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At the forefront of environmental discussions at Michigan State University, Tom Sharkey, a University Distinguished Professor at the Plant Resilience Institute, posed a provocative question: "Should we cut down all the oak trees?" While he wasn't advocating for a literal deforestation of oaks, this theoretical question emerges from his team's recent discoveries about the role of trees, especially oaks and poplars, in air pollution dynamics. Sharkey's research delves into the intricacies of isoprene -- a compound released by certain plants, particularly oaks and poplars. This research reveals a paradox. On one hand, with global temperatures rising, these trees emit more...

Shortly after the New Year, I was fired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory after urging fellow scientists to take action on climate change. At the American Geophysical Union meeting in December, just before speakers took the stage for a plenary session, my fellow climate scientist Peter Kalmus and I unfurled a banner that read “Out of the lab & into the streets.” In the few seconds before the banner was ripped from our hands, we implored our colleagues to use their leverage as scientists to wake the public up to the dying planet. Soon after this brief action, the A.G.U.,...

Ceremonial planting by @POTUS and @EmmanuelMacron of a European Sessile Oak from Belleau Woods. – at South Lawn - White House https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/988538307930976257 Video at this link https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/988533784956956672

Moscow, October 24, Interfax - Works on conserving the Oak of Mamre from decay are conducted in the representation of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Hevron (the West bank of the Jordan river). Experts of the National Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences The Nikitsky Botanic Garden, St. Petersburg Forestry University, and Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod are attracted to participate in the work. The Oak of Mamre is mentioned in the Bible, according to which the Holy Trinity visited Abraham near the tree. The experts will treat the tree with special material protecting it from decay,...

Cork GainesSeptember 25, 2016 The trees at Toomer's Corner after a game earlier in the season. Butch Dill/AP The toilet paper hanging from one of Auburn University's famed Toomer's Corner oak trees was set on fire late Saturday night and surveillance footage of the corner appears to show a person intentionally setting the fire. The toilet paper celebration is a longstanding tradition at Auburn following wins by their football team. Following Auburn's 18-13 upset win over No. 18 LSU, the toilet paper caught fire causing damage to the tree. (snip)

We've reported before on the Great Bourbon Shortage that's coming, and the skeptics who don't think it's real. Now we have some more context on what could be contributing to the shortage: the housing crash. Let's take a step back. You probably know that there's been a huge uptick in the popularity of whiskey in America – especially craft whiskeys and, in particular, bourbon. Demand has surged and the number of distillers has ballooned. Now, understand that bourbon, a specific type of American whiskey, must be aged for two years in brand new oak barrels. Usually it's aged in white...

Wednesday night at the Oakland International Airport, a flight had to make an emergency evacuation at the gate after it safely landed because of smoke in the plane. The video was shot by Linton Johnson, a passenger onboard the Delta connection Flight 4454, which was operated by SkyWest. Johnson said on his Facebook page that the plane's cabin filled with smoke and that the flight attendants yelled at passengers to exit the plane. The video shows a chaotic scene. The Oakland Fire Department told ABC7 News they responded to the gate for a red alert.

Beirut (AFP) - Jihadists cut down a 150-year-old oak tree in Atme, on Syria's border with Turkey, after they accused locals of worshipping it, a pro-jihadist source said. "Thank God almighty, the tree... aged more than 150 years has been removed, after people were worshipping it instead of God," said the source on Thursday via his Twitter account named "our call is our jihad". He also posted pictures of a man in a black mask using an electric saw to cut down the tree. A black Al-Qaeda-style flag bearing the Islamic profession of faith had been planted on top of...

A plant that started life during the last Ice Age is still going strong in the arid scrublands of California, scientists revealed today. Researchers believe the Jurupa Oak has been around for 13,000 years, making it the oldest living plant in the world. The oak is made up of a community of cloned bushes and scientists believe it has managed to survive the extreme effects of climate change by regenerating.

The entire grove of trunks is in fact one plant, a newly discovered Palmer's oak (Quercus palmeri) that researchers estimate is over 13,000 years old, making it one of the oldest plants on Earth... none of its 70 stems get more than a few feet tall, and it grows in a boulder pile that doubles as shelter from the area's buffeting winds. At first glance, the scientists thought it was an isolated grove of trees, but something didn't add up: None of them produced fertile acorns, so the plants couldn't reproduce... Genetic analysis confirmed their suspicion. Each of the 70...

Southern California Freepers: The owners of Riley's Farm in Oak Glen, California asked me to extend this special dinner & liberty offer for those of you looking to do something fun, educational, and inspirational tomorrow night. The Rileys have built the beginnings of a colonial township in Oak Glen (near Yucaipa and Redlands) and they are beginning a new program called "An Evening with Patrick Henry." You get live colonial music, a colonial dinner, and Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty" speech, performed by colonial re-enactors. It all takes place in a farm tavern, re-recreating an 18th century candle lit public...

Sunday afternoon, under my Oak tree. Tufted Titmouse, and a Cardinal.

"On September 27, 204 Marines and soldiers who were returning from Iraq were not allowed into the passenger terminal at Oakland International Airport. Instead they had to deplane about 400 yards away from the terminal where the extra baggage trailers were located." This was not a security measure. After going through super-tight security, checking for contraband, ammunition and explosives in Kuwait, the soldiers and Marines had been allowed in the terminal building in Germany and at JFK in New York. But on the far-left coast they were quarantined from civilians.

OAKLAND -- Oakland International Airport officials apologized for prohibiting a planeload of U.S. troops, just back from Iraq, from entering the passenger terminal during a layover Thursday, prompting conservative pundits and bloggers to hold up the incident as an example of the "Left Coast" dishonoring soldiers. "We apologize, I apologize to any members of the military that were on this flight and may have experienced some discomfort or perception of disrespect," said Omar Benjamin, executive director of the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport. "There was no disrespect intended" when North American Airlines Flight 1777 was directed to wait...

By Audrey Hudson - The Oakland International Airport did not break any laws or regulations when it denied 200 Marines and soldiers access to the passenger terminal during a layover last year from Iraq to the troops' home base in Hawaii, the Transportation Department says. Calvin L. Scovell III, the department's inspector general, blamed the mix-up on security concerns and a communication failure between the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department. The contract to allow military layovers at the California airport "did not require that military personnel have access to the airport terminal; it only required that military personnel...

The below message was received from Eaglesnest1 who doesn't quite yet know how to post a thread. Please help if you can. I'm also not sure the mother can actually make it to the airport so that is why this Welcome Home is so important. Thanks [Mr] Trooprally _______________________________________________________Hey FReepers, Does anyone live near the Oakland, CA airport? We have a request from the family of an airman returning Sunday from his second deployment in Iraq for him to receive a welcome home from as many troop supporters as possible. This information comes through Gathering of Eagles and Welcome Home,...

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has warned that its computer systems have been infiltrated by one or more hackers who skirted system's security to gain access to personal information on the lab's visitors. The information was then used in a phishing scheme that attempted to convince victims to open a malicious e-mail attachment. The lab has not commented on the attackers' suspected motives Hackers have penetrated an upper layer of data at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a multiprogram science and technology lab managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. Scientists and engineers at ORNL work to...

Somewhat related: Remember the Oakland International Airport troop-snubbing story? There’s a new development. Thirdwavedave reports on an announcement to come tomorrow from Rep. John Mica via Andrea Shea-King: During the interview, Mica gave our listeners some “inside information” about the Oakland airport that has yet to be shared, officially, with the public, but will be Tuesday when congress reconvenes. Mica said the Department of Defense and Charter Flight Operators have agreed to halt all flights into the Oakland airport. Sacramento International, according to Mica, will likely be the airport to receive our troop layover flights from now on. Again, Mica...

What happened to our troops in Oakland By Michelle Malkin  •  September 30, 2007 10:58 AM Two days ago, an e-mail about the rude treatment of Marines and soldiers returning from Iraq started making the rounds on the Internet. The brother of one of the mistreated Marines who described the incident at Oakland Airport works on the Hill. The brother forwarded the Marine’s e-mail around. The e-mail is real, contrary to the Daily Kos nut who dismissed it as “fake” without any evidence whatsoever (can you say p-r-o-j-e-c-t-i-o-n). I contacted the Marine chaplain to verify the e-mail on Friday. He confirmed....

Spitting on the Marines [Michael Ledeen] Here is an e-mail from a Marine chaplain recently returned from Iraq. The story speaks for itself—lousy treatment of our troops at our own airports. He writes about Oakland, and while checking around I find that this is a common experience. I hope that one of our leaders will find a way to put an end to such behavior. Marines and Soldiers Returning from Iraq not allowed into Oakland terminal On September 27th 204 Marines and soldiers who were returning from Iraq were not allowed into the passenger terminal at Oakland International Airport. Instead...