LED refers to Light-Emitting Diode. Another alternative to regular lightbulbs, these bulbs last around 100,000 hours (some LED bulbs last even longer) compared to the 1000 hours of a regular bulb. Again this is cool light like the CFLs and is great for directional or task lighting. LED bulbs save you money over time because they last so long and they use 1/10th of the energy of a regular bulb.
CFL pros and cons:
Widely available in stores
Price is very affordable
Variety of shapes to fit most lamps
Saves money over time
Contains mercury so they require special disposal
Breakable
LED pros and cons:
More shapes available each year including Christmas lights
Great for task and directional lighting
Light is similar to daylight
Saves money over time
No mercury so can be disposed of easily
Very hard to break
Will hold up under vibration or frequent on/off situations
What’s Climate Change Got to Do with My Pancakes?
I love pancakes with real Maple syrup, but if the current weather trends continue I may have to eat my pancakes with something else. Why is that? Well, warming trends affect the conditions for forest growth. When the weather is warmer, the growing season is longer, which is a good thing sometimes. However, with the warmer weather come other unwelcome things like increased wild fires, tree harming pests, and tree diseases. Added together, these things can cause changes in the types of trees that grow in an area.
In Pennsylvania, we have several forest types. In the north especially, there are many maples, especially Sugar Maples. These Sugar Maples are known for the high sugar content in their sap and as the tree that makes the distinctively flavored syrup that we love on pancakes. Further south in Pennsylvania there are some Sugar Maples, although they are not plentiful. As you travel north, Sugar Maples are more abundant until you reach the alpine areas of Canada. Sugar Maples have a narrow favored growing area. The Sugar Maple loves moist, cool, fertile areas for growth.
As the temperature warms, the conditions for Sugar Maple trees become less ideal and the trees die out. Add to this the fact that Sugar Maple trees are frequently logged for their beautiful wood and you will see this species lose ground as the climate warms.
Tree migration due to global warming is speculated on using many different models. Consistently they do agree that if the warming trends continue, there will be a migration north of the southern species of trees. Oak, Hickory, and some Pine species will be more comfortable in the north due to warmer, dryer conditions. We in Southern Pennsylvania might have to travel much further for trees to tap for our precious golden syrup.
For more information on climate change and the Maple industry see:
http://www.des.state.nh.us/factsheets/ard/ard-25.htm (you'll have to search the site for maple syrup)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0406/p11s01-sten.html
For information on tree migration see:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/gacgvb8d4mjcf05v/
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16845347
http://www.pewclimate.org/press_room/sub_press_room/pr_feb2603.cfm
http://www.weathernotebook.org/transcripts/2000/08/25.html
http://dieoff.org/page129.htm
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/forests.html http://www.wsl.ch/projects/TreeMig/treemig.html