Northern Texas is having hail storms.

May 22, 2012
0430:00 z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of USA


Nearly two inches of hail in some areas. There was a tornado in Kansas yesterday that damaged three homes.

0818 PM      HAIL             12 N ADRIAN             35.45N 102.66W

05/21/2012 

(click here) E1.00 INCH       OLDHAM             TX   PUBLIC

            HAIL COMPLETELY COVERING THE GROUND. 0.64 INCHES OF
            RAIN

0837 PM     TORNADO          5 NW ADRIAN             35.33N 102.73W
05/21/2012                   OLDHAM             TX   STORM CHASER

0850 PM     HAIL             ADRIAN                  35.28N 102.66W
05/21/2012  E1.75 INCH       OLDHAM             TX   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0851 PM     HAIL             1 S ADRIAN              35.28N 102.66W
05/21/2012  E1.75 INCH       OLDHAM             TX   BROADCAST MEDIA

            ALONG I40

0906 PM     HAIL             ADRIAN                  35.28N 102.66W
05/21/2012  E1.75 INCH       OLDHAM             TX   TRAINED SPOTTER

0922 PM     HAIL             ADRIAN                  35.28N 102.66W
05/21/2012  E0.88 INCH       OLDHAM             TX   PUBLIC

            2 TO 3 INCHES OF NICKEL SIZE HAIL COVERING THE GROUND.

1031 PM     TSTM WND GST     1 W AMARILLO            35.20N 101.83W
05/21/2012  M61 MPH          POTTER             TX   BROADCAST MEDIA

Nevada is experiencing high winds, dry air and wildfires. Not a good combination.

...gusty wind and low relative humidity levels (click here) elevated fire weather conditions across much of Nevada and Utah.

Thermal, California had a high of 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

On this date, May 21 in 1792, Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis, the first to describe the Coriolis force, was born.


My birthday is the same as Mr. Coriolis, May 21st. Nice. That's pretty cool.

Odd. "Effectiveness of US Government Leaders" made the top of the list of concerns in a BOA small business poll.

Why Small Companies Are Helping Our Economy Grow (click here)

January 25, 2012

...Small businesses contribute much more to the U.S. economy and society as a whole than can be calculated just from the spending and profit that they generate. These businesses tend to be more economically innovative than larger companies; more able to respond to changing consumer demand; and more receptive to creating opportunities for women and minorities; and activities in distressed areas....

Small Business are my heroes. I don't believe that will ever change.

The answers are on page 4 of the PDF. I don't find it odd small business owners are looking at the effectiveness of government leadership, but, to realize it out ranks even recover of consumer spending by a few points seems strange. These small business owners surveyed are not minor at all and below is the methodology of the polling.

Methodolgy

Braun Research conducted the Bank of America Small Business Owner Report survey by

phone between March 17 and April 9, 2012 on behalf of Bank of America. Braun contacteda nationally representative sample of 1,000 small business owners in the United States withannual revenue between $100,000 and $4,999,999 and employing between 2 and 99 employees.

In addition, 300 small business owners were also surveyed in nine target markets

including Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco,Atlanta and Miami. The margin of error for the national sample is +/- 3.1 percent, and +/- 5.7percent for the oversampled markets, with both reported at a 95 percent confidence level.

But, considering these owners place their local economy in priority of their concerns when it comes to a stable market for their products; their preoccupation with government leadership links government to their success. According to Republicans, government is not necessary for small businesses to succeed. 

...Small business owners (click here) have more confidence in their local economy than the national economy. When asked about the next 12 months, 42 percent expect their own local economic conditions to improve compared to 35 percent who expect the national economy will improve. When asked what national issues concern them the most, the effectiveness of US government leaders topped the list, closely followed by commodities prices, the recovery of consumer spending and healthcare costs. Credit availability ranked at the bottom along with the trade deficit and the global stock market.

However, reservations about the state of the national economy did not dampen optimism among small business owners regarding their future business prospects. Nearly 7 of 10 (69%) small business owners view their local economy as critical to their business’s success.

Moreover, reflective of the independent character that typifies most small business owners, the majority of respondents (53%) stated that their own decisions, rather than the overall health of the economy, are more likely to influence business outcomes.

This sentiment was particularly strong among women as well as “Necessity” and “Serial” small business owners....

Local economies. I have said it and said it and said it and now there is proof. I didn't know BOA did these surveys on a regular basis. This is the first one I have read. Local economies don't require analysts to make decisions. Most local business owners understand their market on a personal level. I remember when the 2008 global economic collapse/depression hit, small owners gave up their recreational time and laid off employees to better handle their businesses in uncertain times. Sincere local economies are far less likely to have adverse trends while national and international companies don't have the luxury of the same safety margins.

Entitlements and Small Businesses are the baseline of the USA economy. The stronger and more stable they are the less chance the USA will ever face tragic outcomes. Noted in this report is the fact over a third of small business owners still work a part time or full time job, in addition to their management of their enterprise. That may be to receive benefits including pension over the long term. But, they are very ambitious. That is a good thing.

This is what goes on in North Carolina congregations. (click title to entry - thank you) This is not scripture, it is hate speech.

Rubio, one of the most divisive figure in modern American history in the Senate

Who is divisive?
Senator Rubio has stood shoulder to shoulder with his GOP peers in the Senate and filibustered record numbers of votes to put Americans back to work. 


President Obama's American Jobs Act was the most bi-partisan bill this country has ever seen. Who is divisive? Rubio and his Republican peers, that who is divisive.


Senator Snow is leaving her seat after years and years of dedication to the people of Maine. She stated she came to Washington to govern and for the past two years it has been nothing but politics day after day after day. Who is divisive? Who is pitting American against American? President Obama? He never attempted to destroy equity of all Americans or those protected by the law. He never attacked women's health and he never put up barriers to legal protection under the law for women including minorities, immigrants or from the GLBT community. I sincerely believe the Violence Against Women's Act is unconstitutional in its exclusion of 'certain classes' of women. That is discrimination and it should never be tolerated.


Those are very strange words coming from a Hispanic Senator when one realizes the truth.


This paragraph refers to the chart above. It is from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.


(The chart tracks the number of attempts (click here) to overturn filibusters in each Congress. The Senate does not keep data on the number of times the filibuster itself is invoked, which would be much larger. Numbers for 2011-12 are lower because the current session has yet to be concluded, and because as use of the filibuster has become standard, fewer votes are called to try to overturn it.)


It has gotten to the point where bringing a bill to the floor is fruitless as there won't be a majority vote on any bill. That is not a functional government and it is the direct responsibility of the Senate Republicans.

What is the largest pension fund yet to be liquidated?

And for young women it is all the more important to demand equity in the market place and in the benefits and pay they receive. Women do not receive equal pay for work and they are behind in all aspects of retirement, including, Social Security Benefits. If a woman makes less over her lifetime than a man she will received less benefits when it counts the most, at retirement.

SOCIAL SECURITY: Why young workers should care about Social Security (click here)

Posted: May 20, 2012 12:00 am
Updated: 9:10 am, May 21, 2012.

By Peggy Buchanan, Contributing writer, The Lufkin News

Summer will be here before we know it. That means millions of high school and college students will be searching for jobs. Whether a new worker is beginning the career of a lifetime or just earning some extra money for the school year to come, there is one question that is likely to be on each new worker’s mind when they see their first pay stub: Where’s the rest of my money?

Generally, employers are required to withhold Social Security and Medicare tax from a worker’s paycheck. The amounts you pay in Social Security and Medicare taxes are matched by your employer. Usually the money that is withheld is referred to as “Social Security taxes” on the employee’s payroll statement. Sometimes the deduction is labeled as “FICA taxes,” which stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. So let us tell you how that money is being used, and what’s in it for you.

The taxes paid now translate to a lifetime of protection, when you eventually retire or if you become disabled. In the event that you die young, your dependent children and spouse may be able to receive survivors benefits based on your work. Today you probably have family members — grandparents, for example — who already enjoy Social Security benefits that your Social Security taxes help provide....

Notre Dame is not a sovereign entity and accepts US Federal Funding.

May 21, 2012 2:52pm

Forty-three Catholic groups, (click here) including the University of Notre Dame and Archdioceses of New York and Washington, have sued the Obama administration over a controversial mandate requiring employers to offer insurance plans that include contraception coverage.

In a coordinated filing of 12 lawsuits in federal courts across the country, the groups argue that the mandate would unconstitutionally force religiously-affiliated institutions, like Catholic schools and hospitals, to indirectly subsidize contraception for female employees in violation of religious beliefs.

President Obama in February attempted to accommodate the groups’ concerns with an administrative compromise he said would ensure no religious organization had to pay for or provide the services directly.  But today’s lawsuits signal that the Catholics groups found the effort insufficient.

“We have tried negotiation with the Administration and legislation with the Congress – and we’ll keep at it – but there’s still no fix,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said in a statement. “Time is running out, and our valuable ministries and fundamental rights hang in the balance, so we have to resort to the courts now.”...

The "Church Based" Funding of the USA is as generous to them as it is to other non-profit entities that hire Americans to work for them. Those monies offered to these institutions come from taxpayers of all religions, ethnicities and otherwise. If Americans are good enough for the funding to these institutions and they are good enough to work for these institutions, then they are good enough to have equity in benefits as well.

ND Expert: The legacy and challenge of a landmark decision

MICHAEL O. GARVEY

DATE: MAY 18, 2012

Reflecting on the recent anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s (click here) landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, John Schoenig, director of the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Program for K-12 educational access, insisted that serious challenges to the equality of educational opportunity remain.

“On May 17, we commemorated the 58th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, arguably the most important civil rights decision in Supreme Court history,” Schoenig said.

“It was through Brown that the deplorable legacy of ‘separate but equal’ that had been enshrined in Plessy v. Ferguson was formally prohibited in America’s public schools. This year’s anniversary is a particularly special one, insofar as Brown is now as old as Plessy was when Brown was decided.”...

Notre Dame knows better than to expect every person in its employee to have the same religious affiliation. If they want that dynamic they need to stop accepting monies from the federal government and seek an exclusive category as a "Catholic's Only" university. Considering 97% of Catholic women use birth control in the USA, this lawsuit is grossly out of step with contemporary Catholics.

PUBLISHED: AUTUMN 2004 

The Notre Dame program (click here) that places recent grads in Catholic schools to teach for two years will have to get along without the support of the federal AmeriCorps program if a court ruling earlier this year stands.

In July a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Corporation for National and Community Service, parent of the AmeriCorps national service program, violated the principal of separation of church and state by financially supporting Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program and similar programs organized by religious institutions. The decision stemmed from a suit brought two years ago by the American Jewish Congress, which argued that tax dollars were being used to teach Christianity....


There is nothing I can respect about the Catholic Church if they don't provide understanding for their members within their doctrines AND see themselves exempt from discrimination of Americans based on religious doctrines. This is over reaching. If funding from the USA government can be CONTAMINATED by citizens of all religions and those that don't practice a religion as those that contribute to the USA Treasury; and the MONEY is good enough for the Catholic Church to accept, then it is good enough to RESPECT the law of the land in the USA.


It is a very strange thing to have Right Wing members of Congress and religious institutions finding the money from the USA Treasury CLEAN ENOUGH to accept but not to the extent where EQUITY of all Americans apply. With the Right Wing there should be no tax dollars going toward abortion clinics, yet they can have faith based funding from the same USA Treasury. I would think if the USA Treasury was CONTAMINATED with the monies of UNCLEAN citizens according to religious doctrine of one kind or another, the funding would be shunned completely by all religious organizations.


This is Cherry Picking at it's worst. Religious organizations can decide what is clean 'enough' for them to accept when it comes to the citizens of the USA and then it can decide what is unclean. 


Like. What?


If I work for a religious entity because my talents are needed and I don't practice their religion I EXPECT to have my civil rights protected no matter where I work. I find it disgusting that the Catholic Church considers themselves better than their employees in their determination of whom is holy and whom is not. The USA is not heaven and the Catholic Church should not believe they can make it hell-like for all those not of their doctrines.


USA funding is not exclusive, it is INCLUSIVE and that applies to the citizens of this country seeking work and benefits.

Mayor Booker Expands on His Support for President Obama

...After graduating from Brigham Young University (click title to entry - thank you) in 1971, he earned dual degrees from Harvard Law and Harvard Business School. After working as a business consultant for several years, Mitt founded the investment firm Bain Capital in 1984. Under his leadership, Bain Capital helped to launch or rebuild hundreds of companies, including household names such as Staples, Bright Horizons, and The Sports Authority. As Bain Capital was growing in prominence, Mitt returned to his old consulting firm, Bain & Company, as CEO. In a time of financial turmoil at the company, he led a successful turnaround.


I understand Mayor Booker's frustration with the negative campaign existing this season. But, let me point to 'the truth' of Romney's record he is skating on. The Obama Campaign has to address his years as a CEO at Bain. The above paragraph is from Romney's bio page.


On that page he tries to build sympathy for himself as someone that has faced adversity. Life has that characteristic, but, his wealth has made personal adversity easier than most Americans face in their lives. To the average Middle Class citizen life is difficult and adversity is a mountain to climb, not simply a challenge. As example, I point to the very dysfunctional health care system President Obama took on and succeeded in passing a comprehensive initiative that will provide more Americans health benefits than ever before in history.


But, Mr. Romney has worded his government work as a one term Governor is a most interesting way. Below are Romney's words, not mine.


...When Mitt was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002, the state was in severe disarray, its budget was out of balance, spending was soaring, and taxpayers were being required to pay more and more in taxes for diminishing services. The state economy was in a tailspin, with businesses cutting back on investment or even closing and unemployment ticking up. Mitt made hard decisions that brought state spending under control. He restructured and consolidated government programs, paring back where necessary and finding efficiencies throughout....


Rehabilitation of a 'government structure' in disarray inappropriately asking for more money to balance it's budget is very different; very, very different, than what Americans face today. Bureaucratic inefficiency is far easier to fix and reduce taxes with more efficiencies than REBUILDING an economy left in the wake of a global economic collapse. Mitt Romney is not qualified for the Presidency of the USA. He has been a man that has sought wealth over employment of citizens. Thinning the economic growth of the USA by supposed inefficiences would make the economic depression longer and would unquestionably remove potential for growth in a way that may permanently disable aspect of the current economy.


Pipelines are not going to solve the USA energy needs and that is a waste of time. The country's focus belongs on securing its food supply as a national security priority and that means preventing contamination by the petroleum industry of land and water. Contamination of food and water is viewed as  a minor inconvenience while profits are suppose to be untouched by careless industry practices. Romney gave no credence to closing down companies that would ultimately produce less profit than if they were destroyed and sold. 


There is an incorrect way of looking at venture capitalists and Romney is very guilty of it.


There was a time in the USA when MERGER meant expansion of already existing success. One of the best examples is the history in North Carolina of the famous railroads. It was a heyday for the industry.

The city of Wilmington, North Carolina was lined with mansions compliments of a busy port city and the railroad delivering service to passengers. There was a lot of movement by citizens and the economy was strong. The railroad of Wilmington was the envy of the country.


There were other rails working in the country and eventually the Wilmington-Weldon Line MERGED with Seaboard Air Line Railroad.


The map to the left is a historic map of the SALR. (click here)


The merger of the two rail lines was called Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The merger connected two of the greatest railroads of the time. Eventually, the passenger service will suffer great blows because of personal transportation by a fellow named, Henry Ford.


But, the point is mergers are not about a company failing necessarily, so much as it is about companies with sincere viability and finding the best advantage for the new company to succeed.


Mergers are suppose to be about potential, success and expansion, not about assessment of assets and how best to 'make a buck.' 


I have thought about the steel industry in the USA and how it literally disappeared as if it was outdated in a way the passenger train was replaced with cars and roads. It should have never have happened and Romney at Bain literally imploded a piece of that industry into the dust. It was wrong then and it is wrong today. 


Companies sometimes have to be restructured to be less top heavy in administration and for that reason much middle management is reduced when mergers occur, but, at the very heart of the company are the employees. They are experienced in producing a product and I don't ever recall in the USA when employees were willing to turn out junk for a paycheck knowing their community would find them laughable.


American steel was and is the best in the world. It should never have been turned to dust and abandoned. When that occurs it is not unlawful, but, it is highly immoral with dire consequences to the American economy. I don't want a CEO in the White House. I especially don't want a CEO in the White House that has destroyed valuable American jobs belonging to an industry made to disappear in the USA while it weakened our national security. 


While Mayor Booker wants a seriousness from the Obama Campaign, he may not realize he is actually getting it.

"Morning Papers"

It's Origins (click here - thank you)

The Rooster
"Okeydoke"

"Good Night, Moon"

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Millions in Asia and the western United States (click here) watched as a rare "ring of fire" eclipse crossed their skies.

The annular eclipse, in which the moon passes in front of the sun leaving only a golden ring around its edges, was visible to wide areas across Asia early Monday. It then moved across the Pacific and was also seen in parts of the western United States Sunday afternoon.

Viewing parties were held in Reno, Nev., Oakland, Calif., and elsewhere. In some parts of the U.S., special camera filters for taking photographs have been sold out for weeks in anticipation of the big event.

People from Colorado, Oklahoma and as far away as Canada traveled to Albuquerque to enjoy one of the best vantage points.

Tell Congress to get out of the way and if they don't fire them this November.

Personal transportation is important, but, the easiest way to save on fuel costs is commuting. It is simple and the culture is available to make it pleasurable. Commuting by rail also provides prep time before arriving to work to catch the latest news, sports updates or finish the project report.

Community to a single destiny is the easiest way to save money. The same train to work and home again, with healthy walking if the train is not a long distance from home. But, most modern commuter lines have large parking lots at rail side. It is silly to do it any other way and it adds to personal time, quality of life and consistency in a daily schedule. No more traffic pattern worries, accidents or frustration. 

I lived in Boston for a year and I loved it. I never took a car to that city. I flew in, took a taxi to a high rise in town and the train took me everywhere else. It was no problem and there was never a destination within the city and local burbs I could not get to without a hassle. You don't know how nice it is until you've tried it. 

The future is here, Congress needs to stop their politicking around the money pouring out of every American's budget when it comes to transportation and fuel cost.

Ten years is not that far away. Plan now. Be proud of your potential to avert disaster when the global petroleum industry fails.

May 15, 2012, 11:47 a.m. EDT

Volatile Gas Prices Point to Increased Use of Public Transportation (click here)

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Public Transit Industry Teams With Building America's Future to Call Upon Congress to Act Now and Ensure Public Transit Systems Have the Resources to Handle Added Demand

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and Building America's Future (BAF) today released a study predicting that record numbers of Americans will turn to public transportation as a cost-cutting measure in the face of volatile gas prices. To meet this impending surge in demand, APTA and BAF are calling on Congress to pass a multi-year, fully funded surface transportation bill as the Senate and House begin Conference Committee negotiations.

The analysis used historical trends and independent research data to make predictions on the impact gas prices would have on public transit ridership across the nation. It showed that on average, nationwide public transportation systems will add nearly 200 million new trips this year even as gas prices fluctuate by as much as 50 cents per gallon.

For example, as gas prices approached an average of $4 a gallon nationally this year, the analysis predicted an additional 290 million passenger trips could be expected on average for the year, resulting in more than 10.7 billion trips per year. Even as gas prices drop to $3.75, the analysis predicted there would still be an additional 240 million passenger trips because of the volatile up and down nature of fuel prices. These behaviors show that Americans are looking for a long-term, sustainable alternative to driving....

Posted at 10:27 AM ET, 02/10/2011

Amtrak ridership increases steadily (click here)

By Luke Rosiak

Amtrak ridership has risen for 15 months in a row, and last month marked its best January ever with 2.1 million passengers. In seven of the last eight years, it has set yearly records, and carried 28.7 million riders in fiscal year 2010.

The fast-traveling Acela Express showed a ridership increase of 9.2 percent in October through January compared to a year prior.

Officials attributed it to an improving economy, high gas prices, increased popularity of rail, and the addition of Wi-Fi internet to the Acela.

"The steady rise in ridership demonstrates a growing demand and the ongoing need for a national intercity passenger rail system," Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said in a statement. "With oil approaching $100 a barrel, we expect to continue to post strong ridership numbers as more and more people choose Amtrak to meet their transportation needs."

Vice President Joe Biden joined Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in Philadelphia this week to tout a proposed $53 billion for high-speed and intercity rail service over the next six years....

Amtrak at 110 mph in western Mich., northern Ind. (click here)

But rail crossings lack safety mechanisms planned for Illinois route

February 08, 2012|By Jon Hilkevitch, TRIBUNE REPORTER

Amtrak passenger trains sped up to 110 mph for the first time Tuesday in western Michigan and northern Indiana on two routes serving Chicago, officials announced.

But the railroad crossings lack safety mechanisms that will be installed on Illinois' high-speed corridor to prevent vehicle-train collisions.

The faster service, which is the first expansion of regional high-speed trains outside the northeastern U.S., is occurring on about 80 miles of a 97-mile stretch of Amtrak-owned track between Kalamazoo, Mich., and Porter, Ind.

Republican lead states have turned down funding for High Speed Rail. They will be sorry in the long run.

May 13, 2012

...On Amtrak's Wolverine service, (click here) which goes from Chicago to Ann Arbor, Mich., and then to Detroit and Pontiac, Mich., the train reaches speeds of up to 110 mph. It's the fastest of any U.S. train outside the Northeast Corridor. It is quite a feat, even though the train is only able to go that fast over about a 90-mile portion of the trip.

"It's got to be viewed as only the beginning," says Joe Szabo, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. He says additional track and signal improvements are underway to help speed up trains throughout the Midwest.

"So in the next two to two-and-a-half years, you're going to see almost 80 percent of Chicago-Detroit and almost 80 percent of Chicago-St. Louis at sustained speeds of 110 mph."

That would reduce travel times on those routes to fewer than four hours, making the train faster than driving and competitive with flying, says Szabo.

Both the Michigan and Illinois routes are benefiting because other states have been turning down funding for high-speed rail funds....

Amtrak High Speed Rail Study (Video at link below)

07-Dec-2010

On September 28, 2010, at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, Amtrak unveiled its vision for next-generation high-speed passenger rail service for the Northeast Corridor of the United States. 

To validate its vision, (click here) Amtrak engaged AECOM, a leading provider of professional technical and management support services for government and commercial clients around the world, to conduct a comprehensive technical and economic feasibility analysis for high-speed rail service on the Northeast Corridor.

Under the study’s accelerated 12-week schedule, AECOM worked closely with Amtrak staff to deliver a concept plan for a true high-speed rail corridor extending from Washington, D.C., to Boston.  Amtrak’s report, A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, confirmed the viability of high-speed rail service in the Northeast. Trains would operate at up to 220 miles per hour on a new, dedicated, two-track corridor with a trip time of just under three hours and 30 minutes between Washington and Boston, approximately half the current schedule. 

Upon completion in 2040, annual high-speed train ridership in the corridor would approach 18 million passengers and generate an annual operating surplus of approximately $900 million for Amtrak.  Under the “Next-Gen HSR Vision,” high-speed rail departures would increase from the current average of one per hour to four per hour in each direction, with additional service in the peak periods. Total daily high-speed rail departures would increase from 42 today to as many as 148 in 2040. In addition, full system operation in 2040 would utilize only about one third of the system’s capacity, leaving room to expand service sufficiently to accommodate up to 80 million annual high-speed rail passengers compared with 3 million in 2010.

High Speed Rail in the USA.

It is interesting Texas is planning a bullet train. Whether or not they actually build it relies on funding, private funding. There are many implications with private funding, but, this may be a financing option. The effort to make this happen should prove to be of interest.


Anyway, high speed rail is the future and the sooner the nation gets their minds around that reality, the better.


Posted Wednesday, May. 09, 2012

BY GORDON DICKSON

gdickson@star-telegram.com

LEIPZIG, Germany -- They travel more than 200 mph, (click here) and during 48 years of operation in Japan, they have never been involved in a fatal crash.

They are bullet trains, a form of transportation many Texans thought they'd never see -- unless they were on vacation in Asia or Europe. But rail advocates say a proposal to build a high-speed line connecting Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston may happen a lot sooner than many residents think -- possibly by 2020.

A group led by Central Japan Railway Co. that includes notable Texans such as former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels is seeking roughly $10 billion in private investment. Officials with that group, who plan to brief the Regional Transportation Council today in Arlington, say they will not ask for federal or state funding....

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/05/09/3949397/group-aims-to-raise-10-billion.html#storylink=cpy

ITV Central News- Biofuel powered Bus converted by Regenatec

There are still concerns about the ethical content of biodiesel.

The cutting edge of biodiesel belongs to Berkley, California. It is not without its own critique of the practice when the source changes from recycled vegetable oil to soybeans.

Berkeley first in Bay Area to recycle with biodiesel Trucks from Ecology Center run on waste oil from restaurants (cick here) Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, April 24, 2001

(04-24) 04:00 PDT Berkeley -- The city of Berkeley, which pioneered curbside recycling, has scored another environmental first by running the trucks that pick up newspapers, bottles and cans on fuel made from recycled vegetable oil.
"It smells like doughnuts, it's pretty weird," truck driver Todd Miller said yesterday. "I'm used to it now, but for the first couple weeks it smelled like one of those all-night doughnut shops."
The fuel, known as biodiesel, is made from waste oil collected from restaurants such as McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and KFC. Advocates say that although the fuel is more expensive than regular diesel, it burns cleaner, is an alternative to fossil fuels and can be used in any diesel engine....




Biodiesel (click here)

Saturday, February 26th, 10am to 4pm

3107 Etcheverry Hall, UC Berkeley

Number of participants: 25

This homebrew workshop is a quick-moving, hands-on class, where you will make several small batches of biodiesel, learn safety and basic lab processes, test oil and biodiesel for quality, and work with ethanol and discuss acid-base biodiesel processes.

Students will also make a full size batch of biodiesel in a homebrew reactor, we will demonstrate washing processes, demonstrate purification of glycerol and it's uses, discuss biodiesel reactors and demonstrate methanol recovery equipment, discuss solar heating for the process, discuss heat exchangers, use of vacuum for energy savings, dewatering of waste vegetable oil, safe glycerol/waste oil burners for process heat, biodiesel co-ops and production groups, and more.

We need to resolve these problems. There has to be a sustainable source of biodiesel to replace the products of the petroleum industry. I am confident there are hybrid forms of soybeans that can be grown in hydroponics in greenhouses the size of a warehouse to solve this. Rapid growing and high yielding specifically for biodiesel. If California can build the Cyrstal Cathedral it can build a greenhouse large enough to supply biodiesel for its commuter needs.

Bloom is off the biodiesel rose: Berkeley says "no" to soy biofuel (click here)

January 9, 2009

Often in the lead in progressive causes, the City of Berkeley started using biodiesel in more than 100 city vehicles six years ago. For a while, the biofuel came from recycled waste grease and everyone was happy. The source shifted to crop soybeans when not enough grease could be found but, due to new concerns about growing crops for fuel, the city has now decided that enough is enough. The City Council took delivery of its last shipment of biodiesel made from soy last month and will discuss formalizing its biodiesel policy this fall, taking land impacts around the world into account. The city had been burning biodiesel in trucks and other heavy machinery. Deputy Public Works Director Andrew Clough told Inside Bay Area that, "What seemed like a really good idea maybe isn't such a good idea as we thought because of all the considerations."

Berkley is sincere about biodiesel. It has dedicated a great deal of effort to the investigation of the fuel and all the pitfalls along the way. We need different synthetic gaskets, too. The problems are not huge and can build more economy than one realizes.

Usage Of Biodiesel Fuel (click here)

Biodiesel fuel usage can be done in pure form or it may be blended with petroleum diesel at any concentration, as in most injection pump diesel engines. Let us study the usage of biodiesel fuel on this page.

New common rail engines with extreme high pressure have stern factory limits of using biodiesel fuel, B5 or B20 depending on manufacturer. As Biodiesel fuel has different solvent properties than petrodiesel, it can degrade natural rubber gaskets and hoses in vehicles. Plus Biodiesel has been known to break down deposits of residue in the fuel lines, so as a result, fuel filters may get clogged with particulates if there has been a fast transition to pure biodiesel fuel. Therefore, when using biodiesel fuel, it is suggested to change the fuel filters on engines and heaters in a while after first switching to a biodiesel blend.

Manufacturer acceptance and vehicular usage of biodiesel fuel began in 2005, when Chrysler released the Jeep Liberty CRD diesels into the American market with 5% biodiesel blends. This was an indication of at least partial acceptance of biodiesel fuel usage. 2004 saw the the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia updating its bus system to allow the fleet of city buses to run completely on a fish-oil based biodiesel fuel. In 2007, McDonalds in UK announced that it would start producing biodiesel from the wasteoil of its restaurants and use biodiesel fuel to run its fleet...

The solar industry was sincerely impacted by the global recession.

Posted on Thursday, 05.17.12

China faces solar tariffs (click here)

BY DON LEE

TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration ordered tariffs of 31 percent and higher on solar panels imported from China, escalating a simmering trade dispute with China over a case that has sharply divided American interests in the growing clean-energy industry.

The Commerce Department announced the stiff duties Thursday after making a preliminary finding that Chinese solar panel manufacturers "dumped" their goods - that is, sold them at below fair-market value.

The widely anticipated ruling, if affirmed by U.S. trade officials this fall, is expected to have significant implications for both the global production of solar cells, now largely in China, and the growth of the solar energy industry in the U.S., which employs about 100,000 people in manufacturing, installation and services.

More than 60 Chinese firms, including Suntech Power Holdings Co., the world's largest solar panel maker, and Trina Solar Ltd., face a 31 percent duty on their exports to the U.S., retroactive to shipments made in February. All other Chinese exporters of solar cells will be hit with a tariff of 250 percent....

In Connecticut, however, there is a lot of incentive for residents to LEASE solar panels from their energy company. It save money.

Demands for solar panels feel when the global recession hit Europe. European countries found their austerity cut government incentives to encourage the use of alternative energies, simply because they are new infrastructure projects. The price of solar panels fell because they were not in high demand and the Chinese labor market could turn them out far less then labor anywhere else in The West. But, the scenery is changing and USA manufacturer of quality products and their use in local economies are proving to bring back the demand.

Conn. subsidies seen spurring home solar power (click here)

By Stephen Singer

AP Business Writer / May 20, 2012

HARTFORD, Conn.—Dmitri Donskoy figures he'll save only $20 a month on his electricity bill after solar panels are installed on the roof of his home under a state-subsidized program. But he shrugs it off because the green energy appeals to his environmental concerns.

Donskoy, a software developer in Prospect, said he was motivated to go solar after Connecticut officials killed a wind turbine proposed for the town last year.

"It was partly sparked by my annoyance of the cancellation of the windmill project," he said. "There must be a way for us to contribute."

Installing solar panels could cost, on average, $35,000, according to a state energy agency spokesman. Donskoy says he's leasing because he doesn't have thousands of dollars to spend, instead paying a solar company $58 a month for his electricity.

"The savings didn't motivate me. It's really the environmental aspects," Donskoy said.

Solar energy is seen as one way to save in Connecticut, where residential electricity costs were the third highest in the United States in 2010, exceeded only by Hawaii and New York, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Solar represents a fraction of the state's overall energy supply, but backers hope it will grow....

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/17/2804846/china-faces-solar-tariffs.html#storylink=cpy

• Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/17/2804846/china-faces-solar-tariffs.html#storylink=cpy