature? This seems to require a negative answer as well. There are structures that encompass groups of galaxies, and the non isotropy of the cosmic background radiation is a pattern on an extremely large scale. We have also seen that the luminosity vs distance plot for supernovae (SNe1A) suggest that the universe is accelerating in its expansion. This was the discussion about "dark energy" or the cosmological constant. This effect is not seen until we look out to red shifts > 1, or about 6 billion light years. Sometimes features of the world are not visible unless we look on the large scale. In fact, the most recent analysis from WMAP, using the angular spot size of the CMBR temperature fluctuations, fits a flat space scenario. Hence, ignoring local gravitational distortions of space-time the sum of angles in a triangle that covers most of the universe is 180 degrees! 5) If we could include the entire universe in our laboratory, would we have enough data to explain it all?	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19508000
1. Because an understanding of the biosphere requires scientific analysis of biological and physical processes, graduates will demonstrate: a. An understanding of the basic principles of biology, chemistry and the earth sciences. b. An ability to evaluate and interpret scientific data. c. A working knowledge of fundamental laboratory techniques. 2.Because sustainable human activities require an integration of scientific, economic, and social information, graduates will demonstrate: a. An understanding of basic political processes at the local, national and global levels. b. An evolving knowledge of sustainable economic practices. c. An ability to integrate and communicate science and social science data with integrity and reason. 3. Because solutions to environmental challenges must incorporate human values and a deep respect for social equity, graduates will be able to articulate common rights and the dignity shared by all humanity. 4. Because environmental challenges do not acknowledge political or cultural boundaries, graduates will be able to recognize the major physical and cultural gradients around the globe. 5. Because the sustainability of biodiversity, natural resources, and environmental quality will ultimately depend on collaboration between all components of society, graduates will be able to describe local and global examples of cooperation leading to effective solutions.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19522000
\| American seismologist in Hamilton, Ohio, Richter was educated at the University of Southern California, Stanford, and the California Institute of Technology, where he obtained his PhD in 1928. He worked for the Carnegie Institute (1927-36) before being appointed to the staff of the California Institute of Technology. He became professor of seismology there in 1952. developed his scale to measure the strength of earthquakes in 1935. Earlier scales had been developed by de Rossi in the 1880s and by Giuseppe Mercalli in 1902 but both used a descriptive scale defined in terms of damage to buildings and the behavior and response of the population. This restricted their use to the measurement of earthquakes in populated areas and made the scales relative to the type of building techniques and materials used. scale is an absolute one, based on the amplitude of the waves produced by the earthquake. He defined the magnitude of an earthquake as the logarithm to the base 10 of the maximum amplitude of the waves, measured in microns. This means that waves whose amplitudes differ by a factor of 100 will differ by 2 points on the Richter scale. With Beno Gutenberg he tried to convert the points on his scale into energy released. In 1956 they showed that magnitude 0 corresponds to about 1011 ergs (104 joules), while magnitude 9 equals 1024 ergs (1017 joules). A one unit increase will mean about 30 times more energy being released. The strongest earthquake so far recorded had a Richter-scale value of 8.6. In 1954 Richter and Gutenberg produced one of the basic textbooks on seismology, Seismicity of the Earth.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19523000
Are the Gospels Myth?CARL OLSON So, are the four Gospels "myth"? Can they be trusted as historical records? There are no firsthand testimonies to Caesar's having crossed the Rubicon (wherever it was). Caesar himself makes no mention in his memoirs of crossing any river. Four historians belonging to the next two or three generations do mention a Rubicon River, and claim that Caesar crossed it. They are: Velleius Paterculus (c.19 B.C. – c.A.D. 30); Plutarch (c.A.D. 46-120); Suetonius (75-160); and Appian (second century). All of these evidently depended on the one published eyewitness account, that of Asinius Pollio (76 B.C.-c. A.D. 4) which account has disappeared without a trace. No manuscript copies for any of these secondary sources is to be found earlier than several hundred years after their composition. (The Evangelical Quarterly 58, 319-336) Merkley observed that those skeptics who either scoff at the historical reliability of the Gospels or reject them outright as "myth" do so without much, if any, regard for the nature of history in general and the contents of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in particular. So, are the four Gospels "myth"? Can they be trusted as historical records? If Christianity is about "having faith," do such questions really matter? The latter question is, I hope, easy to answer: Yes, it obviously matters very much if the narratives and discourses recorded by the four evangelists are about real people and historical events. Pope Benedict XVI, in his book Jesus of Nazareth, offers this succinct explanation: For it is of the very essence of biblical faith to be about real historical events. It does not tell stories symbolizing suprahistorical truths, but is based on history, history that took place here on this earth. The factum historum (historical fact) is not an interchangeable symbolic cipher for biblical faith, but the foundation on which it stands: Et incarnates est — when we say these words, we acknowledge God's actual entry into real history. (Jesus of Nazareth, xv) Christianity, more than any other religion, is rooted in history and makes strong — even shocking — claims about historical events, most notably that God became man and dwelt among us. Of course, some Christians of a less-than-orthodox persuasion are content to discard large chunks of the Gospels as unnecessary (or even "offensive") or to interpret as "mythological" or "metaphorical" nearly each and every event and belief described therein. But such is not the belief of the Catholic Church (or of the Eastern Orthodox churches and most conservative Protestants). As the Catechism of the Catholic Church flatly states: "Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith" (CCC 463). It is, ultimately, this distinctive sign — the conviction that Jesus of Nazareth was and is truly God and man — that is the focal point of attacks on the historical credibility of the Gospels and the New Testament. Over the past few centuries many historians and theologians have sought to uncover the "historical Jesus" and to peel away the many layers of what they believed were legend and theological accretion. Many abandoned hope that any historical (never mind theological) fact could be extracted from the Gospels. There were many complex reasons for this state of affairs, one of them being the Enlightenment-era doctrine that purely scientific, objective history could not only be found, but was necessary. Empirical data became for many scholars — men such as Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Rene Descartes — the key to all scholarship, including the study of history. It became the accepted wisdom that supernatural or miraculous elements could not be considered scientific and truly historical and that they had to be rejected. Anything outside the realm of empirical data was liable to be labeled "myth" and "legend." Fast-forward to our day. The results of this approach are all around us, both in the scholarly and popular realm. Not long ago, a young filmmaker named Brian Flemming produced a documentary titled The God Who Wasn't There. Its purpose, he explained in an interview, is to demonstrate that the "biblical Jesus" is a myth. Asked to summarize the evidence for this stance, Flemming explained: It's more a matter of demonstrating a positive than a negative, and the positive is that early Christians appeared not to have believed in a historical Jesus. If the very first Christians appear to believe in a mythical Christ, and only later did "historical" details get added bit by bit, that is not consistent with the real man actually existing . . . I would say that he is a myth in the same way that many other characters people believed actually existed. Like William Tell is most likely a myth, according to many folklorists and many historians. Of course, [Jesus] is a very important myth. I think that he was invented a long time ago, and those stories have been passed on as if they are true. (David Ian Miller, "Finding My Religion," www.sfgate.com) Here "myth" is synonymous with "fiction" or even "falsehood," reflecting the Enlightenment-era bias against anything bearing even trace amounts of the supernatural. "All I'm saying," remarked Flemming, "is that [Jesus] doesn't exist, and it would be a healthy thing for Christians to look at the Bible as a work of fiction from which they can take inspiration rather than, you know, the authoritative word of God." Thus the Gospels, according to skeptics such as Flemming, are compilations of "nice stories" or "silly tales," just like stories about unicorns and the Easter Bunny. Some skeptics mock Christians for holding fearfully onto childish tales while the truly mature people (self-described by some as "brights") go about the business of making the world a better place. "Meanwhile, we should devote as much time to studying serious theology," stated well-known atheist Richard Dawkins in column in The Independent (Dec. 23, 1998), "as we devote to studying serious fairies and serious unicorns." Fellow God-basher Daniel Dennett, in his book Darwin's Dangerous Idea, wrote, The kindly God who lovingly fashioned each and every one of us and sprinkled the sky with shining stars for our delight — that God is, like Santa Claus, a myth of childhood, not anything [that] a sane, undeluded adult could literally believe in. That God must either be turned into a symbol for something less concrete or abandoned altogether. (18) Such rhetoric rests both on the assumption that the Gospels are fanciful myth and that the authors of the New Testament (and their readers) were clueless about the difference between historical events and fictional stories. There is an overbearing sense of chronological snobbery at work: We are smarter than people who lived 2,000 years ago. Yet the Second Epistle of Peter demonstrates a clear understanding of the difference between myth and verified historical events: "For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Pet. 1:16). The opening verses of Luke's Gospel indicate that the author undertook the task of writing about real people and events: Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. (Luke 1:1-4) And the fourth Gospel concludes with similar remarks: This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things which Jesus did: were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:24-25) These quotations do not, of course, prove the historicity of the New Testament. Rather, they suggest that the authors, far from being knuckle-dragging simpletons, set about to write works depicting real people and events — especially since they believed the narratives they recounted had meaning only if they really did occur. As such, their historical content should be judged not against tales of unicorns and Easter bunnies, but against other first-century works of history and historical narrative. The word gospel comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning "good news" and refers to the message of Christian belief in the person of Jesus Christ. There has been much scholarly debate about the genre of "gospel" and how it might relate to other forms of writings found in first-century Palestine and the larger ancient world. Obviously, they do contain biographical details, and some scholars have argued in recent years that the gospels are as biographical in nature as anything in the ancient Greco-Roman world. "The majority of recent specialized studies," writes Evangelical biblical scholar Craig L. Blomberg in Making Sense of the New Testament, "has recognized that the closest parallels are found among the comparatively trustworthy histories and biographies of writers like the Jewish historian Josephus, and the Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides" (28). In his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Catholic theologian and biblical scholar Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis writes: We must conclude, then, that the genre of the Gospel is not that of pure "history"; but neither is it that of myth, fairy tale, or legend. In fact, evangelion constitutes a genre all its own, a surprising novelty in the literature of the ancient world. Matthew does not seek to be "objective" in a scientific or legal sense. He is writing as one whose life has been drastically changed by the encounter with Jesus of Nazareth. Hence, he is proposing to his listeners an objective reality of history, but offered as kerygma, that is, as a proclamation that bears personal witness to the radical difference that reality has already made in his life. (Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word, Vol. II: Meditations on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, 44) Many early Christian authors, such as Justin Martyr, referred to the Gospels as memoirs of the apostles. Blomberg has used the descriptive "theological biographies," which captures well the supernatural and human elements found within them. Those supernatural elements — especially the miracles of Jesus and his claims to divinity — are, as we've noted, why skeptics call the Gospels "myth" while remaining unruffled about anything written about Julius Caesar and the Rubicon by Velleius Paterculus, Plutarch, Suetonius, and Appian. Yes, Suetonius did write in his account (Lives of the Twelve Caesars) about "an apparition of superhuman size and beauty . . . sitting on the river bank, playing a reed pipe" who persuaded Caesar to cross the river, but it has not seemed to undermine the belief that Caesar did indeed cross the Rubicon on January 11, 49 B.C. But, for the sake of argument, let's set aside the theological claims found in the New Testament and take a brief look at the sort of data a historian might examine in gauging the reliability and accuracy of an ancient manuscript. First, there is the sheer number of ancient copies of the New Testament. There are close to 5,700 full or partial Greek New Testament manuscripts in existence. Most of these date from between the second to 16th century, with the oldest, known as Papyrus 52 (which contains John 18), dating from around A.D. 100-150. By comparison, the average work by a classical author — such as Tacitus (c. A.D. 56-c. 120), Pliny the Younger (A.D. 61-113), Livy (59 B.C.-A.D. 17), and Thucydides (460-395 B.C.) — has about 20 extant manuscripts, the earliest copy usually several centuries newer than the original. For example, the earliest copy of works by the prominent Roman historian Suetonius (A.D. 75-130) date to A.D. 950 — over 800 years after the original manuscripts had been written. In addition to the thousands of Greek manuscripts, there are an additional 10,000 Latin manuscripts, and thousands of additional manuscripts in Syriac, Aramaic, and Coptic, for a total of about 24,000 full or partial manuscripts of the New Testament. And then there are the estimated one million quotes from the New Testament in the writings of the Church Fathers (A.D. 150-1300). Obviously, the more manuscripts that are available, the better scholars are able to assess accurately what the original manuscripts contained and to correct errors that may exist in various copies. Closely related is the matter of dating. While debate continues as to the exact dating of the Gospels, few biblical scholars believe that any of the four works were written after the end of the first century. "Liberal New Testament scholars today," writes Blomberg, "tend to put Mark a few years one side or the other of A.D. 70, Matthew and Luke — Acts sometime in the 80s, and John in the 90s" (Making Sense of the New Testament, 25). Meanwhile, many conservative scholars date the synoptic Gospels (and Acts) in the 60s and John in the 90s. That means, simply, that there exist four accounts of key events in Jesus' life written within 30 to 60 years after his Crucifixion — and this within a culture that placed a strong emphasis on the role and place of an accurate oral tradition. Anyone who denies that Jesus existed or who claims that the Gospels are filled with historical errors or fabrications will, in good conscience, have to explain why they don't make the same assessment about the historical works of Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, Julius Caesar, Livy, Josephus, Tacitus, and other classical authors. Secondly, historical details are found in the Gospels and the other books of the New Testament. These include numerous mentions of secular rulers and leaders (Caesar Augustus, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Felix, Archelaus, Agrippa, Gallio), as well as Jewish leaders (Caiaphas, Ananias) — the sort of names unlikely to be used inaccurately or even to show up in a "myth." Anglican scholar Paul Barnett, in Is The New Testament Reliable?, provides several pages' worth of intersections between biblical and non-biblical sources regarding historical events and persons. "Christian sources contribute, on an equal footing with non-Christian sources," he observes, "pieces of information that form part of the fabric of known history. In matters of historical detail, the Christian writers are as valuable to the historian as the non-Christian" (167). Then there are the specifically Jewish details, including references to and descriptions of festivals, religious traditions, farming and fishing equipment, buildings, trades, social structures, and religious hierarchies. As numerous books and articles have shown in recent decades, the beliefs and ideas found in the Gospels accurately reflect a first-century Jewish context. All of this is important in responding to the claim that the Gospels were written by authors who used Greek and Egyptian myths to create a supernatural man-god out of the faint outline of a lowly Jewish carpenter. Various modern archeological discoveries have validated specific details found in the Gospels: Numerous other finds continue to demolish the notion that the Gospels are mythologies filled with fictional names and events. Third, there are extra-biblical, ancient references to Jesus and early Christianity. Although the number of non-Christian Roman writings from the first half of the first century is quite small (just a few volumes), there are a couple of significant references. Writing to the Emperor Trajan around A.D. 112, Pliny the Younger reported on the trials of certain Christians arrested by the Romans. He noted that those who are "really Christians" would never curse Christ: They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. (Letters, Book 10, Letter 96) The historian Tacitus, in his Annals — considered by historians to be one the finest works of ancient Roman history mentioned how the Emperor Nero, following the fire in Rome in A.D. 64, persecuted Christians in order to draw attention away from himself. The passage is noteworthy as an unfriendly source because although Tacitus thought Nero was appalling, he also despised the foreign and, to him, superstitious religion of Christianity: Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. (Annals, 15:44) Robert E. Van Voorst, author of Jesus Outside the New Testament, offers a detailed analysis of scholarly controversies about this passage, and then states, "Of all the Roman authors, Tacitus gives us the most precise information about Christ" (45). This includes Tacitus's understanding that "Christus" — not Paul or someone else — was the founder of the Christian movement. He notes that Christ was executed under Pilate during the reign of Tiberius, and that Judea was the source of the Christian movement. All of which further confirms the historical reliability of the Gospels. As Pope Benedict XVI noted in his book on Jesus, there is much that is good about historical-critical and other scientific methods of studying Scripture. But these approaches have limits. "Neither the individual books of Holy Scripture nor the Scripture as a whole are simply a piece of literature" (Jesus of Nazareth, xx). The Christian apologist should not be embarrassed to admit that he has a certain bias when it comes to reading and understanding the Gospels. He should point out that everyone has biases, and that the skeptic's bias against the supernatural and the miraculous shapes how he reads and understands history, especially the historical data found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Christian, in other words, should have no problem with an honest historical examination of the Gospels. But why do so many skeptics shy away from a candid examination of their philosophical biases? That is the question apologists should pose and demand (politely, of course) to be answered. Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels by Craig A. Evans The Gospels and the Jesus of History by Xavier Leon-Dufour, S.J. "The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church," Pontifical Biblical Commission (March 18,1994; available online at www.ewtn.com) Is the New Testament Reliable? by Paul Barnett The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition by Paul Rhodes Eddy and Gregory A. Boyd Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI Making Sense of the New Testament: Three Crucial Questions by Craig L. Blomberg Reinventing Jesus: How Contemporary Skeptics Miss the Real Jesus and Mislead Popular Culture by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel B. Wallace Carl E. Olson. "Are the Gospels Myth?" This Rock vol. 19 no. 3 (March, 2008). This article is reprinted with permission from Catholic Answers Magazine and the author, Carl E. Olson. Subscribe to Catholic Answers Magazine here. This Rock magazine is now Catholic Answers Magazine.THE AUTHORS Copyright © 2008 Catholic Answers Magazine Not all articles published on CERC are the objects of official Church teaching, but these are supplied to provide supplementary information.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19526000
This lecture is about ways of looking at DNA sequences in complete genomes and chromosomes, in terms of symmetry elements. There are two parts to this talk. In Part 1, I will discuss the fact that we simply have "Too Much Information" becoming available, and the problem will only get worse in the near future. There are ways of cataloging and organising the data, of course. I have found that the true diversity of genome sizes in Nature is often neglected, so we'll talk for a few minutes about the "C-value paradox", along with some possible ideas for WHY certain organisms have so much DNA. I would like to think that one way of dealing with the explosion of sequence information, in terms of DNA sequences, is to think about it in biological terms, in particular in physical-chemical terms of structure and function of symmetry elements. For example, there are specific DNA sequences which "code" for a telomere, and different DNA sequences which are specific for centromeres. Specific DNA sequences, their structures, and biological functions will be discussed. In Part 2, I will introduce "DNA Atlases", first having a look at base composition throughout sequenced chromosomes, and then looking at gene expression throughout the whole genome. I have also made separate file, containing specific LEARNING OBJECTIVES for this lecture, as well as a "self-test quiz", which I recommend having a look at, BEFORE the lecture, if possible. I've incorporated the answers to questions 1 and 2 into PART 1 of the lecture notes. Brevis esse laboro, Obscuro fio. - Horace The information in GenBank is doubling every 10 months. What are the implications of this? A look at genome sequencing since 1994: \|YEAR\|\|# GENOMES Sequenced\| Although the number of genomes being sequenced is increasing rapidly, one has to this into perspective - the organisms can be placed into four different classes: \|Organism group\|\|Size (bp)\|\|No. sequenced\| \|viruses\|\|~300 bp to ~350,000 bp\|\|545\| \|prokaryotes\|\|~250,000 to ~15,000,000 bp\|\|>100\| \|\|~12,000,000 to ~600,000,000,000 bp\|\|4\| \|multi-celled eukaryotes\|\|~20,000,000 to ~500,000,000,000 bp\|\|3\| \|Drosophila species\|\|Genome Size \| (in base pairs) \|D. americana\|\|~300,000,000 bp\| \|D. arizonensis\|\|~225,000,000 bp\| \|D. eohydei (male)\|\|~234,000,000 bp\| \|D. eohydei (female)\|\|~246,000,000 bp\| \|D. funebris\|\|~255,000,000 bp\| \|D. hydei\|\|~202,000,000 bp\| \|D. melanogaster\|\|~180,000,000 bp\| (~138,000,000 bp sequenced) \|D. miranda\|\|~300,000,000 bp\| \|D. nasutoides\|\|~800,000,000 bp\| \|D. neohydei\|\|~192,000,000 bp\| \|D. simulans\|\|~127,500,000 bp\| \|D. virilis\|\|~345,000,000 bp\| In summary, the genome sizes of the Drosophila species that have been examined so far range from about 127 million bp to about 800 million bp. But of course at present we SUSPECT that they contain roughly the same number of genes, although it is possible (likely) that they contain duplicated regions (or perhaps even entire chromosomes; there is ample space to have an entire extra copy (or two or more) of the entire genome). In addition, they also contain various types of repeats, known as "selfish DNA". Why does amoeba have more than 200x as much DNA as humans? Think about it for a discussion in class. I have a possible explanation, although I'm not sure anyone really knows the answer to this, to be honest. This brings us to the first question on the quiz: Answers to the self-test quiz which you are supposed to do BEFORE the lecture: 1. The short answer - a very long time. About 2.4x1012 years. That's about 160 times longer than the estimated age of the universe! 2. The piece of paper would be quite thick - it would reach outside the earth's atmosphere and beyond the orbit of the planet Mars. Today's lecture will cover: Next Tuesday's lecture will cover: One way of dealing with the problem of how to display so much sequence information is to have a look at the whole chromosome at once, smoothing over a large window. The entire bacterial chromosome is displayed as a circle, with different colours representing various parameters. First, as an introduction to atlases, we will look at base-composition. Then we will have a look at levels of expression of mRNA and proteins throghout the chromosome. As examples, I will use my very favourite organism, Escherichia coli K-12. There are several things to notice in this plot. First, the concentration of the bases are not uniformly distributed throughout the genome, but there are "clumps" or clusters where specific bases are a bit more concentrated. Also, the G's (turquoise) clearly are seen to be favoured on one half of the chromosome, whilst the C's (magenta) are on the other strand. This shows up in the "GC-skew" lane as well (2nd circle from the middle). I have labelled the entire terminus region, which ranges from TerE (around 1.08 million bp (Mbp) to TerG (~2.38 Mbp) in Escherichia coli K-12. Finally, several genes corresponding to the darker bands (e.g., more biased nucleotide composition) are labelled. The same pattern can be seen for the other three Escherichia coli chromosomes which have been sequenced (so far!), as shown in the table below. Strain: K-12, isolate W3110 DDBJ NCBI tax Strain: K-12, isolate MG1655 U. Wisconsin TIGR cmr NCBI tax NCBI entrez Strain: O157:H7 (substrain EDL93) U. Wisconsin NCBI tax NCBI entrez Strain: O157:H7 (substrain RIMD 0509952) Miyazaki, Japan NCBI tax NCBI entrez \|\|DNA Res. 8:11-22 In addition to showing overall global properties of the chromosome (such as replication origin and terminus), the base composition can also highlight regions different from the rest of the genome. For example, in the plasmid pO157, there are some regions which are much more AT rich (probably these came about as a result of horizontal gene transfer - we will discuss this again in the next lecture...) Note that the "toxB" gene is much more AT rich than the average for the rest of the plasmid. This COULD be due to the fact that this gene came from an organism with a more AT rich genome, or (more likely in my opinion) it is more AT rich because it is important for this gene to vary in sequence (e.g., have a higher mutational frequencey). Escherichia coli is probably the best characterised organism. There are 4085 predicted genes in Escherichia coli strain K-12 isolate W3110. There are 4289 predicted genes in Escherichia coli strain K-12 isolate MG1665. There are 5283 predicted genes in Escherichia coli strain O157:H7 isolate EDL933 (enterohemorrhagic pathogen). There are about 5361 predicted genes in Escherichia coli strain O157:H7 substrain RIMD 0509952 (enterohemorrhagic pathogen). Roughly 2600 genes have been found to be expressed in Escherichia coli strain K-12 cells, under standard laboratory growth conditions. About 2100 spots can be seen on 2-D protein gels. Very roughly 1000 different genes (only about 600 mRNA transcripts) are expressed at "detectable levels" in E. coli cells grown in LB media. Only about 350 proteins exist at concentrations of > 100 copies per cell. (These make up 90% of the total protein in E.coli!) Most (>90%) of the proteins are present in very low amounts (less than 100 copies per cell). It has been known since the 1960's that genes closer to the replication origin are more highly expressed. However, it has only been in the past few years that technology has allowed the simultaneous monitoring of ALL the genes in Escherichia coli. There are 4397 annotated genes in the E. coli K-12 genome. Shown below is an "Atlas plot" of the E. coli K-12 genome, with the outer circle representing the concentration of proteins (roughly in number of molecules/cell) and mRNA (again, roughly number of molecules/cell). Under these conditions (e.g., cells grown to late log phase, in minimal media), there were 2005 genes expressed at detectable levels, and only 233 proteins have been found to exist in "abundant" conditions (e.g., very roughly more than 100 molecules per cell). For E. coli K-12 cells, grown in minimal media to late log phase: 4397 annotated genes -> 2005 mRNAs expressed -> 233 abundant proteins (note that these numbers will vary for different experimental conditions....) In this picture, the outer lane represents the concentration of proteins (blue), the next lane the concentration of mRNA (green), and then the annotated genes. The inner three circles represent different aspects of the DNA base composition throughout the genome. The innermost circle (turquoise/violet) is the bias of G's towards one strand or the other (that is, a look at the mono-nucleotide distribution of the 4 DNA bases). The next lane is the density of stretches of purine (or pyrimidine) stretches of 10 bp or longer. Note that in both cases purines tend to favour the leading strand of the replicore, whilst pyrimidine tracts are more likely to occur on the lagging strand. Finally, the next circle (turquoise/red) is simply the AT content of the genome, averaged over a 50,000 bp window. Note that the terminus is slightly more AT rich, whilst the rest of the genome is slightly GC rich. (The AT content scale ranges from 45% to 55%). Link to more atlases for Escherichia coli genomes. Link to the main "Genome Atlas" web page Friday (6 April, 2001) Link to a list of recent papers and talks on DNA structures. Watson, James D. "A PASSION FOR DNA: Genes, Genomes, and Society", (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000). Amazon Barnes&Noble Sinden, Richard R., "DNA: STRUCTURE and FUNCTION", (Academic Press, New York, 1994). Amazon Barnes&Noble Calladine,C.R., Drew,H.R., "Understanding DNA: The Molecule and How It Works", (2nd edition, Academic Press, San Diego, 1997). Amazon Barnes&Noble A List of more than a thousand books about DNA	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19532000
Energy Industry Skill StandardsThe goal of the Energy Industry Skill Standards Project is to specify the critical work functions, key activities, performance indicators and knowledge, skills, and abilities an individual needs to succeed in certain energy-related occupations. The result of this project will support the development of new curriculum and the strengthening of existing curriculum in programs leading to certain careers in the energy industry. Power Generation Skill StandardsThe Power Generation Skill Standards were made available by the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board for Industry Skill Panels. For more information or to download the complete manual, go to the Washington State Skill Standards Energy Industry Web site. Wind Technician Skill StandardsSkills Standards for Wind Turbine Technicians (2009) \| pdf Skill Panel Publications - Evaluating Industry Skill Panels: a Model Framework (June 2008) \| pdf What is a skill panel?A skill panel is a group of skilled workers who have in-depth knowledge of the hands-on skills required to perform the job tasks in a technical position. The skills required to perform the job tasks are identified by the skill panel as the skill standards. How are skill standards used? - Industry: Recruiting, hiring, training and promoting employees - Incumbent Workforce: Advancing careers and/or reentering the workforce - Future Workforce/Students: Understanding and acquiring skills needed to attain high wage jobs - Labor: Ensuring employees benefit from high paying career opportunities - Government: Linking education reform initiatives, workforce training and economic development - Educators and Trainers: Developing curriculum and teaching to the required skills sets Have skill standards been developed for the energy industry?Yes, Walla Walla Community College developed skill standards with industry support for the following positions: - Instrument/Control/Relay/Meter Technician Skill Standards for the Energy Industry-2006 ProjectAlan Hardcastle, WSU Research Analyst Skills Standards for Operators and MechanicsSkill Standards are the industry-defined skills, knowledge and abilities required for individuals to succeed in the workplace. The standards specify what students, job seekers and current employees must know and be able to do within a particular industry and occupation, including the required levels of performance. The standards can be used by colleges, high schools and training organizations to make sure that their programs are up-to-date, to attract students to careers in the industry, and to ensure that students and workers get high quality training. The standards can also be used as the basis for awarding college credit for prior learning. Employers and Labor can use the results to better understand the foundational skills workers need to do their jobs effectively, to design or improve training programs, and as a precursor to existing programs like apprenticeship. Who Participates? Employees are the ExpertsSkill standards are defined through focus groups of employees who actually work in the occupations being studied. The focus groups will consist of 12 front-line employees who represent similar kinds of occupations, from many different companies and energy sectors (hyrdo, thermal). The group may also contain managers or other knowledgeable persons with extensive, current knowledge about those occupations. How Industry Can Contribute - Recruiting ParticipantsOur goal is to recruit 12 participants for each two-day focus group meeting: one group for operators, and one for mechanics. We need employers and labor partners to identify and support employees to participate in the meetings. It is imperative that we have an adequate number of knowledgeable employees from each occupation participate so the standards will be valid for the industry. Each 12-person focus group should have a roughly equal number of participants from each sector: Hydro and thermal. We also want employees from many different organizations to ensure that a range of work environments is represented. Responding to Surveys: Written surveys will be used to supplement data collection from industry about foundation skills required for these occupations. The ProcessThe focus group meeting will last two consecutive days. A facilitator with experience in developing skill standards leads the meeting. There is a set agenda, but the format is very interactive and discussion-based. Getting input from all participants about their work functions, activities, knowledge and skills is one key goal. Reaching agreement about the scope and content of the information is another. The process includes fast-paced and intensive discussions about work functions, activities and skills, but it is also a fun and rewarding experience for participants. Draft copies of the standards will be reviewed by industry before a final document is produced this summer. Questions and ContactsBarbara Hins-Turner Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy 600 Centralia College Blvd Centralia WA 98531 (360) 736-9391, ext. 477	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19542000
Delaware Bay — One a 10,000-Mile-Long Chain During May and early June, the shores of Delaware Bay resonate with the cheerful chattering of more than 20 species of migratory shorebirds. Delaware Bay provides an ecologically important stepping-stone for the birds' spring pilgrimage to Arctic nesting grounds.The Delaware Bay is the largest spring staging area for shorebirds in eastern North America. A staging site is an area with plentiful food where migrating birds gather to replenish themselves before continuing on their journey. Staging sites serve as a link in a chain connecting wintering areas with breeding grounds, sites for which there are no alternatives. Place cursor on map to see the Southward Migration Shorebirds begin to arrive in early May. The numbers of birds soar upward during mid-month and usually peak between May 18 and 24 (in some years as late as May 28). They have traveled from the coasts of Brazil, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego, from desert beaches of Chile and Peru, and from mud flats in Suriname, Venezuela, and the Guyanas. After several days of non-stop flight, and having come as far as 10,000 miles, they reach the bay beaches depleted of their energy reserves. Luckily, nature provides an abundant food supply in this area at just this time of year: the eggs of hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs that have migrated to Delaware Bay beaches to spawn. A Feast for Feathered The shorebirds spend between two to three weeks gorging primarily on fresh horseshoe crab eggs, although worms and small bivalves are also plentiful. High in protein and fat, the eggs are an energy-rich source of food. This high-calorie diet enables the birds to nearly double or triple their body weight before continuing on to Arctic nesting areas. More Than a Million Mouths Each spring, scientists from the Delaware and New Jersey Divisions of Fish and Wildlife conduct weekly aerial surveys of migratory shorebirds on Delaware Bay beaches. In May 2001, scientists observed more than 775,000 shorebirds along beach habitat. Ninety-five percent of these birds were represented by four species: red knots, ruddy turnstones, semipalmated sandpipers, and dunlins. Migratory shorebirds are also known to utilize marshes and back-bay habitats. Thus, throughout their spring migration, the actual number of shorebirds using Delaware Bay as a staging ground may surpass one million. Click here to meet a few of these Delaware diners. recent decline in the horseshoe crab population appears to correlate with a decline in migrating shorebird populations. Click here to learn more about the problems facing migratory shorebirds. Click here to learn why horseshoe crabs are decreasing in abundance.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19544000
Child Honouring is a philosophy—a vision, an organizing principle, and a way of life—the children-first way of sustainability. It starts with three givens: The primacy of early years—early childhood is the gateway to humane being. We face planetary degradation that is unprecedented in scope and scale—a state of emergency that most endangers the very young, and that requires a remedy of equal scale. This crisis calls for a systemic response in detoxifying the environments that make up the world of the child. Child Honouring is a children-first approach to healing communities and restoring ecosystems. It views how we regard and treat our young as the key to building a humane and sustainable world. It is a novel idea—organizing society around the priority needs of its youngest members. The essence of the vision is expressed in A Covenant for Honouring Children and its underlying principles. Its spirit is invitational—a call to imagine and create a diversity of child-friendly cultures. A child-honouring society would show love for its children, and thus for all of us, in every facet of its design and organization.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19554000
It was Admiral Shi Lang (施琅) who conquered Taiwan for Qing China. His armada of war junks fought a decisive sea battle off the Pescadores on July 7, 1683. Koxinga or Zheng Chengkong drove the Dutch out of Taiwan in 1662 and founded the house of Zheng that ruled the island and the Pescadores for closely to 20 years. But he and his son Zheng Jing (鄭經) did so not as Ming emperor. The father finally had time to ask his daughter what was all about. “What did you made the horse to come seek me out and get me back home for?” he questioned her. Serikos is the Greek word, which means silken in English. The adjective means “pertaining to the Seres,” the Asian people from whom the Greeks first obtained the soft texture. Of the Hoklo population in Taiwan those hailing from Quanzhou (泉州) form the preponderant majority. In the county of Tongan (同安) under the jurisdiction of the prefecture of Quanzhou, a boy was born on the twenty-second day of the eighth moon on the Chinese lunar calendar while China had yet to be reunified by the Emperor Taizhu of the Song (宋太祖) Dynasty who reigned from 960 to 976 A.D. There are usually three Buddha images in the main hall of a Buddhist temple in Taiwan. They include Sakyamuni or Gautama Siddhartha, Dipankara (Dipamkara in Pali) or Randeng fo (燃燈佛) in Chinese, and Maitreya (彌勒佛). Gods of thunder in China's Taoist pantheon had to work together with Feng Shi (風師) or Feng Shen (風神), Gods or Goddesses of Wind. The imperial orders of Xuanzhong (玄宗) were obeyed to the letter. Everybody at his court and palaces searched for anything that had an image of the dragon. One of the dragons is said to have caused storm and flood by mistake. Legend has it that during the reign (627-650 A.D.) of the emperor Taizhong of the Tang Dynasty (唐太宗), a dragon king came from his undersea palace to visit Zhangan, the capital city, where he met a Taoist diviner who knew what he was and told him to go back to carry out the Jade Emperor's rainmaking order. Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan early last month, leaving in its wake more than 600 people dead and a third of Taiwan under floodwaters and mudslides.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19558000
Following Seka Elementary School's lead in participating in activities linked to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, Chopwell Primary School planned one of their Creative Curriculum Units around this theme. The challenge was on and classes were competitive! The brief was that each class needed to create goods to be sold at the Summer Fair to raise money for the Tohoku Appeal. However, all of the goods had to be made by reusing/recycling, therefore reducing the need for new materials. Look at the Power Point showing what we got up to. Who knew that recycling could be so much fun?! Reduce, reuse, recycle!.ppt Our Japanese friends had sent us some special bottle top art kits. We frantically started to collect used bottle tops so that we could have a go at creating pieces of art. We collected so many bottle tops that each class created a large scale bottle art!	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19559000
Haiti’s 1804 slave revolt freed it from French Imperial domination, so we forced them to pay reparations to French slave traffickers for most of the 19th century. President Thomas Jefferson refused to recognize Haiti as an independent nation, and this continued until the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1864. In the early 20th century, America invaded Haiti and occupied it until 1934, making it a safe haven for U.S. corporate powers to exploit the population and siphon its wealth into their bank accounts. After troops withdrew, a series of brutal U.S. sponsored dictatorships oppressed the people, the most notable being the Duvalier father-and-son regime, and its murderous and ruthless Tonton Macoutes. The only freely elected leader of Haiti was the former priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, elected in 1990 and removed in a U.S.-created coup in 1991, and reinstalled in 1994 by Clinton—serving two years but burdened with International Monetary Fund “structural agreements,” designed to destroy the public sector, typical of “free (forced) trade” requirements of the neo-liberal/Chicago School ideology. A former food-exporting country soon became 100 percent dependent on imported food as U.S. imports collapsed its agricultural class. Aristide was re-elected in 2001, amid much intimidation and violence directed at his supporters by opposition groups and former Tonton Macoutes secret-police members, and he was again removed by Bush in 2004. And earthquakes? Luck of the draw there.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19573000
Partita No. 1 : Work information - Work name - Partita No. 1 - Work number - BWV 1002 - B minor - 1720-01-01 02:00:00 - Adam Abeshouse - Adam Abeshouse - Recording date - 1994-09-29 00:00:00 Johann Sebastian Bach One of the greatest composers in history, Johann Sebastian Bach (father of C.P.E, J. C. and W. F. Bach) was by far the most significant member of the Bach dynasty of musicians. He outshone his forebears and contemporaries, but did not always receive the respect he deserved in his own lifetime. After a brief engagement as a violinist in the court of Weimar, Bach became organist at the Neukirche in Arnstadt. In June 1707 he moved to St. Blasius, Mühlhausen, and married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach. In 1708 he was appointed court organist in Weimar where he composed most of his works for organ. In 1717, he was appointed Court Kapellmeister to the young Prince Leopold at Cöthen, but was refused permission to leave Weimar. The Duke only allowed Bach to go after holding him prisoner for nearly a month. While at Weimar, Bach wrote his violin concertos and the six Brandenburg Concertos, as well as several suites, sonatas and keyboard works, including several, such as the Inventions and Book I of the 48 Preludes and Fugues (The Well-tempered Clavier). In 1720 Maria Barbara died, and the next year Bach married Anna Magdalena Wilcke. Bach resigned the post in Weimar in 1723 to become cantor at St. Thomas’ School in Leipzig where he was responsible for music in the four main churches of the city. Here he wrote the Magnificat and the St. John and St. Matthew Passions, as well as a large quantity of other church music. In Leipzig he eventually took charge of the University “Collegium Musicum” and occupied himself with the collection and publication of many of his earlier compositions. Over the years that followed, Bach’s interest in composing church music declined somewhat, and he took to writing more keyboard music and cantatas. As his eyesight began to fail, he underwent operations to try and correct the problem, and these may have weakened him in his old age. He died at age 65, having fathered a total of 20 children with his two wives. Despite widespread neglect for almost a century after his death, Bach is now regarded as one of the greatest of all composers and is still an inexhaustible source of inspiration for musicians. Bach’s compositions are catalogued by means of the prefix BWV (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis) and a numbering system which is generally accepted for convenience of reference. The crowning achievement of J S Bach's instrumental writing, the set of solo Sonatas and Partitas are the ultimate test of musicianship and technique for the violinist. Composed in 1720 at Cothen, the set alternates Italian sonatas and French suites or partitas. Bach's complete knowledge and mastery of the instrument allowed him to make full use of the violin's expressive range. For example, by asking the violinist to play on multiple strings at once, or play arpeggiated chords rapidly, Bach creates such complex harmonies that it's sometimes difficult to believe only one instrument is playing! Although the sonatas follow the same formal pattern, all three partitas are constructed differently, though all are suites of dance movements. Partita No. 1 consists of four pairs of movements, the second of each pair varying the first. Displaying some virtuosic passagework, especially in the Doubles, the movements retain their dance characteristics and exhibit a bewitching formal beauty.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19577000
By Steve Graham, Networx Humidity doesn’t just make you uncomfortable. It also causes problems and health hazards at every level of the home. Here is a bottom-to-top summary of some of the dangers of high humidity, and some solutions for each problem. Humid weather simply exacerbates moisture problems that are often a concern in crawl spaces and basements. Moisture from the ground works with moisture from the humid air to generate condensation on walls and other surfaces, and create muggy basement smells and atmospheres. In turn, this can translate to mold and mildew issues. To avoid these problems, it is important to take steps to minimize moisture below the main floor of the home. If humidity is an issue in any season, foundation vents should be left open all year to help the foundation dry out as much as possible. On the other hand, close basement windows and doors to keep out humid summer weather. If humidity is an issue for a basement, insulate basement walls and run a dehumidifier. Rigid foam insulation is one good option, as it is essentially waterproof. However, it must be covered with drywall or another fire barrier. Attach a humidistat to the dehumidifier to control the humidity levels. Crawl spaces should be covered with polyethylene or other thick, solid vapor barrier to keep moisture from the ground from creating bigger problems. Crawl spaces with moisture barriers also should have one square foot of vent area for every 1,500 square feet of crawl space area, according to Michigan State University (MSU) researchers. Crawl spaces without moisture barriers should have one square foot of venting per 150 square feet of space. Mechanical system problems Humid weather can also leave condensation on water pipes and toilet tanks. Again, this condensation can also lead to mold and mildew problems. If the toilet tank regularly beads with condensation, consider installing waterproof insulation inside the tank. Also wrap insulation around water pipes to minimize condensation. Moving up from the basement, the floor is the next likely victim of humidity problems. Mold and mildew can get into wood flooring or carpets, and may be hard to completely remove. It is best to avoid such problems by reducing humidity. Air conditioning systems reduce humidity while reducing the temperature, if they are installed correctly. Mildewed carpet should be cleaned with an electric shampoo machine. If musty odors develop on carpet, either replace the entire carpet or have it professionally cleaned and dried off-site. Replace musty or damp padding. If mildew develops on wood flooring, scrub it off with trisodium phosphate or quaternary disinfectants, then rinse and dry thoroughly, and add a mildew-resistant paint. Humidity can also wreak havoc on clothes, food and other stored items. Dry foods can draw in moisture and quickly go stale if humidity exceeds 60 percent. Cans may rust and leak in humid weather. Damaged or swollen cans should be tossed out. If humidity is an issue, keep stored food in an air-conditioned space. Reduce humidity damage to clothing with chemical absorbents or through proper ventilation. Use silica gel packets or other moisture-absorbing materials if you plan to tightly close all closet doors and trunks. The other option is to leave closet doors open and use fans to improve air circulation. Also separate clothes within each closet to allow airflow between items. Humid air can also build up in walls, which can become soggy over time, and may even attract mold and mildew. Interior and exterior paint can also bubble and peel under extended humid conditions. To minimize such problems, boost wall insulation and consider vapor-retardant paints. Also caulk or weather strip all gaps and cracks around the walls, baseboards, doors and windows. According to MSU researchers, such sealing work can minimize moisture problems in walls. Finally, attics can get hot and uncomfortably damp in humid weather. Be sure to properly ventilate the attic. If the attic does not have a vapor barrier (which may not be a necessity in many cases), it should have one square foot of venting per 150 square feet of attic, according to MSU research. For areas with vapor barriers, one foot of venting per 300 square feet of attic is acceptable. Humid weather can cause a variety of home problems and hazards, but they can all be prevented or remedied with some care and diligence.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19583000
Yesterday, The Washington Post reported that there is new advice for vulnerable coastal communities on how to adapt to risings seas: move away from the shore. The Post report explores the implications of sea-level rise for the Hampton Roads area, home to Norfolk Naval Station, cautioning that traditional methods of holding back the sea could fall short. “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the first manual on how not to hold [the sea] back, arguing that costly seawalls and dikes eventually fail because sea-level rise is unstoppable,” the report cited. “The federal Global Change Research Program estimates that the sea level will rise 14 to 17 inches in the next century around Hampton Roads.” Instead of investing in massive (expensive) infrastructure projects to hold back the sea, the EPA hopes that its new report will encourage coastal communities to enact new city ordinances and development laws that prohibit new coastal construction, and devise incentives for already vulnerable commercial businesses and residents to move away from the shore. “The EPA report said governments have three options to deal with sea-level rise,” the Post reported: They can stay on the well-worn path of building expensive protection and raising streets and buildings. They can beat an organized retreat from the shore, perhaps by offering financial incentives to people and organizations to move inland. Or they can allow people to do whatever they want for their waterfront properties but tell them in no uncertain terms that they are on their own when the waters rise. Many people are not too worried about the long-term implications of sea-level rise, in part because of near-term challenges with the economy and other pressing priorities. Yet experts are hoping to impart a sense of urgency by educating people about the near- and long-term economic implications of failing to act, especially given the current political climate that demands policymakers to be better stewards of their constituents’ tax dollars. “Most people aren’t taking the threat of sea-level rise decades from now too seriously, but planners say it is worrisome when you consider what’s at stake — public roads, schools, bridges, tunnels, museums, police stations and housing developments that are built to last well beyond the average 30-year home mortgage,” according to the Post. “It could result in those things having a life span less than what we budgeted for,” John Carlock, deputy executive director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, told The Washington Post. “That part of it is trying to make wise use of taxpayer funds.” In the near term, too, the economic effects of sea-level rise and more frequent storms are already being felt by many coastal communities. “Increased flooding was inevitable along the Atlantic coast because the number of federally declared storms has increased — up by 50 percent over 20 years, for instance, in New England,” the Post reported, citing a recent climate change report. “‘In New Hampshire alone, the costs associated with declared storm damages have increased nearly 15-fold and the state has suffered through four ‘100-year floods’ in the last decade,’” the report, Preparing for a Changing Climate: A Northeast-Focused Needs Assessment, warned. Even the near-term costs of adapting to sea-level rise by holding back the sea with dikes and walls, or literally elevating vulnerable neighborhoods, is quickly becoming too costly. “A few years ago the city spent $1.5 million to elevate some homes in the Larchmont area, knowing the water will probably crawl to their doorsteps again,” according to the Post. “If this keeps up, insurance rates will skyrocket as storms sweep the rising seas onto roads and inside people’s homes and businesses.” In reading this report, one has to wonder how much this new thinking has permeated the decision-making at the Department of Defense now that policymakers there are beginning to integrate climate change into their strategic planning. After all, Norfolk Naval Station is not the only U.S. military base that will be vulnerable to an encroaching sea. Across the world, other critical U.S. naval and air force installations could be just as vulnerable, if not more. In assessing its bases and their vulnerability to climate change, the Department of Defense will have to ask the same critical questions that many coastal communities will being asking, especially given the same budgetary concerns: how will sea-level rise affect DOD’s coastal assets, and does it make sense to move back from the water’s edge? This Week’s Events Today at 10 AM, the Brookings Institution will host an event on The Future of Natural Gas. Tuesday at 12:30 PM, ICLEI USA, local governments for sustainability, will explore sustainable development in their event, The Road to Rio+20. Wednesday at 2 PM, CSIS will explore the Arctic Horizons. Finally, on Thursday at 6:30 PM, head over to the Australian Embassy for a discussion on China’s Role in an Evolving Global Natural Gas Industry.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19593000
The Iraqi women who toured the United States last month told us that they were amazed by how misinformed many Americans were about the lives of Iraqi women. Most Americans thought that before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi women were sitting at home oppressed, heavily veiled and secluded, and that thanks to the US invasion, they are now liberated. This is what the Bush administration would like us to believe, but after listening to our Iraqi friends many people now know better. To further shed light on the true status of Iraqi women, CODEPINK has released an in-depth report Iraqi Women Under Siege. We encourage you to download this report, read it and pass it on to others. The report shows that from 1958 to the 1990s, Iraq provided more rights and freedoms for women and girls than most of its neighbors. Though Saddam Hussein's dictatorial government and 12 years of severe sanctions reduced these opportunities, Iraqi women were active in all aspects of their society. After the occupation, with the exception of women in Iraqi Kurdistan, women's daily lives have been reduced to a mere struggle for survival. - Women walking on the streets face random violence, assault, kidnapping or death at the hands of suicide bombers, occupying forces, Iraqi police, radical religious groups, and local thugs. - Women trying to raise families in the midst of this chaos find themselves beset by a lack of electricity and clean water, and a dearth of social services like decent schools and health care. - Unemployment among women has skyrocketed. Of the 260,000 reconstruction contracts in Iraq, less than 1,000 have gone to female contractors. Before the occupation 70% of the public workforce, by far the largest employer in Iraq, were women. - The constant violence has trapped women and their children -- particularly their daughters -- inside the homes. Fewer girls go to school and illiteracy among girls is on the rise. - Though 25% of the seats in the National Assembly are reserved for women, the real power in Iraq is increasingly in the hands of Islamists determined to move Iraq from a secular society towards a theocracy. They are forcing women to wear veils and are trying to curtail women's rights in areas such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. But as we learned from our amazing delegation, Iraqi women are not mere victims, passively watching the destruction of their lives and the fabric of their communities. As delegate Nadje Al-Ali writes in our report, "Despite the chaos and violence that restricts their activities and mobility, the women struggle on, meeting in each other's houses, establishing refuges where women can learn skills to make a living, providing free health care, legal advice and literacy and computer classes. Iraqi women also organize conferences, sit-ins and demonstrations to get their voices heard and to influence the political process." CODEPINK will continue to support the efforts of Iraqi women, and to push for the withdrawal of foreign troops so that the Iraqi people can determine their own future. Our next major CODEPINK action to end the occupation and support Iraqi women will be a 24-hour Mother's Day vigil in front of the White House in Washington DC from May 13-14. Click here for details. Join actress Susan Sarandon, peace mom Cindy Sheehan, Nobel Prize winner Jody Williams, doctor/clown Patch Adams, as well as Iraqi and Iranian women, for an inspiring weekend that will include a performance of the historic antiwar play Lysistrata, an evening concert, antiwar films, activist trainings, an interfaith service, writing letters to Laura Bush, and a pink pajama party. Whether or not you can join us, please consider making a donation to help us bring Iraqi and Iranian women, as well as US military families against the war, to speak at the DC vigil and to travel to communities throughout the US. For the sake of our Iraqi sisters, let's educate ourselves, spread the truth and redouble our efforts to build a more peaceful world. Sisters in solidarity, Allison, Dana, Farida, Gael, Jodie, Medea, Nancy, Rae and Tiffany P.S. Don't forget to forward this email to your friends and help spread the word!	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19603000
Theseus is a database containing analyses of case law relevant to children’s rights from the European Court of Human Rights. It is available in English and in French and there are 303 cases, covering the period 23 July 1968 to 15 March 2012. There are many ways to retrieve cases, among which by applicant, name, country, period, date, key words and so forth. Shortly, cases will be retrievable by article number from the European Convention on Human Rights. Some useful key words and phrases are: family life, private life, education, protection of children, deportation, child born out of wedlock, child Theseus was set up by the programme "Building Europe for and with children" under the supervision of the Research Division of the European Court of Human Rights (initial research: Kyriaki Patsianta), and thanks to financial support from the Government of Finland. information on these cases may be obtained by consulting Hudoc, the database of the European Court of Human Rights. To learn more about how the European Court of Human Rights functions on a daily basis, and the challenges it faces, see "The Conscience of Europe", a 15 minute video (15 minutes) available in English, French or German.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19605000
Preserving the Audio Archive The material on the LCAAJ audio tapes is unique. The field notes focus solely on selected linguistic features in the informant's responses and the tapes have not been transcribed, except for a selection included in the EYDES project. The wealth of information that the tapes contain thus resides solely on a fragile and aging medium. The 5,755 hours of recording in the LCAAJ are stored on some 2,600 reels of tape produced in various countries between 1959 and 1972. The tapes were recorded at a variety of speeds under widely varying conditions. More than twenty different brands and sizes of tape stock have been used, including both acetate- and polyester-backed tape, and there are even thirteen hours of wire recordings. As is all too sadly known, acetate tape (used through the late 1960s) is a very impermanent medium for the recording of sound. Manufacturers' claims, and real-time experience indicate, that twenty years is the average functional life for such tapes. They begin to suffer edge curl, cracking and flaking, and binder decomposition, leading to loss of the recorded signal. The polyester tapes used since the late 1960s are also impermanent, suffering from sticky shed and other failures, and the tapes may stretch or break during playing or storage. Even before these problems set in, splice adhesives may leech to other portions of tapes of all types, and many tape types are subject to print through. Once deterioration begins, it cannot be stopped or reversed. The only solution is careful re-recording in such a way that as little as possible of the original sound is lost. Since 1995 Columbia University Libraries has been gradually re-recording the tapes and creating digital copies. Support for this effort includes: The preservation work consists of re-recording the original tapes onto new reel-to-reel tape, following nationally recognized preservation practices and guidelines, and the creation of digital use copies on CD. The preservation transfer is carried out at the Computer Music Center of the Columbia University Department of Music, a studio recognized nationally and internationally both for its advanced technical work and its care of archival sound collections. - Support from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a two-year project (2000-2002) for staff and supplies to re-record 1,180 hours of the LCAAJ originals. - Support from the New York State Conservation/Preservation Program for a two-year project (1999-2001) to purchase analog tape stock to be used in re-recording 1,200 hours of the LCAAJ originals. - Donations (1996-2000) from the Atran Foundation, the David & Barbara B. Hirschhorn Foundation, the Morris J. & Betty Kaplun Foundation, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, and the Solow Foundation for staff and supplies. The project adheres to the technical standards for audio preservation advocated by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections Associated Audio Archives Committee (ARSC-AAA), the Joint Technical Commission of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). As recommended by these organizations, the re-recording employs low noise, two-track polyester (1.5 mil) tape. The archival tape is recorded in real time at 15 inches per second (ips) to preserve maximum audio fidelity, with no splicing, with buffer-tape-pack at both ends, wound uniformly tails out (end out) onto slotless-hub 10 ½-inch metal reels. In order to keep the archival copies as true to the original recordings as possible, no manipulation of the original signal, such as noise reduction, filtering or other signal-processing techniques, is undertaken. Each reel is "leadered" at the beginning with 30-60 seconds of blank tape. Following this leader is a 30-60 second test zone containing reference tones and azimuth tones, which in turn is followed by a second 30-60 seconds of "leader" tape (blank, no splicing). Paper or plastic leaders are not spliced on to the reels to fill the required lead time. No splices appear in the preservation master. The material being preserved follows the second leader in two-track double monophonic in one direction only. The recording levels are monitored at all times by recording technicians to ensure the best possible signal-to-noise ratio on the final analog tape. All recording machines are calibrated and cleaned prior to each recording session. Equipment used for transfer meets standards established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), EIA (Electronic Industry Association) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). For more information on this project, contact the Columbia University Libraries Preservation Division.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19608000
The 16th annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place the weekend of Friday, Feb. 15, through Monday, Feb. 18. This activity engages citizen scientist volunteers to count birds in specific locations all across the United States and Canada on the third weekend of February each year. In 2012, this effort recorded 104,151 separate checklists, including 2,046 from Tennessee. Shelby County contributed more than 10 percent of the total, 256. And Memphis recorded 93 species, tops in the state. The 2013 Great Backyard Bird Count, a joint project of the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, will incorporate two major changes. First, it will go global. Checklists can be submitted from anywhere in the world. Second, Great Backyard Bird Count data will be merged with eBird, the National Audubon Society and Cornell University's worldwide database of bird sightings. This will require participants to create an eBird account. To do so, go to BirdCount.org. The bird count is fun and free. Just count all of the birds that you see and hear in one place (your yard, a park, schoolyard, your office) for at least 15 minutes any or every day Feb. 15-18. The information that you and thousands of others provide will help scientists to learn more about what is happening in our environment. To protect, we first must know. The entire month of February is Backyard Bird Month at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The garden is sponsoring a contest of bird photographs taken in its Nature Garden during the month. On Feb. 16, Dick Preston and other members of the Memphis Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithology Society will host a bird identification workshop at the Botanic Garden as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count weekend. There will be a free "Lunch and Learn" brown bag lunch followed by a guided bird walk in the nature garden. Afterward, data collected during the bird walk will be entered into the bird count database. The Botanic Garden will host "Celebrate Urban Birds Day" from 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 23. There will be crafts and games, and members of the local Ornithology Society will lead a bird walk. For more information, contact Charity Novick at 901-636-4119, or go to memphisbotanicgarden.com. The 113th annual Christmas Bird Count was held at selected locations all around the globe between Dec. 15, 2012, and Jan. 5, 2013. The Memphis count on Dec. 17 had 34 observers who located 92 species. The Wapanocca (Ark.)/Shelby Forest (Tenn.) count on Dec. 29 had 24 observers locating 91 species, and the count at Arkabutla Lake on Jan. 5 enlisted 20 observers who found 110 species, a record for that count. The greatest surprise of any local Christmas Bird Count came on the Wapanocca/Shelby Forest count when an ash-throated flycatcher was discovered in Shelby Forest State Park. Ash-throated flycatcher is a Western species rarely seen east of the Great Plains and an apparent first record for Shelby County. Van Harris is a former president of the Memphis Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithology Society, a member of the Mississippi Ornithology Society and the Mississippi chapter of the National Audubon Society. Address questions to email@example.com.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19609000
Selecting, sizing transformers for commercial buildings While commercial building designs change, their electrical loads remain fundamentally unchanged. Properly sizing and selecting transformers ensures that these loads are accommodated. By Ralph Baeza, PE, LEED AP, TLC Engineering for Architecture, Miami Transformers, along with other power distribution apparatus, remain a fundamental component in electrical systems distribution for commercial buildings. This article presents several useful design concepts for selecting and sizing transformers in the design of electrical systems for commercial buildings. Transformers change voltage levels to supply electrical loads with the voltages they require. They supply the required incoming electrical service to the buildings. Transformer primary and secondary voltages can be 2,400; 4,160; 7,200; 12,470; and 13,200 for 15-kV Class, and 120, 208, 240, 277, and 480 for 600-V Class. Transformers are located either outdoors or inside buildings in an electrical room or other areas as permitted by code. The electrical phase characteristics associated with the transformer’s primary side is 3-phase, 3-wire or Delta connected. The secondary is 3-phase, 4-wire or Wye connected. There are different construction types for transformers used in commercial buildings. Our understanding of their general characteristics will allow the designer and end user to make the proper selection for the electrical system application. Following are some of the transformer types available in the industry along with a few of their characteristics: Ventilated dry-type transformers are ventilated by air, use larger space for clearance, and use different insulating materials to augment the dielectric strength of the air. They contain an enclosure surrounding the windings for their mechanical protection and the safety of personnel. This type is the most common to be used in the building indoor electrical system distribution. See Table 1 for typical dry-type transformer ratings, dimensions, and weights. Sealed dry-type transformers are similar to dry type in most of their characteristics. The difference is they contain an enclosed tank with nitrogen or other dielectric gas to protect the windings. They can be installed outdoors or indoors. They are useful in areas with a corrosive or dirty atmosphere. Cast-coil transformers are constructed with the primary and secondary windings encapsulated in reinforced resin. They can be installed where moisture or airborne contaminants exist. Nonventilated dry-type transformers are similar to the ventilated type but are totally enclosed. This type can be installed in areas with corrosive or dirty atmospheric conditions where it would be impossible to use a ventilated-type transformer. Oil-filled transformers are constructed with the windings encased in an oil-tight tank filled with insulating mineral oil. It is good practice to regularly test this type of transformer in order to determine dielectric breakdown, which affects its useful life. There are different ways in which transformers are installed and used as part of a commercial building electrical system. These application types include: Indoor distribution transformers are used with panelboards and are separately mounted to supply the specific electrical load requirements in a system-specific application within the system distribution. Several transformer types rated higher than 600 V for oil insulated type, higher than 35,000 V for dry type, and other transformers rated higher than 600 V are required to be located in vault rooms, which must be built with fire-rated enclosures depending on the transformer type and applicable local authority requirements, when indoors. Transformers that are not over 600 V and are part of the indoor building electrical system distribution have both primary and secondary voltages below 600 V with the most common voltage level change from 480 V to 208 Y/120 V. Pad-mounted transformers are installed outside and are considered the first option for supplying service entrance voltage to the building electrical system based on the project size and requirements. They typically have primary voltages higher than 600 V and secondary voltages lower than 600 V with compartments for the associated protective devices assembled in an integral tamper-resistant and weatherproof unit. In addition, the size of the commercial facility will determine the appropriate approach for designing the electrical distribution system for the specific application. In this electrical system design, the transformer can be used as part of a substation, primary unit substation, secondary unit substation, or network configuration. The electrical size of the transformer load is rated in kVA. This rating provides the associated power output delivered for a specific period by the loads connected to the transformer on the secondary side of the equipment. The loads, which are calculated as part of the building electrical system design phase, are shown in the construction documents’ respective equipment schedules in VA or kVA. A general approach to determining transformer capacity and selecting the proper rating for the design application is to obtain the calculated design load from the respective electrical schedule and add 20% spare capacity for future load growth to be shown in the equipment schedule, unless otherwise directed by the facility based on design parameters. For example, the code-based demand load of a 208 Y/120 V, 3-phase, 4-wire panelboard is 42 kVA, which does do not include spare capacity for future growth. Therefore, the transformer size required for converting the system voltage from 480 V, 3-phase, 3-wire to 208 Y/120 V, 3-phase, 4-wire is: Transformer size in kVA = 42 kVA x 1.25 = 52.5 kVA Therefore, a 75 kVA transformer would be selected for this application out of the available standard ratings for a 480 V primary to 208 Y/120 V secondary. The most common building industry standard ratings are 3, 6, 9, 15, 30, 37.5, 45, 75, 112.5, 150, 225, 300, 500, 750, and 1,000 kVA. The above simple calculation meets the intent to achieve the normal life expectancy of a transformer, which is based on the following basic conditions: - The transformer is equal to or less than its rated kVA and rated voltage. - The average temperature of the cooling air during a 24-hour period is 86 F. - The temperature of the cooling air at no time exceeds 104 F. Transformer selection starts with the kVA rating required to supply the loads connected in the electrical system. Another consideration for indoor distribution transformers is the type of load: linear or nonlinear. Linear loads include resistive heating and induction motors; nonlinear loads are produced by electronic equipment that contributes to the distortion of the electrical power signals by generating harmonics. The harmonics resulting from nonsinusoidal currents generate additional losses and heating of the transformer coils, which reduce the transformer life expectancy. Indoor transformers for nonlinear loads can be selected with a K rating, which allows the transformer to withstand nonlinear conditions in the electrical system. K-rated transformers do not mitigate or eliminate harmonics. However, they do protect the transformer itself from damage caused by harmonics. For harmonic mitigation, K-rated transformers can be combined with harmonic filters or chokes. For linear load applications, transformers should be selected with lower core losses. Other factors that should be considered in selecting transformers are voltage ratings for both primary and secondary, voltage taps, efficiency, impedance value, type of cooling and temperature rise, voltage insulation class, basic impulse level, and sound level. In the past two years, two large projects in Miami Dade County have been built: the Florida International University football stadium and Miami International Airport South Terminal. Both projects included dry-type 480 V, 3-phase to 208 Y/120V V step-down transformers (in NEMA 2 enclosures), ranging from 15 kVA to 112.5 kVA in the electrical system distribution design. The 18,688-seat FIU football stadium was designed with about 12 transformers as part of the electrical system distribution in order to supply general-use receptacles, small motors, and other loads in the stadium building structure and the attached field house building. The MIA South Terminal expansion was designed with about 50 transformers with similar intent as the stadium’s but a more diverse group of loads for the 208 Y/120 V 3-phase, 4-wire system, which also included lighting loads, signage, telecommunication, security systems, and other loads part of this building project (Figure 1). The installation of power transformers and transformer vaults must comply with the requirements of National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) article 450 and specific local authority having jurisdiction requirements. Some principles to consider for transformer installation include locating them in isolated rooms with proper ventilation, clearances, and accessibility. Otherwise, they can be installed on open walls or steel columns or above suspended ceilings. In addition, there are other specific requirements based on the transformer type, such as weatherproof enclosures for dry-type transformers installed outdoors or a transformer vault room for oil-insulated transformers installed indoors. In addition, a good design and installation require the proper transformer feeder and overcurrent protection device size based on NEC articles 240, 250, 450, and applicable sections of Article 310 (Figure 2). Transformers remain a fundamental component of electrical distribution systems. Equipment operation characteristics will continue to change. However, their operating principles will remain with the same. The industry trend is to continue building transformers with less core losses, and that comply with Energy Star efficiency requirements. Baeza is a principal and senior electrical engineer at TLC Engineering for Architecture in Miami. He is a registered professional engineer with more than 29 years of experience in electrical engineering, project management, building design, and construction. \|Search the online Automation Integrator Guide\| Case Study Database Get more exposure for your case study by uploading it to the Control Engineering case study database, where end-users can identify relevant solutions and explore what the experts are doing to effectively implement a variety of technology and productivity related projects. These case studies provide examples of how knowledgeable solution providers have used technology, processes and people to create effective and successful implementations in real-world situations. Case studies can be completed by filling out a simple online form where you can outline the project title, abstract, and full story in 1500 words or less; upload photos, videos and a logo. Click here to visit the Case Study Database and upload your case study.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19619000
The easiest way to avoid consuming too much sodium is to choose fresh, whole foods that are as close to their natural state as possible, says Steve G. Aldana, Ph.D., who is professor of health and human performance at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The reason: Although small amounts of sodium are naturally found in whole foods, they are infinitesimal compared to the amounts found in many processed foods. That doesn't mean you have to forgo convenience in the kitchen, however. Many canned vegetables are available in sodium-free or reduced-sodium versions. Independent of sodium intake, fruit and vegetable consumption also has a positive effect on blood pressure. A diet that is rich in whole, unprocessed foods provides a healthy balance of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. "The closer we get to foods in their natural forms, the better," Aldana says. Another mineral that plays a key role in a low-sodium diet is potassium. Found in substantial levels in root vegetables, leafy greens, and fruits, potassium helps balance the effects of sodium in the body. In fact, when the USDA lowered the dietary guidelines for sodium, it raised the recommendations for potassium-from 3,500 to 4,700mg per day, a figure most of us miss. (Average potassium intakes for women hover between 2,100 to 2,300mg, while men consume between 2,900 and 3,200mg.) In a review of 33 clinical trials, researchers from Tulane University Health Science Center in New Orleans found that increasing intake of potassium-rich foods may lower systolic blood pressure by an average of 3 points and diastolic by 2 points. Some of us are physiologically sensitive to salt, and thus respond better and faster to a reduction in sodium intake. "Salt-sensitive people will experience a greater reduction in blood pressure than salt-resistant people," Linn says. Researchers estimate that 10 to 25 percent of the population may be salt-sensitive. Among those with diagnosed hypertension, the number rises to 60 percent. For now, there's no way to test for salt sensitivity; the best indication may be heredity. To learn more about a possible genetic connection to salt sensitivity, Di Rienzo tested more than 1,000 people from 52 ethnic groups and discovered a variation in a salt-regulating gene called cyp3a5. The gene was most common in natives of sub-Saharan Africa. As the distance from the equator increased, so did subjects' likelihood of a mutation in the gene that causes salt to be retained. However, experts warn this discovery shouldn't provide license to load up on salt if you aren't sodium sensitive. "While certain traits may tip us off as to who faces the greatest risk from too much dietary sodium, it's difficult to predict who can get away with excess consumption," says Tedd Mitchell, M.D., medical director for the Cooper Wellness Program at the Aerobics Center in Dallas, Texas. Other factors, such as age, also play a role. Systolic blood pressure rises an average of four points per decade of life naturally, so all adults should reduce the amount of sodium they consume as they age-regardless of sensitivity levels, Linn says. For people over 50, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend an upper limit of 1,500mg sodium per day. For those over 70, the daily limit drops to 1,200mg. Simply controlling for the natural rise in blood pressure that occurs over a lifetime could have far-reaching effects. Sources: USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Peggy J. Noonan is a health and nutrition writer in Denver, Colorado.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19620000
Ask the Physical Therapist: Rotator Cuff Injuries Michael S. comes to the physical therapist after seeing his orthopaedic physician. He has a script for physical therapy and has a diagnosis of Rotator Cuff Impingement. Michael S: What is my Rotator Cuff and what does it do? Physical Therapist (P.T.): The rotator cuff is a group of 4 small muscles in the shoulder. They are often referred to as the "SITS" muscles: Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, and Subscapularis Muscles (see Figures 1-4). The rotator cuff stabilizes the shoulder joint (refer to figure 1 and 4 and note where the humerus (arm bone), meets the scapula (shoulder blade.) In addition, the muscles assist in moving the arm in abduction (moving the arm sideways away from the body, and in external rotation (with elbow bent, at your side, forearm straight forward, and moving the hand outwards. Michael S: How could I have injured my rotator cuff? Physical Therapist (P.T.): First of all let’s take a look at the shoulder joint. It is a ball and socket joint, much like the hip. However, it moves much more freely than the hip. Because it has greater mobility than the hip, it is not as stable as the hip. The previous predisposes the shoulder for injury. Injury to the rotator cuff can occur from the following: - Trauma: Most likely occurs from either a forceful and sudden contraction of the rotator cuff, or from falling on an outstretched arm. Throwing has been shown to be one of the movements that most consistently produces rotator cuff tears. - Overuse or Impingement: Occurs when the rotator cuff and one of the shoulder bursa are pinched underneath the front aspect of the scapula. This area is referred to as the coracoacromial arch (Fig.5.) There are different stages of impingement. They are based on the age of the patient and the severity of symptoms. Stage I usually occurs in individuals under age 25, and swelling is the most common symptom. Stage II usually occurs in patients 25 - 40 years old. The condition is now chronic, and thickening of the bursa, and fibrosis of the rotator cuff occur. In Stage III, there is degeneration, and often tears in the rotator cuff. - Aging and Attrition (Wear and Tear): Aging causes progressive degeneration of the entire rotator cuff, decreasing its ability to adapt to stresses, and to heal after injuries. Michael S: How does one determine that my rotator cuff is injured? Physical Therapist (P.T.): First of all, most patients complain of pain in their shoulder area. An orthopaedic physician and physical therapist will notice abnormal shoulder movements and weakness. An MRI is an effective means to evaluate the shoulder. Michael S: How do I treat my condition? Physical Therapist (P.T.): Depending on what stage your impingement is, will determine the treatment. For all stages, some sort of rest is required. This means the patient needs to avoid any movements that aggravate their symptoms. Ice, heat, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and specific exercises may be recommended by a physical therapist. A physician may prescribe anti-inflammatories, and/ or local steroid injections. Surgery is indicated when all forms of conservative treatment fail (e.g. physical therapy.) Donnatelli,Robert and Wooden, Michael. Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. Churchill Livingstone, Philadelphia, PA, 2001. Hoppenfeld, Stanley. Physical Examination of the Spine and the Extremities. Appleton Century Crofts, East Norfolk, VA, 1976. Netter, Frank. Atlas of Human Anatomy. Ciba-Geigy Corporation, Summit, NJ, 1989. Sieg, Kay and Adams, Sandra. Illustrated Essentials of Musculoskeletal Anatomy. Megabooks, Gainesville, FL 1985.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19624000
Testing Your Soil for Healthier Crops Jun 27, 2011 Read more about tips and tricks on how to test your soil for healthier crops. Does your garden need a little help compared to your neighbor’s bountiful yard? The answer might be right under your feet: the pH of your soil. Few people realize that the pH of the soil affects plant growth. To help, we recommend visiting your local garden center. Most carry inexpensive kits for testing the pH of your soil. What’s pH, you ask? Simple: it’s the degree of acidity. A pH reading of 7 is considered to be neutral; below 7 means your soil is acidic and above 7 means it’s alkaline. Most plants thrive in a soil pH of around 6 to 7.5, but some are more sensitive than others. For example, lettuce barely grows once the pH is over 7, while tomatoes are significantly more adaptable, growing in a pH range of 5.5 to 7.5. Make sure to test each bed separately, as conditions can vary significantly, even within a single garden. You’ll also want to test your water since many deep wells are alkaline heavy and city water can vary widely. If your soil is too acidic, the most common remedy is lime. But use it sparingly, since overcorrection is a common problem and can take months to reverse. The best approach is to add very small amounts to the soil and retest in a few weeks. If the soil’s pH is too alkaline, it generally means its lacking in organic matter. Start a compost pile; your garden will thank you! Or you can try adding sulfur, but again a light touch is necessary and retesting is key. Once you’ve got your garden’s pH balanced, sit back and enjoy the results. You’ll be keeping up with the Joneses (or at least their tomatoes) in no time at all.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19633000
Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 20th, 2008 The goverment of Ukraine intends to introduce a threatened species, the European bison or wisent (Bison bonasus), into the exclusion zone around the stricken Chernobyl nuclear reactor. The plan is to create a nature reserve where the bison can thrive in the absence of humans. The minister in charge of Chernobyl, Volodomir Shandra, says there are clean areas within the 30-kilometre radius where the pilot scheme could work. The wisent is the heaviest surviving land animal in Europe, a relic of the Pleistocene megafauna of Eurasia. A forest dwelling species, wisent were first scientifically described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. The last wild wisent in Poland was killed in 1919 and the last wild wisent in the world was killed by poachers in 1927 in the Western Caucasus. By that year fewer than 50 remained, all in zoos. Schleich wisent replica. Wisent were reintroduced successfully into the wild, beginning in 1951. They are found living free-ranging in forest preserves such as the Western Caucasus in Russia and the Białowieża Forest in Poland and Belarus. Zoos in 30 countries house about 3000 wisents (as of 2000), all descended from only 12 individuals. If the Chernobyl scheme is successful, tourists could be invited inside the exclusion zone to view these remarkable animals. But will they glow?	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19640000
Even in crowded conditions, cyclists are perfectly able to mix harmoniously with pedestrians and, contrary to popular belief, they are not a major danger to them. CTC View (formal statement of CTC's policy): - Cyclists should behave responsibly and within the law. - Cyclists do very little harm to other road users, including pedestrians. - Unlike driving, most cycling takes place in areas of high pedestrian activity, but it poses far less risk to pedestrians than motor vehicles. This is the case even for pavement cycling and red light jumping, neither of which CTC condones. - Cyclists and pedestrians are able to interact far more harmoniously, even in crowded conditions, than is often thought. - People who are frail or who suffer sensory or mobility impairments are often understandably reluctant to share space with cyclists. Trials, however, usually prove that cyclists very rarely put any pedestrian in a hazardous situation. Codes of practice - backed up as required by policing - are preferable solutions, rather than undermining the promotion of safe cycling for fear of the actions of a minority.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19651000
About the Renminbi (yaun) The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. However, it is more commonly known by its primary unit, the yuan. Renminbi is a decimalized currency system with subunits in tenths called jiao and subunits in hundredths called fen. Although Hong Kong and Macau are politically parts of China, these two locations use a separate currency. Therefore, the Renminbi is not legal tender in Hong Kong and Macau. The Renminbi is issued and managed by the People's Bank of China, which was established in 1948. It remained the only legal bank in the country until 1978. The renminbi was introduced in the same year the People's Bank was founded. After introduction, the currency maintained its value by being pegged to the US dollar, but as China progressed to a free-market economy, it was devalued on several occasions in an attempt to increase China's industries. Today, many economists and international financial experts claim that the exchange rate of the Renminbi is undervalued compared to its buying power by as much as 37.5 per cent. As of 2005, the renminbi has been floating on the foreign exchange market in a narrow margin that is determined by a basket of leading world currencies. The basket includes the US dollar, Euro, Japanese yen, South Korean won and several other currencies in a smaller proportion. After being removed from the US dollar peg, the Renminbi immediately increased in value on the foreign exchange by two per cent. In 2008, the peg to the US dollar was reinstituted. In 2010, it was announced by China that the restrictions placed on the renminbi will be relaxed so the renminbi will once again have market flexibility. China is also working to internationalize the Renminbi with the goal of it being used widespread as a foreign reserve currency. Deals have already been struck with Russia, Vietnam and Thailand that allows trade to be settled directly in renminbi. Although the yuan has been the primary unit of currency in China for decades before, the Renminbiyuan was not introduced until the Communist Party of China gained control of the country. The Renminbi, or "people's currency," was introduced to bring a unified currency system to the nation at the end of its civil war. Currency is circulated through coins and banknotes, which are minted and printed by the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, a state-operated entity.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19654000
Nazis secretly developed plot to drop radioactive bomb on New York from supersonic space rocket - Hermann Goering was tasked with overcoming long-range bombing problem - Much of the research would later pave the way for modern space travel Nazi chief Hermann Goering plotted to attack New York in a bizarre plot involving a manned space rocket dropping a dirty bomb over the Manhattan skyline. Vying for Hitler's attention, the head of the German air-force, Hermann Goering, set up a lab and a team of leading scientists to explore the possibility of the radioactive attack on American soil. Goering read the work of maverick Austrian engineer, Eugen Saenger and particularly his belief that a space plane could be built. New York: The Nazis wanted to attack the U.S. but they lacked long-range bombers capable of covering the distance. They explored a rocked-propelled spacecraft as a way to reach and bomb New York (pictured) The head of the Luftwaffe commissioned him and other leading physicists to explore the plane, which he then wanted to arm with a radioactive bomb capable of doing untold damage to America's most populous city. Leading historians told the Daily Express that Goering may have been gullible for believing the far-fetched plan would work, but much of the research which went into the project paved the way for modern space travel research and the space shuttle program. 'Saenger would greatly influence post-war thinking about space travel in the United States,' Dr David Baker, a space historian, told the British newspaper. 'A whole series of highly classified space-plane concepts were developed based on his theories.' Silverbird: Eugen Saenger (left) devised plans for the aircraft known as the Silverbird (right) that could reach America via space. Goering wanted the craft to be capable of dropping a 'dirty bomb' on New York 'His work certainly had an influence on aspects of the Space Shuttle programme.' Goering believed the rocket plan would enable the Third Reich to overcome the issue of flying across the Atlantic and ultimately avenge America's entry into the war. Saenger completed a 900-page plan and called the craft the Silverbird. He believed it would be able to clear the lower reaches of space after being fired with rocket engines. Anti-American: The Nazis sought a way to punish the U.S. for entering World War Two. One of the schemes they looked at was a plane which would reach America via space in order to bomb New York It was expected to reach 13,000 miles per hour, would have a 100-tonne thrust motor and would reach more than 80 miles above earth. 'The plan was to wrap the bomb with radioactive sand and have it explode high above New York casting a radioactive cloud over the city,” aviation historian David Myhra 'It was a kind of prototype dirty bomb.' Losing control: Goering was particularly keen to promote his airforce and saw the plot to bomb New York as an ideal way to win Hitler's favor 'The standard aircraft of the day could not fly from Europe to the US because they could not carry enough fuel.' 'But by reaching sub-orbital altitude the Silverbird’s fuel life would be extended allowing it to bomb anywhere in the world.' 'It was wild science fiction' 'But Saenger had worked out all the mathematics. He was certain it would work.' 'Post-war analysis indicated that the space-plane would have burnt up during re-entry but this could have been overcome with thermal shielding. 'The underlying concept was sound but it was many years ahead of its time.' Goering finally dismissed the plan and the Nazis looked at other ways to bomb the U.S. but never succeeded. Saenger fled to France and was later sent for by Josef Stalin who was also interested in the Silverbird concept. He was never found by the Soviet Union and died in 1964. Dr Asif Siddiqi, an assistant professor in space history at Fordham University said: 'Saenger was the first to look into the technicalities of building a winged, reusable sub-orbital vehicle.' 'His work was extremely far-sighted.' Failure to launch: The Silverbird, pictured, was devised by Austrian engineer Eugen Saenger so the Nazis could bomb New York. The ambitious space rocket design wasn't developed beyond planning stage	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19665000
2 Flight zone. Cattle are herd animals and are classified as a prey species. They have natural defenses against predators, such as escape or flight behaviors. The flight or escape zone is generally referred to as the area around them that, when invaded by the unwelcome, will cause them to move away. As cattle interact more with their handlers and regular surroundings, the flight zone can become smaller and they can be approached more readily. 3 Stimulus area. This is the buffer area outside the flight zone in which controlled stimulus, when applied efficiently, will cause the cow to move as intended by the handler. “Stimulus” here refers to human presence and action only, not prods, whips or any other physical tools. It is also more successful when only one person applies stimulus at a time. 4 Depth perception. Cows have limited close-up depth perception, making stepping over a curb, onto a shadow, or walking off the edge of a bedded pack potentially new to them. If those conditions are present in their environment, they will need to be handled repeatedly in order for them to learn not to over-react. 5 Hearing. Cattle have a broader hearing range than humans in frequency of kilohertz and will respond to quieter noises and higher pitches that humans cannot hear. Reducing or eliminating loud noises, including shouting, whistling and clanging gates, will help reduce stress and adrenaline production. 6 Stage of life. Regular, calm interaction with humans should begin with newborn calves. Young animals of all species (including humans) have “brain plasticity,” which means they have a tremendous ability to absorb and retain knowledge when they are very young. The transition period between hutches and group housing is a critical time to practice stockmanship to help them interact more calmly with humans, find out where their feed and water are, and become acclimated to having pen mates. Calving time is another period that requires careful stockmanship, because maternal instincts can cause cows to become more aggressive and more easily startled. As a stockman, always leave yourself an escape route when handling close-up animals. 7 Flow of movement. Once a cow is moving in the intended direction, it is ideal to keep her moving and not interrupt that positive flow. Facility design plays an important role here. Placing cows in holding areas before they enter the parlor is not ideal, and crowd gates and “cow pushers” can cause severe stress. An example of constant, positive flow is the rotary parlor, which promotes positive flow and provides a very calming, regular routine to the cow.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19670000
Definitions for water mill Random House Webster's College Dictionary a mill with machinery driven by water. Origin of water mill: a mill powered by a water wheel a mill whose machinery is moved by water; -- distinguished from a windmill, and a steam mill	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19683000
Engineering & Construction Degrees and Programs Offered in California (CA) Engineering and construction careers require you to have a high level of technical knowledge and formal training. A bachelor's degree plus a license from the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists is required for most engineers, while construction managers typically have a bachelor's degree plus certification and work experience. An associate's degree in engineering can prepare you for entry level technician jobs. Earning engineering and construction degrees in California Train to work in engineering and construction and you could enjoy a healthy salary for a career that fascinates you. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the following 2009 mean annual wages for popular construction and engineering jobs in California: - Aerospace Engineers: $107,710 - Civil Engineers: $91,910 - Industrial Engineers: $86,200 - Managers of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers: $74,500 - Electricians: $56,840 Engineering and construction degrees in California can lead to a growth career in the state. The California Employment Development Department projects an 8.9 percent growth in job opportunities for construction managers between 2008 and 2018, a 7 percent growth for engineering managers, an 80.6 percent growth for biomedical engineers, and a 21.4 percent growth for environmental engineers. Learn more about your degree options and start your commitment to training in California today.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19684000
55 And Older You can contract HIV Even though pregnancy may not be an issue, sexually active people over 55 are still at risk for contracting HIV and other STDs. With new male enhancement drugs on the market, STD rates among older Americans are increasing. In 2007, persons aged 50 and older accounted for approximately 16% of new HIV/AIDS diagnosis. You can protect yourself It is imperative that you continue to use protection such as condoms and dental dams to prevent unwanted diseases. Use protection whenever you engage in any kind of sexual activity. Make sure you: - Know how to use a condom. Don't know how? Practice putting one on a banana or cucumber. You can get free condoms and help at Desert AIDS Project. - Always use Latex condoms with water-based lube like KY Lubricant, ID Glide, and others. Remember: ONLY USE WATER-BASED LUBE – anything else will break the condom. - Use a condom, even when performing oral sex! You'll be safer and cleaner. - Carry and store condoms in a cool, dry place. That means your car is not a location, especially during the summer months when anything left in a car will melt! If you have any questions about how put on condoms, what lube is, or where to keep either one of these, please contact Ralph Gonzalez at (760) 323-2118 ext. 703 or .	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19693000
Prepare for spring by diving into late-winter chores in the garden. Remove leaf litter from a pond, especially if you have fish. Decomposing leaves can have an adverse effect on water quality. Turn off the pump to make it easier to collect the leaves. While removing the leaves, you can also scoop out algae that may have formed. When you're finished removing the leaves, turn the pump back on. If weeds have sprouted in the path that surrounds the water feature, remove them by hoeing or pulling. Never use herbicides near a pond, especially if it contains fish, because nearly all herbicides are toxic to fish. They may also destroy aquatic plants in and around the pond. Wait to remove or transplant overgrown or misplaced plants in or around the pond until the temperatures are warmer. Late winter is not an ideal time to transplant herbaceous plants, and the water may be too cold or even frozen to work in. Late winter is the ideal time to cut back ornamental grasses. Although it can be fairly easy to cut back grasses with a pair of pruners, loppers or shears, you can also secure the top growth with a bungee cord or piece of twine and cut grasses back with electric or gas powered hedge trimmers. This method can be particularly useful on cutting back large sized grasses. Late winter is a good time to prune runaway vines because you can visibly see where the vines are growing and remove them from nearby plants. If you wait until spring has sprung and the leaves are already on the trees and shrubs, you may miss an overgrown vine that could potentially be choking nearby plants. Did You Know... Using a clothes line instead of a dryer will save a lot of energy. It's difficult to find hard numbers, but the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star website indicates the average family does about 300 loads of laundry per year. Pacific Gas and Electric's website estimates that it costs about $.33-$.56 per load for gas dryers and about $.12-$.15 per load for electric dryers. Based on these numbers, hanging clothes on a clothes line will save you about $40-$45 per year if you own an electric dryer and about $100-$170 per year if you own a gas dryer. -- Rebecca Matulka, Energy.gov Home Selling Tip When preparing for a showing, pay attention to details! Little things mean a lot in the big picture because they pull the house's look together. Things like small, colorful ceramic tiles placed into brick steps to carry through a color scheme. Edging the lawn. Large planters. Finally, don't forget to tidy up. Curb appeal also means a place that looks neat and clean, the kind of place you'd like to live. GateHouse News Service	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19696000
In this course you have learned of the importance of being compassionate and of controlling negative emotions like anger and hatred that can cloud one's vision and better judgment. Our underlying premise has been that doing so helps improve the world. True compassion — a sense of concern for others that stems from feelings of equality with them — the Dalai Lama says, drives peace. An ethic of compassion contributes to an "inner disarmament." In concert with a sense of universal responsibility compassion can help people get along and eventually lead to world peace. Without inner disarmament, it is very difficult to achieve genuine, lasting world peace. In this lesson we look briefly at the issues of non-violence, peace and disarmament from the perspective of universal responsibility and personal ethics.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19700000
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary define the word Extortion as obtaining (as money) from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or unlawful use of authority or power. In order for musicians to get paid copyright collectives began to appear in the 19th century. These collecting societies were formed to ensure that those who create copyrighted material are able to collect the money they are due. In its simplest form the member musician hands over control of his/her economic rights to the collecting society. The collecting society then has the mandate to collect the dues. Once collected these funds are dispersed among the members. In most (at least European) countries the collecting societies have established themselves as a central part of the socio-economic system. They are powerful interest groups which ensure that they (and in extention their members) are catered to by the political-legal system. By entering into agreements with trade organisations the collecting societies now have established the right to collect money from all businesses that play music, show tv etc to their customers. Rasmus at Copyriot has written an interesting piece on the way in which collecting societies manage to collect money. In Sweden the most active collecting societies are SAMI and STIM which are able to collect money for any music played in places of business where customers gather. So large everything from: hotels with music in the lifts, small pizzerias whose music annoys you while you wait for your delivery, hairdressers, businesses that play cheesy music while you are on hold and cafÃ©s with music nobody listens to. They are all required to pay to the collecting societies. Rasmus even relates an event where a policeman at a demonstration in Germany wrote down all the songs played and sent the list to the German collecting societies who promptly sent the organiser a bill. Swedish law would work in the same way. The policemanâ??s superior stated that the policeman had gone too far but the bill still has to be paid. (link to story in German). The Spanish Case In 2005 the main Spanish collecting society (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores – SGAE) â?? sued Ricardo AndrÃ©s Utrera FernÃ¡ndez, the owner of Metropol, a disco bar located in in Badajoz for not paying SGAEâ??s license fee of 4.816,74 â?¬ for the period from November 2002 to August 2005 for the public performance of music. On February 17th, 2006, the Lower Court number six of Badajoz, a city in Extremadura, Spain, rejected the collecting societyâ??s claims because the owner of the bar proved that the music he was using was not managed by the society. The music performed in the bar was licensed under CC licenses that allows that public display since the authors have already granted those rights. Specifically, the judge said: â??The author possesses some moral and economic rights on his creation. And the owner of these rights, he can manage them as he considers appropriate, being able to yield the free use, or hand it over partially. “Creative Commons” licenses are different classes of authorizations that the holder of his work gives for a more or less free or no cost use of it. They exist as â?¦ different classes of licenses of this type â?¦ they allow third parties to be able to use music freely and without cost with greater or minor extension; and in some of these licenses, specific uses require the payment of royalties. The defendant proves that he makes use of music that is handled by their authors through these Creative Commons licenses.â?? (quote from CC) The full text of the decision (in Spanish) is available here. The Spanish case sets a new precedent in that it confirms that the collecting societies can only collect if the music played is made by members of collecting societies. Copyright Activists Needed What needs to be done? Hairdressers and cafÃ© owners are probably not the most tech or Internet savvy. So to help them the basic idea is to set up a website filled with CC licensed music and easy howto instructions on how to use the music either online or by downloading and creating CDâ??s. Aside from music arranged by genre, technical information on how to use it, the site should include legal information explaining why the users will no longer have to pay money to the collecting societies. This copyright civil disobedience could potentially become the most important method for affecting change in the copyright system since it attacks the purse of the collecting society. In addition to this the scheme is legal. This last point does not make it less civil disobedience since the organisation of the site is a form of protest against the extortionary powers which the collecting societies have collected.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19706000
One of the most significant events in Norman Waterford and Ireland was the marriage of Strongbow and Aoife which took place in Christ Church Cathedral as it symbolised the long and sometimes tortuous birth of a new Ireland. In 1171 the King of England, Henry II, arrived in Waterford and anxious to exercise his control over a process of conquest that was taking place almost despite him, began to demand the submissions of the Anglo-Norman knights. The submission of Strongbow and his followers was received by Henry at Waterford. Henry II recognised Strongbow as McMurrough’s heir to Leinster but the strategically important port cities of Dublin and Waterford, which Strongbow had captured, were retained by the King. Henry II elevated Waterford to the status of a royal city - a status that was to change the course of the city’s history lace front wigs dramatically. Consequently in the years after the invasion, many English and French merchants settled in Waterford. This new merchant class with its’ trading contacts in England and on the continent was to make Waterford medieval Ireland’s chief port for the import of wine and a major exporter of wool and hides. The city flourished during the 13th century and many new monasteries, friaries and churches were built. New stone-built defences protected its’ citizens and a sophisticated form of local government developed whereby the citizens elected a mayor on an annual basis to rule over the city. The 14th century saw the beginning of the breakdown of Anglo-Norman power in Ireland. However Waterford’s close connections with cities such as Bristol and Chester ensured that it remained very much part of the English political scene. This century also saw the plague known as the ’Black Death’ wipe out a third of the city’s population. This decline in population, which was experienced all over Europe, had an adverse effect on trade. The subsequent decline in demand caused the City Fathers to become even more tenacious in protecting the city’s monopoly on shipping entering Waterford Harbour. Traditionally, all ships entering the harbour, with the exception of those originating in Leinster, were obliged to unload at Waterford. In 1372 Waterford City Council commissioned the decoration of the Great Charter Roll, an illuminated manuscript measuring 14 feet in length, in an attempt to strengthen their legal case against the burgesses of New Ross who were working to nullify Waterford’s monopoly. The manuscript thus produced has fortunately been preserved in Waterford and is regarded as the most important Irish illuminated manuscript from the late medieval period and can be seen in the Waterford Museum of Treasures. During the 14th and 15th centuries, Waterford was surrounded by hostile neighbours — the O’Driscolls, sea pirates from Co. Cork, who were the scourge of the city’s shipping, while their allies the Powers, an Anglo-Norman family who controlled County Waterford, were often known to attack the City and plunder the nearby countryside in search of booty. Yet despite the problems Waterford was by the end of the 15th century a strong and well-fortified city with an international reputation for good quality woollen shawls which were known on the continent as ’Waterford Rugs’. In 1495 an attack on the city by Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the throne of Henry VII was repulsed. Canon mounted on the ringworks in front of Reginald’s Tower saved the City and gave Waterford the distinction of being the first Irish city to use artillery in its defence. In recognition of the city’s loyalty, the King gave the city its’ own motto: ’Urbs Intacta Manet’ — Waterford, the Loyal City.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19711000
More in Outdoors Arguably the biggest mistake you can make is with "topping" your tree. It's considered something of a dirty word in horticulture circles. Topping means cutting a tree back so severely that only the stumps of large branches are left. It's done in an attempt to control the size of the tree. This stresses the tree because it takes away the leaves, its food sources. The tree will send out many smaller branches in an effort to produce more leaves quickly but they are not as strong as the previous branches and can break off easily in the wind. Tree topping also results in a pretty unattractive tree. The way to properly bring a tree down in height is to make your cuts at a joint. A joint is the place where either a leaf or a branch grows out from the stem. Cut down the tallest branches at a joint, which will reduce the height significantly, instead of leaving a bunch of stubs. This way, the tree will be able to heal itself, growing a new branch in that spot. If you have a dense tree that's completely blocking a view, you may want to thin it out. This involves removing entire branches that are too overgrown by making the proper cuts at a joint. This will allow you to see through the tree by taking some of the heaviness out of the canopy. It's always a good idea to have a pruning partner whenever you prune, but this especially helps when thinning. Before you cut, have someone stand back and look at the tree to make sure you're not chopping off an important part of the tree or taking so much as to ruin the shape. You don't want to turn your pruning tools into weapons, so you better know how to use them. Pruners and pruning saws should always be sharp and disinfected when you use them. This will help you to make a smooth, clean cut and the tree will be able to recover faster from it. For branches larger than 1-1/2" in diameter, you'll want to use a special technique called the "1,2,3 Method." This will protect the bark on your tree by preventing the branch from splitting. If you just started cutting downward on a larger branch, the weight of that branch would bring it down faster than you can cut. This would cause the branch to split and the bark would tear, making it harder for the tree to recover and more susceptible to pests or disease. Here is how this method is done: Cut #1: Make an undercut about 1' from the trunk, which means cutting on the underside of the branch. Stop cutting when you've gone one third of the way through the branch. Cut #2: Move about 3" past the undercut, toward the end of the branch, and start cutting. The weight of the branch will still take it down and the trunk may split but it won't split past your undercut. Cut #3: Finish it off by cutting off the stub at the joint. All fields are required. Remember me on this computer Please enter your email address and we will send your password Your password has been sent and should arrive in your mailbox very soon. Sign up with DIY Network to share tips with other do-it-yourselfers and comment and ask questions on projects. It's free and easy.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19714000
The early Christian church chose Midsummer Day as the birth date of Saint John the Baptist (June 24th -- it isn't really "mid summer" but that's the day traditionally celebrated as midsummer's day). Saint John has long been thought of as one of the greatest saints. It was he who told of the coming of Christ. He was given the name John the Baptist because he baptized people -- including Jesus. Saint John's Day has been celebrated throughout many Christian countries for hundreds of years. In Puerto Rico, for example, bonfires blaze the entire night of June 23rd. Between midnight and dawn, people swim in the sea in memory of the saint who baptized people in water. In Quebec, Canada, the Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste is also an important holiday which includes bonfires, fireworks, parades and carnivals.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19717000
What four factors influence the severity of allergy season? (BPT) - While many people rejoice when the weather gets warmer, it's not always a pleasant time for everyone. Those who suffer from seasonal allergies know to expect difficulties around this time of year, but the severity of allergy season can vary. The presence of the common causes of spring allergies - pollen and mold - can fluctuate depending on a number of weather-related factors. Here are some of the conditions that can affect pollen counts, according to the experts at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). * Length of the growing season. Longer growing seasons might be a good thing for farmers and gardeners, but it can mean increased misery for allergy sufferers, as it increases the time pollen and mold are present as well. * Erratic weather. A warmer-than-usual winter season, as experienced this year, makes trees pollinate earlier. If spring weather fluctuates greatly between warm and cold spells, it can result in more intense periods of pollen release during the warm spells, when plants take the cue to grow and release pollen. * Rainfall. Rain can be either a good thing or a bad thing for allergy sufferers, depending on when it happens. The worst allergy seasons are often preceded by a wet spring, which promotes rapid plant growth later on. But rain can also provide a much-needed respite for those with allergies, as a heavy rainfall can help clear the air of pollen. * Wind. Dry and windy weather is not kind to people with allergies, as the wind spreads pollen and mold. Since so many factors contribute to high pollen counts, it's all but impossible to predict how intense an allergy season will be. However, in addition to taking steps to limit your exposure to allergens that affect you, seeing an allergist before the season starts can also help ensure you find relief. Why see an allergist? Allergists are not only trained to treat your systems, but can identify the source of your allergies and develop a treatment plan to address your symptoms. A doctor who is also a certified allergist can teach you how to avoid potential triggers for your allergies, and recommend treatment options that may go beyond over-the-counter medications. An allergist may also recommend allergy shots , also known as immunotherapy, which can alter the progression of allergies, providing more than just symptom relief. Even if an allergy shot might not be for you, an allergist can recommend both prescription and over-the-counter medications that can best treat your symptoms. "You can waste a lot of time, money and energy treating yourself instead of seeing an allergist," says Dr. James Sublett, an allergist and chair of the ACAAI Public Relations Committee. In fact, studies suggest immunotherapy, when used on the appropriate patients, can result in health care cost savings of up to 41 percent. To learn more about allergy symptoms and treatment, or to find an allergist, visit www.allergyandasthmarelief.org	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19722000
Dover, Del.–August 11, 2003 At a press conference held this morning at the Delaware Department of Education, Secretary of Education Valerie A. Woodruff announced school and school district accountability ratings for more than 170 public schools and 19 school districts under Delaware’s recently revised accountability system. As a result of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, Delaware was required to modify its existing accountability system to meet the requirements of the far-reaching federal law. According to NCLB, all states are required to conduct an annual assessment of all students in grades 3-8 and one high school grade. The results of the annual assessment are then used as the primary means to determine school and school district accountability ratings. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is designed to measure academic performance of not only all students in a particular school but of subgroups within the student population. One of the key changes to Delaware’s existing system, and for all states across the country,is that 100% of all students must be proficient in English Language Arts (Reading and Writing) and mathematics by the 2013-2014 school year. The federal formula for determining AYP is based upon all students and required subgroups of students meeting proficiency at an established annual target.That target will continually increase towards the 2013-2014 school year when 100% of students across the U.S. must be proficient.Including all students, the subgroups are: American Indian; Asian American; African American; Hispanic; White; Low Income; Special Education;and Limited English Proficient. By applying the federal formula, Delaware’s target this year for English Language Arts is at 57%. Students must meet the standard. In mathematics, the target has been calculated at 33%. Additionally, a fixed target of 95% of students must participate in the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) each spring in ELA and math in each school or AYP will not have been attained. Lastly, an elementary or middle school and school districts must maintain or show progress in another target called “Other Indicator” in the area of Science and Social Studies.For high schools and school districts, the graduation rate is the “Other Indicator.” A school or school district is classified as “Under School Improvement” if it does not make AYP in the same content area(percent proficient or participation rate) for two consecutive years, or the school or school district does not maintain or show progress on the “Other Indicator” for two consecutive years. A school or district can be moved out of “Under School Improvement”if all targets are met for two consecutive years in the same content area or “Other Indicator” that placed the school or district“Under School Improvement” and the school or district must not fall below targets in the other content area or “Other Indicator” target for two consecutive years.Under Delaware’s revised accountability system, schools and districts are classified in one of five categories: - Superior means that the school or district has met AYP, is not under improvement and has met additional, rigorous state criteria. - Commendable indicates that AYP has been met while the school or district is not “Under Improvement.” - Academic Review means AYP is not met for one year while the school or district is not “Under Improvement.” - Academic Progress means AYP is met for one year while the school or district is “Under Improvement.” - Academic Watch means AYP is not met for two or more years. The school or school district goes into or remains in “Under Improvement.” Consequences for schools not meeting AYP differ depending on whether the school is a non-Title 1 school or a Title 1(receives federal funding for low income students) school.Title 1 School: - 1 year = No consequences - 2 years = Under School Improvement (USI) – begin Choice option for Title I schools - 3 years = Remain Under School Improvement – begin supplemental services option for low-income students in Title I schools - 4 years = Corrective Action – select one or more NCLB corrective action options - 5 years = Restructuring Plan – select one or more NCLB restructuring options - 6 years = Restructuring Implementation - 1 year = No consequences - 2 years = Under School Improvement (USI) - 3 years = Remain Under School Improvement – begin prioritization of extra time services for subgroups not meeting target - 4 years = Corrective Action – select one or more corrective action options - 5 years = Restructuring Plan – select one or more restructuring options - 6 years = Restructuring Implementation Today’s announcement by Secretary Woodruff identifies that two school districts—Caesar Rodney and Smyrna—have been rated “Superior”while the remaining 17 school districts have been rated as “Academic Review.” In the individual school ratings,61 schools have been rated “Superior;” 12 are rated “Commendable;” 86 are rated “Academic Review;” and 12 schools (all Title 1) are rated “Academic Watch.” The 12 schools rated “Academic Watch” are now required to offer choice options to parents. According to NCLB,school districts must notify parents that they can choice their children to other schools within the district that are not under improvement providing there is another elementary, middle or high school within that district.The districts must send letters to parents explaining the choice options available to them. Four of the schools under “Academic Watch” must also offer supplemental services to their low income students.This includes extra time programs, tutoring and other academic services designed to improve student achievement. Secretary Woodruff stated that the ratings applied to the schools and school districts do not totally reflect what is being accomplished in Delaware’s public schools. “Delaware has been engaged in education reform for the past 12 years. During that time,we have seen our students meet tougher, higher standards and achieve greater academic success.We have seen a steady increase in our reading, writing and math scores at our early grades; we have seen increases in our SAT9 scores.”Added Secretary Woodruff, “Our NAEP scores in reading and writing are among the best in the country.I am proud of the diligent, hard work of all of our educators and what they continue to do to provide a quality education for all students.” “NCLB requires all schools and districts to meet many targets. Not meeting just one of 20 targets or just one of 35 targets means that the school doesn’t meet Adequate Yearly Progress and is rated as ‘Academic Review,’” said Secretary Woodruff.“The important thing to do is look at the total picture of what a school or district is doing.Did not meeting one target cause the rating? Or were several targets the cause?” On Friday, August 15th, online school profiles will be available for viewing on DOE’s website.The profiles will identify each school’s accountability rating as well as show what targets were and were not met.“Parents can also look at school profiles to view student achievement data, staff information and a school’s demographics,”said Secretary Woodruff. “The profiles also provide a reader with school climate information, staff data and program information, as well.It is a powerful tool that parents can use to get a better understanding of their children’s academic environment.” To view your school or school district profile, go to: Delaware Department of Education 401 Federal Street, Suite #2 Dover, Delaware 19901 Phone: (302) 735-4035 Fax: (302) 739-4654 Other Press Releases	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19723000
Intel Corporation (INTC) is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers. Intel was founded on July 18, 1968, as Int egrated El ectronics Corporation (though a common misconception is that "Intel" is from the word intel ligence). Intel also makes motherboard chipsets, network interface controllers and integrated circuits, flash memory, graphic chips, embedded processors and other devices related to communications and computing. Founded by semiconductor pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore and widely associated with the executive leadership and vision of Andrew Grove, Intel combines advanced chip design capability with a leading-edge manufacturing capability. Though Intel was originally known primarily to engineers and technologists, its "Intel Inside" advertising campaign of the 1990s made it and its Pentium processor household names. Intel was an early developer of SRAM and DRAM memory chips, and this represented the majority of its business until 1981. Although Intel created the world's first commercial microprocessor chip in 1971, it was not until the success of the personal computer (PC) that this became its primary business. During the 1990s, Intel invested heavily in new microprocessor designs fostering the rapid growth of the computer industry. During this period Intel became the dominant supplier of microprocessors for PCs, and was known for aggressive and sometimes illegal tactics in defense of its market position, particularly against Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), as well as a struggle with Microsoft for control over the direction of the PC industry. The 2011 rankings of the world's 100 most powerful brands published by Millward Brown Optimor showed the company's brand value at number 58. Intel has also begun research in electrical transmission and generation. Intel has recently introduced a 3-D transistor that may improve performance and energy efficiency. Intel will be mass producing this 3-D transistor, called Tri-Gate transistors, with their upcoming 22nm process in the near future. In 2011, SpectraWatt Inc., a solar cell spinoff of Intel, filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19729000
1. A NORTHBOUND HURRICANE Hurricane Sandy is moving very slowly toward the north-northeast and is expected to continue its current path parallel to the Carolinas over the weekend, forecasters say. At some point, it’s expected to become what’s known as an extratropical storm. Unlike a tropical system like a hurricane, which gets its power from warm ocean waters, extratropical systems are driven by temperature contrasts in the atmosphere. At some point, probably Monday, Sandy will begin to turn back toward the coast and eventually make landfall over Delaware or New Jersey. Although Sandy is currently a hurricane, it’s important not to focus too much on its official category or its precise path. It’s a massive system that will affect a huge swath of the East Coast, regardless of exactly where it hits or its precise wind speed. 2. EARLY WINTER STORM Sandy is expected to merge with a wintry system from the west, at which point it will become the powerful superstorm that has forecasters and officials all along the Eastern Seaboard on edge. One of the other systems is an early winter storm from the west — the product of a low pressure system. Winds from that system will pull Sandy back toward the U.S. mainland. 3. ARCTIC AIR FROM THE NORTH Frigid air coming south from Canada also is expected to collide with Sandy and the wintry storm from the west, creating a megastorm that is expected to park over the northeast for days. Forecasters are expecting residents from Florida to North Carolina to feel the peripheral effects. But the brunt of the storm will hit states farther north once Sandy collides with the winter storm and frigid air. Officials are bracing for the worst: nearly a foot of rain, high winds and up to 2 feet of snow. 4. HIGH TIDES COULD WORSEN FLOODING Further complicating matters is the possibility for dangerous storm surges: A full moon means the tides will be higher than usual, which will make it easier for the storm’s powerful winds to push water into low-lying areas. That, coupled with the threat of several inches of rain, has officials working to shore up flood defenses. 5. INCREASED RISK FOR POWER OUTAGES Storms in recent years have left hundreds of thousands of people along the East Coast without power, sometimes for days at a time. Utilities have been bringing in extra crews and lining up tree trimmers so they’re prepared, and with good reason. The superstorm brings two possibilities for knocking out electricity. For one, hurricane-force winds of at 74 mph could send tree branches into power lines, or even topple entire trees and power poles. Those left standing could succumb to snow, which could weigh down still-leafy branches enough to also topple trees. – Associated Press	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19744000
It is still perplexing to note that although German-speaking countries had been the birthplace of many great musicians and composers before 1700, only in the 18th century did Germany fully realize how important its role was on the musical stage and it is no small paradox that the new cultural nationalism, rather than fiercely opposing the presence of foreign elements, chose instead to embrace the two dominant musical styles of the times, Italian and French. For over a century, Italians favored the voice and the violin. Sensitive and expressive vocal lines were the norm, as was an unbridled, and at times extravagant virtuosity. The French, who had perfected the flute and the oboe, offered a lively, tender and concise music driven by the characteristic and varied rhythmic patterns of the dance. In other European countries, composers espoused one style or the order according to taste of circumstance. Around 1710, however, the idea that these various styles could coexist within a single work became the core of a large-scale aesthetic project. The so-called “réunion des goûts” had long been dear to the heart of French composers such as Couperin, Bernier and Campra. The full realization of the project, however, was left to German composers, and it is well aware of this accomplishment that Quantz, in his 1752 treatise, wrote: “If one has the necessary discernment to choose the best from the styles of different countries, a mixed style results which, without overstepping the bounds of modesty, could well be called the German style, not only because the Germans came upon it first, but because it has already been established at different places in Germany for many years, flourishes still, and displeases in neither Italy or France, nor in other lands.” German composers were therefore writing Italian sonatas and concertos, as well as dance suites in the French manner, which were preceded by an overture in the style of Lully, a form that features a majestic, dotted-rhythm introduction, followed by a swift fugato. In its infancy, the “mixed style” simply allowed its various elements to overlap. Soon, however, standard compositions began to integrate the more intrinsic features of the rival genres: the concerto borrowed from the suite and became more “symphonic,” while in the suite, solo instruments began to assert themselves with concerto-like authority. Inevitably, such a process affected formal development: as the French, for example, progressively discarded the overture, the Germans gave the genre new breadth and scope. Moreover, rhythmic and melodic elements borrowed from German and Polish folk music often added a much sought for—and appreciated—local color. Original models, in the end, lost their prestige, to such a degree that, in 1758, Wilhelm Hertel could state that “in our music, we have come to rely solely upon ourselves; and we know how to treat the beauties of French and Italian music in a more skillful and profound manner.” Georg Philipp Telemann—who in one of his autobiographies expressed his gratitude for “having had the chance to meet many of the most renowned musicians of the different nations”—was one of the chief architects of the new aesthetic program. The greater part of his musical life, from 1721 to his death in 1767, was spent in Hamburg. There, his creative energy seemed limitless: he taught at the Johanneum, was director of the Opera and of musical activities in five of the town’s principal churches, composed for different venues, regularly sent music to the courts of Eisenach and Bayreuth, and engraved, advertised and sold himself most of the forty collections of work he published between 1725 and 1740. In 1732, the citizens of Hamburg could read in one of their newspapers: “Music lovers can expect in the following year a great instrumental work called Musique de table, penned by Telemann. (…) Subscriptions are accepted every quarter. An annex will list the names of all subscribers.” Telemann’s Musique de table, supported by strong publicity and the composer’s contacts with booksellers and distributors from Berlin, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, London and Amsterdam, was immediately and immensely successful: nearly 250 subscribers responded, people from the bourgeoisie, magistrates, ministers, clergymen, kapellmeisters, professional and amateur musicians. Among the German subscribers were Georg Pisendel and Joachim Quantz—the latter ordering six copies. More than twenty subscribers came from Denmark, Norway, Spain, Holland and Switzerland (Italy was the sole absentee). From England, it listed “Mr Hendel, Doctor of music.” It was in France, however, that the greatest interest for the collection was shown: 33 names (among them that of flautist Michel Blavet) were listed in the first edition. The work was presented in three “productions,” i.e., three volumes that shared the same design: an overture followed by a suite of dances and characteristic pieces, a quartet, a concerto, a trio, a solo (in fact a sonata with continuo) and a “conclusion.” This closing piece had the same instrumentation as the overture, and thus not only closed the suite, but also substantiated the cyclical aspect much desired by Telemann for each of his three productions. That Telemann, at a time when the convention was to publish by groups of six or twelve works belonging to the same genre, choose to break with tradition is only further testimony of his interest in the mixed style (Bach later voiced similar aesthetic beliefs when he devoted the second part of his Clavier-Übung to a Concerto nach Italianische Gusto and an Overture nach Französische Art). The title Telemann gave his publication, “Table Music,” may lead us to believe that the work only served as pleasant background to various gastronomic activities. Apart from the fact that the music, as was often the case with chamber works, may have performed such a duty, a title such as Overtures, Concertos or Sonatas would have probably had less impact from a publicity point of view. Indeed, musical works written and published with a reference to the table had been legion since the beginning of the 17th century. The Taffel-Consort published by Thomas Simpson in Hamburg in 1621, the Partitas of Heinrich Biber’s Mensa sonora (1680) or the Simphonies pour les souper du Roy of Michel-Richard Delalande, among other examples, were all written in accordance with the idea, typical of Baroque aesthetics, that all human activities should coincide and that life’s delights should meet, but were also conceived with the aim elevating the arts to princely heights. In Telemann’s Musique de Table we find the usual Baroque pedagogical intent: the work presents itself first and foremost as a school for instrumental performance where Telemann, as he states in one of his writings, lovingly chose a part “suited for each instrument,” so that every musician can find pleasure. Telemann, perhaps here more than in any other of his compositions, reaches great heights of invention: the melodic richness, the variety and the ingenuity are astonishing and transcend established forms. Of this first “production,” offered here by the Ensemble Arion—without the Quartet—many features should be praised: the free and generous dialogue between the two violins in the Trio-Sonata, the delicacy of the slow movements of the Flute Sonata, to name a few, are in themselves remarkable, but it is the extraordinary orchestral and motivic proprieties of the Concerto for flute, violin and cello—who, although not mentioned in the title, does perform a few solos—combined with a nearly-classical elegance, that make this one of the most beautiful concertos of its time. A work of such quality no doubt contributed to the emergence of German artistic and intellectual pride, and surely helped Germans realize how great was their talent in musical matters. In a letter to a friend, Telemann wrote: “I do hope this work will one day contribute to my fame.” Considering its place in history and how often performed it is today, we can easily state that his wish has indeed been granted. © François Filiatrault Translation Alex Benjamin. 1730-1760: never did a third of a century witness from a nation such a burst, such unearthing and bringing forth: a staggering tête-à-tête with all the spiritual possibilities of neighboring worlds, established, crowned, in full control of their being. (…) In less than twenty-five years, the German bourgeois became aware, through fundamental works, not only of his life, but also of his musical philosophy. He has cleared out his garden. He has taken his critical stance. Beyond faith or family-linked activities, music now enters the very script of his spiritual life. In the German philosophy of life that develops against the Welsche, the place of music is now precisely defined: at the foreground.” Marcel Beaufils, Comment l’Allemagne est devenue musicienne (1942), 1983.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19745000
The Creation of the First Copper Penny Appearing in the Columbian Centinel of June 20, 1792. Click on the image to see an enlargement On Page 1: An Act to Provide For a Copper Coinage "That the director of the mint...be authorized to contract for and purchase a quantity of copper, not exceeding one hundred and fifty tons...to be coined at the mint into cents and half-cents...and be paid into the treasury of the United States, thence to issue into circulation." "The Act also stipulates that "no copper coins or pieces whatsoever except the said cents and half-cents, shall pass current as money, or shall be paid, or offered to be paid or received in payment for any debt, demand, claims, matter or thing whatsoever." The Act warns that all other copper coins used in payment will be forfeited, and those involved fined ten dollars. The Act is signed in script type by G. Washington on May 8, 1792. This legislation resulted in the birth of the copper penny, from which descends our present one cent piece — in all its various and sundry permutations over the course of 200 years.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19746000
This week’s top news story has been hiding in plain sight on the Internet for two years. Even so, a September, 2010 report from Deutsche Bank Group entitled “Climate Change: Addressing the Major Skeptic Arguments,” is big news. In Earth Preservers’ opinion, the report has the potential to be a game-changer because it has the clearest, simplest explanation for why man-made climate change is real. “(This report’s) clear conclusion is that the primary claims of the skeptics do not undermine the assertion that human-made climate change is already happening and is a serious long term threat. “To us,” report continues, “the most persuasive argument in support of climate change is that the basic laws of physics dictate that increasing carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere produce warming. (This will be the cause irrespective of other climate events.) The only way that warming can be mitigated by natural resources is if there are countervailing ‘feedback mechanisms’, such as cooling from increased cloud cover caused by the changing climate. “A key finding of the current research is that there has far been no evidence of such countervailing factors. In fact, most observed and anticipated feedback mechanisms are actually working to amplify the warming process, not cool it.” The report goes on to answer each argument skeptics make in the often rancorous public debate in the US over whether climate change is real, among them: * Global average temperatures have not risen since 1998 * Climate models are defective and therefore cannot provide reliable projections of future climate trends. What makes the Deutsche Bank report compelling reading isn’t so much that the information is new. Rather, it’s the way Mark Fulton, Global Head of Climate Change Investment Research, and his team at DB Climate Change Advisors, have presented the information, the source of which is the Columbia Climate Center at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. Each of the skeptics’ arguments is answered simply and directly.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19747000
The Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames was constructed back in Victorian times, and now it’s getting a distinctly steampunk facelift with the addition of 4,400 photovoltaic panels. When complete, this installation is expected to be not only the largest solar power array in the United Kingdom, but also the world’s largest solar bridge. The bridge, constructed in 1886, forms the foundation for the new Blackfriars station, which is being upgraded by Network Rail to meet the needs of more passengers and an improved train service. As part of these improvements, a new roof will be added to the historic structure with over 6,000 square meters (around 19,685 square feet) of solar panels. All this renewable energy will be delivered directly to the Blackfriars rail station, covering 50 percent of the station’s energy needs and reducing CO2 emissions by an estimated 511 tons per year. The station will also be pursuing such eco-improvements as a rain harvesting system and solar tubes to allow for more natural lighting throughout the building. London’s Solarcentury is behind the project’s solar engineering, working in conjunction with engineers from Jacobs to incorporate solar generation into the station design; the high-efficiency solar modules utilized by the project come courtesy of Sanyo.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19748000
The Bonding Model A Brief Description What is it? A mechanism by means of which atoms, ions or groups of atoms are held together in a molecule or crystal. A tentative description of a system or theory that accounts for all of its known properties.	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19754000
Alternative power sources are able to do more than just save the planet. Now, they can help save people, too. Spectra Watermakers, Inc. of San Rafael, Calif. has introduced the new Solar Cube, a portable water treatment machine powered by solar and wind that can provide clean drinking water in disaster situations. Powered by 24-volt batteries, which are charged by integrated photovoltaic panels and a wind-powered generator on the machine, the Solar Cube is portable and easily assembled on-site in less than an hour. By placing a pump, which is also attached to the machine, into a polluted or saltwater source, the Solar Cube captures the water and pumps it through a series of filters, including a reverse osmosis membrane in the final stage, which eliminates microscopic bacteria, viruses, salts and dangerous chemicals. The Solar Cube can provide up to 3,500 gallons of clean drinking water a day, enough to sustain hundreds of families during a disaster. It can provide enough energy to power other vital emergency functions, such as refrigeration equipment, laptops and communications equipment. It can be used also to provide water and electricity to remote locations or for developers working in rural areas. Spectra Watermakers manufactured the Solar Cube in cooperation with Trunz Metallchnik AG of Switzerland. EC	fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-19757000

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