Cavalcade of Mammals

Googling for AcePerl tutorials (there has to be a better way to use AcePerl than what I’ve been doing!) , I happened across a list of primate lifespans. List has 239 primates. The winners are the great apes, with some monkeys having lifespans nearly as long, at a guess not really different given the sparsity of the data. Would be interesting to plot lifespans on a phylogram.

The Life Spans of Nonhuman Primates

Species                                                   Life Span
	
Allenopithecus nigroviridis (Allen's Swamp Monkey)        28 yrs. (1)
Allocebus trichotis (Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur)             NA
Alouatta belzebul (Red-handed Howler)                     NA
Alouatta caraya (Black-and-gold Howler)                   20 yrs. (2)
Alouatta coibensis (Coiba Island Howler)                  NA
Alouatta fusca (Brown Howler)                             NA
Alouatta palliata (Mantled Howler)                        20 yrs. (1)
Alouatta pigra (Black Howler)                             20 yrs. (1)
Alouatta sara (Bolivian Red Howler)                       NA
Alouatta seniculus (Red Howler)                           25 yrs. (1)
Aotus nigriceps (Southern Red-necked Night Monkey)        20 yrs. (1)
Aotus trivigratus (Northern Gray-necked Owl Monkey)       20 yrs. (1)
Arctocebus aureus (Golden Angwantibo)                     13 yrs. (3)
Arctocebus calabarensis (Angwantibo)                      11 yrs. (1)
Ateles belzebuth (White-bellied Spider Monkey)            20 yrs. (1)
Ateles chamek (Black-faced Spider Monkey)                 40 yrs. (3)
Ateles fusciceps (Brown-headed Spider Monkey)             24 yrs. (1)
Ateles geoffroyi (Black-handed Spider Monkey)             48 yrs. (3)
Ateles marginatus (White-whiskered Spider Monkey)         NA
Ateles paniscus (Black Spider Monkey)                     33 yrs. (1)
Avahi laniger (Woolly Lemur)                              NA
Brachyteles arachnoides (Woolly Spider Monkey or
    Muriqui)                                              30 yrs. (1)
Bunopithecus [Hylobates] hoolock (Hoolock                 42 yrs. (1)
    or White-browed Gibbo
Cacajao calvus (Bald Uacari)                              20.1 yrs. (1)
Cacajao melanocephalus (Black-headed Uacari)              18 yrs. (2)
Callicebus brunneus (Brown Titi Monkey)                   NA
Callicebus caligatus (Chestnut-bellied Titi Monkey)       NA
Callicebus cinerascens (Ashy Titi Monkey)                 NA
Callicebus cupreus (Red Titi Monkey)                      NA
Callicebus donacophilus (Bolivian Gray Titi Monkey)       NA
Callicebus dubius (Titi Monkey)                           NA
Callicebus hoffmannsi (Hoffman's Titi Monkey)             NA
Callicebus modestus (Titi Monkey)                         NA
Callicebus moloch (Dusky Titi Monkey)                     25 yrs. (2)
Callicebus oenanthe (Andean Titi Monkey)                  NA
Callicebus olallae (Beni Titi Monkey)                     NA
Callicebus personatus (Masked Titi Monkey)                NA
Callicebus torquatus (Collared Titi or Widow Monkey)      NA
Callimico goeldii (Goeldi's Monkey)                       17.9 yrs. (1)
Callithrix argentata (Bare-ear Marmoset)                  17 yrs. (2)
Callithrix aurita (Buffy Tufted-eared Marmoset)           NA
Callithrix flaviceps (Buffy-headed Marmoset)              NA
Callithrix geoffroyi (Geoffroy's Tufted-eared Marmoset)   NA
Callithrix humeralifer (Tassel-eared Marmoset)            15 yrs. (2)
Callithrix jacchus (Common Marmoset)                      11.7 yrs. (1)
Callithrix mauesi (Maues Marmoset)                        NA
Callithrix penicillata (Black Tufted-eared Marmoset)      NA
Callithrix pygmaea (Pygmy Marmoset)                       11.7 yrs. (1)
Callthrix kuhlii (Wied's Tufted-eared Marmoset)           NA
Callthrix nigriceps (Black-headed Marmoset)               NA
Cebus albifrons (White-fronted Capuchin)                  44 yrs. (1)
Cebus apella (Tufted or Brown Capuchin)                   40 yrs. (1)
Cebus capucinus (White-throated Capuchin)                 46.9 yrs. (1)
Cebus olivaceus (Weeper or Wedge-capped Capuchin)         NA
Cercocebus agilis (Agile Mangabey)                        NA
Cercocebus galeritus (Tana River Mangabey)                19 yrs. (1)
Cercocebus torquatus (White-collared Mangabey)            27 yrs. (1)
Cercocebus torquatus atys (Sooty Mangabey)                18 yrs. (1)
Cercopithecus campbelli (Campbell's Guenon)               25 yrs. (2)
Cercopithecus cephus (Mustached Guenon)                   22 yrs. (1)
Cercopithecus diana (Diana Monkey)                        34.8 yrs. (1)
Cercopithecus dryas (Dryas Guenon)                        NA
Cercopithecus erythrogaster (White-throated Guenon)       NA
Cercopithecus erythrotis (Red-eared Guenon)               NA
Cercopithecus hamlyni (Owl-faced Monkey)                  27 yrs. (2)
Cercopithecus lhoesti (L'Hoest's Monkey)                  NA
Cercopithecus mitis (Blue Monkey)                         20 yrs. (1)
Cercopithecus mona (Mona Monkey)                          22 yrs. (1)
Cercopithecus neglectus (De Brazza's Monkey)              22 yrs. (1)
Cercopithecus nictitans (Putty-nosed                      23 yrs. (2)
     or Greater Spot-nosed Guenon)
Cercopithecus petaurista (Lesser Spot-nosed Guenon)       19 yrs. (2)
Cercopithecus pogonias (Crowned Guenon)                   20 yrs. (1)
Cercopithecus preussi (Preuss's Monkey)                   NA
Cercopithecus sclateri (Sclater's Guenon)                 NA
Cercopithecus solatus (Sun-tailed Guenon)                 NA
Cercopithecus wolfi (Wolf's Guenon)                       NA
Cheirogaleus major (Greater Dwarf Lemur)                  8.8 yrs. (1)
Cheirogaleus medius (Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur)              19 yrs. (2)
Chiropotes albinasus (White-nosed Bearded Saki)           12 yrs. (2)
Chiropotes satanas (Bearded Saki)                         15 yrs. (1)
Chlorocebus aethiops (Vervet, Grivet, or Green Monkey)    31 yrs. (1)
Colobus angolensis (Angolan Black-and-white Colobus)      NA
Colobus guereza (Abyssinian, Guereza, or
    Eastern Black-and-white Colobus)                      22.2 yrs. (1)
Colobus polykomos (King or Western Black-and-white
    Colobus)                                              30.5 yrs. (1)
Colobus satanas (Black Colobus)                           NA
Colobus vellerosus (Geoffroy's or White-thighed
    Black-and-white colobus)                              NA
Daubentonia madagascariensis (Aye-aye)                    24 yrs. (2)
Erythrocebus patas (Patas Monkey)                         21.6 yrs. (1)
Eulemur coronatus (Crowned Lemur)                         NA
Eulemur fulvus (Brown Lemur)                              30.8 yrs. (1)
Eulemur macaco (Black Lemur)                              27.1 yrs. (1)
Eulemur mongoz (Mongoose Lemur)                           <26 yrs.  (4)
Eulemur rubriventer (Red-bellied Lemur)                   NA
Euoticus elegantulus (Southern Needle-clawed Bush Baby)   NA
Euoticus pallidus (Northern Needle-clawed Bush Baby)      NA
Galago alleni (Allen's Bush Baby)                         12 yrs. (1)
Galago gallarum (Somali Bush Baby)                        NA
Galago matschiei (Matschie's Bush Baby)                   NA
Galago moholi (Southern Lesser Bush Baby)                 16 yrs. (1)
Galago senegalensis (Northern Lesser Bush Baby)           16 yrs. (1)
Galagoides demidoff (Demidoff's Bush Baby)                13 yrs. (1)
Galagoides thomasi (Thomas's Bush Baby)                   NA
Galagoides zanzibaricus (Zanzibar Bush Baby)              16.5 yrs. (3)
Gorilla gorilla beringei (Mountain Gorilla)               40-50 yrs. (1)
Gorilla gorilla gorilla (Western Lowland Gorilla)         50 yrs. (1)
Gorilla gorilla graueri (Eastern Lowland Gorilla)         NA
Hapalemur aureus (Golden Bamboo Lemur)                    NA
Hapalemur griseus (Lesser Bamboo Lemur)                   17 yrs. (2)
Hapalemur simus (Greater Bamboo Lemur)                    NA
Hylobates agilis (Dark-handed or Agile Gibbon)            32 yrs. (1)
Hylobates klossi  (Kloss's Gibbon)                        NA
Hylobates lar (White-handed Gibbon)                       44 yrs. (1)
Hylobates moloch (Silvery Javan Gibbon)                   35 yrs. (1)
Hylobates muelleri (Mueller's Bornean Gray Gibbon)        47 yrs. (1)
Hylobates pileatus (Pileated or Capped Gibbon)            39 yrs. (1)
Indri indri (Indri)                                       NA
Kasi [Trachypithecus] vetulus (Purple-faced Leaf Monkey)  8 yrs. (4)
Kasi [Trachypithecus] johnii (Nilgiri Langur)             NA
Lagothrix flavicauda (Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey)        NA
Lagothrix lagotricha (Woolly Monkey)                      25.9 yrs. (1)
Lemur catta (Ring-tailed Lemur)                           27 yrs. (1)
Leontopithecus caissara (Black-faced Lion Tamarin)        NA
Leontopithecus chrysomelas (Golden-headed Lion Tamarin)   NA
Leontopithecus chrysopygus (Black Lion Tamarin)           NA
Leontopithecus rosalia (Golden Lion Tamarin)              24 yrs. (2)
Lepilemur dorsalis (Gray-backed Sportive Lemur)           NA
Lepilemur edwardsi (Milne-Edwards' Sportive Lemur)        NA
Lepilemur leucopus (White-footed Sportive Lemur)          NA
Lepilemur microdon (Small-toothed Sportive Lemur)         NA
Lepilemur mustelinus (Weasel Sportive Lemur)              NA
Lepilemur ruficaudatus (Red-tailed Sportive Lemur)        NA
Lepilemur septentrionalis (Northern Sportive Lemur)       NA
Lophocebus albigena (Gray-cheeked Mangabey)               32.6 yrs. (1)
Lophocebus aterrimus (Black Mangabey)                     32.7 yrs. (3)
Loris tardigradus (Slender Loris)                         15 yrs. (1)
Macaca arctoides (Stump-tailed Macaque)                   30 yrs. (1)
Macaca assamensis (Assamese Macaque)                      NA
Macaca cyclopis (Formosan Rock Macaque)                   NA
Macaca fascicularis (Long-tailed, Crab-eating or
    Cynomolgus Macaque)                                   37.1 yrs. (1)
Macaca fuscata (Japanese Macaque)                         33 yrs. (1)
Macaca maura (Celebes Moor Macaque)                       NA
Macaca mulatta (Rhesus Macaque)                           29 yrs. (1)
Macaca nemestrina (Pig-tailed Macaque)                    26.3 yrs. (1)
Macaca nigra (Celebes or Crested Black)                   18 yrs. (1)
Macaca ochreata (Booted Macaque)                          NA
Macaca radiata (Bonnet Macaque)                           30 yrs. (1)
Macaca silenus (Lion-tailed Macaque)                      38 yrs. (1)
Macaca sinica (Toque Macaque)                             30 yrs. (1)
Macaca sylvanus (Barbary Macaque)                         22 yrs. (1)
Macaca thibetana (Tibetan Macaque)                        20 yrs. (1)
Macaca tonkeana (Tonkean Macaque)                         NA
Mandrillus leucophaeus (Drill)                            46 yrs. (4)
Mandrillus sphinx (Mandrill)                              46.3 yrs. (1)
Microcebus coquereli (Coquerel's Dwarf Lemur)             15 yrs. (2)
Microcebus murinus (Gray Mouse Lemur)                     15.5 yrs. (1)
Microcebus myoxinus (Pygmy Mouse Lemur)                   NA
Microcebus rufus (Brown Mouse Lemur)                      NA
Miopithecus talapoin (Dwarf Guenon or Southern
    Talapoin Monkey)                                      27.7 yrs. (1)
Nasalis [Nasalis] larvatus (Proboscis Monkey)             21 yrs. (2)
Nomascus [Hylobates] leucogenys (Chinese
    White-cheeked Gibbon)                                 28 yrs. (1)
Nomascus [Hylobates] gabriellae (Golden-cheeked Gibbon)   46 yrs. (1)
Nycticebus coucang (Slow Loris)                           20 yrs. (1)
Nycticebus pygmaeus (Pygmy Loris)                         20 yrs. (1)
Otolemur crassicaudatus (Thick-tailed Greater Bush Baby)  15 yrs. (1)
Otolemur garnettii (Garnett's Greater Bush Baby)          15 yrs. (1)
Pan paniscus (Bonobo or Pygmy Chimpanzee)                 40 yrs. (1)
Pan troglodytes (Chimpanzee)                              53 yrs. (1)
Papio hamadryas anubis (Olive Baboon)                     30-45 yrs. (1)
Papio hamadryas cynocephalus (Yellow Baboon)              40 yrs. (1)
Papio hamadryas hamadryas (Hamadryas Baboon)              35.6 yrs. (1)
Papio hamadryas papio (Guinea Baboon)                     40 yrs. (1)
Papio hamadryas ursinus (Chacma Baboon)                   45 yrs. (1)
Perodicticus potto (Potto)                                26 yrs. (1)
Phaner furcifer (Fork-marked Lemur)                       12 yrs. (2)
Piliocolobus [Procolobus] pennantii (Pennant's Red
    Colobus)                                              NA
Piliocolobus [Procolobus] preussi (Preuss's Red Colobus)  NA
Piliocolobus [Procolobus] rufomitratus (Tana River
    Red Colobus)                                          NA
Piliocolobus [Procolobus] baduis (Western Red Colobus)    NA
Pithecia aequatorialis (Equatorial Saki)                  NA
Pithecia albicans (Buffy Saki)                            NA
Pithecia irrorata (Bald-faced Saki)                       NA
Pithecia monachus (Monk Saki)                             25 yrs. (2)
Pithecia pithecia (White-faced Saki)                      35 yrs. (3)
Pongo abelii (Sumatran Orangutan)                         >50 yrs. (1)
Pongo pygmaeus (Borneo Orangutan)                         59 yrs. (1)
Presbytis comata (Grizzled Leaf Monkey)                   NA
Presbytis femoralis (Banded Leaf Monkey)                  NA
Presbytis frontata (White-fronted Leaf Monkey)            NA
Presbytis hosei (Hose's Leaf Monkey)                      NA
Presbytis melalophos (Mitered Leaf Monkey)                16 yrs. (2)
Presbytis potenziani (Mentawai Island Leaf Monkey)        NA
Presbytis rubicunda (Maroon Leaf Monkey)                  NA
Presbytis thomasi (Thomas's Leaf Monkey)                  NA
Procolobus [Procolobus] verus (Olive Colobus)             NA
Propithecus diadema (Diademed Sifaka)                     20 yrs. (1)
Propithecus tattersalli (Golden-crowned Sifaka)           NA
Propithecus verreauxi (Verreaux's Sifaka)                 20 yrs. (2)
Pygathrix [Pygathrix] nemaeus (Red-shanked Douc Langur)   >30 yrs. (1)
Pygathrix [Pygathrix] nigripes (Black-shanked Douc
    Langur)                                               NA
Rhinopithecus [Pygathrix) roxellana
(Sichuan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey)                        NA
Rhinopithecus [Pygathrix] avunculus (Tonkin
    Snub-nosed Monkey)                                    NA
Rhinopithecus [Pygathrix] bieti (Black or Yunnan
    Snub-nosed Monkey)                                    NA
Rhinopithecus [Pygathrix] brelichi (Guizhou
    Snub-nosed Monkey)                                    NA
Saguinus bicolor (Bare-faced Tamarin)                     8 yrs. (1)
Saguinus fuscicollis (Saddleback Tamarin)                 24 yrs. (2)
Saguinus geoffroyi (Red-crested Tamarin)                  13 yrs. (1)
Saguinus imperator (Emperor Tamarin)                      17 yrs. (1)
Saguinus inustus (Mottled-face Tamarin)                   NA
Saguinus labiatus (Red-bellied Tamarin)                   NA
Saguinus leucopus (Silvery-brown Bare-faced Tamarin)      NA
Saguinus midas (Golden-handed Tamarin)                    13.2 yrs. (1)
Saguinus mystax (Mustached Tamarin)                       12-20 yrs. (1)
Saguinus nigricollis (Spix's Black-mantled Tamarin)       13.9 yrs. (1)
Saguinus oedipus (Cotton-top Tamarin)                     13.5 yrs. (1)
Saguinus tripartitus (Golden-mantled Saddleback Tamarin)  6 yrs. (1)
Saimiri boliviensis (Bolivian Squirrel Monkey)            NA
Saimiri oerstedii (Red-backed Squirrel Monkey)            NA
Saimiri sciureus (Common Squirrel Monkey)                 21 yrs. (1)
Saimiri ustus (Golden-backed Squirrel Monkey)             NA
Saimiri vanzolinii (Black Squirrel Monkey)                NA
Semnopithecus entellus (Hanuman Langur)                   20 yrs. (1)
Simias [Nasalis] concolor (Pig-tailed Langur)             NA
Symphalangus [Hylobates] syndactylus (Siamang)            35yrs. (1)
Tarsius bancanus (Western Tarsier)                        8-12 yrs. (1)
Tarsius pumilus (Pygmy Tarsier)                           NA
Tarsius spectrum (Spectral Tarsier)                       12 yrs. (1)
Tarsius syrichta (Phillippine Tarsier)                    13.5 yrs. (1)
Tarsius dianae (Dian's Tarsier)                           NA
Theropithecus gelada (Gelada Baboon)                      19.2 yrs. (1)
Trachypithecus [Trachypithecus] auratus (Ebony Langur)    NA
Trachypithecus [Trachypithecus] cristatus (Silvered
    Langur)                                               31 yrs. (3)
Trachypithecus [Trachypithecus] delacouri (Delacour's
    Langur)                                               NA
Trachypithecus [Trachypithecus] francoisi (Francois's
    Langur)                                               <20 yrs. (4)
Trachypithecus [Trachypithecus] geei (Golden Langur)      NA
Trachypithecus [Trachypithecus] obscurus (Dusky or
    Spectacled Leaf Monkey)                               NA
Trachypithecus [Trachypithecus] phayrei (Phayre's Leaf
    Monkey)                                               NA
Trachypithecus [Trachypithecus] pileatus (Capped Leaf
    Monkey)                                               NA
Varecia variegatus (Ruffed Lemur)                         19 yrs. (1)

Numbers in parenthesus following lifespans refer to the following references:

1. Rowe, Noel. The Pictorial Guide to Living Primates. Pogonias Press, East Hampton, New York, 1996.
2. Hakeem A., et al. Handbook of the Psychology of Aging. 4th ed. Birren, J.E., Schaie, K.W., Editors. San Diego:
Academic Press. 1996.
3. Nowak, R. Walker’s Primates of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 1999.
4. American Association of Zoo Keepers Greater San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. Biological Values for Selected
Mammals. Topeka: AAZK. 1992. 3rd ed. Pgs: v, 481

*The data presented here is taken from the secondary sources listed above and users are advised to consult primary
sources before citing this information. According to Rowe (1996, p. 6), “Species life span is given in years and
measures the maximum amount of time between birth and death rather than an average.” However, life span
information varies, as might be expected, from source to source. Moreover, the information provided is drawn mainly
from reports on captive animals. While it is generally assumed that captive animals will live longer than animals in
the wild, because of the consistent care and support provided in laboratory or zoo settings, according to Hakeem
et al.:

“We have very little information on the longevity of primates in the wild,
because this requires sustained observations of wild populations for many
decades. One of our concerns in using life spans of captive animals was that
they might vary greatly from the species — maximum life span in the wild; one
might think that primates living in zoos would have longer maximum life spans
than those living in the wild. The few very long-term studies of primates
living under natural conditions indicate, however, that some individuals do live
into extreme old age in the wild. Long-term observational data suggest that
the maximum life spans for zoo-living and wild primates may be about the
same (p. 78-9).”

Anyone who would like to contribute verifiable information about nonhuman primate life spans — especially for those
where information is not provided (NA) — should contact Ray Hamel at hamel@primate.wisc.edu.

Information compiled by Derek Johnson.

Here’s a site with films of the tasmanian tiger, the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus). It was driven to extinction in the 1930’s.

Thylacine films

There’s interest in sequencing the genome of the tasmanian devil with an eye toward eventual cloning. Reconstructing a genome of an extinct species is currently not technically feasible. So far they have been able to clone short DNA segments from preserved tissue.

I learn something new by way of David Appell

* For winds in mph (over 3 MPH) and Fahrenheit temperatures:
* Wind chill temperature = 35.74 + 0.6215T – 35.75V^0.16 + 0.4275TV^0.16

Formula from the National Weather Service.

How big a contributor to oil use are SUVs?

SUVs are about 1/4 of new cars sold, I can’t find figures for the total number of SUVs. People talk about SUVs because they have led the trend to lower fuel economy in US automobiles, and they are often brought up as a shorthand for talking about the fuel efficiency of US autos.

From googling a bit:
US autos account for 11% of world oil consumption, 8 million barrels per day.

SUVs, due to average lower fuel efficiency, take 33% more gas than cars. So let’s assume that SUVs are 15% of US autos. Then a switch to 5% SUVs in the US would save 0.3 million barrels per day, or 0.4% of world oil demand and 2% of US oil demand. So SUVs by themselves are fairly minor.

Increasing average fuel effciency of US autos by 5 MPG would save 1.3 million barrels per day, or reduce world oil demand by 1.8% and US oil demand by 6.5%.

So the fuel economy of US cars is a big deal.

Predicting future life expectancy is difficult. In a post, Kevin Drum of Politcal Animal at shows that the actuaries have done pretty well. He quotes one as saying that privately, they expected medical tech to provide faster gains in life span. I think they, and most others, expected a greater rise from medical advances. It has turned out that human biology is more complicated than anyone expected and that early successes with antibiotics and sterile technique were extraordinary. Since then it has been hard slogging.

The huge research effort into biology *will* pay off, but when? I expect it will pay off any time now (in a decade or two). Many different approaches to cancer treatment are being tried, I expect one will succeed. Heart disease can be fought both with biological approaches and with mechanical/electronics tech approaches

The other big factors are culture, business and the environment. US culture has become unhealthy, with people less active. I don’t expect that to change. The industrialization of food has been unhealthy. Effort has gone into making food tasty and cheap (sugary and fatty), and to use advertising to sell people more calories and bigger portions. My guess is that the food business will start pushing healthier food across the board. Healthy food will grow from the niche market it is now to become the norm.

The environment has had its ups (pollution controls) and downs (leaded gas, smog). I expect it will get worse, with overcrowding being the dominant factor. On the local side, I expect pollution will slowly get worse. On the global side, I expect that catastrophes will start popping up (oil scarcity, overfishing, lack of water, climate change, war, etc). Some will affect life in the US directly and others indirectly by slowing or reversing economic growth around the world.

How do all these factors integrate? I have no idea.

An planet around a star found by ESO is confirmed by the Hubble! This is the first confirmed image of an extra-solar planet. It’s a huge planet around a small star, but that’s the easiest sort of planet to see.

Article at space.com.

From an article on earthquakes following the tsunami in Asia a discussion of ways to trigger earthquakes!

Can earthquakes be tamed?
Human activity can cause quakes, but preventing them is harder
Cars are piled on top of each other in Phuket, Thailand in the tsunami’s aftermath
Barry West / EPA via Sipa Press
Can devastation such as that seen is this picture from Phuket, Thailand, be prevented?

Analysis
By James Oberg
NBC News space analyst
Special to MSNBC
Updated: 7:37 p.m. ET Dec. 27, 2004
.
.
.
Accidental discoveries
People have triggered natural earthquakes through a number of activities on the Earth’s surface, most notably in the construction of large water reservoirs. As the weight of water accumulates in such reservoirs, lower rock layers yield to the stress and shift.

A different kind of large pit was behind what is probably the best-known epsiode of human-induced earthquakes. In 1961, the Army drilled a 12,000-foot disposal well at its Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado, northeast of Denver. Beginning in March 1962, waste fluids from arsenal operations were dumped down the well.

Then a funny thing happened: An unusual series of earthquakes broke out in the area. By the end of 1962, there had been almost 200 earthquakes. At first they were small, but in December they damaged several buildings in nearby towns. Over the ensuing five years the quakes increased in frequency and force, and in April 1967 one measured magnitude 5.0.

A connection was soon established between the waste dumping and the earthquakes, and dumping stopped. The quakes continued, however. So the following year, the Army started to withdraw fluid from the well in an effort to reduce the quakes. Sure enough, as the fluid concentration in the deep rocks dropped, the quakes slowed down.

What was happening was that the fluids seemed to lubricate the rock layers that already were under tension. In that sense, the Army didn’t create the earthquakes, it just hurried them along by making it easier for the rocks to slip. Instead of one big quake at some point decades in the future, Colorado experienced a series of smaller quakes.

Could this principle be applied to other more famous fault lines? In theory, deep wells could insert fluids into one segment of a fault line, while other wells at the segment’s ends would suck out fluids thus releasing the tension harmlessly. The process could continue segment by segment as the fault line was tamed, forestalling a massive earthquake sometime in the future.

Daily cycling of the images in the left hand bar is now running!

It’s done with a perl script, cycle_web_images.

Old images go to the cavalcade page.

First post!

The install of WordPress went smoothly:

Unpack WordPress blogging software. Copy to /home/http/html/blog,
Copy wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and localize:

// ** MySQL settings ** //
define(’DB_NAME’, ‘wordpress’); // The name of the database
define(’DB_USER’, ‘jiml’); // Your MySQL username
define(’DB_PASSWORD’, xxxxx’’); // …and password
define(’DB_HOST’, ‘localhost’); // 99% chance you won’t need to change
this value

Run http://elegans.uky.edu/blog/wp-admin/install.php

It complains can’t see the DB, so do some hand setup:

MySQL setup:
mysql> create database wordpress;
grant all privileges on wordpress.* to jiml@localhost;
grant file on *.* to jiml@localhost;
grant select on wordpress.* to nobody@localhost;

Last two may be overkill, but can’t hurt.

OK, it tells me, “Now you can log in with the login “admin” and password
“b9cc0a”.”

Login, change password to . Start setup!