Adam Clare

The Bizarre Weather of 2014 Explained Using GIFs

BuzzFeed, of all places, as a great and simple way that explains why the weather of 2014 has been so extreme. In North America it has been more cold than the new “normal,” the UK has been hit hard by flooding, and in the South Pacific there has been above average rainfall. Crazy people think this is evidence that global warming (AKA climate change) isn’t happening. Those people clearly don’t live in reality. This awful weather is a result of something that’s been predicted for quite some time: the loss of power in the jet stream.

Why is this good news? Well, clearly this anthropogenic climate change isn’t good – but helping people understand what is going on and why is good news. Just look at these cute this climate gifs:

Thanks Buzzfeed!

The jet stream is a basically a long tube of fast-moving air, flowing west to east around the globe, several miles up in the atmosphere. Thereâ€™s actually two parts of the jet stream that matter here – the Asia-Pacific jet stream (where it leaves Asia over Japan) and the North Atlantic jet stream, which runs up from the Americas in the general direction of Europe. Both have a huge influence over our weather – but when itâ€™s operating normally, it generally means we get fairly standard winters.

See the rest at BuzzFeed.

Scotiabank Looks to Reward Eco Companies

Banks have a horrible reputation because of their inability to predict economic behaviour, this was highlighted by the ongoing economic claptrap that started roughly seven years ago. Canadian banks have also received a tarnished reputation because of their ongoing unethical investments in the Alberta tar sands. Perhaps as a reaction to this, Scotiabank launched an awards program in 2010.

Their EcoLiving Awards is focused on bringing attention and finances to companies that are improving the efficiency of households. This can range from better windows to new technology systems. You can nominate a company at their website, so if you know a Canadian company that makes the world a little more sustainable on the home front you should nominate them.

“The Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards showcase outstanding leaders in home energy efficiency. If you have a great idea or solution, we want to hear from you,” said Kaz Flinn, Scotiabank’s Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility. “We know that Canadian homeowners are likely to consider making their home more energy efficient or environmentally friendly with renovations. These awards bring forward new and innovative ideas.”

The Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards recognize winners in three categories:

Business Leadership ($50,000) – a business or individual who is leading the way in home energy efficiency products, services or solutions. Focused primarily on executing a proven idea or program.

Innovators ($15,000) – a business or individual demonstrating innovation in home energy efficient products, services and solutions. Focused on introducing exciting new ideas for products or programs.

Student Leadership ($10,000) – a full-time college or university student who demonstrates promise for the future of home energy conservation.

Find out more at their website.

A New Zealand School Abandons Rules, Ends Bullying

Having zero tolerance policies in schools is a truly horrible way to treat children. It can blunt curiosity and punish severely for minor infractions, combine such oppressive control with bizarre rules (like no playing schoolyard games) and you’ll bored, agitated and disengaged kids. When children aren’t able to express themselves in more traditional ways (like play), they tend to lash out.

With all of that in mind, a school in Aukland decided to toss out the rules. The results were a decrease in bullying and an increase in attentive learning!

Instead of a playground, children used their imagination to play in a “loose parts pit” which contained junk such as wood, tyres and an old fire hose.

“The kids were motivated, busy and engaged. In my experience, the time children get into trouble is when they are not busy, motivated and engaged. It’s during that time they bully other kids, graffiti or wreck things around the school.”

Parents were happy too because their children were happy, he said.

But this wasn’t a playtime revolution, it was just a return to the days before health and safety policies came to rule.

AUT professor of public health Grant Schofield, who worked on the research project, said there are too many rules in modern playgrounds.

“The great paradox of cotton-woolling children is it’s more dangerous in the long-run.”

Society’s obsession with protecting children ignores the benefits of risk-taking, he said.

Earth Rangers Launches Battery Blitz

Earth Rangers has launched a new campaign for kids to learn about the potential danger of batteries. Battery Blitz Mission encourages kids to collect used household batteries and dispose of them properly. When batteries are improbably thrown out it can cause a lot of harm to the environment due to the dangerous chemicals inside.

Since batteries provide energy for so many of the things we use every day, what to do with batteries once they are dead is a big problem. When batteries are thrown out in the trash, they end up in landfills where they add to solid waste and can also leak dangerous chemicals into the environment. These chemicals are not only harmful to humans but to animals as well.

Even though there are many places where you can dispose of used batteries properly â€“ you canâ€™t recycle batteries in your regular recycling bin â€“ only 5% of alkaline batteries are recycled in Canada each year. In 2010, Canadians threw out 745 million household batteries! Did you know that parts from recycled batteries can be re-used to make new batteries or stainless steel products, like the pots in your kitchen?

Encourage your young Earth Rangers to accept the Battery Blitz Mission and weâ€™ll send you a Mission Brief and a biodegradable bag to keep track of all the batteries. The website will also allow you to find the nearest recycling station and tell Earth Rangers about your mission once you have completed the challenge.

A Scientific Approach to Better Urban Design

Urban design is not an easy activity because of the multitude of variables that impact the overall urban experience. There are buildings, traffic (foot and vehicular), landmarks, natural occurrences like rivers, and abstracted economic forces. Space Syntax is a company has set out to make better urban design by using science to calculate the probability of positive spaces being built.

Stonor says his ultimate goal is for the science to catch on with other design firms and consultancies. In a way, he wants to put himself out of business. He says he wants architects and planners to learn to use space syntax themselves, and not rely so much on his consultancy.

Academically, space syntax has caught on in many other schools and countries. However, the Bartlett at University College of London â€“ where Hillier and Hanson developed the science â€“ is still its primary research center. The academic and business sides work closely, a relationship that Stonor says is vital. The academics feed him new ideas, and his company field-tests their research. In addition, every tool and most of the studies produced by both the business and academic sides of Space Syntax are open access and available online.