Shuttle damage 'superficial'; Limbaugh fingers himself; use water wisely

1. Shuttle got dinged near the wing, but not too badly, it seems:

Shuttle damage 'looks like nothing,' NASA says

"On an initial look, it looks like nothing," [Johnson Space] center spokesman James Hartsfield said. The damage was described as a trail of dings about 21 inches long along the side of the orbiter, as though something bounced along the heat shield before flying off. NASA officials think the source could be bits of insulating foam, which were seen falling off the external fuel tank about two minutes into Monday's launch."

Saw the pictures of the dings on the news; I think they're right. I hope so.

2. Limbaugh fingers himself as responsible for lowering public concern about global warming:

"The host had a similar sentiment: "I normally don't pat myself on the back, but today global warming is an issue that has the concern of 30 percent of the American people, and years ago it was over 50 percent," he said. "That's because somebody spoke up day in and day out and said, 'This is a hoax, this is BS.' That somebody was me."

From this article in the Washington Post: The Reticence in Broadcasting Network

Much as I'd like to give Rush credit for being the number one propagandist on this issue, it probably isn't true; Rush frequently likes to overstate his importance in the public debate on a lot of issues. Public concerns about global warming have gone down as public concerns about things like jobs and the economy have significantly escalated.

However, if Rush is partly responsible for this trend, we won't forget when it becomes even more clear that global warming is an issue of serious concern for all the living beings on this planet.

3. Believe it or not, wise water use matters for food!

Better Water Use Could Reduce Future Food Crises

"An analysis by a team of Swedish and German scientists quantifies for the first time the opportunities of effectively using both "green" and "blue" water to adapt to climate change and to feed the future world population. The study was recently published in the journal "Water Resources Research".

The current approach to water management considers only blue water, that is river discharge and groundwater. According to the researchers, this limits the options to deal with increasing water scarcity and water risks induced by climate change. Under those conditions, over three billion of the current world population are estimated to suffer from severe water scarcity.

The new analysis which additionally accounts for green water, that is water in the soil that stems directly from rainfall, suggests that the actual number is under one billion. It also shows that wise water management can lift billions out of water poverty."

And they also say:

"The study presents evidence that a better use of green water can form the basis for a new green revolution. It may also provide the basis for building resilience towards more frequent and intense floods, droughts and dry spells under human-induced climate change. "We show that investments in current technologies and improved green water use can promote more robust, climate-resilient farming systems, which provide more stable food supplies," says Holger Hoff, researcher at the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research."