Ted Ritzer: NATURE

Low Cost AGMs-Electronic Meeting Software

Tue, 08 Apr 2003 03:30:04 GMT

Low Cost AGMs-Electronic Meeting Software

This article was my attempt at providing a backgrounder on how to save money by not travelling for AGMs by using the Internet to facilitate electronic meetings. Check the article out at:

http://blogs.salon.com/0001455/stories/2003/04/07/lowCostVirtualAgms.html

Sat, 05 Apr 2003 20:41:31 GMT

Iceland Plans to Catch Hundreds of Large Whales. Environment News - REYKJAVIK, Iceland, April 4, 2003 (ENS) - Whale conservationists around the world have condemned Iceland's proposal submitted this week to the International Whaling Commission to begin whaling under the convention's scientific research provisions.
Whaling fleet kills 400 Minkes Japan Today
Iceland wants to start killing whales again BBC
Reuters - Straits Times - Sydney Morning Herald - and 11 related » [Google Technology News]

Virtual Parks & Panoramas

Sat, 05 Apr 2003 15:56:57 GMT

Virtual Parks: The idea of this story is to simply list some of the best sites on the Internet that feature Virtual Field Trips to parks around the world.Additionally for those people interested in digital photography, many of the sites have links and information on how to photograph panoramas.

http://blogs.salon.com/0001455/stories/2003/04/04/virtualParksPanoramas.html

Environmental Education Organizations in Alberta

Sat, 05 Apr 2003 04:35:40 GMT

Environmental Education Organizations in Alberta

I have posted a list of Environmental Education organizations in Alberta at:

http://blogs.salon.com/0001455/stories/2003/04/01/albertaEeList.html

Environmental Education Organizations in Alberta, Canada

Tue, 01 Apr 2003 15:08:47 GMT

Environmental Education Organizations in Alberta, Canada

Another good source from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is their list of environmental education orgnanizations that are found in Alberta, Canada.

The folllowing link will take you to the page that lists those EE organizations.

http://www.cpawscalgary.org/education/network-environmental-education/organizations.html

Major Expansion to Canadian National Parks Announced

Tue, 01 Apr 2003 14:36:55 GMT

Major Expansion to Canadian National Parks Announced March 24, 2003

For the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Soceity web site:

http://www.cpaws.org/news/national-parks-2003-0324.html

March 24, 2003 Heritage Minister, Sheila Copps’ announcement of an additional $144 million dollars over the next five years to implement the Action Plan for Canada’s National Parks and National Marine Conservation Areas
This funding is added to a commitment of $74 million announced in the federal budget in February, 2003.
The Minister also announced an ongoing increase in funding of $54 million per year to provide long-term support after the five year plan is complete.
As a result, Canada will be increasing the size of our treasured national park system by close to 50%
In October, 2002, the Prime Minister and Heritage Minister, Sheila Copps announced a plan to create 10 new national parks, five new national marine conservation areas, three park expansions, as well as to restore and protect the ecological integrity of our existing parks.

Tue, 01 Apr 2003 01:43:34 GMT

USB digital binoculars.

Zupera's come out with a pair of USB digital optical binoculars that connect to a PC so you can view the magnified image on a computer screen. They say it's aimed at "bird or wildlife observers, landscape survey, marine and aviation survey, electronic-loving enthusiasts, and casual consumers who enjoy capturing an occasional image from afar," but you better believe that that last part is codeword for voyeurs; there's no doubt they'll put these binoculars to good use. And let's not even try to decipher what sort of sick fetish they mean by "electronic-loving enthusiasts".

[Gizmodo]

Buckminster Fuller Institute-BFI

Sun, 30 Mar 2003 21:36:50 GMT

Buckminster Fuller Institute-BFI

This blast from the past for me was stimulated by a referrer link to Philip Dingra's blog at:

http://www.philosophistry.com/

at the BFI their who we are blurb is as follows:

"The Buckminster Fuller Institute is committed to a successful and sustainable future for 100% of humanity. Founded in 1983 and inspired by the Design Science principles pioneered by the late Buckminster Fuller, BFI serves as an information resource for concerned citizens around the world."

Their home page URL is:

http://www.bfi.org/index.html

Kinda gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling, that these ideas had not totally died with the grass materliasm of the 90s, seems like the opposite of the 60s.

PEACE MAN!!

Thu, 27 Mar 2003 22:27:53 GMT

Look at this great article I pulled from David Fletcher's weblog, check David's blog out at:

http://radio.weblogs.com/0110120/

Thursday, March 27, 2003

National Environmental Information Exchange Network

The National Environmental Information Exchange Network (NEIEN) is one of the more ambitious national XML projects. The project is funded by a $25 million grant through EPA and involves 44 states. States are already making progress towards achieving some of the benefits described in the NEIEN blueprint:

A common approach to environmental information exchange that is manageable by an agency as an agency, and not a collection of stovepiped systems, loyalties and approaches.
A transition from traditional information exchange approaches, which are rife with management and data quality problems, to a data-centric approach focused on data and data quality.
Enhanced potential for data integration.
Lower cost to exchange data.
More agency control over its own data, especially in light of public and legislative trends driving all public data onto the Internet.

Each NEIEN member is defined by their "network node." The node is a single point for delivery and receipt of information and contains a catalog of information and metadata available from that particular member (usually defined as a state). The node may contain data relevant to things such as air quality, water quality, leaking underground storage tanks, or hazardous waste. The data flows through EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX). NEIEN activities are also coordinated through the Environmental Council of the States.

The typical architecture for a network node includes a SOAP listener, SOAP processor, Object Handler, Data Mapper, XML processor, and data connectivity components. According to the state of Maine, the State’s best “bang for the buck” from the benefits of electronic commerce technologies such as XML, Web services, and Enterprise Application Integration depends on the technologies being implemented once centrally and thereafter used by all agencies. Maine is interested in leveraging the NEIEN architecture and experience to develop and enterprise XML solution.

NEIEN Glossary

Fotonotes a Gotta Try!

Thu, 27 Mar 2003 01:11:34 GMT

Fotonotes a Gotta Try!

http://www.fotonotes.net/index.php?action=home

The idea of embedding stories into a JPEG image is a wonderful idea! Well worth your time checking it out.

One of the author's blog is at:

http://gregelin.com:8668/duhblog/space/start

While the official Fotonotes blog is at:

http://www.fotonotes.net/blog/

Dan Gillmor has mentioned it at:

http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/000891.shtml#000891

While Doc Searls has mentioned it at:

http://doc.weblogs.com/2003/03/25#embeddedInScottsdale

if you go to Fotonote site and search for Switzer, Pierre Grays or Willemore Wilderness Park, you may be able to view some photos I realeased for your viewing pleasure!

Tue, 25 Mar 2003 13:07:14 GMT

GM ads smear public transit -- again General M .... <a name="200042148"> GM ads smear public transit -- again <br> General Motors, a company that gutted many of America's great cities by pressuring local governments to eliminate public transit in the 20th century, is running ads in a local Vancouver paper that calls transit riders "CREEPS & WEIRDOS." Another ad complains about the odor of the subway. Between Los Angeles's smog, Aussie brushfires and Middle East wars, I thin... [Meerkat: An Open Wire Service]

When oil fields become battlefields

Sat, 22 Mar 2003 03:25:16 GMT

When oil fields become battlefields If Saddam repeats his Gulf War strategy of torching oil wells, he could set off one of the worst environmental disasters in history.

[via Salon.com]

Fri, 21 Mar 2003 21:32:13 GMT

Importance of 'natural purifiers' stressed. Ignoring the economic value of natural environments such as marshes and forests can lead to costly mistakes, the Third World Water Forum in Japan has been told. [news.google.com / Scitech]

Fri, 21 Mar 2003 08:26:04 GMT

Pioneering Atlas on Freshwater Supports Hydro-Diplomacy. Environment News - KYOTO, Japan, March 20, 2003 (ENS) - International organizations should take the role of "marriage guidance counselors" for trans-boundary water issues before they turn into water conflicts between countries, the United Nation's ...
Water will be scarce by 2025, warns DENR ABS CBN News
Women Must Work Harder to Empower Themselves AllAfrica.com
Swissinfo - New Scientist - Financial Times (subscription) - SRiMedia - and 21 related » [Google Technology News]

Tue, 18 Mar 2003 13:16:47 GMT

Composting toilets key to global sanitation, say scientists. New Scientist - Giving large sewer systems to communities in the developing world could be disastrous for them and their environments, sanitation scientists are telling the World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan. Their advice flies in the face of United ...
Water shortages 'foster terrorism' BBC
Third World Water Forum meets in Japan eTaiwan News
Daily Yomiuri - International Herald Tribune - Japan Times - The Japan Times - and 44 related » [Google Technology News]

Winged Messengers: The Decline of Birds-Worldwatch Paper 165

Mon, 17 Mar 2003 04:44:00 GMT

Worldwatch Paper 165:
Winged Messengers: The Decline of Birds

http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/paper/165/

Available from the Worldwatch Institute:

The description from the above web site is as follows:

"Washington, D.C.—Bird populations around the world are plummeting faster than ever before, and human factors—from population growth to habitat destruction and climate change—are at the center of this demise, reports a new study from the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization. Human-related factors are threatening 99 percent of the most imperiled bird species and contributing to what has become the greatest wave of extinctions since dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago, according to Howard Youth in Winged Messengers: The Decline of Birds.

“Declining bird populations mark not only the loss of unique species," says Youth, "but also the unraveling of delicate natural balances. Birds are valuable environmental indicators because they warn us of impending problems through their waning or flourishing populations.”

With twelve percent of the world’s bird population—almost 1,200 species—facing extinction in the next century, Winged Messengers outlines an array of phenomena that is accelerating this demise."

Sat, 15 Mar 2003 22:30:22 GMT

Build Your Own Satellite Ground Station. kavachameleon writes "A site called Hobby Space has this article at which there are instructions on how you can build your own satellite weather station! ... [Slashdot]

Mon, 10 Mar 2003 03:33:38 GMT

Study finds hybrid cars greener than hydrogen cars. Planet Ark - Hybrid cars, which combine electric motors with small petroleum engines, will outpace the environmental benefits of hydrogen fuel cell cars until at least 2020, according to a university study.
Hybrids greener than hydrogen cars - study ABC Online
MSNBC - and 4 related » [Google Technology News]

Mon, 10 Mar 2003 02:59:37 GMT

Sea level may rise even faster. Salt Lake Tribune - New evidence from a rapidly warming part of Antarctica suggests that ice can flow into the sea much more readily than had been predicted, perhaps leading to an accelerated rise in sea levels from global warming.
Sea-level rise shelved for now Nature.com
Antarctic ice may push seas higher The Age
New York Times - and 4 related » [Google Technology News]

Sun, 09 Mar 2003 22:54:33 GMT

Dinosaur-Killer" Asteroid Crater Imaged for First Time. A high-resolution map from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), released yesterday, has provided the most telling visible evidence to date of a 112-mile (180-kilometer) wide, 3000-foot (900-meter) deep impact crater, the result ... [news.google.com / Scitech]

Sat, 08 Mar 2003 03:29:28 GMT

Blue Planet: No rest for the ANWRy. Both sides of the debate over oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have become so deeply entrenched they are unlikely to be swayed much by a new report on the issue, even from the highly respected ... [news.google.com / Scitech]

Sat, 08 Mar 2003 00:29:32 GMT

Dinosaur-Killer" Asteroid Crater Imaged for First Time. National Geographic - A high-resolution map from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), released yesterday, has provided the most telling visible evidence to date of a 112-mile (180-kilometer) wide, 3000-foot (900-meter) deep impact crater, the result ...
Image Shows Crater That Killed Dinos Salt Lake Tribune
Radar reveals traces of killer crater MSNBC
AScribe - ScienceBlog.com - Modesto Bee - Townsville Bulletin - and 23 related » [Google Technology News]

Fri, 07 Mar 2003 15:00:47 GMT

On the Slopes, High-Tech Sensors Probe for an Avalanche. Researchers say computer-based techniques could help make avalanches easier to forecast. By Anne Eisenberg. [New York Times: Technology]

Thu, 06 Mar 2003 11:35:18 GMT

Grim Future for World's Water. The planet will face an unprecedented shortage of drinking water in the next 20 years, a U.N. report warns. Pollution, global warming and thick-headed politicians get most of the blame. [Wired News]

Wed, 05 Mar 2003 13:12:38 GMT

Water crisis 'will prolong world hunger'. BBC - The world's water crisis is so severe it could take almost 30 years to eradicate hunger, the United Nations says.
Billions will be without clean water in less than 50 years, UN warns Canada.com
Canada's water ranks second best in world National Post
ABC Online - CBC News - Washington Post - New Scientist - and 25 related » [Google Technology News]

Copernic+Newzcrawler=No Recycling,No Mags & No Newspapers

Wed, 05 Mar 2003 01:03:11 GMT

Copernic+Newzcrawler=No Recycling, No Mags & No Newspapers

For years now I have refused to fork out hard cash for computer magazines, and rely on info via the Internet. The only thing I have missed out on by doing this is 50 pages of advertising for each computer mag. Other than that no real negative impact.

Today this approach extended to cutting off delivery of my local newspaper. Why cause more trees to die!

My recipe to replace 20th century paper based news is to combine the use of news oriented search engines and software that are preconfingured in an application called Copernic.

In addtion I use Newzcrawler to check the latest news from around the world. Even cooler Newzcrawler has the ability to post to my weblog.

So if you like me want to save some trees, and get more balanced, and nation neutral approach to news, try this approach.

Copernic

http://www.copernic.com

Newzcrawler

http://www.newzcrawler.com/

Together they are a great team for global nation neutral news!

Mon, 03 Mar 2003 04:09:26 GMT

Climate change boosting flood and drought: experts. ABC Online - Billions of people will be at greater risk from storms, floods and droughts in the years ahead, partly as a result of global warming, an international water agency has warned.
Gov'ts must prepare for water problems China Post
Extreme weather becoming a worldwide trend ABS CBN News
Independent Online - Knoxville News Sentinel - Madison Daily Leader - The Weather Channel - and 10 related » [Google Technology News]

Sat, 01 Mar 2003 16:45:11 GMT

Research Panel Criticizes US Government's Climate Plan. An independent federal research panel has strongly criticized the US Government's strategic plan to combat global warming. The new report by the National Research Council prepared at the request of the Bush administration - calls the White ... [news.google.com / Scitech]

MACES-Maybe Apple Ceases Existing Soon

Sat, 01 Mar 2003 15:20:09 GMT

MACES-Maybe Apple Ceases Existing Soon

Sort of a long the lines of Upside and Red Herring.

The other title I was considering was Apple's Long Slow Death Spiral March.

I was an engergetic Mac user from 85-96. In 1984 I remember following all the press on the Apple Lisa, and checking it out in the local showroom at Galactica Computers. Hell, I still have two Lisas gathering dust in the basement, as collectors items. In the heady days of the mid 80s, Apple ruled the day with a real live innovations they stole from Xerox, and others. No one could have touched them if they were not so greedy, and if they had opened their truly great operating system to Intel processors. But that didn't happen did it? Instead Apple gouged their loyal customers with operating system upgrade costs and the like, so that even I, a diehard Mac user, turned my back on them in 96 in disgust. There were simply not enough reasons to stay using them, and the upgrade path was more expensive than Wintel boxes, and there was not that much difference in the applications anymore. Office was Office, whether you ran a Mac or Intel box, and with Intel dominating the work environment who needed the conversion hassle.

Today, I checked out Apple's web site, genuinely hoping for some sign of intelligent life, some truly killer application! I found none, and the only thing of interest to me was the Broadcast streaming server. Apple's progression from the only great computer on the planet, to also ran is so sad. I had hoped that the experience Jobs gained with NeXT would inspire great things in the new BSD based X. But nothing truly great has evolved. Darwin seemed like such a winner in theory, but in practice Linux is kicking their ass on the server side, and of course Windows has all but killed them on the desktop side. Other than a small group of print professionals and film wantabees I do not see a lot of traction for Apple in the market.

And the switch campaign, please! With Lindows, and Walmart delivering a $300 desktop and a $800 laptop, the only companies that should be using the switch campaign are running Linux! The weird thing is the company that should be worried is Microsoft, with their latest greedy approach to licensing, and draconian measures, the switch to Linux campaign will surely move from the servers of the world to the desktop!

Sometime this year Linux will eclipse Apple in market share, and with this milestone, the wind is shifting for Linux on the desktop!

Lookout Redmond, the Penguin has teeth! Nasty bird!

Fri, 28 Feb 2003 21:20:52 GMT

Bush climate change plan lacks focus, scientists say. Environmental News Network - WASHINGTON The Bush administration's plan for research into global climate change lacks a "clear and consistent" focus to guide officials in setting US policy, a National Academy of Sciences panel said on Tuesday.
Reheated research Times Picayune
Bush Climate Plan Needs Major Tweaking Environment News
Guardian - Grist Magazine - Waste News - San Jose Mercury News - and 71 related » [Google Technology News]

Fri, 28 Feb 2003 16:14:19 GMT

Great Barrier Reef revegetation program begins. The Queensland Government says it is taking action to ensure farmers properly manage catchment areas flowing into the Great Barrier Reef. [news.google.com / Scitech]

Thu, 27 Feb 2003 04:05:36 GMT

Advisers tell Bush climate plan is useless. Guardian - George Bush's strategy on global warming suffered a setback yesterday when a panel of scientists convened at the request of the White House condemned it as lacking vision, and wasting time and money on research questions that were resolved years ago.
Bush Climate Plan Needs Major Tweaking Environment News
Withering Heights Grist Magazine
Waste News - San Jose Mercury News - Bedford Times Mail - Washington Post - and 59 related » [Google Technology News]

Thu, 27 Feb 2003 00:37:58 GMT

Science panel faults Bush global warming research plan [SiliconValley.com: Editorial]

Tue, 25 Feb 2003 05:51:07 GMT

Curbing carbon dioxide. International Herald Tribune - The pressure on President George W. Bush to abandon his irresponsibly passive approach to global warming was ratcheted up last week. On Thursday the attorneys general of seven northeastern states announced their intention to sue the ...
US top court to decide Alaskan mine generator case Forbes
City will furnish EPA with reports Myrtle Beach Sun News
The Daily - Mother Jones - Salisbury Daily Times - Middletown Times Herald Record - and 36 related » [Google Technology News]

The Buffalo Roam Again

Sat, 08 Feb 2003 14:38:22 GMT

The buffalo roam again. Feature: As North Dakota's human inhabitants give up on the plains and move out, the original settlers are on their way back. Matthew Engel reports. [Guardian Unlimited]

Fri, 31 Jan 2003 02:58:08 GMT

Nature Photographers Online

http://www.naturephotographers.net/index.html

Luminous Landscape

http://luminous-landscape.com/

got these links from an Australian blog

Thu, 23 Jan 2003 20:37:08 GMT

Four-Winged Dinosaurs and the Dawn of Flight [Scientific American]

Sun, 19 Jan 2003 14:03:26 GMT

New Study Suggests Missing Link That Explains How Dinosaurs Learned To Fly. Science Daily - Two-legged dinosaurs may have used their forelimbs as wing-like structures to propel themselves rapidly up steep inclines long before they took to the skies, reports a University of Montana researcher in the January 17 issue ...
Origin of Bird Flight Explained Scientific American
Flapping a forerunner to flight? Nature.com
Billings Gazette - CNN - New Scientist - CBC News - and 28 related » [Google Technology News]

Fri, 17 Jan 2003 12:28:49 GMT

Origin of Bird Flight Explained [Scientific American]

Fri, 17 Jan 2003 02:19:00 GMT

For those of you strange enough like me to have studied parasitology, the study of parasites,

comes an interesting, 10,000 yr old story of one parasite's evolution.

Genetic jackpot win explains parasite's success. New Scientist Jan 16 2003 7:55PM ET... [Meerkat: An Open Wire Service]

Fri, 17 Jan 2003 00:18:41 GMT

Thinning ice puts seals at risk. The Globe and Mail - Rapidly thinning ice off Atlantic Canada could further endanger a seal population already at risk of overhunting, an environmental group warned Thursday.
Shrinking ice may threaten seals, study says Toronto Star
Melting ice on East Coast threatens seals: report CBC News
Reuters AlertNet - Canoe News - Centre Daily Times - and 11 related » [Google Technology News]

Wed, 15 Jan 2003 02:22:11 GMT

GM beet welcomes weeds and wildlife. New Scientist Jan 14 2003 8:13PM ET... [Meerkat: An Open Wire Service]

Wed, 15 Jan 2003 02:17:11 GMT

Adding fuel to the fire. LA dispatch: Sports utility vehicles are being linked with terrorist funding, writes Duncan Campbell. [Guardian Unlimited]

Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:56:24 GMT

Bill Would Offer Tax Credits for Solar Systems. Environment News Service Jan 14 2003 7:18PM ET... [Meerkat: An Open Wire Service]

Tue, 14 Jan 2003 00:33:39 GMT

Proliferation of Homes Threatens Biodiversity. Scientific American - There's a lot of talk these days of economic troubles causing young adults to move back in with mom and dad. Although many of those returning home hope it's only temporary, they can take heart in the results of a new study that suggest they're helping to ...
Empty nest syndrome is hurting the environment Independent Online
Rise in small households 'a threat to planet' New Zealand Herald
ABC Online - IAfrica South African News - and 5 related » [Google Technology News]

GPS+PDA+Maps=Mapopolis

Mon, 13 Jan 2003 20:16:03 GMT

GPS+PDA+Maps=Mapopolis

if you are interested in using a PDA to find your way, then the above combiation may be the one for you.

check out the following site for more info:

http://www.mapopolis.com/gps.jsp?s=1042492422921317&;p=&q=85799.56724499114

The Detroit Project

Sat, 11 Jan 2003 17:08:29 GMT

The Detroit Project

this would fit in the about bloody time category. It is crazy that so many people drive gas guzzling sport utilties, that never leave the pavement, yet burn tons of gas unncessarily. The Detroit Project is an attempt to reverse this trend that has implications for our planet.

check it out at:

http://www.detroitproject.com/

Skyview-the Internet Virtual Telescope

Sat, 11 Jan 2003 16:55:24 GMT

this fits into the GottaTry category, here is the descriptor from their web site:

SkyView is a Virtual Observatory on the Net generating images of any part of the sky at wavelengths in all regimes from Radio to Gamma-Ray.

http://skyview.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/titlepage.pl

Fri, 10 Jan 2003 23:23:58 GMT

Internet helps write the book of life. Listing every species on Earth should be possible by 2028 thanks to the internet, scientists say. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

Fri, 10 Jan 2003 23:21:28 GMT

Vampire Bat Saliva Compound Could Help Treat Strokes [Scientific American]