Friday, December 27, 2013

The Terror of Constant Growth


Well known Canadian environmental scientist, David Suzuki  takes just over two minutes to present the very sobering future of planet Earth overwhelmed by humanity's inability to shake off constant growth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x98KFcMJeo

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Porcupine Christmas


How about this. A lady treated a young porcupine to a holiday meal.  Fun.

Here is the link to this prickly little critter chowing down.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDG2cwsndhk


Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Finding Richard III




Richard III was the last  King of England from the House of York. He began his reign in July, 1483.  He was killed just two years later in the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the Wars of the Roses.  Richard was buried unceremoniously and was lost for five centuries.

Fast forward to 2012.  Though there was no clear information on the monarch's final resting place, some historical records indicated that Richard III might have been buried in the Cathedral in Leicester. But the cathedral was long gone. The place where it once stood was covered by a city parking lot and some municipal buildings.   Ground penetrating radar was used to identify a possible burial site beneath the parking lot. Incredibly, it was just below a parking spot identified with the letter 'R'.   The area was excavated. Human remains were found.  Moreover, the skeleton had a pronounced abnormal curvature of the spine.  Richard III allegedly suffered from this condition, which is called scoliosis.


King Richard III  (1453-1485)


Researchers extracted the remains, which clearly had evidence of death by violent trauma. Carbon dating showed that the bones could have come from the time of Richard III's death.  Genetic markers were used to link the remains with a high degree of probability to a living relative of Richard III. 

Finally, a replica of the skull was used to reconstruct a model  of how Richard III looked when he was King of England.  Remarkably, the modeled replica looks exactly like a painting the deposed King sat for shortly before his demise.  

The way Richard III became reconnected with the world is amazing, a triumph of dumb luck, coincidence, and dedicated forensic professionals using cutting edge scientific technology.

Here is a link to the Smithsonian Channel's excellent documentary on the return of Richard III.   http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/sc/web/series/1003102/secrets/3382633/richard-iii-revealed

Here is a link to a website run by the Richard III Society...  http://www.richardiii.net/2_4_0_riii_appearance.php

Saturday, December 21, 2013

The Mercenary Class


In this brief video essay, Bill Moyers speaks eloquently about the corruption that has taken over American governance. 


Bill Moyers


Here is the remarkable video essay by legendary journalist,  Bill Moyers...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFYb4gKEFl4




Friday, December 20, 2013

Climate Change Visualized


This remarkable video was created by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme.  It translates some very unsettling climate change data into a short video that presents the ugly reality of our dilemma very effectively.

Here is the link... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EWOrZQ3L-c


Sunday, December 15, 2013

Carl Sagan's Warning


Carl Sagan passed away in 1996. He was a truly exceptional human being: one of the great scientific minds of all time.  By trade, he was an astronomer, and he made many important contributions in that arena. But his greatest gift was his ability to communicate and educate the masses about science. His Cosmos TV series was extraordinary. I had the opportunity to meet Sagan one time in  Los Angeles. It was during the time that the NASA Viking Lander first began sending pictures and data back from Mars.  Sagan was brilliant, but he was also warm and caring. I read his books and watched when he was on TV.  I won't deny that I revered the guy.


Dr. Carl Sagan

It's hard to believe that 17 years have gone by since Sagan left us.  These days,  young people are mostly unfamiliar with this great man.  They would surely benefit from his wisdom and inspiration, as I did.


"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."
                                                                                                               Carl Sagan
                      

In the video clip that follows, Sagan expresses deep concern over the fact that too many of the people we elect to represent us in government are ignorant, even hostile to scientific reason and understanding.

Here is the link to a brief 'You Tube' clip of Carl Sagan in his last TV interview talking to Charlie Rose... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iyFw8UF85A


Friday, December 13, 2013

Ecotricty


Clean energy is definitely a growth industry.  One company in Britain has found a way to sell clean, wind energy at lower cost than conventional fossil fuel power plants.  Their TV commercials show that they are making money and having fun.

Here is a very engaging  ECOTRCITY commercial for clean energy...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYGoukR2UtI





Saturday, December 7, 2013

The Fair Use Doctrine.


These days, there are millions, maybe even billions of digital images, personal quotes, artworks, and other forms of digitized intellectual property circulating freely on the internet.  Much of this material is easily accessible with a keystroke or two.

When I write entries for this blog,  I generally look for photo images, charts, illustrations, quotes from notable authorities, anything that will make my message more compelling. There is a copyright doctrine called' Fair Use' that offers legal guidelines for the public use of this freely available intellectual property.

Here is the Fair Use Doctrine as written in U.S. law...

17 U.S.C. § 107
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
  1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
  3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
  4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.[4]


As written in the law, this doctrine is open to relatively broad interpretation. The law seems to boil down to two things. You can't use somebody else's intellectual property to make money for yourself. You cannot use it in a way that casts any kind of negative or unflattering light on the originator of the copy written material.

In my case, when I repost articles of interest that I find on the net, I give credit to the originator of the material. 

Not long ago, I posted a blog entry about a live cam of an eagle's nest on the grounds of the Naval Observatory on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.  The article was entirely about this live video feed.  To make the piece more accessible, I selected two quality images of bald eagles  I found when I googled 'bald eagle images'.   The images I selected were beautiful,  but did not include the name of the copyright holder. Not long after that blog entry was posted, a person who says he was the owner of one of the images posted a comment on that entry accusing me of stealing his image. I certainly had no intention of improperly using his image. I put it there only to illustrate what the blog was actually about.  That seems to fit very easily within the exceptions allowed under 'fair use'.  Still, since this person was upset with  my use of his copy written image, I immediately removed it from that blog entry.  I then responded to that accuser, telling him that I had removed the image, even though 'fair use' did not require me to do so.

There are nearly 500 entries in this blog. Only that one time has somebody made an issue of my usage of material freely available on the net.  I believe the approach I have taken to this issue is readily defensible under the fair use doctrine.   My advice to anyone who uses copy written material is to err on the side of caution.  If you think the owners of that material might be offended, the best course is not to use it.



Friday, December 6, 2013

Cookiness - The Hungry Games


Here is  a tease for the Sesame Street Cookie Monster's latest foray into the movies. When I look at this, I'm smiling and thinking about how much fun the folks behind this silliness are having.  What's not to love about the Muppets. 





Here is a link to Sesame Street's, The Hungry Games...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT7nD02Im5E



Thursday, December 5, 2013

Rhymes With Smoky Joe


Here is a remarkable short video that focuses on a Texas Republican congressman named 'Smoky' Joe Barton.

In 1996, Barton was a central figure in the tobacco industry's effort to push back against clear evidence linking cigarette smoking with lung cancer and other health maladies.  Though the science was and is irrefutable, Barton was one of the chief deniers resisting pressure for the government to put warning labels on cigarette packages. Barton was clearly linked to big tobacco through large contributions to his congressional election campaign.  In this video, Barton can be seen swearing on a bible that his ties to big tobacco had no influence on his position defending that industry against further regulation. Of course, the evidence shows that Barton was lying through his teeth.


Congressman Joe Barton


More recently, Barton has been a leader of the climate deniers in Congress, resisting every effort to enact legislation to regulate atmospheric carbon emissions.  This man, who wears his religion on his sleeve, is a splendid example of why our government doesn't work. Here is a guy, who has shamelessly sold his soul to the highest bidder.   Barton is not unusual. In Washington, legalized bribery rules.  Both political parties are egregiously corrupted by big money from corporations and special interests. Our system of government has been perverted and rigged to favor sociopathic sellouts like Barton.  These days, that's why so very little that's truly useful and worthwhile gets done.  Enough said. Check out this video.

Here is the link to Rhymes with Smoky Joe...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj0PYdl99tI

Since I first posted this blog, Joe Barton has added another chapter to his litany of moral bankruptcy.  Now he is the congressional poster boy for abolishing the minimum wage. 

Joe Barton. The best congressman money can buy.




Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Biotopia


In the interest of full disclosure, the author of Biotopia, Michael Charles Tobias, is a much valued friend and mentor.  For that reason, I wanted to like this book,  In fact, I did like it, a lot. I wrote the review pasted in below for Amazon.
 



One caveat: Michael Tobias is the smartest person I have ever known. He is an intellectual gymnast extraordinaire and his writing reflects that.  It requires the full engagement of the reader. For those willing to make that mental investment, the reward is very much worth the effort.  Take a moment to acquaint yourself with Biotopia and its author, Michael Tobias.



A Splendid Elixir

When I started reading Biotopia, by Michael Charles Tobias, I wasn't sure what to expect. The title implies something like a living world fully realized. In fact, Tobias is a wordsmith of the highest order. Much of this book reflects on the beauty and wonders the author has experienced in his travels.  Tobias is truly a citizen of the planet.  His knowledge of history; anthropology; plants and animals, taxonomically and otherwise; literature, music and the arts, is remarkable and on full display in Biotopia.   But, while this book is in part a celebration of the sublime in nature and the human culture, it is even more a pained lament; a lament over the human squandering of the planet's biological blessings,  and of  our mindless, historically rooted penchant for destruction. We are experts at soiling our own nest and at killing our own kind,  and even more so at willfully rolling over the other creatures with whom we share this Earth.  As an example, annually, we humans reduce about 50 billion living creatures to drumsticks and cuts of meat, with nary a thought.   Michael Tobias has experienced a lot in his life. He is clearly haunted and very weary of the suffering he has seen firsthand, much of it caused by our own hubris.  Yet, in the end, Tobias  makes the case that the awareness of both the beauty and the suffering demands compassion and a commitment to be a champion; to be a force for nature, pushing back against indifference and corrosive human inertia.  Tobias himself is a wonderful example of just that kind of unswerving courage. 

The work of a remarkable intellect, Biotopia evokes both awe and inspiration. Ultimately, it is a splendid elixir; balm for those who are dispirited by the troubled world we know.

Here is a link top the Amazon listing for the book... http://www.amazon.com/Biotopia-Michael-Charles-Tobias/dp/0927379228/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386115511&sr=8-1&keywords=Biotopia



 

Monday, December 2, 2013

Ron Burgundy Hosts Canadian Curling


Will Farrell is a hoot. My favorite thing he does is  'Dubya' Bush. Nobody does dufus better than Farrell.

He's got another movie coming out built around his iconic, puffed-up, mindless news anchor, Ron Burgundy. Part of the promotion involves Farrell going around the country, doing Burgundy on local newscasts and at public events.









Here is a video of Ron Burgundy doing commentary at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in Winnipeg... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIkiTrcKZMA


Hydrogen is Happening in Europe


I am a staunch advocate of hydrogen as a clean, inexhaustible, non-toxic energy carrier replacement for fossil fuels like oil and natural gas.   I wrote a book about it. I've made several documentaries and educational videos about hydrogen and renewable energy.  I'm not saying hydrogen is a panacea. But it is an important part of any well considered vision of a clean, sustainable energy future.

For Europe, the future is now. They are allocating 20 percent of the European Union budget to clean energy, climate mitigating technologies over the next few years.  Hydrogen is a big part of the Europe's plan, because it offers a relatively easy pathway to storing clean energy for use on demand. Ultimately, it would involve using surplus electricity generate with wind turbines, solar PV, or some other renewable technology to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, which can then be stored for conversion back to electricity when needed.  

The European Union organization behind the development of hydrogen as an energy carrier is HyER. 

Here is a link to the HyER website....   http://www.hyer.eu/