May
2010

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Only by going too far can one possibly find out how far one can go.

Jon Dyer

Dead whale's stomach contained manmade garbage

Happiness in a Clam Shell
By Dennis Bauer www.dennisbauer.com

Are you “happy as a clam”? Are clams really happy?

C’mon you marine biologists …how happy is a clam anyway? It can’t see because it has no eyes. It doesn’t even have a brain!

But if a clam did have a brain, how do you think it would feel about that bit of sand in its shell? It’s actually a myth, that part about the grain of sand. A pearl is usually “created when a parasite burrows through a mollusk’s shell and into the mantle tissue of the host.” (WikiAnswers)  

Interesting, but it doesn’t matter. Did you know that any mollusk, not just an oyster, can produce pearls? The oyster’s pearl includes nacre, a clam’s does not. So the pearl from an oyster has more market value, but that’s not my point.

The point is that something is irritating that happy clam. And in the case of the oyster, due to the nacre surface which reflects such an array of color, the pearl is valued by everyone who sees it (not the clam, though …remember, it can’t see!). Something irritating to the mollusk becomes something of value to the rest of us.

How about you? When was the last time you felt irritated? Students, schedules, administration, budgets, politics, parents …any of these can become an irritation at times. But that’s not the end of the story …for you. Often, something of value to others, that you can’t even see, is produced because you are irritated. You won’t see it, but others will. For instance, you’ll never grow patience if you aren’t invaded by pressures to hurry. You’ll never grow creativity if you aren’t faced with scarcity of resources. You’ll never grow sensitivity to others if you aren’t tested by the unusual character and circumstances or others. 

My challenge to you is to welcome the irritations of life. Take them with faith that they are producing something valuable, something helpful to others, something beautiful, even though you can’t see it. You’ll be a pearl among your peers, reflecting light in an amazing array of colors, a thing of beauty. And maybe even …as happy as a clam!

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Dead whale's stomach contained manmade garbage
Anchorage Daily News

A 37-foot gray whale carcass that washed ashore in Seattle last week had an astonishing array of human-produced trash in its stomach, scientists said Monday. The debris topped 50 gallons in volume and included plastic bags, towels, surgical gloves, sweatpants, duct tape, plastic and a golf ball, but it didn't necessarily cause the whale's death, reports The Olympian.

The debris, while abundant, represented about 1 percent to 2 percent of the stomach contents, which consisted mostly of algae, said John Calambokidis of the Olympia-based Cascadia Research Collective. There is no sign that it caused the whale's death.

But it clearly indicates that the whale had tried to feed in urban waterways where it was exposed to debris and contaminants, he said.

Gray whales, which feed largely on algae filtered through baleen-equipped jaws, range as far north as the Arctic in summer and winter in Mexican waters.

April is the time of year when whales that didn't get enough to eat in their Alaskan feeding grounds may be running low on reserves, whale researchers noted.

Obama Open to Trade Protections in Senate Climate Bill, Adviser Says
By DARREN SAMUELSOHN, New York Times

A top White House adviser confirmed today that President Obama is open to helping energy-intensive industries cope with the costs of climate legislation, including use of controversial border tariffs he had previously warned could spark a global trade war.

Energy and climate adviser Carol Browner said the administration recognizes Congress' interest in using trade language as it works on climate legislation that addresses concerns from some of the country's industries that are most vulnerable to cheap foreign imports, including steel, cement, glass, pulp and paper.

"There's going to have to be mechanisms that recognize they compete in a global market," Browner said during an event hosted by National Journal. "I think it's fair to say a final bill will be very mindful of the needs of these particular sectors of the economy."

Obama prompted an outcry from moderate Senate Democrats last summer after he questioned a section of the House-passed climate bill H.R. 2454 (pdf) that punishes developing countries with trade sanctions if they don't do enough to curb their greenhouse gas emissions (E&ENews PM, July 7, 2009).

"At a time when the economy worldwide is still deep in recession and we've seen a significant drop in global trade, I think we have to be very careful about sending any protectionist signals out there," the president told reporters the day after the House's 218-212 vote.

The Senate climate bill's lead authors have sent signals that they will address the concerns of senators from states with trade-sensitive industries, though details on what John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) will say in their legislation remains unclear. The trio are planning to release their bill Monday.

Ten Senate Democrats, led by Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, called last week for a border adjustment that is automatically slapped on imports from countries that do not have greenhouse gas requirements comparable to the U.S. law (E&ENews PM, April 15).

"A border adjustment measure is critical to ensuring that climate change legislation will be trade neutral and environmentally effective," the senators wrote to Kerry, Graham and Lieberman.

But Graham said last week he didn't agree with an automatic trigger for trade sanctions. Instead, he said he supported a provision setting a roughly four-year deadline for conclusion of an international climate agreement; otherwise, Congress would need to revisit the issue.

"We don't need to create a trade war," Graham said. "We need to be WTO-compliant. But let me just say this, on behalf of manufacturing, if we don't have an international agreement covering these countries that can put us at a competitive disadvantage, then we'll have to revisit this thing. My approach has always been that you start off with business-friendly language when it comes to border adjustments that's clearly WTO-compliant, but you'd have a provision in there: If not an international agreement by a certain point in time, Congress has to revisit this."

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has also indicated he will weigh in on the trade issue as part of a broader plan spelled out by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) before any climate bill comes to the floor.

Overall, Browner said she sees a clear path for the Senate moving a climate and energy bill following talks she has held with lawmakers and key industry and environmental constituents -- meetings that continue later today at the White House with Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue.

"This is, I think, doable," she said. "It's doable because people increasingly believe we're losing out ... in the global clean energy revolution. We were at the forefront of this. We're the people who figured out solar technology. ... We don't want to lose. And I see more and more members understanding this."

Browner said the Obama administration brings "some important principles" to the Senate climate debate but won't release any formal legislative text. Its demands include an economywide system that prices greenhouse gases, with transition assistance to help different economic sectors come into compliance. She also said Obama is open to a flexible approach akin to what's developing from Kerry, Graham and Lieberman, where power plants get treated differently from major industrial plants and petroleum refiners.

"We're very flexible," she said. "If they want to use different tools for one sector or another, then that's fine."

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Armstrong: Obama Hurting Space Effort
By PATRICK GAVIN, Politico

Former astronaut Neil Armstrong has issued a strongly worded rebuke of President Barack Obama, criticizing the president for proposed revisions to the U.S.' space program.

Armstrong, along with astronauts James Lovell and Eugene Cernan, called the proposal “devastating” in a letter obtained by NBC News. Read below for the full text:

"The United States entered into the challenge of space exploration under President Eisenhower’s first term, however, it was the Soviet Union who excelled in those early years," the letter begins."Under the bold vision of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, and with the overwhelming approval of the American people, we rapidly closed the gap in the final third of the 20th century, and became the world leader in space exploration.

"When President Obama recently released his budget for NASA, he proposed a slight increase in total funding, substantial research and technology development, an extension of the International Space Station operation until 2020, long range planning for a new but undefined heavy lift rocket and significant funding for the development of commercial access to low earth orbit.

"Although some of these proposals have merit, the accompanying decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating.

"America’s only path to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station will now be subject to an agreement with Russia to purchase space on their Soyuz (at a price of over 50 million dollars per seat with significant increases expected in the near future) until we have the capacity to provide transportation for ourselves. The availability of a commercial transport to orbit as envisioned in the President’s proposal cannot be predicted with any certainty, but is likely to take substantially longer and be more expensive than we would hope.

"It appears that we will have wasted our current ten plus billion dollar investment in Constellation and, equally importantly, we will have lost the many years required to recreate the equivalent of what we will have discarded.

For The United States, the leading space faring nation for nearly half a century, to be without carriage to low Earth orbit and with no human exploration capability to go beyond Earth orbit for an indeterminate time into the future, destines our nation to become one of second or even third rate stature. While the President's plan envisages humans traveling away from Earth and perhaps toward Mars at some time in the future, the lack of developed rockets and spacecraft will assure that ability will not be available for many years.

Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity. America must decide if it wishes to remain a leader in space. If it does, we should institute a program which will give us the very best chance of achieving that goal.

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50th Anniversary of the Satellite that “Forever Changed Weather Forecasting”

Fifty years ago today, the world’s first weather satellite lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and opened a new and exciting dimension in weather forecasting. Top leaders from NOAA and NASA hailed the milestone as an example of their agencies’ strong partnership and commitment to flying the best satellites today and beyond.

The first image from the satellite, known as TIROS-1 (Television Infrared Observation Satellite), was a fuzzy picture of thick bands and clusters of clouds over the United States. An image captured a few days later revealed a typhoon about a 1,000 miles east of Australia. TIROS-1, a polar-orbiting satellite, weighed 270 pounds and carried two cameras and two video recorders. Though the satellite only lasted 78 days, its impact is still visible today. 

“This satellite forever changed weather forecasting,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Since TIROS-1, meteorologists have far greater information about severe weather and can issue more accurate forecasts and warnings that save lives and protect property.”

"TIROS-1 started the satellite observations and interagency collaborations that produced vast improvements in weather forecasts," said NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. "It also laid the foundation for our current global view of Earth that underlies all of climate research and the field of Earth system science."

Throughout the 1960s, each TIROS spacecraft carried increasingly advanced instruments and technology. By 1965, meteorologists combined 450 TIROS images into the first global view of the world’s weather.

In 1975, the first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) was launched 22,300 miles into space. Its ability to orbit in sync with the Earth’s rotation, combined with the polar-orbiting satellites enhanced NOAA’s forecasting.

“We could not provide skillful hurricane forecasts without the crucial imagery and data from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites,” said Chris Landsea, Ph.D., science operations officer at NOAA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Before satellites, tropical storms and hurricanes were often missed if they stayed out over the open ocean.”

When the more advanced TIROS-N satellite series were launched between 1978 and 1981, the name of the spacecraft changed to Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites, or POES. The POES orbit the Earth at an altitude of about 500 miles and circle the poles once every 102 minutes.

With continued improvements of the instruments and technology, the satellites began giving scientists the ability to track changes in climate – from the subtle

onset of drought and its impacts on vegetation, to monitoring global sea-surface temperatures that signal atmospheric phenomena, such as El Niño and La Niña.  

“Securing critical climate data records from the advanced sensors flying on NOAA satellites helps us understand the Earth's changing climate,” said Tom Karl, who heads the emerging NOAA Climate Service. “For 50 years, NOAA satellites have advanced our ability to monitor the Earth's climate and will continue to provide critical data in the years to come.”

The last of the TIROS satellites (now known as POES), launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2009. This satellite (NOAA-19) and its compliment, a European satellite called Metop-A, provide a complete picture of the globe every six hours.

A Look to the Future

NOAA operates America’s constellation of environmental satellites – the GOES and POES. Both satellites monitor weather and collect data about the Earth’s climate, and are capable of receiving distress signals from emergency beacons and relaying this information to first responders worldwide. Since 1982, NOAA satellites have aided in the rescue of 250 people on average each year. NOAA satellites also receive signals from remote observation instruments on the Earth including ocean buoys, which provide tsunami warnings.

Through the NOAA-NASA partnership, another polar-orbiting satellite called the National Polar-orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project is scheduled to launch in late 2011. On February 1, 2010, the White House announced NPOESS, a tri-agency effort between NOAA, NASA and the Department of Defense, would be restructured. The NOAA-NASA team will build, launch and operate two more polar satellites under the Joint Polar Satellite System. The satellites, planned to launch 2015 and 2017, will handle the afternoon orbit and provide vital information on climate and weather.

NOAA and NASA are also working to launch the next generation GOES-R series of satellites, beginning in 2015. These spacecraft will have four times the clarity of today’s GOES and provide more than 20 times the information.

“For the next 50 years, we’re ensuring that NOAA satellites will always be ready to provide the imagery and data scientists, the U.S. and the world have come to rely on,” said Mary Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service.

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Watch this beautiful Flash Presentation 
Make A Difference Movie - The Teddy Stallard Story

This a beautiful and inspirational flash movie about how one teacher can make a difference. In my opinion, this presentation is exceptional and will most definitely impact all those who watch it. It is a story that will touch your heart and I am sure that you will watch many times over.

Click here to view the movie

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A 13-year-old boy and other blind hikers have climbed Africa's tallest mountain.
By Sarah Beldo, Guide Posts

Relying on each other's support and the encouragement of their guides for inspiration, a group of eight blind hikers successfully reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro on June 29.

The team broke the world record for the largest number of visually impaired people to hike Africa's tallest mountain. Also, as part of the feat, 13-year-old Max Ashton of Phoenix, Arizona became the youngest person to reach the summit.

Ahead of the trek, Max said that he was taking on the challenge to "prove that kids can do anything."

There were 16 sighted hikers accompanying the blind climbers as they ascended the 19,340-foot mountain located in Tanzania. In addition to breaking records, the group raised more than $200,000 for the Foundation for Blind Children.

Kevin Cherilla, the expedition leader, told Arizona's KPNX-12 News that the climbers strove to maintain a positive attitude and motivate each other to continue.

"If you go away to accomplish a big task—and you do believe in one another—great things can happen," he said.

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Volcano's fury gives NOAA a chance to try out new computer models
By: William Jackson, GCN

The eruption of a volcano on Iceland that has shut down commercial air traffic in much of Europe since late last week is giving the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a chance to try out an advanced computer model for predicting volcanic ash dispersion.

The current state of the art and science of volcanic ash is limited by a lack of detailed information about the composition of the clouds of ash spewed by erupting volcanoes, which can threaten aircraft and change the Earth’s weather, said Gary Hufford, a physical scientist with NOAA’s National Weather Service.

“We can advance the science so we can do a better job of detecting the ash,” Hufford said Tuesday during a NOAA briefing on the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

The agency plans this week to begin testing a version of a computer simulation that includes chemistry data in an effort to produce more accurate results, he said.

Tracking and predicting the movement of clouds of volcanic ash is important because of their potential effect on aircraft and weather. The threat of damage to aircraft has disrupted European and transatlantic air travel this week, even though little still is known about the threat.

“Bad things can happen if planes fly into ash clouds,” said Tony Hall, director of NOAA’s Alaska Volcanic Ash Advisory Center and Aviation Weather Center in Anchorage. That is why two NOAA advisory centers and seven others around the globe monitor and issue warnings and advisories about the clouds.

But there is not enough data from the airline and aircraft industries to fully understand the threat to planes. In 1998 a NASA research plan suffered $3 million in damage when it flew into a cloud of ash too light to be detected. So the U.S. airline industry has a zero-tolerance policy for ash risk, and since 1980 only about 100 planes around the world have suffered ash damage.

Another weak spot in understanding the threat is a lack of data about the clouds themselves. Because planes do not fly into them, little is known of the particle size, concentrations and chemical makeup of the plumes. Another missing element is how high the ash travels, because observations from weather satellites do not give good data on altitude.

One bright spot in ash cloud research is the possibility that samples could be gathered by unmanned planes, Hufford said.

Existing computer models are helpful in predicting where the plumes will go. One being used to track the Eyjafjallajokull plume over northern Europe is called HYSPLIT — the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model — developed by NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory and used by the weather service.

However, “in real time we don’t know the amount of ash being emitted into the atmosphere, and concentrations can’t be determined downwind,” said Barbara Stunder, research meteorologist in NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory.

A model that offers more detail is the Flow Following Finite-Volume Icosahedral Model, or FIM, being developed by NOAA Research. FIM is not brand new, but the chemistry elements executed within it have only been tested in the last few days, said Stan Benjamin, director of the forecast branch of the research division’s Global Systems Division. It is expected to get trial runs on the Eyjafjallajokull plume this week and to soon join other production computer models used by NOAA.

Although meteorologists in the United Kingdom recently issued an advisory for eastern Canada for some low-level ash drifting westward from Iceland, the clouds are not expected to hit U.S. airspace, Hall said. “We are watching it closely, though.”

The climate impact of the eruption also is expected to be negligible, although ash in the jet stream could bring some nice sunsets to the U.S. West Coast by the end of the week.

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M.Y. S.P.A.C.E. Photos from the conference posted.
Click Here

Be a M.Y. S.P.A.C.E. Teacher
Click here
to find out how

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If you’re a second or third year, secondary science teacher, don’t miss the deadline, May 30, to apply to the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy, cofounded by the Amgen Foundation. If selected, this Academy supports Fellows through mentoring and other professional development resources during their initial, challenging years. Striving for quality science teaching, enhanced teacher confidence, classroom excellence and solid content knowledge, the Academy provides the following additional benefits.

Who is Eligible?

Download and complete an application (www.nsta.org/academy) to become a Fellow in the New Science Teacher Academy. May 30, 2010 is the deadline for receipt of all applications.

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Engineer Profile

Johnny Goff, Project Engineer

Engineering is sometimes a confusing career field for students. Help them better understand who engineers are and what they do with a Futures Channel Engineer Profile. This one features a Project Engineer at one of the largest wind energy companies in the U.S.
Running time 3:01 minutes.

Click here to watch the movie

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Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico

Workers finished fabricating the containment chamber portion of the collection dome that will be deployed to the sea floor to collect oil as it escapes from the well.  Work will now begin on the piping system that brings the oil to the surface for collection; this method has never been tried at this depth before.  The first rig to be used for drilling a relief or cut-off well is on site and should begin drilling approximately ½ a mile from the well head on Friday.  The relief well will not be complete for several months.  Responders are still figuring out new ways to use Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to try to trigger the blowout preventer (BOP), a series of valves that sits at the well head.   These efforts will continue concurrent with the collection dome and relief well(s).  Good weather today allowed for both skimming operations and aggressive aerial application of dispersants - over 50,000 gallons of dispersant have been applied to the surface oil in the last two days.  Patches of surface oil were captured with fire-retardant boom and ignited (in situ burn).

Current NOAA efforts are focused on: gathering more information about the spill, planning for open water and shoreline remediation, and readying for environmental assessment and response. Natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) activities are now underway. 

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Space Day 2010 (All Grade Levels)

Space Day takes place on May 7, 2010, and events are planned nationwide to celebrate. The fun continues on May 8, 2010, with the Space Day Family Day event taking place in Washington, D.C. Space Day promotes mathematics, science, technology and engineering education by nurturing young peoples' enthusiasm for the wonders of the universe and inspiring them to continue the stellar work of today's space explorers.

It may be a little late for a Space Day lesson plan this year but download this for use next year. You've have five lesson plans to choose from.

Space Day
May 7, 2010

celebrating

Looking at Earth From Space

See what’s going on in your neighborhood - go to Events
on this Space Day site. You can register your event, too.

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