GASLAND
Friday, January 29, 2010
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Intern
Every year in Sundance's documentary competition, stand-out movies feature environmental impact topics. The premiere of An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 started this tradition. Some movies show how our environment is changing (Climate Refugees, 2010), and others show us what we can do to change (No Impact Man, 2009).
This year, however, one documentary stood above the rest. GASLAND, about natural gas drilling, got its start when a company offered Director Josh Fox a substantial amount of money to lease his land in Milanville, Penn., for natural gas drilling.
Fox initially planned a 5-minute short that would show how natural gas drilling worked and what kind of impact it would have. However, that small tasked turned into a huge project after he found out that fracking, the process they use to extract natural gas, was contaminating the natural watershed. As Fox traveled around the country he found that in almost every town near drilling, drinking water had been contaminated with...well, too many chemicals to name.
Be sure to check out GASLAND when it is released, or you can try for tickets to the last showing -- 8:30 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Prospector Square Theatre. For more information on fracking (or hydraulic fracturing), and to support restrictions on this process, visit WaterUnderAttack.com
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Labels: energy, environment, science, sustainability, video
The Leo on Wheels: Tooele Jr. High
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Blog entry by Analiesa Leonhardt from The Leo on Wheels staff
From January 12-15, The Leo on Wheels visited Tooele Junior High School. While driving through the Tooele Valley in the middle of the afternoon, we could barely see the shore line of the Great Salt Lake and the mountains were nearly blocked by a brownish haze. Here is a photo we took, looking directly at the sun around 3:00pm:
This was not just a typically cloudy or foggy day, but rather the effects of a thermal inversion. This naturally-occurring event happens when the atmosphere’s temperature gradient is “inverted” from its usual state. Anyone who has climbed a mountain in the summertime knows that at higher elevations the air is usually cooler. During an inversion, however, cooler and denser air is trapped at the earth’s surface beneath a high pressure layer of warmer air. The mountains bordering our valley keep this trapped cold air walled in, and because the cooler air is denser it remains in the valley, accumulating water vapor and pollutants. Here is a diagram of what is going on during an inversion.
Pollutants from power plants, factories, vehicle exhaust, and wood-burning stoves that would normally rise and spread with the winds are instead concentrated right along the earth’s surface. Why is this such a concern? The fine particles of matter in the pollution enter our lungs and bloodstream when we breath. The national standard for safe air is set at 35 micrograms of pollutants per cubic meter of air. Since November, however, Salt Lake County has had more than a dozen “red alert” air quality days, meaning that the particulate matter in the air ranges from 151 to 200 micrograms per cubic meter. In this range even healthy people are adversely affected, but those with heart and/or lung disease, older adults, children, and those who are active in the outdoors are at even greater risk.
This was not just a typically cloudy or foggy day, but rather the effects of a thermal inversion. This naturally-occurring event happens when the atmosphere’s temperature gradient is “inverted” from its usual state. Anyone who has climbed a mountain in the summertime knows that at higher elevations the air is usually cooler. During an inversion, however, cooler and denser air is trapped at the earth’s surface beneath a high pressure layer of warmer air. The mountains bordering our valley keep this trapped cold air walled in, and because the cooler air is denser it remains in the valley, accumulating water vapor and pollutants. Here is a diagram of what is going on during an inversion.
Image from National Service Forecast Office
Gratefully, storm systems are moving through our valleys now, churning the air and improving (at least locally) our breathing experience. For more information about current air quality conditions along with information on how you can make a difference, visit the website of Utah Division of Air Quality.
Labels: education, locals, science, The Leo on Wheels, weather
Human Conductivity
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Intern
In another instance, musical artist Calvin Harris created a human synthesizer using Bare Conductive paint. The synthesizer creates a programmed sound each time Calvin slaps the hands of the models.
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The bright folks at the MIT Media Lab have created a multitude of interfaces for low-level human conductivity, and Leah Buechley created one of our favorites, "The Living Wall Project". The user controls lights and music by just touching certain sectors in the wall.
(Jump to 4:55 to see the "The Living Wall Project")
Another research group at the Media Lab has also experimented with Drawdio, which omits a tone that varies in frequency dependent on what is completing the circuit and how far the electricity is traveling.
Labels: DIY, science, technology
Sundance: New Frontier
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Intern
Artist Petko Dourmana is bringing in a multimedia installation "Post Global Warming Survival Kit," which puts viewers into a room where they have to use night vision devices to explore the futuristic world.
There also are a few exhibits that take social networking to another level. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will bring projects from his website, Hit Record, which takes collaboration to the internet by having producers, writers and directors create and combine content. This Hit Record collaboration shows how users came together to create the short film, "Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny."
There also are a few exhibits that take social networking to another level. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will bring projects from his website, Hit Record, which takes collaboration to the internet by having producers, writers and directors create and combine content. This Hit Record collaboration shows how users came together to create the short film, "Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny."
"Cloud Mirror" by Eric Gradman combines social networking with augmented reality. The exhibit uses your personal information gathered from your Facebook or Twitter pages and projects them as thought bubbles next to your head as it is projected onto the wall for all to see. So make sure you bring your friends to this one so you can watch them get embarrassed by the strange things they post on the Internet!
The Cloud Mirror from eric gradman on Vimeo.
Artist Tracey Snelling brings multimedia art to life with "Bordertown." Snelling brings miniature buildings to life by displaying videos of real life situations. In "House of Beauty, Prayer and BBQ" a strip of buildings houses a church where clips from the movie "The Apostle" play, and scenes from "Beauty Shop" play in a salon storefront. Blending these media makes viewers feel like like they are peering in on the lives of others.
So if you find yourself in Park City next week, take a break from the cinematic excellence and check out New Frontier on the lower level of 333 Main St., which will be open starting next Friday, Jan. 22, going through Saturday, Jan. 30. (And check out the full breakdown of the installation here.)
The Leo on Wheels: Treasure Mountain International School
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Blog entry by Ian McClintick, from The Leo on Wheels staff
The Leo on Wheels recently visited Treasure Mountain International School in Park City, Utah. Park City is a small town in the mountains east of Salt Lake City, and it's home to world-famous ski resorts Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons. People from all over the world visit Utah's ski resorts for the beautiful scenery and the greatest snow in the world.
So what's so great about Utah's snow? The answer begins in the north Pacific Ocean where storms are created when cold Arctic winds collide with warmer Pacific water. The storms then travel to the Wasatch Mountain Range where they hit higher elevations and lower temperatures, which lead to an increase in condensation and precipitation. This process is called orographic precipitation, and it occurs at all major mountain ranges -- so what makes Utah's snow different from other regions?
A common stellar plate snowflake
Utah is the second driest state in the country. The dry climate helps to create a light crystalline snowflake called a dendrite, masses of which are affectionately known to skiers as powder, after the light texture that lets you "float" through a fresh fall.
A fern dendrite — light, airy and perfect for ripping down a mountainside
According to the Utah Center for Climate and Weather, Utah's ski resorts receive around 300 inches of snow a year, providing plenty of dendrites for people from all over the world to enjoy!
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Labels: locals, science, The Leo on Wheels
The Leo on Wheels: new year, new look
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Blog entry by Ian McClintick from The Leo on Wheels staff
The Leo on Wheels officially has a completely new look complete with a new trailer, T-shirts and exhibit displays. The Mona Lisa trailer wrap has been retired after almost five years of service and tens of thousands of miles on the road.
One side of the wrap features the new Leo on Wheels logo along with molecular structures shaded in various colors or filled with a picture, such as icebergs and spring foliage. The gears on the flip side are filled with images of leaf veins and water ripples.
T-shirts and exhibit displays also have the new logo. The science displays are newly rejuvenated with bright green logos on the front. We also have filmed all of our exhibits to give you a preview of The Leo on Wheels. Be sure to keep an eye open for us at a school near you, or check our calendar for the latest schedule!
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Labels: education, science, The Leo on Wheels, video
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