Tag Archives: year

The New Yorker’s Next Cover Features Lady Liberty with Her Light Snuffed Out

by DavidHbuuzadmk Posted on February 3, 2017

Mother Jones

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The New Yorker has revealed the cover for its upcoming issue which will feature an image of Lady Liberty with her flame extinguished, a powerful illustration that comes amid the continued fallout from President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugee resettlement and travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The image also marks a break with the magazine’s longstanding tradition of putting a version of its mascot Eustace Tilley on the cover of its anniversary issue. Françoise Mouly, the magazine’s art director, wrote in a blog post on Friday:

This year, as a response to the opening weeks of the Trump Administration, particularly the executive order on immigration, we feature John W. Tomac’s dark, unwelcoming image, “Liberty’s Flameout.”

“It used to be that the Statue of Liberty, and her shining torch, was the vision that welcomed new immigrants. And, at the same time, it was the symbol of American values,” Tomac says. “Now it seems that we are turning off the light.”

On Friday, the magazine also announced it was canceling its annual party for the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.

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The New Yorker’s Next Cover Features Lady Liberty with Her Light Snuffed Out

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Michelle Obama’s Farewell Address Will Leave You an Emotional Wreck

by fusorarsuedia Posted on January 6, 2017

Mother Jones

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Michelle Obama delivered her final remarks as first lady of the United States on Friday, telling a room of educators that the role has been “the greatest honor” of her life. It was an emotional end to a White House event honoring the 2017 School Counselor of the Year, where she also urged young people to embrace diversity and empower themselves through education.

“As I end my time in the White House, I can think of no better message to send to our young people,” Obama said. “For all the young people in this room and that are watching, that this country belongs to you. If you or your parents are immigrants, know that you are a part of proud American tradition.”

“I want our young people to know that they matter, that they belong. So don’t be afraid. Be focused, be determined, be hopeful, be empowered.”

Obama will leave the White House as one of the most popular first ladies in recent memory.

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Michelle Obama’s Farewell Address Will Leave You an Emotional Wreck

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Here’s a Scientific Concept More People Should Know: Gravity

by StacieY77so Posted on January 1, 2017

Mother Jones

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Happy New Year!

Every year, Edge.org asks scientists a question. This year it’s “What scientific term or concept ought to be more widely known?” Various worthies proposed things like neurodiversity, regression to the mean, Bayes’ theorem, matter, and—

Wait. Matter? That’s pretty widely known already, isn’t it? Sure, but Hans Halvorson doesn’t think most of us really get matter. Fair enough, and in that spirit I offer up my concept: gravity.

The truth is that I’m twisting the spirit of the question to gripe about one of my pet peeves. What I really want is a permanent ban on the infamous trampoline picture used to illustrate how Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity explains gravity. Here’s an example:

The idea here is that the trampoline illustrates the concept of warped spacetime, and it’s adequate for that purpose. But if you place a marble on the trampoline in the picture, what causes it to roll toward Earth? This illustration only makes sense if there’s some kind of secret gravity machine underneath the trampoline that pulls on the marble. This is not just oversimplified, as complex concepts often are in books for general audiences, it’s flatly wrong. But even notable scientists continue to use this metaphor in books on relativity.

So how does relativity explain gravity? The weird thing about the trampoline metaphor is not just that it’s wrong, but that the correct explanation is both easier to understand and way more interesting. All bodies in the universe are in motion: even if they’re stationary, they’re moving through time at a rate of one second per second. However, in the presence of mass (or energy), spacetime is warped very slightly and this causes motion through time to be converted into motion through space. In a slightly more formal sense, we can say that neither space nor time by themselves are constant under all conditions, but the spacetime interval is. However, in order for that interval to stay constant, motion through space has to increase (i.e., objects speed up) whenever motion through time is reduced (i.e., time slows down).

The equation that describes this includes the term c2 (the speed of light squared), which is a huge number. In the famous equation e=mc2, it explains why a tiny amount of mass produces a huge amount of energy in an atomic explosion. In general relativity, it explains why a very tiny change in motion through time gets converted into a pretty large change in motion through space.

Now, in addition to being correct, isn’t that more interesting? In the presence of mass, time slows down slightly, and this slowdown is converted into spatial motion toward the mass. That motion is gravity. And because spacetime is warped only slightly by mass, gravity is a very weak force compared to all the other forces we know about. Better than anything else, this gets across the idea that space and time aren’t truly separate entities any more than length and breadth are separate entities. They are merely components of the broader concept of spacetime.

So here’s what I think more people should know: how gravity actually works. And here’s my New Year’s resolution for other people: knock it off with the trampoline. You can find other ways of illustrating the warpage of spacetime, and it causes nothing but confusion when you (incorrectly) use it to explain gravity.

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Here’s a Scientific Concept More People Should Know: Gravity

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The Lesson of 2016: Rabid Congressional Investigations Work

by EdwinRKZmcqbanlt Posted on December 31, 2016

Mother Jones

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So what did we learn this year? That America is more susceptible to authoritarian populism than we thought? Not really. Trump’s victory was a fluke, driven by Russian hacking, James Comey, and some bad polls in a few states.

That racism is on the rise? There’s really no evidence of that.

That Democrats need to pay more attention to the white working class? Maybe, but no matter how many times people say otherwise, that really wasn’t a root cause of Hillary Clinton’s defeat.

I could go on, but instead I want to suggest something the 2016 election does teach us: persistent, obsessive investigations pay off. In the 90s, Republicans started investigating Whitewater. Even Ken Starr knew there was nothing to this after a couple of years, but he was put under pressure to keep at it, and eventually he hit some fluke paydirt: Monica Lewinsky. This had nothing to do with Whitewater, but who cares? Scandal is scandal, and it rubbed off enough on Al Gore that Republicans took back the presidency in 2000.

Fast forward to 2012. Hillary Clinton did nothing wrong related to Benghazi. That was clear pretty quickly, but Republicans kept at it. I laughed at them at the time, but they had the last laugh when they once again hit a fluke bit of paydirt: Clinton’s private email server. Clinton didn’t really do anything seriously wrong here either, but it didn’t matter. Republicans kept at it for the next year and a half, and that was enough to convince a lot of people that Clinton was, somehow, corrupt and untrustworthy. That allowed Republicans to retake the presidency.

There was lots of other stuff going on too, but this is now twice that maniacal dedication to an investigation has paid off for Republicans. It’s basically a way of hacking the media, which feels like it has no choice but to cover congressional investigations on a daily basis. It’s news, after all, no matter how you define news.

So that’s a lesson for sure. I’m just not sure what the solution is.

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The Lesson of 2016: Rabid Congressional Investigations Work

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OK, John Kasich did a fine thing for renewables.

by GertieDominique Posted on December 28, 2016

This year was chock-full of superlatives — and not the good kind — thanks to a sweltering El Niño on top of decades of climate change:

1. The longest streak of record-breaking months, from May 2015 to August 2016. It was the hottest January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September since we began collecting data 137 years ago, according to NOAA.

2. The largest coral bleaching event ever observed. As much as 93 percent of the Great Barrier Reef experienced record-breaking bleaching over the Southern Hemisphere summer, which also wreaked havoc to reefs across the Pacific in the longest-running global bleaching event ever observed.

3. The Arctic is getting really hot. Alaska saw its hottest year ever, with temperatures an average of 6 degrees F above normal. Arctic sea ice cover took a nosedive to a new low this fall, as temperatures at the North Pole reached an insane seasonal high nearly 50 degrees above average. Reminder: There is no sun in the Arctic in December.

4. The first year we spent entirely above 400 ppm. After the biggest monthly jump in atmospheric CO2 levels from February 2015 to February 2016, those levels stayed high for all of 2016.

5. The hottest year. Pending an extreme plunge in global temperatures in the next few days, 2016 will almost certainly be the warmest year humans have ever spent on the Earth’s surface.

Even if it weren’t the hottest year yet, context matters more than year-to-year comparisons. The last five years have been the hottest five on record. The last 16 years contain 15 of the hottest years on record. We are living in unprecedented times.

See?

NOAA

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OK, John Kasich did a fine thing for renewables.

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California is not playing around with climate action.

by KishaLeatherman Posted on December 27, 2016

This year was chock-full of superlatives — and not the good kind — thanks to a sweltering El Niño on top of decades of climate change:

1. The longest streak of record-breaking months, from May 2015 to August 2016. It was the hottest January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September since we began collecting data 137 years ago, according to NOAA.

2. The largest coral bleaching event ever observed. As much as 93 percent of the Great Barrier Reef experienced record-breaking bleaching over the Southern Hemisphere summer, which also wreaked havoc to reefs across the Pacific in the longest-running global bleaching event ever observed.

3. The Arctic is getting really hot. Alaska saw its hottest year ever, with temperatures an average of 6 degrees F above normal. Arctic sea ice cover took a nosedive to a new low this fall, as temperatures at the North Pole reached an insane seasonal high nearly 50 degrees above average. Reminder: There is no sun in the Arctic in December.

4. The first year we spent entirely above 400 ppm. After the biggest monthly jump in atmospheric CO2 levels from February 2015 to February 2016, those levels stayed high for all of 2016.

5. The hottest year. Pending an extreme plunge in global temperatures in the next few days, 2016 will almost certainly be the warmest year humans have ever spent on the Earth’s surface.

Even if it weren’t the hottest year yet, context matters more than year-to-year comparisons. The last five years have been the hottest five on record. The last 16 years contain 15 of the hottest years on record. We are living in unprecedented times.

See?

NOAA

From: 

California is not playing around with climate action.

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What a record-breaking year! Sigh.

by VanitaBurnette8 Posted on December 26, 2016

This year was chock-full of superlatives — and not the good kind — thanks to a sweltering El Niño on top of decades of climate change:

1. The longest streak of record-breaking months, from May 2015 to August 2016. It was the hottest January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September since we began collecting data 137 years ago, according to NOAA.

2. The largest coral bleaching event ever observed. As much as 93 percent of the Great Barrier Reef experienced record-breaking bleaching over the Southern Hemisphere summer, which also wreaked havoc to reefs across the Pacific in the longest-running global bleaching event ever observed.

3. The Arctic is getting really hot. Alaska saw its hottest year ever, with temperatures an average of 6 degrees F above normal. Arctic sea ice cover took a nosedive to a new low this fall, as temperatures at the North Pole reached an insane seasonal high nearly 50 degrees above average. Reminder: There is no sun in the Arctic in December.

4. The first year we spent entirely above 400 ppm. After the biggest monthly jump in atmospheric CO2 levels from February 2015 to February 2016, those levels stayed high for all of 2016.

5. The hottest year. Pending an extreme plunge in global temperatures in the next few days, 2016 will almost certainly be the warmest year humans have ever spent on the Earth’s surface.

Even if it weren’t the hottest year yet, context matters more than year-to-year comparisons. The last five years have been the hottest five on record. The last 16 years contain 15 of the hottest years on record. We are living in unprecedented times.

See?

NOAA

Credit:  

What a record-breaking year! Sigh.

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10 Crazy Facts About Holiday Waste

by CleoTbh54677 Posted on December 16, 2016

The sustainability-minded junk removal service,Junk King, created an infographic detailing the embarrassing excess of waste we Americans conjure up over the holidays. We are terrible! Although really it comes as little surprise to anyone who has ever watched footage of the national bloodsport of competitive shopping known as Black Friday.

We love the holiday junk and all its trappings and wrappings. How much? Well put it this way: Between Thanksgiving and January 1, we gift the landfills with an additional one million tons of waste per week. (Note: I don’t normally condone making nouns into verbs, as in gifting, but find it oddly soothing when describing something that rankles me so.)

Anyway, back to the facts, graphic-style:

Credit: Junk King

Junk King also came up with these tips to help combat the waste many of which you may have heard before (some things can’t be mentioned enough):

Wrap creatively:Wrapping paper and gift bags arent the only way to wrap presents. Try using a different material that you already have around your house. Newspaper, sheet music, and old maps are fun choices and are much more unique than commercial wrapping paper. You could also use scarves, t-shirts, or other fabric to wrap gifts. That way, the wrapping could be a gift as well!

Buy a potted tree:Every year, nearly 33 million live trees are sold across North America. Considering how much paper that we waste, saving a tree is the least that we can do. Buy a potted tree this year instead of cutting one down. This way, after the holidays are over and its time to take down the decorations, you can plant the tree in your own backyard.

Regift:Around 35% of Americans have an unopened or unused gift collecting dust somewhere. Instead of taking up valuable space or throwing it away, find it a new home. If you dont know of anyone who would like the gift, take it to a donation center. During the holidays, there are plenty of organizations collecting gifts for those who are less fortunate.

Give sustainably:There are a number of small steps that you can take to make your gift a little bit more environmentally friendly. For example, if youre giving a battery-powered gift, consider gifting a reusable battery charger along with it! If youre giving someone something made from paper, like a journal, try to find one thats made from recycled paper. Buying a handmade gift from a local shop or online store, or even making a gift yourself, can also help reduce waste, as these products are not mass-produced.

Go digital:About 2.6 billion cards are given to people every year. That amounts to just about 50,000 cubic yards of paper — enough to fill a football field 10 stories high! And no matter how sentimental they may be, they usually end up stashed away in a box or thrown away. Instead of paying for overpriced, wasteful cardstock, send an electronic greeting card for free!

Donate your leftovers:Holiday meals are usually big ordeals, and its always better to have too much than too little, but most of the time the leftovers are too much to handle. Instead of wasting perfectly good food, consider bringing your leftovers to a local homeless shelter. There are plenty of people who go hungry during the holidays, and your donation could make a world of difference to someone in need.

Written by Melissa Breyer. This post originally appeared on TreeHugger.

Photo Credit: Jeff Egnaczyk/Flickr

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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10 Crazy Facts About Holiday Waste

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Portland says no way to new fossil fuel infrastructure.

by MarionAwe7 Posted on December 15, 2016

Oregon’s largest city became the first in the nation to ban the building of major fossil fuel terminals and the expansion of existing ones after a unanimous city council vote on Wednesday.

The city council used zoning codes to enact the ban, which will go into effect in January, and will prevent the construction of any new terminals for transporting or storing coal, methanol, natural gas, and oil. Other West Coast cities made similar moves earlier this year: Vancouver, Washington, banned new oil terminals and Oakland, California, banned coal terminals.

In the wake of the Trump election, it’s clear that the federal government won’t be taking climate action, so environmentalists are increasingly looking to cities to adopt climate change–fighting policies — and those cities might want to follow Portland’s lead.

“What we’ve done in Portland is replicable now in other cities,” Portland Mayor Charlie Hales told InsideClimate News. “Everybody has a zoning code.”

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also encouraging cities to take action. “Mayors and local leaders around the country are determined to keep pushing ahead on climate change,” he wrote recently, “because it is in their interest to do so.” It’s also in all of ours.

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Portland says no way to new fossil fuel infrastructure.

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Pipeline spills 176,000 gallons 150 miles from Standing Rock.

by AltonMast09011 Posted on December 13, 2016

Nearly 684 institutions and 60,000 people representing $5 trillion globally have committed to divestment from fossil fuels in the last 15 months, according to a report out today from Arabella Advisors, a B-corporation that focuses on “effective philanthropy.”

Trump’s election could, if anything, have an unintended effect on environmental activists’ divestment campaign. What began largely as a grassroots effort on college campuses has grown into a global movement that’s reached South Africa, Japan, and Australia in the year since the Paris climate conference.

The difference today is that Arabella finds divestment is gaining ground for more than just moral reasons: “Now, diverse legal scholars, businesses, and investors are warning that fiduciaries who fail to consider climate change risks in their investment analyses and decisions may be at risk of breaching their legal duty as fiduciaries.”

Trump’s recent selection of a climate-denying cabinet further demonstrates most environmental progress in the next few years will be locally driven.

Lindsay Meiman of the activist group 350.org told Grist that divestment has provided “a really powerful on-ramp” to climate activism. “In the face of intensifying climate impacts, and regressive and anti-climate governments like the Trump administration, it’s more critical than ever that our institutions — especially at the local level — step up to break free from fossil fuel companies,” added 350’s May Boeve.

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Pipeline spills 176,000 gallons 150 miles from Standing Rock.

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