Tag Archives: boston

Now Google Street View is mapping gas pipeline leaks

by MariettSorrells Posted on July 16, 2014

what’s that smell?

Now Google Street View is mapping gas pipeline leaks

By

Emmadukew

Some of those Google cars that drive around photographing streetscapes and embarrassing moments have captured something extra — something that should embarrass major utilities. The cars were kitted out by University of Colorado scientists with sensors that sniff out natural gas leaking from underground pipelines. These methane-heavy leaks contribute to global warming, waste money, and can fuel explosions.

The sensor-equipped cars cruised the streets of Boston, New York’s Staten Island, and Indianapolis. They returned to sites where methane spikes were detected to confirm the presence of a leak. The results were released Wednesday by the Environmental Defense Fund, which coordinated the project, revealing just how leaky old and metallic pipelines can be, such as those used in the East Coast cities studied, particularly when compared with noncorrosive pipes like those beneath Indianapolis.

About one leak was discovered for each mile driven in Boston, Mass.:

EDF

The findings were similar in Staten Island, N.Y.:

EDF

In Indianapolis, Ind., by contrast, about one leak was found for every 200 miles that the cars covered:

EDF


Source
Natural gas: Local leaks impact global climate, Environmental Defense Fund

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.

Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Climate & Energy

View original – 

Now Google Street View is mapping gas pipeline leaks

Posted in ALPHA, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, ONA, solar, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Now Google Street View is mapping gas pipeline leaks

Even International Quidditch Has a Concussion Problem

by Chet50Nwhxnry Posted on July 4, 2014

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

If you want to make it as a snitch in the fast-growing sport of Muggle Quidditch, there are a few simple rules to live by. Keep the two people with yellow headbands in your sight at all times. Call fouls when you see them. Don’t let your showboating get in the way of your performance. And keep your booty shaking. “You gotta do a little duck waddle—stick your butt out,” advises Austin Nuckols, a lanky University of Richmond student with curly hair in a Spiderman-inspired Quidditch jersey. “That’s right, get a little twerk going,” he says. “Work on your twerk!”

Nuckols in offering a tutorial in snitching in a back room at a convention center in downtown DC for the second day of the third annual QuidCon, the only convention focused on the nuts and bolts of starting or managing a Quidditch team. Conceived eight years ago by a small group of students at Middlebury College in Vermont, the International Quidditch Association now boasts 225 official teams in at least 13 countries, in addition to wheelchair Quidditch and several varieties of “kidditch.” Even as the Harry Potter books and movies that first popularized it fade from view, the sport has begun to find its legs.

But like angsty, teenage Harry Potter in book five, competitive Quidditch is finding that its new powers come with some growing pains—in the most literal sense. Muggle Quidditch has a concussion problem.

Continue Reading »

Originally posted here: 

Even International Quidditch Has a Concussion Problem

Posted in alo, Anchor, ATTRA, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Even International Quidditch Has a Concussion Problem

Flight 370 Pilot Rejected Boston Marathon Conspiracy Theory

by AlysaHeiman Posted on March 20, 2014

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

On Wednesday, Malaysian police announced that a flight simulator belonging to Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the captain of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, was missing data that had been erased about a month before the plane disappeared, potentially as part of routine computer maintenance. In an investigation that has produced precious few clues—on Thursday Australian officials were investigating debris found via satellite imagery—Shah’s background, naturally, is being closely analyzed by authorities, including the FBI. But Shah—who liked to cook, watched atheist videos, and who was a fan of a democratic opposition leader in Malaysia—didn’t express any suspicious sentiments on his public Facebook page. On the contrary, in an exchange that occurred shortly after the Boston Marathon bombings, he criticized his Facebook friend, Muhammad Khatif Mohd Talha, a self-identified former captain at Malaysia Airlines, for promoting the conspiracy theory that the bombing was a “False Flag attack by the Satanist elite.”

To convince Shah, Talha posted a clip from a press conference during which Boston authorities ignored a shouting conspiracy theorist who claimed that local officials had called for public calm before the bombings. Shah didn’t buy this, and he told Talha it would have been natural for authorities to request calm and order during a large public event.

In the second part of the discussion thread, Talha posted a tweet from the Boston Globe, reporting that Boston officials had announced a controlled explosion as part of post-attack bomb squad activities, as if this supported the notion that the Boston Marathon was some sort of inside job. Shah replied, sarcastically, “Wow now we get to believe the police (GOV) of blewing up people.”

The public Facebook postings do not indicate what kind of relationship Muhammad Khatif Mohd Talha and Shah maintained, if any, in real life. (Talha is one of Shah’s 239 friends.) But they do have several mutual Facebook friends who work in the airline industry. On his Facebook page, Talha, who refers to himself as a former pilot for Malaysia Airlines, expresses support for a wide range of conspiracy theories: “satanic” symbolism in Katy Perry videos, weather warfare, and vaccines and autism. He writes often of a coming apocalypse and is a member of a “Malaysian Preppers” Facebook group, and he posts regularly about his religious beliefs (including his support for Islamic law) and what he believes is the imminent collapse of the global economy. Shortly after the plane’s disappearance, Talha posted, in Malaysian, “Thank you all for your wishes for me. God- willing, I pray for the best for everyone.” Talha did not respond to requests for comment.

Yazran Ahmad, who replied to Talha’s Facebook post above, was Facebook friends with Talha and Shah, and he notes on his Facebook page that he studied at the Malaysian Flying Academy. On March 8, he wrote a poignant note regarding the missing airline. (Ahmad did not respond to request for comment.)

Source – 

Flight 370 Pilot Rejected Boston Marathon Conspiracy Theory

Posted in Anchor, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Flight 370 Pilot Rejected Boston Marathon Conspiracy Theory

Guinness and Other Beers Pull Out of St. Patrick’s Day Parade Over Ban on Openly Gay Marchers

by LinoWorthy Posted on March 17, 2014

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Three beer giants—the manufacturers who bring you Heineken, Sam Adams, and Guinness—have pulled their sponsorship of Saint Patrick’s Day parades in New York City and Boston over the events’ policy of anti-LGBT discrimination. (The Boston parade took place on Sunday, while the NYC one is on for Monday.) Both parades technically allow gay groups to march but ban signs and placards regarding sexual orientation. The withdrawals came following pressure from gay rights activists over the ban. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh also skipped their respective parades.

Sam Adams pulled its sponsorship of the Boston parade last week. Here is their statement, via Boston Beer Company spokeswoman Jessica Paar:

We have been participating in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade for nearly a decade and have also supported the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast year after year. We’ve done so because of the rich history of the event and to support veterans who have done so much for this country.

We were hopeful that both sides of this issue would be able to come to an agreement that would allow everyone, regardless of orientation, to participate in the parade. But given the current status of the negotiations, we realize this may not be possible.

We share these sentiments with Mayor Walsh, Congressman Lynch and others and therefore we will not participate in this year’s parade. We will continue to support Senator Linda Dorcena Forry and her St. Patrick’s Day breakfast. We wish her all the best in her historic stewardship of this tradition.

Here is Heineken’s statement, given on Friday, regarding the New York parade:

We believe in equality for all. We are no longer a sponsor of Monday’s parade.

Guinness, which is part of Diageo, weighed in on Sunday:

Guinness has a strong history of supporting diversity and being an advocate for equality for all. We were hopeful that the policy of exclusion would be reversed for this year’s parade. As this has not come to pass, Guinness has withdrawn its participation. We will continue to work with community leaders to ensure that future parades have an inclusionary policy.

Responses from LGBT activists have been generally positive. “Heineken sent the right message to LGBT youth, customers and employees who simply want to be part of the celebration,” Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, said, for instance.

Parade organizers did not immediately respond to Mother Jones‘ requests for comment.

Link to original: 

Guinness and Other Beers Pull Out of St. Patrick’s Day Parade Over Ban on Openly Gay Marchers

Posted in Anchor, FF, GE, Gotham, LG, ONA, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Guinness and Other Beers Pull Out of St. Patrick’s Day Parade Over Ban on Openly Gay Marchers

The Other "Moby Dick": Melville’s "Benito Cereno" Is an Analogy for American Empire

by Arterisa Posted on January 27, 2014

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website.

A captain ready to drive himself and all around him to ruin in the hunt for a white whale. It’s a well-known story, and over the years, mad Ahab in Herman Melville’s most famous novel, Moby-Dick, has been used as an exemplar of unhinged American power, most recently of George W. Bush’s disastrous invasion of Iraq.

But what’s really frightening isn’t our Ahabs, the hawks who periodically want to bomb some poor country, be it Vietnam or Afghanistan, back to the Stone Age. The respectable types are the true “terror of our age,” as Noam Chomsky called them collectively nearly 50 years ago. The really scary characters are our soberest politicians, scholars, journalists, professionals, and managers, men and women (though mostly men) who imagine themselves as morally serious, and then enable the wars, devastate the planet, and rationalize the atrocities. They are a type that has been with us for a long time. More than a century and a half ago, Melville, who had a captain for every face of empire, found their perfect expression—for his moment and ours.

For the last six years, I’ve been researching the life of an American seal killer, a ship captain named Amasa Delano who, in the 1790s, was among the earliest New Englanders to sail into the South Pacific. Money was flush, seals were many, and Delano and his fellow ship captains established the first unofficial US colonies on islands off the coast of Chile. They operated under an informal council of captains, divvied up territory, enforced debt contracts, celebrated the Fourth of July, and set up ad hoc courts of law. When no bible was available, the collected works of William Shakespeare, found in the libraries of most ships, were used to swear oaths.

From his first expedition, Delano took hundreds of thousands of sealskins to China, where he traded them for spices, ceramics, and tea to bring back to Boston. During a second, failed voyage, however, an event took place that would make Amasa notorious—at least among the readers of the fiction of Herman Melville.

Continue Reading »

Link:  

The Other "Moby Dick": Melville’s "Benito Cereno" Is an Analogy for American Empire

Posted in alo, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Other "Moby Dick": Melville’s "Benito Cereno" Is an Analogy for American Empire

America on the Edge of Its Seat Waiting for State of the Union Address

by Isabelta5 Posted on January 27, 2014

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Ed Kilgore previews tomorrow’s State of the Union address:

Perhaps it’s just a sign of advancing age, but I’ve grown to dread these events. All these advance hype, whether or not the speech represents any notable departure in presidential intentions or even rhetoric. All the solemn advice offered after the text has surely been put to bed. All the almost-ironic rituals of insincere bipartisanship and phony bonhomie….The president will be subject to vast exercises in armchair psychology as his mood, his energy-level, his “resolve,” are evaluated by way of how he delivers a rehearsed prepared text.

….Personally, I have trouble engaging in such evaluations, being constantly distracted by the idiotic ritual of clapping and not clapping, standing and not standing, and the full range of mime-like facial contortions, to which we will be treated by the Vice President and the Speaker of the House sitting just behind the president.

Ed, Ed, Ed. What kind of attitude is that? You’ve forgotten the now annual ritual of seating some inspirational yet normal Americans somewhere near the First Lady, which gives the president a chance to tell an inspirational story that will connect with Joe and Jane Sixpack. This year’s “Skutniks” include “the NBA’s first openly gay player, a hero from the Boston Bombing (and the man he helped save), the Moore, Okla., fire chief who led the search for survivors after a devastating tornado, and others.” The others apparently include the youngest ever intern at Intel and DC’s teacher of the year. And Rep. Linda Sanchez has invited a fast food worker who makes the minimum wage. But that’s just the first round! Stay tuned for further announcements.

Continue at source: 

America on the Edge of Its Seat Waiting for State of the Union Address

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on America on the Edge of Its Seat Waiting for State of the Union Address

America’s kids eating healthier, getting fitter

by Lubao2pzs Posted on September 17, 2013

America’s kids eating healthier, getting fitter

By

Shutterstock

Yay for exercise and healthy food.

Here’s news as sweet as a fistful of blueberries: American kids aged 11 to 16 were eating more fruit and vegetables in 2009 than those who came before them just eight years earlier, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Kids are also cutting back on sweets and sugary drinks, eating breakfast more regularly, spending more time exercising, and spending less time in front of the television, the study found:

PediatricsClick to embiggen.

The following graph shows the modest rise in the number of days per week that American kids engaged in physical activity (PA) and the decline in the hours per day that they sat in front of the television:

PediatricsClick to embiggen.

These healthier habits have begun making a difference.

The average body mass index of thousands of kids studied increased between 2001 and 2005, then started falling between 2005 and 2009. That’s in line with the results of other studies, which have shown a plateau in childhood obesity rates. (Though as we told you last week, America’s most obese kids, primarily children of poor black and Hispanic parents, continue to get fatter.)

“Over the previous decades, the pattern had been that kids were getting less physical activity, and it’s been very hard to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption,” Ronald Iannotti, coauthor of the study and chairman of the department of exercise and health sciences at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, told USA Today. “We’ve got a long way to go, but the good news is that those are increasing.”

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.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Food

,

Living

Original article: 

America’s kids eating healthier, getting fitter

Posted in ALPHA, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on America’s kids eating healthier, getting fitter

Transit advocates stop cuts using civil rights legislation

by nension Posted on February 21, 2013

Transit advocates stop cuts using civil rights legislation

By Susie Cagle

No justice, no ride to work! The vast majority of transit systems in the U.S. have cut service, raised fares, or both over the last two years, affecting those who rely on public transportation especially hard.

An article in the current issue of the Boston Review outlines the struggle for more justice and more buses:

For millions of American families, the commute to work is more than stressful: it can also be cripplingly costly. While the average family spends around 19 percent of its budget getting around, very low-income families (defined as families who make less than half of an area’s median income) can see as much as 55 percent of their earnings eaten up by transportation costs, according to a report by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development. …

Nationwide about 80 cents out of every federal transportation dollar goes toward highways—used disproportionately by more affluent drivers — and only 20 cents goes toward mass transit systems, which are heavily used by people of color and by lower-income workers. When it’s time to distribute that 20 percent, regional authorities often favor light-rail systems for suburban commuters over bus lines for city riders.

Some hope, though: A few cities have managed to wrest money away from the ‘burbs and back to the urbs by filing lawsuits claiming civil rights violations.

That tactic may not work for New Yorkers, though, who are about to see yet another fare hike, their fourth in five years — and it’s not because transit workers are getting a raise. Here, New Yorkers campaigning against fare hikes explain how debt service has increased train costs.

If there’s one thing the status quo has no answer for, it’s digging out of debt. Sorry, New York.

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

Twitter

.

Read more:

Cities

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Read this article:

Transit advocates stop cuts using civil rights legislation

Posted in GE, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Transit advocates stop cuts using civil rights legislation

Kerry’s new gig weighing in on Keystone means giving up Keystone-related stocks

by Myrna Posted on January 23, 2013

Kerry’s new gig weighing in on Keystone means giving up Keystone-related stocks

By Philip Bump

Remember when Susan Rice, the likely nominee for secretary of state, had those investments in fossil fuel companies — including companies linked to Keystone XL? This was considered hugely problematic, given that the State Department is responsible for final approval of the pipeline. But Obama didn’t nominate Rice.

spirit of america

John Kerry points at a pile of stock.

Meet John Kerry, nominee for secretary of state, who has investments in fossil fuel companies — including companies linked to Keystone XL. For now. From The Boston Globe:

Within 90 days of becoming Secretary of State, Senator John F. Kerry and his wife have agreed to divest nearly 100 separate investments in the United States and abroad — ranging from oil companies to weapons makers and a Chinese food company — in an effort to avoid conflicts of interest, according to a copy of his so-called ethics agreement. …

The divestitures of Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry, the heir to the Heinz ketchup fortune, include Cenovus Energy Inc., the Canadian company that would benefit from the proposed Keystone XL pipeline; Waltham-based Raytheon Co.; Exxon Mobil Corp.; drug maker Pfizer; communications giant Qualcomm Inc. and AT&T; American Express; Microsoft; a number of international private equity firms; and dozens of others.

Here’s Kerry’s full statement [PDF] on the divestiture, if you’re for some reason interested.

When the revelations about Rice arose, we noted that even Hillary Clinton had ties (albeit not financial ones) to TransCanada, through a staff person. We also noted yesterday that the decision on Keystone will be Obama’s, not Kerry’s (assuming Kerry is confirmed by the Senate, which he will be). Kerry and his wife — who inherited the Heinz family fortune from her late husband, Sen. John Heinz (R-Penn.) — are worth around $200 million, so even if they donated these investments to charity they’d still probably be able to eat. Maybe only Heinz products, but still.

This divestment is from an abundance of caution as much as the legal obligation to avoid any conflict of interest. It’s not like Kerry was forced to abstain from voting on issues related to economic disparity or the role of complex financial instruments during his tenure in the Senate. Can you imagine? A law mandating that no millionaire member of Congress could vote for any policy benefiting millionaires? We’d pass expanded health care for the middle class by a quorum vote of 6 to 2.

Anyway, this bit of showmanship is now taken care of. As you were, Washington.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

Read more:

Climate & Energy

,

Politics

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Link:  

Kerry’s new gig weighing in on Keystone means giving up Keystone-related stocks

Posted in GE, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Kerry’s new gig weighing in on Keystone means giving up Keystone-related stocks

Boeing’s efficient Dreamliner planes are especially efficient at battery fires

by um2rnxc Posted on January 18, 2013

Boeing’s efficient Dreamliner planes are especially efficient at battery fires

By Philip Bump

kentaroiemoto

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner™©® was meant to be the company’s cap-featherer, a “super-efficient airplane” that hauls hundreds of people for thousands of miles using 20 percent less fuel than older planes of the same size. The company touted its solar-powered factory that produced zero waste, promising to recycle planes once they’d been retired. The plane’s fuselage even eliminates the use of over 40,000 rivets, reducing waste and resource use.

Sometimes, Dreamliners©™ don’t come true. After five incidents in the past two weeks, Europe, Japan, and the United States have grounded all fifty 787s currently in use. While one flight reported problems with its brakes and another had a leaky fuel valve, the problems have centered around the planes’ lithium-ion batteries. Wired explains the importance of those batteries — including how they make the planes less fuel-intensive:

The 787 was first announced ten years ago this month, and has cost Boeing more than $30 billion to develop according to the Seattle Times. Much of that cost lies in the many innovative new technologies the company used to create the most fuel efficient airliner flying today.

Hailed as the airliner of the future, the 787 is mostly built from composite materials and uses an unprecedented amount of electricity to power many of the systems on board the airplane. The Dreamliner is often referred to as the first composite airliner, but it could just as easily called the most electric airliner ever. …
Most of the electricity on the Dreamliner is created by six generators, two on each engine and two on the auxiliary power unit in the tail of the airplane. Traditionally, Boeing airliners used only three. These generators provide electricity for the airplane in a similar way that an alternator provides electricity for your car. Though on the 787, a lot more electricity is generated than in the family truckster.

The Dreamliner’s electrical system generates nearly 1.5 megawatts, enough to power several hundred homes. With such high electric power demands, the 787 needs high power-dense batteries as an emergency backup source. …

Boeing estimates using electrical systems instead of [pneumatic systems] decreases the fuel burn about three percent. Overall, the 787 reduces the fuel burn about 20 percent compared to a similar size aircraft.

In theory, this makes sense. The problem arises when, in practice, the batteries end up looking like this.

NTSB

That’s from the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating a battery fire that grounded a 787 Dreamliner™™™™ in Boston. Earlier today, Businessweek looked at some of the reasons the batteries might be catching fire; an investigator in Japan suggested that voltage levels were set improperly.

It will likely be weeks before the cause of the fires is determined — meaning it will be months before 787s start flying again if there’s something that needs to be fixed. Not the rollout that Boeing anticipated, but one that provides an important lesson: If you want to introduce an electricity-dependent, fuel-sipping plane, make sure that the electrical components don’t catch fire and the fuel system doesn’t spring any leaks.

You will note that we at no point made a nightmare joke; you are welcome.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

Read more:

Business & Technology

,

Climate & Energy

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

View article: 

Boeing’s efficient Dreamliner planes are especially efficient at battery fires

Posted in GE, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Boeing’s efficient Dreamliner planes are especially efficient at battery fires