Quote of the Day: “If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way.” – Napoleon Hill
Photo: Jeremy Thomas
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
The transit agency for the Washington, DC Metro area announced Friday a deal worth up to $50 million over 25 years to install solar panels atop buildings and parking structures at four subway rail bus stations.
Combined, Metro says the four sites will generate 12.8 megawatts of electrical capacity and make this “the largest community solar project in the National Capital Area and one of the largest in the nation”.
It will also provide Metro customers who park their cars at the stations with new shaded parking and protection from the elements.
Under the agreement, SunPower Corp. will install photovoltaic solar panels over carports and canopies that shade surface lots and above parking garages. The four Metro sites are: Anacostia, Cheverly, Naylor Road, and the Southern Avenue stations.
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Goldman Sachs Renewable Power will own the solar power system and provide annual payments to Metro through 2047, providing a long-term revenue stream that will support the regional transit agency’s operations—at no cost to Metro, which is run by governments of DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
“This project benefits residents of our region, even people who don’t ride Metro, by leveraging the potential of our stations to generate revenue and increase the community’s access to a clean, renewable source of energy,” said Metro CEO Paul Wiedefeld. “This project advances the region’s sustainability goals while generating revenue to help keep Metro safe and affordable in an extremely tight budget environment.”
When complete, the stations (located in DC and Prince George’s County, Maryland) will have 17 acres of photovoltaic solar panels—the equivalent of 13 football fields—and generate enough electricity to power at least 1500 single-family homes. Homes and businesses in the local PEPCO area will be able to sign up for a share of the clean, renewable energy generated by the project while saving on their utility bill.
The project is part of Metro’s sustainability initiatives and will help advance the Clean Energy DC Plan that seeks to cut carbon emissions in half—and transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2032. Construction is expected to begin early next year.
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Water births provide “clear benefits” for healthy moms and their newborn babies, according to new research.
It showed that giving birth in a tub results in fewer medical interventions and complications during and after the birth than standard deliveries—as well as higher levels of satisfaction for the mum.
The large review of 36 previous studies also found that water births “significantly reduced” the use of epidurals, injected opioids, as well as pain and heavy bleeding after the birth.
A water birth involves using a birthing pool to achieve relaxation and pain relief, either exiting the pool for the birth, so the newborn can emerge into air to breathe, or remaining in the birthing pool and bringing the baby to the surface to start breathing.
The researchers wanted to compare the extent of healthcare interventions needed during and after labor between the two different types of water birth and to see if outcomes differed between a water birth and standard care not involving a birthing pool.
They analyzed 36 previous studies, published between 2000 and 2021, involving more than 150,000 women.
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The studies included a range of interventions and outcomes such as induced labour; artificial breaking of waters; use of epidurals; admission to intensive care, and breastfeeding.
Lead author Dr. Ethel Burns, of Oxford Brookes University, said the data analysis, published in BMJ Open, showed that a water birth, regardless of whether women birth in or out of the pool, “has clear benefits to women” in obstetric units, where most births take place and where healthcare interventions and complications are more likely than in midwife-led units.
And it increased the satisfaction levels of mothers, as well as the odds of them going home with an intact perineum.
It also resulted in less augmentation, episiotomy, and requirements for pharmacological analgesia.
The findings showed that there were more instances of umbilical cord breakage among water births, but the rate was still low: 4.3 per 1,000 births in water compared with 1.3 per 1,000 births with standard care. The researchers suggested that may be linked to pulling on the umbilical cord when the newborn is brought up out of the water.
“Water immersion provides benefits for the mother and newborn when used in the obstetric setting, making water immersion a low-tech intervention for improving quality and satisfaction,” said Dr. Burns.
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“It is an effective method to reduce pain in labour, without increasing risk,” she concluded.
DO You Know Any Pregnant Women? Share This on Social Media…
A recent survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, half of whom are homeowners, found that 63% are confident they can accumulate property, investments, or other things with monetary value to be passed down from one generation to the next.
Of those respondents, nearly three-quarters (74%) believe they’ve already built generational wealth.
But homeownership isn’t the only way to do so: people who live with family and don’t pay rent (83%), and renters (75%), feel they, too, have already built generational wealth compared to homeowners (72%).
The most popular wealth-generating tool among homeowners is making improvements to increase the value of their home (26%) or subletting part of their primary residence (38%).
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of HomeLight, the survey also looked into other avenues for generational wealth building, including people’s plans to fund continuing education and business ventures.
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Overall, the poll shows that those with access to family support and the foundation of generational wealth are already on the path toward accruing wealth. 77% of people currently living with family plan to inherit a home.
The most expensive regions in the U.S.—the Northeast and the West—report the lowest homeownership rates, yet the highest numbers of those planning to inherit a home, at 63% of people and 57%, respectively. Overall, about two-thirds (64%) of millennials expect to inherit a home.
“Despite changes in the market, homeownership continues to be one of the most surefire ways to build generational wealth in the U.S. Home equity surged to a record $27.8 trillion in Q1, but rising interest rates and costs of living have started to curb demand for home buying,” said Vanessa Famulener, President of HomeLight Homes.
MORE: 73% of These Women Who Started Businesses During Pandemic Say It’s Easier Than Ever to Be Successful
“Those who have built up equity in their homes can take advantage of numerous tax, repayment, and interest rate benefits that home equity lending offers homeowners—especially to help bring costs down for value-add home improvements.”
However, over a third (34%) of homeowners have plans to sell their current home, compared to 20% who plan to live in it until they pass it down to their kids.
Fifty-seven percent are confident in their understanding of today’s housing market, including more millennials than baby boomers (60% vs. 49%) and 47% of people 77 and older.
However, less than half (45%) are confident they’ll sell their home at its highest value, with those in the West feeling the least confident (33%).
HOW DO AMERICANS PLAN TO BUILD GENERATIONAL WEALTH?
Invest in a residential property as co-owner and rent it out – 33%
Savings and investment program – 31%
Live in single-family home I own, in hopes its value will appreciate over time – 30%
Invest in/sell stocks and bonds – 29%
Invest in a single-family rental property as the sole owner – 28%
Rent out part of my primary residence – 28%
Start a business/franchise that I own/co-own – 28%
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In Big Bend National Park in Texas, a coalition of 10 institutions have discovered an oak tree once thought to be extinct.
Botanical researchers were thrilled to find a lone Quercus tardifolia tree standing about 30 feet tall, though in poor condition.
First described in the 1930s, the last living specimen was believed to have perished in 2011.
Murphy Westwood of The Morton Arboretum says Q. tardifolia is considered one of the rarest—if not the rarest—oak in the world.
The team that made the discovery on May 25 found the trunk scarred by fire with signs of fungal infection. The group is now working with the National Park Service to reduce the immediate wildfire threat to the tree, and their conservationists are moving quickly to return to search for acorns and to attempt propagation, the process of breeding specimens from a parent plant.
“The Chisos Mountains support a high diversity of oak species, partly because of the wide range of habitats available in this ‘sky island’,” said Carolyn Whiting, a botanist at Big Bend National Park. “There is still much to learn about the oaks in the Chisos.”
“The United States Botanic Garden is thrilled about the success of this partnership and collecting trip that rediscovered such a rare oak,” said Susan Pell, acting executive director of the agency that funded and collaborated on the project. “This discovery is just the beginning of the conservation work we are doing to better understand and conserve threatened trees.”
Oaks tend to hybridize, or crossbreed, which may allow them to adapt more quickly to changing climate conditions such as extreme heat and new diseases. This frequent hybridization can also blur the genetic lines between oak species in a given ecosystem like Big Bend.
According to Andrew Hipp, the Morton Arboretum senior scientist whose team will be conducting the genetic analysis, “This is an interesting problem. We’re looking into whether this tree is genetically similar to other trees that have been previously collected as Q. tardifolia. That should tell us whether this collection is the same as what Cornelius H. Muller named Q. tardifolia. It should also tell us whether this collection of specimens is genetically distinct enough from other closely related oaks in the area to warrant recognition as a species.”
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Regardless of classification, Hipp noted that it is important to preserve more than individual species, but rather all the genetic variation in life.
“Species are genetically distinct populations that we can generally recognize in the field,” he said. “But they aren’t the be-all and end-all of conservation. We also aim to protect the functional variation within species. Leaf forms, physiological responses to drought and fire and even tree longevity are all attributes that can be shared among populations and among species by gene flow.”
“The functional variation that these new collections represent may be just what is needed to help oaks of the region adapt to environmental changes in the near or distant future.”
Oaks are exceptional among tree species in that their acorns cannot be traditionally seed banked for conservation purposes. According to the researchers, they must be preserved in the wild or in living collections, which is why the involvement of botanical gardens is critical. The researchers who found the Q. tardifolia tree are concerned that it is not producing acorns. Other methods of propagation, including grafting, are being pursued to preserve the oak’s future.
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“It is incumbent upon us to learn from it and protect it while we still can, in order to inform future conservation efforts,” said Wesley Knapp, chief botanist at NatureServe, who participated in the expedition. “Nature rarely hands us a second chance, and I doubt we’ll get a third. We won’t waste it.”
PLANT an Acorn of Good News for Friends on Social Media…
Quote of the Day: “Don’t let your habits become handcuffs.” – Elizabeth Berg
Photo: Annie Spratt
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
The outtakes of silliness when two paramedics can’t stop laughing as they try and explain their jobs has become a social media hit.
Dave Tamarro and Joe Cartwright are seen uncontrollable giggling in outtakes of a serious video intended for International Paramedics Day on July 8.
The pair, from East of England Ambulance Service, have become a viral sensation after the clips were posted on the group’s Facebook Page.
“We’ve lost count of the number of takes it took, but it certainly made for a lot of good outtakes,” they wrote on the post.
More than 45,000 people have watched the video showing Dave and Joe sniggering as they try to express serious sentiments about being a paramedic.
In one moment, Joe (a LOM, which is short for Leading Operational Manager) says “I can’t do it Dave,” while laughing hysterically in yet another failed try.
“Through all the challenges and heartbreak there’s always laughter to help you get through these days,” Dave wrote on Facebook, saying he was glad to have made so many people smile.
WATCH: Baby Girl Adorably Tries to Prank Mom With Fake Cough
Commenting on Facebook, Nicky Jenner said: “You made my day!!! So funny. Keep laughing guys, this world needs more people like you both!”
Nicky New added: “Omg that is brilliant cheered me up after a hard day at work! Thanks guys🤣🤣xxx”
SHARE the Life-giving Laughs With Friends on Social Media..
A pioneering British jet suit company is giving super-powers to paramedics for their search and rescue missions in the remote Lake District of northern England.
Gravity Industries has been testing the jet suit with the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).
The maiden voyage two years ago saw Gravity Industries founder and Chief Test Pilot Richard Browning fly up from the valley bottom to a simulated casualty site that would take around 25 minutes to reach by foot. The Gravity Jet Suit was able to cover that distance in just 90 seconds.
In May, Jamie Walsh had just six days of training before he strapped himself into the 3D printed device and soared across the mountainous region of Helvellyn in foggy weather that would have grounded helicopter pilots.
With dozens of patient emergencies every month at the Lakes, Andy Mawson, director of operations and a paramedic at GNAAS could see the need.
“What we didn’t know for sure is how this would work in practice. Well, we’ve seen it now and it is, quite honestly, awesome.”
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The tests this year have demonstrated the huge potential of utilizing Jet Suits to deliver critical care services.
“Our aircraft will remain a vital part of the emergency response in this terrain,” said Browning, who trained several paramedics to use the jet packs. “In some cases, it would save their lives.”
The Gravity Jet Suit is already on its third iteration, and includes two miniature jet turbines on each arm, and a fifth engine housed in a backpack. Priced at $440,000, the device is reportedly capable of creating over 300 pounds of thrust with 1,050 brake horsepower. (See the suit in action in the video below.)
“We are just scratching the surface in terms of what is possible to achieve with our technology. Emergency response is one of the areas,” says Browning, who was formerly a Royal Marines reservist.
With the test complete, Gravity Industries, which was founded in 2017, is now exploring the next steps for collaborating with GNAAS.
Watch the video and meet the founder… (Note: GNN isn’t affiliated with their ads.)
FLY This Life-saving Innovation to Friends on Social Media…
Design students in Colombia have harnessed the porousness of moss to design a water filter that can trap microplastics.
Over the two-month product life of the filter, it can trap 80 grams of microplastics, sparing the drinker’s biology from consuming the equivalent of 16 credit cards.
The design comes from the remarkable ecosystem high in the Andes Mountains called the Paramo. Hiking in this mountainous region is done either on rock, or what feels like marshmallows. The biosphere is covered in layers of moss species which absorb, filter the water, and send it down mountain streams where it’s scientifically found to be good to drink for around 40 million people across northern South America.
Called MUS(T)GO, the filter, designed by students at the University of the Andes, won the annual Biodesign Challenge Summit.
While microplastics so far haven’t been proven to be harmful when ingested by humans, scientists aren’t waiting for confirmation. Researchers around the world are testing new methods to recapture the bits—from Texans using ocra, to robots that can vacuum them from beaches.
MUS(T)GO uses a steel spiral shaped like an Archimedes screw, inside which is a variety of sphagnum moss grown in nurseries outside the internationally-protected Paramo zone.
RELATED: Mussels Can Help Filter Microplastics Out of Our Oceans Without Any Harm to the Molluscs
The design team hasn’t unveiled a prototype, but the filter is designed to be used by poorer communities who don’t have access to a filter, or by gardeners who can fit the filter on the end of a hose. Because the moss would become embedded with microplastics, the team wants also to try to invent a way to turn the discarded filters into a bio-plastic.
“[Moss] is such a little organism, and it does so much for the entire ecosystem,” Maria Paula Osorio, a student at the Bogota university who designed the product, told Fast Company. “We understood how amazing this natural creature is and wanted to do something that matters.”
Many state-of-the-art recycling methods for plastic are actually being derived from the natural world. Currently two bacterial enzymes are found to dissolve the complex molecular bonds that link the monomers into PET plastics.
While nature seems powerless to prevent plastic pollution, through her incredible diversity we might just be able to do it on her behalf.
SEND The Green News to Eco-Friends on Social Media…
Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)
Here is your weekly horoscope…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of July 9, 2022
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
As a child, Cancerian author June Jordan said, “I used to laugh all the time. I used to laugh so much and so hard in church, in school, at the kitchen table, on the subway! I used to laugh so much my nose would run and my eyes would tear and I just couldn’t stop.” That’s an ideal I invite you to aspire to in the coming days. You probably can’t match Jordan’s plenitude, but do your best. Why? The astrological omens suggest three reasons: 1. The world will seem funnier to you than it has in a long time. 2. Laughing freely and easily is the most healing action you can take right now. 3. It’s in the interests of everyone you know to have routines interrupted and disrupted by amusement, delight, and hilarity.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In accordance with the astrological omens, here’s your assignment for the next three weeks: Love yourself more and more each day. Unleash your imagination to come up with new reasons to adore and revere your unique genius. Have fun doing it. Laugh about how easy and how hard it is to love yourself so well. Make it into a game that brings you an endless stream of amusement. PS: Yes, you really are a genius—by which I mean you are an intriguing blend of talents and specialties that is unprecedented in the history of the human race.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Novelist Lydia Peelle writes, “The trouble was, I knew exactly what I wasn’t. I just didn’t know who I was.” We all go through similar phases, in which we are highly aware of what we don’t want, don’t like, and don’t seek to become. They are like negative grace periods that provide us with valuable knowledge. But it’s crucial for us to also enjoy periods of intensive self-revelation about what we do want, what we do like, and what we do seek to become. In my astrological estimation, you Virgos are finished learning who you’re not, at least for now. You’re ready to begin an era of finding out much, much more about who you are.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
You need the following experiences at least once every other day during the next 15 days: a rapturous burst of unexpected grace; a gentle eruption of your strong willpower; an encounter with inspiration that propels you to make some practical improvement in your life; a brave adjustment in your understanding of how the world works; a sacrifice of an OK thing that gives you more time and energy to cultivate a really good thing.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
This might sound like an unusual assignment, but I swear it’s based on two unimpeachable sources: research by scientists and my many years of analyzing astrological data. Here’s my recommendation, Scorpio: In the coming weeks, spend extra time watching and listening to wild birds. Place yourself in locations where many birds fly and perch. Read stories about birds and talk about birds. Use your imagination to conjure up fantasies in which you soar alongside birds. Read the GNN article about how birds are linked to happiness levels.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
In accordance with current astrological omens, I have four related suggestions for you. 1. Begin three new projects that are seemingly beyond your capacity and impossible to achieve with your current levels of intelligence, skill, and experience—and then, in the coming months, accomplish them anyway. 2. Embrace optimism for both its beauty and its tactical advantages. 3. Keep uppermost in mind that you are a teacher who loves to teach and you are a student who loves to learn. 4. Be amazingly wise, be surprisingly brave, be expansively visionary—and always forgive yourself for not remembering where you left your house keys.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
If you ever wanted to use the Urdu language to advance your agendas for love and romance, here’s a list of endearments you could use: 1 jaan-e-man (heart’s beloved); 2. humraaz (secret-sharer; confidante); 3. pritam (beloved); 4. sona (golden one); 5. bulbul (nightingale); 6. yaar (friend/lover); 7. natkhat (mischievous one). Even if you’re not inclined to experiment with Urdu terms, I urge you to try innovations in the way you use language with your beloved allies. It’s a favorable time to be more imaginative in how you communicate your affections.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Author John Berger described birch trees as “pliant” and “slender.” He said that “if they promise a kind of permanence, it has nothing to do with solidity or longevity—as with an oak or a linden—but only with the fact that they seed and spread quickly. They are ephemeral and recurring—like a conversation between earth and sky.” I propose we regard the birch tree as your personal power symbol in the coming months. When you are in closest alignment with cosmic rhythms, you will express its spirit. You will be adaptable, flexible, resourceful, and highly communicative. You will serve as an intermediary, a broker, and a go-between.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
People who don’t know much about astrology sometimes say that Pisceans are wishy-washy. That’s a lie. The truth is, Pisceans are not habitually lukewarm about chaotic jumbles of possibilities. They are routinely in love with the world and its interwoven mysteries. On a regular basis, they feel tender fervor and poignant awe. They see and feel how all life’s apparent fragments knit together into a luminous bundle of amazement. I bring these thoughts to your attention because the coming weeks will be an excellent time to relish these superpowers of yours—and express them to the max.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
My readers and I have collaborated to provide insights and inspirations about the topic “How to Be an Aries.” Below is an amalgam of my thoughts and theirs—advice that will especially apply to your life in the coming days. 1) If it’s easy, it’s boring. – Beth Prouty 2) If it isn’t challenging, do something else. – Jennifer Blackmon Guevara 3) Be confident of your ability to gather the energy to get unstuck, to instigate, to rouse—for others as well as yourself. 4) You are a great initiator of ideas and you are also willing to let go of them in their pure and perfect forms, so as to help them come to fruition. 5) When people don’t get things done fast enough for you, be ready and able to DO IT YOURSELF.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
I know three people who have told me, “I don’t like needing anyone for anything.” They fancy themselves to be rugged individualists with impeccable self-sufficiency. They imagine they can live without the help or support of other humans. I don’t argue with them; it’s impossible to dissuade anyone with such a high level of delusion. The fact is, we are all needy beings who depend on a vast array of benefactors. Who built our houses, grew our food, sewed our clothes, built the roads, and create the art and entertainment we love? I bring this up, Taurus, because now is an excellent time for you to celebrate your own neediness. Be wildly grateful for all the things you need and all the people who provide them. Regard your vigorous interdependence as a strength, not a weakness.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Bounce up and down when you walk. Express 11 different kinds of laughs. Be impossible to pin down or figure out. Relish the openings that your restlessness spawns. Keep changing the way you change. Be easily swayed and sway others easily. Let the words flowing out of your mouth reveal to you what you think. Live a dangerous life in your daydreams but not in real life. Don’t be everyone’s messenger, but be the messenger for as many people as is fun for you. If you have turned out to be the kind of Gemini who is both saintly and satanic, remember that God made you that way—so let God worry about it.
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)
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Quote of the Day: “One could wait a lifetime, and find nothing at the end of the waiting. I would begin here, I would make something happen.” – Louis L’Amour
Photo: Christopher Osten
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
GNN’s new managing editor Andy Corbley (pictured above in his garden in Vergiate, Italy) is starting a new discussion group around one of the most popular and healthful hobbies of all–gardening.
Every Friday, he will pose a new topic so that everyone can share tips, best practices and photos. This week, Andy wants to hear your views on the most fundamental of gardening hacks: amending the soil.
Post a picture of yourself in your garden between now and next Friday, and we might add it to the photo collage in the Good Gardening banner image—either by email ([email protected]) or on our Facebook page where we’ve posted this…
Question 1: Do you add something to your garden or paddock to build soil quality?
Question 2: What have you heard of/seen other people use?
Question 3: What would you like to try adding in the future?
Tell Us Here in The Comments, Or Take The Discussion To Our Facebook Page…
Archeologists from the University of Manchester have started a dig at a 5,000-year-old tomb linked in legend to King Arthur, hoping to answer some of the mysteries surrounding the enigmatic site in the process.
Arthur’s Stone, as it’s called, is a Neolithic chambered tomb which has never previously been excavated, but experts at English Heritage, which looks after Arthur’s Stone in Herefordshire, say that similar examples in the same region have been found to contain incomplete skeletal remains of several people, together with flint flakes, arrowheads and pottery.
Like many prehistoric monuments in western England and Wales, this tomb has been linked to King Arthur since before the 13th century. According to legend, it was here that Arthur slew a giant who left the impression of his elbows on one of the stones as he fell.
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Today, only the large stones of the inner chamber remains, which is placed in a mound of earth and stones whose original size and shape remains a mystery. The chamber is formed of nine upright stones, with an enormous capstone estimated to weigh more than 25 tons on top.
More recently, the author CS Lewis is thought to have been inspired by the area when creating his fictional world of Narnia; with Arthur’s Stone the inspiration for the stone table upon which Aslan the Lion is sacrificed in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
“Arthur’s Stone is one of the country’s most significant Stone Age monuments, and this excavation gives a really rare and exciting chance for members of the public to come and see archaeology in action,” said Ginny Slade, Volunteer Manager at English Heritage.
“Our team of wonderful volunteers will be on hand to explain the latest findings as they happen—we’re asking people to book in advance to make sure everyone has a chance to enjoy this great opportunity.”
The dig follows research undertaken by the Universities of Manchester and Cardiff immediately to the south of the monument last year which has already changed the thinking about the orientation and origins of the site.
Great Britain, the Isles, and Ireland are riddled with Stone Age circles, tombs, and other monuments. In Ireland they’re called “Dolmens” and Arthur’s Stones looks much like the iconic Poulnabrone Dolmen in Co. Claire.
RELATED: British Museum Unveils Ancient Artifacts Illuminating the World of Stonehenge in New Exhibit
It was assumed that Arthur’s Stone stood within a wedge-shaped stone cairn, similar to those found in the Cotswolds and South Wales, but Manchester’s Professor Julian Thomas and Cardiff’s Professor Keith Ray found that the monument originally extended into a field to the southwest, and may have taken the form of a low turf mound with rounded ends.
Professors Thomas and Professor Ray will also lead the upcoming excavations, with the participation of students from Cardiff University and a series of American institutions.
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Is it dinner or is it family?
A camera pointed at a bald eagle’s nest caught a remarkable display of behavior recently when a mother eagle stole a baby hawk and presented it to her eaglet for dinner.
However the eaglet never shows any interest in eating hawk, and 32 hours later, the orphan was sheltering from the rain under mother eagle’s wings.
The Eagle Nest Project at the Gabriola Rescue of Wildlife Society, or “GROWLS,” is a network of property owners and environmentally minded citizens who monitor eagle nest activities on Vancouver and the Gulf Islands in British Columbia.
Pamichen, a GROWLS member, captured 14 minutes of incredible nest cam footage of the nail-biting phenomenon, when on several occasions it seems for all the world like the eagles are going to just start ripping this little fluffy red-tailed hawk baby to pieces.
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But hour after hour, eaglet and baby hawk just continue to shift around in the nest, eating scraps of leftover food. Just before dark, “it really [seemed] like they were going to go in for the kill,” Pamichen can be heard saying in the video. But as darkness falls, the two babies crawl under mama’s wings, and the next afternoon, she even feeds her hostage.
It didn’t actually take that long for mother and child to decide to welcome the little thing into their family.
One YouTube commenter has since given an update that the hawk has now fledged and goes back and forth between his new home.
“It’s amazing how often this actually happens,” another one said 3 weeks ago. “I’ve seen it documented in at least 4 different nests just from various nest cam channels.”
WATCH the GROWLS nest cam video below…
SPARE A Moment To Share This Video With Your Nest Mates…
A cheery poll found that almost 60% of people are planning to spend their summer vacation on a reunion with family and friends. A further 65% said that spending time with family and friends brings them more joy than other vacation themes.
Now in the third summer since the pandemic began, 32% of respondents said they hadn’t seen extended family in 4-years. 68% said they’d be willing to travel further than ever before this summer to reconnect with family and friends.
CHECK OUT: The Values of Giving, Compassion and Family, Flourishing Across the World: Survey Shows
The majority of those surveyed said the ideal duration for a reunion would be 3 days, perhaps because 51% of respondents believe family reunions look different now than they did a few years ago.
For example, many respondents now look at out-group individuals more like family, saying that reunions will feature invites to friends (42%), significant others (39%), neighbors (34%) and pets (36%).
The majority (55%) of those surveyed said that, in terms of the theme of the reunion they planned to attend, they are focusing on a mixture of celebrating old family traditions, and starting new ones, with 64% of those polled saying they want to reconnect with family traditions.
SEE: Ohio Family Converts a 1903 Church Into Their Home – and it’s Pretty Amazing (Look)
Remarkably in terms of reunion activities 35% said they would like to make matching t-shirts, while more traditional activities like catching up with friends and family (24%) and having a family BBQ (20%) were also on the list.
In terms of getting there, 70% of people said they would drive, and 36% would opt for a hotel on their stay.
The poll was managed by OnePoll on behalf of Motel 6.
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Tata Chemicals Europe today opened the UK’s first industrial scale carbon capture and usage plant today, signaling a key milestone in the race to meet the UK’s, and the world’s, net zero targets.
The plant captures 40,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year—the equivalent to taking over 20,000 cars off the roads, and ten-times more than what GNN reported to be the world’s largest carbon capture factory just 10 months ago.
The $24 million (£20 million) investment has been completed by UK-based Tata Chemicals Europe, one of Europe’s leading producers of sodium carbonate, salt and baking soda, and they expect it to lower their carbon emissions by more than 10%.
The project will help unlock the future of carbon capture as it demonstrates the viability of the technology to remove carbon dioxide from power plant emissions and to use it in high end manufacturing applications.
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The party trick is that in a world first, carbon dioxide captured from energy generation emissions is being purified to food and pharmaceutical grade and used as a raw material in the manufacture of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) which will be known as Ecokarb®. This unique and innovative process is patented in the UK with further patents pending in key territories around the world.
Ecokarb® will be exported to over 60 countries around the world. Much of the sodium bicarbonate exported will be used in hemodialysis to treat people living with kidney disease.
It will also be used to essential items like glass, washing detergents, pharmaceutical products, food, animal feed and in water purification.
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The carbon capture plant, which was supported with a £4.2m grant through the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (“BEIS”) Energy Innovation Program, marks a major step towards sustainable manufacturing which will see Tata make net zero sodium bicarbonate and one of the lowest carbon footprint sodium carbonate products in the world.
“The completion of the carbon capture and utilization plant enables us to reduce our carbon emissions, whilst securing our supply of high purity carbon dioxide, a critical raw material, helping us to grow the export of our pharmaceutical grade products across the world,” said Martin Ashcroft, Managing Director of Tata Chemicals Europe.
“With the support of our parent company, Tata Chemicals, and BEIS, we have been able to deliver this hugely innovative project, enabling our UK operations to take a major step in our carbon emissions reduction journey. Since 2000 we’ve reduced our carbon intensity by 50% and have a clear roadmap to reduce this by 80% by 2030.”
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Quote of the Day: “Inner peace and wisdom require patience, allowing the unfolding of destiny to proceed at its won unhurried pace.” – Brian Weiss
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Sometimes, the most powerful jolt of nostalgia one can feel is that which comes after picking up the scent of something iconic of one’s childhood.
Now, scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) to research past and present smells of Europe to identify and trace their link to language, places, cultural practices and emotions, taking this concept from the individual to the societal level.
The goal of the project, called “Odeuropa” is to show that critically engaging our sense of smell and our scent heritage is an important and viable means of connecting and promoting Europe’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
Odeuropa will find references to smells such as disease-fighting perfumes, tobacco or the stench of industrialization in historic literature and paintings using AI techniques, aiming to teach the computer to see a smell.
The information gathered will be stored in a database called the European Olfactory Knowledge Graph, with academics from University College London’s (UCL) Institute for Sustainable Heritage (ISH) leading the work on olfactory heritage science, involving historic scent preservation and communication.
“From the perspective of heritage sites, it’s really interesting to focus on smells such as the smell of old books in the frame of Odeuropa,” said Professor Matija Strlic at the ISH. “Old smells or smells of objects tell us a lot about how those objects degrade, how they can be preserved and also how those smells can be conserved.”
Odeuropa, began with €2.8m ($3m) of funding from the EU Horizon 2020 program. Now in 2022, they’ve already put their Knowledge Graph to work at The Hague, with a special museum exhibit, called “Fleeting- Scents in Color” which conjures the smells of Amsterdam from the Dutch Golden Age, with a particular focus on the canals.
It’s difficult work, and it’s not clear exactly how the process should proceed, Odeuropa members explained recently to the Guardian.
“We are trying to decide if it matters academically whether we preserve authentic smells with the right chemicals or whether we simply try to evoke an experience by creating a similar effect today,” said Dr. Cecilia Bembibre a research associate at the ISH.
“We really want to engage communities,” Bembibre adds. “There are ‘nose witnesses’ alive now who can help us recreate smells from their childhoods or from trades that no longer exist.”
Computer linguistics expert Sara Tonelli (Fondazione Bruno-Kessler, Italy) explained in 2020 that their goal is “to develop a ‘computer nose’ able to trace scents and olfactory experiences in digital texts over four centuries and seven languages.”
The ISH team’s expertise in engaging with the heritage sector will be used to share the key scents of Europe in museums between 2021 and 2023, allowing everyone to experience the past through scents.
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Southern fin whales have been documented feeding in large numbers in ancestral feeding grounds in Antarctica for the first time since hunting was restricted in 1976.
The authors estimate that fin whales could number just under 8,000 after video documentation captured a symphony of blowhole eruptions from the mammals in the ocean around Elephant Island.
They suggest that recovering fin whale populations could enrich the marine ecosystem of the Antarctic through nutrient recycling from whale feeding and excrement (known as the ‘whale pump’), and, in turn, support increasing growth of phytoplankton and greater krill populations.
Southern fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus quoyi) are a subspecies of fin whale that inhabits the Southern Hemisphere. They’re the second largest whale species after the blue whale and were extensively hunted during the nineteenth century, particularly around specific feeding grounds in Antarctica.
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By the time fin whale hunting was banned in 1976, they were rarely seen in their traditional feeding regions.
Helena Herr and colleagues from the University of Hamburg estimated fin whale abundance based on all sightings of individuals and groups along 2,020-mile search tracks in expeditions in 2018 and 2019.
They recorded 100 groups of fin whale with group sizes ranging from 1 to 4 individuals, and 8 unusually large groups of up to 150 whales which appeared to be actively feeding, smashing previous maximums that numbered just 13.
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The authors modelled fin whale population densities in Antarctica based on these sightings and predict a population of 7,909 fin whales for the total survey area, with a density 0.09 individuals per kilometer squared—three-times as high as fin whale populations in southern California (0,03).
The authors report a noticeable hotspot of fin whales around Elephant Island with a predicted abundance of 3,618 individuals, or 0.21 whales per kilometer squared.
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In the dark jungles of Borneo, a plant has adapted to an ecological niche that none of its kind or kingdom has ever entered before.
An international team led by Czech scientists confirmed that Nepenthus pudica is the first species of pitcher plant, or carnivorous plant in general for that matter, ever to be found laying traps under the soil.
Pitcher plants are a type of carnivorous plant that grow mainly in Southeast Asia. These climbing vines create ingenious traps for insects at the end of the leaves in the form of jugs with liquid, which are usually strikingly colored.
Because of this, pitcher plants became popular, and in Europe these ornamental plants have been cultivated since the end of the 18th century. People can usually see them in greenhouses or in hobby markets.
“We have managed to discover a pitcher plant that behaves completely differently from all other known species,” said Martin Dančák from the Department of Ecology and the Environment of Palacky University.
“The newly discovered species placed its up to eleven centimeter traps underground. In cavities or directly in the soil, this little bug catches underground animals. Invertebrates, especially ants, various mites and beetles end up in its traps.”
In addition to above-ground shoots, this species also produces short underground stems, which usually grow into a cavity, in which it then produces leaves and the deadly pitchers. Containing a sweet liquid, the pitchers attract invertebrates inside, after which they can’t get out because the liquid is sticky, and the inside of the pitcher slick.
According to scientists, the carnivore hides its traps underground, apparently because narrow mountain ridges on which they grow can dry out relatively quickly. In the underground cavities, on the other hand, it is humid and teeming with food.
The scientists first found them hidden in a dark cavity under a tree.
“After that, we looked at more similar trees, near which the little ones were growing. We found out that this species of weevil actually directs its shoots underground and creates traps in the cavity on purpose,” explained Ľuboš Majeský.
Scientists assume that such a remarkable species of carnivore could help to protect the local forests.
“This finding is significant for nature conservation in Indonesia, underscoring the importance of Borneo’s tropical rainforests and their extraordinary biodiversity,” added Wewin Tjiasmanto, another participant of the expedition from the Indonesian Center for the Protection of Wetland Biotopes.
“We hope that the discovery of this new carnivorous plant will help preserve the character of the local landscape and stop or slow down the further conversion of forests to oil palm plantations.”
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