Global Cooling, or the Calm Before the Storm?

A sunspot is a dark spot on the sun caused by magnetic activity. They're way to technical to explain here, but it's important to note that sunspot activity has a great impact on Earth's weather - the more sunspots, the wilder (and usually warmer) our weather.


(above: the size of a typical sunspot compared to Earth)

In an active month, the sun produces around 100 sunspots. In August 2008, there were none, and in the 7 months before that, there were only an average of 3 sunspots per month. What does this mean for Earth's weather?

Some scientists believe that this marks a period called a Maunder Minimum, a period in which there is very little sun activity. The last Maunder Minimum occurred between 1645 and 1715. During that time the Earth experienced a "mini ice age" in which the Earth became much cooler than it is now. The Northern Hemisphere was particularly hard hit.

Another group of scientists believes that almost the exact opposite will happen. They believe that we are seeing a calm period that marks the beginning of a period of intense solar activity. They call it Cycle 24 and predict that it will be the most intense solar cycle on record. They predict that Cycle 24 will reach peak intensity in 2012 - the year the Mayan calendar ends.

The Cause of the Obesity Epidemic?

I'm sure you've heard that Americans are getting fatter every year (though not in Marin - a recent newspaper article said that Marin's population was the "thinnest" in California - must be because of the great PE teachers we have here).

Many theories have been offered as to the reasons; increasing portion sizes at restaurants, too much junk food, lack of exercise, too much TV, too much time playing video games or too much time working at the computer.

It's been established that junk food is a major cause of American obesity. The average American's diet is 30% junk food. Favorite junk foods are sugary snacks and sodas.

Now, it turns out that the computer part may be right, too, but in an unexpected way.


In a recent study, a group of students were asked to complete three tasks: 1) sit and relax, 2) read and summarize a text and 3) complete a series of tests on a computer. After spending 45 minutes on each task, the students were allowed to eat as much as they wanted at a buffet.



The results of the study showed that, compared to the number of calories they ate after just sitting and relaxing, the students ate 203 more calories after summarizing a text and 253 more calories after taking tests on the computer.



Did the students eat all these extra calories because computer work required that much more energy than relaxing?

No. The computer work required only burned 3 extra calories. It did, however, alter the body's chemistry, making the students feel hungry.

How much extra is 253 calories? An average human burns between 2000 and 2500 calories per day. 253 calories is an extra 10%.

Let Sleeping Dogs (and snakes) Lie

The Dangers of Plastic Shopping Bags

Cut and paste this link to see what happens to those plastic bags we get at the store after we throw them away or try to recycle them...

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016