Disasters, Skeptics, and 2010 Climate Change News

post from FUTURISM NOW on 20 December 2010 11:41:27 PM. © FUTURISM NOW

A vehicle leaves the area of an explosion of a Pemex pipeline in the village of San Martin Texmelucan near Puebla December 19, 2010. The pipeline maintained by state oil monopoly Pemex exploded at around 5 a.m. in San Martin Texmelucan, a small community in the state of Puebla about 50 miles (75 kilometers) east of Mexico City. Photo/REUTERS

Pipeline accidents happen frequently, but they usually only get U.S. media attention when they happen in other countries. Mexico suffered from a massive pipeline-oil accident last week when someone tried to steal oil from it by puncturing it. Because the oil in the pipeline was under such pressure, the oil burst out of the pipe and was ignited. It quickly turned into a human tragedy as well as an environmental tragedy. How many of these tragedies have to happen before we stop relying on these fossil fuels? If Mexico and other countries relied on renewable energy, a tragedy like this would never have happened. This oil disaster killed at least 20 people. More amazing photos of this disaster here.

Speaking of oil and fossil fuels, the EPA is set to begin regulating emissions, but some politicians and those in the related industries are doing everything they can to make sure that doesn’t happen. From Argus news:

“After a federal court last week cleared the way for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to move ahead with its greenhouse gas regulations, the rules’ industry opponents are likely to step up their efforts to convince Congress to step in.

EPA intends to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from mobile and large stationary sources beginning on 2 January 2011. The agency faces numerous court challenges over the rules, and several industry advocacy groups joined Texas in petitioning the court to put the GHG regulations on hold until all of the other cases can be settled.

Convincing the court to stay regulations is challenging in any case. Petitioners must present ample proof to show that the rules are unconstitutional and that those petitioners would be irreparably harmed if the rules were implemented.. . . . Meanwhile, EPA still faces court challenges on its four key GHG rulemakings. Although the court cleared the way for EPA to begin regulations on schedule, that does not mean the agency will ultimately win all or any of the other challenges it faces on the rules, Danish said.

?The court basically just ruled that there was no emergency or obvious likelihood that it would side against EPA,? agreed Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch.”

Electronic nose detects cancer

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 December 2010 10:55:33 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

György Horvath from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and researchers from the University of Gävle and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have been able to confirm in tests that ovarian cancer tissue and healthy tissue smell different.

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Religious right on dangers of environmentalism

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 December 2010 10:49:54 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

Here's a trailer promoting a 12-DVD series titled, Resisting the Green Dragon, which is almost exclusively comprised of slanders against science, scientists, and environmentalists. Some of the biggest names of the religious right are promoting this video.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/religious-right-dangers-environmentalism

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Mary's Monday Metazoan: I've been hunched over a
desk too long

post from Pharyngula on 20 December 2010 10:48:06 PM. © Pharyngula

Coccyzus merlini Read the comments on this post...

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y_metazoan_ive_been.php

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Young female chimpanzees appear to treat sticks
as dolls

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 December 2010 10:42:05 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

Scientists at Harvard University and Bates College say female chimpanzees appear to treat sticks as dolls, carrying them around until they have offspring of their own. Young males engage in such behavior much less frequently.

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Three Google Lunar X PRIZE Competitors Awarded
NASA Contracts

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 December 2010 10:39:38 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

Today, NASA announced that it purchased data related to innovative lunar missions from three private firms.

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Episode CXXXXVII: No imaginary friends allowed!

post from Pharyngula on 20 December 2010 10:37:13 PM. © Pharyngula

This priest says there's something wrong with you if you have an imaginary friend. We all agree, don't we, Threadketeers?

video details and more

(Current totals: 11,548 entries with 1,220,945 comments.)

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xxvii_no_imaginary.php

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What makes a face look alive

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 December 2010 10:32:03 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

The face of a doll is clearly not human; the face of a human clearly is. Telling the difference allows us to pay attention to faces that belong to living things, which are capable of interacting with us. But where is the line at which a face appears to be alive?

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How often do giant black holes become hyperactive

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 December 2010 10:29:37 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

A new study from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory tells scientists how often the biggest black holes have been active over the last few billion years. The object could help scientists better understand how massive stars explode, which ones leave behind black holes or neutron stars, and how many black holes are in our galaxy and others.

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Link found between depression and inflammatory
response

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 20 December 2010 10:13:13 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

Vanderbilt University researchers may have found a clue to the blues that can come with the flu ? depression may be triggered by the same mechanisms that enable the immune system to respond to infection.

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ponse

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