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Try this if you want to impress your friends: walk outside some day, look up into a clear blue sky, and tell them it will rain within 24 hours. After they are through laughing, just smile and return the next day with an umbrella and laugh while they get wet. Just don't tell them you used jet contrails to make your prediction. Contrails are condensed water vapor crystals produced by jet aircraft flying at high altitudes. The water droplets freeze within seconds and ice crystals form. Even small particles released in exhaust fumes are sufficient to generate ice. When jets produce very short trails that dissipate quickly there is little moisture in the atmosphere at jet level, indicating dry weather. But, when long trials hang around and begin to criss-cross the sky, there is an abundance of moisture at high levels. Clouds could begin to form within hours and look for rain within 24 hours.
Photo courtesy of Ronald L. Holle (University of Illinois) |
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Images can improve websites, add character to emails, or personalize computers with a background. Check out these images of flower shows, local garden displays, and natural scenic vistas. Feel free to download as many as you like.
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If you know your constellations you can estimate the time of night. Astronomers use this method to gauge time to within thousands of a second, with skill and good telescopic intrumentation of course. While most people don't have this kind of equipment, you can still tell the time to within a few minutes.
The clock is a 24-hour clock. You can't use it the entire 24 hours, of course, because the stars are hidden by the sun's light during the day. And the star clock coincides with ordinary time only on March 4th (during a 365-day year, the star clock makes 366 turns). If you keep this in mind, though, you can still tell the time of night. The first complicated piece of information you need to know is whether you live in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. |
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In the Northern Hemisphere the Pointer Stars of the Big Dipper provide the hour hand. Just picture the hour hand running from the North Star through these two stars. When it's straight up it's midnight. You can tell other times by the position of these two stars in the sky, but remeber that this clock runs backwards -- 1 a.m. is to the left, not the right! Beginning March 4th, the star clock of the Northern Hemisphere gains a steady 4 minutes per day.(click image for larger view)
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The Southern Hemisphere has no conspicuous hour hand like the Nothern Hemisphere. However, if you can locate the star alpha Andromedae which is in both the Andromeda and Square of Pegasus Constellations, that will provide the hour hand. Remember though, in the Southern Hemsiphere the clock revolves in a true clockwise direction. Beginning March 4th, the star clock of the Southern Hemisphere looses a steady 4 minutes per day.(click image for larger view)
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THE DIVINE LAND ETHIC
On Subduing the Earth (an open letter from God to all mankind) Paraphrased from an article by Robert Selle, originally appearing in American Forests, December 1983.
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There is a deadly organism that is affecting all of our trees. Many tree problems are blamed on other, secondary agents. But it is this single organism that actually weakens, wounds, and causes generally unhealthy trees. It is easily identified -- just look in the nearest mirror.
Many tree problems can be avoided if people take the time to assure they have beautiful, safe, and healthy trees. Below are some potential problems ... |
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In The Animal World of Albert Schweitzer, edited by Charles Joy, Schweitzer said:
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It seems apparent that Schweitzer, an adamant believer in the sanctity of life, also felt it acceptable to harm nature out of necessity. Do such things as the killing of animals for meat, medical testing on animals to improve the quality of human life, or altering wildlife habitat by harvesting trees constitute necessity ... or idle amusement?
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What's the most forested state in the United States? Most people think its either Washington or Oregon. After all, Washington didn't get named The Evergreen State without reason. Unfortunately, both those answers are incorrect. Neither state ranks in the top 20, and are in fact less than half forested. All top 20 states are found in the eastern United States. Maine has the highest percentage with 89 percent. In Washington and Oregon's defense, though, they are the most heavily forested states west of the Mississippi River. California is only 37 percent forested, but that percentage would be much higher if southern California were lopped off (a desire not alien to some northern Californians). So, if you're looking for a deep wooded setting in which to hike, camp, or contemplate ... go east!
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When it came time to find an animal that could stick up for all the endangered, mistreated, and abandoned animals in the world ... there was Penstemon Pig. Like all pigs, he is highly intelligent, charming, lovable, and much-maligned; so he just seemed the natural choice.
Penstemon is highly opinionated about animal rights issues. Check out his thoughts, and what you can do.
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What nature teaches us:
Source: Yakima National Museum |
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Many people get confused about the kind of tick they may encounter in meadows and woodlands. The actual size of critter to the left is about 1/4-inch, which is a clue as to what it is. Its a wood tick, also know as the common tick or dog tick. A deer tick, Ixodes dammini, is no larger than the period at the end of this sentence (which makes it extremely difficult to detect). You can learn more about the dangers these two insects bring, and what treatment to administer if bitten.
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