galaxies of garbage

yes, humans have purposely created islands in unexpected places - dubai, for example. but we've also accidentally made other islands, whose total size may add up to be TWICE THE SIZE OF TEXAS!

thats right: trash islands! off the pacific west coast of the US, 1000 miles northeast of hawaii, live several massive, synthetic, growing islands of our rubbish. our synthetic products and the whirling ocean currents have conspired together to create floating piles of plastic leftovers from our lives. we have multiple huge and expanding mountains of refuse living in the vortices of earth's oceans.


yuck!

what can we do? reuse items that dont break up: plastics! reuse plastic bags, or get cloth bags that you can use infinitely! increase the use of biodegradable materials wherever possible. buy a cup or more permanent water bottle to drink from , instead of opening several plastic water bottles a day.

of course, as a single individual my efforts wont decrease the rate at which the galaxies of garbage are growing, but i think as a society, we have to get better at reusing what we buy. we just plain dont need all this *stuff* in our lives!

spaceship to mars

gene vincent sings spaceship to mars in 1962!

carl sagan on childhood

in honor of his birthday, i'd like to share a quote from carl sagan:

“As soon as I was old enough, my parents gave me my first library card. I think the library was on 85th Street, an alien land. Immediately, I asked the librarian for something on stars. She returned with a picture book displaying portraits of men and women with names like Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. I complained, and for some reason then obscure to me, she smiled and found another book — the right kind of book. I opened it breathlessly and read until I found it. The book said something astonishing, a very big thought. It said that the stars were suns, only very far away. The Sun was a star, but close up.”

from “the backbone of night,” cosmos.

more quality quotes at skeptic.

catbert

dilbert

IYA posters redesigned

the whole set by simon page is great!

mittenwald, germany

mittenwald is a gorgeous little town in the alps of southern germany. it's known for the murals painted on the buildings and its history of people making quality violins.












i'll take the high road and you take the low road....






mmm... apple strudel.

carl sagan day

today is carl sagan day, with a celebration being held at broward college in southern florida for what would have been carl's 75th birthday.

carl sagan was an astronomer, but most well-known to the public as an incredible science communicator. i meet professional astronomers all the time who claim him to be a major influence in their decision to go into science, including myself.

he has written some very influential books, shared amazing perspective as to our place in the universe on our pale blue dot, he and partner ann druyan created the memorable cosmos tv series, and a recent youtube video featuring carl sagan, a glorious dawn, has proven to be very popular!

here is carl with the dalai lama in 1991.


i'm actually working on another piece about carl sagan, and i'd like to hear your thoughts. what influence has he had for you, if any? what memories do you associate with him? if you are a young person, do you know who he is? how did you hear about him?

space day aftermath

space day at the castle was loads of fun last saturday! my mom came from the US for the event and has been here all week - hence a lack of posting! here's a photo of us at the event in our costumes! more soon....


ps. no, i'm not dressed as ronald mcdonald!

when accuracy kills romance

this cartoon from saturday morning breakfast cereal reminded a reader of me. haha!!


there are certain times when people say things inaccurately and i *have* to say something about the correct information. but sometimes, i have to recognize when to keep my mouth shut ;)

ps. its not a meteorite until it actually lands on the surface of the earth!