The World Around Us | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, April 1, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||
THE WORLD AROUND US 11 Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 1, 2017 GLOBAL ASTRONOMY MONTH 2017: WORLD’S LARGEST CELEBRATION OF ASTRONOMY BEGINS APRIL 1 Global Astronomy Month 2017 (GAM2017) fills the entire month of April again with exciting programs for astronomy enthusiasts worldwide. Whether it’s stargazing, sharing with the public, or experiencing the cosmos in art and poetry, there is something for everyone in GAM 2017. Global Astronomy Month (GAM), organized each April by Astronomers Without Borders, is the world’s largest annual global celebration of astronomy. Each GAM brings new ideas and new opportunities, and GAM 2017 is no exception, once again bringing enthusiasts together worldwide to celebrate Astronomers Without Borders’ motto: One People, One Sky. Watch the HD Video Promo Trailer on AWB’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=4ROqxVft3Kg Dozens of programs fill the month of April, with highlighted events worldwide including these: * Global Star Party—We launch Global Astronomy Month with public stargazing parties being held worldwide. And this year we have asked organizers and participants to share their local star party experiences through a series of Facebook Lives highlighting differences and similarities of everyone in the AWB global astronomy community. All webcasts will be shared with the world, and the AWB Facebook page will be highlighting them all. * OPTICKS, a Cosmic Mail Art, transmits images to the Moon and back as radio signals in real time. * Thousands will view the heavens through telescopes provided by amateur astronomers and science centers during SunDay, and other observing events. * Online observing with popular astronomer Gianluca Masi will feature live interaction with a worldwide audience in the hugely popular Online Messier Marathon. The Virtual Telescope Project will offer a tour of the brightest star clusters, nebulae and galaxies in the sky in one night. * AWB’s wide-ranging AstroArts program connects art and culture with astronomy in exciting ways with blog posts and special live webcasts, including the annual Cosmic Concert with original music composed and performed by Giovanni Renzo. * Partner programs bring new audiences and participants: Measuring light pollution worldwide in Globe at Night, classrooms discovering asteroids in the International Asteroid Search Campaign, and more. Learn more about GAM 2017 programs on the website at http://www.gam-awb.org The GAM 2017 website is the hub of all activities, with galleries, articles, and fresh content continuously posted. GAM participants will be adding their reports and photos about their local GAM events and program from all parts of the world. Here is the schedule of our GAM happenings to date (see http://astronomerswithoutborders.org/ global-astronomy-month-2017.html for details): 1 March - 1 May AstroPoetry Contest 25 March - 30 April International Earth and Sky Photo Contest 2017 1 April Global Star Party—GAM2017 Launch Event 1-30 April Astronomers Without Borders Asteroid Search Campaign 1-30 April Discovering the Solar System (Observing Challenge) 1-30 April Lunar Explorations (Observing Challenge) 2017 1 April - 1 May 1 AstroArts Contest 28 April The Moon plows through the Hyades (Observing Challenge) 4 April Online Messier Marathon (Online Observing Event) 5 April Walking on the Moon (Online Observing Event) 7 April Art and Science Collaboration - Podcast 7 April Jupiter Watch 10-28 April Shoot for the Moon (Observing Challenge) 14 April Art and Science Collaboration - Podcast 18-27 April Globe at Night 20-23 April Lyrid Meteor Shower Watch 22 April Stars For All (Online Observing Event) 22-28 April International Dark Sky Week 2017 23 April SunDay 28 April Cosmic Concert for GAM 2017 30 April OPTICKS You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@ MtnViewsNews.com. OUT TO PASTOR A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder CHRISTOPHER Nyerges WATER PURIFICATION ALL MY FRIENDS ARE GETTING OLD [Nyerges is the author of “How to Survive Anywhere,” “Extreme Simplicity,” and other books. He is a regular contributor to American Survival Guide magazine. He has led wild food and survival walks since 1974. For more information, go to www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance. com, or Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041] In most of the United States today, good drinking water is more-or-less taken for granted. But in much of the developing world, safe drinking water cannot be taken for granted. Though there are many things in the water around the world that can get us sick, the three major health risks to humans found in water are Protozoa, Viruses, and Pathogens. Each one of those categories of water-borne organisms presents their own unique health hazards. Of these, Giardia and Cryptosporidium are the most common both which pose serious health risks. An infection with these protozoans may cause chronic digestion problems which lead to malnutrition. FIRE IS BEST, BUT NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE In the United States, most campers assume water should be boiled for a period of ten minutes, before drinking, just to be safe. In some countries, however, the ability to boil water has proven to be a major obstacle, in large part because of a lack of firewood. Research shows all pathogens in the water are dead when the water reaches around 170 degrees F. (or about 75 degrees C), so, in fact, simply bringing the water to a boil is sufficient. But what if you simply cannot, or don’t deem it wise, make a fire to purify your water? Is there an alternative? According to various international agencies, such as EAWAG (Swiss Federal Institute of Environmental Science and Technology) and SANDEC (Department of Water Sanitation in Developing Countries), clear plastic water bottles can serve a valuable role in disinfecting water. SODIS This is referred to as SODIS, for SOlar water DISinfection. So how does it work exactly? The effectiveness of SODIS takes advantage of the suns UV rays and the process of pasteurization. This method is practiced in India, for example. Here are the steps. 1. Select a clear PET plastic bottle, free of scratches and dirt. These are relatively common and available world-wide. 2. Fill the bottle . of the way with clear water and shake to aerate. (If the collected water is cloudly, or contains suspended debris, it should first be allowed to settle in another container, like a bucket. Then, the water should be strained through a cloth before being poured into the plastic bottle.) 3. Fill the bottle the rest of the way and secure the lid tightly. 4. Expose the suspect water to the sun by laying the bottles on their side, either on a roof or somewhere where shadows will not be cast on them, or ideally on a corrugated metal roof. 5. Wait about 6 hours during full sunlight before you drink the water. Limitations of SODIS Though very effective, SODIS is not free of limitations. For one, adequate sunlight is necessary: During winter, when the sun is lower in the horizon, the days are shorter and air is cooler, SODIS will take longer to work than during the summer. Cloud cover also mean you’ll have to keep the bottles in the longer than the recommended six hours. Areas in developing countries, between 35 degrees north latitude and 35 degrees south latitude, are ideal for the use of SODIS. HOW LONG IN THE SUN? · 6 hours if the sky is cloudless or up to 50% cloudy. · 2 consecutive days if the sky is more than 50% cloudy. · 1 hour at a water temperature of at least 122°f · During days of continuous rainfall, SODIS does not perform satisfactorily. Rainwater harvesting or boiling is recommended during these days Standing bottles up does not work well. For maximum effectiveness, you want to lay the bottles on their side and you don’t want water deeper than ten centimeters for ideal UV penetration. Advantages of using SODIS In the aftermath of an emergency where you must purify water, you’re not drawing attention to your location if you don’t have a fire, and this may be critically important. You won’t need to expend the energy of searching for fire wood. There is quite a bit of science behind SODIS, far beyond the scope of this article. For this interested, more information can be found at http://www.sodis.ch/methode/anwendung/ ausbildungsmaterial/dokumente_material/ manual_e.pdf Getting old seems to be a long and slow process. The longer it goes the older you get. I didn’t really think I was getting old until a few weeks ago I was visiting with some friends from high school. You know those old high school friends that you had fun with when you were young enough to have fun? And oh boy, what fun we had. A sharp difference exists between being young and being old. You have to get old to really understand the difference because when you are young you do not have enough time to think. That’s the problem with young people today. So many things to do and so much technology they do not have any time left over to think. Those young whippersnappers. There is a huge difference between being young and being old. When you are young, you enjoy having lots of fun. When you are old, you enjoy remembering all the fun you had when you were young. The best thing about being old and remembering those good old days is that you can exaggerate about how good they really were. Even when you are exaggerating with friends that shared the same fun, they go along with you. Whether it is the absence of memory or just wanting to enjoy fun to its fullest extent, I do not really know. As my friends and I were talking about the good old days, I happened to notice wrinkles on their faces. I did not say anything at the time, but they sure looked old to me. Also, I did not quite remember how grey their hair was when we were young. When I was young and having all that fun, I never gave a thought about how young I was or that I was getting older. My whole focus was on the fun element of life and I thought that would carry me through the rest of my life. I remember my 20th birthday very well. I was celebrating getting out of those teenage years and becoming an adult. For some reason I thought you became an adult at 20. Little did I know that it takes many years to become an adult and some do not really make it. I simply assume that the older you get, the more fun you can have. Boy, was I ever surprised! Celebrating the good old days is quite remarkable. Because in it all, I noticed my friends were getting older. One of my friends repeated a story three times and not to embarrass him, I laughed all three times. After the meeting and driving home, I began to think about myself. Am I as old as they look? I was afraid to look in the mirror when I got home because I did not know who would be staring back at me. Whoever invented mirrors ought to be shot and then sent to the moon. A mirror never tells you the correct story and never tells you how old you really are. It just makes a funny face at you. My friends may be getting old, but I have put my foot down and I have refused to get old. One friend was using a cane and I did not have the heart to ask him why he was using a cane. He hobbled around and I am not sure if he hurt himself or if he was just getting too old to walk on his own. I must admit there are some days that I feel old, whatever that means. Some days I am a little slower than I was the day before. Overall, I am not as old as some of my friends look. There is an old saying that says you are only as old as you feel, and I’m not sure what old feels like. I would like to ask my wife, but you know the trouble I would be in then! I did enjoy my visit with those friends, but it did start me thinking about things I have never thought about before. Someone said that the 70 is the new 20. I will keep that in mind when I hit that magical mark called 70. When I got home, I shared some of my thoughts with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage who just listen very patiently. I went on and on about how old my friends looked. When I settled back in my chair and sipped some coffee, she looked at me and said something that rather startled me. “I wonder,” she said rather thoughtfully, “if your friends are saying the same thing about you!” That was a thought stopper for sure. What if they were? What if I looked old to them? Is it really that bad to get old? I thought about that for a moment and then realized if you stop getting older, you’re dead. “I have been young,” David said rather thoughtfully, “and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). The one I like is, “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing” (Psalm 92:14). This one fits me to a T. Not only are my friends getting old, but I’m getting old and my goal is to get as old as I possibly can. Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com. We’d like to hear from you! What’s on YOUR Mind? Contact us at: editor@mtnviewsnews.com or www.facebook.com/mountainviewsnews AND Twitter: @mtnviewsnews Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com | ||||||||||||||||||||