Coffee crops require pretty specific conditions to thrive, and warmer temperatures are endangering the plants in major growing regions. Increased temperatures are also helping a troublesome coffee pest thrive.
We’ve talked about responsible coffee consumption and toxins lurking in that cup of joe, but all that is moot if growers can’t produce the beans that make our favorite morning beverage.

Hotter Temperatures Threaten Production
Ethiopia and Latin America have traditionally grown the Arabica beans that are common in coffee. According to Yale Environment 360:

It requires just the right amount of rain and an average annual temperature between 64 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 degrees Fahrenheit to prosper. As temperatures rise — Ethiopia’s average low temperature has increased by about .66 degrees F every decade since 1951, according to the country’s National Meteorological Agency — and rains become more variable, Ethiopian coffee farmers have suffered increasingly poor yields. Last year was especially bad, with exports dropping by 33 percent.

Whether it’s adventure or necessity that ultimately propels us to venture beyond our shores and build new communities in the sea, we’ve got plenty of space to work with: over 70% of the Earth is covered with water. The world’s oceans can provide a dreamy setting for all manner of submerged societies, from self-sustaining utopian cities to ultra-modern inverted ‘skyscrapers’ and museums. These 12 ideas range from science fiction to theoretically achievable projects, possibly leading to the world’s first permanent aquatic abode.

Sub Biosphere 2

(images via: phil pauley)

Imagine an entirely self-contained city that could go practically anywhere as the need arose – from floating on the surface of the ocean, to hidden in the depths. Sub Biosphere 2 is a concept for a submerged city featuring eight live/work/farm biomes surrounding a large central biome containing all necessary equipment to keep the city running. Theoretically, with enough notice and supplies, Sub Biosphere 2 – which is also a seed bank – could survive everything from a hurricane to a nuclear war.

The Gyre – A Floating Skyscraper

(images via: zigloo.ca)

Technically, the Gyre isn’t a floating skyscraper – it’s more like a seafloor-scraper. Rather than reaching high into the air, the tip of the Gyre descends 400 meters under the ocean’s surface from a floating platform with four arms that buoy the building and create harbors for massive ships. The Gyre, powered by the solar, wind and wave energy, would house a research station and a resort complete with shops, restaurants, gardens, parks and entertainment.

Jellyfish-Inspired Ocean City for Australia

(images via: design boom)

Some ocean cities aim not to look like a modern metropolis that has simply been submerged, but like part of the ecosystem of the sea. The beautiful ‘Syph’, a jellyfish-inspired Ocean City concept for Australia, proposes not buildings but ‘organisms’ that each have a specialized task like producing food or housing residents. Designed by Arup Biometrics for the ‘Now + When Australian Urbanism’ competition, this concept has a flowing elegance that’s fitting for its environment.

Trilobis 65 Underwater Home

(images via: sub-find.com)

Not everyone is eager to pack into densely populated underwater skyscrapers and housing complexes, whether more of us live under the sea as a novelty or by necessity. Some deep-pocketed lovers of luxury may choose partially submerged abodes that are a variation of modern-day yachts. The round Trilobis 65 features an ‘observation bulb’ that provides a 360-degree view at a cost of just $4-5 million.

Amsterdam’s Underwater Future

(images via: treehugger)

Amsterdam has been dealing with a multiplying population and a shortage of land, a problem that will only get worse if the seas rise with global warming. While many forward-thinking architects have proposed a floating future for Amsterdam, this proposal would take certain functions of the city beneath sea level. Moshé Zwarts believes that draining canals, building under them and then re-filling them could provide space for parking, shopping and leisure.

Water-Scraper Self-Sufficient Floating City

(images via: evolo.us)

Like a combination of the Gyre and Australia’s ‘Syph’, the Water-Scraper is an inverted underwater skyscraper but also employs some stunning biomimicry. Designer Sarly Adre Bin Sarkum of Malaysia says “Its bioluminescent tentacles provide sea fauna a place to live and congregate while collecting energy through its kinetic movements.”

Hydropolis Hotel

(images via: builder blog)

It was supposed to be the world’s first underwater hotel, a massive 220-suite structure with a submarine ‘leisure complex’, an above-water land station and a tunnel connecting the two. But the Hydropolis Hotel was just a bit to ambitious of a project for the worldwide economic troubles of 2008-2010, even for Dubai, and though construction was set to start anytime, the project has been shelved.

Poseidon Undersea Resort

(images via: one nation)

Now that Hydropolis is off the table, Fiji’s Poseidon Undersea Resort really will nab the title of ‘world’s first underwater hotel’ – maybe. The resort was first supposed to open in 2008, but got pushed back to early 2010, which didn’t happen either.  It’s unclear whether construction has even begun. But if it does ever become a reality, the resort will offer 24 suites on the floor of a 5,000-acre lagoon with stunning views for a fee of $30,000 per couple per week.

Alexandria’s Underwater Museum

(image via: national geographic)

Few people ever get a glimpse of the remnants of ancient Alexandria, long since sunken into the Mediterranean Sea. But all the treasures discovered by divers in the 1990s, including 26 sphinxes, could be visible to the public if the world’s first underwater museum ever gets built. The partially above-water museum would feature four sail-shaped structures representing the points on a compass, and would keep the ruins underwater to follow the UNESCO convention of preservation of underwater heritage. A team is still trying to determine how to build around such priceless artifacts without disturbing them.

Minnesota’s Secret Underwater City

(images via: io9)

Since 1996, people have been mesmerized by online accounts of a “secret underwater city” not under the sea in some exotic location, but deep within the Minnesota River. The “official Mankato, MN web page” has even lured tourists in with  stories about an ancient city dating back to about 4,000 B.C., confirmed by “world famous astrogeologist Seymour Bottoms.” Getting the drift yet? The page was created by a professor at Minnesota State University to show his students that you can’t believe everything you hear on the internet – and yes, it has definitely resulted in some very disappointed and confused tourists.

Bioshock’s Underwater City of Rapture

(images via: the next side)

It never was and never will be a reality, but one of the most stunning underwater cities ever imagined is actually from a video game. The city of ‘Rapture’, from the game Bioshock 2, is entirely submerged somewhere off the coast of Iceland. Initially built as a utopian refuge from the post-World-War-II world, it fell victim to unrest from within, and it is the abandoned Rapture that gamers get to explore. This image is one of several by concept artist Tim Warnock depicting Rapture in all of its initial Art Deco glory.

R’lyeh, Home of Cthulu

(images via: john coulthart)

Long before any of the other undersea cities and buildings on this list were ever dreamed up, H.P. Lovecraft’s vision of R’lyeh was the most fascinating submerged metropolis since Atlantis. Illustrator John Coulthart brought it to frightening life in this incredible work of art, reminding us that undersea living isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

Source: Ecoist

In a complete reversal of the usual pattern, where water temperatures are generally cooler than land temperatures, for the second year running, the ocean was actually hotter than land in some regions, marking another ominous sign of the strange and unpredictable effects of continued global warming.

After last years records, Deke Arndt, head of climate monitoring at the climate data center said that the pattern is so unusual that meteorologists may want to study that pattern to see what’s behind it.

Sea temperatures are much harder to change than air temperatures, as anyone trying to warm a swimming pool can attest. It takes five times the heat energy to warm water than air.

The petroleum-based adhesives used to make plywood and many other wood products have a nasty habit of leaching toxic formaldehyde fumes, but all that is on the way out. Scientists from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory are working on a new class of soy-based wood adhesive that uses a substance found in soy milk and tofu.

Soy-based wood adhesives that perform as well as their petroleum-based cousins are already inching their way into the market, but the USDA scientists have a more ambitious goal: to develop soy-based glues that are even stronger than conventional glues.

The End of Toxic Adhesives

Morgan Motor Company celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. Though the world is much different from when the company was first founded in 1909, Morgan still hand assembles every car it builds. It makes just a few hundred vehicles a year, but they are of the highest quality and are some of the most sought after cars ever built.

Despite the exclusive nature of the Morgan automobile though, the company must be admired for its ability to look forward. Hybrids, hydrogen-power, and electric cars are the future, and Morgan doesn’t plan on being left behind. They have announced that they will be building a diesel-electric hybrid car with a 1,000 mile range.

These odd circles may look like messages from aliens or the humorous graffiti of penguins, but it’s actually the ephemeral snow and ice art of earth artist Jim Denevan, best known for his temporary beach masterpieces. The snow circles are somewhat of a departure from Denevan’s usual medium, but he’s no stranger to large-scale natural art. This nine-square-mile snow drawing currently holds the record as the world’s largest snow drawing; the record before that belonged to a sand drawing created in the Nevada desert by Denevan.

Jim Denevan’s art is all about impermanence. His large-scale artworks are meant to exist only for very short periods of time, after which they will be washed away by waves, wind and weather. This massive art was created on Siberia’s frozen Lake Baikal, the world’s largest lake.

Because of the constant threat of losing the entire piece to a sharp gust of wind, a team of helpers assisted in the creation of the gigantic masterpiece. Eight people in all got out onto the ice and used brooms to sweep the snow into simple, elegant circles. The work was chronicled on The Anthropologist, a site that features new artwork for Anthropologie.

The crew slept in a yurt on the ice, warming themselves by a fire in the lake bed that re-froze each morning in the brutal temperatures. The expedition was filmed by a documentary filmmaker and captured by a photographer; both of these documentation methods are necessary when creating art in a medium as temporary as ice.

The tundra warmed up, Lake Baikal thawed, and Jim Denevan’s lovely circles melted away forever. But the artist isn’t losing any sleep over his lost masterpiece; his goal is to create beautiful and inspiring pieces of art that only exist for a moment in time. His ephemeral art reminds us all to savor every day, to find beauty in even the most fleeting moment.

Source: Ecoist

Antibiotics are frequently abused on factory farms. Animals receive doses of human antibiotics aimed at increasing their growth and preventing (rather than treating) disease. This practice is a public health danger, because over time it’s helping breed antibiotic resistant bacteria.

This Friday is the last day for public comment on the new FDA guideline limiting antibiotic use on farms. Several food and health advocacy groups have teamed up to make it easy for you to get heard. You can leave a comment through the form on their website.

That’s not a headline you’ll see. No journalist hounded scientists in the cancer research fields to give a yes or no answer to the question: “Did Mr Smith’s death from  lung cancer come from his smoking habit?” to which the correct scientific answer is: “No one smoker’s cancer death is proof that cancer causes smoking.”

As a result, no headlines blare “Mr Smith’s cancer not due to smoking, say scientists!” – and so most people do understand that the science shows the clear risk of cancer from smoking, heart attacks from high-cholesterol diet, diabetes from sweet junk food and so on, because journalists covered the science scientifically.

We know that the more scientific question is: “Is this cancer projected to occur more often in those with smoking habits like Mr. Smith’s?” This is how we understand risk – in other fields.

“Sir, have you been drinking tonight?”

“No officer, that’s just my biofuel.”

Researchers have found a way to make biofuel from whiskey by-products that could serve as an alternative to ethanol.  The biofuel is made only from waste, so no new plants need to be grown, which is a big step toward making fuel sustainable.

The short on how whiskey is made
Malting– getting the barley to sprout, then quickly stopping the germination.

Got the gold bug? Golden animals are both beautiful and rare, much like the precious metal itself. These colorful insects, arachnids, vertebrates – and even one very special lady – are linked by a common bond: the warm, golden glow that gives them the look of exquisite, living treasures.

Golden Beetles

(images via: MindCafe, BugGuide and TravelPod)

Certain types of beetles can appear so golden it’s hard to believe they haven’t somehow incorporated 24-carat gold into their gleaming shells! They haven’t – if they did, human treasure hunters would have long since driven them to extinction. Among the most golden of these “gold bugs” are the Golden Scarab Beetle and the Golden Tortoise Beetle.

(images via: Home Schooling Aspergers, Laurie and Matt and Extreme Science)

These insects get their golden appearance using some pretty sophisticated science. The Golden Tortoise Beetle can adjust the moisture content between two layers of its wing covers, resulting in varying levels or golden iridescence as seen by the human eye.

(image via: DK Images)

The Golden Scarab Beetle (Chrysina resplendens) goes even further: its chitinous cuticle reflects circularly polarized light which is “left-handed”. Sounds complicated; looks brilliant!

Golden Jumping Spiders

(images via: Johnbird30 and BugGuide)

Jumping spiders are hunters and ambush predators rather than web-weavers so one would think having a gleaming, metallic exoskeleton would not be in their best interest. Possibly these spiders’ golden appearance is something only human eyes – and not those of its prey – can appreciate.

(image via: Bug Guide)

Jumping spiders are one of the most intelligent spider species and this 1/4-inch long iridescent gold example is one of the most striking in appearance. The rose petal upon which this jewel-like arachnid has set up his or her hunting grounds makes a pleasing contrast with the shimmering iridescent gold of the spider’s exoskeleton.

Golden Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis

(images via: Micro Cosmos, Dave A. eh? and How Stuff Works)

Monarch butterflies are known for their bold orange wings bisected with black veins and contrasting white spots. Their caterpillars, often found grazing on Milkweed plants, are striped with black, white and yellow. It’s only in this majestic creature’s intermediate stage that it chooses to flash its gold: the chrysalis. Oh, uhh, the dude in the chrysalis suit? Gold, pure (comedy) gold.

(images via: Clayruth and About.com)

A Monarch butterfly chrysalis is mainly emerald or jade green in color highlighted by bright metallic gold trim – a horizontal line about 1/3 of the way down and raised golden bumps set apart symmetrically on its lower portion. About 24 hours before the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, the surface will darken and then turn transparent. Through this process and even after the butterfly has emerged, the golden stripe and spots remain.

Golden Fish

(images via: Smile-O-Smile)

To quote the website copy describing this “truly unbelievable” golden fish, “This is an amazing creation of the Creator. Gold Fish, which was found in the sea in Taiwan was put to display in Taiwan’s Natural Museum.” Okie dokie, I have an open mind and I’m sure you do too… but then: “Scientists have found that some of the parts of this beautiful fish are of 24 carat pure gold.” That noise you heard? That was my mind snapping shut.

(image via: Rojaks)

Seems this particular goldfish, er, gold fish is an animatronic device that may have a creator; just not THE Creator. One can be sure, however, that Koi breeders are actively engaged in producing a truly believable golden ornamental carp. Such a fish might not have 24-carat gold parts but eager buyers would likely pay as if they were.

Golden Poison-Dart Frog

(images via: Jassy World and Bukisa)

There are several different species of Golden Poison Frogs including Phyllobates terribilis, said to be the world’s most poisonous vertebrate. Just how deadly are the alkaloid toxins exuded by these frogs through their skin? Just milligram of the frog’s Batrachotoxin poison is enough to kill approximately 10,000 mice, or 10 to 20 humans, or two African bull elephants – from 1/1,000th of a gram of poison! Another way of stating its toxicity is roughly 15,000 humans killed per gram. “Look but don’t touch” was never so appropriate.

(images via: The Dog Walker, Harunyahya and Know Your Meme)

Golden Poison Frogs are not metallic gold in hue; in fact they can be pale green, various shades of yellow or even bright orange. Where you WILL see metallic gold on frogs (or toads) is in their eyes – the iris’ of many types of common frogs and toads displays a rich, brassy golden tone that contrasts with a midnight black background. Quite beautiful… some might even say, hypnotic.

Gold Tegu Lizard

(images via: Offbeat Pets and Richard Seaman)

The Gold Tegu lizard is a large South American lizard that exploits a similar ecologic niche to that of monitor lizards on other continents. The Gold Tegu’s glossy skin and ornate gold over black striping combine to make it visually very appealing.

(image via: Richard Seaman)

Gold Tegu lizards are popular pets though their feisty nature and hard-to-tame aggressiveness makes them a real handful. Speaking of which, a Gold Tegu can grow rather large – up to 44″ long from tip of the nose to the end of their tails – and unlike other Tegu species they are mainly carnivorous.

Golden Snakes

(images via: Arkive, Steffen und Christina, Eco Terrarium Supply and Polyvore.com)

Several different species of snakes have been graced with the prefix “golden”, including the Golden Tree Snake and the Golden Cat Snake. Most gold-toned snakes live in desert habitats where their coloration helps them blend in with the sandy ground and dry vegetation of arid climes.

(image via: Worth1000)

Now here’s one “rattler” that one wouldn’t mind having coiled close by – it’s one way to un-constrict your finances, at least. I’d say the gilded serpent above was both real and available but then… I’d be speaking with a forked tongue.

Golden Marmoset

(images via: Is America Burning and Purple Slinky)

The Golden Marmoset, or Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia), is one of the smallest monkeys and also one of the most endangered. It’s estimated only about 1,000 of these primates survive in forested areas of Brazil’s Atlantic coast while another 490 are currently kept in captivity or on protected reserves. It’s estimated that 98 percent of the Golden Marmoset’s original lush rainforest habitat has been destroyed through logging and/or agriculture.

(image via: Uglorable)

The thick, golden fur covering the Golden Marmoset makes it appear larger and heaver than it really is. In actual fact, these New World monkeys only grow up to 13.2 inches (335mm) long and can weight up to 25 ounces (about 700 grams) when fully grown.

Golden Weaver Bird

(images via: Brian Callahan)

The African Golden Weaver (Ploceus subaureus) can be found in eastern and southern Africa roughly from Kenya down to South Africa. These birds can form flocks of many thousands and their teardrop-shaped nests may hang from leaf-stripped savannah trees by the dozens.

(images via: ScienceBlogs and Vijay Barve)

Golden Weaver Birds are not considered to be threatened and indeed, one of their relatives (the Red-billed Quelea) is considered to be the world’s most abundant bird with a population of approximately 1.5 billion. All Weavers are seed-eaters, and flocks sometimes cause African farmers problems when they settle en masse to gorge themselves on mature seed crops.

Golden Bond Girl

(images via: EHV Emmetts and Probert Encyclopaedia)

Our last (but not least) golden creature is of the species Homo Sapien, commonly known as Shirley Eaton, Bond Girl. Eaton played the role of Jill Masterson in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Her claim to fame was her on-screen demise, considered by movie pundits to be one of the top ten film deaths. The crucial scene features Eaton sprawled nude on a bed, her body completely covered in gold. Betty White’s cool and all, but Shirley Eaton is one hot Golden Girl! Here’s a video clip of the notorious (for 1964) scene:

Shirley Eaton as Jill Masterson in Goldfinger (part 3), via Sakieee7

(image via: Screenrush)

The Jill Masterson character supposedly died from “skin suffocation”, a questionable proposition that incidentally was investigated in a memorable episode of the Mythbusters television series. Shirley Eaton was said to suffer no ill effects from her movie makeup though the film’s producers kept a doctor on hand while filming “just in case”. As for Mythbuster’s Adam Savage, his head to toe gold painting also left him none the worse for wear though his pride was somewhat dented.

(image via: Gary L. Todd, Ph.D.)

All that glitters isn’t always gold and what appears to be gold may or may not glitter – then again, animals are animate objects and their golden garb has value much more than that of the metal that has enticed, entranced and blinded humans from time immemorial.

Source: Ecoist

As Russia reels under broiling temperatures completely outside the range of its experience, a widely quoted Russian political scientist is voicing the suspicion that the regional climate change is the deliberate work of the US, according to Radio Free Europe.

His idea is that the US is secretly trying to kill Russians and wipe out their crops with “climate-change weapons.”

Faced with soaring temperatures and the resulting droughts, crop failures, heat stroke deaths and wildfires, the deputy director of the Strategic Culture Foundation is suggesting that it had to have been deliberate. This had to have been an act of war, perpetrated by an enemy.

It is rather well-known now that transportation is one of the leading causes of global warming pollution in the world, and especially in the United States. NASA actually reported in February that motor vehicles are the largest net contributor to global warming pollution.

Now, a new scientific finding in the journal Environmental Science & Technology shows that, counter to what most of us believe, driving a car causes more global warming pollution than flying the same distance in a plane.

The study, “Specific Climate Impact of Passenger and Freight Transport,” finds that, in the short run, planes cause more global warming because they create more short-lived warming processes at high altitudes.