All life depends on the hydrologic cycle. Life and death cycle, as does water. Today’s rain will be tomorrow’s groundwater.
Continue ReadingLead, a Giant Pain in the Asteroid
Ancient Romans knew that lead posed risk Contrary to popular belief, the ancient Romans understood that lead could be harmful. During the reign of the second emperor, Vitruvius wrote in his eighth volume on architecture, “Water conducted through earthen pipes is more wholesome than that through lead; indeed, that conveyed in lead must be injurious.” […]
Continue ReadingSuperfunds Near You
Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) on December 11, 1980. Commonly referred to as Superfund, the Act created a tax on industry that was placed into a trust fund to be used to clean up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The Act also provided Federal authority to respond to […]
Continue ReadingOf Cabbages, Kings, and Paratopes
Giving up ultimate power for peace, gardening and cabbages The Roman emperor Diocletian helped demarcate the separation between the Roman and Byzantine empires. While not a new concept to the realm, Diocletian split the ruling of Rome into eastern and western regions. However, his decision to retire, struck his subjects as a new and perplexing […]
Continue ReadingAnaphylactoids, Stronger than a Breath Mint
Napalm vs Greek Fire When recalling the horrors of WW II, Vietnam, and the Korean war, we can hardly do so without including the haunting images of napalm. In a wonderful effort to destroy more life, the recipe has been improved over the years. Without going into the portmanteau for the acids that make up […]
Continue ReadingThe Invisible Killer in Your Home: Radon
We are in a continual battle to protect our fragile alveoli every day. Escaping into a climate controlled building can protect us from criteria air pollutants, but puts us at risk for a much more dangerous gas. Like it’s cousin carbon monoxide, radon is also a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas. What sets radon apart lies […]
Continue ReadingLife and Death, the Cytokine Impact
Like the ancient Roman army, cytokines are a formidable force When facing Carthaginian forces on the field of battle, Roman infantry proved devastating and impactful. When loitering within their own city walls, the Roman infantry also proved devastating and impactful, quickly leading the rule that the army must remain well outside their own city. A […]
Continue ReadingCytokine Storms, Stronger than World War I and Kublai Khan
Kamikaze or “Divine Winds” twice saved Japan from the Mongolian Fleet Long before the current use of the word kamikaze, Japanese used “divine wind,” the name translation, in a literal sense. In the thirteenth century, the largest contiguous empire the world has ever seen sailed its formidable armada and all its might towards the shores […]
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