Author Archives: czwcqtpj

Pi Day Health News

by czwcqtpj Posted on March 14, 2015

Mother Jones

Well, a miracle happened. Last Monday, the 2nd, I fell off a deep cliff. For no apparent reason, I was sleeping very poorly and I spent entire days in a miasma of lethargy so great I was nearly debilitated. Twice things got so bad that I went to the ER.

Then, yesterday, suddenly I climbed back on the cliff. I woke up feeling perfectly normal. A little tired, perhaps, but that’s normal for post-chemo recovery. In all other respects, I’m human again.

So what happened? Theory 1: We’ll never know. Stuff happens for mysterious reasons. Theory 2: It was depression, and it eventually worked its way out of my system. Theory 3: My physician prescribed a different set of sleep meds on Thursday, and I slept better that night.

It’s all very weird, and hopefully it will last. In another week or two the Effexor should kick in, and hopefully that will boost my mood (and improve my sleep) as well. The timing is welcome, since I have a busy few weeks of tests and procedures ahead of me.

So that’s that. I’m still not in tip-top condition or anything, but I’m basically OK for the first time in two weeks. It’s amazing.

POSTSCRIPT/BLEG: My new sleep meds work better than the old ones, but they still aren’t ideal. My doctor mentioned the possibility of trying a med like Lunesta, which I gather is a time-release formulation. Does anyone with moderate-to-severe insomnia have any experience with this? Does it really keep you asleep for a full night? Any personal experiences welcome.

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Pi Day Health News

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Chart of the Day: Why US Economic Sanctions on Russia Won’t Have Much Impact

by czwcqtpj Posted on March 4, 2014

Mother Jones

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My view of economic sanctions has been strongly influenced by Dan Drezner, who tells us (if I can oversimplify for the sake of a blog post) that they basically don’t work. That’s not an ironclad rule, and there are certain situations where they tend to have some effect. However, one of the primary conditions for success is that the sanctions be broadly applied. If it’s just one country, they almost never work. The target of the sanctions will simply bear the loss and increase its trade with other partners.

This is especially apropos to our current situation with Russia. Our ability to impose sanctions is limited to begin with thanks to our obligations under the WTO. But that hardly even matters. What really matters is that our trade with Russia is minuscule. Cutting off a piece of our trade would hardly impact them at all. Most of Russia’s trade is with Europe and Asia, so no sanctions regime has even a chance of working unless they agree to join in. So far they haven’t, and for the obvious reason: they have a lot of trade with Russia. Sanctions would hurt them as much as it would hurt Putin.

The chart below, via Danny Vinik, tells the tale. We simply don’t have much trade leverage with Russia. (The export chart looks pretty much the same.) Until Drezner weighs in on this to tell me different, I’d say this is the definitive answer to the question of whether economic sanctions are likely to have any effect on Russia’s conduct.

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Chart of the Day: Why US Economic Sanctions on Russia Won’t Have Much Impact

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Carbon-friendly skies: Flying smaller airlines reduces your footprint

by czwcqtpj Posted on September 11, 2013

Carbon-friendly skies: Flying smaller airlines reduces your footprint

By

Frank Kovalchek

Alaska Air is the most climate-friendly domestic airline.

Air travel is the most carbon-intensive mode of transportation, and the industry has long resisted efforts to improve its efficiency — which is weird, given the high price of aviation fuel (it’s basically the Moët & Chandon of refined oil).

But some airlines are more efficient than others. The nonprofit International Council on Clean Transportation analyzed domestic airlines’ fuel consumption, passenger and flight data from 2010 to produce a fuel-efficiency metric.

The analysis revealed that you can personally reduce your airborne carbon footprint by traveling with smaller carriers. The most egregious global warmers tend to be merger-prone corporate giants. From the findings, published in a new report [PDF]:

Of the carriers with above average fuel efficiency in domestic operations, Alaska Airlines (ranked first), Spirit Airlines (tied for second), and Hawaiian Airlines (tied for second) are relatively small carriers serving geographically limited markets.

Many, although not all, of the carriers with worse fuel efficiency than the industry average were, or subsequently have been, the subject of merger activity, including Delta Air Lines (11th), US Airways (12th), Airtran Airways (13th), and American Airlines (14th). The least efficient airline in this ranking, Allegiant Air, also happened to have the most profitable U.S. domestic operations during the 2009 to 2011 period.

Here are the full results:

ICCTClick to embiggen.


Source
U.S. domestic airline fuel efficiency ranking, International Council on Clean Transportation

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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Carbon-friendly skies: Flying smaller airlines reduces your footprint

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Burning Trees for Energy and Capturing CO2 Could Reverse Global Warming

by czwcqtpj Posted on July 11, 2013

Mother Jones

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The story first appeared on the Guardian website and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Global warming could be reversed using a combination of burning trees and crops for energy, and capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground (CCS), according to an analysis by scientists. But experts cautioned that trying such an approach after temperatures had passed dangerous levels could be problematic, as climate change reduced the number of trees available for “bioenergy”.

The bioenergy and CCS method was the most cost-effective way of tackling carbon emissions, said the team at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, publishing their research in the journal Environmental Research Letters on Thursday. Such an approach could offset and even reverse other emissions from fossil fuels, they claimed.

The lead author of the study, Prof Christian Azar, said it could help bring temperatures down even if they rose above the 2C level that world leaders have agreed to avoid: “Even if current political gridlock causes global warming in excess of 2C, we can reverse the temperature trend and reach targets later. This means that 2C targets, or even more ambitious targets, can remain on the table in international climate negotiations.”

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Burning Trees for Energy and Capturing CO2 Could Reverse Global Warming

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Quote of the Day: Nobody Cares About Federalism

by czwcqtpj Posted on June 26, 2013

Mother Jones

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From Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority in United States vs. Windsor:

The class to which DOMA directs its restrictions and restraints are those persons who are joined in same-sex marriages made lawful by the State….This opinion and its holding are confined to those lawful marriages.

In a nutshell, Kennedy says the Constitution doesn’t forbid states from banning same-sex marriage. But if a state allows same-sex marriage, the federal government can’t refuse to recognize it. Marriage is a state concern—in fact, it’s literally a textbook example of a state concern—not a federal one. Taken as a whole, this ruling was as pure a defense of federalism as we’ve seen in a while.

So why did all the conservative justices oppose it? Answer: Because no one actually cares about federalism. It’s merely a convenient veneer when you prefer one outcome over another. Yesterday state sovereignty was of crucial concern when conservatives gutted the Voting Rights Act. Today, they couldn’t care less about it.

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Quote of the Day: Nobody Cares About Federalism

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Illinois’ New Fracking Regulations Might Not Be So Tough After All

by czwcqtpj Posted on June 18, 2013

Mother Jones

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Monday afternoon Illinois governor Pat Quinn signed what the Associated Press touted as the “nation’s toughest fracking regulations,” creating a framework to manage hydraulic fracturing, in which chemicals are piped into rock at high pressure to release stored-up natural gas. But the new regulatory effort, which sharply divided the state’s environmental community and inspired fervor in the southern counties where drilling is most likely to take place, looks more like a tactical concession than an environmental victory.

The law, which was crafted through six months of stakeholder negotiations between the state, select environmental groups, and representatives from the oil and gas industry, includes stringent rules meant to increase public transparency, more closely monitor environmental impact, and provide avenues for recourse in case something goes wrong. But amid biting criticism from activists and advocacy groups that were excluded from the negotiations, environmental organizations involved in the process have argued that although they believe the law was a necessary foothold in the effort to control what seemed to be an inevitable boom in fracking in Illinois, this is by no means the end of the fight.

“It bothers me that the bill is being presented as a model for other states,” says Ann Alexander, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council who was part of the negotiations. “It represents a floor. Yes it’s strong; no, it’s not adequate.” What new law does provide is a baseline for measuring the actual impact of fracking and a mechanism for pushing back if something does go wrong, explains Jenny Cassel, a lawyer with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, another group that was involved in the negotiations.

Critics have attacked the law as regulatory window dressing. “These rules are arbitrary compromises based on negotiations with industry,” says Dr. Sandra Steingraber, a professor at Ithaca College and a vocal anti-fracking activist who led the charge against the bill. “They guarantee neither public health nor environmental integrity.”

Fracking was already legal in Illinois, although there was no fracking-specific regulation on the books, and industry interest has been growing, creating a sense that fracking was unavoidable. Illinois sits atop the New Albany shale play, an area projected to hold 3.79 trillion cubic feet of shale gas. Drilling leases have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into the coffers of counties and residents by way of fees and leases, and according to an AP investigation of state records, high-volume fracking had already begun. After it became clear the regulatory bill would become law, major drilling operations were started in Wayne County, some four and a half hours south of Chicago.

A full moratorium on fracking failed in the Illinois legislature last year, and representatives from the coalition of environmental groups that negotiated the new law have argued that compromise was better than nothing. But Steingraber believes that the lack of regulation wasn’t a reason to give ground. “The industry was waiting for the rules of the road before it came in,” she says. “This bill is a green light. It’s a starting gun.”

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Illinois’ New Fracking Regulations Might Not Be So Tough After All

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Monstanto vs. organics: court rules that a website promise is good enough

by czwcqtpj Posted on June 11, 2013

green4us

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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Index Astartes: Codex Astartes – Games Workshop

The Codex Astartes details the doctrine of the Space Marine Chapters, compiled and written by the Primarch of the Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman. While not every Chapter follows the Codex completely, it lays the foundation for their organisation and tactics. About this series: The Adeptus Astartes are genetically engineered warriors, created by the Emperor […]

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Iyanden – A Codex: Eldar Supplement – Games Workshop

For thousands of years, the Eldar of Iyanden have sailed through the sea of stars, defending the galaxy’s eastern rim from the threat of Chaos. They have won great victories, but have known terrible tragedy also; what was once the most populous of craftworlds is now but a shadow of its former glory. This supplement to Codex: Eldar allows you to ta […]

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Codex: Eldar – Games Workshop

Codex: Eldar is your comprehensive guide to wielding the deadly warhosts of the Craftworld Eldar upon the battlefields of the 41 st Millennium. This volume details the craftworlds of the Eldar, and the different types of army they field. The Eldar embody excellence in the arts of war, from their psychic might to their deadly aircraft, and their ranks co […]

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Warlords of the Dark Millennium: Azrael – Games Workshop

Grand Master Azrael Azrael is the Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels Chapter, the Keeper of Truth and bearer of the Lion Helm. Armed with the Sword of Secrets and Lion’s Wraith, Azrael guards the ancient lore of his Chapter and leads their hunt for the mysterious Fallen. About this series: The galaxy burns with the fires of countless wars and conflicts, […]

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Munitorum: Shuriken Catapult – Games Workshop

The shuriken catapult is the preferred weapon of the Eldar and uses solid-state ammunition carved into monofilament discs, which are propelled into the enemy. Reliable and deadly Eldar Guardians use these weapons to great effect where their ‘shurikens’ cut easily through enemy armour and flesh. About this series: Weapons are the tools of war, and with them a […]

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Concrete Garden Projects – Camilla Arvidsson & Malin Nilsson

For gardeners and backyard do-it-yourselfers, concrete is a revelation. It’s durable, weatherproof, impossible to steal, and it provides much-needed insulation for outdoor plants. Concrete weathers beautifully, softening around the edges, developing moss, and becoming more picturesque with age. Concrete Garden Projects takes advantage of concrete’s […]

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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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Index Astartes: Dreadnought – Games Workshop

Dreadnoughts are powerful fighting machines piloted by the entombed remains of great Space Marine heroes. Often used in shock assaults or boarding actions, Dreadnoughts are capable of using heavy weapons with deadly and brutal proficiency. About this series: The Adeptus Astartes are genetically engineered warriors, created by the Emperor of Mankind and tempe […]

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Munitorum: Ranger Long Rifle – Games Workshop

Long rifles are used almost exclusively by Eldar Rangers and Pathfinders. A peerless sniper weapon, the long rifle can cut down an enemy at extreme ranges, its unerring beam finding the weak points in even the most heavily armoured of foes. About this series: Weapons are the tools of war, and with them and other wargear, soldiers ply their bloody trade on co […]

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Monstanto vs. organics: court rules that a website promise is good enough

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized, wind energy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Monstanto vs. organics: court rules that a website promise is good enough

ACLU Takes On Arizona’s Ban on Sex- and Race-Selective Abortions

by czwcqtpj Posted on May 29, 2013

Mother Jones

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The American Civil Liberties Union announced on Wednesday that it is filing suit against Arizona’s law that aims to ban abortions based on gender preference or race. The law, passed in March 2011, “treats every black and Asian women as potential threat simply because of her race alone,” said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, at a press event announcing the lawsuit.

The ACLU’s suit is on behalf of the NAACP and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, who argue that the law is an unconstitutional intrusion into a woman’s right to choose and that it asks doctors to profile based on the race of the woman seeking an abortion. Daniel Pochoda, legal director of the ACLU of Arizona said the law is “motivated by racist and discriminatory beliefs.” It would encourage discrimination against Asian American women based on cultural assumptions that they might seek to abort a female fetus. Doctors would also be required to racially profile any woman of color seeking an abortion, since she would most definitely be carrying a fetus of color. This pretty much amounts to a thought-crime, forcing medical professionals to somehow determine a woman’s motivation for getting an abortion or potentially end up in jail for 3 and a half years.

The law “perpetuates ugly stereotypes about the Asian American community and contributes to anti-immigrant perceptions,” said Miriam Yeung, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum. And if politicians are actually concerned about sex-selective abortions, Yeung says, this is not the way to deal with them. “We care about gender inequity and we care about women,” said Yeung. “The thing is, if these politicians really wanted to truly address the issue—and sex-selection is really a symptom of gender inequity—there are more effective ways of doing that. This bill is not that.”

At least nine other states and the House of Representatives have considered banning abortions based on sex or race.

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ACLU Takes On Arizona’s Ban on Sex- and Race-Selective Abortions

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15 Surprising Uses for Apples

by czwcqtpj Posted on May 26, 2013

Debbie Tate

on

6 Lesser Known World Landmarks (Slideshow)

4 minutes ago

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15 Surprising Uses for Apples

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