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From: Bruce Sterling <bruces@well.com>
To: yyyy@spamassassin.taint.org
Subject: Viridian Note 00330: Ocean Bugs

Key concepts: microbes, methane,
Black Sea, Big Mike the Viridian Bug

Attention Conservation Notice:   Continues
the Viridian obsession with ecologically
active micro-organisms.

Links:

GM to give away thousands of electric vehicles - USA 
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/17318/story.htm

Sinking Pacific states slam US over sea levels - FIJI 
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/17316/story.htm

Famished Australian emus invade drought-hit farms - 
AUSTRALIA 
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/17330/story.htm

---------------------------------------------------
Entries in the Global Civil Society Design Contest.

From: Steven W. Schuldt <swschuldt*mac.com>
http://www.americanrobotz.com/images2/Soon_GlobalCivilSoci
etyLaptop.jpg

From: Ben Davis <bend*earthlink.net>
http://www.digitaleverything.com/GlobalComputer.htm

From: Joerg F. Wittenberger <Joerg.Wittenberger*pobox.com>
http://www.askemos.org/ 
http://www.askemos.org:9080/RomePaper.pdf

From: Scott Vandehey <scot*spaceninja.com >
http://spaceninja.com/viridian/notebook.html

From: Bob Morris <bob*bomoco.com>
http://viridianrepository.com/GlobalCivil/

From: Anonymous
http://home.freiepresse.de/befis/zx2000.html
http://apollo.spaceports.com/~bodo4all/zx/zx97.htm
http://www.vkb.co.il/

From: Jim Thompson <jim*musenki.com>
http://www.simputer.org
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/07/05/india.simputer.reut/index.html

From: Mike Rosing <eresrch*eskimo.com>
http://www.eskimo.com/~eresrch/viridian

From: Till Westermayer <till*tillwe.de>
http://www.westermayer.de/till/projekte/02gcsdl.htm

From: Duncan Stewart <stewarts*stewarts.org?>
http://www.stewarts.org/viridian/GCS

From: R. Charles Flickinger <idlewild*mac.com>
http://homepage.mac.com/iHUG/GCS2000.html

From: Kevin Prichard <kevin*indymedia.org>
http://www.nah6.com/
http://www.nah6.com/nah6-h2k2_files/v3_document.html

From: Dave Phelan <dphelan*pavilion.co.uk
http://www.btinternet.com/~dphelan/viridian/gcs-computer.html

From: "Dan Reynolds" <orion_obrien*hotmail.com>
http://www.nv2.cc.va.us/home/alwhite2/flotsam1.htm 

From: John Romans  <joro*panicfire.net>
http://www.panicfire.net/cryptoviridian.htm 

From:  "Allen Wong" <threadprinter*hotmail.com>
http://www.fieldsync.com/viridian/ 

From: "Joel Westerberg" <joel*unsafe.nu>

"Here's my contest entry.  Cheers." 
http://www.unsafe.nu/bigmike/global.PDF 

From:  "Chris McCormick" <chris*mccormick.cx>

"Hi,  I hope i'm not too late!" 
http://mccormick.cx/viridian/ 

"Regards,  Chris."
http://www.mccormick.cx 
http://www.sciencegirlrecords.com 

From:  "adrian cotter" <acotter*nonsensical.com>

"As usual I'm cutting the deadline close... But I've 
honestly been thinking about this one for a good month.  
If only I had one of these, my life would be better."
http://www.nonsensical.com/viridian/notebook/ 

From: "jg"  <jg@solarpc.com>
"Emperor Bruce, here it is."
http://solarpc.com/contest.htm 

From: Kevin Prichard <musicasa*prichard.org>
Subject: link to Kevin Prichard's own
global civ design entry
http://prichard.org/viridian_globcivsoc.html

This contest has now expired.   A winner will
be announced at the discretion of our judge.
----------------------------------------------------

Source:
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/17250/story.htm

"Germans discover ancient life, offer climate hope"
by Philip Blenkinsop 

GERMANY: August 12, 2002

"BERLIN == German scientists have discovered micro-
organisms deep under the sea that may provide an insight 
into some of the earth's first lifeforms and offer hope in 
the fight against global warming, the Max Planck Society 
said. 

    "The marine biologists and geologists believe they 
have shown life could have existed by processing methane 
without the presence of oxygen.

    "Their findings could also prove useful in ridding the 
earth of excess methane, one of the greenhouse gases many 
scientists believe is responsible for global warming.

    "Traditional views of early life on earth centre on 
plants which converted carbon dioxide to oxygen.

     "'These (plant lifeforms) date back to between three 
and 3.5 billion years ago... We have found biomass (large 
cluster of organisms) using methane that geologists show 
could have existed around four billion years ago,' 
Professor Antje Boetius, joint author of the study, told 
Reuters.

Link:
Yes, she exists.  Dr. Antje does more than exist.  She
gives some kinda publicity shot.  Dang!
http://www.mpi-bremen.de/deutsch/biogeo/aboetius/aboetius.html
http://www.iu-bremen.de/directory/faculty/01063/

      "The two-year research by the scientists from 
Hamburg University, the Alfred Wegener Institute in 
northern Bremerhaven and the Max Planck Society centred on 
coral-forming micro-organisms in the Black Sea at depths 
where no oxygen and no light is present.

     "The Black Sea contains the largest oxygen-free basin 
in the world.

     "The lifeforms were able to process methane together 
with sulphates within the water, producing carbonates, in 
the form of coral, as waste.  (((Black, oxygen-free 
"coral".  I wonder what that stuff looks like.  Maybe you 
could make jewelry out of it.)))

     "That they were able to do so without oxygen suggests 
they may have been around before plant life.

      "'Perhaps micro-organisms like those found in the 
Black Sea were the original inhabitants of the earth 
during a long period of the earth's history,' said 
Boetius.  (((Yeah, they've just been sitting down there, 
waiting to save our bacon.)))

     "She believes the findings could prove useful for 
climate control.

     "Previously, scientists had thought that methane, 
found in abundance in the sea and produced through 
agriculture, could only be broken down with oxygen.

      "The German researchers believe the discovery of a 
pool of organisms that process methane without oxygen 
could lead to a way of cutting down potentially harmful 
greenhouse gases without burning oxygen and producing 
similarly damaging carbon dioxide.  (((What do they 
*smell* like?)))

     "'It could be a way of hindering climate 
catastrophe,'" Boetius said. 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O
BY ALL MEANS 
LET'S HINDER SOME
CATASTROPHE
O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

