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Playing dirty
The back pages Almost the last word How did water-averse cats learn to love fish before they were domesticated?
Playing dirty
Bryn Glover Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK Accounting for “all factors” is difficult, but considering only participants and their activities, the obvious choice would be Formula 1 racing. Skydiving’s carbon footprint should probably include the fuel consumed in the carrier aircraft, and other sports that require complex apparatus should factor in the carbon costs of making that equipment. But I suspect that the real villain is either soccer or American football because they have the largest followings. Fans travel vast distances to support their teams. The air miles clocked up during a soccer World Cup must be phenomenal. Adam Vaughan Lewes, East Sussex, UK There aren’t many studies comparing different sports, but it is clear that transporting spectators accounts for a big chunk of emissions. That would suggest soccer, as the world’s most popular sport, has the highest emissions. Efforts are under way to make sport greener. The Olympics adopted concern for the environment as one of its “pillars” in 1994. In soccer, Newcastle United encourages fans to travel via public transport. Even Formula 1 has pledged to cut emissions. Michael Le Page London, UK Per participant, I would guess air racing. Accounting for the crowds, I would say soccer – but if you count e-sports as sport, then gaming might be even higher. Alan Beasley by email, no address supplied Grand Prix motor racing must 54 | New Scientist | 14 December 2019
JORDAN LYE/GETTY IMAGES
In view of the need to reduce emissions because of climate change, which sport has the highest carbon footprint after considering all factors?
This week’s new questions Fish dish Cats love to eat fish yet seem to hate getting wet. How would they catch a fish, never mind get to eat one, before they were domesticated? Geoffrey Clark, Douglas, Isle of Man Going viral I had my flu vaccination this year, then promptly came down with a really bad case of flu three weeks later. How can that happen? Nicole Barry, Sydney, Australia
surely have the highest carbon footprint. Emissions from the cars are only the start. What about the development and manufacture of the cars, and the construction of the tracks? Drivers and fans fly to scores of events around the world, with each team carrying two cars and tonnes of spare parts and other equipment. They also use and discard hundreds of tyres during the season. Keith Ross Villembits, France Undoubtedly, soccer is the culprit. The inexcusably high salaries paid to footballers and indecent fees paid by TV companies lead to lavish lifestyles and huge stadiums – all costing the earth. The Carbon Trust via Twitter A few years ago, The Carbon Trust did some work on lowcarbon ways for spectators to watch soccer. It suggests that transport emissions are significant, but we don’t have a sport-by-sport comparison.
Web sense How are spiders able to move so quickly along their webs without getting their legs entangled?
Jane Monroe Arcata, California, US In a web spun by an orb weaver spider, the silk comes in sticky and non-sticky versions, so the spider can just walk along the smooth “spokes” of the orb and avoid the sticky strands that make up the spirals and are meant for snagging prey. To run on the web when chasing down prey, an orb weaver moves on its “tiptoes”, which greatly reduces contact with the web threads. Of course, spiders don’t actually have tiptoes: the body part that touches the web isn’t the tip of the spider’s foot, but instead small bristles called setae.
Mike Follows Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, UK Spiders have microscopic hairs on adhesive pads at the ends of their legs, which maximise the contact area with the surface and the force of adhesion. To understand how they move, put a glass beaker on a glass surface. It is easy to lift the beaker – until the glass surface is wetted and water fills the microscopic indentations in the glass. Try lifting it directly up now. Tilting the beaker breaks this adhesion. In the same way, a spider pulling its legs towards itself enhances adhesion and pushing them away weakens adhesion. This allows it to move quickly but still remain on a surface. Webs themselves are fascinating structures made up of different silks that are produced by different glands in the spider’s body. Each silk has its own properties and they are combined to create a web that maximises the chances that suitable prey will be captured for the minimum outlay of resources. A sticky coating produced by the aggregate silk gland found in some spiders is only applied to parts of certain threads. The spider avoids these in the same way that soldiers avoid their own booby traps. Luce Gilmore Cambridge, UK Spiders can spin at least six different kinds of silk. The radial strands of a web are smooth and only the spiral strands are sticky. Other varieties include preybinding silk, which is sometimes used to gift-wrap offerings for potential mates, and eggprotecting silk. ❚
Want to send us a question or answer?
Email us at [email protected] Questions should be about everyday science phenomena Full terms and conditions at newscientist.com/lw-terms
Playing dirty
Bryn Glover Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK Accounting for “all factors” is difficult, but considering only participants and their activities, the obvious choice would be Formula 1 racing. Skydiving’s carbon footprint should probably include the fuel consumed in the carrier aircraft, and other sports that require complex apparatus should factor in the carbon costs of making that equipment. But I suspect that the real villain is either soccer or American football because they have the largest followings. Fans travel vast distances to support their teams. The air miles clocked up during a soccer World Cup must be phenomenal. Adam Vaughan Lewes, East Sussex, UK There aren’t many studies comparing different sports, but it is clear that transporting spectators accounts for a big chunk of emissions. That would suggest soccer, as the world’s most popular sport, has the highest emissions. Efforts are under way to make sport greener. The Olympics adopted concern for the environment as one of its “pillars” in 1994. In soccer, Newcastle United encourages fans to travel via public transport. Even Formula 1 has pledged to cut emissions. Michael Le Page London, UK Per participant, I would guess air racing. Accounting for the crowds, I would say soccer – but if you count e-sports as sport, then gaming might be even higher. Alan Beasley by email, no address supplied Grand Prix motor racing must 54 | New Scientist | 14 December 2019
JORDAN LYE/GETTY IMAGES
In view of the need to reduce emissions because of climate change, which sport has the highest carbon footprint after considering all factors?
This week’s new questions Fish dish Cats love to eat fish yet seem to hate getting wet. How would they catch a fish, never mind get to eat one, before they were domesticated? Geoffrey Clark, Douglas, Isle of Man Going viral I had my flu vaccination this year, then promptly came down with a really bad case of flu three weeks later. How can that happen? Nicole Barry, Sydney, Australia
surely have the highest carbon footprint. Emissions from the cars are only the start. What about the development and manufacture of the cars, and the construction of the tracks? Drivers and fans fly to scores of events around the world, with each team carrying two cars and tonnes of spare parts and other equipment. They also use and discard hundreds of tyres during the season. Keith Ross Villembits, France Undoubtedly, soccer is the culprit. The inexcusably high salaries paid to footballers and indecent fees paid by TV companies lead to lavish lifestyles and huge stadiums – all costing the earth. The Carbon Trust via Twitter A few years ago, The Carbon Trust did some work on lowcarbon ways for spectators to watch soccer. It suggests that transport emissions are significant, but we don’t have a sport-by-sport comparison.
Web sense How are spiders able to move so quickly along their webs without getting their legs entangled?
Jane Monroe Arcata, California, US In a web spun by an orb weaver spider, the silk comes in sticky and non-sticky versions, so the spider can just walk along the smooth “spokes” of the orb and avoid the sticky strands that make up the spirals and are meant for snagging prey. To run on the web when chasing down prey, an orb weaver moves on its “tiptoes”, which greatly reduces contact with the web threads. Of course, spiders don’t actually have tiptoes: the body part that touches the web isn’t the tip of the spider’s foot, but instead small bristles called setae.
Mike Follows Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, UK Spiders have microscopic hairs on adhesive pads at the ends of their legs, which maximise the contact area with the surface and the force of adhesion. To understand how they move, put a glass beaker on a glass surface. It is easy to lift the beaker – until the glass surface is wetted and water fills the microscopic indentations in the glass. Try lifting it directly up now. Tilting the beaker breaks this adhesion. In the same way, a spider pulling its legs towards itself enhances adhesion and pushing them away weakens adhesion. This allows it to move quickly but still remain on a surface. Webs themselves are fascinating structures made up of different silks that are produced by different glands in the spider’s body. Each silk has its own properties and they are combined to create a web that maximises the chances that suitable prey will be captured for the minimum outlay of resources. A sticky coating produced by the aggregate silk gland found in some spiders is only applied to parts of certain threads. The spider avoids these in the same way that soldiers avoid their own booby traps. Luce Gilmore Cambridge, UK Spiders can spin at least six different kinds of silk. The radial strands of a web are smooth and only the spiral strands are sticky. Other varieties include preybinding silk, which is sometimes used to gift-wrap offerings for potential mates, and eggprotecting silk. ❚
Want to send us a question or answer?
Email us at [email protected] Questions should be about everyday science phenomena Full terms and conditions at newscientist.com/lw-terms