The winds that blow near the surface of the Earth have two beneficial effects: They provide a renewable source of clean energy and they evaporate water, helping rain clouds to build up. But aerosolized particles created from vehicle exhaust and other contaminants can accumulate in the atmosphere and reduce the speed of winds closer to the Earth’s surface, which results in less wind power available for wind-turbine electricity and also in reduced precipitation, according to a study by Stanford and NASA researchers.
This type of aerosol means more than hair spray…one scientist advocates replacing existing motor vehicles with cleaner ones, such as renewable-energy powered battery-electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles, and substituting contaminating power plants with networked wind farms. These actions would reduce particle emissions practically to zero, he says. The second-best option would be adding particle traps to existing vehicles and other sources of pollution. Otherwise, we literally could be driving ourselves to drought.
Read more at PhysOrg.com.
Posted by Linda at 8:49 AM PST
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category: Food
When was the last time you’ve seen a double yolked egg? This photo was not altered in any way. Straight from the skillet to your eyeballs.
Posted by Linda at 11:57 PM PST
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I just learned this evening that Mercury is in retrograde from today until 19 February. When Mercury is in retrograde, plans can go awry. It’s best to remain flexible, allow extra time for travel, and avoid signing any contracts because something negative may show up when the retrograde period is over.
Positives about Mercury in retrograde include the fact that this is a great time to reflect on the past (not live in it, however). Intuition is high during these periods and coincidences can be extraordinary. I’m glad I’ve learned all this, as I’m going to look at some houses tomorrow. Now I know to not sign anything until after the middle of the month - even though those Roman columns in that bathroom are to die for. ;-)
Posted by Linda at 11:37 PM PST
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I purchased a Sony PRS-500 Portable Reader System a week ago, simply because I thought I could use it to replace some of the many books that are cluttering up my living space. I’m on a minimalist kick, so the slim and sexy Sony appealed to my sense of aesthetics, let alone to my idea of consolidation. The fact that most of the books I own haven’t been created as digital files didn’t occur to me. I just had to have the last Sony eBook Reader that was for sale at my local bookstore.
When I went to snag the code for the reader at Amazon, I was surprised to see all the negative feedback for this tool. After I read some of the reviews, however, I realized that some people just don’t realize the significance of this reader. This is not a backlit mini-version of a handheld computer. This reader is just like a book. You need a book light to read it in a dark bedroom. Plus, every button has significance, and the books available to read aren’t just those that are on the best-sellers list (although I’ll admit that one of the first books I downloaded was Stephen King’s new novel, Duma Key).
I have enjoyed my eBook reader tremendously so far, and I’m not even close to understanding what all I can accomplish with this tool. I do know that I’m much happier with the look and feel of this Sony reader than I would be with the Amazon Kindle. The more I look at the Kindle, the more cumbersome it seems. But, don’t put it past me to purchase the second version of the Kindle…I’m going to be patient for that one.
Posted by Linda at 9:35 PM PST
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