Catastrophe averted from solar flare and other space and astronomy news

Last year, I posted Meteors, solar flares, and U.N. action and The Weather Channel on solar storms about tracking, forecasting, and preparing for solar flares.  None of that compares to just plain luck in protecting our planet, as NASA Goddard pointed out in The Best Observed X-class Flare.

On March 29, 2014 the sun released an X-class flare. It was observed by NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS; NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO; NASA's Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, or RHESSI; the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hinode; and the National Solar Observatory's Dunn Solar Telescope located at Sacramento Peak in New Mexico.

To have a record of such an intense flare from so many observatories is unprecedented. Such research can help scientists better understand what catalyst sets off these large explosions on the sun. Perhaps we may even some day be able to predict their onset and forewarn of the radio blackouts solar flares can cause near Earth - blackouts that can interfere with airplane, ship and military communications.

Here's to the experience preparing us for the next time, should our luck run out.

Follow over the jump for news about more risks from space and other astronomy news.

Sustainable strawberries and coffee

I have more on sustainable farming practices than I included in How farmers can improve the environment.  From Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (100% of California in drought) on Daily Kos come these two articles.

First, North Carolina State University presents Strawberry Fields Forever.

North Carolina is the nation’s No. 3 strawberry producer, but many of the state’s berries grow on small plots lacking the acreage to carry out sustainable growing practices like crop rotation. That, combined with constant concerns about soil pathogens and reliance on chemicals to rid plants of ubiquitous pests like spider mites, puts immense pressure on these farms’ long-term health.

Can North Carolina withstand this pressure and keep its top-three status behind fruit and veggie behemoths California and Florida, the top two U.S. strawberry producers?

NC State crop science Ph.D. student Amanda McWhirt is working with fellow university agroecologists, horticulture scientists and entomologists on a National Strawberry Sustainability Initiative research project to implement sustainable soil methods on strawberry farms – methods that won’t blow a hole in farmers’ budgets or overcomplicate their lives.

Next, the University of Texas reports Shade Grown Coffee Shrinking as a Proportion of Global Coffee Production.

AUSTIN, Texas —The proportion of land used to cultivate shade grown coffee, relative to the total land area of coffee cultivation, has fallen by nearly 20 percent globally since 1996, according to a new study by scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions.

The study's authors say the global shift toward a more intensive style of coffee farming is probably having a negative effect on the environment, communities and individual farmers.

"The paradox is that there is greater public interest than ever in environmentally friendly coffee, but where coffee production is expanding across the globe, it tends to be very intensive," says Shalene Jha, assistant professor in The University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences and lead author of the study published April 16 in the journal BioScience.

Here's to more of our food and drink being grown sustainably.

Chemical and fire hazards in furniture

Original at Mommy Greenest.
One of the topics that I give short shrift to in my Environmental Science class is indoor air pollution.  Pity, since that is a major health hazard.  This past week, I included two press releases on how our furniture poses an indoor air pollution risk in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Ocean inside Enceladus) on Daily Kos.  First, the bad news from the University of Texas: Crib Mattresses Emit High Rates of Potentially Harmful Chemicals, Cockrell School Engineers Find.

AUSTIN, Texas — In a first-of-its-kind study, a team of environmental engineers from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin found that infants are exposed to high levels of chemical emissions from crib mattresses while they sleep.

Analyzing the foam padding in crib mattresses, the team found that the mattresses release significant amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), potentially harmful chemicals also found in household items such as cleaners and scented sprays.

The researchers studied samples of polyurethane foam and polyester foam padding from 20 new and old crib mattresses. Graduate student Brandon Boor, in the Cockrell School’s Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, conducted the study under the supervision of assistant professor Ying Xu and associate professor Atila Novoselac. Boor also worked with senior researcher Helena Järnström from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. They reported their findings in the February issue of Environmental Science & Technology.

Now, the good news from Rebecca Basu of American University: Chemistry Professors Improve Furniture Smoldering Test.

American University chemistry researchers and scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) discovered a way to improve a test that gauges how well upholstered furniture can resist smoldering combustion to delay the possible onset of fire. The research results are available online in the scientific journal, Polymer Degradation and Stability.

In the United States, fires in which upholstered furniture is the first item ignited account for about 6,700 home fires annually and result in 480 deaths, according to the National Fire Protection Association. These fires can be started from an open-flame source, such as a candle, or from a smoldering source, such as a lit cigarette or incense.

In the smoldering test, two foam pieces about two-inches thick are covered with fabric and placed in a wooden frame to replicate a small-scale version of seat and back cushions. It mimics a scenario where furniture foam sits on a non-air-permeable substrate (e.g. the wooden frame). A cigarette (certified to burn consistently) is placed in the frame’s crevice. To pass the test, the lit cigarette should not cause sustained smoldering of the fabric or the underlying foam.

I don't have enough time this semester to include the information in my lectures except in passing because of the snow days, but I'll see what I can do this summer, when I'm not likely to lose four days from the semester because of weather.

Morning after--risks of drinking for seniors

After two entries celebrating drinking, it's time to acknowledge the health risks of alcohol.  Here are two news items from Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Another possible HIV cure) on Daily Kos that explain why drinking is probably a young person's game.

First, the University of Texas reports Binge Drinking May Double Older People’s Risk of Dying, Study Shows.

AUSTIN, Texas — Studies have shown that moderate drinking, such as sipping a relaxing glass of wine with dinner, may be beneficial to your health. Yet a new psychology study from The University of Texas at Austin shows that binge drinking may shorten lifespan, even for those who are overall moderate drinkers.

The study, to be published in the May online-only issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, found that older adults who engage in binge drinking have double the odds of dying within the next 20 years in comparison with moderate drinkers in the same age bracket who don’t engage in binge drinking. Results are currently available at Early View.

“Binge drinking is increasingly being recognized as a significant public health concern,” says Charles Holahan, professor of psychology and lead author of the study. “In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recently concluded that binge drinking is ‘a bigger problem than previously thought.’ Ours is one of the first studies to focus explicitly on an older population in examining binge drinking among, on average, moderate drinkers.”

Heavy drinking, probably expressed as binge drinking, was one of the reasons why the life expectency dropped more than a decade for men in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Next, the University of Florida explores For older drivers, study finds, one drink may be one too many.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — You may have only had one glass of wine with dinner, but if you’re 55 or older, that single serving may hit you hard enough to make you a dangerous driver.

So, baby boomers, what you suspected is true: you can’t party like you used to.

Sara Jo Nixon, a professor in the departments of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Florida and doctoral candidate Alfredo Sklar tested how drinking legally non-intoxicating levels of alcohol affect the driving skills of two age groups: 36 people ages 25 to 35 and 36 people ages 55 to 70. They found that although neither age group imbibed enough alcohol to put them over the legal driving limit, a blood alcohol level of 0.08, just one drink can affect the driving abilities of older drivers.

Based on the study findings published in the journal Psychopharmacology in February, the researchers say it could be time to reassess legal blood alcohol levels for all drivers.

In other words, because older people become impared more easily, the blood alcohol limits for everyone may have to be lowered.

I read both of these after my wife and I watched "Nebraska," which features Bruce Dern playing an elderly alcoholic.  That film showed the effects of drinking in fiction, while the research demonstrated something even worse in reality.  After seeing the film and reading the articles, I'm glad I haven't had much to drink this year.

Returning without Russia and other space and astronomy news for the Ides of March

I alluded to the current crisis in in the opening to Death and destruction in the Roman world for the Ides of March.*

There is plenty to beware of in the modern world today, beginning with the referendum in Crimea, which will begin while it's still the Ides of March in much of the Western Hemisphere.  I'm sure I'll get to that and other factors leading to and resulting from collapse and decline in future posts.

One of the risks from the tensions over Russia's response to the revolution in the Ukraine and the U.S. reaction to Russia's actions is that Americans and others from NATO countries on the ISS may not have a way home without Russian cooperation.  Discovery News explores the options in Can Astronauts Return to Earth Without Russia?

The crisis in Ukraine is causing some tension between the United States and Russia. If Russia decided that they don't want to bring American astronauts on the International Space Station back to Earth, are they stranded? Trace breaks down a few alternate ways we could bring astronauts back home.

That's not likely, as NASA and Roscosmos will continue to cooperate even when their parent governments are at odds, but it is a possibility worth considering.

Follow over the jump for more of last week's space and astronomy news, including reassuring news on Russo-American cooperation in space.

Today is primary day in Texas

University of Texas: Abbott Lead Widens Over Davis in Latest UT/Texas Tribune Poll
February 24, 2014

Attorney General Greg Abbott’s lead has widened over gubernatorial challenger state Sen. Wendy Davis, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

If the election for Texas governor were held today, Abbott would have an 11-point lead over Davis, 47 to 36 percent, with 17 percent undecided. In last November’s poll Abbott had a 6-point lead over Davis, with 25 percent responding as undecided.

When asked if the 2014 election for lieutenant governor were held today, respondents preferred any of the four GOP candidates—including frontrunners David Dewhurst and Dan Patrick—over Democrat Leticia Van de Putte by margins ranging from 9 to 12 points.

The statewide poll, conducted Feb. 7-17, surveyed 1,200 registered Texas voters and had a margin of error of 3.28 percentage points.

There is more at the link, plus the Texas Tribune has more on the down-ballot contests.  The more noteworthy will be the primaries for Senate, where both parties have candidates as nutty as Ted Cruz.  Over on the Republican side, Steve Stockman looks like he's headed for easy defeat against John Cornyn.  On the Democratic side, LaRouchie Kesha Roberts is leading.  To put it bluntly, the LaRouchies are kooks, as I've seen first hand.  The only good news is that the Democratic nomination will likely go to a runoff, where she will likely be defeated.

For additional coverage, I recommend the Daily Kos Elections Texas primary preview.  I'll be back after midnight with the results.