ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 710
August 21, 2015
How Much Has Global Warming Worsened California’s Drought? Now We Have A Number
Photo credit:
A dry riverbed in California. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
With each passing year, human-caused global warming bullies California for more water. Each year, the heat squeezes more moisture from soils and ecosystems.
This is because, as the atmosphere warms, its demand for moisture rises. Just as a puddle evaporates more quickly on a warm day, soils dry out more quickly during warmer years, which are becoming increasingly frequent in most locations globally.
August 20, 2015
Under the Helmet 4 – ArmouredMedia.com
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I’m off to enjoy a glass of Whiskey and a Cigar.
Sunlight Activates Smog-Causing Chemicals in City Grime
In recent years big cities have seen lower rates of crime. But there’s still plenty of grime. Combustion from cars, factories and fires spews out nitrogen oxides. Those compounds react with sunlight and air to form ozone—the main ingredient in smog. And certain nitrogen oxides called nitrates—same stuff you find in fertilizer— also settle onto buildings and other city surfaces. Scientists figured that was the end of the story.
“Usually one thinks about pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and nitrous acid as being lost from the atmosphere onto surfaces.” University of Toronto chemist Jamie Donaldson, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston on August 17th. “What we have been interested in is to see whether or not the influence of sunlight on urban grime material can in fact recycle these compounds and bring them back into active play in the atmosphere.” [D. James Donaldson et al, Composition and chemistry of urban grime: a field and laboratory study]
Donaldson and his team found that sunlight interacts with nitrates stuck in grime, kicking them back into the air, where they can contribute to smog. They verified that process by putting trays of glass balls—a proxy for window glass, but with more surface area—out in downtown Toronto, and Leipzig, Germany. The glass in sunny areas lost 10 percent more nitrogen compounds than did their shady counterparts.
“The total amount of nitrogen oxides entering a city is probably well captured in models. What is not well captured is the fact that the losses are less than people had considered because a loss from the gas phase to the grime surface does not constitute a permanent loss.”
So grime is not as inert as we thought it was. And city beautification efforts, aimed at making buildings more pleasing to the eye, might also make the urban environment more pleasant for the lungs.
—Christopher Intagliata
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
India Opens World’s First Ever Solar-Powered Airport
Photo credit:
Cochin International Airport. Joe Ravi/Shutterstock.
Cochin International airport, the fourth-largest airport in India in terms of international traffic, now runs entirely on solar power. (Not the planes, though). The move will make the airport completely power neutral, and is a stride towards significantly reducing India's emissions, one of the world's largest polluters.
According To New Study, A Blood Test Could Predict Suicide Risk
Photo credit:
What causes an individual to decide to commit suicide is incredibly complex. hikrcn/Shutterstock
In hindsight, it can often seem like there were many clues to what might have led someone to commit suicide. But what if there were hidden indicators you could spot before someone made an attempt on their life? In what is sure to be highly controversial research, a new study claims to be able to predict a person's risk of committing suicide with over 90% accuracy, using only a blood test coupled with a questionnaire.
No, An Asteroid Isn’t Going To Hit Earth And Kill Us All Any Time Soon
Photo credit:
We're all going to die. Eventually. Just not due to an asteroid next month. solarseven/Shutterstock.
An asteroid is not going to destroy Earth in September.
There. Happy?
Okay, okay, let’s go into a bit more detail. Recently on the Internet, several stories have been circulating that, between September 15 and 28 this year, an asteroid or comet four kilometers (2.5 miles) wide will hit Puerto Rico, destroying much of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S. and Mexico, and also Central and South America. Sounds scary, right?
Sumatran Rhino Declared Extinct In The Wild In Malaysia
Photo credit:
There are only thought to be around 100 of the animals left in the wild. Rasmus Gren Havmøller/University of Copenhagen
It’s already considered to be the most endangered species of rhino, but the Sumatran rhinoceros has just taken another blow: It has now been declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia. This means the fate of the species rests on an estimated 100 individuals that survive scattered across a handful of national parks in Indonesia and nine in captivity.
Female Fish Genital Openings Are Smaller When There Are Lots Of Predators Around
Photo credit:
A female mosquitofish (G. hubbsi) from the Bahamas is shown. A new study shows that female mosquitofish genitalia evolve in response to predation and interbreeding risks. Christopher Anderson/NC State University.
Penises come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are lobed and paired, some are highly maneuverable, and at least one allows an animal to inject sperm into its own head. Well there’s a diversity of female genitalia, too.
Our Solar System Was Shocked And Spun To Form Planets
Photo credit:
The supernova remnant W44 is a model for how such events trigger planet formation. Credit: Hersche – Quang Nguyen Luong & F. Motte
We know that planetary systems are common throughout the galaxy, but there is a lot still to learn about how they form. Now, an old theory has been given a new spin, with modeling revealing how a nearby supernova could have triggered the collapse that led to the formation of the Solar System's planets – including Earth.
August 19, 2015
Blue Whale Interrupts Presenter’s Complaint About How Hard It Is To Find Blue Whales
Photo credit:
I'm ready for my close up. Seb2583/Shutterstock
Writers spend years trying to find the perfect words and lines, actors spend years perfecting their craft of timing and delivery.
But sometimes, TV gold just happens by complete coincidence.
Take a look at BBC Earth’s Unplugged video as the crew fruitlessly search for whales…or so they thought.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRu7W...]
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