Glacier National Park Loosing its' Glaciers

Glacier National Park has lost two more of its namesake moving icefields to climate change, which is shrinking the rivers of ice until they grind to a halt, the U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday. Warmer temperatures have reduced the number of named glaciers in the northwestern Montana park to 25, said Dan Fagre, an ecologist with the agency.

The latest two to fall below the 25 acre threshold were Miche Wabun and Shepard. Each had shrunk by roughly 55 percent since the mid-1960s. The largest remaining glacier in the park is Harrison Glacier, at about 465 acres. Some glaciers, such as in the Himalayas, could hold out for centuries in a warmer world. But more than 90 percent of glaciers worldwide are in retreat, with major losses already seen across much of Alaska, the Alps, the Andes and numerous other ranges, according to researchers in the United States and Europe.

The area of the Rocky Mountains now within Glacier National Park once boasted about 150 glaciers, now around 37. A handful of the park's largest glaciers could survive past 2020 or even 2030, but by that point the ecosystem would already be irreversibly altered. Geological evidence points to the continual presence of glaciers in the area since at least 5000 B.C. Glaciers have been on this landscape continually for 7,000 years, and we're looking at them disappear in a couple of decades.

Meatless Monday Recipe

Mushroom Ragout with Baked Goat Cheese Polenta

For goat cheese polenta:
3 cups water or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup yellow corn meal or polenta

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped1 cup ricotta

2 eggs

1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350.
Lightly oil a 9-inch springform pan. Alternately, you can use an 8- or 9- inch pie pan or casserole and serve polenta from there without unmolding.

Bring water or broth and olive oil to boil in a large stock pot. Add corn meal all at once and gang way, because it may well splatter. Reduce heat to medium. Stir thoroughly and briskly until mixture is smooth and very thick, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in red pepper flakes and sea salt. Remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, whisk together ricotta, eggs, goat cheese and fresh parsley. Stir into polenta.
Pour polenta into prepared springform, pie pan or casserole. Bake for 55 minutes to one hour, or until puffed and set.

For mushroom ragout:
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine

1 pound white mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3/4 cup red wine

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add chopped onion, garlic and rosemary. Saute until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue cooking another 10 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add tomato paste and stir in wine. Stir well to combine.
Slice polenta in wedges or squares and serve with mushroom ragout.
Serves 6 to 8.

2 Steps to Sleep Better

Before Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, the average American was sleeping 10 hours per night. Today, the national sleep foundation reports that the average time people spend in bed to sleep is 6 hours and 55 minutes -- with 6 hours and 40 minutes spent actually sleeping. They recommend getting at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Approximately 70 million Americans are sprouting up with sleep problems from insomnia, hypersomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, to restless leg syndrome and a majority of these are left undiagnosed and untreated.

1. No technology after 9pm. Our minds need to rest and when we are overconnected to technology it keeps the mind buzzing.

2. Body Scan-which is a way of progressively moving our attention from our toes to our head. Trying to relax each area of the body and paying attention to tension held in certian areas (shoulders, jaw, neck ect..)

Exercising while Pregnant

For most pregnant women, exercise is the last thing on their minds. After all, keeping slim while you're expecting isn't exactly the top priority — rather, it's making sure your baby gets enough nutrients to grow. But in a small new study, researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand report that a mother's regular aerobic exercise may be good for a growing fetus' health — and may even help a baby get a healthier start in life.

Researchers asked some women to exercise on a stationary bicycle for at least 40 minutes per session, up to five times each week, starting in the 20th week of pregnancy; the other women were not specifically asked to exercise. When the two groups and their babies were compared, the team found that women who bicycled regularly gave birth to babies who were on average 150 g (about 5 oz.) lighter than those born to the nonexercising mothers. In both groups, however, the babies were of healthy weight, and there was no difference in the mothers' weights.

http://www.time.com/

Oil Tanker Slams into Great Barrier Reef

BRISBANE, Australia — A salvage team could take weeks to remove a grounded coal-carrying ship from Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where it is leaking oil in a pristine marine environment. The Chinese Shen Neng 1 ran aground on Douglas Shoals, a favorite pristine haunt for recreational fishing east of the Great Keppel Island tourist resort. The shoals – off the coast of Queensland state in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park – are in a protected part of the reef where shipping is restricted by environmental law. Authorities fear an oil spill will damage the world's largest coral reef, which is off northeast Australia and listed as a World Heritage site for its environmental value. This is a very delicate part of one of the most precious marine environments on earth and there are safe authorized shipping channels and that's where this ship should have been. The ship hit the reef at full speed, nine miles (15 kilometers) outside the shipping lane. Authorities fear the ship will break apart during the salvage operation or spill more of its 1,000 tons (950 metric tons) load of heavy fuel oil.

for more information:

reuters

huffingtonpost