Sunday, July 17, 2016

"A Carbon Budget for Forests of the Conterminous United States," Ecological Applications, (5)2, 1995, pp. 421-436.


Most Americans don't read scientific journals. The closest they get to one might be Scientific American or Popular Mechanics which are perfectly good publications, but, if Americans did read professional journals, what would they know?

They would know the scientists taking care of American forests already know what the capacity for carbon sinks in the USA. They would know their country was way over it's carbon budget. 

Now if Speaker Paul "No Clue" Ryan wants to talk about balanced budgets he needs to first deal with balancing the USA Carbon Budget. No other budget for the country is possible until Americans understand and realize the importance of balancing their carbon budget to the perfection outlined by its scientists.

The future is here.

...My students attend (click here) Yerba Buena High School (YBHS) in San Jose, California. YBHS is one of 12 large high schools in the East Side Union High School District. Our school population ranges from 1600 to 1700 students where 69.5% of the students are low income and 66.8% are English-Learners. The majority of our population is comprised of Hispanic/Latino (57%) and Asian (32%) students. 6 In 2012, YBHS scored 683 on the Academic Performance Index (API) and did not meet the target of 689. 7Currently the school is in its fourth year of Program Improvement which is called the Restructuring Stage, which requires the development of an alternative governance to create a plan of major restructuring within the school. 8 YBHS also struggles with a graduation rate of only 65% which is significantly lower than our district's graduation rate of 76%. Many of the students who will participate in this unit will be the first in their family to pursue a college degree. 9

The audiences for this curriculum unit are 10 th/11 th/12 th grade general chemistry students and AP chemistry students. Students opting to take general chemistry typically intend on furthering their education in college because chemistry is a required course for college readiness. Most students who take AP Chemistry are interested in pursuing a science major and take AP chemistry as a way of preparing for their general chemistry course in college. The unit will mainly focus on general chemistry students as the audience but can be modified for the AP chemistry curriculum. It is my intention to teach this unit to the general chemistry students at the beginning of the 4 th quarter during the stoichiometry unit and give students the opportunity to revisit thermochemistry. AP chemistry students will take on this unit in the middle of the 6 th quarter....

...In 2003, Rice University professor and Nobel Prize winner Richard Smalley made a list called "Top Ten Problems Facing Humanity Over the Next 50 Years." 10 In his list, he put energy as the number one problem. If energy is arguably the biggest concern for today's society, then it is important to understand the meaning of energy. It can be a mysterious word to some because it is an abstract entity that is elusive and not concrete. In the scientific context, energy is defined as the ability to produce change or do work. Energy can produce light, heat, motion, sound, growth, and can power technology. 11 Just as our body can take in food and convert food into energy that makes our body function, the world requires ways of capturing, storing, and converting energy to function. Developing new technology to efficiently make high value energy such as electricity and fuel using natural resources is a fast developing field in energy research....

This patent is from 1999. I would expect such devices are already in play and if not why not.

Device for reducing toxic wastes of diesel fuel 
ABSTRACT
This invention relates to a device for reducing toxic wastes of diesel fuel and more particularly, to a novel-type device for reducing toxic wastes of diesel fuel. The device of this invention, being equivalent to a pretreatment device, is mounted to the surface side of a fuel feed port at a diesel internal combustion engine so as to activate molecules in diesel fuel and their molecular movement. In particular, with a view to effective induction of electromagnetic wave and magnetic field, some supplement equipments such as magnet (6a, 6b, 6c), ceramic pole (7a, 7b) and coil (8) are arranged on the device of this invention and based on this fabrication, perfect combustion conditions of diesel fuel may be provided in such a manner that same physicochemical changes are offered to diesel fuel, passing through the fuel feed port. Thus, the device of this invention has advantages in that a) after diesel combustion, the release of toxic substances in exhaust gas may be significantly inhibited, and b) fuel consumption may be further improved....
How can diesel fuel affect my health? (click here)

Diesel exhaust particulates are listed as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" in the Thirteenth Report on Carcinogens published by the National Toxicology Program because long-term exposure to diesel exhaust may cause lung cancer and other lung damage.

Long-term exposure to diesel exhaust can cause chronic respiratory symptoms such as persistent cough and mucous, bronchitis, and reduced lung capacity. Long-term exposure to diesel fuel vapors can cause kidney damage and lower the blood’s ability to clot. Swallowing diesel oil can cause collapse, rapid low blood pressure, and loss of vision.

In combination with other cancer-causing substances, such as cigarette smoke, welding fumes, and asbestos, long-term exposure to diesel exhaust can increase your risk of developing lung cancer.

If you have asthma, emphysema, heart disease, or allergies, exposure to diesel exhaust can worsen those symptoms.

Short-term exposure to diesel exhaust can irritate the eyes, throat, and lungs. It can cause light-headedness, feeling "high," headache, heartburn, weakness, numbness, tingling extremities, chest tightness, wheezing, coughing, nausea, and vomiting.

Short-term exposure to diesel fuel vapors can cause difficulty breathing, nausea, eye irritation, increased blood pressure, headache, light-headedness, loss of appetite, poor coordination, and difficulty concentrating.

Swallowing diesel oil can cause severe abdominal pain, vomiting, vomiting blood, swollen throat, burning of the food pipe, irritated skin, and severe pain or burning in the throat, nose, eyes, ears, lips, or tongue.

If you think your health has been affected by exposure to diesel fuel or diesel exhaust, contact your health care professional.

For poisoning emergencies or questions about possible poisons, please contact your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.


This description is based on the information found in the Web links listed with this topic.

This is interesting. Electrical grids have to be scrutinized for voltage in relation to cancer incidents, too.

July 14, 2016
By Inna Salv

There are millions of trucks (click here) on the world’s highways at any given time, carrying cargo from one place to another and spewing diesel exhaust fumes. That’s how it’s been since the dawn of trucking, that’s how it still is. But that’s not necessarily how it will be in the future.

Electric trucks are a fact, though not a very popular one, which is undeserved to a certain degree. While short-haul deliveries are perfect for utilizing electric freight carriers, a long-haul electric truck would need a battery weighing 23 tons to be able to make a 500-mile journey in one go. That’s a lot of battery – basically half of the truck’s own weight.

Yet Siemens and Scania have recently unveiled an alternative to these monstrous hypothetical batteries: a truck that uses a pantograph feeding it power from wires running above it. Just like a trolley or an electric train. Unlike trolleys and electric trains, however, these Scania trucks (two test ones for now) can detach from the wires to overtake another vehicle or switch lanes for any other reason, and then smoothly return to the electrified lane because they also have internal combustion engines (that run on biodiesel), as well as battery-powered electric motors. These two motors allow the truck to “hop” from one electrified portion of a highway to another....

These are hydrocarbon fuel chains. The black circles are carbons, the paie blue are hydrogen.



...2b. More (click here) on relating the physical properties of the hydrocarbon fractions to their uses and dangers...

The hydrocarbon chains to the left are the result of the distillation process below. 

From above, "As the hydrocarbon molecule gets bigger, the surface to surface contact increase...Hence, the increase in viscosity, melting points and boiling points...









City of Carlsbad, California (click here)

Low carbon fuel made from waste products cuts greenhouse gases

July 13, 2016
By Phil Diehl

Carlesbad — Carlsbad recently (click here) became the first city in San Diego County to switch its fleet of diesel-powered vehicles to a 100 percent renewable fuel made entirely of waste vegetable oil and animal fats.

Renewable diesel, sometimes called “green diesel,” delivers about the same performance as petroleum diesel at nearly the same cost, and yet it reduces emissions by up to 70 percent, said Steve Hodges, a management analyst with the city’s public works department.

The new fuel differs from biodiesel, which has been around for more than a century and is usually blended with petroleum diesel.
Carlsbad made the switch about a month ago, after Hodges read an article in a trade magazine describing how San Francisco and Oakland had recently transitioned their diesel fleets to renewable diesel. He decided to investigate and found many advantages.
“We’re always looking for innovative ideas,” said Hodges. “The more research we did, the better it seemed.”...

Electric vehicles are the better option for the USA than converting transportation by car to diesel.

The USA refineries produce far more gasoline than Europe or Japan. But, the land mass used in transportation if far greater than the other two First World powers.

There is some 'touring' in cars in Europe and Japan, but, to the extent of the USA. 

In order for the USA to produce more diesel, assuming that is, there will be more diesel cars, the refineries would require large investments in changing their processes. There is no reason to make such investments, but, to support the change to Electric Vehicles and it's infrastructure. 

The illustration above came from this power point (click here).


Volkswagen should ask the US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. He is a dynamo. He may have some constructive ideas.

July 14, 2016
By David R. Baker

California regulators Wednesday (click here) again rejected Volkswagen’s plan to fix diesel cars that were programmed to cheat on air pollution tests, saying the proposal lacked enough detail for the state to gauge its effectiveness.
The California Air Resources Board, which helped uncover the cheating last year, sent a letter to Volkswagen executives saying the plan’s details are “incomplete, substantially deficient, and fall far short of meeting the legal requirements” to ensure that the cars follow the state’s pollution regulations.
A Volkswagen spokesman could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Diesel's general classification is as a distillate fuel oil.



Distillate fuel oil:  (click here) A general classification for one of the petroleum fractions produced in conventional distillation operations. It includes diesel fuels and fuel oils. 

Products known as No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 diesel fuel are used in on-highway diesel engines, such as those in trucks and automobiles, as well as off-highway engines, such as those in railroad locomotives and agricultural machinery. 

Products known as No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 fuel oils are used primarily for space heating and electric power generation....

This is a graph of the use of the distillate. The primary use is a highway fuel. 

Still looking at Kyoto:

Sectors/source categories 

Energy 

 Fuel combustion 

 Energy industries 

I think I've covered most of the evils in fuel combustion, except, for diesel fuel, jet fuel and methane. Most Americans don't think about diesel fuel because they purchase it. I think there can be a good working knowledge of it and it's importance in understanding it. 

So, let's talk about diesel fuel....


Antarctica Infrared Composite (click here)
17 July 2016
20 UTC
University of Wisconsin. Madison

That gray shaded area is simply a part of the satellite picture that didn't download for whatever reason.

When I first started this blog I would look at the ice continent daily. The blog was more structured and disciplined. I've never seen it like this, though. It is all heat and plenty of it causing these exceptionally large volumns of water vapor turbulence. It is nearly so dense the continent is indiscernible.
It's Sunday Night

"The Dangling Conversation" by Simon and Garfunkel (click here))

It's a still life water color,
Of a now late afternoon,
As the sun shines through the curtained lace
And shadows wash the room.
And we sit and drink our coffee
Couched in our indifference,
Like shells upon the shore
You can hear the ocean roar
In the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
The borders of our lives.

And you read your Emily Dickinson,
And I my Robert Frost,
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what we've lost.
Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm,
Couplets out of rhyme,
In syncopated time
And the dangled conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives.

Yes, we speak of things that matter,
With words that must be said,
"Can analysis be worthwhile?"
"Is the theater really dead?"
And how the room is softly faded
And I only kiss your shadow,
I cannot feel your hand,
You're a stranger now unto me
Lost in the dangling conversation.
And the superficial sighs,
In the borders of our lives.

6000 detainees are a lot of detainees. They have to be fed and given medical attention. I think there is a need for a USA deployment to a NATO ally.

July 18, 2016
Thousands of military officers, (click here) soldiers and other suspects linked to a failed coup in Turkey have been arrested, authorities said Monday, amid signs that the campaign against the alleged plotters was turning into a crackdown on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's opponents.
The country's justice minister said that as many as 6,000 people had been detained by Monday.
Among those arrested was the commander at Incirlik Air Base, which is used by U.S. forces to launch raids against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, a senior Turkish official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. General Bekir Ercan Van was detained along with 10 other soldiers on Monday. The facility is a major NATO installation hosting U.S. forces that control a stockpile of nuclear weapons....

Why did this happen?

The nukes.

Daesh is losing it's footing in Syria and Iraq. The truth is, the Turkish military is fairly unimpressive, primarily because the NATO forces are involved in the country.

This is from RT. Of course, Russia would be interested in this tidbit of news.

16 July 2016

Movement in and out of the Incirlik airbase (click here) in southern Turkey was blocked on Saturday by local military authorities. The NATO base stores US tactical nuclear weapons.
ccess to the base has now been restored and flights are again allowed in its airspace, Daily Sabah reports, citing the US consulate in Turkey.
"Local authorities are denying movements on to and off of Incirlik Air Base. The power there has also been cut," the US consulate in Adana said in a message.
"Please avoid the air base until normal operations have been restored," it added. No further details were provided.
According to CNN, power to the facility was also cut.
The closure of the airspace reportedly led to a halt in US air strikes against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). CNN was told by sources that the Turkish authorities did make an exception for US aircraft that had already been deployed on missions before the airspace was shut and allowed them to land at the base....

I applaud Mr. Loomis and everyone else should as well.

No constitutional challenge will win when there are police officers under attack. The Cleveland mayor should issue an order for the duration of the convention at the very least.

July 17, 2016
By Adam Ferrise


Cleveland, Ohio — The head of the Cleveland police (click here) patrolmen's union is asking Ohio Gov. John Kasich to suspend the state's open carry laws in Cuyahoga County for the Republican National Convention in the wake of the deaths of three police officers in Louisiana, according to WJW-TV.
The station reported Sunday that union president Steve Loomis said he is working with an attorney to draft a request to be sent to Kasich for consideration. Reuters reported Loomis asked the governor to declare a state of emergency, which would allow Kasich to immediately suspend the law. 
Ohio's open carry laws allow anyone without a felony record to carry guns in the state, including in downtown Cleveland, but not inside the U.S. Secret Service security zone around Quicken Loans Arena, where the RNC will be held Monday through Thursday.
"I don't care what the legal precedent is, I feel strongly that leadership needs to stand up and defend these police officers," Loomis, the head of the police union, told Reuters, on Sunday. ...

I thnk it is a matter of intelligence gathering at this point.

Interstate 12 with exit and entrance ramps Airline Highway in Baton Rouge. I would think states assets would be aware of any questionable activity.

No officer should approach alone or without body armor. It is not necessary to put an officer's life in the line so much as purposing for intelligence.

I-12 merges with I-10 to the west and I-55 to the east. If they had a car they could be anywhere by now. The intelligence any officer can provide is more valuable than their gun.

The FDA approved this life saving injection.

If ambulances can have them then police can have them and carry them in a convenient place.

X-Stat (click here) 

Ambulances (click here) in the United States may now be equipped with life-saving sponges to prevent gunshot victims from bleeding out.
The device was cleared last year for use on the battlefield, but now, the FDA has approved it for civilian use too.
Sponges are injected into the wound to stop the bleeding, and can later be removed safely once the victim has arrived at the hospital.

Police officers are vulnerable to gun shots, they should have every protection and life protection available. I will say this, assault rifles will not necessary allow such issued equipment to be effective. Assault weapons in the USA have to be governed far better than they are today
How were there three officers in one location and was this a place where police usually meet?

If one recalls and I want to say it was Oregon, a few years ago four officers were ambushed while they were having breakfast together. Their patrol cars were in the parking lot. Those cars advertised the police presence. The shooter came into the coffee shop fully armed with an assault rifle and the police were sitting ducks.

There have to be common denominators in why the three police were together. Was there real reasons?  They were completely caught off guard and the gunmen were ready to take advantage of it.

Police need and deserve to have any safety margin on the job, including bulletproof windows in patrol cars as noted in New York City. They need body armor THAT WORKS to cover at least the chest. They need to carry tourniquets with them as part of their equipment. It is helpful in more than police work.

I realize police are a support to each other and are frequently friends. Wear street clothes to work. Change into the police uniform in the locker room. Carry uniforms in gym bags to launder clothing. Make it a sports gym bag that cannot be mistaken for anything else. Keep it light, keep it happy.

Chiefs of police and captains need to know their people and the work they do and protect them wherever and whenever possible. Unless the police are patrolling together there is no reason for them to take coffee breaks where they are unprotected with cars in the parking lot. 

I can't think of everything. Sometimes officers' wives know the circumstances better than others. I like suggestion boxes. 

There are too many guns on the street.

July 12, 2016
By Julia Jacobo
A burglary at a pawn shop in Baton Rouge (click here) is believed to be part of a larger conspiracy to attack police officers in the area, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Eight guns were stolen from Cash America Pawn Saturday before 2 a.m., police said. Of the four suspects who were involved in the burglary, three have been taken into custody. One suspect told police he was looking for bullets to harm police officers in the Baton Rouge Area, said Baton Rouge Police Chief Dabadie, Jr.
Police said they consider the threats credible.
Six of the firearms, which were all handguns, have been recovered. A BB gun was also stolen from the store....

The guns in the USA lack effective governance. When politicians walk with dangerous cronies, this is the result. The attack today in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was with an assault rifle. If the military style guns were not on the sales shelf, they would not be in the hands of violent people.

January 5, 2016
By Scott Horsley 
President Obama announced executive actions Tuesday, (click here) intended to curtail gun violence. But if history is any guide, the president's effort may have the unintended effect of boosting gun sales — 2015 was a banner year.
"After San Bernardino, our business went up probably 50 percent," John Lamplugh, who has run gun shows in Maryland and Pennsylvania for more than three decades, said, referring to the recent shooting in California. "It's either two things: They're scared and need to protect [themselves]. Or they're afraid that [the government is] going to take it from them. There's the two things that drive our business."
According to the Congressional Research Service, there are roughly twice as many guns per capita in the United States as there were in 1968: more than 300 million guns in all.
Gun sales have increased in recent years. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. gun-makers produced nearly 11 million guns in 2013, the year after the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre. That's twice as many as they made in 2010....

Hundreds of millions of guns in the USA and tens of thousands of deaths by gun violence per year. What is it going to take for the Congress to get it right.

July 17, 2016
By Combined News Service
Baton Rouge, La. — Three police officers are feared dead after a shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish Kip Holden told CNN on Sunday.
“There is still an active scene. They are investigating. Right now we are trying to get our arms around everything. It’s just been one thing after another,” Holden said.
Authorities in Louisiana told the Associated Press more than one officer has been shot.
The shooting happened early Sunday, less than 1 mile from police headquarters.
Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Don Coppola did not know the extent of the injuries or the precise number of officers injured.
He said that authorities believe the “scene is contained,” meaning that a shooter was unlikely on the loose....