Sunspots don't cause global warming, people do

Climate change denialists like to cite Danish scientist Henrik Svensmark's theory that global warming is caused by sunspots in excusing the ongoing de-terraforming of the Earth (Svensmark's work was the basis for a film called "The Great Global Warming Swindle"); but research from Lancaster University undermines Svensmark's conclusions.

The idea is that variations in solar activity affect cosmic ray intensity.

But Lancaster University scientists found there has been no significant link between them in the last 20 years.

Presenting their findings in the Institute of Physics journal, Environmental Research Letters, the UK team explain that they used three different ways to search for a correlation, and found virtually none.

This is the latest piece of evidence which at the very least puts the cosmic ray theory, developed by Danish scientist Henrik Svensmark at the Danish National Space Center (DNSC), under very heavy pressure.

Link (via Futurismic)

Instant and fresh, two words that sound great when it comes to tea

Filed under: Teas, Business, Asia, Trends, On the Blogs

There is a new product out in Japan that I would love to get a hold of. It's an instant, fresh matcha tea, two words that usually aren't paired together when talking about tea, especially the bottled kind. The unique bottle design allows the tea to be both.

The design makes it so that when you twist the air tight cap a portion of matcha tea is released into mineral water. All you have to do is shake it up. Matcha is a traditional Kyoto (Japan) green tea that is very green and is usually the go-to flavoring for anything "green tea". It's made from leaves that have been covered so that it grows more slowly, which makes it a little sweeter.

As a big fan of tea, I would really like to be able to try an instant, fresh matcha tea. Does anyone know if this is available in the US?

[Via Trends in Japan]

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CHAIRman Mao

Artist Gerald Scarfe created this chair/sculpture that looks like Chairman Mao (by way of Jabba the Hutt), so you can be cushioned by the gentle curves of the Great Helmsman as you play on your Xbox. Link

YouTube - Nas: Hip Hop is Dead: Album Release Party Speech (Episode 3)

Hip Hop Is Dead - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaHip Hop Is Dead is a 2006 album by American hip-hop artist Nas that was released on December 19 , 2006 . The LP is Nas’ eighth album of all-original material, and his first album .

Hip Hop Is Dead - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaHip Hop Is Dead is a 2006 album by American hip-hop artist Nas that was released on December 19 , 2006 . The LP is Nas’ eighth album of all-original material, and his first album .

Nas Declares ‘Hip Hop Is Dead’The album is titled “Hip-Hop Is Dead, according to a Def Jam representative, who also confirmed the September release to Billboard.com. Nas capped off his roughly 15-minute set .

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