Tag Archives: unknown

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics – Carlo Rovelli

by Myrna Posted on September 18, 2016

READ GREEN WITH E-BOOKS

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Carlo Rovelli

Genre: Physics

Price: $9.99

Publish Date: March 1, 2016

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

Seller: Penguin Group (USA) Inc.


Look out for Carlo Rovelli's next book, Reality Is Not What It Seems. Instant New York Times Bestseller “Clear, elegant…a whirlwind tour of some of the biggest ideas in physics.” — The New York Times Book Review “A startling and illustrative distillation of centuries of science.”— The Economist   “Lean, lucid and enchanting.”— New Scientist   All the beauty of modern physics in seven short and enlightening lessons   This playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics briskly explains Einstein's general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, and the role humans play in this weird and wonderful world. Carlo Rovelli, a renowned theoretical physicist, is a delightfully poetic and philosophical scientific guide. He takes us to the frontiers of our knowledge: to the most minute reaches of the fabric of space, back to the origins of the cosmos, and into the workings of our minds. The book celebrates the joy of discovery.  “Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world,” Rovelli writes. “And it’s breathtaking.” From the Hardcover edition.

Visit link: 

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics – Carlo Rovelli

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, GE, LAI, ONA, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Seven Brief Lessons on Physics – Carlo Rovelli

Comedian W. Kamau Bell Hung Out With the Ku Klux Klan. Here’s Why.

by Rhys7064baa Posted on April 28, 2016

Mother Jones

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

Comedian W. Kamau Bell isn’t afraid of being uncomfortable. So for the first episode of his new CNN show, United Shades of America, Bell took a trip to Arkansas—to meet with the Ku Klux Klan.

The docuseries, which premiered Sunday night, follows the self-described sociopolitical comedian’s adventures into unexpected places—from a gated retirement community in Florida to California’s notorious San Quentin prison—and is in some ways reminiscent of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. Except, as the comedian told Fresh Air host Terry Gross on April 14, “Instead of sampling the food, I would sample the racism or the culture.”

“My curiosity led my fear,” Bell told Gross. “I was more curious than I was afraid until I got there, and then the fear was like, ‘Hello, why don’t I come in?’ The fear sort of crept in.” You can check out the rest of Bell’s Fresh Air interview here, and watch a clip from the show above.

Originally from:  

Comedian W. Kamau Bell Hung Out With the Ku Klux Klan. Here’s Why.

Posted in Anchor, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Comedian W. Kamau Bell Hung Out With the Ku Klux Klan. Here’s Why.

California Dives Into the Unknown With $15 Minimum Wage

by NellEUHzum Posted on March 28, 2016

Mother Jones

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

San Francisco and Los Angeles have already passed laws raising their minimum wages to $15 per hour. Now, in a victory for labor activists who were getting ready to put a $15 minimum wage on the ballot, the state is getting ready to follow suit:

According to a document obtained by The Times, the negotiated deal would boost California’s statewide minimum wage from $10 an hour to $10.50 on Jan. 1, 2017, with a 50-cent increase in 2018 and then $1-per-year increases through 2022. Businesses with fewer than 25 employees would have an extra year to comply, delaying their workers receiving a $15 hourly wage until 2023.

Future statewide minimum wage increases would be linked to inflation, but a governor would have the power to temporarily block some of the initial increases in the event of an economic downturn.

This would genuinely be terra incognita. The chart on the right shows the California minimum wage over the past 40 years, adjusted for inflation. An increase to $11 per hour in 2018 would return the state to slightly above its historical high point. Beyond that, however, the minimum wage goes far higher than it’s ever been.

What effect will that have, especially in lower-wage areas outside the big cities? There’s no telling. It won’t be Armageddon, but it might not be entirely benign either. Small increases in the minimum wage seem to have little or no effect on employment, but this increase isn’t small, and it unquestionably gets us beyond merely catching up with past erosion in the minimum wage. A statewide minimum of $15 would be a brand new thing.

Kansas recently tried out full-bore right-wing economics, and it’s pretty much been a disaster. Now liberals are getting their chance in California. Come back in a decade and we’ll find out if left-wing economics does any better.

Continue reading: 

California Dives Into the Unknown With $15 Minimum Wage

Posted in alternative energy, FF, GE, LG, ONA, solar, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on California Dives Into the Unknown With $15 Minimum Wage

Thanksgiving Films, Ranked

by PearleneKfe Posted on November 26, 2014

Mother Jones

Ho ho ho and merry Thanksgiving! Here is a ranking of twenty Thanksgiving films. What is a “Thanksgiving film”? For the purposes of this post it is a film that is both a) on Wikipedia’s list, and b) one I, Ben Dreyfuss, immediately recall seeing and have an opinion about.

1. Hannah and Her Sisters

2. Rocky

3. Scent of a Woman

4. Rocky II

5. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

6. Home for the Holidays

7. Avalon

8. The Ice Storm

9. The Morning After

10. For Your Consideration

11. Grumpy Old Men

12. Addams Family Values

13. Funny People

14. Spider-Man

15. The Object of My affection

16. The Other Sister

17. Bean

18. Son in Law

18. Tower Heist

19. Unknown

20. Jack and Jill

Disclosure: I haven’t actually seen Jack and Jill but I’m pretty confident it’s the worst. Also, The Last Waltz was not included in this ranking because though it is on the Wikipedia list of Thanksgiving films, it shouldn’t be. Still pretty good though!

Originally from:

Thanksgiving Films, Ranked

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, Pines, PUR, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Thanksgiving Films, Ranked

ExxonMobil spills chemicals in Louisiana while cleaning spilled oil in Arkansas

by ker3roa Posted on April 5, 2013

ExxonMobil spills chemicals in Louisiana while cleaning spilled oil in Arkansas

By John Upton

skooksie

The Chalmette refinery.

Even as ExxonMobil was mopping up after its disgusting tar-sands oil spill in Arkansas on Wednesday, it spilled an unknown amount of unknown chemicals — possibly hydrogen sulfide and cancer-causing benzene — during an accident at a riverfront refinery in Louisiana.

The Chalmette refinery chemical spill might have gone unnoticed, except that it stank out the city of New Orleans and several nearby parishes, leading to state and federal investigations (we told you about that mysterious odor yesterday). Frankly, ExxonMobil’s track record here sucks: The same refinery spilled 360 barels of crude oil in January.

From The Times-Picayune:

ExxonMobil first reported releasing 100 pounds of hydrogen sulfide and 10 pounds of benzene, a volatile organic carbon compound known to cause cancer, because those amounts are the minimum required for reporting, [Coast Guard Petty Officer Jason] Screws said. But the company has since said it is unsure exactly what chemicals were involved or how much may have been released, he said.

The spill occurred as a result of a break in a pipeline connecting a drum used to store “liquid flare condensate,” with a flare on the refinery site, Screws said. He said the company measured 160 parts per million of hydrogen sulfide and 2 parts per million of benzene in the air at the site of the spill, but has not seen similar readings at the plant’s fence line or in the neighboring community.

Residents from the region inhaled chemicals caused by the spill for more than a day, leading to reports of breathing difficulties and other ailments. But the Coast Guard rushed to soothe folks, assuring them not to worry their chemical-infused heads about it. From Reuters:

“We haven’t told the refinery to shut down because we haven’t any cause for a shutdown,” [Lieutenant Lily] Zeteza said. “We’ve no indication that this is dangerous.”

Well, if you say so.

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie 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

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

View post – 

ExxonMobil spills chemicals in Louisiana while cleaning spilled oil in Arkansas

Posted in ALPHA, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, Mop, ONA, organic, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on ExxonMobil spills chemicals in Louisiana while cleaning spilled oil in Arkansas

There are even more dead pigs in a Chinese river

by Hadwin Partize Posted on March 25, 2013

There are even more dead pigs in a Chinese river

By Susie Cagle

Reuters

In the week and a half since we first brought you the all-important details on those dead pigs filling the Huangpu River in China, officials have raised the body count to more than 16,000.

On Sunday, the government said the pulling-dead-pigs-out-of-the-water operation was “basically finished.” Chinese official media reports that some of the dead animals were traced by their ear tags to pig farms in Shaoxing, and their owners have been prosecuted. Farmers in Shaoxing have recently been charged with selling meat from diseased animals.

The New York Times points out the silver lining of the porcine flotilla: At least the diseased pigs aren’t ending up on dinner plates. As the government cracks down on contaminated meat, the only place to put them is in the river. Three cheers for food safety!

“Dead pigs have always ended up in Shanghai. This time they just went there by river, instead of by truck,” a Shaoxing pig farmer told The Guardian.

A Zhejiang environmental protection report in 2011 found that 7.7 million pigs were being farmed in Shaoxing. On average 2% to 4% will die, which means between 150,000 and 300,000 corpses need to be disposed of.

“If dumped, they cause bacterial and viral pollution, as well as 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of chemical oxygen demand,” the report said.

But, still, there are no provisions for proper disposal in place.

One big story here seems to be: Oh my god China is farming a lot of pigs. But heck, so are we. Tom Philpott at Mother Jones makes the case that U.S. factory farming of pigs and other animals is supergross too. Epic loads of pig shit contaminate our lands and waterways, even though the imagery is not quite as immediately horrifying.

And now, in the Sichuan province in central China, there’s a new, slightly different problem: The Nanhe River is clogged with about 1,000 dead ducks of unknown origin.

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

Twitter

.

Read more:

Food

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Read original article: 

There are even more dead pigs in a Chinese river

Posted in ALPHA, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, ONA, organic, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on There are even more dead pigs in a Chinese river