Word: planetful
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...ruin of the Everglades between 1880 and 1910, especially by hunters of egret and flamingo plumes and alligator skins, is a likely topic for novelist and naturalist Peter Matthiessen (Far Tortuga; The Snow Leopard). Matthiessen has made the despoliation of the planet, as well as the ways in which men who work close to nature survive, his main concerns. Lord knows he has done his homework, and he details the destruction repeatedly and with bite. Here is how Bill House, a hardy plume hunter, sees the history of the region: "The Injuns was taking some egrets, trading 'em in with...
Increasing their velocity in Earth orbit, the spacecraft would spiral out from the planet, eventually swinging by the moon for a gravity assist that would hurl them into a trajectory toward Mars. Depending on their route and design, they could take as little as 500 days or more than 800 to reach the red planet...
...suburban Chicago electronics giant (1989 sales: $9.6 billion) hopes to put in place by 1996 a network of 77 satellites that can relay phone calls to any spot on the planet. That means when the boss has a question, no Himalayan mountaintop or African jungle encampment will be beyond the reach of the ringing phone. Named Iridium, for the chemical element whose nucleus is orbited by 77 electrons, the Motorola plan would constitute the first global cellular system. Calls would cost $1 to $3 a minute, compared with about 50 cents a minute for cellular calls within urban systems linked...
...visible starlight that Hubble is now able to collect and magnify is no better than that seen by landlocked observatories. It is impossible for Hubble to find a planet circling a distant star or detect a black hole at the center of a galaxy. At least 40% of the experiments planned for the telescope will have to be postponed until engineers can make lenses for the craft's instruments that will compensate for the mirror's flaw. Astronauts will then have to ride the shuttle into orbit and space walk to the telescope, where they will fit the new lenses...
...most obvious case, McDonald's should distinguish between customers who eat in the store and those who carry out the food. Every hour, tons of unnecessary paper bags, wrappers and plastic boxes are discarded a few feet from the cash registers. Moral: McDonald's has already given the planet a break, but Mother Earth could use a few more...