Sunspots 1005

Some things I have spotted, that may be of interest to you.

CNN points out several falsehoods pushed by President Trump (it's not counting his statements on the 2020 presidential election.)

CNN also reports that the Trump administration is making it more likely that US scientific research will no longer be world-class.

CNN on the reflecting pool fiasco. Lying, false accusation, incompetence, haste, you name it.

Gizmodo discusses alternatives to air conditioning that could cut energy use and cool us.

Ecoportal.net discusses raising solar panels so that cows can graze under them.

 

Air conditioning makes it hotter

Recent reports indicate that Europeans are suffering seriously from the heat, including several deaths. Most buildings in Europe are not air-conditioned.

I saw a news report on that situation. A European woman was asked whether she thought that more buildings should be air-conditioned. She did not think so. Apparently, her reasons had to do with a fact that we, in North America, seldom consider. That is that running air conditioning increases the temperature.

Why is that? Because running a motor in an air conditioning device generates heat. If you don't believe this, find an air conditioning device that is where you can feel the output. You will feel heat. 

The laws of thermodynamics, perhaps the most fundamental laws of physics, tell us that moving parts in a device generate heat, from friction, and other consequences of the system. The heat in an air-conditioned building is removed to the outside.  

See this article: Air conditioning may be making cities even hotter - Earth.com

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 703

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Christianity: He Lives considers the image of God, and humanity's relationship to non-human creatures.


Health: Relevant reports on a study that shows we are having less sex than in the recent past.

Humor: The President of Finland says that he has never talked to President Trump about raking the forests of Finland. But the Finns (and others) are hilariously demonstrating how raking Finnish forests might look.


Politics: Two Senators, one from each party, are pushing legislation that would seriously slow down robocalling, according to Gizmodo.

Science: Earther points out that air conditioners contribute significantly to global warming.

Gizmodo has another report on what is probably the world's largest organism, a fungus in Michigan that weighs 440 tons. Scientific American has another candidate for the world's largest organism, which is a grove of connected aspen trees in Utah.

Gizmodo also reports on the effects of rain in Chile's Atacama Desert, which, until recently, hadn't had a rain in 500 years. Microbes adapted to such dry conditions were devastated.

Gizmodo also reports on the discovery of millions of termite mounds, approximately 4,000 years old, in Brazil. They are large enough that they can be seen from space.

Scientific American reports that city buildings can make hurricanes striking cities more serious.

Scientific American also tells us why we don't forget how to ride a bicycle.

FiveThirtyEight explains the abundance of fires in California.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain.

Thanks for looking!