Self-driving cars--fantasy and reality: Student sustainability video festival 47

I promised to resume the Student sustainability video festival with an entertainment-related episode at the conclusion of "Test Tube and DNews on burning trash for energy."  With no further ado, here are the videos from the most popular student talk of last summer, beginning with Automated cars from Minority Report.

Autonomous self-driving cars: driverless, automated vehicles with rotating passenger compartments from the movie Minority Report.

So far, that's just science fiction.  Here's the reality: Personal transport pods unveiled at Heathrow Airport.

Heathrow Airport has begun to transport passengers in computer controlled, driverless, car-sized personal "pods".

They're not the cars from "Minority Report," but they're cool none the less.  As my friend Nebris is fond of saying, sci-fi is now.

Stay tuned for more installments of this series.

Chewbacca arrested as Darth Vader campaigns for Mayor of Odessa, Ukraine

Last year, I reported on the aborted campaign of Darth Vader for President of Ukraine.

[S]omeone posing as Darth Vader ran for President of Ukraine on the Internet Party ticket this spring before his candidacy was rejected.  Too bad about that.  His campaign would have been more fun to report on that what actually happened in Ukraine this summer.

The Dark Lord of the Sith granted my wish, as he's now running for Mayor of Odessa.

Darth Vader is among the candidates vying for the post of Mayor in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa.  He joins Peking Duck and a man calling himself Putin in the leadership race.

Unfortunately, things are running about as smoothly as last time.  Follow over the jump for the Sith Lord's misfortunes.

A 'Grand Canyon' crosses the surface of Pluto's moon Charon

I'll be back later today for a post more fitting this month's Dish theme.  Right now, I'm updating Cthulhu and Pluto plus Mordor and Charon with this report from ITN's ODN: New photos show Pluto's moon is covered in mountains and canyons.

New photos of Charon, Pluto's largest moon, show unexpected geological markers including mountains and canyons.  Report by Jennifer Cordingley.

Charon's "Grand Canyon" may be 1000 miles long and two miles deep, but it's still smaller than Valles Marineris on Mars, which is 2,500 miles long and seven miles deep.  Even so, it's larger in proportion to Pluto's moon than the Mariner Valley is to the Red Planet and that's not accounting for the unseen portion on the other side of Charon.




That's it for today's space news.  Come back for a dish of either gossip or food, I haven't decided which.

Eating bugs in Wales

It's been almost a year and a half since I last blogged about eating bugs, so when I saw ODN post a video on the topic, I thought "Why not?  It's time."  With that, I present Hungry? A pop-up resturant sells bugs and insects for lunch.

A pop-up restaurant in Cardiff sells bugs and insects for lunch.  Report by Asana Greenstreet.

I'll be sure to add this to my list of stories to gross out edify my students about the future of food.

Liberia declared Ebola-free

It's been more than four months since I posted Ebola best and worst for 2014, which was the last time I gave any kind of update on the Ebola epidemic.  That's too long, and the entries where I mentioned it in passing don't count.  Fortunately, I have good news to report: Liberia declared Ebola-free, but outbreak continues over border.

Liberia vows to be vigilant to keep Ebola-free as country goes 42 days without a new case after a year-long epidemic that killed over 4,700 people. Nathan Frandino reports.

The Reuters article accompanying this video continues with the death toll.

However, celebrations were muted by thoughts for the dead and medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) urged vigilance until the worst outbreak of the disease ever recorded was also extinguished in neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone.

A total of 11,005 people have died from Ebola in the three West African neighbors since the outbreak began in December 2013, according to the WHO.

ODN joined Reuters in reporting this welcome development.


Don't believe the "42 weeks" part; that's an error.  It's 42 days.

When the epidemic is declared over in all three countries, I'll post Professor Farnsworth.  Until then, it looks like the rest of the world may have dodged a bullet.

Costa Rica and other green countries for Earth Day

On Earth Day, one of my students asked me which country was doing the best on renewable energy.  I answered Costa Rica, based on its using only renewable energy for electricity during the first 75 days of 2015, as Accuweather reported on Earth Day.

For the first 75 days of 2015, Costa Rica's 2.8 million citizens not only powered their homes and businesses with solely renewable energy sources, but cut costs as well.

As part of a nationwide clean energy campaign, Costa Rica challenged itself to run the entire country by using natural energy sources such as water, sunlight and wind.

Backed by the country's inhabitants, government agencies only stopped when resources diminished to the point that it was hurting the economy. Without any domestic oil or natural gas sources, importing such fuel supplies is costly, but necessary at the present time to keep up with import and export demands.

ODN has more in Costa Rica goes 75 days powering itself using only renewable energy.

Costa Rica manages to achieve a clean energy milestone by using only renewable energy for the first 75 days of the year - a record for any country. Report by Claire Lomas.

The student was impressed.  Of course, Costa Rica was still burning lots of gasoline and diesel in its cars, trucks, planes, and motorcycles, but at least it was completely renewable when it came to electricity.

Even so, Costa Rica may not have been the best answer, as Discovery News reported in Which Countries Are The Most Eco-Friendly?

As the world moves to become more environmentally friendly, some countries outshine others. Which country is the most eco-friendly?

In terms of renewable energy now, the answer may still be Costa Rica, but other countries, notably Switzerland and Sweden, may be better for the environment overall.  In addition, the image from EcoWatch at the top of the entry shows Norway ahead of Costa Rica as well.  Maybe I should follow up with that student about this information.

Solar Impulse 2 lands in China on Earth Day

Last month, I reported Solar Impulse 2 begins round-the-world flight.  For what's left of Earth Day, it's time for an update, as On Demand News (formerly ITN) reports Solar plane arrives in eastern China's Nanjing.

The Solar Impulse 2 has arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, finishing the sixth leg of its voyage around the world. Report by Gabriella Darlington.

I promise to keep my readers posted on the future legs of the flight.  That should be easy since the plane is flying to Hawaii and then on to other cities in the U.S. afterwards.

I'm not done with Earth Day, as I have videos from CNN, WOOD-TV, and DNews still to come.  When I wrote "stay tuned for the final installment about posts from the back catalog that made big moves on the leaderboard last year after a celebration of Earth Day," I didn't say how long that celebration would be.  It could last for almost a week!

In Russia, space explores you!

In Coverage of the meteor on the local news, I wrote that I might have more later.  It's later, and here's more, all of which I originally included at Daily Kos in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (In Soviet Russia, Space explores you!)  First, an article about how Friday was a space object double feature.

In a rarity, a meteor hit and an asteroid near-miss on same day
By Irene Klotz
February 15, 2013

BOSTON (Reuters) - An asteroid half the size of a football field passed closer to Earth than any other known object of its size on Friday, the same day an unrelated and much smaller space rock blazed over central Russia, creating shock waves that shattered windows and injured 1,200 people.

Asteroid 2012 DA14, discovered just last year, passed about 17,200 miles from Earth at 2:25 p.m. EST (1925 GMT), closer than the networks of television and weather satellites that ring the planet.

"It's like a shooting gallery here. We have two rare events of near-Earth objects approaching the Earth on the same day," NASA scientist Paul Chodas said during a webcast showing live images of the asteroid from a telescope in Australia.

Scientists said the two events, both rare, are not related -the body that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, at 10:20 p.m. EST Thursday (0320 GMT Friday) came from a different direction and different speed than DA14.

Follow over the jump for more about the impact itself.

Space and astronomy news: Shenzhou 9 returns plus video extravaganza

The lead story from the space and astronomy news included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (PPACA upheld! edition) is that Shenzhou 9 has returned to Earth. From ITN on YouTube: Chinese astronauts return to Earth.

China's Shenzhou 9 spacecraft returns to Earth, bringing to a close a space mission which saw the country's first woman in space. Report by Mark Morris.

Much more news, beginning with This Week @NASA and continuing with news from deep space to here on Earth, after the jump.

Space and astronomy news: Voyager, China, ice on the Moon, Mars landing, and more

I'm posting the space and astronomy news early this week, as there is a lot of it and at least one story, the Chinese space mission, is updating rapidly and constantly. So, without any further ado, here are the stories from last night's Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Turing at 100 edition) on Daily Kos, along with additional material and updates.

Science at NASA on YouTube: ScienceCasts: Voyager 1 at the Final Frontier

At the edge of the solar system, Voyager 1 is reporting a sharp increase in cosmic rays that could herald the spacecraft's long-awaited entry into interstellar space.

This video has subtitles, but there is a complete transcript at Kowch737's copy. Also, the Denver Science Examiner has an article and slideshow up.

Voyager 1 approaches edge of solar system
June 23, 2012

Humanity is about to send its first ambassador beyond the solar system.

No, it’s not a person and, no, there are no planned appointments with any alien representatives. Instead, after more than 30 years of flight, two machines are about to enter interstellar space.

Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 has reached a region of space where the intensity of sub-atomic particles that are electrically charged has significantly increased. Scientists believe this indicates the probe is about to pass through the heliosphere.

DarkSyde on Daily Kos has more on this story, along with other space and science news, in This week in science: Hello from the planet earth.

The rest of this week's busy space and astronomy news, including This Week @NASA, the upcoming Mars landing, the latest on the Chinese orbital mission, and video of the landing of the X-37B, over the jump.

Memorial Day Weather: Beryl, Bud, fires, and heat

In last night's Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Dragon docks with ISS edition) on Daily Kos, I included the following story with my opinion about the prediction.

Houston Chronicle: NOAA issues forecast, calls for ‘near-normal’ Atlantic hurricane season
By Eric Berger
May 24, 2012

This morning NOAA issued its hurricane outlook for the 2012 season, suggesting a near-normal hurricane season is most likely.

Federal hurricane scientists predict:

• 9-15 Named Storms,
• 4-8 Hurricanes
• 1-3 Major Hurricanes

The median number of named storms — that’s tropical storms and hurricanes — that have formed during Atlantic hurricane seasons since 1980 is 12, with 6.5 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes.

The reasons for the near-normal prediction are pretty straightforward: sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic, in contrast to most recent years, are relatively cool in some regions where tropical storms develop, and there’s the potential for the development of El Niño later in the season.

I'd bet on the high side of those predictions, especially for named storms, as we are already on the second storm on both coasts, Bud in the Pacific and Beryl in the Atlantic.

The very next day, Berger noted the unusual early activity in Subtropical Storm Beryl forms: Very rare to have two pre-June storms, which he concluded with:

What is more notable about Beryl is that it’s this season’s second named storm to develop prior to June 1. Alberto formed on May 19 in a similar region.

It joins rare company. There have only been two Atlantic seasons on record in which two tropical storms developed before June 1st. They came in 1887 and 1908.

So it’s been awhile.

Hurricane season officially begins on June 1st, but I'd say Nature has decided that it's been hurricane season for a couple of weeks, regardless of the official pronouncement.

For those of you who want visuals, click on "Read more."

Student sustainability video festival, part 4: biodiversity

I promised to resume posting this series a couple of weeks ago, so here I continue with the series, here are three videos shown as parts of two student presentations about biodiversity. First, two videos from a presentation about Burmese Pythons, a spectacular example of an invasive species.

Based on findings in a recently published study, pythons in the Everglades are almost certainly responsible for wiping out multiple species in under a decade, and pose a major threat to the ecosystem. Most of them are released pets.

From an episode of "Swamp Wars" this is something we here in South Florida contend with on a daily basis. The Pythons in the Everglades is nothng short of an epidemic. They will and have literally ate anything and everything. Dogs, cats, endangered species.... children and yes, even aligators.

Those were sensationalistic videos, which were exactly what the students wanted.

Next, a video about beaching pilot whales, which served as the attention grabber for a talk about the environmental hazards faced by whales.

Rescuers are desperately trying to save more than 30 whales stranded on a New Zealand beach since Monday. Report by Sam Datta-Paulin.

That was a more serious video about a less sensational issue, but it still got the point across.

Still to come, climate change and the ozone layer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Crazy Eddie's Motie News!

Since the sun is shining and I have a garden plot to tend, another blog to write, and a wife to love, I'll leave you all with a video spam from my YouTube subscription feed for today's holiday post.

The saying is that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's day. Russia Today demonstrates the truth of that saying with St. Patrick's Day in Moscow.





British Royalty even got into the act, with the Duchess of Cambridge presenting shamrock sprigs to the Irish Guards, including the unit's Irish Wolfhound mascot, as ITN reports.





The cermonies continued with the Irish Guards toasting the Duchess with beer.





Speaking of beer, Discovery News posted this video showing the highlights of the history and science of beer.

Beer has a lot more to it than just suds and bubbles. Daron Taylor takes a look!

On that note, here is a link my wife posted to her Facebook wall: The Nutritional Lowdown on Guinness.

Since St. Patrick’s Day is on a Saturday this year, we figured that more than a few of you would be down for celebrating with a pint of Ireland’s most famous export: Guinness stout.

If you are on a nutrition plan, you don’t have to forgo the Guinness entirely. Guinness has a reputation for being a meal in a glass, but it’s actually lower in calories and higher in nutrition that you might think.

Bottoms up!

First anniversary of Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and meltdown

From ITN News on YouTube comes the official memorial.

Japan holds a minute's silence to mark the one year anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 19,000 people. Report by Katie Lamborn.

ITN also has this retrospective.

A look back at the destruction caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan a year ago. Report by Katie Lamborn.

Click on Read more to see the earthquake/tsunami/meltdown stories from last night's Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday on Daily Kos.

This is why yesterday was Buy Nothing Day for me

My Facebook status yesterday was "As far as I'm concerned, today is Buy Nothing Day." It was the most popular status update I can ever remember posting, with 21 likes and three additional people commenting. Based on how American shoppers behaved, I'm glad I didn't venture off my property to buy anything yesterday!

From ITN on YouTube.

Black Friday sales turned into a shopping frenzy in the US. 20 people were left injured after a woman sprayed pepper spray in a bid to get a bargain. Report by Melanie Hill.

ITN wasn't the only British news source that reported yesterday's appalling behavior. BBC chimed in with US Black Friday marred by shootings, pepper-sprayings, which is currently the most popular news item of the week for North America on the site. In addition to the incidents described in the ITN video above, BBC listed the following.

• A man was reportedly detained for resisting arrest after a fight at the jewellery counter in the early hours at a Walmart in Kissimmee, Florida
• Police are looking for two suspects after gunfire erupted early on Friday at a shopping centre in Fayetteville, North Carolina; there were no reports of injuries
• Security workers reportedly used pepper spray on shoppers who began grabbing at goods before they were unloaded from pallets at a Walmart in Kinston, North Carolina
• A woman was shot in the foot by a robber as she loaded her purchases into her car in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; the gunman fled as one of the victim's companions brandished a revolver and fired warning shots

PolitcusUSA weighed in on the Black Friday mayhem with two articles: Not Even Pepper Spray Can Stop The Walking Dead Of Wal-Mart Black Friday and Wal-Mart Black Friday Shoppers Prove Themselves More Dangerous Than OWS. In the latter piece, Sarah Jones connects the dots between yesterday's violence and police mistreatment of Occupy Movement protesters.

Obviously, there’s a difference between police using pepper spray against dangerous elements in a crowd and a citizen using it to gain the upper hand at a Black Friday Sale, but just where do they think she got the idea?

Just like the constant drum beat for “second amendment remedies” by conservatives in the press leaks into the subconscious of the unstable, so too do the constant stories of police using pepper spray on citizens leak into the national consciousness.

And let’s not forget that too many times, police have used pepper spray on Occupy protesters who were not dangerous, were sitting still, were already kettled, and/or were not escalating violence.

Customers using pepper spray on other customers, robberies, and shootings are not things that have been seen at Occupy Wall Street protests. Republicans told us that it was patriotic to shop after 9/11, and these same people have demonized OWS, but what we have seen is that the corporate giants like Walmart and the shoppers who get whipped into a frenzy by their charms are more dangerous than Occupy Wall Street.
...
Thanks, Occupy Police. You just ratcheted up the level of general insanity another notch.

Speaking of the juxtaposition of the Occupy Movement and Black Friday, what did they do yesterday? Huffington Post has the story.

Black Friday: Occupy Protests Discourage Shopping On One Of Retail's Biggest Days

It's an Associated Press story, which means I don't quote it on general principles, but it does describe how the Occupiers in San Francisco and Sacramento told shoppers to not shop yesterday, especially at the large corporate-owned chain store, but instead shop at the locally owned stores today (Saturday).*

Occupy Detroit also urged a boycott of Black Friday, as detailed in this story from Huffington Post's new Detroit Edition: Occupy Detroit Plans Thanksgiving, Black Friday Actions

More Occupy activism can be expected on the day following Thanksgiving. The Detroit chapter of Occupy the Hood, a wing of the Occupy Movement focused on people of color, is calling for a boycott on Black Friday, the biggest retal sales day of the year that traditionally launches the Christmas shopping season.

"Black Friday is one of the busiest, biggest days for corporations," said Ife Johari Uhuru, a founder of Occupy the Hood who lives in Detroit.

Occupy the Hood's request to refrain from shopping joins a long tradition of post-Thanksgiving activism. Adbusters, the magazine that originally called for the Occupy Wall Street protests, has been organizing Black Friday boycotts and pranks for 20 years. They are celebrating this year's anniversary of the effort, which they call "Buy Nothing Day," with a new campaign called "Occupy Christmas."
...
Occupy Detroit also plans to support the Black Friday boycott.

"We are coordinating with Occupy the Hood. We will be working together to carry out [actions on Friday]," Teed said. "We want a lot of people at multiple shopping venues to hear our message."

Teed echoed Uhuru's focus on education, saying that Occupiers hope to contrast predicted sales figures with statistics about Detroit's debt and wages of Walmart executives with those of employees.

She hopes the call to boycott will inspire people to stay at home, or to spend their money with local businesses.

"Hopefully with more energy and involvement around Occupy, we can build that into a bigger thing next year," Teed said.

I did something in solidarity with Occupy Detroit, and I didn't even have to leave the house!

As for what else I think of Black Friday, may a picture truly be worth 1000 words.




*Small Business Saturday should be the subject of the next post.