Status Quo
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Himalayan Houseboats Shut Down
From TreeHugger:
Historic houseboats in the Kashmiri summer capital of Srinagar.
Photo via BBC News
Adventurous, and eco-friendly, travelers often seek out off-beat lodging options, staying in yurts or on organic farms, both to soak up more local color and to avoid the social and environmental impacts often associated with large hotels. But when the small, local option is polluting the landscape, what's a green tourist to do?
Article continues: Himalayan Houseboats Shut Down for Polluting Lake
Mars in 3D
Get out your 3D spectacles! Hundreds of new red-cyan anaglyph images of Mars were recently released by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
Climate changes Europe's borders
Italy and Switzerland are planning to redraw their shared border, as glaciers that originally guided the line melt – similar moves elsewhere may be less amicable
Climate changes Europe's borders – and the world's
Safely defrost food
Leaving frozen food on the counter all day long may not be the safest way to defrost.
3 ways to safely defrost food
Marijuana won't 'grow our economy'
The president reacts to a question that came from a surprising number of people at his virtual town hall meeting.
Obama: Marijuana won't 'grow our economy'
Dust Responsible for Most of Atlantic Warming
The warming of Atlantic Ocean waters in recent decades is largely due to declines in airborne dust from African deserts and lower volcanic emissions, a new study suggests.
Since 1980, the tropical North Atlantic has been warming by an average of a half-degree Fahrenheit per decade.
Things You Must Never Forget
Liars and Fools
Liars and Fools:
The Faux Lies Edition
The Faux Lies Edition
Faux's O'Really says women need male breadwinners, should stay home to watch the kids.
Faux News attacks Frank (D-Massachusetts) for accurately naming Scalia as homophobic
Faux News lies claiming that Obama administration wants to limit executive pay for all companies
Faux News attacks Obama, defends AIG, and slams condoms
Faux News compares taxing AIG bonuses to sexual abuse
Faux's O'Really attacks activist for highlighting his rape rant
Faux News attacks Frank (D-Massachusetts) for accurately naming Scalia as homophobic
Faux News lies claiming that Obama administration wants to limit executive pay for all companies
Faux News attacks Obama, defends AIG, and slams condoms
Faux News compares taxing AIG bonuses to sexual abuse
Faux's O'Really attacks activist for highlighting his rape rant
Backpack Doctors Face Burma's Wrath
Eh Dah Zu, a petite, 24-year-old woman, peeled back layers of white plastic and cloth wrapped around a sugarcane stalk - a prop simulating bone, muscle and skin - before cutting it with a thin cable saw to simulate an amputation.
The exercise, part of a trauma skills workshop in eastern Burma, was a stark reminder that there are no doctors or hospitals in this war-ravaged sliver of mountainous jungle near Thailand, where ethnic minorities have resisted the Burmese army for 60 years. The country’s military junta provides little health care, or access to international humanitarian groups for an estimated 500,000 displaced villagers, many of whom suffer from rampant malaria, malnutrition and one of the world’s highest rates of land-mine injuries.
In response, Burmese refugees in Thailand developed a unique program, effectively sneaking health care into their own country: A network of tiny mobile clinics now dot eastern Burma, where medics like Eh Dah Zu carry medical supplies in backpacks, walk for weeks through remote jungles and risk capture and injury to reach patients.
You know what they say about mirrors and luck ...
A broken mirror brought a New Hampshire man bad luck on Tuesday.
Police said a woman called 911 to say she had been cut by a mirror that had fallen on her.
Police and firefighters who responded found a sophisticated marijuana growing operation, including 130 plants growing in a mylar-wrapped room, lamps and a ventilation system.
Police said a woman called 911 to say she had been cut by a mirror that had fallen on her.
Police and firefighters who responded found a sophisticated marijuana growing operation, including 130 plants growing in a mylar-wrapped room, lamps and a ventilation system.
A resident of the duplex, a 26-year-old man, was was charged with felony level drug manufacturing.
The man was being held on $20,000 cash bail.
Further arrests are expected.
Doctor finishes brain surgery while having a heart attack
An Italian doctor is being called a hero after he refused to abandon brain surgery on a patient despite suffering from a heart attack during the operation.
Dr. Claudio Vitale of Naples insisted on finishing the surgery to remove a brain tumor even though he began to feel chest pains part way through the procedure, Ansa news agency reported.
At the urging of his medical team, the 59-year-old neurosurgeon underwent a blood test once the pains worsened. The test confirmed a heart problem, but Vitale said he “couldn’t leave the patient at such a delicate moment.”
A half hour after finishing the surgery, Vitale underwent an angioplasty operation to treat the angina attack. Both doctor and patient are recovering.
Bobcat attacks two men inside bar
An angry bobcat attacked three people in a central Arizona community yesterday, including two men sitting inside a bar.
I'm mad, I'm mad
The animal originally scratched a Cottonwood woman who thought she hit it with her car, Cottonwood authorities said. Police then received a report about a bobcat acting aggressively toward a woman outside Pizza Hut.
Around 11 p.m. officers were dispatched to the Chapparal Bar where the cat went inside and attacked and bit two men. The other patrons climbed on top of bar stools to get away.
Responding police found the animal in the parking lot and shot and killed it. Test were ordered to see if the bobcat was rabid.
'Sausage-pony' prompts 999 calls
From the BBC:
 Mayflower has been described as a "sausage-dog horse" |
A pony with short legs and a long body has caused numerous people to call the emergency services in the mistaken belief she is stuck in the mud.
Hampshire fire crews were last alerted on Tuesday as Mayflower was grazing by the River Test in Southampton.
An animal rescue expert said Mayflower seemed to be a cross between a Shetland and a New Forest pony, making her look like a "sausage-dog horse".
Her owner is now considering erecting signs advising passers-by.
Rescue specialist Anton Phillips said Mayflower could appear to be stuck in mud as she was half the height of other nearby ponies.
"We have been called out several times for the animal now and it is getting a bit ridiculous.
"We are changing our mobilising policy for this particular area now and in future we will only send out an animal rescue specialist to evaluate the call-out before sending a full team out," he said.
"These calls from the public are with good intent. When viewed at long range, this pony looks like it is trapped, particularly if it is standing still next to its mates which are twice its height."Boxed Water
From TreeHugger:
Photo via Joy and Revolution
Might boxed water be a solution to bottled water for those who refuse to give up buying disposable containers of water? Boxed Water designer Benjamin Edgar thinks so.
Article continues: Is Boxed Water a Solution to Bottled Water?
Search for tangoing pulsars
Einstein@Home, which searches for space-time ripples, will now look for pulsars that whip around other stars or black holes – they could put general relativity to its toughest test yet.
Home computers to search for tangoing pulsars
Ice that burns could be a green fossil fuel
Natural gas trapped in water crystals could provide enormous amounts of energy – and if a new technology delivers, it could even be emissions-free too.
Ice that burns could be a green fossil fuel
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