Equilibrium is...dis-Equilibrium

...and who would decorate a rainbow?

• "...and who would decorate a rainbow?" - Shakespeare

via Twitter

Can anyone? No. And, you can't be more wrong, just in case you try any unabashed attempt. It's a pretty remarkable truth of nature, isn't it? It's God's own creation!

The world is running out of helium. Why?

Helium is a non-renewable resource, mainly collected from the very slow decay of radioactive elements - and we're using it much faster than it's being created. And the world's reserves of this (the second-lightest element in the Universe) precious gas are about to run out because of a law passed by Congress in 1996 mandating that the U.S. helium reserve - by far the largest in the world - be sold off by 2015, irrespective of market price. The supply appeared plentiful then. Now, not so much.

The impact goes far beyond not being able to inflate birthday balloons. Liquid helium is used in cooling medical equipment and the gas has numerous industrial applications. It's used in manufacturing LCD TV screens. Oh, and it helps power space shuttle and other rockets. What's more, a far rarer isotope of the gas, Helium-3, plays a pivotal role in the research of nuclear fusion, one of the world's great (if far-off) clean energy hopes. Wired had an eye on that problem a decade ago.

Cornell University physics professor Robert Richardson believes the price for helium should rise by between 20- and 50-fold to make recycling more worthwhile. He said a typical party balloon should cost as much as $100, to reflect the true value of the gas. "Once helium is released into the atmosphere in the form of party balloons or boiling helium it is lost to the Earth forever," he said. Read the full article here>>

@OddNewsUPI: Whale-watchers get more than expected

RT @OddNewsUPI: Whale-watchers get more than expected http://bit.ly/bxs9fc

via Twitter

"...disturbing but part of nature."

"...and who would decorate a rainbow?"

- Shakespeare

Can anyone? No. And, you can't be more wrong, just in case you try any unabashed attempt. It's a pretty remarkable truth of nature, isn't it? It's God's own creation!

One in three say climate change is exaggerated!

Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, recently called on the public to ignore the 'siren voices' of climate sceptics.

via dailymail.co.uk

Amaryllis flowers

Amaryllis flowers are such a wonder of nature. And, most probably, the forthcoming Valentine's Day will see Amaryllis flower as one of the most popular flowers for a gift. Don't believe? Go to Google trends and you can see the demand for Amaryllis flowers have topped Google trends in the past hour. A lot of people are interested in Amaryllis flowers for the upcoming Valentine's Day and others just want to decorate their garden with these beautiful flowers.

Amaryllis flowers form on a bulbous plant which is 5-10 cm in diameter. Each bulb produces one or two leafless stems 30-60 cm tall which bears a 2 to 12 funnel-shaped flowers at the top. These flowering bulbs are commonly sold in the winter months for their ability to bloom indoors. The Amaryllis comes in many beautiful varieties including shades of red, white, pink, salmon and orange. There are also many multicolored varieties, combining shades of pink or red with white. Amaryllis flowers are a monotypic genus of plant also known as the Belladonna Lily or naked ladies. The species, Amaryllis is a native of South Africa.

The species is very similar to Hippeastrum, a flower that is sometimes sold as Amaryllis and described as "ready to bloom for the holidays."

"...and who would decorate a rainbow?"

- Shakespeare