EARTH PORTATION curated News January 1st

ANIMALS - Best of the Year: Animal Tracks

From dogs and cats to birds and bears, take a look back at the most outstanding animal photos of 2013 .. ...
http://www.today.com/slideshow/todayphoto/best-of-the-year-a

ANIMALS - How Well Do You Know Your Dog?: Part 1

Your knowledge of your dog is unparalleled: You, not I, know whether she sleeps in the same spot all night or instead has a migratory sleep pattern. You know her affinity for trash, or lack thereof. And telling me her breed, age or name won’t give me access to those intimate details. They are for you to know, and for me to, well, not know.Recently, researchers at The Queen’s University of Belfast found that our knowledge of dogs extends beyond .. ...
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/dog-spies/2013/12/31/how

ART - Nonprofit helps kids heal through art

http://www.today.com/video/today/5395056

ART - Watch Dubai's insane, record-setting New Year's Eve fireworks show

2013 ended with a bang in Dubai —not a metaphorical one, but a very real one, as the wealthy city ushered in the new year by launching over 500,000 fireworks. The six-minute extravaganza set the world record for the biggest fireworks display, according to Guinness, triumphing over the previous record holder by, oh, about 420,000
http://io9.com/watch-dubais-insane-record-setting-new-years-

BOOKS - Book Excerpt: Buddha's Book of Stress Reduction

Joseph Emet's recommendation: smile, life is a miracle .. ...
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/excerpts.php?id

BOOKS - Book Review: Nothing is Hidden

An explanation of koan practice to let go of the intellect and other cumbersome impediments to wholeness .. ...
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=25

CLIMATE - California marks 2013 as historically dry year

In a large swath of California, 2013 is closing out as the driest year on record, marked by above-normal temperatures and thirsty reservoirs .. ...
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-california-historically-year.ht

ECONOMICS - Dell portrays itself as a feisty startup in its first ad after going private (video)

Now that Dell is once again a private company, it's trying to shake off its reputation as a member of the status quo. Appropriately, the PC builder just unveiled a new TV ad that suggests it has all the energy and vision of a technology startup.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/31/dell-beginnings-ad/?ncid=

ECONOMICS - Jim Cramer: Economy poised for recovery in 2014

http://www.today.com/video/today/5395702

EDUCATION - A third of Americans don't believe in evolution

One third of Americans utterly reject the theory of evolution and believe instead that humans "have existed in their present form since the beginning of time," a new survey has found .. ...
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-americans-dont-evolution.htm

EDUCATION - Support this valuable learning tool that teaches much more than Improv

I am preserving, promoting and resurrecting the teachings of Viola Spolin on the internet. So many people don't understand how to practice her philosophy of learning. These videos will help .. ...
http://www.good.is/posts/support-this-valuable-learning-tool

ENERGY - Can a Better Taxonomy Help Behavioral Energy Efficiency?

Hundreds of behavioral energy efficiency programs have sprung up across the U.S. in the past five years, but the effectiveness of the programs -- both in terms of cost savings and reduced energy use -- can be difficult to gauge. Of nearly 300 programs, a new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy was able to accurately calculate the cost of saved energy from only ten programs.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/can-a-better-tax

ENERGY - Credit Suisse Projects ~85% Of US Energy Growth Coming From Renewables Through 2025

Credit Suisse on December 20 released a report with some quite bullish projections regarding renewable energy growth and generation in the United States. Here’s the short summary:Our take: We see an opportunity for renewable energy to take an increasing share of total US power generation, coming in response to state Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and propelled by more competitive costs against conventional generation. We can see the gr .. ...

http://cleantechnica.com/2014/01/01/credit-suisse-projects-8

ENERGY - Massachusetts Makes Smart Grid Mandatory

Massachusetts has joined a growing list of states demanding that its investor-owned utilities invest in the smart grid -- and find new models for how those investments should be valued. Consider it the latest move in a state-by-state reconfiguration of utility business models, aimed at creating new rules for sharing the costs and benefits of grid modernization between utility shareholders and customers.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/massachusetts-ma

ENERGY - Massachusetts Makes Smart Grid Mandatory

Massachusetts has joined a growing list of states demanding that its investor-owned utilities invest in the smart grid -- and find new models for how those investments should be valued. Consider it the latest move in a state-by-state reconfiguration of utility business models, aimed at creating new rules for sharing the costs and benefits of grid modernization between utility shareholders and customers. Monday’s order (PDF) from the state’s Depa ...
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/massachusetts-ma

GARDENS - The easiest way to tell if you have healthy soil

Soil science doesn't have to be rocket science. Here's a quick, simple way to tell how happy your garden is .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/easiest-way-tell-if-yo

HOMES - The Big Green Bus is a Retired City Bus Renovated into a Mini Traveling Hotel

Read the rest of The Big Green Bus is a Retired City Bus Renovated into a Mini Traveling HotelPermalink |Add todel.icio.us | diggPost tags: adam collier-woods, adaptive reuse, big green bus, bus renovation in England, green renovation, moving hotel, Recycled Materials, renovated buses, sustainable projects, traveling hotel, UK renovation project .. ...

http://inhabitat.com/the-big-green-bus-is-a-retired-city-bus

HOMES - The Velux Sunlighthouse is Austria’s First Carbon Neutral Home

Read the rest of The Velux Sunlighthouse is Austria’s First Carbon Neutral Home

http://inhabitat.com/the-velux-sunlighthouse-is-austrias-fir

MUSIC - The best guzheng cover of Daft Punk's "Derezzed" you'll hear all day

I don't care how many Chinese zither-based covers of Daft Punk's Tron: Legacy soundtrack you listen to today, I feel quite confident that Michelle Kwan's adaptation of "Derezzed" is going to top your list. I know, it's a bold statement, but I stand by it.
http://io9.com/the-best-guzheng-cover-of-daft-punks-derezzed

PEOPLE - 'Hug my mommy more': 5-year-olds share New Year’s resolutions

While adults party on New Year’s Eve, children might be a bit mystified by all that celebration. After all, Christmas has come and gone, so no more visits from Santa and no more presents to unwrap. What’s there to rejoice about?Still, kids have their own ideas about the big night .. ...
http://www.today.com/moms/5-year-olds-share-their-new-years-

PEOPLE - Idle No More - Amazing Native American Flash Mob Round Dance (Video)

Near freezing temperatures and 20cm of snow couldn't stop nearly 2000 people from descending onto Parliament Hill for Idle No More!Idle No More is an ongoing protest movement; which began in December 2012, originating among the Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples and their non-Aboriginal supporters in Canada, and to a lesser extent, internationally. It has consisted of a number of political actions ...

http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2013/12/idle-no-more-amazing-na

PEOPLE - Sherlock Holmes is the archetypal scientist – brilliant but slightly scary | Sarah Day

We are comforted by his ability to solve intractable problems, but our love of Sherlock, and science, is tinged with apprehensionMore than 75 different actors have taken him on, making him the most portrayed character on film and television ever. Ian McKellen will be the latest to add his name to the roster, playing an elderly Sherlock Holmes in a film set in 1947. The BBC's Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, is back on New Year's Day for a ...

http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/jan/01/sherlock
Enclosure: image/jpeg http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Media/Pix/pictures/2013/

PEOPLE - US population growing at slowest rate since 1930s, census data shows

Population grew just 0.7% in 2013 to 317m people, with North Dakota the fastest-growing state and California the most populous
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/31/us-population-g
Enclosure: image/jpeg http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/20

PLANTS - Scientists Find Sniffing Rosemary Can Increase Memory By 75%

If you are a first-time visitor, please be sure to like us on Facebook and receive our exciting and innovative tutorials on herbs and natural health topics! Photo – wikipedia.org – licensed under CC 2.0 Rosemary is a wonderful herb with a tradition of use spanning millennia. It has innumerable uses in both the kitchen and in herbal medicine. Did you know that rosemary has been associated with memory enhancement since ancient times?

http://www.herbs-info.com/blog/scientists-find-sniffing-rose

PLANTS - To grow or to defend: How plants decide

Scientists have discovered how plants use steroid hormones to choose growth over defence when their survival depends on it .. ...
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-defend.htm

SCIENCE - Felix Klein on Mathematical Progress

A diagram of a Klein bottle, one of the many mathematical objects named after German mathematician Felix Klein. Image: Vierkantswortel2, via Wikimedia Commons. I just finished reading a set of lectures the great mathematician Felix Klein delivered at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The lectures are now in the public domain, and you can download them for free here . (Unfortunately, not all the mathematical notation survived d ...
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/roots-of-unity/2013/12/3

SCIENCE - Voices, silence, strength and Judith Lumley: A women in science mentoring tale

Judith Lumley AM, Professor Emeritus, in 2008 It began, as life changes often do, when I bought a book. It was in Sydney and I wrote the year in it: 1982.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/absolutely-maybe/2014/01

SCIENCE - Watch as scientists levitate these objects with sound waves

Using ultrasound, a team of Japanese scientists has levitated small particles, and moved them around mid-air. It's incredible to see.
http://io9.com/scientists-master-levitation-of-small-objects

SCIENCE - Watch this video if you want to know how to eat light

Photosynthesis is the chemical process that allows plants to get their energy from carbon dioxide and light. It's one of the most amazing adaptations in any life form. It's also incredibly complicated. Start the new year right by learning how it works, in this video.Read more...    .. ...
http://io9.com/watch-this-video-if-you-want-to-know-how-to-e

SUSTAINABILITY - 5 New uses for a broken washing machine (Video)

Unsure of what to do with a broken washing machine that's too expensive to repair? Here are some simple ideas of diverting this useful appliance from the landfill .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/cleaning-organizing/5-new-uses-bro

SUSTAINABILITY - We Want You for the Repair Resolution!

I dream of a world where everyone fixes their own stuff. A world where we take up arms against throw-away culture. I'm not alone. Join us: take the Repair Pledge, and promise to fix the things you own .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/we-want-you-repai

URBAN - 9 Extraordinary Underground Cities

Humans like to build cities that reach for the sky, but sometimes they also build downward. Whether for protection, or just because they can, we've created many cities beneath the Earth's crust - or dug deep into the rocky faces of mountains. Here are nine of the most awesome.

http://io9.com/9-extraordinary-underground-cities-149273677

URBAN - Sophia Chang’s Stretchy Fabric Cocoon Distorts Architectural Boundaries

Read the rest of Sophia Chang’s Stretchy Fabric Cocoon Distorts Architectural Boundaries

http://inhabitat.com/sophia-changs-stretchy-fabric-cocoon-di

URBAN - The Norwegian School of Economics is the Latest in a String of Designer Learning Institutions

Read the rest of The Norwegian School of Economics is the Latest in a String of Designer Learning Institutions

http://inhabitat.com/link-arkitekturs-norwegian-school-of-ec

URBAN - Tsunami House by Designs Northwest Architects Stands Strong in the Face of Tidal Waves

Read the rest of Tsunami House by Designs Northwest Architects Stands Strong in the Face of Tidal Waves

http://inhabitat.com/tsunami-house-by-designs-northwest-arch

WATER - Closed-loop futuristic recycled water shower reduces bills by $1,300 (Video)

Inspired by ultra-efficient, water-saving space technologies, this patented shower system recycles and purifies shower water, dramatically cutting down on water and energy consumption .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/bathroom-design/orbsys-closed-loop

WATER - Major reductions in seafloor marine life from climate change by 2100

A new study quantifies for the first time future losses in deep-sea marine life, using advanced climate models. Results show that even the most remote deep-sea ecosystems are not safe from the impacts of climate change .. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131231094347.ht

WRITE - Lessons From My Dying Father On the Wisdom of the Past

Reflecting on the past and how it shapes the present is the animating spirit of psychology. And although Dad had never been to therapy, it was to his enormous credit that during his dying last days he became as fascinated with exploring the geography of his memories as he’d once been excited to visit a foreign country. read mor .. ...
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/america-the-couch/201312

WRITE - Who's your favorite character that risked everything for love?

Some people roll the dice for power, others for honor. And some people never throw the dice at all. But the characters who risk all for love are often the most captivating. Who's your favorite character that cast their fate to the wind for the sake of love?

http://io9.com/whos-your-favorite-character-that-risked-ever