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Science

Science of Burning Fresh Firewood vs Dry

November 4, 2020 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

I’m told there is a Zen Buddhist saying that goes “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” The idea, I think, is to be mindful of the ordinary tasks which constitute one’s daily life, regardless of our spiritual state.

Unfortunately, many of us who heat with wood are not enlightened as to how much extra wood we carry because we’re needlessly boiling water inside our woodstoves all winter. In fact, if your firewood is not adequately dry, it could cost you $200 to $600 annually just to send steam up the chimney. [Read more…] about Science of Burning Fresh Firewood vs Dry

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Fires, Science, trees, winter

Winter Brumation Sweeps Across Northern Latitudes

October 30, 2020 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

American Bullfrog courtesy Kabir BakieI have all the respect in the world for science, and those who practice its various disciplines, but scientists are not exempt from getting drawn into petty battles over whose ideas should prevail. I’m told there was a long-simmering dispute, apparently resolved for the moment, over how to define hibernation. The consensus now is that any critter able to actively slow its metabolism is a hibernator. Actively slowing down sounds like an oxymoron, but let’s not resort to name-calling. [Read more…] about Winter Brumation Sweeps Across Northern Latitudes

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: frogs, nature, Science, Wildlife, winter

Urticating Hairs: The Defense Hairy Caterpillars

October 18, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

TOS_DaggerMothCatLast October, a young student in one of my nature journaling workshops pointed out a fuzzy yellow caterpillar with long black tufts.

“Those kind sting!” he declared. He was the third student that month to point out the same kind of caterpillar as stinging. I remembered being warned away from hairy caterpillars as a kid, but I’ve since picked up many – of various types – with no ill effect. I wondered, could the hairy-caterpillars-sting story be a myth? [Read more…] about Urticating Hairs: The Defense Hairy Caterpillars

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: insects, nature, Science, Wildlife

Woolly Bears And Winter Forecasts

October 17, 2020 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Autumn is coming to a close. The brilliant fall foliage is past peak, if not already layered in the compost bin. The last geese are honking their way toward winter homes. Predictions are proffered (sometimes cheerfully, mostly not) for how cold and snowy this year’s winter will be.

Sources for seasonal predictions vary. The Farmers’ Almanac and traditional tales are often cited. How soon those geese head south, for example, is supposed to indicate how difficult winter will be. We trust these bits of folklore because they often have a scientific basis and seem to work. [Read more…] about Woolly Bears And Winter Forecasts

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: insects, nature, Science, weather, Wildlife

Brooklyn’s Monkey Trial of 1906

September 3, 2020 by David Fiske 3 Comments

The Bostock Building at Coney Island's Dreamland, from the 1904 book, History of Coney IslandYou may be familiar with the “Scopes Monkey Trial.” In 1925, teacher Thomas Scopes was brought into court for violating a Tennessee law that forbade the teaching of evolution. Scopes was defended by famed lawyer Clarence Darrow, who actually asked the jury to find his client guilty in order that the case could be appealed to a higher court.

In 1927, Scopes’ guilty verdict was reversed on a technicality, without addressing the issue of the law’s constitutionality. (That matter was not resolved until 1968, when the United States Supreme Court struck down – on First Amendment issues – a similar law in Arkansas.)

Years earlier, Brooklyn, New York had a monkey trial – but one that was entirely different. The Brooklyn case did not involve Darwin’s theory of evolution in any way – it concerned an actual living, breathing, in-the-flesh monkey. [Read more…] about Brooklyn’s Monkey Trial of 1906

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Brooklyn, nature, Science, Wildlife

Amphibians Aglow: Biofluorescence On Show

August 22, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

TOS_AmphibiansAglowThe living light of bioluminescent organisms like fireflies, anglerfish, and marine plankton is legendary.

The dazzling light shows put on by synchronous fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are so popular that park managers have had to institute a lottery system for viewing them.

An entire recreation industry has grown up around kayaking through glowing surf from Florida to Washington.

And a few years ago, I even saw someone dressed as a deep-sea anglerfish at a Halloween concert – complete with glowstick lure dangling from her forehead. [Read more…] about Amphibians Aglow: Biofluorescence On Show

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: amphibians, frogs, nature, Science, Wildlife

Zoom A Lake Champlain Scientist Programs

April 20, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

zoom a scientistThe Lake Champlain Committee in partnership with Lake Champlain Sea Grant have announced their expanded line up of “Zoom a Scientist” programs.

The public can tune in virtually through Zoom every Tuesday and Friday from noon to 1 pm to learn more about Lake Champlain. [Read more…] about Zoom A Lake Champlain Scientist Programs

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature Tagged With: Climate Change, Education, Lake Champlain, Lake Champlain Committee, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, nature, Science, water quality, Wildlife

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Hosting ‘Zoom A Scientist’

April 1, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Dr Danielle Garneau courtesy SUNY PlattsburghOver the next few weeks, the Lake Champlain Sea Grant team will be hosting “Zoom a Scientist,” an interactive webinar series focused on watershed and aquatic science.

Every Tuesday and Friday from noon until 1 pm scientists will lead viewers through the Lake Champlain watershed and share their research. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Sea Grant Hosting ‘Zoom A Scientist’

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Lake Champlain, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, nature, Science, SUNY Plattsburgh, Wildlife

Watertown’s Perpetuball Motion Machine

March 22, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Spectators view the kinetic Perpetuball Motion MachineThe Salmon Run Mall in Watertown, NY is home of a fancy, frilly, frivolous contraption that has attracted admirers since the mall opened its doors in 1986. Generations of families have grown up watching balls move through mazes of tunnels, striking bells and bouncing through barriers. [Read more…] about Watertown’s Perpetuball Motion Machine

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, History Tagged With: Podcasts, Science, watertown

An Adirondack Uranium Rush

March 9, 2020 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

It’s hard not to think the above title is ridiculous. Believable possibilities would be iron, feldspar, talc, or garnet. But uranium? And on top of that, a rush?

With the excitement of hopeful lottery players, folks in the past have swarmed the mountains and lowlands at word of supposed gold discoveries, or silver, or other metals, all of them precious in terms of financial value to the finder. But rushing to find radioactive materials — the stronger the better — in the Adirondacks? Really? [Read more…] about An Adirondack Uranium Rush

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondack Park, Adirondacks, Essex County, Science

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