Science!
Comment: The future often sounds surreal, but if we look back we are amazed by what has happened already!
(Source: an-albino-namekian, via futuristgerd)
Climate Change Shifts North’s Growing Seasons
temperature and vegetation growth at northern latitudes now resemble those found 4 degrees to 6 degrees of latitude farther south as recently as 1982.
“Higher northern latitudes are getting warmer, Arctic sea ice and the duration of snow cover are diminishing, the growing season is getting longer and plants are growing more,” said Ranga Myneni of Boston University’s Department of Earth and Environment. “In the north’s Arctic and boreal areas, the characteristics of the seasons are changing, leading to great disruptions for plants and related ecosystems.”
Via NASA
Image: Of the 10 million square miles (26 million square kilometers) of northern vegetated lands, 34 to 41 percent showed increases in plant growth (green and blue), 3 to 5 percent showed decreases in plant growth (orange and red), and 51 to 62 percent showed no changes (yellow) over the past 30 years. Satellite data in this visualization are from the AVHRR and MODIS instruments, which contribute to a vegetation index that allows researchers to track changes in plant growth over large areas.
(via emergentfutures)
In 2050, Flight Time From Europe to Australia Will Be 90 Minutes
Many challenges still remain, including finding the right shape for the vehicle, said Martin Sippel, project coordinator for SpaceLiner at the German Aerospace Center. But he suggested the project could make enough progress to begin attracting private funding in another 10 years and aim for full operations by 2050.
The current concept includes a rocket booster stage for launch and a separate orbiter stage to carry passengers halfway around the world without ever making it to space. Flight times between the U.S. and Europe could fall to just over an hour if the SpaceLiner takes off — that is, if passengers don’t mind paying the equivalent of space tourism prices around several hundred thousand dollars
Full Story: Mashable
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Graph Search would arguably be more compelling on mobile than on PC. Where does it make more sense to search for “Bars in Dublin liked by people who live in Dublin,” assuming you don’t live in Dublin — on your laptop in Chicago, or on your smartphone in Dublin? Likewise, Instagram’s success shows that people are interested in viewing their friend’s photos on their phones as well as on their computers. Breaking news breaks whether you’re on the road or at home.
Tim Carmody: Graph Search shows that, for Facebook, mobile is still always ‘tomorrow’ (via thisistheverge)
(via thisistheverge)
Japan’s ruling elite taps Google Hangouts for votes
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda — as well as his opponents in the upcoming election — will use Google+ Hangouts on Friday to answer questions posed by voters.
