Friday Ted Talks XIV

Becky Blanton gives a good but disturbing talk on how easy it was to become homeless, both in her mind and *almost* every one else's. The discussion under the video is almost just as interesting as people debate what is homelessness, why don't people think that she was homeless, and ultimately other people's mindset.
Right now, there is a large homeless population in Canada that are invisible. Except when they get on the news because the government is closing "the Tent City". What are effective measures that the Canadian and provincial governments could use to stop the problem?

The scary thing was she was employed and she decided to do this. What happens to people forced into this position without help from friends and family?

Friday TED Talks XII

Cary Fowler talks about saving genetic diversity through cold storage of seeds.

He is the Executive Director of Global Crop Diversity Trust where their mission is to store their seeds in a safe remote place.

However good the message is (and I agree with keeping a seed bank to preserve genetic diversity for other reasons), I question the seeds' value if the temperature rises as "in many countries the coldest growing seasons are going to be hotter than anything those crops have seen in the past." If these crops have not seen these temperatures in the past, what good will they do if kept for the future because of systematic crop failure? They couldn't have evolved different mechanisms to live in the hotter climate.

Wisdom from Unlikely Places

I just finished reading "The Wisdom Of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS" by Elizabeth Pisani. It was well written and the narrative format gave a natural progression through her experiences from a somewhat hopeful to a battle-worn epidemiologist. The collective struggle with politicians, religious leaders, and the bureaucratic nightmare that are individual countries and global programmes is nothing short of heroic.

As an inspirational epidemiologist, she does not hide behind organizational red-tape/policies, but truly tells the science and the reasoning behind each prevention method. Use condoms... have needle exchange programs... find ways to protect the people. It doesn't matter who the people are or what they do. They are still people.

If I could nominate her for a Nobel prize, I would. But I have a feeling that there are many people doing the same type of work just like her. However, I do want to hear her on TED Talks. She is truly inspirational and her book is a must-read. You may not agree with the methods or policies and you may not like who the "people most at risk" are, but it is important to know for preventative measures. This IS something that can be fought with good prevention policies, and there are some innocent victims.

Happy Anniversary!! & Tsunami Detection

Aha! It's my 50th Post & its only taken me 11 months! Ha Ha Ha Ha. Well I started this blog hoping to post more prolifically than this, but time & life usually gets in the way. So I'm glad I've gotten around to it at all.
I'm interested in GIS (Global Information Systems) and GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and I'm thinking that this is really what will give me a job after my school career is over. I enjoy new developments and the ingenious ways that people use the satellites in order to create knowledge and help mankind around the globe.
There is a great new paper out about how the researchers analyzed the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman tsunami to gain the ability to track tsunami's through the water by watching the colour differences from satellites in space. This monitoring with hopefully give scientists the ability to warn communities by the ocean with specificity with time and area. Also, this tracking will be able to detect the exact source of the tsunami with incredible accuracy.
Tsunami's are unique waves in that they are shallow water waves that have very low amplitude, and are therefore very difficult to track over open ocean. Usually a boat will have no indication that a tsunami has passed below it, and only when the wave gets closer to the shore will the symptomatic crest be visible rising out of the water.
Currently, there are only 2 methods used to detect tsunamis before they strike the coast. One is a network of sensors that detect pressure differences that are scattered around the oceans (predominantly in the Pacific), and the other is to use satellites to measure sea surface height which is extremely accurate, but there are only a couple of satellites that are used in this way and they are restricted to their orbits.
The new method can use standard satellite equipment to contrast the difference between rough water (darker) which is symptomatic of tsunamis and calm or smooth water (lighter), in order to find out direction and speed of the tsunami. The monitoring can happen world wide (however, maybe not so much in higher lattitudes, depends on the range of the orbits of satellites), and without restriction to governments and economy like the current sensors that are expensive to make, operate and are only in few locations world wide.

http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/9/1135/2009/nhess-9-1135-2009.html
O. A. Godin, V. G. Irisov, R. R. Leben, B. D. Hamlington, and G. A. Wick. (2009) Variations in sea surface roughness induced by the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman tsunami. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. 9; 1135-1147.

Friday Ted Talks VII

Psychology and Evil;
Here are two great talks about how anyone can commit evil acts and how damage to the brain can make a normal person more susceptible to being psychotic. Evil is a combination of genes, nurture and circumstance.

Great Talks....
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/jim_fallon_exploring_the_mind_of_a_killer.html

Canada's Ocean Observatory

Canada may now lead the world in sustained underwater ocean research through the NEPTUNE program and observatory through the University of Victoria.
Could this be like the hubble for the ocean? Notoriously, the ocean is the least known part of the entire world. Some parts of the universe are more explored than certain parts of the ocean.
Maybe Canada can do something to change this...

World's largest ocean observatory takes shape

Shared via AddThis

or straight from the horse's mouth
http://communications.uvic.ca/releases/release.php?display=release&id=1046

Prisons can Lead Environmental Change

Scientific American has a wonderful article today about inmates pitching in to help save the environment. I believe that this is a wonderful start, and that this idea should also be used in Canada.
All of the inmates in Canada have the ability to contribute something useful and because the environment is something that everyone shares, this may help them (and frankly, the general non-incarcerated population as well) to realize that this is a problem that is shared by a whole community.

I recently read a book, Deep Economy by Bill McKibben that explained that when people feel that they are in a community and inclusive group that they started acting less individually. The needs of the group were placed at an equal or higher value than the needs of an individual. Now, firstly I am all for individuality and individual choices. However, the two are not mutually exclusive of one another. Now, when people make decisions about family, work, environment, etc., never does community play a role in the outcome of those choices. This must change. You can have individuals making choices, but the community must be thought of within respect to those choices and how the choices reflect the needs and values of the community as well.

If we can get the general population of prisons helping outside communities, this will a) improve the environment and b) give the prisoners a sense of accomplishment and worth. I would rather these prisoners having the chance at operating large composts, manufacturing wind turbines, etc and using their skills instead of them watching TV and rioting. If they feel needed within the community (and for this it can be Canadian Community, Provincial Community, etc), it is a great way for them to reenter society and build skills in order to be a fully functioning member of society. Often prisons just teach prisoners how to be better criminals. Let us make them all tree-huggers instead.

High Speed Rail Coming to a Station Near You? Only in the States

As an update to a previous post about high speed rail between cities, Scientific American has looked at this with their 60 second podcast found here; http://podcast.sciam.com/earth/sa_e_podcast_090625.mp3

To reread the previous post go here;
http://botanistnextdoor.blogspot.com/2009/05/alternative-transportation-all-aboard.html

Aparently the Obama Administration has dedicated money towards the development of high speed rail linking multiple cities around the United States. I think this is a good sign... now only if the Canadian Government would look at this too....

Friday Ted Talk May 29th

This week, I have found an inspirational TED Talk for us botanists.
Why we are saving billions of seeds by Jonathan Drori.

It is regarding the Millennium Seed Bank run by Kew Gardens.

Wonderful talk....

Alternative Transportation ... ALL ABOARD!!

Just finished reading Plan B v. 3.0 by Lester R. Brown from the Earth Policy Institute. It was an interesting book, and he puts emphasis on certain points that are interesting to me. While taking a look at the usage of energy, consumption of consumer products, and transportation he also addresses ways that the States can change its ways to become more energy efficient, produce less consumer waste and use alternate energy in a fashion which will reduce reliance on oil & gas.
I especially was interested in the alternate transportation. In Alberta (aka. Canada’s Texas), we have a large reliance on automobiles. Our cities are designed around them and sprawl could be the alternate name for both Edmonton and Calgary. The true waste is using the best farmland in the world to put ugly homes upon. This is one of the oldest arguments in Edmonton and Calgary and the Michael Phair’s / Tooker Gomberg’s have used this argument time and time again, but big (housing) industry wins out all the time.
But I digress. Alternative transportation technology is here, and can be possible at this very minute, and while Europe and Asia is utilizing this technology, North America is lagging behind. So much for “west is best”.

High speed trains have the capability of running over 500km/hour speeds. Average speed time in Europe and Asia is roughly 250km/hour. This means that travel between Edmonton and Calgary could be accomplished in less than 1 ½ hours including embarking and disembarking. Existing tracks can be used AND a stop between in Red Deer is feasible. Next thing you know is high speed transit between Edmonton and Vancouver, and Vancouver to Ontario using existing track.

Map Between Edmonton & Calgary ... 298km of wasted time

View Larger Map

Often, the complaint is that people want to use their cars to get around once in the other city. However, if the train stations are set-up in a way to be accessible to city public transport in the same station, ease of getting around will be increased. This may have an added benefit of increased tourism, as people can relax and read the paper & have coffee on the train and then take the light rail transit or busses to their final destination. No longer would there be 3-5 hour long car trips and then the navigation of strange cities.

I can imagine it now….
A relaxing train trip from Edmonton to Calgary while reading a book to my little seedling. Getting there and taking the bus to the zoo. Visit family afterwards for supper and then taking the train back home in time to get seedling to bed and watching the new Criminal Minds on TV...

Alberta - Rape and Pillage

On a road trip this last weekend, to one of the most beautiful places in the World (not just Canada, eh?), I saw the most disgusting view. Alberta sure knows how to welcome guests as we show how to rape and pillage the land that we are only borrowing from our future.
If I was smart enough, I would have gotten the camera out and taken pictures of these horrible sites, but I will next time to show what is truly there.

h.t. to http://www.geocities.com/alta_sailing/wab_destinations/wab_destinations.htm

I've got to admit, the picture is not exactly what I saw, as we were travelling on the other side (on the road, not water, ha ha). Also, this picture looks better than what I saw, as Saturday morning there was smoke spewing out of the stacks. Before the actual plant came into site, I thought there was a brush fire as there was smoke everywhere.

So, now your thinking, oh what a whiny tree-hugger. Can't stand a little smoke, etc. But we also saw strip mining. It wasn't on the scale of Ft. McMurray's tar sands, and I have no clue what they were mining. But there was no other reason for these marks a large quantity of land. We also saw grasshoppers, and "urban" sprawl (if you can call Hinton or Edson urban...). Garbage found in the trees, on the snow, and on the road.

These would not bother me if these were anomolies, but they are symptomatic of the larger problem of massive extraction from the land and pollution of the air. Once in Jasper there were many animals seen as well as beautiful vistas. (I will post nicer pics tomorrow)
But you would think that the Albertan Government would want visitors to our Province to see pristine views and beautiful landscapes from Edmonton to Jasper instead of grasshoppers every 20 meters. Every time someone (National Geographic to name one) writes an article, tells an international panel about Alberta, the politician argue that it isn't true and we are taking it out of context (ie. it's only in Athabasca). However, it is time to understand that we cannot continue taking for granted what we have.

Global Warming vs. Climate Change

If you've never heard of "global warming"* or "climate change"*, you may want to call the Guiness Book of World Records people. As the last person on earth to hear these terms, they may have you confused. I will try to explain...

The two terms have been used interchangably, but they might not be so. Useage between skeptics and believers have twisted the meaning of each. They refer to the phenomenon of energy that comes from the sun, bounced of the surface of the earth to the atmosphere and reflected back to the earth from the pollutants (hence the greenhouse effect and greenhouses gasses terms that are used). This leads to a rise in atmospheric temperature and ocean temperature (which is the source of the term "global warming").

Incidentally, this rising in temperature has other effects which lead to changes in wind patterns, melting of glaciers, etc. This in turn changes the entire climate of the world, but funnily enough, not equally around the world. Also the changes in climate may have different effects in different places (where some areas may get more hurricanes in general, others may get less hurricanes but they will be more severe). Also, changes in temperature become more severe for certain places. This leads us to the term of "climate change".

People who are conspiracy theorists, science deniers, or the USA government like to use the term "global warming". This phrase of two simple words brings to mind a simple meaning for many people. The only thing we should be worried about is having great temperatures year round, where we don't have to worry about frostbite anymore. Living in the great beyond (think Canadian Siberia), I cannot help but cringe every time someone uses this "global warming" for the process which is occuring on our planet now. People think it will be great having a tropical climate here (think swimming and tanning year round). Other people scoff when it hits -4o degrees celcius; "pffft, yeah right we have global warming... I'll just go run my car to warm up for 1/2 hour".

However, when you read about sea levels rising from glacier melting and thermal expansion, all of those island countries and coastal cities (yeah, think New York, Vancouver, Tokyo) where most of the world's population lives, and we've got real problems. We won't be worrying about war refugees anymore, we'll be concerned about refugees from islands that have disappeared, from areas where severe hurricanes are occuring, where water has run out, etc.

The environmental refugees not only will be fleeing from their homelands, but disease and sickness will also spread. Those countries not ready for the people and climate change will have an increase in diseases never seen before in that area. Malaria will continue to spread (as will West Nile). Cholera and other diseases from unsanitary conditions will increase and there will be stresses on health care systems (as well as current stresses from increases in cancer and obesity).

I'm not trying to act Cassandra on y'all. (Cassandra the prophetess from Homer's Troy who noone listened to, jeez go read some literature!) But, the more we open our eyes to what could happen, the more prepared we are. Canada has a chance to become a world leader in humanitarian causes, while increasing our own technology resources (and incidentally selling that technology to other countries), so there can be economic gain in the future.

I think what is needed is balance between resource management/sustainability and economic gain. Neither can be feasible at the extreme ends of the scale, but moderation with both would be nice and wholly welcome. But don't ever say to me that global warming is bunk, go to http://www.ipcc.ch/ if you want some scientific background on the issue. Everyone including those not involved in science or economy, needs to get in on the discussion. This is everyones problem, not just those worried about it.



*I put these terms in brackets only to denote that they are phrases in common use that must be separated from each other, not to give them quackery status as pseudoscience.

Water Conference

Well... nothing like a well deserved break ....
Anyways, this last Saturday there was a Water Conference held in Alberta at Fort Chip. There were the usual players there, but the promising piece of information was that the Aboriginal Bands that were there were discussing the potential of suing the Federal and Albertan Government because of their inaction after the Mackenzie Basin Transboundary Water Agreement that was signed in 1997. A CBC news report stated that mutated fish are being found in the rivers in this area. Remind you of the Simpsons? Instead of three eyes, there were two mouths.

Scary as this is (ewwww, that's why I don't eat fish), many people are using the river water daily. Many Indian Reserves are found along rivers in this region, so why isn't the government listening? Because it all comes down to the mighty dollar, there are fewer people living in Northern Alberta, and because many of these people, the government just does not care about.

What to do?? I'll be thinking about this for a while to come.