The BBC News reports that a new study finds an interesting trend in water usage amongst the “developed” nations. “The amount of water used to produce food and goods imported by developed countries is worsening water shortages in the developing world, a report says.”

One White Lab Coat guy suggests that the West is helping to create the “perfect storm,” whereby “developing” nations are looking at a bleak future due to water shortages.

“Forecasts suggest that when the world’s population soars beyond 8bn in 20 years time, the global demand for food and energy will jump by 50%, with the need for fresh water rising by 30%.”

The problem appears to come from what is called “embedded” water. This is the aqua used to make goods (such as T-shirts and beer) that is hidden from the consumer.

“Ten times as much is embedded in the British-made goods bought by the average UK consumer; but that represents only about one-third of the total water embedded in all the average consumer’s food and goods, with the remainder coming from imports.”

The same holds true for other highly industrial consumer nations.

As usual, many urge for immediate water conservation, which comes with its own merits. But, as most anthropologists understand, primates rarely conserve for the hell of it, which includes ethical considerations. Other wonks suggest that nations high on the food chain should consider banning the import of certain items in order to assist developing countries meet basic caloric needs.

Consider this – Starbucks having to grow its own coffee beans in Mississippi.
Fat chance.

The saga continues, with scant mention of the magic formula – IPAT.

posted by Mudd

And now, a word from the Golden Ray of Hope Department – as reported by The Christian Science Monitor:

“Garnett Beckman says she’d prefer to just be known as a little old lady who walks. For a long time, she didn’t tell people her age. It proved to be an impediment when she wanted to hike the Grand Canyon at age 75 – no one would take her.”

So Ms. Beckman went anyway, alone. And yes, she managed quite nicely, hiking solo down Bright Angel Trail and back under her own power. And then she went back.

“She was just getting started. She hiked the canyon again a few weeks later, and her son came with her. She’d make the trip more than 20 times in the following decades.”

Our hero is now a young 102 years old. Let’s hope she doesn’t take up kung fu, or we’re all in trouble!

Salut!

posted by Mudd

This just in from AolNews.com – “The amount of junk in low Earth orbit — where the shuttle and the space station travel — has increased 60 percent since 2006, according to NASA.”

And, if you believe the headlines, the problem is growing.

“William Jeffs, NASA spokesman for the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said the millions of pieces of space junk include half a million pieces bigger than a marble and 20,000 bigger than a softball.”

A junkyard in space? Sounds like a reality TV show waiting to happen. Or worse.

Mudd’s History of the World in One Paragraph – First you invent stone tools and bash rabbits; then you invent agriculture and bash the rest of the critters; then you invent the Industrial Revolution and bash the entire planet; then you invent space travel and make a frigging big mess that signifies what a bunch of dumb-asses Homo erectus asphaltus tends to be.

It makes you wonder – are primates with cell phones hard-wired to leave a trail of crap in their wake? The answer seems as clear as the noon day sun (unless you happen to be wandering the back roads of Iceland at the moment, where a lovely volcano has decided to turn the sky into a film noir).

Remember IPAT!

posted by Mudd

The New York Times reports that Brazil has seen the light (no pun) and has decided to move away from “dirty” energy sources, ostensibly in an effort to be somewhat greener than not. Yet, like all “developing” countries (what exactly does that mean?), Brazil needs what appears to be a never ending supply of juice.

The solution? More dams, of course.

“Brazil uses hydroelectric power for more than 80 percent of its energy, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said that more dams are needed. Dilma Rousseff, the presidential candidate that Mr. da Silva is backing as his successor, has also pushed for more dams, including Belo Monte, which would represent about 10 percent of Brazil’s total power generation.” [NYT]

But, as usual, the local folks have other ideas about the Brazilian government inundating their land.

“To build Belo Monte, builders would have to excavate two huge channels larger than the Panama Canal to divert water from the main dam to the power plant. The reservoir would flood more than 160 square miles of forest while drying up a 60-mile stretch of the Xingu River, displacing more than 20,000 people, many from indigenous communities, according to non-governmental groups citing government figures.”

So, after apparently reading Edward Abbey’s “The Monkey Wrench Gang,” the locals decided to take matters into their own hands.

“For indigenous groups, the drying out of the Xingu would change life as they know it. So at their meeting last month, leaders from 13 tribes made an unusual decision: They decided to create a new tribe of about 2,500, and then station it directly on the construction site, occupying it for years, if need be.”

Hayduke would be proud!

posted by Mudd

This in from Yahoo News [AP] – “President Barack Obama boldly predicted Thursday his new plans for space exploration would lead American astronauts on historic, almost fantastic journeys to an asteroid and then to Mars — and in his lifetime — relying on rockets and propulsion still to be imagined and built.”

And then what – start making a mess up there to equal the one we made here on Earth? Do we really need to screw up another planet?

“One small step for man, one giant leap for the Chamber of Commerce,” said Hobart Clems of Nebraska in response to the President’s baloney. “Just give us free beer, clean air, and a tax rebate. Leave Mars the hell alone!” he added before flipping off reporters.

Tell em, Hobart.

posted by Mudd

The topic de jour is “Can We ‘Cool The Planet’ Through Geoengineering?” Let’s hope not.

Some skewed thinkers out yonder, apparently blinded by science, are seriously pondering cooling the planet vial geoengineering. Of course, as any clear headed American (oxymoron?) can clearly see, such an idea is little more than bullshit sprinkled with glitter.

Here’s a whiff of the stink from NPR – “For years, environmental and energy researchers have been working on solutions to stop or slow down the effects of global warming. One approach that has recently gained popularity is what scientists call geoengineering — the idea that Earth can essentially be retrofitted with technology to reduce global warming.”

Planet Earth needs technological retrofitting? Where’s George Carlin when you need him?

Can we geo-engineer Homo erectus asphaltus while we’re at it? How about retrofitting our species’ proclivity to eat ourselves into a diabetic stupor? Or our tendency towards blind obedience to ideological stupidity? Or our insatiable desire to reproduce?

Sound silly? Of course it does.

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind of common sense – reduce our population in accordance with ecological carrying capacity, live in some semblance of harmony with “nature,” and quit acting out every urge produced by testosterone overdose.

You don’t need a zoo keeper to tell you which way the monkey jumps. Nor do you need a techno-wonk to tell you that what ails the planet is looking in the proverbial mirror wondering if their teeth are white enough. Or, as the Old Man in the Sea told us – when the bell tolls, answer the phone.

As one pundit told NPR – “We have a lot of talk about clean energy, about green energy, people trying to do their part and change their lives in small ways, but in fact, we’re really not doing anything.”

Not true…. we’re behaving exactly like the primates that we are. And we will continue to do so until our lovely DNA dictates otherwise. Perhaps a sad commentary on the societal evolution, but what is, is.

Until then, free condoms!

posted by Mudd

As reported by MSNBC – “At the end of last year, roughly 1 in 8 Americans received food stamps, the highest rate ever,” according to Lisa Pino, the program’s deputy administrator. During the past two years alone, another nearly 12 million people enrolled in the program.

So much for Thomas Jefferson’s American agrarianism.

posted by Mudd

From the lovely BBC News – “A study of over 47,000 Italian adults found that women alone whose diets contained a lot of bread, pizza and rice doubled their heart disease risk.”

This study confirms my suspicions that pizza is the most over-rated food on the Cosmic Menu. One can only assume that the women in said study croaked even earlier by adding cheese and pepperoni to their carbo-pies.

posted by Mudd

As reported by the New York Times – “Researchers from around the world are gathering this week in San Jose, Calif., for the largest conference on psychedelic science held in the United States in four decades. They plan to discuss studies of psilocybin and other psychedelics for treating depression in cancer patients, obsessive-compulsive disorder, end-of-life anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction to drugs or alcohol.”

As anybody old enough to have watched the original run of the Beverly Hillbillies knows, fungi are one of the planet’s most unsung heros. Thus, the notion that certain spores might aid Homo erectus asphaltus overcome the foibles of depression and other nefarious maladies is no surprise.

Remember Ötzi the so-called Iceman? Yup – he was toting a few funky spores of Fomes fomentarius as he trekked through the icy Alps. And now you, too, can partake. For a fee, of course.

Back to our story. “Scientists are especially intrigued by the similarities between hallucinogenic experiences and the life-changing revelations reported throughout history by religious mystics and those who meditate.”

Hot damn! Sign me up. Why wear your butt to the bone sitting on a cushion when you can trip into the light fandango on a few microdots of psilocybin?

Life is funny. One day they’re busting you for acting like Mr. Natural, the next they’re sending you to clinic for a shot of psychedelic mushroom tea.

Before you laugh, turn on, tune in and drop a few minutes with the Fungi Guru – Paul Stamets. You’ll be heading for the clinic in short order.

Ommmmmm……

posted by Mudd

From NPR – “As states across the country scramble to close budget gaps, many are targeting state parks. Arizona is the first to go through with it. In February, the state closed five of its 30 parks, and a number of them contain fragile archaeological sites.”

That includes Homolovi Ruins State Park in northern Arizona.

“Homolovi stands to lose a lot if it remains closed. Home to more than 500 ancestral Hopi sites, the area has been ravaged for centuries by looters, searching for relics to sell on the black market. The worst of it was during the 1970s, about a decade before Homolovi became a state park.”

Interestingly enough, local volunteers have stepped into the picture to protect Homolovi. That includes “Karen Berggren, who has managed Homolovi since it opened 23 years ago.” Now she works with no salary.

Let’s make a prediction – in this Age of Meaningless Dribble, the odds are that local volunteers do as good a job of protecting Arizona’s parks as the State did during the fat years.

Let’s hope so.

posted by Mudd