Canadian tree saplings go aloft with shuttle Atlantis to space station
MARCIA DUNN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 16, 2009 4:38 p.m.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis rocketed into orbit Monday with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for the International Space Station.
The supply run should keep the space station humming for years to come, and the shuttle astronauts in space through Thanksgiving.
Also on board are 24 willow saplings for a Canadian experiment to study how gravity affects the formation of different kinds of wood.
The experiment is led by Prof. Rodney Savidge of the University of New Brunswick and funded by the Canadian Space Agency. Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk will manage the experiment on the space station.
The shuttle Atlantis shot into a partly cloudy afternoon sky, to the delight of about 100 Twittering space enthusiasts who won front-row seats.
It was NASA's first launch "tweetup," and the invitees splashed news - mostly tweeting "wow" and "amazing" about the liftoff - over countless cellphones and computers.
"We wish you good luck, Godspeed, and we'll see you back here just after Thanksgiving," launch director Mike Leinbach told shuttle commander Charles Hobaugh right before liftoff.
Atlantis will reach the space station Wednesday. As the shuttle blasted off, the station was soaring 350 kilometres above the South Pacific.
"We're excited to take this incredible vehicle for a ride and meet up with another incredible vehicle," Hobaugh said.
NASA wants to stockpile as many pumps, tanks, gyroscopes and other oversize equipment as possible at the space station, before the three remaining shuttles retire next fall. None of the other visiting spacecraft is big enough to carry such large pieces.
The space agency expects to keep the space station flying until 2015, possibly 2020 if President Barack Obama gives the go-ahead.
During their 11-day flight, Hobaugh and his crew - including the first orthopedic surgeon in space, Dr. Robert Satcher Jr. - will unload the nearly 13,600 kilograms of equipment and experiments. Most of the gear will be attached to the outside of the space station on storage platforms.
Three spacewalks will be conducted beginning Thursday to hook everything up and get a jump on the next shuttle flight.
NASA officials were pleased with the seemingly perfect launch, but the Twittering invitees were downright ecstatic. They were among the first to sign up online last month for the opportunity to see a launch up close, and filed Twitter updates practically nonstop.
"Never been more proud to be a geeky, dorky, intelligent space fangirl.
" one wrote a few hours before liftoff.
"100 nerds against the road waving at the astrovan," another tweeted as the astronauts headed to the launch pad in late morning.
NASA estimates the 100 tweeters, or tweeps as they're called, have a following of more than 150,000. The space agency sees it as a beneficial outreach program, especially as the shuttle program winds down and the future remains murky. Obama has yet to chart a course for American astronauts, beyond the shuttle and station. A moon rocket under development is supposed to replace the shuttle, but the lunar exploration program is in jeopardy.
This is NASA's last shuttle flight of the year and one of only six remaining. If all goes as planned, the six spacemen will return to Earth the day after Thanksgiving, bringing home a seventh astronaut, Nicole Stott, who has been living at the space station since the end of August.
The astronauts will have to forgo the usual Thanksgiving fare. NASA did not pack any special turkey-and-trimming dinners aboard Atlantis. Hobaugh, the commander, didn't want any.
If the astronauts want poultry on Thanksgiving, they'll have to settle for turkey tetrazzini in rehydratable pouches or thermostabilized chicken fajitas. There's also plenty of barbecued beef brisket.
Monday, November 16, 2009
From Save Our Nurse
Public Meeting Thursday
Please come to a public meeting at the Freeport School, Thursday, November 19 at 6:45 pm to discuss the Nurse Practitioner issue and for updates. Please spread the word, please bring a friend.
Please come to a public meeting at the Freeport School, Thursday, November 19 at 6:45 pm to discuss the Nurse Practitioner issue and for updates. Please spread the word, please bring a friend.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Destination Southwest Nova Association
Destination Southwest Nova Association
Mid-Year Review
Learn about how your Destination Marketing Organization can work for you!
DSWNA
representing the
Fundy Shore & Annapolis Valley,
Yarmouth & Acadian Shores
and the South Shore
would like to remind you of the
DSWNA Mid-Year Review
on
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
at 1:30pm
at
the Visitor Information Centre at
Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site of Canada
Agenda items include: What's New & Exciting,
Communications, Visitor Services, Marketing, General Manager's Update, Discussion on Regional Guides
Please RSVP by Thursday, November 12th, 2009 to:
Phone: (902) 634-8844
info@dswna.com
www.destinationsouthwestnova.com
Mid-Year Review
Learn about how your Destination Marketing Organization can work for you!
DSWNA
representing the
Fundy Shore & Annapolis Valley,
Yarmouth & Acadian Shores
and the South Shore
would like to remind you of the
DSWNA Mid-Year Review
on
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
at 1:30pm
at
the Visitor Information Centre at
Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site of Canada
Agenda items include: What's New & Exciting,
Communications, Visitor Services, Marketing, General Manager's Update, Discussion on Regional Guides
Please RSVP by Thursday, November 12th, 2009 to:
Phone: (902) 634-8844
info@dswna.com
www.destinationsouthwestnova.com
Turbines Not as Efficient as Believed
From The Daily Observer
The reality of wind turbines is not as efficient as lobbyists would like the public to believe
Editor:
The article in the Thursday, Oct. 27 edition of The Daily Observer, 'Energy solution blowing in the wind,' is an example of alternative energy propaganda funded by wind farm companies and promoted by environmental lobby groups.
Mr. Berton has nothing but praise for Spain and its supposedly 13 per cent production figure, but what he doesn't tell you is that although the wind is free, the means to produce power from it is twice as expensive as conventional power plants. Furthermore, Spain is now realizing how inefficient wind power is.
England is on the brink of a blackout in about seven years because of its commitment to wind power. The British have spent billions of pounds installing 2,000 wind turbines that barely produce one per cent of the power needed.
They signed on to Kyoto and are legally obligated to produce 32 per cent of their power from alternative energy sources by 2010. Let's do the math: If 2,000 wind turbines barely produce one per cent of need, then 32 times 2,000 means it would take
64,000 turbines to meet the
target. Each turbine needs about four
acres, four times 64,000 amounts to 256,000 acres and England would be hard-pressed to find room for 10,000 turbines. Prime Minister Brown and his group of
environmental dreamers are in fantasy land.
They are proposing to close their coal and oil-fired power plants and eight of their nine nuclear plants are so old that they will be forced to shut down, amounting to approximately 65 per cent of their power production.
The government is now reluctantly proposing to build a new generation of nuclear
power plants, but it has
waited too long and will not have them in place before the county runs out of
power. Britain sold its world class nuclear construction company, Westinghouse, to the Japanese for a fire sale price.
Germany has installed more than 3,000 wind turbines and are in the process of building 40 more clean coal-fired plants, because they now realize how inefficient and expensive wind power is.
In Ontario, Mr. McGuinty and his group of socialist comrades are travelling down the same road, and if not stopped, WE will be looking at power shortfalls in 10 years. I suggest rather than wasting our tax dollars on wind power, we should be refurbishing or building new nuclear power plants and also clean coal power plants.
The notion that wind power can replace conventional and nuclear power production is ridiculous and just a means for extracting our tax dollars from naive political leaders by the use of alarmism.
The sad reality is there is a lot of money behind wind power promoted by environmental lobby groups, and I would love to follow that paper trail to see who is getting it.
Mack Thrasher,
Laurentian Valley
The reality of wind turbines is not as efficient as lobbyists would like the public to believe
Editor:
The article in the Thursday, Oct. 27 edition of The Daily Observer, 'Energy solution blowing in the wind,' is an example of alternative energy propaganda funded by wind farm companies and promoted by environmental lobby groups.
Mr. Berton has nothing but praise for Spain and its supposedly 13 per cent production figure, but what he doesn't tell you is that although the wind is free, the means to produce power from it is twice as expensive as conventional power plants. Furthermore, Spain is now realizing how inefficient wind power is.
England is on the brink of a blackout in about seven years because of its commitment to wind power. The British have spent billions of pounds installing 2,000 wind turbines that barely produce one per cent of the power needed.
They signed on to Kyoto and are legally obligated to produce 32 per cent of their power from alternative energy sources by 2010. Let's do the math: If 2,000 wind turbines barely produce one per cent of need, then 32 times 2,000 means it would take
64,000 turbines to meet the
target. Each turbine needs about four
acres, four times 64,000 amounts to 256,000 acres and England would be hard-pressed to find room for 10,000 turbines. Prime Minister Brown and his group of
environmental dreamers are in fantasy land.
They are proposing to close their coal and oil-fired power plants and eight of their nine nuclear plants are so old that they will be forced to shut down, amounting to approximately 65 per cent of their power production.
The government is now reluctantly proposing to build a new generation of nuclear
power plants, but it has
waited too long and will not have them in place before the county runs out of
power. Britain sold its world class nuclear construction company, Westinghouse, to the Japanese for a fire sale price.
Germany has installed more than 3,000 wind turbines and are in the process of building 40 more clean coal-fired plants, because they now realize how inefficient and expensive wind power is.
In Ontario, Mr. McGuinty and his group of socialist comrades are travelling down the same road, and if not stopped, WE will be looking at power shortfalls in 10 years. I suggest rather than wasting our tax dollars on wind power, we should be refurbishing or building new nuclear power plants and also clean coal power plants.
The notion that wind power can replace conventional and nuclear power production is ridiculous and just a means for extracting our tax dollars from naive political leaders by the use of alarmism.
The sad reality is there is a lot of money behind wind power promoted by environmental lobby groups, and I would love to follow that paper trail to see who is getting it.
Mack Thrasher,
Laurentian Valley
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Carol Littleton's Response to Newspaper
Re the Nov 12th piece on wind turbines by Judy Myrden
Where there is high profit to be made it is tempting to distort the inconvenient truths involved – it is no different with wind turbines. Even the greens and environmentalists can be accused of ignorance in this regard. Do they understand that dirty coal plants have NOT been closed down no matter how many turbines are built? ( when the wind dies suddenly another source of energy needs to be ready immediately to pick up the slack, so plants can not be turned off but have to be kept “ on the ready”) Therefore carbon emission reductions are much exaggerated. Do they know that Denmark , regarded as the most advanced in installation of wind turbines have switched to off shore turbine development only ? Do they know that the separation distances legislated in France, Scotland and coming in the rest of the UK is 2400 meters ? Do they know that the reason why the negative effects have not been publicized is that those who innocently lease the land have to sign a contract which muzzles them forever? Those who suffer are ridiculed – investors and developers continue to fund media to keep up the myth of NIMBYism !! Even homeowners who are suffering dare not speak up if they want to be able to unload their homes. Go on line and discover there are petitions all over the world requesting a moratorium on these gigantic installations until health effects have been properly researched Carol Littleton Annapolis Royal
Where there is high profit to be made it is tempting to distort the inconvenient truths involved – it is no different with wind turbines. Even the greens and environmentalists can be accused of ignorance in this regard. Do they understand that dirty coal plants have NOT been closed down no matter how many turbines are built? ( when the wind dies suddenly another source of energy needs to be ready immediately to pick up the slack, so plants can not be turned off but have to be kept “ on the ready”) Therefore carbon emission reductions are much exaggerated. Do they know that Denmark , regarded as the most advanced in installation of wind turbines have switched to off shore turbine development only ? Do they know that the separation distances legislated in France, Scotland and coming in the rest of the UK is 2400 meters ? Do they know that the reason why the negative effects have not been publicized is that those who innocently lease the land have to sign a contract which muzzles them forever? Those who suffer are ridiculed – investors and developers continue to fund media to keep up the myth of NIMBYism !! Even homeowners who are suffering dare not speak up if they want to be able to unload their homes. Go on line and discover there are petitions all over the world requesting a moratorium on these gigantic installations until health effects have been properly researched Carol Littleton Annapolis Royal
A Local Food Video Clip
From Tom Paton and Jennifer
Subject: More good news! An encouraging "local food" video clip...
Dear All,
Thanks to BC/Digby friend Jennifer Hill for this yet-another delicious-looking local food video clip. The distinction between farm and garden is becoming nicely fuzzy. All produces FOOD...
Jennifer has started EM (Environmental Microorganisms) Bokashi probiotic composting (and food growing) in almost a dozen schools in BC and is active in the local-food thru micro-markets movement there etc. etc.
Thanks for growing and sharing food and enriching your local soil via composting...,
Tom
EM Atlantic Canada Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See video clip below---
I hope you enjoy this great little video as much as I did. Just replace the west coast names with local names in your area and voila you have SW Nova Scotia.
Cheers
Jennifer
http://vimeo.com/7409888
jennh@smartt.com
Subject: More good news! An encouraging "local food" video clip...
Dear All,
Thanks to BC/Digby friend Jennifer Hill for this yet-another delicious-looking local food video clip. The distinction between farm and garden is becoming nicely fuzzy. All produces FOOD...
Jennifer has started EM (Environmental Microorganisms) Bokashi probiotic composting (and food growing) in almost a dozen schools in BC and is active in the local-food thru micro-markets movement there etc. etc.
Thanks for growing and sharing food and enriching your local soil via composting...,
Tom
EM Atlantic Canada Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See video clip below---
I hope you enjoy this great little video as much as I did. Just replace the west coast names with local names in your area and voila you have SW Nova Scotia.
Cheers
Jennifer
http://vimeo.com/7409888
jennh@smartt.com
Labels:
Local food gardens
Events Coming Up
Nov. 17 - Blood donor clinic, Digby Fire Hall, from 1-3 p.m., and 5-7 p.m.
Nov. 17 - Volunteer food handler course. Digby Area Arena, 2nd floor, from 6–9 p.m. Basics of food safety. Pre-register with Heather Charlton at 467-3269. Free for volunteers only.
Nov. 18 - Digby Area Learning Association annual general meeting in Digby Community Education Centre multi-purpose room at 10 a.m. Open to public.
Nov. 18-Feb. 10 - Scallop Palette Gallery in Digby General Hospital showing paintings inspired by winter. Featured artist Angela O’Neil.
Nov. 22 - ‘Sights of Christmas’ concert, Trinity Anglican Church, Digby, from 3-7 p.m. Tickets available in advance or at the door.
Nov. 22 - Fundraising concert in Oakdene Centre, Bear River, at 3 p.m. with Stan Carew of CBC Weekend Morning & his Band of Magpies. Advance tickets at Digby Convenience & Cherry Brook Grocery. Proceeds for upkeep of Oakdene Centre.
Nov. 26 & 28, Dec. 3 & 12 - Well women’s clinic. Digby General Hospital consultants’ clinic. To book appointment, call 24502502, ext. 3282.
Nov. 28 - Gingerbread competition. Holiday Spirit Fair at Rebekah Music Hall, Bear River, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Over 20 artists & live music. Register Nov. 25 with your finished gingerbread house. Organized by Women In Rural Enterprise
Nov. 28 - Annual Italian feast. Annapolis Royal Fire Hall from 3–7 p.m. to support Homeless Animals Rescue Team. For advance tickets, call (902) 341-HART. Proceeds to Port Royal Animal Hospital.
Dec. 2-3 - Book sale. Weymouth Consolidated School from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Tuesdays - ‘Baby & Me’. Family Resource Centre, Digby, from 1 - 2:30 p.m., for parents of babies to 18 months. For information, call 245-6464.
Wednesday-Friday - ’Mother’s United’ for mothers and expectant mothers. Wednesdays at Weymouth library; Thursdays in Little River Baptist Church vestry; Fridays in Digby Family Resource Centre. For information, call 245-6464.
Sundays - Women’s hockey. Digby Area Arena from 9 to 10 a.m. All skills levels welcome. For more information, contact Kim at 245-4631.
AT THE LIBRARIES:
Nov. 20 - Launch of book ‘Led by love’ with poetry by Nora Comeau from 2-4 p.m. in Isaiah W. Wilson Memorial Library, Digby.
To Nov. 28 - Annual book sale at Weymouth branch library.
To Dec. 30 - ‘Gifts from the Sea and Land’ art exhibit at Weymouth branch library featuring paintings of artists with the Atelier de Clare.
Nov. 17 - Volunteer food handler course. Digby Area Arena, 2nd floor, from 6–9 p.m. Basics of food safety. Pre-register with Heather Charlton at 467-3269. Free for volunteers only.
Nov. 18 - Digby Area Learning Association annual general meeting in Digby Community Education Centre multi-purpose room at 10 a.m. Open to public.
Nov. 18-Feb. 10 - Scallop Palette Gallery in Digby General Hospital showing paintings inspired by winter. Featured artist Angela O’Neil.
Nov. 22 - ‘Sights of Christmas’ concert, Trinity Anglican Church, Digby, from 3-7 p.m. Tickets available in advance or at the door.
Nov. 22 - Fundraising concert in Oakdene Centre, Bear River, at 3 p.m. with Stan Carew of CBC Weekend Morning & his Band of Magpies. Advance tickets at Digby Convenience & Cherry Brook Grocery. Proceeds for upkeep of Oakdene Centre.
Nov. 26 & 28, Dec. 3 & 12 - Well women’s clinic. Digby General Hospital consultants’ clinic. To book appointment, call 24502502, ext. 3282.
Nov. 28 - Gingerbread competition. Holiday Spirit Fair at Rebekah Music Hall, Bear River, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Over 20 artists & live music. Register Nov. 25 with your finished gingerbread house. Organized by Women In Rural Enterprise
Nov. 28 - Annual Italian feast. Annapolis Royal Fire Hall from 3–7 p.m. to support Homeless Animals Rescue Team. For advance tickets, call (902) 341-HART. Proceeds to Port Royal Animal Hospital.
Dec. 2-3 - Book sale. Weymouth Consolidated School from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Tuesdays - ‘Baby & Me’. Family Resource Centre, Digby, from 1 - 2:30 p.m., for parents of babies to 18 months. For information, call 245-6464.
Wednesday-Friday - ’Mother’s United’ for mothers and expectant mothers. Wednesdays at Weymouth library; Thursdays in Little River Baptist Church vestry; Fridays in Digby Family Resource Centre. For information, call 245-6464.
Sundays - Women’s hockey. Digby Area Arena from 9 to 10 a.m. All skills levels welcome. For more information, contact Kim at 245-4631.
AT THE LIBRARIES:
Nov. 20 - Launch of book ‘Led by love’ with poetry by Nora Comeau from 2-4 p.m. in Isaiah W. Wilson Memorial Library, Digby.
To Nov. 28 - Annual book sale at Weymouth branch library.
To Dec. 30 - ‘Gifts from the Sea and Land’ art exhibit at Weymouth branch library featuring paintings of artists with the Atelier de Clare.
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