POLITICAL COMMENTARY: “Al Gore Warns of 3rd Party “Dangers”, Ignores Democrats’ Lack of Climate Action” / Ring of Fire / Farron Cousins ☮

Al Gore understands just how dangerous 3rd party candidates can be in a tight election, but you can’t justify that by claiming the Democrats are any better on issues like climate change. There’s little indication that the Democrats currently in power – and the ones who could be in power in just a few months – have any real intentions of acting on climate change. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

ENVIRONMENTALISM – ECOLOGY: “Suzanne Simard: How Trees Talk to Each Other” / TEDSummit / June 2016 ☮

“A forest is much more than what you see,” says ecologist Suzanne Simard. Her 30 years of research in Canadian forests have led to an astounding discovery — trees talk, often and over vast distances. Learn more about the harmonious yet complicated social lives of trees and prepare to see the natural world with new eyes.

PALEONTOLOGY: “Hunting for Dinosaurs Showed Me Our Place in the Universe” / Ted Talks / Kenneth Lacovara” ☮

What happens when you discover a dinosaur? Paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara details his unearthing of Dreadnoughtus — a 77-million-year-old sauropod that was as tall as a house and as heavy as a jumbo jet — and considers how amazingly improbable it is that a tiny mammal living in the cracks of the dinosaur world could evolve into a sentient being capable of understanding these magnificent creatures. Join him in a celebration of the Earth’s geological history and contemplate our place in deep time.

SPORTS: “Kelly Slater’s Perfect Artificial Wave Could Change Everything About Surfing” / Huffpost Sports ☮

Even the pros are obsessed with this “freak of technology.”

When world-famous professional surfer Kelly Slater unveiled his artificial wave poolin December after nearly 10 years of research and development, the entire surf world was stoked.

This week, after Slater invited a group of professional surfers to try out what he has dubbed “a freak of technology,” it became clear the sport may never be the same.

As wave after flawless wave rolled in, the surfers, including Carissa Moore, Nat Young, Stephanie Gilmore and Kanoa Igarashi, got some of the longest rides and most consistently perfect barrels we’ve ever seen.

While the company has yet to disclose the pool’s location, Reddit users managed to find it using Google Earth satellite imagery. They located the pool in Lemoore, California — about 100 miles from the coast.

In the past, artificial waves haven’t met surfers’ expectations. They didn’t barrel — take the shape of a hollow tube — and weren’t fast enough for surfers to get air. Slater’s waves, however, live up to the real thing, not just mimicking the ocean, but seemingly improving it.

This ride by Stephanie Gilmore is a prime example of just how clean and glassy each wave is.

Continue reading . . .

NATURE: “Why are Peacock Tail Feathers so Enchanting?” / “Real-time and Slow Motion Video of Peacock Courtship Displays” ☮

Why are Peacock Tail Feathers so Enchanting? / PBS News Hour

Male peacock feathers have long set the standard for mating displays in the bird world. And while their expansive fan of spots is beautiful, they are also beguiling.

Real-time and Slow Motion Video of Peacock Courtship Displays

Adult peacocks court peahens by vibrating the erect tail and elongated covert feathers during their train-rattling displays. Wing-shaking behaviour is also performed during courtship. Slow-motion clips of train-rattling peacocks demonstrate that the eyespots remain relatively stationary (as compared to the rest of the train feathers) during the display, and that the tail drives the vibrations by stridulating against the train feathers.

ENVIRONMENTALISM: “California Wines Contain Monsanto’s Toxic Herbicide” / RT America ☮

A study has revealed that 10 popular California wines contain traces of the toxic herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s weed-killer Roundup. Even organic wines were affected. RT America’s Brigida Santos joins Simone Del Rosario to break the study down.

ENVIRONMENTALISM: “Nearly Half of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Expected to Die in the Next Month” / RT America / Ed Shultz and Conservation Biologist Reese Halter ☮

An aerial survey shows that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is 95 percent bleached, and half of it is expected to die in the next month. Conservation biologist Reese Halter joins ‘News With Ed’ to explain what caused the die-off, how damaging it is for the planet and whether that damage is reversible.