Science Etcetera Marsday, 20080311

March 11th, 2008

National Science Engineering Week started on last Venusday, but I forgot to blog it. Check out the site for resources, events, and other fun stuff.

Did not know that! When the astronauts came back from the Moon, they had to file a customs report declaring the Moon rocks they brought back.

Hooray!!! A scientists who worked at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory for 22 years has taken former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s seat in Illinois.

In more good news for Democrats: People do not grow more conservative, but more liberal as they grow older on average. Bite me ~~Winston Churchill~~–sorry, he never actually said that (more bad news for Republicans! Yay!).

The Oklahoma House of Representatives has passed a bill that may prevent a student from failing biology class for answering, “The Flying Spaghetti Monster did it.”

But religion isn’t all bad, however irrational, the Vatican now lists polution as a sin… and genetic manipulation too, so it’s 50/50 good news. Even better when you add the Southern Baptist community to the environmental fight.

I wonder if this would count as “genetic manipulation,” an Injection of human umbilical cord blood helps the aging brain. Yewwww.

Despite two civil wars and the lost of 90% of their habitat, a camera trap has proven the survival of pygmy hippos in Liberia

WR 104 is two stars orbiting one another like a pinwheel, and one day it will probably emit a blast of deadly gamma rays right at us, and we won’t see it coming because it will travel at the speed of light. So Carpe Diem! pygmy hippo!

The Science Creative Quarterly has a sobering article today about the eight-year imprisonment of foreign medics in Libya who were accused of infecting children with HIV, and how Scientists rallied together to gather the evidence to help them.

Owning a cat reduces your chances of a heart attack by 30%, obviously they didn’t factor my mewling, poop-machines into the equation.

Today’s Moment of Science involves a bit of self-discovery, estimating how much carbon dioxide you’re emitting each year with Berkeley’s Cool Climate Calculator. I emit 56% of what the average US household does thanks to being a flexitarian and not needing much in material wealth, but I’m 300% of the global average for living in a house bigger than I need and driving too much in my 16 MPG pickup truck.

Berkeleys Cool Climate Calculator

Berkeley’s Cool Climate Calculator

No comments yet to “Science Etcetera Marsday, 20080311”

Eek, I just tried the Berkeley Cool Climate Calculator, and here are my results:

I help to release 63tons of CO2/year, which is 82% of the average amount for similar U.S. households, and 810% of the global average.

So, Ryan, in the global war on the environment, my household is kicking your household’s butt!

But together, as a country, we’re totally winning this war. U-S-A! U-S-A!
by spugbrap March 13th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I’d just like to find out how to use less than 4900 kilowatt-hours.

actually i avg more like 3000, but still…. close to 5000 these past few months. and this is AFTER having my heat fixed.
by Clint March 13th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Damn! I won’t be bested! I’m gonna get some cows to produce methane in my yard while I’m not using energy at home!
by ideonexus March 13th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
i’m actually trying to conserve power. i don’t know how i’ve had a bill over $300 for 2-3 months in a row! i’ve spent more on saving energy than i’ll ever save! motherfuckers!
by Clint March 13th, 2008 at 9:42 pm