Leader Resource 1: Some Answers
Includes material from Why Do Bad Things Happen? by Charlene Brotman, Barbara Marsh, and Ann Field (Brotman Marsh-Field Curriculums, 1975). Used by permission.
Answer 1: In the land of the ancient Hebrews, the first two people ever, Adam and Eve, ate some fruit which God, who made them, had told them not to eat. This disobedience was the first sin ever. God made Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden to punish them. Now bad things will happen to all people—the descendants of Adam and Eve—forever and ever.
Answer 2: In the land of the ancient Greeks, Pandora opened a box and let evil into the world. Now bad things will happen to people. Pandora knew she should not open the box but curiosity got the better of her. She has said she is sorry, but that did not change the situation—evil is in the world forever.
Answer 3: In the land of Iroquois Indians, an Evil Spirit named False Face has brought pain and suffering into the world. Now the world needs medicine men to speak with good spirits and work against the evil.
Answer 4: In the land of the Hindus, bad things happen to people who have lessons to learn from a previous life. If they do their duty and learn their lessons this time, they will have better lives next time. If they are perfect, they will unite with God forever and, once they die this time, will never have to come back to human form on Earth.
Answer 5: In the land of Buddhists, people say the answers are inside us. People can stop our own suffering by letting go of wanting anything, because all suffering is caused by desire for something. If we choose right thoughts and words and actions, we will find the path to peace inside our own minds.
Answer 6: In the land of Science, the entire universe is constantly in motion and events can have random causes. A tiny little change can happen to a tiny little particle smaller than an atom. That changes something else and the something else can change another something else. Bad things—or good things—can happen to people as a result.
Answer 7: In the land of Humanists, bad and good things happen to people, sometimes because of other people's actions, sometimes due to a natural cause, and sometimes for a combination of reasons. The important thing is, even though bad things do happen, people have the power to think and care and act to make the world a better place and ease others' suffering.
Answer 8: In the land of UU, you have learned that bad things do happen, but you have discovered that you can make a difference all by yourself! If you act angry or mean, you can actually be the cause of bad things happening to someone else. That is bad. If you act with compassion and fairness and help other people, you can help prevent bad things from happening to people or make things better when they do.


generally means learning to script a page in a WebBrowser
is also used for programming MozillaXul
s can run stand-alone like VisualBasic
scripts and DOS batch files in MicrosoftWindows
assumes you will be scripting web pages.
language itself but the objects that comprise the browser page and and other browser elements, plus the browser's event handling mechanism.
Articles & Tutorials:
Some Wiki pages:
Newer to older
- Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference, Danny Goodman (Sept. 2002, ISBN 0596003161 , OreillyAndAssociates)
also teaches the details of the language. It's new enough and farther from the core to introduce AjaxWebApplications
and processing RssFeeds
. DHTML Utopia
. It presents loads of whiz-bang cookbook uses, including an entire section on Ajax. Most books, especially older ones, only teach for various versions of InternetExplorer
. This book assumes DOM-compliance (IE6, MozillaFirefox
, etc.) and points out glitches when scripting the less-popular browsers.
Download and install MozillaFirefox
or the full-blown MozillaBrowser
Console keeps a log of error messages, and the DOM Inspector lets you (duh!) inspect and navigate the DocumentObjectModel
of any web page. Keep in mind that although modern browsers all have pretty much the same DOM, a web page in a Mozilla browser will have a lot more Text nodes than in InternetExplorer
. The Mozilla browsers consider whitespace, such as newlines, between HTML tags to be text while InternetExplorer
ignores it. I'm not sure how other browsers handle this, but InternetExplorer
is, as usual, "non-standard."
Console helps you track and find errors while using a MozillaBrowser
, but what about other browsers? Be sure set your InternetExplorer
error messages. You won't get a nice running log, however. (Does M$'s DotNet
/JScript development tools?) I have a boatload of objections to the SafariBrowser
errors. Maybe it can't. Safari feels like black box. I know nothing about OperaBrowser
and many other browsers.
defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 1
error logger that should work in several browsers (not just the Mozilla family), see http://www.alistapart.com/articles/jslogging
. I haven't tried it but it looks promising.
development work in a Mozilla-family browser (if only for its tools) and--because of the ~90% of users who are MicrosoftSlave
6, then testing your work in as many other browsers as you can.
You might be into validating your HTML/XHTML (http://validator.w3.org/
attribute is deprecated; it's not valid when using the strict
, you might as well leave off the language
Array object supports some FunctionalProgramming
). The JS 1.5 documentation makes it appear that these methods are standard in JS 1.5, which has been around ever since NetscapeNavigator
). In any case, I'm not aware of any other browser which supports these nifty methods.
event model and Event object as IE6, and I doubt it supports the FunctionalProgramming
1.6. Anybody know? Anybody care to research?
I would like to learn about how viewers of my website can post on my website. Does anyone know if there is code that is already out there?


A Visual Breakdown of Crimes Committed in Canada
The graph below shows police-reported crime statistics by province and territory, according to the latest numbers available from Statistics Canada based on the Crime Severity Index (in which crimes considered more serious in nature are weighed more heavily).
The data reflects how many police-reported crimes were committed in Canada's census provinces and territories in 2012.
The Crime Severity Index (CSI) includes all Criminal Code violations including traffic, as well as drug violations. It's calculated by dividing the total of weighted offences by the population number.
In measuring the volume of crime across Canada, the CSI numbers also accounts for the varying degrees of severity that exist between offence types by weighing each according to a scale of seriousness.
Method of Homicides
How did Canadians die in homicides? The following graph illustrates the methods as tabulated by Statistics Canada.
Police-reported crime rate in Canada continues to fall
This chart shows that the country's police-reported crime rate, which measures the volume of crime per 100,000 population, continued to fall in 2012 -- down 3 per cent from 2011.
According to Statistics Canada, after peaking in 1991 the police-reported crime rate has generally declined and it reached its lowest level since 1972 in 2012.
Data Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey


Is ultrasound the future of male contraception?
UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — Ultrasound equipment commonly used for physical therapy reduces sperm counts in lab rats to levels that would result in infertility in humans.
Ultrasound’s potential as a male contraceptive was first reported nearly 40 years ago. However, the equipment used at that time is outdated and no longer available.
As reported in the journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, researchers used those experiments as a starting point to see if modern ultrasound equipment could be used as an effective male contraceptive.
The team found that by rotating high frequency (3MHz) ultrasound around the testes they were able to cause uniform depletion of germ cells through the testes.
“Unlike humans, rats remain fertile even with extremely low sperm counts. However, our non-invasive ultrasound treatment reduced sperm reserves in rats far below levels normally seen in fertile men,” says James Tsuruta, assistant professor in the Laboratories of Reproductive Biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “However, further studies are required to determine how long the contraceptive effect lasts and if it is safe to use multiple times.”
The best results were seen using two sessions consisting of 15 minutes ultrasound, two days apart. Saline was used to provide conduction between the ultrasound transducer and skin, and the testes were warmed to 37 degrees centigrade. Together this reduced sperm to a Sperm Count Index of zero (3 million motile sperm per cauda epididymis).
The World Health Organization has defined oligospermia (low sperm concentration) as less than 15 million sperm per milliliter. Ninety-five percent of fertile men have more than 39 million sperm in their ejaculate.
More news from UNC-Chapel Hill: http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/


The Flysch Route: cliffs with 50 million years of history
Zumaia. Algorri Centre
Spain is full of stunning natural settings. Nevertheless, there are some places that are especially fascinating. One of these is the Flysch Route on the coast of the Basque Country, northern Spain. Come and accompany us on a journey along the coast of Guipúzcoa and admire one of the most spectacular areas of cliffs you have ever seen, which also conceal 50 million years of history. Come and discover this whim of nature.
Only occasionally do we have the privilege of seeing real natural treasures. So, if you travel to the province of Guipúzcoa (in the Basque Country), we would recommend you take a boat trip to the coastal towns of Mutriku, Deba and Zumaia. There you can do what is known as the “Flysch Route”: several kilometres of rugged cliffs that lead down into the sea, formed through the erosive action of water and movements of land over the course of 50 million years. These rocks have always been of interest to geologists on account of their fossil remains. Now it is your turn to discover them.
When you are facing these cliffs, you have before you the richest marine ecosystem anywhere on the Basque coast, and rocks that contain the mark of vital events in the earth’s history such as the disappearance of the dinosaurs or the last major global warming event. A real journey back through time.
If you like walking as you observe beautiful views, then you can get to this area under your own steam, although you should make sure to wear comfortable clothing and footwear. Nevertheless, you should only access the rocks from the beaches at low tide to avoid danger.
The most advisable option is to go on one of the guided tours organised March-September by tourist offices like the one in Zumaia or the one in Deba, an active tourism company and the Algorri visitor centre in Zumaia. Routes generally take four hours and include various activities: you will go to the Nautilus visitor centre in Mutriku, which has spectacular fossil remains and where they will explain the geological history of the Basque coast. From the port in Mutriku, you will take a boat trip to Mutriku, Deba and Zumaia, with a panoramic view of the cliffs from the sea. Once you get to Zumaia, you will be able to visit the Algorri visitor centre.
Sports and relaxation as you decide
The area where the route takes place is also ideal for sports such as surfing, scuba diving and underwater fishing. If you are interested in any of these then you will find perfect conditions here. You can also rent bicycles, kayaks and boats to organise an unforgettable outing on land or at sea. For those who prefer something more relaxing, then in Zumaia there are bird watching boat trips on the Urola River accompanied by a specialist guide.
After enjoying all these activities, you can always opt for a swim at one of the local beaches, like Santiago, Ondarbeltz or Aitzgorri. You will love their crystal clear waters and stunning landscapes. Furthermore, there are also spots like Sieteplayas: a series of small, quiet, hidden coves in Mutriku.
Is deze informatie nuttig voor je geweest?


My work with the Florida Humanities Council seemed like an invitation to consider where the humanities come from and to ask, What do we mean by the humanities today? Furthermore, if we begin with the history of the humanities and craft an operational definition of the word, will that help guide our state NEH-affiliated council board and staff members in carrying out our respective missions?
The humanities have long been intertwined with the liberal arts. The educational structure of the liberal arts evolved over centuries in the educational systems of ancient Greece and Rome. In Greece, paideia (meaning perfection or excellence) was the name given to the education of young men to become ideal members of the polis, the city-state. It included such subjects as rhetoric, grammar, philosophy, and arithmetic as well as music, gymnastics, and wrestling. The Romans translated paideia as humanitas, and Cicero and Quintillian equated the artes liberales with the studia humanitatis. Not until Martianus Capella in the fifth century do we hear of seven liberal arts. Over the next few centuries, as education became the exclusive province of the medieval church, the seven liberal arts became fixed as the trivium (grammar, dialectic or logic, and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (mathematics, geometry, music, and astronomy or astrology). This arrangement became the fundamental structure of undergraduate ecclesiastical education throughout the Middle Ages, first in the cathedral schools and then in the new universities. Only after following a course of study in the seven liberal arts could a young person proceed to what we now think of as graduate education, earning the title of master or doctor in one of four fields: theology, philosophy, law, or medicine. This educational system persisted into the sixteenth century and beyond.
As cities developed in Western Europe, it became necessary to educate young people who had no intention of pursuing ecclesiastical careers. Local tutors, many of them notaries familiar with Roman law, began to teach young people to read works in classical Latin, such as Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy and the works of Cicero. Meanwhile, Aristotle’s Politics, Nichomachean Ethics, and many of his other works, previously translated from Greek into Arabic, were being translated now from Arabic to Latin, making a wider array of pre-Christian literature and thought available both to thinkers in the church and to laymen in the cities.
Dante Alighieri of Florence, author of the Divine Comedy, is an excellent example of such a lay person. He was tutored in Latin and introduced to Cicero by a Florentine notary named Brunetto Latini. Later he attended “the schools of the religious orders and the disputations of the philosophers.” Dante’s keen interest in the Roman and Greek past is abundantly reflected in the Divine Comedy and his other works. He was among the early medieval thinkers to make full use of the heritage of the ancients, seeking wisdom that could shape his present.
Shortly after Dante, his Italian successors, including Petrarch and Boccaccio, turned even more vigorously to the Roman and Greek past. They and their followers started searching eagerly for works that had been lost to the West, many of which were to be found in Latin manuscripts in Western Europe and others in Greek manuscripts in the Byzantine world. (Stephen Greenblatt engagingly tells this story in The Swerve: How the World Became Modern.)
Comparing manuscripts with each other became the only way to determine which texts were closest to the original. The discipline of philology was thus born. Over time, these Renaissance scholars, most of them lay persons not connected to the church, started using Cicero’s phrase, “studia humanitatis” (the study of writings about humans, including grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy) to distinguish their work from the liberal arts and from the work of churchmen in theology, and they also started to refer to themselves as “humanists.”
One great example of both the methods and the impact of these humanists was the work of Lorenzo Valla. Trained in philology, he became curious about a document known as the Donation of Constantine. This document told the story of the fourth-century Roman emperor Constantine who, while fighting to establish his position as the single emperor of Rome, came down in 313 CE with the dread disease of elephantaic leprosy. The story goes that his pagan priests advised him to bathe in the blood of three thousand freshly killed babies to rid himself of the disease. Constantine felt that this violated the values of the Roman people, so he turned for help to the leader of the Christian sect, a priest named Sylvester, who was already called “pope.” Sylvester baptized Constantine in a bathtub in the emperor’s palace at the Lateran in Rome. When Constantine emerged from the water, he saw a vision of St. Peter and St. Paul and his leprosy was immediately cured. In gratitude, Constantine gave Pope Sylvester (and therefore the Roman Church) the city of Rome, the entire western provinces of the Roman empire, including Italy and all the lands and islands in the West—and then he moved his capital from Rome to Byzantium on the Bosporus, changed that city’s name to Constantinople, and allowed the pope to rule the western half of the Roman Empire.
Trouble is, the document describing the Donation of Constantine was a complete fabrication. Lorenzo Valla, deploying the analytical techniques of the Renaissance humanists, proved beyond doubt that the Donation of Constantine used words and phrases that could not have been written until the time of Charlemagne, five centuries after Constantine. Valla proved that “Donation of Constantine” was a forgery. Time has shown that it was the most important forgery ever perpetrated because it had such a vast impact on the history and people of Europe.The Donation made the popes in effect temporal (as opposed to spiritual) monarchs in central Italy, bringing them inevitably into political and military conflict with other secular powers, most especially France, Spain, and England.
Churchmen also began to learn that the tools of philology could contribute to better texts of the Bible and the writings of the church fathers. Thus Christian humanism was born, paralleling the work of the Renaissance humanists. Erasmus of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Thomas More in England were two of the great Christian humanists.
Renaissance and Christian humanists developed the humanities as a new educational system that focused on studying texts from the Greek, Roman, and early Christian past. This was an educational system quite different from the medieval scholastically based seven liberal arts taught in the ecclesiastical universities. Some European universities took up the new educational system, but many did not. The important point is that the humanities originated as a new educational program offered as an alternative to the medieval seven liberal arts, in that it focused on the study of Greek, Roman, and patristic texts.
Over time, the humanities melded into the liberal arts, with far less focus on arithmetic, geometry, music, and logic, and with far more emphasis on rhetoric, language, and moral philosophy. This is the educational system that served as the original foundation of education in England until the present day. The old joke was that if a school taught Latin and Greek, you knew it was an English public school. The same system was replicated in many of the early colleges of the American republic. It is still reflected in many of our preparatory schools, and a version of it was featured in the 1989 film—set in the late fifties—Dead Poets Society.
During the nineteenth century, the need for more practical education became so prominent that the American government founded and funded higher education institutions in many states with land-grant universities, to focus on the mechanical and agricultural arts. Since these institutions were conceived to be more than schools that trained people for trades and crafts, the land-grant universities were designed with colleges of liberal arts, a key component of which is the humanities.
In the early twentieth century, “scientific” or systematic techniques were extended beyond the physical and biological sciences to the new social sciences: anthropology, ethnology, geography, history, political science, psychology, sociology. These disciplines most often found themselves housed in colleges of arts and sciences. Current lists of departments in a typical college of arts and sciences name such disciplines as mathematics, the “hard” or physical and biological sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities—classics, English (literature), history (which can be seen as a social science or one of the humanities or both), modern languages and literature, folklore, philosophy, religious studies, cultural studies, and theater arts.
These areas of study reflect the common academic opinion as to the content of the humanities today. In the popular mind, the humanities are most often seen, accurately enough, as equivalent to the liberal arts. It is this body of opinion that informed President Lyndon Johnson and the United States Congress when they established the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, partly to balance federal support for the hard sciences, the social sciences, and health and medicine by providing funds for the humanities and the arts. The act attempts to distinguish between the humanities and the arts, with some success.
The greatest area of overlap between the arts and the humanities is in the area of literature and creative writing. The act of writing is an art; the written product and the study of it belong to the humanities. Within the intended federal definitions of the law, the humanities involve texts already written, while the art of literature involves the artistic activity of creative writing. Both the humanities and the arts involve ideas. The humanities presumably focus more on ideas in written texts (whether ancient or recent), while the arts focus more on the process of writing, whereby ideas become texts in the present. The overlap remains: Words, that is, written texts, and sometimes oral expressions, undergird the performing arts of the theater, motion pictures, television, radio, film, video, tape, and sound recording.
In the end, the lesson is this: The heritage of the humanities is inextricably tied to ideas that become words and texts. The humanities undergird the arts, but they are not the same as the plastic or performing arts, and they are distinguishable from the physical, biological, and social sciences (except for history). The humanities encompass the vast cultural remains and written records and stories of the many peoples and societies that are in effect cultural streams that have flowed together to shape contours and inform our nation. The humanities are the ideas, words, and stories that explain who we are as individuals and who we are as a community.
Humanities and the arts both help us think about and savor life. The arts help us savor what it means to be alive. Burns’s “My love is like a red, red rose” causes us to savor our love for another and for nature, while Botticelli’s Primavera stimulates us to think about life in the fifteenth century as well as to savor spring. Science and technology improve life materially. To see these disciplines in competition with each other is to misunderstand their relationships. The humanities represent us as people. People are the proper governors of science, technology, and engineering. If we can think of the STEM disciplines as the machine of the arts and sciences, then the humanities and humanities professionals are the heart of that machine.
What does all of this mean for those of us engaged in the grand enterprise of the National Endowment for the Humanities? The boards and staffs of NEH and the 55 state affiliates comprise hundreds of people. We all strive to deliver support and programming in the humanities for thousands of Americans who engage with, participate in, benefit from, listen to, and read about our efforts. The humanities councils funded by NEH in 55 states, territories, and jurisdictions represent a national commitment to the humanities and bring a wide variety of programs to people in all areas of our great nation. The Florida Humanities Council, for example, by leveraging NEH funds with state funds and private donations, provides talks on Florida history and culture by expert historians, storytellers, researchers, and authors; partners with local libraries and other institutions to establish small-town humanities centers, or Museums on Mainstreet; supports Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry contest for high school students; offers six-week reading and discussion programs for families with young children; sponsors humanities exhibitions and lectures throughout the state, distributes competitive grants for humanities programs and projects, gives awards to Florida authors; stages summer seminars for high school students and teachers; and publishes Forum, a magazine focused on Florida history and culture.
Perhaps remembering where the humanities come from will help us keep our eyes focused on the essence of the humanities: words, spoken and written, texts, speeches, performances—the stories of our experience, of the journeys of our lives, of the struggles we face and strive to overcome. We are all, as Dante reminds, in the middle of the journeys of our life; we all have experiences to share, words to speak and write, stories to tell, and stories to hear. Our job is to help folks find their voices, to encourage them to speak, and to honor what is in their hearts.


The Blacker The Berry: The Real Benefits Of Eating Darker Fruits
You’ve probably heard the age-old saying, “the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.” Well, new research shows that not only do these little, beautiful dark morsels of goodness taste great, but they may very well be healthier too. Purple berries such as elderberry, black currant, and chokeberry, have as much as 50 percent more of the antioxidants known as flavonoids than other berries.
Berries are known to have the highest concentration of antioxidants among all fruits and vegetables, and there have been studies touting the benefits of cranberries and blueberries, but little research has been done on their dark-colored counterparts. So researchers analyzed the antioxidant content of several varieties, including black currants, red currants, gooseberries, chokeberries, and elderberries. They measured two classes of antioxidants found in the purple berries, anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins.
Antioxidants are nutrients and enzymes that help repair and prevent damage to our cells caused by a process called oxidation. They are believed to play a role in preventing the development of some chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Results of the study showed that chokeberries were the richest in antioxidants, with 1,480 mg of anthocyanin concentration per 100 grams of fresh berries. Gooseberries had the lowest.
While these berries may not be as common as blueberries or strawberries, that could change as more find out about the incredible health benefits of the dark-skinned varieties. In the meantime, you may be able to find them in health food stores or at local farmers’ markets.
With that said, here’s three berries you should try to eat every day, if not every day, the make them apart of your weekly routine:
1. Blueberries – The blueberry is an antioxidant powerhouse. That deep blue color is related to high amounts of phytonutrients called anthocyanidins . These phytonutrients aid in the process of neutralizing free radical damage in our cells.
Overtime, the collagen matrix of our tissues and cells begins to deteriorate. Blueberries help to keep this from happening, with a high capacity for free-radical neutralization.
A recent study from Tufts University analyzed over 50 common fruits and vegetables for hard scientific data on their antioxidant capabilities. Blueberries consistently ranked at the top of this list.
2. Blackberries – Blackberries are more than just powerful antioxidants. They are also extremely high in some of the highest forms of chronic disease and cancer-fighting compounds: vitamins C, E, and ellagic acid. They also hold…


Table of Contents
- How Do Lithium Batteries Work?
- Why Is a Lithium Ion Battery Considered Hazmat?
- What Are the Hazards of Shipping Lithium Batteries?
- Why Lithium Batteries Explode
- Can You Ship Lithium Batteries by Air?
- How to Properly Pack Lithium Batteries
- Packing Batteries Inside Devices
- Packaging for Separately Shipped Batteries
- DOT Lithium Battery Shipping Regulations
- Shipping Lithium Batteries
- What Certifications Do You Need When Shipping Lithium Batteries?
Protect your business and shipments from damage and costly fines by learning how to ship lithium batteries. These batteries pose significant hazards, especially during shipping. Unless adequately packed and handled, lithium batteries may explode.
To ensure proper shipping, get certification in Department of Transportation (DOT) Hazmat for packaging and shipping dangerous substances, such as lithium-ion batteries. Only with appropriate packaging and handling can you safely send lithium batteries and similar hazardous goods across the country or worldwide.
How Do Lithium Batteries Work?
Lithium-ion batteries rely on the movement of lithium. Positively charged ions moving through the battery release their positive electrons when they move, creating a positive charge at the collector on the positive side. This current passes through a powered object, such as a phone or computer, and returns to the negative terminal.
What sets lithium-ion batteries apart from other power supplies is their ability to recharge. These batteries also do not have a memory of how much of a charge they had in the past. Because these batteries lack such a power memory, they don’t require complete draining before charging to maximize their power capacity. The ability to recharge makes these batteries a valuable asset to modern electronics. During charging, the power moves the ions from the cathode to the anode, restoring the positive charge on the lithium ions again.
Lithium-ion batteries contain an electrolyte to enable the flow of electrons. This electrolyte poses a risk when shipping lithium-ion batteries, though. Because its electrolyte is flammable, lithium-ion batteries fall under the classification of hazardous materials when shipping via truck, train, plane or boat.
Why Is a Lithium Ion Battery Considered Hazmat?
Today’s lithium batteries can power numerous items, from portable computers to mobile vehicles. Lithium batteries are excellent for an ever-growing mobile lifestyle, but they’re also potentially dangerous.
The DOT considers lithium batteries to be a hazard. DOT lithium battery regulations — HMR; 49 C.F.R., Parts 171-180 — are used to identify materials that are unreasonable health, safety and property risks when transported in commerce. Regardless of how they’re shipped, they must meet all HMR requirements.
Shipping a lithium-ion battery is regulated by the DOT because it can create chemical and electrical hazards. These batteries contain a flammable electrolyte that can ignite when overheating in specific conditions, including damage, short circuitry or poor assembly. If a fire occurs with these batteries, it can be challenging to put out, creating the potential for further risk to people’s safety, health and property. Other nearby flammable materials can catch fire, allowing the blaze to spread quickly.
While these occurrences are infrequent, they can create a dangerous situation, which is why the DOT regulates the transportation of these materials and considers them hazmat.
What Are the Hazards of Shipping Lithium Batteries?
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, PHMSA, a division of the Department of Transportation, enforces the regulations governing the shipment of dangerous materials, including lithium batteries. According to the PHMSA, lithium batteries pose both electrical and chemical risks during shipping.
One of the biggest challenges of shipping lithium batteries is the lack of control you have over the conditions the batteries experience. Cargo areas of trucks, planes and ships typically do not have air conditioning, and excessive heat increases the likelihood the batteries will overheat.
Overheating is not the only issue. Explosions plague lithium batteries’ reputation. However, these happen only rarely and in poor handling or storage conditions. Because the electrolyte is flammable, excessive heat can create a runaway chemical reaction, leading to an explosion of the battery. You can prevent these rare explosions and overheating events with proper shipping and handling of the power supplies.
Why Lithium Batteries Explode
Famously, the manufacturer of Samsung Note7 phones recalled the devices in 2016 due to exploding batteries. In this extreme instance of consumer use causing explosions, the batteries blew up due to a defect during manufacturing. The widespread use of lithium batteries in everything from Tesla electric cars to laptops to cell phones means the Samsung problem stood out as an irregularity.
Samsung’s batteries had a manufacturing problem that caused an internal short. This short may happen if the separator inside the power unit has a compromised section, allowing the positive and negative portions of the battery to connect inside. This heat builds quickly and spreads outside the battery to create a fire. If the battery leaks its electrolyte during this heating, the contact with oxygen can cause the electrolyte to explode or ignite and further spread the flames.
Because lithium batteries have so many advantages over other technologies, the estimated one-in-a-million chance of an explosion or fire seems a small price to pay. Until equally efficient and cost-effective batteries come to the market, lithium-ion batteries will continue to be a major power supply for electronics. As consumer electronics and electric vehicles increase in popularity, the number of lithium batteries requiring shipping will also rise. This demand, though, can pose a problem that needs caution to prevent.
Of course, the more batteries your company handles, the higher the likelihood that something will go wrong. Knowing how to properly pack lithium batteries to protect them from excessive heat and physical damage can prevent problems during shipping.
Can You Ship Lithium Batteries by Air?
Yes, it’s possible to ship lithium-ion batteries by air, but it’s essential to follow all regulations, as they’re dangerous materials, and the safety of passengers and aircraft personnel is the most important factor to prioritize.
Lithium batteries can still be shipped by air despite the restrictions set in place by the DOT. However, shipping these batteries via air comes with stipulations to reduce the risk to people’s health, safety and property. Independent lithium batteries not installed in a device or packed with their related device can’t be shipped as cargo on a passenger plane or other aircraft.
Lithium-ion batteries shipped by air must remain at a charge of 30% or less than their maximum capacity. When shipping lithium batteries, it’s essential to follow all Lithium Battery Shipping Regulations (LBSR). These regulations are updated yearly, so it’s vital to stay on top of updates to ensure your shipments meet regulations. Failing to meet regulations could result in a civil penalty of up to $27,000 each time there’s an offense.
The LBSR cover everything you need to know about the shipping process, including:
- Emergency response
These processes and more are completely detailed within the LBSR.
>How to Pack and Ship Lithium Batteries Correctly
Because you cannot control the exterior conditions the batteries will experience in transit, you must do everything possible to make the packaging as safe as possible. Packaging should prevent the batteries from shorting out, overheating or incurring physical damage.
According to PHMSA, packaging requirements depend on whether the batteries ship separately or inside their devices. The same holds for the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, which regulates air cargo flown overseas.
Packing Batteries Inside Devices
Packaging for lithium-ion batteries inside devices must prevent short circuits, and the electronics cannot activate in transport. Additionally, the container must prevent the battery and its device from moving inside the package.
To prevent device activation, you can opt for packaging the device to block access to the switch or use a cap or lock on the switch. When the packaging restricts the device from coming on, it prevents the lithium-ion battery from sending electricity and overheating.
The package holding the battery-containing devices must have enough strength to prevent damage to the device. If shipping a spare battery with a product that already has one installed, follow the guidelines for shipping batteries separately for packing the extra battery.
Packaging for Separately Shipped Batteries
Not all batteries ship inside their respective devices. When sending batteries separately, the packaging material determines how well the packing complies with regulations. Domestic and international shipping rules for packaging set out the exact requirements for preventing overheating and damaging the batteries. However, international air travel has an additional requirement for packaging separately shipped batteries.
IATA regulations add that lithium-ion batteries must have no more than a charge of 30% of capacity. You can ship batteries with higher power percentages only when you abide by a special provision of both the sending and receiving countries. Since lithium-ion batteries can charge, shipping them with a lower state of capacity will not affect their final productivity once recharged.
The inner portion of the packaging must surround the battery to prevent it from contacting other batteries or metallic components. Additionally, this packaging must have a construction of a nonconductive material.
As with batteries shipped inside their devices, separately packed batteries must also have shipping containers that prevent short circuits and drop damage.
1. Prevent Short Circuits
You have several options for preventing short circuits of lithium-ion batteries in their packaging. You could wrap each in plastic or another nonconductive material. Use plastic caps or nonconductive tape over the terminals. Lastly, you could separately pack each battery to ensure it will not contact any other battery or metal item in the container.
2. Have Durable, Nonconductive Packaging
Each battery must have a liner enclosing it when packing multiple batteries. The larger package, though, needs to have a durable construction. Metal, wood, plastic and fiberboard suffice for box materials when packing these batteries as long as the container is rigid and can pass a drop test. This test requires contents to have adequate protection when dropped from 1.2 meters.
DOT Lithium Battery Shipping Regulations
Department of Transportation regulations governs how you can ship lithium-ion batteries. DOT has stricter requirements for medium-sized and large rechargeable batteries, while smaller lithium metal batteries have relatively few regulations.
Medium and large lithium-ion batteries see use in notebook computers, professional AV equipment and electric cars. They have 8 grams or more of equivalent lithium content, or ELC.
Each container must include a warning about the hazardous contents. Additionally, you must include a phone number for additional information on the package label under the UN number.
Put this information inside a warning label at least 4.7 inches wide by 4.3 inches tall. The label shows a black and white image of batteries surrounded by red hatch marks. Under the picture, you will put the UN number with the phone number below.
These requirements for the shipping container set out by DOT extend to how you ship the batteries. The number of batteries, additional labels and extra information you must have available vary depending on the method you use for shipping.
Shipping Lithium Batteries
When shipping lithium batteries, the method you select for delivery makes a difference in packaging and handling. For instance, the changes in pressure in an airplane put different stresses on containers than those experienced by packages traveling by truck or train.
Check with the cargo transport company if your business does not have a contracted shipper or its own shipping vehicles. Some have specific regulations regarding carrying hazardous materials, such as lithium-ion batteries, that go beyond domestic and international regulations.
1. Via Ground
Train or truck transport of batteries has a higher weight allowance. Lithium content may be up to 300 watt-hours (Wh) for ground shipping. However, when choosing a ground option for these larger batteries, you must include a label stating that the contents are lithium batteries and that transport can only occur via ground, not air or sea.
If your shipment requires any legs of its journey to be via air or water, pack it according to those requirements. Any time inside a cargo plane or vessel changes the shipment’s designation to water or air transport instead of ground. If in doubt, adhere to the stricter guidelines for air and sea deliveries.
2. By Air or by Sea
Both medium and large batteries have the same requirements when shipped via air or sea. Rechargeable lithium batteries may travel aboard passenger aircraft as long as the container weighs less than 11 pounds. Nonchargeable lithium batteries cannot travel on passenger planes at all.
All batteries shipped on planes or boats need to have passed design testing. Lithium-ion batteries must include paperwork for Class 9 hazardous materials to verify their safety. Containers traveling by air must also include in the paperwork information for an emergency contact and notification of the pilot in addition to the shipping information.
Shipping lithium-ion batteries internationally by air has similar guidelines under the International Air Transport Association, IATA. While many standards remain similar, you may encounter some subtle differences. For instance, some countries do not allow importation via air of separately packed lithium-ion batteries.
What Certifications Do You Need When Shipping Lithium Batteries?
While the IATA does not require those packing lithium-ion batteries to hold a certification, it does request they receive “adequate instruction” on the subject. However, those shipping Section I lithium-ion batteries must have full IATA training. PHMSA requires packers to receive instructions on the proper means of putting lithium-ion batteries into shipping boxes.
Adequate instruction should go beyond a 10-minute demonstration. Get your employees in-depth training on packing all types of hazardous materials in accordance with domestic and international regulations.
Classes within our course cover the means of packing to adhere to requirements for shipping over ground, air or water. To ensure your employees understand the information they learned in class, they must pass a multiple-choice exam with 75% correct to get a certificate of course completion. Not only will you have offered your workers the training they need, but you will also obtain proof of their understanding.
With online training, employees can take classes whenever they find the time. As long as they finish the course before packaging lithium-ion batteries for shipping, they can take as much or as little time as necessary to fully understand the material. Coupling the online classes with hands-on practice sessions will further reinforce the rules the employees learned during their training.
Additionally, IATA requires updating training with refresher courses for your employees at least every two years or if regulations change. Keeping records of each training session will help you schedule future courses for your workers.
Get DOT Hazmat Certified With Hazmat School
With courses from Hazmat School, you can get the training you need to keep up with all the DOT requirements for shipping lithium batteries by ground, air and sea.
Our training classes prepare your employees for working with hazardous shipments such as lithium-ion batteries. Not only will you avoid fines from improperly packed batteries, but you will also save money with our courses. We will beat any competitors’ prices, and we offer group discounts and 20% off discounts for government employees. You will get the training your workers need for safety while saving money on the courses.
Don’t risk the dangers of shipping improperly packaged lithium-ion batteries. Training in the proper packaging and shipping methods required by DOT will ensure you and your employees know how to keep your shipments safe during transport.
Contact us today to learn more about our courses and how you can get certified for DOT Hazmat.


|Published : 22 Nov 2016, 20:45:57|
Education suitable for 21st century
WE cannot deny that the standard of education in our country is slipping downward. Students and their parents are more interested in obtaining good marks than acquiring knowledge. We see plenty of GPA 5, but we do not see the knowledge we want to see in our children. The world is going ahead with the 21st century education, but we are still lagging behind.
We have to stop forcing our children with only memorising lessons and instead we should make them think. We should make learning a fun for children instead of making a gruelling effort of swallowing in a set of information and swallowing out whenever required. We are now living in the age of multimedia and students should be taught to enrich their knowledge with the help of computer and internet. There are interactive videos which are easy to learn and do not look boring and tedious. We should adapt ourselves to the teaching style of developed countries and modernise the same to suit our own environment and culture. As we know that today's children are future and they deserve the best that the world could offer.


Among the most common forms of energy produced in the world, electrical energy is perhaps the most spread one. The concept of electrical energy is very common in science and it is usually, as well, a concept that most of us find a little bit confusing or not fully understandable, at least. From heating systems and cell phone batteries to synapsis among our brain cells, many examples of every day life involve electrical energy. But what is electrical energy, actually? How does it work?
In this article, we invite you to explore with us the world of electrical energy in detail: from its definition to the most popular examples of its use from a Sustainable Warrior's perspective.
Alright, we are going to bring back just for a moment some of your high school lessons of Physics, and maybe you will remember the basic concept of energy- if you don't, it doesn't matter! - In very general terms, energy is produced when particles (whether protons, neutrons or electrons) move along. According to how they move and their combinations, they produce different types of energy: solar energy, wind energy and electrical energy might be the most popular examples.
Light from Pexels
Electrical energy, in particular, is produced as electrons move around - therefore its name, electric-. In every day language, we usually refer to electrical energy as electric power, that is electric potential energy wired for human use. Either in stricter physical terms or colloquial speech, the phenomenon remains the same. The combination of electric current and electric potential energy spread throughout and electrical circuit is e electrical energy. When electric potential energy starts being moved and delivered, it can't be potential any more.
So, we can say that electrical energy is potential energy before it is delivered to its specific purposes. Once converted, it takes the form of electric power as light, heat, motion, etc. This is what we usually call electrical energy and it's measured in kilowatts which are what companies sell to you to power your devices at home.
Humans discovery of how to produce electrical energy dates back to the beginnings of the 19th century. In the year 1820, a British scientist named Michael Faraday discovered that moving a loop of wire or a circle of cooper between the two poles of a magnet produced electrical energy. Faraday's circuit was so useful and genius that it is basically the same principle that Faraday used the one that rules the fabrication of circuits that run most of your devices up to these days.
But how does this process of generation exactly work? Let's see... We mentioned earlier that electrons play a great part in the generation of electrical energy. Electrons are free to move in copper wire which means that while kept in these medium, neutrons will be naturally ruled by attractive forces that have to do with charges: electrons have negative charges and that's why the will tend to attract positively -charged particles such as neutrons or positively-charged ions.
Because of this law of attraction too, electrons will repel particles with its same charge like other electrons or negatively-charged ions. In simpler terms, let's imagine an electromagnetic field around each electron that collides with protons and ions and thus, produces and generates electrical energy.
These electrical connections that transform potential energy into electrical energy happens in the natural world - as in among the neuron cells - or it can be human controlled and produced. This is what electrical power plants do: under supervised conditions they can produce electrical energy from water (hydroelectricity), wind (wind power), the sun (solar energy), or from nuclear reactions (nuclear power).
The discovery that made it possible for humans to generate electrical power from natural resources was a significant breakthrough in our history. One cannot imagine modern life without electricity. According to the EIA (U.S Energy Information and Administration), electricity is used for many purposeful human activities such as lightning, cooling and refrigeration, operating electronic devices, machinery and even means of public transportation. Total U.S electricity consumption in 2020 has surpassed the amount of electricity use in 1950 for 13 times. Just food for thought, right?
Electric power is obtained when the electrons and positively-charged particles (protons or ions) attract each other and put their neighboring particles to work and alas! electrical energy is produced.
Potential energy that has been transformed into electrical energy in a supervised circuit of power generation is what we normally call electric power, and this is the most common example of electrical energy in use. Electric power is virtually used for E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G in today's world. Can you even start to imagine a world with no electric power? Modern life would be entirely different hadn't humans discovered the possibility of generating electricity. Whichever the case, the actual truth is that practically any electronic device that you may have at home runs on electric power.
If you are more interested in numbers and precise statistics on how much electricity it takes to power the whole world, please check on this!
This energy is brought to houses, factories, companies and buildings through copper wires. Among the most common applications of electric power are heating, cooling, refrigerating, operating electronic devices (from a cell phone to a fridge or washing machine), machinery and even running some public transport systems.
Whether we are talking about a couple of batteries to make a kid toy work or the battery that runs an electric car, batteries are another example of electrical energy put at work. Batteries are just like wired circuits, sources of electrical energy. The only difference lies in that the negative electrical charges may come from ions rather than electrons. The medium may differ too, since batteries usually use solutions rather than metal to create a circuit of power generation.
Lithium-ion batteries have gained a lot of popularity over the last decades because they basically power any technological device. In 2021 lithium-ion batteries are part of everybody's lives. Laptops, cell phones, hybrid cars and electric cars are among the devices that run on lithium-ion batteries. The greatest advantage of this type of batteries might be that they are rechargeable, light weight and have a high energy density. However, research must be done yet to further know how to reduce the impact of disposed lithium-ion batteries. Please don't miss this very educative video on how batteries work!
Yes, that's correct. Electrical discharges and connections happen in the natural world, too. Our mind and body might be the clearest examples. In the human nervous system our brain cells or neurons communicate with each other through electrical signals or through a more complex system of chemical reactions. This extended web of synapses allows the mind to have quick reflexes and adapt rapidly to the changing conditions of the environment.
These connections are responsible for every action that your body does: speak, think, run, feel... But the electrical synapses are particularly important because our most instinctive reflexes of survival depend entirely on them, like when you burn your hand accidentally...There, that quick reaction, that's electrical synapse working. The body is trying to protect itself from potential danger and needs you to act quickly.
So, basically, we survive thanks to the electrical impulses that our brain cells send to each other. I think our complexity is so worth appreciating, don't you agree? In case you do agree, please watch this!
Now, the human body has no the exclusive on using electricity for body functions in the natural world. There are some animals that have made of electrical impulses their allies as well. The electric eel, for example is a type of fish that produces electricity for hunting and defending themselves. Electric eels have organs in their bellies that produce this electricity.
Actually, they have three organs that together make up for almost all of the eel's body. But what does the eel use electricity for? Well, they can actually deliver quite effective low or high voltage in case they feel threatened or they can even use electricity for electrolocation. Another marvelous example of adaptation and evolution, in very Darwinian terms. If you are further interested in electrical energy among fish, you can check on this video!
But the electric eel is not alone. There are about 500 species of fish that can deliver electricity shocks. Catfish, for example that live in Africa, around the Nile River can deliver an electric strike of up to 350 volts. Electric rays are another fascinating type of fish that discharges volts from two organs located above its head. Also, sharks and platypuses are able to perceive electrical energy but they can't strike. How amazing is that?
So, let's re cap a little bit, we went a little bit deep this time into the world of electrical energy and the millions of aspect that there exist to discuss in its regard. But as we always love to give you some food for thought... What about the green energies? Do they stand a chance? What are we planning to do with all the disposal material that comes with the production of lithium-ion batteries? If you are interested in this, please check what sustainable projects and programs are available in your town! And please read our article What Solar Energy Is and Its Importance For a Greener Future. See you next time!


March 24 is Palm Sunday, which means that millions of Christians across the country will be celebrating Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem by carrying palm leaves, often shaped in the form of a cross, into their places of worship. Where do these palms come from? Most likely they have been imported from one of a few Latin American countries: Guatemala, Belize, or southern Mexico, for instance. And most likely they have been harvested in a manner that is harmful to the environment. Harvesters are often paid by volume rather than quality, and they have a strong incentive to cut as many leaves as possible, without paying attention to what this reckless cutting is doing to the fragile forests of one of the world's most important ecological regions.
In a few select communities in northern Guatemala and the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, however, villagers—with help from governmental public lands agencies and organizations such as Rainforest Alliance and Pronatura Sur—have adopted a series of impressive harvesting practices aimed at protecting the environment and ensuring a long-term supply of sustainably-harvested palms. Because palm plants need the shade of the forest's tall trees to survive, maintaining a sustainable palm crop also gives villagers an incentive to protect the forests as a whole. Churches in the United States should buy their palms from these villages.
I can attest first-hand to the benefits that these new harvesting techniques are bringing to the forests of Guatemala and Mexico. Last month, I spent eight days learning from the villagers who practice sustainable harvesting of palms. In the remote Guatemalan villages of Carmelita and Uaxactun, farmers have divided their lands into regions and harvest in only one region at a time. When they finish with one, they leave it alone for up to nine months to regenerate. In the aqua-colored Bodega de Palma in a Mexican village called Sierra Morena, a woman explained how she and her team of sorters go through each leaf that comes in to make sure it is of sufficient quality for export. Harvesters are paid only for the quality leaves they bring in, and if they bring in too many flawed leaves, they can be fined. The number of wasted palm leaves has shrunk from about 60 percent to around 10 percent or less because of this system.
In a small town in the Mexican Sierra Madres called Tierra y Libertad, I hiked into the forests with Arbey Gomez Garcia, the head of the community's palm group, to learn how harvesters are trained to cut down only certain leaves from the palm plants and to leave others alone. Far into the forest, Arbey showed me a small, well-marked field of palms that acts as a control group for the plantation. By collecting data on the growth of every leaf on every plant in this area, the community can monitor the health of the forest and predict with some certainty the number of palms that can be harvested in the next season.
Churches in the United States have an easy way to make sure that the palms they buy are provided by these responsible steward communities. Eight years ago, Dean Current, an expert in natural resources management at the University of Minnesota, started the "Eco-Palm" project.
With help from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a research group created to study NAFTA's effects on the environment, Current has reached out to religious organizations, such as Lutheran World Relief and the Episcopal Church, to convince parishioners to pay a little extra for sustainably harvested palms. Five cents per frond is returned to the communities, which use the extra funds both to support their sustainable harvesting practices and to pay for much-needed improvements to the life of the villages. In Uaxactun, for instance, the villagers explained to me how the money has been used to put a floor into a schoolhouse and hire new teachers for older children.
The Eco-Palm project has grown substantially, from the 2005 pilot year when Current and a graduate student delivered palms to churches in North Dakota and Minnesota from the back of a van, to this past year, when churches purchased nearly 1 million leaves. Still, though, the number of sustainably harvested palms makes up a small percentage of all palm leaves purchased by churches in the United States for Palm Sunday.
Both the communities and the NGOs worry that without a stronger and broader commitment from overseas churches, the palms and the forests that provide shade to them may be in danger. The income from sustainable palm harvesting may not be enough to keep this eco-friendly practice continuing far into the future. As the deputy director of Pronatura Sur, Rosa Maria Vidal told me, "We are looking to see if the religious groups will continue to increase their demand and their premium-we're still looking to see if this type of harvesting is sustainable for the long term."
As a member of the palm harvesting group in Tierra y Libertad argued, "We work very hard because the international community wants us to preserve the rain forest, and we are doing so. We are happy to be protecting our forests, but I think we should have a better life for what we are doing for the environment." He made a lot of sense.
In recent years, organized religion has come a long way in recognizing the importance of going green. Consistent with this trend, churches should at the very least make sure that their own religious practices are not harming the environment.


Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. Small octavo, dustwrapper, colour illustrations.
Birds and insects are nature's premier architects, using a dizzying array of talents to build functional homes in which to live, reproduce, and care for their young. Recycling sticks, branches, grass, and mud to construct their shelters, they are undoubtedly the originators of "green architecture." A visual celebration of these natural feats of engineering and ingenuity, this book allows readers a peek inside a wide range of nests, offering a rare opportunity to get a sense of the materials and methods used to build them. Inspired by the vast nest collection at the Field Museum, Chicago, which features specimens gathered throughout North and South America, Peggy Macnamara's paintings are enhanced by text written by museum curators. This narrative provides a foundation in natural history for each painting, as well as fascinating anecdotes about the nests and their builders.
Price: $50.00 AU


The United States: Anticipating and Conducting War, 1939-1942
Publication Date: December 2006
Publisher(s): Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)
Author(s): Brian McAllister Linn
Series: Heritage Lecture
Keywords: National security; military; war
Coverage: United States
Recognition that the military was not the sole, or even the most important, member of the interagency process made officers who helped mobilize the nation after 1941 uniquely qualified to accept the importance of using all the instruments of power, not just the military. America's officers and political leaders would do well to study their example.


Proper nutrition, starting at birth, is extremely important in assuring the health, well-being and development of children. Good eating habits, which can be taught as early as infancy, form the basis for lifelong health. Teaching a child to choose the right foods during the early years can have long lasting benefits, some of which can be prevention of heart disease and cancer, ultimately allowing a person to live healthier and longer. In addition, good nutrition will help to prevent both acute and chronic illnesses; the child will then be allowed to develop physically and mentally to their fullest potential. Also, a well-nourished child will have the reserve to handle stressful situations.
Infancy (birth through one year)
- Breastfeeding is best for babies, even if only in the mornings and evenings.
- If breastfeeding is not possible, commercial infant formulas are a good alternative. Formula should be used for the entire first year of life.
- At one year of age, children should be switched to whole milk; at two years they should be started on 2%, 1% or skim milk.
- Solid foods are begun at 4-6 months of age. Start with rice cereal, then progress to barley and oatmeal cereals. Mix cereal with formula or breast milk and feed it by spoon. 100% fruit juices, such as apple juice, may also be started at this time (avoid orange and tomato juice until eight months of age.) Limit juice intake to four ounces a day.
- At 6-8 months of age, toast, teething biscuits, plain yogurt, strained or mashed fruits and vegetables are begun. Avoid corn until one year of age.
- At 8-10 months of age, add ground or finely chopped chicken, fish and lean meats; egg yolk; mild cheese; thinned peanut butter and cooked dried beans. Peeled soft fruit wedges are begun. Encourage self-feeding of finger foods. Practice with a spoon and a cup.
- At 10-12 months of age, add some raw vegetables, fresh fruits, other cheeses and whole egg.
- Do not give infants honey; it may cause infant botulism, a serious, and sometimes fatal, neurological disease.
- Avoid overfeeding. Stop feeding when baby turns away from food or shows disinterest. While parents are the best judges of when and what infants and children should eat, the child is the best judge of how much to eat.
- Boil any tap water used for feeding infants less than four months for at least two minutes.
- Cook all eggs well and do not use raw eggs in order to prevent salmonella infection.
- To avoid choking and aspiration, do not feed children less than four years of age any hard, small and round or smooth and sticky solid foods such as hard candies, nuts, popcorn or a spoonful of peanut butter.
- Assure all infants and toddlers are always supervised during feedings.
- Avoid feeding infants by propping a bottle. Never put infants to bed with a bottle, it may cause tooth decay and loss of teeth.
- Do not add sugar or salt to an infant’s food.
Toddler and Pre-School (year one through six)
- Offer an adequate amount of a variety of healthful and tasty foods. In the long term, the child will choose a nutritionally adequate diet.
- The use of the Food Guide Pyramid is helpful in assuring that the child gets the right foods in the proper quantities for growth and good health. The varieties of different foods can be started during the first year of life and the minimum number of servings from each food group should be offered beginning at age two years.
- Serve meals and snacks on a regular schedule.
- Teach good manners at the table and set a good example.
- Respect certain food dislikes; substitutes are always available. Fruits may be substituted for vegetables. It is easier and quicker to change the food than it is to change the child.
- Serve small portions; large quantities may frustrate the appetite. If more is desired, additional servings may be offered. Children develop desirable feeding patterns when they feel successful and when negative behavior is ignored.
- Children appreciate simple food that is attractively served. They may prefer raw vegetables to cooked ones. Spicy foods should be allowed according to taste.
- Avoid confrontations at the table. If insistence on good manners interferes with the child’s appetite, manners may be temporarily neglected until the appetite improves. Don’t discuss disciplinary problems or punishments at the table.
- Mealtime may be so late, or last so long, that the child’s appetite is lost. It may be desirable to feed the children before their parents. Once the child’s meal is finished, he/she should be excused from the table.
- Children should be included in conversation at the table. If not, disputes over eating may be the only means that the child has of getting attention.
- Children may request feedings 4-6 times a day. This is normal.
- Between-meal snacks should be given midway between meals and offered in small quantities. Juice, fruit or crackers are a good choice. Foods with high sugar and/or fat content such as candy, cake, cookies or milk, may interfere with the appetite at the next meal.
- Avoid the use of dessert as a bribe or reward for eating. If dessert is part of a planned meal, don’t insist that the child clean up the plate first. Rewarding a child for a clean plate may cause obesity.
- Children who are denied a meal as punishment may attach unpleasant associations to mealtime. Other forms of discipline should be used.
- Do not expect children to eat anything their parents don’t like. Children often copy food habits, likes and dislikes. It is important, then, that parents make wise food choices; actions speak louder than words.
- New foods should be introduced in small portions when the child is hungriest.
- Fatigue, excitement or anxiety may cause temporary loss of appetite in children.
- Self-feeding by children during the first and second year of life should be encouraged and messiness should be expected.
- During the pre-school years, appetites are often erratic, food jags are common and likes and dislikes may change from day to day.
- A good breakfast, including protein, is important in maximizing school performance.
- Healthy eating habits begin early in infancy. During the first year food should be offered only when the infant shows signs of hunger. Older children should be taught to eat only when hungry; food should never be used as a bribe.
- Obesity can be a combination of family traits, inadequate physical exercise and increased calorie intake compared to energy used. It is much easier to prevent obesity than it is to cure it. Once obesity is established, it is extremely difficult to change previously learned habits.
- Putting young children on calorie restriction diets can be very dangerous. A pediatrician should be consulted first in these cases. It may be better to encourage and substitute low calorie, fat-free foods.
- Obese children suffer in various ways. They may grow up to be obese adults with diabetes, heart disease or other health problems. Other children may exclude them from sports and social activities. They are frequently teased about their weight and may become shy and withdrawn.
- Most children will not eat healthy, low-fat foods or exercise regularly unless their parents do the same. Therefore, it is important that parents set a good example in these areas, starting when their children are young.
- Parents can shop for low-calorie, low-fat foods and keep them stocked in the pantry for meals and snacks. Parents should set the example by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly but should not pressure children into doing so; this frequently is not successful and causes unnecessary tension in the family.
- Limit time in front of the television to one hour per day on weekdays, two hours per day on weekends. Television promotes both inactivity and unnecessary snacking.
- Restrict the number of times in a week that children eat fast food meals. Fast food is typically high in calories, fat and sodium (salt) and low in other important nutrients.
- Obese children should participate in a program of healthy, low fat eating and regular exercise to maximize weight control. These children should also join in activities that are nonphysical at school, after school and on weekends, to improve their self-esteem.
- Most of all, parents of obese children should show their love and acceptance for their children regardless of their weight.
There are many benefits of healthy eating. Good nutrition will allow children to reach their full growth potential, feel well, succeed at school, and avoid a number of serious illnesses. It’s up to the parents to help children achieve these goals.


Magnesium helps your heart, muscles, and immune system function properly—and studies suggest that nearly half of Americans aren’t consuming enough of the mineral. But before you start popping supplements, you should know there’s a difference between inadequate intake and a true deficiency. Signs of deficiency include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and loss of appetite, and are quite rare. However, people with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or digestive ailments like Crohn’s and celiac disease, as well as those taking medications for heartburn or osteoporosis are at higher risk of magnesium deficiency. Read on to find out more about how much magnesium you need and where to get it.
About 60% of your magnesium is in your bones, the rest is in body tissues, and only about 1% is in your blood.
How to Increase Your Magnesium Intake
If you think you might be low in magnesium, your best way to address this issue is to start consuming foods that are high in magnesium.
Buying foods from your local farmers market and foods that are grown organically may have higher levels of magnesium.
Typically, the foods you’ll find that are highest in magnesium are green leafy vegetables, which are packed with chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is known as the “life blood” of a plant and has the ability to absorb the sun’s light and turn it into energy.
One major difference between human blood and chlorophyll is that human blood hasiron at the center of the cell, but plants have magnesium at the center of the cell.
Top 12 Magnesium Rich Foods
Green leafy vegetables aren’t the only foods rich in magnesium and chlorophyll. Here are the top 10 foods high in magnesium that you will want to add into your diet.
(Men RDA 400 milligrams and Women RDA 310 milligrams a day)
- Spinach — 1 cup: 157 milligrams (40% DV)
- Chard — 1 cup: 154 milligrams (38% DV)
- Pumpkin seeds — 1/8 cup: 92 milligrams (23% DV)
- Yogurt or Kefir — 1 cup: 50 milligrams (13% DV)
- Almonds — 1 ounce: 80 milligrams (20% DV)
- Black Beans — ½ cup: 60 milligrams (15% DV)
- Avocado — 1 medium: 58 milligrams (15% DV)
- Figs — ½ cup: 50 milligrams (13% DV)
- Dark Chocolate — 1 square: 95 milligrams (24% DV)
- Banana — 1 medium: 32 milligrams (8% DV)
- Cashew Nuts– 1 ounce is equivalent to 20% of your daily value.
- Okra– 1 cup of boiled okra gives you 14% of your daily value.
Other foods that are also high in magnesium include salmon, coriander, goat cheese, and artichokes.


Among the archaeological riches in Kilmartin Glen is an extraordinary array of prehistoric rock art. The designs take the form of cup-marks, cup-and-ring marks, spirals, stars and linear grooves, often densely covering large expanses of rock face. Apart from the occasional axe, the art is not representational – there are no human or animal figures. Similar prehistoric rock art is found in Scotland from Galloway to Shetland, and in Ireland, Brittany and NW Spain.
Many people have tried to read a symbolism into these cup-and-ring marks, but we can only speculate about their original significance. Such rock art is difficult to date, but it is also found in archaeological contexts such as tombs. It is clear that the potential date range is very long, from around 3500 to around 1000 BC. The Kilmartin Glen rock art, including that at Baluachraig, is likely to be around 5,000 years old.
Rock art at Baluachraig
At Baluachraig there are clusters of decoration on different parts of the rock surface. The design is relatively simple – hollows (cups) pecked out of the rock with a stone hammer, some of them surrounded by one or more rings. The overall design lacks the complex modifications that can be seen at the more upland sites in Kilmartin Glen, such as <Achnabreck>.
- The simplicity of the design – pleasing to the eye.
Region – Central and West
1m SSE of Kilmartin off the A816.
Grid reference - 55 NR 831 969


To ask a question or questions
(Intransitive) To ask a question.
To observe or inquire into in detail; examine systematically:
To seek information; ask a question or questions
To question relentlessly; cross-examine searchingly
To question formally, as to elicit facts or information; interrogate:
To seek an answer to:
(Law) To answer a defendant's plea
To speak in defence against; to reply to in defence.
Find another word for interrogates. In this page you can discover 10 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for interrogates, like: questions, quizzes, queries, investigates, inquires, grills, examines, asks, replies and answers.


Exxon Valdez oil spill article
Minutes after midnight, on March 24, 1989, the supertanker Exxon Valdez went aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound on Alaska's southern coastline. Some 10.8 million gallons (40, 900 kiloliters) of oil spilled through the deep gash when you look at the ship's hull, in the course of time washing up on a lot more than 1, 200 kilometers (1, 900 kilometers) of pristine shoreline, causing just what nevertheless appears while the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
The effect on neighborhood wildlife had been devastating: around 250, 000 seabirds died in months following the spill, and 14 people in the 36 regional Prince William Sound killer whale pod had disappeared by 1990. The alleged carcass count in addition tallied, among other animals, 1, 000 dead sea otters as well as 151 dead bald eagles, in line with the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC), an organization formed to oversee renovation jobs. A few of the spill continues to be even today, with a 2003 estimate pointing to about 20, 000 gallons (75, 700 liters) wet deep into sands in intertidal areas, gradually poisoning ducks as well as other coast creatures.
The spill affected men and women residing or nearby the sound financially and culturally. Commercial fishing and tourism both took hits; pre-spill degrees of herring, a fish very important to marine meals chains and peoples usage have actually however to bounce straight back. Alaskan Native communities that subsist on fish and shellfish in the region only saw some of the dwindled water life populations regain their pre-spill amounts by 2003.
The Exxon Valdez calamity also incurred crushing cleaning costs and a legal maelstrom. The giant energy organization, then referred to as Exxon (and as ExxonMobil since its 1999 merger with Mobil) initially settled for $900 million in 1991, is compensated over 10 years. After that, in 1994, a jury in Alaska purchased Exxon to pay for an extra $5 billion in punitive problems due to a class-action suit brought by tens of thousands of Alaskan residents. Simply just last year, but after almost two decades of appropriate wrangling, the U.S. Supreme Court lowered this good to about $500 million after multiple appeals from Exxon. All informed, the business claims in a statement in regards to the notorious anniversary that it features paid "over $3.8 billion because of the accident, including compensatory payments, cleaning payments, settlements and fines, " and that "the 1989 Valdez accident ended up being the least expensive points in ExxonMobil's 125 year record."
Tragically, a lot of the damage might-have-been prevented with adequate emergency actions in place, states Rebecca Talbot, a spokesperson for EVOSTC. a silver lining when you look at the accident's aftermath has-been a "leap in understanding, " claims Talbot, gained from intensive monitoring of the short- and long-lasting ramifications of oil spills. The spill additionally had a galvanizing influence on lawmakers who passed the federal 1990 Oil Pollution Act to assist push away a repeat regarding the tragedy by increasing supervision, stiffening penalties, mandating contingency planning, and generating brand-new research programs.
Because the 1989 crash, the worldwide push for double-hulling oil tankers—already well under method once the single-hulled Exxon Valdez spilled its poisonous cargo—has increased, utilizing the us mandating an international phase-out of most single-hulled boats the following year. Tanker tracking and warning systems, along with the introduction associated with satellite-based worldwide placement system (GPS), have enhanced tremendously, aswell, experts say.
The key improvement because the Exxon Valdez incident will not be in equipment in "peopleware, " states Robert Bea, a teacher of civil manufacturing in the University of California, Berkeley, (who has driven an oil tanker as part of his analysis). "exactly what the event performed had been began coalescing the worldwide marine community to completely clean up its work and concentrate on people and not simply [sea] vessels and so on, " Bea claims.
All things considered, man mistake played the greatest role into the accident, based on the National Transportation security Board's analysis, along with other formal reports. Guidelines from ship's captain, Joe Hazelwood, to go back the vessel to your delivery lanes after steering free from icebergs apparently never reached the helmsman, Robert Kagan, during the time of the wreck. Anecdotal reports about witnessing the captain at a bar ahead of making slot, confirmed by a blood test revealing alcohol in his human anatomy hours following the accident, in addition spoke towards decreased staff supervision during the time by Exxon alongside oil companies with supertankers in the high seas.
But thicker and doubled hulls, better tracking and a rested, well trained team will likely not always be sufficient, claims Bea. Whenever spills from tankers do happen, a range of cleaning and remediation techniques, and specialized technology arrived at the fore, both to tackle the mess and save yourself the wildlife caught in the incorrect destination during the wrong time. Start to see the slip program to learn more about the results of Exxon Valdez incident, and how both stopping and remediating oil spills' durable impacts have advanced level within the last few twenty years.


Know whether or not you should use apple cider vinegar for spider vein removal and the associated side effects that home remedies can cause!
Spider veins are the milder version of varicose veins, in which a major vein becomes twisted and swollen and raised due to blood vessel valve incompetence. Sometimes, you might spot tiny, thin veins visible just under the surface of the skin on your legs, chest, or face. They can be in the form of lines, webs, or branches and are red, blue, or purple in color. They can be flat or slightly raised. Though they can occur anywhere, you can most commonly see them on your legs, behind your knees. They are mostly painless, but sometimes you may experience minor discomfort.
How or why do spider veins form?
Spider veins usually form due to the malfunction of valves inside your veins. Veins carry impure blood to your heart, and they have valves that allow the blood to pass only in the direction of the heart. The valves close themselves to prevent the blood from flowing backward. If the valve becomes damaged or if the wall weakens, then it affects the unidirectional flow of blood. Blood begins to pool in the vein causing your vein to bulge. Your vein begins to branch out to lessen the pressure within, thus leading to the formation of spider veins.
You most often see them on your legs because the veins in your leg have to transport blood upwards to your heart against gravity.
- You might feel a dull ache in your legs, especially if you have been sitting or standing for an extended period.
- Your legs may feel tired, heavy, or appear swollen.
- The skin around the spider veins feels itchy.
- Changes in the color and texture of the skin around your ankles or calves.
- You feel the need to constantly change the position of your legs as they feel restless.
- The symptoms improve when you elevate your legs and rest them.
- Heredity or family history plays a major role.
- The probability of getting spider veins increases with your age. It mostly affects those over 50 years of age.
- If you are in a profession that requires you to stand or sit for a long time, the risk of you developing spider veins is higher.
- Injury or trauma to the legs.
- The tendency to develop spider veins is higher in women.
- If you have a history of deep vein thrombosis(DVT), then your chances of developing spider veins increases.
- Birth control pills.
- Pregnancy, obesity, smoking, drinking alcohol, exposure to heat, and wearing tight clothing are other contributors.
How can you prevent spider veins?
- Having a regular exercise regimen can improve circulation and strengthen the veins.
- Avoid sitting or standing for a long time.
- While sitting down, do leg exercises to keep your blood circulation up.
- If you are obese, then start losing weight.
- While sitting, do not cross your legs at the ankles.
- While resting, keep your legs elevated by placing a stool, cushion, or pillow under them. Try to do this at least three times a day for 15 minutes at a time.
- Try wearing compression socks and stockings to help keep your vein valves in the right position.
- If you are pregnant, try sleeping on your left side, this will help you avoid the pressure of your uterus on the big vein situated in your right pelvic area.
- If you are hypertensive, follow a good diet, maintain hydration, and take the prescribed medication to keep your blood pressure under control.
Apple Cider Vinegar for Spider Vein Removal
Apple cider vinegar is a readily available product in supermarkets and health stores. It has numerous health benefits. It is known to improve circulation and help decrease the appearance and formation of spider veins.
You can either apply it directly on your skin or soak a piece of cloth in the vinegar and wrap it for about 30 minutes around the area where spider veins are visible. This improves blood flow in the affected area. Do it twice a day, in the morning, and at night for a few months to see results. It helps reduce the size of the veins.
However, sometimes, undiluted apple cider vinegar, which is highly acidic, might cause skin inflammation, redness, and burning. Apple cider vinegar has not been proven to prevent or treat spider veins.
Popular home remedies to treat spider veins:
- Cayenne pepper:- Drinking a concoction of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a cup of hot water is supposed to relieve leg pain and improve blood circulation. However, in adverse cases, it may not help your spider veins disappear and may cause ulcers instead.
- Witch Hazel:- It has astringent and anti-inflammatory properties and is touted to shrink your spider veins. Boil witch hazel extract in water and drink it. However, it is ineffective in treating conditions beneath the top layers of your skin.
- Crushed garlic, essential oils like grapeseed, horse chestnut, lavender, and yarrow are all supposed to work as a spider vein treatment.
- Massaging with oils like coconut oil, castor oil might help. Using Epsom salt, ginger, and applying green tomato slices are all supposed to work because of their anti-inflammatory properties and/or their circulation-boosting properties.
Scientific studies are yet to prove the efficacy of home remedies and determine at what dosages they work. All-natural remedies for spider veins are neither very effective nor long-lasting.
When to seek medical help?
You may consider spider veins only as a cosmetic problem if you do not experience any other major discomfort. However, there are certain signs which you must not ignore and seek medical help immediately.
- If there is sudden swelling in your leg.
- If the vein feels tender, swollen, red, or warm, it could indicate a blood clot.
- Sores or rashes on your leg.
- Change in the color of the skin on your ankle or calf.
- If the skin over your vein starts to bleed on its own or in account of an injury.
- Medical treatments include sclerotherapy, laser treatment, and surgery.
We would suggest you to try the home remedies in a limited amount and not overdo them to avoid any mishaps. If they persists even after days of trying the remedies, seek medical help instead of relying on apple cider vinegar for spider veins removal.


Easter Island is located in the Pacific ocean. The population of Easter Island is about 7.700.
The island got its name of one man who goes there on Easter. The capital city is Hanga Roa. It has got archaeological statues. There is one giant stone its name is Moai. The stones are the heads. It’s famous all over the world.


Many people try to find ways to give their infants an advantage in life. One such belief is that by letting your baby listen to classical music you can actually help to make them smarter. But is this really possible? According to many scientists who have done numerous research studies on this topic, music can definitely help to make a baby or young child feel more relaxed and calm, but, as far as making them into geniuses through listening to a certain type of music, they do not believe so.
Obviously by exposing your child early in life to classical music you can definitely help them to develop a deeper love for music, especially classical music. Classical music involves the use of various instruments and exposes children to a lot more creativity than some of the other areas of music. Take, for example, rap and R & B music, these do not show the use of various instruments. All you can usually hear and discern is just a very strong beat.
Classical music also helps to stimulate minds. There are some, like proponents at the University of California, who feel that classical music greatly enhances an infant's intelligence level. Most infants are capable of hearing the differences in pitch and tone, and this is what many believe helps to get their minds working in a faster way.
Does this mean that, as soon as your baby is born, you should begin playing classical music day and night? No, not necessarily. While it can not do any harm, you do want to make sure that you do not overdo it. Not that it can cause any ill affects on your baby, but it may cause you some stress if you are constantly listening to the same songs over and over. If you choose to play classical music for your children then it is a good idea to make sure that you find all different types of classical music for them to listen to.
I would not, however, recommend that you buy the entire collection of Baby Einstein CD's. Try buying a few Mozart CD's and other various type of "greatest hits" of classical music CD's for them to listen to. You will definitely be happy that you did. Whether or not it can really make infants and young children smarter seems to really depend more on the child and how much time you, the parent, spend stimulating their brain. Don't just turn on the music and leave them there all day. Listen and learn together.


“Environmental planning covers a wide range of concerns having to do, generally, with minimizing the damage that human activity does to the natural environment” (Levy 307).
The automobile was one of the greatest inventions of its time. It allowed for faster and easier transportation and has impacted society in various ways. The invention of the automobile has directly affected family lifestyles, the economy, and the environment. The automobile has completely shaped the way society works – in both good and bad ways, but one of the most serious outcomes of the automobile is what it has done to our planet and specifically what the New Jersey transportation branch is doing to the earth.
According to NJ Environment News, New Jersey must reduce global-warming pollution in the transportation sector. “In New Jersey, transportation accounts for 53 percent of global-warming emissions” (NJ Must, Tom Johnson). The goal is to get low-carbon vehicles on the road in order to lessen the emission of greenhouse gases.
New Jersey must be more aggressive with finding a solution to this current problem. The amount of effects that scientists have predicted in the past that will hurt life on this planet are innumerable and are now occurring.
For areas of the Northwest specifically “Changes in the timing of streamflow reduce water supplies for competing demands. Sea level rise, erosion, inundation, risks to infrastructure and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire, insect outbreaks and tree diseases are causing widespread tree die-off” (Consequences of Global Climate Change).
John Levy, author of Contemporary Urban Planning states that “climate change is likely to be the overarching environmental problem…[and] the biggest force behind global warming is the increasing level of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere” (Levy, 308-309). And a big factor that plays into this predicament is automobile use in New Jersey.
Due to suburban sprawl, New Jersey is a very car dependent state. But steps can be taken in order to lessen the emissions of greenhouse gases. Many clean-energy advocates believe that the fastest way to cut the emissions of gases in the atmosphere is to make the transition of gasoline-fueled vehicles to electric vehicles.
According to the US Department of Energy, New Jersey is falling behind other states in terms of the amount of charging stations available to people. The scientists have the solutions to make the world more earth-friendly, but we the people have to be the ones to actually make it happen.
“Energy planning and transportation policy are inextricably linked and…the pattern of land use are closely tied” (Levy, 309). If so, policies must be put into action in order to take advantage of the technological advancements we have at our fingertips. To fully make transportation by electricity work, the planning boards and policy makers must work together in order to maximize the usage of the electric car.
A change must be made and it must be done correctly in order to ensure the longevity of human existence.Without the collaboration of transportation policy makers and energy planners we are all doomed.
Levy, John M. Contemporary Urban Planning. 10th ed. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.


The Earth's atmosphere is a swirling soup of organic gases and aerosols, a continuing chemical reaction that envelops the planet. With help of a 250-person crew, NASA satellites, and three outfitted aircraft, scientists hope to discover a little more about the skies above us. We're not talking basic meteorology to help your local weatherman's accuracy. This three-month, multimillion-dollar campaign will analyze all the moving parts of the southern United States' atmospheric system and how they affect climate change and thunderstorm formation.
SEAC4RS (pronounced "seekers") stands for—take a deep breath—the Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys. The project is described as NASA's most "complex airborne science campaign of the year," and campaign leader Brian Toon, a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at University of Colorado-Boulder, is at the helm.
"It'll be exciting to get into the field and see what opportunities occur," Toon tells PopMech. "We have a lot of instruments here, so there's a high probability of discovering something new and interesting."
Toon, along with about 250 scientists, flight personnel, engineers, and students from 15 different universities will travel to Houston for the project and will operate out of NASA's Ellington Field. Planes outfitted with climate-gauging sensors will fly missions every other day from Aug.7 to the end of September. The project's primary goal is studying the atmospheric affects of emissions, both natural and man-made.
"In summertime across the United States, emissions from large seasonal fires, metropolitan areas, and vegetation are moved upward by thunderstorms and the North American Monsoon," Toon says. "When these chemicals get into the stratosphere they can affect the whole earth."
In Search of a Monsoon
The beginnings of SEAC4RS extend to the 1990s. NASA originally selected Thailand and Southeast Asia as the best location for SEAC4RS because of the perfect coalescence of emissions, biomass burning, and the Asian Monsoon. The mission was scheduled for summer 2012, but confusion about the project's purpose between the Thai government and NASA led to unfounded suspicions of possible espionage.
"Every rumor you could think of about what was happening occurred," Toon says. "We just couldn't get the people's permission in time to figure out the logistics for something like this."
The canceled program shifted its gaze to the southern United States and the North American Monsoon, an anticyclone which circles clockwise down the Gulf of Mexico, cuts across the Central America, and travels up the Pacific coast. "That's one of two areas where a lot of water is moving upward into the stratosphere," Toon says.
Science this sophisticated needs a little more than weather balloons, program manager Hal Maring says. "The real driver here is the science. So we use the aircraft that most appropriately gives us the kind of sampling we need."
NASA will be flying a DC-8 passenger aircraft converted into a flying laboratory, complete with 26 sensors; an ER-2, the scientific cousin to the U-2 spy plane; and a Learjet from SPEC, Inc., outfitted to capture detailed cloud measurements. José-Luis Jiménez, a professor at CU-Boulder and participant in the SEAC4RS project, says that if you want to picture these flying labs, imagine a passenger plane with all the seats ripped out and replaced with scientific equipment. Instead of a packed-like-sardines coach-class seats, there are computer displays and crates of science equipment to fill the sides, with a narrow path between. Instruments and sensors poke outside plane fuselage like strange antennae.
These aircraft will work in conjunction with NASA satellites, as well as ground instruments, to get to most detailed atmospheric images possible while also improving NASA's satellite capabilities. The DC-8 and ER-2 fly only 8 hours every other day, so on off-days, flight planning will create more precision and less guesswork. "We will look at the science we learned from previous flights and try to figure out the best way to use the plane the next day," Toon says.
A lot of this science depends on the aerosol, a tiny particle in the atmosphere that can obscure visibility and cause climate change. Within the last decade, these particles have been discovered to be much more complex, sometimes with tens of thousands of compounds in them, Toon says. Understanding these particles, as well as organic gases, and how they interact with the atmosphere is what Toon hopes to find out. "Every cloud droplet forms on an aerosol particle, so if people make more aerosol particles, it's going to affect the number of drops in clouds," Toon says. "They change the properties of the clouds."
Despite the advanced gadgetry and an overwhelming workforce, Maring describes SEAC4RS research as pretty basic. But understanding how the atmosphere reacts to emissions can indirectly improve how scientists are able to predict air quality, and could provide a knowledge boost in unexpected places. "We'll learn about how efficiently these convective systems move material from near the surface up into the upper atmosphere, and, chemically, what goes on, and what impact that has," Maring says.