Archive for the 'Janet Schlarbaum' Category
Climate Change – What is it?
By Richard Chapo
Climate change is an amazingly simple phrase for such a complex subject. Following, we have a go at defining climate change in today’s terms.
Climate Change – What is it?
In the current day lexicon of scientists, climate modification isn’t really a term of use anymore. The reason for this is that we have come to understand that the effect of the changes we make to our environment will increase the temperature in many locations on the planet, but will also cool a few places. In light of this, the thing you know of as climate modification is actually referred to as global climate change. Over all, however, the world is definitely warming.
We need a simple definition for climate change in relation to the warming of the planet, one that gets the gist without excluding the simplicities. The simplest and most accurate definition is that climate change is the effect greenhouse gases have on the earth’s climate. Greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, carbon dioxide and methane. While this sounds like a simple definition, there are a couple of key things to realize.
First, climate change is both a natural phenomena and one created by man. Put another way, greenhouse gases are a natural part of the biosphere and would exist if man did not. Indeed, they are a critical component to the existence of life on this planet. If greenhouse gases didn’t exist, the temperature on planet earth would average zero degrees! Naturally occurring gases, however, keep the temperature at a much more livable 59 degrees.
So, if climate change occurs naturally, what is the big panic about? The problem we are facing is the volume of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases act as thermal blankets for the atmosphere. The more gas in the atmosphere, the thicker the blanket and the less heat escapes. Over the last 80 years, we have been pumping massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the sky. At the same time, we have been reducing forestation around the planet, the primary plant collection that sucks greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. This double whammy is starting to show negative results, the increased heating of our world.
The ultimate question with climate alteration is what will happen as the planet heats up. We are already seeing signs with the retreat of the glaciers. Glacier National Park, for instance, is going to have to be renamed since it has already lost 65 percent of all of its glaciers! While the exact end result of these environmental changes is not clear, we can expect major climatic changes over the next 80 years.
Posted by Janet Schlarbaum
Janet Schlarbaum has been an event coordinator and wedding planner for over 18 years. She travels regularly to create memorable, one of a kind events that are designed to exceed the expectations of her clients.
April 07 2009 | Janet Schlarbaum and Mark Schlarbaum | Comments Off
Suggested by: Janet Schlarbaum
By Wendy Pan
An acre of rainforest is lost every second. That is a huge amount and this deforestation is contributing to climate change for the world. Many of the people who are physically responsible for the logging that takes place in the forests are dependent upon the trade for their livelihood. They feel, in many cases, that it is the only option available to them if they wish to support and feed their families. All too often they are kept in the dark regarding the damage that their work is causing. The task of preventing rain forest destruction is not their responsibility and we must not lay the blame at their feet.
Much of the clearing of the rain forest is to satisfy the Western appetite for commercial gain and economy. Reasoning for rain forest clearance is not confined to the harvesting of the trees for their wood. Many areas are cleared so that the land may be used for pasture for the rearing of cattle. This is the case in some areas of Central America such as Costa Rica. In Central America a quarter of the forests have been cleared in order to raise cattle. Much of the meat produced in this way will be for the fast food market and will be used for the manufacture of hamburgers. Facts such as this are rarely considered but if we are to have any strength in preventing rain forest destruction we must make everyone aware of these aspects.
Obviously one of the main reasons for the felling of trees is for the wood. Woods such as ebony, mahogany, rosewood and teak are all rainforest products. Any furniture made of these woods could easily be substituted for pieces made using wood from sustainable sources. There are many other woods available which are now grown for the purpose of non-invasive felling. These are replaced as they are harvested and the balance retained. Sensible purchasing of furniture with a little bit of thought and consideration could go a long way to preventing rain forest destruction throughout the world.
Worldwide boycotts of uncaringly produced consumer goods would aid the battle to a tremendous extent. If we could stop buying burgers from unknown sources and only support responsible farming practices we could end the clearing of many forest areas. If we could limit our furniture buying to items that are made from wood which has been grown in forests where a plan of sustainable forestation and regeneration is practiced then we would help in preventing rain forest destruction.
It is not always easy to know the source and method of production of all the consumer goods that we buy. There may be a great many companies who are responsible for some practices which are detrimental to forest conservation and without running a complete check on each company we are not to know. However, if we want to stand a chance of preventing rain forest destruction we must at least pay heed to the facts that we know and not be complacent in addressing the situation. Every little action helps and every individual boycott of goods and services that we feel may be contributing to deforestation will add up and make the future for the world a little more secure.
Janet Schlarbaum Climate Change
January 10 2009 | Janet Schlarbaum and Mark Schlarbaum and Schlarbaum Capital Management | Comments Off
Posted by: Janet Schlarbaum
By Chris Ralph
Few people know that gold actually forms crystals in nature. While the beauty of natural gold is widely appreciated by both prospectors and mineral collectors, the pinnacle of beautiful natural gold specimens are the spectacular crystalline forms. As a result, these specimens of golden scales, plates, ribbons and crystals are normally saved and treasured. Unfortunately, the natural growth conditions that form most gold deposits only rarely create these very attractive specimens.
At most mines, native gold is more normally found in the form of irregular masses and blobs in quartz or sulfide veins, or as impregnations in the country rock adjacent to mineralized fissures. In fact in most modern mines the gold is in the form of very tiny particles, too small to easily see with the unaided eye. In placer gravels, the wear of the erosion process means gold normally is pounded into the outwardly rounded forms of scales, grains, slugs, and nuggets. While large alluvial nuggets are beautiful and valuable in their own right, the crystalline forms are still the ones most highly valued. In fact, the value of crystalline gold in an attractive matrix specimen can exceed the intrinsic metal value of the gold by a factor of 10 to 100 fold in some cases.
Although gold only rarely shows its attractive crystalline forms, where the geologic conditions are favorable, as in cavities or other locations where growth and expansion is not hindered by a lack of space, gold obeys the natural laws of its crystal growth and crystallizes in various isometric (cubic) forms. This partly explains the rarity of fine crystalline gold specimens. This is because open voids are uncommon in and of themselves. Normally, the walls of the cavity limit the lines of crystal growth, or growth is cut off by the concurrent growth of another mineral, such as calcite or quartz. Often any voids that do exist are later filled with quartz or other materials, including clays.
In addition, large single crystal growth requires stable conditions that support slow growth – at least growth slow enough to lead to the formation of a few large crystals rather than millions of tiny ones. Faster growth will support the development microscopic pieces or at least mossy and dendritic forms. Gold crystallizes in the isometric system, and usually forms crude octahedrons, but specimens showing dodecahedrons, cubes and trapezohedrons are also found. Crystals are rarely perfect, and are normally irregular, sometimes exhibiting unusual wiry, reticulated or dendritic shapes. Many forms also show some sort of distortion of the crystal, some with extreme distortion. Crystal twinning is common in gold.
Between the combined effects of all the different crystal forms, twinning and a range of possible crystal distortions, gold can found a very large variety of crystalline forms, all of which have their own attractive appearance. The number of potential combinations is so large that all the possible combinations are hard to fathom. Beautiful wire forms are found in a number of locations, with one of the most famous locations being Farncomb Hill in the Breckenridge District of Colorado (beautiful leaf and other forms are found there as well).
Many of the dendritic forms are also beautiful, and one of the most beautiful dendritic forms of gold are the herring bone style dendrites, with some of the finest examples of this being the “chevron” gold of northern Nevada. California produces some specimens of ribbons and sheet gold, some with attractive crystal patterns on their surface, and these are also highly sought after.
October 21 2008 | Janet Schlarbaum and Mark Schlarbaum and Schlarbaum Capital Management | Comments Off
Collected by: Janet Schlarbaum
By Bart Sharp
If we look at our primitive cultures, most or all of these people worshiped or revered the earth. They knew the earth gave to them gifts to help them in their daily lives. In return, they revered the earth as a precious commodity. From this gratitude a bond was formed and each flourished in it.
Today we are still stewards of the planet-although most of us do not know it or accept the job. Regardless, the earth is here for us and we for it. When we study the older pagan cultures we see that the rituals created an effect on the group that practiced them: they felt a communion with the earth. The chanting by Tibetan Monks, or beating of drums in rituals has a purpose of connecting us to the earth, as well as healing the earth. The vibration of the sounds changes us and the lands responds to our growth.
We have a symbiotic relationship with the earth. It is a life form that responds to its inhabitants. As we evolve the earth changes. As millions live out their days angry, sad, depressed, anxious, etc… those feeling and thought forms vibrate within to affect the environment.
Our essence is really energy and it is never just contained within the body. Whatever we are emoting the earth and everything else is absorbing. The more we clarify our core essence, the more clarity we have in ourselves. Through our inner exploration, we become an open vessel to give and receive more in our life. We are more conscious, and connect to everything more. When someone who is conscious brings their attention to the space of nature, it creates an expansion for everyone.
The Hopi Indian elders welcome the sun every morning. They believe the sun would not shine on the earth without this invitation. I perceive this ritual as an acknowledgment that the sun, the earth, and humans in communion creates something much bigger than the individual entities. Tibetans believe their chants create a vibration that goes out across the world to facilitate peace.
We are beginning to see that solving the world’s problems begins with us. People have changed tremendously in the last two thousand years. As we identify and resolve our own inner pains and conflicts, we can let go of our personal chains that bind us to a denser suppressed world. As we create and live in harmony with ourselves, we send out that attunement; and all benefit, including the earth. [----]
As we spend time in prayer, meditation, walking in the woods, or other centering activities, we develop what doctors call parasympathetic nervous system in our active life. Doctors say it is related to sleep but an awake parasympathetic energy expands consciousness. It is a place where creative and psychic abilities can be developed. Most people function in the sympathetic nervous system, which is related to all forms of action. Then, when they sleep the parasympathetic is activated. Functioning in the parasympathetic during waking hours brings more of a magical power within us. It is being in an awareness that is relaxed. Nature is functioning in an energy like the parasympathetic.
Being in harmony does not mean that you should avoid the emotions that you are experiencing. If you are angry, fearful or sad it is important to be present with it, process it, and come to resolution with your feelings. One of the main reasons people stay angry or depressed is that they are not getting in touch with their emotions in their present or their past. Those unresolved feelings are like energetic weights that prevent us from evolving to a lighter vibration.
When we can look at our limitations, do work that centers us and seek an intimate connection to the earth, we open to a possibility of a communion with the earth. We become a clear vessel to receive its messages and energies. We and the earth can be a conduit for the expanded energy that is sent out to every one. It is a process of inviting the connection to happen with our planet, receiving the energy of the planet, and then letting it come out of you. It is sending a more conscious human energy out. With the assistance of the planet, the energy is bigger than what we could do as individuals.
Something that has occurred in several cities in the world is that groups of people would meditate around a clock in neighborhoods that had high rates of crime. In all cases the neighborhood crime rates significantly improved. It is called the ‘Maharishi Effect’: if one percent of the population practiced Transcendental Meditation there would be measurable improvements for the entire population of the planet. I find this concept significantly valuable; it is proof that our intention influences everything around us.
One of the techniques that I practice is inviting the earth’s energy to come up into my pelvis and coccyx. I imagine a vast energy in the center of the earth and a stream of it coming up into my pelvis area. I focus on the energy flowing in while it fills my entire body. When I am full I send the energy out through my heart while at the same time maintaining the intensity inside myself. I will send this energy out to the entire city of Austin; everyplace that I can visualize within the area. Generally when I complete these sessions I am feeling more expanded, more grateful to the earth, the city of Austin and myself. As we evolve, the earth evolves.
October 20 2008 | Janet Schlarbaum and Mark Schlarbaum and Schlarbaum Capital Management | Comments Off
Article Collected by: Janet Schlarbaum
By Angela Holland
Don’t you just love this time of year? I do! That feeling inside of knowing something special and beautiful is just around the corner. It’s presence in the air is so strong that you almost feel as if you could reach your arms out to the sky and touch it with your fingertips. What is it that I am referring to you might ask? It’s Spring-time!
Just recently, in my quiet time, I have been watching an old UK sitcom from the Seventies, called ‘Butterflies. I have been thoroughly enjoying this exploration into the life of a bored house wife who, although, she loves her husband and two grown children very much, at the same time has an inner yearning for the excitement and spontaneity that she feels her life is lacking. And so the search begins within her soul to find the answers she is looking for.
I completely understand that wanting feeling and in a way winter being followed by its friend Spring describes the very essence of that inner yearning for more. For three months we feel the coolness that winter offers and as if the chill in the air is not already unpleasant enough, just as we begin to feel relieved and happy at the prospect that the end of winter is nearing, the sharp winds come from nowhere and cut you to the bone. All the while you are longing for something more than goose bumps and shivers and you hope that nature is bringing it your way sooner rather than later.
Then ever so suddenly you get out of bed one morning and you find that you do not have to rush to put your comforting dressing gown and ugg boots on. You look outside and you can see the sun shining; now I know the sun shines in winter too but for me the sun actually begins to take on a different aura at this time of year. It’s as if the sun’s rays are filled with a sense of calm and the gentle ever so slightly warm breeze that surrounds you is like a soft feather pillow caressing you. Can you feel it? Why not head outside and breathe it in while you can, because it only comes but once a year but would you not agree that it is more than worth the wait?!
I will leave you now with some words from the theme song to ‘Butterflies’ which was originally written and performed by Dolly Parton and then recorded by Clare Torry and a band conducted by the BBC’s well-known composer Ronnie Hazlehurst for the series.
Love is like a butterfly
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing
Your laughter brings me sunshine
Everyday is spring time
And I am only happy when you are by my side
How precious is this love we share
How very precious, sweet and rare
Together we belong like daffodils and butterflies
October 14 2008 | Janet Schlarbaum and Mark Schlarbaum and Schlarbaum Capital Management | Comments Off
Posted by: Janet Schlarbaum
By Jyoti Vangani
It is strange but true! Yes, the leaves and trees breath like humans. They have small holes called stomata. Trees breathe in and out through these holes. They breath a little differently at night than they do during day. We live by breathing the oxygen in the air. This oxygen was made inside the trees and breathed out by them. If all trees were to dry up and die ,there would be no more oxygen and all living things would die.
During winter in the northern countries there are fewer hours of light each day than in spring or summer. It is colder, too. This means that the roots and leaves of certain kinds of trees take a rest. The trees do this by dropping their leaves until spring comes again. Even though its leaves have fallen, a tree dos not rest completely. It is busy making buds that will form new leaves and flowers in spring but there are some trees that can stand the cold better than others. Pine trees are among those that do not mind the cold and do not lose their leaves even in winter. When spring comes and their new leaves come out, the older leaves just drop off which are called evergreen trees.
Trees like the cherry and ginko, which lose their leaves in winter, are known as deciduous trees, while those like the pine, which retain their leaves even in the winter are known as evergreen tress. Tree activity slows down as winter approaches for two reasons: there are fewer hours of daylight and temperatures are lower. Just as frogs and snakes hibernate during the cold season, plants also take measures to reduce the amount of energy they consume.
Trees are like human beings. We should understand their importance and that is why we should plant more trees in our area.
October 09 2008 | Janet Schlarbaum and Mark Schlarbaum and Schlarbaum Capital Management | Comments Off
By: Jerome Exner
Green house gases, are they as big of a problem as people say? People who know little about green house gases, truly are not aware how its effecting our earth, so hopefully this information clears some of this up, and will show you how serious this problem is actually is.
For 2.5 million years, the earths climate has constantly been changing, from our ice ages to warmer years, but in the last century our climate’s temperature has been rising unusually fast, from about 1.3 to 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists believe that it is our own human activity, thats driving the temperature up, and this process is called ” global warming”.
Dating back to the times when the industrial revolution began, factories, trains, and eventually cars, have burned fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which were and still are, releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide, and other gas’s into our earths atmosphere. These green house gases, or trapped heat near the surface of the earth, are formed by a natural process of the sun, and this is called the ” greenhouse effect”. The green house effect, begins with the sun and the energy it radiates to the earth. The Earth and the atmosphere absorb some of this energy, and the rest is radiated back into space. Now with that being said, these naturally occurring gases, in the atmosphere trap some of this energy and reflect it back, thus, warming the earth. Scientists now believe that the green house effect is getting intensified by all the extra green house gases that humans are releasing.
Signs of global warming, include a recent pattern of very warm years. 1998 was one of the warmest years in history, with 2005, a quick runner up. Furthermore, readings taken from ice core samples, Show that green house gas’s, C02, and methane, have hit there highest levels in 420,000 years, and our sea ice is also shrinking.Our sea ice has declined 10% in the last 30 years.
As long as our nations around the globe, consume these energy’s, and increase their fuel consumption, the overall mass of green house gas’s will continue to rise. Researchers predict that our temperature will increase by 2 – 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. What is uncertain is what rising temperatures,will mean for our planet. Some forecast rising sea levels which of coarse would mean floods, along coastal areas around the world. Weather patterns are changing also, making hurricanes more frequent, severe drought is more common in warm areas, and species which are unable to adapt to this change will face a huge drop in numbers and inevitably, extinction.
September 11 2008 | Janet Schlarbaum and Mark Schlarbaum and Schlarbaum Capital Management | Comments Off
By: Karel Kosman
When discussing the preservation of our earth, two major issues are always in the forefront: the destruction of the vital ozone layer and the question of the greenhouse effect, which may be causing the increase of temperature of the atmosphere.
Ozone is an unstable gas (rather rare). It is a toxic form of oxygen. It consists of three atoms of oxygen in one molecule, while in the common molecule of oxygen there are only two atoms. Ozone is present in the entire atmosphere up to the altitude of approximately 50 kilometres. The layer containing the highest concentration of ozone (the ozone layer) is situated in the lower geographical latitudes at approximately 25 kilometres above the point zero (sea level). The altitude of the ozone layer decreases in the direction of polar regions.
By means of photochemical reaction, the short-wave part of ultraviolet rays changes oxygen into ozone. In this way, the majority of cell-damaging ultraviolet light is absorbed.
The use of chloro-fluoro-carbohydrates in sprays and manufacture of foams causes long-term damage of the protective ozone layer. The reason is, that when these gases are released, they rises very slowly into the atmosphere. There, they are dissolved by the ultraviolet light into free atoms of chlorine. They interact with ozone and destroy it. When the ozone layer is damaged, ultraviolet light penetrates to the surface of the earth. Chloro-fluoro-carbohydrates have a very long life and may continue destroying the ozone layer during many years.
This destructive process is specially noticeable at lower temperatures. A considerable decrease in the ozone layer was registered several years ago at the south pole during the winter season. This decrease is called the ozone hole. More than half of the ultraviolet rays pass through the hole. The consequence of this energy-releasing process is the release of heat. In the meantime, this effect emerged also over the north pole. In Antarctica, when at the end of the polar night the atmosphere gradually warms up again, air from the lower latitudes, rich in ozone, streams in and “fills up” the ozone hole.
In autumn of the year 2000, the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica increased to 29 million cubic kilometres, which is four times the size of Australia. According to the information of New Zealand Antarctic stations, this increases the risk of exposure to cancer-producing ultraviolet light for the population of the southern hemisphere as never before. Antarctica as such is also threatened, because its very sensitive ecosystem may be quickly destroyed by this situation.
While the ozone in the stratosphere is being depleted, in the lower layers of the atmosphere, i.e., in the troposphere, the amount of ozone is on the increase as a result of the emissions of the automobiles (nitrogen and sulfur oxides). However, this does not help balance the decreased amounts of ozone in the stratosphere.
Even assuming that there will be a complete halt in use of the chloro-fluoro-carbohydrates, it must be taken into consideration that their damaging effects will increase. In the higher latitudes, people must take precautions and protect themselves against the ultraviolet light of the sun.
In most cases, the term “greenhouse effect” is synonymous with a negative, man-made climate change. However, without a natural greenhouse effect, the life on our planet would be impossible. The earth would remain hostile to life.
Sunlight easily passes into a greenhouse and warms it up. However, the heat cannot easily escape. That way, the heat accumulates, and that is very similar to what is going on in the atmosphere that surrounds us. It is made up of different gases: 78.1 percent of nitrogen, 21 percent of oxygen, 0.9 percent of argon, 0.03 percent of carbon dioxide, and traces of noble gases.
Fifty percent of sunlight easily reach the earth’s surface, which is heated by this sunlight. The heated earth also irradiates heat. This heat, analogous to the heat of a greenhouse, cannot easily escape through the atmosphere into the universe. It is held in the atmosphere, mostly by water vapour and carbon dioxide. These two gases absorb the heat and transfer it back to the earth.
At the present time, the mean temperature on the earth is plus 15 degrees Celsius. Without the greenhouse effect, the mean temperature would also be around 15 degrees, but it would be with the other symbol, that is to say, minus 15 degrees Celsius.
In the last few decades, people have caused the increase of the greenhouse effect. Industry, transportation and agriculture, all share in the additional amounts of the greenhouse gases being produced. These gases prevent the heat to escape into the universe, and reflect it back to the earth.
The more greenhouse gases there are, the more heat stays within the earth-atmosphere cycle. Carbon dioxide is not the only gas that increases the temperature in the atmosphere. There is also methane, which is released when forests are cleared by burning. It is also released by landfills and by many ruminants, such as beef cattle, sheep and goats. Carbon dioxide is exhaled by people and animals. It also escapes from volcanoes and is released by burning of fossil fuels. The ozone of the lower layers of the atmosphere is also one of the greenhouse gases.
However, it is not absolutely clear, whether the global warming is caused by the increased production of greenhouse gases, that is to say, by man. (Today, it’s already been demonstrated – note of the editor). Without any doubt, though, the increase in global warming during the 20the century had been extreme. That century was the warmest one in the last 500 years.
September 11 2008 | Janet Schlarbaum and Mark Schlarbaum and Schlarbaum Capital Management | Comments Off
By: Dr. Mark Clayson
The world is ending anytime soon, or so the boffins would have us believe. Greenhouse effect, they say; polar ice caps will melt, drown us all, kill everything, in – um – 21xx something, give or take a few million years.
Come on, they’ve got it wrong before: the Titanic was unsinkable, the war will be over by Christmas, Thalidomide is good for us. We’ve heard it all before.
The evidence seems to be there: winters getting milder, summers longer, halcyon days of splendour and sunlight. Today, birds singing at 5am, outside my frost-laden window
Do we care though? The British Way of Strife is to demand warm weather; millions of us go abroad each year, to soak up those rays and come back as brown as toast. Ask any True Brit what he would like most of all, and he’ll say ‘Heat’
The world has evolved over millions of years, and we’ve only been recording the changes for a few hundred. We obviously made it through the Ice Age okay, and there wasn’t the same kerfuffle and sharp intake of breath as there is now. So here is my theory:
The earth is a complex planet. It’s survived over those millennia and still come out smiling. It will take care of things itself.
There’s another problem too: apathy. Most people demand the use of dirty cars, that spew out diesel and petrol fumes; cities demand heat, light, energy; we demand TV, dishwashers, fridges. All these things create undesirable effects in the atmosphere, but do we care? As long as we don’t have to get the Fairy Liquid out, and don our Marigolds, we’re all right thank you very much.
Global warming may, or may not be here, But you are going to have a real struggle getting ordinary folk to change their ways unless their life can be made easier.
… or threaten them
September 11 2008 | Janet Schlarbaum and Mark Schlarbaum and Schlarbaum Capital Management | Comments Off