Definition - What does Recursive Function mean?
A recursive function is a function in code that refers to itself for execution. Recursive functions can be simple or elaborate. They allow for more efficient code writing, for instance, in the listing or compiling of sets of numbers, strings or other variables through a single reiterated process.
Techopedia explains Recursive Function
Recursive functions in code often rely on loop setups, where the initial variable is called on multiple times while being altered by the loop. Simple examples of a recursive function include the factorial, where an integer is multiplied by itself while being incrementally lowered. Many other self-referencing functions in a loop could be called recursive functions, for example, where n=n+1 given an operating range.
In addition to simpler recursive functions, programmers and others have come up with much more elaborate functions that also work through principles of recursion. Some, like the Fibonacci sequence, have applications to finance and other areas, where others remain esoteric and largely exclusive to the IT community.
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Protecting a Way of Life:
The Quinault Indian Nation's Razor Clam Dig
by Elizabeth Weinberg
South from Point Grenville on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, the state's rocky shores give way to broad expanses of sand. Buried within these sandy beaches are hundreds of thousands of razor clams—one of the most sought-after shellfish in the state of Washington.
Resource managers work together to ensure that the ocean is healthy and razor clams can be safely gathered for tribal and recreational harvests. Non-tribal recreational harvest, typically scheduled from October through May, occurs on public beaches, while harvest is limited during the summer to allow razor clams to spawn and grow. During the fall and winter when low tides occur during dark hours, thousands of clam diggers brave the elements to dig by lantern or flashlight.
For the indigenous tribes of the Olympic Peninsula, clams have been important for millennia. Quinault Department of Fisheries marine resources scientist Joe Schumacker explains that for the Quinault Indian Nation, razor clams are a way of life. "Historically, they've been a major source of protein and trade items for the tribe," he says. Razor clam harvest is "so important to Quinault, it's part of their culture, it's part of their being."
The Quinault Department of Fisheries directly manages its clam harvest season on Quinault reservation beaches—which are closed to the non-tribal public—with openings throughout the fall, winter, and spring. Like the non-tribal recreational season, razor clam harvest is not allowed during the summer, except for two digs at the end of August. Those commercial harvests are timed to help Quinault families get the income they need for new school supplies and clothes. The clams are either bought on the beach or taken to the Quinault fish processing plant in Taholah, Washington, where they are sold for cash. In addition to commercial harvest, the Quinault Nation holds many subsistence digs throughout the season to feed tribal members and to keep their pantries and freezers full.
The Quinault Indian Nation manages or co-manages approximately 55 miles of beach area and has treaty rights to 2,000 square miles of ocean. Point Grenville Beach, located on the Quinault Reservation, has not always been a clam haven. "During the mid-to-late 2000's, this beach really did not have a good long-term crop of razor clams," says Schumacker. At the time, he explains, dead fish were found on the beach throughout the summer, having likely been killed by hypoxia, or low oxygen conditions, in waters upwelled from the deep. In recent years, though, the hypoxic events have subsided and, Schumacker says, "things have turned around, at least temporarily."
The clam population isn't fully in the clear, though. Carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels traps heat in the atmosphere, and the ocean is warming as it absorbs some of this heat. A warmer ocean may affect razor clam populations. The increased carbon dioxide is also absorbed by the ocean and changes the ocean's chemistry, making it harder for organisms like clams to form skeletal structures in their larvae or shells as they change into adults. The good news is that while this ocean acidification has already affected Pacific Northwest oyster hatcheries, direct impacts to razor clams have not been shown. Still, Schumacker emphasizes that "we need to monitor for [the impacts of ocean acidification] in the future. We see this as a real threat on the horizon."
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary helps the Quinault Indian Nation and other resource managers protect the waters of the Olympic Coast, which in turn can help support a healthy razor clam population. "Sanctuaries like Olympic Coast can serve as sentinel sites that allow for early detection of changing ocean conditions because of natural events and human threats," explains Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary superintendent Carol Bernthal. "Working with partners like the Quinault Indian Nation, we can take action to better understand how the ocean is changing and take steps to protect these valued resources."
Razor clams have sustained the Quinault Indian Nation for generations. Because their treaty rights extend only to a legally defined area, Schumacker explains, "The tribe has to be very very careful and conservation-minded about their resources and how they manage them. The treaty right doesn't exist anywhere else. Should they (Quinault) lose these razor clams in the treaty area, they can't just move and still have rights to them elsewhere. This goes for all of their treaty resources including salmon, crab and many other species."
Place-based peoples have long known that they must respect the world around them and harvest resources sustainably. Quinault and other tribes in Washington state are leaders in natural resource management and at the forefront of efforts to maintain, improve, and rebuild the habitats that support their treaty resources. On the remote Washington coast, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary shares the waters with four treaty tribes and works together to maintain one of the great coastal areas of the United States. Working together with tribes and researchers, the sanctuary serves as a sentinel site to maintain the precious resources that have supported people throughout history.
As Schumacker says, "The Quinault Indian Nation and all of the tribes know full well that they have to support not just this generation, but all of those generations to come."


List of gasoline additives
||The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for stand-alone lists. (August 2012)|
||It has been suggested that this article be merged with Gasoline. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2013.|
Gasoline additives increase gasoline's octane rating or act as corrosion inhibitors or lubricants, thus allowing the use of higher compression ratios for greater efficiency and power. Types of additives include metal deactivators, corrosion inhibitors, oxygenates and antioxidants.
Some additives are harmful, and are regulated or banned in some countries.
- Antioxidants, stabilizers
- Antiknock agents
- Lead scavengers (for leaded gasoline)
- Fuel additives in general
- Ether and other flammable hydrocarbons have been used extensively as starting fluid for many difficult-to-start engines, especially diesel engines
- Nitrous oxide, or simply nitrous, is an oxidizer used in auto racing
- Nitromethane, or "nitro," is a high-performance racing fuel
- Acetone is a vaporization additive, mainly used with methanol racing fuel to improve vaporisation at start up
- Butyl rubber (as polyisobutylene succinimide, detergent to prevent fouling of diesel fuel injectors)
- Picrate improves combustion, increases fuel mileage
- Silicone is an anti-foaming agent for diesel fuel, but may damage oxygen sensors in gasoline engines
- Tetranitromethane can increase the cetane number of diesel fuel, improving its combustion properties
Fuel additives in the United States are regulated under section 211 of the Clean Air Act (as amended in January 1995). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires the registration of all fuel additives which are commercially distributed for use in highway motor vehicles in the United States, and may require testing and ban harmful additives. The EPA also regularly reviews the health and net economic benefits of Clean Air Act policies.
The act also requires deposit control additives (DCAs) be added to all gasolines. This type of additive is a detergent additive that acts as a cleansing agent in small passages in the carburetor or fuel injectors. This in turn serves to ensure a consistent air and fuel mixture that will contribute to better gas mileage.
- For additive metering see metering pumps
- Biobor (microbicide)
- Oil additive, which describes some similar additives
- Top Tier Detergent Gasoline
- ARRC Auto Repair Reference Center. Point 5 Technologies. Accessed via EbscoHost on November 27, 2009


Copyrightę1998 by Akimasa Nakamura (Kuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory, Japan)
This CCD image was taken on 1998 July 3, using a 0.60-m f/6 Ritchey-Chretien telescope.
While examining photographs exposed with the 20-inch double astrograph at the Yale-Columbia Southern Station in Argentina, Arnold R. Klemola found a moving object of magnitude 17. The first photograph had been exposed on 1965 October 28.07. Klemola described the comet as "slightly nebulous" with a diameter near 12 arc seconds. The additional photographs had been exposed on October 29.06, October 31.09, November 1.12, and November 2.02.
The initial images found by Klemola were enough to enable B. G. Marsden (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) to compute a parabolic orbit which was first published on November 15. The perihelion date was determined as 1965 September 17.1. Following the acquisition of additional images, Marsden computed the first elliptical orbit just 8 days later. It indicated the perihelion date was August 25.3, while the orbital period was 18.8 years. After all of the observations had been accumulated, Marsden revised his elliptical orbit during 1967 and determined the perihelion date as August 18.4 and the period as 10.97 years. He suggested an uncertainty of two months in the period. Kaare Aksnes investigated the past motion of this comet and reported no significant change during the last 70 years.
The comet never exceeded magnitude 17 during the discovery apparition of 1965. It was last detected on December 13.
G. Sause (Observatoire Haute Provence) recovered this comet with the O.H.P.-Universite de Liege Schmidt telescope on 1976 August 6.07. He estimated the magnitude as 12 and said the tail was 2 or 3 arc minutes long. The position indicated the prediction that appeared in the 1976 edition of the British Astronomical Association Handbook required a correction of -10.2 days. The comet maintained a brightness near magnitude 12 during the remainder of August and for most of September. It faded thereafter and was last detected on 1977 January 21.
The comet's third observed apparition came in 1987 when J. Gibson (Palomar Observatory, California, USA) obtained CCD images with the 1.5-meter reflector on 1987 February 16.56. He said it was essentially stellar, with an estimated magnitude of 19. There was also a tail toward PA 210-270 degrees that was bordered by streamers about 15 arc seconds long. The position indicated the prediction required a correction of -0.01 day. The comet brightened and attained a maximum magnitude of about 12.5 during September. It was last detected on 1988 December 10.
The comet's fourth observed apparition began on 1997 March 29, when C. W. Hergenrother (F. L. Whipple Observatory) obtained CCD images of the comet with the 1.2-meter reflector. The comet was essentially stellar in appearance, with a magnitude of 21.4. The comet passed perihelion on 1998 May 1 and reached magnitude 14 during the summer months of 1998.
| cometography.com |
| Comet Information
If you have any questions, please


Reposted by Polar Bear Science
After the lockdown last year, field work to monitor polar bears in the Svalbard region of the Barents Sea was resumed this spring. The results show that polar bears in this region continue to thrive throughout the Arctic, despite the most extreme sea ice loss in summer. These facts show no indication that the looming catastrophic population decline that we keep hearing about is imminent. No turning point here.
The polar bear area on Svalbard is administered by Norway. It includes sea ice as far as the Russian border in the east and the Svalbard Archipelago: the map below is from Aars et al. 2017.
Polar bear management region Svalbard. Fig. 1, Aars et al. 2017.
Observations are usually collected between March and May of each year by a team led by Jon Aars and Magnus Andersen from the Norwegian Polar Institute in Svalbard and posted online in June. They deserve our admiration and respect for making their research results available so promptly and without causing a stir. All good scientists should be able to do that.
Note that Svalbard comprises only half of the polar bear subpopulation of the “Barents Sea”: In recent years, most of the polar bears in the region around Franz Josef Land lived in the eastern (Russian) sector (see below), where Norwegian researchers did not are allowed to work.
Spring sea ice in the Barents Sea
Shown below is the extent of the sea ice at the end of May 2021 (end of the Svalbard study field season 2021):
In general, the summer sea ice decline in the Barents Sea has been the sharpest in the entire Arctic since 1979 (with a loss of 4.11 days of ice per year from 1979-2014): that’s six times as much ice loss in summer as bears in According to calculations by Eric Regehr and colleagues (2016), the Arctic is the southernmost subpopulation (Southern Hudson Bay, which lost only 0.68 days of ice per year).
However, the extent of the sea ice in Svalbard last summer fell to a significantly below average level (see below on September 18, 2020). This state of below-average ice persisted into autumn (not shown): the sea ice level only returned to the purple range shown in the graphic below in mid-December 2020. The ice map below for September 15, 2020 shows what that looked like.
According to polar bear specialist Andrew Derocher, the situation was marked by disaster. At the beginning of November the ice extent was lower than ever since 1967.
Bad conditions on Svalbard. Arrow points to Hopen Island. When the ice arrives in early November, 20+ Denning females will give birth there to young. In recent years, sea ice has come too late for pregnant females to use the island. 2020 is not looking good. https://t.co/CS7J50WRJE pic.twitter.com/rMdibACe0r— Andrew Derocher (@AEDerocher) November 9, 2020
However, this is only because he and most of his colleagues still hold the false premise (e.g., Amstrup et al. 2007) that summer sea ice is critical to polar bear health and survival, despite compelling evidence that spring ice conditions are the decisive environmental factor (Crockford 2017, 2019), which contains the data from Spitsbergen. They have also neglected the much higher primary productivity (i.e. more food for everyone) that areas like the Barents Sea experienced precisely because of the lower summer ice (summarized with references in Crockford 2021).
Polar bear data for Svalbard in spring 2021
In the first place is the body condition of adult male bears (1993-2021, data for 2020 missing), which has slightly decreased compared to 2019, but this variance from year to year is normal. Some male bears were in much worse shape (note the lowest “tails” on the box plots) in the late 1990s and early 2000s than they were since 2015, and analysis of the data, which does not include 2021, concluded: there are no significant trend over time.
And what about litter sizes? Below is the graph for the number of boys per litter (1993-2021, 2020 missing):
Litter size 2021 = 1.75. Analyzing the data excluding 2021, “there is a statistically significant (p = 0.04) weak trend in decreasing litter size over time (red line).” Note that litter size for 2019 was the highest since 1993.
Finally, there is the proportion of females who have young of the year (called “production of young”), which this year was 0.54 (significantly higher than in 2019):
The analysis of the data without 2021 “shows a non-significant (p = 0.069) linear trend” [red line] in the proportion of women with COYs over time. “
This conclusion remains (@ June 30th, 2021) at the bottom of the MOSJ website:
An aerial photograph to estimate the size of the shared Norwegian-Russian Barents Sea subpopulation was taken in 2004, and the resulting estimate was 2,650 bears +/- approximately 30%. A new survey of the Norwegian part of the population was carried out in August 2015 and the results show no signs of a decrease in population size.
Bottom line: Despite extremely low summer ice and record-breaking autumn ice levels in 2020, in addition to this region with the highest relative decline in summer sea ice of all polar bear subpopulations, there are no signs of an impending disaster in the spring of 2021 polar bear monitoring data: no starving bears or many females without Boy. According to the models, last summer should have been the “tipping point” for this population. But enough winter and spring ice developed and the bears are still thriving as they did in 2015 (Aars 2018; Aars et al. 2017).
Aars, J. 2018. Population changes in polar bears: Protected, but quickly losing their habitat. Fram Forum Newsletter 2018. Fram Center, Tromsø. Download PDF here (32 MB).
Aars, J., Marques, TA, Lone, K., Anderson, M., Wiig, Ø., Fløystad, IMB, Hagen, SB and Buckland, ST 2017. Number and distribution of polar bears in the western Barents Sea. Polar Research 36: 1. 1374125. doi: 10.1080 / 17518369.2017.1374125
Amstrup, SC, Marcot, BG & Douglas, DC 2007. Predicting the blanket status of polar bears at selected times in the 21st century. US geological survey. Reston, VA. PDF here
Crockford, SJ 2017. Testing the hypothesis that routine sea ice cover of 3-5 mkm2 leads to a decrease in the population size of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) by more than 30%. PeerJ Preprints January 19, 2017. Doi: 10.7287 / peerj.preprints.2737v1 Open Access. https://peerj.com/preprints/2737/
Crockford, SJ 2019. The polar bear disaster that never happened. Global Warming Policy Foundation, London. Available in paperback and e-book format.
Crockford, SJ 2021. The State of the Polar Bear Report 2020. Global Warming Policy Foundation Report 48, London. pdf here.
Regehr, EV, Laidre, KL, Akçakaya, HR, Amstrup, SC, Atwood, TC, Lunn, NJ, Obbard, M., Stern, H., Thiemann, GW, & Wiig, Ø. 2016. Conservation status of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in relation to the predicted decline in sea ice. Biology Letters 12: 20160556. http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/12/20160556
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True to their name, honeypots are traps designed to lure hackers into attacking a server or system as defenders gather information about their methods. According to SANS, honeypots are “setup to be easier prey for intruders than true production systems but with minor system modifications so that their activity can be logged or traced.” These traps often produce a wealth of knowledge security professionals can use to strengthen their defenses.
Despite the great advantage they provide, however, honeypots are not deployed as widely as the once were. Defenders are busier than ever, and honeypots are complex—specifically, they’re difficult to deploy quickly. As Greg Martin from ThreatStream explained in an article he wrote last week for Power Magazine, “Many organizations see honeypots as too complicated to launch and manage over time, and view them primarily as a tool for security researchers.”
Honeypots also offer only a limited use case. Lance Spitzer of WindowSecurity.com elaborates on this problem. “Honeypots all share one huge drawback; they are worthless if no one attacks them. Yes, they can accomplish wonderful things, but if the attacker does not send any packets to the honeypot, the honeypot will be blissfully unaware of any unauthorized activity.”
Haroon Meer, founder and researcher at Thinkst, says honeypots can be a useful tool to be proactive in an era known for large-scale breaches of security. As the public becomes more aware of these security breaches, companies involved need quicker disclosure. Meer says honeypots could be a huge help toward that effort. “We need honeypots to come back because we can’t have people finding out they’re breached because Brian Krebs writes about it,” Meer said during a presentation at BlackHat USA 2015.
Meer and his presenting partner Marco Slaviero explained that–in addition to the reasons above–honeypots have fallen out of favor for not being “preventative” security solutions. In a cyber arms race, they said, defenders are falling too far behind in terms of tools available. “It’s not an arms race, we’ve already lost,” Meer said. “Just look at OPM.” Honeypots, he explained could be a tool that makes the arms race more competitive.
According to Slaviero and Meer, honeypots are a great addition to any organization’s security posture as “even one alert from a honeypot is valuable.” To prove this value, the two created an enterprise tool called Canary, a series of honeypots that send notifications when attackers hit them. These “canaries” are also specifically designed to entice an attacker to explore further, giving defenders a better profile of who they are dealing with. The pair also discussed the open source version, OpenCanary. OpenCanary is a low-interaction honeypot, which reduces risk and makes it easier to deploy, as it does not use a real OS or applications.
Honeypots are a good idea Slaviero and Meer said, just “largely ignored by the industry.” With the advent of a new tool like Canary and OpenCanary, this may soon change. As Spitzer commented in his article, “honeypots will not solve an organization’s security problems. Only best practices can do that. However, honeypots may be a tool to help contribute to those best practices.”


Public schools are not religion-free zones
By J. Brent Walker
Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director
For the past 50 years, much of our church-state jurisprudence has been informed by how we treat religion in the public schools. Simply put, our effort always has been to say “yes” to voluntary expressions of religion by students; but, at the same time, say “no” to official, school-sponsored religious exercises. Although we continue sometimes to struggle to find the appropriate balance, we have made dramatic improvements.
The start of a new school year provides an opportunity to review the many ways religion can properly be exercised, studied and otherwise included on public school campuses in ways that naturally arise in our very religious — and religiously diverse — country, while keeping school officials out of the business of promoting a particular religion or even religion in general.
Here are reminders of a few ways this can be done.
- Students may pray — alone or in a group, silently or even out loud — as long as it is voluntary, non-disruptive and respectful of the rights of other students not to participate. This would include vocal “See You at the Pole” prayer events before classes start and silent prayers after math tests begin.
- Students may form and lead religious clubs in secondary schools if other non-curriculum related groups are allowed. Outside adults may not lead or regularly attend club meetings, and teachers may be present only to monitor the meetings.
- Students may display and communicate religious messages — on their clothing and orally — in the same way other messages are allowed. Generally, they may wear religious garb, such as yarmulkes and head scarves, as well.
- Students may distribute religious material and literature, under the same rules as other material may be distributed. This right is subject to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions, such as requiring material to be placed on a table rather than being handed out.
- Students may speak to and even try to persuade other students on religious topics, including inviting them to participate in religious services and events. But, such speech and invitations cannot be allowed to turn into religious harassment. A “no thanks” must end the conversation.
- Students are allowed to include religious themes and ideas in their schoolwork and homework assignments, as long as those religious references are germane to the assignment.
- Students may be taught about religion where the topic naturally arises in the curriculum. The teaching should be academic, not devotional, and have an expressed educational goal in mind. In other words, schools may expose students to religious views but may not impose any particular view.
- A religious holiday may serve as an occasion to teach about that particular religion, but it is not to be celebrated as a religious event. Along the same lines, religious music may be played or sung and sacred artwork observed and appreciated as long as there is an educational goal in mind.
- Students may (and sometimes must) be excused from lessons that are objectionable based on religious convictions if the school does not have a sufficiently compelling interest in requiring all students to attend and participate.
- Teachers and other school personnel may meet with one another for Bible study, prayer and other religious discussions, as long as such gatherings are voluntary and outside the classroom (in the teachers’ lounge, for example) during lunch breaks or other free time.
These are just a few of the many ways in which it is abundantly clear that God has not been kicked out of the public schools. But let’s not abuse our freedom. We always need to be mindful of the importance of modeling good behavior and responsible citizenship. This includes not insisting upon governmental help, like using a school-controlled microphone to pray or to proselytize. It also means allowing students to participate in school-sponsored activities without being subjected to other students’ religion, even when it is arguably personal student speech. As is the case in many other contexts, what we have the right to do is not always the right thing to do.


On Vox today, Timothy B. Lee posted the most recent “40 Maps” feature, 40 Maps That Explain the Roman Empire. This is becoming a regular feature at Vox following maps posts on the Middle East, World War I and others. Is there a better way to make complex subjects more relatable to a broad audience than a map? Yes… pop culture. So, here is my review of Vox’s maps in 10, I mean 9. gifs from one of the best historical movies.
1. While not all maps, the additional images and charts cover a wide array of topics in Roman History.
2. We hold ancient Rome in such high esteem that it is easy to forget that it was built on a slave economy.
3. The Senate, made up of the aristocracy, was often not sensitive to the socio-economic divides that would eventually lead to uprisings led by slaves like Spartacus and Crixus.
4. Some of the maps were more interesting like #8 about Hannibal’s invasion through the Alps.
5. But others were just more educational.
6. Maps #13-15 help to explain the rise and fall of Julius Caesar.
7. One really interesting map, #28, shows the locations where Roman coins have been found from 1997-2010. It’s amazing how many are still being found very recently and how much of the island they cover.
8. Maps #17-21 give a picture of Pompeii, the impact of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the more adult side of the city’s baths, Pagan temples and erotic art.
9. And, finally, the last batch of maps, show the evolution of the region after Roman rule and the impact of Roman culture on languages throughout Europe.
Like I’ve always said, history can be fun. If you’d like to not learn more, please see Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part 1. It’s pretty amazing.


This module focuses on developing innovative communication outputs for the IEA, and provides practical steps for dissemination.
Upon successful completion of this module, participants should be able to:
- demonstrate an ability to link target group(s) and content with their choice of presentation format and communications channels, considering budget constraints;
- understand, consider and systematically implement the most important steps of a dissemination plan, while choosing the most appropriate communication outputs, and ways of reaching audiences;
- organize the production process and create high-quality paper publications, electronic products and visual presentations of data; and
- understand the importance of distribution/dissemination, with special emphasis on approaching the media.
Participants will create:
- a short-term strategy for IEA output production and distribution;
- a production plan; and
- a range of communication outputs.
Reading and exercises to be completed prior to the workshop
Participants should prepare a list of communication outputs with which they have been involved and/or bring existing, innovative printed or electronic communication outputs to the workshop. Participants are asked to bring the latest state of the environment (SoE) report for their country or other relevant jurisdiction, if available, as well as related products, such as brochures, a statistical book or other printed/electronic materials that includes a simple data set and graphical elements. These materials will be required when discussing visual presentation of data.


The gas well leak near Los Angeles in southern California that started last year has continued to stream methane into the air at a rate of 1.7 million cubic meters (62 million cubic feet) per day. This has made the breach the single largest contributor to climate change in the state of California, and makes it the largest U.S. gas leak ever recorded.
But despite the mass of health issues being reported, and a lawsuit being filed against SoCalGas, the company responsible, experts estimate that it could take another month at the earliest to stop the leak.
After a pipe ruptured at a gas storage site at Aliso Canyon on October 23, the well has been continuously spewing methane into the surrounding air and atmosphere. The gas released has now totaled over 77,000 tonnes (85,000 tons), according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), who have been monitoring the situation since it started. Despite being far less viable, they say that this event is the climate equivalent to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 that killed 11 people and spewed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The continued release of the gas has been impacting the people who live near the well. Local residents have complained of headaches, nosebleeds and nausea, thought to have been caused not just by the methane, but also by the odorant added to the gas that makes it smell of rotten eggs. Following the breach, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated from Porter Ranch, and around 1,000 have begun proceedings to sue SoCalGas for the disaster.
While methane is broken down relatively quickly in the atmosphere, over short periods it is much more damaging than carbon dioxide, the main driver of climate change. In fact, over a 20-year period, it is thought that methane is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere and causing the planet to warm. The well is not emitting methane at a regular rate, but during its peak, the EDF estimates that the outpouring was equivalent to an extra 7 million cars on the road in California.
The rupture of the well is in a pipe 18 centimeters (7 inches) wide, and experts believe that the break is around 150 meters (500 feet) below the surface. It is being claimed that the leak could have been stopped if SoCalGas had not removed a safety valve in 1979 that is normally located 2,600 meters (8,500 feet) underground, just above the gas reserve. Lawyers are arguing that the removal of the valve made an eventual leak from the site inevitable, and that the company is fully responsible for all of the health and environmental impacts caused as a result.
Main image: EARTHWORKS/Flickr CC BY 2.0


A Nurture group is a small group of children who are supported by two Nurture trained staff.
The group acts as a safe base and helps children build self esteem. It also offers a short term focussed intervention strategy, which addresses barriers to learning.
The Nurture group supports both Discovery, Guidance and Enjoyment Hubs
The staff who are part of the Nurture group use the six principles of Nurture, these are:
- Children's learning is understood developmentally
- The classroom offers a safe base
- The importance of Nurture for the development of self-esteem
- Language is a vital means of communication
- All behaviour is communication
- The importance of transition in children's lives
Since starting the Nurture group at Knowle DGE we have noticed that learners have become more socially adept,emotionally resilient, self-confident and learn to enjoy life because of their Nurturing experience at Knowle DGE Academy.


Gratitude is defined as, “Readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness; thankfulness.” Similar to appreciation, gratitude occurs when we affirm the goodness we’ve received in life. Robert Emmons, a leading expert on gratitude, stated in his Greater Good essay, “Why Gratitude is Good”,
“…We recognize that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves…We acknowledge that other people – or even higher power, if you’re of a spiritual mindset – gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”
Gratitude is a powerful force for many in recovery because it’s all about understanding how lucky, blessed and/or gifted to have the support, tools and help that we’ve received along the way. When we express gratitude, we send out positive wishes to the world – because rather than expecting that we’d receive help, or assuming that we deserve all the help we’ve received, we acknowledge all of the forces that have made our currently reality possible.
12-Step Programs and Gratitude
Gratitude is a major component of 12-Step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA). The 12th step states,
“Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to [those with addiction], and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”
Many in addiction recovery would say that by the end of their program, they likely feel thankful for their journey; it is through this gratitude that they can now become useful in others’ lives, and that’s where their guidance to others often comes into play. A 2017 study published in the journal Addiction Research & Theory assessed 184 members of 12-Step recovery programs in an effort to find out what effects gratitude had on their recovery. This is what the researchers found:
- Higher levels of gratitude predicted greater participation in 12-Step practices, AA promises, post-traumatic growth and social support
- The more gratitude individual members felt, the less likely they were to experience health issues and negative emotions
Overall, those who practiced gratitude reported better quality of life – but how is this? The effects of gratitude can benefit our lives in more ways than one. Not only can it strengthen our relationships with others, but it can provide us a with a load of other physical, psychological and social effects, too.
The Transformative Effects of Gratitude
Robert Emmens, the researcher aforementioned, explains that gratitude is a relationship-strengthening emotion that requires us to see how we’ve been supported. The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley explored the very powerful effects of gratitude:
- Less aches and pains
- Lower blood pressure
- Strengthened immune system
- Better sleep
- Increased exercise
- Higher levels of positive emotions
- Greater alertness and vitality
- Enhanced joy and pleasure
- Optimism and happiness
- More helpful, generous and compassion towards others
- Forgiveness is practiced more
- More outgoing
- Less loneliness and isolation
The powerful effects of gratitude often stem from recognizing that it wasn’t us – that it was something outside of ourselves – that got us to where we are today. For those in recovery, gratitude could be towards a number of people: peers in recovery, a sponsor, a therapist, healthcare team, family, friends, coworkers and more can all create a huge impact in the grand scheme of someone’s life.
Gratitude tunes us into the present moment – it grounds us and allows us to recognize how we got to the “here and now”. It also blocks negative emotions that stem from ungratefulness, such as envy, resentment and regret. If you really think about it, those emotions cannot exist alongside gratitude. When we’re grateful, we’re accepting all of the love we’ve received from another source – which could also include a higher power.
Spirituality and Gratitude
Spirituality is crucial aspect of recovery for many people, because addiction negatively affects the mind, body and the spirit. 12-Step programs and formal treatment programs alike help people strengthen their spirituality; In 2017, Forbes Magazine noted that while gratitude is a common theme around Thanksgiving, it’s an ultimate spiritual practice that can be for anytime, any day. They mentioned Deepak Chopra, an American author, public speaker and prominent leader in spirituality, who had emphasized that gratitude is recognizing the presence of the Divine in our lives. Rather than a strictly religious perspective, gratitude is a spiritual practice that is considered the “antidote” to many forms of suffering.
Start Practicing Today
There is no special occasion that needs to take place in order for gratitude to occur. We can easily reflect on the paths we’ve taken, on the conversations we’ve had with others that have inspired us, on the people who have contributed to our recovery and so much more. Gratitude places us in a position to not only recognize how far we’ve come, but to recognize and thank the people who’ve helped us get to where we need to be.
If you’ve been struggling with substance addiction, don’t wait any longer to seek the help you need.
Cumberland Heights is a nonprofit alcohol and drug-addiction treatment center located on the banks of the Cumberland river in Nashville, Tennessee. On a sprawling 177-acre campus, we are made up of 2 12-Step immersion campuses, 12 outpatient recovery centers and 4 sober living homes. We believe that each person has a unique story to tell – and that’s why we always put the patient first.