The Case of the Disappearing Night: Where Did the Stars Go?
Change is often imperceptible. It happens day by day so that we don’t see apparent differences. But over the past 1,460 nights, while you’ve been sleeping, the world has become 8.8% brighter. That brightness is from two sources: Anyone who has driven out of darkness toward a town or city would be familiar with the […]
I Didn’t Always Hate Glitter…
Once upon a time, I actually thought glitter was innocent and sparkly and pretty. And then I started raising a house full of girls. Four to be exact. Glitter nail polish; glitter hair spray; glitter slime; presents wrapped in glittery paper; glitter craft ideas; and a nine year old who wants her room painted with […]
Trees, the Environment and the Simple Art of Breathing
I live on the edge of suburbia. When I came here, it was literally where the suburbs transformed to farms and forest. Our home is, or more correctly was, located in a transition zone of small acreage. In fact, the zoning is classified as ‘Parkland Living’ – an area that rejoiced in native flora and […]
Cats Are Killing a Million Birds a Day in Australia!
There are around 3.3 million pet cats in Australia. For every one of them, there are FIVE feral cats wreaking destruction on our wildlife! In fact, some 15 – 18 million feral cats, along with household cats that are not correctly contained, threaten the survival of more than 100 native species in Australia. They have […]
Climate Science Modelling Faces the Courtroom: Truth or Doubt?
Climate Science Models: The End of the Line for Coal and Oil Giants? This article was first published in the Huffington Post What can you do when the president of the United States says climate change is a hoax and Congress is gridlocked by fossil fuel industry-funded climate science deniers? Look to the courts for […]
Climate revisited – (yet) again!
Climate revisited – September 8th, 2017 It’s getting to the point where I could automate this script. Weather records are falling almost daily. Since last updating this post, the biggest record to fall was the annual one. First, 2014 fell to 2015. Now it’s official that 2015 has tumbled to 2016. And the differences are […]
Orange Peels as Compost: The Secret to Transforming Lifeless Land
Don’t believe everything you read online. I learned this the other day when I was browsing the internet. I came across an article about how 12,000 tonnes of orange peel turned a lifeless piece of land in Costa Rica into a fertile forest. The land, deforested and barren, returned to its native state. I did […]
Why We’ll Never See an Alien Calling Home!
Most of us have imagined the joy, astonishment, awe or perhaps, fear, of meeting an alien. Some of us even claim to have done so. But unfortunately, even though there are undoubtedly trillions of planets out there, your odds of winning Lotto 10,000 times over are better than you ever communicating with an alien, let […]
Fluoridated Water: The Facts, the Urban Myths and the Fiction!
There are few causes that can equal the controversy surrounding fluoridated water! For many years now, most of us have heard and read about how fluoridated water is bad for our health. There are claims that fluoridated water causes cancer. That it can be linked to Down Syndrome. Even that it causes tooth decay! And, of […]
Down With the Flu: Why Are You Really Feeling Sick
Staying healthy and not getting sick is an everyday mantra to most of us. But protecting yourself from the common cold or the flu isn’t easy. According to a former director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University, Professor Ronald Eccles, as adults we’re more likely to suffer through having a cold or the […]