Environment

Raining on Your Parade

We’re live blogging the Rose Parade on TV this morning. The wind is whipping outside and rain is pelting the windows here. About thirty miles away in Pasadena, the parade is on schedule and the people watching and the ones in the parade are carrying on – mostly as if nothing unusual is happening. Rain slickers and umbrellas notwithstanding, they all seem to be enjoying the parade. One exception may have been a peregrine falcon riding on the float in the picture; his feathers looked waterlogged as his head nervously darted from side to side as though he were ready to find a roost in one of the trees along Colorado Boulevard.

The storm is expected to dump up to eight inches of rain in the Southland today. It’s probably a good thing that the Rose Bowl isn’t being played until Wednesday evening, when clear weather is forecast. (GO TROJANS!)

02 Jan 2006 by CapnBob California Environment

March of the Penguins

The March of the Penguins documentary about the Emperor Penguins in Antarctica – Awesome! Damsel and I watched the feature first and then the behind-the-scenes footage on how they shot this amazing film. The following is a comment from sam-650 via IMDB, which closely echoes our sentiments:

This is perhaps the most amazing animal documentary ever. The footage was gathered in what truly must be “the harshest place on earth”. It is barren, cold beyond cold and then there is the endless night of winter. The underwater footage was my favorite, but every single frame is magnificent. I can’t wait for the DVD, so I can see how the filmmakers did this.

The narration is less objective than it is romantic – making it less a true documentary than a story, but that is fine in this case, and Morgan Freeman does a great job. You really should make the effort to see this on the big screen – it is absolutely stunning!

Sea Mammal Rescues Peak During Heavy Surf

Years ago, Damsel and I became members of MAR3INE, an acronym for Marine Animal Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release Into the Natural Environment. We’re glad that the center is there, especially during times when the animals are having a rough time due to high surf.

From the Daily Breeze:

South Bay sea mammals are hit hard by pounding waves

Seals and sea lions aren’t used to the 15-foot breakers that have hit the coast this week. Many are treated at animal care center in San Pedro.

You know it’s big surf when even the sea lions get knocked around.

This week’s massive waves along the South Bay coast made life difficult for the marine mammals, sending a few to a specialized-care center in San Pedro for medical attention.

“The ones that came in looked like they may have been beaten up by the waves,” said David Bard, operations manager at the Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur. In getting rolled by the breakers, they’ve come close to drowning and have breathed water into their lungs, which can lead to complications like pneumonia.

Photo: Sean Hiller / Daily Breeze — This young female sea lion was rescued from Venice Beach after being washed ashore.

Read the complete article at the Breeze: South Bay sea mammals are hit hard by pounding waves

We visit the center often, usually after visiting the County Recycling Center so we can donate the proceeds from scrap aluminum cans.

23 Dec 2005 by CapnBob Environment

Damsel Sends You Seagulls and Surf

On a day with monster 13 to 20 foot waves battering Southern California, seagulls play in the surf.

Now that you’re transfixed with all the beauty and awe of this scene, take a few moments and go have a laugh at this video. A tip of the bonnet to Dave at Garfield Ridge.

Update: Hey, this is Cap’n Bob. Damsel’s lovely picture is wonderful. That being said, the other dimension was the sound and fury of the surf, and the feeling of being there. So, to add to the sensory experience, I shot a video panorama of the cove where she shot her picture. Turn up the speakers and listen to the surf and the foghorn from the Point Vicente Lighthouse.

21 Dec 2005 by Damsel California Environment Photography

Clinton Heats Up Climate Conference

Bill Clinton has no more business addressing the UN Climate Conference than he has for educating teenage girls about sex.

Montreal (CNSNews.com) – Former President Bill Clinton is expected to address the U.N. Climate Change Conference on Friday, the final day, after the Sierra Club reportedly raised the money to pay for Clinton’s trip.

Clinton’s visit is intended to help draw more media attention to the U.N. meeting and to pressure the U.S. delegation to make more concessions on climate issues, according to the Canadian Press.

Bush administration officials reportedly were “annoyed” that Clinton chose to come on the last day of the conference to try to influence the negotiations, according to the Associated Press.

Read Bill Clinton Heats Up UN Climate Conference — 12/09/2005 at CNS News.

Also read Flat Earth, Hurricanes and Global Warming for our perspectives on this issue.

09 Dec 2005 by CapnBob Environment Global Warming International United Nations Whacko Politics

Microseismic Emission Precursors

This may be of particular interest to those of us living near seismically active areas. Interpretation of microseismic emission precursors may represent a possible breakthrough on earthquake prediction:

Prelude to an Earthquake?

A geophysicist from the U.S. Department of Energyâ€™s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has identified possible seismic precursors to two recent California earthquakes, including the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that wreaked havoc throughout the Bay Area.

After sifting through seismic data from the two quakes, Valeri Korneev found a spike in the number of micro-earthquakes followed by a period of relative calm in the crust surrounding the quakesâ€™ epicenters — months before the quakes occurred. Although more work needs to be conducted to determine whether other large quakes are foreshadowed by a similar rise and subsequent decline in small-magnitude tremors, Korneevâ€™s analysis suggests that these peaks may be indicative of the total set of geological stresses that affect the timing and location of large earthquakes. Understanding this total stress picture may eventually make it be possible to predict destructive earthquakes within a much shorter time frame than currently possible.

Photo: 1989 Quake Damage to Interstate 880 – S.F. Chronicle

Peaks in seismic activity in the crust surrounding a fault could help signal the arrival of large earthquakes,â€ says Korneev of Berkeley Labâ€™s Earth Sciences Division. â€œThese peaks may be a good mid-term precursor and allow authorities to declare alerts several months before earthquakes.â€