I found this to be very funny. FEED ME SEYMOUR!
Funny and sad at the same time. Green initiatives continue to paralyze American businesses and personal freedoms.
Environment
Science Triumphs Sensationalism – Once Again
The BEEB came up with a BS theory that CO2 is “Killing Nemo,” the clownfish from the popular Disney cartoon feature. It seems that the fish are losing hearing due to increased acidification of the oceans due to CO2 absorption. However, the Blogprof debunks the story in the following paragraph:
Now, what interested me about the article the most is the above argument is a tacit admission that any extra CO2 in the atmosphere doesn’t stay in the atmosphere but is rather absorbed by various surfaces and media including the ocean. This undermines the alarmists claim that extra CO2 produced by man remains in the atmosphere and causes global warming. you cannot have both. Either the extra CO2 remains in the atmosphere or it does not. It turns out that the acidification of the oceans is more backed by science than non-existent global warming: News: CO2 levels in atmosphere haven’t changed in at least 150 years
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Via: Planet Gore
Vulture Peak and the Saguaro Forest
We took a drive today out south of town to the Vulture Mountains to view the lovely springtime desert vegetation. I took this shot on the roadside a little north of Vulture Peak. Click on the image to enlarge.
Javelina Sighting
I was on the patio earlier this evening and saw a javelina up in the wash behind the house. It disappeared behind the vegetation and I dismissed it as another distant sighting. Cabela started barking and carrying on in the front room. I went to see what was up and there were a family of six javelinas foraging across the road. I ran to get my camera and got this photo of the last one heading up the road. Click on the image to see the non-cropped version.
Saguaro and Rock Squirrel
We took a scenic drive today up the Hassayampa river. We saw beautiful scenery and an occasional critter. This rock squirrel climbed up a fifteen foot saguaro cactus to feast on some of the fruit. Click on the image to see the full context.
A Secondary Consequence of Solar Minima
I browsed through my copy of QST magazine yesterday. QST is the publication of the American Radio Relay League, an amateur radio (ham radio) organization. In it, I read an interesting scientific hypothesis explaining the dearth of sunspots we have seen over the past several years. The theory holds that plasma currents deep inside the sun may have interfered with the formation of sunspots and prolonged the solar minimum.
Later in the article, there is mention of a secondary consequence of the minimum in that “space junk” can remain in low Earth orbit due to the upper atmosphere collapsing. You can read this very interesting article at this link.
NASA-sponsored research has resulted in the first computer model that explains the recent period of decreased solar activity during the sun’s 11-year cycle.
This recent solar minimum, a period characterized by a lower frequency of sunspots and solar storms, was the deepest observed in almost 100 years. The solar minimum has repercussions on the safety of space travel and the amount of orbital debris our planet accumulates.
. . .
During this deep solar minimum, the sun’s magnetic field weakened, allowing cosmic rays to penetrate the solar system in record numbers, making space a more dangerous place to travel. At the same time, the decrease in ultraviolet radiation caused Earth’s upper atmosphere to cool and collapse.
As a consequence space debris stopped decaying and started accumulating in Earth orbit due to decreased atmospheric drag. These effects demonstrate the importance of understanding the entire solar cycle, during both minimum and maximum.
Emphasis added.
Spring Sunset
The sun set at about 7 PM for us this evening. There were some nice clouds, so we waited on the patio after sundown until the sky looked like this. Our weather warmed up today and it was still about 75° when I took the photo. Click on the image to enlarge.