Earth Day

The current Earth Day was first observed on April 22, 1970, as an “environmental teach-in” at two thousand colleges and universities and ten thousand elementary, middle school and high schools across the United States. It was a grass-roots response to Continue reading Earth Day

Poulsbo: paradise?

Poulsbo is a small town in northern Kitsap County, which in turn is a peninsula located between Hood Canal and Puget Sound in Washington State. For most purposes, it is functionally an island, with just one lone land highway connecting Continue reading Poulsbo: paradise?

Dungeness Spit panorama

Dungeness Spit is a nearly six-mile long sand spit that curves out from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is a spectacular setting. On this day you can see both Canada — the Continue reading Dungeness Spit panorama

Not dolphin approved

This sign, posted on a pier at Fort DeSoto Park, south of St. Petersburg, Florida, is not dolphin approved. Dolphins are highly intelligent animals, fully capable of serving in their role as a top predator in the ocean. Yet like Continue reading Not dolphin approved

Wash your hands of it all

The leading cause of hospital infections is: staff not washing their hands. The leading cause of most common communicable diseases in the United States is: people not washing their hands. We use our hands for everything, be that taking out Continue reading Wash your hands of it all

Straws, bison and sustainability

Ted’s Montana Grill is a restaurant chain co-founded by Ted Turner, best known for his pioneer efforts in cable television, chiefly Cable News Network (CNN). Since retiring from mass media, he has devoted himself to philanthropy, particularly environmental issues. One project Continue reading Straws, bison and sustainability

Potentially harmful asteroids

Very informative chart, but also very pretty. Image is from NASA. Potentially harmful asteroids (full size).

Send your poem to space

Entries to the Your Poem in Space competition were submitted on oversized postcards. For launch, the postcards had to be folded for placement in the cargo container. Yes, this postcard has traveled 120,000 feet into the thin air, or four times as high as a jetliner at cruising altitude.

Humans can not only put people on the moon, we can also send poems to space. On Thursday, September 20, 2012, a large helium-filled balloon was launched from Weston Park, west of the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England. Equipped Continue reading Send your poem to space