Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind the source for blindness news and information since 1907

We’ve spoken before about the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, which is roughly the size of this country and represents years of pollution that is finally catching up to us.  Now, two companies are developing a way to collect and process the plastics that make up the patch and turn them into usable diesel fuel.

Through a partnership between Kaisei and Covanta, an ocean clean-up initiative and renewable resources company, a new collaborative effort is being made to solve the problem of the garbage patch while being able to simultaneously create a usable byproduct from the floating waste.

Kaisei is currently planning on multiple research missions to collect and analyze the types of plastics in the patch to determine the best way to convert them into usable fuel.  Covanta, who has been involved with renewable energy projects at the municipal level, has also done some work on marine debris and is looking to develop a system that is catered to that type of waste repurposing. 

The main barriers now are a lack of defined technology to make this all happen and funding to develop those technologies.  Kaisei needs the tools to conduct the research, and Covanta’s systems aren’t quite ready for commercial applications just yet.  It’s one of those frustrating, glass ceiling situations where the goal is defined and the development of the appropriate systems is very possible, there’s just a delay in getting all those pieces together.

This partnership does have support from some large groups, though.  The Clinton Global Initiative organized the partnership between the two organizations and both are members of the initiative’s Rethinking Waste group.  Former President Bill Clinton recently spoke at the UN and could potentially gain funding from many sources if he can present the problem as a global issue and not just an American one.

The ultimate goal of this collaboration is huge, as it will represent a reduction in a massive amount of waste while providing fuel for our everyday lives.  Hopefully their funding gap will close and they will be able to aggressively seek a solution to this problem and begin their operations as soon as possible.

To read the original article, please go to http://www.fastcompany.com/node/1690136/print

When we were children, we were all taught in school that reptiles lay eggs.  Now, it seems that there needs to be an asterisk placed next to that statement in subsequent text books.  Scientists have recently found that a type of yellow-bellied three-toed skink, a lizard found in Australia, is now giving birth to live young instead of laying eggs. 

The lizards that live near the coastal regions of Australia still opt for laying eggs, but those in the higher and colder climates have simply changed their mind, and biology, and have started having live babies.  This sounds rare and impressive, but the evolutionary record reveals that other reptiles have been known to make the transition from egg laying to live birth.  In fact, roughly 20 percent of all living snakes and lizards have switched over.

What makes this especially interesting though is that scientists merely observed that at some point there was a transition and weren’t able to see the transition take place within a given population.  That snapshot wasn’t enough, and so now they’re getting a really good look at what’s happening.

This observation is allowing scientists to uncover the mysteries of this transition, like how vital calcium nutrients are passed to the young without the presence of the calcium-rich egg shell.  These new live birth young have a very thin shell that allows them to breathe but is nutrient poor.  However, scientists are seeing what is essentially the very beginning of placenta creation.  The mother’s reproductive organs are secreting calcium to compensate for the lack of a shell.

Those involved with observing the lizards closely have come to what may be an interesting and humbling conclusion; that the transition from egg-laying to live birth is not only fairly common, but not all that difficult.  It really represents the specific needs of the mother and the type of environment she’s in than anything else.

Regardless of the simplistic conclusions that might be drawn, observing biological evolution is incredibly interesting and gives us a rare glimpse into a process that takes generations to complete so that the animals can adapt and continue on.

To read the original article, please go to http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/09/100901-science-animals-evolution-australia-lizard-skink-live-birth-eggs/

The Amazon River, only bested by the Nile in terms of length, is surrounded by some of the toughest terrain on the planet.  After 859 days, nearly two and a half years, Ed Stafford completed a walk that started at the source of the river in the mountains of Peru and finished at Brazil’s shore.  He is the first person to ever accomplish this feat. 

The 34 year old former British army captain embarked on this incredible journey in 2008.  When he began, he expected that the trip would be roughly 4,000 miles long.  However, due to serious flooding in the region, he had to adjust his path and increase his trip by 2,000 miles. 

Originally, Stafford had begun the trip with a partner, but shortly after they had a falling out and he was forced to walk alone.  Some time later, another man, a Peruvian forestry worker named Gadiel Cho Sanchez Rivera, pledged to walk with him for five days and actually ended up completing the journey with him.

According to Stafford’s media team, during his trip he was accused of murder twice, was imprisoned, held hostage as angry tribes stuffed concrete into his mouth, was chased by yet another angry tribe with bows and arrows, was stung by what must have been hundreds of wasps, and had to have his travel companion remove a botfly from his head.  He also estimates that he received roughly 50,000 mosquito bites, countless scorpion attacks, and a skin disease.  He had to constantly dodge snakes, ants, electric eels, and numerous other dangerous jungle creatures as well.  While in the rainforest, Stafford’s diet consisted mainly of piranha, rice, and beans.

Stafford had a mere 52 miles to go until his 6,000 mile trek would be complete and ended up passing out on the side of the road, exhausted and suffering from a terrible skin rash, a humbling experience considering what he had previously been through.

Many explorers had deemed this route impossible, so what Stafford has done is absolutely incredible.  The fact that he made it through alive is a miracle.

All of Stafford’s hard work was done to raise awareness about protecting the rainforest.  Having spent more than two years of his life there, he would definitely know it better than most anyone else.

To read the original article, please go to http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2010/08/09/14966741.html

For over 100 days, oil was surging out of the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, becoming one of the biggest ecological disasters in history.  But now, as skimmers are patrolling the surface to bring the oil out of the water, they’re finding that the oil, which at one time seemed to be everywhere, is now playing a bit of hide and seek.

The slick, which used to be the size of Kansas, is now roughly the size of New Hampshire.  Still a large size, no doubt, but a vast improvement for sure.  What’s perplexing those involved in the clean-up effort is that they haven’t pulled nearly enough oil out of the water to account for that dramatic drop in the size of the slick.  So where did it all go?

Some involved in the clean up believe that it’s between the surface of the water and the bottom, hanging in a sort of limbo that we cannot see or reliably access to remove.  Wherever it is, though, it’s not easy to get.  Even National Incident Commander Thad Allen said, ”It is becoming a very elusive bunch of oil for us to find.”

When asked to explain, some experts believe that the conditions of this particular event just might have been perfect for mother nature to take its course much quicker.  They say that the high pressure at which the oil flowed out of the well cap made the light crude deteriorate.  When the already broken up oil met the dispersants that BP had dumped into the water, the oil broke apart much easier.  Whatever oil made it through to the surface was floating in 88 degree water and being baked by 100 degree heat all day, every day.  Coupled with being eaten by microbes and the constant wave action, the oil just naturally broke up and went back into the environment.  Even the marshes seem to be much cleaner than they should be.  Perhaps this heat wave did carry some benefit.

Don’t be fooled by those statements, though, as there is still plenty to clean up.  Many little patches of oil exist and there is still plenty to clean-up around the drill site.  Also, the long term effects of this disaster are still unknown.

That said, it is encouraging to know that in previous weeks, clean-up crews were skimming nearly 25,000 barrels from the water.  This past week, they were only able to find 200.

To read the original article, please go to http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=11254252

Right now, as you’re reading this, a massive floating collection of plastic is floating in the Pacific Ocean.  Its size is unbelievably large, as scientists have estimated that it is roughly as big as the state of Texas.  As a point of reference, Texas, the nation’s second largest state, is nearly 269,000 square miles.

As saddening as this fact might be, scientists are working on a way to convert the useless floating plastics into a sustainable community.  The intrepid idea relies initially on recycling all of that plastic into a viable building material.  Many little bits of plastic may not be up to the task, but a plastic slick as large as Texas should be able to provide for plenty of recycled materials to build an island.  All in all, there is roughly four millions tons of it.  The initial recycling will be done on-site, with machines working on ships or suspended work platforms similar to those used in deep sea drilling.  The second piece of the puzzle is to create new land for sustainable habitation, sources of energy, and even food growth.

The fertile ground to grow the food in would come from the use of compost toilets.  Energy would be available in many forms, including wind, solar, and wave power generators.  There would also be seaweed farms that could be used as habitat and food for fish and would also act as nutrient sinks that would suck up ammonia, nitrates, and phosphate from the water.  The seaweed could also be used for biofuel as well as CO2 capture and certain medicines.

Right now, the plastics that are floating in the mass are being collected for testing to see what kind of recycling process would be necessary to turn them into a building material.  Other things like funding will most likely be a large hurdle for the project.  If successful, though, an island similar in size to Hawaii’s main island will be created, all from the trash that’s floating in the Pacific.

So, what do you think?  Would you live there?

To read the original article, please go to http://green.blorge.com/2010/07/recycled-island-will-be-created-from-plastic-waste-in-the-pacific-ocean/