Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Good afternoon all,

Well I was about to post this about an hour ago, when my Norton Antivirus froze my computer, and I lost everything. BLEAH! Fortunately, as I'd already found the articles, all I had to do was go back and re-cut and paste the articles, and re-edit everything on this blogger.

Today I'd like to point out three articles that I found interesting. The first one is the top story, about Pat and Cat Patterson, an elderly couple, who sold their personal belongings four years ago and began biking the globe. The second is a science triumph, in that scientists REDISCOVERED a frog species in Columbia that had previously been thought extinct. YIPPEE! The third is one that makes me smile because it is about someone from my home state, Idaho, recieving a place in the US top 10 cop of the year 2007 awards.


Anyway, I have to prepare to meet my husband, so tata for now! Hope you all enjoy today's articles!


Today's Top 5:
1. Leaving it All Behind, to Bike Around the World (CNN)
2. Why We Must Plant Enough Trees to Cover 13,000 Football Pitches a Year (The Scotsman)
3. Frog Gone Missing for 14 Yrs 'Found' (Times of India)
4. Synthetic Fuel Concept To Steal Carbon Dioxide From Air (Science Daily)
5. Boise Officer Named Top Cop for Saving Woman on Boise River (Idaho Statesman)


Honorable Mention:
Louisiana Firefighter Breathes Life into Dog (Firehouse.com)




1. Leaving it All Behind, to Bike Around the World
12 March 2008
photo found on http://www.worldriders2.com/Journal_8_1.asp

In 2002, at the ages of 62 and 48, Pat and Catherine Patterson decided to leave it all behind. They sold their real estate business and their cars, gave their furniture to their children, and put their home up for rent. Strapping their remaining possessions to two bicycles, the couple set off to bike around the world.
Pat and Cat Patterson wave from the white beaches of Zanzibar, on a peninsula off the west coast of Africa.
1 of 3more photos » Fifty-seven countries, four continents and almost four years later, the Pattersons look back on their journey as something no less than life-changing.
In 1985, Pat Patterson got his first taste of freedom behind the handlebars of a bicycle when he went on a short tour through China. The trip changed his perspective. "I was beginning to see things differently," he says.
One day, Patterson and his fellow bikers pulled into a village for lunch, and soon found themselves surrounded by curious locals. One boy, around 14 or 15, hovered especially close to Pat and they exchanged hellos in their own pidgin version of the other's language.
"We started having this little, best-we-could conversation, and it lasted a couple of minutes. He was trying to get inside my mind, and see what it was like where I came from. And I was trying to get inside his and see what it was like for him, living where he lives. From that minute, I thought, this would be a great way to travel."
By the end of his trip to China, Pat was ready to dispense with the guides and the tour group and pursue on his own what he refers to as his "insanity," that is, bike touring through foreign countries. See a map of Pat and Cat's journey, complete with videos »
In 1993 Pat met Catherine. The two fell in love, got married and bought a real estate company together. Catherine, or Cat, as he calls her, started helping Pat compile his photos from his bicycling trip in China, and another trip he had taken a couple years later. The photos piqued her curiosity, and she suggested they plan a trip together.
Then, in 2000, Catherine suffered a heart attack. "At first we thought, 'Well, that's it for the trip,' " says Pat, but eventually Cat's heart attack only heightened the couple's desire to get biking. Pat says, "It makes you realize you don't have forever. By 2001, I was looking for someone to buy the company."
Soon, they found a buyer and the preparations began. "It's funny, I guess I'm just one of those types of person that got on board with the idea," says Catherine. She says the hardest part of the journey was telling her parents, each in their 80s, that she would be gone for so long. But she bought them a laptop and taught them to use it, and kept in close contact through e-mail.
The Pattersons sold their company, their house and their cars and gave all their furniture to their children. They bought a new home and rented it out. The day they left, their co-workers at the real estate company gathered for a send-off party.
"Pedaling away from our real estate firm," Catherine says, "With all of our friends gathered, waving, saying 'Goodbye! You're crazy!' I felt like the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders."
Between 2002 and 2006, the Pattersons biked from California east across the United States to Greenland, through Europe and Russia, down Africa, then from southern Chile all the way back up to California. See photos from the couple's trip »
They biked about 50 miles every day, which Pat says, "Isn't a lot if that's all you do." They stayed in hotels most of the time, for the sake of safety and comfort, but they biked with camping supplies in case the need arose. They planned their routes using only maps and Lonely Planet travel guides. They assessed the safety of their surroundings by talking with locals. "Gather a consensus of opinion; ask three times. Ask, ask, ask -- we did," Pat says.
The trip wasn't seamless. They were robbed of their computers once, and another time they were held up at gunpoint. In Finland, it was so cold they eventually had to give up biking and fly down to warmer weather in Portugal.
"I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would do something like that in my life," Cat confesses. "I think you just have to be open-minded and willing to take chances and risks and not be afraid. ... You just have to open your mind to other cultures and countries and, you know, like Pat says, 98 percent of the people in this world are good people. On a day-to-day basis you're meeting the average person in the world and they're just like you."
Pat tells a story about a border crossing between Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry, on the west coast of Africa. A border patrol agent got tough with the Pattersons, asking them to unpack all their bags, follow him into a small building and leave their belongings outside. The Pattersons refused. Finally Pat handed his passport over to the agent who took one look at it and said "1939?"
"Yes," Pat replied, "I was born in 1939."
The border patrol agent sent a young boy running off into the nearby village and he soon returned leading an old man behind him. The border patrol agent introduced the old man to Pat, saying, "Oldest man in village, 1939."
"And now we're all brothers, we're hugging, shaking hands, and we didn't have to open the bags." Pat and Cat both say it was these experiences that kept them inspired and encouraged on their route.
Pat says that, more than anything, biking around the world has changed what he values in life. Pat admits that when he was in his 30s his philosophy could be summed up as, "The one that dies with the most money wins." But, once he started making money, he realized he had to find a way to spend it. By the time he reached his 40s, his philosophy had become, "The one that dies with the most toys wins."
"So, I had the cars and the things," Pat explains, "and then, about that time, I took off out into the world on my own for a bike ride, and decided it was experiences; the one that dies with the most experiences wins."
As Pat was preparing for his trip with Catherine, he turned 60. He calls that birthday, and the change in mindset it brought, "a biggie." His philosophy became, "The one that dies with the most friends wins."
"I'm realizing what it's going to be in my 70s, and that's different. It will be 'The one with the most memories wins.' "
For her part, Catherine says, simply, "As with most things in life, the most difficult things make the best memories."
The couple is not done; they plan to start a cycling trip across Asia in November 2008




2. Why We Must Plant Enough Trees to Cover 13,000 Football Pitches a Year
SCOTLAND'S forestry sector must make drastic changes to combat the effects of climate change, the industry's leading organisation announced yesterday.Creating new woodland to capture carbon, reducing the sector's own carbon footprint, and establishing a deforestation policy are just some of the recommendations laid out in a draft climate change action plan, compiled by Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS).
The fledgling plan points out that carbon sequestration should form a key goal of the FCS in future years, something it believes could be achieved by increased planting.
Currently, only around 17 per cent of Scotland's land is forest, but the FCS is hoping to raise the proportion to 25 per cent by the second half of this century. That figure, announced two years ago, would involve the planting of around 38 square miles of new woodland every year, but there are doubts as to whether this is realistic.
The FCS admits this is an "aspirational" rather than a definitive target, and warns productive arable and improved grassland are profitable in agriculture, and therefore less likely to be made available for tree-planting.
But one example proposes the planting of four million trees surrounding Loch Katrine in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, which would cover around 8,000 acres alone.
Equally, the FCS plan aims to cut down on the number of "timber miles" – wood being transported by road – with rail and sea taking precedence. In January, the FCS began a voluntary survey of hauliers, and its findings will be published later this year.
Already, the Scottish Government is investing £15m over the next three years to upgrade transport links in order to re-route seven million tonnes of timber from communities and unsuitable public roads.
Michael Russell, the Scottish environment minister, who launched the plan yesterday, said Scottish forestry has a "fundamental role" to play in tackling climate change.
He said: "Forests have a key role to play in helping Scotland combat climate change, particularly as one of forestry's great strengths is its ability to deliver a uniquely wide range of social, economic and environmental objectives.
"Woodlands can simultaneously provide jobs, a sustainable supply of timber for renewable energy or environmentally friendly housing materials, havens for wildlife, places to play and exercise and beautiful landscapes. At the same time, they can help clean the air, protect water quality and soils, alleviate flooding, offer shade from the sun and lock up carbon."
The proposals for the two-year action plan will be sent to key stakeholders, such as the Woodland Trust.



3. Frog Gone Missing for 14 Yrs 'Found'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Frog_gone_missing_for_14_yrs_found/articleshow/2857588.cms12 Mar 2008, 1316 hrs IST
WASHINGTON:
Scientists have rediscovered the Carrikeri Harlequin Frog, which had been missing for 14 years, in a remote mountainous region in Colombia.
This frog, which is critically endangered, was rediscovered by the Project Atelopus team in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains in Colombia’s Magdalena province.
The frog lives in the páramo habitat at an attitude of 4,000 meters and is approximately five centimetres in size. This population is unique since it possesses orange markings, which are unusual for this species.
Páramo is a neotropical grassland ecosystem located in high elevations between the upper forest line (about 3,100 meters in altitude) and the permanent snow line (about 5,000 meters).
Though Colombia is one of the world’s richest countries in amphibian diversity with more than 583 species, in the past several years, there has been a decline in amphibian populations especially in higher elevations in Colombia.
“By discovering that the endangered frog still exists, we hope it will show how important conservation is,” said Luis Alberto Rueda, scientist for the Project Atelopus team who led the expedition.
“And we plan to continue with our research so that we can better assist in helping to ensure that this frog will not become extinct,” he added.





4. Synthetic Fuel Concept To Steal Carbon Dioxide From Air
(Mar. 12, 2008)

Los Alamos National Laboratory has developed a low-risk, transformational concept, called Green Freedom™, for large-scale production of carbon-neutral, sulfur-free fuels and organic chemicals from air and water.
Currently, the principal market for the Green Freedom production concept is fuel for vehicles and aircraft.
At the heart of the technology is a new process for extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and making it available for fuel production using a new form of electrochemical separation. By integrating this electrochemical process with existing technology, researchers have developed a new, practical approach to producing fuels and organic chemicals that permits continued use of existing industrial and transportation infrastructure. Fuel production is driven by carbon-neutral power.
"Our concept enhances U.S. energy and material security by reducing dependence on imported oil. Initial system and economic analyses indicate that the prices of Green Freedom commodities would be either comparable to the current market or competitive with those of other carbon-neutral, alternative technologies currently being considered," said F. Jeffrey Martin of the Laboratory's Decisions Applications Division, principal investigator on the project.
In addition to the new electrochemical separation process, the Green Freedom system can use existing cooling towers, such as those of nuclear power plants, with carbon-capture equipment that eliminates the need for additional structures to process large volumes of air. The primary environmental impact of the production facility is limited to the footprint of the plant. It uses non-hazardous materials for its feed and operation and has a small waste stream volume. In addition, unlike large-scale biofuel concepts, the Green Freedom system does not add pressure to agricultural capacity or use large tracts of land or farming resources for production.
The concept's viability has been reviewed and verified by both industrial and semi-independent Los Alamos National Laboratory technical reviews. The next phase will demonstrate the new electrochemical process to prove the ability of the system to both capture carbon dioxide and pull it back out of solution. An industrial partnership consortium will be formed to commercialize the Green Freedom concept.
Martin presented his talk on the subject at the Alternative Energy NOW conference in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, February 20, 2008.


5. Boise Officer Named Top Cop for Saving Woman on Boise River
By Patrick Orr
Idaho Statesman
Edition Date: 03/12/08 10:56am

Boise police officer Brek Orton just thought “I was doing my job” when he helped save the life of 58-year-old Sari Star last summer when she was pinned by a tree under the Boise River following a rafting accident.But that life-saving effort was so extraordinary Orton is now considered one of 10 of America’s “Top Cops” for 2007.
The award, sponsored by the National Association of Police Organizations, pays tribute to outstanding service for law enforcement and Orton was selected over hundreds of other applicants, Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson said.
Masterson credited Orton’s quick thinking and selfless behavior for saving Star on Aug. 7.
Star was floating the Boise River with her 31-year-old son and 9-year-old grandson when they were dumped into the river after hitting a downed tree.
Her son and grandson were able to swim to safety but Star was pinned underwater for more than 10 minutes because her swimsuit was stuck on a tree branch.
Orton, who jumped in the six foot deep water with his uniform on, was able to lift up the branch with one hand and hold on to Star with the other so a firefighter could cut the swimsuit free. Once that was done, Orton swam Star back to the shore and kept her head above water so paramedics on the river bank could give her emergency care.
Star spent several days in critical condition at St. Luke’s Boise Regional Medical Center before eventually recovering.
"So many police officers, like Officer Orton, quietly do their duty each day," Masterson said, who nominated Orton for the award. "When officers quick thinking, considerable skill and stamina literally saves lives, and a national organization like NAPO recognizes the effort, it's a reward that no officer asks for, but all would appreciate and so many deserve."
Orton said he was surprised and humbled by the honor.
"I feel I did nothing more than any officer would do,” Orton said. “I was just in the right place at the right time to make a difference."
Orton, a nine-year veteran of the department, will receive his award during a public ceremony in Washington D.C. in May 12.



Honorable Mention:
Louisiana Firefighter Breathes Life into Dog
Updated: 03-11-2008 12:48:05 PM
WEST MONROE, La. --

A firefighter performed mouth-to-snout resuscitation and revived a small dog he found lifeless in a burning mobile home.
When firefighters arrived at the blaze in northeastern Louisiana Friday, a resident of the house approached firefighter Stephen "Odie" Odom and told him two dogs were trapped inside.
Odom entered the house and found the two tiny terriers in pet carriers in a smoke-filled room, and shuttled them to safety.
When he removed one of the dogs from its carrier, Odom noticed it was not breathing and its tongue was hanging out. The firefighter removed his face mask and placed the dog's head inside so the oxygen could blow in its face.
When the oxygen didn't work, Odom began performing CPR on the dog by "cupping my hands around the dog's snout and blowing until I could feel his chest expand," he said.
"I then did chest compressions similar to that of infant CPR. After approximately one minute of doggie CPR, I noticed the dog trying to breathe on its own."
Five minutes later the dog began looking around and was given to the owner of the house. An oxygen tank was left with the animal.
Fire Prevention Officer Curt Meachum said he was glad the dog's life was spared.
"We do not know the dog's name, but we could just call it 'Lucky,'" Meachum said.

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