Just received another submission from the great people over at The Online Paralegal Program Project. Their newest infographic, titled “Masters of the Earth”, does a great job of displaying information on just how big an impact humanity continues to have on our planet. Head over to their site to check out the whole thing!
And if you missed it before, check out the OPP’s other release:
Going Green: Legalizing Marijuana is the Best Thing for America
Thanks, Sarah W., for sending this over!
See James Cameron emerge from the deepest point on Earth after taking a submarine to the Mariana Trench
Avatar film director James Cameron has completed the world’s first solo dive to the deepest-known point on Earth, reaching the bottom of the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench southwest of Guam in a specially designed submarine.
The filmmaker arrived at the site known as “Challenger Deep” shortly before 8 a.m. local time on Monday, reaching a depth of 35,756 feet, or roughly 7 miles beneath the ocean’s surface, said the National Geographic Society, which is overseeing the expedition.
“Hitting bottom never felt so good. Can’t wait to share what I’m seeing w/ you,” the 57-year-old filmmaker said on Twitter, just after he touched down. (Photos: Reuters/National Geographic/Mark Thiessen)
I’m not the only person a little disappointed by the fact that James Cameron used Twitter, instead of some sort of video-conferencing software that was subsequently re-broadcast by major networks, am I? I mean, you’re the first guy to ever solo dive to the lowest point on Earth and, to see your thoughts on the experience, I have to visit the same site that’s willing to tell me all about #HoeThoughts and #BlackFolkCoughDropFlavors*?
*These were actual trending topics at the time of writing this post.
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Rick Santorum, during a campaign stop in Ohio, criticizing liberals and environmentalists that he believes are putting “Earth above man.”
Santorum made similiar comments during a recent campaign stop in Colorado, in early February, where the candidate was quoted as saying, “we were put on this Earth as creatures of God to have dominion over the Earth, to use it wisely and steward it wisely, but for our benefit not for the Earth’s benefit.”
(Source: livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com)
“Rap Music Powers Rhythmic Action of Medical Sensor”
The device is an example of a microelectromechanical system, or MEMS, and was created in the Birck Nanotechnology Center at the university’s Discovery Park. The cantilever beam is made from a ceramic material called lead zirconate titanate, or PZT, which is piezoelectric, meaning it generates electricity when compressed. The sensor is about 2 centimeters long. Researchers tested the device in a water-filled balloon.
A receiver that picks up the data from the sensor could be placed several inches from the patient. Playing tones within a certain frequency range also can be used instead of music.
“But a plain tone is a very annoying sound,” Ziaie said. “We thought it would be novel and also more aesthetically pleasing to use music.”
Researchers experimented with four types of music: rap, blues, jazz and rock.
“Rap is the best because it contains a lot of low frequency sound, notably the bass,” Ziaie said.
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This essentially elevates Dr. Dre to authentic medical status. #WordToYourMotherWithAMedicalImplant
(Source: sciencedaily.com)
Notably, the review points out the study of evolution– a contentious topic for the Texas State Board of Education in recent years– is “all but ignored” from Kindergarten through fifth grade. And middle school standards aren’t much better when it comes to evolution, the report finds. A distortion, typically used by Creationists to argue against Darwinian macroevolution, shows up in the seventh-grade standards. Additionally, the word “evolution” is never actually used in any of the middle school curriculum and the definition of “natural selection” is omitted. While high school standards fared better when it came to evolution, the Institute concludes that with an insufficient foundation prior to high school, Texas students will likely be ill equipped to handle science in the coming years.
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— Prescribing Cannabis For Harm Reduction
Mark Collen
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Newt Gingrich, during a debate with famed paleontologist Jack Horner, over the feeding habits of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Horner argued that the Tyrannosaur, despite popular belief, was actually one of many scavenger dinosaurs. Gingrich disagreed, and replied with the above statement.
The quote is back in the news cycle after comments Gingrich made during a campaign rally on Saturday, at a Coca Cola bottling plant in Atlantic, Iowa. During the event, Gingrich cited his credentials as an “amateur paleontologist” when asked why he did not believe in global warming.
The former Speaker of the House elaborated, “I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the earth’s temperature over a very long time. I’m a lot harder to convince than just by looking at a computer model.”
(Source: videocafe.crooksandliars.com)
American Museum of Natural History Releases Hayden Letters
from the Museum’s website:
In 1950, the Museum’s Hayden Planetarium began accepting reservations for the first trip into space as part of a publicity campaign for its exhibition Conquest of Space. Letters poured in from around the world with requests to book trips to the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and beyond, capturing the public’s passion and curiosity for space exploration. View a selection of letters from enthusiastic would-be space travelers here, and tell us where you’d like to go today.
See more applications from aspiring interstellar travelers, explorers, and tourists at the official AMNS website or the Museum’s official Flickr account.
(images courtesy of AMNS/Flickr)
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Cannabis Science, Inc. Announces Success With Skin Cancer Treatment
from The Colorado Independent:
Denver-based Cannabis Science, Inc. announced this week that a cancer patient has had success using the company’s cannabis-based product in the treatment of skin cancer.
The biotech company, which develops pharmaceutical cannabis products, said this is the second patient to use the product successfully. “This patient has photo-documented dramatic results that we will release to the public once treatment is completed and has been properly vetted by clinical biopsy,” the company said in a press release. “Cannabis Science, in conjunction with several Colorado-licensed dispensaries and physicians, consults with a number of cancer patients who were seeking to inform themselves of the current peer-reviewed scientific literature, regarding modern and historical use of cannabis preparations for treating cancers so that they can make informed decisions regarding their self-directed cancer treatment.”
Mythbusters Misfire Sends Cannonball Hurtling Through Neighborhood
There was a ‘MythBusters’ misfire — the popular television science show sends one of its experiments hurtling into a Dublin neighborhood. Fortunately no one was hurt, but residents were stunned to find out a cannonball came whizzing through their community.
The incident occurred between 4:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The cannonball was fired from the bomb range at Camp Parks. It soared 700 yards into a house on Cassata Place, bounced across a road, onto a roof and into a minivan on Springvale Drive.
When the cannonball went through the house, it was traveling at about 1,000 feet per second and whizzed past the bedroom of a sleeping couple.“They didn’t actually hear the cannonball come through the house. What woke them up was the settling of the sheet rock that woke them up,” said Sgt. J.D. Nelson from the Alameda Co. Sheriff’s Dept.
(images courtesy of ABC7/KGO-TV)
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Study Shows Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Traffic Deaths
Our research suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities through reducing alcohol consumption by young adults,” said Daniel Rees, professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver who co-authored the study with D. Mark Anderson, assistant professor of economics at Montana State University.
The researchers collected data from a variety of sources including the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
The study is the first to examine the relationship between the legalization of medical marijuana and traffic deaths.
TSA May Back Off Airport Body Scanner Health Study
Despite telling the Senate that the TSA would conduct an independent study, investigating potentially harmful side-effects of backscatter machines, Administrator John Pistole told a CNN reporter that a new report from the Department of Homeland Security is likely to eliminate the need for such a study.
“I have no concerns about the safety of the machines,” Pistole said. He said independent scientific organizations say the backscatter machines emit the same amount of radiation that passengers are exposed to during three minutes in flight.
“But there are those who continue to express concerns, and so I want to do everything that I can to reassure those people that these machines are as safe as possible,” Pistole said.
The agency has already deployed ~250 backscatter machines to airports across the country, in addition to ~260 millimeter-wave machines which utilize radio waves instead of x-rays, and recently purchased another 300 millimeter-wave machines to prep for deployment.
While the inspector general’s report may have been enough to calm the nerves of John Pistole, members of Congress were quick to condemn the possibility of the TSA abandoning the independent study they committed to.
“I hope the Obama administration is not backing away from an independent study,” Collins said in a written statement. “What I asked for — and what the administrator committed to — was an independent study on the health effects of AIT (advanced imaging technology) machines, not just a study on whether TSA is doing an adequate job of inspecting, maintaining and operating AIT machines, which I understand is the approach” of the inspector general’s report.
“Travelers are concerned that the radiation emitted from these machines may be damaging to passengers’ health,” Collins said.
Rep. Collins’ remarks come a mere two days after the European Union announced it would not authorize backscatter machines for passenger screening to prevent the risk of “jeopardizing citizens’ health and safety.”
(image courtesy of Politico)
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News, politics, and hip hop from a die hard Packers fan, part-time writer for ShortFormBlog, and freelance reporter for the International Digital Times.
The views expressed here are solely those of Scott Craft, and will probably be edited for spelling and grammar issues when noticed. No promises though.
