Gleanings of the Week Ending May 12, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Yosemite Range of Light (video) - Series of time lapse images of Yosemite accompanied with well selected music. Whether you’ve been to Yosemite or not…worth looking at. Double click to see it full screen (then esc to go back to smaller format)

Moon Jellies (photo) - an intersection of life and art

A Look at Solar Growth in the US - (infographic) show top 9 states (Maryland is 9th!) and the demographics on who is installing solar

Find out your city’s air pollution grade from the American Lung Association - infographic and tool using zip code or a map to search the data for your city

Encyclopedia of Life Reaches Historic One Million Species Pages Milestone - If you haven’t already discovered the Encyclopedia of Life web site, it is well worth a look

Carbon Disclosure Project - (infographic) what local governments are doing

Backyard Color of the Week: Blue - collection of photos of blue life (mostly birds)

Top Countries for Higher Education - the environment for higher education around the world....it’s a different look than we get from looking at single institutions

UK stat: growing population over 100 years old - tremendous increase projected between now and 2066. The picture is the best part of the post - implying that this increase in older population will benefit the youngest of us!

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 24, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Fundamental Steps Needed Now in Global Redesign of Earth System Governance - the argument of 32 scientists and researchers that some fundamental reforms are needed to avoid dangerous changes in the Earth system

How Monarch Butterflies Recolonize Northern Breeding Range - About 10% of the Monarchs in Canada have come all the way from Mexico. 90% were born en route mostly in the central US.

Feeding Habits of German Wolves - Less than 1% of their prey is livestock

The Physics of Cooking (Science and Cooking) - Videos from Harvard that talk about the mechanics of various culinary techniques (there are 42 hours - 26 segments - of videos on the topic!)

America’s First Cuisines - A chapter from the book that focuses on produce that came from the new world

A brief history of solar energy - Beginning in 1767….

Monarch butterflies down again this year - The scene from Texas - 30% fewer monarchs this year

Surface features on Vesta (giant asteroid) - New pictures from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft

Civic Engagement and Local e-Government: Social Networking Comes of Age - a study of how local governments are using social media…a ranking of the 75 largest cities in the US

What is your Water Footprint? - A calculator of how much water your lifestyle takes

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 10, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Nutrition Data - a site that has the regular nutrition facts label with added graphics: nutritional target map, caloric ration pyramid, estimated glycemic load, inflammation factor, nutritional balance, and protein quality. Type your favorite food in the box labeled ‘enter food name’ on the right side of the banner line to see how it measures up.

Bed Bugs (infographic) - dramatic increase in this problematic bug in the US…everywhere

Images of Earth from Envisat - beautiful images from a satellite that has lived twice as long as planned…is starting its second decade this month.

Birdcast - a project of NOAA and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology…bird migration and weather forecast. Updated weekly.

Solar Grid Parity (with Incentives) - an animated map showing when electricity in major metropolitan areas becomes cheaper using rooftop solar than utilities (include the current tax credit). Lots and lots by 2020!

Top 10 Benefits of Green Smoothies - Better for you than juice

3 great ways to use salsa - a short video…sparks even more ideas of ways to use salsa

Penguin CAM - Penguin antics 24 hours a day through March and April

13 National Historic Landmarks Added - lots of variety….Frank Lloyd Wright buildings at Florida Southern College…Deer Medicine Rocks in Montana…a parish church in Virginia

25 Wild Bird Photographs - National Geographic is posting a set weekly….this is the most recent

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 25, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

• Kid powered school bus - Looks like fun but where are their backpacks?
• Bird Cookies - Maybe these are better than a birdfeeder….as long as the squirrels don’t run off with whole cookies
• Photographs from the road between San Francisco and Phoenix - Great idea for your next road trip (if you are the one driving….stop before snapping).
• How Much Solar Costs & How Much You Could Save on Electricity in Your State (Infographic) - How much does it cost…how much can you save…how long would it take to pay for itself. Good representation of the analysis.
• Garth Lenz: Images of Beauty and Devastation (TED talk video) - Boreal forest and tar sands. “We all live downstream” is my favorite quote from the video.
• Image of what was under a hoop skirt in the 1800s - it must have been uncomfortable to sit down!
• Toilet paper has surpassed newsprint in the US - and most of it is not made via recycling unlike newsprint 
• Distance Learning (infographic) - it’s been going on for quite some time but has gathered momentum recently. It has a lot to offer. What types of learning environments do you want in your future?
• Death Valley National Park factoids - This is a National Park I have not visited…but would like to…and this would be a great time of year to do it.
• How Doctors Die - No heroics…dying with dignity.