Distributed Computing

Did you know that you can help predict our planets future? That's right! ClimatePrediction.net, the BBC, and BOINC, have teamed up to create the largest climate change experiment EVER! The project takes advantage of a unique process called distributed computing.

Distributed computing is similar to a giant virtual supercomputer but it can be much more effective than any supercomputer in the world can. This technique is extremely effective for a team of scientists who are trying to solve a really big and complicated problem and need a lot of computing power to do so. Instead of using a supercomputer, which would be more expesnsive and less effective, they can use a method that is much cheaper, and with more collective CPU's, can get even more computing power. The team can use a variety of development platforms to put together a project that volunteers, like you, can contribute to.

How do you contribute? Easy, you just download their project client and install it on your computer and it will take your idle (spare) CPU, which is the computing power that your computer is not using, and it will make lots and lots of calculations in the background and send the results back to the scientists! You don't even have to do a thing! You just download the file, install it, register, leave your computer on and it will run in the background! More information on distributed computing and a list of projects can be found at DistributedComputing.info

Why?

Climate change, and our response to it, are issues of global importance, affecting food production, water resources, ecosystems, energy demand, insurance costs and much else.

- climateprediction.net

All you have to do is download the climate model from the site and it will run in the background. Once you set it up it won't bother you again, and all you have to do is use your computer like you normally would and it wont affect your everyday life. So what are you waiting for!?

Take part in the largest climate change experiment ever

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An Inconvenient Truth - Truely, A Gloabl Warning

On Friday, June 2nd, I took a group of friends and NNHS Enviro Club members along with myself to go see An Inconvenient Truth.

Will Feinstein (a friend of ours who came with us) says:

An Inconvenient Truth was very informative and well done. It does change the way you think about the issues of global warming. Al Gore is surprisingly compelling.

An Inconvenient Truth is at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. On June 6th it was the #9 film in only 77 theaters and the final weekend box office was $1.35M. The per screen average was a weekend leading $17,615 which was over times X-Men 3. By June 12th, An Inconvenient Truth had another great weekend at the box office taking in $1.5M in just 122 theaters for a healthy $12,333 per screen average, beating The Break-Up. In downtown Portland, Oregon only two hours after An Inconvenient Truth opened on three screens, a notice announced that six of the day's showings had been sold out.

"In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to."

-Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

An Inconvenient Truth is the first ever carbon-neutral documentary. NativeEnergy, Participant Productions, and Paramount Classics, joined forces to offset 100% of the carbon dioxide emmisions from promotional activities associated with the film, and even ground and air transportation.

I know that those who came to see it with us ejoyed the film, but I hope all of you who have seen it on your own or with us were deeply affected by An Inconvenient Truth. If you haven't yet, go see it in theatres! Paramount Classics donates 5% of ticket sales with a minimum guarantee of $500,000 to Alliance for Climate Protection, a new bipartisan climate effort. You can see trailers for the movie on the post we made previously about An Inconvenient Truth and Movies - Global Warming in the Mainstream.

See An Inconvenient Truth for Free
If you've already seen it, you can now encourage others see the film! This movie is showing in over 400 theares now, but many people live far from these cinemas and don't have the money to pay for the trip and the movie. If you're one of the people or you just haven't seen it, you can go for free! Thanks to sharethetruth.us, lots of donations are being collected and money is available to help you see the movie for free. Who can resist a free movie?

EarthFest 2006

Last Saturday, May 27th, was the 13th annual WBOS 92.9 EarthFest, the biggest free radio station concert in the country, at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade, along the Charles River in Boston. Tons of people came to the event and it was nothing short of another great EarthFest success. Over 100,000 people showed up from noon to 6 pm to this family-friendly event for free music, food, clothing, and other gear. Sponsored by Whole Foods Market, among others, EarthFest 2006 had these artists on the main stage: Los Lonely Boys, James Blunt, Brandi Carlile, The Fray and The Alternate Routes. Throughout the area were eco tips posted up on living a greener lifestyle and providing useful information on green shopping at Whole Foods Market. There were nearly 100 tents/booths offering food sampling, exhibits, and educational displays staffed by event sponsors and local non-profit and environmental organizations, including the Charles River Watershed Association, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Project Joy, Greyhound Friends, Sierra Club, and Amnesty International to promote a healthy and Earth-friendly outlook! One of your fellow NNHS Enviro Club members, Jonathan Berman, was working at the Penta Water booth with his sister, providing free sample bottles of the water. Penta Water isn't just any bottled water, it is hundreds of times cleaner than many of the bottles spring waters. Penta water goes through an 11-hour, 13-step purification process, leaving it to be the cleanest-known bottled water. Jonathan gave me a bottle and it tasted great! It tasted like water- and only water! Here's what he had to say about EarthFest-

EarthFest was really great. Several organizations had booths to promote organic and sustainable foods and other earth-friendly products (the food was great). There was also a row of environmentally friendly movements that handed out notices, buttons, stickers, massive balloons, etc. There was information on renewable energy and it's importance with solar cells, and a wind turbine set up on the back of a truck. There was also a car there that ran on food oils. Staffing one of the booths at EarthFest was an eye-opening experience, seeing all of these local organizations in one place working to influence the community. There were so many people watching the show and checking out all the booths and everyone was having a good time.

-Jonathan Berman

I hope all of you who went to EarthFest '06 had a great time and that everyone will make it to EarthFest next year!