Cosmologist Explores Notion Of 'Alien' Life On Earth

EarthzineBiodiversity, Would You Believe?

Astrobiologists have often pondered “life as we do not know it” in the context of extraterrestrial life, says Paul Davies, an internationally acclaimed theoretical physicist and cosmologist at Arizona State University. But has there been a blind spot to the possibility of “alien” life on Earth?

Slip Slidin' Away: GIS-Based Risk Analysis for Landslides and Avalanches in Norway

KelmanArticles, Disasters, Earth Observation, Original

Cropped image of model screenshots from Otta in south-central Norway. The left panel shows the input data (buildings and hazard zones) and the right panel shows the model output in terms of estimated average annual damage to buildings aggregated over 100 m grid cells. NOK 100 ≈ EUR 12.5On 26 March 2008, the coastal Norwegian city of Ålesund was stunned by a rock face giving way, falling onto an apartment block constructed four years earlier, and knocking the building off its foundations, collapsing the bottom two floors. Five people were killed, bringing to the fore the challenge of contending with hazards when living in a mountainous country.

Coal Ash Legislation Introduced in House

adamEnergy, Politics

Introduced in the House by Democrat Nick Rahall, the Coal Ash Reclamation and Environmental Safety Act of 2009 would impose design, engineering, and performance standards on all coal ash impoundments.