Archive for December, 2007
Mercury falling with the rise of CFL bulbs
Broke Your CFL? Don't Panic! The typical dose of mercury in a CFL is about the size of a pen tip (circled in red), and these doses have been getting smaller and smaller. (Photo provided by EPA.)Australia has already begun to phase out the incandescent light bulb, and the energy legislation recently signed by President [...]
Post on Dec 28, 2007 by Jim Gunshinan
Nursing the marsh-upland transition zone back to health
In the North Bay, a new nursery is lending Mother Nature a hand. On a recent foggy morning, I drove up to the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge to tour their native plant nursery with biologist Giselle Block and nursery manager Leia Giambastiani. The Refuge hugs the northern reaches of the Bay (If you've [...]
Post on Dec 27, 2007 by Ann Dickinson
The Creation of a Controversy
Is acceptance of evolution a prerequisite for being a biologist? Darrow and Bryan at the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925.A biologist who works on zebrafish was recently fired from Wood's Hole in Massachusetts. His lawsuit claims that he was fired because he told his bosses that he believes in Creationism. As a new member of [...]
Post on Dec 24, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
Moons Visited and Revisited
A volcanic eruption on the surface of Io taken by the Voyager spacecraft. Credit: NASA/VoyagerPlanets hog a lot of press, inside and outside the Solar System, but there's a lot to be said for those "second class" worlds that are the satellites of the planets–some of which would be true planets (fascinating ones, too) if [...]
Post on Dec 21, 2007 by Ben Burress
Cutting Tailpipe Emissions: What Next?
For decades, California has gotten waivers in order to enact air quality standards more strict than federal law demands. But this time, for the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency said no. And the reason was that California hadn't given a compelling reason why it should have authority to regulate the tailpipe emissions that cause [...]
Post on Dec 21, 2007 by Amy Standen
Mollusk Madness: can we collect shells responsibly?
Listen! You can hear the sounds of the ocean, but is it getting quieter? Last week while snorkeling in Roatan, Hondoruas, I came face to face with a Conch. Not a shiny shell in a gift shop, but a moving creature, shuffling along the sea floor, munching on grasses and just being a mollusk. I [...]
Post on Dec 19, 2007 by Amy Gotliffe
Winds of change: the climate of the solar system
Several billion years ago, our solar system was nothing more than a nondescript cloud of gas. There was no sun, no planets– just a lot of hydrogen, a bit of helium, and trace amounts of the carbon, oxygen and the other elements that we take for granted here on Earth. How is it that the [...]
Post on Dec 18, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
Weatherization Works! Especially when money is tight
A Nebraska weatherization crew member blows in dense-pack cellulose insulation into an attic. (Photo by Pete Davis.)I am just back from the National Weatherization Training Conference in Orlando, Florida. The Weatherization Assistance Program is funded by the Department of Energy and other government agencies and serves low-income households in the United States. Weatherization professionals– the [...]
Post on Dec 14, 2007 by Jim Gunshinan
Paper or Plastic?
This November, San Francisco became the first city in the country to outlaw plastic check out bags at large supermarkets, arguing that the bags are dangerous to marine life and hard to recycle. But some studies say paper bags can be just as harmful for the environment. So why target plastic? You may listen to [...]
Post on Dec 13, 2007 by Amy Standen
Why does it matter if kids know about science anyway?
Which is bigger, an electron or an atom? If you're reading this science blog, you probably know the right answer. And that would make you a little more informed than the average American, according to a recent National Science Foundation report. Getting kids grounded in science at a young age can go a long way [...]
Post on Dec 13, 2007 by Robin Marks
Snakes are not Poisonous
Often, an Academy biologist or docent will bring out one of the snakes for guests to see and touch. There are many common questions when a guest comes up close and personal with a Ball Python or Boa Constrictor. The most common question asked is – is this snake poisonous? And it is not only [...]
Post on Dec 12, 2007 by Cat
Doing the recombination shuffle
What can DNA Ancestry Tests Really Tell You? A lot of DNA companies are now offering ancestry testing so you can find out more about your ancestors. Overall they can be useful if you have a specific question. But for an overall look at your family's history, they tend to fall short. Let's look at [...]
Post on Dec 10, 2007 by Dr. Barry Starr
Postcards from Mars
Picture of the edge of Victoria Crater superimposed with image of the rover Opportunity. Credit: NASA/JPLMars is not only on the horizon, it's become a sky-high creature of the night…and so, it's time to blog about the Red Planet once again, and to showcase a few favorite pictures from the veteran robots presently exploring that [...]
Post on Dec 07, 2007 by Ben Burress
Rising Seas
What will global warming mean to the San Francisco Bay? QUEST explores how sea level rise could effect Bay Area wetlands, following researchers who are taking cores from local marshlands to discover their climate history and potential future. Craig Miller reports. You may listen to the "Rising Seas" radio report online, as well as find [...]
Post on Dec 06, 2007 by Andrea Kissack
Global Warming on Venus?
Credit: T. Credner & S. Kohle, AlltheSky.comYou may be surprised to hear that Venus is the warmest planet in the solar system. Venus has an average temperature of 850 degrees Fahrenheit. This is much warmer than the Earth, at 60 degrees, and even warmer than Mercury, which sits much closer to the sun, at 350 [...]
Post on Dec 05, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
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