Author Archives: Unacoomt

The Latest Bird Flu Freakout, Explained

by Unacoomt Posted on April 9, 2013

Mother Jones

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Just as dead pigs and ducks stopped washing up in rivers in China, another public health threat crops up: Chinese media announced that a strain of bird flu never before seen in humans was found in Shanghai and surrounding provinces, infecting 24 people so far in China and killing seven of them.

For the most part, flu outbreaks like this pop up then fade within weeks. But every once in a while, they become pandemics, spreading across the world and infecting people with a deadly flu. What will happen with H7N9 is unclear, but there are a few things worth knowing about its mysterious origins, and how people in China are reacting.

Where did it come from?

Unclear. The first two victims died in late February, but the Chinese state media didn’t announce the deaths or that they had detected the new virus until Sunday, March 31st. So far, it looks like all the victims contracted the flu directly from a sick bird, not another person. That’s an important distinction because a flu that humans contract from each other can spread much faster than a flu that people contract directly from animals. (A Chinese blogger has put together a map of the cases.)

The Chinese government has traced some cases back to live pigeons that were being sold in a market in Shanghai. On April 4th, Chinese state media confirmed that it had found cases of bird flu in those pigeons, and last Thursday night the government began a mass-slaughter of poultry there.

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The Latest Bird Flu Freakout, Explained

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We’re Still at War: Photo of the Day for April 5, 2013

by Unacoomt Posted on April 5, 2013

Mother Jones

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Marine Corps instructors with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, light fires in a compound during counter improvised explosive device training at Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 3, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tammy K. Hineline.

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We’re Still at War: Photo of the Day for April 5, 2013

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For Cleveland, Climate Change Could Mean Tons of Toxic Green Algae

by Unacoomt Posted on April 4, 2013

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The Drunken Botanist – Amy Stewart

Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. Thirsty yet? In The Drunken Botanist , Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol ov […]

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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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The Honest Life – Jessica Alba

As a new mom, Jessica Alba wanted to create the safest, healthiest environment for her family. But she was frustrated by the lack of trustworthy information on how to live healthier and cleaner—delivered in a way that a busy mom could act on without going to extremes. In 2012, with serial entrepreneur Brian Lee and environmental advocate Christopher Gavigan, […]

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

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

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Step It Up Knits – Vickie Howell

In Step It Up Knits , knitting superstar and Caron Yarns Celebrity Spokesperson Vickie Howell presents all the techniques needed to become a master knitter, plus 25 gorgeous projects. From cabled wrist warmers to slouchy beanies, lacy headbands, and cozy cowls, each project is small enough to take on the go and whip up in just a weekend. The step-by-step pho […]

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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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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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The Flower Recipe Book – Alethea Harampolis & Jill Rizzo

Flower arranging has never been simpler or more enticing. The women behind Studio Choo, the hottest floral design studio in the country, have created a flower-arranging bible for today’s aesthetic. Filled with an array of stunning, easy-to-find flowers, it features 400 high-resolution photos,more than 40 step-by-step slideshows,and tappable pop-tips thr […]

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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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Paracord Fusion Ties – Volume 1 – J.D. Lenzen

J.D. Lenzen is the creator of the highly acclaimed YouTube channel “Tying It All Together”, and the producer of over 200 instructional videos. He’s been formally recognized by the International Guild of Knot Tyers (IGKT) for his contributions to knotting, and is the originator of fusion knotting-innovative knots created through the merging of […]

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For Cleveland, Climate Change Could Mean Tons of Toxic Green Algae

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LG, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, The Atlantic, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on For Cleveland, Climate Change Could Mean Tons of Toxic Green Algae

Climate Change Could Mean Seven Times As Many Katrinas

by Unacoomt Posted on March 18, 2013

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Batten down the hatches, East Coasters: A new study argues that for every one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees F) of global warming, the US Atlantic seaboard could see up to seven times as many Katrina-sized hurricanes.

That’s the conclusion of Aslak Grinsted, a climatologist at Copenhagen’s Niels Bohr Institute, who led an effort to match East Coast storm surge records from the last 90 years with global temperatures. His results, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that the strongest hurricanes are likely to become more commonplace with only half the level of warming currently projected by scientists.

Red represents hurricane projections with one degree (C) global warming; blue represents no warming. The gap between these lines suggests that a warmer climate will produce more frequent hurricanes; the gap is widest at the top, meaning the biggest increase will be with the biggest storms. Courtesy PNAS

“There is a sensitivity to warming, and it is surprisingly large,” Grinsted said.

The study compiled storm surge measurements from tide gauges at six locations on the East and Gulf Coasts, filtering out the effects of seasonal cycles, daily tides, and overall sea level rise to isolate the impact of storms. Next, these records were stacked against both global temperatures and a series of other climatic factors, like natural water temperature cycles and regional rainfall. The result? Global temperatures turned out to be one of the best predictors for hurricane activity. Using computer models, Grinsted found that a one-degree (C) rise in global temperatures could multiply extreme hurricane frequency by two to seven times.

When it comes to extreme weather, hurricanes are among the most costly events—and also among the least understood. Most of our understanding of the link between hurricanes and climate change traces to a research paper released in 2010 that argued that hurricanes worldwide could become up to eleven percent more intense by 2100; Grinsted’s research adds the wrinkle that the biggest storms, in addition to becoming bigger, are likely to happen more often. That is, in the US: Grinsted said exact projections would likely differ for other coastlines across the world.

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Climate Change Could Mean Seven Times As Many Katrinas

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7 Habits that Are Good for You & the Planet

by Unacoomt Posted on March 17, 2013

Christine Stewart

on

7 Habits that Are Good for You & the Planet

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7 Habits that Are Good for You & the Planet

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Chinese forests now just chopstick factories in waiting

by Unacoomt Posted on March 12, 2013

Chinese forests now just chopstick factories in waiting

By Susie Cagle

China’s been dealing with a lot of pressure lately: dirty air, a river full of dead pigs, new pledges to go green … To cope, there’s apparently been an uptick in stress-eating. The country is now producing 80 billion pairs of disposable wooden chopsticks a year, nearly 60 pairs for each person in the country, according to Bai Guangxin, chair of Jilin Forestry Industry Group. That’s way up from the estimated 57 billion pairs produced annually between 2004 and 2009. At this rate, China is destroying nearly 1.5 percent of its forests each year just in the name of chopsticks.

theeruditefrog

From The Huffington Post:

The consequences of China’s chopstick production — deforestation, for one — have prompted action from some environmental groups. …

Bai pointed out during [a] meeting Friday that the Chinese government has also begun taking action by introducing policies limiting manufacturing of disposable chopsticks.

Government actions range from a 5-percent tax levied in 2006 on disposable chopsticks, to a 2010 warning of potential government regulations for companies that fail to strictly supervise disposable chopstick production. …

“We should change our consumption habits and encourage people to carry their own tableware,” Bai recommended on Friday.

If the country’s still planning on increasing its forest cover by nearly 21 percent by 2020, it should heed Bai’s advice. (You’d think as the head of a timber company he might be able to do something about this himself, but there’s the whole state-run thing to contend with.)

Maybe a little DIY could help. My brother, a sushi fanatic, carries his own steel travel chopsticks in a pouch around his neck. Similar sticks with a travel case cost a few bucks at your local Asian market. Bonus: no figurative or literal splinters in your mouth from unethical eating instruments.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Chinese forests now just chopstick factories in waiting

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TSA’s Devious Pocketknife Feint

by Unacoomt Posted on March 12, 2013

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TSA’s decision to allow small pocketknives on airplanes isn’t the most important news around, but Jonathan Bernstein has an interesting followup to my post complaining about Chuck Schumer’s demand that TSA reverse itself on this. He points out that it’s really hard to relax safety restrictions, because everyone knows that eventually something bad will happen and whoever did the relaxing will catch hell over it. So how is it that TSA worked up the courage to relax the rules on pocketknives? Bernstein gets Machiavellian on us:

So what I’ve wondering is whoever is making this happen over at TSA is actually really smart about that, and added “knives” to a collection of innocuous stuff to draw fire away from everything else. Not that I’m saying small knives should be banned, or even that TSA thinks they should be banned. Just that it’s probably a viable bureaucratic strategy to toss in one item on the list that politicians can go after, thus allowing everything else to go into effect.

This is….weirdly plausible. If everyone gets riled up over the knives, maybe they’ll forget all about the golf clubs and tiny baseball bats. It’s hard to imagine anyone at TSA actually having this conversation, since there would be too much risk of it leaking out, but who knows? Maybe those guys are more devious than we think.

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TSA’s Devious Pocketknife Feint

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A Farewell to Green

by Unacoomt Posted on March 2, 2013

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A Farewell to Green

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#2: Joyce Chen 33-2018, 3-Piece Burnished Bamboo Stir-Fry Set

by Unacoomt Posted on March 1, 2013

green4us

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#2: Joyce Chen 33-2018, 3-Piece Burnished Bamboo Stir-Fry Set

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VAWA Passes, the Hastert Rule Takes a Tumble

by Unacoomt Posted on February 28, 2013

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The House finally reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act today despite the opposition of more than half the Republican caucus. Steve Benen thinks this means the wind is shifting on the venerable Hastert Rule:

We’re learning something important about House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the so-called “Hastert Rule.” For those who need a refresher, under modern Republican norms, the Speaker only considers legislation that enjoys “majority of the majority” support — if most GOP House members oppose a measure, it won’t even be considered, whether it can pass the chamber or not.

The non-binding rule is great for party discipline, but lousy for democracy and governing.

For Boehner’s part, the Speaker has long believed in enforcing the “Hastert Rule,” but he’s finding far more flexibility on the issue than we’re accustomed to seeing. When it was time to approve the “fiscal cliff” deal, Boehner ignored the rule to pass a bipartisan Senate plan. When he needed to pass relief aid to Hurricane Sandy victims, he bypassed the rule again.

At the time, the Speaker said these were isolated incidents that wouldn’t be repeated, but he we are again — most of Boehner’s caucus opposed the Violence Against Women Act, but he brought it to the floor and passed it anyway.

I guess my takeaway is a little different: This is mostly a sign that Boehner understands what his party is up against. In the last election, Republican problems with the Hispanic vote got most of the attention, but that’s not the only demographic group the GOP is losing badly. There’s also women. And young voters. And especially young women voters: in the last two elections, they’ve voted for Obama by whopping margins of 69 and 66 percent.

So in the same way that pragmatic Republicans are in favor of passing some kind of comprehensive immigration bill to stop the bleeding among Hispanics, Boehner wanted to pass VAWA in order to stop the bleeding among young women, for whom this is very much a hot button issue. This same dynamic might play out on a few other issues too, but I’m not sure if it heralds the demise of the Hastert Rule more generally. We’ll have to wait and see.

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VAWA Passes, the Hastert Rule Takes a Tumble

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