It would be interesting to calculate the relative use of petroleum products in a synthetic lawn (made primarily out of plastics which are made primarily out of fossil fuels) with a 'natural' lawn (grown primarily with added fertilizer which is primarily made out of fossil fuels). The astroturf would be a one time event while the natural lawn requires input on a regular basis.
The flaw with this analysis is the timeline. Yes, the short term impact on the cleaned beaches was pretty horrendous, but it remains to be seen how this plays out over time as the ecology recovers. It could well be that the cleaned areas actually had a closer return to pre-spill ecologies than the ignored beaches.
What we have done is to create an interesting, long term experiment.
Sonar fish counting works well for spawning fish in rivers. Salmon are typically counted this way because they all come up from the sea to spawn. Populations that live their entire lives in rivers or lakes would be much harder to count using this technique. Unfortunately, the only really accurate way to count the number of fish in a lake or pond is to dynamite it and count them as they float to the surface, subtract the number that stay floating and hope everybody else just has a headache.
The parachute that brought the latest rover to Mars also disintegrated during testing. However NASA proceeded with the design knowing that the atmosphere on Mars is not nearly as dense as it is on Earth. Is the disintegration of the parachute actually considered by NASA to be a failure, or is this article just fishing for clicks with sensationalist titles?
Seeing as the parachute is the main device for terminal slowing, failure of the parachute only gets you to the 'pieces parts' stage. Great if you're K'Biel and lamenting the recent closure of the local Plasma Shack. Otherwise, not so much.
US medical practitioners are both overqualified and 'not very good'. A very disturbing conjunction of abilities...
Compared to a mythical Star-Trek like gauge of medical quality (rapid efficient diagnosis and treatment, all happening within the space of a commercial break), nobody is 'very good' - medicine is still pretty primitive. Just hang tight for another 50-60 years and things should be better.
With amazing modern technology you can, in the comfort and privacy of your very own home (certainly with more comfort and likely more privacy than a typical clinic) take your temperature, pulse, blood pressure and oxygenation. The whole kit would cost less than $100. While it is true that the physical exam is often important, in reality it's a smallish bit of the diagnostic tree. Certainly telemedicine can't solve every issue, but then again, neither will a visit to a doctor's office.
Just one more change in medicine. Next up: You won't really be seeing a doctor (or nurse) on the screen. Just an avatar and a script.
If this process is as efficient as the abstract suggests and can be industrialized, it would be *huge*. It would give us an essentially infinite source of nitrogen-based fertilizer and reduce the worldwide consumption of energy by a couple of percent.
When I took Organic, there was a 2Kg bottle of picric acid (2,4,6-Trinitrophenol) not under any particular security other than a commercial door lock. Picric acid and TNT are interchange in an explosives context; so why synthesise when you can steal?
Teach a man to steal and you keep him in explosives for a day. Teach a man to synthesize TNT and you can bother the FBI for years.
We'll have to see what the effect ends up being; but there is reason to be a bit concerned about marine paint. Hull fouling is a drag and people go to some lengths to avoid it. Hull paints formulated to slow fouling are quite common and work by being enthusiastically biocidal.
Except the TFA didn't talk about biocidal hull paint except to note they didn't find it (the paint flecks are heavy and probably drop to the bottom).
The other Important Bit is to note that this study was done in one area of Korea. We need a bit more research in other places to determine how widespread the issue is. I've seen 'third world' fishing boats that almost entirely paint (and a few scattered boards). Compared to say, American or European boats that are predominantly aluminum and there is a question of exactly how wide spread this issue is.
Also note, this canal is not technically a private commercial Chinese project, not a government one. A proper comparison would look at how much US companies invest in foreign countries, and I assure you it is a lot more than $50 Billion.
At this level, the distinction between 'corporate' and 'government' is pretty blurry. Yes, Exxon spends the money. But Exxon 'saves' that money in tax breaks and other incentives given to it by the government. In China, the situation is a bit different, typically running the money through various banks, but the end result is the same.
That said, China spends at least as much money in foreign countries for development as does the US.
Black swan theory would disagree with your first statement. If that one creature was freakishly significant it could change things dramatically. Granted some (most / all?) evolutionary steps and system changes will occur anyway just later, but cleanly predicting the impact isn't trivial.
No it doesn't. Rare episodes are rare and the physical constraints* on how different it would be would make it likely that it would look like the current ecosystem to a large degree. If you 'rewound the tape' and ran evolution over again, it would be different to some degree. There are physical constraints . It would still be in a state of dynamic equilibrium, but it would be different.
Yes, you could have evolved to be 8 feet tall with blue skin, a tail and a love interest in Zoe Saldana. But likely not.
* basics of chemistry and physics, the starting conditions on the planet, gravity and such.
I seriously don't understand how they can measure the level of testosterone from 50,000 years ago. Was it recorded with fine detail? Hell, did they know it existed?
Anyway. The lower testosterone levels could be a coincidence that arose at the same time humans discovered the benefits of empathy, which is essential in group negotiations and community support.
They didn't. Here is their logic train:
- They measured facial characteristics, some of these characteristics have been associated with aggression (not testosterone levels). - There are studies that link aggression with testosterone. - Therefore, early humans had large degrees of aggression and therefore testosterone. - Modern human skulls have fewer / less of the linked facial features, therefore our testosterone levels are lower.
- Therefore early human testosterone levels were higher and further, this was selected for in some way, shape for fashion.
Total BS. Two speculative leaps and a nice large jump to a conclusion. It is trivial to create other equally valid hypotheses from this data.
Slashdot Mirror
With the price of recycled copper these days, people don't do this often because the low lifes will steal the pond.
It would be interesting to calculate the relative use of petroleum products in a synthetic lawn (made primarily out of plastics which are made primarily out of fossil fuels) with a 'natural' lawn (grown primarily with added fertilizer which is primarily made out of fossil fuels). The astroturf would be a one time event while the natural lawn requires input on a regular basis.
No, the truth is that there are a couple of folks who split 25 million dollars and one squashed cat intermixed with some random electronic parts.
The flaw with this analysis is the timeline. Yes, the short term impact on the cleaned beaches was pretty horrendous, but it remains to be seen how this plays out over time as the ecology recovers. It could well be that the cleaned areas actually had a closer return to pre-spill ecologies than the ignored beaches.
What we have done is to create an interesting, long term experiment.
'Always look on the bright side of life ....'
Sonar fish counting works well for spawning fish in rivers. Salmon are typically counted this way because they all come up from the sea to spawn. Populations that live their entire lives in rivers or lakes would be much harder to count using this technique. Unfortunately, the only really accurate way to count the number of fish in a lake or pond is to dynamite it and count them as they float to the surface, subtract the number that stay floating and hope everybody else just has a headache.
Remember "So long and thanks for all the fish"?
What happens if it's just 'so long'? Did you ever stop to thing about that?
The parachute that brought the latest rover to Mars also disintegrated during testing. However NASA proceeded with the design knowing that the atmosphere on Mars is not nearly as dense as it is on Earth. Is the disintegration of the parachute actually considered by NASA to be a failure, or is this article just fishing for clicks with sensationalist titles?
Seeing as the parachute is the main device for terminal slowing, failure of the parachute only gets you to the 'pieces parts' stage. Great if you're K'Biel and lamenting the recent closure of the local Plasma Shack. Otherwise, not so much.
US medical practitioners are both overqualified and 'not very good'. A very disturbing conjunction of abilities...
Compared to a mythical Star-Trek like gauge of medical quality (rapid efficient diagnosis and treatment, all happening within the space of a commercial break), nobody is 'very good' - medicine is still pretty primitive. Just hang tight for another 50-60 years and things should be better.
Oh. Wait.
With amazing modern technology you can, in the comfort and privacy of your very own home (certainly with more comfort and likely more privacy than a typical clinic) take your temperature, pulse, blood pressure and oxygenation. The whole kit would cost less than $100. While it is true that the physical exam is often important, in reality it's a smallish bit of the diagnostic tree. Certainly telemedicine can't solve every issue, but then again, neither will a visit to a doctor's office.
Just one more change in medicine. Next up: You won't really be seeing a doctor (or nurse) on the screen. Just an avatar and a script.
If this process is as efficient as the abstract suggests and can be industrialized, it would be *huge*. It would give us an essentially infinite source of nitrogen-based fertilizer and reduce the worldwide consumption of energy by a couple of percent.
No good deed goes unpunished.
When I took Organic, there was a 2Kg bottle of picric acid (2,4,6-Trinitrophenol) not under any particular security other than a commercial door lock. Picric acid and TNT are interchange in an explosives context; so why synthesise when you can steal?
Teach a man to steal and you keep him in explosives for a day. Teach a man to synthesize TNT and you can bother the FBI for years.
Canada can always count on the other commonwealth nations for defense assistance as well.
Rest assured!
New Zealand has your back!
We'll have to see what the effect ends up being; but there is reason to be a bit concerned about marine paint. Hull fouling is a drag and people go to some lengths to avoid it. Hull paints formulated to slow fouling are quite common and work by being enthusiastically biocidal.
Except the TFA didn't talk about biocidal hull paint except to note they didn't find it (the paint flecks are heavy and probably drop to the bottom).
The other Important Bit is to note that this study was done in one area of Korea. We need a bit more research in other places to determine how widespread the issue is. I've seen 'third world' fishing boats that almost entirely paint (and a few scattered boards). Compared to say, American or European boats that are predominantly aluminum and there is a question of exactly how wide spread this issue is.
You're doing something wrong. You sure you haven't been visiting Chiropractors?
Also note, this canal is not technically a private commercial Chinese project, not a government one. A proper comparison would look at how much US companies invest in foreign countries, and I assure you it is a lot more than $50 Billion.
At this level, the distinction between 'corporate' and 'government' is pretty blurry. Yes, Exxon spends the money. But Exxon 'saves' that money in tax breaks and other incentives given to it by the government. In China, the situation is a bit different, typically running the money through various banks, but the end result is the same.
That said, China spends at least as much money in foreign countries for development as does the US.
Right. The Shoe Bomber. The Times Square propane bombers. The gentleman with the explosive underwear.
Top flight people, all.
"The best of the best of the best! Sir!"
I killed Kennedy. I am the dominant lifeform. I rule u all and Im very viscious as u can proably tell. Here I come.
But you fail sixth grade English.
No GED for you, no World Domination.
Back you go!
Black swan theory would disagree with your first statement. If that one creature was freakishly significant it could change things dramatically. Granted some (most / all?) evolutionary steps and system changes will occur anyway just later, but cleanly predicting the impact isn't trivial.
No it doesn't. Rare episodes are rare and the physical constraints* on how different it would be would make it likely that it would look like the current ecosystem to a large degree. If you 'rewound the tape' and ran evolution over again, it would be different to some degree. There are physical constraints . It would still be in a state of dynamic equilibrium, but it would be different.
Yes, you could have evolved to be 8 feet tall with blue skin, a tail and a love interest in Zoe Saldana. But likely not.
* basics of chemistry and physics, the starting conditions on the planet, gravity and such.
Calm down. It's been worked out for your viewing pleasure.
Hurrumph. A redox Nazi.
The only watch list you're likely to be on belongs to the Jerry Springer Show talent scout.
That's already too much information...
Radar! What is the general saying?
I seriously don't understand how they can measure the level of testosterone from 50,000 years ago. Was it recorded with fine detail? Hell, did they know it existed?
Anyway. The lower testosterone levels could be a coincidence that arose at the same time humans discovered the benefits of empathy, which is essential in group negotiations and community support.
They didn't. Here is their logic train:
- They measured facial characteristics, some of these characteristics have been associated with aggression (not testosterone levels).
- There are studies that link aggression with testosterone.
- Therefore, early humans had large degrees of aggression and therefore testosterone.
- Modern human skulls have fewer / less of the linked facial features, therefore our testosterone levels are lower.
- Therefore early human testosterone levels were higher and further, this was selected for in some way, shape for fashion.
Total BS. Two speculative leaps and a nice large jump to a conclusion. It is trivial to create other equally valid hypotheses from this data.