The Problem Comes From People Whose Opinions Are Actually Misconceptions. If You Think Vaccines Cause

Yet despite decades of relegation to roles as tourist attractions or advertising gimmicks, airships may be on the verge of a comeback. This resurgence will be fueled not by impractical nostalgia or fandom, but by incredible advances in airship technology that have made these craft both immeasurably safer than their predecessors, and perfect vessels for certain niche conditions. And it seems like this phoenix-like rebirth of everyone’s favorite forgotten tech might just begin in the Canadian north.

How Modern-Day Dirigibles Can Plug The World’s Transit Gaps   | GOOD

The World's Commercial Shipping Routes

by Grolltech on Wikipedia: 

This map of shipping routes illustrates the present-day density of commercial shipping in the world’s oceans.

Via Reddit and Wikipedia, data from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis 

Africa has done little to contribute to global warming, but it showed some serious climate leadership this week by announcing a $20 billion plan for a massive renewable energy initiative. New goals under the African Renewable Energy Initiative, announced Tuesday at the United Nations climate summit in Paris by the African Development Bank and heads of state, would bring 300 gigawatts of renewable energy online by 2030—that’s twice as much electricity as is currently produced on the continent.

‘Tired of Being in the Dark,’ Africa Announces Radical Renewable Energy Plan | GOOD

On April 26, 1986, a power surge caused an explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, Ukraine. A large quantity of radioactive material was released.

On May 2, 1986, the Soviet government established a “Zone of Alienation” or “Exclusion Zone” around Chernobyl – a thousand square miles of “radioactive wasteland.” All humans were evacuated. The town of Pripyat was completely abandoned.

But the animals didn’t leave. And a new study, published this month in Current Biology, suggests they are doing fine. “None of our three hypotheses postulating radiation damage to large mammal populations at Chernobyl were supported by the empirical evidence,” says Jim Beasley, one of the researchers.

In fact, some of the populations have grown. These photos (mostly taken by Valeriy Yurko) come from the Belarusian side of the Exclusion Zone, and area called the Polessye State Radioecological Reserve. Kingfisher, elk, boar, baby spotted eagles, wild ponies, moose, rabbits, and wolves all make their home in the park. In some ways, human presence is worse for wildlife than a nuclear disaster.

Image credits:

1986 Chernobyl - ZUFAROV/AFP/Getty Images

Wildlife photos - Valeriy Yurko/Polessye State Radioecological Reserve

Ponies in winter - SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images

Through this workshop, participants will be able to:

Identify locally-important climate change impacts, challenges, and opportunities

Develop specific actions to adapt forests to changing conditions

Use the Adaptation Workbook to create their own “climate-informed” projects

Better communicate with stakeholders about key climate change impacts, challenges, and opportunities

Access post-training support from NIACS staff during project planning and implementation

DATES Six-week distance learning course held the weeks of January 18 through February 22, 2016 REGIONS Northwoods and New England

REGISTER ONLINE

http://goo.gl/forms/reGFz1r6xE

There is no registration fee thanks to support from the US Forest Service and USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub.

#Chocoholic: We sure love our chocolate, but it'd be a lot sweeter if it wasn't coming from child labor.

WATCH the short video here.

+2 million children work in cocoa production in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. This year, Nestlé​, Mars Bar​, and HERSHEY'S​ were sued for knowingly partnering with suppliers that use child workers.

DEMAND that these chocolate companies become Made In A Free World here: madeinafreeworld.com/action!

A Mesmerizing 3-D Vision of New York as Pure Data