Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Fear of jumping worms is affecting library plant sales
A snake-like earthworm has forced the a Vermont town to ban perennials from its Plant, Book & Bake Sale on June 4. And in another town, library trustees decided to cancel their plant sale altogether because of the Asian jumping worm. That's the start of this...
In Maine, fish make it upstream for the first time since 1783
A happy press release from the US Fish and Wildlife Service: The last time an alewife reached Kennebec County’s China Lake under its own steam – in 1783 -- Maine was part of Massachusetts and the Revolutionary War had just ended. That is until this spring, when...
Emerald ash borer chews through NH basket maker
The continent-wide destruction of ash trees caused by an invasive insect has taken an economic toll in New Hampshire: The Peterboro Basket Co. is shutting after making its specialty baskets for 168 years, partly because it can’t get enough of the right sort of wood....
Celebrating our ‘father of home video games’
This year would have seen the 100th birthday of Ralph Baer, as I've noted, and now that the weather's nice they're going to celebrate it in Manchester, where he lived for more than half his life. The event will take place Saturday (May 21) in Arms Park in Manchester,...
Granite Geek: ‘Unprecedented’ is our new weather ‘normal’
Of all the shocking weather emergencies we’ve seen in recent years, the one that really made the hair stand up on the back of my neck was last July’s wildfire that destroyed an entire town in British Columbia. That out-of-nowhere disaster hits home in New England...
As COVID hospitalizations keep rising, public updates get rarer
Two pieces of news last week reflected what I suspect will be the pandemic’s reality for the foreseeable future: It’s not going away but we’re paying less attention. The not-going-away part shows up in the daily data released by the New Hampshire Hospital Association....
Another tick carrying nasty diseases is just about here
The Valley News (story here) has an update on efforts to see whether the lone star Tick has made it to Vermont yet - as it will do any day now: Adult females have a distinctive white star on their backs. Nymphs and adult females are the most likely to bite humans,...
N.H. patents through May 15
By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire from May May 8 through May 15. *** Allegro MicroSystems Assigned Patent for Rotary Inductive Sensor Allegro MicroSystems, Manchester, New Hampshire, has been assigned a...
As Tesla looms, N.H. auto dealerships brace for an electric future
The news that Tesla is coming to New Hampshire – probably, at least – is the latest indication that life is changing for New Hampshire’s auto dealerships as electric vehicles take center stage. But it’s not the only one. “Prepping for EVs (electric vehicles) has been...
N.H. boosts its fish hatcheries, to the annoyance of some
Many environmentalists are no fans of fish hatcheries, which generate the big fish that anglers like but disrupt ecosystems in streams and rivers. The book "An Entirely Synthetic Fish" about the development and spread of the rainbow trout, tells the story well,...
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