Junk Science

Light Pollution is Now a Thing

From space.com…

“[Light pollution] threatens biodiversity through changed night habits, such as reproduction or migration patterns, of many different species: insects, amphibians, fish, birds, bats and other animals,” Hölker said. “And it can even disrupt plants by causing … late leaf loss and extended growing periods, which could of course impact the composition of the floral community.”

High levels of artificial light may also impact health in humans by reducing the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that can affect things like the body’s immune system, mental health and fertility. It also reduces people’s ability to see stars and celestial objects, which astronomers and social scientists argue has a negative impact on culture and science. It’s estimated that about one-third of the world’s population cannot see the band of the Milky Way galaxy at night, due to light pollution. That includes 80 percent of people living in North America.

The researchers said they hope their research can be used in efforts to initiate policy changes that combat light pollution. Kyba is involved with the International Dark-Sky Association, which is taking steps to fight this problem.

The paper appears today (Nov. 22) in the journal Science Advances.

 

Please note the uses of the words “can” and “could.”

I would agree with the argument that nocturnal creatures would have a problem with the absence of a night cycle. However, with that being said I also believe that those creatives would evolve just as we’ve always done. The environment we live in is ever changing. Evolution is a constant process.

The article in space.com paints a picture that is far from reality. We are in no danger of having a Coruscant style of planet nor are we close.

Sometimes, I really think scientists as a whole are just trying to justify their own existence instead of helping mankind.

Someone probably paid real money for this research and that is just sad.

November 23, 2017 by Junk Science

Scientists Know Everything

Ok, maybe not.

A bacterium found in the arsenic-filled waters of a Californian lake is poised to overturn scientists’ understanding of the biochemistry of living organisms. The microbe seems to be able to replace phosphorus with arsenic in some of its basic cellular processes — suggesting the possibility of a biochemistry very different from the one we know, which could be used by organisms in past or present extreme environments on Earth, or even on other planets.

The article also says, “Oddball bacterium can survive without one of biology’s essential building blocks.”

Apparently, your essential building blocks thing is flawed.

I guess they don’t know everything.

Makes you wonder about global warming as well…

…doesn’t it?

Additional Rant Added 12.04 – The moral of the story is that scientists, more than anyone else, should not be dealing in “absolutes.” Time and time again they are either proven wrong or we find that what they believed to be an “absolute” truth is nothing more than a misguided idea predicated on erroneous data which leads to false conclusions. They then present these false conclusions as fact. Too much coffee is bad for you, red meat is bad for you, and “absolutes” of this nature are often repealed after later research shows a different result. Science is always evolving and we don’t have all of the answers. I believe that anyone who leans on the “absolutes” of science will soon find themselves flat on their ass.

December 3, 2010 by Junk Science

The Curious Case of…

…common sense.

I’ve been saying for as long as I can remember that removing essential foods from our diet is more likely to have a negative impact than the positive impact the industry who makes fake butter (for instance) is hoping to achieve.

We remove butter from our diet because we think it’s bad for us without ever realizing that butter contains a basic component that we require to live a healthy life. With that being said, I give you the “cure” for peanut allergies.

What’s the cure? You ask.

Peanuts. Imagine that.

The new therapy works similarly to allergy shots, which haven’t proved safe against food allergies. Exposure to increasing amounts of peanut flour gradually builds up tolerance. Blood tests show that the immune system begins to ignore the peanut flour instead of attacking it.

Thank you Captain Obvious.

March 15, 2009 by Junk Science

Polar Ice: 101

I don’t know about anyone else but I’m sick and tired (mostly tired) of reading the same stories about “global warming” and how it’s melting the polar ice caps. Case in point…

from The New York Times today…

TO the relief of climate scientists around the world, it appears that the polar ice cap hasn’t shrunk as much this summer as it did last summer.

The ice cap usually reaches its smallest extent around now, and although the total area of ice in September fluctuates from year to year, in the last two decades it has generally declined, probably because of carbon-driven global warming. Last year, the ice cap shrank at a record-breaking pace; at its minimum it was almost 39 percent smaller than the average from 1979 to 2000. This year it’s down about 33 percent.

I don’t know about anyone else but I’m not interested in probably. What a bunch of sloppy reporting? The word “probably” indicates that what follows is the author’s opinion. I just want the report, not the opinion.

In a story from July 3rd of this year in the Register (the UK. No. I’m not making that up), Steven Goddard writes a piece about how wrong the so-called “global warming” evidence is as it relates to the melting polar ice caps. Here’s a sample…

Satellite records have been kept for polar sea ice over the last thirty years by the University Of Illinois. In 2007 2008, two very different records were set. The Arctic broke the previous record for the least sea ice area ever recorded, while the Antarctic broke the record for the most sea ice area ever recorded. Summed up over the entire earth, polar ice has remained constant. As seen below, there has been no net gain or loss of polar sea ice since records began.

ice_change_large.jpg

Last week, Dr James Hansen from NASA spoke about how CO2 is affecting the polar ice caps.

“We see a tipping point occurring right before our eyes… The Arctic is the first tipping point and it’s occurring exactly the way we said it would,” he said.

Well, not exactly.

Hansen is only telling half the story. In the 1980s the same Dr Hansen wrote a paper titled Climate Sensitivity to Increasing Greenhouse Gases [pdf], in which he explained how CO2 causes “polar amplification.” He predicted nearly symmetrical warming at both poles. As shown in Figure 2-2 from the article, Hansen calculated that both the Arctic and Antarctic would warm by 5-6 degrees Centigrade. His predictions were largely incorrect, as most of Antarctica has cooled and sea ice has rapidly expanded. The evidence does not support the theory.

Do yourself a big favor. Read the whole thing. If you are one of those folks who believe that man made “Global Warming” is real then please read the many articles that explain why it doesn’t exist.

Please don’t believe everything you read, even on this website.

Do you trust less than 2,000 scientists or over 32,000?

32,000 + scientists believe that man made “Global Warming” is a big bunch of crap.

I believe THOSE guys.

September 20, 2008 by Junk Science
Mike Williams
My name is Mike or in some cases Mick depending who you ask. I love programming, science fiction, audiobooks, cats, dogs, and writing. I do not filter on this website so you may see nudity, cursing, or other profanity as required. I apologize for none of it.

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