Ecology and the Environment

Assuming an aquatic species achieved some semblance of sentience, what would be the chances of their developing a technological society on a par with (or, at least, recognisable as industrialized by) our own? I can see they'd encounter some obvious difficulties (lack of fire, mainly) but could these perhaps be overcome?

My questions here today are: Have we effectively stopped human evolution? If not, then are we evolving in a different way than we have? My opinion would be that we have ourselves stopped evolution, and are even trying to impose the same thing on animals and plants. This is because we have built for ourselves medicine, and most importantly social welfare. Why does this matter? As Darwin's survival of the fittest model goes. If you are born dumb, if you are born physically weak, if you are born with anything disadvantageous to your survival, you will not live long enough to reproduce, and thus soon your genes will become extinct. This is not the case as it…

Has anyone else seen the movie? I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was fascinating to learn about rigors and extreme conditions penguins must overcome to successfully reproduce.

Hello everyone, I would like to know something about rain, mist, clouds etc. Does rain distill from mist? Suppose you have evaporation, does that water distill from a mist as rain? Can you authenticate this quote for me? Thank you.

As I was lying in bed, I thought of this....Lets say some scientific satellite experiment in space went wrong and sent a human killing pulse thru the planet earth which killed every single human on the planet. Not one was spared and humankind was 100% gone. Now we have a planet that has oceans, blue skys, beautiful sunsets, trees, animals, plant life, etc, but no humans. Since there are presently some 15 million to 100 million species on earth but only one species able to post this question, what do you think would be the chances of humans ever populating the planet again. Bettina

I'm not sure if this goes here, anyway. My question is what we know about the first societies formed by homo sapiens. I read somewhere that those first societies were matriarchical and I wanted to verify it. Also, what role exactly would matriarchy/patriarchy play in such a primitive society (maybe as small as a family)? If there was a change in type, how and why did it happen?

I wonder why the scientists do not work on the internal problems of the earth first before going to deep space one? Would'nt one think the present problems at home (here on planet earth) are more important than mars, the moon or a asteroid? After all we have pollution of rivers,creeks,air,land and that is not present on planet mars, the moon or even asteroids. Could the money be spent here on earth where it is desperatly needed more than mars? pljames

Theoretically, what would the effects of an all-fresh-water world be, besides the obvious effects on aquatic life forms? How would the atmosphere be affected, and various other systems, be changed? As far as I can tell, the oceans: - Will be colder because salt water holds heat better - Will be harder to float in because of a lower TDS - Will be able to support larger creatures because of a higher DO content, since cold water holds oxygen better

A recent study by Cornell University and Berkeley has shown that turning crops such as maize into fuel takes up more fuel than it produces. http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/July05/ethanol.toocostly.ssl.html The US government is spending more than $3 billion a year subsidising these fuels and policiticians on both sides are loudly calling for more money. Is this a case of bad science and bad economics in the cause of political expediency or do biofuels have a real future?

I am currently conducting a study into the possibilities of Tsunamis of certain magnitudes interrupting oceanic currents and therefore influencing global climate. My contacts at the USGS, NOAA, and National Geogrpahic, as well have others have provided invaluable information into this subject. However, I am also interested in any thoughts any of you might have on this topic. Is it possible? Is it plausible? Is vast, global weather not succeptable to such fluctuations in one ocean region? Anything along these lines or whatever else you could add, I would greatly appreciate.

A group of us have developed a 'new' wind powered energy source that works below wind speeds of 7 mph. We are on are 19th innovation. We are willing to describe our first innovative prototype so that others can/might follow on a parallel course. First take some plastic thread spools and imbed short, flexible (hairlike) glass fibers around the spools. (Yes, we used needles to press holes in the spools for the homemade drawn glass fibers, and yes it is hard to do, but that's typical of prototypical work.) At each end of the spools attach (leave center hole clear) homemade wind cups that will catch the wind and spin the spool (if threaded on a teflon shaft, or simila…

Someone asked me about the ozone layer. I think I understand it as our transportation devices, cars,trucks,rockets and airplanes plus burning and gases from smoke stack factories pollute it. When did this first start and what can we do about it and are the envoromental scientist doing something to fix the problem and how long will it take? pljames

NASA / Earth's energy imbalance: Confirmation and implications (James Hansen et al ) Abstract : " Our climate model, driven mainly by increasing humanmade greenhouse gases and aerosols among other forcings, calculates that Earth is now absorbing 0.85 ± 0.15 W/m2 more energy from the Sun than it is emitting to space. This imbalance is confirmed by precise measurements of increasing ocean heat content over the past 10 years. Implications include: (i) expectation of additional global warming of about 0.6°C without further change of atmospheric composition; (ii) confirmation of the climate system’s lag in responding to forcings, implying the need for antic…

Has anyone ever done this? My grandson found a bunch of them in a ditch that was rapidly drying up. We put them in a big plastic container with an aerator in it, and have been watching them develop. We've been feeding them cooked lettuce and fish food, and we put some objects in the tank barely above the water line so the little frogs would have something to hop up on. This morning, two little green frogs were perched on a limb and there are more about to make the final transition. No, the question is - where can I release them that they will have the best chance to survive. There is a small pond nearby, but it is stocked with bass. I hate to think that after we…

For the sake of argument: If we cut down all the old growth forests and replaced them with new forests, we would be reducing the greenhouse effect. New forests fix more carbon (removing C02 from the atmosphere); whereas, old growth forests release more C02 into the atmosphere - contributing more to the greenhouse effect.

hi, just wondering if animals find things funny or humourous?

I have posted this before and feel this should be posted again (slightly modified): I will not answer any questions. There is sufficient info here for a weak "demo" that can be "enhanced" by what we call "kickers." A 'green' power source: A group of us (now one physicist, two engineers, and myself, all longtime retired) have developed a 'new' wind-powered energy source that works Below wind speeds of 7 mph. We are on our 19th innovation. We are willing to altruistically describe our First innovative "demo" prototype so that others can/might follow on a parallel course: First take some plastic thread spools and imbed short, flexible (hairlike) glass…

I have a question for which I have'nt been able to find the exact scientific answer. Can anyone here help?? When there is rain and also just after it there is a pleasent smell or aroma that comes. It is good to smell and has great aesthetic effects too. Can someone please help me out the reason for this. Please give some sources if possible.....

I watched a program on the science channel a few nights ago about the extreme climate shifts that have occurred during the past several million years. The findings were based on ice cores taken arctic ice sheets. The idea is that during a glacial period the percentage of the heavier isotopes of water (primarily O18) is less because O16 is lighter and evaporates more readily. The graphs shown on the program indicated that climate shifts had been abrupt and extreme. Obviously, the findings are based on the assumption that the relationship of O16 to O18 remains constant. Suppose it doesn't? Is there anything that might change the relationship? I'm not putti…

hi everybody, i wanted some information on the effects that weapons (their testing and using) has on the various natural disasters of the earth. For example, does testing nuclear weapons underground make a difference in a fault line in the region ... even though in a very small way... and does the use of weapons (which is always burning of gunpowder) have any effect on the global warming phenomena. I would appreciate all possible information...and you caould email me any links at sh_singh2000@hotmail.com Shailesh

Well its no news, you read and hear it everywhere. Anybody here know specifically why it should be so?

anyone here have any experience with bee keeping and would like to share any tips or resources with me, I`de be gratefull. I`ll be having my 1`st brood box either today or tomorrow, it`s a small 5 cell box with honey bees and although google is good, People advice is better. I`m a Novice at this and would welcome any expert advice on placement in the garden (250 sqr metres), liability, baiscly anything and everything! thanks

http://preposterousuniverse.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_preposterousuniverse_archive.html#111672122721970837 listing the 24 major population control events of the 20th century

Thinking about how we humans have been damaging the global ecosystem with our industrial prowess for the last few hundred years, we've definitely seen the devastating effects it can have on life forms which depend on the environment staying in its pre-industrial-revolution state. What I'm wondering, however, is how many people are of the opinion that this damage spells the doom for life altogether in the ecosystem in question such that once the damage is done, no life will be found there for an indefinite time? Because the theory of evolution would suggest an alternative scenario where life will simply adapt to suite its new environment. So, it is certainly the case that …

In my experiment i have found that adding acid rain to tomato plants casues them to grow less leaves. and thoughts or ideas o nwh this may be happening? heres a graph of leaf count for various phs, over time: