Author Archives: Romona Traywick

As world dithers on climate treaty, funding for climate projects dwindles

by Romona Traywick Posted on November 14, 2013

As world dithers on climate treaty, funding for climate projects dwindles

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The Clean Development Mechanism helps solarize poor, rural communities.

Failure thus far to agree on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol means the world’s largest carbon-offset program is poised to shrink.

Since it began operating in 2004, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has supported 7,432 projects to rein in greenhouse gas emissions in poor and developing countries. Those projects have included wind, solar, and bioenergy installations, forest plantations, and energy-efficiency efforts. (Controversially, they have also included coal- and other fossil fuel-based projects considered cleaner than alternatives.) The $315 billion in funds for those projects came from wealthy countries looking to invest in opportunities abroad to help meet their domestic Kyoto Protocol commitments.

But that cash pipeline is starting to dry up as demand for such greenhouse gas-reducing projects shrivels.

The U.N. board that oversees the CDM voted Friday to cut its administrative budget by 14 percent for the coming year. “[R]equests for registration have declined significantly, and are now at levels not seen since 2005,” the board noted. “They may be expected to remain low for 2014 and 2015, and potentially beyond.” That’s because of uncertainty over the fate of an agreement now being negotiated to replace the Kyoto Protocol — an agreement that would not take effect before 2020.

As Reuters explains, “the failure of nations to craft a new climate change deal to force emission cuts on the biggest emitting countries has left the market for carbon offsets oversupplied, sending prices crashing and nearly bankrupting many of the companies that invested in CDM projects.”

But there’s another, more heartening reason for the funding slowdown: The need for carbon credits is falling as more countries find ways to reduce their own emissions at home. The rise of carbon taxing and trading schemes around the world is reducing demand for CDM-issued credits. And companies operating in the developed world are reducing their own carbon footprints.

Even if nations succeed in crafting a new climate pact in Warsaw this month, it might not help the CDM. Again, from Reuters: “The final deal will likely include new market-based mechanisms designed to allow the private sector to fund emissions cuts at the cheapest cost, but the CDM’s role alongside any new mechanism is unclear.”


Source
U.N. carbon panel slashes budget amid weak offset demand, Reuters

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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As world dithers on climate treaty, funding for climate projects dwindles

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Let’s Compromise Over Obamacare!

by Romona Traywick Posted on September 25, 2013

Mother Jones

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Among other things, Ted Cruz’s long-but-not-actually-a-filibuster-speech happened to hit on an actual problem with Obamacare: the employer mandate. Basically, it requires employers to pay the subsidy costs for low-income workers who end up getting health insurance through the exchanges. It’s designed to be an incentive for employers to continue providing health coverage of their own, but it also provides an incentive not to hire workers from low-income families and not to hire workers for more than 30 hours a week. That’s bad. As it happens, there’s not much evidence in the data that it’s actually having a substantial effect, but it’s still a bit of a mess. Ezra Klein comments:

If Republicans are really worried about these businesses and these workers, they could help them. Unlike defunding or delaying Obamacare, or even delaying the individual mandate, this is a concession Republicans really might be able to get the Obama administration to agree to. They’d be on the right side of both the policy and the public. The question is whether they actually want to help these workers or just grandstand against the law.

Well, I think we all know the answer to that question. Republicans want Obamacare to fail, and they want it to be unpopular, so they’re actively opposed to doing anything that would make it work more smoothly. Reforming or repealing the employer mandate doesn’t fit that strategy.

But this suggests an interesting exercise: What aspects of Obamacare could be genuine targets for compromise between Democrats and Republicans who were operating in a semblance of good faith? Democrats already agreed to jettison the CLASS Act, for example, after it became clear that it was unworkable. They’d probably be willing to do something about the employer mandate, and the business community would certainly support that. Democrats would probably also agree to fix a glitch that excludes church health plans from eligibility for the exchanges.

What else? The big ticket stuff, like the individual mandate and the subsidy levels, is off the table, but there must be plenty of smaller items that could be horsetraded over. Somebody should make a list and see if any Republicans are willing to engage in actual conversation about it. I’m not in much doubt about the outcome, but all the opinion in the world isn’t as good as actually checking to find out.

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Let’s Compromise Over Obamacare!

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It Costs $350 to Make an Artificial Hip. But It Will Cost You $30,000 to Get One.

by Romona Traywick Posted on August 16, 2013

Mother Jones

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For the last few months, Elisabeth Rosenthal of the New York Times has been working on a series of stories about the high price of healthcare in America. In July she wrote about the high cost of childbirth, and earlier this month she wrote about the truly insane cost of hip replacements in America. But Bob Somerby has noted something interesting: nobody else in the media seems to care:

These articles deal with a very important topic—the massive looting of U.S. consumers which characterizes American health care. This looting helps explain a welter of major social and political problems—our nation’s growing income inequality; our stagnant wages; the failure to provide full medical coverage; the nation’s problems with federal deficits and debt.

But so what? Despite their high profile and apparent salience, Rosenthal’s reports have met with universal silence, except for last week’s Fresh Air….It’s going to win the Pulitzer Prize—and it’s going to do so in silence!

Despite the high profile afforded this series, the silence has been general all over the press, which seems paralyzed, dead in life. At the end of this report, we’ll offer our own speculations about the resounding silence.

Is this really true? Rosenthal’s piece implied that artificial hips cost about $350 to manufacture, but sell to hospitals for upwards of $5,000 or more—and are then marked up further by the hospital before they end up in an OR getting installed. It’s not clear if $350 is just the manufacturing cost, or if that’s the all-in burdened cost of producing a hip, but it almost doesn’t matter. Even if it’s the former, it means the full cost is unlikely to be more than $1,000 or so. Nonetheless, in the case of one particular implant, Rosenthal reports that U.S. hospitals pay an average of $8,000 and that even Belgian hospitals, which benefit from government-controlled pricing, pay $4,000. So everyone is paying a pretty hefty markup. Americans are just paying a super-hefty one, made worse by the fact that hospitals then add their own markup, bringing the price of the implant up to $30,000 or more.

So that’s at least a 30x markup to the end user just for the cost of the part. And that’s despite the fact that the technology is mature, volumes are high and increasing, and there are five companies “competing” for business. So what’s going on?

Rosenthal has some ideas, but in the end it remains unclear. Where are insurance companies? Where’s Medicare? Why isn’t anyone outraged by this? Is it just fatigue at the never-ending tsunami of stories about the lunatic cost of all the various bits and pieces of American healthcare? Bob is right: it’s a mystery.

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It Costs $350 to Make an Artificial Hip. But It Will Cost You $30,000 to Get One.

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Seaworld’s Unusual Retort to a Critical Documentary

by Romona Traywick Posted on July 18, 2013

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Codex: Tau Empire – Games Workshop

Codex: Tau Empire is your comprehensive guide to unleashing the might of the Tau upon the battlefields of the 41 st Millennium. This volume introduces the four Tau castes, the Ethereals, and their mercenary allies. This dynamic race has begun its Third Sphere Expansion, setting forth into the stars to grow the borders of their burgeoning empire and bring the […]

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Following Atticus – Tom Ryan

After a close friend died of cancer, middle-aged, overweight, acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan decided to pay tribute to her in a most unorthodox manner. Ryan and his friend, miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch, would attempt to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire’s four thousand- foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. It wa […]

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Warhammer 40,000: The Rules – Games Workshop

There is no time for peace. No respite. No forgiveness. There is only WAR. In the nightmare future of the 41st Millennium, Mankind teeters upon the brink of destruction. The galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is beset on all sides by ravening aliens and threatened from within by Warp-spawned entities and heretical plots. Only the strength of the immortal […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of German shepherds and as t […]

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Farsight Enclaves – A Codex: Tau Empire Supplement – Games Workshop

Commander Farsight was once hailed by every Tau caste as a genius warrior-leader without compare. As his career blazed a bloody path across the Damocles Gulf and back again, O’Shovah split away from the Tau Empire, doggedly pursuing the Orks that had killed so many of his Fire caste comrades. It was the first overt sign of a rebellion that was to change the […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, “Yes, […]

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Kids Puzzle Fun #1 – Lovatts Crosswords & Puzzles

Junior puzzlers will enjoy hours of quality entertainment with the first issue of Kids Puzzle Fun! This interactive book features ‘Magic Touch’ drawing tools, allowing kids to solve the puzzles by using their finger as a pen. Magic Touch unites the tactile feel of a printed book with a superior digital format, resulting in a more natural, intuitive experienc […]

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Projects for Kids – Authors and Editors of Instructables

21 Projects Guaranteed to Keep Your Kids Occupied This Weekend give you full step-by-step instructions for 21 amazing kids activities that your family will love. Learn how to entertain your kids with the DoodleBot360, LED Throwies, Grow Your Own Magic Crystal Tree, the Marshmallow Shooter and other projects that are sure to hold your child’s atten […]

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Apocalypse (Digital Collection) – Games Workshop

The greatest heroes of the age lead battalions of troops and tanks against the foe. Super-heavy war machines dominate the conflict like gods of battle as bombardments rain from the skies. This is war on a whole new level. Apocalypse is a new way of playing games of Warhammer 40,000. Allowing you to field as many miniatures as you like, in any combinati […]

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Puppies For Dummies – Sarah Hodgson

Everything you need to train a puppy Bringing home a puppy? This fun, friendly guide to puppies prepares you for this tough but terrific time. From the basics of puppy training—housebreaking, feeding, crating—to the latest on doggie day care, traveling with a puppy, and the new designer breeds, you’ll get everything you need to help your puppy grow up t […]

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Seaworld’s Unusual Retort to a Critical Documentary

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Nearly half the rice sold in Guangzhou (pop. 12+ million) is contaminated by cadmium

by Romona Traywick Posted on May 22, 2013

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Warhammer: Cvil War – Games Workshop

Throughout the Warhammer world, war rages eternal. Yet the most deadly and bitter conflicts are not wars of conquest against exotic foes, but the clash of brother versus brother! This Warhammer supplement contains inspirational and evocative background about some of the Warhammer world’s most bloody civil wars. In addition, there are full rules for pla […]

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Inside of a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz

The bestselling book that asks what dogs know and how they think, now in paperback. The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draw […]

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World of Warcraft: Dawn of the Aspects: Part IV – Richard A. Knaak

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader. […]

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Codex: Tau Empire – Games Workshop

Codex: Tau Empire is your comprehensive guide to unleashing the might of the Tau upon the battlefields of the 41 st Millennium. This volume introduces the four Tau castes, the Ethereals, and their mercenary allies. This dynamic race has begun its Third Sphere Expansion, setting forth into the stars to grow the borders of their burgeoning empire and bring the […]

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Battle Missions: Death Worlds – Games Workshop

The Emperor’s realm encompasses a million worlds, each with its own potential dangers. Yet certain of these planets are so deadly that they are classified as death worlds. From man-eating flora and fauna to deadly poisonous atmospheres and many stranger things besides, on a death world it’s not just the enemy that your warriors have to worry about! Thi […]

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Trident K9 Warriors – Michael Ritland & Gary Brozek

As Seen on “60 Minutes”! As a Navy SEAL during a combat deployment in Iraq, Mike Ritland saw a military working dog in action and instantly knew he’d found his true calling. Ritland started his own company training and supplying dogs for the SEAL teams, U.S. Government, and Department of Defense. He knew that fewer than 1 percent of […]

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Codex: Grey Knights – Games Workshop

The Grey Knights are the most mysterious of all the Imperium’s many organisations. Few outside the upper echelons of the Inquisition hold any knowledge of the Chapter’s founding, and even these most trusted of men are denied the full truth. For ten thousand years the Grey Knights have stood between the Imperium and the Daemons of the Warp. An incor […]

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All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition – Mel Bartholomew

Rapidly increasing in popularity, square foot gardening is the most practical, foolproof way to grow a home garden. That explains why author and gardening innovator Mel Bartholomew has sold more than two million books describing how to become a successful DIY square foot gardener. Now, with the publication of All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition , t […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, “Yes, […]

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Landscaping Basics For Dummies, Mini Edition – Philip Giroux & National Gardening Association

Create the yard you’ve always yearned for A beautiful landscape reflects well on your house, making it a welcome part of a neighborhood or native terrain. And it dramatically increases your home’s value. Landscaping Basics For Dummies gets you started on turning the little patch of earth you call your own into a personal paradise. Open the book and […]

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Nearly half the rice sold in Guangzhou (pop. 12+ million) is contaminated by cadmium

Posted in Brita, eco-friendly, FF, For Dummies, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Nearly half the rice sold in Guangzhou (pop. 12+ million) is contaminated by cadmium

Elizabeth Warren Slams Wall Street Again

by Romona Traywick Posted on May 17, 2013

Mother Jones

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On Thursday, bank-basher Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed several bills headed for the House floor that would severely weaken Wall Street reform.

The Dodd-Frank Act, the 2010 law aimed at preventing another financial crisis, “put in place a variety of measures that work together as a system to protect consumers, hold big banks accountable, and reduce the risk of future crises,” Warren said in a statement. “It is dangerous for Congress to amend the derivatives provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.” (Derivatives are financial products that have values based on underlying numbers, like crop prices or interest rates; some economists believe these products helped cause the 2007 financial collapse.)

Warren’s condemnation of the bills, which just passed out of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC), echoes a May 6th letter from Treasury secretary Jack Lew to House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling attacking the bills. “The derivatives provisions in the Wall Street Reform Act constitute an important part of the reforms being put into place to strengthen our financial system by improving transparency and reducing risk for market participants,” Lew wrote in the letter. “These reforms should not be weakened or repealed.” Last year, former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner denounced a series of nearly identical bills.

One of the bills now headed to the House floor would expand the types of trading risks that banks can take on. Another would allow certain derivatives that are traded within a corporation to be exempt from almost all new Dodd-Frank regulations. Financial reform advocates say these kinds of trades can still pose a risk to the wider financial system. A third bill would allow big, multinational US-based banks to escape US regulations by operating through international arms.

“Wall Street’s aggressive determination paid off last week” when the bills passed out of committee, Warren said. The bills also have bipartisan support, and have a good chance of being taken up in the Senate. If they do, Warren says she’ll go to battle: “Now is no time to go backwards,” she said. “I will do what I can in the United States Senate to stand up to those who would chip away at reform.”

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Elizabeth Warren Slams Wall Street Again

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Get Prepared For Buying Your First Solar Panels

by Romona Traywick Posted on May 11, 2013

What does the sun do for you? I’m pretty sure it delivers you light so you can get around safely by. Moreover it provides you heat. Did you understand that every thing you’re created of came from a star? Now, let’s put solar energy for homes to practical use, also! Keep reading to find out ways to do it.

Only use supplies to clean your panels which might be listed in the solar panel’s directions if you would like to make sure that you simply usually do not ruin them on accident. Some materials can appear soft, but when put into use on a solar panel they could scratch it up like sand paper. To prevent this just make use of the precise garments which are advisable.

Solar panels usually do not call for a great deal of maintenance, so don’t let worries about that deter you from having them installed. Considering that there are actually no moving parts to a solar panel, there is certainly no valid reason to be concerned about maintaining them (blank) significantly. The only thing you need to be concerned about is cleaning them every single now after which.

Solar panels are classified in tiers depending on their quality. The most reliable solar panel vendors will offer products from the top two tiers but a large number of solar panel vendors sell products from the bottom tier. Always ask in which tier panels rank and do not hesitate to spend more if you can get a panel from the top tiers.

In case you should climb on your roof to check your solar panels, always use a scaffold ladder. This sort of ladder is much steadier than the standard ladder; hence, you can be safer. This can be specifically valuable should you be carrying tools up with you. A scaffold ladder can prevent injury Should you should climb on your roof to verify your solar panels, constantly use a scaffold ladder. This type of ladder is significantly steadier than the classic ladder; hence, you’ll be safer. This really is specifically helpful for anyone who is carrying tools up with you. A scaffold ladder can protect against injury to you as well as your solar panel. to you and your solar panel.

When shopping for a solar panel installer there are some things to consider. Look for an installer who has a good rating with the Better Business Bureau. Also, make sure they are certified and licensed. Ask for references and talk to previous clients to see what their satisfaction level is. Make sure their prices are fair and that they have good guarantees.

The mounting system of the panels must be adapted for your location. In case your property is generally exposed to robust winds, earthquakes or even tornadoes, you might want to discover a mounting program that may withstand these extreme circumstances. Get in touch with your nearby government to discover extra concerning regulations on solar panel mounts.

If you need to take advantage of government rebates, make sure you obtain the appropriate solar panels. Most rebate and incentive applications for solar energy have needs for particular solar panel certifications. These certifications ensure the panels have been tested and proven to function effectively. Ensure that your panels meet the recommendations before you commit to a buy.

You’ve got taken an excellent initially step by reading additional about solar energy and how it could benefit you. Now, it really is time for you to devise a strategy to implement solar energy inside your home or business to ensure that you could recognize those advantages further. Remember to look at solar panel review on the internet that will help you make a greater choice ahead of you purchase solar panels. Keep in mind what you’ve read to make sure that you can get started.

Check out solar energy for homes for more information to help you make better decisions before you choose your solar panel brand. You can also get more information about the latest released top 10 best solar panels review 2013 at Monocrystalline Solar Panel.

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