Tag: "pbs"
Chevron's Plans
Richmond city officials are expected to approve a controversial upgrade to the Chevron refinery plant. Quest reports on the decision and explores the debate around Chevron's billion dollar proposal. You may listen to the "Chevron's Plans" Radio report online, as well as find additional links and resources. Amy Standen is a Reporter for QUEST and [...]
Post on Mar 21, 2008 by Amy Standen
Sneak Peek of QUEST's New Season – Fierce Humboldt Squid
Humboldt Squid – known as "Diablos Rojos".I have to admit I had a bit of trepidation when QUEST set out to tell the story about Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas). The squid have aggressively expanded their territorial range from the warmer equatorial Pacific to waters off central California. These are not the little market squid you [...]
Post on Mar 18, 2008 by Chris Bauer
Equinox Season
It's approaching that time of year again: Spring Equinox. The blaze in my home's interior hallway has been signaling this for the last week. The shadow of Chabot's "solar clock" at noon on the equinox produces a pattern of solid green straddling the gnomonI noticed late in the afternoon a couple days ago that the [...]
Post on Mar 14, 2008 by Ben Burress
Seed banking: saving both agri- and -culture
It's more than the genes that feed us. Some have dubbed it the "doomsday vault"; others, taking a more positive tone, call it a repository of biodiversity. However you look at it, the Global Seed Vault is a fortress. Buried under almost 500 feet of Arctic permafrost, secured against bomb blasts, earthquakes, and potential thieves, [...]
Post on Mar 13, 2008 by Robin Marks
Stamping out the Apple Moth
A tiny moth, new to California, is at the center of a controversy pitting state officials against Bay Area residents and politicians. The Light Brown Apple Moth is seen as a threat to California crops. Now the State Department of Food and Agriculture is planning to spray a synthetic hormone over Bay Area neighborhoods this [...]
Post on Mar 06, 2008 by Andrea Kissack
Where have all the salmon gone?
Run down Recent news headlines have been full of Chinook salmon, but sadly the same cannot be said of Central Valley waterways. This fall, only about 90,000 Central Valley Chinook salmon returned to their home rivers and streams to spawn, down from more than 800,000 just a few years ago. Like most salmon, Central Valley [...]
Post on Feb 28, 2008 by Ann Dickinson
Building to Beat Climate Change and Save Energy
Low winter light over the town of Iqaluit, the capitol of Nunavut,Canada. Photo by Bill Semple, architect and senior researcher at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.I recently heard Tom Friedman, the New York Times columnist, speak at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab about his soon to be published new book, Green: The New Red, White [...]
Post on Feb 23, 2008 by Jim Gunshinan
Nap time for the Sun: solar cycles
Extreme close-up of the Sun's visible surface, showing 'bubbling' cells of convecting gas–each the size of Northern California. credit: Hinode JAXA/NASA/PPARCBy all accounts, a new cycle-Cycle 24-in solar activity has begun… something you probably didn't notice since the beginning of a solar cycle is quite subtle…. First things first: what is a solar cycle, and [...]
Post on Feb 15, 2008 by Ben Burress
Gleaning scientific observations from ancient myths
I had the privilege this week of interviewing Isabel Hawkins, an astronomer and director of the Center for Science Education at Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory. We talked about how people use evidence in science, how it is that we know what we know. Hawkins isn't your ordinary astronomer. She began her career in an ordinary [...]
Post on Feb 15, 2008 by Robin Marks
Reporter's Notes: Designer Biofuels
Concern over global warming and rising gas prices has just about everyone, including presidential candidates, touting biofuels. Taking the energy from plants to make a gasoline alternative that can run our cars has great promise. But there are challenges to meeting the nation’s goal to replace 20 per cent of the nations annual gasoline consumption [...]
Post on Feb 14, 2008 by Andrea Kissack
Your Photos on QUEST TV – Call for Submissions
View our original YPOQ pilot featuring photographer Russ MorrisDo you love photographing Science, Environment and Nature in Northern California? Would you like to collaborate on a 2-minute QUEST TV short about your photography for an audience of over 100,000 viewers? We're launching a call for submissions for our new series of TV shorts, "YPOQ: Your [...]
Post on Feb 13, 2008 by Craig Rosa
Save the rabbit (eared antennas)
Don't Sweat the Switch from Analog to Digital TV Broadcasting. The Government Will Rescue Your Old TV. Mostly. What does this have to do with energy conservation? Read on. Every old TV will be new again–for about $10. Photo credit: Human Productivity Lab, licensed through Creative Commons.When I was still new to the Bay Area, [...]
Post on Feb 08, 2008 by Jim Gunshinan
The Right to Sunlight: Solar vs. Redwood Trees
In Silicon Valley, a battle between neighbors has turned into a different kind of face off: solar energy versus trees. It turns out that growing redwood trees can actually be a crime in California, if they block solar panels… as one couple in Sunnyvale found out the hard way. David Gorn reports on a new [...]
Post on Feb 07, 2008 by David Gorn
Discovery of a New Species: A Giant Elephant-Shrew
newly discovered Rhynchocyon udzungwensis the grey-faced sengiAlthough enigmatic new species of insects are fairly common discoveries, many large animals have already made an appearance on the species list. Charismatic animals such as mammals are one of the most documented on the planet and it is now very rare to find a new species in this [...]
Post on Feb 06, 2008 by Cat
Tactile Maps
Human beings have used maps to describe the world for thousands of years. Blind people have used Braille for about 150. But there’s never been a way for blind people to have easy access to maps of everyday places. Until now. Amy Standen reports. You may listen to the "Tactile Maps" radio report online, as [...]
Post on Jan 31, 2008 by Amy Standen
Converting the Comets Back into Stars
Star or Comet?Yesterday was a very long day at work. I was stuck in meetings with our collaborators for over 6 hours! To make it worse, we spent the entire time discussing a single topic. I even wrote my last paper on it. What could possibly be so captivating, you ask? Remember the solar wind [...]
Post on Jan 29, 2008 by Kyle S. Dawson
Who Controls Your Thermostat? Part 2
No, this is not Big Brother. Credit: Jim GunshinanThe answer to the question, Who controls your thermostat?, which I raised in an earlier post, is now clearly answered. You control your thermostat! The California Energy Commission (CEC) was to require, as part of the 2008 Title 24 building standards, that all new homes be outfitted [...]
Post on Jan 25, 2008 by Jim Gunshinan
Curing mouse sickle cell anemia with stem cells
Last blog I talked about how scientists turned skin cells into embryonic stem (ES) cells. This was big news because scientists can now make an ES-like cell without destroying an embryo. This blog I thought I'd talk about how scientists have used these cells to cure a mouse’s sickle cell anemia. If the mouse stays [...]
Post on Jan 21, 2008 by Dr. Barry Starr
An Asteroid's Close Call
This has been a month of dashed hopes for astronomers around the world. Last month it seemed possible that an asteroid the size of a Boeing 737 jet was due to collide with Mars on January 30. Today that seems far less likely, but, as Amy Standen reports, astronomers consider it a wake up call. [...]
Post on Jan 17, 2008 by Amy Standen
