Berkeley Students Protest Expansion

For about one year now, students at Berkeley University of California have been protesting the building of a $125 million training center for the university's sports teams. Students have been holding a tree-sitting protest for a year now, and university officials are beginning to take action. The new sports center will destroy dozens of evergreen coast live oaks in a field on campus. Officials have won the right to remove the protesters, however it will be extremely difficult.

There have been plenty of suggestions on how to oust the students, from fire hoses, to tranquilizer darts, even skunk spray, however university officials have yet to make a drastic move. They have placed wire fences around the area, and even considered trimming lower branches of the trees to make it difficult to transport necessities up to the sitters. However both sides say they do not want a big confrontation.

Most of the sitters rotate shifts, spending a few hours to a few weeks in the trees while others hoist up supplies and food. Two people have already fallen from the trees breaking bones. It is unclear how long this protest will go on, or what the next step will be, but hopefully the two parties will reach a mutual decision to please everyone.

For further reading, see here

Kickass Backpack

In a lighter tone than my last post, I present to you all the way to power those small gadgets that you have on you at all times. I'm talking iPods (though I do not have one, and in no way condone supporting Apple), phones, and other various things you may have with you during your average day.

The innovation comes in the form of polyvinylidene fluoride, a fabric that absorbs static electricity created by the act of walking. Apparently, it does not produce much energy, but more than enough to power those little devices, and much more than is needed to power a small LED light.

The first object that will be used in conjunction with the fabric is a backpack, although someday more complex things, such as full clothing, may allow us to charge our MP3 players just by walking around school.

Story here: EcoGeek.org, and here: Carectomy.com.

Liquid Coal

Well well well, I was under the impression that liquid coal was good stuff. Man, was I apparently wrong. I suppose that I was looking at it simply from the view that it would provide us with an abundant source of fuel for the next few decades, after the original fossil based fuels had gone. But, it seems that liquid coal is much worse for us, for a variety of reasons.

The stuff pollutes the atmosphere much more than traditional fuels. Also, it would require much more mining, and apparently the entire idea is just too expensive to consider. Companies that plan on doing this process are asking to be subsidized by the government. Hopefully those assholes will realize that we do not need to continue to be dependent on such hazardous fuels any longer.

Maybe if we had just signed the damned Kyoto Treaty....

Anyway, you can read the story here: EcoGeek.org, and you can take action here: NRDC

A step in the right direction.

On Monday a Japanese fleet consisting of four ships set out toward Antarctica to hunt the endangered humpback whales. Greenpeace announced that they were setting out to track down and shaddow the fleet in order to lessen their catch and protect the whales. They had said that if the fleet was not called off, they would "take direct, non-violent action to stop the hunt." This is the biggest humpback whale hunting fleet since the 1960's. Greenpeace referred to the whale hunters as "violent environmental terrorists who must be stopped."

For more on this, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21877284/

I think that Greenpeace is totally in the right for trying to protect a species that is already on that endangered species list. The humpback whales are beautiful, majestic creatures that deserve the right to live and not be hunted, especially since there are so few of them to begin with. Greenpeace is often portrayed as over enthusiastic activists, when in reality there are a few over zeallous members, but over all it's just a group of people working to preserve this environment that we take for granted. The fact that they're working so desperately to end whaling and save so many species is great.

To help, visit http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/

Oil Spill Threatens Wildlife

A recent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay is threatening the wildlife around the area, especially the local birds. On November 7, the freight ship Cosco Busan collided with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge due to heavy fog. The majority of the oil spilled has already washed up on beaches, however the high tides predicted to come around Thanksgiving could carry the oil back into the water, causing more damage to the wildlife. Cleanup teams also removed a lot of the oil, but there are still remnants along some parts of the coast. Approximately 16,000 gallons were cleaned up, and another 4,000 evaporated. The remnants of the spill creates tar balls, which could linger on the beaches through the end of the month. The sand on the beaches also sticks to the oil, forming thick, heavy masses which can sink down into the earth.

The effects of the spill are having disastrous effects on the wildlife in the area. Nearly 1,400 birds have already died, among the 2,000 that were drenched in oil. About 18 beaches and piers were still closed over the weekend as cleanup crews work tirelessly to restore California's coast back to it's natural beauty. However tides can carry the oil up to 40 miles away, threatening area sanctuaries and breeding grounds. A criminal investigation is being conducted on the crew of the ship.

For further reading, see here

A rapidly disappearing world.

The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is on the verge of being labeled an endangered species by the federal government. This sea turtle can be located on the shores of California and Hawaii and also nest on the eastern shore of Japan. The turtles are already listed as a "threatened" species, and the government thinks it would be beneficial to upgrade their status to endangered.

For more on the Loggerhead Sea Turtle problem, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21881087/

When the subject of the rapidly growing endangered and extinct species list is brought up, it's often met with the argument "well the planet is just ridding itself of the species it doesn't need anymore to make room for the new ones." It's true that species eventually die off, however the rate at which entire species are disappearing is alarming. Over the summer I know of at least five different animals that were put onto the endangered species list off the top of my head, and I'm sure there's plenty more.

Organizations such as The Red List are attempting to raise money and awareness of the up and coming problem of endangered species. Hundreds of animals are on the red list and hundreds more are in danger of being put on the red list.

To help, visit http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/redlist.htm

We need to pay more attention to the world around us and how fast it is deteriorating. All of the problems that are causing animals to be put on the red list can be traced back to human error. We're ruining the only home we've got and it won't be long until we find ourselves on the list we ignore.

Solar Power

Solar cells. I remember those. As an avid builder of K'nex models (forget the fact that I'm slightly above the recommended age), I remember when the company came out with a solar cell motor. I saw it in stores, I knew some of my friends had it, but god be damned if I could get my hands on one. I would have bought one myself, but the sets were kind of expensive- and I had no money.

Well, that may change.

A new type of solar cell is stirring things up. Similar to a traditional cell only in its energy harnessing capabilities, the Nanosolar Powersheet is a thin strip of metal with solar energy absorbing paint applied directly to it. This paint can also be applied to other things, as pointed out by Dan Kammen, founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley.

The greatest thing is that the sheets are very inexpensive, about one tenth the cost of traditional solar cells. And they are made very fast. This means that they can start to help with this country's, and this planet's, energy needs soon.

Maybe I'll get my chance to make low powered K'nex models again.

Check out the story here: EcoGeek.org
Or the original story here: PopSci.org