The autumnal equinox is this coming saturday, september 22 at 10:49 am.

The word equinox comes from the Latin words for “equal night.” The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the Sun crosses the celestial equator.

On the equinoxes, the very center of the Sun sets just 12 hours after it rises. But the day begins when the upper edge of the Sun reaches the horizon (which happens a bit before the center rises), and it doesn’t end until the entire Sun has set. Not only that, but the Sun is actually visible when it is below the horizon, as Earth’s atmosphere refracts the Sun’s rays and bends them in an arc over the horizon. According to our former astronomer, George Greenstein, “If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have ‘equal nights.’

Can we stop playing God now. Please?

I understand that humans sometimes mean well. But we cannot compete with ‘Darwinism’, and I feel that ‘playing God’ with nature is just not the right thing to do anyway. When is it going to stop? If these trees, or any trees, are chosen to die, and it was not caused by our own stupidity directly, or even so, why cant we just allow nature to run its course? Are we actually doing more good? After causing so much damage?

What will happen to the ecosystem if we keep stepping in? Cloning everything, it’s just unnatural. Breeding extinct animals. Please.

Sometimes I feel like we (humans) are just a parasite, placed here to wipe out the planet so it can start anew. As my boyfriend said, “we may not be a disease, but we sure act like it”.

So many questions, running through my mind.

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Scientists Clone ‘Survivor’ Elm Trees

ScienceDaily (Mar. 29, 2012) — Scientists at the University of Guelph have found a way to successfully clone American elm trees that have survived repeated epidemics of their biggest killer — Dutch elm disease.

The breakthrough, published March 29 in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, is the first known use of in vitro culture technology to clone buds of mature American elm trees.

“This research has the potential to bring back the beloved American elm population to North America,” said Prof. Praveen Saxena, a plant scientist who worked on the project with Professor Alan Sullivan. Both are from Guelph’s Department of Plant Agriculture.

“It may also serve as a model to help propagate and preserve thousands of other endangered plant species at risk of extinction across the globe.”