Creation Care Advent Calendar

The Presbyterian Church, USA, is offering a downloadable Advent Calendar that focuses on Care of God's creation.

• Advent Calendar

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The Natural History Museum in London is exhibiting some great wildlife photos. I found the photos easier to find and view at the MSN News site (link below).

Click on a photo to see a nice large display.

• Wildlife Photographer of the Year - 2013

Eco-Justice site is now Creation Justice

The name for the "Eco-Justice" site has changed to "Creation Justice Ministries," which covers a broader range of Creation Care topics.

If you have not checked out the site, do it now.

• Creation Justice
• Creation Justice Resources

OneNote "Green Living Ideas"

If you own Microsoft Office 2007 or higher, check out OneNote. The default Notebook has tips on use. Many people overlook the very useful Microsoft OneNote. It's like Evernote but, IMHO, much better.

Once you are set up with OneNote, check out the free Microsoft "Green Living Ideas" notebook template for OneNote 2007 and up.

Minimalist landscapes

There is something peaceful about uncluttered landscape photos. Plus, they can make really great computer wallpapers, especially if you are an appreciative steward of God's earth.

Check out the related Flickr photo pool. Remember to comply with the photographer's Creative Commons license for a photo you like. You may need to ask permission to use it.

The image at right is only part of a superb wide angle (or stitched?) photo by Tom DeHoff, used by permission.

• Minimalist landscapes: Take the long view (Flickr photo pool)

See the wind

Ever wonder what wind would look like if we could see its swirls, variations, and waves?

A Discover magazine blog posting mentioned a video of a special Swiss science center façade gives a partial glimpse. It's pretty impressive -- OK. awesome!

Cool sea, sky wallpaper

I ran across this cool yet unobtrusive computer wallpaper of a smooth sea and clouds taken in Italy. It has low texture, so it won't "get in the way" of any desktop icons. Amazingly, the photographer says he didn't make a bunch of "tweaks" to the photo.

The image comes from the blog of a self-described "World and Humanitarian Photographer", David duChemin.

• Sea and sky wallpaper (size: large, widescreen)

NASA video of aerosol flow

NASA has an impressive and colorful video of a global map of the flow of atmospheric aerosols - -particles suspend in the air.

The model uses actual data from Earth-observing satellites to show the flow of the aerosols and compute their density as they moved around, carried by winds.

• Dust. Wind. Dude! ("Slate" magazine)

iPhones born in rare earths

Smartphones are all the rage, but few realize the human toll in creating them. From Coltan mined in the DR Congo to rare earth mines in Las Vegas, side effects of the mining cause problems.

Rare earths come with pleasantly exotic names like neodymium and cerium, but mining techniques often cause environmental hazards. At least one US Company, Molycorp, is trying to use environmentally friendly methods, but China, digging around the world (including DR Congo), is a problem.

"...in China, which produces more than 90 percent of the world's supply of rare-earth minerals, environmental laws have historically been scant and enforcement lax. The center of rare-earth mining there is Baotou, a city in Inner Mongolia with 2.3 million residents that's become something of a poster child for mining's ecological wreckage."

•  Digging for rare earths: The mines where iPhones were born (includes a video)

Related...

• The human toll of creating iPhones
• When recycling your iPhone is actually bad for the environment

DiCaprio helps fight wildlife crime

During a long break he plans to take from the stress of acting, Leonardo DiCaprio is helping the World Wildlife Fund fight wildlife crime.

Illegal trade in animal parts threatens species such as elephants, rhinos, and tigers. Due to a loophole in Thai laws, Thailand has the world's largest unregulated ivory market. Criminals also sell illegally poached ivory from Africa, further devastating already threatened populations of rhinos and elephants.

• Leonardo DiCaprio launches fight against wildlife crime
• "Hands off my parts" (World Wildlife Fund)

Related:

• African poachers fill 11,000 Gabon elephants in less than a decade

Google Earth Engine

Scientists, researchers, and nationals are all partnering with Google to use its Earth Engine.

The resulting mashups of satellite data with imagery can help detect trends and also call attention to possible problem areas. Among the time-lapse views available:

• Deforestation of the Amazon
• Wyoming coal mining
• Columbia Glacier retreat (Alaska)

Pre-computed datasets include "Mexico percent tree cover". These use the free Google Earth 3D browser plugin.

• Google Earth Engine

e-Stewards

The e-Stewards organization aims to reduce electronic waste (e-waste) by working with companies and governments. Their site also has a Google map mashup showing the nearest e-Stewards recycler near you.

What's the difference between a plain recycler and an e-Stewards one?

"Certified e-Stewards recyclers adhere to the e-Stewards Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment®; written by the environmental community with leaders in the industry to protect human health and the global environment."

In short,  the e-Stewards Certification is much more thorough in protecting the environment than other Recycling Certifications. Check out their site for the details.

If you have electronic waste to recycle, check out the map.

• e-Stewards site
• e-Stewards Recyclers map