Green Guru

CREDIT: NASA/SDO and the AIA Consortium

A storm is raging on the Sun’s surface. Last Sunday it erupted in the largest solar flare in seven years. Now particles that could have an impact on communication and homing pigeons are bombarding Earth. 

When the fiery red, orange, and yellow leaves fall from the trees and land on your lawn, pilling them high for jumping can be a family affair. And when you’re sufficiently exhausted from diving in the heaps of foliage, you can use the leaves to nourish your garden, shrubs, and trees. Instead of putting them in a bag, mow, mulch, mix, or compost them.

 
Many East Coasters are still reeling from hurricane Irene, which brought fierce winds and torrential downpours to the Atlantic seaboard this past weekend. The storm was just one of many hurricanes that impact American shores from June through November every year, yet despite their effects in the western hemisphere, they often form far away—from winds blowing off the coast of Africa.

As temperatures climb, refreshing salt water beckons. But when you take the plunge into the ocean's cooling surroundings, don't forget about the translucent creatures--which are critical to the marine ecosystem--swimming nearby. To find out just how poisonous they might be, read the Green Guru's response to a reader's question.

If you're one of many people who now have CFLs illuminating their lives, you may be wondering what to do with them when they die. Read this issue's Green Guru to find out.

Rüppell's Vulture (Gyps rueppellii) in the Serengeti, Tanzania.

Pilots tell stories of seeing vultures out of airplane windows. Radar shows long-distance migrants flying nearly four miles in the air. Lab studies show that some birds have special adaptations to make use of limited oxygen supplies. How high can some birds go? The Green Guru responds to our reader's question.

Ever wonder if the emissions from producing a hybrid car are massive? If so, you're not the only one. Check out our reader's question and the Green Guru's answer.

The blogosphere is rife with reports about which vehicle is better for you and the environment. To help put falsehoods to rest, we tackled the question of whether manufacturing a hybrid results in enough greenhouse gas to outweigh the benefits of using less fuel (and emitting less carbon dioxide) once your wheels hit the road.

Lettuce, string cheese, and tortillas are just a few things that I regularly stack on my refrigerator’s shelves. As I ate my groceries, I often wondered if my fridge had to work harder to keep my foodstuffs cold. When a writer sent that question to the Green Guru mailbox, it gave me the perfect opportunity to look into what makes—and keeps—refrigerators frigid.

I saw your advice column in the Jan-Feb issue (2009) and have started my compost bin. I wonder when it gets really hot how can the worms survive in the bin? I am adding newspaper and soaking it down to keep it moist, but the temps here in Alabama can get up to 80-85, and the mixture heats up, too. My yard is really shady, but the bin is in the sun for at least six hours a day. Also, I have a lot of ants in there. Is that good? Will the ants run the worms off?
Hellon Millard