Millions of jellyfish invade nuclear reactors in Japan and Israel (PHOTOS)

A nuclear reactor in Japan was forced to shut down due to infiltration of enormous swarms of jellyfish near the power plant.

A similar incident was also reported recently in Israel when millions of jellyfish clogged down the sea-water cooling system of the power plant.

Such massive invasions of the species have raised speculations and scientists are trying to figure out the reason behind such unusual growing trends.

History of water availability in the Rockies shows trouble ahead

Communities in the Rocky Mountain region of North America rely on snowmelt to provide water for drinking, sanitation, irrigation, and industry. Snow, which falls in the mountains during the winter, acts like a massive frozen water tower, providing a steady supply of water throughout the drier summer months. Water usage in many cities is growing rapidly, and some are already encountering the limits of water availability. The threat of climate change looms large—warming temperatures would push the snowline to higher elevations, decreasing the capacity of that frozen water tower.

Sky Sharks: Pictures of Super-Predators Snatching Prey From the Air – National Geographic News Watch

What one-ton fish armed with rows of dagger-like teeth can lunge ten feet from the ocean to snatch its prey? None other than the great white shark, a super-predator that has honed its killing skills over hundreds of millions of years. Husband-and-wife photography team Chris and Monique Fallows share their pictures, experiences, and insights collected over a lifetime of observing sharks and other predators in Africa.

The 19 photos in the post may be enlarged by clicking on them individually.

Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation Grants $1.5M To Turn Human Waste Into Biofuel

Two of many challenges developing countries face are unsafe water and a lack of affordable energy. With the help of a new $1.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ghana may be able to combine these lacks into an asset in the form of biodiesel.

The grant, for a “Next-Generation Urban Sanitation Facility” in the country’s capital of Accra, will turn human waste from sewage into biodiesel and methane that can be used as fuel.

The project not only produces energy from waste, but tackles a major sanitation problem common in cities that are unable to pipe sewage to treatment plants. Bacteria in sewage can easily make its way into water sources used for cooking, drinking and irrigation, leaving locals, especially children, susceptible to dying of diarrhea-related diseases such as cholera.

Where Do All The Forgotten PCs Go? In This Room. | Gizmodo Australia

Polish sculptor Marek Tomasik spent three years collecting junk PCs. And with those, he covered an entire 4.8m x 4.2m x 4.5m room from top to bottom with the guts of those PCs (it’s what any sane person would do, right?). Even better, it’s viewable as an interactive 3D map.

Explore the Deep Seas With Google Oceans Update | Wired Science | Wired.com

Thanks to a Google Earth update containing two decades of data from seafloor-scanning expeditions, armchair explorers can take a virtual submarine ride into Earth’s last frontier.

Oceanographers say that more is known about the surface of Mars than the deep seafloor of Earth. They’re right: Only a fraction of our seafloors have been studied. But with oceans covering 70 percent of Earth’s surface, a fraction is still quite a lot. The latest update, released on World Oceans Day, covers an area the size of North America.

Disorienting mosquitoes with a blend of odors

As we enjoy the outdoors through various summer activities, we also have to deal with pests like mosquitoes, which are potential disease carriers, on top of being annoying. DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) is an effective repellent, but it requires high concentrations, can be a skin irritant, and is damaging to some materials, including plastics. Certain species of mosquitoes are also developing resistance to DEET. There is a real need for new repellents, particularly in developing countries that are vulnerable to malaria and dengue.

At the moment I'm working my way through Matthew Reilly's "The Five Greatest Warriors", so I guess I've been thinking a bit more about adventuring.  Nothing says the Broken Planet better than some of the crazy ways we find to get across things, like deep gorges, ravines, rivers, and oceans.

Well Djmick.co.uk has a excellent post "15 Scary Looking Foot Bridges", and all I can say is that these are prime examples as to why we have building planning and permits.  In one way these bridges are scary, but then I thought about what it must have been like to build the things in the first place....

Jason

...if it ain't Broken, it probably will have a few gaps.

Image via Wikipedia

As a child I loved playgrounds, then as a teen I just hung out at them.  Now as a parent I get to see playgrounds through new eyes, and spend a lot of time pushing swings.  For the young ones the playground can be a great social tool, and of course with our backyards getting smaller, a great place for exercise.

So this article "10 Unusual Playgrounds From Around the World" from Mentalfloss.com caught my eye.  I think I'll forward it on to the local council and see if we can recycle some of our old tyre surplus into something useful.

Jason

...if it ain't Broken, get giant fruit.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Thought I might follow up on the video of the Kuroshiro Sea with a post I found over at Womansday.com, of all places, about some "not quite as big but no less interesting" Aquariums from around the world.  My favorite is the Telephone Box.

Jason

...if it ain't Broken, find a new way to do it.