The Something Different Blog

Ignoring Protest and Warnings, Obama Ushers in Era of...

Tue, 29 May 2012 10:19:58 -0700

Ignoring Protest and Warnings, Obama Ushers in Era of Unprecedented Arctic Drilling:

The Kulluk, seen in Seattle, is one of two Shell drilling ships in the city undergoing final preparations before going to the Arctic. (Elaine Thompson/Associated Press)

President Barack Obama, who once elevated the hopes of many US environmentalists by promising to be a ‘transformative’ president — one whose term, as he said, would mark “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal” — may yet be the president remembered for passing on a potentially historic opportunity to end, or at least curb, the practice of dangerous offshore drilling.

A frontpage report in today’s New York Times paints the picture of a president eager to open a gateway to arctic drilling that members of his own energy and climate change advisory panel thought was both surprising and “improbable”.

Even as the full impact of the BP spill was still being determined in the Gulf, according to the Times, Obama took the initiative in clearing a regulatory pathway that would allow oil companies — specifically a proposal by oil giant Shell — to start drilling test wells off the Alaskan coast. “The president,” write John Broder and Clifford Krauss for the Times, was “writing a new chapter in the nation’s unfolding energy transformation, in this case to the benefit of fossil fuel producers.”

Environmentalists were shocked by the report. “We never would have expected a Democratic president — let alone one seeking to be ‘transformative’ — to open up the Arctic Ocean for drilling,” Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, told theTimes.

Last week, more than 1 million people called on Obama to save the Arctic from oil drilling, by delivering a million signatures to the White House, and gathering outside to ask the president to stop Shell Oil from drilling this summer.

“Shell’s ships are already on the way to drill in the icy Arctic waters, putting human life, polar bears and whales at risk in harsh, stormy conditions,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), which has worked for many years to keep offshore drilling out of the Arctic Ocean. “President Obama has a small window to stop Shell from spoiling the Arctic, and that’s exactly what people across the country are asking him to do.”

“The Obama administration has been rubber-stamping Shell’s drill permits one after another,” Subhankar Banerjee, photojournalist and editor of the soon to be released Arctic Voices: Resistance at the Tipping Point, said in response to the Times article. “By approving these operations in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas of Alaska, the administration is about to commit a major crime. No one knows how to clean up oil from underneath the ice or in the extremely harsh weather of the Arctic. If Shell is allowed to drill there come July, they will kill the Arctic Ocean, and along the way destroy the traditional culture of the Iñupiat communities.”

Will Driving to a Cheaper Gas Station Save Me Money? Time for...

Tue, 29 May 2012 10:00:22 -0700

Will Driving to a Cheaper Gas Station Save Me Money?

Time for an SAT prep question:

You’re running low on gas and have two gas stations to choose from. Gas Station ABC has gas for $3.50 a gallon and is located 2 miles away. Gas Station XYZ has gas for $3.20 a gallon and is located 4 miles away. You car’s gas tank hold 12 gallons and your car gets 18 mpg. How much will you save if you go to Gas Station 2?

Stumped? Find out how much money driving to a cheaper gas station could save you by using this calculator.

Image of the Week: Mississippi River Delta. This Landsat image...

Tue, 29 May 2012 09:53:02 -0700

Image of the Week: Mississippi River Delta.

This Landsat image of 3 October 2011 shows the Mississippi River Delta, where the largest river in the United States empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

In this false-colour image, land vegetation appears pink, while the sediment in the surrounding waters are bright blue and green. The delta is known as the ‘bird-foot’ delta because of the shape created by the channels extending outward.

The size of the Mississippi River Delta built over millions of years owing to sediment deposition. The tons of sediment carried by the river system created the wetlands in southern Louisiana, which are home to many endangered species and help to protect the mainland from hurricane winds by acting like speed bumps.

Over the last several decades, however, the delta’s sediment load has been drastically reduced by natural and man-made factors. Extensive oil and gas extraction causes the subsidence of the delta and wetlands, and rising sea levels increase erosion as the fresh water vegetation dies due to the influx of salt water.

Currently, a chunk of land the size of a football field is lost about every half an hour.

How To I.D. Genetically Modified Food at the Supermarket How...

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:31:22 -0700

How To I.D. Genetically Modified Food at the Supermarket

How To Spot Franken-Produce: Guidelines to avoid buying genetically modified produce on your trip to the supermarket.

For conventionally grown fruit, (grown with chemicals inputs), the PLU code on the sticker consists of four numbers. Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9. Genetically engineered (GM) fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8.

For example:

A conventionally grown banana would be: 4011

An organic banana would be: 94011

A genetically engineered (GE or GMO) banana would be: 84011

These tips are specially important now that over 80% of all processed foods in the US are genetically modified.

Toronto Passes Bylaw Requiring Eco-Friendly Roofing Way to go...

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:03:15 -0700

Toronto Passes Bylaw Requiring Eco-Friendly Roofing

Way to go Toronto! We salute you.

Better-Designed Street Lighting Can Reduce Light Pollution in...

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:33:53 -0700

Better-Designed Street Lighting Can Reduce Light Pollution in Our Cities.

Photo

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:02:48 -0700

Some of the Hogwarts Filming Locations Gloucester Cathedral, or...

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:31:09 -0700

Gloucester Cathedral

Durham Cathedral

Lacock Abbey

Christ Church

Duke Humfrey's Library

The Bodleian Library

Alnwick Castle

Harrow School

Some of the Hogwarts Filming Locations

Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter (dissolved by King Henry VIII).
Durham Cathedral is acathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093. The cathedral is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with nearby Durham Castle, which faces it across Palace Green.
Lacock Abbey in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England, was founded in the early 13th century byEla, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian order.
Christ Church , is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As well as being a college, Christ Church is also thecathedral church of the diocese of Oxford.
Duke Humfrey’s Library is the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. It functions primarily as a reading room for maps, music, and pre-1641 rare books. It consists of the original medieval section (1487), the Arts End (1612), and the Selden End (1637). It houses collections of maps, music, Western manuscripts, and theology and arts materials.
The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library.
Alnwick Castle is a castle and stately home in the town of the same name in the English county of Northumberland. It is the residence of the Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest, and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a Grade I listed building.
Harrow School, commonly known simply as “‘Harrow”, is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School of today was officially founded by John Lyon under a Royal Charter of Elizabeth I in 1572.

Ask the Experts: Why Hasn't the US Tapped Into Its Geothermal Power Potential More?

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:02:25 -0700

Ask the Experts: Why Hasn't the US Tapped Into Its Geothermal Power Potential More?

24 Hours of the Sun, Stars and Earth in a Single Panoramic...

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:36:09 -0700

24 Hours of the Sun, Stars and Earth in a Single Panoramic Image

A stereographic projection of an entire day stitched together to provide the view of one rotation of the Earth. Wow.

(via Colossal)

Mother of god!

Natural Architecture. Natural Architecture; an emerging art...

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:57:50 -0700

Natural Architecture.

Natural Architecture; an emerging art movement that is exploring mankind’s desire to reconnect to the earth, through the built environment. It aims to create a new, more harmonious, relationship between man and nature by exploring what it means to design with nature in mind.

Cool!

Buffett Has Rule for Environment, Too Warren Buffett’s...

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:27:24 -0700

Buffett Has Rule for Environment, Too

Warren Buffett’s suggestion that CEOs pay at least an equal tax rate to their secretaries may have been struck down by the Senate, but Buffett also offers guidance on environmental policies in business.

keep reading

A Season for Southern California Hiking When you live in...

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:01:12 -0700

Mugu Peak looking north to Ventura.

San Gabriel Mountains.

Mishe Mokwe/Sandstone Peak trail.

Full moon hike with TreePeople.

Poppies and lupine at Antelope Canyon.

Solstice Canyon upper trail section.

A Season for Southern California Hiking

When you live in Southern California, there really isn’t a season when you couldn’t (or shouldn’t) be hiking. But spring is usually one of the better times to get out and enjoy our local surroundings. NRDC’s Jessica Lass shares photos and descriptions of her recent hikes in the LA-area in this blog post.

Photos: Jessica Lass

Huge Biomimetic ‘Supertrees’ Taking Root on Singapore’s...

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:23:23 -0700

Huge Biomimetic ‘Supertrees’ Taking Root on Singapore’s Waterfront (Video)

As part of Singapore’s masterplan to develop its Marina Bay area, these towering eighteen ‘Supertrees’ take vertical greenery a step further, integrating over 226,000 plants consisting of over 200 species with a host of other functions, like solar power and solar hot water generation, rainwater collection and acting as ventilation towers for the horticultural conservatories below.

Read more and see more pics here.

9 of the World’s Most Majestic Rivers in Peril

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:43:55 -0700

9 of the World’s Most Majestic Rivers in Peril

That’s a 1,600 percent jump in political ad spending since 2008.

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:22:55 -0700

That’s a 1,600 percent jump in political ad spending since 2008.

Clean Up the Dirtiest Thing on the Internet @ Greenpeace...

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:31:12 -0700

Clean Up the Dirtiest Thing on the Internet

@ Greenpeace International

Apple, Amazon and Microsoft all use asthma-inducing, climate destroying coal to power the “cloud” that stores your emails, photos, music and videos. Take action now & tell these companies to clean the cloud.

…don’t ever forget that! And don’t say “I’ll never be good”....

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:03:19 -0700

…don’t ever forget that!

And don’t say “I’ll never be good”. You can become better! and one day you’ll wake up and you’ll find out how good you actually became.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

This man is just absolutely awesome.

Nanoparticle Coating Makes Paper Magnetic, Waterproof, and...

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:31:11 -0700

Nanoparticle Coating Makes Paper Magnetic, Waterproof, and Antibacterial

A nanoparticle spray can turn regular paper into superpaper, rendering it waterproof, antimicrobial, magnetic and probably very expensive. […]

Scientists at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genoa, Italy, developed a process to cover any cellulose fiber, like paper or fabric, with a reactive coating. It involves combining the fiber molecules with a nanoparticle solution, creating a polymer matrix. […] Aside from the small nano-shell around each of the fibers, the paper’s properties don’t change — you could still print with it, fold it, mail it or whatever you want […]. The paper could have a wide range of applications, from food packaging and medical documents to secure bank notes. Waterproof paper could be used to protect valuable documents, according to Roberto Cingolani, scientific director at the IIT.

[via] [more] [paper]

This is awesome and all, but at the end of the day - still cutting down trees to make paper!

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Wed, 16 May 2012 14:01:50 -0700