Consumerism

Consumerism is something that we all have in us. It is the everlasting drive to consume. This would have proven very useful to early man making us more competitive and keeping us alive. Now this is more so the urge to get “newer” or “better” things, in most cases these are things that we don’t need and will only use for a short time before we throw them away. This is more of a problem in North America. Next time you go to a large box store say around Christmas (now) or any big holiday if you take a moment to look at all of the small  and large things that are waiting to be bought used and thrown out in less than a week. This in my opinion is disgusting not to say that I haven’t done this myself. We can’t keep consuming at this rate. There is simply no way that any of these habits are sustainable for any period of time. We can't be in denial!

Life in Arsenic?

Mono Lake California

All life as of 2 days ago contained 6 fundamental elements; hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, carbon, oxygen, and phosphorus. Yesterday researchers at NASA found a microbe in Mono Lake which is located in northern California. Mono lake gets its water from the Sierra Nevada mountains.  These mountains have relatively high concentrations of arsenic so when the water comes from these mountains so does arsenic. 

Mono lake is where the arsenic concentrates to 700 times what the EPA considers safe.

These are no ordinary microbes. In fact in the DNA of these microbes, arsenic is taking the place of phosphorus something that nobody has ever seen. 

This opens a whole new suite of planets when you are searching for life on other worlds. This is just 1 of 6 elements that may be replaced by other elements we might not have discovered yet.

Space Elevator

A space elevator is something that was first thought of in the mid 1890’s. So, its not a new idea but its a good one. Having something to decrease the number of costly rockets would be a huge leap towards the future of space exploration. If we had an elevator bringing space ships or space station parts into orbit we would send a human crew up to assemble it.  We would still need to send the human team up in a rocket because of the Van Allen Radiation Belt, but less rockets would be needed.  An elevator would save us millions if not billions per year. The initial cost would be great but the overall savings would be worth it. Unfortunately we have not created a material strong and light enough to reach space from earth. If we became organized enough to pool money and knowledge it would be possible.

What would we think of Ourselves?

Archaeology site

What will we think of ourselves in lets say 1500 years? If  future humans were to  compete an archeology dig on  us will they think how wonderful it must have been or will they look back at us as something to be ashamed of? If you consider our past you might say both so will we say the same then. If there is a "then".

Is Nuclear the answer?

It is a widely accepted fact that the world is simply not sustainable at the rate we are using electricity. But it seems that the answer might be right in front of us. Nuclear, a clean source of energy with a relatively small amount of waste is in my opinion our best bet in slowing the pace of global warming and feeding our electrical needs. The average generating capacity of a Nuclear power plant in 2007 was 846MW, with plans to build 1000MW to 1500MW plants in the future. That's enough to power many of our larger cities. I think that in the near feature, the next 50-100 years, nuclear power is the answer.

The only down side is the waste. When the uranium is spent it becomes unstable (radio active) so the waste must be kept cool. We currently keep the waste in pools of cooled water which takes up energy, space and not to mention money. We need to figure out a way to contain the waste underground (Canadian Shield? Old Mine) or in some kind of sealed container system. We need to embrace nuclear energy as a short term alternative to a long term energy and climate change problem.

Should we be going to Mars?

Intrepid Crater on Mars (False Color)

Do we really need to go to mars?

I am a huge supporter of space exploration, but to go to mars it would cost billions which we could use  here on earth (for aid, power generation or medical care to name a few.) If we must explore space going to the moon again would be much more cost effective. I just don't think that now is the best time to be sending people to mars. Maybe for the next few years we should consider sticking with the more cost effective rovers. 

Exploration of the 2 Deeps

NGC 346,a star-forming region 200 light-years across

Scaly Dragonfish
Depth: 200-1500m

You are looking at a creature from the Abyss (a deep or seemingly bottomless chasm (in the ocean)). An area on earth that we know less about than space (a continuous area or expanse that is free). But how can scientists say this when they know relatively little about both? 

Is this evolution?

These two pictures demonstrate our current direction as a species. Is this the path we want to continue on?

Imagine what an extra terrestrial would think of us?  Our record speaks for itself. We have always been aggressive but more recently we have manged to kill millions of people.  These battles are fought over relatively small things, and have lead to the complete obliteration of whole cities. Consider what is going on in the middle east. Are we really "Evolving" or are we just creating new and more sophisticated ways and excuses to rage wars against each other and our planet.