Breathing Earth is a website which displays near real-time data on birth and death rates around the world on a map interface that also shows carbon emission rates. Their data is taken from UN and World Factbook figures available through Wikipedia, although not necessarily the most recent (the carbon dioxide emission rates were from 2002,
Al Gore’s new idea to combat global warming – Tax carbon emissions
In a speech yesterday at the New York University School of Law, Al Gore argued that one way to compel employers to cut greenhouse gas emissions would be to assess a carbon emission tax, instead of collecting payroll taxes. THree-quarters of the votes in the very informal poll on the MSNBC site thought that the
Japan Gets Nationwide Earthquake Detector
This spring, Japan will launch the first nation wide earthquake detector in the world. The system basically senses pre-major quake waves and gives a warning the big one is coming. As the article states, and I had no idea about, earthquakes are a BIG deal in Japan – they get 20 percent of all the
Smithsonian offering Advanced Course on Conservation GIS
For those of you interested in using GIS and remote sensing in conservation-related activities, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park’s Conservation and Research Center is offering a week-long advanced GIS and remote sensing course from Sept. 11-15th at their facility in Virginia. They still have some slots left, and this would be a really good chance
Back to the Future!
Yeah, it’s 80′s movie reference day around here (at least for me). Some scientists down under have decided to see if they can figure out what global warming is really doing… by creating a “climatic time machine“. The idea is to artificially induce years or even decades worth of climate change on a mini-ecosystem, in
BBC NEWS | Greenland melt ‘speeding up’
Following up on last week’s episode on the perception of Global Warming, I thought I would post this recent article from the BBC. Researchers using NASA satellite data have determined that the rate of melting of the ice cap over Greenland has increased between 2004 and now. The article suggests that if the entire ice
Hot town, Summer in the City
Looks like The Lovin’ Spoonful had it right. It’s dang hot out. How hot? This satellite imagery tells us! NASA’s Earth Observatory shows heat data from 2002 for New York city with vegetation as well. It’s used to document a phenomena known as Urban Heat Island. Anyone who lives in a city is pretty familar
Arny and Tony go green
Apparently Tony Blair and Arnold Schwarzenegger met in California recently. The outcome was: A “mission statement” [that] said the two would, among other things, “share experiences” and “find new solutions”. Apparently the govenenor has placed the environment high on his agenda. If Arny were eligible for the presidency I might think he was beginning his
CyberTracker, animal tracking for everyone
Listener Jody pointed out a great project that was highlighted on last weeks Living on Earth. CyberTracker allows anyone to capture information, including location, about animal movements. The software uses an interface that can be used by anyone from non-literate bushman to wildlife agents on a simple mobile hardware platform. The software is freely downloadable
Air Pollution Monitoring Via….Pigeons
Who knew avians could be so high tech? A new study of real-time air pollution is being undertaken using, of all things, pigeons. Little monitors are strapped to the backs of the pigeons and data is beamed back to Earth and published on the web in real time. Apparently the data will be available in
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