Author Archives: Michalak876

The Marrakech climate talks still aren’t over, but here’s what’s gone down so far.

by Michalak876 Posted on November 18, 2016

Into the ocean, it seems. New satellite data show the total area of global sea ice dipping wayyy below the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s record for this time of year.

In fact, Arctic sea ice has dropped well below the next-lowest seasonal extent ever observed (which was in 2012). That year’s all-time record low was narrowly avoided in September, the month when Arctic sea ice levels typically are at their lowest. But the fact that ice levels are lower now than they were this same time in 2012 is part of what makes this latest data so alarming.

Meanwhile, Antarctic sea ice is also much lower than usual at the end of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.

We’ve gotten somewhat used to broken records here, but watching sea ice levels flatten out when they should be peaking is well beyond normal understanding of record lows and highs.

Meanwhile, the temperature at the North Pole right now is a not-cool 36 degrees F above average. Is this what the Upside Down feels like?

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The Marrakech climate talks still aren’t over, but here’s what’s gone down so far.

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Monarch Butterflies Can Survive the World’s Most Amazing Migration—But GMOs Are Wiping Them Out

by Michalak876 Posted on January 30, 2014

Mother Jones

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The monarch butterfly is a magnificent and unique beast—the globe’s only butterfly species that embarks on an annual round-trip migration spanning thousands of miles, from the northern US and Canada to central Mexico. And monarchs aren’t just a gorgeous bug; they’re also pollinators, meaning they help keep land-based ecosystems humming. Their populations have been plunging for years, and the number of them hibernating in Mexico last year hit an all-time low, reports University of Minnesota ecologist Karen Oberhauser. Why? Here’s Oberhauser:

Tragically, much of their breeding habitat in this region the US and Canada has been lost to changing agricultural practices, primarily the exploding adoption of genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant crops in the late 20th and early 21st centuries … These crops allow post-emergence treatment with herbicides, and have resulted in the extermination of milkweed from agricultural habitats.

In a 2012 post, I teased out how crops engineered for herbicide tolerance wipe out milkweed, the monarch’s main source of food, and lead to the charismatic specie’s decline. And here’s the peer-reviewed paper, co-authored by Oberhauser, that documents the trend.

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Monarch Butterflies Can Survive the World’s Most Amazing Migration—But GMOs Are Wiping Them Out

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Methane Gas from Landfill Fuels Arts Complex

by Michalak876 Posted on November 15, 2013

The blacksmith shop at Jackson County Green Energy Park in North Carolina is the only one in the world fueled by landfill gas. Photo: Jackson County Green Energy Park

The commissioners of Jackson County in North Carolina knew they needed to do something about the growing levels of methane gas within the nine-acre landfill in Dillsboro. The landfill had closed in 1999, with roughly 750,000 tons of trash enclosed, and the buildup of methane gas had the potential of leaching into the soil and contaminating the water supply.

Although an environmental firm advised them to flare it off, which would allow them to burn off the flammable gas, the commissioners had a different plan.

“The county manager came to me because he knew I had a background in renewable energy,” explains Timm Muth, project director for the Jackson County Green Energy Park. “There was enough [gas] there to [power] a community project, so I suggested they put in art studios and use it to heat buildings.”

Knowing that methane gas can be used for heating in the same way as propane and natural gas, Muth helped create Green Energy Park, which has not only provided an environmentally friendly use for the gas, but has also helped revitalize the entire area.

Although he had moved to Jackson County to retire and become a professional mountain bike guide, Muth knew that his skills would add value to the project — so he re-entered the work force. “This is a tourist-driven economy, and I knew if we could do something that promoted our local artists, we would have a win-win situation,” Muth says. “Methane is more than 20 times worse than CO2 in terms of greenhouse gas effects, and for us it has provided a cost-free fuel.”

Today, the methane gas from the landfill provides power to a blacksmithing shop, a glass studio, a ceramics kiln and an art gallery. The park also is home to greenhouses, which the county uses to grow plants, and a sculpture garden that features works by local artists.

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Methane Gas from Landfill Fuels Arts Complex

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As the Country Ages, the Federal Reserve Becomes Less Powerful

by Michalak876 Posted on September 9, 2013

Mother Jones

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Neil Irwin writes today about a new theory from Patrick Imam of the IMF suggesting that central banks may have less and less influence over the economy as the population of a country ages:

What’s the theory? To start with, monetary policy works by changing the cost of borrowed money….But borrowing money is disproportionately an activity of the young….That would imply that in an older society fewer people are actively using credit products. Which should in turn imply that a central bank turning the dials of interest rates will be less powerful at shaping the speed of the overall economy.

Imam tested this theory by looking at how much the effectiveness of monetary policy had changed across countries as compared with those countries’ demographics. And he indeed found an impact: A one-percentage-point increase in the “old-age dependency ratio” (the share of the population that is elderly) lessens the effectiveness of monetary policy in affecting inflation by 0.1 percentage points and unemployment by 0.35 percentage points.

I can tentatively buy this. In fact, I’d toss out another possible channel for this effect as well: the elderly often live off investments, which means that their incomes fall as interest rates go down. So the bigger the proportion of elderly in a country, the more people you have who are forced to consume less because of low interest rates and the fewer people you have who are motivated to consume more by low borrowing rates.

I’ve never been in the camp that thinks monetary policy can be made infinitely effective in the first place, so this doesn’t change my personal views too much. Basically, in a downturn you need more government spending along with a Fed promise not to offset it with higher interest rates. Neither one by itself is as effective as both together. It’s too bad we all gave up on that idea in 2010. We’ve been paying the price ever since.

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As the Country Ages, the Federal Reserve Becomes Less Powerful

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Charts: How Big Debt on Campus Is Threatening Higher Ed

by Michalak876 Posted on September 3, 2013

Mother Jones

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The explosion of college tuition and student debt is leaving more grads with big bills and doubts about their futures. Some back-to-school stats:

1. College costs a lot more than it used to.

The good news: College grads earn 84% more than high school grads.

The bad: Getting that sheepskin is getting a lot more expensive.

Between 2000 and 2012:

• Consumer Price Index increased 33%.

• Median household income (adjusted for inflation) dropped 9%.

• Average four-year college tuition increased 44%.

• Private for-profit tuition increased 19%.

• Private nonprofit college tuition increased 36%.

• Public college tuition increased 71%.

Between 2000 and 2012:

• Public spending on public education has dropped 30% even as enrollment at public colleges has jumped 34%.

2. So we’re borrowing more to go to school.

As college costs have shot up, so has student debt. Americans owe almost $1 trillion on their student loans, 310% more than a decade ago.

In 1989, 9% of households had student debt. Today nearly 20% do.

The average amount of student loan debt has increased 177% since 1989.

3. But we can’t pay it off.

Debt is increasing fastest for those who have the least money to pay it back.

56% of all student loan debt is owed by households headed by people 35 or older.

47% of total student loan debt is held by households with incomes below $60,000.

4. And we’re putting our dreams on hold.

Nearly half of college graduates with student debt say it has made it more difficult for them to make ends meet. 24% say it has affected their career choices.

25% of recent grads say student loan debt has made them take unexciting jobs just for the money.

Student debt’s impact on borrowers’ long-term plans:

• For every $10,000 in student debt: Borrowers’ likelihood of taking a nonprofit, government, or education job drops more than 5 percentage points. Their long-term probability of getting married drops at least 7 percentage points.

• Student loans affect the housing market: Larger student debt burdens are making it harder for recent college graduates to get home loans, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

• Student loans affect the entire economy: The Financial Stability Oversight Council reports that high student debt levels could “lead to dampened consumption,” and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns that unpaid student loans “could be a drag on the recovery.”

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Charts: How Big Debt on Campus Is Threatening Higher Ed

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The Benefits of Exercising Outside

by Michalak876 Posted on August 19, 2013

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The Benefits of Exercising Outside

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Forget Congress. These 27 States Could Begin Dragging Dark Money Into the Daylight—Today

by Michalak876 Posted on August 12, 2013

Mother Jones

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In the past decade, election spending by so-called 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups—so named for their particular section of the tax code—has spiked by a whopping 9,980 percent, from a few million dollars in 2002 to $256 million in 2012. Here at Mother Jones, we call this type of spending “dark money.” That’s because, the way the tax code works, donors to 501(c)(4) nonprofits are anonymous even as these nonprofits pour millions into elections.

As dark money has flowed into elections in greater amounts, Congress has tried to drag this spending into the sunlight with versions of the DISCLOSE Act. Each time, Republican filibusters blocked those bills. As things stand, the most promising strategy—and it’s not even that promising—for shining light on secret political spending is through the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is considering a rule requiring that publicly-traded companies disclose their election-related spending.

But transparency advocates are wrong to pin their hopes on the SEC or Congress. According to a new report by New York City Public Advocate Bill deBlasio and the Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending, 27 states already have laws on the books that should allow them to require far more disclosure from politically active nonprofits about their spending and their donors. That includes nine battleground states where, in 2012, the bulk of political spending took place—Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Ohio.

Here’s a useful map from deBlasio’s report:

Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending, Office of New York City Public Advocate Bill deBlasio

DeBlasio’s report cites New York State as an example of a state that took advantage of existing laws to beef up dark-money disclosure. In June, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman rolled out new regulations requiring nonprofits registered in New York State to disclose how much of their spending went toward to influencing elections at the local, state, and federal level. Schneiderman’s regulations will also force nonprofits that spend more than $10,000 on elections in New York State to file itemized spending and contribution reports, disclosing donors who give more than $100. Schneiderman didn’t need a new law to authorize all this—as New York’s attorney general, he’s also in charge of regulating the state’s charities.

This year, Connecticut, Maryland, and Utah have also passed various laws ratcheting up transparency of nonprofit groups. The states identified in deBlasio’s report don’t need to do that much—like New York, they can start implementing new transparency regulations right away. The only thing standing between these states and greater dark-money disclosure, the report concludes, “is the courage to act.”

Here is the full report:

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Excerpt from – 

Forget Congress. These 27 States Could Begin Dragging Dark Money Into the Daylight—Today

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Do We Need Farm-to-Dog Food?

by Michalak876 Posted on August 3, 2013

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Do We Need Farm-to-Dog Food?

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Milestone Claimed in Creating Energy From Waste

by Michalak876 Posted on July 31, 2013

green4us

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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A Street Cat Named Bob – James Bowen

James is a street musician struggling to make ends meet. Bob is a stray cat looking for somewhere warm to sleep. When James and Bob meet, they forge a never-to-be-forgotten friendship that has been charming readers from Thailand to Turkey. A Street Cat Named Bob is an international sensation, landing on the bestseller list in England for […]

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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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Munitorum: Quake Cannons – Games Workshop

A Quake Cannon is capable of hurling a macro cannon shell at targets kilometres away before they even know they are within range. Each mighty shell from a Quake Cannon can sunder fortress walls, shatter tank formations and leave craters dozens of metres deep. About this series: Weapons are the tools of war and with them soldiers ply their bloody trade […]

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Dogtripping – David Rosenfelt

David Rosenfelt’s Dogtripping is moving and funny account of a cross-country move from California to Maine, and the beginnings of a dog rescue foundation When mystery writer David Rosenfelt and his family moved from Southern California to Maine, he thought he had prepared for everything. They had mapped the route, brought three […]

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Index Astartes: Tactical Dreadnought Armour – Games Workshop

Terminator Armour, also known as Tactical Dreadnought Armour, is the heaviest personal protection known to the Imperium. Commonly issued to Terminators, the armour offers protection against the hard vacuum of space as well as the bolts and blade of the enemy. About this Series: The Adeptus Astartes are genetically engineered warriors, created by […]

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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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Warhammer: Lizardmen – Games Workshop

Long before the rise of the new races, the Lizardmen ruled supreme. Alien, enigmatic, and without mercy, the Lizardmen will stop at nothing to restore order to a chaotic world. It is what they were made to do. After long ages of fighting to preserve their ancient civilization, the Lizardmen now seek to conquer, fully enacting the unfinished plans of their lo […]

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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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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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Milestone Claimed in Creating Energy From Waste

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Joe Biden kinda sorta maybe opposes Keystone XL pipeline

by Michalak876 Posted on May 8, 2013

Joe Biden kinda sorta maybe opposes Keystone XL pipeline

By Lisa Hymas

Sierra Club

Sierra Club activist Elaine Cooper with Joe Biden.

Vice President Joe Biden told an activist on Friday that he doesn’t support the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, according to a post on the Sierra Club website.

While the veep was working the crowd at an event in South Carolina, Elaine Cooper got a moment with him:

I asked him about the administration’s commitment to making progress on climate and whether the president would reject the pipeline. He looked at the Sierra Club hat on my head, and he said “yes, I do — I share your views — but I am in the minority,” and he smiled. …

I know that this vice president is a man who isn’t afraid to speak from his heart, and who sometimes gets out in front of the rest of the administration on moral issues. It was nearly a year before, on May 6, 2012, that Biden said that he was “absolutely comfortable” with marriage equality. What the vice president said to me on Friday was equally brave and equally right.

Environmental leaders seized on the news, BuzzFeed reports:

[Friends of the Earth President Erich] Pica released a statement commending the vice president for “his blunt talk”; and Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters, issued a press release calling the remarks “a big deal” and a “game changer that should encourage Secretary Kerry and President Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.”

But did Biden really mean it? More from BuzzFeed:

Biden’s public position on the pipeline has been more reticent. Asked last year about Keystone, he deferred to the State Department’s ongoing review. “It’s going to go through the process and it will be made on an environmentally sound basis,” Biden said at the time.

What’s more, the vice president’s office told BuzzFeed Tuesday night that Biden’s views “haven’t changed” on the pipeline. “Any impression to the contrary would be mistaken,” an official said.

But activists cast the incident in South Carolina as a moment of candor from the often loose-lipped vice president. “I felt it was sincere at the time,” said Cooper.

The anti-Keystone “All Risk No Reward” coalition has already put together an ad referencing the incident, which will run on Beltway news site Politico, The Washington Post reports.

[The ad] first show[s] images of the recent oil spill in Arkansas, and then Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry holding hands as they confer.

“Psst … You should oppose Keystone XL too,” the ad reads. “Tell President Obama and Secretary Kerry: Joe Biden is Right.”

Biden seems to be laying the groundwork for a 2016 presidential campaign, so he might be more eager to please green voters than the rest of the administration.

Lisa Hymas is senior editor at Grist. You can follow her on

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Joe Biden kinda sorta maybe opposes Keystone XL pipeline

Posted in Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, Pines, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Joe Biden kinda sorta maybe opposes Keystone XL pipeline