… are squirrels. They flip, leap, and vault through the treetops. The “speed and ease with which they navigate the challenging and unpredictable canopy environment is spectacular,” a Berkeley biomechanics expert says. They also have excellent memories — they have mapped route[...]
Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category
Beware this toxic plant
Poison hemlock spreads quickly, causes skin blisters if touched, and can be deadly if ingested — with no known antidote. Its leaves resemble those of ferns, its stems have purple spots, and it sprouts white flowers. This article explains how to recognize it, and what to do if it’s growin[...]
August 1st, 2021 - 11:19 am § in Environment, Science
Proof the earth isn’t flat
This photo taken from the international space station while orbiting above the Pacific Ocean lays to rest the argument the earth is flat. Can we get past that now, huh? Okay. Next on the agenda: Human influence on earth’s climate. “Stability in Earth’s climate hinges on a delicate [...]
July 26th, 2021 - 7:51 pm § in Environment, Misc.
How ancient Polynesians navigated without compasses
Ancient Polynesians colonized more than 1,000 islands. They didn’t stumble upon them by accident. Read here how they navigated by the stars, wind, and waves — and what that “wayfinding” skill meant to their culture. Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
July 25th, 2021 - 7:56 pm § in Environment
Video: Snow leopards caught on trail camera
Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
July 20th, 2021 - 10:51 am § in Environment, Misc.
Swan census
Ever heard of “swan upping”? Me neither. It’s a British term. For taking inventory of the Queen’s swans. “The ceremony dates back 800 years to when the English crown first claimed ownership of all mute swans,” Reuters, a U.K. news service, reports. (Read story her[...]
July 16th, 2021 - 2:12 am § in Environment, Science
A brief history of climate disasters that collapsed civilizations
“The climate system is an angry beast, and we are poking it with sticks.” “All of recorded human history … has played out in perhaps the most stable climate window of the past 650,000 years. We have been shielded from the climate’s violence by our short … memory, and … [...]
Calling climate change “B.S.” doesn’t make it less real
Sen. Ron Johnson (photo, left; bio here), a Republican from Wisconsin, who is arguably the most factually-challenged member of that body in addition to being a liar (“the rioters were just tourists”), “insisted again last week that he is not a climate change denier,” but CNN [...]
June 28th, 2021 - 10:47 pm § in Environment
Death Valley days in Seattle
The temperature hit 108 degrees in Seattle, an all-time record, on Monday, June 28, 2021. On this same day, it was 120 degrees at Furnace Creek, Death Valley, far short of the 135-degree record set there in 1913. (Guess that disproves global warming, huh.) Anyway, the worst is over, and it will cool[...]
June 28th, 2021 - 10:27 pm § in Environment, Misc.
Seattle experiencing power outages during heat wave
About 13,000 PSE customers in Bellevue have been without power since Saturday, according to KOMO News (story here), and roughly 11,000 Seattle City Light customers are without power as of Monday evening, according to SCL’s system map (here). In addition, WSDOT reported some I-5 lane closures b[...]