Welcome to my Saturday briefing….
Personal–not much happened that I want to share right now.
Locally–Weather has been rather cool for September and there is no storms lurking in the Gulf just waiting to ravish the Coast…..but the cooler temps will soon be replaced with heat and humidity….it was a nice respite for awhile.
Now for the important stuff.
Let’s begin with RFK, Jr…..we know all about him putting a dead bear cub in Central Park did you hear about is other outing with a dead animal?
It seems he found a dead whale on the beach and decided to cut-off its head for ‘study’…..but was any of that legal?
Picture the scene: you’re out walking when an almighty smell catches your attention. A whale has died and washed ashore. Do you:
- Cut its head off, I’m not one to turn down a knick-knack
- Leave it be, nature’s best left well alone
- Consult the internet: am I allowed to keep dead animals?
It’s an interesting question that’s come to – ahem – a head in recent times as it’s been reported that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being investigated for allegedly keeping some dead whale. According to NBC News, the act was brought to light by a 2012 article in which his daughter Kathleen Kennedy spoke of how they’d tied it to the family car with bungee cables, and RFK Jr. isn’t impressed by the response.
“I received a letter from the National Marine Fisheries Institute saying that they were investigating me for collecting a whale specimen 20 years ago,” he said during a campaign event for former President Donald Trump. “This is all about the weaponization of our government against political opponents.”
https://www.iflscience.com/can-you-keep-dead-animals-you-find-heres-what-the-rules-say-75992
Not if you did anything illegal.
Speaking of those lawbreakers. We all read or heard about the billionaires that went to space for a walk among the stars….could they be breaking international law?
Polaris Dawn made history, becoming the first-ever private citizens to conduct a spacewalk. But they may have made history with another first; the first-ever livestream of a space crime.
In 1967, 111 countries around the world signed up to the Outer Space Treaty, which governs everything in space exploration from who is responsible for space junk, to who owns Neil Armstrong’s Moon poops. According to Tomasso Sgobba, executive director of the Netherlands-based International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, the private Polaris Dawn mission may fall foul of one part of the treaty.
“This is a mission which violates Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty,” Sgobba told Al Jazeera. “It’s a well-known issue, which of course has a history.”
The part of the law that the mission may fall outside of relates to activities in space conducted by non-governmental agencies, such as private missions, which were not a thing when the treaty was first created.
Food for thought….
Dementia is on the rise could there be a way to curb that stat?
Consuming foods and drinks particularly high in flavonoids – such as berries, tea, dark chocolate and, yes, red wine – could potentially safeguard your brain in older age, with researchers linking these plant-based antioxidants with lowering the risk of developing dementia.
Recently there has been a revival in the debate of red wine and its health benefits versus its negative aspects – it is, after all, alcohol, which has clear detrimental impacts on health. However, if you choose to imbibe, there are worse options than a tipple high in flavonoids.
https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/red-wine-berries-tea-dementia/
Then there is a super nutritious lettuce arriving….
Thanks to scientists in Spain, a more nutrient-dense—and visually striking—lettuce may soon be used as a tool against vitamin deficiencies. New Atlas reports that the Research Institute for Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMCP) genetically engineered a new type of “golden lettuce” with 30 times more nutrients than the common leafy greens. The results were published in The Plant Journal.
The secret to the vegetable’s healthy profile and golden hue is beta carotene. The pigment gives red, orange, and yellow vegetables—such as carrots—their distinct shades. Humans can convert it into vitamin A, which promotes cell growth, immune function, fetal development, and vision.
Altering the plant’s structure wasn’t easy. To make it produce more beta carotene, scientists had to alter the cytosol (the fluid in leaf cells) without interrupting photosynthesis, which uses chlorophyll (green pigmentation) to create energy. They also modified the lettuce’s leaf cells to store extra beta carotene without damaging the plant.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/golden-lettuce-boosts-nutrition
Good news for those of us that enjoy a good salad from time to time.
More bad news because of something that many think is not a problem…extreme weather…..
Nearly three-quarters of the global population will experience significant and rapid changes in temperatures and rainfall in the next 20 years, according to a new analysis – a stark warning for many people living across the world. The only way to avoid this is to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The subject of climate change remains controversial despite the abundant evidence showing that we are currently entering conditions that have not been seen in millennia. It is true that nature and society are accustomed to certain amounts of variation and regional change at different timescales, but changes that occur faster than expected can have devastating impacts.
A key example of this is the record-breaking (or melting) heatwave in the North America in 2021 that was deemed impossible without climate change.
Such extreme events can have various impacts. For instance, heatwaves can lead to heat stress and deaths of both people and animals;` they can also damage ecosystems, lower agricultural yields, disrupt transportation, and even impact power plant cooling systems.
I experienced the damage for the last two years my veggies growing do not produce like they use to in the past.
If you are a person that enjoys a day at the zoo with all the wildlife then you have a chance to view animals at home….
Nature lovers can now check in on their favorite zoo animals without leaving the comfort of home. Zoolife gives users access to webcams streaming from 13 different zoos, aquariums, and wildlife sanctuaries across North America.
The website claims to be “the world’s first online zoo.” In addition to the convenience factor, Zoolife offers interactive features that make it possible to observe and appreciate animals in new ways. Visitors can zoom the webcam close enough to see a tiger’s whiskers, or move its position to explore a capybara’s habitat.
Because taking pictures and videos are an essential part of any zoo experience, the site lets users save clips and images from its livestreams. To recreate the social aspect, people can even chat and connect with fellow animal lovers in the community feed. There are also opportunities to tune in to behind-the-scenes chats with zookeepers.
Penguins, orangutans, otters, and brown bears are just some of the animals that are available to view online 24/7. To access webcams from each of Zoolife’s 13 partners—which includes the Toronto Zoo, the Lincoln Park Zoo, and Clearwater Marine Aquarium—users pay $10 a month or $60 a year for a subscription.
(mentalfloss.com)
I admit those baby animals are just too cute for words.
That should be about it for this Saturday.
Enjoy your day off and as always…..Be well and Be Safe….
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
I always knew red wine was good for me! 🍷 Who cuts the head off a dead whale and takes it home tied to a car? That’s a new level of WTF? Private space missions? Wait until the first one explodes and kills the billionaires on it.
Best wishes, Pete.
I feel the same about red wine….RFK,Jr is a strange bird….. there will be more that want to do it…remember the Titanic thing? chuq
The statements about the effect of climate change are pretty vague. I don’t see us doing much to mitigate the damage done by extreme weather events. Does that means at least thirty per cent of humans will survive. That could be good news, as opposed to all humans becoming extinct. As years pass we will probably have more information as to the extent if the damage, and who and what will survive, how snd un what form. Appears that it will be a lot different from what we have now.
I am old so what happens will be after I have left this plane. chuq
You can view animals just by going to the local supermarket and watching the fat bitches with their asses dragging the floor on either side of their motorized shopping carts … that is animal enough for me.
The market is a zoo. chuq