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The animation at right, from the University of Arizona, depicts the impact that formed the Chicxulub crater in Yucatan, Mexico.

The crater measures 180 kilometers across and the impacting meteorite is estimated to be 10 kilometers wide.

The impact was so great it caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

As big as it is, however, there are other craters even bigger.

The Sudbury crater in Ontario, Canada, measures 250 kilometers across. Occurring 1.85 billion years ago, the crater was formed when a comet hit the Earth.

But the largest crater is known as the Vredefort crater, located in South Africa. It measures 300 kilometers across, and the impact occurred about 2 billion years ago.

Impact craters are still being discovered; the latest may be the 36-46 kilometer wide crater found in the Congo.

This crater was revealed only after deforestation occurred in the area, and if confirmed would be one of the 25 largest impact craters in the world.

The Earth Impact Database has more information on craters around the world.

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Many articles ago we wrote that only 4,000 tigers existed in the wild.

It appears we were way off; the number is actually much lower. Conservationists now say fewer than 1,400 wild tigers exist.

Forty years ago Project Tiger started in India, which set aside 27 Tiger Reserves. Confidence ran high that this project would bring back the tiger numbers, but this is no longer true. Poaching and loss of habitat in India continue to decimate the species.

This week two tiger cubs were found dead, presumably poisoned by Indian villagers upset over a tiger killing goats. The cubs were in Ranthambore, a tiger reserve that covers several hundred square kilometers and that is visited by 200,000 tourists each year.

As of 2009, forty tigers inhabited the park. The park is surrounded by almost 100 villages, however, and the inhabitants will kill the tigers if they feel their livestock is threatened.

And, with tiger pelts fetching up to $12,500 in China, plenty of poaching still takes place. The government of India has been unable to stop the poaching. In some areas of the country continued violence and civil unrest has made it impossible for conservationists to work.

It’s hard not to be pessimistic about the situation, but it is very likely our generation will be the last to see tigers in the wild.

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The Green Man Blog is written to spread environmental awareness and appreciation of the natural world around us. Thank you for visiting! Stay green, support the organic movement, and be sure to visit www.greenmantshirts.com or www.robjuszak.com for the best in organic cotton and bamboo t shirts!

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Green Man T-Shirts in Australia? You bet!

In the southeast corner of Australia lies an area known as Gippsland, and all during the month of May they are celebrating a Be Inspired Festival. The festival will feature dozens of artists, including painters, sculptors, designers, musicians, and other performers. There will also be events held at galleries, open studios, workshops, cafes, wineries, festivals, and theatres.

In the lovely little town of Stratford, about 25 miles from the coast, a display of Green Man T-Shirts will be held at the Stratford Courthouse Art Gallery.

This is part of owner Anna Roberts’ Art-T Exhibition, featuring various t-shirt designs from around the world. During the festival, Anna will be inviting people of all ages to create a t-shirt design of their own.

Sounds like a blast to us, and we wish we could be there! But for now we’ll rely on Anna to supply us with pictures of the event, and upon the official festival website.

As we get closer to May, we’ll write more about the Be Inspired Festival, so stay tuned!

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In their book, Super Freakonomics, authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner highlight a conversation with the founder of Intellectual Ventures.

Intellectual Ventures is a think-tank company, and holder of over 20,000 patents of novel ideas such as using lasers to zap malaria carrying mosquitoes, and the Salter Sink, a device that floats on the ocean and re-circulates warm surface water to deeper, colder water, which, if placed in the path of an approaching hurricane would weaken its intensity.

Nathan Myhrvold is the founder of Intellectual Ventures, and he came originally from Microsoft. He has some ideas about curbing global warming: one of them is to build an 18 mile long flexible hose to spew sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere.

Why does he think this will work? According to Myhrvold, sulfur dioxide would absorb enough water vapor to form an aerosol cloud, blanketing the Earth and producing a cooling effect. He calls this cooling blanket Budyko’s Blanket, after the Russian scientist who first suggested the idea back in the mid 1970s.

How much sulfur dioxide are we talking about here?

About 34 gallons of sulfur dioxide per minute, discharged into the stratosphere, would be enough to effectively cool the entire Northern Hemisphere. Overall, it would take 100,000 tons of sulfur dioxide per year, a fraction of the 200 million tons that is already being discharged into the environment at ground levels.

Could this actually work? Myhrvold thinks so: he’d use helium balloons to raise the 18 mile long hose high into the sky, and small pumps spaced along its length would pump the sulfur dioxide along.

Critics say the plan is insane, and we need to concentrate on curbing emissions, not on “geoengineering.” Myhrvold counters that both approaches are needed; it is too late to think curbing emissions alone will be sufficient to reduce global warming.

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This is the time of the Quickening Moon. It still feels a lot like winter. Many parts of the world are still covered in ice and snow. Even here in Southern California we are having stormy winter weather. But winter will soon be over, and the promise of spring is starting to stir. Animals that will be born in the spring are growing inside their mothers right now. Underground, the seeds and bulbs lying dormant are starting to come to life. This "quickening" is like the first small stirrings of an unborn baby in its mother's womb. Not yet visible to the outside world, but there just the same.

This moon is also called the Storm Moon, as this is typically the stormiest time of the year. But even though winter rages around us, spring is just around the corner. The winter months are a time of looking inward, of rest and rejuvenation. As spring gets closer, we get tired of being cooped up inside and long to be outside in the warmth and the sun. This is a good time for "internal spring cleaning". Let go of past disappointments and failures, of unrealized dreams and plans that never made it past the planning stage. Let them melt away like the snow and sink back into the earth to be absorbed and neutralized.

Now that the past has melted away, look ahead to the upcoming spring. Think about the seeds you want to plant. What do you want to accomplish in the upcoming months? Set your goals and make your plans. These don't need to be full-blown plans - just the spark of an idea is a good place to start. Whatever you can dream, you can accomplish - the only one holding you back is you.

Keep that spark alive; let it take root and grow. This year's harvest will be bountiful!

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Over the last 72 years, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has established whale sanctuaries in order to protect the species from uncontrolled whaling.

In 1938, the IWC established a sanctuary in the Antarctic. Forty-one years later the Indian Ocean Sanctuary was established and in 1994 IWC adopted the Southern Ocean Sanctuary as another area in which commercial whaling is prohibited.

So why does Japan actively hunt whales in these sanctuaries?

Well, according to Japan’s interpretation of the sanctuary statutes, whaling is still allowed for “scientific research.” Therefore, Japan regularly slaughters whales in these sanctuaries and chalks it up to “research.”

Japan runs their scientific program under the acronym of JARPA, which stands for JApanese whale Research Program in the Antarctic.

Under JARPA, Japan kills over 1,000 whales annually in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary alone.

Despite worldwide condemnation, Japan continues to slaughter whales wherever it wants. In 2007, the IWC issued Resolution 2007-1 that contained the wording, “the aims of JARPA II do not address critically important research needs.” In bureaucratic-speak, that’s about as strong as language can get when calling a country a liar.

Yet, despite being called out by the IWC on its ridiculous research claims, Japan refuses to stop its whale slaughter.

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Are the big trees in world-famous Yosemite disappearing? One study suggests they are.

Scientists from the US Geological Survey studied large tree density data from the 1930s and 1990s. The result? The density of big trees has fallen by 24%. In the 1930s, there were 45 big trees per hectare. By the 1990s there were only 34.

This is surprising, since these larger trees have survived hundreds of years through wet and dry periods, fires, climate changes, and insect infestations. Smaller trees can succumb to these perils, but once they grow big their ability to survive increases. So why should the big trees be dying out now?

Scientists aren’t sure what the exact reasons are, but if the big trees are thinning out in a protected park like Yosemite they surely are thinning out in other areas as well.

Big trees play an important role in forest ecosystems, moderating the forest environment with their huge canopies and providing unique habitats for a number of other plants and animals.

A significant change in big tree density could mean further drastic changes in the entire forest ecosystem.

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Recent avalanches in the Salang Pass of Afghanistan have killed over 150 people, and many more remain buried alive. This tragedy is a reminder of the power and danger avalanches present.

Nearly a hundred years ago, during World War I, Austrian and Italian troops fighting in the Alps faced the prospect of catastrophic avalanches that some believe were caused by artillery fire. The number of troops killed is staggering. During December of 1916, for example, over 10,000 Austrian and Italian soldiers were killed by a deadly series of avalanches, including one avalanche on December 13 that buried an Austrian barracks and killed several hundred soldiers.

In 1951-1952, during what was called the Winter of Terror, over 650 avalanches were recorded in the Alps, killing 265 people.

In 1999, an avalanche in Montroc, France, hit speeds of 60 mph and moved over 310,00 cubic yards of snow as it buried chalets and killed 12 people. The same year 31 people died in the Austrian town of Galtur as the worst avalanche in 40 years hit the village.

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Ever hear of a Pika? Neither did we, but they’re in the news lately.

American pikas are small mammals, related to the rabbit, which reside in rocky, alpine areas of the western United States. They prefer the cool, somewhat moist climates that mountain “sky islands” usually have.

Unfortunately, these climate zones are being affected by global warming. The American pika may be the first animal studied to show a positive decline from the effects of climate change.

Of 25 pika habitats studied, 7 have become barren of pikas. Scientists believe the pika cannot easily migrate north to cooler temperatures to escape the climate changes, and remain trapped on the sky islands to die.

Some scientists feel the American pika is the canary in the coal mine of global warming.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering extending federal protections to the pika and a decision will be announced this Friday. If the American pika is placed on the Endangered Species list, it will become the first animal placed on the list due to climate change.

The following is a guest article by Thomas Martincis

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The Brown Recluse Spider
By Thomas Martincic

As the husband of a Brown Recluse bite victim, I know firsthand how frightening it can be to be bitten, how important it is to get educated about these spiders, and the need to be prepared for the unexpected.

The Brown Recluse Spider is so named because it is by nature, "reclusive." Because it likes to hide during the day in clothes, shoes, boxes and other out of the way places where bites are most likely to occur through unintentional contact, it is regarded by many as the most dangerous spider here the United States.

When a Brown Recluse spider bites, it is rarely due to aggression. Bites will usually occur because it is hiding out in your clothes and you put them on, or your hand has touched the spider when handling boxes, or you have rolled over them or unknowingly touched them while sleeping in your bed at night. Because Brown Recluses love to hide in boxes and clothes, they can hitch a ride almost anywhere in the United States. However, they are most commonly found south of a line stretching from Northern Nebraska to Northern Ohio.

Because they do scurry around at night, they are difficult to detect. One way to be sure they are not in your home is to install sticky spider traps in various places. Traps are economical and safer to use because no chemicals are sprayed in your home. And, according to Kansas University researchers, spider traps are an effective means of controlling their populations.

Brown Recluses are not affected by most pesticides and according to research, they can actually benefit by your use of them. In lab studies conducted at Kansas University, they have shown the Brown Recluse Spider's inclination to prefer dead prey over living ones. In fact, they can eat an insect killed by pesticides 24 hours prior and suffer no harmful effects.

Brown Recluse bites can develop very rapidly with necrosis starting to form in just a few hours after being bitten. This is because venom literally kills living tissue on contact. Quick response in the event of a bite wound, and finding ways to control their population are important to protecting yourself from these very dangerous spiders.

If you believe that you are bitten by a Recluse, examine the area very closely. Brown Recluse bites will almost invariably contain two small fang marks about 1/16th of an inch apart. The necrosis will begin at those fang marks and spread out into the surrounding tissue. The area will turn a bluish grey as the skin tissue dies, and eventually will slough away, producing an open ulcer. In some bite wounds, it may appear that someone has taken a scoop of flesh out of your body.

Systemic symptoms such as fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, sweating, joint pain, kidney failure and even coma are possible. However, most Brown Recluse bites do not have severe systemic symptoms. Those who are most in danger of severe reactions are the very young, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems.

Brown Recluse Spiders benefit from human population growth so it looks like this spider is here to stay. The best thing to do is be informed, and know what to do in case you are bitten.

Thomas J. Martincic is the designer, owner, and writer of the website http://www.brown-recluse.com/.

You can read more about these spiders, see pictures of bite wounds, view high resolution photos of the spider, and get some prevention tips by visiting the web site. 888-732-5873

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Martincic


http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Brown-Recluse-Spider&id=3598803

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The Green Man Blog is written to spread environmental awareness and appreciation of the natural world around us. Thank you for visiting! Stay green, support the organic movement, and be sure to visit www.greenmantshirts.com or www.robjuszak.com for the best in organic cotton and bamboo t shirts!