This photo is of Siberian Actinobacteria, which is supposed to anywhere from 400,000 to 600,000 years old. Ancient is an understatement! What’s even more amazing is that these organisms live in permafrost and they do DNA repair even in that state!

This is La Llareta, or Yareta. Is it a rock covered in moss? It may look like it, but it is actually a shrub which has so many tiny branches packed together. The green color is actually its leaves. It is said that the branches is so dense that it can support you if you stand on top of it. This shrub can be found in South America – 15,000 feet above sea level!

This tree is located in Sweden, and has been there for about 9,550 years old. It’s called Spruce Gran Picea.

Going to the United States, you’ll also see really old living things. This is a clonal colony of Quaking Aspens, which are 80,000 years old. If trees could talk, I wonder what stories they would tell!

Here is another really old tree – a Japanese Cedar which could be anywhere from 2,180 to 7,000 years old. That gnarly bark is so beautiful, don’t you think?

Rachel Sussman’s work perfectly underlines the fact that we are but a small part of this world, and that leaves me amazed on this Friday morning.

Have you ever in your life seen anything so freaky? It’s like concept art from an alien invasion movie. Seriously: wow.

This is no visual effect. According to NASA, it’s an actual supercell storm cloud photographed this past July over Glasgow, Montana. If it looks like the biggest tornado ever, there’s good reason. Apparently it’s a “rotating updraft” spanning several kilometers, and dropping heavy rain and hurricane-force winds. NASA says that in this type of storm cell, it’s common for the outer edges to sport “jagged, sculptured clouds” while “wind swept dust and rain” are what’s coming down out of the center. That tiny little thing on the ground is a tree, and I’m thinking it’s not long for this world.

I had no idea that such things as this ever happened on our planet. I mean, it looks like a hurricane over dry land. Or a big honkin’ flying saucer coming straight down for a landing. Or maybe the foot of a giant space elephant, about to stomp the Earth. I’ve got a million of ‘em…

What’s it look like to you?

“Every year in the United States, Americans buy, use and throw out billions of batteries. The demand for batteries can be traced largely to the rapid increase in cordless, portable products such as cellular phones, video cameras, laptop computers, and battery-powered tools and toys. Because some types of batteries still contain toxic constituents, such as mercury and cadmium, they can pose a potential threat to human health and the environment if improperly disposed).” – from US Environmental Protection Agency

The Solar Pot (designed by Korean Jangho Kim) is nothing to sneeze at. Simple as the next solar re-charger, it does drive a viable point at illustrating how the simple activity of recharging your batteries (versus throwing them away) helps mother earth grow healthier each day.

We all talk about gadgets here… but hidden therein our marvelous toys is a serious issue to consider. Geeks, we as consumers have the power to steer developments of great and environment-friendly merchandize… let’s unite and make it happen. (which makes me wonder, seriously, if fruit-named gadgets are eco-friendly? hmmm.)

After all, what is the greatest gadget like if we have no planet to enjoy it in.