BP Oil Spill

The BP (British Petroleum) Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, is now considered the worst environmental disaster in the recent history. My heart goes out to everyone impacted by this disaster and I feel bad for all those oil soaked birds washing ashore. This is turning out to be a big threat to the marine species, birds, etc. But, you know what....I have a feeling that in due course of time all the species affected by this disaster will eventually evolve & thrive.

This oil spill is no doubt a big environmental disaster, but I don't think it is going to endager or result in extincton/near extinction of species. Environmental disasters like this would probably mutate the genes of the marine species in this region and thus would in few years/decades time we shoud see those species evolved to thrive in such conditions. If living organisms can thrive at the depths where even the sun light cannot reach, I guess some species could also live through this oil spill & evolve. After all Oil is just another natural resource. There are many places where it also naturally seeps to the ground without human drilling. I do not think such sites are devoid of any living organisms.

So, while the BP Oil Spill is a grave concern & a environmental disaster now, I hope mother nature will fix this in due course of time. I don't think there can be any second opinion that the leak must be capped, the Oil Spill needs to be cleaned up and we need to try & restore the same standard of living to all the flora & fauna in the impacted region. But even with all our humanly possible efforts, I don't think we can solve the problem we created. Were we able to fix the Ozone hole? So, we may need to wait for another generation or so to see how mother nature will fix this disaster. Probably, we might see new marine species evolve that is adapted to this kind of environment, capable of breaking down oil to thrive in such environment. We might even be able to handle future oil spills by introducing these new species in those waters, which might break up the oil.

PS: Just after posting this blog, I came across this news article - Scientists discover bacteria that can clean oil spill

Update (28-July-2010): Just within few days after the oil well has been capped, it appears that the oil slick is dissolving quickly than expected, atleast on the surface. Looks like as I wrote in this email, mother nature is fixing on its own.

Update (01-Aug-2010): Was the BP Oil Spill - disaster overblown?

Update (12-Aug-2010): In oiled Louisiana marshes, signs of regrowth seen

Update (09-Jan-2011): Methane from BP oil spill eaten by microbes

Donations By Text Message

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, donations through Mobile Text Messages (see related news: Haiti Earthquake: Donations to Haiti Relief Efforts By Text Message - ABC News) has gone up significantly. They are indeed legitimate(though there might be some scams here & there) and the donations are reaching the right organization. It seems in the last few days millions of dollars has already been pledged for Haiti through Mobile Text Messages. Why are aid organizations like the RED CROSS going this route for donations now?

One of the primary reasons being stated is that donations through texting captures the "Impulsive Donors" segment, similar to the "Impulsive Buyers".

e.g., If you go grocery shopping while you are hungry you tend to buy more. The same logic applies here. When people are emotional, they tend to donate immediately. In the traditional way of Donation (through check), if one does not have the check book handy, then they put off donating for a few days. And by that time, such tragedies are not in the news headlines anymore. So, there is a chance that this person might not donate.

Infact according to a study done, it was observed that the donations to the charities are at the highest for the first 6 days after such tragedy/disaster occurs. So, donations through Mobile Text messages is an example of how technology is helping those in need.

Do you think Donations by Texting is here to stay or will it go away in few years?

BTW...did you know that Britain is planning to phase out the usage of check ("Cheque"---as spelled in some countries) books?

How old is our Universe?

Astronomers estimate the age of the Universe to be around 13.7 billion years or in other words the BIG BANG happened 13.7 billion years ago. Astronomers also believe that just a fraction of time after the BIG BANG, the debris (which form our Universe) expanded at a rate more than the speed of light and we know that the Universe is still expanding.

So, let us now imagine that after the BIG BANG, the universe is expanding.... in course of time Galaxies are formed and our Galaxy, the Milky Way is also formed. Some Galaxies would have formed before Milky Way and some after. And we do not know whether our Milky Way Galaxy is at the edge of the ever expanding Universe or closer to the Center of the Universe. Some Galaxies would have formed closer to the center of the Universe and Some very far off from the Center of the Universe (and also very further beyond our Milky Way).

If we could travel to another Galaxy at the edge of the Universe, far off from our Milky Way Galaxy, will the age of the Universe and the Time of BIG BANG be much more than 13.7 billion years?

So, the findings that BIG BANG happened 13.7 billion years ago (ie., Universe is 13.7 billions years old)...isn't that just relative to the earth?

Hope my question makes sense. I do not claim to be an expert on Astronomy or Astrophysics. I am just curious and someone interested in understanding the mysteries of our Universe.

I would appreciate if anyone can clarify me on this.

Also please feel free to share your thoughts or comments related to this topic or if you have any more questions that has been in your mind.

Updated on 28-Mar-2010: In the context of this topic and regarding the expansion of the Universe, I came across a news article titled "Universe expansion is speeding up". Here is the linnk to that article http://beta.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article305275.ece 

In an attempt to explain "Reincarnation"....

I have always been fascinated by many of the stories from Hindu mythology and also the Hindu beliefs. I believe in science and also believer of god/supernatural. So, when I hear about the traditions, customs or beliefs, I neither want to ignore it nor I want to accept it blindly. So, I try to see if we could tag a scientific explanation/reasoning for it.

One such thing that I have been thinking about lately is the belief in "Rebirth", "Reincarnation", "Cycle of Life and Death", etc. 

According to Bhagavad gita (ancient text of Hindu Religion), 

"Just as the self advances through childhood, youth and old age in its physical body, so it advances to another body after death. The wise person is not confused by this change called death. Just as the body casts off worn out clothes and puts on new ones, so the infinite, immortal self casts off worn out bodies and enters into new ones."

The "immortal self" referred to here is the soul. 

And according to modern science (1st law of Thermodynamics), "Energy can neither be created, nor be destroyed. It can only change forms."

So, does it mean that "Soul" is a form of energy that never dies (in other words...is not destroyed) and that it transforms/transports itself from one living being to another (i.e., Reincarnation)?

Let me know what you think.