EARTH PORTATION curated News January 10th

ANIMALS - Antarctic emperor penguins may be adapting to warmer temperatures

A new study of four Antarctic emperor penguin colonies suggest that unexpected breeding behavior may be a sign that the birds are adapting to environmental change. Analysis of satellite observations reveals that penguin colonies moved from their traditional breeding grounds during years when the thin layer of ice (sea ice) formed later than usual to the much thicker floating ice shelves that surround the continent .. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140109004311.ht

ANIMALS - Dingoes vital for ecosystem health

Urgent action is needed to protect large carnivores, such as the Australian dingo, from the "unforseen" environmental consequences that will accompany further declines in their numbers, an international team fo ecologist has warned .. ...
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-dingoes-vital-ecosystem-health.

ANIMALS - Living on islands makes animals tamer

Biologists have found that island lizards are "tame" compared to their mainland relatives, confirming Charles Darwin's observations of island tameness. Darwin had noted that island animals often acted tame, and presumed that they had evolved to be so after coming to inhabit islands that lacked most predators. The researchers found island lizards were more accessible the farther the islands were from the mainland .. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140110103720.ht

ANIMALS - Radar reveals extraordinary ladybird flight paths

(Phys.org) —The extraordinary heights and speeds of ladybird flight paths have been revealed for the first time .. ...
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-radar-reveals-extraordinary-lad

ANIMALS - Rich world of fish biofluorescence illiuminated

Scientists have released the first report of widespread biofluorescence in fishes, identifying more than 180 species that glow in a wide range of colors and patterns. The research shows that biofluorescence -- a phenomenon by which organisms absorb light, transform it, and eject it as a different color -- is common and variable among marine fish species, indicating its potential use in communication and mating .. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140109004259.ht

ANIMALS - The case for low methane-emitting cattle

A new research project looks into the possibilities of adapting every aspect of cattle husbandry and selection processes to lower their greenhouse gas emissions .. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140110131013.ht

ANIMALS - Toronto Polar Bear Cub Takes First Steps (Video)

What better way to finish off the week than with the first wobbly steps of a two-month-old polar bear?The Toronto Zoo released this video earlier this week to mark how far the young male has come since wildlife officials first made the difficult decision to remove him from his zoo mother and place him under human care. His two siblings had died with 48 hours of their birth on Nov. 9 and he appeared to be losing strength when officials made the ca ...

http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2014/01/toronto-polar-bear-cub-

ART - Figment art festival pavilion to be made from 20,000 upcycled cups

A design by CDR Studio was selected for this year's City of Dreams Pavilion at the annual art festival on Governor's Island .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/culture/figment-art-festival-pavil

ART - Golden Globes 2014: the awards season's ramshackle opener

As the film industry great and good assembles for the first big awards ceremony of the year, we make our predictions as to who will be going home happy on Sunday night• Full coverage of the Golden Globes 2014• Hollywood studios told: don't call awards nominees 'winners'• Golden Globes nominations: McQueen, Elba and Ejiofor head breakthroughOn Sunday evening the millionaire celebrities of the entertainment industry gather for the Golden Globes awa ...

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/10/golden-globes-20
Enclosure: image/jpeg http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video

ART - Photo: Crimson reeds and crystal ice

Frozen reeds make for a stark contrast .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/natural-sciences/photo-

BIRDS - Tiny tag reveals record-breaking bird migration

A tracking device, which weighs less than a paperclip, has helped scientists uncover one of the world's great bird migrations .. ...
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-tiny-tag-reveals-record-breakin

BOOKS - Book Excerpt: A Religion of One's Own

Thomas Moore on having an open heart and mind as you create your own personal religion .. ...
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/excerpts.php?id

BOOKS - Book Review: Captain Cat

A rousing tale of adventure, cats, and greed based on an old Italian tale ..
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=25

CLIMATE - A Poison Aficionado’s Guide to 6 Killer Chemicals

Science journalist Deborah Blum explores the homicidal—and, the environmental—ways that chemistry can do us in.Steve and Sara Emry/FlickrAs a writer, Deborah Blum says she has a “love of evil chemistry.” It seems that audiences do too: Her latest book, The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, was not only a bestseller, but was just turned into a film by PBS (you can watch it for free here).The book ...

http://climatedesk.org/2014/01/a-poison-aficionados-guide-to

EARTH - 5 Remarkable Facts about the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) - The Countdown #39

What causes the sky near Earth's poles to light up with swirling, colorful light? In this episode of the Countdown, we explore the physics behind auroras and more. .. ...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/video.cfm?id=5-remarkable-

EARTH - The Nature Conservancy reaches 1 million protected acres in Montana, 1 for every person in the state!

There are many approaches to conservation. One of the simplest and most effective is simply to buy up land over time and then keep it protected from future development .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/environmental-policy/nature-conser

ECONOMICS - Deutsche Bank Predicts Second Solar ‘Gold Rush’

Leading investment house Deutsche Bank has dramatically lifted its demand forecasts for the global solar industry -- predicting that 46 gigawatts of solar PV will be installed across the world in 2014, before jumping by another 25 percent to 56 gigawatts in 2015. It notes that the world’s three biggest solar markets -- coincidentally located in the world’s three biggest economies, the U.S., China and Japan -- are currently booming and are likely ...

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/deutsche-bank-pr

EDUCATION - Donated Chinese bamboo strips turn out to be ancient multiplication table

(Phys.org) —Researchers at Tsinghua University in China are reporting that a subset of bamboo strips donated to the university five years ago has been found to make up an ancient Chinese multiplication table. Dated back to 2,300 years ago (circa 305 B.C.), the table represents the oldest-known such device that computes in base 10—ancient Babylonian tables dating back 4000 years were base 60 .. ...
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-donated-chinese-bamboo-ancient-

EDUCATION - Free public education that pays for itself?

Education funding, particularly at university level, is tighter than ever under current austerity measures. A new study published by SAGE in the journal Theory & Research in Education proposes a radical new approach that offers affordable higher education to all, and yet avoids additional government spending .. ...
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-free.htm

EDUCATION - Learn Sinhala! One Sri Lankan woman made the first children's learning video in that language

Imagine a country without educational videos to learn the alphabet in a local language. That was Sri Lanka until one woman created a video to help young children learn the Sinhala alphabet .. ...
http://www.good.is/posts/learn-sinhala-one-sri-lankan-woman-

EDUCATION - TED TALKS: Daphne Koller: What We’re Learning From Online Education

Daphne Koller is enticing top universities to put their most intriguing courses online for free -- not just as a service, but as a way to research how people learn. Each keystroke, comprehension quiz, peer-to-peer forum discussion and self-graded assignment builds an unprecedented pool of data on how knowledge is processed and, most importantly, absorbed .. ...
http://www.good.is/posts/ted-talks-daphne-koller-what-we-re-

EDUCATION - What if You Could Get Your High School Diploma From the Library? It's Happening in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Public Library's long been more than a place to check out the latest novel, but now they're officially jumping into formal education. They'll "be offering an accredited high school diploma to adult students, who will take courses online but will meet at the library for assistance and to interact with fellow adult learners." The library hopes that up to 150 high school dropouts will be able to get their lives on track and earn thei ...
http://www.good.is/posts/what-if-you-could-get-your-high-sch

ENERGY - All Carrot, No Stick: How BGE Plans to Enroll 1 Million Customers for Demand Response

Last summer, 315,000 Baltimore Gas & Electric customers were part of the utility’s Smart Energy Rewards program. Smart Energy Rewards allows customers to earn a rebate of $1.25 for every kilowatt-hour of energy reduced during peak events. It’s similar to programs at other utilities, but BGE’s initiative is impressive in its scale. This summer, about 900,000 residential customers will be enrolled in the program, and by next year it will have ...
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/bge-pushes-towar

ENERGY - LEED Certification and Green Building, by the Numbers

One booming industry that’s somewhat misunderstood, but that has room for many more eco entrepreneurs, is green building, and more specifically, buildings that meet LEED certification for being greener and cleaner than traditionally constructed buildings.LEED certification is sometimes seen as a greenwashing strategy for buildings, as many people don’t know what it entails, or what the benefits of green building according to the standards set for ...

http://ecopreneurist.com/2014/01/10/leed-certification-green

ENERGY - This map shows the top 50 markets for energy-efficient lightbulb sales around the U.S.

Since January 1st, 2014, there's been a renewed interest in energy-efficient lighting thanks to a law that requires a minimum level of efficiency from lightbulbs, making the century-old incandescents a thing of the past .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/energy-efficiency/map-s

ENERGY - VC Chrysalix Predicts 5 Sustainable Energy and Cleantech Trends for 2014

The year 2013 marked a new era for sustainable energy and cleantech. Innovative sustainable technologies have started to mature and are getting closer to mainstream acceptance. Growing pains are over for many of these technologies and they can now simultaneously reduce cost and the energy intensity of products and production processes, while also improving their environmental footprint. It's no wonder that we're now seeing new technologies
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/vc-chrysalix-pre

ENERGY - What Can Investors Expect From US Renewable Energy Markets in 2014?

The U.S. solar industry experienced a transformative 2013, with a proliferation of physical assets, installed capacity and new finance mechanisms. The wind industry raced to begin projects by end-2013 in order to receive production tax credits. The next few years -- and 2014 in particular -- will be marked by new advancements in these sectors as rooftop and utility-scale solar continue to mature, utilities grapple with changing business models a ...
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/what-can-investo

FASHION - "Why bother knitting a scarf?"

Because there's far more to it than meets the eye. Here's why I knit .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-fashion/why-bother-kni

MOVIES - A map that shows the most popular movie set in each U.S. state

What's the most popular movie set in your home state? This map has the answer. Read more...    .. ...

http://io9.com/a-map-that-shows-the-most-popular-movie-set-i

PEOPLE - 8 Keys to Dealing with Problem People

Most of us encounter unreasonable people in our lives. We may be “stuck” with a difficult individual at work or at home. It’s easy to let a challenging person affect us and ruin our day. What are some of the keys to empowering yourself in such situations? Here are eight keys to dealing with unreasonable and difficult people...read mor .. ...
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/communication-success/20

SCIENCE - Nano-Engineers Produce Liquid Repellent Paper

Through a nano-engineering process, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have changed the chemical properties of paper to give it the ability to repel liquid more efficiently and at lower cost than existing materials. As Ben Gruber ... .. ...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/video.cfm?id=nano-engineer

SCIENCE - Quantum mechanics explains efficiency of photosynthesis

Light-gathering macromolecules in plant cells transfer energy by taking advantage of molecular vibrations whose physical descriptions have no equivalents in classical physics, according to the first unambiguous theoretical evidence of quantum effects in photosynthesis .. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140109092008.ht

SCIENCE - Theory for metamaterials that act as an analog computer

A new study shows that metamaterials can be designed to do "photonic calculus" as a light wave goes through them. A light wave, when described in terms of space and time, has a profile that can be thought of as a curve on a Cartesian plane. This theoretical material can perform a specific mathematical operation on that wave's profile, such as finding its derivative, as the light wave passes through the material .. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140109143758.ht

SOCIAL - Social media helps users embrace differences and provide support to one another, study finds

According to recent statistics, more than 175 million tweets are sent daily, and 11 accounts are created every second on Twitter. One celebrity who boasts the highest amount of global subscribers is singer Lady Gaga who enjoys more than 40 million Twitter followers. Now, University of Missouri communication researchers have found that online social media gives users an outlet to embrace their differences and provide emotional support to others wh ...
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-social-media-users-embrace-diff

SPACE - Epic Space Photos of the Week (Jan. 3-10)

Enjoy some of the most inspiring, beautiful and down-right stunning photos from our adventures in space this past week .. ...
http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space/epic-space-

SPACE - NASA has released a new high-energy X-ray image that bears an uncanny resemblance to a human hand.

NASA has released a new high-energy X-ray image that bears an uncanny resemblance to a human hand. Nicknamed the "Hand of God," it's a pulsar wind nebula powered by the leftover, dense core of a star that blew up in a supernova explosion. Read more...    .. ...

http://io9.com/nasa-has-released-a-new-high-energy-x-ray-ima

SPACE - Stormy Alien Atmospheres May Spark Seeds of Life

Could the stormy atmospheres of exoplanets and brown dwarfs be hothouses for the formation of prebiotic molecules .. ...
http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/stormy

SUSTAINABILITY - Collaboration is the Catalyst for Sustainability Success

[Note: This piece was written by Neil Hawkins and originally published at Ensia]By combining individual strengths in our respective disciplines and focusing on the collective results, we can accelerate and amplify our success.Ninety-five percent of all manufactured products have one thing in common: chemistry. And there’s a bit of “magic” that makes commercial chemistry possible — accelerating chemical reactions to make innovation more economical ...

http://ecopreneurist.com/2014/01/10/collaboration-catalyst-s

SUSTAINABILITY - How to use a wood stove without burning down the house

Alex Wilson of Building Green has been doing it for 30 years, and hasn't done it yet .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/energy-efficiency/how-use-wood-sto

SUSTAINABILITY - New York Plans $40M in Prizes for Storm-Resilient Microgrids

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has put $40 million in prize money behind his push to bolster the state’s post-Hurricane Sandy storm resilience with community microgrids. But will that be enough to overcome the regulatory and economic barriers that have challenged efforts to create microgrids in the Empire State? That’s the question facing would-be contenders for the NY Prize competition. As part of a much broader $17 billion storm preparedness p ...
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/new-york-plans-4

TREES - UK government to plant 4 million trees in 2014-2015 to create 5,000 acres of new woods!

This will cost £6m, or just £1.5 per tree, a cheap way to invest in the future .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/uk-government-pla

URBAN - Dewdrop inflatable energy-efficient greenhouse responds to its environment

Shaped like a snail's shell, this new Danish greenhouse uses an energy-efficient envelope of translucent plastic pillows that are inflated or deflated according to changes in sunlight and temperature .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/inflatable-ener

URBAN - Skinny micro-housing designs lets you live between buildings

Urban infill may be one way to create housing out of under-utilized spaces between buildings; this clever project proposes a few energy- and space-saving lofts in some of the densest cities in the world .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/live-between-bu

URBAN - This alphabet models each letter on a particular architect's designs

If you know your ABCs but are a bit shakier on your knowledge of modern architecture, Federico Babina's Archibet City could help you learn you architects. Babina pays tribute to 26 architects by rendering his letters of the alphabet in the style of their famous designs.Read more...    .. ...

http://io9.com/this-alphabet-models-each-letter-on-a-particu

URBAN - Vibrations reveal state of bridge ropes

The new ResoBridge method has been developed to check bridges during running traffic within one day. It measures the vibrations of the tensioning ropes of externally prestressed concrete bridges. In the future, it may also be used to check cable-stayed bridges and constructions as well as hybrid towers of wind power plants .. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140110102641.ht

WATER - Ocean dead zones more deadly for marine life than previously predicted

Scientists have found that low pH levels within ocean dead zones represent an additional, previously unappreciated, threat to ocean animals .. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140109003752.ht

WIND - Wind Aids Grid as Cold Hits Conventional Power

Renewable energy critics harp on the variability of wind and solar production, suggesting (or pretending) that this increasingly manageable challenge is some kind of fatal flaw. Meanwhile, these critics ignore that conventional power sources are no sure things themselves, particularly when the going gets rough, as it has this week in much of the U.S. with an extraordinary cold snap. For instance: Down in Texas, where memories of a 2011 ice storm ...
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/wind-aids-grid-a

WIND - Wind power saved the Texas power grid from the Polar Vortex

Texas is a wind power superstar. The state went from 184 megawatts of wind capacity in 2000 to 12,212 megawatts in 2012 .. ...

http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/wind-power-saved-

WRITE - Check Out the Enlightened Poet "Rumi's" Intellectual Profile

Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mysti .. ...
http://www.good.is/posts/check-out-the-enlightened-poet-rumi

WRITE - DNews: How Fiction Makes Our Brains Better

Merriam-Webster declared 'science' the 2013 word of the year. But can reading something other than data and facts, say a work of fiction, help improve brain function? Anthony explains the possible benefits reading fiction can have .. ...
http://news.discovery.com/human/videos/how-fiction-makes-our