I’ve often said that the most sophisticated green technology on the planet is the humble tree. Trees sequester carbon, fix nitrogen into the soil, create organic compost, prevent erosion, and create rain, while providing sustainable crops, shape, lumber, and even fuel. The single most important activity on the planet (I believe) is planting trees, a…
I’ve often said that the most sophisticated green technology on the planet is the humble tree. Trees sequester carbon, fix nitrogen into the soil, create organic compost, prevent erosion, and create rain, while providing sustainable crops, shape, lumber, and even fuel. The single most important activity on the planet (I believe) is planting trees, a fact backed up by the latest McKinsey study on abating the effects of global warming. But there is a problem.
Reforestation efforts in denuded lands like Africa, Mexico, India, and China have never been taken seriously as a means to abate climate change because young saplings are very, very difficult to establish. They take a lot of water and require regular maintenance—two things which are in scarce supply in precisely the regions where they are needed most.
But what if there were a device that eliminated those risks? A device which requires no power, has no moving parts, and literally conjures water out of the air? It sounds like a miracle, but that miracle may be upon us now with the advent of the Groasis Waterboxx.
This simple passive water harvesting device takes advantage of one attribute that most deserts have—a major temperature differential between night and day.
Dew is created at night when the little bit of moisture in the air condenses on semi-permeable surfaces like leaves. As soon as the sun rises, the dew quickly burns off and returns back into the air. But the ingenious little Waterboxx channels all the dew to a collection tank where it helps the young roots of a sapling tree get established.
Eventually the roots become strong enough to seek their own water deep underground.
Pieter Hoff, the Dutch inventor of the Waterboxx recently completed a study in a desert in Morocco and the results were astonishing. With next to no care whatsoever, 100 percent of the trees in a Groasis Waterboxx survived, and nearly 90 percent were thriving. Contrast that with a standard tree-planting effort in which only 10 percent of the trees actually survived.
Likened to a “water battery” the Waterboxx is a passive drip irrigation system, slowly wicking a trickle of the water it collects into the tree’s fledgling root system.
While there is not doubt that our number one environmental priority is to prevent further deforestation, the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, the Groasis provides a glimmer of hope on the horizon for those working to prevent climate change (while restoring water supplies and building soil fertility) in regions that most have given up on.
Note: The current Waterboxx is made out of polypropylene, but the company is working on a biodegradable version which decomposes as soon as the roots have been established.
Karl Burkart blogs about technology for the Mother Nature Network.
Reddit user Girlfriendhatesmefor’s three-year-old pitbull, Otis, had recently become overprotective of his wife. So he asked the online community if they knew what might be wrong with the dog.
“A week or two ago, my wife got some sort of stomach bug,” the Reddit user wrote under the subreddit /r/dogs. “She was really nauseous and ill for about a week. Otis is very in tune with her emotions (we once got in a fight and she was upset, I swear he was staring daggers at me lol) and during this time didn’t even want to leave her to go on walks. We thought it was adorable!”
His wife soon felt better, butthe dog’s behavior didn’t change.
Girlfriendhatesmefor began to fear that Otis’ behavior may be an early sign of an aggression issue or an indication that the dog was hurt or sick.
So he threw a question out to fellow Reddit users: “Has anyone else’s dog suddenly developed attachment/aggression issues? Any and all advice appreciated, even if it’s that we’re being paranoid!”
The most popular response to his thread was by ZZBC.
Any chance your wife is pregnant?
ZZBC | Reddit
The potential news hit Girlfriendhatesmefor like a ton of bricks. A few days later, Girlfriendhatesmefor posted an update and ZZBC was right!
“The wifey is pregnant!” the father-to-be wrote. “Otis is still being overprotective but it all makes sense now! Thanks for all the advice and kind words! Sorry for the delayed reply, I didn’t check back until just now!”
Redditors responded with similar experiences.
Anecdotal I know but I swear my dog knew I was pregnant before I was. He was super clingy (more than normal) and was always resting his head on my belly.
realityisworse | Reddit
So why do dogs get overprotective when someone is pregnant?
Jeff Werber, PhD, president and chief veterinarian of the Century Veterinary Group in Los Angeles, told Health.com that “dogs can also smell the hormonal changes going on in a woman’s body at that time.” He added the dog may “not understand that this new scent of your skin and breath is caused by a developing baby, but they will know that something is different with you—which might cause them to be more curious or attentive.”
The big lesson here is to listen to your pets and to ask questions when their behavior abruptly changes. They may be trying to tell you something, and the news may be life-changing.
Throughout history, women have stood up and fought to break down barriers imposed on them from stereotypes and societal expectations. The trailblazers in these photos made history and redefined what a woman could be. In doing so, they paved the way for future generations to stand up and continue to fight for equality.
While conspiracy theories are not limited to any topic, there is one type of event that seems particularly likely to spark them: mass shootings, typically defined as attacks in which a shooter kills at least four other people.
When one person kills many others in a single incident, particularly when it seems random, people naturally seek out answers for why the tragedy happened. After all, if a mass shooting is random, anyone can be a target.
