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Comment Re:unfair policy (Score 1) 302

by PolygamousRanchKid (#47800901) Attached to: Study: Antarctic Sea-Level Rising Faster Than Global Rate

Actually, there is a lot to learn about the accusations of institutional racism in Silicon Valley here.

If you compare the demographics of both areas, the Arctic is predominantly "white" (polar bears), while the Antarctic is overwhelmingly "black" (penguins). Thus, if institutional racism was responsible, you would expect the Arctic to be rising faster. Since this is not the case, researchers are forced to search for a more scientific explanation of the observed behavior.

Part of the answer could be found in the preferred occupations the residents. Polar bears prefer to source their food from the trash cans of humans in the city of Churchill, Canada, so they want more land for humans and their accompanying trash cans. Penguins prefer a healthier diet of fish sourced from the sea, and thus have a vested interest in a bigger sea to fish in. This may or may not be the answer to faster rising levels in the Antarctic, but in this case Silicon Valley CEOs can safely claim that it is not due to institutional racism in their industry.

I think my argument makes just about much or little sense as other arguments for claiming compensation for the Arctic or in Silicon Valley.

Comment Re:Iceland is also moving - Bárðarbunga (Score 2) 135

It's strange . . . we're worried about dying from Global Warming . . . getting hit by an asteroid . . . an Ebola epidemic . . . but nobody seems concerned that maybe the Earth could bust apart at its seems.

I, for one, would welcome the end of the Earth in some weird way that we never thought about.

Submission + - If fusion is the answer, we need to do it quickly (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: Yale's Jason Parisi makes a compelling case for fusion power, and explains why fusion is cleaner, safer, and doesn't provide opportunities for nuclear smuggling and proliferation. The only downside will be the transition period, when there are both fission and fusion plants available and the small amount of "booster" elements (tritium and deuterium) found in fusion power could provide would-be proliferators what they need to boost the yield of fission bombs: 'The period during which both fission and fusion plants coexist could be dangerous, however. Just a few grams of deuterium and tritium are needed to increase the yield of a fission bomb, in a process known as “boosting.”' Details about current research into fusion power and an exploration of relative costs make fusion power seem like the answer to a civilization trying to get away from fossil fuels.

Submission + - Solar plant sets birds on fire as they fly overhead (www.cbc.ca)

Submitted by Elledan
Elledan writes: Federal investigators in California have requested that BrightSource — owner of thermal solar plants — halt the construction of more, even bigger plants until the impact of these plants on wildlife has been further investigated. The BrightSource solar plant in the Mojave Desert which was investigated reportedly kills between 1,000 and 28,000 birds a year with the concentrated solar energy from its 300,000 mirrors, charring and incinerating feathers of passing birds. This isn't the first report of negative environmental impact by this type of solar plant either.

Comment Re:What kind of fish? (Score 1) 180

by PolygamousRanchKid (#47693735) Attached to: Fighting Invasive Fish With Forks and Knives

Those are the fish that can move 1/4 mile across dry land to find new places to live.

Well, that sounds like their weak point. Maybe we need to have Springfield Snakefish Days when it's dry and go around clubbing them?

The summary says that they hang out in shallow, grassy waters. Some geek fisher here must have some techie ideas involving radar and shotguns that should help the problem.

Submission + - Fighting Invasive Fish With Forks And Knives 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: NPR commentator Bonny Wolf has a unigue solution to battle the threat of invasive fish species in our waterways. She proposes we fight them with a knife, fork, and a few lemon wedges. From the article: "Take the , which has made its way into tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. It competes with native species for food, and then eats the native species, not to mention the odd frog or bird, with its mouthful of sharp teeth. It's been called "Fishzilla." It breeds fast, has no natural predators and can grow to be 4 feet long. The northern snakehead hangs out in grassy shallows, making it hard to catch. But a couple of years ago, Maryland started promoting the snakehead as an eating fish. Its harvest has increased from zero to 5,000 pounds a year."

Comment Re:entropy (Score 1) 109

by PolygamousRanchKid (#47686307) Attached to: Why the Universe Didn't Become a Black Hole

because the "arrow of time" would point two opposite ways in the "meta-universe".

This is a seriously silly question, but has any serious physicist conjectured that the "arrow of time" could have more than two directions? I mean, like going sideways or something? And what would be the bizarre implications of that?

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