Month: September 2018

In an article earlier this month, the Pacific Standard reported that deforestation in southern Africa is occurring at a rate five times higher than previous estimates. While deforestation is often associated with tropical rainforests, the new findings from the southern regions of Africa serve as a grim reminder that habitat loss can occur anywhere people roam. The satellite images used to measure the lost woodlands revealed that other habitat types have been lost as well, specifically wooded savannas. This combined habitat degradation accounted for a carbon loss six times higher than previous estimates. There are a few explanations as to why earlier estimates were so inaccurate. One problem comes from how deforestation is measured. Scientists monitor and measure the spread and recess...

UPDATED 12/30/20 Tattoos are often seen as simply decorative art pieces on the body. But they can also be used to support people with medical issues that cause disfigurement in their bodies. This is the case for Corey McGee, who tattoos 3D nipple and areola tattoos for breast cancer survivors. This generous, creative business approach sets McGee apart from others. Offering medical tattoos is a great way to increase goodwill in the community. So now, if someone is looking for good ear piercing places near me, they are more likely to trust McGee to know about ear piercing and body piercing and do them in a safe way. Things like 2 upper lobe piercings can get infected easily. Having a medical background of some sort means that this shop is going to be able to help their customers avoid pa...

Two bartenders in Galveston, Texas have been criminally charged after serving an intoxicated woman, Gerilyn Weberlein, who allegedly caused a fatal car crash 15 minutes after leaving the bar. The bartenders, Shafay Look and Jon Ward, served Weberlein at the Island Pier Club on June 4, 2018. According to Galveston police, Weberlein crashed her car into two bicyclists near the intersection of 69th Street and Weiss Drive at around 10:10 p.m. that night. The injured bicyclists were taken to John Sealy Emergency Room at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. As of 2010, total property damage costs from car accidents made up 31% of economic costs, but this crash cost more than just money. One cyclist suffered a broken arm, cuts, and abrasions. The other, 23-year-old Marco Beltra...

A lot of people don't realize that the vast majority of K-12 public school educators have at least a master's degree. Back in 2010, some states such as Ohio and Massachusetts decided that brand-new K-12 teachers didn't need to have a master's degree right when they start teaching but had to complete a master's degree within five years of starting their teaching career. This was due to a drastic shortage of teachers to fill positions. Now, Kentucky is causing ripples in the education community by dropping the master's degree requirement for teachers in their public school systems. On Monday, August 20, the state Education Professional Standards Board voted in favor of dropping the requirement, citing the lack of empirical evidence that an advanced degree increases an educator's effective...

Summer is coming to an end, school is starting up for the kids, and colder months are approaching. This all adds up to the return of flu season and the need to protect your family and home from those dangerous germs. Go room-by-room to properly clean away the bacteria and stock up on what you'll need when the kids inevitably catch their first colds of the winter. Kitchen As your kitchen is most likely well-sanitized already, we'll focus on what you need to stock in there to keep your family's immune systems strong. According to a study in Nutrition Journal, cranberries boost immune cells and are high in polyphenols, which are essential in fighting the flu. Try eating them as they are by putting them on a salad, rather than in cranberry juice which is normally high in sugar. Within the vege...

In an effort to cut costs and emissions on ocean cargo transport, the European plane maker, Airbus SE, is in the process of utilizing wind power. To move aircraft parts around the world, the company relies on large ocean-going cargo ships, and they are now planning to add huge 5,382-square-foot sails to some of the cargo ships in their fleet. According to Airbus, the new sail technology operates like a giant kite. The aircraft manufacturer, second in the world only to the Boeing Company, expects to save more than $1.2 million in annual fuel spending. They are also hoping to cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 8,000 tons per year with this new technology. Plus, this is only an initial test. If this modern sail technology is rolled out fleet-wide, the cost savings and emissio...

The U.S. is the largest manufacturer of chemical products in the world, and it's starting to become a problem. Water contamination has increased noticeably across the country -- most memorably with Flint, Michigan -- but a quick Google search turns up a shocking number of states suffering from toxic chemicals being leeched into their water supply from nearby industrial and manufacturing plants, including military bases. New Hampshire is the latest addition to the growing list, with its resident plastics plant being held responsible for the discovery of perfluoroalkyls (PFAS) in the southern half of the state's water supply. PFAS are actually all around us -- in common household products, fire-fighting foam, even in the packaging our food comes in -- but the problem comes from overexpo...

Between Aug. 22 and 26, Hurricane Lane pounded the islands of Hawaii with a reported 52.02 inches of rain, surpassing the state's previous record and closely approaching the nationwide record. That high total is held by the rainfall seen in Texas during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which totaled 60.58 inches. Areas of Hawaii are currently in the process of recovering from the hurricane and officials are busy assessing the total damages caused by the high winds and flash flooding. The Governor of Hawaii, David Ige, signed a supplementary proclamation effective through Oct. 27, 2018, which extends emergency assistance related to Hurricane Lane through that date. In Papaikou, the Department of Water Supply issued a Water Conservation Notice. According to the DWS, Hurricane Lane's winds and...