Gleanings of the Week Ending June 16, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Wood ducks - duckling paratrooper video. The ducklings leave the nest high in the tree when they are about 24 hours old.

Body Hacks for a Longer Life - infographic

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #15 - birds…and more birds

A Century of Learning About the Physiological Demands of Antarctica - severe exercise, malnutrition, hypothermia, high altitude, sleep deprivation

There Are Two Kinds of “Busy.” Is Yours the Good Kind? - excerpt from “It Takes an Egg Timer” book

Bamboo, A Beautiful and Versatile Material - It can grow 1.6 feet per hour!!!!

Does This Look Infected? Medical Procedures Then and Now - electroshock therapy, bullet removal, inflammation and the common cold, pain relief

50 Future Ideas You Really Need to Know - from Richard Watson

Top Solar Power Countries - The US is 22nd in terms of total solar power per million people, 31st in total new solar power per million people…..seems like this could result in a challenge to our long term competitiveness in the world

Solar Panel Technology Advancements - infographic

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 2, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

The World’s Largest Solar Thermal Power Plant - Built in the dessert outside Las Vega. When finished it will generate 370 megawatts of electricity on sunny days.

Ultra-efficient Solar - solar cell technology is getting better all the time…and approaching the point of producing electricity more cheaply that fossil fuels

Perspectives on the Geothermal Energy Association Showcase in DC - The US has the greatest installed base of geothermal energy in the world but investors and entrepreneurs are developing elsewhere because of policies/politics

Too Much Vitamin D Can Be as Unhealthy as Too Little, Study Suggests - Based on a quarter million blood tests in Copenhagen.

21st Century Bloodletting Reduces Cardiovascular Risk - a study done of obese people donating blood… with a positive result for them

The 10 Ways to Know Whether Your Job is Meaningful - this is an older post…but I just found it.

Seven Ways to Save on Health Care Costs - Some practical suggestions from Fidelity

Pocket marvels: 40 years of handheld computers - a slide show of history. I was disappointed that they didn’t include the early TI calculators.

The Evolution of Solar Technology - It all started in 1839!

California and American West Top 2012 State Clean Energy Index - 6 states now generate more than 10% of their utility-scale electricity from wind, solar, and geothermal…twice as many as in 2010

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 21, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Office Workers Spend Too Much Time at Their Desks - A study that provides some numbers to what we intuitively know. This is why I try to get up at least once an hour and have a Black Swopper Chair  chair at my desk!

Fill in the gaps--bird the road less traveled this January - hmmm...there is a county near me that is white (a city…so this would be birding in parks) surrounded my dark gray. Maybe I should plan an outing to look for birds and complete an eBird checklist. They promise maps for February around the 1st of the month so this could be an outing for next month too.

Sewer Mining - reusing wastewater in a decentralized, small scale way; example projects from around the world

The Parrot Trade - Lots of pictures of parrots included chicks/juveniles…and the disturbing wild-caught trade that persists

49 ways to save water - The ongoing drought in many parts of the US and other parts of the world prompts us to take a harder look at how we, as individuals, use water

What is your state good at - Map of the US with graphics associated with each state. Text follows to explain what it means

Photosynthesis Fuel Company Gets a Large Investment - plant being built near Leander, TX. The goal is to produce 20,000 gallons of ethanol per acre per year rather than the 2,000-3,000 gallons per acre achieved with cellulosic fuels such as grass and wood chips.

How Coffee Changed America - an infographic with the history (you’ll have to click on it and enlarge to read the text) followed by a write up on modern issues surrounding coffee

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week - from the Wild Bird Trust of South Africa…and there should be more in the weeks to come

Video of recent Solar Flare - colorful close up from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Making origami paper cubes - This has a video made by two girls to show exactly how it’s done.