150-foot asteroid will buzz Earth, no need to duck

This image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech shows a simulation of asteroid 2012 DA14 approaching from the south as it passes through the Earth-moon system on Feb. 15, 2013. The 150-foot object will pass within 17,000 miles of the Earth. NASA scientists insist there is absolutely no chance of a collision as it passes. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech)

This image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech shows a simulation of asteroid 2012 DA14 approaching from the south as it passes through the Earth-moon system on Feb. 15, 2013. The 150-foot object will pass within 17,000 miles of the Earth. NASA scientists insist there is absolutely no chance of a collision as it passes. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Graphic shows details of a Feb. 15 asteroid that will come close to Earth.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) ? A 150-foot-wide asteroid will come remarkably close to Earth next week, even closer than high-flying communication and weather satellites. It will be the nearest known flyby for an object of this size.

But don't worry. Scientists promise the megarock will be at least 17,100 miles away when it zips past next Friday.

"No Earth impact is possible," Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object program at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said Thursday.

Even the chance of an asteroid-satellite run-in is extremely remote, Yeomans and other scientists noted. A few hundred satellites orbit at 22,300 miles, higher than the asteroid's path, although operators are being warned about the incoming object for tracking purposes.

"No one has raised a red flag, nor will they," Yeomans told reporters. "I certainly don't anticipate any problems whatsoever."

Impossible to see with the naked eye, the asteroid is considered small as these things go. By contrast, the one that took out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was 6 miles wide.

Yet Asteroid 2012 DA14, as it's known for its discovery date, still could pack a wallop.

If it impacted Earth ? which it won't, scientists were quick to add Thursday ? it would release the energy equivalent of 2.4 million tons of TNT and wipe out 750 square miles. That's what happened in Siberia in 1908, when forest land around the Tunguska River was flattened by a slightly smaller asteroid that exploded about five miles above ground.

The likelihood of something this size striking Earth is once in every 1,200 years. A close, harmless encounter like this is thought to occur every 40 years.

The bulk of the solar system's asteroids are located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and remain stable there for billions of years. Some occasionally pop out, though, into Earth's neighborhood

The closest approach of this one will occur next Friday afternoon, Eastern time, over Indonesia.

There won't be much of a show. The asteroid will zip by at 17,400 mph. That's roughly eight times faster than a bullet from a high-speed rifle.

The asteroid will be invisible to the naked eye and even with binoculars and telescopes will appear as a small point of light. The prime viewing locations will be in Asia, Australia and eastern Europe.

Observers in the U.S. can pretty much forget it. Astronomers using NASA's deep-space antenna in California's Mojave Desert will have to wait eight hours after the closest approach to capture radar images.

Scientists welcome whatever pictures they get. The asteroid offers a unique opportunity to observe something this big and close, and any new knowledge will help if and when another killer asteroid is headed Earth's way.

The close approach also highlights the need to keep track of what's out there, if for no other reason than to protect the planet.

NASA's current count of near-Earth objects: just short of 10,000, the result of a concentrated effort for the past 15 years. That's thought to represent less than 10 percent of the objects out there.

No one has ruled out a serious Earth impact, although the probability is said to be extremely low.

"We don't have all the money in the world to do this kind of work" for tracking and potentially deflecting asteroids, said Lindley Johnson, an executive with the Near-Earth Object observations program in Washington.

Indeed, when asked about NASA's plans to send astronauts to an asteroid in the decades ahead, as outlined a few years ago by President Barack Obama, Johnson said the space agency is looking at a number of options for human explorations.

One of the more immediate steps, planned for 2016, is the launch of a spacecraft to fly to a much bigger asteroid, collect samples and return them to Earth in 2023.

As for Asteroid 2012 DA14 ? discovered last year by astronomers in Spain ? scientists suspect it's made of silicate rock, but aren't sure. Its shape and precise size also are mysteries.

What they do know with certainty:

"This object's orbit is so well known that there's no chance of a collision," Yeomans repeated during Thursday's news conference.

Its close approach, in fact, will alter its orbit around the sun in such a way as to keep it out of Earth's neighborhood, at least in the foreseeable future, Yeomans said.

Johnson anticipates no "sky is falling thing" related to next week's flyby.

He and other scientists urged journalists to keep the close encounter in perspective.

"Space rocks hit the Earth's atmosphere on a daily basis. Basketball-size objects come in daily. Volkswagen-size objects come in every couple of weeks," Yeomans said.

The grand total of stuff hitting the atmosphere every day? "About 100 tons," according to Yeoman, though most of it arrives harmlessly as sand-sized particles.

___

Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/asteroidflyby.html

University of Arizona: http://osiris-rex.lpl.arizona.edu/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-02-07-Closest%20Asteroid/id-cd4aa959c0874ad786d1a86c2518a697

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NOAA?s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) provides science-based solutions to protect and restore the nation?s natural resources from coastal environmental hazards. OR&R serves the nation by providing expertise and a suite of products and services critical for making science-based response decisions that prevent further harm, restore natural resources, and promote effective planning for future incidents.

Source: http://incidentnews.gov/incident/8548?f=1905154614

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God?s Green Earth

Tens of thousands of wild elephants are being killed each year to meet the demand for ivory

Photo by Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images

Can spiritual leaders guide their flocks to be stewards of the Earth? Dekila Chungyalpa is founder and director of the Sacred Earth program for WWF, the international conservation organization. She says religious values are often consistent with conservation efforts, and it?s time for religious leaders to start preaching for the environment.

Curtis Abraham: What is the Sacred Earth program?
Dekila Chungyalpa: We are trying to provide faith leaders and religious institutions with a platform on which they can build conservation messages and lead environmental change. It developed from a 2008 project that provided environmental training for Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns in the Himalayas. Following a series of successful pilot projects, we launched it as a fully-fledged program last year.

CA: Where do religion and conservation intersect?
DC: Mapping great areas of remaining biodiversity around the world reveals that many are also sacred sites. In several of these areas, we know that religious belief has been one of the major factors for preserving them. For example, Sagamatha National Park in Nepal is sacred to the Sherpa people, and the Kaya Forest in Kenya is sacred to the Mijikenda. In both cases, this status has led to their preservation. But sadly, many sacred sites are threatened by illegal wildlife trade, deforestation, climate change, natural resource mining, pollution, and so on.

CA: So how can religious leaders make a difference?
DC: More than 80 percent of people in the world identify themselves as religious. Collectively, faith-related institutions make up one of the largest categories of financial investors and operate more than half of all schools globally. It is clear that religious leaders can have a strong influence. In sheer numbers, they are a major stakeholder for conservation.

I think there are two levels on which they can help environmental efforts. The first is by leading their communities to make ethical choices, such as becoming energy efficient or eschewing illegal wildlife products. The second is more nuanced?and that is to challenge the idea that a sustainable future is not attainable.

CA: How do different religious beliefs fit with conservation ideals?
DC: The core of an environmental ethos is valuing all life on Earth and trying to live in harmony with nature. Every religion has scriptures that expound such a view. In Genesis in the Bible, God speaks to Noah and establishes a covenant between him and every living creature on the ark. In the Koran, there is specific mention of all animals, including creatures that fly with wings, which are precious to Allah. Hinduism also has a deep reverence for nature, for different wild animals who have symbolic power and subscribe to the Dharmic law of Ahimsa, non-violence, as a way of life.

CA: How do you get religious leaders involved?
DC: In September, the U.K.-based Alliance of Religions and Conservation held a conference in Nairobi, Kenya. It was to celebrate Christian, Hindu, and Islamic faith groups in Africa that are launching long-term plans for conservation. As part of the conference, we hosted a safari to Nairobi National Park. There we prayed around a pile of charred elephant ivory at a memorial site where hundreds of tusks were burned in 1989 to draw attention to the illegal killing of elephants.

With the ARC we also launched the first ever partnership with faith leaders across Africa against wildlife trafficking and the slaughter of elephants and rhinos. Fifty religious leaders signed pledges committing to the cause. I just learned that one preacher is writing a liturgy specifically on the protection of wildlife.

CA: Does your program also reach out to religious leaders in Asia, the source of most of the demand for illegal ivory and rhino horn?
DC: Yes, we are working with Buddhist leaders in Thailand and other parts of Asia, encouraging them to preach compassion for African elephants and other species and call for an end to the use of illegal wildlife products. We are also developing a campaign that educates the public to reduce the demand for blood ivory driven by local cultural norms.

CA: There are beliefs that rhino horn can be used to treat hangovers?or even cancer. Who spreads these ideas?
DC: There is a misconception in Asia right now, particularly in Vietnam, that rhino horn can be used to cure cancer. We have seen it advertised as traditional medicine. There is no historical or scientific basis for such a claim. It is false advertising, and criminal from my point of view. Not only are the traders and sellers causing the indiscriminate slaughter of African rhinos, they are giving false hope to people who are desperately sick.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=ac3b2be725c4f88ece52f5ac158cb360

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Eat Drink Better | Retro Recipe: American Heart Association's 1984 ...

I worked for the American Heart Assocation for nine years. But before that, I acquired one of their cookbooks ??The American Heart Association Cookbook ??originally published in 1973. I still treasure the small paperback (its fourth edition, which was ?new, revised, and expanded? when it was printed) for sentimental reasons, but also because it brought a great dish to my life: Enchilada Bake (page 194).

This is a great winter dish. It?s savory but warmly sweet and makes for tasty leftovers. Don?t be concerned by the number of ingredients ? it all comes together quickly.

My husband and many friends still work at the American Heart Association, doing their best to help fight heart disease and stroke. February is American Heart Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women, but it?s preventable and controllable. Give this healthy recipe a try, and let us know what you think!

Enchilada Bake

Ingredients

• 2 cups canned beans (red kidneys are usually my choice)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 6 mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
• 1-1/2 cups diced or crushed tomatoes
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 tsp?ground cumin
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 8 tortillas (flour tortillas add sweetness, but corn tortillas work as well)
• 1/4 cup grated low-fat mozzarella
• 1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup low-fat yogurt
• 6 black olives, sliced (optional)

Recipe

1. Saute onion, garlic, mushrooms, and green pepper until softened.
2. Add beans, tomatoes, spices, and wine. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Mix ricotta cheese and yogurt together.
4. Grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole.
5. Layer tortillas, sauce, mozzarella, and the ricotta-yogurt mixture until all ingredients are used.
6. End with a layer of sauce, topped with ricotta-yogurt mixture and black olives.
7. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

May we all live long, heart-healthy lives.

Image Credit: epSos.de via flickr/CC

Source: http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2013/02/09/enchilada-bake/

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Rare Afghan fashion show seeks to empower women

An Afghan model wears a dress creation by Shahar Banoo Zeerak, during a fashion show in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Afghan models parade down a candle-lined catwalk as men and women watch from the audiencThe rare fashion show in this war-weary capital was a small production but a big idea ? part of an Afghan group's efforts to empower women by breaking down barriers in this highly conservative Muslim society. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

An Afghan model wears a dress creation by Shahar Banoo Zeerak, during a fashion show in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Afghan models parade down a candle-lined catwalk as men and women watch from the audiencThe rare fashion show in this war-weary capital was a small production but a big idea ? part of an Afghan group's efforts to empower women by breaking down barriers in this highly conservative Muslim society. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

Afghan model Farkhunda Taheri, 17, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press next to a painting of Bamiyan's statue after a fashion show in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. The rare fashion show in this war-weary capital was a small production but a big idea ? part of an Afghan group's efforts to empower women by breaking down barriers in this highly conservative Muslim society. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

An Afghan model applies makeup prior to a fashion show in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013.The rare fashion show in this war-weary capital was a small production but a big idea ? part of an Afghan group's efforts to empower women by breaking down barriers in this highly conservative Muslim society. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

An Afghan model walks wearing a dress creation by Shahar Banoo Zeerak, a dress designer, model and organizer of a fashion show in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Afghan models paraded down a candle-lined catwalk as men and women watch from the audience in a restaurant off a muddy street in Kabul. The rare fashion show in this war-weary capital was a small production but a big idea ? part of an Afghan group's efforts to empower women by breaking down barriers in this highly conservative Muslim society. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

Afghani models are seen backstage after presenting a fashion show in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. The rare fashion show in this war-weary capital was a small production but a big idea ? part of an Afghan group's efforts to empower women by breaking down barriers in this highly conservative Muslim society. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Afghan models paraded down a candle-lined catwalk Friday as men and women watched from the audience in a restaurant off a muddy street in Kabul.

The rare fashion show in this war-weary capital was a small production but a big idea ? part of an Afghan group's efforts to empower women by breaking down barriers in this highly conservative Muslim society.

"The situation always gets tougher and tougher every day by day, but we should not back down. We are here to move on and move forward, so I think if women step up and they show up in this field, I think they will do a good job," said Shahar Banoo Zeerak, the designer whose clothes were featured in the show.

The idea of women on display remains mostly taboo in Afghanistan more than a decade after the 2001 U.S. assault that ousted the Taliban from power after a five-year reign of terror by the fundamentalist movement.

Some women still don't go outside without wearing blue burqas that cover them from head to toe. Violence against women is still common in Afghanistan, and there are reports of women being stoned, executed in public or imprisoned for having affairs with men. Women have even set themselves on fire to escape domestic violence.

Friday's fashion show was organized by Young Women for Change, an independent, nonprofit Afghan organization committed to empowering Afghan women and improving their lives.

Most of the 10 models, including three young men, who showed off 33 designs including colorful short-sleeved dresses, jeans, tunics and more traditional outfits ? were Afghan women who volunteer for the group.

One of them, 17-year-old Farkhonda Taheri, had never even seen a fashion show before. She said her father and other family members were supportive of her decision to participate, but her grandmother was not happy.

"The biggest challenge for us that we cannot do these things in Afghanistan because people do not like it," she said afterward. "I was excited because I felt I am going to bring a change."

She said it was important for Afghan youths to take risks to bring change as the country struggles to achieve a semblance of normalcy, with international combat forces preparing to withdraw by the end of 2014.

"Who will bring the peace? We are going to bring it. Afghans. The new generation," Taheri said.

There have been a few other fashion shows in Afghanistan, but most were geared toward an international audience and seldom featured Afghan women or a mixed Afghan audience. Reflecting the obstacles, the organizers did not permit local Afghan media to film the event to protect the women, who on occasion appeared without headscarves and in short skirts.

"It may not be perfect and professional but it's a beginning," said Salma Gul, the 26-year-old tailor who made the clothes.

Organizers said they had two reasons for staging the show despite fears of violence in a country that sees frequent bombings and suicide attacks, often against targets deemed un-Islamic by extremists. One was to raise money for the advocacy group and the other was to gradually change attitudes toward women.

A spokesman for the advocacy group, Mohammad Zafar Salehi, said they earned more than $1,000 from the show, which sold tickets and drew mostly group members and friends.

"We want to change the mindset of the people but at the same time I worry about the security of the girls," he said as the famous Afghan rock band Morchaha performed in another room. "I believe in a change that can be slow."

___

Online:

Advocacy group's site ? http://www.youngwomenforchange.org/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-08-Afghan-Fashion%20Show/id-869c9a1747384eea9692272c0d1e0fdf

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Polish transsexual lawmaker loses shot at top post

WARSAW, Poland (AP) ? The before and after photos of Anna Grodzka show how much she ? and her country ? have transformed.

As a man, she once wore a thick beard. Now, Poland's first transsexual lawmaker favors big dangly earrings, her hair in a bob.

Grodzka attracted huge attention when she was elected in 2011, and earned even more recently when she became a candidate to be a deputy speaker for her leftwing party.

She lost that chance on Friday when lawmakers voted overwhelming to keep the incumbent in the job. Even so, the 58-year-old has already had a huge impact on the political scene, becoming perhaps the most prominent symbol of liberal change in a country that has traditionally been deeply conservative and overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.

"Certain taboos are being dismantled," said Jacek Kucharczyk, a political analyst and the president of the Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw.

Serious news magazines have featured Grodzka on their front covers, with analytical pieces examining the role of gays and other sexual minorities in society. The tabloids zero in on more frivolous things, like the difficulty the nearly 6-foot-2 (nearly 1.9-meter) Grodzka faces finding pretty clothes. Or how she freezes in panty hose in the frigid Polish winters, but still refuses to wear pants.

Grodzka said she herself is still sometimes surprised that she garnered 20,000 votes in her conservative home city, Krakow, to win a seat in Parliament. People have attacked her office, throwing things at the windows or ripping her rainbow flags. But all in all, she feels a growing acceptance from society, she told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday.

She is aware she is a symbol of historic change in Poland, she said, and is trying to meet that challenge by doing the best work possible as a lawmaker.

"I am above all trying to be a normal politician, like any other person, but maybe even better. I am really trying so that people who observe me will know that transgender people are no worse in any way than any others," Grodzka said.

The social transformation has been visible in other areas too, including growing support for the state to fund in vitro fertilization, despite conservative Catholic opposition. But it is particularly notable for the new attention given to the rights of sexual minorities, an issue suppressed in communist times and after the fall of communism in 1989, as many Poles looked to the powerful Catholic church for guidance through the economic and social turmoil.

The church's role was long bolstered by its reputation for standing up to the communists and because of the authority of the late Polish Pope John Paul II. But its influence has waned since John Paul's death in 2005 and as Poland joined the EU in 2004 and became more closely integrated with the West.

A key turning point came when a new progressive party ? Palikot's Movement ? swept into power in 2011 as Parliament's third-largest force, one fighting for gay rights and against the church's traditional influence over public life. Its representatives include Grodzka and Poland's first openly gay lawmaker, Robert Biedron.

It can be an uphill battle. Last month lawmakers tackled the issue of civil partnerships, but rejected legislation that would have given unmarried couples ? gay or straight ? any legal rights.

The rise of the liberals "doesn't mean that we have suddenly become a very progressive country or that we are already on the level of West European countries in recognizing the rights of sexual minorities," Kucharczyk said. "There is still a long, long way to go and we see ... a backlash against Grodzka" getting a leadership role in Parliament, he said. "But what has changed is that we are discussing this openly and people have become visible."

Grodzka had sex change surgery in 2010 in Thailand after a lifetime of feeling she was born the wrong sex. Before the change her name was Krzysztof Begowski, and she had a wife and a son. Grodzka's son has been supportive of her through her change but the wife could not accept it and the two are now estranged.

The ruling party ? currently Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform ? automatically gets the position of speaker of Oarliament, with other parties each allotted one deputy speaker post each. Grodzka appeared to have a shot at it after the lawmaker currently holding the post for her party, Wanda Nowicka, drew the ire of its founder and leader, Janusz Palikot, for accepting a bonus of 40,000 zlotys ($13,000), along with the other deputy speakers. The bonuses have been controversial because they come as Poland's economy faces a slowdown and the government is raising taxes and forcing other austerity measures on the public.

Lawmakers, however, voted overwhelmingly Friday against a proposition put forward by Palikot to dismiss Nowicka, a prominent activist who has worked for women's causes for many years.

Nowicka then addressed the assembly, saying she was encouraged by their support and that she would not resign. Nowicka said there was no merit to the case against her and that she still had work to do for women and her constituents.

Grodzka, who has expressed admiration for Nowicka's work, was among those who voted to keep Nowicka in place. After the vote, she said she was not upset by the outcome.

"I don't regret it ? believe me," she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/polish-transsexual-lawmaker-loses-shot-top-post-093120122.html

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Gluten Free on a Shoestring | Eat Drink Better

Scan the bakery shelf at any grocery store and you?ll see that gluten-free foods are not cheap. A lot of commercially made gluten-free baked goods don?t even taste very good. Nicole Hunn solves that problem with her latest cookbook, Gluten-Free on a Shoestring, Quick and Easy, with tasty, inexpensive food that makes it to the table fast.

The first chapter discusses gluten-free possibilities. The author lists her favorite gluten-free convenience items and commercially available gluten-free flour and flour mixes. She also includes a homemade gluten-free flour mix, which she uses in many of the recipes in the book.

Most of the recipes are vegetarian and some are vegan. Each recipe ends with a price comparison between the homemade version and the store-bought version. The exact amount of savings will vary according to prices in your area, but the savings is always significant.

One hundred recipes are split between six chapters:

Breakfast and Brunch ? The most important meal of the day. The author adapts classic breakfast foods like biscuits, oatmeal, protein bars, and even doughnuts and makes the recipes quick and easy.

Breads: Quicker and Quickest ? With the gluten-free flours and the gluten-free flour mix listed at the beginning of the book, baking breads isn?t so difficult. This chapter contains several sandwich breads, muffins, pita bread, crackers, pastries, and more. Try the pan de bono recipe from this chapter included at the end of this review.

Meatless Mondays ? Hearty vegetarian dishes fill this chapter. Calzones, paella, burritos, and more.

Weekday Workday Dinners ? These are classic family dishes that your mom probably made when you were a kid. Meatball soup, enchiladas, pot pies, and other familiar dinners are remade to be gluten-free.

Shortcut Desserts ? What is dinner without dessert? Cakes, brownies, cookies, mousse pie ? you can?t go wrong with this chapter. If you?re sad that Hostess went bankrupt, you can find twinkie-style cupcakes and ho ho-style cakes in here.

Make-Your-Own Mixes ? Having the dry ingredients premixed for cakes, waffles, scones, and more can save a bit of time and reduce errors when you?re in a hurry.

Up Next>> Gluten Free Pan de Bono Recipe

pages: 1 2

Source: http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2013/02/08/gluten-free-on-a-shoestring-quick-and-easy-cookbook-review-with-pan-de-bono-recipe/

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