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WEB SITE NEWS AND COMMENTARY

Keep An Open Mind

Learning science means more than learning facts and formulas or observing the physical world. It also means learning how to think, how to choose between competing facts and how to draw logical conclusions. In that way it is no different than any other life pursuit. Knowledge is a process. This comes to mind after reading several pieces this week about frogs. Several years ago ScienceMaster did a piece on the alarming decline of amphibians, especially frogs. There was much conjecture as to the exact cause and many theories were being pursued, from destruction of native habitat, air and water pollution to viruses. Now, a few new reports have identified with more certainty, possible causes. The first, out of a science journal, concludes that the chytrid fungus is the primary culprit. Once infected with the chytrid fungus frogs die rapidly. The fungus has been found in various places around the world, including North and South America, and Australia. I heard a radio report that the suspected culprit is Atrazine, a widely used herbicide. It is causing sexual mutations in frogs at very low parts per billion.

The USGS has an entire part of its web site dedicated to frog decline and deformities. [See below]. Not to diminish the problem by any means one thing is clear -- the jury is out on the actual cause and it is much more likely that it is a group of causes converging at this point in time. The bottom line is, at least for the pursuit of knowledge, to explore many different theories before throwing your energies down one particular path.
*Photo by Cecil Schwalbe, USGS; photo taken at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Ariz., July 1994

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Columns/Articles

This month ScienceMaster welcomes two new columnist, from our friends at The Naked Scientist.com. The Naked Scientist is the online companion to The Naked Scientist Radio Show which comprises a digest of breaking scientific news stories synthesized from weekly journals and the popular press, interspersed with accessible chart music and an interview with a guest of established scientific merit.

Bob Bury is a Consultant Radiologist and Adel Fattah is a Developmental Biologist. Both will be bringing you timely science discussion and perspective. --> http://www.ScienceMaster.com/columns/columns.php

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JumpStart Science New Feature

Five Planets Line Up For A Big Show

The five planets visible to the naked eye are getting together for the next few weeks. Well not really. It's only our perspective here on Earth. But, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury and Venus will look as if they are lined up in the western sky each evening now, until the middle of this month.

For specifics, visit the Griffith Observatory web site. If the visibility is good in your area, you won't need a telescope, a set of field binoculars should do the trick.

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Easing off the (Greenhouse) Gas

A recent NASA-funded study shows that the rate of growth of greenhouse gas emissions has slowed since its peak in 1980, due in part to international cooperation that led to reduced chlorofluorocarbon use, slower growth of methane, and a steady rate of carbon dioxide emissions.

Researchers have shown that global warming in recent decades has probably been caused by carbon dioxide (CO2), and other greenhouse gases including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methane, tropospheric ozone, and black carbon (soot) particles.

Overall, the growth of emissions has slowed over the past 20 years, with the CFC phase-out being the most important factor, according to the study. More
Image courtesy Tom Bridgman, NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio

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Learn About the Air Quality Index

The Air Quality Index is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells how clean or polluted the air is, and what associated health concerns you should be aware of. The AQI focuses on health effects that can happen within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, the EPA has established national air quality standards to protect against harmful health effects. To check out a daily forecast visit Air Now, or for kids, AQI.

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U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Opens New Web Site

"Coral reefs are some of the most valuable and spectacular places on earth. Covering less than 1% of the planet's surface, coral reefs and their associated mangrove, seagrass, and other habitats are the world's most biologically diverse marine ecosystems. Coral reefs are valuable assets providing food, jobs, protection from storms and billions of dollars in revenues each year to local communities and national economies." Visit the CRTF Web Site to learn more about their work and about the fragile state of coral reefs around the world. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF) was established to lead the U.S. response to this growing, global environmental crisis.
*Image courtesy CFTF web site

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Extreme Weather and Climate Events

There's extreme sports, and extreme art, but if you really want to go extreme, learn about Extreme Weather and Climate events from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). This site will give you the statistics on all kinds of extreme weather -- hurricanes, temperature extremes, drought, and tornadoes to name just a few. There's even a section on Historical Extreme Weather. Much better than reality television, this is reality 'real life'.

NCDC is the world's largest active archive of weather data. NCDC produces numerous climate publications and responds to data requests from all over the world. NCDC operates the World Data Center for Meteorology, Asheville which is colocated at NCDC.
*Image Courtesy NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

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QUOTES

"Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering." — Attributed to Arthur C. Clarke (science fiction writer)

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*Credits & Contacts
Third party images and text are deemed to be in the public domain.

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