November 2, 2011

Good Morning,

Trees sampled in the U.S. are displaying a dismal response to climate change; species are not adapting as fast as predicted. Check out the third article for more details and a counter-argument to this study.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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China launches space docking mission

BEIJING - China says a spacecraft launched from the Gobi Desert will attempt the country's first space docking with a capsule already orbiting the Earth. A rocket carrying the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft blasted off and the spacecraft will rendezvous with the Tiangong 1 space capsule that was launched in late September and has already been maneuvered into position, the BBC reported. The docking maneuver, set for two days after the launch, is a step toward China's plans to build an orbiting space station by 2020. Shenzhou 8 was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province at 4:58 EDT. There will be two further attempts to dock with the capsule next year, at least one of which will be manned, and astronauts -- taikonauts in China -- are being trained for the mission, Chinese space agency officials said. "The mastering of rendezvous and docking technologies will lay a key technical foundation for China's building of a space station and deep-space exploration," Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program, told China's state-run Xinhua news agency.


Internet privacy tools said failing

PITTSBURGH - Internet privacy tools meant to keep advertisers and other companies from tracking users' Web browsing are confusing and ineffective, U.S. researchers say. Commonly available "opt-out" tools in most Web browsers are difficult for most Web users to understand and use, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University reported Monday. Privacy options in popular browsers, as well as online tools or plug-ins for blocking access by certain Web sites, or otherwise opting out of tracking, were hard for the typical user to comprehend or to configure successfully, they said. "All nine of the tools we tested have serious usability flaws," said Lorrie Cranor, director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon. "We found that most people were confused by the instructions and had trouble installing or configuring the tools correctly," Cranor said. "Often, the settings they chose failed to protect their privacy as much as they expected, or to do anything at all." The privacy tools are meant to be a response to the growth of online behavioral advertising, which targets Internet users with advertising based on their online activity, a Carnegie Mellon release said Monday. "The status quo clearly is insufficient to empower people to protect their privacy from OBA companies," Cranor said. "A lot of effort is being put into creating these tools to help consumers, but it will all be wasted -- and people will be left vulnerable -- unless a greater emphasis is placed on usability."


Trees not adapting well to climate change

DURHAM, N.C. - More than half of tree species in eastern U.S. forests aren't adapting to climate change as quickly or consistently as predicted, researchers said. Nearly 59 percent of the species examined in a study by Duke University researchers showed signs that their geographic ranges are contracting from both the north and south, a Duke release said Monday. "Many models have suggested that trees will migrate rapidly to higher latitudes and elevations in response to warming temperatures, but evidence for a consistent, climate-driven northward migration is essentially absent in this large analysis," James S. Clark, a professor of environment, said. Fewer species -- only about 21 percent -- appeared to be shifting northward than predicted, the researchers said. "Warm zones have shifted northward by up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) in some parts of the eastern United States, but our results do not inspire confidence that tree populations are tracking those changes," Clark said. The concept of climate-driven migration assumes that as temperatures warm, the southern edge of some tree species' ranges would recede as adult trees die and seeds they leave can no longer sprout. At the same time, the species could spread to higher latitudes as seedlings dispersed on their northern boundaries are able to take root in newly favorable climates. The Duke study's findings show "a lack of evidence for climate-mediated migration, and should increase concern for the risks posed by climate change," Clark said.


Boeing to create space capsule in Florida

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Boeing Co. will manufacture its CST-100 spacecraft for launches to the International Space Station in Florida under an agreement with NASA, the agency says. Boeing Co. will set up operations in a former space shuttle hangar at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency said in a release Monday. "It's a clear sign that NASA will continue to be an engine for growth," Lori Garver, the agency's deputy administrator, said at a ceremony handing the hangar over to Boeing. The agreement, expected to create 550 new jobs by 2015, may be the first of several involving Kennedy locations since the retirement of the space shuttle fleet earlier this year opened up a number of facilities for other uses. NASA turned over the hangar, which had been used to prepare space shuttles for launch, to Space Florida, an aerospace economic development agency of the state, which in turn agreed to let Boeing use it. "This is just the first of much to come," Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said at the hangar ceremony. "You just wait until you see what's coming here to the Kennedy Space Center in the future in the way of public/private partnerships."

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