November 12, 2019
By Nicoletta Lanese
..."The lung itself was so firm and scarred (click here) — this is an evil that I haven't faced before," Nemeh said. CT scans of the teenager's lungs revealed extensive inflammation and scarring of the tissue. The areas of the organ that contain air typically appear black on a CT scan; but in the patient, hardly any black showed up at all on his scan. Spots of dead tissue speckled both lungs, signalling to the medical team that the damage was "irreversible," said Victor Coba, a specialist in critical care medicine at Henry Ford who also treated the patient....
The government investigative medical scientists are still examining the evidence of vaping injuries to Americans. The teenager above underwent a double lung transplant with the technology of an ECMO machine (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) (click here) keeping him alive. The transplants were successful.
The investigations into the vaping disease is not yet conclusive. The scientists have stated vitamin e acetate (click here) conclusively is a contributor to the disease. However, the scientists have also stated there are other factors. They have cases where vitamin e acetate is not at all involved.
The idea of vaping is a bad one. Until vaping's effects on the lungs are completely known, vaping should be completely avoided.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
"...though..."
The word itself sets limits on the words that came before it.
In my opinion, in reading the transcript on this blog days after it was released, that word transformed the discussion.
The first statement by President Zelenskyy was about the Javelins. He wanted the delivery of additional armaments. Straight forward and to the point.
The first statement by Trump was the favor he asked of Zelenskyy. The word "though" was about the sixth word he spoke. He never answered President Zelenskyy's question. NEVER. For the four pages of the transcript after the word "though" was spoken the conversation never returned to the Javelins. It ONLY discussed Barr and Guiliani and an investigation into the Bidens. The word "though" as in the definition of the word very much limited the words before.
Trump in that conversation estimated the Javelins were never going to be delivered. The time frame of this conversation was at a point when the unspent funding was approaching cancellation. That cancellation of funding weighed heavily on President Zelensky and why the call was undertaken in the first place. As far as Trump was concerned there was no reason for the discussion of the Javelins because the funding would cancel and the Javelins, in appreciation of Russia, would never be delivered.
"...though..." is huge in this conversation, it makes a change in the direction of the conversation that would never return to the priorities expressed by President Zelenskyy.
Trump, in appreciation of Russia, was sabotaging the Javelins to Ukraine in a timeline that would cancel the sale.
"...though..." is huge.
In my opinion, in reading the transcript on this blog days after it was released, that word transformed the discussion.
The first statement by President Zelenskyy was about the Javelins. He wanted the delivery of additional armaments. Straight forward and to the point.
The first statement by Trump was the favor he asked of Zelenskyy. The word "though" was about the sixth word he spoke. He never answered President Zelenskyy's question. NEVER. For the four pages of the transcript after the word "though" was spoken the conversation never returned to the Javelins. It ONLY discussed Barr and Guiliani and an investigation into the Bidens. The word "though" as in the definition of the word very much limited the words before.
Trump in that conversation estimated the Javelins were never going to be delivered. The time frame of this conversation was at a point when the unspent funding was approaching cancellation. That cancellation of funding weighed heavily on President Zelensky and why the call was undertaken in the first place. As far as Trump was concerned there was no reason for the discussion of the Javelins because the funding would cancel and the Javelins, in appreciation of Russia, would never be delivered.
"...though..." is huge in this conversation, it makes a change in the direction of the conversation that would never return to the priorities expressed by President Zelenskyy.
Trump, in appreciation of Russia, was sabotaging the Javelins to Ukraine in a timeline that would cancel the sale.
"...though..." is huge.
The Impeachment is partisan?
Not hardly.
Resignations, retirements and a new Independent.
The ones that remain LOYAL to Trump are voting out of political fear. I hardly call that partisan.
And then there is the shuffling of Jim Jordan as the preferred lead Republican. Jim Jordan was a lightweight wrestler who went to law school and never took the bar exam. This is the guy that is going to OVERSEE the Republican response to Impeachment? Really?
Former House Speaker Boehner said Jordan was an indiot (click here).
The idiocy doesn't stop there. He is a do nothing. He shies from real responsibility. It is just that one crook has learned how to stand up for another crook.
November 8, 2019
By Yelena Dzhanova
A college wrestling referee (click here) claimed in a new lawsuit that he told Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, two decades ago that an Ohio State University team doctor who has been accused of sexually assaulting students had masturbated in the shower in front of him.
But Jordan, who at the time was an assistant Ohio State wrestling coach — and then OSU head coach Russ Hellickson, who was also told about the incident — just shrugged off the shocking claim about Dr. Richard Strauss, the suit says.
Jordan and Hellickson responded, “Yeah, that’s Strauss,” according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Columbus, Ohio....
How many more of these college athlete scandals is the USA to tolerate and now a US House of Representative as Assistant Coach is involved. Do I have to remind the US House about Penn State?
The Trump White House is facing an impeachment hearing tomorrow and Trump is playing games. He is guilty as sin and everyone knows it. This isn't about Trump or Republicans, it is about a president who broke the law. He sought to intimidate a new Ukraine president in order to spin up a political story that would carry brevity because it was coming from another country. That was supposed to seal the deal to 2020 re-election.
Donald J. Trump as president of the USA is a failure. He could not lead so he sought to play power games to favor Russia. He is a traitor, a criminal and his White House is among the most corrupt in history. Tomorrow will provide history a reason to TELL THE TRUTH.
Resignations, retirements and a new Independent.
The ones that remain LOYAL to Trump are voting out of political fear. I hardly call that partisan.
And then there is the shuffling of Jim Jordan as the preferred lead Republican. Jim Jordan was a lightweight wrestler who went to law school and never took the bar exam. This is the guy that is going to OVERSEE the Republican response to Impeachment? Really?
Former House Speaker Boehner said Jordan was an indiot (click here).
The idiocy doesn't stop there. He is a do nothing. He shies from real responsibility. It is just that one crook has learned how to stand up for another crook.
November 8, 2019
By Yelena Dzhanova
A college wrestling referee (click here) claimed in a new lawsuit that he told Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, two decades ago that an Ohio State University team doctor who has been accused of sexually assaulting students had masturbated in the shower in front of him.
But Jordan, who at the time was an assistant Ohio State wrestling coach — and then OSU head coach Russ Hellickson, who was also told about the incident — just shrugged off the shocking claim about Dr. Richard Strauss, the suit says.
Jordan and Hellickson responded, “Yeah, that’s Strauss,” according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Columbus, Ohio....
How many more of these college athlete scandals is the USA to tolerate and now a US House of Representative as Assistant Coach is involved. Do I have to remind the US House about Penn State?
The Trump White House is facing an impeachment hearing tomorrow and Trump is playing games. He is guilty as sin and everyone knows it. This isn't about Trump or Republicans, it is about a president who broke the law. He sought to intimidate a new Ukraine president in order to spin up a political story that would carry brevity because it was coming from another country. That was supposed to seal the deal to 2020 re-election.
Donald J. Trump as president of the USA is a failure. He could not lead so he sought to play power games to favor Russia. He is a traitor, a criminal and his White House is among the most corrupt in history. Tomorrow will provide history a reason to TELL THE TRUTH.
Oregon has a sincere problem with lawlessness, now it is a sheriff. It is time for the FBI to focus on the root of the problem.
Much of the lawlessness is affiliated with White Supremacy/Nationalism. Even people elected to office in the state legislature accepts the services of the lawless.
It is one thing to have corrupt politicians, but, a sheriff is an entirely different issue.
November 6, 2019
...But after all the effort to recover, (click here) he and his wife have talked about leaving their home of more than 20 years.
And not because they’re afraid of wildfire.
“The only reason is because we have a group of extremists led by a sheriff,” said the 55-year-old former police officer.
In 2014, Larson retired as an area commander for the Oregon State Police after a 27-year career. He volunteered for 12 years on the Grant County School Board. Last year, he ran for a seat on the county commission, “and I’ve regretted it every day since then because it began this nightmare,” he said.
His opponent was Sam Palmer, younger brother of the most controversial law enforcement official in the region, Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer.
Larson lost the election decisively. During the campaign, the sheriff reported Larson for a timber theft that forest managers say never happened, and the sheriff’s supporters challenged his water rights....
There is an ethics complaint, but, this is more than an ethics complaint; citizens believe they are threatened with their lives. It appears he is a thief as well.
August 23, 2019
By Emily Cureton
A sheriff in eastern Oregon (click here) who announced he would resign the day after being notified of an ethics complaint against him, now says he will stay on the job and seek reelection for a sixth term.
Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer told county officials at a public meeting last week he would quit. But he wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday, “I am withdrawing my resignation.”
A former Oregon State Police officer filed the latest ethics complaint with the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, or DPSST, a state agency that enforces minimum standards for peace officers.
The complaint alleges Palmer failed to return lost property — in this case, a fishing pole with the owner’s name engraved on it. The complaint alleges Palmer kept the pole out of personal animosity toward a retired Oregon State Police officer, Gordon Larson....
Palmer is engaging in his own form of justice. He is lawless and needs to be investigated for his very, very corrupt actions while serving as law enforcement. He easily has violated his oath of office.
It is one thing to have corrupt politicians, but, a sheriff is an entirely different issue.
...But after all the effort to recover, (click here) he and his wife have talked about leaving their home of more than 20 years.
And not because they’re afraid of wildfire.
“The only reason is because we have a group of extremists led by a sheriff,” said the 55-year-old former police officer.
In 2014, Larson retired as an area commander for the Oregon State Police after a 27-year career. He volunteered for 12 years on the Grant County School Board. Last year, he ran for a seat on the county commission, “and I’ve regretted it every day since then because it began this nightmare,” he said.
His opponent was Sam Palmer, younger brother of the most controversial law enforcement official in the region, Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer.
Larson lost the election decisively. During the campaign, the sheriff reported Larson for a timber theft that forest managers say never happened, and the sheriff’s supporters challenged his water rights....
There is an ethics complaint, but, this is more than an ethics complaint; citizens believe they are threatened with their lives. It appears he is a thief as well.
August 23, 2019
By Emily Cureton
A sheriff in eastern Oregon (click here) who announced he would resign the day after being notified of an ethics complaint against him, now says he will stay on the job and seek reelection for a sixth term.
Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer told county officials at a public meeting last week he would quit. But he wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday, “I am withdrawing my resignation.”
A former Oregon State Police officer filed the latest ethics complaint with the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, or DPSST, a state agency that enforces minimum standards for peace officers.
The complaint alleges Palmer failed to return lost property — in this case, a fishing pole with the owner’s name engraved on it. The complaint alleges Palmer kept the pole out of personal animosity toward a retired Oregon State Police officer, Gordon Larson....
Palmer is engaging in his own form of justice. He is lawless and needs to be investigated for his very, very corrupt actions while serving as law enforcement. He easily has violated his oath of office.
Time for a wheelchair.
November 12, 2019
Atlanta - Former President Jimmy Carter (click here) is recovering after brain surgery this morning at Emory University Hospital.
The Carter Center confirmed that there were no complications from the surgery to relieve pressure on his brain due to a subdural hematoma.
The swelling in his brain is due to multiple falls over the past six months
Atlanta - Former President Jimmy Carter (click here) is recovering after brain surgery this morning at Emory University Hospital.
The Carter Center confirmed that there were no complications from the surgery to relieve pressure on his brain due to a subdural hematoma.
The swelling in his brain is due to multiple falls over the past six months
They are good and decent people that love their country. Americans should be proud of what they hear tomorrow.
They are subpoenaed. They are compelled to tell the truth and I expect nothing less from them. They are the definition of a patriot. No truer definition can be made of them.
They face danger every day in their jobs. This is an added dimension to that danger, but, if one thing is true about these people is that their middle name is "brave." Each in their own way brings traits to the USA that cannot be duplicated. The American people will be witnessing bravery for and loyalty to the USA in action.
November 12, 2019
By Lisa Rein
As diplomats kick off nationally televised impeachment hearings (click here) on Wednesday, it is clear how, more than in any political scandal in modern history, career employees have emerged as crucial witnesses.
Rank-and-file bureaucrats who work in the federal agencies that handle national security will defy the directive of the White House to stay quiet, instead describing what they saw as they went about, in their view, just doing their jobs.
Their role in recounting to the public how President Trump and his allies attempted to enlist Ukraine to investigate his political rivals will not come without risk. All but one of the 11 career Foreign Service staff, military officers and Pentagon officials who first testified in closed-door depositions in the Capitol basement are still in government....
They face danger every day in their jobs. This is an added dimension to that danger, but, if one thing is true about these people is that their middle name is "brave." Each in their own way brings traits to the USA that cannot be duplicated. The American people will be witnessing bravery for and loyalty to the USA in action.
November 12, 2019
By Lisa Rein
As diplomats kick off nationally televised impeachment hearings (click here) on Wednesday, it is clear how, more than in any political scandal in modern history, career employees have emerged as crucial witnesses.
Rank-and-file bureaucrats who work in the federal agencies that handle national security will defy the directive of the White House to stay quiet, instead describing what they saw as they went about, in their view, just doing their jobs.
Their role in recounting to the public how President Trump and his allies attempted to enlist Ukraine to investigate his political rivals will not come without risk. All but one of the 11 career Foreign Service staff, military officers and Pentagon officials who first testified in closed-door depositions in the Capitol basement are still in government....
Monday, November 11, 2019
Another frivolous lawsuit by Trump.
November 11, 2019
By Lucien Bruggeman
The president's lawsuit (click here) named the House Ways and Means Committee, New York Attorney General Letitia James and the commissioner of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, Michael Schmidt. ABC News reported at the time that Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has hesitated to use the new law to request the president's state returns.
In their complaint, Trump's lawyers claimed that Neal had "expressed a renewed interest in utilizing" the statute.
Nichols wrote that "such a speculative statement" about Rep. Richard Neal's "interest in utilizing" the TRUST Act "does not satisfy" the court.
Shortly after the judge issued his ruling, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement applauding the decision.
"We have said all along that this lawsuit should be dismissed and we are pleased with the court’s conclusion," James said. "The TRUST Act is an important tool that will ensure accountability to millions of Americans who deserve to know the truth. We have never doubted that this law was legal, which is why we vigorously defended it from the start and will continue to do so."....
It takes a country!
May 22, 2019
By Brad Holyman
Senator Hoylman: (click here) “We are affirming Congress’s role as a co-equal branch of government and the sacred constitutional principle that nobody is above the law, not even the highest elected official in the land.”...
...Senator Hoylman said: “New York has a unique role to help head off the constitutional crisis brewing between Congress and the White House over refusal to comply with the request for Donald Trump’s tax returns. With today’s vote in support of the TRUST Act, the State Legislature will allow the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to cooperate with Congressional tax committees requesting the state returns of public officials, including the president....
By Lucien Bruggeman
The president's lawsuit (click here) named the House Ways and Means Committee, New York Attorney General Letitia James and the commissioner of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, Michael Schmidt. ABC News reported at the time that Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has hesitated to use the new law to request the president's state returns.
In their complaint, Trump's lawyers claimed that Neal had "expressed a renewed interest in utilizing" the statute.
Nichols wrote that "such a speculative statement" about Rep. Richard Neal's "interest in utilizing" the TRUST Act "does not satisfy" the court.
Shortly after the judge issued his ruling, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement applauding the decision.
"We have said all along that this lawsuit should be dismissed and we are pleased with the court’s conclusion," James said. "The TRUST Act is an important tool that will ensure accountability to millions of Americans who deserve to know the truth. We have never doubted that this law was legal, which is why we vigorously defended it from the start and will continue to do so."....
It takes a country!
May 22, 2019
By Brad Holyman
Senator Hoylman: (click here) “We are affirming Congress’s role as a co-equal branch of government and the sacred constitutional principle that nobody is above the law, not even the highest elected official in the land.”...
...Senator Hoylman said: “New York has a unique role to help head off the constitutional crisis brewing between Congress and the White House over refusal to comply with the request for Donald Trump’s tax returns. With today’s vote in support of the TRUST Act, the State Legislature will allow the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to cooperate with Congressional tax committees requesting the state returns of public officials, including the president....
Trump wants violence in the country.
I briefly saw the New York Times article about Trump removing science from health decisions.
Trump has to know, or maybe he is too stupid to know, that eliminating science from policies of public health is a human rights violation. The legislature, be it the state and/or the federal government will not allow that to happen to the American people. This coming election is important and this is a prime example of the idiocy that exists in right-wing politics.
The American people should never be faced with the words of a president that THREATENS their lives. There is existing law that will prohibit him from carrying out such atrocities. I do believe if Trump sees another term, there will be assaults against Americans in methods they haven't witnessed before. It will be a totalitarian White House. Then there might be violence in the country. Let's not go there. We will be fine. We are too smart to fall into those traps.
Trump has to know, or maybe he is too stupid to know, that eliminating science from policies of public health is a human rights violation. The legislature, be it the state and/or the federal government will not allow that to happen to the American people. This coming election is important and this is a prime example of the idiocy that exists in right-wing politics.
The American people should never be faced with the words of a president that THREATENS their lives. There is existing law that will prohibit him from carrying out such atrocities. I do believe if Trump sees another term, there will be assaults against Americans in methods they haven't witnessed before. It will be a totalitarian White House. Then there might be violence in the country. Let's not go there. We will be fine. We are too smart to fall into those traps.
The cold rront coming through is nothing to toy with, so keep the children at home.
It is a rough storm. First, the rain comes through, then the temperatures drop freezing the rain, then the heavy snowfall starts. The snow is heavy and will accumulate quickly. It is not melting.
The wind will be coming about 12 to 18 hours after the rain first started and it will take the temperatures from about 26 degrees Fahrenheit to 6 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit.
The only way to be sure home is warm is to keep the temperature high. The deeper the freeze the more easily it will rob warmth from an apartment or house or trailer. Do not try to conserve heat during these severe cold storms.
Keep the children home and enjoy them for a day of play with Mom and/or Dad.
Be happy everything is okay.
The wind will be coming about 12 to 18 hours after the rain first started and it will take the temperatures from about 26 degrees Fahrenheit to 6 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit.
The only way to be sure home is warm is to keep the temperature high. The deeper the freeze the more easily it will rob warmth from an apartment or house or trailer. Do not try to conserve heat during these severe cold storms.
Keep the children home and enjoy them for a day of play with Mom and/or Dad.
Be happy everything is okay.
The Rooster
"Okeydoke"
Nicky Haley had no guts. Kelly didn't have four Secretary of State, he had five. What does Tillerson, Kelly and Haley know about Guiliani?
Tillerson and Kelly were trying to hold the fort down and wanted her help in doing so. I am quite sure they had conversation after conversation with Trump, but, it served no purpose. Trump had other staff outside the official confirmed staff, he had Guiliani. The question is when did Guiliani enter the picture.
Trump is a dictator, not a president. Evidently, Haley couldn't discern the difference. Is she still flying those private jets?
"Good Night, Moon"
13.4 days old
98% lit
November 10, 2019
By Len Melisurgo
The next full moon (click here) of 2019 — nicknamed the “beaver moon” — will reach its peak Tuesday morning, Nov. 12. It is the second to last full moon on the 2019 lunar calendar and it happens to arrive when the annual Taurid meteor shower (click here) will be at its best....
Happy Veteran's Day
Sunday, November 10, 2019
The losses of Taku are profound and validate the warning of the IPCC of 2030.
The records of that transect went into a permanent record of the icefields that are part of the USA. The program was partly funded by NASA to propagate young scientists and accumulate the records of the icefields.
The program’s success (click here) lies partly in its approach to education - learning from Nature, in Nature. This is also the key point of the Emersonian Triangle. In his 1837 oration, The American Scholar, Ralph Waldo Emerson enunciated three primary influences on scholarly development and effectiveness: Nature, Books, and Action. He proposed that Nature is the ultimate arbiter of truth, the source from which knowledge is obtained. Books are the transcript of our accumulated knowledge of Nature. And he believed Action is required of the scholar to investigate Nature, thereby adding to the body of knowledge.
In 2004, the Juneau icefields were primarily losing "mass balance." The terminus (the most distal end of the glacier) of the Lambert Glacier was sadly reduced and it could be easily noted visually by the mound of rock in the lake where it once pushed in front of that leading edge.
However, the Taku Glacier was growing in mass balance. It was accumulating larger and larger amounts of snow that would over time become glacial ice. The snow a glacier receives is called recharge. The Taku Glacier was receiving far more snow than the rest of the icefield, but, why? Why would a glacier higher in elevation than the others and certainly far higher in elevation than the Lambert Glacier be receiving more recharge? That is counter to what normally occurs.
Normally, the higher in elevation a glacier is the less snow it receives and the less the recharge is to the glacier itself. It is plenty cold at those higher elevations, so what's the deal?
One of the reasons is that Taku was a tidewater glacier (click here). Tidewater glaciers have their own unique cycles of melting and retreating and then recharging to establish a longer profile and a terminus that leads to where meltwater will run. The Taku glacier was also not in touch with the North Pacific which was warming. It's terminus was in relatively cold water all the time. But, that is just the terminus, right? What about the rest of the glacier?
The Taku Glacier was receiving far larger amounts of snow than the other glaciers. Why? Because the snowfall was moving up in elevation. The lower elevations were seeing far less snow. Why? Because the air was warming.
The Juneau Icefields are what is considered "Temperate Glaciers."
A temperate glacier (click here) (as opposed to a polar glacier) is a glacier that’s essentially at the melting point, so liquid water coexists with glacier ice. A small change in temperature can have a major impact on temperate glacier melting, area, and volume. Temperate glaciers exist on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, on both islands of New Zealand, and on the island of Irian Jaya. Additionally, some of the glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula and some of Greenland’s southern outlet glaciers are temperate.
Juneau can be seen on the map and the icefields are just north of Juneau and easily discerned here. So what? So, What? So, what?
My, my. The oceans have a profound effect on the climate of Earth. Icefields situated that close to a warming ocean will definitely show signs of a changing climate. They will show signs profoundly. That is why I went to Juneau. I wanted to know first hand if indeed these glaciers were ailing. Were they declining, stable or increasing.
What was discovered year after year is that the Taku Glacier was increasing in mass balance and all the other glaciers were decreasing. Taku was receiving the benefits of a warming climate because the snow was falling at far higher altitudes/elevations, adding to Taku's snow accumulation and it's increase in ice volume. Taku was not a sign that the climate was stable or improving, it solidly provided year after year, Earth was in trouble with a warming Pacific Ocean and air temperatures from melting ice that could not mitigate the heat.
See, glaciers MITIGATE any heat increases of Earth, no different than hurricanes. Earth has interesting methods of physics to maintain a living atmosphere with Greenhouse Gases making it possible in the first place. The increase in GHG was causing an imbalance in Earth's ability to mitigate its climate and continue it's benevolence.
It should be alarming to everyone that Taku is showing the signs of deterioration/melting. It means Taku can no longer mitigate the heat and is succumbing to it. This is the loudest canary in the coal mine this planet ever had.
Forests are important.
Native Woody Plants of the United States, Their Erosion-Control and Wildlife Values (1938)
Yes, this is an old book, but, not a lot changes about roots, plants, trees and how they act to stabilize the very land human beings covet.
I have a lot of old books. Even old dictionaries. Why? Because they are like the Rock of Gibraltar, they are a continuous BASELINE that does not change. They are some of the best references I have. The library sales are where you'll find me. It is amazing what libraries sell to make room for new books. The old ones are worth their weight in gold, from an academic perspective.
But, as to EROSION in a time when parts of the USA are underwater more days then they are dry in the sunshine, this book will provide an understanding of how the land and trees have a relationship. Even some of the smallest plants are incredibly strong rooted.
Forests are important for more reasons than people realize.
The "USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map" is a strong indicator of CLIMATE.
The climate plants grow in is reflected in these maps. As the climate becomes warmer the hardiness zones migrate north from the warmer south. The protections of the forests will help push back against warming. Why?? Because trees are full of water and more importantly WATER PROCESSES THAT PRODUCE WATER VAPOR.
Walking into a forest under a canopy of leaves, the air is cooler and full of water vapor that makes it easier to breathe, too.
Every tree, shrub or herbaceous layer has a hardiness zone map, including those listed here for the discussion I have engaged all these months.
The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (click here) is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.
For the first time, the map is available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended, and as static images for those with slower Internet access. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area.
No posters of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map have been printed. But state, regional, and national images of the map can be downloaded and printed in a variety of sizes and resolutions....
There should be enough information now to understand how that tree was going to explode.
As I stated last week, the tree was burning from the inside. The white-hot fire can be seen at the base of the tree and then again at the top of the trunk on the left side. The fire at both those locations is lighter in color indicating to me it is the same fire at different parts of the tree.The amazing part of that picture is that the trunk is intact. How can a fire be burning inside a tree trunk without first burning the bark?
PHYSICS.
The outer layer of the tree, especially one as beautifully majestic as this one has a strong layer of cambium just under the bark layer. The cambium is fluid. Before the cambium/bark burns in such an inferno, it has to first boil to reach the temperature where it will meet the temperature of the burning WOOD of the tree. The wood inside the tree is dry and lacking the kind of moisture of the cambium/bark.
An inferno like this where the wood is burning white-hot will cause the cambium to boil, expanding the fluid in the cambium hence exploding the cambium/bark layer.
Don't ever, ever, ever go into or near a burning inferno like this. It is extremely dangerous. I am sure fires fighters can tell stories of "popping noises" while the fire is being extinguished. Those noises are either exploding trees or imploding trees if they are cooled down quickly with water or retardants.
Leave the fire fighting to the people who know their business. Even they get trapped by wind and the unforgiving nature of fire and it's the ability to create it's own weather.
The Taku Glacier increased it's mass balance while the others in the Juneau Icefields reduced their mass balance.
A key measure (click here) of the mass balance of a glacier is the equilibrium line altitude (ELA). Mass balance for non-calving glaciers is the difference between snow accumulation on a glacier and snow and ice loss from the glacier. The ELA is the point at which accumulation equals melting. On temperate alpine glaciers this is the snowline where snow transitions to bare glacier ice. Its elevation at the end of the summer marks the annual ELA. For a glacier to be in equilibrium at least 50-70% of the glacier must be in the accumulation zone still at the end of the summer.
Once a glaciologist, always a glaciologist. Glaciology is considered the study of geology, because, ice is a rock in it's hardest state. Geology is the science that deals with the earth's physical structure and substance, its history, and the processes that act on it. Geologists are interesting folks. Personal opinion.
To the right (click here): Members of the first JIRP "high ice" expedition to the Juneau Icefield in the summer of 1948. Left to right: Maynard Miller, W. Laurence Miner, Lowell Chamberlain, Melvin G. Marcus, William A. Latady and Anthony W. Thomas. Photo taken at Camp 4 on "Hades Highway," the upper Twin Glaciers' neve.
Lemon Creek Glacier, Alaska (click here) was chosen as a representative glacier for the 1958 IGY global glacier network. This choice was based on its sub-arctic latitude and on the ongoing mass balance program of (JIRP) that had begun in 1948 (Miller, 1972; Pelto and Miller, 1990). JIRP has continued annual balance measurements on Lemon Creek Glacier through the present (Fig. 2). In 1957 Lemon Creek Glacier was 6.4 km long and had an area of 12.67 km2. In 1998 the glacier was 5.6 km long and had an area of 11.8 km2 (Marcus et al., 1995). From the head of the glacier at 1450 m to the mean ELA at 1050-1100 m the glacier flows northward, in the ablation zone the glacier turns westward terminating at 600 m. The glacier can be divided into four sections: 1) Steep peripheral northern and western margins draining into the main valley portion of the glacier. 2) A low slope (40) upper accumulation zone from 1220 m to 1050 m. 3) A steeper section (60) in the ablation zone as the glacier turns west from 1050-850 m. 4) An icefall (180) leading to the two fingered termini at 600 m. The maximum thickness exceeding 200 m is 1 km above the icefall (Miller, 1972). Lemon Creek Glacier has retreated 1200 m since 1948 and 800 m since 1957, and has retreated an average of 10–13 m a-1 between 1998 and 2009 (Pelto et al 2013).
The outer layer of the tree is where all the "juice" is that brings growth to the girth/circumference of the tree.
While much of the discussion about tree growth is about the rings and their width, there is also growth that brings height to the tree as well.
In realizing the outer layers of the tree is where all the growth occurs, realize that is not just the trunk of the tree, but, the same growth occurs in the branches and twigs all the way to the top of the tree.
The fluid in the outer layers flows by negative gravity PRESSURE created by "evapotranspiration" in the leaves. As the fluid reaches the leaves, the leaves are losing fluid to the air, hence the transportation of the tree's life-giving fluids come from the roots, through the outer layer under the bark all the way up to the leaves. IT IS PHYSICS.
The map is of some of the base camps, but, it also names some of the glaciers.
Mendenhall Glacier (the glacier at the same elevation as Juneau)
(In degrees)
Longitude: -134.54586
Latitude: 58.4409459
Elevation: 276m / 906 feet above sea level
Taku Glacier
In degrees
Longitude: 134.1797 W
Latitude: 58.5950 N
Elevation: 1393 feet above sea level
This website does a good job at describing the parts of a tree in relation to wood ring layers.
Cambium
The cambium is a very thin layer of growing tissue that produces new cells that become either xylem, phloem or more cambium. Every growing season, a tree’s cambium adds a new layer of xylem to its trunk, producing a visible growth ring in most trees. The cambium is what makes the trunk, branches and roots grow larger in diameter.
The cambium is a very thin layer of growing tissue that produces new cells that become either xylem, phloem or more cambium. Every growing season, a tree’s cambium adds a new layer of xylem to its trunk, producing a visible growth ring in most trees. The cambium is what makes the trunk, branches and roots grow larger in diameter.
Phloem/Inner Bark - This layer is most famous for providing the sap used to produce maple syrup.
The phloem or inner bark, which is found between the cambium and the outer bark, acts as a food supply line by carrying sap (sugar and nutrients dissolved in water) from the leaves to the rest of the tree.
The phloem or inner bark, which is found between the cambium and the outer bark, acts as a food supply line by carrying sap (sugar and nutrients dissolved in water) from the leaves to the rest of the tree.
BarkThe trunk, branches and twigs of the tree are covered with bark. The outer bark, which originates from phloem cells that have worn out, died and been shed outward, acts as a suit of armor against the world by protecting the tree from insects, disease, storms and extreme temperatures. In certain species, the outer bark also protects the tree from fire.
NASA Earth Observatory - the site has a slide to compare the Taku Glacier FIVE years apart.
For nearly four decades, (click here) Mauri Pelto has been studying the advance and retreat of glaciers around the globe. He has watched them succumb, one-by-one, to rising temperatures. Of 250 glaciers that he has watched, all had retreated (or shortened) except one: Taku Glacier.
Now a new analysis shows that Taku has lost mass and joined the rest of the retreating glaciers. “This is a big deal for me because I had this one glacier I could hold on to,” said Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College. “But not anymore. This makes the score climate change: 250 and alpine glaciers: 0.”
The natural-color images above show the glacier on August 20, 2014, and August 9, 2019. The images were acquired by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8. Though subtle, the changes are most visible at the boundaries between the glacier and river....
I was there the summer of 2004. There are reasons the Taku Glacier was the last of the hold outs. I'll get into it in the following entries.
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