Blackbird

Can't breathe, drink or eat loot

2009-03-15T11:05:00.001-04:00

Trouble understanding the bailout-justifying financial jargon? Take it from this MBA. It's all BS. The rich are looting a sinking ship

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The light at the end is an empty feed tube

2009-03-11T21:38:00.001-04:00

“Every single member of Republican leadership has earmarks in this bill,” McCaskill said. “Every single one of these people rejected the stimulus … because supposedly they were so upset about wasteful spending.” (stltoday.com)

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Claw back those bonuses

2009-03-05T12:06:00.001-05:00

On CNN Fareed Zakaria interviewed 2 Nobel Laureates and another experts on the Economy. The latter, Jeffrey Sachs, who 25 years ago became world famous for telling countries how to get out of economic crises, made the following observation:

"People don’t have health care. They can’t take care of their children. We’ve got hunger in this country."

"So, there’s a hidden face, because we don’t really talk about these things that affect tens of millions of people, and the numbers are now rising dramatically."

"So, I think we want to be civilized about this. What Joe has said about the egregious transfers to the wealthy has greatly exacerbated this. And the nerve of John Thain and others to take bonuses after they’ve broken the world economy, that’s literally scandal."

"We’ve got to go back and claw back those bonuses, because that’s tens of billions of dollars that went on taxpayer bucks — or from shareholders, in fact, because it wasn’t real income. It was taken straight out of the bottom line. And that’s a shame for our society when people are desperately trying to make ends meet right now."

Previously, a commentator had noted to the effect, "Tough, those are legal contracts." While the rich had an administration that so trashed the Constitution and still own a Congress that demonstrate so little regard for law, it is interesting that they still put such trust in legal contracts.

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BBC E-mail: 'I do everything... the bees still die'

2009-03-05T10:10:00.001-05:00

jcwinnie saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you
should see it.

** 'I do everything... the bees still die' **
BBC World Service science reporter Matt McGrath meets a California beekeeper whose livelihood is under threat

** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail

** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

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Check out this post on Red, Green, and Blue

2009-03-05T08:49:00.001-05:00

Greetings--

Jonathan thinks this will be of interest to you:

Energy Efficiency Tax Credits from the Stimulus Package

The stimulus package changed some of the rules for tax credits for energy efficiency. Many of these changes should make energy efficiency expenditures a no-brainer for small businesses and homeowners.

http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/03/04/energy-efficiency-tax-credits-from-the-stimulus-package/

Enjoy.

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Australia’s Black Saturday

2009-03-02T08:43:00.001-05:00

The extreme fire in Australia attributed to Global Boiling.

Global Boiling: Australia’s Black Saturday Of Extreme Fire

via Wonk Room by Guest on 3/1/09

Our guest blogger is Erica Newman, research associate at the College of Natural Resources and Center for Fire Research and Outreach at the University of California, Berkeley.

Even in Australia, where people have learned to live with large wildfires, February’s “Black Saturday” fires in Victoria blew away all expectations. Of the hundreds that died, those who stayed had no time to prepare, and many who fled were overtaken by the fast-spreading flames and died in their cars. Multiple days of above 100-degree Fahrenheit temperatures, extremely low relative humidity and 100 mile per hour winds resulted in an unstoppable spread of the flames, 100-200 foot flame lengths, and fire intensity unlike anything ever before recorded anywhere on the planet.

Wildfire expert Max Moritz, a professor at the College of Natural Resources and Center for Fire Research and Outreach at the University of California, Berkeley, explains these extreme conditions raise new questions:

Although we won’t know many of the details until an assessment of the recent Australian fires is completed, the weather conditions and rates of fire spread we’re hearing about are extreme. It highlights a special case for both agencies and homeowners, and we have a lot to learn from each other about what does and does not work under weather conditions that are this bad.

So what caused this colossal inferno? In pointing to arson as the cause of these fires, we miss the overall significance of the fire dynamics that gave rise to this event. While arson is a lamentable and criminal source of ignition, with relative humidity and fuel moisture at below four percent, a lit cigarette or a spark thrown off by a moving vehicle could have caused similar wildland fires. Where there are people, there are always sources of ignition — what fire scientists call the “human-ignition component.” The larger issue at stake here is what gave rise to such extreme fire weather.

Australian fire scientists say that this area of Victoria has experienced between five and 30 years of drought (depending on if you are counting by successive years or overall water balances), the worst in perhaps 1000 years. Some, perhaps rightly, blame global climate change for what is known as the “Big Dry.” Diminishing rainfall, increased temperatures, and increased atmospheric instability all lead to higher fire danger.

An open question for scientists is whether or not with global climate change, we are experiencing “novel ecosystems” with entirely new combinations of environmental conditions. Is Australia really experiencing a “drought,” which is less-than-normal rainfall, or is there a new normal? Should Australia listen to its firefighters and be preparing for a permanently drier future with much more intense fire dynamics?

Australia has a history of successful fire management. Because of the inevitability of fire in Australia’s fire-evolved ecosystems, people have learned to expect and prepare for fires in a highly efficient, centralized manner. The “Prepare, Stay and Defend, or Leave Early” policies have long protected the lives of both citizens and firefighters, and reduced damage to homes and other buildings.

In a paper out this week in Environmental Research Letters, four Australian scientists and three scientists from California including Moritz, examine the policies and recommendations that both countries have in place for dealing with wildland fire on the urban interface.

In the “prepare, stay and defend” approach, property-owners are educated in fire suppression, such as putting out spot-fires, having buckets of water on hand, filling house gutters with water, creating a “defensible space,” and so on. People who chose to stay with their homes are also encouraged to keep protective Nomex clothing and firefighting implements on hand. Those who follow the “leave early” strategy do so when fire is reported for their area to give the wildfire a wide berth.

The unusual combination of extreme fire weather and the sudden onset of fire created conditions in which neither strategy worked. Leaving early works only if there is time to send out a warning. Those who would “prepare, stay, and defend” would have been reducing fuel loads in their yards well before this event, but it is unclear whether landscape-scale fuel treatments or even lowering fuel loads in the immediate vicinity of structures lowers fire hazard in wind-driven events, such as this one.

It will be up to Australian fire scientists and policy analysts to decide if their fire strategies need review. It the face of so primal a force as fire and on this scale, fighting the fires themselves is impossible, but perhaps one solution–fighting global climate change–is not.

Update The state of Victoria has "declared a total ban on open fires tomorrow as high temperatures and strong winds are forecast to return this week."

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Nine out of 10 firms ignoring supply chain carbon footprint

2009-03-01T13:16:00.001-05:00

BAUAAAE, say the sheep, Business As Usual And Abahhhhv All Else

Nine out of 10 firms ignoring supply chain carbon footprint

via Light Bulbs» Jordan Increasing Efforts to Produce Oil from Oil Shale by ecoguy on 2/27/09

BusinessGreen.com staff, BusinessGreen, Friday 27 February 2009 at 00:15:00

Accenture survey finds that while supply chain professionals are looking to cut emissions, they do not know where best to start

Just 10 per cent of companies are tracking the carbon footprint of their supply chains, according to a major new study from consultancy Accenture....

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The Pickens, You Say

2009-02-28T10:49:00.001-05:00

Our dependence on oil from the Middle East, Africa and Venezuela jeopardizes our national security and the dominance of oil interests in our government compromises our national integrity. The next time you hear it said that wind, solar, geothermal and other clean energy exemplify "pie in the sky" thinking, ask yourself if the voices of 70% of Americans who want such energy policy change are being heeded.

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Speaking of Fraud

2009-02-27T08:31:00.001-05:00

The chance of the SEC being indicted for criminal wrongodoing ranks right down there with the possible indictment of Bush / Cheney. In the news, another Stanford employee told SEC it was a Ponzi scheme…in 2003

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Bang dat Efficiency Drum, Congress Critters, Sell dem CFLs

2009-02-25T09:22:00.001-05:00

Via Peak Energy, Ross Gittins tells the sad truth to Sydney Morning Herald readers about their efforts to reduce personal carbon emissions.

So when you and I voluntarily cut back our emissions we don't reduce the nation's total emissions, we just make more room for other, industrial polluters - say, the aluminium, steel or cement industries - to increase their emissions.

If you didn't know that, you could be forgiven. It seems you have a lot of mates. In a poll of 1000 people conducted for the Australia Institute, respondents were asked what effect it would have on Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions "if every household in Australia reduced their electricity use in the future". About 8 per cent weren't sure, but 78 per cent said our total emissions would go down. Only 13 per cent got the right answer, that total emissions would stay the same.

That's a seriously misinformed electorate - which is why I'm writing this piece. It gives me no joy to further complicate the life of an embattled Government that, in its own heavily compromised way, is trying to do something concrete to reduce climate change.

The pollies shouldn't be under any doubt that people want to be able to do their bit. More than 87 per cent of respondents agree that "households and individuals should be able to contribute to reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions". Unfortunately, the Government hasn't only failed to ensure people understand the workings of the scheme it's seeking to introduce, it hasn't resisted the temptation to actively mislead people.

The sad truth prevails elsewhere, 'Merika. When Amory Lovins advises efficiency, his recommendations are most often industrial. So, is it the job of governments everywhere to lie to the people governed, and, if so, do we have to do such a good job of it?

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Seeking More Federal Money, GM and Chrysler Promise Greener Vehicles

2009-02-25T07:53:00.001-05:00

Promises, promises, promises

Seeking More Federal Money, GM and Chrysler Promise Greener Vehicles

via Light Bulbs» Honda Civic Hybrid To Go Off Showrooms in India by ecoguy on 2/25/09

Both General Motors and Chrysler made green vehicles a key part of their respective restructuring plan presented to federal officials this week, as the struggling U.S. car makers again asked for billions more in taxpayer funding. Chrysler, which is requesting another $5 billion on top of the $4 billion it received ...

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Four Million Americans Lost Health Insurance Since Recession Began

2009-02-25T07:18:00.001-05:00

"as many as 14,000 people could be losing their health coverage every day"

Four Million Americans Lost Health Insurance Since Recession Began

via Truthout - All Articles on 2/24/09

An estimated 4 million Americans have lost their health insurance since the recession began, and as many as 14,000 people could be losing their health coverage every day, according to a report by liberal think tank Center for American Progress' Action Fund.

The report also claims at least half of the 4 million who lost their insurance coverage still are uninsured. Before the recession started there were an estimated 46 million Americans without health insurance.

The recent rocky economic climate, however, has likely increased the number of uninsured at the rate of 14,000 a day, according to the center.

The report uses estimates from Urban Institute researchers that a one percentage point rise in the national unemployment rate causes 2.4 million people to lose employer-sponsored health coverage. Of those people, 1 million rely on Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program and 1.1 million end up uninsured.

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TARP Inspector General: Don’t Let TARP Fall Victim To Fraud Like Katrina And...

2009-02-25T07:16:00.001-05:00

But, Barofsky, most of the Congress critters complicit with the previous frauds are still in office. "An outlay of so much money in such a short period of time will inevitably draw those seeking to profit criminally," makes it seem like outsiders when it is an inside job.

TARP Inspector General: Don’t Let TARP Fall Victim To Fraud Like Katrina And Iraq

via Wonk Room by Pat G. on 2/24/09

Today, the House Financial Services subcommittee on oversight and investigations held a hearing to review accountability and transparency in the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). During his testimony, Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General of the program, warned that if the Treasury Department is not “vigilant,” TARP could fall victim to fraud, much like the federal response to Hurricane Katrina or Iraq’s reconstruction:

History teaches us that an outlay of so much money in such a short period of time will inevitably draw those seeking to profit criminally. Hurricane relief, Iraq reconstruction, and the savings and loan bailout serve as important and difficult lessons. If, by percentage terms, some of the estimates of fraud in those programs apply to the TARP programs, we are looking at the potential exposure of tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money lost to fraud. We must be vigilant.

This is a wise bit of advice, as billions were wasted during both the Katrina and Iraq reconstruction debacles. At the same hearing, Gene Dodaro of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that Treasury is taking steps to improve accountability “consistent with our recommendations,” but that “additional action is needed to better ensure that all participating institutions are accountable for their use of program funds.”

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What War Crimes in the Middle of Our Living Room?

2009-02-24T09:52:00.001-05:00

"It is still difficult for me to believe that I was abducted, hauled from one country to the next, and tortured in medieval ways - all orchestrated by the United States government," Binyam Mohamed 30 Via truthout

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jcwinnie has sent you a video - Frozen Heat: a global warming threat from the Arctic

2009-02-22T17:42:00.001-05:00

Frozen Heat: a global warming threat from the Arctic

"Experts are only beginning to understand how disastrous" Ka-Ka, La-la reporter Margot Roosevelt. That is like saying, "Oh, sorry, for destroying life on the planet as we know it, we didn't know it would be this bad." Excuse me, what about all the censorship of science, financing of counter claims, et cetera. Ka-ka, Ka-ka, Ka-ka

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GM files restructuring plan

2009-02-17T20:28:00.001-05:00

General Motors wants $16.6B more for now. You know Clown Lutz is retiring and they want to do a decent bash.

I do believe talk the talk GM and say anything Chrysler will be back for even more as long as it is shoveled into the trough.

GM files restructuring plan, includes eco-friendly cars, asks for up to $16.6 billion more money

via AutoblogGreen by Jeremy Korzeniewski on 2/17/09

Click above for a high res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt

Shortly after Chrysler submitted its updated restructuring plan to Congress, General Motors followed suit with its own document that is supposed to detail a return to sustainable profitability within the next 24 months. As you'd expect, fuel efficiency plays a major part of GM's future goals, with the automaker saying that "All major introductions in 2009-2014 are high-mileage cars and crossovers."

Moving forward, GM will focus on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, with Pontiac serving as a "niche product" and Saab and HUMMER leaving the fold entirely. As far as future product is concerned, the Chevy Volt figures prominently in GM's plans and is slated for a 2010 release. By 2014, GM says its cars will average 38.6 miles per gallon and its trucks will average 27.6 mpg, improvements of 7.6 and 3.6 mpg respectively. Like Chrysler, GM promises to comply with federal fuel economy mandates but makes no mention of California's request for its own emissions standards.

None of this matters at all if GM isn't able to keep its factories humming, and GM says that an additional $16.6 billion in loans will be necessary to ensure survival, bringing the total amount of requested as a revolving line of credit to $30 billion. We've pasted the full press release after the break, but there's plenty more in the official and highly detailed 117-page document, which can be downloaded in its entirety as a PDF file here. Click here for Autoblog's coverage.

Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt

[Source: GM]

Continue reading GM files restructuring plan, includes eco-friendly cars, asks for up to $16.6 billion more money

Filed under: GM, Legislation and Policy, USA

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The Hidden Agenda behind Tax Cuts

2009-02-17T20:08:00.001-05:00

It's time to tell the truth about tax cuts. This phrase dominates political discourse and is coughed out every time a conservative public figure opens his mouth. It is treated like the basis of sound reasoning, yet no one points out what should be obvious - that "tax relief" and "tax cuts" are just code words for destroying the capacity of government to serve the public.

from Truthout

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Obama Pledges to Regulate CO2 from Coal Plants

2009-02-17T19:02:00.001-05:00

From from It's Getting Hot In Here by Jesse Jenkins:

President Barack Obama's Environmental Protection Agency pledged to regulate global warming pollution from coal-fired power plants today, granting a petition filed by the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations. The decision casts an almost palpable shadow of doubt over the fate of roughly 100 proposed coal plants awaiting permits throughout the United States

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Once upon a time there was a planet called Earth and a man called James Hansen

2009-02-16T14:10:00.001-05:00

A year ago, I wrote to Gordon Brown asking him to place a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in Britain. I have asked the same of Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd and other leaders. The reason is this - coal is the single greatest threat to civilisation and all life on our planet.

The climate is nearing tipping points. Changes are beginning to appear and there is a potential for explosive changes, effects that would be irreversible, if we do not rapidly slow fossil-fuel emissions over the next few decades. As Arctic sea ice melts, the darker ocean absorbs more sunlight and speeds melting. As the tundra melts, methane, a strong greenhouse gas, is released, causing more warming. As species are exterminated by shifting climate zones, ecosystems can collapse, destroying more species.

The public, buffeted by weather fluctuations and economic turmoil, has little time to analyse decadal changes. How can people be expected to evaluate and filter out advice emanating from those pushing special interests? How can people distinguish between top-notch science and pseudo-science?

Those who lead us have no excuse - they are elected to guide, to protect the public and its best interests. They have at their disposal the best scientific organisations in the world, such as the Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences. Only in the past few years did the science crystallise, revealing the urgency. Our planet is in peril. If we do not change course, we'll hand our children a situation that is out of their control. One ecological collapse will lead to another, in amplifying feedbacks.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air has already risen to a dangerous level. The pre-industrial carbon dioxide amount was 280 parts per million (ppm). Humans, by burning coal, oil and gas, have increased this to 385 ppm; it continues to grow by about 2 ppm per year.

Earth, with its four-kilometre-deep oceans, responds only slowly to changes of carbon dioxide. So the climate will continue to change, even if we make maximum effort to slow the growth of carbon dioxide. Arctic sea ice will melt away in the summer season within the next few decades. Mountain glaciers, providing fresh water for rivers that supply hundreds of millions of people, will disappear - practically all of the glaciers could be gone within 50 years - if carbon dioxide continues to increase at current rates. Coral reefs, harbouring a quarter of ocean species, are threatened.

The greatest danger hanging over our children and grandchildren is initiation of changes that will be irreversible on any time scale that humans can imagine. If coastal ice shelves buttressing the west Antarctic ice sheet continue to disintegrate, the sheet could disgorge into the ocean, raising sea levels by several metres in a century. Such rates of sea level change have occurred many times in Earth's history in response to global warming rates no higher than those of the past 30 years. Almost half of the world's great cities are located on coastlines.

The most threatening change, from my perspective, is extermination of species. Several times in Earth's history, rapid global warming occurred, apparently spurred by amplifying feedbacks. In each case, more than half of plant and animal species became extinct. New species came into being over tens and hundreds of thousands of years. But these are time scales and generations that we cannot imagine. If we drive our fellow species to extinction, we will leave a far more desolate planet for our descendants than the world we inherited from our elders.

Clearly, if we burn all fossil fuels, we will destroy the planet we know. Carbon dioxide would increase to 500 ppm or more. We would set the planet on a course to the ice-free state, with sea level 75 metres higher. Climatic disasters would occur continually. The tragedy of the situation, if we do not wake up in time, is that the changes that must be made to stabilise the atmosphere and climate make sense for other reasons. They would produce a healthier atmosphere, improved agricultural productivity, clean water and an ocean providing fish that are safe to eat.

Fossil-fuel reservoirs will dictate the actions needed to solve the problem. Oil, of which half the readily accessible reserves have already been burnt, is used in vehicles, so it's impractical to capture the carbon dioxide. This is likely to drive carbon dioxide levels to at least 400 ppm. But if we cut off the largest source of carbon dioxide - coal - it will be practical to bring carbon dioxide back to 350 ppm, lower still if we improve agricultural and forestry practices, increasing carbon storage in trees and soil.

Coal is not only the largest fossil fuel reservoir of carbon dioxide, it is the dirtiest fuel. Coal is polluting the world's oceans and streams with mercury, arsenic and other dangerous chemicals. The dirtiest trick that governments play on their citizens is the pretence that they are working on "clean coal" or that they will build power plants that are "capture-ready" in case technology is ever developed to capture all pollutants.

The trains carrying coal to power plants are death trains. Coal-fired power plants are factories of death. When I testified against the proposed Kingsnorth power plant, I estimated that in its lifetime it would be responsible for the extermination of about 400 species - its proportionate contribution to the number that would be committed to extinction if carbon dioxide rose another 100 ppm.

The German and Australian governments pretend to be green. When I show German officials the evidence that the coal source must be cut off, they say they will tighten the "carbon cap". But a cap only slows the use of a fuel - it does not leave it in the ground. When I point out that their new coal plants require that they convince Russia to leave its oil in the ground, they are silent. The Australian government was elected on a platform of solving the climate problem, but then, with the help of industry, it set emission targets so high as to guarantee untold disasters for the young, let alone the unborn. These governments are not green. They are black - coal black.

The three countries most responsible, per capita, for filling the air with carbon dioxide from fossil fuels are the UK, the US and Germany, in that order. Politicians here have asked me why am I speaking to them. Surely the US must lead? But coal interests have great power in the US; the essential moratorium and phase-out of coal requires a growing public demand and a political will yet to be demonstrated.

The Prime Minister should not underestimate his potential to transform the situation. And he must not pretend to be ignorant of the consequences of continuing to burn coal or take refuge in a "carbon cap" or some "target" for future emission reductions. My message to Gordon Brown is that young people are beginning to understand the situation. They want to know: will you join their side? Remember that history, and your children, will judge you.

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What to do after attending the latest show from Washington Theater?

2009-02-16T10:14:00.001-05:00

Forget "growth," forget "jobs," forget "financial stability." What should their realistic new objectives be? Well, here they are: food, shelter, transportation, and security. Dimitri Orlov, Social Collapse Best Practices

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Infrastructure is a Persistent Market Failure, as is Scientific Research, Meanwhile There is faith in the Technological Quick Fix

2009-02-15T12:01:00.001-05:00

Michael Hoexter discusses how there are multiple ongoing market failures that have a decisive impact on climate policy

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A Defining Moment

2009-02-14T11:58:00.001-05:00

Joseph Romm sees Obama keeping his promise to jumpstart clean energy, economy; and, he warns that we also witnessed that "the conservative movement threw their entire weight behind humanity’s self-destruction."

"Years from now ...this moment may well be remembered as the time that progressives, led by Obama, began the transition to a sustainable economy built around green jobs."

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We are lying to you 26% less, Merika, aren't you proud of us?

2009-02-14T02:37:00.001-05:00

According to Wonk Room, from the Conference Report, "clean coal" funding is now $3.4 billion, down from the $4.6 billion recommended by the Senate.

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City of Seattle takes request

2009-02-12T14:37:00.001-05:00

Google Reader (1000+)

While checking this rack out I also spotted this sticker. Apparently you can call the Seattle Department of Transportation and have a high quality custom-made bike rack installed.

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BAUAAAE, Peanut Executive Style

2009-02-12T09:23:00.001-05:00

Safety Not A Concern For Peanut Executives, Just Money: Hungry For Change | TakePart Social Action Network™

Safety Not A Concern For Peanut Executives, Just Money: Hungry For Change

<p>The situation keeps getting worse with the peanut related <a href="http://www.takepart.com/blog/tag/salmonella-outbreak/" target="_blank">salmonella outbreak</a>.  Emails discovered by Congressional investigators now show that Stuart Parnell,<a href="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/02/11/ap6041492.html" target="_blank" onclick="javascript:urchinTracker('/outbound/www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/02/11/ap6041492.html?ref=http_//www.google.com/reader/view/');"> president of the Peanut Corporation of America, knew about positive test for the bacteria</a>, but chose to cover up the results and focus on profits.  Check out Henry Waxman&#8217;s shock as he discovers this appalling corporate cover-up:</p>
  <p><span class="youtube"><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EbOXbJQnO-4&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=0&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showsearch=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EbOXbJQnO-4&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=0&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showsearch=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355" ></embed><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></span></p>
  <p><a class="takepartbug" href="http://www.safetables.org/ " target="_blank" onclick="javascript:urchinTracker('/outbound/www.safetables.org/?ref=http_//www.google.com/reader/view/');">takepart</a> by joining <a href="http://www.safetables.org/" target="_blank" onclick="javascript:urchinTracker('/outbound/www.safetables.org/?ref=http_//www.google.com/reader/view/');">SAFE Tables </a>as they advocate for changes in food safety policies.</p>

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Economic Stimulus Bill Now in Conference

2009-02-10T19:03:00.001-05:00

In addition to supporting H.R. 1, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readupdates.php?id=30622359240">T. Boone Pickens asks</a> members of his 'army' to send an email to their representatives asking "them to support inclusion in that bill of the House Department of Energy grant program."

The Pickens Plan is about wind power and the Pickens camp sees a recharged, grants program as critically important. They also recognize that, just as important is a modernized grid that reaches out to renewable energy resources. "Ask your Members of Congress," they tell the Pickens Army, "to support enactment of a strong national renewable electricity standard that meets President Obama's goal of securing 25% renewable electricity by the year 2025."

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Now with Carbon Free Plutonium

2009-02-06T10:11:00.001-05:00

Inquiring minds, like Tom Yulsman, want to know whether nuclear power is as low risk as some people are making it out to be.

Tom, Tom, Tom, just flip the Switch, Man, and Fuggettaboutit

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A Better Effort at Building a Low- Carbon Economy.

2009-02-05T14:41:00.001-05:00

San Francisco Treehugger Jaymi Heimbuch reports that a carbon footprint analysis of the projects proposed within the economic recovery package, commissioned by Greenpeace, shows that "the stimulus would cut a minimum of 61 million tons of CO2 every year. That is equal to the greenhouse gases from electricity use in 7.9 million American homes or taking over 13 million cars off the road."

An even bigger impact could be made in the Transportation sector.

ICF International – a leader in climate and energy consulting for governments and major companies – conducted the analysis, looking at those parts of the package where measurable greenhouse emissions was possible. Parts of the package where measuring the carbon footprint was impossible were left out. This means about $24 billion of the $51.9 billion detailed in the energy portion of the stimulus package could be quanitified. The findings are something greenies can smile about. This portion of the package equates to eliminating about 61.5 million metric tons of annual CO2 emissions.

“The fact that the federal government could spend so much money and actually help slow global warming means we’ve really turned the page as a country,” said Kert Davies, Greenpeace’s Research Director. “This is a real sign that we’re starting to move beyond the era of fossil fuels.”

The report shows findings such as $2.5 billion spent on energy efficiency upgrades to homes could reduce carbon emissions by 7.3 million metric tons and save $1.25 billion in annual utility costs. Also, a $6.9 billion investment in assisting state and local governments in boosting energy efficiency could mean a $3 billion savings every single year and cut carbon emissions by over 20 million tons per year.

Highlights from the ICF analysis:

Energy Effciency Housing Retrofts generate $1.25 billion in savings on a stimulus nvestment of $2.5 billion and save 87.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the programs’ energy effciency improvements.
Home Weatherization spending of $6.2 billion investment could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 8 million metric tons annually and 131 million metric tons over the lifetime of the insulation improvements.
Helping consumers install forescent light bulbs would provide immediate payback in terms of carbon and energy savings.

Prepared by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, under commission by the Center for American Progress and released by a coalition of labor and environmental groups, Green Recovery focuses upon a short-term green stimulus package would create two million jobs nationwide over two years.

After looking at what ICF found, Greenpeace recommends:

Since the job-creation potential of clean energy is virtually limitless, Congress should increase funding for these projects still further. Investments in energy efficiency create 4.4 times the number of jobs as the same investment in nuclear energy and 2.6 times the number of jobs as coal.
Make the renewable energy tax credits recession-proof. Today, some clean energy companies aren’t earning enough profits to pay taxes and claim the credit. Congress should make the tax credit fully refundable.
Eliminate the wasteful and environmentally damaging loan guarantees for nuclear power and liquid coal, which generate far fewer economic and jobs benefits than clean energy.

If funds that Congress has allocated for new highway construction instead went toward highway repair and more development of public transit, then the $30 billion allotted for transportation would contribute more to mitigation of GHG emissions. This is unlikely to happen because of various political influences. Nevertheless, thinking ahead to a new climate bill, such an analysis provides ammunition for the greeniew-weenies to take pot shots at the pricetages on various Congress critters.

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But altruism would get in the way of BAUAAE, Mr. President

2009-02-05T12:12:00.001-05:00

As the bad news keeps on coming, to include predictive indicators, "Obama stresses urgency of stimulus plan"

BAUAAE == Business As Usual And Above All Else

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A Snappy Zinger from Fareed

2009-02-04T10:16:00.001-05:00

The last plenary session at the WEF last night featured the heads of state of the UK, South Korea, South Africa and Mexico. Fareed Zakaria moderated and gave the panel a zinger of a question.

He asked South Korean Prime Minister Han the following:

Back in 1998, during the Asian crisis, the IMF and other western powers forced a set of prescriptions on Korea which were bitter indeed:

1. Do not rescue failing institutions
2. Do not lower interest rates to near zero
3. Do not spend significant sums to stimulate the economy.

Now that the West is hit with this crisis they are implementing the inverse policies - why?

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Civil Disobedience at Congressional Power Plant

2009-02-03T14:34:00.001-05:00

A national coalition of more than 40 environmental, public health, labor, social justice, faith-based and other advocacy groups today announce plans to engage in civil disobedience at the Capitol Power Plant in Washington D.C. on the afternoon of March 2, 2009. The Capitol Climate Action (CCA), the largest mass mobilization on global warming in the country’s history, reflects the growing public demand for bold action to address the climate and energy crises.

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Happiness is some warm anti-gun-control rhetoric, yes it is

2009-02-03T09:29:00.002-05:00

(Photo: AFP / Getty Images)

The nomination of Eric H. Holder Jr. finally was approved. He will be the first African-American attorney general.

It seemed that members of the Senate were O.K. with an Attorney General who would fail to uphold the rule of law and an Attorney General that countenanced torture by a "democracy", but they expressed concern about Holder's position on gun control.

Pros at Pretending

2009-02-02T11:23:00.002-05:00

In preface to the article, "A Dismal Climate Forecast from NOAA," the editor of the West Coast Climate Equity blog says, "there have been several hundred articles printed on this subject in the last two days, sources such as the New York Times, ABC News Australia, and the Globe and Mail, plus countless blogs. Our elected officials can’t pretend they haven’t heard this news."

Well, of course they can. This is a free country... for now. Besides, these are "pros at pretending".

NOAA Forecast: “1000 years of wandering in the desert”

From Johnny Rook Climaticide Blog | January 27, 2009

Original story from NOAA published January 26, 2009:
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090126_climate.html

A new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has some startling news: some of the effects of global warming are irreversible. Even if we suddenly stopped all CO2 emissions today certain effects that we are already feeling will still be with our descendants a thousand years from now. If we continue to increase our emissions of CO2 the number of irreversible effects will be that much greater.

It is often assumed that if we halt CO2 emissions within the next few years that the world will return to it’s pre-Climaticide state within a century or two. That is not the case according to a report to be published this week [as of 4pm PST the paper does not show up on the PNAS web site] in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Susan Solomon of the Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.

Examples of global warming effects that will still be felt a 1000 years after CO2 emissions are stopped, include changes in surface temperature, rainfall, and sea level.

According to the NOAA press release:

The study examines the consequences of allowing CO2 to build up to several different peak levels beyond present-day concentrations of 385 parts per million and then completely halting the emissions after the peak. The authors found that the scientific evidence is strong enough to quantify some irreversible climate impacts, including rainfall changes in certain key regions, and global sea level rise.

The scientists emphasize that increases in CO2 that occur in this century “lock in” sea level rise that would slowly follow in the next 1,000 years. Considering just the expansion of warming ocean waters—without melting glaciers and polar ice sheets—the authors find that the irreversible global average sea level rise by the year 3000 would be at least 1.3–3.2 feet (0.4–1.0 meter) if CO2 peaks at 600 parts per million, and double that amount if CO2 peaks at 1,000 parts per million.

“Additional contributions to sea level rise from the melting of glaciers and polar ice sheets are too uncertain to quantify in the same way,” said Solomon. “They could be even larger but we just don’t have the same level of knowledge about those terms. We presented the minimum sea level rise that we can expect from well-understood physics, and we were surprised that it was so large.”

I cannot emphasize too much that Solomon is describing a minimum, conservative, non-real world, best-case scenario. For example, the sea level rise that Solomon and her colleagues describe is only the result of thermal expansion. It does not include sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets or Alpine glaciers, which, should they occur, will, because of various feedbacks (reduced albedo, increased and methane release from permafrost melting, as well as other related marine issues not directly related to sea level rise such as ocean acidification) take place much more rapidly and raise the sea level much more dramatically, potentially over decades and by 100’s of feet not the the 3 feet that Solomon is talking about.

What Solomon is saying is that even if we stabilize atmospheric CO2 at 600 ppm by the year 3000, the oceans will have risen 3 feet. If we stabilize at 1000 ppm they will have risen by 6 feet.

One might be inclined to respond to this by saying, “So, what? A six foot sea-level rise over a thousand years. Surely, humanity can adapt to that. And surely it could.

Far more worrisome is what Solomon writes about drought:

If CO2 is allowed to peak at 450-600 parts per million, the results would include persistent decreases in dry-season rainfall that are comparable to the 1930s North American Dust Bowl in zones including southern Europe, northern Africa, southwestern North America, southern Africa and western Australia.

The study notes that decreases in rainfall that last not just for a few decades but over centuries are expected to have a range of impacts that differ by region. Such regional impacts include decreasing human water supplies, increased fire frequency, ecosystem change and expanded deserts. Dry-season wheat and maize agriculture in regions of rain-fed farming, such as Africa, would also be affected.

In other words, if CO2 is allowed to peak at the 450-600 ppm, instead of the 350 ppm that James Hansen (PDF) and Al Gore are insisting upon, (but which many climate scientists don’t believe is possible to achieve–see Joe Romm’s series on this question) we will have inevitably, irreversibly locked ourselves into a 1000-year long 1930’s style dustbowl over a very large part of the earth’s surface. And, remember, that that is the most optimistic scenario. That’s right the most optimistic scenario is one in which large parts of the earth’s surface are a desert completely unsuited to agriculture or human occupation for at least a millennium.

Note: Bill McKibben of 350.org is also calling for reducing CO2 to 350 ppm or less.

You can watch Solomon comment Irreversible Warming in the video below:

Kevin Trenberth, a climatologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said [of Solomon's study that] it’s an important message for the wider public to grasp. “This aspect is one that is poorly appreciated by policymakers and the general public: Many aspects of the changes that are slowly coming are not really or practically reversible,” he said.

It’s not hard to imagine how the denialists/delayers will respond to this research. They will focus on the long time period that Solomon and her colleagues consider and will conclude that nothing needs to be done currently, despite the fact that Solomon herself is calling for urgent action.

Note: See the article from the ABC (America) blog The World Newser published January 26, 2009 : Obama Takes on Global Warming (But Here is the Rest of the Story You’re Not Hearing)

As an example here is the reaction of Roger Pielke Jr. one of the most prominent delayers.

Roger Pielke Jr., a climate policy specialist at the University of Colorado, said the study would not likely “change the nature of the debate” about cutting emissions, at least in the short term.

“Decisions are going to be made about mitigation based on short-term costs and benefits of those actions,” he said. “In the very long term, if things turn out to be as bad as projected … then we’ll have technologies to do that.”

The same old denialist/delayer arguments: “It’s too expensive to do anything now, but later we will have miraculous technology that will make all this go away and save us. So, no need to worry.”

Kevin Trenberth, a climatologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research responded to Pielke Jr. in the following terms:

“The policy relevance is clear: We need to act sooner, even if there is some doubt about exactly what will happen,” he said. “By the time the public and policymakers really realize the changes are here, it is far too late to do anything about it. In fact, as the authors point out, it is already too late for some effects.”

A. Siegel had an interesting post on the NOAA report over at Daily Kos entitled A few decades of prevention vs 1000 years of Hell … I usually agree with Adam on global warming issues, but I have some doubts about his position on this one because I don’t see how we can pull off the prevention part. I am myself a supporter of the 350 ppm target but I have yet to see anyone provide a convincing description of how such a goal can be achieved taking into account both the technical and political (domestic and international) issues. I think that we will be lucky to stabilize CO2 emissions at 450 parts per million, which means, if Solomon and her team are correct, we are doomed to an inevitable worldwide dustbowl, as our best long-range outcome. Far more likely is that things will be much worse because as I pointed out above, Solomon’s forecast is a best-case one, in which most of the terrible things that can happen (and some of which, I believe, are likely to happen) are left out. What we are more likely to get, in my opinion is if I may tinker with Adam’s title a bit “A few decades of prevention AND 1000 years of hell…”

By all means, let us do all that we can, because however bad things turn out to be, they will inevitably be worse if we fail to do everything within our power to contain this monster we have unleashed. But we all need to be realistic enough to know that he battle is no longer between the world that we knew and the one that we have created. Rather, it is between the one we have created and a far worse one that we will create if we do not give our all and as urgently as possible.

Supporting video links from West Coast Climate Equity:

John Holdren

On Global Climate Disruption

DemocracyNow.org July 04 2008

Barack Obama

Economic Recovery Plan

Highlights - January 8, 2009

Carbon Tax Briefing

Washington, DC 12/9/08

http://www.pricecarbon.org/

Al Gore at Poznan

Passionate Plea to Reduce CO2 to 350 ppm

12 December 2008

Barack Obama

Weekly Address: Economic Solutions

December 6, 2008

Barack Obama

November 18, 2008

Ringing remarks at governors climate summit

Al Gore

'Now Is The Time To Prevent A Much Worse Catastrophe'

ClimateBrad Sept 25 2008

Al Gore

Carbon Companies Guilty of Stock Fraud

ClimateBrad Sept 25 2008

Al Gore

Clean Coal's Like Healthy Cigarettes

ClimateBrad Sept 25 2008

Al Gore

100 % of Our Electricity from Carbon-Free Sources

ClimateBrad Sept 25 2008

Al Gore, TED Talks

New thinking on the climate crisis

TED Talks http://www.ted.com/

The Big Ask

www.thebigask.eu, Friends of the Earth

Leo's Film

Powerful Animation about Climate Tipping Points

Wake Up, Freak Out - Then Get a Grip

Spinning Global Warming

An Organized Effort to Cast Doubt on Climate Change

http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/731/

Psychologist Dan Gilbert

Part 1

The Psychology of Global Warming

Psychologist Dan Gilbert

Part 2

The Psychology of Global Warming

James Hansen

Interview with realnews.com

20 Years of Climate Concerns

Hansen: Climate Crime?

James Hansen Speaks Out

Not facing up to climate crisis a crime?

Er, Mr. President, the Horse has left the Barn

2009-02-01T11:00:00.001-05:00

President Obama Weekly Address (Jan 31 2009): ".. even as they petition for taxpayers assistance, wall street firms shamefully paid out $20 billion in bonuses ... the Amercian people will not excuse or tolerate such arrogance and greed .."

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And the Congress critters say, "What do you mean your stimulus dollars, tax payer?"

2009-02-01T10:46:00.001-05:00

Geoffrey Styles posts, "We want our stimulus dollars to boost the flagging economy as effectively as possible, without making other problems worse in the future." Oh, so that is why there is $4.6 billion for coal, eh?

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Environmental Stressors and Addiction

2009-02-01T08:01:00.001-05:00

Bruce Alexander is best known - though deserves to be much better known - for the 'Rat Park' experiments he conducted in 1981. As an addiction psychologist, much of the data with which he worked was drawn from laboratory trials with rats and monkeys: the 'addictiveness' of drugs such as opiates and cocaine was established by observing how frequently caged animals would push levers to obtain doses. But Alexander's observations of addicts at the clinic where he worked in Vancouver suggested powerfully to him that the root cause of addiction was not so much the pharmacology of these particular drugs as the environmental stressors with which his addicts were trying to cope.

To test his hunch he designed Rat Park, an alternative laboratory environment constructed around the need of the subjects rather than the experimenters. A colony of rats, who are naturally gregarious, were allowed to roam together in a large vivarium enriched with wheels, balls and other playthings, on a deep bed of aromatic cedar shavings and with plenty of space for breeding and private interactions. Pleasant woodland vistas were even painted on the surrounding walls. In this situation, the rats' responses to drugs such as opiates were transformed. They no longer showed interest in pressing levers for rewards of morphine: even if forcibly addicted, they would suffer withdrawals rather than maintaining their dependence. Even a sugar solution could not tempt them to the morphine water (though they would choose this if naloxone was added to block the opiate effects). It seemed that the standard experiments were measuring not the addictiveness of opiates but the cruelty of the stresses inflicted on lab rats caged in solitary confinement, shaved, catheterised and with probes inserted into their median forebrain bundles.

Source: 3quarksdaily

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Dear Matt Drudge, Does that anonymous Republican lawmaker play tennis?

2009-01-31T10:16:00.001-05:00

Worst Heatwave in 100 Years Scorches Australia, Haults Australian Open : EcoWorldly

Eleven of the last twelve years have been the hottest in Australia's recorded history, and this summer sets the pace for this year to be the continent's hottest.

Re: "Drudge Report: Gore hearing on warming may be put on ice"

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What Bush Really Meant by More Coal, More Nuclear

2009-01-31T09:46:00.001-05:00

Remember that huge spill of coal ash at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston coal-fired power plant on December 22nd? New measurements by Duke University scientists confirm not only the presence of toxic metals like arsenic but also dangerous levels of radioactivity. "Tennessee Coal Ash Tainted with Arsenic and Radioactivity"

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The Public Trust, "We are all dodos on this bus" Version

2009-01-28T13:08:00.001-05:00

"Only with the complicity of Congress have we become a nation of preemptive war, secret military tribunals, torture, rejection of habeas corpus, warrant-less searches, undue government secrecy, extraordinary renditions, and uncontrollable spying on the American people."
Ron Paul

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Halliburton wants to pay $559 million to end investigation

2009-01-28T11:29:00.001-05:00

DOJ: Let me see your general leger.

Cheney: [with a small wave of his hand] You don't need to see Hailburton's general leger.

DOJ: We don't need to see their general leger.

Cheney: These aren't the bribes you're looking for (Hands them $559 million).

DOJ: These aren't the bribes we're looking for.

Cheney: They can go about their business.

DOJ: You can go about your business.

Cheney: Move along.

DOJ: Move along... move along.

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Con to Cool Green Science Con

2009-01-28T00:52:00.001-05:00

Cool Green Science » Why Cap-and-Trade is Better Than a Carbon Tax

James Handley
Time January 27, 2009 at 1:16 pm

SPEED: Immediate reductions are needed to avert climate disaster. That's a strong reason not to fall into cap-and-trade. It took half a decade to implement in the EU. with no effect. And the NE states' RGGI program took five years to sort out free allowances, offsets, banking, etc, etc. British Columbia passed and implemented a carbon tax in just five months!

COMPLEXITY: Cap-and-trade far more complex and subject to price volatility and gaming. See the presentations by NASA climate scientist Jim Hansen, economists Gilbert Metcalf and Robert Shapiro at http://www.pricecarbon.org.

Cap-and-trade is a hidden, volatile and regressive tax. A revenue neutral carbon tax is an honest way to price carbon and pump the funds back into households and wage earners' hands. "Tax what we burn, not what we earn."

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Stopping Terrorism

2009-01-27T16:07:00.001-05:00

"Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way; stop participating in it." ~ Noam Chomsky

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The Slippery Slope of Interrogation

2009-01-27T13:57:00.001-05:00

Torture degrades not only the victim, but the person who engages in it. It degrades our society; it destroys our sense of right and wrong. No excuse, no rationalization can change such effects. Torture is wrong. -- paraphrase of Lane Baldwin's response to What If Torture Works?

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The Job of U.S. Attorney General

2009-01-26T20:34:00.001-05:00

Senator Cornyn is holding up the Eric Holder nomination over concerns that Holder may prosecute torture under Bush. Isn't the Attorney General's job to prosecute people who broke the law?

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Criminal investigation into practices of torture by the Bush administration and how do you arrest an entire Congress

2009-01-26T20:17:00.001-05:00

With George W. Bush's head of state immunity now terminated, the new government of Barack Obama was obligated by international law to commence a criminal investigation into Bush's torture practices. http://is.gd/hl2B

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So the question is, "Why?"

2009-01-26T09:37:00.001-05:00

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee want Eric Holder to commit to not prosecute Bush administration officials for their involvement in acts of torture.

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Never, never trust that it is safe to ride a bicycle in automobile traffic

2009-01-26T09:07:00.001-05:00

http://is.gd/hgiB Sheesh! All the motorist, who last put me down on the pavement in pain, did was go get her lunch at McDonald's, while waiting to see if the ambulance would take me away. Mass makes right.

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We will not apologize for our way of life

2009-01-23T09:05:00.001-05:00

According to the Gray Lady , for each dollar of economic product, the United States spews more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than 75 of 107 countries tracked in the indicators of the International Energy Agency.

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Wait, Wait, I was doing all for You!

2009-01-22T08:15:00.001-05:00

David Rees concludes Hell/'s broadcast, a.k.a., Get Your War On, with

Phrases From The Financial Times' Final Editorial About President Bush

"Executive hubris"

"Imperial overreach"

"Epic incompetence"

"Preternatural ebullience"

"Fathomless lack of curiosity"

"Disdain for empirical reality"

"Most fiscally incontinent (!!!) of presidents"

"Terribly wrong"

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Thumbnail Sketch of the W Legacy

2009-01-22T04:44:00.001-05:00

David Roberts sums it up: 1) uniform hostility to environmental protection and social justice, 2) commitment to partisanship over science, 3) single-minded dedication to looting the public trust.

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Illegal to the Last

2009-01-22T04:01:00.001-05:00

In Final Legal Act, Bush Appeals Spy Ruling

Speaking of the Rule of Law, this was the Administrative Branch of the U.S. federal government that the Legislative Branch supported for 8 years, kids.

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Fast Women

2009-01-17T18:29:00.001-05:00

Let me re-phrase that, FastCompany's Most Influential Women in Technology

"We inadvertently ignited a firestorm." FastCompany

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Cyber Foot in the Door

2009-01-08T09:49:00.001-05:00

Wondering how the application SuperFeed on Facebook trying to force me to learn who has a crush on me is different from cyber bullying, which supposedly is now illegal.

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If Reichminister Erlich and The Maryland State Police Didn't Like You

2009-01-04T13:55:00.001-05:00

"I think police anti-terrorism units are a good thing."

Emily, Emily, Emily, the Maryland Stadt Polizei was
other than Magnum Force and you are now on our list.

"Oh, never mind. Really, don't go to any trouble on my account."

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8 years of Bush have left us with #tweme

2009-01-04T11:58:00.001-05:00

8 years of Bush have left us desperately fighting to save the planet 
from &#8220;catastrophic&#8221; 5-7°C warming by 2100, but now with 
 much less time.

8 years of Bush have left us with much higher global emissions, and a 
lost decade of inefficient, polluting infrastructure built at a cost 
of many trillions of dollars &#8212.
 
For more, see &#8220;Climate Progress Person(s) of the Year&#8220;.
 
Thanks & a tip of another tipping point or two to Professor Joe.

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Hans Rosling Feb 2006 Monterey, Calif

2007-10-08T14:10:00.000-04:00

TED 2006 - Debunking myth about the "Third World"

For more info, see Gapminder.org

Porta-Person

2006-12-13T08:06:00.000-05:00

Photo Credit: Sun Microsystems Laboratories

With Sun’s prototype “porta-person,” someone working remotely can be “present” at a meeting as a box with a display showing either his or her actual face or a line drawing of a generic face. Stereo microphones allow the remote worker to hear the direction from which a person in the room is speaking; the remote worker can then swivel the box to “face” that person and speak to him or her through stereo speakers.

Technology Review reports that the porta-person is already used by researchers at Sun's laboratory in Burlington, MA and there are plans "to test it more widely within the company before deciding whether to commercialize it." I hope they are quick about it, I have to go real bad.

"Nicole is obviously dealing with a big problem, motivated by Sun's own use of the technology; it addresses their work practices directly," says Schmandt. "It is an important and growing problem, not just because more people are working out of homes or at odd hours so they can raise their kids or save a few bucks on gas. Organizations are increasingly global, which means people spread across space and time zones."

The reason that this story appears on this weblog rather than elsewhere: I recently had a telephone call from a Nabuur.com facilitator and at the end of the conversation he suggested teleconferencing as a means of participation.

Looking back, I suspect this was an assessment of my fund-raising ability. You know, get my family and friends to send money to the post office box by way of Money Gram and Western Union.

Ndiyo Nivo

2006-12-07T14:43:00.000-05:00

It’s about 70mm square - quite a bit smaller smaller than a floppy (Remember those, old-timer?)

Over the next couple of months Quentin hopes to have samples of the next-generation Nivo terminal. "This one does 1280×1024 at 24-bit pixel depth, but above all," he observes, "it’s really cute!"

There’s lots to be done on both software and hardware before we can get this out into the wider world, and we’re running on very limited resources here, but we’re excited about this device.

Why show this on Blackbird rather than on one of my other blogs. Well, I have been contributing information to the ICT section of the Nabuur Resources village. One of the other participants and a village facilitator, may be starting a new online village because the local board of an actual village has approached him about help with an Internet center.

Ko-Ko-KoLaboration

2006-12-05T12:15:00.001-05:00

Collaborative R&D projects can be a very cost-effective route for developing market-driven technology solutions. Collaborations can be one-on-one or can be multi-party with several organizations pooling resources to share costs and risks.

"Yeah, Baby, Rock Out!"

Emily, Emily, Emily, that's R&D, not R&B.

Improved Septic Tanks

2006-11-27T19:02:00.000-05:00

Expanded Granular Sludge Bed Digestion is a modification of the Up Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Digestion approach. The advantage of the former is greater upward-flow velocity. The increased rate of wastewater passing through the sludge bed is either accomplished with tall reactors, or by incorporating an effluent recycle (or both). Both systems include the harvesting of bio-methane.

Emeka Okafor is hopeful that a low-cost, household septic tank system will make a difference. Cheick Amala Tabouré has designed a project in Mali (AREM - Association pour la Rehabilitation de l'Environnement) that not only carefully considers implementation of an improved, septic tank system, he has "created a loan fund to enable households to afford it" and a training program to instruct unemployed local youth on how to construct the tanks.

The plans call for the septic tank constructed in a pit four meters deep. The actual depth depends upon the water table, which Tabouré is striving to preserve. The bottom of the pit is covered with porous material and the pit is then lined and covered with concrete slabs.

Unquestionably, such innovation need go hand in hand with increased waste recycling. Wikipedia notes the following septic tank problems:

1. Excessive dumping of cooking oils and grease can fill up the upper portion of the septic tank and can cause the inlet drains to block. Oils and grease are often difficult to degrade and can cause odor problems and difficulties with the periodic emptying.

2. Flushing non-biodegradable hygiene products such as sanitary towels, cotton buds etc. will rapidly fill or clog a septic tank and these materials should not be disposed of in this way.

3. The use of waste macerators or grinders for disposal of waste food will cause a rapid overload of the system and early failure.

4. Certain chemicals may damage the working of a septic tank, especially pesticides, herbicides, materials with high concentrations of bleach or caustic soda (lye) or any other inorganic materials such as paints, solvents etc.

5. Roots from trees and shrubbery growing above the tank or the drain field may clog and or rupture them.

6. Playgrounds and storage buildings may cause damage to a tank and the drainage field. In addition, covering the drainage field with an impervious surface or hard-standing will seriously affect its efficiency.

Recycling can address the first four issues. For instance, instead of dumping grease or other animal rendering into the pit, the material is recycled into a fuel, e.g., bio-diesel. Municipal solid waste is incinerated; vegetable material is composted; and, chemicals collected for safe, industrial recycling.

Another opportunity for recycling is the use of constructed wetlands, which are beds of marsh reed cultivated for efficient small-scale, sewage treatment. Wastewater trickling through the reed bed is cleansed by the extensive root system of the reed bed. The entire ecosystem results in an extremely clean effluent.

In terms of low cost construction, one might imagine an opportunity to introduce, an innovative material that goes by various names depending upon where and who is making it. You could call it: Autoclaved Concrete, Aerated Autoclaved Concrete, Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, Cellular Concrete, Porous concrete or Aircrete. Take your pick. No matter what name it goes by, such precast slabs of concrete are easier to handle because they are porous and weigh significantly less.

And, new products are on the horizon that could reduce cost of aerated concrete. Developed in Australia, HySSIL is a patented, high strength, lightweight concrete building product with a cost comparable to conventional concrete.

The costs of establishing a HySSIL manufacturing plant are inexpensive due to the small scale practical for the economic production of HySSIL and are comparable with a conventional precast concrete plant. The costs are less than one tenth of the costs of establishing competitive production plants such as an autoclaved aerated concrete plant, due to the elimination of the autoclaving process.

Another, subsequent opportunity for innovation would be the design of a low cost, effective system for processing bio-solids. One standard approach for emptying septic and conservancy tanks is to employ a tanker truck equipped with a sludge pump. Such trucks are expensive and difficult to introduce into the narrow alleys of many third world slums.

Then the question is: "What to do with the sludge?" Integration of biosolids management into urban agriculture requires knowledge of soil science. Use of bio-solids in agriculture must be done in a healthy, environmentally sound manner.

There is critical problem of human waste disposal in urban areas of developing countries. The Timbuktu Chronicles article provides several references:

The Unglamorous Solution for Saving Lives and Improving Human Development

Pits designed by the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology

Shit Business is Serious Business

Barrel Type Composting of Municipal Solid Waste

African Vulnerability to Global Heating

2006-11-08T09:56:00.000-05:00

Lawrence MacDonald reported for Global Development on a United Nations conference about climate change. The conference just opened in Nairobi.

According to the BBC, the focus of the conference is on helping poorer countries adapt. (This is the 12th set of U.N. climate talks since the Rio Earth Summit of 1992.)

A U.N. report released on the eve of the talks, "Vulnerability and Adaptation in Africa", forecasts dire impacts on the continent. AllAfrica.com has a useful short summary about how the worst to be hit by the effects of Global Heating are the least prepared to respond to the impact of climate change. According to the U.N. report, rivers will run dry, crop yields will fall, and rising seas could engulf cities.

Also getting attention at the Nairobi meeting is a 700-page report that the U.K. government released last week.The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change (named for Sir Nicholas Stern, a former World Bank chief economist) warned of major economic dislocations, and of a disproportionate impact on the poorest countries. In contrast to the U.N. report, the Stern Report is clear about the urgency of addressing the root of the problem -- global heating -- and it speaks to the costs of inaction.

"The contrast between the two reports is revealing," writes MacDonald.

The U.N. report focuses on adaptation partly because of the difficulty in getting countries to agree on mandatory reductions on greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change has made it a toothless tiger.

The U.N. report has thus been left to propose ways to "climate-proof" African countries, such as:

* sea and river defenses
* boosting water supply infrastructure for drought-prone regions
* planting of natural defenses such as trees and mangroves
* development of new crop strains resistant to higher temperatures or drought
* public education on issues such as saving water

Climate proof the poorest societies on earth? Get real! The richest nation on earth was unable to defend New Orleans against rising sea levels and we are supposed to believe it will be possible to construct a reliable system of levies to protect Africa's coastal cities?

Four out of ten people in Africa lack access to running water and we are told that public education about not wasting water is going to help them cope with global warming?

To be sure, adaptation must be part of the solution. But to focus primarily on adaptation because cutting the rate of global warming is seen as politically unfeasible is like stocking bomb shelters with food and water, instead of pushing for arms control and nuclear non-proliferation, because the nuclear powers are opposed to disarmament.

The Stern Report strikes a better balance, including attention to adaptation but focusing squarely on the need to address the problem at its source. The report's key findings provide a solid basis for action:

* There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we take strong action now.
* The costs of stabilising the climate are significant but manageable; delay would be dangerous and much more costly.
* Action on climate change is required across all countries, and it need not cap the aspirations for growth of rich or poor countries.
* A range of options exists to cut emissions; strong, deliberate policy action is required to motivate their take-up.
* Climate change demands an international response, based on a shared understanding of long-term goals and agreement on frameworks for action.

Millenium Solar

2006-11-07T16:12:00.000-05:00

Ecogreek relays a story from Red Herring about an Israeli company, Millennium Solar, that is preparing to build a 20 megawatt power plant. The plant to be built in South Korea will combine the two main solar energy technologies -- photo voltaic and thermal.

As silicon photovoltaics heat up under the sun, they dramatically lose efficiency. But if there's a built in hot water heating function, the hot water carries away the heat and cools the solar cell, making it more efficient.

Millennium Solar has implemented small scale projects...houses, hospitals, etc. but never a full-scale power generation plant. As with other co-generation strategies the increased efficiency shortens the time needed to achieve ROI (Return On Investment). Millennium Solar believes that the plant will be able to sell electric power for as little as 10 cents a KWh and still show a profit.

Bottomless Well

2006-11-07T13:32:00.000-05:00

My Nabuur participation has mushroomed. I have joined seven other villages. There are some common areas of development yet I want to to avoid over commitment.

I have twice declined the offer of becoming a facilitator. The Kamenge facilitator is leaving and I could have accepted training to become the replacement.

Solar Shopping

2006-10-25T08:24:00.000-04:00

Installing solar roof tiles is an example of BIPV (Building Integrated Photo Voltaics).

Photovoltaic systems are becoming cheaper and more efficient. Increasingly, for sustainable architecture, or "green building", manufacturers, architects and builders select materials traditionally used to clad the building envelope that incorporate photovoltaics and typically replace the conventional building materials.

Such building materials are referred to as BIPV (Building Integrated Photo Voltaics). According to Jill and Sarah, there are now:

Solar roofing shingles

Solar side-cladding

Even Solar-powered glass windows

I live about one kilometer from a Home Depot Store. Mike Yamamoto announced via CRAVE, The CNET Gadget Blog, that now at Home Depot: solar power systems

The home-improvement empire has partnered with BP Solar to provide solar-power systems, according to Treehugger, with services that include free home consultation, installation and follow-up inspection. The Home Depot solar page also links to a national database of state incentives for renewable energy and a special calculator so you can estimate your potential savings.

I just donated $1000 to the R.E.A.L. Women's Clinic Capital Fund, and, while I have resisted posting a follow-up on Nabuur, I have gone Internet Shopping (Who goes window-shopping these days?) for solar panels since I believe that their site would benefit from solar power. For instance, since LEDs are more robust than traditional lightbulbs and use relatively little power, their use combined with installation of solar panels could provide lighting very much needed in a medical clinic.

It would seem that when a solar roof becomes a reality for the clinic, Kamenge Commune shoppers will have to go more than one "click". It would seem the nearest solar system service is from Solar Energy for Africa in neighboring Rwanda.

On the other hand, writer Simon Grose contributed an Editorial Opinion to Cosmos Magazine and his observations made for a good reality check. "Wind and solar power are enormously appealing as planet-friendly sources of energy - but those who think we can completely rely on them in the future are dreaming."

Neema Mgana

2006-10-22T15:30:00.000-04:00

In WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future, Ethan Zuckerman (October 21, 2006) reports on Neema Mgana building a network, which resulted in the building of a clinic.

Neema Mgana came to Pop!Tech last year as part of the African fellows program, a program that Global Voices helped organize with Sun Microsystems and the UN. She’s the leader of a remarkable AIDS treatment program in Tanzania, and was the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

She heard Cameron Sinclair speak about Architecture for Humanity and was inspired to ask the question of what AfH might be able to do in a rural Tanzanian village, Ipuli. Ipuli is a nine hour journey from Dar Es Salaam, involving a bus to Dodoma, a train to Singuida and then travel by land.

While about 100,000 people live in Ipuli - 15,000 of them children under 5 - there’s no accessible local healthcare. The nearest hospital is 80 kilometers away, a journey that involves crossing a river that can flood dangerously. Patients sometimes arrive strapped to the back of a bicycle, or carried in a wheelbarrow. To get a referral to major hospitals, like Muhimbili hospital in Dar, patients need to visit one of these smaller clinics and get a letter of referral.

Cameron helped Neema find a pair of French architects who were willing to come and work in Ipuli. They have designed a pair of facilities - a mother/child clinic and a health training facility, which includes offices, classrooms and labs. The buildings are designed using local materials and craftsmen - wooden louvers, metal gates - and have sharply slanted roofs to collect 20,000 liters of rainwater for the center. The construction of the facility is helping train workers in the community, and is supervised by community elders, who donated 10 acres of land to the project.

The project is also being supported by a Boston-based engineering firm, Haley and Aldrich, and another Boston solar firm, Tamarack Energy, which are funding the project in part, and providing technical assistance, to allow the facility to have power and water. The generation system uses solar and wind energy - the water system pumps water into two, 10,000 liter tanks.

There’s an amazing web of partners that make this project possible. Once the project is built in Ipuli, future projects are planned for South Africa, Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda - they’ll be joined electronically to share health information and best practices across the continent. It’s an inspiring example of what Pop!Tech connections can make happen.

P.S. The one with the shorter hair is Neema.

Wiwi

2006-10-12T17:42:00.000-04:00

I joined another village in Nabuur.com :

Wiwi -: "Home » Europe » Netherlands » Resource Section » Issue » Wiki"

And, immediately invested in Computer Training Centers / Internet Cafes

I hope that I can drink tea rather than coffee. I have stopped drinking coffee for my health

Green WiFi

2006-10-05T19:07:00.000-04:00

WorldChanging has an article about Green Wifi. In brief, the green designation implies that the "wireless fidelity" system is solar-powered. Futhermore, the initiative is to make available rugged, low-cost, Internet technologies for developing countries where such necessary infrastructure is nonexistant.

A number of non profit entities focus on addressing the digital divide by providing internet access to developing areas. Green WiFi addresses one of the biggest barriers to success: the lack of reliable electricity in developing areas required to power the network. Green WiFi has developed a low cost, solar-powered, standardized WiFi access solution that runs out-of-the-box with no systems integration or power requirements. All that is required is a single source of broadband access. Green WiFi nodes can then be deployed on rooftops to form a self-healing network that hops the source signal over a virtual 802.11b/g grid. Because these nodes require no fixed installation or power tie-ins, these nodes can form an unplanned, mobile grid that can grow or be relocated as needed. ...last mile internet access with nothing more than a single broadband internet connection, rooftops and the sun.

Green WiFi dovetails with other initiatives, such as

One Laptop Per Child

Freeplay's Weza

Ubuntu

Alex Steffen opines that a "compelling toolchest is starting to emerge." As World Changing previously has observed, connectivity is empowering. Besides enabling new forms economic activity; widespread connectivity can bring about political change; more widespread connectivity means hearing more from those in developing nations now connected to us instanteously. As with the concept of universal design, such a recognition of differing needs could improve information and communication technology globally.

Remember Charlotte

2006-09-27T10:20:00.000-04:00

1973-2000

After advice on ICT delivery lead me to a search of bus service in Burundi, I came upon Charlotte Lucy Cameron Wilson, which lead me to passage on the Titanic via this blog Remembering Charlotte Lucy Cameron Wilson

Inveneo.org

2006-09-18T16:39:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Faludi, in his recent World Changing post, Interview with Inveneo, provides information that could be helpful to NABUR volunteer efforts. The nonprofit connects people in cut-off places in the world, i.e., which lack telephone and internet connections. Inveneo.org provides communication technology especially in developing regions or disaster zones.

FWA-FRIENDS WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION

2006-08-15T11:46:00.000-04:00


	Please help raise money to REBUILD our CLINIC and add a WOMEN'S SANCTUARY! Due: 31 Dec 2006
	IF YOU CAN, PLEASE FIND A STRAGEGY TO RAISE $25. IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST...TO SEND TO THE KAMENGE VILLAGE CAPITAL FUND... Kamnge Village, NABUUR.COM. PLEASE SEND FUNDS TO: The FWA-FRIENDS WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION http://www.aglionline.org. THIS IS A 501C3 ORGANIZATION; VERIFIABLE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; GIFTS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE. OUR BUILDING FUND GOAL FOR AUGUST, 2006 is $2,000! AND, PLEASE, LET US KNOW YOUR FUND-RAISING STRATEGIES! THANKS A MILLION, NABUURS! Cassilde and Azania ;-D AND ;-D !

O.K. So, thru NABUUR I donated $25, which means a total of $50 donated so far. Now NABUUR wants me to become a facilitator. (Chuckle)

Burundi

2006-07-30T16:19:00.000-04:00

I have become an online volunteer to www.nabuur.com and have signed up to help the village of Kamage in Burundi.

Background

Burundi plans massive refugee repatriation

2006-03-22 07:58:00
By Pacifique Nkeshimana

Burundi says it will complete the repatriation of all refugees still resident in Tanzania in three years’ time.

Burundian Minister for National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender Fran�oise Ngendahayo told The Guardian in an exclusive interview in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the repatriation is in line with the government’s plan to ease the refugee burden that Tanzania has endured for nearly a decade as a result of the civil strife that engulfed the Great Lakes Region, Burundi included.

Ngendahayo was speaking on the sidelines of a tripartite meeting on Burundi refugees in Dar es Salaam involving the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and governments of Tanzania and Burundi.

’’Following the democratic elections and the restoration of peace in the country after a long civil strife, the government is planning to repatriate all the refugees in three years’ time,’’ she said.

Ngendahayo said that the country would collaborate with UNHCR, UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP) and other international agencies to resettle the refugees in their motherland.

’’We need our people back home; the country is peaceful. There is a good government.

We thus need all the people to return home so that they, together with people who remained behind, reconstruct the country,’’ she said.

The minister said that in the past two years, a total of 102,416 refugees had voluntarily returned home.

However, she said, since the beginning of the year there has been a decline in the number of refugees returning because of food shortages caused by drought that has swept the country.

She said that thousands of famine stricken-people had crossed the border into Tanzania in search food in refugee camps.

Some of the refugees have been denied entry into Tanzania because of lack of genuine reasons for fleeing their country, Ngendahayo said.

UNHCR Country Representative Chrysantus Ache, told the meeting that Tanzania and UNHCR would facilitate a visit of the Burundi delegation to the refugee camp.

’’A cross border meeting is planned with all stakeholders - UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, FAO, WHO, OCHA and implementing partners - for March 31, this year in Ruyigi Province in Burundi to look into the food situation,’’ Ache said.

He added that the refugee agency looks forward to working with the Tanzania and Burundi governments and UN agencies.

Ngendahayo said that she would also update refugees in Kibondo today on the current socio-economic and the political situation in Burundi.

’’I will tell them that the country is now peaceful and that the government needs them back home so that they can be assisted while there,’’ she said, and added that refugees constituted a major burden to Tanzania.

Speaking at the same meeting, Tanzania Minister for Home Affairs John Zephaniah Chiligati said the recent democratic elections in Burundi signified the progress to peace in the country.

’’The elections signified the fact that Burundi was now peaceful and democratically governed. The elections instilled confidence in Burundian refugees who have begun going back home,’’ Minister Chiligati said.

He added that in 2004/05, a record 144,732 refugees returned home, bringing the total to 214,181 returnees since the repatriation exercise started in 2002.

Chiligati said that Tanzania hosts nearly 400,000 Burundian refugees.

He said that there were some 200,000 ”forgotten” Burundi refugees of the 1970s living in settlements in Rukwa and Tabora regions.

’’The 1972 refugees have been forgotten and are referred to as the ’Old Case Load,’’ he said.

Chiligati said: ’’These are Burundian nationals living in Tanzania as refugees. They are self-sufficient in food, but need education, healthcare, water services and other basic needs, but UNHCR and the international community have abandoned them.

The burden had been left to the Tanzania government to carry.’’
Chiligati said the Tanzania government had repeatedly reminded UNHCR and the international community to provide humanitarian assistance pending their repatriation, to no avail.

Kikwete: Govt will improve investment climate

By Pastory Nguvu

The government has said it is committed to improving the investment environment for both domestic and foreign investors.

President Jakaya Kikwete gave the assurance in Dar es Salaam yesterday when he launched the Investment Blue Book for Tanzania.

The book comprises eight measures, actionable over a period of 12 months to move the country towards best practices in investment promotion and facilitation.

The President said the diagnosis of investment environment was in line with the Japanese government’s initiative, which started in 2003 to assist developing countries to undertake measures to attract investments.

’’I’m told that the Investment Blue Book targets countries that have not realised their full potential in attracting foreign investments.

I have studied the Eight Points Action Plan and noted that the underlying issues underscore the pertinent issues raised during the dinner that was hosted by the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation in February,’’ he said

He added that during the occasion, he assured the business community that his government would institute economic reforms in partnership with the private sector on challenges that affect investment in the country.

President Kikwete said the government was already addressing some of the concerns and recommendations.

’’For instance we have already established a Commercial Court, which was not in existence until a few years ago.

What needs to be done now is to develop a mechanism to fast track the adjudication of cases and disputes. This, we promise to continue doing,” he said.

In addition, he said, the government had enhanced transparency in tax administration. He said he concurred with the concerns raised in the Blue Book over the need to strengthen the monitoring system in tax collection and the collaboration between the private sector and the government.

However, the President pointed out that the country has critical needs in the area of infrastructure, including roads, electricity and transport and called upon the Japanese Bank for International Co-operation to support such projects.

Minister for Planing, Economy and Empowerment Dr Juma Ngasongwa, said the Blue Book spells out eight measures, which he said if implemented, would improve the investment climate in Tanzania.

’’The Blue Book has tried to identify Eight Point Action Plan and my ministry will provide the necessary support in implementing this action plan,’’ he said.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Japanese Bank are behind the Blue Book for Tanzania.

SOURCE: Guardian

A few drumbeats later...

I made a donation to Friends Peace Teams African Great Lakes program.

Friends Peace Teams is a Spirit-led organization working around the world to develop long-term relationships with communities in conflict to create programs for peacebuilding, healing and reconciliation. FPT’s programs build on extensive Quaker experience combining practical and spiritual aspects of conflict resolution.
Friends Peace Teams (FPT) was founded in 1993 to promote spirit led peace team work among members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and other concerned individuals.

Call Me RSVP

2006-04-04T11:35:00.000-04:00

Volunteer with RSVP of Broome County - Binghamton, NY:
230 Main Street
Binghamton, NY 13905-2692
Contact: Tammy Hodges, Interim Program Manager
Email: thodges@ccbc.net
Phone: (607) 231-0726
Fax: (607) 797-6188
http://www.catholiccharitiesbc.org/
USAFreedom Corps: Senior Corps

Mission Statement

The mission of RSVP is to enlist the time and talents of persons aged 55 years and over into volunteer service to enrich their lives by using their experience and skills in a meaningful way to meet unfilled needs in the community.

Description

We are the central volunteer agency in the area for people over 55. We recruit, orient, place volunteers at ovee 125 local agencies and insure that they find their assignments to be meaningful and satisfying.

Way Cool IA

2006-03-21T21:35:00.000-05:00

Some information architects -- they used to be called librarians -- have got their hands on the del.icio.us controls. I make this assumption based upon observation of a new interface.

If you click on the number of others who have tagged a specific link, you now see a list of tags, in addition to the list of people. Which can help with tag selection, which, I understand to be an underlying concept of folksonomy.

Huh?

Service You Can't Trust

2006-02-27T13:53:00.000-05:00

T-Mobile cell phones, calling plans, and wireless services - get more from life.

Actually, there is no service, there is only sales, sales and more deals. My current deal is a $200 obligation for a non-working mobile phone. There may be further obligations.

Of course, that is only my perception. T-Mobile says they are meeting their obligation because I have cell service. They are willing to work with me with the problem that I have.

Yep, T-Mobile is gracious enough to help me with the limited warranty for my Samsung e335 mobile phone. Yes, mine, after I got "web specialized". Such a deal, let me tell you.

Indeed, the Samsung e335 seems to work, rather it is the charging of the newly received, T-Mobile branded and delivered mobile telephone that has failed.

"Battery Low, " says the Samsung e335. But, plugging in the charger, even for longer than the recommended 200 minutes, fails to satisfy it.

"Battery Low, " it states with a convenient ring tone. After jumping throughout the hoops for Linda, we determined that the mobile that I just received (but have had for longer than the 14 day, no-obligation period) may need a new charger. $9.95 for shipping.* Seven day delivery.

*Note: Maybe waived for accessory after the fourth frustrating call of the morning to T-Mobile Customer, hm, not Service, that is the vernacular for the wireless connection, certainly not Support, uh, er, (thinking nice words) Response.

Probably, the next hurdle will be a battery, and if that fails, then a replacement with careful instructions on switching the SIM. All the hurdles require "scripts" to get to the next level in the game. Meanwhile, the frustrated customer is obligated for $200 and T-Mobile is meeting their obligation by providing cellular service, which the customer is able to use only if the mobile is plugged into the wall socket.

Oh, and, if you get to the Replacement Level and encounter Diedre the Dominatrix, who is authorized to authorize the return, then you have seven days to return the old phone before being assessed $200. Oh, and it must be returned in good working order. No signs of physical or liquid damage as verified by... yep, you guessed it, T-Mobile. Are you beginning to get the picture. Non-working mobile phone for $200 or a replacement that might actually work, for possibly $200.

"But, it wasn't working properly when I got it," mourns the frustrated customer. Tsk-tsk, you did read and understand fully all those obligations, right? No? Then maybe it would be wise to leave mobile mash-ups to youth who want the ring tones and have the energy to fight with the greedy monster, rather than if you are disabled and want to trust that you could make a remote call if you went for a walk, using your walker, and needed to call someone for help.

But, listen, for only $19.95 more in additional monthly charges, such a deal, let me tell you...

Back to the Fox

2006-02-26T10:13:00.000-05:00

Two Firefox extensions from Google Labs wanted me to use 1.5 even though Fedora Core 4 has not yet seen fit to provide it. The current version installed relatively painlessly. I lost a number of extensions, the main one was spellchecker. I lost Piggy Bank, not due to incompatibility with the Fox, rather a need for the most current Java. It was late and it eschewed the intricacies of a Java update, though I suspect it also is why Jetty 6 fails to work on Amalaki.

Huh?

Flock-kewl-patient-oh-n00l

2006-02-17T23:54:00.000-05:00

Since releasing Flock 0.4.10, we have moved the location of Flock settings (a.k.a. the profile directory) on Windows and Linux. This means that you will lose browser history, passwords, and other settings when you move to the new version of Flock.Yup, we see the irony in letting users migrate from Firefox, but not from Flock.

Upgrading

technorati tags: RDF, support, flock, flockstart, usability, complaint

WTF?

2006-02-17T14:40:00.000-05:00

In this case, it means, "What the Flock?" Which is the reason that I created this blog. It would seem that Flock donna talk to no Wordpress, so I was unable to interface either After Gutenberg or What Next

On the other hand, Flock: the Browser is pretty gosh dang impressive upon first glance.

Blackbird

Can't breathe, drink or eat loot

The light at the end is an empty feed tube

Claw back those bonuses

BBC E-mail: 'I do everything... the bees still die'

Check out this post on Red, Green, and Blue

Australia’s Black Saturday

Nine out of 10 firms ignoring supply chain carbon footprint

The Pickens, You Say

Speaking of Fraud

Bang dat Efficiency Drum, Congress Critters, Sell dem CFLs

Seeking More Federal Money, GM and Chrysler Promise Greener Vehicles

Four Million Americans Lost Health Insurance Since Recession Began

TARP Inspector General: Don’t Let TARP Fall Victim To Fraud Like Katrina And...

What War Crimes in the Middle of Our Living Room?

jcwinnie has sent you a video - Frozen Heat: a global warming threat from the Arctic

GM files restructuring plan

The Hidden Agenda behind Tax Cuts

Obama Pledges to Regulate CO2 from Coal Plants

Once upon a time there was a planet called Earth and a man called James Hansen

What to do after attending the latest show from Washington Theater?

Infrastructure is a Persistent Market Failure, as is Scientific Research, Meanwhile There is faith in the Technological Quick Fix

A Defining Moment

We are lying to you 26% less, Merika, aren't you proud of us?

City of Seattle takes request

BAUAAAE, Peanut Executive Style

Economic Stimulus Bill Now in Conference

Now with Carbon Free Plutonium

A Better Effort at Building a Low- Carbon Economy.

But altruism would get in the way of BAUAAE, Mr. President

A Snappy Zinger from Fareed

Civil Disobedience at Congressional Power Plant

Happiness is some warm anti-gun-control rhetoric, yes it is

Pros at Pretending

John Holdren

Barack Obama

Carbon Tax Briefing

Al Gore at Poznan

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Al Gore

Al Gore

Al Gore

Al Gore

Al Gore, TED Talks

The Big Ask

Leo's Film

Spinning Global Warming

Psychologist Dan Gilbert

Psychologist Dan Gilbert

James Hansen

Hansen: Climate Crime?

Er, Mr. President, the Horse has left the Barn

And the Congress critters say, "What do you mean your stimulus dollars, tax payer?"

Environmental Stressors and Addiction

Dear Matt Drudge, Does that anonymous Republican lawmaker play tennis?

What Bush Really Meant by More Coal, More Nuclear

The Public Trust, "We are all dodos on this bus" Version

Halliburton wants to pay $559 million to end investigation

Con to Cool Green Science Con

Stopping Terrorism

The Slippery Slope of Interrogation

The Job of U.S. Attorney General

Criminal investigation into practices of torture by the Bush administration and how do you arrest an entire Congress

So the question is, "Why?"

Never, never trust that it is safe to ride a bicycle in automobile traffic

We will not apologize for our way of life

Wait, Wait, I was doing all for You!

Thumbnail Sketch of the W Legacy

Illegal to the Last

Fast Women

Cyber Foot in the Door

If Reichminister Erlich and The Maryland State Police Didn't Like You

8 years of Bush have left us with #tweme

Hans Rosling Feb 2006 Monterey, Calif

TED 2006 - Debunking myth about the "Third World"

Porta-Person

Ndiyo Nivo

Ko-Ko-KoLaboration

Improved Septic Tanks