"A ball! A ball!"
Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
Kiwi Came from Australia
Three years ago a fossil was found at st Bathams in New Zealand. The record books now have to be rewritten. It seems the fossil is an ancestor of the Kiwi and it indicates that it was related to the Australian emu. This undermines the premise that the kiwi is a solely New Zealand bird. After all it is the national symbol.
You see, the emu relative could fly and it flew to New Zealand. It was a tiny bird compared to the kiwi. The enormous egg that kiwis lay evolved. It was not "handed-down" by the giant Moa. Eggs began to get larger in birds during the Miocene.
The theory that the kiwi originated in Australia was commonly held before this fossil find. It was believed to have got to New Zealand when the country was joined to Australia on Gondwanaland, but his view has been put to rest.
Most New Zealand birds got bigger over time. This was not unusual. The kiwi evolved from the earlier tiny ancestor. Discovery of this 20 million year old fossil was pure luck. It is the oldest fossil ever found in New Zealand.
Conservation by Ty Buchanan
Supermarket Bags Pollute the Ocean
Whether you use an "environmentally friendly" shopping bag or a standard one you are damaging the environment. They both take time to break down. Furthermore, the so called "safe" bags cause pollution during manufacture.
Australia's oceanic waters carry countless pieces of plastic bags, Marine creatures eat this debris and die. When plastic breaks down in sea water it becomes very tiny and is virtually invisible. These pieces gather up pollutants and become mobile destructors. The tinier the particles the more absorbent it becomes.
Researchers scooped up surface water from the ocean in coastal water all the way from Perth to Fiji and New Zealand. By observing the area of the net covered in plastic fragments they were able to codify amounts across a vast area. The average number of microplastic fragments was 4,000 per square kilometers. It went as high as 23,000 in some places. This was near highly populated cities.
Most of the items people use are made of plastic. Supermarket bags are the most prominent, followed by drink bottles. Plastic cups and discarded packaging.
Ocean currents also move the plastic into low populated sectors of the ocean. They build up "floating dustbin" regions that become permanent. Marine life is seriously affected. This will ultimately become a major problem for Mankind just as serious as climate change
Conservation by Ty Buchanan
Natural Gas Must Not Be Used as a Substitute for Clean Power Generation
It is proposed that natural gas be used instead of coal for electric power generation. The national climate summit put a deadline of 2012 for this to happen with the dirtiest power station, Hazlewood. Environment Victoria took up the challenge saying that natural gas with renewable energy resources could reduce Hazlewood's pollution by 14.4 million tonnes to just 1.8. Wind generation would gradually replace natural gas.
The claim is exceedingly optimistic. Too much faith is placed in wind generation despite the fact that electricity production by this means has peaked in northern Europe and it still does not make a profit. Beyond Zero Emissions is even more optimistic. Its plan aims to end Hazlewood's use of coal by 2013. Failure to reduce emissions means it could be closed.
The future looks good for natural gas production with gas being obtained from coal seams and 20 gas power plants being planned. Natural gas is not really clean though. Indeed, leakage of methane gas occurs. Replacing coal power generation with gas as a temporary measure is a mistake. What is the point of wasting millions of dollars in investment on the premise that something better will come along?
The best way to go in the short term is to build solar thermal power sites alongside existing coal power stations. Note that solar thermal only produces electricity during the day. A final solution will undoubtedly be tidal generation because the moon continues to circle the earth making oceans rise and fall day after day.
The claim is exceedingly optimistic. Too much faith is placed in wind generation despite the fact that electricity production by this means has peaked in northern Europe and it still does not make a profit. Beyond Zero Emissions is even more optimistic. Its plan aims to end Hazlewood's use of coal by 2013. Failure to reduce emissions means it could be closed.
The future looks good for natural gas production with gas being obtained from coal seams and 20 gas power plants being planned. Natural gas is not really clean though. Indeed, leakage of methane gas occurs. Replacing coal power generation with gas as a temporary measure is a mistake. What is the point of wasting millions of dollars in investment on the premise that something better will come along?
The best way to go in the short term is to build solar thermal power sites alongside existing coal power stations. Note that solar thermal only produces electricity during the day. A final solution will undoubtedly be tidal generation because the moon continues to circle the earth making oceans rise and fall day after day.
Environment by Ty Buchanan
Society by Ty Buchanan
Summer Snow Falls in Australia
The weather is changing everywhere. It is not only getting hotter and more humid, i.e., rain; it is also getting colder in some places. The climate is erratic. It is all over the place. Peak summer in Australia is December and January. There is snow in the Australian Alps. This is unheard of. A cycling event on the weekend could be postponed.
Once every summer there is a very small snow "shower", but that is usually it. This year is different. The snow is getting heavier and it is in the low areas where they never get snow in summer. It is 20 cm deep in some areas.
Weather forecasting is improving, however. Snow was predicted a week ago. Summer tourists are arriving and they are not bringing winter clothing. Hopefully, the weather will improve and local income will not be affected as tourism is the regions major industry.
Climate by Ty Buchanan
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