Ever have days where you feel like you're just slogging through useless, boring work and time seems to stand still? We do too. Here are ten ways to jump-start your job and make your days a little more interesting.
10. Start Your Day Off Right with a Better Commute
For many of us, the boredom doesn't even start at work?it starts once we hit the road to get to work. Whether you're stuck in traffic or you just live far away, that drive or ride can be a bear. Luckily, we've got a guide that can help you outsmart the traffic and keep your mind busy in the car (we recommend podcasts, and we have one you can start with). If all else fails, you can try to convince your boss to let you work from home sometimes, too?that can cut down on that boring, time-wasting commute. Photo by kusuriuri (Shutterstock), Fontana (Shutterstock), Lilkar (Shutterstock), and Nelli Shuyskaya (Shutterstock).
9. Make Your Cubicle More Productive (and Less Boring)
Believe it or not, your surroundings can make a big difference in your mood?and a tiny, boring, grey cubicle is not exactly the most exciting work environment. Lighting can make a big difference, so a lamp or two can help out, as can better furniture?particularly furniture that is more ergonomic. Heck, even a few plants and other decorations can make you feel more comfortable. Check out our guide to improving your in-office workspace for more details. Photo remixed from originals by maraga (Shutterstock) and OCAL.
8. Fight Exhaustion and Get Back to Work
Maybe the problem isn't your work. Maybe you're just exhausted and you don't have the energy to do your work, so your boredom and your energy become a vicious cycle. Eating and sleeping right can help a lot, but performing a few quick exercises can help get your blood moving and wake you up, too. And, if your boss will let you, a standing desk can help energize you as well (not to mention a short power nap). Check out this guide for more tips on surviving the workday when you're exhausted. Photos by Korki.
7. Make Your Meetings Worthwhile
Meetings are easily one of the most boring parts of your workday. Half the time they're just wasting time you could be spending on real work. We've talked about how to make it through a boring meeting before, but the best thing you can do is attack the problem at its source and change how meetings are run. Talk to your manager and see if you can give your meetings some constraints to keep them moving, and make sure they have a very specific agenda. Heck, even going outside and taking a walking meeting can help keep everyone engaged. Photo by Andrew Magill.
6. Become an Overachiever and Get Some Bonus Points
If your work is dull and easy, it can't hurt to take some extra notes during that meeting, or taking some extra initiative on that new project. Not only will it keep you engaged, it'll get the attention of your boss and help you score some nice points. While you're at it, you might want to do a self-review and identify your own professional pain points?that'll give you something to do.
5. Get Some New Responsibilities
If becoming an unofficial overachiever isn't enough, you can actually talk to your boss and see if you can negotiate a change in your job description. That way, you can work on things that are more interesting to you. Alternatively, see if you can institute some kind of "20% time," or work on other projects that'll be beneficial to the company. Heck, you could even swap a few tasks with your coworkers to keep things interesting.
4. Learn a New Skill During Work
If you do get some new responsibilities, you can learn a lot of new things from that, but even if you're stuck to your boring grunt work, you can use that time to learn a new skill that's interesting to you. Perhaps you can listen to educational podcasts while you work, learn a new language by changing the language on your favorite web sites, or use your breaks to reinvigorate you with a personal project. Some personal projects may even integrate with your work?just make sure you know your company's policies about pursuing personal projects on work time. Have a question or suggestion for Ask Lifehacker? Send it to tips+asklh@lifehacker.com.
3. Take More Web Browsing Breaks (Seriously)
Chances are, when you're bored, you get tempted to browse the web and waste time. As long as you don't go overboard, it's okay to give into that urge! In fact, some studies have shown that the occasional web surfing break actually increases productivity. After all, it's really hard to stay focused for 8 hours straight. Use your breaks wisely, but don't feel too guilty about heading off to Facebook, Twitter, or your favorite tech- and productivity-oriented weblog during your workday. Photo remixed from lululemon athletica.
2. Embrace Your Boredom: It Fosters Creativity
If your job requires any kind of brainstorming or creative work, even once in awhile, use your boring spells to foster creativity during that time. Letting your mind wander can help boost creative ideas, so the next time you're feeling bored, give in to the urge (as long as nothing important is happening). In the end, boredom, distraction, and procrastination are vital to healthy living, so you don't want to fight against them 24/7. Title image remixed from Subbotina Anna (Shutterstock).
1. Quit
Sometimes, boredom is something we just have to deal with. Other times, it means you're at a soul crushing job and it's time to leave. If you aren't sure whether it's time to quit your job, watch for these signs and take the advice of an employer: let your boss know and part on good terms. Then, you can get back out there and find a career you actually like, and kick that boredom to the curb permanently. Photo by Daniel Schweinert (Shutterstock).
Photo by pixs4u (Shutterstock), Gabrieelh, MIT OpenCourseWare, Pertsaboy, and tuku.
Boeing's Dreamliner finally appears ready for the FAA to give it another shot. After being grounded in January the 787 has undergone numerous tweaks and refinements to improve the safety and reliability of the aircraft. The finaltest before submitting to the federal regulatory body for commercial approval was this morning's flight, which included a new battery system built by GS Yuasa Corp. After a roughly two-hour journey that began at 10:39am in Washington, the company reported that the upgraded batteries performed "as intended during normal and non-normal flight conditions." The next step will be submitting the proposed changes to the FAA, which will then decide if the proposed fixes are enough to return the jet to active duty. A two day hearing is set for April 23rd, at which point the fate of this current incarnation of the 787 will be decided.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Afghan officials released harrowing new details on Thursday about an attack in a western province where assailants shot everyone in their path, sending terrified people jumping from windows trying to escape the assailants who killed at least 46 civilians and security forces.
Civilians have frequently been caught up in the fighting between militants and Afghan and U.S.-led combat forces, but the U.N. condemned Wednesday's attack, saying civilians were deliberately targeted at the courthouse and other government offices in Farah province. Two judges, six prosecutors, administration officers and cleaners working at the site were among the dead, the U.N. said.
Also Thursday, NATO reported that an American F-16 fighter jet had crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing the U.S. pilot. The U.S.-led military coalition did not release further details about Wednesday's crash.
"While the cause of the crash is under investigation, initial reporting indicates there was no insurgent activity in the area at the time of the crash," the coalition said in a statement.
Illustrating other dangers, an airstrike by U.S.-led forces mistakenly killed four policemen and two brothers as their car was being searched at a checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan, an Afghan official said Thursday.
The strike occurred in the Deh Yak district of Ghazni province, according to district chief Fazel Ahmad Toolwak. He said NATO troops were fighting Taliban militants about 10 kilometers (six miles) away, but those killed in the strike were not involved in that battle.
A NATO spokesman, U.S. Army Maj. Adam Wojack, said the international military coalition was looking into the report, adding it "takes all allegations of this type seriously."
According to a recent U.N. report, 2,754 Afghan civilians were killed last year ? down 12 percent from 3,131 killed in 2011. But the number killed in the second half of last year rose, suggesting that Afghanistan is likely to face continued violence as the Taliban and other militants fight for control of the country as foreign forces continue their withdrawal.
The U.N. said the Taliban and other insurgents were responsible for 81 percent of the civilian deaths and injuries last year, while 8 percent were attributed to pro-government forces. The remaining civilian deaths and injuries could not be attributed to either side.
The number of casualties blamed on U.S. and allied forces decreased by 46 percent, with 316 killed and 271 wounded last year. Most were killed in U.S. and NATO airstrikes, although that number, too, dropped by nearly half last year to 126, including 51 children.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Farah, the capital of the province of the same name near the border with Iran.
The hospital in Farah was so overwhelmed with casualties that helicopters had to ferry some of the wounded to other hospitals in nearby areas.
Provincial Gov. Akram Akhpelwak said two more people had died from the attack, raising the death toll to 55 ? 36 civilians, 10 Afghan security forces and nine attackers. More than 100 people also were wounded, he said.
One of the province's members of parliament, Humaira Ayobi, said one elderly man was found hiding in a bathroom, afraid to come out.
"Farah is a city of sadness," she said in a telephone call after attending a funeral for some of the victims. "The stores are closed. There's no traffic in the streets."
The attack began when two suicide bombers detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the courthouse, shattering windows and devastating several buildings. Seven others jumped out of the pickup and ran toward the courthouse and attorney general's office, prompting an eight-hour gunbattle that left many buildings pockmarked from bullets and rocket-propelled grenades.
Ayobi said the attackers went from room to room shooting people, including nearly two dozen people who had taken refuge in a basement. She also said two judges were singled out to be killed in a separate room, and that their bodies were burned.
The attackers were wearing military-style uniforms easily bought in Afghan markets and had painted a pickup in camouflage to disguise it as an Afghan National Army vehicle so it could bypass checkpoints, she said.
An Associated Press photo shows a group of soldiers standing over the body of one of the slain attackers who was lying in a pool of blood and wearing a uniform nearly identical to theirs.
Local officials said Wednesday that they believed the attackers were trying to free 15 Taliban prisoners who were about to stand trial. But Ayobi said the initial target might have been the governor's compound until heavy security there forced the attackers to redirect themselves to the courthouse.
In New York, the U.N. Security Council condemned the attack "in the strongest terms" and called for the perpetrators, organizers and financiers to be brought to justice. The council reiterated its "serious concern at the threats posed by the Taliban, Al-Qaida and illegal armed groups to the local population, national security forces, international military and international assistance efforts in Afghanistan."
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Follow Kim Gamel on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kimgamel
Google, Amazon and Microsoft are finally getting the syncing cloud storage thing right. But, Dropbox is still the player to catch. While the rest are still working on actually getting the desktop client stuff ironed out, the iconic blue box is spreading its tentacles across the web. Today Yahoo! announced a partnership that puts the pioneering storage service right in your inbox. Yahoo! Mail is now tightly integrated with Dropbox, allowing you to share files straight from your folders online or save attachments to them. The tie-in comes courtesy of Dropbox Chooser, which also means an end to size limits for email attachments. Anything over 25MB is shared through a Dropbox link, rather than directly attached to your message. If you're a Yahoo! user you should see the new options in your inbox today.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) ? Cyprus finance minister, Michalis Sarris, resigned Tuesday after less than five weeks in the job, to make way for a government investigation into how the country's economy nearly collapsed last month.
President Nicos Anastasiades accepted Sarris' resignation, which came as Cyprus finalized the details of its bailout with international creditors. Harris Georgiades, the former labor minister, will become the new head of finance.
Sarris, 66, was appointed to the position after Anastasiades' Conservatives won general elections in February, days before the island was overwhelmed by its financial crisis.
The minister, a former World Bank official who helped negotiate Cyprus' euro membership in 2008, has come under strong criticism for his handling of the bailout negotiations. On top of that, he was last year the head of Laiki Bank, one of the troubled banks at the heart of the country's financial problems.
Sarris told reporters that he decided to step down to not compromise the work of investigators.
"To ease the work of this committee, I've thought that it would be appropriate for me to put my resignation at the disposal of the president of the republic, which I did," he said. Anastasiades praised the move, hailing Sarris' political sensibility.
Earlier Tuesday, the president appointed a panel of three former supreme court judges to investigate the country's plunge to the verge of bankruptcy.
Cyprus has been given a 10 billion euro ($12.8 billion) bailout from its lenders after agreeing to overhaul its oversized banking sector flush with foreign deposits, including billions from Russia.
To secure the bailout, Cyprus had to agree that bondholders, investors and savers in the country's two biggest banks ? Bank of Cyprus and Laiki ? take a hit. Laiki, the country's second-largest lender, will be broken up with depositors with more than 100,000 euros ($128,000) taking major losses. Savers with more than 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus could face losses of up to 60 percent on their savings as part of the rescue deal.
Sarris came out of retirement to take over at the helm at Laiki last year. The hope was that Sarris's experience and contacts would help woo investors and money back into the bank, which had sustained huge losses on bad Greek debt and loans. Laiki eventually asked for 1.8 billion euros in government help ? money that Cyprus didn't have. That in turn, forced the country to turn to its euro-area partners and the International Monetary Fund for a financial lifeline.
Sarris, who had been critical of the previous government's handling of the economy, quit from Laiki less than year after taking charge, saying that he was bowing to the government's wishes.
Anastasiades himself has come under scrutiny over the crisis: a local newspaper has alleged that a company apparently co-owned by one of his relatives took money out of Laiki days before the country agreed to its bailout. The president Tuesday urged the judges to kick off their probe by investigating his family's business dealings.
Meanwhile, Cypriot government spokesman Christos Stylianides said authorities were putting the finishing touches to the country's bailout agreement with officials from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF ? collectively known as the troika.
One of the conditions agreed was an extra two years, until 2018, to achieve a targeted budget surplus of 4 percent through spending cuts and tax hikes. The extension is designed to give more time for the Cypriot economy to recover. Government officials are predicting that the country's economic output will shrink by 9 this year alone.
"Without doubt, completion of the agreement with the troika should have been done much sooner in much more favorable political and economic conditions," Stylianides said. "Even with this delay, the situation is now normalized, stabilized and conditions are being created to restart the economy."
Under the terms of the deal, the country has been granted 22 years ? which includes a 10-year grace period ? to pay off the 10 billion euro bailout loan at an interest rate of 2.5 percent.
Stylianides said the troika won't have any say in how future revenues generated from the country's newfound offshore gas deposits will be used.
Breakthrough in hydrogen fuel production could revolutionize alternative energy marketPublic release date: 4-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Zeke Barlow bzeke@vt.edu 540-231-5417 Virginia Tech
New method is environmentally friendly and inexpensive
A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant, a breakthrough that has the potential to bring a low-cost, environmentally friendly fuel source to the world.
"Our new process could help end our dependence on fossil fuels," said Y.H. Percival Zhang, an associate professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering "Hydrogen is one of the most important biofuels of the future."
Zhang and his team have succeeded in using xylose, the most abundant simple plant sugar, to produce a large quantity of hydrogen that previously was attainable only in theory. Zhang's method can be performed using any source of biomass.
The discovery is a featured editor's choice in an online version of the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie, International Edition.
This new environmentally friendly method of producing hydrogen utilizes renewable natural resources, releases almost no zero greenhouse gasses, and does not require costly or heavy metals. Previous methods to produce hydrogen are expensive and create greenhouse gases.
The U.S. Department of Energy says that hydrogen fuel has the potential to dramatically reduce reliance of fossil fuels and automobile manufactures are aggressively trying to develop vehicles that run on hydrogen fuel cells. Unlike gas-powered engines that spew out pollutants, the only byproduct of hydrogen fuel is water. Zhang's discovery opens the door to an inexpensive, renewable source of hydrogen.
Jonathan R. Mielenz, group leader of the bioscience and technology biosciences division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who is familiar with Zhang's work but not affiliated with this project, said this discovery has the potential to have a major impact on alternative energy production.
"The key to this exciting development is that Zhang is using the second most prevalent sugar in plants to produce this hydrogen," he said. "This amounts to a significant additional benefit to hydrogen production and it reduces the overall cost of producing hydrogen from biomass."
Mielenz said Zhang's process could find its way to the marketplace as quickly as three years if the technology is available. Zhang said when it does become commercially available, it has the possibility of making an enormous impact.
"The potential for profit and environmental benefits are why so many automobile, oil, and energy companies are working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as the transportation of the future," Zhang said. "Many people believe we will enter the hydrogen economy soon, with a market capacity of at least $1 trillion in the United States alone."
Obstacles to commercial production of hydrogen gas from biomass previously included the high cost of the processes used and the relatively low quantity of the end product.
But Zhang thinks he has found the answers to those problems.
For seven years, Zhang's team has been focused on finding non-traditional ways to produce high-yield hydrogen at low cost, specifically researching enzyme combinations, discovering novel enzymes, and engineering enzymes with desirable properties.
The team liberates the high-purity hydrogen under mild reaction conditions at 122 degree Fahrenheit and normal atmospheric pressure. The biocatalysts used to release the hydrogen are a group of enzymes artificially isolated from different microorganisms that thrive at extreme temperatures, some of which could grow at around the boiling point of water.
The researchers chose to use xylose, which comprises as much as 30 percent of plant cell walls. Despite its abundance, the use of xylose for releasing hydrogen has been limited. The natural or engineered microorganisms that most scientists use in their experiments cannot produce hydrogen in high yield because these microorganisms grow and reproduce instead of splitting water molecules to yield pure hydrogen.
To liberate the hydrogen, Virginia Tech scientists separated a number of enzymes from their native microorganisms to create a customized enzyme cocktail that does not occur in nature. The enzymes, when combined with xylose and a polyphosphate, liberate the unprecedentedly high volume of hydrogen from xylose, resulting in the production of about three times as much hydrogen as other hydrogen-producing microorganisms.
The energy stored in xylose splits water molecules, yielding high-purity hydrogen that can be directly utilized by proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Even more appealing, this reaction occurs at low temperatures, generating hydrogen energy that is greater than the chemical energy stored in xylose and the polyphosphate. This results in an energy efficiency of more than 100 percent a net energy gain. That means that low-temperature waste heat can be used to produce high-quality chemical energy hydrogen for the first time. Other processes that convert sugar into biofuels such as ethanol and butanol always have energy efficiencies of less than 100 percent, resulting in an energy penalty.
In his previous research, Zhang used enzymes to produce hydrogen from starch, but the reaction required a food source that made the process too costly for mass production.
The commercial market for hydrogen gas is now around $100 billion for hydrogen produced from natural gas, which is expensive to manufacture and generates a large amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Industry most often uses hydrogen to manufacture ammonia for fertilizers and to refine petrochemicals, but an inexpensive, plentiful green hydrogen source can rapidly change that market.
"It really doesn't make sense to use non-renewable natural resources to produce hydrogen," Zhang said. "We think this discovery is a game-changer in the world of alternative energy."
###
Support for the current research comes from the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. Additional resources were contributed by the Shell GameChanger Program, the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Biodesign and Bioprocessing Research Center, and the U.S. Department of Energy BioEnergy Science Center, along with the Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the Department of Energy. The lead author of the article, Julia S. Martin Del Campo, who works in Zhang's lab, received her Ph.D. grant from the Mexican Council of Science and Technology.
Nationally ranked among the top research institutions of its kind, Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences focuses on the science and business of living systems through learning, discovery, and engagement. The college's comprehensive curriculum gives more than 3,100 students in a dozen academic departments a balanced education that ranges from food and fiber production to economics to human health. Students learn from the world's leading agricultural scientists, who bring the latest science and technology into the classroom.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Breakthrough in hydrogen fuel production could revolutionize alternative energy marketPublic release date: 4-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Zeke Barlow bzeke@vt.edu 540-231-5417 Virginia Tech
New method is environmentally friendly and inexpensive
A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant, a breakthrough that has the potential to bring a low-cost, environmentally friendly fuel source to the world.
"Our new process could help end our dependence on fossil fuels," said Y.H. Percival Zhang, an associate professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering "Hydrogen is one of the most important biofuels of the future."
Zhang and his team have succeeded in using xylose, the most abundant simple plant sugar, to produce a large quantity of hydrogen that previously was attainable only in theory. Zhang's method can be performed using any source of biomass.
The discovery is a featured editor's choice in an online version of the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie, International Edition.
This new environmentally friendly method of producing hydrogen utilizes renewable natural resources, releases almost no zero greenhouse gasses, and does not require costly or heavy metals. Previous methods to produce hydrogen are expensive and create greenhouse gases.
The U.S. Department of Energy says that hydrogen fuel has the potential to dramatically reduce reliance of fossil fuels and automobile manufactures are aggressively trying to develop vehicles that run on hydrogen fuel cells. Unlike gas-powered engines that spew out pollutants, the only byproduct of hydrogen fuel is water. Zhang's discovery opens the door to an inexpensive, renewable source of hydrogen.
Jonathan R. Mielenz, group leader of the bioscience and technology biosciences division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who is familiar with Zhang's work but not affiliated with this project, said this discovery has the potential to have a major impact on alternative energy production.
"The key to this exciting development is that Zhang is using the second most prevalent sugar in plants to produce this hydrogen," he said. "This amounts to a significant additional benefit to hydrogen production and it reduces the overall cost of producing hydrogen from biomass."
Mielenz said Zhang's process could find its way to the marketplace as quickly as three years if the technology is available. Zhang said when it does become commercially available, it has the possibility of making an enormous impact.
"The potential for profit and environmental benefits are why so many automobile, oil, and energy companies are working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as the transportation of the future," Zhang said. "Many people believe we will enter the hydrogen economy soon, with a market capacity of at least $1 trillion in the United States alone."
Obstacles to commercial production of hydrogen gas from biomass previously included the high cost of the processes used and the relatively low quantity of the end product.
But Zhang thinks he has found the answers to those problems.
For seven years, Zhang's team has been focused on finding non-traditional ways to produce high-yield hydrogen at low cost, specifically researching enzyme combinations, discovering novel enzymes, and engineering enzymes with desirable properties.
The team liberates the high-purity hydrogen under mild reaction conditions at 122 degree Fahrenheit and normal atmospheric pressure. The biocatalysts used to release the hydrogen are a group of enzymes artificially isolated from different microorganisms that thrive at extreme temperatures, some of which could grow at around the boiling point of water.
The researchers chose to use xylose, which comprises as much as 30 percent of plant cell walls. Despite its abundance, the use of xylose for releasing hydrogen has been limited. The natural or engineered microorganisms that most scientists use in their experiments cannot produce hydrogen in high yield because these microorganisms grow and reproduce instead of splitting water molecules to yield pure hydrogen.
To liberate the hydrogen, Virginia Tech scientists separated a number of enzymes from their native microorganisms to create a customized enzyme cocktail that does not occur in nature. The enzymes, when combined with xylose and a polyphosphate, liberate the unprecedentedly high volume of hydrogen from xylose, resulting in the production of about three times as much hydrogen as other hydrogen-producing microorganisms.
The energy stored in xylose splits water molecules, yielding high-purity hydrogen that can be directly utilized by proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Even more appealing, this reaction occurs at low temperatures, generating hydrogen energy that is greater than the chemical energy stored in xylose and the polyphosphate. This results in an energy efficiency of more than 100 percent a net energy gain. That means that low-temperature waste heat can be used to produce high-quality chemical energy hydrogen for the first time. Other processes that convert sugar into biofuels such as ethanol and butanol always have energy efficiencies of less than 100 percent, resulting in an energy penalty.
In his previous research, Zhang used enzymes to produce hydrogen from starch, but the reaction required a food source that made the process too costly for mass production.
The commercial market for hydrogen gas is now around $100 billion for hydrogen produced from natural gas, which is expensive to manufacture and generates a large amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Industry most often uses hydrogen to manufacture ammonia for fertilizers and to refine petrochemicals, but an inexpensive, plentiful green hydrogen source can rapidly change that market.
"It really doesn't make sense to use non-renewable natural resources to produce hydrogen," Zhang said. "We think this discovery is a game-changer in the world of alternative energy."
###
Support for the current research comes from the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. Additional resources were contributed by the Shell GameChanger Program, the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Biodesign and Bioprocessing Research Center, and the U.S. Department of Energy BioEnergy Science Center, along with the Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the Department of Energy. The lead author of the article, Julia S. Martin Del Campo, who works in Zhang's lab, received her Ph.D. grant from the Mexican Council of Science and Technology.
Nationally ranked among the top research institutions of its kind, Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences focuses on the science and business of living systems through learning, discovery, and engagement. The college's comprehensive curriculum gives more than 3,100 students in a dozen academic departments a balanced education that ranges from food and fiber production to economics to human health. Students learn from the world's leading agricultural scientists, who bring the latest science and technology into the classroom.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Continuing deaths of dolphins and sea turtles are a sign that the Gulf of Mexico is still feeling effects from the 2010 spill that spewed 200 million gallons of oil from a well a mile below the surface, a prominent environmental group said Tuesday.
The deaths ? especially in dolphins, which are at the top of the food chain ? are "a strong indication that there is something amiss with the Gulf ecosystem," said National Wildlife Federation senior scientist Doug Inkley.
"Both species have very high mortality the first year, slightly lower the second year and the third year even lower, but still well above average," Inkley said. "To have these deaths above average for so long a period of time is unprecedented."
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service has said previously that many turtles probably drowned in shrimp nets and that brucellosis, a bacterial infection, was the only common thread in the dolphin deaths.
NOAA cannot comment about Inkley's statement because its investigation of the deaths is part of the federal tally of environmental damage for oil spill litigation, spokeswoman Connie Barclay said.
The federation's report, "Restoring a Degraded Gulf of Mexico: Wildlife and Wetlands Three Years into the Gulf Oil Disaster," was based on previously reported research by other scientists, including NOAA's updates on the dolphin and sea turtle strandings.
The key to restoring the Gulf is conserving coastal wetlands, and it's critical to make sure that any fines imposed from the trial now in progress in New Orleans go to that purpose, said Inkley and David Muth, director of the federation's Mississippi River Delta Restoration Program.
The trial will assign a percentage of responsibility among BP PLC and other companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion April 20, 2010. It will also decide penalties under both the Clean Water Act and the National Resource Damage Assessment process.
NRDA uses scientific research to assess environmental damage and decide how to fix it. Under the RESTORE Act of 2012, 80 percent of all Clean Water Act fines will go to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas.
The federation looked at how coastal wetlands and six species of animals are doing in the Gulf three years after the spill, basing its assessment on historical status and what the future looks like as well as the spill's effect.
It rated the status of coastal wetlands, Atlantic bluefin tuna, and sea turtles as poor; bottlenose dolphins and deep-sea coral as fair; and shrimp and brown pelicans as good.
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Public release date: 4-Apr-2013
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