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Environmental News

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by tochatihu, Oct 22, 2015.

  1. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    I did a small search and found several years of high production of this algae were followed by bursts of articles published. One surprising result in Nature Communications 2021 was that nitrogen : phosphorous ratios changed a lot during high-production years. We (in nutrient cycling biz) normally think of tissue chemistry having narrow variations. Sargassum is wild, and not really explained by those authors.

    So I have no explanation. Nor do I want to be among those raking beaches. It can sneaky kill you with hydrogen sulfide.
     
  2. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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  3. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  5. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    My first search hit strikes a more reassuring tone:

    https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/brown-widow-spider


    The bite of a brown widow spider is minor in comparison to that of a black widow. Although one frequently cited study demonstrates that, drop per drop, brown widow spider venom is as toxic .... the weaker effect of brown widow bites on humans is possibly because the brown widow does not have or cannot inject as much venom .... Considering that the brown widow is less dangerous and may be supplanting the native western black widow from habitats, it is conceivable that the risk of serious injury from overall spider bite may decrease ....
     
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  7. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Whoa Hoss! I'm a pink skin widower.

    Bob Wilson
     
  8. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Trying to figure out if I misremembered or if the source was wrong, found this, "The relative toxicity of the widow spiders may depend on the species of animal. For example, Sampayo (1943) stated that brown widow venom is much less toxic to guinea pigs than is black widow venom. However, McCrone (1964) reported that brown widow venom is more toxic than black widow venom in mice, and Guerrero et al. (2010) stated that based on their studies with mice, brown widow venom appears to be one of the most toxic Latrodectus venoms."
    Brown widow spider - Latrodectus geometricus

    LD50(lethal dose to kill 50% of a population) studies usually use mice. Just comparing that value of the two would make the brown look more dangerous. Sounds like both would rather run and hide than bite a human, and only adult females are capable of biting through our skin to inject venom. The ability of browns' populations to grow faster could lead to more contact with people.

    This article has some numbers from the study I originally posted about. https://www.gearrice.com/update/the-fearsome-black-widow-has-a-new-and-familiar-predator/
     
  9. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    As far as danger goes - the Australian funnel spider tops the deadly list. And yet it will likely benefit mankind a great deal - offsetting its Guinness record cause of spider bite deaths
    ;)
    Death disruptor: how an Australian funnel-web spider may help human hearts | Heart disease | The Guardian
    .
     
  10. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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  11. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    New Horizons sling-shot past Jupiter just a mere 13 months after launch.

    Rather than making a bigger firestick, they made a smaller lighter probe.
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  13. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    There were some positive points in there. From the link:
    The glaciers disappearing faster and faster is quite concerning though.
     
  14. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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  15. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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  16. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    I kinda wish China would adopt standard, molten salt, thorium fueled, micro reactors. Say a 10-50 megawatt design. The waste heat could be used for industrial or apartment heating and A/C. This would distribute power to minimize transmission lines. My understanding is these fission reactors produce a smaller amount of radioactive waste and are exceptionally safe.

    The other option would be solar cells and wind/sea turbines with grid-level battery storage. The advantage being no waste heat to deal with. But waste heat has a value.

    Bob Wilson
     
  17. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's AFP news. i wasn't able to locate the article with their search function though.

    the gist was that even though climate change has been horrendous, and 'the glacier game' is lost, green energy is becoming more and more affordable and we're developing better mitigation methods, 32 countries have reduced co2 emissions while growing their economies, and the planet is no longer headed for 3-5c degrees warming as predicted in 2014. more likely 2.5-3c, and best case 1.5c
     
  19. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Warming oceans

    https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01573-1

    Several interesting things here. Globally averaged ocean (surface) T has two peaks, in Mar and Aug. Dinna know that.

    The graph would be better with 1998 also highlighted. It was the most recent large El Nino.

    "...probably the highest in more than 100,000 years..." Does not strike me as based on extensive research. If it is, somebody ought to describe that.
     
  20. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Chickens. Specifically the males:

    Sexing chicken eggs by scent | EurekAlert!

    This comes up from time to time and seems worth noticing. As many know, the chicken industry has two branches. Broilers for meat and layers for eggs. In both, the females are preferred (necessary for egg laying obv), The problem is that fertile eggs are produced at nearly equal gender ratios. They must hatch before male chicks are recognized. This means billions of little boychicks go to the grinder. This is, at minimum, a waste of chicken-rearing resources.

    Other potential solutions have come up before but the matter is still not resolved.