Douglas H. Fisher Source: New Jersey Department of Agriculture John (Jack) Kupcho of West Caldwell, retired Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Essex County Agricultural Agent, was honored February 4 with a Distinguished Service Citation to New Jersey Agriculture at the State Agricultural Convention held in Atlantic City. “Jack Kupcho changed the way farmers do business in […]
Archives for February 2015
Cape Coastal Towns Embracing Native Species of Plants
The Japanese black pine is the Rodney Dangerfield of trees. It gets no respect. Banned from Avalon’s dunes for the last three years, the species is under consideration for elimination from Stone Harbor’s dunes. Recommended until 1990 by the USDA to be planted in shore areas, the tree- labeled invasive and a fire hazard- has since fallen out of favor… Several Cape May County coastal communities have already started to branch out on their own, and a strong trend toward cultivating native species is beginning to take root… “You have to look at the whole system,” said Jenny Carleo, agricultural and resource management agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County. “You have to look at the animals that depend on the food in the area, the utility of the beach for access, and you have to prioritize use. You have to ask, ‘What are the impacts to the whole environment of doing a certain activity?'”
Well That Didn’t Work: The 1899 Car With a Full-Size Wooden Horse Head Stuck to the Front
The early years of the American auto industry looked a lot like Silicon Valley today. Instead of countless apps and startups aiming to fix problems that probably don’t exist, the entrepreneurs of the age were making all sorts of new kinds of cars, before the industry was pared down to just a few juggernauts. That includes Uriah Smith of Battle Creek, Michigan, a Seventh-day Adventist preacher who also dabbled in engineering. He figured the biggest problem with cars was that they scared the bejeezus out of horses, with dangerous results… Plus, Smith missed the bigger point: Visual trickery wasn’t the way to go. “The biggest thing that horses use for recognition is smell,” says Dr. Carey Williams, an equine specialist at Rutgers University. It doesn’t matter how much mare urine you pour on the wooden sculpture, “it’s not gonna smell like a horse.”
Scientific Pros Weigh The Cons Of Messing With Earth’s Thermostat
Before anyone tries to cool the Earth with technologies that could counteract global warming, there needs to be a lot more research into the benefits and risks. That’s the conclusion announced Tuesday by a scientific panel convened by the prestigious National Research Council to assess “climate geoengineering”- deliberate attempts to alter the global climate… “I think we have to know. I think we have to know what the risks are and what the benefits might be so we can make informed decisions in the future,” says Alan Robock, a climate scientist at Rutgers University who was not on the committee. “Would it be more dangerous to do it or to not do it? That’s the question.” Being in favor of research into geoengineering is not the same as being in favor of geoengineering, Robock says.
Fed Report: Time to Examine Purposely Cooling Planet Idea
It’s time to study and maybe even test the idea of cooling the Earth by injecting sulfur pollution high in the air to reflect the sun’s heat, a first-of-its-kind federal science report said Tuesday. The idea was once considered fringe- to purposely re-…
Go Ahead, Boston, Dump Your Snow Into The Harbor
Boston’s having a rough go with snow. In the past 30 days, six feet of flakes have buried Beantown. There’s so much snow on the ground, in fact, that the city and surrounding regions are considering dumping it into the ocean to make room on the roads. What would that mean for the Boston Harbor? Bob Chant, a professor of physical oceanography and estuarine dynamics at Rutgers University, says it boils down to a question of ecological impact vs. public safety. “If people are worried about debris from the streets getting into the harbor, they should worry about it the rest of the year too–not just this day,” Chant says.
Rutgers Ag Agent Richard Van Vranken Receives Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award
Source: New Jersey Department of Agriculture Richard VanVranken, agricultural agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Atlantic County, was honored February 4 with a Distinguished Service Citation to New Jersey Agriculture at the State Agricultural Convention held in Atlantic City. “Rick VanVranken has served New Jersey’s agriculture industry with passion, dedication and enthusiasm for decades,” said New […]
Rutgers Researchers Use Cold Plasma to Prevent Food Poisoning
Siddharth Bhide- a Rutgers food science graduate student- is about to clean or decontaminate fresh produce without using any water. He’s using cold plasma. This plasma is a ray of light created by heating up molecules- the sun itself is plasma. All over the country and the world, researchers and professionals are using cold plasma for dentistry, for cancer and wound treatment and to sterilize medical equipment… “That has the potential of cross contamination. So a bacteria can leave one fruit and go and attach to another fruit, and that’s also what we’re studying right now by the way. But this way, there is no possibility of cross contamination from one fruit to the other fruit. And because chlorine also has its own problems- environmentally as well as some other issues from the nutritional point of view,” said Dr. Mukund Karwe, chair of the Rutgers Food Science Department.
Intense Cold to Grip N.J. as Dreaded Polar Vortex Makes Valentine’s Weekend Return
It appears nearly certain that New Jersey is in store for its coldest weather of the winter this weekend, as a train of Arctic air is expected to repeatedly pound the northeast with brutal cold, likely pushing temperatures below zero for a significant swath of the state at times… The polar vortex typically holds the coldest air in the northern hemisphere, which during the winter can be dislodged and pour into the lower latitudes… “When you can say some of the anomalously coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere is being shifted down in this direction, you have to start talking about the vortex, from my perspective,” said David Robinson, the state climatologist at Rutgers University.
Former Rutgers University Patrol Horse Stabled in Wrightstown Wins Personality Award
For 22 years, Lord Nelson carried the Scarlet Knight mascot across Rutgers University’s football field and helped officers perform their duties as the school’s mounted patrol horse… “Even in his old age, his mind is as sharp as a tack. He does not miss a thing,” said Karyn Malinowski, director of the Equine Science Center, which purchased Lord Nelson in 1978 to assist the university’s Department of Public Safety… The New Jersey Equine Advisory Board- a division of the state’s Department of Agriculture- awarded Lord Nelson the first-ever “Horse Personality of the Year” award to honor the contribution he’s made to education throughout his life, Malinowski said.