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Enough Wind to Power Global Energy Demand: New Research Examines Limits, Climate Consequences
ScienceDaily (Sep. 9, 2012) — There is enough energy available in winds to meet all of the world’s demand. Atmospheric turbines that convert steadier and faster high-altitude winds into energy could generate even more power than ground- and ocean-based units. New research from Carnegie’s Ken Caldeira examines the limits of the amount of power that could be harvested from winds, as well as the effects high-altitude wind power could have on the climate as a whole.
Their work is published September 9 by Nature Climate Change.
Led by Kate Marvel of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who began this research at Carnegie, the team used models to quantify the amount of power that could be generated from both surface and atmospheric winds. Surface winds were defined as those that can be accessed by turbines supported by towers on land or rising out of the sea. High-altitude winds were defined as those that can be accessed by technology merging turbines and kites. The study looked only at the geophysical limitations of these techniques, not technical or economic factors.
Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120909150446.htm
New Instrument Sifts Through Starlight to Reveal New Worlds
ScienceDaily (July 5, 2012) — An advanced telescope imaging system that started taking data last month is the first of its kind capable of spotting planets orbiting suns outside of our solar system. The collaborative set of high-tech instrumentation and software, called Project 1640, is now operating on the Hale telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California after more than six years of development by researchers and engineers at the American Museum of Natural History, the California Institute of Technology, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
The project’s first images demonstrating a new technique that creates extremely precise “dark holes” around stars of interest were presented July 5 at the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation meeting in Amsterdam by Ben R. Oppenheimer, a curator in the Museum’s Department of Astrophysics and principal investigator for Project 1640.
Although hundreds of planets are known from indirect detection methods to orbit other stars, it’s extremely difficult to see them directly in an image. This is largely because the light that stars emit is tens of millions to billions of times brighter than the light given off by planets.
Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120705161252.htm
2012 Animal deaths list
[ Approximately 91 incidents in 27 different countries in the first 130 days of 2012]
8th May 2012 – Low numbers of Mutton birds returning to NZ is “most unusual event” in 20 years studying these birds New Zealand.
7th May 2012 – Fish kill in Kuwait Bay in Kuwait.
5th May 2012 – 50,000 Fish found dead in a pond in Shenzhen in China.
5th May 2012 – Mass Bird death discovered in waste water in Finland.
4th May 2012 – 2 TONNES of dead Fish found in a River in Jinzhou China.
4th May 2012 – Mass Fish kill found in Muttar River causing panic in India.
3rd May 2012 – Dead Fish are washing up on shore of Lake Houston in America.
2nd May 2012 – Large number of fish found dead in River in China.
2nd May 2012 – Many dead Fish washing up dead in Village causing panic in Turkey. 30th April 2012 – Hundreds of Bull RedFish found dead in Alabama.
28th April 2012 – 1200 Pelicans found dead in Peru.
27th April 2012 – Mass Fish kill on Lake Elsinore in California.
26th April 2012 – Mysterious Death of possibly thousands of Storks in Thailand.
25th April 2012 – 11,000 dead Fish found in River in Kettering, America.
25th April 2012 – 28,000 dead Fish found in River in Strongsville, America.
25th April 2012 – Porpoises dying in alarming numbers, causing concerns of a local “ecological catastrophe” in China.
25th April 2012 – 4 Dolphins wash ashore dead at Bandra Bandstand in India.
22nd April 2012 – Thousands more Fish wash ashore dead in Pakistan.
19th April 2012 – Thousands of Fish, also Cows and Dogs killed in Pakistan.
17th April 2012 – Thousands of fish (30 species) dead in a creek in Tennesse.
17th April 2012 – Thousands of fish continue to turn up dead in the Zandvlei Estuary in South Africa.
17th April 2012 – Several thousand Fish found dead in River in India.
17th April 2012 – Thousands of Dead Fish found floating in Pond in India.
13th April 2012 – Mass Bees falling dead in Canyon Country California.
13th April 2012 – Hundreds of dead Fish litter Ocean Floor in Durban South Africa.
11th April 2012 – 300 more Dolphins found dead on beaches in Peru.
11th April 2012 – 14,000 Fish dead in Creek in Missouri.
9th April 2012 – Thousands of fish found dead in Lake in India.
9th April 2012 – 3 Whales wash up dead in India.
6th April 2012 – Over 50 Turtles wash ashore dead in India.
6th April 2012 – Thousands of Dead Fish found in waterway in Malaysia.
5th April 2012 – Thousands of Dead Fish found floating in Ganga river in India.
4th April 2012 – 615 Dolphins Found Dead on Beaches in Peru.
4th April 2012 – Over 100 Dead Catfish found in Boyne River Australia.
3rd April 2012 – Thousands of Dolphins are dying in Gulf of Mexico.
1st April 2012 – 9,000 Livestock killed by Foot and Mouth Disease in Egypt.
1st April 2012 – 3,000 Dolphins have washed up dead this year in Peru.
30th March 2012 – Hundreds of Birds Killed in Hail storm in Texas.
20th March 2012 – Thousands of dead Fish wash up on riverbank in Singapore.
20th March 2012 – Thousands of dead Fish found in River in Minnesota.
17th March 2012 – 4 beached Whales die in East China.
13th March 2012 – 5,000 Fish found dead in a lake in Malaysia.
12th March 2012 – Disease Kills 170 Chickens in South Africa.
9th March 2012 – Dozens of birds drop dead in University grounds in Florida.
8th March 2012 – 34 Dolphins wash up dead along coast in Texas.
4th March 2012 – 400 Grey Seals found dead off Cape Breton in Australia.
3rd March 2012 – Many Little Penguins Dying in Perth, Australia.
2nd March 2012 – Thousands of Jellyfish wash ashore in Texas.
1st March 2012 – 800kg dead fish found in Cyprus.
NOTE: During 2011 – Record number (335) of Sea Otters either found dead or ill along California coast in America.
28th February 2012 – Over 20,000 Chickens dead in Dharke in Nepal.
27th February 2012 – Thousands of fish found dead at nature reserve in UK.
25th February 2012 – 60 Gulls found dead in New Zealand.
21st February 2012 – 3,000 Tuna Fish found dead off coast of Dubai.
21st February 2012 – 25 Rare Turtles wash up dead in Bangladesh.
18th February 2012 – Thousands of Lambs being killed by incurable virus in the UK.
16th February 2012 – Tonnes of dead Fish wash ashore in Somalia.
15th February 2012 – 100 dead birds found along highway in Maryland America.
14th February 2012 – UPDATE: 124 Dolphins have now beached and died in Cape Cod America.
9th February 2012 – Over 200 Dolphins wash up dead in Peru.
9th February 2012 – 800 dead Birds found in Christchurch New Zealand.
7th February 2012 – Dozens of dead Birds found on beach in Florida.
6th February 2012 – Tens of Thousands of Birds to be “culled” due to H5N1 virus in Nepal and India.
3rd February 2012 – Thousands of Fish wash up dead in Nigeria.
3rd February 2012 – 100 Pigeons found dead in South Dakota.
3rd February 2012 – 1,000 Fish found dead floating in two ponds in Virginia.
31st January 2012 – Massive Fish death in Philippines.
27th January 2012 – 64 Dolphins and Porpoises found dead along the Atlantic Coast.
27th January 2012 – 10,000 Fish found dead in Japan.
27th January 2012 – 12 Dolphins wash up dead in Louisiana.
27th January 2012 – 10,000 Ducks to be Killed in Australia.
24th January 2012 – 5,000 Fish found dead in Perth’s River in Australia.
UPDATE: 85 Dolphins beached, 61 dead in Cape Cod in America.
24th January 2012 – 82 Whales dead in New Zealand.
22nd January 2012 – Hundreds of dead Birds found in India.
21st January 2012 – 4 Whales found dead on beach in New Zealand.
19th January 2012 – 20,000 Birds killed by oil spill in New Zealand.
19th January 2012 – 3 TONNES of dead Fish wash ashore in Somalia.
NOTE: During the past 6 years, 6.7 MILLION Bats have died from White Nose Disease in America.
16th January 2012 – 53 Fur Seals found dead on Beach in Australia.
14th January 2012 – 30 Dolphins beach, 20 dead in Cape Cod in America.
11th January 2012 – Hundreds of dead Fish wash ashore in The Bahamas.
10th January 2012 – 2000 Chickens dead in India.
10th January 2012 – Large number of dead fish found floating across 3km of river in China.
9th January 2012 – Hundreds of Wildlife Animals found dead in Zimbabwe.
9th January 2012 – Dozens of Turtles found dead in Florida.
8th January 2012 – Thousands of Deer have died during past few months in Northern Plains in America.
7th January 2012 – Thousands of Dead Fish found floating in the Gholani River in India. 7th January 2012 – 7 Whales become stranded and die in New Zealand.
7th January 2012 – Thousands of Fish found dead in California.
5th January 2012 – 3000 Dead Fish in Ghana.
4th January 2012 – Oil soaked birds washing up dead on Western Isles of Scotland.
2nd January 2012 – 20 TONNES of Fish wash up dead on beach in Norway.
1st January 2012 – 200 Blackbirds found dead in Arkansas USA.
discuss further:
http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212767&page=2
Fukushima: A Nuclear War without a War: The Unspoken Crisis of Worldwide Nuclear Radiation
Thursday, 26 April 2012 06:14
‘The World is at a critical crossroads. The Fukushima disaster in Japan has brought to the forefront the dangers of Worldwide nuclear radiation.
The crisis in Japan has been described as “a nuclear war without a war”. In the words of renowned novelist Haruki Murakami: “This time no one dropped a bomb on us … We set the stage, we committed the crime with our own hands, we are destroying our own lands, and we are destroying our own lives.”
Nuclear radiation –which threatens life on planet earth– is not front page news in comparison to the most insignificant issues of public concern, including the local level crime scene or the tabloid gossip reports on Hollywood celebrities.’
The Shame of Nations: A New Record is Set for Spending on War
Wednesday, 25 April 2012 07:06
‘On April 17, 2012, as millions of Americans were filing their income tax returns, the highly-respected Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its latest study of world military spending. In case Americans were wondering where most of their tax money — and the tax money of other nations — went in the previous year, the answer from SIPRI was clear: to war and preparations for war.
World military spending reached a recworldord $1,738 billion in 2011 — an increase of $138 billion over the previous year. The United States accounted for 41 percent of that, or $711 billion.’
Read more: The Shame of Nations: A New Record is Set for Spending on War
Consumption in the United States
http://www.mindfully.org/Sustainability/Americans-Consume-24percent.htm
In the United States:
 Reducing consumption without reducing use is a costly delusion. If undeveloped countries consumed at the same rate as the US, four complete planets the size of the Earth would be required. People who think that they have a right to such a life are quite mistaken. |
- Americans constitute 5% of the world’s population but consume 24% of the world’s energy.
- On average, one American consumes as much energy as
- 2 Japanese
- 6 Mexicans
- 13 Chinese
- 31 Indians
- 128 Bangladeshis
- 307 Tanzanians
- 370 Ethiopians
- The population is projected to increase by nearly 130 million people – the equivalent of adding another four states the size of California – by the year 2050.
- Forty percent of births are unintended.
- Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day – that’s roughly 200 billion more than needed – enough to feed 80 million people.
- Americans throw out 200,000 tons of edible food daily.
- The average American generates 52 tons of garbage by age 75.
- The average individual daily consumption of water is 159 gallons, while more than half the world’s population lives on 25 gallons.
- Fifty percent of the wetlands, 90% of the northwestern old-growth forests, and 99% of the tall-grass prairie have been destroyed in the last 200 years.
- Eighty percent of the corn grown and 95% of the oats are fed to livestock.
- Fifty-six percent of available farmland is used for beef production.
- Every day an estimated nine square miles of rural land are lost to development.
- There are more shopping malls than high schools.
Percent of World Total
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Other Facts:
- 250 million people have died of hunger-related causes in the past quarter-century — roughly 10 million each year.
- 700 to 800 million people, perhaps even as many as a billion, don’t get enough food to support normal daily activities
- Africa now produces 27% less food per capita than in 1964.
- 1.7 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, and by the year 2000, the number of urban dwellers without access to safe water and sanitation services is expected to grow by 80%.
- 0.1% of pesticides applied to crops reaches the pest, the rest poisons the ecosystem.
- Each year 25 million people are poisoned by pesticides in less developed countries, and over 20,000 die.
- One-third of the world’s fish catch and more than one-third of the world’s total grain output is fed to livestock.
- It takes an average of 25 gallons of water to produce a pound of wheat in modern Western farming systems. It takes 5,214 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef.
- Each person in the industrialized world uses as much commercial energy as 10 people in the developing world.
source: Paul Ehrlich and the Population Bomb / PBS [the PBS website is defunct but the book by the same name is available]
NASA Probe Offers New View of Mercury: an Alien World Right in Our Back Yard
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
‘The overheated, underappreciated runt of the solar system is finally getting some attention. Mostly ignored since a brief fly-by in the 1970s, Mercury, our solar system’s smallest, swiftest planet, received a longer house call last March: NASA’s $450 million Messenger probe, which achieved orbit, a tricky feat never before attempted.
(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington) – A depiction of the MESSENGER spacecraft is shown flying over Mercury’s surface displayed in enhanced color during the mission’s second Mercury flyby in 2008.
Read more: NASA Probe Offers New View of Mercury: an Alien World Right in Our Back Yard
davidicke.com/headlines
Consolidation of Seed Companies Leading to Corporate Domination of World Food Supply
Wednesday, 27 July 2011 07:52
‘Throughout the history of agriculture across the globe, farming has always been a diversified sector of the economy. Small, self-sustaining, family farms were the order of the day in most cultures. Even as small farms grew larger and more specialized over time, many of them still saved seeds or purchased them from other farmers, which kept control of farming in the hands of the people.
But today everything has changed, as large chemical and agribusiness firms have acquired or merged with seed companies and other agricultural input companies. They have successfully gained a foothold on genetically-modified (GM) crops with transgenic traits.
These primary factors and several others have facilitated a crescendo towards the global domination of agriculture by corporations, and thus the world’s food supply.’
Read more: Consolidation of Seed Companies Leading to Corporate Domination of World Food Supply
World Revolution Not Seen on TV- Rallies Around the World
Saturday, 23 July 2011 09:27
Believe nothing 