Gleanings of the Week Ending November 09, 2024

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Old Growth – Mitch Epstein photographs of very old trees.

The true story of a famed librarian and the secret she guarded closely – Belle da Costa Greene, the first director of New York's historic Morgan Library and Museum.

Inside Turkey’s Mysterious Ancient City That Once Sheltered Thousands—Underground - The Derinkuyu underground city is a sort of gargantuan anthill, except made by and for humans—up to 20,000 of them at a time, in fact. The city descends 280 feet into the earth, divided into eight levels. Upper levels were primarily used for living and sleeping, while lower levels were used for storage, even housing a dungeon. The far-stretched system of interconnected rooms was carved out of the Cappadocia region’s tuff rock. People didn’t live in these underground quarters year-round, however, as they were mainly used for shelter during times of conflict or extreme weather.

Climate change will affect food production, but here are the things we can do to adapt - Farmers can pick crop varieties best suited to different climate condition...production can shift to places with more optimal temperatures…planting and harvest times can shift as the seasons shift…focusing on the right irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides synchronized to climate change. We have the chance to build a more productive and resilient food system, but it’s not guaranteed that we will. It depends on whether the seeds, irrigation, and adaptation practices will be available. That will require real and sustained investment from governments, donors, and private companies.

Toothbrushes and showerheads covered in viruses ‘unlike anything we’ve seen before’ - We live in a richly microbial world. Interactions with bacteria and other microbes in our homes are an integral part of our human biology.

The monarch butterfly may not be endangered, but its migration is - Migrating monarchs don't fly at night, so they spend their evenings in bunches on trees or shrubs, known as roosts. The study relied on 17 years of data from more than 2,600 citizen scientist observations of monarch roosts along the butterfly's migration route. The researchers found that roost sizes have declined by as much as 80%, with these losses increasing from north to south along the migration route. The evidence shows that when monarchs are reared in a captive environment, either indoors or outdoors, they're not as good at migrating.

World’s Rivers Are Driest They - In 2023, the hottest year on record, the Mississippi River and Amazon River basins were at all-time lows, while the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mekong rivers, which all have their headwaters in the Himalayas, were also unusually dry. Across nearly half the globe, rivers were drier than normal.

The worrying puzzle behind the rise in early-onset cancer - Over the past 10 years, rates of colorectal cancer among 25- to 49-year-olds have increased in 24 different countries, including the UK, US, France, Australia, Canada, Norway and Argentina. Perhaps the most obvious explanation points to the role of obesity and metabolic syndrome, conditions which have been associated with driving cancer risk through increasing inflammation throughout the body and causing the dysregulation of key hormonal pathways. Or maybe changes in sleep patterns is part of the explanation. Combined with shifts in lifestyle, many cancer scientists believe that a key driving force for these illnesses is the consequences of various toxic changes within the gut (from microplastics). Antibiotics might be involved too. The bottom line…it’s a looming public health crisis.

New research reveals how large-scale adoption of electric vehicles can improve air quality and human health - Computer simulations show that aggressive electrification of the U.S. vehicle fleet, coupled with an ambitious rollout of renewable electricity generation, could result in health benefits worth between US$84 billion and 188 billion by 2050. Even scenarios with less aggressive grid decarbonization mostly predicted health benefits running into the tens of billions of dollars.

New study explores how universities can improve student well-being - Six guiding principles for improving student well-being:

• Embedding well-being into curricula for broader, more accessible adoption.

• Having each initiative only focus on one or two aspects of well-being, making it easier to create instruction that can also be more immersive.

• Tailoring initiatives to the student body and university culture.

• Securing buy-in from faculty.

• Ensuring new offerings are accessible and don't create additional financial burden for students.

• Employing an iterative assessment framework at the beginning to make it easier to change or scale up a program.

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 1, 2024

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

How Storm King Art Center Became One of World’s Top Sculpture Parks – Adding to my list to consider seeing if I travel to New York (state).

Dirt Cheap Batteries Enable Megawatt-Scale Charging Without Big Grid Upgrades Right Away – Hope the technology trend continues…that this idea helps us transition to more electric trucks and other vehicles.

Extreme Birding: Shorebirds at the Sewage Lagoon – Maybe a great place for birding….if you can stand the smell. The same thing happens at landfills.

The human brain has been shrinking – and no-one quite knows why - The brains of modern humans are around 13% smaller than those of Homo sapiens who lived 100,000 years ago. Exactly why is still puzzling researchers. I was a little surprised that the authors did NOT consider the challenge of birthing babies with larger heads (i.e. until C-sections allowed mother and baby to survive if the baby’s head was too large, both mother and baby died) which would result in natural selection of genes for smaller heads.

Climate change is most prominent threat to pollinators - Pollinator populations are declining worldwide and 85% of flowering plant species and 87 of the leading global crops rely on pollinators for seed production. The decline of pollinators seriously impacts biodiversity conservation, reduces crop yield, and threatens food security. Changes in water and temperature associated with climate change can lower the quantity and quality of resources available to pollinators, decrease the survival of larvae or adults, and modify suitable habitats.

The deep ocean photographer that captured a 'living fossil' – In 2010, Laurent Ballesta was the first diver to photograph a living coelacanth. In 2013, Ballesta and his team returned and encountered multiple coelacanths, spending up to half an hour in their presence. Thanks to Ballesta's work, we now know the coelacanth is among the longest-living fish species, with a lifespan of around 100 years, and has one of the slowest life histories of all marine fish – so, like deep-sea sharks with a reduced metabolism, the coelacanth grows slowly, taking as long as 69 years to reach sexual maturity, and with a gestation period of around five years.

Under stress, an observer is more likely to help the victim than to punish the perpetrator - It takes more cognitive effort to punish others than it does to help them. Studies show that when witnessing an act of injustice while stressed, people tend to behave selflessly, preferring to help the victim than to punish the offender.

Stunning Aerial Photos Capture the Abstract Beauty of Iceland’s Glacier Rivers – Iceland….blue.

These tricks make wind farms more bird-friendly – Migratory birds can crash into wind turbines…but there are ways to reduce the carnage: adding high visibility reflectors and spirals to cables, not building wind farms in flight paths, painting one blade on each turbine black (or stripes of black on each blade), and sound.

Swarms of miniature robots clean up microplastics and microbes, simultaneously – Interesting idea. While the bots were decontaminated and reused…they were not as effective…so more work is needed.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 14, 2023

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Abandoned Lands: A Hidden Resource for Restoring Biodiversity – Nature colonizing abandoned land…maybe we need to learn to help it along. The amount of land under agriculture globally has been in decline since 2001. Sometimes the abandonment is not driven by economic, demographic, or social factors, but by pollution or industrial disasters. Hundreds of square miles of radioactive former farmland around the stricken nuclear reactors at Chernobyl in Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan are now within exclusion zones and could be without human occupation for centuries to come.

How to build for aging in place - Aging-ready homes address two core needs—single-floor living and bathroom accessibility—by providing a zero-step entry, a first-floor bedroom, and a full first-floor bathroom with at least one accessibility feature. Today only 10% of American homes are ‘age ready.’ When my husband and I bought our current home, we were conscious of buying something that would help us age-in-place. Everything is on one floor except for the laundry room….so we might have to eventually add an elevator to the house.

The Mississippi is Mighty Parched – The river south of Memphis has narrowed considerably in the past 2 years. Barge companies reduced the weight carried in many shipments in September because the river was not deep enough to accommodate their normal weight. Much of U.S. grain exports are transported down the Mississippi; the cost of these shipments from St. Louis southward has risen 77% above the three-year average. The lack of freshwater flowing into the Gulf of Mexico has also allowed saltwater to make its way up the river and into some water treatment plants in southern Louisiana.

Electric Cars Are Transforming America’s Truck Stops – I’ve been noticing the changes described in this article as I travel. More of truck stops have banks of chargers…and the Pilot just north of Denison has better food and a larger shopping/eating area… Adding charging equipment for electric cars is a major transformation for truck stops and travel centers but represents a new business opportunity.

The seed guardians in the Andes trying to save the potato – Climate change/disease are risks that all species are facing. There are 1,300 varieties of potato growing in the Andes. Potato Park, located near the Peruvian town of Pisac, was founded by six indigenous communities in 2002 to preserve the genetic diversity of potatoes grown in the region, as well as the cultural heritage of the people that grow them.

Chemical Analysis of Viking Combs Hints at Long-Distance Trade – 85-90% of the combs found in a Viking settlement in Germany, came from northern Scandinavia – made of the antlers of reindeer. So large scale trading between the two sites was happening as early as AD 800.

See Ten Stunning Images from the Bird Photographer of the Year Awards – Birds and photography…images to enjoy.

Japanese Scientists Find Microplastics in the Clouds Above Mount Fuji – Maybe we should be more surprised if we looked and didn’t find microplastics!

Why Flamingos are Showing Up in the U.S. this Fall – The short answer is hurricanes…specifically Hurricane Idalia. Flamingos are strong fliers and will simply return south eventually.

A Sample of Ancient Asteroid Dust Has Landed Safely on Earth – We were at the launch of OSIRIS Rex in September 2016…so I continue to follow news about the mission.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 21, 2023

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

How do snowflakes form? Is each snowflake really unique? Why is some snow light and fluffy or heavy? The amazing science of snow – A good topic to explore in the winter! The article includes a video of snow and ice crystal growth.

Falling birth rate in US not due to less desire to have children – People are not having as many children as they say they want, especially at earlier ages. There is some evidence that people reduce the number of children they intend to have as they get older. They may realize how hard it is to have and raise kids in the US…and decide to only have one child rather than two. They may have more challenges conceiving as they get older too. Larger economic and social forces are also impacting birth rates.

Meditation and mindfulness offer an abundance of health benefits and may be as effective as medication for treating certain conditions – An overview of the strengths/weaknesses of studies about mediation/mindfulness…a good introduction.

Drone Photography Celebrates the Beauty of Historic High-Rise Buildings in the U.S. – Wonderful views of the highest parts of tall buildings.

9 in 10 drivers in the US would save money on fuel by going electric – Good! Hopefully the cost of the electric cars will come down a bit…and we’ll have more models to choose from…and the places to charge them during road trips will be convenient.

Why obesity is more dangerous for men – Evidently men have a lot more inflammation associated processes and don’t grow as many new blood vessels in their fatty tissue.

See the Lavish Pompeii Home Owned by Two Men Freed from Slavery – Reopened after 20 years of restoration work. It was originally excavated in 1894-1895.

Broccoli looks more like cauliflower in a warmer world – Looking at the chemistry behind the changed growth of broccoli at higher temperatures…avoiding the change in the lab…but will it enable us to still produce broccoli that looks like broccoli as the planet warms?

Another step toward an insulin tablet - A lot of diabetics would appreciate ‘no more injections’!

Why Electrifying Everything Is a Critical Pathway to Decarbonize The World & Our Lives – I like these articles that get specific about the options that individuals/families can take. It gives me more hope for my future and the future of the planet to take the actions I can to 1) decarbonize the electricity used by my home, 2) move toward an all-electric home and transportation, 3) improve efficiency/reduce waste, and 4) sequester carbon. Focusing on the ‘all electric’ concept this week. I have natural gas powered heating and hot water heater…will probably replace the heating/cooling first. The gas fireplaces are turned off already – removing them is not a high priority.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 24, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

H5N1 Bird Flu Detections across the United States (Wild Birds) – A map of US counties where bird flu has been detected in wild birds as reported by the US Department of Agriculture.  It would be great if data could come from the National Wildlife Refuges (reporting through the US Department of the Interior) since they often have concentrations of wildlife and staff that would be monitoring the flocks. I know that there were instances of bird flu – primarily in snow geese - that the Bosque del Apache NWR staff were reacting to when we were there the November before COVID-19 curtailed our travel.

Electric car sales drive toward cleaner air, longer lives – Another reason my next car will be an electric rather than a plug-in-hybrid that I have now. However – this should probably be seen as an offset to the negative impacts on public health that climate change will bring; the air could be cleaner, but it will also be warmer and more turbulent. I am becoming less certain that my lifespan will last into my 90s like it has for my parents.

Living the lava life on Mauna Loa – A satellite image from NASA’s Landsat 9. It shows how close one of the flows came to Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) project habitat. Fortunately, the most recent mission there concluded in May 2022.

The Dead Sea is dying – The lowest exposed place on Earth…water level dropping 4 feet per year…salt formations and sinkholes.

Beyond cola: the strange flavors of soft drinks – Carbonated drinks were invented by Johann Jacob Schweppe in 1783. They were sold in glass bottles and that were recirculated. Regional delicacies. Everything changed with the advent of plastic bottles in the 1970s. Moxie, state beverage of Maine, continued independently for a long time – bought by Coca-Cola in 2018. Soft drinks had a heyday in the years of Prohibition. Follow the link for the whole article, more soft drink history.

Construction of the world’s largest radio telescope begins – Square Kilometer Array (SKA) – one in Australia and one in South Africa. Construction will be completed by the end of the decade, but observations will begin in 2024.

Flameproofing lithium-ion batteries with salt – Finally….hope this solves the fire problem with lithium-ion batteries and, if so, moves into new battery manufacturing quickly.

The 120-year search for the purpose of T. Rex’s arms – A little history of T. Rex finds…and the various ideas about why the animal had such puny arms.

A new weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria – Work to find a new treatment for Klebsiella pneumoniae infections that are resistant to common antibiotics with some strains fatal for 40-50% of infected people. A new strategy: weakening bacteria with an existing drug previously used to treat herpes that alters its surface layer to make it easier for the immune system to kill the bacteria. The idea works in the research model…effectiveness in human beings yet to be confirmed.

The science of why hawks are one of nature’s deadliest hunters – Birds and bats….The birds steer toward a fixed point in the swarm instead of singling out a bat. It’s a good strategy against a gathering of prey!

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 20, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Photographer Creates Mesmerizing Flight Trails of Winged Creatures as a Meditation on Time – Action in the air (composite images).

The crab invading the Mediterranean Sea – The blue crab is native to the Indo-Pacific but reached the Mediterranean Sea in 1898…about a decade after the Suez Canal opened. With temperatures in the Mediterranean rising with climate change, more the crab larvae are reaching adulthood. Now the Tunisians are trapping and processing crabs for export. Other places in the Mediterranean are also harvesting and processing invasive species: Cyprus has local restaurants serving lionfish and jewelry/artwork is created from their soft colorful fins. Rabbitfish have also become a commercial fish. But will these measures be enough to rebalance the ecosystems and improve biodiversity?

Where did pigeons come from? – A bird that we see frequently….that humans have taken around the world…and it likes to stay near us!

Understanding the new Federal tax credit for electric cars – Why does it always have to be complicated?

Is dark chocolate really good for you? – Of course! I like my high % cocoa squares first thing in the morning…my perfect 1st breakfast.

The dangers of working in hot weather – Glad to see some attention on this…and a sharing of practices that can help while still getting work done. With the high level of employment (and often challenges hiring new people), businesses should have an elevated interest in keeping their workers healthy and productive.

 Home solar + storage will get a boost from the recent climate bill, claims Bloomberg – Hurray!

Banana peels make sugar cookies better for you – Ok – so maybe I should never put banana peels into the compost. I’d rather use them directly in recipes like Banana Peel Cake rather than making them into flour. I think I’ll start washing them and putting them in the freezer when I eat the fruit….process them as I need them for baking!

Meet the world’s largest land crab – And also learn a bit about Palmyra Atoll.

Is the river of grass really a river? – A little history…and discussion of what makes The Everglades a river (an unusual one!).

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 30, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

India’s fantastic freshwater fauna and where to find them – I was caught by the picture of the dancing frog at the top of the post. Other unusual animals featured in the rest of the post…some very different than what we see in North America.

Meat consumption must fall by at least 75% - And not just because of climate change. Health and economic effects also contribute to the rationale.

Top 25 birds of the week: birds communications – Pictures don’t impart sounds…so the post is really about bird body language.

Meet the Eastern Phoebe, the flycatchers that coexists with humans – It’s always easier to hear this bird than see it! We have one that visits our backyard almost every morning this spring.

A community of seed savers has a recipe to revive rare varieties of collard greens – I became a fan of collards in my CSA share…now I am thinking that I might try planting an heirloom variety! I like them better than kale because the big leaves are flatter – easier to roll and the cut to make slaw…or as a last ingredient into a stir fry.

U.S. has warmed by 2.6 degrees F since first Earth Day – This was my first look at this metric. Maryland is bright orange (3 degrees increase) and Missouri is white (1.5 degrees increase). Maybe another aspect of my move to Missouri could be climate related migration!

The US will phase out incandescent light bulbs – Ban takes effect in 2023…but lots of people have already made the transition to the more efficient bulbs.

Picturesque clouds of Greenland – Cloud streets and vortices.

22% of new cars in Europe have a plug! – Hurray! Hope the US will catch up sometime soon.

Spatial maps of melanoma – Diagnostics…enabling more precise medicine. Tissue samples must be supplemented with multiplexed imaging techniques to diagnose and treat melanoma more effectively.

Cancer Diary – Entry 2

The appointment with my doctor was at 8 AM. I had printed out my list of questions and walked outside to see how cool it felt before I got in my car. There were two surprises near the driveway: a stalk of late season day lily buds that the deer hadn’t eaten and the Virginia Creeper on the oak beginning to turn red. I unplugged my car…and set out.

Since I was the first wave of patients at the medical building, there were still places available close the building in the ‘fuel eff low emit parking’ lane. I was a few minutes early and noted that the landscaping around the building has been transitioned to native plants.

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It was so quiet with no one else around that I heard water burbling just before I went into the building and looked over the railing to see a shady rock garden with water coming from one of the larger rocks at one level down from the main entrance. I hadn’t noticed it before.

It was a pleasant way to start the morning – noticing the beauty in the natural world. Even so – my first blood pressure reading of the appointment was a little high; I was relieved that after my conversation with the doctor (getting all my questions answered and a plan for what I should do prior to my appointment with the surgeon), my blood pressure was well within the normal range. It was an indicator that, for me, being armed with information is an important way to reduce the stress of the situation….also an indicator of the skill of my doctor which is also reassuring.

Later in the day, I called my parents to share the cancer news (made sure one of my sisters was with them when I did) and to delay my road trip to see them until at least after my appointment with the surgeon…and maybe after the surgery itself. It was not an easy conversation but necessary; there is a history of sharing health situations within the family that guided me. A part of every cancer journey is taken alone…and part is shared; for me, the shared times make the part walked alone easier.

Overall – by the end of the second day into my experience, I felt more knowledgeable and optimistic about the eventual outcome. I was also beginning a conscious effort to keep my normal positive mental attitude over what might be an extended period.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 9, 2021

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Earth is dimming due to climate change – Decades of measurements of earthshine indicate that the Earth is becoming less reflective with warmer oceans (and fewer bright clouds).

Kilauea Resumes Eruptions At Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park – Exciting times on the big island…

In UK, Interest in EVs Spikes Amid Fuel Shortages – There have been stories about Ford and GM strategy recently too….lots of indicators that many people will be buying EVs sooner rather than later if enough are produced.

NASA lander records the largest ‘Marsquakes’ ever detected – The lander has been on the surface since 2018!

Dental care: The best, worst and unproven tools to care for your teeth – Hmm….I wonder how much this research will change what dentists advise?

Baby Poo Has Ten Times More Microplastics Than Adult Feces – A scary result…and no ideas on how to reduce exposure (and we don’t know exactly what harms it might cause)….just more research needed. Very frustrating.

Coastal Northeastern US is a global warming hotspot; 2 degrees Celsius of summer warming has already occurred – From Maine to Delaware…the area is warming faster because of climate change linked alterations in the ocean and atmospheric conditions of the North Atlantic.

2021 Nature Conservancy Photo Contest Winners Highlight Global Wildlife and Nature – Beautiful…and thought provoking. My favorite was the artsy one at the end…a high key image.

Paradigm shift in treatment of type 2 diabetes to focus on weight loss – There are probably other chronic ‘diseases’ that have become more prevalent over the past few decades that could be improved with weight loss….but it is hard to lose weight…and keep it off. It requires permanent lifestyle changes.

A Leisurely Trip to Kansas – Another post that includes pictures of a rough green snake. I’ve been on the lookout for them since my son-in-law sent a photo he took with his phone!

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 21, 2021

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Nine things you should know about sea horses – The males give birth! Like many creatures right now – they are in trouble from climate change (and overfishing in some parts of the world). Not long ago – I learned that there is a species of seahorse native to the Chesapeake Bay. They live in sea grasses and estuaries…habitats that are in trouble.

Electric cars and batteries: how will the world produce enough? – One of the important steps that needs to ramp up as batteries (and solar cells) reach end of life – is recycling. We need to think about closed loops for the resources required to manufacture future renewables!

New analysis of landmark scurvy study leads to update on vitamin C needs – An example of the research behind how those ‘daily requirements’ of vitamins and minerals were developed. I wonder if more of the values need to go through a validation…how many would change just as the vitamin C requirement did.

Top 10 Grassland Species Across the Globe – The ones we have in the US are Long-billed Curlew, Black-footed Ferret, Pronghorn, Swift Fox, and American Bison.

The multi-billion dollar giants that are melting away – Glaciers. When they are gone…many parts of the world will be drier places. This article is primarily about central Asia…but the situation in South America is similar.

Loss of biodiversity in streams threatens vital biological process – Fungi and bacteria can’t do the decomposition job alone…the aquatic insects (often larvae) and crustaceans are needed too. And the populations and diversity of those organisms in our streams is declining.

Top 25 birds of the week: plumage! – Bird photographs…always colorful and interesting.

Gender revolutions in who holds the purse strings – The study was done in Britain…I wonder if similar (or different) changes are happening elsewhere in the world.

‘Polluter pays’ policy could speed up emission reductions and removal of atmospheric CO2 – A change that could speed up the transition we need to make…if we can somehow overcome the lobbying for the status quo trajectory.

Photography In The National Parks: Fun Fact Photography – This is a kind of photography you can do in lots of places. A little curiosity and a camera…some web searches…a neat cycle of learning/art that can turn again and again.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 10, 2019

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week: Green – National Geographic Society Newsroom – Starting off the gleanings list with birds this week – green ones.

Indigenous Maize: Who Owns the Rights to Mexico’s ‘Wonder’ Plant? - Yale E360 – The nitrogen fixing maize --- farmed in Mexico – but who will profit if the trait is replicated in corn to feed the rest of the world.

Vast majority of dietary supplements don't improve heart health or put off death, study finds -- ScienceDaily – Massive analysis…277 clinical trials. The supplement industry is large and advertises; how do studies like this counteract that even if the supplement in many cases is having only a placebo effect.

Brothers Use Drone to Reveal Beauty of Ordinary Objects – Art of objects seen from above.

Making HVAC heat exchangers five times better -- ScienceDaily – We’re going to need all the innovation we can muster to get air conditioning more efficient…and power it with renewable energy.

BBC - Future - Do we need to walk 10,000 steps a day? – Hint – 10,000 is not a magic number at all. I’ve had my goal set at 12,000 steps for quite some time. I make it when I am home but am usually challenged when traveling.

Toyota plans to launch its first full EVs, in a deal with China’s BYD - MIT Technology Review – I hope by the time I get ready to replace my Prius Prime there are a lot of EVs to choose from!

What it Means to Design with Nature in 2019 - News | Planetizen – Is this the thinking of all design going forward?

A Fungus Is Now Infecting Humans & Global Warming May Be to Blame | CleanTechnica – Candida auris started showing up in humans in 2009 and it is multiple drug resistant already. New research is indicating that the fungus might have adapted to warmer temperatures until it can now multiply in the human body…which it couldn’t before.

Water Cycle is Speeding Up Over Much of the U.S. – Lots of changes in the time period between 1945 and 2014.The article includes a color-coded map. It will be interesting to see if the trends continue over the next decade

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 8, 2019

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

5 Unusual Species Found in and Around the Everglades - The National Wildlife Federation Blog – I’ve seen two of the 4: the snail kite and wood stork!

Want to reduce single-use plastic in your life? Try these tips from National Geographic Explorer and #ExpeditionPlastic team member Lillygol Sedaghat. – National Geographic Society Newsroom – It’s hard to avoid single use plastics completely….but easy to cut back.

How big data can be used for personal health -- ScienceDaily – Yes – doing a lot of tracking of personal health information and having a baseline might be useful – but it’s not clear (from this article) that it didn’t result in overtreatment. It will be a challenge to match treatments in asymptomatic situations…that may never develop into a health problem. How well do we really understand risks?

BBC - Future - How weeds help fight climate change – And experiment in Australia showing how weeds might help in the process toward sustainable agriculture

Fracking: Earthquakes are triggered well beyond fluid injection zones: Computer model and field experiment data suggest a new link between subsurface injections and earthquake swarms -- ScienceDaily – Oklahoma….in the hot center of man-made earthquakes.

Do additives help the soil? Scientist suggests nature knows what's best -- ScienceDaily – Wow – a whole industry (bio-fertilizers) that is not having the positive effect on crops anticipated….and could have long-term effects on soil that are not positive. Why is the industry surviving?

Blood-squirting insects and more tiny creatures flourish in African park – Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique.

Exploring the origins of the apple -- ScienceDaily – Large fruits developed to attract large animals like wild horses and large deer…..and probably other animals that are now extinct. The modern apple is a hybrid of at least 4 wild apple populations….along the Silk Road.

A Better Route Planner & Other Open Source Projects Need Our Help | CleanTechnica – Technology that needs to mature before Electronic Vehicles become more numerous.

Excessive rainfall as damaging to corn yield as extreme heat, drought -- ScienceDaily – This year there has been too much rain in the corn belt. This story is over a month old but there are still areas of high water. What percentage of the corn fields haven’t been planted yet because they are still flooded?

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 4, 2019

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Exploring the Parks: White Sands National Monument – Another place I want to return to and spend a bit more time. I’ve been once when we were on the way from Dallas to Tucson. I posted about it back in 2013. We stayed long enough to have a picnic, walk along the boardwalk trail, and photograph cliff swallows at the visitor center.

New Analysis of Depression-Era Fossil Hunt Shows Texas Coast Was Once a 'Serengeti' | Smart News | Smithsonian – Research on collections made by the Works Progress Administration and mostly just stored since the 1940s….Other states than Texas probably have research projects on these collections as well.

IYPT 2019 Elements 020: Calcium: Teeth, bones and cheese | Compound Interest – Another article in the International Year of the Periodic Table series. Did you know that the human body contains about 1 kilogram of calcium?

Image of the Day: High Contrast | The Scientist Magazine® - The milkweed bug! The milkweed is just beginning to come up so I haven’t seen any of these bugs yet this year…but they’ll come out soon enough. I’ll try to remember some of this article next time I see the bug with a group of field trip hikers!

12 Famous Flower Paintings, from Monet to Mondrian – A little eye candy. Notice that there are insects with the flowers in the Ambrosius Bosschaert painting.

An invasive, thorny tree is taking over Africa – can it be stopped? – It’s not just the US that has problems with invasive plants and animals brought from elsewhere in the world. The Mesquite tree that is problematic in Africa came from South America.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the week: April and Waterbirds – Catching up a little on the series…two this week and there are still some left for the next gleanings collection.

‘Exquisitely Preserved’ Skin Impressions Found in Dinosaur Footprints | Smart News | Smithsonian – The prints are from a small theropod. Not only do they show the impression left by skin…they also indicate the dinosaur was in Korea earlier than previously thought (10-20 million years earlier).

Electric Cars Could Be as Affordable as Conventional Vehicles in Just Three Years - Yale E360 – EV technologies are developing rapidly. In 2015, batteries made up 57% of the EV total cost; today it’s down to 33% and by 2025 the projection is 2025. I know that I have enjoyed my plug-in-hybrid and that my next car will probably be an EV.

Clean Tech Jobs Lead Employment Statistics in Many US States | CleanTechnica – The map is worth the look. Solar panel installer or wind turbine service technician is the fastest growing type of job in 11 states!

Prius Prime – Year 1

I’ve own my Prius Prime for a year as of today….and enjoyed the serenity of driving in EV mode for most of my errands. I took this picture just after I bought the 3rd tank of gas (it came with a full tank so it’s on is 4th tank at this point).

It has been an easy thing to transition from a gasoline powered car (my 10-year-old Acura TL) to a plug-in hybrid. I view it as a stepping stone toward and purely electric vehicle by the time I buy another new car…and maybe that will be self-driving as well. The plug-in hybrid has worked well for me since I do make road trips occasionally that would have taken more planning – changes to the way I travel – than I was ready to undertake. This car makes it easy since it just uses some gasoline when I am on the road for a longer time.

I like that the car charges overnight (I have it programed to start charging at 11:15 PM); I haven’t needed to upgrade the regular outlet in the garage since I don’t need faster charging. There have been a few times that I’ve come back from an errand knowing I had another later in the day that I’ve had it ‘charge now’ rather than waiting for the overnight….but it hasn’t been a frequent occurrence.

The only bad experience I had with the car was a tire blowing out (on my first road trip!) last summer. The passage of time has dimmed that trauma….and the car has been a wonderful drive for the rest of the time.

I’m still pleased with my decision from a year ago today!

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 7, 2017

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Ancient Roman Mosaic in England Discovered by Amateur Archaeologists – A 4th CE Roman mosaic near the village of Boxford in Berkshire….discovered and then covered up to protect the mosaic until decisions are made about what to do next.

Fall Color In-Depth: Maple Trees Offer New Answers to Diabetes, Alzheimer’s – National Geographic Society  - I like maple syrup and often us it in cooking….it adds more than sweetness and – evidently – is better for you because of those other elements!

Electric Car S-Curve Adoption by Country (Fun Chart!) | CleanTechnica – Norway followed by Iceland and Sweden lead…The US is behind China.

Question: Can People Use Rooftop Solar Power During an Emergency? Answer: It Depends | CleanTechnica – As more battery storage becomes available…the problem of having solar panels but not being able to utilize them if the power grid is down may go away.

Spectacular Shots of Summer Fireworks Festivals in Japan - Hanabi Taikai – Wow! What a huge display.

Infographic: Brain Infection and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology | The Scientist Magazine® - Evidence of infection (biofilms) in the hippocampus and temporal lobe in brains from people that have died with Alzheimer’s neurodegeneration….several theories about their relationship to Alzheimer’s.

These Breathtaking Natural Wonders No Longer Exist – 18 landscapes that no longer exist…including a beach in Hawaii…some sights in US National Parks.

Free Technology for Teachers: Historical Patterns Animated – A site from the University of Oregon…worth browsing even if you aren’t a teacher.

Interactives from NASA…Exoplanet Exploration – Create your own Earth-like planet….or a hostile world.

LED Lights, All-Electric School Buses, Hydroponic Gardens ... (Cleantech in Action Series) | CleanTechnica – A roundup of cleantech press releases that came out in September.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 5, 2017

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #98 – This set includes a kestrel!

View and Print in 3D more than 200 Objects from the British Museum – If you can’t go to the museum itself, these 3D renderings are the next best thing. And you can look at them whenever you want!

Here are UNESCO’s Newest World Heritage Sites – There are so many unique places to explore.

How a guy from a Montana trailer park overturned 150 years of biology – The researcher that overcame challenges of early life….and figured out that lichen was made of more than a fungus and an alga.

The dizzy history of carousels begins with knights – A little history. I was surprised that it starts with a training game for Arabian and Turkish warriors in the 12 century!

16 best train trips in the world – I’ve never taken an extended train trip…only short ones for fall foliage in Maryland and Pennsylvania – or scenic areas in Arizona. Maybe a train trips will be my substitute for long road trips.

Paul Hawken on One Hundred Solutions to the Climate Crises – Focusing on solutions rather than the problem…of course.

Look Ma, No Break! You’ll Drive Electric Cars with One Pedal – My Prius Prime still has 2 pedals but long term EVs will be changing to 1 pedal to maximize regen breaking…barely using brake pads

These nature photos inspire serious wanderlust – From National Geographic.

Archaeologists discover a ‘Little Pompeii’ in Eastern France -  From the 1^st Century AD…abandoned after catastrophic fires….but the excavation will only last until the end of the year before the construction of a housing complex begins.