Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/human-greed-takes-lions-share-of-solar-energy/2007/07/02/1183351126304.html" target="_blank">http://www.smh.com.au/news/env ironment/human-greed-takes-lions-share-of-solar-energy/2007/07/02/1183351126304.html</a> >>HUMANS are just one of the millions of species on Earth, but we use up almost a quarter of the sun's energy captured by plants - the most of any species. The human dominance of this natural resource is affecting other species, reducing the amount of energy available to them by almost 10 per cent, scientists report. Researchers said the findings showed humans were using "a remarkable share" of the earth's plant productivity "to meet the needs and wants of one species". They also warned that the increased use of biofuels - such as ethanol and canola - should be viewed cautiously, given the potential for further pressure on ecosystems. The scientists, from Austria and Germany, who publish their results today in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analysed data on land use, agriculture and forestry from 161 countries, representing 97 per cent of the world's land mass. This showed humans used 24 per cent of the energy that was captured by plants. More than half of this was due to the harvesting of crops or other plants. The human use of the natural resource varied across the globe, ranging from 11 per cent in Oceania and Australia, to 63 per cent in southern Asia. An agriculture professor at the University of Melbourne, Snow Barlow, said the paper showed humans were taking up too much of an important natural resource. "Here we are, just one species on the earth, and we're grabbing a quarter of the renewable resources … we're probably being a bit greedy."<< So we should stop growing food, and ban ethenol....
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Just shows you that you don't have to be smart to be a scientist! The lengths people will go to in an effort to justify their paychecks. It could be argued that scientists are taking up valuable space on the planet. Greedy bunch that they are! They are occupying space that could be used by a plant or small tree. Frankly, in a lot of cases, the plant or small tree would contribute far more to our world than the "scientists".
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder For Most People, Eating Bugs Is Only Natural Sharon Guynup and Nicolas Ruggia National Geographic Channel July 15, 2004 If you think eating insects is gross, you may be in the cultural minority. Throughout history, people have relished insects as food. Today, many cultures still do. Ten thousand years ago hunters and gatherers ate bugs to survive. They probably learned what was edible from observing what animals ate, according to Gene DeFoliart, a professor emeritus of entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Eating insects certainly is an old tradition," he said. The ancient Romans and Greeks dined on insects. Pliny, the first-century Roman scholar and author of Historia Naturalis, wrote that Roman aristocrats loved to eat beetle larvae reared on flour and wine. Aristotle, the fourth-century Greek philosopher and scientist, described in his writings the ideal time to harvest cicadas: "The larva of the cicada on attaining full size in the ground becomes a nymph; then it tastes best, before the husk is broken. At first the males are better to eat, but after copulation the females, which are then full of white eggs." The Old Testament encouraged Christians and Jews to consume locusts, beetles, and grasshoppers. St. John the Baptist is said to have survived on locusts and honey when he lived in the desert. In the mid-19th century Maj. Howard Egan, a superintendent of the Pony Express in Nevada, observed a Paiute Indian hunt where the quarry was neither bison nor rabbit, but rather the wingless Mormon cricket. Major Egan later described how the Paiute dug a series of large trenches, covered them with straw, then drove hordes of crickets into the excavated trap. The Indians set the straw on fire, burning the crickets alive. Paiute women then gathered bushels of the charred bugs and brought them back to camp to make flour for bread—an important seasonal source of protein. Insect Cuisine Many types of insects appear on menus today. Bugs remain a traditional food in many cultures across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, DeFoliart said. Much more at the link! <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0715_040715_tvinsectfood.html" target="_blank">http://news.nationalgeographic .com/news/2004/07/0715_040715_tvinsectfood.html</a>
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Lobster, crab, and shrimp are essentially "sea bugs." Crayfish (crawdads) are even often called "mud bugs." <So we should stop growing food, and ban ethenol..... Whatever the merits (or lack thereof) of the original article, it's worth noting that they never said this. A typical overreaction.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Now Humans are being accused of overusing the Sun!>> Must be those California and Florida people, because for large portions of the year we Minnesotan’s don't get much!! ;-)
Originally Posted By WorldDisney Well I used it from 6 a.m. this morning to around 7:30 p.m. then I put it away for awhile. When I don't use it, I can't see where I'm going and having lights on all the time SUCKS!!!! But I don't use it more than I need to and put it for a few hours every night...kind of like my ipod .
Originally Posted By iPost <For Most People, Eating Bugs Is Only Natural> Well, this time he did include an original thought of his own: "So we should stop growing food, and ban ethenol...." It is a start.
Originally Posted By CrouchingTigger I can't remember the name of the movie, but it was a western starring Clint Eastwood. He was talking to some business men, and they invite him to lunch at some fancy restaurant. They all sit down and the waiter brings their food. Clint's dish is a nice big lobster. Clint just looks at his plate in shock for a moment while the other men are chatting about whatever, and then one of them looks over at him and asks, "Is there something wrong with your lobster?" Clint looks somewhat perplexed and replies, "No, I just ain't never et a bug that big before."
Originally Posted By MOLLYSMOM Roadtrip...don't forget those Nevada folk, either. (You know who you are, wonderingalice) Oops, my tan lines are showing...sorry about the over-usage.
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove Let's take the Sun Wheel and use it to run over those boneheads. Gee whiz.
