Sunday, June 28, 2015

I am no one's fool.

What does one say when confronted with such authority? Pope Francis is incredible. He is in touch with an entire planet. 

Catholics Worldwide (click here) — The Top 20 Nations Account For 65.5% 

This illustration is from 2010. According to the data then Catholics the Vatican was responsible for is 19 percent of the entire population of Earth. Pope Francis needs to be heard. He needs to be heeded. There are many, many people, nations and countries involved in his reach. I don't know of another leader, faith or otherwise, with such vast responsibility. 

If the United Nations would consider sponsoring him at a General Assembly, it should do so. It will be a solace to many of the leaders within the UN. 

The report by Pope Francis is current and accurate. He is a great leader.

Everyone better pay attention. 

I had a vision of what was needed to change this devastating course fifteen years ago when I felt the burden of the much maligned science and movement to bring resolve to this global disaster. I didn't mention drought is a state of emergency. It is a slow burn. The average drought is in the making at least ten years. 

That vision hasn't changed. Not one bit. But, the resolve to enact it is as urgent. I had this down. I was within six months of the beginning of anticipated disastrous consequences. The problem was that even I didn't believe my own understanding of Earth's deterioration. It wasn't validated anywhere I looked. But, it's correct. I can't believe how correct it is still today. On a time scale of a global capacity with a time line over 100 years, six months is a very small margin of error.

I wouldn't still be out here if I thought my purpose had ended. 

The urgency is real. Very.

There is sequestration of water to wealthy countries at this point.

II. THE ISSUE OF WATER

27. Other indicators of the present situation have to do with the depletion of natural resources. We all know that it is not possible to sustain the present level of consumption in developed countries and wealthier sectors of society, where the habit of wasting and discarding has reached unprecedented levels. The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits and we still have not solved the problem of poverty.


28. Fresh drinking water is an issue of primary importance, since it is indispensable for human life and for supporting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Sources of fresh water are necessary for health care, agriculture and industry. Water supplies used to be relatively constant, but now in many places demand exceeds the sustainable supply, with dramatic consequences in the short and long term. Large cities dependent on significant supplies of water have experienced periods of shortage, and at critical moments these have not always been administered with sufficient oversight and impartiality. Water poverty especially affects Africa where large sectors of the population have no access to safe drinking water or experience droughts which impede agricultural production. Some countries have areas rich in water while others endure drastic scarcity. 


29. One particularly serious problem is the quality of water available to the poor. Every day, unsafe water results in many deaths and the spread of water-related diseases, including those caused by microorganisms and chemical substances. Dysentery and cholera, linked to inadequate hygiene and water supplies, are a significant cause of suffering and of infant mortality. Underground water sources in many places are threatened by the pollution produced in certain mining, farming and industrial activities, especially in countries lacking adequate regulation or controls. It is not only a question of industrial waste. Detergents and chemical products, commonly used in many places of the world, continue to pour into our rivers, lakes and seas.

There is only one word to validate these paragraphs, "California." 

These are the new models. The prediction goes to 2099. The prediction doesn't change the question. How long is Earth habitable?

BOULDER (click here) —The United States and many other heavily populated countries face a growing threat of severe and prolonged drought in coming decades, according to a new study by National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist Aiguo Dai. The detailed analysis concludes that warming temperatures associated with climate change will likely create increasingly dry soil conditions across much of the globe in the next 30 years, possibly reaching a scale in some regions by the end of the century that has rarely if ever been observed in modern times.

Using an ensemble of 22 computer climate models and a comprehensive index of drought conditions, as well as analyses of previously published studies, the paper finds much of the Western Hemisphere, along with large parts of Eurasia and Africa, may be at threat of extreme drought this century.
In contrast, higher-latitude regions from Alaska to Scandinavia are likely to become more moist.

Dai cautioned that the findings are based on the best current projections of greenhouse gas emissions. What actually happens in coming decades will depend on many factors, including actual future emissions of greenhouse gases as well as natural climate cycles such as El Niño.

The new findings appear this week as part of a longer review article in Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. The study was supported by the National Science Foundation, NCAR’s sponsor....

Other climate organizations:

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) was designed by a small group of innovative scientists, most of them university faculty members, as a creative response to major challenge that faced the nation in the years between the 1930s and late 1950s. Departments of Meteorology had been established at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, and other U.S. universities in the 1930s. Their goal was to investigate scientifically the physical principles that were thought to define the behavior of the atmosphere.


The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) (click here) is a consortium of more than 100 member colleges and universities focused on research and training in the atmospheric and related Earth system sciences. Our members set directions and priorities for the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which UCAR manages with sponsorship by the National Science Foundation. Through our community programs, UCAR supports and extends the capabilities of our academic consortium.

Ecosystem services are not valued except by the powerless.

25. Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. Its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades. Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to warming, and their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry. They have no other financial activities or resources which can enable them to adapt to climate change or to face natural disasters, and their access to social services and protection is very limited. For example, changes in climate, to which animals and plants cannot adapt, lead them to migrate; this in turn affects the livelihood of the poor, who are then forced to leave their homes, with great uncertainty for their future and that of their children. There has been a tragic rise in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty caused by environmental degradation. They are not recognized by international conventions as refugees; they bear the loss of the lives they have left behind, without enjoying any legal protection whatsoever. Sadly, there is widespread indifference to such suffering, which is even now taking place throughout our world. Our lack of response to these tragedies involving our brothers and sisters points to the loss of that sense of responsibility for our fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded.

Capitalism lends itself to the rewards of money. So the only ecosystem services that matter to a capitalistic government/society is what reward money. There is no real definition of ecosystem in any constitution. The US Constitution was written when there were only 13 colonies. The world had found a new natural resource to plunder and plunder they did. You could say capitalism is nothing but plunder. 

So, the people that have appreciation of the natural systems are commonly native peoples. They have a far longer history on any continent than any existing government. It is the reverse for the ecosystem that the USA Constitution lacks. There have been laws and rules since the constitution that does realize a reverence for the natural world, however, where that interferes with plunder there is a political party that lacks a soul.



26. Many of those who possess more resources and economic or political power seem mostly to be concerned with masking the problems or concealing their symptoms, simply making efforts to reduce some of the negative impacts of climate change. However, many of these symptoms indicate that such effects will continue to worsen if we continue with current models of production and consumption. There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy. Worldwide there is minimal access to clean and renewable energy. There is still a need to develop adequate storage technologies. Some countries have made considerable progress, although it is far from constituting a significant proportion. Investments have also been made in means of production and transportation which consume less energy and require fewer raw materials, as well as in methods of construction and renovating buildings which improve their energy efficiency. But these good practices are still far from widespread.

"those who possess more resources and economic or political power" are all contained in a small number of people with absolutely no regard for what is vital to human life. They have no concept of the poor. The concept they have is what comprises benevolence of wealth and determined by those that control the benevolence. Frequently a country's leadership is not interested in supplying benevolence, so much as allowing a reduction in human rights violations.

How is drought defined? By science,

The Palmer Drought Severity Index (click here) (PDSI, weekly index from CPC shown), devised in 1965, was the first drought indicator to assess moisture status comprehensively. It uses temperature and precipitation data to calculate water supply and demand, incorporates soil moisture, and is considered most effective for unirrigated cropland. It primarily reflects long-term drought and has been used extensively to initiate drought relief. It is more complex than the SPI and the Drought Monitor.

There is no manipulation in reporting. This is all based in scientific principles and documentation.

The film loop below has been improved on and there are more accurate maps have been compiled. The science of 'environmental modeling' is really new to climate science. Earth is so very, very complicated that linear projections are grossly inaccurate. Computer programs have evolved. I would never state they are perfect. The best and most accurate record of the climate crisis comes from scientists on the ground and/or those that monitor climate. 

The current scientific measurements are more sophisticated than even five years ago. It is impossible to enter all the scientific data produced regarding the climate crisis into a computer, although the modelers attempt to do exactly that. The best source regarding the climate crisis still remains to be thinking scientists. 

Uploaded on Nov 1, 2011
The United States and many other heavily populated countries face a growing threat of severe and prolonged drought in coming decades, according to a new study by National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist Aiguo Dai. The detailed analysis concludes that warming temperatures associated with climate change will likely create increasingly dry conditions across much of the globe in the next 30 years, possibly reaching a scale in some regions by the end of the century that has rarely, if ever, been observed in modern times.

The movie shows the evolution of the annual mean self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), a measure of meteorological drought, calculated using surface meteorological data from multiple models of the CMIP3 project under a moderate emissions scenario (A1B) and the Penman-Monteith equation for potential evapotranspiration. Negative values are for dry conditions and values below -3 are considered severe to extreme drought by today's standard. 

Vulnerabilities are suppose be important, not an inconvenience to profit.

Climate as a common good


23. The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential conditions for human life. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon. Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it. It is true that there are other factors (such as volcanic activity, variations in the earth’s orbit and axis, the solar cycle), yet a number of scientific studies indicate that most global warming in recent decades is due to the great concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and others) released mainly as a result of human activity. Concentrated in the atmosphere, these gases do not allow the warmth of the sun’s rays reflected by the earth to be dispersed in space. The problem is aggravated by a model of development based on the intensive use of fossil fuels, which is at the heart of the worldwide energy system. Another determining factor has been an increase in changed uses of the soil, principally deforestation for agricultural purposes.

Pope Francis' assessment of a collective interest by every country on Earth is a long established paradigm. 

ipcc 
Intergovernmental Panel on climate change 
Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (click here)

Oddly enough the writings by the ipcc and Pope Francis warn of vulnerabilities.


24. Warming has effects on the carbon cycle. It creates a vicious circle which aggravates the situation even more, affecting the availability of essential resources like drinking water, energy and agricultural production in warmer regions, and leading to the extinction of part of the planet’s biodiversity. The melting in the polar ice caps and in high altitude plains can lead to the dangerous release of methane gas, while the decomposition of frozen organic material can further increase the emission of carbon dioxide. Things are made worse by the loss of tropical forests which would otherwise help to mitigate climate change. Carbon dioxide pollution increases the acidification of the oceans and compromises the marine food chain. If present trends continue, this century may well witness extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us. A rise in the sea level, for example, can create extremely serious situations, if we consider that a quarter of the world’s population lives on the coast or nearby, and that the majority of our megacities are situated in coastal areas.

There is also a North American Drought Monitor.

This drought map (click here) does not have information on the Northwest Territory and the Nanvut Territory. But, it is easy to see there is a segment of continental drought extending from other noted locations.

These international maps are in three languages spoken in North America.

The culture of moral deterioration.

I. POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Pollution, waste and the throwaway culture

20. Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor, and causes millions of premature deaths. People take sick, for example, from breathing high levels of smoke from fuels used in cooking or heating. There is also pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxins in general. Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the only way of solving these problems, in fact proves incapable of seeing the mysterious network of relations between things and so sometimes solves one problem only to create others.


21. Account must also be taken of the pollution produced by residue, including dangerous waste present in different areas. Each year hundreds of millions of tons of waste are generated, much of it non-biodegradable, highly toxic and radioactive, from homes and businesses, from construction and demolition sites, from clinical, electronic and industrial sources. The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish. Industrial waste and chemical products utilized in cities and agricultural areas can lead to bioaccumulation in the organisms of the local population, even when levels of toxins in those places are low. Frequently no measures are taken until after people’s health has been irreversibly affected.

Culture is multi-dimensional. It is not simply a problem in a dump. It is a problem in how it was generated and got there in the first place. Pope Francis has a wide range of reference, including children that pick through trash to find life and in the USA where dumpster diving was glamorized beginning with the W. Bush administration. I won't forget the day. It was on CNN and it is documented on this blog. Never. Never in my wildest imagination did I think garbage would be a legitimate method of acquiring nutrition of any kind. In the USA we also have a terrible problem with supplying nutritious food. The First Lady took on the challenge and has been successful in promoting healthy food for children, the necessity of school lunches and the importance of exercise and play. But, there is the corporate culture of wealth that holds American agriculture as hostage to the production and spread of GMOs.


22. These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture which affects the excluded just as it quickly reduces things to rubbish. To cite one example, most of the paper we produce is thrown away and not recycled. It is hard for us to accept that the way natural ecosystems work is exemplary: plants synthesize nutrients which feed herbivores; these in turn become food for carnivores, which produce significant quantities of organic waste which give rise to new generations of plants. But our industrial system, at the end of its cycle of production and consumption, has not developed the capacity to absorb and reuse waste and by-products. We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of non-renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and recycling them. A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet, but it must be said that only limited progress has been made in this regard.
Smoke from a forest fire is visible from the junction of N.W.T. highways 5 and 6 Friday afternoon. Highway 6 to Fort Resolution and Highway 3 between Behchoko and Fort Providence have been closed due to the fire. (submitted by Jodie Miersch) 

June 27, 2015
CBC News

The N.W.T. Department (click here) of Transportation closed two highways Saturday as a combination of lightning, hot, dry weather and high winds continued to spark new fires and help existing ones to spread.

Highway 6, the road to Fort Resolution, closed early Saturday afternoon. A fire burning in the area jumped the highway and campers were being told to evacuate the area.
A short time later, the department closed Highway 3 between Behchoko and Fort Providence. It was not immediately clear when the highways would reopen.

The location on this map is Fort Resolution, Northwest Territory, Canada.

This is the Twitter entry regarding the roads. (click here)

Canada frequently celebrates wildlife in their official icons. 

Black bears (click here) are found below the treeline in the Northwest Territories. Known as Sah Dezo in Tlicho, Sa dezene in North Slavey and Shoh to the Gwich'in, black bear are classified as both a big game species and a furbearer in the NWT.

Black bears have a broad head and short neck. They have small, black eyes, rounded ears and a long snout. While the colours of black bears range from blond to brown to black, the most common colour of bears in the NWT is black with a tan muzzle and often a white V on the chest. They are chunky, 1.5 to 1.8 m long and almost 1 m tall at the shoulder. On average, males weigh 115 to 170 kg. Females are smaller at 90 to 155 kg. Their weight varies considerably with the season.

Black bears prefer forested areas, which provide seclusion and safety, with open spaces that provide berries, shrubs and grasses. They are omnivorous and highly adaptable in their food habits. A black bear’s diet varies seasonally and by locality....

The science and the urgency weigh heavily on Pope Francis heart and mind.

CHAPTER ONE
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR COMMON HOME

17. Theological and philosophical reflections on the situation of humanity and the world can sound tiresome and abstract, unless they are grounded in a fresh analysis of our present situation, which is in many ways unprecedented in the history of humanity. So, before considering how faith brings new incentives and requirements with regard to the world of which we are a part, I will briefly turn to what is happening to our common home.


18. The continued acceleration of changes affecting humanity and the planet is coupled today with a more intensified pace of life and work which might be called “rapidification”. Although change is part of the working of complex systems, the speed with which human activity has developed contrasts with the naturally slow pace of biological evolution. Moreover, the goals of this rapid and constant change are not necessarily geared to the common good or to integral and sustainable human development. Change is something desirable, yet it becomes a source of anxiety when it causes harm to the world and to the quality of life of much of humanity.

The Pope has a exceptionally good working knowledge of this topic. He is absolutely correct. One of the aspects of the climate crisis is the fact this is as stated for decades by scientists, "rapid climate change." There is no easing into this planetary dynamic. It is induced by a rapid increase in greenhouse gases resulting in increased insulation of Earth infrared emissions. Pope Francis is very through in his understanding. I am impressed.


19. Following a period of irrational confidence in progress and human abilities, some sectors of society are now adopting a more critical approach. We see increasing sensitivity to the environment and the need to protect nature, along with a growing concern, both genuine and distressing, for what is happening to our planet. Let us review, however cursorily, those questions which are troubling us today and which we can no longer sweep under the carpet. Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity, but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it.

"both genuine and distressing," relates a clear understanding of the genuine knowledge of the climate crisis, but, this is not simply scientific record keeping, there is a real emotional component that can be considered 'a call to awareness.' One might ask how many times have scientists, other than health issues and where that intersects with products, sincerely rendered a call to awareness? This is not their usual habit. The history of work is mostly an incredible and even vast publications of articles and books that really aren't of interest to anyone by scientists. This is different this time. Scientists have been refused brevity to this issue when it was nothing but quiet presentation to others in science and government. Now, it is urgent and the people have to know how serious this can impact their lives.

There is rain in southern California.

The entrance to the San Bernardino National Forest on Highway 38 provides a backdrop for raindrops on a car windshield on Sunday, June 28, 2015.

June 28, 2015
By Richard Brooks and Brian Rokos

Officials (click here) leading the fight against the massive Lake fire mostly welcomed the intermittent, moderate rain that fell in the San Bernardino Mountains on Sunday, June 28, but said there was not enough of it for them to significantly alter their strategy.
National Weather Service rain gauges across the mountains were measuring just a few hundredths of an inch as of 3 p.m.
"That fire is not dead out with that rain, I can assure you that," fire spokesman Mark Savage said. "Our work is far from over."
Savage said incident commanders didn't expect to receive reports on the rain's effect from the individual teams deep in the forest until they returned late Sunday afternoon.
But he said there wasn't enough rain to put out a burning tree stump or dense, smoldering vegetation....

These are the terms and definitions to the "Encyclical Letter."

15. It is my hope that this Encyclical Letter, (click here) which is now added to the body of the Church’s social teaching, can help us to acknowledge the appeal, immensity and urgency of the challenge we face. I will begin by briefly reviewing several aspects of the present ecological crisis, with the aim of drawing on the results of the best scientific research available today, letting them touch us deeply and provide a concrete foundation for the ethical and spiritual itinerary that follows. I will then consider some principles drawn from the Judaeo-Christian tradition which can render our commitment to the environment more coherent. I will then attempt to get to the roots of the present situation, so as to consider not only its symptoms but also its deepest causes. This will help to provide an approach to ecology which respects our unique place as human beings in this world and our relationship to our surroundings. In light of this reflection, I will advance some broader proposals for dialogue and action which would involve each of us as individuals, and also affect international policy. Finally, convinced as I am that change is impossible without motivation and a process of education, I will offer some inspired guidelines for human development to be found in the treasure of Christian spiritual experience.

Pope Francis is not simply rambling on about a topic of importance to the church without structure. He clear lays out what he is addressing. There is definition to his demands of this format. Hopefully, by the end of the Encyclical Letter these statements will be fulfilled. The statements are concise so I have trouble believing they aren't accurate to the mission of this document.

16. Although each chapter will have its own subject and specific approach, it will also take up and re-examine important questions previously dealt with. This is particularly the case with a number of themes which will reappear as the Encyclical unfolds. As examples, I will point to the intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet, the conviction that everything in the world is connected, the critique of new paradigms and forms of power derived from technology, the call to seek other ways of understanding the economy and progress, the value proper to each creature, the human meaning of ecology, the need for forthright and honest debate, the serious responsibility of international and local policy, the throwaway culture and the proposal of a new lifestyle. These questions will not be dealt with once and for all, but reframed and enriched again and again.
It's Sunday Night

"I see fire" by Ed Sheeran (click here for official website)

Oh, misty eye of the mountain below
Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls
And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke
Keep watching over Durin's sons

If this is to end in fire
Then we should all burn together
Watch the flames climb high into the night

Calling out father oh
Stand by and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side

And if we should die tonight
Then we should all die together
Raise a glass of wine for the last time

Calling out father oh
Prepare as we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side
Desolation comes upon the sky

Now I see fire
Inside the mountains
I see fire
Burning the trees
And I see fire
Hollowing souls
I see fire
Blood in the breeze
And I hope that you remember me

Oh, should my people fall
Then surely I'll do the same
Confined in mountain halls
We got too close to the flame

Calling out father oh
Hold fast and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side
Desolation comes upon the sky

Now I see fire
Inside the mountain
I see fire
Burning the trees
I see fire
Hollowing souls
I see fire
Blood in the breeze
And I hope that you remember me

And if the night is burning
I will cover my eyes
For if the dark returns
Then my brothers will die
And as the sky is falling down
It crashed into this lonely town
And with that shadow upon the ground
I hear my people screaming out

Now I see fire
Inside the mountains
I see fire
Burning the trees
I see fire
Hollowing souls
I see fire
Blood in the breeze

I see fire (oh you know I saw a city burning out) (fire)
And I see fire (feel the heat upon my skin, yeah) (fire)
And I see fire (uh-uh-uh-uh) (fire)
And I see fire burn auburn on the mountain side

The SVA. Student Veterans of America. It can be a reach to settle in.

SVA Website (click here).

They do need advocates. While I was in North Carolina I saw many veterans pursuing educations in the county and at the universities, but, I only have knowledge of one program at UNCW. The way it all came together was when a woman from the business department who was a former attorney and current professor took an interest and created a support group.

She was single and made herself available during office hours to help conquer some of the issues they might have been facing. The way she decided to open up her office hours to all student veterans was experience in counseling one of them. All staff with credentials is expected to carry a group of students to counsel them when it comes to choosing classes twice a year. One of the student veterans was on her counsel list and she found him struggling with decisions. 

There were other support services including an adult group that had special circumstances because they also lived and worked off campus. The student veterans were welcome to be a part of that as well. There was some fund raising that helped with quality of life for these students on campus.

UNCW also has a counseling staff that is available to students for the asking. If there is continuing need for regular visits that will continue for a short time until more appropriate long term services can be ascertained. 

But, the opportunity for education of veterans should never be underestimated when it comes to the idea the future is important. Their success should never be left to happenstance. Their future is far more important than that. They put their lives on the line for this country and the least this country can do in return is make sure they are well employed or as a small business owner. They are heroes, every one of them and that is not a minor achievement, but, it does not necessarily translate into a way of life other than career military.

Some of the student veterans also have families. That adds another layer of responsibility. Helping with child care is important. Their education careers can become tenuous if there isn't good child care that supports their class schedule.

They were always accepted within a community that were peace activists. Believe it or not there are people who seek peace over war. The veterans were never ridiculed that I know of. They were simply other students and really ardent students don't have time for that mess.

We also allowed military presence on campus in the way of recruitment. It was not continuous, but, they were there on career days. That was also a refreshing reality for them. Acceptance other than admission is important. Don't take for granted they have everything figured out to complete a course of study.

The ACA,

The reason there are provisions in the ACA for educating family medicine doctors and nurse practitioners is because there is and has been a shortage. There is less of a shortage, but, I resist to say no shortage of specialists. Why? Because Americans are greedy, that includes physicians and surgeons. They want to spend their time making maximum amount of money and begin retirement while still in practice. This is yet another reason to apply tax increases to those at the $250,000 level. If the MDs didn't have reason to become a specialist we'd have more family doctors where malpractice levels are less.
June 28, 2015
0100 GMT
The Weather Channel Actual Highs 

The time of day is different.

June 28, 2015

The National Weather Service confirms a tornado touched down in Lee County just before 6 p.m. Saturday evening knocking down trees and damaging roofs.

It happened in the Cumnock area just northwest of Sanford. No injuries were reported.

The twister was part of a huge group of thunderstorms that moved across the ABC11 viewing area Saturday evening. ABC11 Eyewitness pictures and videos showed just how much damage the severe weather caused....


June 28, 2015
1615 GMT
The Weather Channel Current Temperatures

Follow the water vapor trail. is California getting any water?'

Nope. (click here)

The air is too dry. There has to be air saturation before there is precipitation. There was some shade. Some humidity. It is a start, but, no rain.

June 28, 2015
0530.19z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

What is different that might lend a change in California water vapor is the high pressure intrusion in the middle of the country. If that continues, it will continue to force the water vapor from the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone) toward the west coast. It will continue for a period of time because of the very sluggish air movement.

This image is an enlargement from a water vapor satellite, June 28, 2015 at 1730.18z.

The waning of the water vapor as it moves north clearly illustrates hot and dry air. As soon as it moves to the droughted areas, first in western Mexico, then in California, there is evaporation. The water vapor nearly disappears. This is the first step in recovering from a drought. The air has to accumulate water vapor.

If the ITCZ water vapor continues up the west coast USA, there is a chance it will permanently force some degree of precipitation. I've stated before, changes in climate begin at the extremes and move toward majority occurrences. This, along with some rain earlier, I think it was spring and not winter, could be a shift. 

The northwest has never been effected by the east Pacific high that has plagued California. There may be enough water vapor coming into play to bring about a longer term climate change. The rains will be torrential. It is the way climate is now. The water is at a much higher location in the troposphere, so when the weight of the molecules become heavy enough and even hail, it will come down to the surface, but, it will be dangerous. 

The resistance in the climate to allow rainfall is illustrated in the size of the hail. It was just the last week or so there was grapefruit sized hail. That has been a rarity and actually I've never heard reports of grapefruit sized hail. So, the water vapor is sequestered high in the troposphere to even build up that size hail. The troposphere is hot. The rain simply isn't making it to Earth's surface. The heat contained in the troposphere comes from the surface up, no different than where infrared originates. 

This illustration is in an entry on this blog dated December 30, 2004. It is an illustration from NASA. It was an illustration from NASA for far longer than December 30, 2004. 

I'm just sayin'.
Challenger was first detected a T+58.788 with a tracking film camera captured the beginnings of a plume near the aft attach strut on the right SRB. 

...Both the shuttle (click here) main engines and the solid rockets operated at reduced thrust approaching and passing through the area of maximum dynamic pressure of 720 pounds per square foot. The main engines had been throttled up to 104 percent thrust and the solid rocket boosters were increasing their thrust when the first flickering flame appeared on the right solid rocket booster in the area of the aft field joint. This first very small flame was detected on image enhanced film at 58.788 seconds into the flight. It appeared to originate at about 305 degrees around the booster circumference at or near the aft field joint....

What altitude is that?

These structures failed at 73.137 seconds as evidenced by the white vapors appearing in the intertank region.

Within milliseconds there was massive, almost explosive, burning of the hydrogen streaming from the failed tank bottom and liquid oxygen breach in the area of the intertank.

At this point in its trajectory, while traveling at a Mach number of 1.92 at an altitude of 46,000 feet, Challenger was totally enveloped in the explosive burn....


The thing is the Shuttle was showing failure at lift off when there was gray puffs of smoke immediately after lift off. It was caught by cameras and it was repeated within the next several seconds. The problem was known immediately after ignition to lift off.

The flight should have been abandoned and the Shuttle brought back to Earth. I think that is an option or is that an option only with unmanned flights. The problem here as it has been in that past is DENIAL. The USA and any other space program is riddled with human emotion and DENIAL is always there and no way of dealing with it. It is a brave act and the status of the country is invested deeply into these space programs. Failure is not an option so DENIAL is not allowed at the control desks. 

Add to the fact DENIAL is never validated as a factor in these tragedies and private interests as exhibited by Reagan and Bush increases the opportunity for the tragedy.

That equates to a culture. The culture of perfection is always sacrificed for profit or zero balance of cost. 

The Space Culture of the USA never adds to the 'space balance sheet' the fact it is one of the most valuable programs the USA has. It enforces peace, it provides new technology, it's technology has been extrapolated into the private sector to benefit the American people.

The internet was at first a USA government program. It was then adapted to the public and now the government can't control it. 

The US Space Program needs it's own GDP including and especially it's benevolent contributions to society and private industry. 

THINK ABOUT IT ! 

I hope NASA runs it's own investigation that would validate the findings of Space-X.

June 28, 2015
By Alan Boyle

...This was (click here) to have been the first robotic cargo delivery since a Russian Progress capsule went awry in April, resulting in the loss of the craft's 3-ton payload. The Dragon's payload includes food, oxygen and other much-needed basics — and its loss will put even more pressure on the crew and mission planners....

Other government missions have failed. The problem here is why have two private missions of two separate companies failed within a short period of time?

...After stage separation, the Falcon 9's first stage was supposed to attempt a landing on a platform about 215 miles (345 kilometers) downrange in the Atlantic — but the flight never got that far. 

All the fuel in the first stage is not burnt before there is separation. There is a lot going on there. The first stage has to separate and fall far enough away to allow the trajectory out of atmosphere of the main rocket. The first stage also has to maintain trajectory to a floating platform. There has to be fuel remaining to power the new trajectory. The separation of both and different trajectories is not great enough to prevent this mutual destruction sequence. Both trajectories are also within the oxygen environment. 

Regardless of what happened there has to be consideration of the cargo and it's safety over and above the safe turn by the first stage. Cargo first, economy maybe never. This is the type of thing that went on with Reagan's idea of a cheaper space program. It has never been realistic. 

The Dragon previously made six successful cargo runs under the terms of a $1.6 billion contract with NASA, plus an initial demonstration mission in 2012.

Sunday's loss marked SpaceX's first failed mission to the space station, and extended a string of setbacks for space station resupply....

Just as a quick review. Every time the space program was seeking economy over astronaut safety, there has been tragedies. At least today there were to lives involved except for those waiting at the International Space Station. 

On Jan. 27, 1967, three of the first group of NASA astronauts - Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee - died during a routine ground test of the Apollo capsule, later named Apollo 1. 

The Apollo 1 was under President Johnson. It was due to the newness of the program and the nativity of the pure oxygen environment. 

...The highly anticipated Jan. 28, 1986, launch of Space Shuttle Challenger, which carried the first teacher-astronaut, Christa McAuliffe, was watched live by many around the nation, including school children. But 73 seconds after takeoff, the shuttle erupted in a fireball that killed the entire crew....

The ambition of privatization has always proven to be a mistake. The space program is cutting edge. There is nothing routine about it. If nothing else the weather and now a far warmer Earth has effect on these vehicles.  

This tragedy happened under Reagan and the first time the space program was to deliver a profit by launches every two weeks carrying commercial junk into space. 

...Seventeen years later, tragedy struck NASA once again. On Feb. 1, 2003, following a 16-day science mission, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart upon re-entry, killing the entire crew: U.S. astronauts Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.... 

This was under "W" and the economy of MINIMIZING reality. The Bush economy and government administration played with the extremes of every aspect of life. Safety frequently fell throw the RE-EXPOSED cracks that were absent until life became a roulette wheel.

In 2003 the USA didn't need more explosions that traumatized the country. 

Recently, when it comes to lives lost, Virgin Galactica had a death during trials. 

The private companies seeking to service the ISS have experienced problems. Looking for a reasonable budget to carry out space programs is not the answer. Perfection is the answer. Perfection is expensive.  

The O-Rings failed because of freezing temperatures. A hot Earth adds opposite dynamics to these VEHICLES. Expansion of materials can cause leaks and break downs of materials as well. I would not be surprised if at the time of separation there were expanded joints with this Space-X vehicle and awaiting fuel had an opportunity to ignite. 

Perfection requires redundancy. Redundancy is a requirement and not an option. When the Republicans state their CEO model for president is most desirable, that ideology is not mired in reality. The variables within a government is far greater than math can assign percents of extremes.

Do not embrace this book. It's hate propaganda and was rushed to publish sytled to impact Iranian negotiations.

June 27, 2015
By Jonathan Broder

Michael Oren, a celebrated Middle East historian turned Israeli diplomat, has embarked on a nationwide U.S. book tour to promote his new memoir, which recounts the four years he spent in Washington as the top envoy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Unlike other diplomatic memoirs, which rarely disclose anything controversial, Oren’s Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide is provocative, as the former ambassador blames President Barack Obama for the sorry state of U.S.-Israel relations and much else that’s wrong in the Middle East today....

I've always found Oren to be inflammatory. I've never found him to be a peacemaker in any way.

It is amazing how Israel's ambitions to continue to take land beyond any international agreement or understanding. There is never an apology. There is never any reconciliation. There is never peace. It is always Israel that stands outside the ability to achieve an agreement and it always results in "The Palestinians have to stop their aggressions or there will be no peace agreement."

It is always the Palestinians that are brutal and barbaric. 

One of the first things stated about Gaza when Israelis left sounded like this: "They are bragging they won the war and chased Israel out of the land." Or. "They are destroying buildings and the synagogues."  There was never talk about, "Let's see what happens with time." Or. "How can we facilitate education to the children?" There was no reconciliation after Gaza. The beginnings of the next assault against Gaza was the only point of dialogue.

Israel can't claim the people of Gaza/Hamas has to stop sending rockets over and at Israel. They have their much acclaimed Iron Dome. The Iron Dome is not suppose to create a reason for more aggression, but, less.

The Israelis state their mission demands more land. The question is how much land does Israel need to house every Jewish community on Earth? It is not possible. That type of idea is anti-sovereign. It is a abstract ideology and not based in reality. 

There are many reasons to support Israel and it's ambitions to house people within a land of preferred religion, but, that is done with treaties and the understanding the Jewish people within a country need protection in that manner. It is to reassure there exists a religion based in Hebrew documents and salvation. 

The USA has communities whereby Israelis are safe and exclusively surrounded by their faith and practices. In actuality, those communities are so intact and stable they provide a far greater peace than Israel does. The only difference is the holy places and holy ground. The intensity of the Hebrew faith is probably greater in the USA because it is not ever interrupted.

President Obama did not circumvent his own party. This isn't over.

June 23, 2015
By Marilyn Geewax

The Senate voted 60-37 Tuesday (click here) to advance President Obama's trade agenda — setting up a big victory for the White House and a painful loss for labor unions.

This latest Senate vote clears away procedural hurdles for legislation granting Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to Obama. That power allows the president to negotiate trade pacts and then put them on a so-called fast track through Congress. With TPA in place, Congress would take a simple yes-or-no vote on any trade deal, with no room for amendments....

It may be that President Obama may never see these trade laws during his presidency.

There is no animosity. That would be childish to expect Americans to feel betrayed by their President. It has no base in reality.

This is about the American worker. No one is going to abandon the Middle Class. Absolutely no one. The American worker has a voice and it is long overdue in being heard. The assault on the American worker under the Bush White House is horrific.

Senator Warren's message has profound and far reaching implications. None of these dynamics are going to disappear. The time of "Wall Street" ownership of Congress is over.

Let's put it this way, if these trade 'ideas' weren't left over from Bush it wouldn't be an issue.

This is ridiculous. The trade deals are even named after oceans. The ideology and American victimization is all too obvious. This isn't about good trade, this is about cheap labor and the American worker. These trade so called deals, is about the USA, not anyone else. Not China. Not anyone else. China is not even a participant. China has new a INFRASTRUCTURE bank. I think it's infrastructure. I'll be darn. That means China is assaulting the USA? 

Not. China is building a better quality of life for it's people. The USA is suppose to assault that? No. We are proud to have been a part of China's renaissance. It has been good thing and we look forward to greater demand for American products in China with it's burgeoning Middle Class. For the first time in history China and the USA are going to be able to proudly say they have vibrant Middle Classes. China is no longer part of the BRIC countries. It is fastly becoming a global economy with a powerful Middle Class. That doesn't mean the American Middle Class is now up for grabs. What is China going to do if the American Middle Class disappears?

Yeah, it is an infrastructure bank. The USA doesn't have an infrastructure bank.The USA doesn't have an infrastructure bank because the Republicans didn't vote for the American Jobs Act.

June 27, 2015
By Angelo Young

Russia anticipates (click here) becoming a key manager of China’s proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a Moscow representative said in Beijing Saturday. China’s alternative to the Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Bank would seek to finance much-needed Asian infrastructure projects, an effort Japan and the U.S. both view as a challenge to their influence in the region....

China has built cranes at ports around the entire world to bring their export economy to the forefront of a global economy. This is not about China. China is a favorite political speak. China already has secured it's economy. This is about the American Worker and it's Middle Class.

The discimination is over. Completely.

June 25, 2015
By Mark Sherman


WASHINGTON - Same-sex couples (click here) won the right to marry nationwide Friday as a divided Supreme Court handed a crowning victory to the gay-rights movement, setting off a jubilant cascade of long-delayed weddings in states where they had been forbidden. "No longer may this liberty be denied," said Justice Anthony Kennedy.
The vote was narrow - 5-4 - but Kennedy's majority opinion was clear: "The court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry."
The ruling will put an end to same-sex marriage bans in the 14 states that still maintain them, and provide an exclamation point for breathtaking changes in the nation's social norms in recent years. As recently as October, just over one-third of the states permitted gay marriages... 

Equality in the work place exists within federal jobs and the military. That means there are career paths already in progress. When professionals have experience within government structure they have an open path to the private sector because of their credentials and competency alone.

Where marriage discrimination (assuming married LGBTQ) will carry brevity is primarily the south. Some discrimination will occur in the Midwest simply because of the demographic. A small percentage of LGBTQ isn't going to have an impact and in fact might be ignored as social convenience. 

There were 34 states that have already decided to permit same sex marriage, that is a viable population to a constitutional amendment. I don't think either those that oppose same sex marriage or allow it have a case for a constitutional amendment. The marriage of different races is tolerated by the social environment. That facilitated work and family life, not really the law. There was law that at one time prohibited mixed racial marriages. All that disappeared within social acceptance. The laws became irrelevant. It would be surprising to most Americans how antiquated laws are still on the books. 

The only place there is going to be problems is the south. There is that whole Chick-fil-a thing. Senator Lindsay Graham, a president nominee candidate,  see himself carrying a campaign to protect religious rights. Considering how hostile the Supreme Court is about contraception I don't see them enforcing employment where this religious overlay is suppose to be paramount to the US Constitution. Under this court there is a preference to allow religious discrimination/bigotry. 

The best avenue to challenge that is for a current employee(s) to get married and be open about it and then be fired. Any employee with a significant and good record in employment suddenly fired because of who they married would result in a disrupting legal case.

But, this court is very odd in their idea of what is constitutional when religion is believed to uphold the soul. There are innumerable topics that can be drawn on, including deliberate social oppression, where an entire class was disdained and caused hardship in the face of having religious sameness with employers. Racism cut across religious definition. What makes an employer oppressive to an American citizen? In the case of race, it is immoral to cast hate on a different race, yet southern Christians carried that hatred for decades if not more than a century, even into today and the confederate flag. It is so very obvious that white men hate others enough to even defy god and kill people in their own sanctuary. So, the whole religion thing with the Supreme Court is pure hatred itself. 

The Supreme Court is out in right field presuming it has the right to be a religious authority. They don't. There is suppose to be separation of church and state which demands the courts to maintain it. To allow discrimination in contraception and being pregnant because employed by a religious preference employer is completely unconstitutional. How can Roe v. Wade exist and have a woman forced into pregnancy because of who they work for? It is ridiculous and Un-American. No employer short of a church itself has the right to force pregnancy because someone needs an income in a capitalism based country. It's hideous. And considering the fact the confederate flag is still endeared the idea people are forced into any kind of employment that discriminates along social preference is not legal. 

Under any other political paradigm members of this court would have been removed from their position through legislative procedures. This tell tale social Bush doctrine is UnAmerican. Completely. 

The only reason contraception was chosen as a measure the southern Christians wanted to have control over is because they can't police abortion. What were they going to do, have women employees take a pregnancy at the time clock BEFORE they punched in? As a matter of fact there would be question as to whether they were allowed on the property, then within the town and then what's next, "The South Shall Rise Again?" 

The decision about contraception by the Supreme Court is based in paperwork and the fact health insurance would be used for it's purchase. It didn't impact condoms. So, where are they going with all this? 

There is absolutely nothing prohibiting a woman working for wackos to purchase birth control. So long as it doesn't show up on the companies balance sheet it isn't a problem. What are they going to do send in the police with a search warrant to find the contraception pill or have a GYN at the personnel office? It's nonsense. It is stepping stone to some sort of ideology.

In the USA personal conduct and choice is a cornerstone. These decisions taints that and is UnAmerican. 

John Roberts stated same sex marriage was allowed because it would discriminate along gender lines. Hello?