photo by ulybug Creating your sustainable home has a benefit not only to the environment and your personal health, but also helps by reducing utility expense over the long term for home owners.  If you are thinking about renovating your home there are many ways to choose products and building methods that will ensure that your home has a positive and not negative impact on the environment. Reuse and Repurpose Building a new home can be expensive.  Perhaps that is why more...

Terror Antiquus by Léon Bakst, 1908, State Russian Museum (public domain) The recent discovery of what might be a lost continent off the coast of Brazil has stoked imaginations and fascinated geologists. Granite formations some 1,500 km (950 miles) southeast of Rio de Janeiro may be remnants from a continent that sank when Africa and South America separated and the Atlantic Ocean was formed some 100 million years ago. From Euronews: According to geologists, as a result of tectonic movements, a land mass...

The European Union recently voted to ban (or at least limit) three pesticides, which have been linked to large-scale bee die-offs. The three neonicotinoids damage the bees’ neurotransmitters so that they become lost and cannot find their way back to their hives. Neonicotinoids are used directly on seeds rather than sprayed onto foliage or fruit. A recent study by the American Bird Conservancy found that neonicotinoids have a negative impact on “birds, terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, and other wildlife.” Birds can...

  Species: North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) Status: Endangered (EN) Interesting Fact: The North Island brown kiwi is more like a mammal than a bird, with fur-like feathers, muscular legs and even cat-like whiskers on its face. Kiwis are the national bird of New Zealand, and are some of the most unusual of all birds. One of five kiwi species, the North Island brown kiwi is flightless and lives on the ground, where it shelters in a burrow during the day. Its long, thin bill has sensory pits...

With net migration to the United States from Mexico at zero, paranoid people need something else to freak out about. The “good” news is that there is always plenty of things to make both the sane and the insane flip their wigs. So where do the weird, invasive fish that have been turning up in America’s iconic parks, coastlines and even on dinner tables figure in? Big deal, minor curiosity or somewhere in between climate change and wind farms spoiling the...

One-horned Rhinos in kaziranga National park, Photo credit: Debabrata Bandyopadhyay Wildlife enthusiasts love to flaunt their knowledge about different species. If you are from the same group or wish to be a part of it, then have a look at the top interesting facts about the one-horned rhinoceros and sharpen your knowledge base. Rhino horn is not a bone but a compacted mass of hairs Keratin is the substance that makes the horn of rhinos. It is the same material that is...

Image by marinephotobank Over the last several decades, there have been a number of headline making oil spills that have left the world with shocking images. We have seen the results of drilling in the ocean floors to find oil. We know that our dependency on fossil fuels drives an industry that requires destroying some of our most precious resources. Seeing pelicans covered in sludge and oil and other birds that can’t spread their wings, many people say that it...

Status:Critically Endangered (CR) Interesting Fact: The kakapo is the largest parrot in the world, and is also the only flightless parrot species. An extremely rare, nocturnal parrot, the kakapo was once widespread across New Zealand, but is now confined to two predator-free offshore islands. This unusual bird feeds on a variety of fruits, seeds and other plant material and generally lives alone, coming together only to breed. During the breeding season, male kakapos produce a loud ‘boom’ call to attract a mate, which can be...

I wouldn’t, but tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people would – and have. A Dutch company called Mars One is planning the first manned mission to Mars for 2018, when Earth and the red planet will be best aligned for a swift 521-day journey between them. One way, of course. The four-person crew will not be able to bathe for the entire duration and will have to drink what they excrete. After it’s been processed, I assume. The journey is to be...

People love cats. Much more so than dogs, they’re an intriguing mix of a wild animal and a house pet. A dog adopts its human family as its pack, or looked at another way, dogs remain as “children” for the duration of their lives. Cats can act like kids too. Like dogs, they know where they’re next meal is coming from. Yet in terms of hunting small game, keeping hidden and multiplying, cats win. They’re just more adaptable and better overall...

Not content to pollute the air, soil, lakes and oceans, humanity has now fouled up space to the point that it’s become a serious problem. Can you believe that? Apparently we’ve launched so much stuff into orbit that it’s making space travel dangerous. Yes, as weird, stupid and admittedly cool as that sounds, it’s true. But why is that it when the stuff of science fiction novels happens for real it’s always boring? I mean the reality of it is just...

For many homeowners, solar power has long seemed like a great idea that’s just out of reach. Who wouldn’t want to watch their electric meter turn backwards and get checks rather than bills from the power company? Unfortunately for many people, it just didn’t seem financially possible. However, times have changed, and solar today is much more affordable than many people think. Located in Timonium, MD, Renewable Energy Corporation provides solar installation services throughout Maryland, Northern Virginia, Southern Pennsylvania and Washington...

  Image by bbjee (source: Flickr) Do you notice the articles on wildlife that get published these days? Everything in negative light….no hope for sustenance, loss of habitat, declining population of various species and what not. As if the world has come to an end and only the worst possible things will happen last of the survivors. However, tell truth…..do you actually believe a picture to be that bleak?  You know, there are good people trying to put in their expertise...

Species: Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) Status: Critically Endangered (CR) Interesting Fact: The large proboscis-like nose of the saiga antelope is thought to help with body temperature control. The strange looking saiga antelope has an extremely distinctive appearance, with an enlarged nose that hangs down over the mouth. This impressive nose is thought to warm and moisten inhaled air during the winter, and act as a filter against dust during the dry summer. Saiga antelope feed by grazing on various plants, and are usually active during the day. They...

Today is the 43rd Earth Day and the 23rd since it became an international thing. The biggest Earth Day-related news item today is how Google made a doodle in honor of the pseudo holiday. Or is this perhaps because I used Google to search for Earth Day news and they just rank anything that has to do with them higher than anything that doesn’t? Maybe I’m being a paranoid conspiracy theorist, or maybe just a cynical guy who has seen...