Showing posts with label Summit County Citizens Voice local favorite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summit County Citizens Voice local favorite. Show all posts
August 26, 2012
May 28, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Tourism: G20 countries seek to ease visa burdens"
Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY —Tourism ministers from G20 countries have made a formal declaration that they’ll seek to ease visa burdens to boost international travel and tourism, seen as a way to potentially add 5 million jobs and generate $206 million in tourism revenue by 2015, according to figures from the World Tourism Organization.
The recently adopted declaration encourages G20 countries to leverage new technologies to make travel “more accessible, convenient and more efficient without a diminution of national security.” It also encourages countries look into increasing cooperation on bilateral, regional and international travel facilitation regimes.
Tourism ministers from G20 countries met May 16 with Mexican President Felipe Calderón to talk about boosting tourism, with Calderón promising that he would deliver the message to the other G20 heads of state.
WTO research shows that, of the 656 million international tourists who visited G20 countries in 2011, 110 million needed a visa, while millions more were deterred from traveling by the cost, waiting time and difficulty of obtaining a visa.
Areas of opportunity for facilitating travel include maximizing the use of information and communication technologies to improvevisa procedures, instituting electronic visa processing and establishing regional agreements for visa facilitation...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"SUMMIT COUNTY —Tourism ministers from G20 countries have made a formal declaration that they’ll seek to ease visa burdens to boost international travel and tourism, seen as a way to potentially add 5 million jobs and generate $206 million in tourism revenue by 2015, according to figures from the World Tourism Organization.
The recently adopted declaration encourages G20 countries to leverage new technologies to make travel “more accessible, convenient and more efficient without a diminution of national security.” It also encourages countries look into increasing cooperation on bilateral, regional and international travel facilitation regimes.
Tourism ministers from G20 countries met May 16 with Mexican President Felipe Calderón to talk about boosting tourism, with Calderón promising that he would deliver the message to the other G20 heads of state.
WTO research shows that, of the 656 million international tourists who visited G20 countries in 2011, 110 million needed a visa, while millions more were deterred from traveling by the cost, waiting time and difficulty of obtaining a visa.
Areas of opportunity for facilitating travel include maximizing the use of information and communication technologies to improvevisa procedures, instituting electronic visa processing and establishing regional agreements for visa facilitation...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."
May 1, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Op-Ed: Global warming denial a dangerous course"
*Bob Berwyn: Editor’s note: This op-ed was written in response to letters to the editor in the Summit Daily News, published in Frisco, Colorado. The newspaper frequently publishes letters by Hertzberg that are full of scientific inaccuracies and misleading statements.
By Howard Hallman and Brad Piehl
"Sunday April 22 was Earth Day. The Summit Daily celebrated by printing a full page feature spread about climate change denier Marty Hertzberg. Marty has anointed himself as a climate change expert, but in fact he spent much of this career doing mine safety work for the coal industry. Given his background and apparent lack of research experience it is hard to see him as a fair minded credible expert on global warming.
Much of what Marty states as fact is naïve and untrue. The earth’s temperature has increased dramatically over the past 50 years, by all reasonable accounts the direct result of rapid population growth and a significant increase in carbon dioxide emissions into Earth’s atmosphere.
Contrary to Marty’s assertion, small increases in any number of substances including carbon dioxide and fluorocarbon derivatives do have a large and long-term impact on weather. In fact, that’s how cloud seeding works; a relatively tiny quantity of substance is blown into the air triggering the formation of ice crystals and subsequent snowfall.
The global warming controversy in the United States is not really a public policy discussion; rather it is one more political straw man for those who seek to generate hate and divide us....."
(Read more? Click title)
April 18, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Obama slammed for weak polar bear conservation plan"
First, 'SandBox Nanny' has to make her peace today with the undeniable fact that rabid liberal Andy Stone, up on the Aspen Times, made the SandBox roundup cut for the day.
And now Bob Berwyn, appears to be in one of his 'utterly shameless marketing of global warming information moods' by shamelessly using a 'catchy to conservative Nanny's eye' headline bashing Barack Obama in combination with exploitative posting of cute photos of her beloved polar bears:
"Polar bears won't get much help from a new protection plan proposed by the Obama administration...."
(Photo courtesy USFWS/Scott Schliebe)
And now Bob Berwyn, appears to be in one of his 'utterly shameless marketing of global warming information moods' by shamelessly using a 'catchy to conservative Nanny's eye' headline bashing Barack Obama in combination with exploitative posting of cute photos of her beloved polar bears:
"Polar bears won't get much help from a new protection plan proposed by the Obama administration...."
(Photo courtesy USFWS/Scott Schliebe)
April 15, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Colorado: A little snow history"
Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — Each year’s weather triggers discussions about past seasons, and without having exact statistics at hand, it’s easy to get mixed up about snowfall records or dry spells. Last year, for example, during the big La Niña snows, there was a lot of talk about the “snowiest winter ever” and a lot of hype. More on the ENSO cycle here.
It was a big year, for sure, and the snow fell late into the spring, but detailed month-to-month comparisons from previous seasons showed that it wasn’t quite the snowiest year ever, though some specific locations did set snowfall records, for example at A-Basin, which reported record April totals. Which brings up another point: Snowfall totals can vary greatly across just very short distances, based on local topography and other factors.
Similarly, this winter has already earned a reputation as the driest on record, and that’s not quite true, either, although it came pretty close. And again, some specific locations did report record low snowfall, so I suppose it depends in part on how and where you measure...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"SUMMIT COUNTY — Each year’s weather triggers discussions about past seasons, and without having exact statistics at hand, it’s easy to get mixed up about snowfall records or dry spells. Last year, for example, during the big La Niña snows, there was a lot of talk about the “snowiest winter ever” and a lot of hype. More on the ENSO cycle here.
It was a big year, for sure, and the snow fell late into the spring, but detailed month-to-month comparisons from previous seasons showed that it wasn’t quite the snowiest year ever, though some specific locations did set snowfall records, for example at A-Basin, which reported record April totals. Which brings up another point: Snowfall totals can vary greatly across just very short distances, based on local topography and other factors.
Similarly, this winter has already earned a reputation as the driest on record, and that’s not quite true, either, although it came pretty close. And again, some specific locations did report record low snowfall, so I suppose it depends in part on how and where you measure...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
April 14, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Scientists double their estimates of Antarctic emperor penguin populations after careful satellite study"
"Oh, so are we!!!" (say all the fans of Bob Berwyn's penguin stories on this wonderful news from the Brits):
Bob Berwyn (with photo credits to the British Antarctic Society) :
"....."“We are delighted to be able to locate and identify such a large number of emperor penguins,” said lead author and geographer Peter Fretwell, of the British Antarctic Survey. “We counted 595,000 birds, which is almost double the previous estimates of 270,000 – 350,000 birds. This is the first comprehensive census of a species taken from space.”...." (Read more? See more? Click title)
Bob Berwyn (with photo credits to the British Antarctic Society) :
"....."“We are delighted to be able to locate and identify such a large number of emperor penguins,” said lead author and geographer Peter Fretwell, of the British Antarctic Survey. “We counted 595,000 birds, which is almost double the previous estimates of 270,000 – 350,000 birds. This is the first comprehensive census of a species taken from space.”...." (Read more? See more? Click title)
April 9, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning Photo: Easter Sunday"
Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — I was determined to wake up in time to catch a few shots of the post-full moon setting over the Gore Range this weekend, and had ambitious plans to visit a new spot for the occasion. But when I woke up Sunday morning, the moon was already hanging low over Mt. Royal. I skipped coffee, jumped into my jeans and headed to my standby spot along Dillon Dam Road, where I have an idea of what to expect in terms of lighting and reflections. I was hoping for a bit more color in the sky, but it was a gloriously still morning. I would have been happy to be out there, even without a camera..."
"SUMMIT COUNTY — I was determined to wake up in time to catch a few shots of the post-full moon setting over the Gore Range this weekend, and had ambitious plans to visit a new spot for the occasion. But when I woke up Sunday morning, the moon was already hanging low over Mt. Royal. I skipped coffee, jumped into my jeans and headed to my standby spot along Dillon Dam Road, where I have an idea of what to expect in terms of lighting and reflections. I was hoping for a bit more color in the sky, but it was a gloriously still morning. I would have been happy to be out there, even without a camera..."
April 1, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Colorado: Wolf pack moves into Summit County"
There's one day of the year that regional locals can count on seeing the true nature of our regional media rise to the surface and public eye.
The April Fool editions.
This year holds the same top two local fav's. As always, the best laughs from both.
Let's start the daily roundup with Bob Berwyn. Up and over on the Summit County Citizens Voice.
Bob Berwyn:
"County will have to cut human population by about 30 percent to provide adequate wolf habitat..." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
The April Fool editions.
This year holds the same top two local fav's. As always, the best laughs from both.
Let's start the daily roundup with Bob Berwyn. Up and over on the Summit County Citizens Voice.
Bob Berwyn:
"County will have to cut human population by about 30 percent to provide adequate wolf habitat..." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
March 30, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: Colorful!"
All credit: Bob Berwyn
Curious about Bob Berwyn? That stealth tracking journalist who has risen to the top ranked status of a local's fav? They say a picture speaks a thousand words...
Curious about Bob Berwyn? That stealth tracking journalist who has risen to the top ranked status of a local's fav? They say a picture speaks a thousand words...
March 23, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Biodiversity: Monarch butterflies in steep decline"
Bob Berwyn:
" A decades-long downward trend in Monarch butterfly numbers is expected to continue this year, with reports from the World Wildlife Fund and other sources indicating there may be almost one-third fewer butterflies making the northward flight from Mexico this spring and summer.
This year’s steep decline may, in part, be due to last summer’s severe drought in Texas, which resulted in less food for the showy insects as they traveled south. But year-to-year fluctuations don’t hide the overall long-term trend of population decline.
“The latest information shows that Monarchs will be down from 25 to 30 percent this year, and that has been part of a disturbing trend the last few years,” said Craig Wilson, a senior research associate in the Center for Mathematics and Science Education and a long-time butterfly enthusiast.
This year, according to the Texas Monarch Watch, Monarchs covered about 7.14 acres of forest in their Mexican breeding grounds compared to 9.9 acres last year, and it shows a continued long-term downward trend in Monarch population since official surveys began in 1994...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
" A decades-long downward trend in Monarch butterfly numbers is expected to continue this year, with reports from the World Wildlife Fund and other sources indicating there may be almost one-third fewer butterflies making the northward flight from Mexico this spring and summer.
This year’s steep decline may, in part, be due to last summer’s severe drought in Texas, which resulted in less food for the showy insects as they traveled south. But year-to-year fluctuations don’t hide the overall long-term trend of population decline.
“The latest information shows that Monarchs will be down from 25 to 30 percent this year, and that has been part of a disturbing trend the last few years,” said Craig Wilson, a senior research associate in the Center for Mathematics and Science Education and a long-time butterfly enthusiast.
This year, according to the Texas Monarch Watch, Monarchs covered about 7.14 acres of forest in their Mexican breeding grounds compared to 9.9 acres last year, and it shows a continued long-term downward trend in Monarch population since official surveys began in 1994...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
March 21, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Report: Zooplankton in the Gulf of Mexico soaked by toxic compounds from Deepwater Horizon spill"
Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — Oil from BP’s failed Deepwater Horizon drilling contaminated the Gulf of Mexico‘s marine food chain from the bottom up, according to a new study showing that the oil was absorbed by tiny zooplankton.
Zooplankton are useful to track oil-derived pollution. They serve as food for baby fish and shrimp and act as conduits for the movement of oil contamination and pollutants into the food chain. The study confirms that, not only did oil affect the ecosystem in the Gulf during the blowout, but was still entering the food web long after the well was capped.
“Our research helped to determine a ‘fingerprint’ of the Deepwater Horizon spill—something that other researchers interested the spill may be able to use,” said Dr. Siddhartha Mitra of Eastern Carolina University. “Furthermore, our work demonstrated that zooplankton in the Northern Gulf of Mexico accumulated toxic compounds derived from the Macondo well.” he said.
After the April 20, 2010 explosion on the drilling rig, crude oil gushed into the water at a rate of at least 53,000 barrels per day before the well was capped on July 15.
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"SUMMIT COUNTY — Oil from BP’s failed Deepwater Horizon drilling contaminated the Gulf of Mexico‘s marine food chain from the bottom up, according to a new study showing that the oil was absorbed by tiny zooplankton.
Zooplankton are useful to track oil-derived pollution. They serve as food for baby fish and shrimp and act as conduits for the movement of oil contamination and pollutants into the food chain. The study confirms that, not only did oil affect the ecosystem in the Gulf during the blowout, but was still entering the food web long after the well was capped.
“Our research helped to determine a ‘fingerprint’ of the Deepwater Horizon spill—something that other researchers interested the spill may be able to use,” said Dr. Siddhartha Mitra of Eastern Carolina University. “Furthermore, our work demonstrated that zooplankton in the Northern Gulf of Mexico accumulated toxic compounds derived from the Macondo well.” he said.
After the April 20, 2010 explosion on the drilling rig, crude oil gushed into the water at a rate of at least 53,000 barrels per day before the well was capped on July 15.
Oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and other chemicals. It contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can be used to fingerprint oil and determine its origins. The researchers were able to identify the signature unique to the Deep Water Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico.
The team’s research indicates that the fingerprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could be found in some zooplankton in the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem at low levels as much as a month after the leaking wellhead was capped..." (Read more? Click title)
March 20, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Vernal equinox 2012 arrives: Spring has sprung"
Bob Berwyn:
"Given the unusual early heat wave that’s gripped most of the country, perhaps it’s fitting that the spring equinox makes it’s earliest arrival in more than 100 years — since 1896, to be exact.
In the mountain time zone, the moment of equinox is actually late Monday night, which means it will officially be spring by the time you wake up.
It’s also a day you can check your iPhone GPS and compass against the sky because the sun rises due east and sets due west.
The equinox marks the moment when the sun is directly above the Earth’s equator. Days and nights are about equal in length in both the northern and southern hemispheres — but not exactly the same, as some people believe.
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"Given the unusual early heat wave that’s gripped most of the country, perhaps it’s fitting that the spring equinox makes it’s earliest arrival in more than 100 years — since 1896, to be exact.
In the mountain time zone, the moment of equinox is actually late Monday night, which means it will officially be spring by the time you wake up.
It’s also a day you can check your iPhone GPS and compass against the sky because the sun rises due east and sets due west.
The equinox marks the moment when the sun is directly above the Earth’s equator. Days and nights are about equal in length in both the northern and southern hemispheres — but not exactly the same, as some people believe.
The exact time and date of the equinox changes for very simple reasons. The division of the year into 365 days doesn’t exactly match up with celestial rhythms. The Earth’s orbit around the sun isn’t exactly circular. This archaeoastronomy website has detailed info on the timing of equinoxes and solstices...."
(Read more? Click title)
February 24, 2012
February 23, 2012
February 6, 2012
SandBox Comments: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning Photo: February (2011)"
Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — Early February is truly the heart of winter, at least here in the high country. Down in the lowlands, they may be talking about groundhogs and shadows, and in more temperate climes, it’s true, you may start to see the first hints of impending change. But at 9,000 or 10,000 feet, or in northern latitudes, this is the time of year when you really start to feel that the ground is completely still and at rest in preparation for something yet unknown. It’s a little different this year. Bare earth is visible in more than a few places, and with temperatures averaging at least 3 to 4 degrees above average, the ground isn’t even frozen solid. So in case you’ve forgotten, here’s what winter can (and should) look like in series of images from early February, 2011."
"SUMMIT COUNTY — Early February is truly the heart of winter, at least here in the high country. Down in the lowlands, they may be talking about groundhogs and shadows, and in more temperate climes, it’s true, you may start to see the first hints of impending change. But at 9,000 or 10,000 feet, or in northern latitudes, this is the time of year when you really start to feel that the ground is completely still and at rest in preparation for something yet unknown. It’s a little different this year. Bare earth is visible in more than a few places, and with temperatures averaging at least 3 to 4 degrees above average, the ground isn’t even frozen solid. So in case you’ve forgotten, here’s what winter can (and should) look like in series of images from early February, 2011."
February 5, 2012
SandBox Comments: Summitt County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: Florida revisited"
All credit: Bob Berwyn
February 4, 2012
SandBox Comments: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning Photo: Village scenes"
All credit: Bob Berwyn
February 2, 2012
SandBox Comments: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: Editor’s choice"
Oh, and what choices they are...
(All credit: Bob Berwyn)
(All credit: Bob Berwyn)
January 25, 2012
SandBox Comments: Summit County Citizens Voice "Study: Wetlands restoration rarely effective"
Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — For years, land managers and elected officials have permitted the destruction of ecologically valuable wetlands under the assumption that those areas can be replaced somewhere else with artificially created wetlands.
That development model has created a billion-dollar-per-year wetlands restoration industry, but a recent study suggests that restored wetlands rarely reach the quality of a natural wetland.
“Once you degrade a wetland, it doesn’t recover its normal assemblage of plants or its rich stores of organic soil carbon, which both affect natural cycles of water and nutrients, for many years,” said David Moreno-Mateos, a University of California, Berkeley, postdoctoral fellow. “Even after 100 years, the restored wetland is still different from what was there before, and it may never recover...”
(Read more? Click title. Comment to discuss)
"SUMMIT COUNTY — For years, land managers and elected officials have permitted the destruction of ecologically valuable wetlands under the assumption that those areas can be replaced somewhere else with artificially created wetlands.
That development model has created a billion-dollar-per-year wetlands restoration industry, but a recent study suggests that restored wetlands rarely reach the quality of a natural wetland.
“Once you degrade a wetland, it doesn’t recover its normal assemblage of plants or its rich stores of organic soil carbon, which both affect natural cycles of water and nutrients, for many years,” said David Moreno-Mateos, a University of California, Berkeley, postdoctoral fellow. “Even after 100 years, the restored wetland is still different from what was there before, and it may never recover...”
(Read more? Click title. Comment to discuss)
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