In Guam, the invasive Brown Tree Snake has eaten almost all the birds! According to ThinkProgress
… Read the restthere are only a few hundred birds left on the island. The decimation of the bird population has lead to an explosion in the spider population and the snakes have also been “biting residents and even knocking out electricity by slithering onto power lines.”
… Read the rest“The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious.” — Marcus Aurelius
Go to NewsWise to watch a sample of this cool instructional video on nanotech.
Cambridge, MA: The nanotechnology research space is rapidly growing, with vast implications for the healthcare, consumer electronics, surveillance, and defense industries. However, a major limitation to this research is the ability to create particles that vary in shape and function on a micrometer or nanometer scale.… Read the rest
Here is a video that will truly wrench your gut. A giant glacier splitting away from Greenland.
Treehugger posted in Common Dreams
… Read the restThe makers of the movie Chasing Ice were able to capture on film the largest ice calving ever witnessed by humans (so far, but that might not last the way things are going with our planet’s climate).
… Read the rest“A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.”
— Paul Cezanne
With controversy swirling over gun-sale background checks, limiting the size of weapon magazines and retaining Second Amendment rights, the problem of making homemade guns with 3-D printers has become a matter of public concern.
Laws mean little if a determined criminal or a hobbyist teen wants to make plastic guns or extra-high capacity magazines, says Hod Lipson, Cornell University professor of engineering and a pioneer in 3-D printing.… Read the rest
Duude, you can’t ignore it is mightily strange for the Catholic church to let a pope retire after 600 years of sticking to tradition and working them to death! Some say it is just too weird that the “olive pope” has backed away from the throne – and by-the-way have you seen this supernatural throne room?… Read the rest
Thirsty readers, did you know the American tradition of sending valentines originated with a young graduate of Mount Holyoke College?
The Mount Holyoke Archives and Special Collections holds an impressive collection of historic valentines — many of which were created by Esther Howland (1828-1904), a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, and a Mount Holyoke alumna credited with having established the commercial valentine industry in the United States.… Read the rest
In Common Dreams Trevor Timm writes of an amazing victory for privacy advocates and drone activists.
… Read the restSeattle’s mayor ordered the city’s police agency to cease trying use surveillance drones and dismantle its drone program. The police will return the two drones they previously purchased with a Department of Homeland Security grant to the manufacturer.
Adopt Valentine the elephant or another pachyderm family!
An endangered African forest elephant named “Valentine” is alive and well after being glimpsed only once in the past year. The youngster, born Feb. 15, 2012, recently returned to the clearing where he was born, just in time for this year’s Valentine’s Day.… Read the rest
… Read the rest“With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere.” — C.S. Lewis
It’s strange for the Electronic Frontiers Foundation to be agreeing with the FCC, Microsoft and Google – but a free wireless network would be interesting for many reasons. But in a world where even water is becoming corporatised and commodificated, can it really be done?… Read the rest
The climate crisis is already changing the playing field for wildlife and urgent action is needed to preserve America’s conservation legacy, according to a new report released today by the National Wildlife Federation. Wildlife in a Warming World: Confronting the Climate Crisisexamines case studies from across the country illustrating how global warming is altering wildlife habitats.… Read the rest
… Read the rest“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.” — Buddha
Andrea Brower is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Auckland who says Margaret Thatcher is dead wrong about the locked-in nature of the current neo-capitalist system. Instead, Bower says
… Read the restimagine the innovative possibilities of a world where all people had access to everything they needed to live, to think, and to contribute to the common good.