The Exploratorium recently decided to celebrate International Polar Year 2007-2008 by giving cameras to a group of penguin biologists, glaciologists, cosmologists, geologists, and marine scientists working in Antarctica and the Arctic. The results of this interesting idea can be found on this site, and visitors will enjoy learning about the thoughts and experiences of the scientists working in these two regions. Visitors can get started by clicking on the “Check out the dispatches” button. Visitors can learn how penguins function as barometers of climate change, get up close and personal with a smattering of charismatic marine mammals, and learn about the fascinating South Pole Telescope. Visitors can also browse through archived materials and they should definitely revisit the site, as they will be adding posts from scientists in the Arctic over the coming months. [KMG] Source: Scout Report, Feb. 1, 2008
Knovel additions in Geosciences
K-News Winter 2008 – Knovel Adds 173 New Engineering Titles
“Our new Earth Sciences subject area enables subscribers in infrastructure construction, oil and gas, civil engineering and many other fields to rely on Knovel as a single place for finding reliable answers quickly. The Earth Sciences collection currently contains 53 titles covering the following topics:
Geochemistry,
Geology,
Geophysics, Geodesy & Seismology,
Geotechnical Engineering,
Hydrology, Oceanography & Glaciology,
Paleontology & Stratigraphy”
The Merck Index has also been added, and 34 new oil and gas titles.
TOXNET has CARCINOGENIC POTENCY Database
More details are reported here, in the NLM Technical Bulletin, No. 360, dated January/February 2008. This information was also disseminated via NLM-Tox-Enviro-Health-L…with an invitation to subscribe.
Among the entries under Articles and Databases from the Library’s homepage you will find TOXLINE which is specific, bibliographic database in the TOXNET group of databases.
ToxSeek is also listed which is a “meta” & clustering search engine for many governmental resources on environmental health and toxicology .
“UK opts for nuclear power”
Great Britain has done an “about-face”, and has decided to revamp its nuclear power production to decrease its carbon footprint.
Additional information from IOP’s Physicsworld.com Newswire can be found here:
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/32398
Congress Directs EPA to Re-open Its Libraries
For Immediate Release: December 21, 2007
Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
http://www.peer.org/news/newsid.php?rowid=964
Washington, DC Buried within the omnibus appropriations bill Congress sent this week to President Bush is a Christmas present for the beleaguered library network of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Congress ordered EPA to restore library services across the country and earmarked $3 million for that purpose, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
Beginning in early 2006, without public announcement or congressional approval, EPA began dismantling its network of technical and research libraries. Altogether EPA has closed regional libraries serving 23 states and its headquarters library in Washington, D.C. It has also reduced services and hours in libraries covering another 14 states. In addition, EPA has shuttered several of its specialized, technical libraries, such as its unique library dedicated to the effects of pesticides and new chemicals.
“The report language attached to the omnibus appropriations bill for the remainder of the 2008 fiscal year directs EPA to use $3 million to restore the network of EPA libraries recently closed or consolidated by the Administration and to report within 90 days on its plans to restore publicly available libraries to provide environmental information and data to each EPA region.
Time’s Top Ten Green Ideas for 2007
From Resource Shelf # 339, Dec. 20th, comes notice of Time Magazine’s
There are 50 categories. Among them is the top ten Green Ideas.
Rajendra Pachauri — Nature’s Newsmaker of the Year
“Nature is pleased to name Rajendra Pachauri, the Indian engineer and economist, and chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as our inaugural Newsmaker of the Year.”
National Pesticide Information Center
National Pesticide Information Center
‘The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) was created through a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Its primary function is to provide “objective, science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics to enable people to make informed decisions about pesticides and their use.” The site contains seven primary sections, including “General Information”, “Technical Information”, “Pest Control”, and “Emergency”. Most casual visitors to the site should click on over to the “General Information” area. In this section, they will find fact sheets and posters on pesticide safety, storage and disposal, and case studies. Of course, they shouldn’t forget about the other areas of the site, particularly if they are interested in regulatory issues involving pesticides and emergency resources. Finally, the site also contains a search engine for those who know exactly what they need to find. [KMG]’
Source: The Scout Report for Dec. 14, 2007, from Univ. of Wisconsin.
This NPIC site does contain a disclaimer for the Case Profiles. This information is provided as a public service and for educational purposes.
Solar Power 2007
America’s Largest Business to Business Solar Event
September 24-27, 2007, Long Beach California
“All of the morning plenary sessions were recorded and the video is streamed online for free viewing at Solar Power 2007. Thank you to our webcast sponsor Fat Spaniel Technologies.”
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is meeting in Bali
The countries (192) that have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) an international treaty, are meeting again to update the Kyoto Protocols which are due to expire in 2012. The Union of Concerned Scientists has begun a newsletter, the Bali Bulletin to report information about this meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
Here is some background and further links.