LLL200, The Map

posted by Carl Flatow on Friday, November 20. 2009

We just got our first LLL200 supporters (TWO!) in Kentucky. I'm really looking forward to crossing the Mississippi River. See our progress at The Map page at DtE, or follow us via Twitter (@DTESFI). Put yourself on The Map! Join our campaign to celebrate a great unsung American Inventor who had an impact on the lives of most everyone who eats.

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Posted by Carl Flatow on Friday, November 20, 2009, 10:59 AM | Comments (0)

Bee Glue v. HIV

posted by Carl Flatow on Friday, November 20. 2009

If you do a Google search for the word "propolis" you are sure to find a wide range of Web pages describing the benefits of this "bee glue" to human health. None of these are more interesting to me than the reports on the work of Marla Spivak, PhD, professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota and her team. A paper published in 2005, of which she was a co-author, concludes in part "the results of these in vitro studies suggest that propolis has potent antiviral activity against X4 and R5 HIV-1 variants."

In a recent lecture I attended, her associate, Gary Reuter described the work they have just concluded on the "hygienic behavior" of bees. "Hygienic bees detect and remove infected brood from the nest before the pathogen becomes infectious."

I look forward to learning more of their results on the benefits that the study of honey bees brings to bees and to humans.

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Posted by Carl Flatow on Friday, November 20, 2009, 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

The Ice Age Cometh…NOT!

posted by Neil Wagner on Friday, November 20. 2009

Current knowledge of past thoughts on the future.
Remember that time in the 70's when the scientific community was convinced the world was headed for an ice age? Global warming skeptics sure do. "False ice age hysteria" is a commonly cited reason for doubting man-made global warming.

Unfortunately, that period of scientific ice age fever never existed. The mass media covered the story and the general public took notice. After all, it was wild and it was scary. But research conducted by Thomas Peterson of the National Climatic Data Center shows that peer-reviewed scientific journals during that era published more articles about global warming than about a coming ice age. In fact the score was 44 to 7.

In contrast with the public's interest in the ice age story, scientists feel the public's attitude towards global warming demonstrates a very unusual circumstance: scientists are more concerned than the general population.

Robert Wilder, CEO of WilderShares, which manages cleantech indices:
"Scientists are by their nature conservative and not prone to wild-eyed hyperbole…It's almost invariable that the public is more alarmed than the scientists about most problems, but with climate change the scientists are more worried than the public. That is worrisome".

Mr. Wilder's thoughts are echoed by others, such as "Field Notes from a Catastrophe" author Elizabeth Kolbert.

Learn more about the cold, hard facts...

USA Today article about Peterson's research

Robert Wilder's thoughts

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Posted by Neil Wagner in Comic strips on Friday, November 20, 2009, 1:00 AM | Comment (1)

North Korea's New Sunshine Policy?

posted by Jocelyn Ford on Sunday, November 15. 2009

Energy-challenged North Korea's in the news again.

President. Obama on his first trip to Asia is reiterating he believes North Korea would be better off if it agreed to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Consider what the economically and energy-challenged nation could've achieved if, instead of focusing its engineers on nuclear development, it'd assigned them to develop less-threatening renewable energy technologies.

Well, as it turns out, Pyongyang is giving solar a try, and it's looking to China for help.

It recently turned to a Chinese state-run solar company Beijing Tsinghua Solar to provide solar hot water panels to heat a three-story office building. The phalanx of 1,030 square meters of panels produce 30 tons of hot water a day to flow through heating ducts under the floor.

The project started running in the freezing winter months earlier this year, and so far, according to the company's regional manager Jing Wei, it's operating smoothly.

When I ran into Jing Wei he admitted he doesn't know what the building is used for-- as usual, mum is the word in the secretive country.

And no, this isn't a money-making venture, he says. Jing Wei presumes his company was selected because of the trust factor due to its affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party. His company wanted to get its foot in the door of a new market, so it offered a sweet deal.

Jing Wei is hopeful one day North Korea will tap his company for more panels, and eventually Beijing Tsinghua Solar will make money in the hermit country.

He just has no idea when.

Perhaps President Obama should be trying to cut a different deal: we'll buy your renewable solar and wind technologies, if you'll give up on the nukes.

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Posted by Jocelyn Ford on Sunday, November 15, 2009, 1:31 AM | Comments (0)

You want consensus? We've GOT consensus.

posted by Neil Wagner on Friday, November 13. 2009

97% of climate scientists believe humans cause global warming. At least it's not unanimous.

Suppose you were feeling out of sorts and went to your family doctor, a general practitioner. The G.P said you had a serious illness that needed treatment. Being cautious, prudent and conservative about such things, you got a second opinion. Suppose you sought 10 opinions in all. Eight of the 10 G.P.'s identified the same illness.

You then sought the diagnosis of a specialist before pursuing treatment. Let's get crazy and say you went to 100 specialists. 97 of them gave you the same diagnosis the eight G.P.'s had given. Would you seek treatment or decide the doctors were wrong and that there really was no problem?

The overwhelming consensus I just described is the same kind of consensus scientists express when it comes to global warming. A University of Illinois survey released earlier this year asked questions of 3,146 earth scientists. 82% of the group said they believed both that global warming was happening and that humans are a significant factor in causing it. When the questions were put specifically to climate scientists actively involved in the study of climate change, 97% of them held that same opinion.

Even geologists and meteorologists associated with the petroleum industry (not the likeliest of believers) were almost 50/50 on the matter.

Check it out...

Info on the University of Illinois Survey