Global Warming

Posted Mon Jul 7, 2008 in

Global WarmingEveryone who knows me understands that I have this “thing” about global warming. It isn’t really about climate change so much as it is all of the alarmism of the rabid environmental community1. It isn’t that I think climate change doesn’t happen. I just have a real issue with the logic behind “we use fossil fuels to create energy — fossil fuels put carbon into the atmosphere — carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas — the global mean temperature appears to be rising2 — therefore, humans are the problem.

So, to climb off my soapbox for a bit (yes, it is my soapbox to climb aboard if I so choose), I found the image to the left funny.

1 Environmentalism is something that only works in developed countries with a wealthy population who can afford it. Try explaining to some poor subsistence farmer why he shouldn’t cut down a few trees so he can feed his family.

2 I say appears to be rising because the signal is so weak and the natural variation is so great. It’s a difficult problem.

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Biofuels

Posted Tue Feb 12, 2008 in

A recent entry on /. reports better estimates of the footprint of biofuels. It isn’t the wonderland we were promised, but should I be surprised?

When the use of biofuels was originally conceived, I wondered at the utility of that approach. It requires energy to make plants, harvest them, process them, and deliver the results. That more energy could be recovered than was expended seems in violation of fundamental thermodynamic principles, a long way of saying there ain’t no such thing as perpetual motion.

Perpetual motion doesn’t work. Neither can you get something for nothing… which many people have trouble believing.

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Happy Sputnik Day

Posted Thu Oct 4, 2007 in

Fifty years ago, the Russians successfully launched Sputnik I. I was four-years old and can barely remember anything about it.

A friend remarked that it’s a shame we haven’t explored the final frontier more than we have. I expected we would have been far further along and never expected we’d still not have approached Mars.

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Texas Large

Posted Fri May 25, 2007 in

LCRA RainfallTexas is a state of the “large.” The penchant of Texans to have the biggest of everything is legendary, to the point where “Texas-Large” jokes are expected. Well, not to be outdone, Mother Nature seems to have a penchant for the large in Texas as well. The image from the Lower Colorado River Authority at the left is a perfect example. The gage north from Fredericksburg is a classic example. Over the last 24-hour period, that gage collected over ten inches of rain. That’s a lot of rain.

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A Day Late…

Posted Fri Dec 22, 2006 in

BLTMany times when we’re out and about we’ll pick up a bite to eat somewhere in town. Sometimes, when we’re around town snagging some food, or on the road snagging some food, I’ll make an image of it to share. In fact, Daughter sometimes chides me because their selection of fine eating establishments in Fairbanks, Alaska is not exactly large. So, as a way of teasing her, just a little bit, I’m posting an image of a BLT (and cheese) I had at a small diner in Minden, Nevada.

Wife and I had been running all morning looking at houses and apartments to gain some insight into what was available. It had been a long time since breakfast. So, I saw a diner (Woodett’s I think) we’d passed several times traveling U.S. 395 through town. I decided to stop. I like local food, most of the time.

It was good. The fries were marvelous. Wife cheated, just a little, and snuck a few of my fries from me. I slapped her hand, of course.

Of course I forgot yesterday was 21 December 2006, the Winter Solstice. I try to remember the seasonal demarcations and mention them here. They are an ancient way of marking time and I enjoy the celebration thereof. So, Happy Solstice Day, a day late (and a dollar short)...

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Lyme Disease

Posted Sat Aug 26, 2006 in

Deer tickA number of years ago I heard of Lyme disease. It is caused by a bacteria carried by deer ticks. Any individual who comes into contact with deer ticks can be infected.

In a regular newsletter I read, a link to an upcoming documentary about Lyme disease was mentioned. It’s worth sharing. The Wikipedia article is here and an upcoming documentary about the disease is here. Lyme disease is something to take seriously.

Why do I think about such things? I pulled a tick from my skin yesterday morning when I exited the shower. It was a common wood tick, not a deer tick. But, every time I find a tick I think about Lyme disease.

Image from USDA/ARS.

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Brush Control

Posted Sun May 14, 2006 in

ZonetailIt’s been a kind of lazy day. It’s been busy, too, but not the same way many of my days go. Wife and I returned her BlackBerry 7290 this morning and traded it for an 8700c. She really likes the smaller form factor and the brighter, sharper screen. So, now we’re twins. She and Young Son are out running errands; I had a nap.

Thursday was an interesting day. I rose early (my norm), showered, and Wife and I went down to the lobby for “breakfast.” I found some cereal and she found something. We chatted about the day while we shared the morning meal.

I headed for the meeting about 0830. I wasn’t exactly sure where the facility was located, but had a good general idea. What I didn’t realize is that there are two facilities located north and west from San Angelo—one belonging to San Angelo State and the other the TAMU agricultural experiment station. I was fortunate. The janitor (the only person in the place) at the Angelo State facility knew where the other station was so I was able to get there on time.

The others trickled in while I visited with the technical folks at the station. Basically we chatted about university and the things that keep us busy.

The serious talk began after all gathered. After about an hour of discussions, we headed for the field for a tour of the two sub-watersheds of Grape Creek. We stopped numerous times to wander about and look at the watershed. I have a series of images and may make an album to share some of them.

I had a blast with the biologists. I enjoy hanging out with knowledgeable folks, no matter their discipline. I love watching people who are good at what they do and most academics naturally share their knowledge. I asked a lot of questions.

At one location, termed a Pecan motte, a couple of birds were upset by our presence. Although they look like turkey vultures, they were Zonetails. They don’t usually range as far north as San Angelo, so one of the biologists was pretty excited to find them. They had a nest in a huge old pecan tree. The image above is from my attempts to capture one of the birds.

Our hosts fed us and we ate in the field. Box lunches are great when you’re outdoors. The weather couldn’t have been better.

Later Oh yeah, brush control… I forgot to say anything about it. The conjecture is that if woody brush, particular juniper/salt cedar and mesquite are removed/managed from the site and natural grasses are substituted, then more water will be yielded by the watershed for other uses. That is, the conjecture is that woody brush uses more water than natural grasses.

This is a big deal, particularly in the semi-arid portions of the state. It is also not a simple problem because the dynamics of the hydrologic and biologic processes are complex. So, if we do a study, it will neither be cheap nor short-term. This kind of question requires a lot of data and work to resolve.

If I have time later today, I’ll put together an album of my images.

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