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All right, stop laughing.
In all seriousness, there is a mysterious spot on the gas giant. No, really. Discover Magazine explains:
Uranus, like the other giant planets in the solar system (Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune), is made up almost entirely of gas, although it differs in composition to Jupiter and Saturn -- it has higher quantities of water, methane and ammonia ices. Unlike conventional ice, it's a super dense liquid. Uranus, like Neptune, is often referred to as an "ice giant." [...]
An image taken by planetary scientist Larry Sromovsky, with the Gemini 8.1 meter telescope shows a bright patch that is thought to be an eruption of methane ice high in the atmosphere. [...]
Understanding the nature of this spot is important, Hammel explained to Discovery News.
"The reason we care about the clouds on the planet Uranus is that they seem to be seasonally driven," said Hammel. "Uranus spins tipped over on its side, giving rise to extreme changes in sunlight as its seasons progress.
"The changes are therefore much more dramatic than for other planets. Uranus thus gives us unique insight into the energy balance in a planetary atmosphere."
Would you eat a lab-grown steak? Esquire Magazine interviewed Dr. Morris Benjaminson who created lab-grown fish for NASA about the ways that "test tube meat" could rescue the planet and the human race – from helping the environment to curing disease and preventing hunger.
ESQ: There won’t be methane emissions without a digestive tract. Could this technology stop global warming?
MB: Reports have definitively shown that animal husbandry produces massive pollution, and a large percentage of our problems are caused by raising large numbers of animals for slaughter. Look at the way chickens are raised. Fish raised in captivity produce enormous quantities of waste, and there’s no good way to dispose of it. The environment is not being affected favorably; from the standpoint of preserving the environment, lab-grown meat technology certainly deserves support. And beyond climate change, this could stop famines in places like Ethiopia and Darfur, where people starve to death because they don’t have enough protein in their diet.
Link – Thanks Marty!
If the steak doesn’t cost $45,000 a pound, would you eat lab-grown meat?
We’ve addressed the problem of the methane from livestock farts and burps contributing to global warming. One way to attack the problem is to breed sheep that produce less methane. But researchers at Newcastle University say that adding curry spices to livestock feed could produce the same results.
Research has found that coriander and turmeric – spices traditionally used to flavour curries – can reduce the amount of methane produced by sheep by up to 40 per cent.
Working a bit like an antibiotic, the spices were found to kill the methane-producing ”bad” bacteria in the animal’s gut while allowing the ”good” bacteria to flourish.
The findings are part of a study by Newcastle University research student Mohammad Mehedi Hasan and Dr Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry.
Spices also help an animal digest its food more efficiently, which could reduce the amount of feed needed. Coriander was the most efficient spice in the experiment, followed by tumeric and then cinnamon. Link -via Fortean Times
(Image credit: Flickr user Tambako the Jaguar)
You think you have troubles at work? Dairy farmer Tony Goltstein of Winchester, Indiana has methane bubbles the size of houses rising up to twenty feet tall, full of gas released by decomposing cow manure. Since wholesale prices of dairy products has plummeted, he cannot afford to properly maintain the manure lagoon. Replacing the plastic liner would cost around $200,000, and Goltstein is afraid the lagoon will overflow if the bubbles under the plastic continue to rise.
This month, Mr. Goltstein asked state regulators to let him pop the bubbles. He said he and his 19-year-old son would slice them open with a knife from a paddleboat.
Bruce Palin, assistant commissioner for the office of land quality at the state environmental agency, said officials were considering the idea. But, he added, “not knowing how much volume of gas is there and how much pressure is on it, we’re concerned with just cutting a hole.”
Last year, a hog farmer in Hayfield, Minn., was launched 40 feet into the air in an explosion caused by methane gas from a manure pit on his farm. He sustained burns and singed hair.
Mr. Goltstein’s attorney, Glenn D. Bowman, acknowledged that the potential existed for an explosion: “We’re aware of that sort of common physics issue,” he said.
The Goltsteins filed for bankruptcy last month. Link -via Digg
(image credit: Lauren Etter)
The following is an article from The Best of The Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
The Papal Belvedere by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1545), showing
German peasants farting at the pope.
It used to be that no one talked about farts … now, it's no big
deal. You can't get away from it. Which is fine by us. Here we honor people
who have made an art out of passing gas. (By the way - if this is your
favorite part of the book, we recommend a tome called Who
Cut the Cheese
Reprinted with permission from The Best of the Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
The Bathroom Reader Institute handpicked the most eye-opening, rib-tickling,
and mind-boggling articles from everything they have written
over the last ten years and carefully crammed them into 576 pages of the
book.
Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute has published a series of popular
books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure
yet fascinating facts. Check out their website here: Bathroom
Reader Institute.
Residents of Axedale, Australia called authorities when they smelled what they believed to be a gas leak. Firefighters responded to the home and found a 120 kilogram pet pig, which they believe to be the source of the gas.
“She got very excited when two trucks and 15 firies turned up and she squealed and farted and squealed and farted,” said fire chief Peter Harkins.
“I haven’t heard too many pigs fart but I would describe it as very full-on.”
Mr Harkins said the family had done the right thing by calling 000 to report a suspected gas leak: “It’s all bottled gas up here and a leaking cylinder could pose a major fire risk.
“It was because we took it so seriously that 15 volunteers still managed to attend the call out at 10.30 on Tuesday night.”
The pig’s owners are embarrassed over the incident and refused to let the pig be photographed. Link -via Arbroath
(image credit: AAP)
Here in pittsburgh we’ve had buses that run on natural gas for a while now …. BUT these ones out in Oslo run on a different type of ‘Natural Gas’, the taco-bell type … Kinda gross but really cool way to power a vehicle, like in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.
It is available for free in huge quantities, is not owned by Saudi Arabia and it contributes minimally towards climate change. The latest green fuel might seem like the dream answer to climate crisis, but until recently raw sewage has been seen as a waste disposal problem rather than a power source. Now Norway’s capital city is proving that its citizens can contribute to the city’s green credentials without even realising it.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by JKirchartz.
