ARE MICROBES CAUSING GLOBAL WARMING?

A report states that research suggests algae growing on the Alaska Harding Icefield is causing about one-sixth (17%) of the glacial snow melt there.* As the microbes grow, they turn the snow a crimson color. This coloring increases the amount of sunlight the snow absorbs, causing an increase in melting.

Glaciers contain nutrients that can encourage algal growth. When algal growth causes faster snow melt, that melting can, in turn, accelerate more algal growth resulting in even more melting. Researchers also are studying the Greenland ice sheet for similar findings.

According to the report, the "algal effect" on glacial snow melt should be taken into account in so-called climate change simulations. In other words, snow melt cannot be assumed to be due entirely to higher temperatures. One wonders what other natural phenomena may be increasing global temperatures but may not be considered in predictions of climate change. For example, some have asserted that cow flatulence is a significant contributor to warming.

It is said that "a rolling stone gathers no moss." In the fast moving rolling stone of climate change assertions, have we really looked for moss or do we merely assume that there is none?

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*Hamers, "Algae Speed Up Melting of
Glacial Snow," Science News,
October 14, 2017, p.10

© Daniel J. Kucera 2017

RAINMAKING: FOOLING MOTHER NATURE?

One of the classic scenes in Hitchock's movie North By Northwest has Cary Grant nervously standing in bleak open farmland. Another man, a stranger waiting for a bus, appears and exclaims something like "that's funny--that crop duster airplane is spraying where there are no crops!"

Much of the upper Great Plains has experienced severe drought conditions this summer, causing harsh impacts on farming and ranching. North Dakota has had a cloud seeding program for several decades. Airplanes spray particles of silver iodide and dry ice into clouds to cause water droplets to become ice crystals which can fall as rain and small hail.

Much like the crop duster spraying barren ground, it appears that some are questioning the success of cloud seeding. A recent published article has reported that some farmers believe that cloud seeding actually may be making drought conditions worse.* They have referenced alleged situations of clouds moving away after seeding, resulting in less rainfall in cloud seeded areas.

However, the article cites studies showing that cloud seeding does, in fact, produce more rainfall. The difficulty is that evidence one way or the other seems to be anecdotal. It simply is near impossible to objectively measure how much more rain fell as a result of cloud seeding compared with how much rain would have fallen without it. Also complicating the picture is the fact that it is hard to generalize because no two cloud systems are identical.

So, even if every cloud has a silver lining, it may not be a wet one.

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*Kolpack,"In Parched North Dakota,Cloud-
Seeding Irks Some Farmers," Rapid City
Journal, September 25, 2017, p. A3

© Daniel J. Kucera 2017

PRIVY TO HISTORY: THE INS AND OUTS OF AN OUTHOUSE

A recent newspaper article reported that archaeologists are digging up the probable site of an outhouse located next door to Paul Revere's house in Boston. The privy was in the yard of a house built approximately 1711. Apparently, the site already has yielded bits of glass and pottery. However, no fossilized human excrement yet has been discovered. If such remains do pop up, they could give clues as to colonial diets, wealth of the users and digestive health. The article notes that historically outhouses often served as landfills, coughing up interesting artifacts when excavated.

It seems that analysis of excrement is not limited to probing outhouse contents. Recently, I attended a National Park Ranger lecture about bears. He explained that droppings by grizzly bears, when studied by graduate students, have shown that only about 25% of the berries consumed by the bears actually were digested. The remaining 75% were discharged as whole berries, suggesting a straight pipe phenomenon. Hopefully, samples were collected with caution.

Another article has stated that scientists are still working on how to convert astronaut excrement into a useful product. Apparently, one project seeks to convert astronaut urine into 3-D printable plastics and to nutritional omega-3 fats.** Perhaps, one day in the future archaeologists will be excavating plastic objects from landfills that were made from space flight waste.

Modern wastewater collection and treatment systems may have a disadvantage for historians. Opportunities for discovery of cultural artifacts, dietary clues and socio-economic factors may be limited, compared to the outhouse eras.

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* Kole, "The Old Outhouse: Privy Tied To
Paul Revere Is Excavated", Rapid City
Journal, September 30, 2017, p. C6

**"Waste Makes Haste", Science News,
September 2, 2017, p. 4


© Daniel J. Kucera 2017