Originally Published on www.redgreenandblue.org Aug 13, 2009.

In a recent Zogby telephone poll conducted to gauge public opinion on the the Waxman-Markey climate bill, the results showed that a majority of Americans are finally behind climate legislation. The Waxman-Markey climate bill sets out to limit greenhouse gases in the US in order to combat climate change. The bill was just narrowly passed in congress last June by a vote of 219-212.

In the recent past, Americans have shown no interest in changing policy to limit greenhouse gasses, yet shockingly the results of this latest poll show that a whopping 71% of Americans support this bill. The poll also showed that Americans of every age, income group, and political affiliation support the bill much more than previously thought. An enormous win for those of us who want to see reduction in greenhouse gasses.

As predicted the poll results ran higher in the direction of Democrats, but for the first time Republicans and Independents seem to be on board.

Here is a run down on what the poll found:

Favorable View of the Bill:

• Democrats – 89%
• Independents – 73%
• Republicans – 45%

Climate Bill and Employment:

• 68% believe the bill would stimulate job growth.
• 51% believed promoting clean energy and fighting global warming would promote job growth.
• 17% believed the bill would have no effect on jobs.
• 29% believed that the bill would have a negative impact on employment.

As you may know the bill was delayed in the Senate until September. The poll showed:

Climate Bill and the Senate:

• 54% think the Senate should act now.
• 41% feel they should wait.

Support for your Congressperson:

• 47% said they would view their congressperson more favorably if they voted for a climate bill.
• 21% said it would make no difference.
• 29% said they would view their congressperson more negatively if they voted for a climate bill.

All and all, it seems that finally most Americans are looking to take action to stop climate change. This is a good sign for all of us who want to see a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions here and around the world.

Source: www.zogby.com

Image Credit: woodleywonderworks on Flickr

Gliese 581 d. Such a catchy name eh? You probably have never heard of it. It is 20 light years away, but in late April 2009 new observations by the original discovery team concluded that the planet is within the habitable zone where liquid water, and therefore, life, could exist.

Some of you may have heard of SETI. SETI or Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, conducts legitimate science research, searching for extraterrestrial life by looking for some signature of its technology. For years people have been sending radio waves into space on the off chance that there will be a response. Beatles songs, TV shows, radio broadcasts have all been shot into space. Now an Australian website is letting you text into space.

www.hellofromearth.net/ is allowing users from August 12 until August 24, to submit 160 character messages that will be broadcast out to Gliese 581 d. But, don’t expect aliens to be drunk texting you anytime soon. Your SMS will take 20 years to reach Gliese 581 d.

Many users are sending messages of warning how we have destroyed our earth, others are sending messages of hope. Whatever crazy thing you want to send out there, this does raise awareness for science and astronomy. Which I believe is a good thing. Now, I just have to think of a good pick up line for a green woman. No literally green.

Source: www.hellofromearth.net

Image Source: Daniel Hohler

Scientists out of the University of Utah have created a new substance, heralded as a molecular condom, which blocks HIV from entering the vaginal tissue. HIV infection is a huge problem in Africa, and other impoverished areas, mostly because of a taboo or unavailability of condoms. The gel is meant to give woman a way to protect themselves from infection without any approval of their partner.

“This is important – particularly in resource-poor areas of the world like sub-Sahara Africa and south Asia where, in some age groups, as many as 60 percent of women already are infected with HIV. In these places, women often are not empowered to force their partners to wear a condom.” – Patrick Kiser, an associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Utah

The gel is inserted vaginally, and when it comes into contact with semen it hardens, creating a mesh around the semen and the human immunodeficiency virus. Kiser says the gel should block other viruses and sperm, thus could work as a contraceptive and possibly prevent infection by herpes viruses and human papillomavirus (HPV), a major cause of cervical cancer.

To be more effective against HIV, anti-HIV drugs can be added to the gel, giving the gel a double barrier against HIV infection. The gel also works by blocking movement of immune system cells that try to combat infectious agents but instead get hijacked by the AIDS virus.

The gel is just in the testing phase right now. The gel will be tested thoroughly before it is put out on the market. The researchers are currently working on testing the HIV-prevention ability of other polymers, testing the safety of the new gel on vaginal cells, and studying how well the new gel blocks the transport of HIV into samples of human vaginal and penile tissue from hysterectomies and circumcisions. If proven effective, this gel will be able to go a long way in the war against AIDS.

Source: Science Daily

Image Credit: Daniel Hohler

We have all been waiting for this day. Finally, shark repellent has arrived to the world… except this shark repellent is not used to save humans from sharks. No this shark repellent was made to save sharks from humans. With good reason, while only about 4 people die of unprovoked shark attacks each year, humans kill an estimated 73 million sharks each year. You do the math and tell me who is the biggest threat to whom?

Many sharks are inadvertently killed in fishing equipment used for tuna, swordfish, and other commercial fish. This is called bycatch. These unwanted sharks are often thrown back into the ocean dead, dying, or injured.

Sharks hunt by using electrically conductive sensory organs on their nose, known as ampullae of Lorenzini. Ampullae of Lorenzini detect the beating heart of their prey. A new shark repellent device has been created to stop shark bycatch that uses the sharks electrical detection senses.

A half-dollar-sized metal alloy clamped onto fishing gear protects sharks by creating a mild electrical current. The alloy sends out an electrical current 6-8 times the amount the shark is expecting in a prey’s heartbeat. It is the equivalent of shining a bright light into your eyes.

This type of shark repellent unfortunately wont work for high speed predators like the great white shark, but for slow moving and solitary sharks it has been shown to reduce bycatch 64%. Fishermen might want to adopt this technology to keep sharks from breaking equipment, and taking up space on their line that was meant for fish they want to catch.

No word on if the spray form will be available for superheroes. I’ll keep you updated.

Source: Discovery News

Image Credit: Daniel Hohler

if you missed Green iPhone Apps Reviewed Part 1: Free Apps, you can see it here. After my first batch of reviews on the free green iPhone apps, I have gotten some great suggestions on green apps. If you have any you you would like to see reviewed, you can comment here, head over to my website www.danielhohler.com, or twitter me @danielhohler. I am not a hard man to find. I have already gotten a whole new batch that people would like to hear about, so it looks like by popular demand there will be green iPhone apps part 3, so stay tuned here on planetsave.com.

iPhone apps are sweeping the nation. For those of us who own iPhones, we know just how useful a good app can be. The problem is that there are so many apps floating around, finding a really good app is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. However, don’t fret. I am here to pick up all of those straws of hay and tell you if indeed they are hay, or maybe just maybe, a needle. Or with less metaphor, I’ll try them and tell you if they are any good.

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When I was doing research on Catalina Island, there was a wanted poster hanging in the dive locker. Although, this wanted poster was not for any bank robber or bandit. This was a wanted poster for kelp. Undaria pinnatifida, an invasive species from Asia that has hitched a ride on boat’s hulls and ballast water. Also known as wakame, you may know that name as an ingredient in many Asian dishes or miso soup.

Wakame has become a large problem from New Zealand to Monterey Bay. It is an aggressive and costly intruder that takes over a habitat at the expensive of the native species. Since its discovery in San Francisco Bay, 140 lbs of the kelp have been removed from the San Francisco Marina alone. Wakame’s destructive nature has earned it a spot on the 100 of the Worlds Worst Invasive Species list.

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