isyulli: Europe

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Sabtu, 07 Mei 2011

Giant Ants in Ancient North America

Big insects once roamed the US. They were very big. Ants were the size of small birds 50 million years ago. They are thought to have crossed the arctic land bridge that once existed between Europe and the US. The Green River site in Wyoming has given up many new finds in the past.

Bruce Archibald of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia noted that the fossil was similar to one found in Germany. Only the queen of the Dorylus wilverthi species of ant living today reaches this size. Fittingly, the new ant has been named Titanomyrma lubei. Louis Lube found the specimen. While this ant is big for North America, big ants probably lived in other parts of the world because large fossils of other creatures have been found there.

Large ants only live a tropical climate in the present so North America was tropical millions of years ago. It is a mystery how they crossed the temperate Arctic region then. For brief periods this area became quite warm, up to 8 degrees Celsius, though not tropical. Bursts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from sediment was the culprit. With two sources for ancient giant ants now known it may be possible to identify where they originated.

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Science

Jumat, 24 Desember 2010

The Days of the US Dollar as World Currency Are Numbered

With the US printing paper dollars by the truckload the American currency cannot remain the world's gold standard. Can something akin to gold be created to act as the measure of value for world trade? China's call for a new stand alone currency for international trade will not work. The difficulties of the Euro has highlighted this. Putting the world's "strong" currencies in a pot with gold then calculating out a value for transactions is also problematical. Wouldn't this be a partial return to the gold standard?

The gold standard worked for a long time mainly because is was a scarce commodity and new finds of the mineral were increasing the gold "pot" at about the same rate as the world growth in trade. A new gold standard would probably not work now because there would be a rush to invest in gold companies which could flood the market.

This would not solve the problem of nations openly trying to weaken their currency to gain a market edge. Quantitative easy by the US is a case in point. The US Treasury bought up securities to increase the money supply. This could still be done with a gold standard.

As time passes people will lose confidence in the US dollar. This is inevitable as the US tries to pull the economy out of recession. China's dominance in low-cost labor industries will not last, but things will not improve for the US as cheap-labor industries move to other less-developed Asian countries. The US cannot turn the clock back. Like Britain, it has had its day in the industrial limelight.

The sun will truly set on US hegemony when the national deficit will finally have to be paid. Many countries beside the US will be in trouble then, particularly the ones issuing bonds in US dollars.

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Selasa, 09 November 2010

DNA Shows How Farming Reached Western Europe

Important discoveries have been made in regard to early farming in Europe. DNA evidence shows that invaders from Turkey brought farming skills to the western regions 8,000 years ago. They were not hunter gatherers from Germany as was originally believed. Hunter gatherers didn't suddenly take up farming. It was a learned skill that was passed on to the younger generation.

The research has been so informative that the route invaders took is clear. An earlier movement of eastern people has also been identified. It took place 11,000 years ago. invaders moved through south-eastern Europe via the Carpathian Basin near present day Hungary into central Europe.

The history of Man is fascinating and we do not have all the answers yet. Perhaps in the past a civilization equal to our own existed and all the knowledge they had has been lost. There are many mysterious things we do not know about the ancient Egyptians and their culture faded in only recent times.

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Senin, 31 Mei 2010

A Rethink Is Needed on the Elderly

Those involved in the aged care industry call for more money from government. Despite money being ploughed in and the rate of pension being increased it still isn't enough. But we need to take a close look at what is going on in the world. European countries are cutting back on pensions and health care, saying that governments cannot afford it. Perhaps residential aged care will always be unsustainable. Indexing of current payments will only keep up with inflation, and it appears the Government will not even do that.

In ages passed the family cared for the elderly. Aged parents spent their day sat in the armchair by an open fire. They got bread and cheese if they were lucky and they certainly didn't enjoy an income. Too infirm to work their daily tasks involved caring for the toddlers in the family. They were seen as assets not liabilities.

Society has changed. Many adult children today do not even visit their parents. Child care is sourced privately. But these same children do not take kindly to parents mortgaging the family home and living better in old age. This is unfortunate. Perhaps the Government is too paternal. It seems in Europe that reality has put a check on welfare. Maybe a return to old ways will be forced on us.

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