Ski scenic groomed trails on Mt. Bachelor
Nordic Sports Director Bob Mathews founded the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center in 1975 by overseeing construction of a modest pair of looping trails with all of 7 kilometers of snowmobile-groomed trails. The then diminutive Nordic program was rounded out by a 150-square-foot rental and lesson department squeezed into a corner of the main lodge. Through […]
Pacific NW
New Ways to Explore Washington State Parks
Caption: Winter Camping at Millersylvania State Park Written by Dave Helgeson Editor’s note: The following article is reprinted with permission from the Northwest RVing Blog hosted by MHRV (Manufactured Housing and Recreational Vehicle) Show Association. The MHRV Show Association, producers of the annual Seattle RV Show, Puyallup RV Show and Enumclaw RV Show have enjoyed supporting Washington State Parks for […]
Ski scenic groomed trails on Mt. Bachelor
Nordic Sports Director Bob Mathews founded the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center in 1975 by overseeing construction of a modest pair of looping trails with all of 7 kilometers of snowmobile-groomed trails. The then diminutive Nordic program was rounded out by a 150-square-foot rental and lesson department squeezed into a corner of the main lodge. Through […]
Is passive solar a good house option?
Caption: Dr. Wolfgang Feist and family pose in front of the world's first passive solar house, constructed in 1991 in Darmstadt, Germany. Credit: International Passive House Association. Dear EarthTalk: What is a so-called “passive solar” house and can I retrofit my existing house accordingly?-- Bill C., Raleigh, NC A passive solar house is typically designed from scratch factoring in several considerations to boost the structure’s ability to naturally keep the interior living spaces a comfortable air temperature without using conventional emissions-spewing HVAC appliances. The concept hinges on having lots of insulation, no air leaks, and large, strategically-oriented south-facing windows that “collect” heatTexas storm Uri is renewable energy wake-up call
Caption: Wind power provides a small fraction of electricity in Texas; frozen natural gas lines caused the state's power grid to go down recently. Credit: Athena, pexels. Dear EarthTalk: Were frozen wind turbines the reason for Texas’ historic power outages recently? If so, how can we make renewables more reliable moving forward?-- G. S., Hartford, CT As Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc on the American Midwest this past February with bitter cold snow, entire power grids shut down and states like Texas faced a crisis like never before. Conservative politicians put the blame on renewable energy, particularly wind and solar. “Our wind
Climate models help predict climate change trends
Caption: The paint-like swirls of this visualization from Los Alamos National Laboratory depict global water-surface temperatures, with the cooler temperatures designated by blues and warmer temperatures by reds, as delineated by recent climate modeling efforts. Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory, FlickrCC. Dear EarthTalk: How does climate modeling work? What is the state-of-the-art in the field these days, and what do these most recent models tell us about our future? – J.M., Austin, TX Climate models are 3D figures of the Earth’s surface that demonstrate the cycling of energy and materials through the atmosphere, oceans and land. They compile geography, physics, chemistry
Climate change speeds bumblebee decline
Caption: American bumblebee numbers have fallen by 89% over the last two decades across the U.S., and conservationists want the Biden administration to add this little flying stinger to the Endangered Species List. Credit: James Johnston, FlickrCC. Dear EarthTalk: How are bee population numbers doing these days?– B. Turner, via e-mail Whether you’ve noticed it or not, there are far fewer bees around nowadays. One-quarter of the world’s 20,000 bee species are in precipitous decline or have already gone extinct since 1990. A range of causes are to blame, including indiscriminate overuse of pesticides, loss of plants, and habitat destruction fromIs global warming making us dumber?
Caption: Could all the greenhouse gases we're pumping into the atmosphere be compromising our ability to think straight? Credit: Pexels.com. Dear EarthTalk: Is there scientific basis to the assertion that global warming is affecting our ability to make decisions and lowering our collective intelligence?-- P.D., Sacramento, CA As we continue to pump carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and the climate warms around the world, it’s not only our health and the environment that we have to worry about. A handful of recent studies conclude that a warmer world with higher CO2 concentrations in the air we breathe
‘Field of Dreams” ecology not so dreamy
Caption: Researchers studying Tallgrass prairie restoration at Illinois' Nachusa Preserve found that reintroducing Bison there ended up bringing back other native wildlife much faster than merely reseeding bunchgrasses. Credit: Ralph Earlandson, FlickrCC. Dear EarthTalk: What is the “Field of Dreams” ecology restoration theory? -- Mary W., Austin, TX The “Field of Dreams” hypothesis is a premise that restoration ecologists use to support arguments in favor of restoring plant diversity in that doing so will also lead to the return of wildlife. The hypothesis name comes from the 1989 film of the same name in which Kevin Costner heeds the “if you
Intel meets digital challenges with memory, storage products
Editor’s note: Intel is Oregon’s largest private employer with a reported 21,000 employees in the state. Intel recently announced six new memory and storage products to help customers meet the challenges of digital transformation. Key to advancing innovation across memory and storage, Intel announced two new additions to its Intel® Optane™ Solid State Drive (SSD) […]
This Intel barista never gets your order wrong
Editor’s note: Intel is Oregon’s largest private employer with a reported 21,000 employees in the state. At Crown Coffee, a small-yet-homey coffee bar in downtown Singapore, the barista never gets your order wrong. Ella is her name and with uncanny consistency she makes a perfect cup of coffee every time. Ella is not human, but […]
Researchers find pesticides shorten honeybee lives
The lives of honeybees are shortened – with evidence of physiological stress – when they are exposed to the suggested application rates of two commercially available and widely used pesticides, according to new Oregon State University research. In a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, honeybee researchers in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences found […]
OSU expands Coronavirus testing to Newport
TRACE-COVID-19, the groundbreaking Oregon State University project to determine community prevalence of the novel coronavirus, expanded to include two days of sampling in Newport on June 20-21. The addition of Newport to the study follows the positive tests of more than 120 workers at Pacific Seafood, which operates five processing facilities in the city. In […]
Powerful crystal may someday power homes
Photo caption: Researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK are experimenting with perovskites as the semiconductor in these small tin solar cells that could someday be on your rooftop supplying your home with free electricity. Credit: University of Oxford Press Office FlickrCC. Dear EarthTalk: What is perovskite-based solar all about, and how does […]
