Mayor Weaver is correct. While the pipes in homes have to be replaced, the only real option for Flint's water supply except GLWA.

April 20, 2017
by Roberto Acosta

Flint, MI -- Police say six people were arrested (click here) Thursday evening at a Flint church during a town hall meeting on Flint Mayor Karen Weaver's recommendation to stay on the Detroit water system....

...Residents peppered officials with questions about bacteria, the long-term medical impact of the water supply and medical support for those potentially contaminated with lead, and how they can ever trust the government again.

Thursday's event is the only scheduled event where the public can ask officials about the city's water future. Weaver said radio town halls may also be scheduled in the future to discuss the water recommendation.

The city says it's giving residents until May 20 to comment on its future water source, including Weaver's recommendation that the city continues to purchase pre-treated water from the Great Lakes Water Authority for the next 30 years....

The GLWA (click here) 

The GLWA Board of Directors (click here) includes one representative each from Oakland,

Macomb and Wayne counties, as well as two representatives from the City of
Detroit, and one appointed by the governor of Michigan to represent customer
communities outside the tri-county area.

Robert Daddow, Chairman Oakland County
Gary Brown, Vice Chair City of Detroit
Brian Baker Macomb County
Freman Hendrix City of Detroit
Craig Hupy Governor Snyder/State of Michigan
Abe Munfakh Wayne County 

What happened to the Board member representing Genesee County, Michigan?

April 5, 2017
By Siddhartha Roy

As an alternative to traditional spring break, (click here) a team of University of Michigan (UM) and Virginia Tech (VT) students/faculty spent March 4-11 engaged in Flint, MI classrooms — spreading a positive message about scientific thinking, citizen science, and the everyday heroism of Flint residents. Flint resident Ellie Jacques (Ellievate) played a major role in coordinating this effort, and we were joined by Flint hero-Mom LeeAnne Walters and her daughter Kaylie.

During the week the team connected with nearly 1000 students in grades pre-K to 12th grade at the following Flint schools: Hamady High School, Hamady Middle School, Durant-Tuuri-Mott Elementary School, Neithercut Elementary School, Doyle-Ryder Elementary, Way Academy, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint, Genesee Career Institute, Grand Blanc Academy, Holmes STEM Academy, Flint Children’s Museum, Genesee Early College, and Mott Middle College....

Canada: AESO Kicks Off Renewable Electricity Program

April 12, 2017
By Paula Olexiuk, Dana Saric, Kevin Lemke and Jeremy Baretto

On March 31, 2017, (click here) the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) kicked off the Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) phase of the Renewable Electricity Program (REP) (described below). Proponents interested in participating in the first round of the REP must submit their completed Expression of Interest form (EOI Form) by April 21, 2017. This Update includes a summary of the REP and an analysis of key contractual terms of the Renewable Electricity Support Agreement (RESA)....

The first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has been named, Arlene.

April 21, 2017
1430.18z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

In the past, when conditions were not in crisis, the Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ended November 30. Since the climate crisis has taken hold there are chronic hurricane winds and/or tornadoes year round.

The two warmest Februaries on record are 2016 and 2017.

I have been watching this develop for nearly four days on and it is enormous and inverted. Yesterday, I thought there was a chance it was going to dissipate, but, it came back strong overnight and today it is he first hurricane of the season.

This graphic compares (click here) the year-to-date temperature anomalies for 2017 (black line) to what were ultimately the eight warmest years on record: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, 2013, 2005, 2009, and 1998. Each month along each trace represents the year-to-date average temperature anomaly. In other words, the January value is the January average temperature anomaly, the February value is the average anomaly of both January and February, and so on. The average global land and ocean surface temperature for January–February 2017 was 0.94°C (1.69°F) above the 20th century average of 12.1°C (53.8°F)—the second highest global land and ocean temperature for January–February in the 1880–2017 record, behind 2016 by 0.18°C (0.32°F), but 0.09°C (0.16°F) higher than 2015.

The anomalies themselves represent departures from the 20th century average temperature. The graph zooms into the warmest part of the entire history.

Below:

This graphic (click here) compares the year-to-date temperature anomalies for 2017 (black line) to what were ultimately the eight warmest years on record: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, 2013, 2005, 2009, and 1998. Each month along each trace represents the year-to-date average temperature anomaly. In other words, the January value is the January average temperature anomaly, the February value is the average anomaly of both January and February, and so on. The average global land and ocean surface temperature for January–February 2017 was 0.94°C (1.69°F) above the 20th century average of 12.1°C (53.8°F)—the second highest global land and ocean temperature for January–February in the 1880–2017 record, behind 2016 by 0.18°C (0.32°F), but 0.09°C (0.16°F) higher than 2015.

The anomalies themselves represent departures from the 20th century average temperature. The graph zooms into the warmest part of the entire history.

2017 is between the record of 2016 and 2015. Also to note is the distinct departure from 2010 of those three years. The Climate Crisis is real and imposing.

I am not surprised the first Atlantic hurricane is a monster and extremely early.

At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), (click here) the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Arlene was located near latitude 39.3 North, longitude 49.9 West.
The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the southwest near 23 mph (37 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue until dissipation.

Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph (85 km/h) with higher gusts. The post-tropical cyclone is forecast to dissipate later today.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles (370 km) from the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 995 mb (29.39 inches).

The boss is back!

April 21, 2017

By Katherine Skiba

Former President Barack Obama (click here) will return to Chicago on Monday to speak to young people at the University of Chicago, in what will be his first speech since leaving the White House.

Obama and young leaders will hold a conversation on civic engagement and discuss community organizing at the university's Logan Center for the Arts, his office announced Friday....

..."This event is part of President Obama's post-presidency goal to encourage and support the next generation of leaders driven by strengthening communities around the country and the world," an advisory said.

No tickets remain for distribution to the general public, but the event will be televised. Former first lady Michelle Obama is not expected to accompany her husband on the trip, Lewis said.

Among the schools given tickets are the U. of C., Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago, Roosevelt University and Chicago State University, Lewis said. Minority-serving organizations also were given tickets, he said....

FOX News states O'Reilly will nothing more than his annual salary as severance pay. Right was his combined annual salary from all his FOX employment, $5,000,000.

April 21, 2017
By Patrick Ryan

Thursday. (click here) "Someone happened to capture a picture of the moment. Look at O'Reilly's face — it's the scariest frikkin' thing. But I'm still standing and he's not."

So I'm walking down the street one day, O'Reilly drives by, screeches to a halt, jumps out & starts yelling @ me. Ha!



It is called the truth, Bill.

Bye, bye, everyone say bye, bye to Bill. Bye, bye.

Paris government needs to conduct an autonomous audit of it's police department and any intelligence departments.

I don't believe in coincidence. There was a leak of some kind to the murderer. Possibly the French government needs to conduct an autonomous and anonymous audit of the Paris police.

Who was Mr. Jugele's friends, etc. Something placed him at that day and time. Is there a possibility Mr. Jugele was being stalked? Perhaps even Interpol. In the climate of criminals that have become a regular occurrence today, there cannot be a stone left unturned.

Mr. Jugele had many ties to terrorist networks as a police officer. Perhaps he was too good a police officer and learned too much and someone declared he should die.

April 21, 2017
By Lilia Blaise Paris — He was a proud defender of gay rights, (click here) joining protests against Russia’s ban on "homosexual propaganda" before the 2014 Olympics. He once went to Greece to help police officers deal with the flood of migrants who had crossed the Aegean Sea and were seeking shelter in the European Union. He was in the crowd at the Bataclan when Sting helped reopen the Paris concert hall in November, one year after concertgoers were gunned down in a terrorist attack.

Xavier Jugelé, 37, a Paris police officer since 2010, himself fell victim to terrorism on Thursday evening. He was in a police vehicle on the heavily guarded Champs-Élysées, Paris’s most famous boulevard, when a gunman opened fire, killing him and wounding two other officers, along with a bystander.

The gunman was shot dead as he tried to flee; the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack a short while later.

Officer Jugelé was mourned on Friday by friends and fellow officers.
“He was a simple man who loved his job, and he was really committed to the L.G.B.T. cause,” said Mikaël Bucheron, president of Flag, a French association for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender police officers. “He joined the association a few years ago, and he protested with us when there was the homosexual propaganda ban at the Sochi Olympic Games,” Mr. Bucheron said....