Global light maps

NOAA-NASA Satellite Image

I look at maps frequently and at length. I find them fascinating. Aerial images also appeal to me, because they have a map-like quality. Among those that have intrigued me are images of Earth showing lights at night. I came upon a new one to me recently and am sharing it here, in case others might has a similar interest.

I snagged this image from a section of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Web site devoted to the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite. Interested readers can go to the page called “Our Earth at night” to read lots more, but here’s a snippet to explain a bit.

Madness on the DT Mall?

Did you know that there’s a mad woman loose on Hookville’s downtown mall? It’s more than an idle rumor. It’s actually The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giradoux, re-imagined by Kay Ferguson and a troupe of veteran players who have been engaged in intense physical training for months as they developed their version of the 1940s play.

The Madwoman of Chaillot is the story of a witty, eccentric woman who rallies a band of artists, workers, and down-and-out characters in a clever plan to disrupt avaricious plans of powerful figures who are bent on sacrificing beauty to obtain profits. As Ms. Ferguson says, the story sounds a lot like “Right Now, USA.”

The first performance is 6:00 PM 6 September 2012, and it’s running all through the month of September. The troupe is using a novel approach to the production, starting with a first act for free on the mall, then parading to The Haven, where they’ll accept donations for the second act, part of which will go to The Haven. Read all about the project, the players, and more.

Technology in the wild

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have wasps nest in the headphone jack of your computer? How about border guards questioning why you’re transporting a computer with a dead battery? Dolly Joseph doesn’t question why these things occur. She’s lived them, and she connects them in an enlightening post about technology and the environment. Recommended.

Be smart about ocean debris

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a blog about marine debris chocked full of interesting entries. As are many other agencies, NOAA is using social media extensively (e.g., see the Facebook page for its Office of Exploration and Research, the Vimeo shows for its Climate Program Office, and, of course, its own Twitter feed and weather information on its own YouTube channel), but the marine debris blog is a bit unique. It has a voice of its own. It’s focused, friendly, informative, and entertaining. It’s a good use of my tax dollars.

Who’s the 99%?

Rev. Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir have an answer to that question. It’s actually pretty obvious, ’cause the 1% (really the one-tenth of one percent) are all those folks you and I see pretty much every day. May Day is just around the corner.

U.Va. Beyond Coal

As some readers know, I am affiliated with the University of Virginia (U.Va.). U.Va. has been heated with coal for a very long time and, according to a recent request for proposals, anticipates using 34,000 tons of coal per year for coal-fired heat plants at U.Va. to “provide critical services affecting approximately 85% of the facilities on Grounds including the Hospital, research facilities, academic building and resident halls” (U.Va. Procurement Services, 2011, p. 4). I am hoping that my employer will join other institutions of higher education and move beyond using coal as a source of energy for heating.

Students and others at U.Va. are raising concerns about U.Va.’s use of coal. In October of 2011, some folks organized an event dubbed “Camp Out for Clean Energy” that echoed an event a year earlier conducted by an ad hoc U.Va. group called “UVa Beyond Coal” (Welch. 2010). According to Kurt Walters (2011) of Cvilletomorrow in “University under fire for use of coal,” the more recent event “featured up to 70 students and community members coming to sign petitions to university President Teresa A. Sullivan, listening to live music and hearing an address by John Cruickshank, chairman of the Sierra Club’s Virginia chapter.”

It’s good to see these current actions, but the issues are not new. Concerns about the effects of U.Va.’s burning of coal were raised in the early 2000s. As reported by Lee Graves (2002) in “U.Va., DEQ share same goal — an efficient, effective heating plant,” U.Va. sought to address problems with pollution emissions from the heating plants in 2001-2 when local officials raised questions about the health effects of operating a coal-burning plant in an urban area. For more on the earlier flare, see Lisa Provence’s (2002) report for The Hook.

There are a host of reasons that using coal for energy generates problems—from harm done by some mining practices through pollution from the burning itself to the waste from the combustion. To be sure, there are reasons using coal is advantageous, and one must weigh the costs and benefits. I consider the costs too great in this case, and I hope that U.Va. will agree with that calculation, so I’m endorsing the Campuses Beyond Coal effort. I encourage my colleagues to do so, as well.

Simply download the accompanying PDF of Campuses Beyond Coal’s faculty endorsement form, complete it, and send it to a local Campuses Beyond Coal representative. There are two pages to this form. One is a general endorsement form and the second is for faculty members. Use the appropriate one for your situation.

Sources

Graves, L. (2002) U.Va., DEQ share same goal — an efficient, effective heating plant

Provence, L. (2002, 21 March). Coal truth at UVA. The Hook.

U.Va. Procurement Services. (2011, 22 February). Request for Proposal: Coal (RFP Number: #JG022211). Charlottesville, VA.

Walters, K. (2011, 28 October). University under fire for use of coal. Cvilletomorrow.

Welch, G. (2010, 8 October). ‘Beyond Coal’ gathers supporters. Cavalier Daily.

Arctic Ocean: Ice melt

Photographed by Mila Zinkova

Amid the concern about diminishing sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean, and there’s plenty of concern to go around, came a report adding to that unease: An announcement from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center indicates that the sea ice extent averaged only a little over 3.06 million square miles during the July 2011, down more than 80,000 square miles below the low that was recorded in 2007. Apparently, weather patterns have changed in the last couple of weeks, but the overall effect is still dramatic.

Better biking just up ahead?

Is bicycling gaining on us? I sure hope so, and some academic researchers give reason to argue that it is.

In an article entitled “Bicycling Renaissance in North America? An Update and Re-Appraisal of Cycling Trends and Policies” that is to appear in Transportation Research A, Professor John Pucher of Rutgers University and his colleagues report the results of their review of trends in cycling levels, safety, and policies in Canada and the United States and case-study data for the cities of Chicago, Minneapolis, Montréal; New York, Portland, San Fransisco, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington (DC). Their paper is a follow-up analysis from one that they published over 10 years ago in the same journal.
Professor Pucher and his colleagues wanted to examine national trends in cycling levels, safety, and funding in general and in those cities that had “been especially innovative and successful at increasing cycling” (p. 4). The results are informative. According to their abstract,

Bike Week is coming

It’s just about here! Tomorrow is the official launch.

Bike Week. Spring is here. If you haven’t already, it’s time to get your bike out of the garage, dust off the seat, pump up the tires and of course, put those safety tips to use because May is National Bike Month and May 16-21 is Charlottesville Albemarle Bike Week. To celebrate, Bike Charlottesville, Charlottesville Community Bikes, Alternative Choices in Community Transportation, and UVa Parking & Transportation have teamed up with local sponsors to offer a bevy of free events for cyclists of all ages and abilities.

See Bike Charlottesville for a schedule of those events and a downloadable flyer.

Water sources

That venerable green group, the Nature Conservancy (TNC), is taking crowd sourcing on an interesting mission. On its Web site, there is a request that readers research the source of drinking water for US localities and submit the results to a TNC project. TNC has recommendations for tracking down the info on water sources, a multimedia feature showing images and such about the places (63 cities as of this writing) where people have submitted info about water sources, and an interactive map from which one can select those that have been submitted (yes neighbors, C’ville is already marked, of course; TNC has an outpost in the gracious hinterlands here).

Link to the Nature Conservancy’s Where Does Your Water Come From? Is your locality listed? When we lived out in North Garden, our water source was very local; we didn’t share it with anyone.