Andrew Thaler

Weekly dose of TED – Robert Full on engineering and evolution

March 18, 2011March 4, 2011 Andrew Thaler

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We see so many powerful designs in nature, yet when we design our own structure we tend to build rigid, fixed, industrial beasts. What designs in nature inspire you? How do we break away from a culture of hard edges and inflexible machines?

Tsunami severely damages Charles Darwin Research Station

March 16, 2011March 16, 2011 Andrew Thaler

The world’s attention is rightfully focus on the ongoing tragedy unfurling in Japan. Earthquake aftershocks continue to cause damage and the Fukushima nuclear power plant is not yet under control. But the tsunami the struck the Japanese coast continued across the Pacific, and while no place was as hard hit as Japan, there were other casualties, including the Charles Darwin Research Station on the Galapagos island of Santa Cruz.

Grok my Flock

March 14, 2011March 13, 2011 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Conservation

The Nicholas School of the Environment is hosting the Flat Grok Video Contest. We are on an unsustainable course. While world populations and consumption grow, resources diminish and global warming threatens our way of life. In his blog The Green Grok, Dr. Bill Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, elucidates … Read More “Grok my Flock” »

Weekly dose of TED – Janine Benyus: Biomimicry in action

March 11, 2011March 4, 2011 Andrew Thaler

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The theme this month is design in nature. Last week we posted a video that discusses how we can use nature to design our cities. This week, Janine Benyus talks about using nature to inspire technology. I don’t have a bigger point to make this week. Biology is cool and we can learn a lot … Read More “Weekly dose of TED – Janine Benyus: Biomimicry in action” »

Biodiversity Wednesday: The Skeleton Coast

March 9, 2011November 7, 2011 Andrew Thaler

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Skeleton-Coast — Image from http://www.safari-namibia.co.uk/

A 900-mile coastline runs perpendicular to the border of Angola and Namibia. The cold water carried up from the antarctic by the Benguela Current meets the warm, dry air of the Namib Desert and the resulting depression forms a cold, dense fog that extends out into the sea. The currents and wind combine to produce a force pushing inexorably towards shore. These conditions led mariners to christen this seemingly desolate and inhospitable stretch of sand the Skeleton Coast.

Weekly dose of TED: Reviving New York’s rivers with oysters!

March 4, 2011 Andrew Thaler 3 Comments

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Kate Orff, is not a biologist, she’s an architect. I love the idea of using natural systems to design human systems. The idea that construction should work with the landscape is not new, all you have to do is visit Falling Water to see that, but it’s an idea that hasn’t taken off like it … Read More “Weekly dose of TED: Reviving New York’s rivers with oysters!” »

Call for chapters – Environmental Leadership: A Reference Handbook

March 1, 2011March 1, 2011 Andrew Thaler

Conservation

The Nicholas School of the Environment is seeking scholarly editorial contributions to Environmental Leadership, a 2-volume, 100-chapter reference handbook that is part of the new SAGE Reference Series on Leadership. Chapters are anticipated to be 7000 words. This is a unique opportunity to help define environmental leadership. Academic and public libraries will be able to purchase the handbook as both a printed and a digital product.

Help identify this mystery machine from the darkest recesses of our lab

February 28, 2011 Andrew Thaler 10 Comments

Science

While cleaning out our lab the other day, we discovered this mysterious piece of equipment buried deep within a cabinet. After querying several dozen scientists of different eras, we have determined only that it was manufactured in the early 20th century and no one has any idea what it is. The optics were made by Bausch and Lomb, the motor was made by Dunmore. We have a few guesses about its intended purpose.

This machine is massive, it weighs about 50 pounds and is forged from Bakelite and steel. The drum is clearly some kind of centrifuge and the optics point into the center of the spinning drum. No one has yet been willing to plug it in and turn it on. There are two patent numbers listed on the plate – patent # 1,648,369 and patent # 1,907,803.

Weekly dose of TED – Greg Stone: Saving the ocean one island at a time

February 25, 2011 Andrew Thaler

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Kiribati is perhaps one of the most remote countries in the world. Despite its distance from the sources of environmental degradation, it will probably be the very first country to be destroyed by climate change. Most of the country, a collection of small islands spanning an area almost as large as the United States, lies … Read More “Weekly dose of TED – Greg Stone: Saving the ocean one island at a time” »

SFS Gear Review: ExOfficio anti-microbial Underwear

February 24, 2011February 23, 2011 Andrew Thaler 3 Comments

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There’s a reason I wrote this free form poem, and that reason is Exoficio’s anti-bacterial boxer shorts. Yes, today we’re talking about underwear. Let’s face it, a bad pair of underpants can make a field season miserable, while a decent pair will make you, and everyone around you, much more comfortable. Life is messy, especially while doing field work.