Thursday, January 19, 2017
It's over! When Americans become uncomfortable, it never goes away; it just becomes a matter of 'let's get on with this.'
January 19, 2017
By AP
Attorneys for a group of Montana landowners, (click here) health advocates and conservationists have filed a lawsuit seeking to force energy companies to divulge more about the chemicals they use in energy production.
Oil and gas industry regulators in September denied a petition to make companies disclose the details on chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking."
A lawsuit challenging that decision was filed Tuesday in state court in Lewis and Clark County....
The State of Texas gave American consumers Dish, Texas.
May 25, 2011
By Joanna Zelman
Fearing for his children’s health, Mayor Calvin Tillman (click here) is leaving behind his government position and getting out of Dodge... or rather, Dish.
Dish, Texas is a town consisting of 200 residents and 60 gas wells. When Tillman’s sons repeatedly woke up in the middle of the night with mysterious nosebleeds, he knew it was time to move — even if it meant leaving his community behind. In an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post, Mayor Tillman reveals that when it came down to family or politics, the choice wasn’t a tough one to make.
Tillman, first elected mayor of Dish, Texas in 2007, has spent his time in office fighting to regulate natural gas companies that are drilling into the Barnett shale, which holds up to 735 billion cubic meters of natural gas....
And then came Josh Fox.
The State of Texas gave American consumers Dish, Texas.
May 25, 2011
By Joanna Zelman
Fearing for his children’s health, Mayor Calvin Tillman (click here) is leaving behind his government position and getting out of Dodge... or rather, Dish.
Dish, Texas is a town consisting of 200 residents and 60 gas wells. When Tillman’s sons repeatedly woke up in the middle of the night with mysterious nosebleeds, he knew it was time to move — even if it meant leaving his community behind. In an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post, Mayor Tillman reveals that when it came down to family or politics, the choice wasn’t a tough one to make.
Tillman, first elected mayor of Dish, Texas in 2007, has spent his time in office fighting to regulate natural gas companies that are drilling into the Barnett shale, which holds up to 735 billion cubic meters of natural gas....
And then came Josh Fox.
Now is the time.
President Obama was the greatest energy President in history. He was magnificent and I thank him for all his arduous work. I know it wasn't easy or popular at a time of fossil fuel crony politics. We are a better country today, President Obama and it is due to his undaunted leadership.
January 19, 2017
By Tim Means
Murrysville council (click here) Wednesday night instructed municipal officials to prepare revisions to a draft ordinance regulating unconventional gas and oil drilling in the community.
Council members re-hashed the setback requirements for shale drilling in an effort to strike a balance between providing protection from the impacts of drilling operations for nearby residents and making sure the ordinance is not so restrictive that the law could be challenged as exclusionary and struck down in court.
After a lengthy discussion about how setback distances should be measured, council reached a consensus that a minimum protective buffer zone should be required from the edge of the well pad to any protected structure.
The current version of the draft ordinance proposes a 250-foot buffer zone from the edge of the well pad plus a 550-foot buffer zone to a protected structure....
The only buffer zone needed for wind energy is its shadow and whether it will have an ill effect on plants in the spring time. If people want a wind turbine a variance from the local zoning board might be necessary. It give the neighbors a time to make themselves known.
In Denmark, (click here) the local municipalities determine where wind turbines can be placed. However, there are some rules and regulations that have to be complied with, before a wind farm can be erected in the Danish landscape. The regulation related to wind turbines includes planning, building and nature protection legislation, as well as noise and grid connection regulation.
Set back distance and noise
The most central legislation on wind turbines establishes a requirement for a setback distance of 4 x total height of the wind turbine. To major roads and railways a distance of 1 x total height is required. In addition, specific noise limits determine allowable noise-levels for neighboring houses at different levels of wind speed. The noise limits are outdoors limits and must not exceed:
• In residential areas:
January 19, 2017
By Tim Means
Murrysville council (click here) Wednesday night instructed municipal officials to prepare revisions to a draft ordinance regulating unconventional gas and oil drilling in the community.
Council members re-hashed the setback requirements for shale drilling in an effort to strike a balance between providing protection from the impacts of drilling operations for nearby residents and making sure the ordinance is not so restrictive that the law could be challenged as exclusionary and struck down in court.
After a lengthy discussion about how setback distances should be measured, council reached a consensus that a minimum protective buffer zone should be required from the edge of the well pad to any protected structure.
The current version of the draft ordinance proposes a 250-foot buffer zone from the edge of the well pad plus a 550-foot buffer zone to a protected structure....
The only buffer zone needed for wind energy is its shadow and whether it will have an ill effect on plants in the spring time. If people want a wind turbine a variance from the local zoning board might be necessary. It give the neighbors a time to make themselves known.
In Denmark, (click here) the local municipalities determine where wind turbines can be placed. However, there are some rules and regulations that have to be complied with, before a wind farm can be erected in the Danish landscape. The regulation related to wind turbines includes planning, building and nature protection legislation, as well as noise and grid connection regulation.
Set back distance and noise
The most central legislation on wind turbines establishes a requirement for a setback distance of 4 x total height of the wind turbine. To major roads and railways a distance of 1 x total height is required. In addition, specific noise limits determine allowable noise-levels for neighboring houses at different levels of wind speed. The noise limits are outdoors limits and must not exceed:
• In residential areas:
39 dB (wind speeds of 8 m/s) and 37 dB (wind speeds of 6 m/s)
• Near residences in the open country:
44 dB (wind speeds of 8 m/s) and 42 dB (wind speeds of 6 m/s)
44 dB (wind speeds of 8 m/s) and 42 dB (wind speeds of 6 m/s)
For both categories of areas the limit for low frequency noise is 20 dB. The limit for low frequency noise applies to the calculated indoor noise level at both 6 and 8 m/s wind speed.
Shadow flicker
The Danish requirements related to wind turbines normally also include a limit on the annual number of hours that neighboring houses are affected by shadow flicker from turbines. It is recommended that the calculated average of shadow hours on neighboring houses do not exceed 10 hours per year. If the shadow limit is exceeded the wind turbine owner may alternatively be required to shut down the wind turbine in critical periods. Usually, wind turbines can be fitted with meters so that the operation can be halted if the sun shines during critical periods.
Shadow flicker
The Danish requirements related to wind turbines normally also include a limit on the annual number of hours that neighboring houses are affected by shadow flicker from turbines. It is recommended that the calculated average of shadow hours on neighboring houses do not exceed 10 hours per year. If the shadow limit is exceeded the wind turbine owner may alternatively be required to shut down the wind turbine in critical periods. Usually, wind turbines can be fitted with meters so that the operation can be halted if the sun shines during critical periods.
Communities need to insist on the reporting already required by law.
There needs to be a human rights commission in every city and town that reviews the data. There are human rights commissions in cities and towns in the USA already. That commission can ask to meet with the Chief of Police and the Mayor and Council to bring about change.
The Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) (click here) collects data on deaths that occur while inmates are in the custody of local jails or state prisons. Local jail and state prison data are collected directly from jails and state departments of corrections. Arrest-related mortality data were collected separately from data on deaths that occur in prisons or jails. The arrest-related death collection was suspended in 2014. The DCRP provides individual-level data on the number of deaths by year, cause of death, and decedent age, race or Hispanic origin, and sex. These data are also used to produce facility and population mortality rates. The collection of individual-level data allows BJS to perform detailed analyses of comparative death rates across demographic categories and offense types and facility and agency characteristics.
BJS began the DCRP in 2000 under the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-297), which required the collection of individual data on deaths in the process of arrest, local jails, and state prisons. BJS continued the program after this legislation expired in 2006 and continues it with the reauthorization of the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-242).
This is a reporting from "Mother Jones" in 2014:
December 17, 2014
By Allie Gross and Bryan Schatz
Over the weekend, (click here) tens of thousands of marchers rallied against police brutality, standing in solidarity with families who have lost loved ones to police violence. With public scrutiny zeroed in on deaths at the hands of law enforcement, one thing is noticeably missing: a federal record of just how many people die in police custody each year.
This, however, could be changing. Last week, Congress passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013. Currently awaiting Obama's signature, it mandates that states receiving federal criminal justice assistance grants report, by gender and race, all deaths that occur in law enforcement custody, including any while a person is being detained or arrested. This would include events like the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, says Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a sponsor of the bill, in an interview with Mother Jones.
The bill also mandates that federal law enforcement agencies annually gather and report these deaths to the US attorney general, who in turn has two years to analyze the data, determine if and how it can be used to reduce the number of such deaths, and file a report to Congress....
Local ordinances can be adopted as well. It would create an infrastructure that not only gathered information under the law, but, also sought input from community members. Human rights of Americans have never been more important.
Human Rights Commissions can do a lot more than track police activity, it can assist in understanding struggling students and economic failures. There is a lot to be done and it is time cities and towns organize under what works.
There are local chamber of commerce to discuss the working poor, health care and minimum wage. There are also issues of environmental justice that insures clean air and water. There are also issues of organizing unions to bring about equity in the workplace.
Now is the time to get started and make local economies work for everyone without the threat of violence anywhere.
The Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) (click here) collects data on deaths that occur while inmates are in the custody of local jails or state prisons. Local jail and state prison data are collected directly from jails and state departments of corrections. Arrest-related mortality data were collected separately from data on deaths that occur in prisons or jails. The arrest-related death collection was suspended in 2014. The DCRP provides individual-level data on the number of deaths by year, cause of death, and decedent age, race or Hispanic origin, and sex. These data are also used to produce facility and population mortality rates. The collection of individual-level data allows BJS to perform detailed analyses of comparative death rates across demographic categories and offense types and facility and agency characteristics.
BJS began the DCRP in 2000 under the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-297), which required the collection of individual data on deaths in the process of arrest, local jails, and state prisons. BJS continued the program after this legislation expired in 2006 and continues it with the reauthorization of the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-242).
This is a reporting from "Mother Jones" in 2014:
December 17, 2014
By Allie Gross and Bryan Schatz
Over the weekend, (click here) tens of thousands of marchers rallied against police brutality, standing in solidarity with families who have lost loved ones to police violence. With public scrutiny zeroed in on deaths at the hands of law enforcement, one thing is noticeably missing: a federal record of just how many people die in police custody each year.
This, however, could be changing. Last week, Congress passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013. Currently awaiting Obama's signature, it mandates that states receiving federal criminal justice assistance grants report, by gender and race, all deaths that occur in law enforcement custody, including any while a person is being detained or arrested. This would include events like the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, says Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a sponsor of the bill, in an interview with Mother Jones.
The bill also mandates that federal law enforcement agencies annually gather and report these deaths to the US attorney general, who in turn has two years to analyze the data, determine if and how it can be used to reduce the number of such deaths, and file a report to Congress....
Local ordinances can be adopted as well. It would create an infrastructure that not only gathered information under the law, but, also sought input from community members. Human rights of Americans have never been more important.
Human Rights Commissions can do a lot more than track police activity, it can assist in understanding struggling students and economic failures. There is a lot to be done and it is time cities and towns organize under what works.
There are local chamber of commerce to discuss the working poor, health care and minimum wage. There are also issues of environmental justice that insures clean air and water. There are also issues of organizing unions to bring about equity in the workplace.
Now is the time to get started and make local economies work for everyone without the threat of violence anywhere.
Shhhh,...the era of oil is over.
18 January 2017
By Leigh Collins
By Leigh Collins
For those who think the direct purchase of renewable energy (click here) by corporations is an insignificant corner of the clean power world, consider this: in the US in 2015, more new wind capacity was bought by businesses than utilities.
While the 3.24GW of corporate renewables installed in 2015 was something of a one-off as the industry reacted to the impending expiration of the production tax credit, the overall demand has been steadily rising.
And the momentum is growing.
Last May, four non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with their own corporate energy campaigns, supported by more than 60 green-minded companies, clubbed together to form the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance(REBA) to promote the business case for renewables and help firms navigate the energy-purchase process. Generally speaking, the economic case for corporate renewables has been twofold: meeting companies’ sustainability goals, while locking in a low, stable power price for 15-20 years — a potentially valuable long-term hedge at a time when the cost of utility-supplied electricity seems to be continuously rising.
Yet the cost of wind and solar has fallen so much over the past seven years — 60% and 80% respectively — that some companies are now finding it cheaper to buy renewable energy directly from developers (or to build projects themselves) than to purchase fossil-fuel-based electricity from a utility....
Alternative energy is attainable by everyone, from the homeowner to the production plant. It is clean and safe. There really is no cost comparison to building a natural gas plant and building renewable energy production. Anyone can own their own power plant.
Volatility? Alternative energy? No. Fossil fuels, you betcha.
January 17, 2017
By Rakteem Katakey
Volatility? Alternative energy? No. Fossil fuels, you betcha.
January 17, 2017
By Rakteem Katakey
Top oil industry officials in Davos (click here) aren’t turning completely bullish just yet. Capping their enthusiasm is U.S. shale oil, which is likely to limit price increases and usher in a period of greater volatility.
U.S. supply is already returning at $50 a barrel, Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih and BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday. Higher prices will accelerate that process, according to International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol.
“I expect U.S. production will start to increase again -- all the indications are there -- as a result of the higher prices,” Birol said. “Prices will go up, U.S. and other production will go up and put downward pressure on prices again. And up and down. We are entering a period of greater oil-price volatility.”...
There simply is no doubt at all that oil is as dead as the dinosaurs that rotted in the ground to be pumped out of their graves.
My sincerest sympathies for families and friends of any lost. I am hoping there are none lost.
I tend to hope against hope none are dead, because, in the year 2017 we should be able to beat this stuff. I never say surrender. I never embrace death as inevitable. No one else should either.
If I am not mistaken, the USA Park Service in some instances provides ID radio markers to hikers. I would like to think that current technology could be applied to areas such as Italy to facilitate a quick response to those that are trapped and/or lost. Wearing a radio marker also makes people think about their safety and how it is secured in uncertain times.
January 19, 2017
By Stefano Pitrelli
Rome — Italian rescuers (click here) dug frantically Thursday through a wall of snow and splintered trees that buried a resort hotel after an avalanche was shaken loose by a string of earthquakes, trapping at least 30 people, including children. Some bodies were found, and officials feared many more were dead.
Deep snow in the central Abruzzo region — which also was battered by major quakes last summer — slowed efforts to reach the Hotel Rigopiano, located off a hairpin-path alpine road at about 4,000 feet....
If I am not mistaken, the USA Park Service in some instances provides ID radio markers to hikers. I would like to think that current technology could be applied to areas such as Italy to facilitate a quick response to those that are trapped and/or lost. Wearing a radio marker also makes people think about their safety and how it is secured in uncertain times.
January 19, 2017
By Stefano Pitrelli
Rome — Italian rescuers (click here) dug frantically Thursday through a wall of snow and splintered trees that buried a resort hotel after an avalanche was shaken loose by a string of earthquakes, trapping at least 30 people, including children. Some bodies were found, and officials feared many more were dead.
Deep snow in the central Abruzzo region — which also was battered by major quakes last summer — slowed efforts to reach the Hotel Rigopiano, located off a hairpin-path alpine road at about 4,000 feet....
Italy is a NATO ally. The USA should be doing everything it can to bring expertise and economic suppor and stabilityt to such a valuable ally.
The USA Navy has a major port in Italy. It is the port the Republicans always point to as not having mind readers in their ranks the day Benghazi occurred.
It wouldn't hurt if the Swiss Guard checked the walls in the Vatican for new cracks. That entire complex has an underground area that should be well mapped in regard to geological stability. Pope Francis is very precious and the devil is in the details.
The Vatican or better said the Roman Catholic infrastructure has geologist priests among them somewhere, too. They need to get busy for emergency routes and artifacts to protect. Throw in a few engineers as well.
...There are three (click here) major geomorphical settings within the Mediterranean basin; areas with stable margin characteristics, areas with unstable convergent margin charactericstics, and areas with extensional margin (rifting) characteristics. Thus the Mediterranean basin is a location of an intercontinental interplate system; with compressional and extensional events occurring within close proximity. Geologists have yet to come to a consensus about which plates in addition to the African and Eurasian ones, if any, are involved in Mediterranean tectonics. Subsidence-related and other vertical displacements are also found in compressional and extensional areas. A few notable events occurred during the Cenozoic which affected the entire Mediterranean; the Messinian "salinity crisis", when the closing off of the Mediterranean-Atlantic seaway caused complete isolation of the Mediterranean and thus widespread evaporation; and then the Pliocene "revolution", when the channel opened back up, causing reestablishment of marine conditions; and the Quaternary "transgressive raised terraces," of controversial geological origin; among others....
The Mediterranean is where plate movement can cause a great deal of impact. There are enormous forces that come to play in small areas where people have lived and thrived for centuries if not millennia. So, this problem Italy is facing is not likely to end soon. The Pacific has been moving in very large measure and it has concentrated some of the movement in that one edge off New Zealand.
But, the plate movement in other major plates will translate into the Mediterranean over time.
...The Central portion of the Mediterranean basin exemplifies the juxtaposition of compressional and extensional tectonic activity in the area. The region bordered to the west by Sicily and to the east by Turkey's west coast (encompassing the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic seas) exhibit a particular set of features and will be the focus of my study.
There were four major periods of extension in this area. The first one occurred in the Mid-Upper Jurassic; evidence of this phase is seen in the Strepanosa Trough and Ionian plain. A second one occurred in the Mid-Late Triassic, opening up the Ionian sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. A third extensional phase occurred in the Mid-Upper Cretaceous, as evidenced by the stretched features of the Sirte Rise, a monocline with normal faults and tilted blocks. The fourth one, occurring in the Mid-Upper Miocene through to the Quaternary period, affected many areas of the Central Mediterranean. This extensional phase is closely associated with compressive motions; it is part of the reason for a counter-clockwise rotation of the Southern Appennine area which begins in the upper Cretaceous. All four of these extensional phases are the cause of geologic features found in the area, such as volcanic activity and rift-related sedimentary processes. Due to such extension, the oceanic crusts of the Central Mediterranean are considerably thinned in some places....
On a geologic timescale we are in the Phanerozoic Eon [542.1 mya (million years ago) to present], the Cenozoic Era (65.5 mya to present), the Quaternary Period (2.588 mya to present), and the Halocene Epoch (11,700 mya to present) are current.
Quaternary (2.588 mya to present) (click here)
It wouldn't hurt if the Swiss Guard checked the walls in the Vatican for new cracks. That entire complex has an underground area that should be well mapped in regard to geological stability. Pope Francis is very precious and the devil is in the details.
The Vatican or better said the Roman Catholic infrastructure has geologist priests among them somewhere, too. They need to get busy for emergency routes and artifacts to protect. Throw in a few engineers as well.
The Mediterranean is where plate movement can cause a great deal of impact. There are enormous forces that come to play in small areas where people have lived and thrived for centuries if not millennia. So, this problem Italy is facing is not likely to end soon. The Pacific has been moving in very large measure and it has concentrated some of the movement in that one edge off New Zealand.
But, the plate movement in other major plates will translate into the Mediterranean over time.
...The Central portion of the Mediterranean basin exemplifies the juxtaposition of compressional and extensional tectonic activity in the area. The region bordered to the west by Sicily and to the east by Turkey's west coast (encompassing the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic seas) exhibit a particular set of features and will be the focus of my study.
There were four major periods of extension in this area. The first one occurred in the Mid-Upper Jurassic; evidence of this phase is seen in the Strepanosa Trough and Ionian plain. A second one occurred in the Mid-Late Triassic, opening up the Ionian sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. A third extensional phase occurred in the Mid-Upper Cretaceous, as evidenced by the stretched features of the Sirte Rise, a monocline with normal faults and tilted blocks. The fourth one, occurring in the Mid-Upper Miocene through to the Quaternary period, affected many areas of the Central Mediterranean. This extensional phase is closely associated with compressive motions; it is part of the reason for a counter-clockwise rotation of the Southern Appennine area which begins in the upper Cretaceous. All four of these extensional phases are the cause of geologic features found in the area, such as volcanic activity and rift-related sedimentary processes. Due to such extension, the oceanic crusts of the Central Mediterranean are considerably thinned in some places....
On a geologic timescale we are in the Phanerozoic Eon [542.1 mya (million years ago) to present], the Cenozoic Era (65.5 mya to present), the Quaternary Period (2.588 mya to present), and the Halocene Epoch (11,700 mya to present) are current.
Quaternary (2.588 mya to present) (click here)
- Holocene (11,700 yrs to present)
- Pleistocene (2.588 mya to 11,700 yrs)
AS A BRIEF POLITICAL NOTE: See that 11,700 years ago called the Holocene? How many years ago does the political right wing state Earth was created? I guess they missed everything but the Holocene, right? Their Christian scientists haven't gotten the word yet there is more to Earth's creation than just the Holocene. Being a real scientist with real evidence contradicts their STORY.
I am confident there are seismic recorders surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. If not there needs to be. There needs to be monitoring on a continual basis. The geologists working on this need to find some type of pattern in the chaos. I also suggest they extrapolate their information to include recent plate movement in the Pacific and otherwise. A super computer should be able to discern the patterns and project activity into the future. There might be large ERROR in those projections, but, it is a place to start and then refine the data to encourage insight to protecting Italy and otherwise. I am confident the universities in the region, including, Saudi Arabia have qualified people that MAY HAVE specialized in regional activity.
Good luck!
I am confident there are seismic recorders surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. If not there needs to be. There needs to be monitoring on a continual basis. The geologists working on this need to find some type of pattern in the chaos. I also suggest they extrapolate their information to include recent plate movement in the Pacific and otherwise. A super computer should be able to discern the patterns and project activity into the future. There might be large ERROR in those projections, but, it is a place to start and then refine the data to encourage insight to protecting Italy and otherwise. I am confident the universities in the region, including, Saudi Arabia have qualified people that MAY HAVE specialized in regional activity.
Good luck!
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
This is no longer an indeterminate outcome, it is the future staring the world in the eye.
2016 is also a global record setter. Everyone needs to realize this is the third year in a row that temperatures have marched higher.
January 18, 2017
Earth’s 2016 surface temperatures (click here) were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit (0.99 degrees Celsius) warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures....
Angry oil men are not the people anyone needs to hear from. In a warming ocean the "Beaufort Lens" is changing.
The Beaufort Sea Gyre (click here)
January 18, 2017
By Anna Nowogrodzki
Climate change (click here) has affected many things about the ocean—the temperature; sea level; which creatures live where. But it’s also changed something surprising: how the ocean sounds.
Two years ago, acoustic engineer Lee Freitag, from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, discovered a stark change in the Arctic Ocean’s Beaufort Sea: sounds, he found, could now travel about four times farther than they could a decade ago.
The US Navy wanted to know more. Their submarines communicate through underwater sound wave transmissions, making it vital to their operations to understand exactly where their signals are being carried....
Oxfam has an unusally informative assessments of global impacts of the climate crisis.
The IPCC (click here) has assessed the biomes for the continents. We know from Syria the climate crisis can cause civil wars.
Bolivia is a country particularly vulnerable (click here) to the impacts of climate change. In July 2009, a team of Oxfam researchers travelled to three areas of Bolivia (Trinidad in Beni, the Cochabamba valleys and Khapi under Mount Illimani, in La Paz) to take a snapshot of how poor families are experiencing the changing climate, and how they are adapting to it....
...Bolivia can expect five main impacts as a result of climate change:
- Less food security
- Glacial retreat affecting water availability
- More frequent and more intense ‘natural’ disasters
- An increase in mosquito-borne diseases
- More forest fires...
The Beaufort Sea Gyre (click here)
By Anna Nowogrodzki
Climate change (click here) has affected many things about the ocean—the temperature; sea level; which creatures live where. But it’s also changed something surprising: how the ocean sounds.
Two years ago, acoustic engineer Lee Freitag, from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, discovered a stark change in the Arctic Ocean’s Beaufort Sea: sounds, he found, could now travel about four times farther than they could a decade ago.
The US Navy wanted to know more. Their submarines communicate through underwater sound wave transmissions, making it vital to their operations to understand exactly where their signals are being carried....
Oxfam has an unusally informative assessments of global impacts of the climate crisis.
The IPCC (click here) has assessed the biomes for the continents. We know from Syria the climate crisis can cause civil wars.
...Bolivia can expect five main impacts as a result of climate change:
- Less food security
- Glacial retreat affecting water availability
- More frequent and more intense ‘natural’ disasters
- An increase in mosquito-borne diseases
- More forest fires...
There are many hideously unconstitutional laws in the country and NC has more than it's fair share.
In Michigan, if a person receives food stamps (known in the state as "Bridges") purchases a can of soda (known as "pop" in Michigan) then pours it out all over the ground, returns to the store with the empty can for a refund on the deposit, that is considered breaking the law.
In Michigan, it is believed "drunks" use their MI Bridges card to purchase items with deposits on them, empty them and then use the monies received from the deposit to purchase a bottle of wine or a can of beer or more than that some kind of liquor.
Amazing. By simply owning a "MI Bridges" card whether in use or not for receiving food stamps and one pours out the contents of a "container with a deposit" the police can arrest you. The idiocy in all that is rather remarkable.
January 17, 2017
By
In Michigan, it is believed "drunks" use their MI Bridges card to purchase items with deposits on them, empty them and then use the monies received from the deposit to purchase a bottle of wine or a can of beer or more than that some kind of liquor.
Amazing. By simply owning a "MI Bridges" card whether in use or not for receiving food stamps and one pours out the contents of a "container with a deposit" the police can arrest you. The idiocy in all that is rather remarkable.
January 17, 2017
By
Wilmington -- A Wilmington woman (click here) expressed concern Tuesday about a city ordinance she told council members could be applied selectively to quell dissent.
Anne Russell was questioning Chapter 6, Section 13F of Wilmington City Code, which states members of a picket or similar protest must remain 15 feet apart during a march. Organizers of Saturday's planned Wilmington Women's March, which Russell plans to attend, learned of the ordinance after applying for permits for the event....
In North Carolina there exists a state law about human trafficking that casts such a wide net, anyone,...let's say someone other than Christian..., can be arrested on the slightest indication of SLAVERY. The legal society of North Carolina debated the law for over a year until it was passed in 2013 and still today the majority of lawyers state, "It is a bad law." It has few resemblances to the federal law.
But, true to form, here comes another idiotic law that requires SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS or be arrested.
..."(I) strongly suggest you re-word it because it seems to be an ordinance that can be used very selectively, if you gather what I'm implying," Russell told council....
I think former Governor McCrory gave lessons on how to write laws that ensnare the innocent simply because it can.
Across states with Republican majorities there are may laws passed that ensnare the average citizen if exhibiting or not exhibiting a certain behavior. I thought the Republicans were for less government and not more.
Oh, wait.
Republicans are for less government when profits are behind a regulation regardless of how reckless the profits are, BUT, when it comes to the RIGHTS of citizens that don't act as they should anything goes.
At a time when President Obama has ended the use of private federal prisons, it would seem the states with Republican majorities are finding more and more reason to arrest, jail and imprison citizens. Of course, the citizen be they guilty or not, pays the bills associated with their misdirection of behavior, etc., so why not add law after law that brings dysfunction to a life while the government profits?
Of course, this law in Wilmington is to intimidate participants so the idea of protesting is no longer a practical one.
The oppressive law works, too. The unconstitutional aspect of the law falls under the First Amendment which allows flag burning; FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION!
January 17, 2017
By Hunter Ingram
Of course, this law in Wilmington is to intimidate participants so the idea of protesting is no longer a practical one.
The oppressive law works, too. The unconstitutional aspect of the law falls under the First Amendment which allows flag burning; FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION!
January 17, 2017
By Hunter Ingram
...Although it retains the name of the Women’s March, (click here) the event will -- for logistical and permit reasons -- largely remain stationary on the four corners of Third and Princess streets. Some participants may march around the block if they choose.
Norton said the idea is for participants to bring signs and peacefully share their messages of solidarity and equal rights, while also communicating with their like-minded neighbors.
She said she has received messages from locals who said they planned to attend the D.C. march, but scrapped the plans in favor of the Wilmington event....
Oh, one other thing about the dumping of a container's contents to retrieve the deposit; if the owner of the legally purchased container wants the deposit back without being arrested, JUST DRINK THE CONTENTS!!!!!!!!!!
That is good sound advise that will work and it is free!
Oh, one other thing about the dumping of a container's contents to retrieve the deposit; if the owner of the legally purchased container wants the deposit back without being arrested, JUST DRINK THE CONTENTS!!!!!!!!!!
That is good sound advise that will work and it is free!
With a 60 percent approval rating President Obama continues his end of presidential career list.
I wish Ms. Manning, her family and friends well as they will continue to find a path forward.
January 17, 2017
By Charlie Savage
The decision by Mr. Obama rescued Ms. Manning, who twice tried to kill herself last year, from an uncertain future as a transgender woman incarcerated at the men’s military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. She has been jailed for nearly seven years, and her 35-year sentence was by far the longest punishment ever imposed in the United States for a leak conviction.
At the same time that Mr. Obama commuted the sentence of Ms. Manning, a low-ranking enlisted soldier at the time of her leaks, he also pardoned James E. Cartwright, the retired Marine general and former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who pleaded guilty to lying about his conversations with reporters to F.B.I. agents investigating a leak of classified information about cyberattacks on Iran’s nuclear program....
...Mr. Obama also granted 63 other pardons and 207 other commutations, mostly for drug offenders.
Under the terms of the commutation announced by the White House on Tuesday, Ms. Manning is set to be freed on May 17 of this year rather than in 2045. A senior administration official said the 120-day delay was part of a standard transition period for commutations to time served, and was designed to allow for such steps as finding a place for Ms. Manning to live after her release.
The commutation also relieved the Defense Department of the difficult responsibility of Ms. Manning’s incarceration as she pushes for treatment for her gender dysphoria, including sex reassignment surgery, that the military has no experience providing....
Some Republicans have come forward to criticize the commutation of sentences, but, get this I DON'T CARE BECAUSE IT IS ALL POLITICS BASED IN RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY!
Ms. Manning has every right as an American to live a happy life and I look forward to her doing so.
...Mr. Obama also granted 63 other pardons and 207 other commutations, mostly for drug offenders.
Under the terms of the commutation announced by the White House on Tuesday, Ms. Manning is set to be freed on May 17 of this year rather than in 2045. A senior administration official said the 120-day delay was part of a standard transition period for commutations to time served, and was designed to allow for such steps as finding a place for Ms. Manning to live after her release.
The commutation also relieved the Defense Department of the difficult responsibility of Ms. Manning’s incarceration as she pushes for treatment for her gender dysphoria, including sex reassignment surgery, that the military has no experience providing....
Some Republicans have come forward to criticize the commutation of sentences, but, get this I DON'T CARE BECAUSE IT IS ALL POLITICS BASED IN RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY!
Ms. Manning has every right as an American to live a happy life and I look forward to her doing so.
While experiencing severe rain storms, there are also extreme fires in New Zealand.
New Zealand is a far small country than the USA and such events are felt more deeply by the people.
By Jamie Morton and Belinda Feek
They described it as explosive, (click here) extreme and rampant; and tonight the wildfire that cost residents of an idyllic Whitianga peninsula their homes is burning on.
The blaze broke out in a rural area south of the Coromandel township early yesterday evening, and soon engulfed whole hillsides, tearing through four homes at deadly speed.
"There's no way any man was ever going to run as fast as that fire was moving," said principal rural fire officer Paul Shaw, who commanded several ground crews that tried to battle the fire across steep terrain.
"The wind wasn't our friend: it stayed up, blew through and made conditions quite extreme."...
This has been a very hot and rough summer for Australia.
18 January 2017
By Australian Associated Press
Reports of property lost amid deteriorating conditions near Tarago and in the Hunter region (click here)
This has been a very hot and rough summer for Australia.
18 January 2017
By Australian Associated Press
Reports of property lost amid deteriorating conditions near Tarago and in the Hunter region (click here)
...The RFS (click here) has received unconfirmed reports from the public and firefighters of properties being destroyed by the 650 hectare fire, which was formed when two serious blazes merged on Wednesday.
More than 250 firefighters continue to battle the northwest-moving fire, which is burning near Hart Road, McLeod Road, and the Hunter Expressway.
The crews, including extra hands from Sydney and the Central Coast, have been assisted by waterbombing aircraft.
The Hunter Expressway remained closed between Buchanan and Branxton on Wednesday afternoon.
The ABC was reporting the nearby Weston Aluminium recycling plant had been shut down to limit the threat of an explosion.
Residents were evacuating and moving stock on Wednesday as firefighters battled worsening conditions and an out-of-control blaze near Canberra.
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service had earlier said those in the Mount Fairy and Boro areas, near Tarago north-west of Canberra, should implement their bushfire survival plan....
The Trump presidency is throwing out all precedent, all history and operating a 'take over' of the USA government.
It is a coupe. There is no respect for our country by this administration and it is being viewed as an asset and nothing more.
I am confident every ally the USA has sought to build a relationship will be evaluated for it's assets, rather than it's loyalty and like minded values that prevent danger to our peoples. This form of relationship is standard operating practice of dehumanization that allows an emotional distance from sincere alliances.
I am confident the allies of the USA will find diplomatic measures to handle the inevitable insults to change direction in USA foreign policy. What is important are the relationships of the USA with it's allies that shall remain strong and strategic.
"W" threw out a vitally important missile treaty and in it's place a three page document that was to reduce the burden of reading and definitions and of course 'the fine print.' If we can get through an attack on the financial centers of the USA, an illegal and immoral war into Iraq and treaties treated as bothersome, I am confident the global community interested in peace and prosperity will weather this storm as well, albeit, somewhat more crude and inhumane.
I am confident every ally the USA has sought to build a relationship will be evaluated for it's assets, rather than it's loyalty and like minded values that prevent danger to our peoples. This form of relationship is standard operating practice of dehumanization that allows an emotional distance from sincere alliances.
I am confident the allies of the USA will find diplomatic measures to handle the inevitable insults to change direction in USA foreign policy. What is important are the relationships of the USA with it's allies that shall remain strong and strategic.
"W" threw out a vitally important missile treaty and in it's place a three page document that was to reduce the burden of reading and definitions and of course 'the fine print.' If we can get through an attack on the financial centers of the USA, an illegal and immoral war into Iraq and treaties treated as bothersome, I am confident the global community interested in peace and prosperity will weather this storm as well, albeit, somewhat more crude and inhumane.
By Nicola Lamb
...On Tuesday, (click here) German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "We Europeans have our fate in our hands".
She was reacting to Trump's comments about Nato ("obsolete" but also "important"), the EU (prepare for Brexit sequels) and herself (made a "catastrophic mistake" about refugees).
In the same interview with the Times and Bild, Trump put Merkel on the same level as Russia's President Vladimir Putin, even though Berlin is a key US ally and Moscow is a difficult rival power, usually dealt with at arms length. "I start off trusting both but let's see how long that lasts," he said. "It may not last long at all."
Statements that were once seen as part of the tumble of campaign politics take on a different light when uttered by a man days away from being the leader of the free world. Former US ambassador to Nato Ivo Daalder tweeted: "Trump is more critical of Nato, EU, & Germany--all close allies--than he's ever been of Putin & Russia.
We're entering an upside down world." But Robin Niblett, the director of Chatham House, told the New York Times: "I take all of this with a pinch of salt. I think Trump is trying to keep his options open and not be cornered by simply standing up for existing policy positions."...
Trump will probably exonerate Bill Cosby before long.
I am sure women sexually assaulted by Donald Trump did not know the scope of his habit. I am still waiting for the charges of voyeurism by groups of women and young girls to come forward. It is difficult for women to come forward as a single voice because they are the victims regardless of their dedication to the truth.
January 18, 2017
January 18, 2017
A former contestant of reality show The Apprentice, who last year accused Donald Trump of sexual assault, is suing the President-elect for defamation.
Just two days before Trump will be sworn in the 45th president of the United States, Summer Zervos has filed the claim, stemming from an accusation Trump made about her and other women who accused him of sexual assault before November's election....
...The Hollywood Reporter (click here) said she would not be able to directly sue for sexual assault because of a statute of limitations.
Instead, she's echoing the legal strategy by many of Bill Cosby's accusers by suing over comments that allegedly branded her a liar.
Zervos' lawyer, Gloria Allred, told Australian news programme Sunrise this morning she expected Trump to seek to have the case thrown out.
"It would not surprise me at all if President Trump sought to either delay this case or to have this case dismissed," she said....
"Statues of Limitations for Sexual Assault; A State by State Comparison" (click here) Opens a PDF. Protections for minor may have no statute of limitations.
"Statues of Limitations for Sexual Assault; A State by State Comparison" (click here) Opens a PDF. Protections for minor may have no statute of limitations.
I briefly looked at an article stating inauguration week was stated to be one of boycotting the festivities. Okay, but, that doesn't sound like much fun. Where are all the Hillary and Bernie parties? I think supporters should be having fun, too. New year with new challenges. Pouting is not allowed. No one surrended. It is time to be heard loud and clear. "The truth needs a defender, it has been abandoned by the incoming administration. It has been replaced by oppression. That cannot stand.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
250-850 hPa layer (click here for animation)
hPa is hectopascal. It is roughly 1 millibar of pressure. This particular satellite measures wind speed in knots/per second. Don't get hung up on the hectopascal thing. That is where these winds are taking place. 250-850 hectopascal of pressure occurs about one quarter to less than a mile up in the troposphere.
These upper winds are sailing at over 100 knots per second. That means the upper winds are traveling at over 31 miles per second.
Is this translating to high winds at ground level? California has been knocked around for the last couple of weeks.
2330,19z
UNISYS Water Vapor satellite of the north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 horu loop - thank you)
173 MPH wind gusts? It looks like there is more to come. When is the acceleration of the upper troposphere going to stop?
250 to 850 hPa at these longitude and latitudes should be evaluated for excluding air traffic. I haven't heard of any falling out of the sky, but, I haven't looked either.
July 10, 2017
By Patrick May
As long as you’ve not been (a) stuck (click here) in a mudslide-jammed morning commute or (b) had a tree branch bite off part of your roof or (c) had torrential rains wash away half of your backyard, this week’s storms have served up an entertaining, continual and wide range of jaw-dropping weather moments.
They may not be historic per se, because with 150 years of meteorological record-keeping out there it can be difficult to break a weather record. Think about it: while it may seem like it’s been raining in the Bay Area for weeks now, it’s only been since Jan. 1, a mere 10-day stretch that pales compared to the nearly-three-week-long stretch of wet stuff that once hit San Francisco.
“San Francisco’s record for all-time wet spells,” says meteorologist Jan Null with Golden Gate Weather Services, “is 19 consecutive days back in 1938, from Jan. 27 until Feb. 14. So we’ve still got a long way to go to beat that. And since we’re not expecting rain at all this coming Friday, we won’t beat it this time around.”...
This is more than a wet spell. I am glad California is getting rain, but, this is worrisome.
OK, so this pales by comparison with the domestic record-setting 231 miles-per-hour gust atop Mt. Washington in New Hampshire on April 12, 1934, or the world-record-breaking 253-mph blast that hit Barrow Island, Australia Oct. 4, 1996. But 173 is still a remarkable velocity to behold. And as Null points out, it’s tough to compete with Mt. Washington when it comes to whacked-out weather: “Mt. Washington is a sort of Mecca for meteorologists,” he says. “There’s a weather observatory there where they get these high winds and wind chills of minus 100 all the time.”This is NOT Barrow Island or Mt. Washington where unusual weather is the norm. This is mid-latitudes California. I'll look toward Valentine's Day as the day the winds stopped in California. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
January 17, 2017
4:15 PM
Accuweather radar (click here for loop - thank you)
Counties, cities and people need to be made aware of the extended period of time this will continue. They have to prepare for flooding and wind. People have to know what they are up against.
In sharp contrast, the north Atlantic and Europe are not seeing this disturbance at the same altitudes.
Mean sea level pressure, (click here) wind speed at 850 hPa and geopotential 500 hPa, temperature at 850 hPa.
Tuesday, 17 January 2017
1200 utc
Not even close to the turbulence over the east Pacific.
Monday, January 16, 2017
These magnificent American women were empowered by Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King, Jr.
On May 17, 1954 (click here) the United States Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The Court’s unanimous decision overturned provisions of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which had allowed for “separate but equal” public facilities, including public schools in the United States. Declaring that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal,” the Brown v. Board decision helped break the back of state-sponsored segregation, and provided a spark to the American civil rights movement....
Every American life makes this country stronger, better and a leader.
-“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous (click here) than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
Today, Americans are living that stupidity.
-“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
-“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”
-“World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.”
-“I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression of impractical idealism, but of practical realism. Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, love is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. To return hate for hate does nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe. Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil, and this can only be done through love.”...
The truth is vital to a democracy. We are facing the greatest liar in American history on January 20th.
Martin Luther King was not afraid of making example of Adolph Hitler.
-“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”
Every American life makes this country stronger, better and a leader.
-“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous (click here) than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
Today, Americans are living that stupidity.
-“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
-“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”
-“World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.”
-“I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression of impractical idealism, but of practical realism. Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, love is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. To return hate for hate does nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe. Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil, and this can only be done through love.”...
The truth is vital to a democracy. We are facing the greatest liar in American history on January 20th.
Martin Luther King was not afraid of making example of Adolph Hitler.
-“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”
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