Artistic Fireworks!
Just when you may have thought that you've seen everything the art world has to offer comes this video of Chinese-born artist Cai Guo-Qiang setting up one of his gunpowder drawings!
Video
Video courtesy of The New York TImes: www. nytimes.com
The artist has worked in many media including fireworks. On June 29th, 2002, the artist collaborated with world-famous, Grucci fireworks family to produce a spectacular event titled: "Transient Rainbow." The tremendous arch of fireworks spanned New York's East River from Manhattan to Queens. The project/event was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) for the opening of its temporary home. The museum utilized a site in Queens while the main museum site was under reconstruction.
Image of the artist's 2002 collaboration with Fireworks By Grucci from the company web site: www.grucci.com/pr6_23_02.html
According to the artist's own web page, "Cai initially began working with gunpowder to foster spontaneity and confront the suppression that he felt from the controlled artistic tradition and social climate in China at the time. While living in Japan from 1986 to 1995, Cai explored the properties of gunpowder in his drawings, an inquiry that eventually led to his experimentation with explosives on a massive scale, and the development of his signature explosion events, exemplified in his series, Projects for Extraterrestrials. These explosion projects, both wildly poetic and ambitious at their core, aim to establish an exchange between viewers and the larger universe around them."
To find out more about this artist and his remarkable work, visit the artist's website: www.caiguoqiang.com.
Sources:
New York Times: www.nytimes.com
www.caiguoqiang.com
www.grucci.com
www.moma.org
Photo: Evelyn Rysdyk
Polar Bear Victory!
After a year of deliberation, another four months in overtime and multiple lawsuits from environmental groups, the Bush Administration finally listed the polar bear as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has officially listed the polar bear as a 'threatened' species, due to the meltdown of its sea ice habitat caused by global warming.
This is a huge victory for polar bears, even if it did take a lawsuit to accomplish it. This action comes in response to a lawsuit filed last December under the federal Endangered Species Act by Greenpeace, Center for Biological Diversity, and NRDC.
What this Means for the Polar Bear
Listing under the United States Endangered Species Act -- America’s safety net for plants and animals on the brink of extinction -- will provide broad protection to polar bears, including a requirement that United States federal agencies ensure that any action carried out, authorized, or funded by the United States government will not “jeopardize the continued existence” of polar bears, or adversely modify their critical habitat.
More CO2 = Less Ice
Polar bears live only in the Arctic and are totally dependent on the sea ice. A growing body of evidence shows that the Arctic ice is vanishing much faster than previously expected. Scientific studies by the U.S. Geological Service (USGS) estimated some 30% decline in sea ice by mid-century. A study by the USGS released last September projected a two-thirds decline in the world's polar bear population — currently standing at up to 25,000 — by 2050.
In some polar regions, the sea ice season has shortened as much as three weeks, and scientists have discovered that the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate - more than a million square miles - losing an area the size of Colorado in just the last year. More emissions mean more warming, more warming means less sea ice, less sea ice means less polar bears-so the struggle over the polar bear is far from over.
Photo: Michael Sloan
How can we continue to work on behalf of the bears and stop global warming? We all can take individual actions, offset our carbon footprint, and make our voices heard to stop our government from approving climate threatening activities such as Arctic drilling and creation of more coal-fired power plants. Kids, you can get involved and get tips to support the adults in your life to reduce their carbon footprint at: http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_classroom.asp.
The polar bear was the first animal to be listed by the Administration under the ESA in more than three years, the longest gap in Presidential history. "This is a huge victory for polar bears," says Siegel. "It's the clearest acknowledgement by the Bush Administration of the urgency of global warming."
Sources:
Greenpeace; www.greenpeace.org
StopGlobalWarming.org
The Nature Conservancy: www.nature.org
Time Magazine: www.time.com
New Discoveries on Mother Earth!
The lower Congo River is home to a species-rich assemblage of fishes. Many are known only from the region (endemics), and many display bizzare anatomical features such as elongation, pigment loss and reduction or absence of eyes. This image shows a small selection of species found. Credit: AMNH CongoProject
For the past three years, researcher, Melanie Stiassny of the American Museum of Natural History has been exploring and documenting the fish biodiversity of the lower Congo River. Her work, supported by the Nantional Science Foundation has found many new, previously undiscovered species in the world's second largest river basin. Apparently, over it's 9,000 mile length, the Congo is rich in aquatic biodiversity.
The immense size of the river has been an effective geographic barrier which has allowed the development of distinct species on either side. For instance, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) live on the north side of the Congo, while the similar looking, but distinctly different species of bonobos (Pan paniscus) live only on the south side.
Until about a half a million years ago, the Congo wasn't a river at all. Instead, it was a series of lakes. Once the water found its way through to the Atlantic it became a powerful river with an unusual 14 mile wide pool which then flows onward in a series of rapids though gorges, and finally to the ocean. This Lower Congo, from Pool Malebo and the Atlantic, was the site of the study. The strange way the river is formed appears to have isolated the Lower Congo from the remainder of the river basin.
The fishes found only in the lower Congo rapids can only have evolved after the formation of the rapids themselves, and those rapids formed when the proto-lake Congo drained to the Atlantic.
Studying those fishes that have evolved in this stretch of the Congo can help scientists to understand how and when the river took its present-day form.
They are also beginning to get a much clearer picture of just how the water flow structure of the river has played a major role in isolating fish populations. The scientists relied upon local fishermen who were experienced at catching fish in such wild rapids. They have found blind fishes and fishes with bizarre anatomical features and adaptations to life in fast waters; and we have discovered numerous species new to science.
It's nice to think that the Earth still has more than a few secrets to share with us as we learn how to be in better relationship with her and our fellow travelers!
Source: National Science Foundation, www.nsf.org
Rethinking the Older Brain
Worried about your memory? Do forgotten phone numbers and names have you concerned about memory? According to a recent study reported in The New York Times, we may be worrying unnecessarily. The research has found that the aging brain is simply taking in more data and trying to sift through a clutter of information, often to its long-term benefit. The studies are analyzed in a new edition of a neurology book, Progress in Brain Research.
Of course, some brains do deteriorate with age. Alzheimer’s disease, for example, strikes 13 percent of Americans 65 and older. But the authors say that for for most aging adults, much of what occurs is a gradually widening focus of attention that makes it more difficult to latch onto just one fact, like a name or a telephone number. Although that can be frustrating, it is actually useful. Shelley H. Carson, a psychology researcher at Harvard whose work was cited in the book said that this change may "...increase the amount of information available to the conscious mind.”
For example, in studies where subjects are asked to read passages that are interrupted with unexpected words or phrases, adults 60 and older work much more slowly than college students. Although the students plow through the texts at a consistent speed regardless of what the out-of-place words mean, older people slow down even more when the words are related to the topic at hand. That indicates that they are not just stumbling over the extra information, but are taking it in and processing it.
When both groups were later asked questions for which the out-of-place words might be answers, the older adults responded much better than the students.
"Because (the older adults) retained all this extra data, they’re now suddenly the better problem solvers. They can transfer the information they’ve soaked up from one situation to another.”
Such tendencies can yield big advantages in the real world, where it is not always clear what information is important or will become important. A seemingly irrelevant point or suggestion in a memo can take on new meaning if the original plan changes. Or extra details that stole your attention, like others’ yawning and fidgeting, may help you assess the speaker’s real impact.
“A broad attention span may enable older adults to ultimately know more about a situation and the indirect message of what’s going on than their younger peers,” Dr. Hasher said. “We believe that this characteristic may play a significant role in why we think of older people as wiser.”
In a 2003 study at Harvard, Dr. Carson and other researchers tested students’ ability to tune out irrelevant information when exposed to a barrage of stimuli. The more creative the students were thought to be, determined by a questionnaire on past achievements, the more trouble they had ignoring the unwanted data. A reduced ability to filter and set priorities, the scientists concluded, could contribute to original thinking.
Jacqui Smith, a professor of psychology and research professor at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan suggests that when the mind is able to assimilate data and put it in its proper place--the final result is wisdom!
Source: The New York Times: www.nytimes.com
Save the Family Vacation (and the Planet, Too!)
High gasoline prices don't have to spell the end of your vacation plans! With some preparations and thoughtful driving, you can have fun this summer without breaking the bank
Slow it Down and Save!
Scientists and fuel efficiency experts say that for most cars, driving slower pays.
"It can make a big difference," said Patricia Monahan, deputy director of clean vehicles for the Union of Concerned Scientists. "If you like to really accelerate fast, if you have a lead foot, that can have a really big impact on fuel economy."
Most cars get the best mileage between 45 and 55 mph, Monahan said. As speeds creep higher, fuel efficiency drops. For every mile per hour over 60 mph, she said, fuel economy drops by an average of around 1 percent.
"Going 65 is really lowering your fuel efficiency," she said. "And it gets worse at 75."
How much you stand to save depends on a lot of factors. With gas at $4 a gallon, a driver on a summer trip - 400 miles - and in a family-sized vehicle getting only around 20 mpg would save $18.74 by slowing down dramatically from 75 to 55 mph extrapolating from the government's most recent figures on the subject. Even a more moderate deceleration - from 70 to 60 mph - would save that driver $11.74.
Pump Them Up!
Underinflating tires by as little as five pounds can cut your mileage by 2 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Use the "recommended pressure," found in the owner's manual and often inside the driver's-side front door, not the "maximum pressure" (a limit set to keep tires from exploding).
Savannah Walters is a 13 year old who's started a national movement! She studied the Arctic for six weeks in second grade and fell in love with the gray wolf. When she found out the government wanted to drill in its arctic habitat, she got really upset. She did some research and found that conservation could save more gas and oil than the Arctic drilling could provide AND that inflating tires could save millions of gallons of gas. Read her story about changing the world one tire at a time! http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200601/one_small_step.asp
Sources:
Sierra Club: www.sierraclub.org
The San Francisco Chronicle: www.sfgate.com/chronicle
Make Your Summer Vacation Greener!
Did you know that your summer travel choices can make a difference in the environment? It's true! There are many ways to make a contribution to the planet while taking a well deserved break and many websites offering creative ideas. For instance, Natural Habitat Adventures works in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund. They are the world's first carbon neutral travel company. Their site is: http://www.nathab.com.
If you are planning to stay in a hotel during your vacation, here are a few questions to ask before booking your room from a British site that offers a lot of information from several sources: www.responsibletravel.com
- Is the hotel locally owned and operated? If not, is it at least staffed by local employees?
- What kind of recycling programs does the hotel have (aluminum, plastic, paper, gray water, composting)?
- Do guests have the option to reuse towels and sheets instead of having them changed every day?
- What programs does the hotel have to reduce consumption? Examples include energy-efficient lighting, low-flow toilets and showers, and alternative energy sources like solar or wind power.
- How does the hotel contribute to the local community?
During Your Stay: Here are steps to make your stay more eco-friendly.
- Keep your showers short and shut off the water while you're brushing your teeth.
- When you leave the room, turn off the air conditioning, heat, television, lights or any other electric devices.
- Reuse your sheets and towels instead of having them changed every day. Many hotels will not replace your towels if you leave them hanging up neatly; if you're not sure, write a note for the housekeeping staff or notify the front desk.
- Bring your own toiletries and drinking cup rather than using the prepackaged ones provided. If you do use the hotel's toiletries, take them with you and use them at home or during the rest of your trip.
- Know your hotel's recycling program and sort your trash accordingly. If your hotel doesn't recycle, consider taking your empty bottles or other items home with you to recycle them there.
Source: The Independent Traveler: www.independenttraveler.com
Do you wonder about your overall "greenness"? Sierra Club has a few nifty quizzes which may be found at: www.sierraclub.org/howgreen/
Nature Can ALWAYS Surprise Us!
A particle accelerator in France detected six particles that should not exist. They are called tetraneutrons: four neutrons that are bound together in a way that defies the laws of physics.
Francisco Miguel Marquès and colleagues at the Ganil accelerator in Caen fired beryllium nuclei at a small carbon target and analysed the debris that shot into surrounding particle detectors. They expected to see evidence for four separate neutrons hitting their detectors. Instead the Ganil team found just one flash of light in one detector. And the energy of this flash suggested that four neutrons were arriving together at the detector.
In the standard model of particle physics tetraneutrons simply can't exist. Yet, the evidence suggests that there may be more to the universe than our theories allow.
Other evidence that supports the idea of matter composed of multiple neutrons--neutron stars. These bodies, which contain an enormous number of bound neutrons, suggest that as yet unexplained forces come into play when neutrons gather in a group.
Apparently, the universe continues to follow its own rules!
Source: National Science Foundation: www.nsf.org
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