Jul 11, 2016 07:53 PM
(This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2016 07:53 PM by C C.)
How museums fought for the retired space shuttles
http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archi...es/490706/
EXCERPT: [...] There are more than 200 aviation museums in the United States, so competition for the prized artifacts was fierce. In 2008 and 2010, NASA put out a call to determine their interest in housing the shuttles, and 29 replied with an enthusiastic ‘yes!’ The organizations NASA selected would be charged with telling the story of America’s extended forays in low-Earth orbit. The shuttle is most fondly remembered for its role in the deployment and repair of the Hubble Space Telescope and for building and supplying the International Space Station....
Australia's other great reef is also screwed
http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archi...ed/490121/
EXCERPT: [...] Indeed, if you think “reef” and “Australia” and you’ll probably picture the Great Barrier Reef—a wonderland of corals off the country’s eastern flank. It’s also experiencing an annus horribilis: a bleaching event that is breaking records and reducing staunch marine scientists to tears and cursing. But while the corals rightly capture attention, far fewer people know about Australia’s other reef—the Great Southern Reef, where kelps, not corals, are king.
[...] And yet, the kelp reefs are “completely neglected in terms of funding, political, and public awareness,” says Bennett. “Over 70 percent of Australians live adjacent to these things and use them every day, but they’re just not in the public perception.” Like the corals, the kelp forests host thousands of species, many of which are found nowhere else. Part the wavy fronds and you’ll find a thriving menagerie of crayfish, sponges, crabs, cuttlefish, and colorful fish. Theirs is a three-dimensional world full of layers and hiding places. Since the 2011 heat wave, that high-rise metropolis is gone, replaced by a flattened sprawl. The local flora and fauna have also changed, with the former temperate inhabitants swapped for more tropical species. Five years later, nothing has changed—a profoundly troubling sign....
http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archi...es/490706/
EXCERPT: [...] There are more than 200 aviation museums in the United States, so competition for the prized artifacts was fierce. In 2008 and 2010, NASA put out a call to determine their interest in housing the shuttles, and 29 replied with an enthusiastic ‘yes!’ The organizations NASA selected would be charged with telling the story of America’s extended forays in low-Earth orbit. The shuttle is most fondly remembered for its role in the deployment and repair of the Hubble Space Telescope and for building and supplying the International Space Station....
Australia's other great reef is also screwed
http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archi...ed/490121/
EXCERPT: [...] Indeed, if you think “reef” and “Australia” and you’ll probably picture the Great Barrier Reef—a wonderland of corals off the country’s eastern flank. It’s also experiencing an annus horribilis: a bleaching event that is breaking records and reducing staunch marine scientists to tears and cursing. But while the corals rightly capture attention, far fewer people know about Australia’s other reef—the Great Southern Reef, where kelps, not corals, are king.
[...] And yet, the kelp reefs are “completely neglected in terms of funding, political, and public awareness,” says Bennett. “Over 70 percent of Australians live adjacent to these things and use them every day, but they’re just not in the public perception.” Like the corals, the kelp forests host thousands of species, many of which are found nowhere else. Part the wavy fronds and you’ll find a thriving menagerie of crayfish, sponges, crabs, cuttlefish, and colorful fish. Theirs is a three-dimensional world full of layers and hiding places. Since the 2011 heat wave, that high-rise metropolis is gone, replaced by a flattened sprawl. The local flora and fauna have also changed, with the former temperate inhabitants swapped for more tropical species. Five years later, nothing has changed—a profoundly troubling sign....
