Environmental News

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

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  1. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Interesting observation. While only in my mid/early 40s at the time, this Summit was a Day hike. Trail has gotten pretty easy over the decades. That was in the late 80s. I understand there have even been a handful of people that have done it in the winter. And an equally small handful of the summer Summit folk have been wheelchair-bound. Not too shabby for 14k'.
    Nowadays one is lucky to hike to their mailbox ~km away - in their 70s come winter.

    Over 50 peeps/day - thousands per yr make it. So it's no wonder from 2 per day kick the bucket trying it.
     
    #3041 hill, Jan 28, 2026
  2. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    "this Summit was a Day hike." Yes if one rides the ski tram instead of doing all that walking.
     
    #3042 tochatihu, Jan 29, 2026
  3. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    #3043 tochatihu, Jan 29, 2026
  4. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    #3044 tochatihu, Jan 29, 2026
  5. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    #3045 tochatihu, Jan 29, 2026
  6. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Our Sun has been kind to Earth over billions of years. Slowly increasing energy output, but not too many large coronal mass ejections (CME). CME flood protons into Earth atmosphere and converts 14N into 14C.

    Trees consume 14C along with plain old CO2, and to the extent that old wood persists, history of solar friskiness can be ‘read’. So now, this:

    https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1114502

    Media coverage emphasizes that trees can smear received 14C signals over some years of tree rings. I’m not sure that is a big deal, but using dead wood to observe how frisky sun has been over centuries is a big deal. Because Solar friskiness is somewhat at cross purposes to modern technological society.

    --
    More distant stars with more friskiness could convert 14N into 14C here with ‘cosmic rays’ (not a well defined term), but I am not aware that has been demonstrated in dead wood or any other way.

    Solar activity and extremes can be ‘read’ in other ways, but that would require talking about Beryllium. Possibly the least interesting light element :)
     
    #3046 tochatihu, Jan 29, 2026
  7. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Removal of tetra ethyl lead from gasoline corresponds to hundred fold reduction in lead in (archived) human hair:

    A century of hair samples proves leaded gas ban worked - Ars Technica

    There have been other lead removals required by law but gasoline is the big one.

    --
    As airplanes with legacy piston engines still use leaded fuel, it would be interesting to analyze some pilots' hair.
     
    #3047 tochatihu, Feb 2, 2026
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    This appears to be again/still in the news...

    CDC warns doctors to look for screwworm symptoms. What are they?

    New World screwworm detected in Florida - Farm Progress
     
    #3048 ChapmanF, Feb 9, 2026 at 12:53 PM
  9. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Fair enough, but let's link directly to the CDC page on this as it has more detail:

    New World Screwworm: Outbreak Moves into Northern Mexico | HAN | CDC

    (thus no need to disclose you are getting medical info from what you usually read :rolleyes:)

    The weekly 100 million sterile male releases seems to be the big story here.

    ==
    I've not seen this, but a similar insect/human interaction. A student got botfly 'oviposisted' in Costa Rica and later got it removed in Panama. That was a very large larva! He kept in in a bottle proudly.
     
    #3049 tochatihu, Feb 9, 2026 at 6:38 PM
  10. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    #3050 tochatihu, Feb 9, 2026 at 6:49 PM
  11. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The industrial-scale sustained release of sterile males to maintain a barrier far to the south seems to have been an older story, as described in the above-linked Atlantic article:

    A transcontinental screwworm barrier has been in place for 50 years—longer than many of the people who now maintain it have been alive. They work for a joint commission of Panama’s agricultural department and the USDA known as COPEG, or the Comisión Panamá–Estados Unidos para la Erradicación y Prevención del Gusano Barrenador del Ganado.​

    I'm wondering if the big story isn't that the Darien Gap barrier has become porous lately.

    I'd been frustrated at not finding more about that story. The CDC page passes over it rather quickly, attributing it to "Unregulated cattle movement, increased movement through the Darien Gap, and new areas of farming".

    Which, credit where due, is more coverage than I had seen before.

    I think I've seen that link before / And I didn't like the ending :)
     
    #3051 ChapmanF, Feb 9, 2026 at 7:21 PM
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2026 at 7:28 PM
  12. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    This won't help beef prices.
     
    #3052 Trollbait, Feb 9, 2026 at 7:47 PM
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