Yesterday, I reviewed the book, Who Turned Out the Lights? Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis
by Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson. The excerpt below gives a taste of the types of issues discussed in the book and provides some information worth knowing. But it’s just a sampling. I recommend reading Who Turned Out the Lights? along with other resources that give a fuller environmental picture. If you read the book, please tell us what you think.
As you’ll see if you scroll down to the authors’ bios below, Bittle and Johnson are key figures at PublicAgenda.org. Public Agenda describes itself as “an innovative public opinion research and public engagement organization, works to strengthen our democracy’s capacity to tackle tough public policy issues.” It’s “nonpartisan and nonprofit.” — Joe Hennager
The energy issue is very confusing, and frankly, most of us will never catch up with the experts on all the details. Still, there are some basic facts that are good to know. Do you know them?
Not true. The accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island left lots of people worried about nuclear plant safety, but if you’re worried about climate change, nuclear power is one of the least dangerous forms of energy we have. Generating electricity from nuclear power releases virtually no carbon dioxide (the major green house gas) into the atmosphere, and it doesn’t cause air pollution either.28
Small amounts are emitted during mining and processing the uranium (you need uranium for nuclear power) and in other related activities, but it’s nearly impossible to do anything from start to finish without releasing some green house gases. Experts say the carbon dioxide released in these associated activities puts nuclear power roughly on a par with wind or hydroelectric power.29
Like every form of energy we’ve discovered so far, nuclear power does have drawbacks, but global warming isn’t one of them. The big drawback to nuclear power is that the leftover waste, the spent fuel, has to be stored very, very carefully, and it lasts a really, really long time. Even so, nuclear power is widely used in Europe and Japan, and despite the controversies about it, it supplies 19 percent of electricity in the United States — enough electricity to keep air conditioners, TiVos, and iPods going in California, New York, and Texas.30
Scientists are working on other ways to dispose of nuclear waste, including recycling it into the nuclear power plant itself, but the problem hasn’t been solved yet.31 See Chapter 9 for a more complete discussion of the pros and cons of relying more on nuclear power, including the safety issues.
True or false? ExxonMobil, BP, and Chevron control nearly half of the world’s known oil reserves.
Not even close. In fact, none of the big multinational oil companies we complain about so often even makes the top ten list. So who’s controlling the lion’s share of the world’s oil reserves?
The national oil company of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Aramco) has the most oil reserves, followed by the national companies of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Venezuela, Libya, Nigeria, China, and Lukoil, the largest oil company in Russia. ExxonMobil comes in at number 13, BP at 15, and Chevron/Texaco at number 20.32
Congress likes to have the corporate heads of the major oil companies appear in hearings so our elected representatives can have their fifteen minutes of fame asking tough questions about gas prices, but in many ways, the big multinationals such as ExxonMobil have much less control over the country’s oil situation than they once did.
Which country is guiltiest when it comes to releasing green house gases into the atmosphere, the United States or China?
It’s a trick question because, frankly, the United States and China are running neck and neck for worst greenhouse gas polluter in the world.33
There are several ways to look at this, and none of them exactly puts the United States in the clear. Global warming is caused by the accumulated green house gases in the atmosphere (carbon dioxide and its brethren). Since the United States got a head start (we started using large quantities of coal about the time of the Civil War), our country alone is responsible for about 29 percent of the total accumulated gases, compared to just 8 percent for China.34
Then there’s the per person measure. In 2005, each American gushed out about 20 metric tons of carbon dioxide, compared to about 5 metric tons for each person in China.35
But China has a billion more people than we do, and they are building and manufacturing and transporting like crazy there now. If the average Chinese person begins emitting greenhouses gases at the same rate as the average American, it will just wallop the environment. As of now, China is producing about 21 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.36
Bottom line? The United States and China need to stop pointing fingers at each other. Both our countries really need to get with the plan.
Who sets the price for a barrel of crude oil?
B. Oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco
C. The U.S. Department of Energy
D. The New York Stock Exchange
E. None of the above
The answer is none of the above. The price is actually set by bidding, buying, and selling on major commodities trading exchanges in New York, London, and Singapore.37
These are different from the stock market, but they operate in a similar way. Basically, traders buy and sell all day at the best price they can get, which is why the price for a barrel of oil goes up and down so much and generally changes daily.38
That doesn’t mean that OPEC and other oil producers have no impact on prices. As OPEC itself puts it, member countries “do voluntary restrain their crude oil production in order to stabilize the oil market and avoid harmful and unnecessary price fluctuations.”39 In other words, they calculate how much they’re willing to pump based on the price they want to get.
One of the disputes about oil that erupts from time to time is the degree to which the OPEC countries are producing as much as they can or whether they are holding back. (You can read more about what affects the price of oil in Chapter 6.) On the other hand, since the oil is theirs to extract and sell, it’s also fair to ask whether, from their point of view, they should produce as much as they can as quickly as they can, or whether they want to preserve some of their countries’ natural resources for the future.
What percent of the world’s known oil and natural gas reserves are in the United States?
A. About 20 percent
B. 10 to 20 percent
C. 5 to 10 percent
D. Less than 5 percent
In area, the United States is the world’s third-largest country; only Russia and Canada have more territory than we do.40 Unfortunately that doesn’t mean we control a substantial share of the world’s oil and natural gas reserves.
According to 2008 estimates, the United States has about 2.4 percent of known world oil reserves and about 3.6 percent of natural gas reserves.41 These are figures for the “known” or “proved” reserves — that is, geologists actually know the stuff is there — so more exploration could definitely up those numbers a tad.
However, as we mentioned earlier, many experts believe that the remaining U.S. supplies of both oil and natural gas are in less convenient places and less convenient forms (such as tar pits). That means they’ll be costlier to extract. Just to make your day, would you like to know that Iran, which is tiny in comparison with the United States, has more than four times as much oil42 and natural gas as we have?43
True or false? As long as global warming doesn’t increase world temperatures more than 5 or 10 degrees, the effects will be easily manageable.
Not according to the climatologists who worry about global warming. In 2007, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change summed up the judgment of scientists worldwide predicting that average global temperatures will rise 3.5 to 8 degrees by the year 2100.44
It sounds minor. After all, most of us would be hard pressed to say whether the temperature was 70, 75, or 80 on a nice spring day. But sustained changes like this over time cause glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. People living near water, especially poor ones in poor countries, can be displaced, and miserable, disease-carrying microbes can flourish. It changes what crops you can grow where, which can cause serious economic and social upheaval.
In 2008, the U.S. government released a report summing up the scientific consensus on what climate change could mean here in the United States.45 Among the conclusions: it is “very likely” that “abnormally hot days and nights and heat waves” will be more frequent, increasing the number of people who die from heat-related causes, especially the elderly, frail, and poor.
The report warned that “climate change can also make it possible for animal-, water-, and food-borne diseases to spread or emerge in areas where they had been limited or had not existed.” Lyme disease and West Nile virus are two examples mentioned.46
As we said before, there are a lot of good reasons to revamp the country’s energy policies, and global warming is only one of them. But if you’d like to see exactly what the scientists are worried about, you might want to check out NASA’s “Eyes on the Earth” interactive global time line showing the changes in sea levels and the polar ice cap that scientists are already observing. It’s at www.nasa.gov/multimedia/mmgallery/index.html.
28 EIA Kids Page, “Nuclear Energy (Uranium), Energy from Atoms.”
29 International Atomic Energy Agency, “Nuclear Power Worldwide: Status and Outlook,” State News Service, September11, 2008.
30 EIA Kids Page. “Nuclear Energy (Uranium), Energy from Atoms.”
31 See, for example, Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.
32 Based on an analysis by Pricewaterhouse Coopers presented at the 2005 Global Energy, Utilities and Mining Conference, November 16-17, 2005. This Analysis and others are available at the Energy information Administration’s Web page “Energy-in-Brief: Who Are the Major Players Supplying the World Oil Market?” accessed April 2, 2009.
36 EIA, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Report: U.S. Emissions in a Global Perspective, Report #DOE/EIA-0573, December 3, 2008.
40 CIA, The World Factbook 2008
44 See, for example, www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/science/earth/02cnd-climate.html.
45 National Science and Technology Council. Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States, Report of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resource, May 29, 2008.
46 Andrew C. Revkin, “Under Pressure, White House Issues Climate Change Report,” New York Times, May 30, 2008.
Excerpted from Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis. Copyright © 2009 Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson
Scott Bittle, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights? Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is executive editor of PublicAgenda.org, where he has prepared citizen guides on more than twenty major issues including the federal budget deficit, Social Security, and the economy. He is also the website director for Planet Forward, an innovative PBS program designed to bring citizen voices to the energy debate.
Jean Johnson, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights? Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is co-founder of PublicAgenda.org, and has written articles and op-eds for USA Today, Education Week, School Board News, Educational Leadership, and the Huffington Post Website.
November 4, 2009 by Joe Hennager
Filed under Blog, Books, Books & Media, Coal, Energy, Environment, Front Page, Greenhouse Gases, Natural Resources, Nuclear Power, Oil, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Slideshow, Solar, U.S., Wind
Blue Planet Green Living received an uncorrected, proof edition of Who Turned Out the Lights? Your Guide to the Energy Crisis, by Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson. We were asked if we’d like to review it, and that is what this post is about. In tomorrow’s post, watch for “The Great Energy Debate Pop Quiz” by Bittle and Johnson. — Publisher
Since beginning work on Blue Planet Green Living, I have made it my personal goal to gather as much information about the environment as my brain can handle, to read as much as I can get my hands on. I’m not particularly selective of the topics, but consume whatever crosses my path, defining my area of knowledge by whatever Destiny and my computer provide me. The task of keeping up with this data flow is daunting. Perhaps you feel the same.
Being an environmentalist means I have to choose from a million aspects of concern, direction, and interest. Planet Earth is facing a flood of problems, too many for one writer to assimilate, even for one magazine. For me, there is too little time to read about all the daily assaults on our planet, let alone verify the data in print; seek out authorities on the subject; interview them; type, edit, and post their points of view.
Being a journalist, as well, compounds the problem. Now, it is just as important to seek the opposing opinions and compare conflicting scientific data. Every topic has many angles, often many points of view, and frequently, two polar-opposite conclusions.
The fact that I try to keep an open mind on these issues is exactly why I like this book. The writers, Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson, have tried to present both sides of every energy issue, or at least, remain neutral in their presentation. The book gives “just the facts,” not opinions, and provides extensive end notes for the reader to verify all sources.
The following excerpt from the preface confirms the generally even-handed nature of the discussion the authors present:
For many of us, the nation’s energy debate has become an incomprehensible jumble, so the purpose of Who Turned Out the Lights? is to stop, take a deep breath, back up a bit, and go back to basics. we’ve written this book because we’re convinced that there are millions of Americans who are concerned about the energy issue and want to understand it better. Our aim is [to] explain the nuts and bolts in plain, solid, nonscientific, nontechnical English. We also believe that increasing numbers of Americans recognize that the country simply has to stop arguing about energy and start doing something about it. Our plan is to describe the chief options as understandably as we can and summarize different points of view about them. We’re not recommending solutions here. instead, we’re trying to offer enough perspective, context, and information so readers can stop relying on Hollywood stars and pundits for direction. We want to help you decide for yourself what path the United States should take.
The book tackles the single largest pollution source that exists today: energy. Whether it is for industrial, commercial, transportation or residential use, the production of the fuels, or the use of them, this book presents the many effects that carbon-based fuel is having on our country and our planet.
Topics discussed include positives and negatives about the use of —
• coal: e.g., “On the positive side, coal is affordable, reliable, and the U.S. has plenty of it,” (Let me interject here that the good folks at Appalachian Voices dispute all three of these claims); but, “Burning coal produces sulfur and nitrogen oxide — chemicals that create smog and acid rain.”
• nuclear energy: e.g., “nuclear power is the hands-down winner when it comes to generating electricity without adding to global warming”; but, “some [nuclear waste] is so hazardous that it needs to be isolated for ten thousand to one million years”;
• renewable energy: e.g., “Both wind and solar have two huge advantages … they don’t produce any greenhouse gases… [and] we’re not likely to run out of wind or sunshine anytime soon”; but, “even though you don’t have to pay for the ‘fuel,’ the initial capital costs are higher than coal or natural gas when they’re spread out over the life of the plant”);
• oil: e.g., “Oil is also amazingly portable… efficient…[and] works so well that it’s knocked all the transportation alternatives out of the box”; but, “since we’re not making any more dinosaurs, we’re not creating any more oil. So at some point we’re going to run out.” Though briefly mentioned earlier in the book, I note here a giant omission in the chapter dedicated to oil: nary a drop of ink was spilled talking about the release of greenhouse gases from burning oil.
• and cars, homes, and more …
All of these are energy topics, and they all affect our environment.
In the chapter called “Flawed Ideas,” the writers discuss the possibility that, as a nation, we might not want to become completely energy independent. First of all, it is not possible, since even if we opened up all the potential oil fields, we would only produce 40% of what we are presently consuming. Second, we are not at war with Canada and Mexico, the two largest suppliers of our oil. Finally, if we produced all our own oil, this would eliminate competition, and prices would rise. Competition has its place.
One of the more interesting topics, in my opinion, was the discussion about the dollar amounts spent by lobbyists on both sides of the energy debate in 2008. The oil and natural gas industries spent $129 million to influence legislators, coal spent more than $100 million, the utility companies spent $157 million, while the total spent by all U.S. environmental groups was only $17 million. The writers did not complain or push for more environmental influence, they simply said, “That’s part and parcel of the way our democracy works.”
Here is how the writers describe their book in the section titled, “Pulling the Strands of the Problem Together”:
The first step is to pull the far-flung pieces of this debate together in one place. There’s the energy issue with its assorted disputes over OPEC, oil company profits, speculation in energy markets, and how to reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil. Then there’s the environmental debate on how to reduce the damage human beings do to the planet — global warming, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon footprints, pollution, that sort of thing. And finally, there is the economic fallout when the competition for energy heats up and supplies start getting tight….
Although there’s much to recommend about this book, in my view, more attention could have been paid to the environmental effects of our choices of energy production. Where is the discussion of the environmental and health costs — not to mention the loss of natural beauty — of blowing up mountains to mine coal? Where is their concern for the horrible air pollution and health effects of mining the Tar Sands? What about the environmental costs of making the batteries that go into Priuses (and, yes, my wife and I drive Priuses)? These are just a few of the issues that troubled me by their absence.
Still, Who Turned Out the Lights? left me with a clearer view of the energy corner we are backing ourselves into. It’s well worth reading as a starting point, but don’t stop there. Check out some of the great environmental resources (like Appalachian Voices) to get a fuller picture.
Blue Planet Green Living (Home Page)
We don’t do it often, but here is an article that came to our inbox along with a press release. We liked it so much that we decided to share it. We will be reviewing Bittle and Johnson’s book at another time. — Publisher
In the hit TV series, NCIS, Navy investigator Tony DiNozzo, has a habit of finding a movie analogy for nearly every case his team handles. Sometimes it falls flat, since not everybody’s seen the movie in question.
Thinking about things that are new and unfamiliar by comparing them to things most people already know is a time-honored way of coping with a complicated world. In some respects, it’s one of pop culture’s greatest benefits: providing a shorthand frame of reference. When President Obama compared being chief executive to being a contestant on American Idol “except that everyone is Simon Cowell,” we all knew what he meant.
But we like Tony’s take on the world, and our concern is America’s energy problem. So here’s how some famous films shed light on the country’s energy problems. As far as we’re concerned, four movies tell the story.
The way we get and use energy now poses two big dangers. One is that we’ll destroy Earth as we know it by continuing to pump carbon dioxide into the air, causing global warming. There’s a whole host of stupid-and-greedy-humans-destroy-the-Earth movies, but we feel a moral obligation not to recommend anything that’s actually bad, even if it makes the point. (Sorry, Waterworld.)
So we’ve chosen the 1973 sci-fi classic Soylent Green. Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson (in his last film role) play two cops in a future where New Yorkers are starving in a polluted, corrupt, broiling hot city. A few rich people live well enough amid the environmental disaster, but most people survive by eating “soylent green,” a substance that . . . well, we can’t tell you what it is without spoiling the plot. Suffice to say that nutritional labeling rules must have been dramatically relaxed.
At one point, the older Robinson talks about how the stores used to be full of food, and you could pick apples off trees. “I know, Sol, you’ve told me a hundred times before,” Heston says. “People were better, the world was better. . . .” Robinson shakes his head. “People were always rotten,” he answers, “but the world was beautiful.”
Soylent Green imagines what the human costs of environmental disaster might be. It sums up the fear that basic human decency itself wouldn’t survive the strains of climate change.
The other big energy danger is that, because we import so much oil and rely mainly on fossil fuels which won’t last forever, the United States might not be able to get the energy it needs. The Mad Max trilogy is the way to go here. (We nominate The Road Warrior as the best of the three.)
Sometime in the future, oil is in very short supply (for reasons that are never fully explained), and Mel Gibson wanders through the Australian outback, where society is coming apart at the seams in the struggle for fuel.
In the first movie, the police and hospitals are functioning, but just barely. By the second and third films, small bands of people living in ever-stranger social orders barricade themselves inside refineries, holding off ruthless biker gangs dressed like 1980s hair bands, only far more vicious. This is the worst-case scenario — a lurid, pop culture version of “peak oil,” the idea that the end of the petroleum age may be near.
Whether peak oil is near or not, energy experts agree that the whole world is going to be scrambling to meet oil demand as people in China and India finally start buying cars and catching up with our standard of living. Mad Max sums up the fear that running out of energy means running out of civilization as well.
The third movie in our energy film fest is Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray is doomed to relive the same small-town holiday over and over again. To us, this pretty much sums up our country’s history of dealing with its energy problems.
Every so often, oil and gas prices shoot up. Voters get upset. Politicians say we absolutely, positively need to change the way we get and use energy. We make a few adjustments here and there — both in the country’s overall policies and in our own personal habits.
Then a couple of years later, we go back to our same old ways. At least Bill Murray changed his line of attack after hearing Sonny and Cher sing “I Got You Babe” on his radio alarm for the umpteenth time.
So far, not so good, when it comes to U.S. energy policy. Still, we do seem to be able to get our act together when we have to. For all the pain and angst involved, the gasoline price spikes of 2008 showed again what people can do when they see a reason to do it. Americans cut their driving, switched to hybrids, and found all kinds of new energy alternatives.
That’s why we keep coming back to a different kind of movie: Apollo 13. Based on the actual events in 1970, it tells the story of the Apollo 13 moon mission, which had to be aborted when an oxygen tank exploded in space. This is a movie about problem solving, and while the astronauts are gallant, the real heroes are the NASA engineers on the ground — classic Sixties engineers with buzz cuts and horn-rimmed glasses.
In one sequence, Gary Sinise, playing one of the astronauts left behind, sits in the Apollo simulator trying to figure out how to bring the spacecraft home on the paltry amount of electricity left in the batteries, barely enough to run a coffeepot. He tries dozens of things dozens of times, but he eventually comes up with a plan that ekes out enough voltage to get the ship home. Directing the operation is mission control chief Gene Krantz, played by Ed Harris, who won’t let the engineers and scientists fall into recriminations and rivalry. “Let’s work the problem, people!” Harris urges.
The people who brought the Apollo 13 spacecraft back to Earth faced a terrifying emergency, but they didn’t allow themselves to become immobilized because they were confused. They looked over their choices and did the best they could with what they had. In the end, they brought the crew back to Earth safely.
To be fair, Tony and the NCIS team aren’t such bad models either. They don’t have a lot in common; there’s a former Marine gunnery sergeant, a Goth forensic scientist, an erudite Scottish pathologist. They squabble; Tony seems like a lazy, overgrown frat boy much of the time. But when they have to solve a case, they put their differences aside and get to work.
And that’s the issue for the United States right now: Can we stop squabbling, get off our duffs, and start to work the problem, people?
©2009 Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson, authors of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis
Scott Bittle, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is an award-winning journalist, and executive editor of Public Agenda Online, a public affairs site twice nominated for the prestigious Webby Award.
Jean Johnson, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is executive vice president of Public Agenda and a founder of the Web site. She has written on public opinion and current issues for dozens of publications ranging from Education Week to USA Today.
For more information please visit www.publicagenda.org.
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Original source : http://www.wonderslist.com
Posted : 2014
Author : Oendrila De
English is the third most commonly spoken language in the world. For some, it is the native language, for many it is the first language despite having a different mother-language, while there are many who use it as their second language. Every day, people read, write or speak in English. English is a language with many forms: it can be curt and crisp, it can also be sweet and romantic. In fact, the treasure chest of English literature is filled with invaluable gems. The contribution of William Shakespeare in this regard is unquestionable. But, how many English-knowing people are aware that many of the phrases and expressions that they use on a regular basis have actually been coined by the Bard himself?
Here is a list of 10 such phrases and expressions that were first used by Shakespeare:
Meaning: A profound or notable transformation (
Shakespeare used this phrase to bring out the meaning that is prevalent currently. It was first used in ‘The Tempest’:
Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
2. All/ the four corners of the world
Meaning: Many different parts of the world (
Shakespeare first used the phrase, ‘all corners of the world’, in his play, Cymbeline:
“What shall I need to draw my sword? the paper
Hath cut her throat already. No, ’tis slander,
Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of
Rides on the posting winds and doth belie
All corners of the world: kings, queens and states,
Maids, matrons, nay, the secrets of the grave
This viperous slander enters. What cheer, madam?”
He used the phrase, ‘four corners of the world’, in ‘The Merchant of Venice’, and also a variation of the same in ‘King Lear’, where he uses ‘three corners of the world’.
3. As cold as stone
Meaning: Very or completely cold (
Shakespeare has, in his writings, used many ‘cold’ similes, and this one is definitely the most used. It first appeared in Henry V:
“…So a’ bade me lay more clothes on his feet: I put my hand into the bed and felt them, and they were as cold as any stone; then I felt to his knees, and they were as cold as any stone, and so upward and upward, and all was as cold as any stone.”
4. A sorry sight
Meaning: A bad condition or situation (
Though the meaning of the phrase has currently come to include the untidy appearance of something or someone, Shakespeare meant a regrettable condition, when he first used it in Macbeth:
This is a sorry sight.
[Looking on his hands]
A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight.”
5. Green-eyed monster
Meaning: Jealousy personified (
Shakespeare first coined this phrase to denote jealousy in ‘Merchant of Venice’:
How all the other passions fleet to air,
As doubtful thoughts, and rash-embraced despair,
And shuddering fear, and green-eyed jealousy! O love,
Be moderate; allay thy ecstasy,
In measure rein thy joy; scant this excess.
He has also used it later in his other works, such as Othello.
6. (To one’s) heart’s content
Meaning: (To the) full extent of one’s desires (
This phrase appeared for the first time in print in Shakespeare’s ‘Henry VI, Part II’:
“Her grace in Speech, Makes me from Wondring, fall to Weeping ioyes, Such is the Fulnesse of my hearts content.”
He has also used it in ‘Merchant of Venice’, and a letter to the Earl of Southampton as a dedication of his poem, ‘Venus and Adonis’.
7. Wear your heart on your sleeves
Meaning: To make your feelings obvious to other people (Macmillan)
This was used for the first time by Shakespeare, in his tragedy, ‘Othello’:
“For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.”
8. (Make) beast with two backs
Meaning: Engage in coitus
This expression, often used in modern English, was first used by Shakespeare in ‘Othello’:
“I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.”
Though Shakespeare might have been the first to use this in English, a French version of it appeared in Francois Rabelais’ novels La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel, long before ‘Othello’ was published. But, the English translation of the French novel was not written or published until almost a century after ‘Othello’.
9. Out of the jaws of death
Meaning: Saved from an unpleasant situation or great danger
The earliest citation of this phrase has been found to be in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’:
“Let me speak a little. This youth that you see here
I snatch’d one half out of the jaws of death,
Relieved him with such sanctity of love,
And to his image, which methought did promise
Most venerable worth, did I devotion.”
10. All that glitters (glisters) is not gold
Meaning: The attractive external appearance of something is not a reliable indication of its true nature.
Although several expressions had been used in earlier texts to denote the meaning that superficial shine is not necessarily the signal of high value, Shakespeare was the first to put it into a single-line expression. The original expression, as used in ‘The Merchant of Venice’, was “All that glisters is not gold.”:
“All that glisters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold…”
In the modern rendition of the expression, which has taken the form of a proverb, the word, ’glisters’ is replaced by ‘glitters’.
The list of words and expressions coined by William Shakespeare continues. Every user of the English language owes all these phrases to the great Bard. Without Shakespeare and his coinages, one can only imagine how bland the language would have been.


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The identification number helps encode the information regarding the item. Sometimes the two conventions show up on the exact same page (on page 69, for example). Annoka-Hennepin chose to utilize CK-12 Foundation’s FlexBooks system to compose their customized book.
This article will become your reference when you’re confused to select the most suitable decoration for your house. For more details on fat loss, take a look at the Fat Loss Expert Guide. Find each one of the titles at the Apologia site.
Courses may change by school. essay writing service I’ve been working at Oxford Learning for more than a year and I can say it’s a most rewarding and energetic experience. School is a rather important spot in their opinion.
Based on the degree of your athletic training graduate application, you may also conduct your own sports medicine research. By way of example, yoga and holistic medicines are typical graduate certificate concentrations. Thus, the certificate program may not will need to deal with AT fundamentals.
The decryption procedure utilizes context guided operations that can be modeled on permutations. It can produce information which is usable in future matrices and can produce the practice of organizing a business internally a lot more approachable and effortless. For each, there’s a corresponding method also.
In the instance of variables, although the superscript lets you know to multiply it so many times, it’s still true that you write it with the superscript. Since the amount of conjugates could possibly be linear in the size of the group, we might be dealing with these kinds of sequences. Now will speak about some of the typical identification numbers used.
Currently it is a work in progress. In a lot of ways, math is closely linked to science. The notion of a set is among the most fundamental in mathematics.
However, there are numerous new tools that I would like to share with you today within this Apologia Biology Science SuperSet! Richard Feynman was among the best physicists of all time, and was most likely one of the most interesting. You may not have to explain the theory of relativity, but you can’t just sit down and say that it’s too complicated.
Here’s What I Know About What Is a Superset in Math
Quite a few alternative implementations are available too. Patterns made by computer programs aren’t any more than formations of stones. There are some versions.
Be aware that the programs aren’t compiled to native code except to code to get executed for the virtual CPU. You’ve just made some last adjustments to your source code and have already ran a couple of unit tests to provide you a bit of confidence in order to run your complete suite of tests before submitting your changes. “they provide restricted modeling languages that are only suitable for specific problem domains.
What Is a Superset in Math Ideas
The system can be initially activated on each side of the saddle, and will descend to another minimum on every side. The most ripple may not be at maximum output current. Practice these calculations repeatedly in the shop or workplace.
Want to Know More About What Is a Superset in Math?
To be able to construct a line with our familiar PostScript operators, we’re going to need to receive our hands on the person coordinates. If you exceed their requirements, you have a superb opportunity of getting in. Therefore, the price is 237.60.


Hebrew Lesson 1
Learn Hebrew CD Roms
If you have enjoyed doing these lessons and would like to help develop the web site further you might consider a small donation of £3 or $5 . Please send cash in envelopes ( not cheques or money orders as it costs more to process ) to Ukindia, P.O. Box 346 Nottingham , NG8 5FX. All which have an email address will be acknowledged by email.
Hebrew is one of humankind's most ancient languages. It is the language of the Bible and of the Jewish people . It is the national language of Israel . It had become almost extinct but was revived by the skill and determination of the people of Israel.
If you spot any mistakes please write to ukindia
Here are some letters received . As the aim is to learn just the script the pronounciation may not be quite as in Hebrew.
I enjoyed your pages, but wanted to offer a quick correction.
Jerusalem is "Yerushalayim" in Hebrew; the Hebrew letters on your page
for Lesson 2 spell "Yerushalam" (mising the "yi").
On your web page you said to e-mail you if there were
any mistakes, and I've spotted one. In the Hebrew
section the second leter, is not be-th, is bet.
It is written in the opposite direction from English.
These are the letters B and D
Lets put some vowel marks in between . Below each there is an example of word as to how it is pronounced eg the first AA is as the A in fAther.
These are the letters K , B and Ts
Can you read your first word in Hebrew with the extra letters K , T ?
Of course it is Kibbuts - self sufficient farms in Israel


One of the terms that I frequently mention is “Sustainable Prosperity.” I think the term and its meaning have tremendous significance to our economic future at this juncture.
Providing an exact definition for the term is difficult due to the complexity of the underlying concepts.
“Sustainable” can be defined in terms of time, as well as continuity. If a posititive economic trend exists for a few years, can it be termed ‘sustainable’? Case in point was the housing bubble. Most would say it lasted between 5 to 10 years. The economy certainly benefitted from it. However, the benefit was not sustainable. In fact, in its wake, it has caused an immense amount of damage and poses a tremendous ongoing threat.
From a continuity standpoint, in order for growth to be sustainable it has to be resistant to severe economic setbacks. Of course, history has shown that recessions, panics, and the occasional depressions are inherent in the economic cycle. However, if economic growth is sustainable in nature it should over the course of time be able to recover “lost ground” and attain new highs.
The concept of “Prosperity” is somewhat difficult to define as well. I like to think of it as being multifaceted and having deep “breadth.” Of particular concern should be enrichment that is narrowly achieved, i.e. a large amount of the nation’s prosperity concentrated in the hands of a few. This is a concern from both a societal and economic standpoint. Strong, vibrant, and sustainable economies have widespread prosperity.
Other aspects of “Prosperity” is the amount and composition of such. If median household income is growing at a rate greater than inflation, can that be termed prosperity? Can prosperity be defined in GDP growth? Or is prosperity a more general term that encompasses such concepts as standard of living, the ability for the masses to have affordable access to healthcare, higher education, etc.?
As aforementioned, I believe that the concept of Sustainable Prosperity is more important now than ever before. If one assumes, as per the current economic consensus, that we are experiencing economic recovery, I think it would behoove us to constantly assess whether we are experiencing true “Sustainable Prosperity” or something that might only resemble such.
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SPX at 1123.89 as this post is written


How cold is it? Enough to freeze bubbles
During cold weather, bubbles will become frozen after a few seconds. The Green Bay area is under a wind chill advisory until noon Jan. 2, 2018. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Snow angels, sledding, snowball fights, ice fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, donuts, snow tubing.
The list of ways that humans in colder climates have entertained themselves during the winter months is long.
But here’s one that might not be on even the most exhaustive list for wintertime fun: frozen bubbles.
Yes, frozen bubbles. And it’s exactly as its name implies: a below-freezing version of the beloved pastime.
When the temperature is just right, below about 9 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Live Science, the bubbles will freeze.
The online science website advises: “The trick is to blow them up in the air so that they have time to freeze before hitting the ground or another surface. The bubbles will form crystalline patterns and some might break, looking a bit like the shell of a cracked egg.”
Here are some videos from social media of people giving it a go:


It is easy to forget just how serious a problem acid rain used to be. It caused massive destruction of trees in central Europe, pollution of rivers and streams, and damage to wildlife and buildings. It is estimated that nearly a quarter of Sweden's 90,000 lakes were affected, 4,000 of them so badly that no fish could survive. Thousands of lakes in the eastern US were also "killed".
Closer to home it has been blamed for destroying the toad population in southern England, weakening the eggs of blackbirds and eating away at the infrastructure of Lincoln cathedral.
The turnaround came in the 1980s. At the beginning of that decade Britain was pumping 3m tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere every year. By the end of the decade it had achieved an 80% cut in acid rain pollution by switching from coal to gas (which has virtually no sulphur) and installing "scrubbers" to clean factory and power station emissions. Catalytic converters were also introduced on car exhausts which reduced nitrogen emissions. A series of European Union directives put the issue firmly on the political map, and the various public campaigns began to wind down.
The media briefly got excited again in 1993 when John Gummer, erstwhile secretary of state for environment, was called a drittsekk ("sack full of excrement") by his Norwegian counterpart, Thorbjorn Berntsen, for failing to take air pollution seriously. For the most part, however, the issue has disappeared from the public's radar. "It was eclipsed by ozone depletion and then climate change in NGO and media priorities," says Chris Rose, who campaigned for Friends of the Earth and WWF during the 80s.
But has the issue itself disappeared? While Europe continues to make progress in reducing emissions, the battle appears to have switched to the sea. A two-year study published in 2001 by the National Expert Group on Transboundary Air Pollution found that coastal areas of Britain were badly affected by sulphur emissions from shipping. Marine sources of sulphur dioxide accounted for 10% of acid rain in 1990 but 45% in 2000. Some experts have even warned that the increasing acidity of the world's oceans could destroy all coral by 2065.
There is also considerable concern about the rest of the industrialised world. "On a global level, there is actually an increase in sulphur levels," says Dr Vincent Gauci, lecturer in earth systems and ecosystem science at the Open University.
Particularly worrying is China, which accounts for half the world's coal consumption of 4.1bn tonnes a year and experiences acid rain on a third of its landmass. As it makes strides towards becoming the next superpower, it is still not clear whether environmental concerns are a priority or an afterthought. "The dirty man of Asia" is not a sobriquet China's leaders would welcome.
· Do you have a forgotten news story that you would like chased up?


Answer: The normal height for a Canadian hemlock is 40-70' so trying to keep it 7-8' in height will be very difficult! These trees do take well to shearing and are often used as a dense screening hedges, but it takes regular pruning to keep them as small as you want them to remain. When they're sheared, they're usually kept at about 20'. I think you'd have better success with Tsuga canadensis 'Pendula' (Sargent weeping hemlock) in the site you describe. This hemlock grows to 5' tall and about 15' wide.
Best wishes with your landscape!
Q&A Library Searching Tips


Dive Into Shapes! A "Sea" and Build Geometry Set
Students who learn better using hands-on manipulatives will really enjoy building geometric shapes with this set. The set includes 34 spherical connectors, 60 color-coded connecting sticks (3 colors, 3 lengths), 20 curved sticks, and 15 double-sided cards with instructions to build different shapes. Pieces are made of hard plastic to withstand repeated use. Students will learn about geometric shapes as they build 2-D shapes like squares, triangles, right triangles, and hexagons; 3-D shapes like cubes, triangular prisms, and cylinders; or combine shapes to build from their imaginations. Students can also learn about fractions and equal portions using this building set. This reminds me of some of the sets used to build molecules or atoms, so why not stretch the use of this set into your science curriculum, or just have some fun building with it? ~ Donna
Splash into geometry! Combine sticks in 3 sizes, along with curves for making circles and cylinders, with 2 different types of connectors to build 2-D shapes. Then, combine them to make new 2-D shapes or even 3-D shapes! Child-friendly set features durable sticks, curves, and connectors. Includes 60 sticks in 3 sizes (2.25", 3.5", 5.25"), 20 curves, 34 connectors (approximately 1" in diameter), and 15 double-sided Activity Cards (30 activities).


Electromyography (EMG) - Nerve Test
Electromyography (EMG) is an electrodiagnostic test that measures the nerve impulses in muscles during contraction. Nerves throughout the body exchange information with the brain through nerve impulses. Healthy muscles need nerve input to perform movements. Doctors use EMG to identify muscle function as related to nerve input. EMGs help doctors diagnose neuromuscular disease, neurological disorders, muscle disease, and nerve abnormalities associated with pain or numbness.
Copyright © - iHealthSpot Interactive - www.iHealthSpot.com
This information is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be used in place of an individual consultation or examination or replace the advice of your health care professional and should not be relied upon to determine diagnosis or course of treatment.
The iHealthSpot patient education library was written collaboratively by the iHealthSpot editorial team which includes Senior Medical Authors Dr. Mary Car-Blanchard, OTD/OTR/L and Valerie K. Clark, and the following editorial advisors: Steve Meadows, MD, Ernie F. Soto, DDS, Ronald J. Glatzer, MD, Jonathan Rosenberg, MD, Christopher M. Nolte, MD, David Applebaum, MD, Jonathan M. Tarrash, MD, and Paula Soto, RN/BSN. This content complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information. The library commenced development on September 1, 2005 with the latest update/addition on April 13th, 2016. For information on iHealthSpot’s other services including medical website design, visit www.iHealthSpot.com.


From Our 2012 Archives
Kidney Stones May Be Tied to Later Kidney Problems
Latest Digestion News
FRIDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that people who have kidney stones -- especially younger women -- are slightly more likely to develop more serious kidney problems later in life.
The study, published online Aug. 30 in BMJ, doesn't prove that kidney stones directly cause serious kidney problems. But it does indicate that there may be a connection.
Kidney stones are common but it hasn't been clear if they have anything to do with later problems, such as kidney failure.
In the new study, researchers from the United States and Canada tracked the medical records of more than 3 million patients for an average of 11 years. Just under 1 percent of the patients had at least one kidney stone, and 4 percent of those developed late-stage chronic kidney disease.
There was a small increase in risk of kidney disease among those who had had kidney stones, especially among women and people under 50, the investigators found.
The researchers theorized that the cause of future kidney problems may be the calcification that occurs when kidney stones are formed. Scarring from obstruction may also be an issue.
Further research "should be aimed at determining the mechanisms explaining this association and assessing the optimal way to prevent kidney stones in the general population, especially young women," study author Marcello Tonelli of the University of Alberta in Canada, and colleagues noted in a journal news release.
-- Randy Dotinga
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
SOURCE: BMJ, news release, Aug. 30, 2012
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Hello! Today we bring you Part II in our series BFB Fundamentals. Rea is answering the question, "Why teach history through literature." For Part I, Why Teach History, click here.
History is the essence of innumerable biographies. –Thomas Carlyle
Why Teach History through Literature? by Rea Berg
In our first installment of this series, we looked at the importance of the study of history. When we consider the question of how history ought to be taught and why we would consider teaching history through literature, there are some interesting points to bear in mind: 1. How has history been taught through the ages? 2. Why use literature to teach history? 3. Why is the use of literature the most effective way to learn history?
How has history been taught through the ages?
In the nineteenth century, with the dawn of compulsory education in America, schools were forced to begin to standardize what should be taught to all these children sitting eight hours a day at their obligatory desks. Because the dawn of compulsory education coincided with industrialization and with a massive influx of immigrants, educators felt motivated, from a sometimes elitist mindset, to educate the masses for the purposes of creating a literate work force. Presented with the challenge of getting all these children from varying backgrounds on the same educational “page”, it is easy to see how the textbook naturally evolved. Certain events, personages, significant battles and historical milestones were deemed essential knowledge for the creation of good citizens and a stable workforce. These “facts” were compiled into disseminated formats stripped of the narrative elements of story, resulting in dry works of little human interest and no literary value.
Standardizing the teaching of history spelled the death knell for creating any love of history in that rising generation of new Americans. It also flew in the face of how history was taught for centuries. From ancient times forward students studied history by reading history. In other words, if a student say, in the Middle Ages, was studying history he read the works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Eusebius, Plutarch and Josephus. Of course, if you were a young French boy studying in a monastic school in Paris, reading these works meant learning Greek, Latin, and in some cases Hebrew, for ancient histories were not translated into vernacular languages until the late 1200s. In some instances, it would be centuries before these ancient classic texts appeared in English. An English schoolboy in London, would not have had Plutarch’s Parallel Lives in English until the late 1500s. This is one reason why a classical education was always inextricably linked with the study of Latin and Greek.
Why use literature to teach history?
Our ancient young predecessors, sitting by candlelight or lamplight, reading history, actually read history through literature. There simply was no other way to study history–which brings us to our second point. History has effectively been taught through literature since ancient times. Only just the last century or so has this vibrant subject been robbed of its human connection by the ubiquitous textbook. As Neil Postman urges in his book, The End of Education, those who desire to improve teaching ought to get rid of all textbooks which, in his opinion are “the enemies of education, instruments for promoting dogmatism and trivial learning” (116). Exchanging literature–biographies, classical works, even historical fiction, for the history textbook not only restores this discipline to its historic roots, but also reinvigorates it with its inherent passion, human interest, and wonder. A middle-grade child reading Johnny Tremain for her studies of the American Revolution will learn far more about the essence of that struggle than even the most colorful textbook could ever impart.
Why is the use of literature the most effective way to teach history?
Literature, as defined by the Oxford reference is “written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit.” Now, I’m not sure about you, but I have yet to hear of a single history textbook to win a Pulitzer or a Nobel prize for Literature. Written works achieve the status of literary merit by their ability to speak to the human condition and the experiences, trials, and aspirations of the human heart. In this way, the best works draw the reader into the drama of the story and through the emotions open the mind. David McCullough, Pulitzer prize-winner for his work John Adams, affirms that the most effective way to teach history is to “tell stories.”
That’s what history is: a story. And what’s a story? E. M. Forster gave a wonderful definition to it: If I say to you the king died and then the queen died, that’s a sequence of events. If I say the king died and the queen died of grief, that’s a story. That’s human. That calls for empathy on the part of the teller of the story and . . . the listener to the story. (“Knowing History”)
The notion of emotion and empathy as a critical component of history’s ability to speak to the human heart, was promoted by Charlotte Mason, the 19th century educational reformer. She advocated the use of “living books”–literature, history, biography—”to open limitless avenues of discovery in a child’s mind”. She taught that all, “Education should aim at giving knowledge touched with emotion” (For the Children’s Sake). It is the connection between the human heart, mind, and will, that makes the study of history so enjoyable and memorable to those fortunate to study it through the best books. As a wonderful by-product, students brought up on an educational curriculum rich in the best literature often become compassionate, engaged, and thoughtful adults–the best possible educational outcome.
“Knowing History and Who We Are.” David McCullough. Imprimis. Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale College. April 2005.
Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1984.
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What are probiotics?
Probiotics are good bacteria that are found in food or supplements. The definition is ”Live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.” (WHO/FAO, 2002)
Important criteria for qualifying as a true probiotic is that health benefits should be proven in clinical trials. Furthermore, a probiotic product must contain the same bacterial strain(s) and the same dose that was used in the clinical trials.Read more about Lactobacillus reuteri
What is a probiotic strain?
Bacteria are classified into genus, species and strains. Different strains of bacteria have different genetic composition resulting in different characteristics. A bacteria strain is a population of bacteria that descends from a single individual or pure culture. Bacteria of the same strain have certain characteristics that differentiate them from bacteria of other strains.
Different probiotic strains have different effect
Different probiotic products contain different probiotic strains. This means that one probiotic product with Lactobacillus reuteri (for example L. reuteri NCIMB 30242) is not equal to another probiotic product that contains another strain of Lactobacillus reuteri (for example L. reuteri DSM 17938). This is why bacteria must be defined and tested in clinical trials at strain level. A metaphor could be used to clarify. Different strains of the same bacteria may have different characteristics, just like a Chihuahua from a Great Dane, even though both are dogs.
When talking about lactic acid bacteria we need to clarify which strain we refer to, because the fact that a product contains “lactic acid bacteria” or “Lactobacillus reuteri” is not enough. We need to specify both species and strain name, for example Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938, to know what probiotic we are referring to and what benefits to expect. A probiotic bacteria must be defined and tested in clinical trials on strain level.
BioGaia’s probiotic products with Lactobacillus reuteri are among the most scientifically well-documented probiotics in the world with regard to both efficacy and safety.
What is Lactobacillus reuteri?
Lactobacillus reuteri is one of few bacteria that has co-evolved with humans since the beginning of time.
Good bacteria we cannot live without
Probiotics are live bacteria that are proven to benefit our health by restoring the bacteria balance in the body and thereby have a positive effect on several health conditions.


During this topic, we found out about Extreme Weather through creative and inspiring learning.
- The layers of the earth
- What an earthquake is, how/ why they are occur and their impacts.
- What a volcano is, how they are formed, what they occur and impacts of an eruption.
- What a tornado is, how they are formed, why they occur and their impacts.
- Drawing and painting extreme weather.
The highlight of this topic and something the children enjoyed was creating, designing, making and erupting their own volcanoes!


Japan tsunami stress may have brought on seizures: study
The number of seizure patients in a northern Japanese fishing community devastated by the March 11, 2011 tsunami spiked in the weeks following the disaster, according to a Japanese study.
The study, published in the journal Epilepsia, looked at 440 patient records from Kesennuma City Hospital, in a city that was devastated by the massive tsunami touched off by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
Thirteen patients were admitted with seizures in the eight weeks after the disaster, but only one had been admitted in the two months before March 11.
Previous research has linked stressful life-threatening disasters with an increased risk of seizures, but most case reports lacked clinical data with multiple patients.
“We suggest that stress associated with life-threatening situations may enhance seizure generation,” wrote lead author Ichiyo Shibahara, a staff neurosurgeon at Sendai Medical Center in northern Japan.
But he added that stress itself is not a universal risk factor for seizures.
“Most of the seizure patients had some sort of neurological disease before the earthquake,” he said.
His team examined medical records from patients admitted to the neurosurgery ward in the eight weeks before and after the March 11 disaster and compared them to the same time period each year between 2008 and 2010.
In 2008, there were 11 seizure patients admitted between January 14 and May 15. In 2009, there were seven and in 2010, just four.
Of the 13 admitted after the disaster, 11 had preexisting brain disorders that included epilepsy, head injuries or stroke. All the patients lived independently, and eight took anti-convulsive medication.
Shibahara noted that of the five patients admitted just days after the tsunami, it was “not because of a lack of anticonvulsants, but because of the stress.”
One later patient, though, was unable to refill his medication weeks after the devastation.
“This is interesting, but I’m not 100 percent convinced,” said William Theodore, senior investigator of the clinical epilepsy section at the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland.
Theodore, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters health that because the number of patients was so small, random variation could explain the surge in seizures. Upset patients may also have forgotten to take, or weren’t able to find, anticonvulsant drugs.
There are also various ways that natural disasters might cause seizures, including head trauma, infections from polluted water or a lack of sleep, he added.
But the study did have a practical take home message, he said: “If you already have seizures and you’re taking medication, always make sure you have a decent supply just in case some natural disaster occurs.”
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When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1879 he turned darkness into light. Half a century later Russian researcher Oleg Losev found a way to turn light into magic when he created the first light emitting diode or LED. This technology has come a long way since then and battery powered LED lights will increasingly light our way as we journey into the future.
Edison’s technology ruled for many years but it is being phased out in many places. The truth is that the LED is simply better and more cost effective than the light bulb. It lasts a lot longer and does not get hot. Gone are the days when this technology was only used to light up the numbers on your radio clock. It is here to stay and has become the shining star in the world of light.
When you combine the versatility of the LED with the power of the battery the sky is the limit. These days LED chips are highly efficient and can provide enough illumination to light up any outdoor trouble spot for added security. Whenever there is a need to illuminate an area outdoors LEDs are present. The diode has become a fully fledged light source and will continue to be that well into the future.
Light emitting diodes have already started taking over in car lights and flashlights. Wherever we go in times to come the LED will go with us to guide us through the dark.
It is now also possible to transform landscapes into enchanted fairy tale worlds with LEDs shaped as illuminated works of art. Outdoor areas can come to life when the sun sets with hundreds of shining fairies, stars or raindrops thanks to the power of battery powered LED lights. These lights can also be used to make walkways safer.
They have proved to be invaluable in the medical world as well. Sometimes a surgeon may need extra light to see into a shadowy area during a procedure. A traditional light bulb comes with heat which may burn the patient. A light emitting diode is cold to the touch. It can even be built into a pen.
In indoor areas these lights are cropping up in unexpected places. They are making their way into closets and pantries. It is no longer necessary to scratch around in the dark to find the right shirt hiding in the shadows at the back of your closet.
The future of light has arrived. Battery powered LED lights will shape our night skies in the years to come. It has brought a new convenience and beauty to our world. It is not difficult to see why this technology is being increasingly embraced in so many fields.


Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2010 January 13
Explanation: Bright clusters and nebulae abound in the ancient northern constellation of Auriga. The region includes the open star cluster M38, emission nebula IC 410 with Tadpoles, Auriga's own Flaming Star Nebula IC 405, and this interesting pair IC 417 (lower left) and NGC 1931. An imaginative eye toward the expansive IC 417 and diminutive NGC 1931 suggests a cosmic spider and fly. About 10,000 light-years distant, both represent young, open star clusters formed in interstellar clouds and still embedded in glowing hydrogen gas. For scale, the more compact NGC 1931 is about 10 light-years across.
Authors & editors:
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.


Last Updated on 22/11/2021 by Anamika
Reportedly, many foreign hackers has had created havoc by hacking many organizations from various data-heavy and sensitive departments including defense, energy, healthcare, technology, and education. According to the sources, at least one of the organizations belongs to the United States.
The primary objective of the hackers behind these attacks is to steal the main data key from US defense contractors for their personal gains. Many cybersecurity researchers are trying their best to expose these unidentified and highly harmful attackers as they are providing harm at a very big level to the organizations.
According to the reports of CNN Politics, in this case, the hackers have stolen passwords from some targeted organizations with a goal of maintaining long-term access to those networks, Ryan Olson, a senior Palo Alto Networks executive. The intruders could then be well placed to intercept sensitive data sent over email or stored on computer systems until they are kicked out of the network.
There have been some reports that hackers of Chinese origin have been making much software vulnerable relating to finance and public sector organizations in The US and Europe.
“In aggregate, access to that information can be really valuable,” Olson said. “Even if it’s not classified information, even if it’s just information about how the business is doing.”According to the reports of CNN
All these attacks can also have an adverse impact on the defense of the various nations also and hence, it is really important to find out who is actually behind all these attacks.


It was 2013 when we first discussed the idea. With my colleagues Simon and Tom, I often exchanged teaching ideas. We came to talk about the importance of great exemplars. Why was there no place on the internet where we could find pieces of writing to use in our lessons? We got to work and put something together. First, colleagues started using our website. Then, the children found out that their best work might find its way to the internet. The sheer excitement! That’s how Pobble started.
Today, Pobble showcases over 100,000 pieces of writing, published by thousands of teachers. Pobble gives them what they need to teach writing: the best teaching resources, a real audience for their pupils, and practical assessment tools. For pupils, the platform is a fantastic opportunity to engage with peers around the world. For parents, it provides a unique way to connect with their child’s learning journey.
For me, the best part is that we’ve made writing ridiculously exciting for so many children all over the world. And we’re just getting started...
If you'd like to know more...
Or try it for yourself...
Visit Pobble 365 for a ready-to-use writing prompt every day of the year.
Browse thousands of brilliant writing examples organised by age and topic.
Sign up to Pobble to receive our newsletter that is filled with practical teaching ideas.


CB1-D Core Bible Level 1 -Teacher Guide DIGITAL Bundle
Product type: Teacher Guide
Format: Digital/Print Combo
For Use with Ages: Elementary 1st grade (ages 6-8)
Equips: 1 Teacher & any number of Children
In Level 1, your children ages 6-8 will acknowledge God as Lord of heaven and earth. Kids will experience God's view of family, work, worship, and community. They join a Bible-times family and discover what living in God's world was like 2,000 years ago! Supply your children with a solid foundation of knowing God. Surround them with Bible-times culture, so your kids will have a framework for all their future Bible exploration. Every quarter includes 12 Bible lessons (plus one review lesson). Level 1 uses topical Bible stories to teach about God's character and qualities and Bible-times life.
Teachers: follow several simple steps to prepare dynamic Bible lessons. Each full-color Teacher Guide includes an abundance of activities so that each lesson can be customized to match children's and teacher's needs. Each lesson includes student Disciple Guide images with answer keys. Buy once, use year after year!
This 1 Year DIGITAL Teacher Guide bundle includes:
- 4 Full DIGITAL Teacher Guides (Quarters A-D) (PDF)
- 4 DIGITAL Teacher Guide broken into lesson segments (ZIPPED PDFs)
List Price: $99.95
Your Price: $84.95
You Save: $15 (15%)
Note: DiscipleLand Teacher Guides are downloadable resources. You may keep the content indefinitely, but DiscipleLand will only replace missing downloads free of charge within the first 12 months of purchase. By downloading this product you agree to Content Download Terms of Service
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