What Is Earth Day?

Today, April 22, is designated as Earth Day. Started in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, it was created in protest at that time to the unbridled corporate and consumer activities that were contributing to excessive environmental pollution. The dangerous levels of waste and degradation went unchecked as toxic oil spills, raw sewage, and air-polluting factories and plants were casually accepted as a normal part of life.

On April 22, 1970, 20 million people across the country demonstrated and held rallies in the streets, campuses, and large public arenas to send a message about the action needed to turn things around. Distinguished by its collaborative support by both political parties, this first Earth Day event led to the formation of the U.S. EPA, and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts. Earth Day is considered the beginning of the modern environmental awareness movement, and the month of April has in essence become “Earth Month.”

Now, more than one billion people and 175 nations will mark Earth Day 2009 to continue motivating grassroots efforts, raising consumer awareness, and reversing continued dangerous industrial trends. This year the Earth Day Network, created by the founders of the first Earth Day, began a two-year campaign called the “Green Generation.” The organization seeks to enlist commitment toward: increasing recycling efforts, promoting a greener economy, increasing development and usage of alternative energy sources, and promoting awareness about consumer consumption and the need to buy local. Efforts are being focused in China, where 60 percent of the world’s population is centered and environmental degradation has reached alarming levels. Environmental groups are encouraged by the initial signs of positive responses to increased commitment and action they are already witnessing in Asian communities.

In recent years, Earth Day has snowballed in its scope of awareness and continues to gain incredible momentum around the globe as climate change became a mainstream concern. The Earth Day Network continues its efforts toward education and support for organizations who wish to participate in the movement.

Earth Day Network: Get Active

NOAA Reports 8th-Warmest January-March on Record

Earth News: The combined surface average temperature for land and ocean from January to March was the eighth-warmest on record since tracking began in 1880, NOAA said in an analysis released today, April 17, 2009.Temperature for the quarter: about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly a degree above the 20th-century average.

The average combined temperature for March was 55.9 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly a degree above the 20th-century average for that month, the report says.

The average global land surface temperature for March was 42.5 degrees Fahrenheit, about 1.7 degrees above the 20th-century average. The average global ocean surface temperature for the month was 61.4 degrees Fahrenheit, about 0.7 degree above the 20th-century average.

Snow cover in March remained near the 1967-2009 average for North America but sank below averages for Europe and Asia.

Continue reading »

North America’s Tree Dilemma

If you happen to live in an area of North America that has wide ranges of standing lodgepole pines, you know what the mountain pine beetle is. Its effects are starkly visible all throughout natural regions with ever-growing swaths of reddish-orange trees — trees already showing the fiery signs of death.

The mountain pine beetle dilemma has been labeled a symptom of climate change when overly warm winters have allowed the beetle to thrive and populate. Usually long-sustained winters and deep freezes help control the numbers, but those types of cold seasons have been lacking enough to allow the population explosion to take place. Other factors believed to be contributing to the problem are suppression of forest fires (allowing the majority of standing pines across America to mature, which are more susceptible to beetle infestation), and weakened immune systems due to long periods of drought.

Continue reading »

Study Aims to Identify IED Detection Experts

J.D. Leipold, Army News Service: Some Soldiers seem to have a sixth sense at being able to spot improvised explosive devices, researchers found, while others were unable to see the deadly weapons hidden in brush or buried in the middle of a road.

How and why only certain Soldiers could see IEDs was something the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization decided needed to be studied. So for the last 18 months a joint group of researchers has been striving to identify what particular skills, abilities and characteristics are needed to detect IEDs.

The study’s director, Jennifer Murphy, Ph.D., said JIEDDO leadership was hearing stories from the field every now and then that there would be a Soldier who just happened to be exceptional in his ability to identify IEDs, so she and the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences came into the picture.

“Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way we could identify people who have this skill before they deploy because it would save so many lives,” she said, “because right now the way it is, we have to wait for the tour to unfold to see who is good and who’s not.”

Continue reading »