Category Archives: Science

Auto, Chemistry, Climatology and Meteorology, Consumer, Electromagnetism, Engineering, Green, History, Law, Maintenance, Physics, Science, Technology, Treaties

The Foggy Future of Refrigerants

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Freon tanks await recycling. Image courtesy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Stable, nontoxic refrigerants changed the world, transforming food storage, expanding Sun Belt populations, even helping early movie theaters succeed. But they also wrecked the ozone layer — Earth’s shield against harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Today, as stockpiles dwindle — and prices rise — due to phase-outs set by the Montreal Protocols 30 years ago,  the future of Freon and its successors remains in doubt.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
As Stockpiles Dwindle, Freon Prices Rise

Climatology and Meteorology, Science

Using Nature to Start a Managed Fire

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Photo courtesy Central Arizona Wildland Response Team (CAWRT)

For fire managers, the Pinal Fire burning hundreds of acres near Globe, Arizona,  presents not just a challenge, but an opportunity.

For years, they’ve planned to use a low-intensity burn to restore the resiliency of the fire-adapted ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forest.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Pinal Fire Presents Opportunity

Electromagnetism, Engineering, History, Physics, Science, Technology

Behind the Scenes at a Nuclear Generating Station Refueling

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Every six months, the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station southwest of Phoenix, Arizona shuts down one of its three reactors for refueling and maintenance.

Join me in this feature-length venture into the belly of the beast, from the storage casks to the open reactor itself.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
http://science.kjzz.org/node/472070

Astronomy, Imaging, Physics, Science, Space, Technology

NASA’s ShadowCam Hitches Ride to Moon on Korean Craft

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Image courtesy Arizona State University / Malin Space Science Systems

NASA plans to send a new, light-sensitive camera to explore the moon’s most shadowed regions. ShadowCam will look for evidence of water ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the moon.

Lunar areas that never receive sunlight – frigid craters and mountain shadows – could conceal a treasure trove of water ice, especially near the poles.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Shadow-Piercing NASA Camera Rides To Moon Aboard Korean Craft

Fishing, Science, Sports, Technology, Water Issues

Plan to Help Fish in Central Arizona Lakes Gets Underway

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Photo by George Andrejko/AZGFD.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department has begun dropping fake plants and other habitat into Roosevelt Lake. Widely varying lake levels at Roosevelt pose problems for natural vegetation.

The work is part of a larger plan, the Tonto National Forest Lakes Habitat Improvement Project, which seeks to help bass and crappie bounce back and boost the sustainability — and fishing prospects — of Salt River reservoirs and Bartlett Lake.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Arizona Game and Fish Installs Artificial Fish Habitat in Roosevelt Lake