n! 0 International Deep Sea Station? Have you ever thought about or wanted to live under the sea? Jacques Cousteau was a famous diver and underwater researcher. His grandson, Fabien Cousteau, wants to build a state-of-the-art research facility 60 feet below the surface of the ocean. “Scuba diving is an amazing blessing, but there’s a very real limit of time,” he said. Divers cannot be submerged too deep for very long periods of time without becoming ill or even worse. A way to fix that problem is to build an underwater habitat where researchers can observe, document, and experience marine life without constantly checking their watches and gauges. “Most of the habitats were purpose-built for one mission or set of missions,” Fabien said. “They were never conceived as an International Space Station, something that’s to be deployed for a longer period of time.” The new underwater station will be called Proteus. It will be one of the largest ever built and it is believed that it will take about three years to finish. Located in the Caribbean Sea, off the cost of Curacao, it will have room for up to 12 people to live for weeks and even months. It will cost about $135 million to build the underwater “space station” and run it for the first three years. Woodpeckers and Wildfires: A Necessary Combination The wildfires that have been burning up the West Coast have done millions of dollars in damage and cost some people their lives. The tragedy has been all over the news and social media, but not all effects of the fires have been bad. The recent forest fires have helped one species of the woodpecker climb off the endangered species list. Woodpeckers like to drill holes in trees, especially fire-hardened ones. They love to eat the larvae of the black fire beetles, which like to lay their eggs in trees that are still warm from the fires. The red-cockaded woodpecker lives in the longleaf pine forests of the southeast and mid-Atlantic. Clear-cut logging shrank its home range to only 3% of its original area. Scientists believed the birds would not be able to survive, but somehow they have. The trees the red-cockaded woodpecker prefers are created by low-intensity fires. Native Americans had been setting these fires before the Europeans ever stepped foot on the land. Today, forest managers have to follow the same plan to make sure the woodpecker will have a place to live. Supreme Court Appointment: Justice or Politics? The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. Its justices are appointed by the president and there are nine judges pr

by | Sep 26, 2020