Heat transfer systems can be wicked. All this snow came off the Equator from the ITCZ.

• Connecticut: (click here) Middletown (21 inches), Windsor Locks-Bradley Int'l Airport (15.8 inches), Bridgeport (7.1 inches)
• Delaware: Pike Creek (4.4 inches), Newark (3.6 inches), Wilmington (1.8 inches)
• Maine: Lisbon Falls (22 inches), Portland (16.4 inches), Bangor (14.5 inches), Caribou (14.1 inches)
• Maryland: Bittinger (12 inches), Frederick (10 inches), Baltimore (2.2 inches)
• Massachusetts: Granville (21.5 inches), Lowell (15 inches), Worcester (14.4 inches), Boston (6.6 inches)
• New Hampshire: Stratham (23.6 inches), Concord (15.6 inches), Manchester (11.7 inches)
• New Jersey: Vernon (20.3 inches), Newark (7 inches)
• New York: Hartwick (48.4 inches), Near Utica (36 inches), Binghamton (35.3 inches), Rochester (26.7 inches), Syracuse (24.4 inches), Buffalo (19.6 inches), Albany (17.0 inches), NYC-Central Park (7.6 inches)
• Pennsylvania: Oakland (34.5 inches), Susquehanna (32.3 inches), Honesdale (31 inches), Scranton (23.9 inches), Harrisburg (17.2 inches) Philadelphia Int'l Airport (6 inches)
• Rhode Island: Burrillville (13 inches), Providence (3.3 inches)
• Vermont: Nashville (37.7 inches), South Burlington/NWS office (30.4 inches)
• Virginia: Winchester (8.1 inches), Washington-Dulles Airport (5.6 inches), Washington-Reagan Airport (0.9 inches)
• West Virginia: Eglon (16 inches), Elkins (6.5 inches), Beckley (4.2 inches)

The heat transfer system responsible for all that snow is still intact and has moved offshore. This was 12 hours ago.

March 15, 2017

0230.20z

UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

The most dangerous conditions occurred in Pennsylvania (mountain in background) where avalanches occurred. 

The Tunkhannock Township Police (click here) report a second slide on SR 92 south, just south of the SR 307 intersection. (Photo/Tunkhannock Township Police)

Pictures out of New Jersey show clear roads. They did well with early warnings of accumulations of 18 inches. It wasn't that much, but, traffic moved.

This morning at 6:15 AM EST the temperature in Juneau, Alaska was 31 degrees, central North Carolina was 27, Western Ohio was 23 as was New Jersey and Northwest Michigan was 13 degrees. All are degrees Fahrenheit.

Waiting for Maryland's ruling.

March 15, 2017
By Alexander Burns

A federal judge (click here) in Hawaii issued a nationwide order Wednesday evening blocking President Trump’s ban on travel from parts of the Muslim world, dealing a political blow to the White House and signaling that proponents of the ban face a long and risky legal battle ahead.

The ruling was the second frustrating defeat for Mr. Trump’s travel ban, after a federal court in Seattle halted an earlier version of the executive order last month. Mr. Trump responded to that setback with fury, lashing out at the judiciary before ultimately abandoning the order.

He issued a new and narrower travel ban on March 6, with the aim of pre-empting new lawsuits by abandoning some of the most contentious elements of the first version.

But Mr. Trump evidently failed in that goal: Democratic states and nonprofit groups that work with immigrants and refugees raced into court to attack the updated order, alleging that it was a thinly veiled version of the ban on Muslim migration that he had pledged to enact last year, as a presidential candidate....

I don't believe in coincidence.

March 14, 2017
By John Pacenti

West Palm Beach, Fla - The coincidences are piling up. (click here)

After disavowing any contact with President Donald Trump last week, Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev's state-of-the-art yacht Anna sat anchored in the British Virgin Islands on Friday night when another equally resplendent luxury liner, the Sea Owl, sidled up, according to a website that tracks the movement of yachts.

The owner of the dark-hulled yacht? President Donald Trump's biggest financial supporter and Breitbart News moneyman, Robert Mercer.

Rybolovlev has repeatedly said he has never met Trump or had any dealings with anyone in his campaign. The oligarch did purchase a Palm Beach mansion from the developer in 2008 through a family trust, Rybolovlev's spokespeople say.

Within days of the election last year, Trump's and Rybolovlev's jets were parked on the airport apron in Charlotte, N.C., on Nov. 3. Trump had a campaign rally that day in Concord, N.C. Rybolovlev said he was there for business.

The two planes were also in Las Vegas at the same time in October....

March 14, 2017
By Charles V. Bagli and Michael Forsythe

A New York real estate company (click here) owned by the family of President Donald Trump's son-in-law is negotiating to sell a $400 million stake in its Fifth Avenue flagship skyscraper to a Chinese insurance company with ties to leading families of the Communist Party.

The Chinese company, Anbang Insurance Group, would pay to get a high-profile piece of Manhattan real estate and would commit to spending billions more to completely transform the 60-year-old tower into a chic condominium and retail citadel.

If signed, the potential agreement would create a financial marriage of two politically powerful families in the world's two biggest economies, but it would also present the possibility of glaring conflicts of interest. The Kushner family, owners of the tower, would reap a financial windfall courtesy of a Chinese company, even as Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump as well as his son-in-law, helps oversee U.S. foreign policy.

News of the negotiations surfaced as Trump and the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, were preparing for their first meeting, to be held next month.

Kushner has emerged as a moderating voice in China policy among Trump's inner circle, and he has been heavily involved in planning for the visit.

Asked about a deal at a news conference Tuesday, the White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, referred questions back to the Kushner Companies. "Jared went through extraordinary lengths" to comply with conflict-of-interest rules, he said....

March 14, 2017
By Mengqi Sun

...Ivanka Trump made headlines (click here) last November when her namesake company promoted the $10,800 bracelet she wore to an interview with “60 Minutes,” raising concerns about a conflict of interest. The spokeswoman for the fashion company later apologized. 

To avoid further potentially problematic entanglements for the company, Ivanka Trump removed herself from the leadership role. Yet, her involvement in the White House has come under more scrutiny as she continues to hold her financial stake in the company.

The decision also came amid reports that online sales of the brand surged last month, despite decisions by major department stores such as Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus to drop the line in January. According to British e-commerce website Lyst, sales of Ivanka Trump brand items jumped 346 percent from January to February this year, as The Christian Science Monitor reported on Saturday.

“Since the beginning of February, they were some of the best performing weeks in the history of the brand,” Klem said. “For several different retailers Ivanka Trump was a top performer online, and in some of the categories it was the [brand’s] best performance ever.”

March 14, 2017
By Jamie Feldman

Whether you’re a devoted member (click here) of the Grab Your Wallet boycott or you’re enthusiastically buying Ivanka Trump, chances are you already know that many of the Trump family’s products are made overseas.

But did you know that even as President Donald Trump promised to create jobs by following “two simple rules: Buy American and hire American” in his January inauguration speech, huge shipments of his daughter’s line were reportedly on the way to the U.S. from China?

More than 53.5 metric tons of Ivanka Trump-branded shoes, bags, and clothes were sailing to American ports in eight shipments “even as he spoke,” according to customs receipts obtained by French news organization Agence France-Presse. 

President Trump promised to bring more factory jobs to this country and accused China of stealing manufacturing work. But at least one shipment per business day of Ivanka Trump’s shoes and other offerings continues to be sent from China, according to the AFP investigation, and the Global Times reported last month that a Chinese factory has already received an order for 10,000 Ivanka Trump shoes for next season....

A new kind of branding and victimization.

Such laws provide too much information to employers. Additionally, Ryan has already said that pre-existing conditions could provide a barrier to care.

February 25, 2017

By The AP

...Whatever happens,(click here)  the effects could be broadly felt. The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 27 percent of adults under age 65 have health conditions that would likely leave them uninsurable under practices that existed before the health care overhaul.

Some Republicans say they will preserve protection for pre-existing conditions, but with a catch. People would have to maintain continuous coverage before earning the protection — for 18 months in the plan offered by former Rep. Tom Price, Trump's health secretary. Those who go without coverage or who never had insurance could buy a policy through a state-run high-risk pool....

Continuous coverage never mattered before. Healthcare insurers make their own rules and evidently it is all headed back to the old ways and olden days.

Now if Americans never knew they had a potential genetic risk they would not have reported it. The genetic testing is more money for health insurers whether or not a person has manifested symptoms. The idea this information is available in a persons health record is scary. There can be false assumptions about health from this information alone. 

The genetic branding will no doubt be tied to the SSI number and there you have it a government with complete and intimate knowledge of any American with health insurance. This genetic branding will become a deterrent to care. It poses a real danger and is a hapless idea.

I would expect the US Congress to be the first Americans tested and their results placed in their government file for their health insurance, otherwise, they don't get paid!

March 11, 2017

by Lena H. Sun

Employers (click here) could impose hefty penalties on employees who decline to participate in genetic testing as part of workplace wellness programs if a bill approved by a U.S. House committee this week becomes law.

In general, employers don't have that power under existing federal laws, which protect genetic privacy and nondiscrimination. But a bill passed Wednesday by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce would allow employers to get around those obstacles if the information is collected as part of a workplace wellness program.

Such programs — which offer workers a variety of carrots and sticks to monitor and improve their health, such as lowering cholesterol — have become increasingly popular with companies. Some offer discounts on health insurance to employees who complete health-risk assessments. Others might charge people more for smoking. Under the Affordable Care Act, employers are allowed to discount health insurance premiums by up to 30 percent — and in some cases 50 percent — for employees who voluntarily participate in a wellness program where they're required to meet certain health targets....

Using DNA for paternity tests and "the truth" in crimes is a defensive measure and not a government on the offensive to benefit the private sector.

The healthcare insurance will be based on genetic readings and will provide higher premiums. It is acting BEFORE the facts are known. It is increasing insurance rates on THEORY and not factual health histories. Genetics does not account for lifestyle and lifestyle is the biggest health threat to any American or healthcare insurance company.

03 March 2017

By Gabrielle Ahern

Mangrove forests (click here) cover only a small percentage of the planet in comparison to other forest types – roughly 1.9% of coastline in the world – but they contain the largest source of carbon sequestration per hectare of land and are a major player in the carbon cycle of the oceans.

This means they have high economic value as “blue carbon” – carbon captured in oceans and coastal ecosystems – but around the world they have often been destroyed in the course of coastal development, agricultural and mining activities.

Increasingly, however, they are being acknowledged as formidable carbon sinks. But has this acknowledgement come too late? Does the ongoing loss mean we’ve squandered our best last chance to put the brake on global warming?

Carbon is stored as biomass in the sediment captured through the growth of mangroves. The carbon produced by its decomposing roots alone is a major contributor to this complex sink. The removal of mangroves adds 10% to the total carbon lost from global tropical deforestation through greenhouse gas emissions....

Below is the You Tube video of the recently diagnosed dead Mangrove Forests of Australia. That is a lot of chlorophyll and complex biological processes to lose.

March 13, 2017

One of the worst instances of mangrove forest dieback (click here) ever recorded globally struck Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria in the summer of 2015-16. A combination of extreme temperatures, drought and lowered sea levels likely caused this dieback, according to our investigation published in the journal Marine and Freshwater Research.

The dieback, which coincided with the Great Barrier Reef’s worst ever bleaching event, affected 1,000km of coastline between the Roper River in the Northern Territory and Karumba in Queensland....

It is due to anthropogenic global warming and the climate crisis.

Yes, yes, yes, Alaska is warmer today than the lower 48.

Alaska is the largest state in the United States, (click here) accounting for about 20% of the total area of the United States and more than twice the land area of Texas. Alaska includes lands on both sides of the Arctic Circle, which makes the United States an Arctic nation. The state spans a wide range of climatic and ecological conditions that include rainforests, glaciers, boreal forest, tundra, peatlands, and meadows....

...Over the past 60 years, the average temperature across Alaska has increased by approximately 3°F. This increase is more than twice the warming seen in the rest of the United States. Warming in the winter has increased by an average of 6°F and has led to changes in ecosystems, such as earlier breakup of river ice in the spring. As the climate continues to warm, average annual temperatures in Alaska are projected to increase an additional 2 to 4°F by the middle of this century. Precipitation in Alaska is projected to increase during all seasons by the end of this century. Despite increased precipitation, the state is likely to become drier due to greater evaporation caused by warming temperatures and longer growing seasons....

But, we already know why. It is well documented and it is documented by far more than the USA EPA.

The reason Alaska is gaining ground on Florida as far as temperature goes is because of anthropogenic climate crisis.

Here is what makes Alaska so interesting to that fact: As of 2014, the population of Alaska was 736,732 Americans and Native Americans. It has the longest coastline of any state. Alaska is 663,300 square miles of which are high quality wilderness. That means Alaska has a very healthy carbon load for the people per square mile. It not only has the help of vast wildness, Alaska has a neighbor in Canada that helps protect that wilderness and values winter and it's economy and it is within the Arctic Circle.

By every measure, Alaska should not be warming. At all. If anything with all the concrete jungles in the lower 48 there should be vast more warming than Alaska. But, Alaska is warming, it is losing ice mass everywhere and it is actually a canary in the coal mine.

Alaska because of it's long and abundant coastlines have ice fields that are "Temperate" icefields. What does that mean? Temperate icefields are those closest to the oceans. Oceans are warming. Oceans do not lose their heat quickly. Water is the moderator to climate. Temperate icefields and glaciers are the ones that actually melt at 32 degrees or 0 Celsius. Temperate icefields are effected by warm ocean air before high ice in Antarctica.

So, yes, Alaska is warmer than the lower 48, especially since the frigid temperatures of the Arctic OCEAN have grown smaller and smaller in diameter. This year scientists in Europe made their annual trip to the ice of the Arctic Circle and found it to be first year ice instead of at least half a decade old. The ice was not only young ice, it was fragile. The Arctic Ocean is coming closer and closer to being ice free and that is why the USA is receiving more and more severe winter storms. The Arctic Ocean was the place where the Arctic Vortex had stability. There is nothing maintaining it's presence anymore in one cold place.

Why is that important? Because the Arctic Vortex is part of that thermostat to maintain Earth biologically viable. With a chronic source of greenhouse gases, there is no limit to the warming and Earth obviously cannot compensate. The danger to every form of life on Earth is a homogenized climate that ends the thermostat and simply warms more and more without abatement.

You can say I am wrong, but, when it comes to climate I haven't been wrong yet!

This administration is actually trying to shut down the federal government.

The people in this administration are committed to one reality and that is the original constitution. Not Bill of Rights, either.

That is the standard every action by this administration should be measured by.

The EPA is the best example. Now, I will grant you "What's his name" is from Texas, but, his best buddy Inhofe (that is a German name, isn't it?) is from Oklahoma. Through "Citizens's United" the petroleum industry has purchased the federal government. The petroleum industry benefits the best from no government, so the ideology is intact in this symbiosis.

March 15, 2017
By Mark Brown

Felicia Chase, 39, (click here) is a geologist who has worked at the EPA for nine years, currently in water quality enforcement. It’s her job to ensure local communities take steps to prevent stormwater and sewage discharges from polluting local rivers and streams.

Frank Lagunas, 40, is a chemist who came to the EPA six years ago after six years with the Air Force as a crew chief on a Stealth fighter. Lagunas’ main responsibility is to certify the laboratories that test drinking water to make sure the public can trust the results.

Jon Peterson, 57, worked his way through college shoveling the toxic slag that was a byproduct of his hometown steel plant and has spent 32 years at the EPA working to clean up the mess factories like that one left behind.

Michael Mikulka, 62, is a civil engineer by training who has been with the EPA for 40 years in a variety of roles, overseeing construction of wastewater treatment plants and reclaiming hazardous waste sites across the Great Lakes region. Now, he’s the union rep.

Between them, they’ve worked on major projects in Decatur, Rockford, Gary, East Chicago, Hammond, Oshkosh and Green Bay, to name just a few....

The budget being worked on cuts the EPA funding by a full one third, laying off 3000 people. That is dangerous for the citizens of this country. It ONLY benefits the petroleum industry and polluters. That is not the economy the American people want.

Now if the budget continues to be cut year after year at that same rate, a full one third, by 2020 no matter who wins the presidency the agencies will be completely defunded. That is the goal, to completely defund the agencies this group of billionaires despises. 

The greed merchants currently in this administration are using self-righteous religious dogma to achieve their goals. They want to appear as saints to the sinners, but, they are nothing more  than greedy individuals. They have no particular talent that they bring to the people of this country, except, they are willing to do the devil's work. There is no methodology to the defunding, it is strictly; cut, cut, cut.

February 29, 2016
By Phillip Bump

..."[The Klan] is already weakening," (click here) the editors wrote. "But it shrinks and dissolves most rapidly where men and women are bold enough to fight it openly."

"What he is obviously consenting to do" through his silence, they continued, "is to accept as many votes as he possibly can get, without inquiring too curiously in to the motives or hopes of the men and women who cast them."...

There are two places where minorities receive equal treatment, the federal government, blue states and union shops. 

March 12, 2017
By Elliot Hannon

...Republican Congressman Steve King, (click here) who has a history of tip-toeing around white-nationalist rhetoric, fired off a tweet Sunday afternoon that reeked of white-supremacist ideology. The tweet referenced “culture and demographics” being fundamental to European and American “destiny” before closing with: “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.” It is hard to read that any other way than it was written. It is an apparent, explicit call to protect white “culture and demographics” from immigrants. It’s the type of rhetoric that you might find at a Klan rally. Steve King is a congressman from Iowa....

Steve Scalise's (click here) name is not foreign to this blog. Racism is propagated for political gain and those that receive those votes want to keep them.

March 14, 2017
By Eugene Robinson

White supremacism (click here) was never banished from American political thought, just shoved to the fringe and hushed to a whisper. Now, in the Age of Trump, it’s back in the mainstream and ready to roar.

Witness the words of Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, on the subject of immigration: “Culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”

King offered these sentiments Sunday in a tweet expressing solidarity with Geert Wilders, an openly racist and Islamophobic Dutch politician who has a chance of becoming prime minister in elections this week. Wilders is someone who “understands,” King wrote.

And we understand just what King meant. Former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke certainly got the message, using his vile Twitter account to proclaim, “GOD BLESS STEVE KING!!!”

Just so there’s no confusion, King went on CNN Monday to say that “I meant exactly what I said.” He added: “I’ve been to Europe and I’ve spoken on this issue and I’ve said the same thing as far as 10 years ago to the German people and to any population of people that is a declining population that … isn’t willing to have enough babies to reproduce themselves. I’ve said to them, ‘You cannot rebuild your civilization with somebody else’s babies. You’ve got to keep your birth rate up and that you need to teach your children your values.'”

Why am I hearing faint strains of “Deutschland uber alles”? And why am I not hearing a loud chorus of condemnation from King’s Republican colleagues?...

If Americans aren't fighting racism at every turn, then they are losing their country to power that has been covert and very, very corrupt.

I am proud of them.

The policies of the USA cannot be set in ideology. It simply is not possible. Nearly 319 million count on the policies of this country to make it through day to day and save to grow wealthy when owning a home, enjoying life in the USA today and saving for a retirement with meaning and purpose.

The people have to come first and politics second. If missteps lead to failure of the USA economy and the health of the people, we won't have a secure sovereignty.

March 14, 2017

By James Hohmann

• ...“The top line numbers are alarming,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). (click here) “These kinds of estimates are going to cause revisions in the bill, almost certainly. I don’t think that the bill that is being considered now is the bill that ultimately will be the one that we vote on in the Senate.”
• "Can't sugarcoat it. Doesn't look good," said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), per Politico. "The CBO score was, shall we say, an eye-popper."
• “Let’s say the CBO is half-right; that should be cause for concern,’’ said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), per the Boston Globe. “So rather than attacking the CBO as the exclusive way of moving forward, I would think the prudent thing for the party to do is to look at the CBO report and see if we can address some of the concerns raised.”
• Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) cited the CBO number as another reason to slow the whole process down. “I don’t think Americans care whether this bill passes by Easter or Memorial Day,” he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt this morning. “I think that people in Congress often get tunnel vision, and they focus on the next 24 or 48 hours and what’s going to happen with this legislation, and passing a bill and not solving a problem."
• Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) told one of our reporters that it’s understandable fewer would have coverage because there will no longer be a mandate. But the Senate majority whip added that Republicans in his chamber will “obviously” want to “improve those coverage numbers” all the same....

New youngster at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refugee (click here) with friend.

PI Day

Updated: 6:14 AM Eastern
Originally published: 6:00 AM Eastern

March 14 (click here) is recognized across the math world as Pi Day, thanks to the resemblance of the date "3/14" to the first three digits of mathematics' most famous constant. While not an official federal holiday, Pi Day was enshrined by the House of Representatives in a ceremonial 2009 vote.

Of course, the number Pi goes beyond "3.14" and never ends. There are all sorts of interesting patterns concealed in the first few trillion digits, give or take, but there is no constant rule governing the sequence of digits. That means just about any stretch of numbers you're looking for is probably in there somewhere.

Like, say, your birthday. To verify this, we wrote a program to scan the first million digits of Pi and identify the first instance of all 366 days of the year, represented like "314," with the month followed by the day ("704" for July 4th for example, or "1225" for Christmas Day"). The program found the final date — Dec. 3, or "1203" — beginning at the 60,873rd digit. Enter your birthday or any other date below and we'll show you how deep into Pi you have to go to find it....

Is everyone paying attention? The allies are busy..

March 14, 2017

By Brad Lendon

The US, Japan and South Korea (click here) sent a pointed message to North Korea on Tuesday, dispatching high-tech missile defense ships to the same area where Pyongyang fired four missiles just eight days ago.

Aegis warships from the US, South Korea and Japan began exercises Tuesday to improve their capability to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles, the US Navy said in a statement.

The US Navy called the two-day drills "a trilateral missile warning informational link exercise."

"The exercise will employ tactical data link systems to trade communications, intelligence and other data among the ships in the exercise," a statement from the US Navy's 7th Fleet in Japan said....

Everyone having fun yet? More than 78 airline flights cancelled due to storms. "Everyone give Wall Street a pity party...UHhhhhh, poor Wall Street."

Current Temperatures Map (click here)
14 Match 2017
1:30 (1330) PM GMT

March 12, 2017
By David Swanson

A potentially record-breaking winter storm (click here) appeared likely to strike the Philadelphia region Monday into Tuesday, bringing about a foot or more of snow to the area and potential blizzard conditions to New York City and coastal Connecticut, the National Weather Service said Sunday....

14 March 2017
1330.18z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)

Ten day forecast for Juneau, Alaska (click here)

High today in Juneau, Alaska, along the Alaskan Coast is 37 degrees F. with rain.

There is a heat transfer system on the east coast of North America that moves hot water vapor from the ITCZ, or what exists of it, to the Arctic Circle.

14 March 2017
1330.z
GOES East Water Vapor satellite (click here for 24 hour loop - thank you)


California on the west coast of North America is experiencing a high pressure system. The heat transfer system off the ITCZ is moving across Hawaii, coming up to the high pressure system and then north to the Arctic Circle.

14 March 2017
by City News Service

Los Angeles — The day after the start of Daylight Saving Time, (click here for 12 hour loop)  temperatures will climb into the 90s in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, forecasters said.

The high will be 92 degrees Monday in Woodland Hills, 91 in Saugus and 90 in Burbank, according to the National Weather Service. Woodland Hills is forecast to hit 90 on Friday, but Saugus and Burbank will remain in the 80s through Saturday.

Elsewhere, temperatures will be in the 60s, 70s and 80s today.

The above-normal heat is the result of a strong ridge of upper-level high pressure that has been parked over the region for several days, pushing down the air and, in this way, causing it to warm up.

In spite of the heat and some wind, no wildfire warnings have been issued. The consensus is that, after heavy rains earlier this year, what is usually dry vegetation constituting highly combustible fire fuel is now suffused with enough moisture to stave off high risks of wildfire, according to NWS meteorologists.

Daylight Saving Time began at 2 a.m. Sunday, turning clocks an hour ahead and resulting in the “loss” of an hour. The time change makes for darker mornings and lighter evenings.

Today’s forecasted high temperatures in Los Angeles County are:

Burbank: 90

Downtown L.A.: 85

Lancaster: 83

Long Beach: 74

North Hollywood: 87

Northridge: 91

Palmdale: 81

Pasadena: 89

San Gabriel: 86

San Pedro: 72

Santa Clarita: 91

Torrance: 67

Van Nuys: 90

West Covina: 90

Whittier: 85

Woodland Hills: 92

Myopic!

Besides throwing 24 million Americans off health care, bringing the federal budget down by $334 billion by 2026, the USA economy will suffer and the healthcare infrastructure will collapse.

Why go there? So a handful of billionaires can pay less taxes and eventually become trillionaires.

No one mentioned a reduction in the national debt either. Why? Because the Middle Class and poor will still be paying for it.

2026 is only nine years away. Funding for healthcare infrastructure growth and maintenance is planned over ten and twenty or more years. The additional construction, MRI, Catscans, hospital beds, surgical suites and labs now under way all have yet to be paid for. What does the US economy run on, sunlight? No, cold hard cash and the Republicans want to pull billions in government spending out of circulation every year. The collapse of healthcare will drag the US economy into another huge recession without taxes to rescue it. Good luck with that!

"Good Night, Moon"

Full Moon

15.2 days old

99.8 percent lit

March 11, 2017
By WFLA Web Staff

Fort Irwin, Ca. (WFLA) —Nearly eight years (click here) after it vanished, India’s first lunar spacecraft, Chandrayaan-1 was found orbiting around the moon.

Scientists had no clue where the spacecraft could be found. It measures only five feet wide.  It looked like a spec in the sky to researchers working to track it down.

But NASA eventually determined the tiny craft was some 124 miles above the moon, and tracked it down using a powerful radar.

A 230-foot antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California was used to beam microwaves towards the moon.

The microwaves, which can detect any object that crosses their path, picked up signal from Chandrayaan-1, which responded twice.

NASA said finding the probe was less of a challenge, considering data from the mission’s navigators was provided to aid the search....

I just could not let this one go.

Global Nuclear Decommissioning Market 2017...(click here)

This report provides a general overview of the Nuclear Decommissioning industry 2017. This report split global into several key Regions, with sales (volume), revenue (value), market share and growth rate.

This press release was orginally distIributed by SBWire

Pune, Mahrashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/10/2017 -- Worldwide Nuclear Decommissioning 2017 Research Report presents a professional and complete analysis of Global Nuclear Decommissioning Market on the current situation.

In the first part, the report provides a general overview of the Nuclear Decommissioning industry 2017 including definitions, classifications, Nuclear Decommissioning market analysis, a wide range of applications and Nuclear Decommissioning industry chain structure. The 2017's report on Nuclear Decommissioning industry offers the global Nuclear Decommissioning development history, development trends and competitive landscape analysis.

In the second part, the report covers manufacturing processes and price structures on Nuclear Decommissioning scenario. This report also includes Nuclear Decommissioning import/export, supply chain relationship, consumption ratio, Nuclear Decommissioning revenue and gross margin by regions/countries (United States, EU, China, and Japan).

Isn't that interesting? I thought it was very interesting. I thought these were interesting, too.

Global Nuclear Decommissioning Market 2016-2020 (click here)

I thought this was interesting, too.

The global nuclear decommissioning market (click here) has been estimated at USD XX billion in 2016 and is projected to reach USD XX billion by 2022, at a CAGR of XX% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2022. The world’s focus is shifting towards clean energy sources, as the nations are moving towards energy efficiency. As a result, technologies such as solar photovoltaic and wind power generation are growing at a fast pace. Even though nuclear energy is considered a low carbon technology, nuclear power plant related accidents such as the Three-Mile Island accident, the Chernobyl disaster, and the recent Fukushima nuclear power plant accident have all been cause for concern to the public and to governments that have plans for nuclear power generation. Countries like Germany have already dropped the plans of having nuclear energy in their energy mix. As a result, many countries are shedding their nuclear power in order to move towards non-nuclear power generation programs. Moreover, there are certain reactors that retire from operation as they are economically not viable to produce power. Hence, the global nuclear decommissioning market is growing at a good rate....

With all this decommissioning going on, what the heck was Yucca Mountain all about? Just another ploy to scare the living hell out of Americans? I mean it. What the heck does the USA need Yucca Mountain for if these plants are being decommissioned. 

I am trying to figure out if Bush spent as much on Yucca as Reagan did on his superconductor when the sky was the limit! (click here)

The release of the two most widly used CFCs, CFC-11 and CFC-12, grew from insignificant amounts in the 1950s to more than 700 thousand tonnes a year in the early 1970s. It has declined in recent yeas as a result of measures under the Montreal Protocol. But the atmospheric concentration is continuing to rise (red scale) demonstrating the long lifetime of these compounds.

Three scientists. Three precious scientists saved the human race from complete demise. Three. Only three. 

The USA needs to remember what values existed during some of the most astounding finds in science, literature, physics, medicine, chemistry and peace. The culture of a country matters. It creates the basis of which continued living on Earth exists.

Three scientists is the reason human beings are still living and breathing today on Earth. No one should forget that. When 97 percent of scientists on Earth state anthropogenic global warming is real, now and needs to end; everyone should be listening!

In 1971, H. S. Johnston, at the University of California (Berkeley), pointed out the potential danger of a large fleet of SSTs emitting considerable amounts of nitric oxide into the lower stratosphere, possibly accelerating natural ozone destruction. Only three years later, 
F. S. Rowland and M. Molina (click here) showed that a widely used class of very inert chemicals known as chloro- fluorocarbons were transported to the stratosphere by convective air movements. There, they could absorb high-energy photons from sunlight and release free chlorine; Once released, the chlorine could destroy stratospheric ozone through a series of catalytic reactions....

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) (click here)

(published in The Chapman & Hall Encyclopedia of Environmental Science, edited by David E. Alexander and Rhodes W. Fairbridge, pp pp.78-80, Kluwer Academic, Boston, MA, 1999.)

James W. Elkins

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory (CMDL), 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303 U.S.A.

E-mail: James.W.Elkins@noaa.gov, Phone: (303) 497-6224, Fax: (303) 497-6290

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are nontoxic, nonflammable chemicals containing atoms of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. They are used in the manufacture of aerosol sprays, blowing agents for foams and packing materials, as solvents, and as refrigerants. CFCs are classified as halocarbons, a class of compounds that contain atoms of carbon and halogen atoms. Individual CFC molecules are labeled with a unique numbering system. For example, the CFC number of 11 indicates the number of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, fluorine, and chlorine (e.g. CCl3F as CFC-11). The best way to remember the system is the "rule of 90" or add 90 to the CFC number where the first digit is the number of carbon atoms (C), the second digit is the number of hydrogen atoms (H), and the third digit is number of the fluorine atoms (F). The total number of chlorine atoms (Cl) are calculated by the expression: Cl = 2(C+1) - H - F. In the example CFC-11 has one carbon, no hydrogen, one fluorine, and therefore 3 chlorine atoms....

Well, lookey thar. That isn't something you see everyday.

And you say, Donald Trump is Commander and Chief, huh? You betcha.

March 12, 2017

Southwest Miami - Dade Florida (WSVN) - A 400-acre brush fire (click here) that broke out at Turkey Point, early Sunday, did not affect the nuclear energy plant, officials said.

Only smoke remained at the scene of the blaze, in the area of Southwest 117th Avenue and 344th Street, Sunday night.

The Florida Forest Service said crews were able to contain the flames that spread over 400 acres, including keeping the fire away from the power plant, which is located on a 3,300-acre site two miles east of Homestead.

That is what they always say, "The 400 acre fire did not effect the nuclear plant."

"This time." I think the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) needs to pay a visit before we end up with another Three Mile Island or Chernobyl.

Oh, yeah, and the extra feature on this map is the some weather and air quality alerts. I would think air quality might be a concern Turkey Point.

It sort of looks similar to Fukushima than Chernobyl. Hm.

Oh, that reminds me, there is an update on Japanese radioactive hogs.

March 11, 2017

By Lizzie Dearden

Hunters have been called in (click here) to kill radioactive wild boars that have taken over towns evacuated during the Fukushima nuclear disaster before their residents return....

...“After people left, their ecosystem changed,” hunter Shoichi Sakamoto told the BBC.

“They began coming down from the mountains and now they’re not going back.

“They found a place that’s comfortable – there’s plenty of food and no one will come after them. This is their new home now, and this is where they have children.”

He leads a team of 13 hunters assigned to catch and kill the wild boars using air rifles, trapping them in cages by using rice flour as bait.

Are they sure about the safety of the area if the plants are still radioactive? There are children to consider.