Welcome To Josh's Blog O' Thoughts: Science

Since I missed it in January, I thought I'd go ahead and post the list of the most popular posts in 2007. So here they are:

1. Is This Hunting Or Fishing? - Contains link to a video of people bow hunting for Asian Carp. Also includes some information on the problems created by this invasive species.

2. What? Worms Are Bad For The Ground? - Information about invasive species of earthworms and how they can damage forest vegetation.

3. Pay-Per-Channel Television Service - My musings on how great it would be if cable/dish providers would allow us to choose only the channels we wanted and then charge us for just those channels.

4. Are The Sun's Rays Weaker? - Questioning the ability of the sun to burn us due to the carbon-laden air. The resulting comments are very informative.

5. Chris Dodd Might As Well Give Up - I hate to say it Chris, but I was right. You lasted little longer than 1 or 2 caucuses/primaries and what do you have to show for it? A bunch of wasted time, money, and resources. You were never a contender.

Well, there you have the top 5 of 2007. Enjoy.

Did you know there was a massive section of sea floor in the Pacific Ocean that is literally covered with miles and miles of trash? Until today, I had never heard of the The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Apparently, this accumulation of garbage is as large as a continent and contains garbage from all over the world.

Due to the currents in the oceans, trash is gathered in certain accumulation zones. One of the strongest areas of accumulation is this patch in the Pacific. Unfortunately, a lot of the garbage that accumulates here is made of plastic. And plastic, as we know, is very hard to break down. Actually, I believe I heard that it was chemically impossible to break it down via natural methods (erosion, etc). Since the chemical bonds don't break, all these processes can do is break the plastic item into smaller pieces of plastic. These pieces will often wash ashore on beaches, and in some cases, cover a beach with tiny, multi-colored pieces of plastic.

It's unfortunate that we have this amount of garbage in our oceans. And it's sad to think that a large portion of it was probably dumped in the ocean on purpose. Too bad we don't think ahead before doing things like this.

A new trend is rising amongst energy conscience people. These people have devised a way to help fuel their existing automobiles with used cooking oils. There are several companies, such as GreaseCar, that sell conversion kits allowing you to retrofit your existing vehicle with a vegetable oil fuel supplement system. These generally will only work on older diesel engines. After installation, the engine then becomes a diesel-oil hybrid. The diesel is used to start the engine and bring it up to temperature. Once the engine is at an appropriate temperature, the vegetable oil can be used power the engine. This type of engine will burn cleaner than a straight gasoline engine, and gives us a way to reuse cooking oil that would otherwise have to be disposed of.

It honestly does not sound that difficult to do if you use one of these conversion kits. But it does involve quite a bit of work in obtaining the used cooking oil and filtering it so that it is usable. Then there is the fact that you need a diesel engine to begin with. Finally, this type of engine is actually meeting some legal opposition due to the fact that people that the people are not paying fuel taxes that are used to maintain the system of road that they drive on.

So if you want to try to be greener, have a diesel engine, and some time to spare, check out these conversion kits.

If any of my readers have done this to their vehicle, please leave a comment to let us know how hard it was to install, maintain, etc.

Now that this blog has been up for a few months, I've decided it's time to take a look at the most popular articles I've posted. Then we can see what really interests people. So, here are the top five articles so far:

1. Is This Hunting or Fishing - Covers the Asian Carp invasive species of fish that is taking over American waterways. Includes a link to a video of people bow hunting these fish as they jump out of the water.

2. What? Worms Are Bad For The Ground? - Most worms found in North American soils are not-native, invasive species which can wreak havoc on forested areas.

3. Are The Sun's Rays Weaker? - Conjecture about CO2 in the air "blocking" some of the burn-causing rays from the sun. Definitely read the comments here, as one of my readers made some very informative posts about the subject (and about how this conjecture is bunk).

4. Chris Dodd Called Me - The second post in my adventures with the Chris Dodd For President campaign. The first first post, Chris Dodd Might As Well Give Up, came in at number 7 on this list, but is mentioned here because the second post makes more sense after reading the first.

5. Hypermiling Isn't As Great As It Sounds - After first learning what hypermiling is, I posted this article about some of the dangers of taking hypermiling too far.

Well there's your top five for now. In another few months, I'll probably post a new list.

I was recently sent a link to part of a Martin Bashir documentary about Global Warming. While the documentary doesn't try to disprove that Global Warming is happening (as some other "investigative" reporters claim), it does raise questions about the causes of Global Warming.

The overall message of his documentary is that carbon dioxide (CO2) is not the primary contributor to Global Warming. In An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore uses ice core samples dating back thousands of years to show that there is, in fact, a correlation between temperature and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. He doesn't give the level of correlation, but even an amateur can spot that the graph lines are mostly aligned.

In Freakonomics, the authors explain the difference between correlation and causation. Just because two things are correlated (they move together) doesn't mean that one is the cause of the other or vice-versa. Obviously, the movie is implying that the CO2 is the cause of Global Warming, but it can't be proved just from the data shown in the movie.

Martin Bashir's report, however, claims that the CO2-Temperature correlation is simply that, just a correlation. His documentary claims there is no causation there. He may or may not be right. This documentary claims that the true cause of Global Warming is an increase in activity on the Sun. The explanation is as follows. The Earth is normally bombarded by cosmic rays which combine with rising water vapor to form clouds. With the Sun's activity currently in a heightened state, the Solar Wind is "blowing" away many of the cosmic rays. This leads to less cloud coverage and higher temperatures.

The data presented in the YouTube clip show a negative correlation between cosmic rays and temperature (when cosmic rays go down, temps go up), and a positive correlation between sun activity and temperatures. This all sounds very reasonable, but unfortunately, I don't think it gets us any closer to a proven cause than Al Gore's CO2 stance. They both have correlations, but we haven't necessarily proven causality.

Either way, you can't argue that reducing our CO2 emissions is a bad thing. Even if it has very little effect on Global Warming, reducing emissions means that we are driving more efficient standards, and thus will be promoting cleaner living all around. Additionally, it will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, of which price will become a deterrent as extraction becomes more difficult.

So, don't watch this Martin Bashir documentary and think "CO2 isn't causing Global Warming, so I can continue on doing whatever I please without being responsible." Regardless of who is right about the cause of Global Warming, we still need to try to be more energy efficient.

Well I finally got a chance to watch An Inconvenient Truth. Sure, it was a little bit depressing thinking about all the bad we've done to the planet, but I have to say that it was a very well done documentary. I did find some of the parts with Gore speaking in the background, during the nature shots, to be pretty sappy. I almost would have preferred it if they would have just filmed his presentation. That was the real interesting part of the movie.

As you can tell by my previous blog entries, I am definitely FOR trying to help the environment and stop global warming. So for me, this DVD merely reaffirmed my belief that this is something we need to do. I hope for others that haven't yet cared, or who choose to be in denial about global warming, that this movie will change their minds.

There is VERY strong supporting evidence that shows that humans are a cause in the recent global warming trend. This evidence is displayed beautifully during An Inconvenient Truth. So why do some people still say that global warming is debatable? Simply because affirming that it is fact and that we are at least partially a cause is inconvenient for them. Is it more convenient to throw things away or to recycle? Throw away, but the most convenient option is not usually the best option.

It's unfortunate that this is viewed as just another political issue for Democrats and Republicans to fight over. This should not be political at all. This affects EVERYONE on the planet. This is not a political issue for me, so don't get the impression that I'm trying to trick you into some liberal conspiracy. In fact, I often have views that are "Republican". But I also have views considered to be "Democrat". Anyone who can't take the best of both worlds is a little delusional (I won’t name names).

We all need to do our part to help preserve what we have. If not for yourself, do it for you kids or grandkids. Start with simple things:

Watch An Inconvenient Truth. Doesn't matter who you are or you political affiliation. Watch it and learn about what is happening.

Recycle!! Lots of things are VERY easy to recycle. If you aren't recycling at all, you should start.

Switch to CFLs. CFLs are a great way to save energy use in your home’s lighting.

Use Energy Star Appliances. They reduce your energy consumption.

Make Noise About the Problem. Inform your family members of the issues. Don't force them to make the same choices as you, just bring to their attention the situation.

If we all do a little bit, it can help a great deal.

Scientists reporting to the United Nations say that at our current rate, humans are causing the extinction of three animal or plant species every HOUR! They are saying that this is the worst run of mass extinction since the dinosaurs were wiped out millions of years ago. Of course these numbers are just estimates because there is no way anyone could verify them. However, it's still scary to think about them.

In 2002, a committee decided that the world needed to slow the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Now Europe says they will attempt to halt it althogether by 2010. I applaud them for their efforts. Maybe the U.S. will follow suit. Yeah right.

As if there aren't already enough side effects of global warming, scientists have concluded that global warming may actually change the speed with which the Earth rotates thus changing the length of a day on this planet. However, there seems to be conflicting views.

One study shows that as global warming heats the ocean water, water pressure will increase due to the volume expansion that occurs in water when heated. This extra water pressure will force a lot of the water from the deep ocean areas to shallower ones at the poles. By bringing that amount of mass closer to the axis of rotation, the speed of rotation will increase, thus shortening the length of a day by approximately 0.12 milliseconds by the year 2200.

Other evidence shows that global warming may slow the speed of rotation and increase the length of an Earth day. This study theorizes that as global warming heats the air and increases the speed of airflow, the rotation of the Earth will slow. This is because the rotation of the atmosphere and the rotation of the planet have an inverse relationship. When one increases, the other must decrease. Over the course of the next 200 years, this could lengthen an Earth day by 0.22 milliseconds.

So basically, we are to surmise that global warming will cause both an increase AND decrease of ~0.11-0.22 milliseconds in the length of an Earth day over the next 200 years. So do they cancel out? Maybe. The bigger question is why are these scientists spending a considerable amount of time trying to estimate if the earth's rotation will change by less than a millisecond over a 200 year period? That wouldn't even be noticeable. Seems that there are probably other side effects of global warming that could use some extra attention.

So, what would you do with an extra 0.3 nanoseconds per day? Or what would you cut out if you lost it?

There was a recent discovery from European astronomers showing they have likely found an Earth-like planet in another solar system. Since light from neigboring stars usually drowns out the light from any planet, we have a hard time trying to find extra-solar planets. Because of this, the astronomers used a method of observation where they monitored the "wobble" of the system's star related to the gravitational pull of the planet. From this, they were able to surmise quite a bit of knoweldge about this planet.

Basically, they estimate it to be about 50% larger than Earth and circling a red dwarf star (a third the size of our sun) about 20 light years away. It is relatively close to its star thus one year on that planet is only 13 Earth days. However, due to the fact that the planet's star is so cool, the planet's mean temperature is in a range that would support liquid water and possibly life (as we know it).

Obviously, this is a huge find. Could this planet possibly support life like ours? Would we be able to survive on a planet like this? Could our bodies survive on a world that had twice the gravitational pull as our own? Everything would weight twice as much.

I think I'd be able to survive if I was transplanted to this new planet, but I figure there would be some who would not be able to. It would be almost like a massive and quick form of natural selection whereby the people that were in good physical condition would survive. Future generations would then learn to adapt. But that's just a theory.

Scientists and inventors never cease to amaze. They have now come up with a product to help combat global warming in an entirely new way. To date, most emphasis has been put on reducing the emissions into the atmosphere at the point of origin. Namely, this would include installing scrubbers at power plants and on individual cars (which contribute 20% of emissions). Unfortunately, it would be pretty much impossible to retrofit all the power plants and automobiles in the world.

However, a new device claims to be able to take the carbon dioxide that is already in the air and extract it. They are likening the whole process to a big CO2 vacuum cleaner. This is the same principle of trees removing carbon dioxide through natural processes except that this vacuum can extract the CO2 1,000 times faster than plants can. That gives us a little advantage. The device works by using absorbants to extract the CO2 molecules from the air. The CO2 then has to be "scraped" off the absorbant for disposal.

Interestingly, I was recently fortunate enough to have sat in on a presentation by a graduating chemistry student covering the surface absorbtion of gold molecules onto pyrite (fool's gold) and arsenopyrite. Sounds to me like the same sort of principles are being applied here. Afterward, I talked to him about the possibility of being able to extract this gold for business purposes. His response was that these particles were so extremely small that it would not be profitable or maybe not even possible to do so. I wonder what method the creators of this vacuum are using to extract the CO2? I suppose this is why that part of the process is the most costly.

So what do we do with all this carbon dioxide that we extract from the atmosphere? Some people think it might be a good idea to "inject" it back into the Earth in areas of porous rock or empty mines. I'm not sure how much good that will do us. We'd probably end up finding out that putting that much CO2 into the Earth's crust causes it to slowly leak out all over the world and suffocate people, plants, and animals (or some other dire consequence). Of course, we could always eject it into space, but throwing away all that matter could also cause serious problems on the planet.

Like always, this is another one of our attempts to simply hide our problems rather than get to the root cause. It seems to be our preferred method of problem "solving" - push your problems somewhere else until they cause a new one. I personally favor much stronger emissions control laws and environmental protection. If you have other ideas of what do with this CO2, let me know.