Rising Pressure

Like isotopes, there are always different versions of an individual.

[memewhore]

[subtlesupernova-blog]

Walking around a bookstore with no money:

Me: *stroking the books* I'll come back for you.

[cheaphalloweencostume]

I NEED all the hugely popular blatantly fake posts from 2012 - 2014 right now

[queerdungeons]

[cheaphalloweencostume]

this is true I was the cop

[direwolvv]

Platform nine and three quarters was shut

[micdotcom]

From water on Mars to Pluto’s heart, 2015 was a huge year of discovery for NASA. These don’t even mention, the “close encounters” we had with celestial objects this year.

[tylerjoosh-deactivated20180221]

watch this

[adrenaline-fix]

I turned on the audio for an explanation and I found none

[firelord-frowny]

It really, REALLY bothers me when I hear people frame climate change and other environmental crises as something that everyday, average-ass people are responsible for, and not corporations and entire governments. 

Like literally, how can a regular-ass person ~opt out~ of all damaging behaviors while still being able to function in society? 

You literally can’t. 

The future of our planet is not down to whether or not someone recycles their water bottle. 

It’s down to whether or not governments and corporations decide to quit sucking up all our resources and poisoning the earth with reckless abandon. 

I mean obviously people should still live as cleanly and as sustainably as they can manage where they are and with what they have, but like. THAT isn’t the major issue. 

[lilacbreastedroller]

govts and corporations have deliberately put the onus on yr individual choices so the system can continue being as destructive/profitable

[sopphistries-deactivated2016080]

God bless this post this pisses me off so much Also this hyper-individualist shift of responsibility is largely an American thing and consumerism is framed as a solution- e.g., buy more shit that’s sustainable! That’ll fix the problem (buy a new, green water bottle! buy a new, green car! buy a new, green whatever-the-fuck that’ll just ultimately produce more waste)!

[crybabyhellbutch]

I took a course in sustainable engineering.

The professor mentioned that even if every private individual in the world were to conserve resources and the environment the ol’ Jimmy Carter way- by turning down the thermostat, recycling your glass and plastics and metals, cut down on luxuries, take shorter showers, etc., it would only get us 10% of the way to where we need to be in order to avoid global catastrophic climate change.

The vast majority of freshwater use is from industry and agriculture. http://www.worldometers.info/water/ 

The vast majority of CO2 emissions is from industrial and electrical generation sites and associated vehicles. http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html

Private individuals hardly make a dent, even in ideal conditions.

[kny111]

Two Become One (NGC 6052)

This image, taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the galaxy NGC 6052, located around 230 million light-years away in the constellation of Hercules. It would be reasonable to think of this as a single abnormal galaxy, and it was originally classified as such. However, it is in fact a “new” galaxy in the process of forming. Two separate galaxies have been gradually drawn together, attracted by gravity, and have collided. We now see them merging into a single structure.

[221btimelordette]

I was initially planning on being a casual fan, but then I thought, why not just let it consume my soul instead? 

[raachelgreen]

I know when that hotline

[sickpage]

[wildeismsremade-deactivated2019]

I don’t understand american school years what the fuck is a freshman or a sophomore why do you have these words instead of the numbers

[aphtaiwan-deactivated20140530]

what why would you use numbers

[aujo-deactivated20200213]

so IT FUCKING MAKES SENSE WHAT THE HELL IS A SOFT MOORE OR A FRESH MAN WHY ARE THE MEN FRESH

[theinatorinator-deactivated2020]

America makes no sense, as usual.

[fndungeonmom]

bless the person that actually made the chart

[mybine-deactivated20160330]

laughter from France

[raptortooth]

France what the fuck

[block]

[soulful-wildflower-deactivated2]

[scorpiohumour]

Hey guys. This kid is amazing but as said above he is fighting sickle cell anemia which has caused him to have three acute strokes in the past two years with the last one causing great neurological damage, paralyzing him and meaning that he was unable to walk for six months and that he was unable to play the violin like he used to.

However there is good news. Long story short Caesar’s parents through IVF were able to have a lovely daughter who has been spared the pain of SCA and who would be able to donate her bone marrow via. a bone marrow transplant to Caeser and cure him.

But there’s a catch. It isn’t cheap. The procedure costs $500 000 and it isn’t something that the Sant family can afford. So I ask you, plead, that you click here to donate. Even if it is just a small contribution please help Caesar.

To find out more go here

To sign a petition to get him on the Ellen show to raise awareness go here

Even if you can’t donate, spread the word. Thank you.

[irishbanter-blog]

Ireland text posts

[pleaseshoutsoftly]

I never see posts about Ireland on my dash

[cosmicvastness]

Pierce the Veil

This colorful deep space object lies about 2100 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus. The Veil Nebula (NGC 6995) is a supernova remnant, meaning that it is composed of the shreds of a once-massive star that ended its life in a giant explosion, flinging its outer layers into space. The hot ionized gas smashes into diffuse gaseous interstellar matter surrounding the dead star, lighting up dark space with complex structures of brightly colored gas. Image released October 2015.

Credit: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/Coelum

[skunkbear]

Via his very first tweet, Jeff Bezos announced that his spaceflight company has accomplished a historic first. It sent a rocket to the edge of space and then landed that rocket’s main fuselage gently on dry land.

Most things humans have sent into space are pushed up there by a disposable rocket. Once the rockets do their job, they fall back to earth, usually worse for wear. They have to be rebuilt each time (though sometimes their parts can be reused). That’s an expensive process, especially if you are a private company hoping to bring tourists to space. Virgin Atlantic, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin all want to do just that. 

And now Blue Origin has paved the way, landing its rocket on its second attempt (the propulsion module was destroyed when they first tried). Here’s the video in full:

Elon Musk responded to the news on Twitter. He pointed out that it requires much greater speed to actually reach orbit than it does to reach the edge of space. (Phil Plait has some good analysis of the exchange over on his Bad Astronomy blog.)

Still, it’s a pretty amazing accomplishment. 

[for-all-mankind]

It should be kept in mind, though, that New Shepard is a suborbital rocket whereas SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is an orbital rocket. It’s much more difficult to safely land a vehicle returning from orbital velocities than it is a short hop to high altitude. In this regard, New Shepard is the world’s first reusable suborbital rocket, and that’s an astonishing achievement!