Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Snowmerica and Climate
For the first time in decades (or who knows how long, really, as no specific record of this is kept), 49 of the 50 states, including Hawaii, currently have snow on the ground. Florida is the only state in the U.S. which does not presently have some lingering snow.
It comes to mind that some people might see this unusual condition as evidence against “global warming” — a rather misleading moniker; the words connote that the temperature will continue to increase everywhere on the planet, much like a greenhouse on a spring morning. In reality, some areas on Earth will get hotter and other places will get colder; this is due to the incredible complexity of global systems and the myriad intricate relationships and dependencies (e.g., the salinity of ocean and ocean currents) gradually being discovered.
There’s plenty of snow in Canada, of course. This morning, a 35 year-old barefoot man stole a snowplow and killed a policeman who’d been with the force for 11 years. The two-hour rampage through the streets of Toronto also included wrecking several cars and damaging a Ferrari dealership.
Oil Drilling Oversight: What a Shocker
Yesterday, the Oil Spill Commission released its findings on what happened after the spill, and how to ensure it never happens again.
While the commission predictably found blame with BP – along with contractors Halliburton and Transocean — it also found that government oversight was badly compromised. The commission found a classic, accounting-related transgression relating to excessively poor (if not completely lacking) internal controls: the agency in charge of promoting and marketing the expansion of oil drilling was also in charge of safety! Furthermore, its officials did not have the necessary experience, training, or budget to deal with the deep, high-tech installations they had to oversee, and there was an absence of proper planning (by private companies AND by the government) for what to do in case of a massive oil spill.
Earthquakes and Explosions
According to Nova, the catastrophic January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale (there are around 15 7.x earthquakes each year), released less than 40% of the energy that had built up along the newly-discovered fault (it wasn’t the initially-blamed Enriquillo fault’s fault) – meaning another powerful earthquake could occur at any time. The 2010 Haiti quake was one of many that made 2010 a near-record year for not only earthquakes, but natural disasters in general. (The number of worldwide natural disasters has quadrupled in the last two decades – an eye-opening statistic, but probably nothing more than a statistic; due to overpopulation and other factors, mankind is flocking to disaster-prone areas these days.)
Interestingly, earthquake sensors located throughout the U.S. detect an average of 50 explosions every day; these are mine blasts (this is mine seismology). About one explosion every two days is large enough to make their explosions listing.
Prolific, Super Nova
Nova, the popular science documentary television show now in its 38th season, has such a rarely-seen versatility that anyone could probably find quite a few topics of great personal interest in the impressive list of Nova episodes to date (since 1974). Nova is produced by WGBH in Boston — the same broadcasting service that produces more than two thirds of prime-time shows seen on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). (Is PBS relevant today?)
Resources – Interesting Wednesday
CNN: Snow is Now Present in 49 of 50 States
Barefoot Man Steals Snowplow and Kills Cop
U.S. Geological Survey – Earthquake Statistics
U.S. Geological Survey on Mining Seismology
List of Most Recent Earthquakes
Are earthquakes on the increase?
Nova
Nova (Wikipedia)
List of Nova episodes (Wikipedia)
PBS
WGBH (Wikipedia)
Scientists: Natural Disasters Becoming More Common
Oil Spill Commission – Final Report
Bumbling Bloviations 
Snowy America, Super Nova, and Other Questionable Digressions
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Snowmerica and Climate
For the first time in decades (or who knows how long, really, as no specific record of this is kept), 49 of the 50 states, including Hawaii, currently have snow on the ground. Florida is the only state in the U.S. which does not presently have some lingering snow.
It comes to mind that some people might see this unusual condition as evidence against “global warming” — a rather misleading moniker; the words connote that the temperature will continue to increase everywhere on the planet, much like a greenhouse on a spring morning. In reality, some areas on Earth will get hotter and other places will get colder; this is due to the incredible complexity of global systems and the myriad intricate relationships and dependencies (e.g., the salinity of ocean and ocean currents) gradually being discovered.
There’s plenty of snow in Canada, of course. This morning, a 35 year-old barefoot man stole a snowplow and killed a policeman who’d been with the force for 11 years. The two-hour rampage through the streets of Toronto also included wrecking several cars and damaging a Ferrari dealership.
Oil Drilling Oversight: What a Shocker
Yesterday, the Oil Spill Commission released its findings on what happened after the spill, and how to ensure it never happens again.
While the commission predictably found blame with BP – along with contractors Halliburton and Transocean — it also found that government oversight was badly compromised. The commission found a classic, accounting-related transgression relating to excessively poor (if not completely lacking) internal controls: the agency in charge of promoting and marketing the expansion of oil drilling was also in charge of safety! Furthermore, its officials did not have the necessary experience, training, or budget to deal with the deep, high-tech installations they had to oversee, and there was an absence of proper planning (by private companies AND by the government) for what to do in case of a massive oil spill.
Earthquakes and Explosions
According to Nova, the catastrophic January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale (there are around 15 7.x earthquakes each year), released less than 40% of the energy that had built up along the newly-discovered fault (it wasn’t the initially-blamed Enriquillo fault’s fault) – meaning another powerful earthquake could occur at any time. The 2010 Haiti quake was one of many that made 2010 a near-record year for not only earthquakes, but natural disasters in general. (The number of worldwide natural disasters has quadrupled in the last two decades – an eye-opening statistic, but probably nothing more than a statistic; due to overpopulation and other factors, mankind is flocking to disaster-prone areas these days.)
Interestingly, earthquake sensors located throughout the U.S. detect an average of 50 explosions every day; these are mine blasts (this is mine seismology). About one explosion every two days is large enough to make their explosions listing.
Prolific, Super Nova
Nova, the popular science documentary television show now in its 38th season, has such a rarely-seen versatility that anyone could probably find quite a few topics of great personal interest in the impressive list of Nova episodes to date (since 1974). Nova is produced by WGBH in Boston — the same broadcasting service that produces more than two thirds of prime-time shows seen on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). (Is PBS relevant today?)
Resources – Interesting Wednesday
CNN: Snow is Now Present in 49 of 50 States
Barefoot Man Steals Snowplow and Kills Cop
U.S. Geological Survey – Earthquake Statistics
U.S. Geological Survey on Mining Seismology
List of Most Recent Earthquakes
Are earthquakes on the increase?
Nova
Nova (Wikipedia)
List of Nova episodes (Wikipedia)
PBS
WGBH (Wikipedia)
Scientists: Natural Disasters Becoming More Common
Oil Spill Commission – Final Report
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