As more and more plastic trash permeates the oceans, microplastics are making their way into fish and shellfish, and potentially into humans. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/hundreds-fish-species-consume-microplastics-including-human-food…
Tag: coasts
In Historic Test, US Navy Shoots Down an Intercontinental Ballastic Missile
“In a historic test, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer shot down an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) warhead aimed at a patch of ocean off the Hawaiian Islands,” reports Popular Mechanics: Once the missile launched, a network of sensors picked it up. The data was then handed off to the guided missile destroyer USS John Finn, which launched a SM-3 Block…
Ivory Coast’s elephant populations are now in catastrophic decline
Named for its elephants, Ivory Coast once had one of the largest elephant populations in West Africa. Now there are just hundreds left Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2257193-ivory-coasts-elephant-populations-are-now-in-catastrophic-decline/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
What is a hurricane storm surge?
Of all the hazards that hurricanes bring, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property along the coast. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/definition-what-is-a-hurricane-storm-surge…
Who Still Needs the Office? US Companies Start Cutting Space
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Corporate America is downsizing its real estate footprint as companies allow more employees to work from home, a growing threat to the bottom line of owners of traditional office buildings and a sign that companies are looking for ways to cut costs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. A Reuters analysis of…
An Earthquake With a Preliminary Magnitude of 7.8 Struck Off the Coast of Alaska Early Wednesday Morning.
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 struck off the coast of Alaska early Wednesday morning. From a report: The earthquake was centered 60 miles, or 98 kilometers, south-southeast, of Perryville, Alaska, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake is considered shallow at about six miles, or 10 kilometers, deep. “Anything below 70 kilometers is considered a shallow quake,”…
Massive underwater rivers were discovered off the coast of Australia
Massive, underwater rivers have been discovered hidden off Australia’s coasts by robotic ocean gliders. Source: https://www.livescience.com/underwater-rivers-discovered-australia.html
Should Colleges Preserve the Idea of Meritocracy?
“Is Meritocracy an Idea Worth Saving?” asks The Chronicle of Higher Education, reporting on a special forum held recently at the University of North Carolina’s Program for Public Discourse. “This discussion took place before Covid-19 changed everything. But the topics — the definition of meritocracy, the role of universities in a just society, the composition of socioeconomic class, and the real…
Trump Halts US Funding For World Health Organization As It Conducts Coronavirus Review
President Trump is following through with the threat he made last week by suspending funding to the World Health Organization while his administration reviews the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Slashdot reader schwit1 first shared the news. CNBC reports: “Today I’m instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the…