Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Eye-popping bug photos

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
"The Quantum Factor" – Apr 10, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Galaxies, Universe, Intelligent design, Benevolent design, Aliens, Nikola Tesla (Quantum energy), Inter-Planetary Travel, DNA, Genes, Stem Cells, Cells, Rejuvenation, Shift of Human Consciousness, Spontaneous Remission, Religion, Dictators, Africa, China, Nuclear Power, Sustainable Development, Animals, Global Unity.. etc.) - (Text Version)


“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."

(Live Kryon Channelings was given 7 times within the United Nations building.)

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)


The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much….”



"Fast-Tracking" - Feb 8, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Reference to Fukushima / H-bomb nuclear pollution and a warning about nuclear > 20 Min)

Obama unveils landmark regulations to combat climate change

Obama unveils landmark regulations to combat climate change
In a bid to combat climate change, US President Barack Obama announced the Clean Power Plan on Monday, marking the first time power plants have been targeted by mandatory regulations on carbon dioxide emissions in the US.
Google: Earthday 2013

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Dead fish to power Norwegian cruise liners

Yahoo – AFP, November 26, 2018

Leftover dead fish from Norway's large fishing industry will be mixed with other
organic waste to make a liquified biogas to be used instead of heavy fuel oil, said
Hurtigruten, which runs cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica, among other locations.

Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten plans to use dead fish to power some of its ships, it said on Monday, as it seeks to reduce its pollution and climate change impact.

Leftover dead fish from Norway's large fishing industry will be mixed with other organic waste to make a liquified biogas to be used instead of heavy fuel oil, said Hurtigruten, which runs cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica, among other locations.

"What others see as a problem, we see as a resource and a solution," the company's chief executive Daniel Skjeldam said.

"By introducing biogas as fuel for cruise ships, Hurtigruten will be the first cruise company to power ships with fossil-free fuel," he added.

The first biogas ship could be ready as soon as the end of next year, according to spokesman Rune Thomas Ege.

The company aims to have six of its 17 ships capable of using a combination of biogas, batteries and liquified natural gas, the cleanest of fossil fuels, by 2021.

Norway, which already has buses that run on biogas, has large fishing and forestry industries which produce vast amounts of organic waste.

The announcement comes as the cruise sector faces heavy criticism for its climate footprint and its impact on air quality.

A large cruise ship powered by highly-polluting heavy fuel oil emits almost as many fine particles daily as one million cars, according to German environmental group Nabu.

On Monday, a French court fined cruise company P&O and its US captain 100,000 euros ($114,000) for knowingly using fuel with excessive sulphur levels, the first such ruling in France.

Norway has a "zero emission" target for cruise ships and ferries navigating its fjords listed as world heritage sites by UNESCO by 2026 at the latest.

Hurtigruten, which aims to become carbon neutral by 2050, has ordered three hybrid battery/diesel vessels which the company said will be "the first cruise ships in the world that will be able to operate completely emission free for periods of time".

The spokesman said that is "and something deemed almost impossible just a few years back".

Saturday, November 3, 2018

World's rarest plants, vital crops can't be banked: study

Yahoo – AFP, Patrick GALEY, November 2, 2018

New research by botanists at Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens found that the
seeds of more than a third of 'critically endangered' plants and trees can't be
put into seed banks (AFP Photo/JUSTIN SULLIVAN)

Paris (AFP) - International efforts to save some of the world's rarest and economically important plants from climate change are doomed to fail because their seeds cannot be stored, researchers warned Friday.

As the planet heats and mankind continues to decimate natural habitats, scientists concede that the only way to save some types of vegetation is in seed banks -- giant repositories of thousands of species preserved for future generations.

Nations agreed a global strategy in 2002 to conserve at least three quarters of threatened plant species with the aim of recovering and restoring their stocks in nature at some point.

Scientists working in several seed banks around the world currently conserve seeds by drying them before freezing.

But new research by botanists at Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, found that 36 percent of "critically endangered" plants and trees aren't bankable under the current method because their seeds die when dried and so cannot be preserved by freezing.

"You can't dry the seeds so you cannot conserve them in a conventional seed bank," John Dickie, head of collections at Kew, told AFP.

It was previously known that at least eight percent of plants -- including oak trees, mango, avocado and cacao -- produce "recalcitrant" seeds that die when dried.

But with seed banking a work in progress, only a small proportion of plants have had their suitability for freezing assessed.

Dickie and his team developed a model using data on the climate, species habitat and the known seed-storage behaviour of related vegetation that predicted how likely it was that a plant's seeds would be bankable.

Preservation goals 'impossible'

The analysis showed that the goal of conserving 75 percent of the world's threatened plant species outside their natural habitat by 2020 was "practically impossible".

In addition, even a proportion of seeds that survive drying and freezing have been shown to deteriorate while in storage, further complicating efforts to save their species.

Plants including avocado trees produce "recalcitrant" seeds that die when 
dried (AFP Photo/DAVID MCNEW)

Dickie said the team at Kew, which has been banking seeds for nearly 40 years, noticed "declines in viability" in some seed varieties over the decades, meaning they are less likely to be successfully planted and grown in future.

Other common food plants with problematic seeds include lychees, jack fruit and coconuts -- all from the tropics. Ebony, parana pine and myrtle trees also have "recalcitrant" seeds.

"It's looking very crudely like some sort of 80-20 rule: 80 percent of what we've got seems to be doing perfectly well but maybe 20 percent is living shorter under conventional conditions," he said.

One potential way of saving plants with hard-to-store seeds is, somewhat counter-intuitively, to freeze them at a much lower temperature using liquid nitrogen.

This avoids the drying stage and, according to the team behind the study published in Nature Plants, can preserve seeds better than the current method.

Dickie said it was vital that seeds were stored quickly after collection to boost their chances of survival.

He said there was a need for greater research on identifying at-risk species -- often grown in remote, tropical areas.

"Once you know where the population of plants is you can get in there and then it's really a matter of getting them to a facility fast," he said.

"As successful as seed banking is for some species, it is not suitable for all seed plants and we need to invest in other ways to safeguard these."

Friday, November 2, 2018

Minister looks into early closure of coal-fired power stations

DutchNews, November 1, 2018

Coal fired power stations could close earlier. Photo: Depositphotos.com 

Economic affairs minister Eric Wiebes may consider closing one or more coal fired power stations earlier than planned to comply with CO2 reduction goals, broadcaster NOS reported on Thursday. 

During a debate on Dutch plans to combat climate change late on Wednesday night, the minister admitted for the first time that the Netherlands is unlikely to reach the official target of cutting emissions by 25% compared to 1990 in two years time. 

Experts say the government’s present climate policy will not lower CO2 emissions by more than 23%. That means some 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions remain unaccounted for. 

The early closure of, for example, the coal-fired power station in Amsterdam, which is planned for 2024, would be good for some 3 million tonnes. 

The closure would form part of a package of additional measures which the minister said would be put in place next year, depending on the results of a new report on emission levels by Netherlands environmental assessment agency PBL due in January. 

Five plants 

The Netherlands currently has five coal-fired power stations, of which the three biggest and most polluting are in Rotterdam and the Eemshaven. The cabinet will shortly come up with a proposal for the closure of all five by 2030.

Last month, appeal court judges ordered the Dutch state to step up efforts to cut CO2 emissions in a case brought by campaign group Urgenda. 

The state appealed against a decision three years ago that required it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% of 1990 levels by 2020. It was the first time a court had ruled that a national government was legally bound to follow through on promises made in international climate agreements.