Global warming is spurring evolution, study says

German birds are changing migration patterns. Canadian red squirrels are reproducing earlier in the year. Mosquitoes in Newfoundland remain active longer into August.

Traditionally, scientists have viewed such changes simply as behavior modifications in the face of a changing environment--in this case, global warming.

But scientists say these shifts provide mounting evidence that for some animals, global warming is sparking genetic changes that are altering the ecosystems we live in.

The effect is most striking in the northern latitudes, where climates are becoming more and more like those in the south, researchers say.
(Source: National Geographic)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/06/060608-global-warming.html

Gore to train 1,000 to spread word about climate

The former vice president, a Democrat, said on Monday that by the end of the summer he would start a bipartisan education campaign to train 1,000 people to give a version of his slide show on global warming featured in the film "An Inconvenient Truth" and book of the same name.

"This moment cannot be allowed to pass," Gore told reporters in New York. "I have seen and heard times before when the awareness of the climate crisis has peaked and then a few months later it's gone. I think this time is different, but I have to say I'm not certain of that."
(Source: Planet Ark)

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/36799/story.htm

Notice the sunshine in the desert

The Sahara desert alone can capture enough solar energy to supply all the world's electricity needs and more, a United Nations report says.

"Deserts are a great expanse of land, and have great potential to supply much, much more," Shafaqat Kakakhel, deputy executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) told IPS at the launch of a report on the deserts to mark Environment Day.

"The report says that one solar park which would sit within the Sahara could supply all the energy needs of the world," he said. "Of course there are many, many complications. But the potential is there."

The report points to the bright side of deserts but while warning also of new dangers that deserts face. Declining water levels is the biggest among them.
(Source: World Business Council for Sustainable Development)

http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MTkzNDY

RESOURCES

DIY 1000 Watt Wind Turbine

Instructables presents this great step by step guide to constructing your own 1000 watt wind turbine!

"We built a 1000 watt wind turbine to help charge the battery bank that powers our offgrid home. It's a permanent magnet alternator, generating 3 phase ac, rectified to dc, and fed to a charge controller. The magnets spin with the wind, the coils are fixed, so no brushes or slip rings necessary."
(Source: Instructables)

http://www.instructables.com/id/EDTMO3QLQIEP287OGM/

Science on a sphere

Check out this NY Times video report on an amazing representation of Bucky's Geoscope idea in action. You are required to watch a short advertisement before the content begins, which BFI in no way endorses.
(Source: New York Times)

http://tinyurl.com/kh7d5

EVENTS

Best of Friends: Buckminster Fuller and Isamu Noguchi

Exhibition Opening May 19, 2006

May 19 -- October 15, 2006
The Noguchi Museum
9-01 33rd Road (at Vernon Boulevard), Long Island City, New York

A special exhibition devoted to the long friendship and collaboration between visionary designer and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller and acclaimed sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi opens at The Noguchi Museum on May 19, 2006. Fuller's emphasis on the humanistic use of science and technology strongly influenced the younger Noguchi. Although they collaborated on only one specific project, Fuller's Dymaxion car, for over fifty years, the two men together explored ideas that have particular relevance today, including the search for renewable energy sources, accessible designs, and "green" architecture.

EXHIBITION OPENS MAY 19, 2006 for further information, please visit:
http://www.noguchi.org

SNEC Fourth Annual Summer Workshop in Oswego, NY

12-13 August 2006

Summer Workshop on Applied Synergetics: Living Structures
Theme: Applied Synergetics: Living Structures
Description:

The Synergetics Collaborative's Fourth Annual Summer Workshop in Oswego will focus on "Applied Synergetics: Living Structures".

The three main workshops will be as follows:

• Compound Curved Metal Shelters
• Integrating Field Structure Theory and Quantum Architecture
• Folding Surface Structures and Deployable Kinetic Architecture

In addition, there will be artifact exhibit space for participants and time for all participants to discuss and share their work.

When: Saturday 12 August 2006, 8AM - 10PM | Sunday 13 August 2006, 8AM - 6PM
Registration:Please register early so we can order sufficient supplies for all of the workshops.
Housing: Contact John Belt to make housing arrangements. Available housing is limited, and first come, first served. Reservations must be made by July 14th!!!

Where: SUNY Oswego
Department of Technology, Design Studio
Wilber Hall, Design Studio, Room 350
Oswego, NY

For more information, please visit » SNEC website