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Monday, December 7, 2020
There are still two weeks left until the official start of winter, but the East Coast is already being hit by its first Nor'easter storm. It cut electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes and released more than a foot of snow in some areas. It also met the criteria for a bomb cyclone, which occurs when a storm's pressure drops by over 24 millibars in 24 hours. Nor'easters are most common between September and April. It starts as a low-pressure front in the southeast that gradually moves northeast. The warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico and around Florida warm the air, which clashes with colder air coming down from the north. This causes heavy winds, beach erosion, coastal flooding, and rough beach conditions. Not all of them have snow, though. "A date which will live in infamy". That's what President Franklin D. Roosevelt said 79 years ago on this day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, drawing the US into World War II. During the surprise attack, which lasted just over an hour, dozens of ships were damaged and thousands of soldiers were injured or killed. The USS Arizona, which has a memorial over it, burned for 2 days and just over a fifth of its crew survived. Although the US did not see a record fire season, California did. Over 4 million acres burned in the state, and that leaves the problem of reforestation. Currently, growing new saplings and planting them is a very long, grueling process. But a company called Drone Seed believes it has an answer. It employs drones that drop seed packets with fertilizer and pest repellant onto the ground in which the plant can survive. It's significantly faster than human planting, and at a large scale, it could speed up the regrowth of burned forests.
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
The 117th US Congress is set to convene on January 3rd, but there are still 2 seats up for election in the Senate. The Republicans are projected to have at least 50 seats and the Democrats 48, with the 2 remaining seats going into a runoff in Georgia. If the Republicans win even one seat, then they will have a simple majority in the Senate, but if the Democrats win both, then it will be a tie, and vice president-elect Kamala Harris will be the deciding vote as President of the Senate. The Democrats are expected to keep their majority in the House. President Trump and his team have continued to claim that they won the election, but none of their legal challenges have had any effect. By today, states are supposed to have finished counting their votes so that their electors can send electoral votes in when Congress convenes. An 87% complete triceratops fossil has been found in Montana, the most intact of its kind. Scientists hope to learn more about the extinct creature from the bones, and they will be on display at a museum in Australia. NASA is planning to go back to the Moon with the Artemis space program in 2024. This time the plan is to stay there, with lunar landers and a space station shuttling people back and forth. One of the goals of this mission is to inspire the next generation to pursue space. The technology tested will also be used for future missions to Mars.
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, which is still in its trial phases, was delivered to two British citizens yesterday. It's the first vaccine for coronavirus that has been approved and administered in a Western country. However, there are still logistical challenges, such as actually producing and shipping the millions of doses that are required, as well as getting people to take the vaccine. Many people indicated in polls that they might not get a vaccine, and even questioned its necessity due to the low death rate of COVID-19. Part of the impact of the pandemic has been on restaurants. Hundreds of thousands of them have had to close because of lockdowns, and many are struggling to stay open, even with takeout. A company called Goldbelly is trying to change that. It is taking iconic foods from mom and pop restaurants across the country and getting them to people in the US, no matter where they are so that they can connect with food again. A dispute over Mount Everest's official height was settled recently. Previously, a 1955 Indian survey put it at 29,029 feet, while one conducted by China in 2005 was estimated at 29,015 feet. But over the past few years, the two countries have been working together and arrived at 29,032 feet. Because of the pandemic, fewer people are heading outside and exercising. But that can also have adverse effects. Lost muscle mass is harder to regain, especially in older people, and it can cause insulin resistance and mental health issues. Luckily, there are lots of fitness videos out there to help you stay in shape.
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Runoff elections for two Senate seats will be occurring in Georgia on December 14th and January 5th, with early voting beginning on the former and in-person on the latter. This is because in Georgia, a candidate must win at least 50% of the vote to win the race, which did not occur on Election Day. This is also important because it will determine the balance of power in the Senate. Currently, Republicans are projected to win 50 seats and the Democrats 48. If the Republicans win both Georgia seats, they will retain control in the Senate, making it harder for the Biden administration to pass laws, while if the Democrats win, there will be a tie that can be broken by the vice president. On Thursday, Hannukah will begin, followed by Christmas eve two weeks later, and New Year's Eve one week after that. For those looking to go home or spend time with family this holiday season, restrictions across borders can be very different. Some states and countries have few, while others are on full lockdown. This is causing outrage in some skiing areas in the Alps, where entire villages depend on the revenue generated from skiers. In Switzerland, though, ski lifts are open and operating, and the owners of the resorts are determined to set a good example.
Friday, December 11, 2020
Facebook and Google are facing antitrust lawsuits from the US federal government and several US states. Facebook is accused of buying social media and messaging apps like Instagram and WhatsApp to prevent them from competing with Facebook in the future. Antitrust laws are designed to prevent companies from gaining a monopoly in a sector, and the lawsuits aim to force Facebook to turn Instagram and WhatsApp into independent companies. Facebook says that people use it because they want to, not because they are forced to. Similarly, suits against Google in October claimed that it had tried to prevent competition in the search engine and ad industry, with Google having a similar response to Facebook's. SpaceX's latest test of its Mars Starship, SN8, crashlanded yesterday. After climbing 8 miles into the air, it performed a landing flip maneuver. However, there was a problem with the fuel system that caused it to accelerate toward the ground and crash. Auroras are those brilliant streaks of light above the magnetic North and South Poles. They occur when electrons and protons emitted by the Sun collide with gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Most particles are actually deflected by Earth's magnetic field, but since this field is weaker at the poles, some of it gets through. This week, the Sun is sending an especially strong wave, and the Northern Lights could be seen as far south as New York. Astronomical winter, or what most people call winter, is based on the Earth's position relative to the Sun and begins on December 21, the winter solstice, this year. Meteorological winter, which is based on the Earth's temperature cycles, began on the 1st of December. During meteorological winter, a phenomenon called the atmospheric river is something you might be hearing. They're responsible for moving water vapor from the tropics to the poles, and this causes extreme precipitation in the Americas in early winter. In fact, the West Coast gets up to 50% of its yearly rainfall from these massive "rivers" in the atmosphere.
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