Category: Enviroment

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New Old Species

Salt Lake City is the proud owner of a new species that was found in the Utah sandstone. Bones of a dinosaur named Abydosaurus mcintoshi were turned up on the property of the Dinosaur National Monument. This animal was a sauropod that was a long neck plant eater. They were known as the largest land animal ever.

The bones of the skull are extremely hard to find as they were made up of tiny bones that disintegrated easily. Luckily, two complete skulls were found. The discovery is going to help scientists fill in some missing pieces about the evolution of dinosaurs and their eating habits. The bones can be seen at BYU’s Museum of Paleontology.

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Rainy and cold

Today’s weather has been rainy and cold. This has ruined my plan of putting up the Christmas lights that I had planned to do. Since this chore has been canceled, I have been forced to find other things to do. Mostly, I have been on the computer catching up on my writings. It has been a busy time for me lately and I needed a day or two to catch up.

One problem that I have had is my body is aching. Whenever the cold gets to my old bones, I get a little uncomfortable. I turned up the heat a little but do not want to run up my heating bill too much. I was glad when the clothes we washed were put in the dryer, that warmed things up a bit! I think maybe I’ll also start a fire later this evening that will be nice!

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Hello Lyuba

According to scientists, a baby mammoth fell into a mud hole about 40,000 years ago and suffocated. Protected by the Siberian permafrost, the mammoth (now named Lyuba) was perfectly preserved until she was found by nomadic reindeer herders. Her remains are now being shipped to Chicago to become a part of an exhibition at the Field Museum.

Scientists have been studying her remains looking for answers to questions about the daily life of the mammoth. They are excited about the chance to study her and will do so over the next several years. As for Lyuba, she is scheduled to go on tour in different cities around the world until she arrives at her final destination at the Natural History Museum of London.

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A High Place

Everyone has probably heard about the highest mountain in the world. This is of course MT Everest which is located in the Himalaya mountain range. Estimated to be 29,029 ft above sea level, the mountain towers above the world in its quiet way. The first ever successful attempt to climb the mountain was achieved by two climbers named Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and tensing Norgay from Nepal. The made a successful attempt at the mountain in 1953.

This mountain has been the focus of many books and TV shows. Its ability to attract climbers to its peak is unrivaled. Despite the dangers, people keep coming to conquer the mountain and often risk their lives by doing so. I have no wish to climb the mountain at this point in my life. I am sure that I lack the strength and stamina it would take. I will leave it to others!

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Rabbits Everywhere

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Just as the sun is going down, the rabbits come out to play. There must be twenty rabbits in our neighborhood. They have quite the party every night in my front yard. When I come out the front door to take the trash out or do something outside, they scatter in 20 different directions. It is funny to see so much hysteria just because I step out of my door.

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Ethanol, Good or Bad?

I have been reading a lot about ethanol lately. Many people are counting on it to help reduce greenhouse emissions. By growing corn and turning it into fuel, we have reduced our dependency on fossil fuels. The problem is how much energy are we actually saving? It takes a lot of energy to grow, transport, and process the corn. By the time were done, we have used almost as much energy as we are trying to save.

Another problem associated with ethanol is that it causes food prices to rise. By transferring production of corn to fuel use, there is less to sell as food. Some third world countries are really feeling the pinch. There have even been riots over the situation. I hope that we can find an answer to this problem that will satisfy us all!