Postcards from the Planet

Check out this great website where you can learn about all of the NASA satellites monitoring global climate change: Eyes on the Earth 3D.

VOTE EARTH – YOUR LIGHT SWITCH IS YOUR VOTE

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.

For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.

VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.

Saturday, March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.

NASA published this image of the eruption in Tonga. You can learn more at this link: NASA Tonga Eruption Site.

The “Ring of Fire”–the volcanoes that circle the Pacific Ocean–is suddenly more active than it has been in some months. Some scientists think that activity in one area–like the Tonga underwater volcano–leads to activity in other areas as the Earth’s tectonic plates adjust and move. Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt erupted at least five times last night, bringing in spring with a bang! (The spring equinox was on March 20th.)

This link Alaska Volcano Observatory map shows current activity along the Kenai peninsula of Alaska, where Mt Redoubt is located. This link Redoubt Volcano links tells you more about Mt. Redoubt.

Volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere cools the atmosphere because it reflects sunlight back into space. In 1816, the Indonesian volcano, Mt. Tambora, exploded so vigorously that ash in the atmosphere caused cold temperatures around the world. The summer of 1816 is sometimes nicknamed “1800 and froze to death.” This Wikipedia article Year Without a Summer explains what it was like.

In 1883, the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa exploded. Ash flung into the atmosphere created red and orange sunsets for several years. Edward Munch’s famous painting The Scream is thought to show one of those sunsets.

The Scream by Edward Munch

Here’s a link to a video of the volcano that erupted this week in the Pacific Ocean near Tonga, sending a plume of ash and steam up between 15,000 and 25,000 feet in the air: Undersea Volcano Eruption.
Tonga is part of the Ring of Fire, the seismically active area around the Pacific where many volcanoes are located.

After several delays, the Space Shuttle Discovery took off on March 15 for a thirteen-day mission – mission STS-119. Today, the crew of seven is working with the crew of the International Space Station on repairs and the installation of solar arrays. To find out more about the mission, you can check the NASA information pages: Space Shuttle.

Image: Space shuttle Discovery hurtles into the evening sky on the STS-119 mission. Photo credit: NASA/Fletch Hildreth

 

 

Apparently the Energy Department has a problem. According to Congressional Representative Bart Gordon, “math illiteracy on a grand scale” led the Energy Department to think that a so-called clean coal electrical generation plant was going to cost far more than it actually was. As a result, the project was canceled. In today’s New York Times, Matthew Wald suggests that resumption of the project “could provide a model for curbing” carbon dioxide emissions.

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, who have a deep-sea observation robot at their command, recently discovered an amazing fish, with a transparent head and rotating eyes. Click here for the video of this amazing fish!