Tag: trees

This tummy blanket for trees is called a komomaki
(written as 薦巻 or こも巻き). It’s an old Edo period method to control pine
moths. The insects feed on pine leaves, but when it gets cold in winter,
they crawl down the tree to spend the winter in the dead leaves on the
ground. The mat serves as a trap: it’s loosely tied at the top but
tightly fastened at the bottom. The insects crawl into the mat, where
it’s snug and warm, and then in spring you remove the mat and burn it
with all its inhabitants. 

Greenness around homes linked to lower mortality



Women live longer in areas with more green vegetation, according to
new research funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Women with
the highest levels of vegetation, or greenness, near their homes had a
12 percent lower death rate compared to women with the lowest levels of
vegetation near their homes. The results were published Apr. 14, 2016 in
the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The researchers found the biggest differences in death rates from
kidney disease, respiratory disease, and cancer. The researchers also
explored how an environment with trees, shrubs, and plants might lower
mortality rates. They showed that improved mental health and social
engagement are the strongest factors, while increased physical activity
and reduced air pollution also contribute.

“It is important to know that trees and plants provide health
benefits in our communities, as well as beauty,” said NIEHS director
Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D. “The finding of reduced mortality suggests that
vegetation may be important to health in a broad range of ways.”

Reference: James P, Hart JE, Banay RF, Laden F. Exposure to
greenness and mortality in a nationwide prospective cohort study of
women. Environmental Health Perspectives; doi:10.1289/ehp.1510363
[Online 14 Apr 2016].

Image: TreeHouse Point, Issaquah, WA

A mysterious, four-mile long river, deep in the heart of the Amazon,
is so hot that it boils. The river has long been a
legend in Peru, but when geoscientist Andrés Ruzo’s heard about it, he
thought such a phenomenon was impossible. Runzo discovered a four mile
‘boiling river’ in the sacred geothermal healing site of the Asháninka
people in Mayantuyacu. At
its widest, it is 82ft(25m), and around 20ft (6m)
deep. The water is hot enough to brew tea, and in some parts, it boils
over. The river boils because of fault-fed hot springs. Parts of the
river are so hot that any animals that falls in boils instantly.

Photo credit: (top & bottom) Devlin Gandy, (middle left) Sofia Ruzo, (middle right) Andrés Ruzo