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Nano-Toxicity

| October 20th, 2005 | Comments Off | Miscellaneous

I just read an interesting blog post regarding nanotoxicity (wikipedia definition). The gist of it was that we suspect that nanoparticles could be toxic, but that there’s not enough research yet to confirm or deny the suspicion. In this case, people are comparing the dangers of nanoparticles to the dangers of asbestos. When asbestos was first used, it was not suspected as being dangerous. Today an industry exists to rid older buildings of asbestos. With the talk of using carbon nanofibres to build super-strong buildings, bridges, and just about anything conceivable with these fibres, the perhaps some caution is advised. But let’s not move into the realm of fear-mongering.

Grizzly bear cubs killed

| September 8th, 2005 | Comments Off | Miscellaneous

It’s a shame Parks Canada did nothing to protect these bears. Given that their chances of survival in the wild were slim-to-none to begin with, why couldn’t they be moved to a sanctuary or zoo somewhere. I realize that they would not likely have been releasable into the wild following a stay in captivity, but at least their genetic legacy would’ve lived on. Perhaps even helped to perpetuate the species. As it stands, the number of grizzly bears in the Canadian Rockies is declining precipitiously. Something needs to be done, but I sure don’t know what.

Canada.com/Calgary Herald article: Bear cubs killed in highway collision

Seabed Methane Hydrates

| March 24th, 2005 | Comments Off | Miscellaneous

Wired News: Playing With Frozen Fire

Should we even mess with this stuff? It sounds dangerous. (more…)

Hydroelectric power’s dirty secret revealed

| March 7th, 2005 | Comments Off | Miscellaneous

New Scientist Breaking News – Hydroelectric power’s dirty secret revealed
So Hydro power is not as green as everyone thought. I’m not surprised. I think we need to move to a nuclear powered society. Yes nuclear waste disposal is a problem – but not insurmountable. Solar power takes up too much space and is not practical everywhere – not enough sunlight. Solar panels are still quite expensive. Hydro power is not available everywhere and is now not as environmentally friendly as it used to be. Hydro is not going to disappear anytime soon though and the lakes are water reservoirs as well as power reservoirs. Wind power – kills birds, and only works in windy regions. Coal power – need I really say more about this? OK – large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Same goes for Natural Gas power.

Modern Nuclear power plants can be built with a degree of safety that exceeds current levels. So why not do it? And Nuclear power is dirt cheap compared to some others.

New Scientist – Novel calendar system creates regular dates

| January 5th, 2005 | Comments Off | Miscellaneous

There’s a physicist in the states who wants to change our calendar so that every year is the same. For example, December 25 would always be on a Sunday. He is also proposing that we all adopt Grenwich Mean Time (GMT) which is ridiculous. While I think this is an admirable goal, I think his method of doing so needs some improvement.
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