Monthly Archives: January 2012

Florida food stamp bill is latest attempt to restrict junk food.

January 31, 2012

Florida legislation is the latest to prohibit shoppers from buying ‘nonstaple, unhealthy foods’ with federal aid. It’s a trend driven by health concerns but also by tight budgets. Please continue reading at: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-food-stamps-20120130,0,1265987.story
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Sunscreen concern reaches into the school grounds.

January 31, 2012

As they prepare for a new batch of students, teachers will be receiving 50,000 leaflets from environmental group Friends of the Earth, thanks to a resolution passed by the Australian Education Union last year. The leaflets encourage use of sunscreens that don’t include nanoparticles – an ingredient the Theraputic Goods Administration has deemed to...
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Company seeks asbestos liability limit in Idaho.

January 31, 2012

A national bottle-top maker that’s grown weary of some $700 million in asbestos claims it’s paid out to victims of lung disease has arrived in the Idaho Legislature as part of its years-long, state-by-state trudge to shield itself from forking over more cash. Please continue reading at: http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20120129&id=14736941
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Nissan unveils energy-efficient Nichio Maru car carrier – GizMag

January 31, 2012

With large cargo freighters being a major source of CO2 emissions worldwide it’s been encouraging to see various efforts to make such vessels more efficient. In recent years we’ve seen the development of the world’s biggest container ship to cut CO2 emissions per container moved, air bubbles used to cut the friction between a...
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Invasive Species: Groups Propose Spending $9.5 Billion To Protect Lakes, Rivers

January 31, 2012

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Groups representing states and cities in the Great Lakes region on Tuesday proposed spending up to $9.5 billion on a massive engineering project to separate the lakes from the Mississippi River watershed in the Chicago area, describing it as the only sure way to protect both aquatic systems from invasions...
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India’s Largest Solar Program Cuts Power Rates by Up to 33% – Bloomberg

January 31, 2012

India’s largest solar program cut the preferential rate it pays utilities for sun power as much as 33 percent as global prices of panels declined by more than half. Photovoltaic plants commissioned after the Jan. 28 deadline will be paid a rate of 9.98 rupees (20 cents) per kilowatt-hour for the first 12 years,...
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Green Car Congress: AT&T orders 1,200 CNG-powered Chevrolet Express vans

January 31, 2012

AT&T has ordered 1,200 Chevrolet Express dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) cargo vans for deployment to AT&T service centers nationwide. It is the largest-ever order of CNG vehicles from General Motors. AT&T, which has announced its intention to invest up to $565 million to deploy approximately 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles over a 10-year period through 2018,...
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Oh, the Irony: “Made in U.S.A” Goods Gain Popularity in China – inhabitat

January 30, 2012

Pick a product sold in the US, and chances are it’s made in China. But now in an ironic twist of fate, American-made goods are becoming more popular in China. According to a report by Jing Daily, workwear labels like Red Wing, Woolrich, Billy Reid, and Gitman Brothers are all gaining popularity in China,...
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Nuclear Waste Panel Urges ‘Consent Based’ Approach – NYTimes.com

January 30, 2012

WASHINGTON — A commission appointed to find alternatives to a failed plan to store nuclear waste in the Nevada desert declared on Thursday that the United States would have to develop a “consent-based approach” for choosing a site because leaving the decision to Congress had failed. By securing local consent, the panel said, the...
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In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad

January 30, 2012

Source: The New York Times,  In the last decade, Apple has become one of the mightiest, richest and most successful companies in the world, in part by mastering global manufacturing. Apple and its high-technology peers — as well as dozens of other American industries — have achieved a pace of innovation nearly unmatched in...
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1000 times less energy to produce the microbubbles which can be used in Algae Biofuel Production

January 30, 2012

A solution to the difficult issue of harvesting algae for use as a biofuel has been developed using microbubble technology pioneered at the University of Sheffield. The technique builds on previous research in which microbubbles were used to improve the way algae is cultivated….http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/01/1000-times-less-energy-to-produce.html
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Spain Halts Renewable Subsidies to Curb $31 Billion of Debts – Bloomberg

January 30, 2012

Spain halted subsidies for renewable energy projects to help curb its budget deficit and rein in power-system borrowings backed by the state that reached 24 billion euros ($31 billion) at the end of 2011. “What is today an energy problem could become a financial problem,” Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria said in Madrid. The...
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Chugoku Electric shuts Shimane No. 2 reactor, leaving Japan with only 3 reactors online ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

January 30, 2012

TOKYO — Chugoku Electric Power Co on Friday took its 820-megawatt No. 2 reactor at its Shimane nuclear plant offline for planned maintenance. The shutdown leaves only three reactors operating in Japan out of a total of 54, as public concerns about safety in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster have prevented the...
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EPA Rejects Palm-Oil Based Biodiesel for Renewable Fuels Program – Bloomberg

January 30, 2012

The Environmental Protection Agency said that biodiesel made from palm oil doesn’t meet the requirements to be added to its renewable fuels program because its greenhouse-gas emissions are too high. In a regulatory filing today, the EPA said that palm-oil biodiesel, which is primarily produced in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, provides reductions...
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Refinery closings could push gasoline prices back to $4 – USATODAY.com

January 30, 2012

Gasoline prices could be edge higher this spring, thanks to the bankruptcy of a European refiner, the industry’s latest casualty. The U.S. east coast already sees the threat of a temporary spike in gasoline to $4 or more per gallon for the summer driving season and could pay some of the highest prices in...
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What Obama Won’t Mention Today in Michigan: Campus Has 53% More Administrators Than Faculty

January 29, 2012

From an open letter to President Obama on December 16, 2011 from University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman: “Higher education is a public good currently lacking public support. There is no stronger trigger for rising costs at public universities and colleges than declining state support.” According to the Washington Post, “President Barack Obama...
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Sugar Tariffs Cost Americans $3.86 Billion in 2011

January 29, 2012

I’m reminded of the recent Quote of the Day from Bastiat: “Treat all economic questions from the viewpoint of the consumer, for the interests of the consumer are the interests of the human race.” The chart displays annual refined sugar prices (cents per pound) using data from the USDA (Tables 2 and 5) between 1982...
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US Plummets On World Press Freedom Ranking – Slashdot

January 29, 2012

slashdot.org“Reporters Without Borders released its 2011-2012 global Press Freedom Index. The indicators for press freedom in the U.S. are dramatic, with a downward movement from 27th to 47th in the global ranking, from the previous year. Much of this is correlated directly to thearrest and incarceration of American journalists covering the ‘Occupy’ protest movements in New...
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Bill Gates Injects $750 Million Into Troubled AIDS Fund – International Business Times

January 29, 2012

(REUTERS) – Microsoft chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates pledged a further $750 million to the troubled global AIDS fund on Thursday and urged governments to continue their support to save lives. “These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world’s poorest,” he said in Davos at the annual meeting of the World Economic...
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UC Davis News & Information :: How sea water could corrode nuclear fuel

January 29, 2012

Japan used seawater to cool nuclear fuel at the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant after the tsunami in March 2011 — and that was probably the best action to take at the time, says Professor Alexandra Navrotsky of the University of California, Davis. But Navrotsky and others have since discovered a new way in which...
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Study: Multitasking hinders youth social skills – CNN.com

January 29, 2012

Sorry, a little “dahh factor” here for CNN. Gadget multitasking can cause children to develop social problems, according to a new study. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Children who frequently multitask are less likely to develop social skills, study says The study from Stanford University included nearly 3,500 girls aged 8 to 12 Face-to-face chats can improve...
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Don’t Worry About Global Warming, Say 16 Scientists in the WSJ – Slashdot

January 29, 2012

“According to a piece in the Wall Street Journal, there’s ‘no compelling scientific argument for drastic action to ‘decarbonize’ the world’s economy’. From the article: ‘The lack of warming for more than a decade—indeed, the smaller-than-predicted warming over the 22 years since the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) began issuing projections—suggests that computer...
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Gates Paying Murdoch For System To Track U.S. Kids’ School Progress – Slashdot

January 29, 2012

“Discussing U.S. education in his 2012 Annual Letter, Bill Gates notes the importance of ‘tools and services have the added benefit ofproviding amazing visibility into how each individual student is progressing, and generating lots of useful data that teachers can use to improve their own effectiveness.’ Well, Bill is certainly putting his millions where his...
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The Massive Debt Bomb: $7,600,000,000,000 Dollars Of Debt Must Be Rolled Over In 2012 (NYSEArca:TZA, NYSEArca:SDS, NYSEArca:SPXU, NYSEArca:SH, NYSEArca:EWZ, NYSEArca:UUP, NYSEArca:UDN, NYSEArca:RSX) | ETF DAILY NEWS

January 29, 2012

In 2012, a total of 7,600,000,000,000 dollars of debt must be rolled over by the G-7 nations, Brazil (NYSEArca:EWZ), Russia (NYSEArca:RSX), India (NYSEArca:EPI) and China (NYSEArca:FXI).  When you add in interest payments, that number rises to over $8 trillion.  And that does not even include any new borrowing that all of those nations will...
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U.S. gov’t security site hacked & TSA claimed railway suffered cyberattack

January 29, 2012

computerworld…Another day, another hack. All aboard the crazy cyber-attacked train? The TSA claimed that hackers launched a cyberattack that manipulated a railway company’s computers. Then, last night, AntiSec hacktivists set sail and hacked OnGuardOnline.gov, a U.S. government online security website. The FTC managed site was rooted and a pastebin statement threatens to dump the...
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Bill Gates — taxing the rich more will help close the budget deficit

January 29, 2012

computerworld…Since Bill Gates left Microsoft, he has become the world’s premier philanthropist, but has largely stayed away from politics. But now, in an aside in an interview with the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph, he lightly weighs into U.S. politics, saying that increasing taxes on the rich would be a good way to close the...
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Geothermal Could Become California’s Baseload Power: Commissioner | EarthTechling

January 29, 2012

Geothermal resources could become California’s “bread and butter” baseload power as nuclear and gas-fired plants are retired, a state commissioner said this week. The licence for the San Onofre nuclear power plant is due to expire in 2022, and the Diablo Canyon plant will not be permitted to continue generating after 2024, unless it applies for a 20-year extension. The...
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Chevy Volt Battery Issue The Next Solyndra? | EarthTechling

January 29, 2012
volt-hearings

Is a new Solyndra brewing in the halls of power in Washington? One might think so with word today of a new report released by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. According to Bloomberg, this report basically accuses the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a cover up of sorts over the battery fire issue...
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U.S. Navy’s Largest Solar Project Going Up | EarthTechling

January 29, 2012
sunpower-tracker

SunPower broke ground this month on a big solar installation at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California. Though it’s not a utility scale system of the magnitude being developed elsewhere in the desert – like the 392-megawatt (MW) Ivanpah concentrating solar plant, for instance – at 13.78 MW it is large enough to hint at...
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Is Your Doctor Overweight? It Could Influence Your Obesity Diagnosis

January 29, 2012

Whether or not you get a diagnosis of obesity may come down to more than numbers on the scale — it may actually be about what your doctor’s weight is. A new study conducted by the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that when a doctor had a normal body mass...
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Chronic conditions key for slowing growth of healthcare costs – thepumphandle

January 29, 2012

thepumphandle…Last week, the Congressional Budget Office released some disappointing news: several demonstration projects aiming to contain growth in healthcare spending are not showing cost savings. Specifically, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have been focusing on programs involving either disease management and care coordination or value-based payment systems for the fee-for-service Medicare population....
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Scientists urge White House to intervene in stalled worker safety rule

January 29, 2012

A group of 300 scientists, physicians and public health experts are urging President Obama to direct his Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to complete its review of a proposed Labor Department health standard on the carcinogen crystallline silica. OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has been reviewing the proposed rule for...
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Effort to ban three chemicals used on Long Island.

January 29, 2012

With three million Long Islanders dependent on a single underground aquifer for drinking water, and the annual use of millions of pounds of pesticides, local environmental groups have asked for an immediate ban of the three most frequently found chemicals, atrazine, metalaxyl, and imidacloprid, from use on the Island. http://easthamptonstar.com/?q=Government/2012126/Effort-Ban-Three-Chemicals-Used-Long-Island
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Antibiotics prove powerless as super-germs spread.

January 29, 2012

Antibiotics were once the wonder drug. Now, however, an increasing number of highly resistant – and deadly – bacteria are spreading around the world. The killer bugs often originate in factory farms, where animals are treated whether they are sick or not. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,811560,00.html
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FDA seizes nearly 14% of imported orange juice over fungicide.

January 29, 2012

Nearly 14% of orange juice imported to the U.S. since early this month has been seized by the Food and Drug Administration because it contained trace amounts of a fungicide, carbendazim, according to the agency. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-orange-juice-detained-20120128,0,3282575.story
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California vision green cars requires huge new sources of electricity.

January 29, 2012

Here come the fleets of coal powered cars… California is taking a bold step toward transforming the automobile industry with its highly ambitious new rules mandating a steady increase in the sales of ultralow and zero-emission vehicles…would require huge new sources of electricity. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_19837669
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Pesticides blamed for bee decline.

January 29, 2012

Compelling new evidence from the US government’s top bee expert that modern pesticides called neonicotinoids may be a major cause of collapsing bee populations led to calls yesterday for the chemicals to be banned. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/pesticides-blamed-for-bee-decline-6296322.html
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New report by agency lowers estimates of natural gas in US.

January 29, 2012

The uncertainty in predicting natural gas resources was underscored last week when the Energy Information Administration released a report containing sharply lower estimates — a drop of more than 40 percent. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/us/new-data-not-so-sunny-on-us-natural-gas-supply.html
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Asbestos: New blow to victims of a shameful legacy.

January 29, 2012

The Government has deliberately excluded asbestos from an unprecedented review of the condition of the country’s schools because it knows that tackling the risks to schoolchildren and teachers could cost hundreds of millions, critics claim. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/asbestos-new-blow-to-victims-of-a-shameful-legacy-6296347.html
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New Report Details Why Existing Buildings Are Greener Than New Ones

January 29, 2012

Every year, roughly one billion square feet of buildings are demolished and replaced with new construction in the United States, according to a new report from Preservation Green Lab, and that number is likely to escalate. That’s a lot of CO2 emissions and materials that could easily be saved. Since new buildings are generally...
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Ecotricity’s SeaRaser Tidal Power Generator Could be the World’s Cheapest Method Of Producing Electr

January 29, 2012

Over the years, scientists have come up with numerous ways to produce renewable energy, however cost has always been a huge barrier to the widespread adoption of clean tech – the economics are still in favor of fossil fuels. However UK-based alternative energy company Ecotricity believe all that is about to change – their...
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New Energy-Efficient Battery Charging Standards in California Will Save 1 Million Tons of Carbon Emi

January 28, 2012

We have all heard the phrases “phantom power” and “vampire energy” about a million times, and yet the problem still exists – many people forget to unplug battery chargers and other electronics when they are done with them. The State of California has decided that instead of trying to change the stubborn behavior of...
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California’s Lead in Solar Is Slowly Eroding – NYTimes.com

January 28, 2012

Interstate Renewable Energy Council The growth of California’s local solar-power systems, not only on rooftops but in parking lots, farmers’ fields and vineyard irrigation ponds, has kept the state well ahead of others in the total power generated from photovoltaic systems. In 2011, according to a new report by Environment California, California’s total capacity exceeded 1,000 megawatts —...
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Clean Energy Projects Face Waning Subsidies – NYTimes.com

January 28, 2012

…The wind and solar companies argue that the tax breaks they are seeking are different. The tax credits can be taken only by businesses that are already up and running, so taxpayers are less likely to be stuck subsidizing a failing company, proponents say. “This is a program that doesn’t pick winners or losers,”...
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Is Spent Nuclear Fuel Really Waste? – NYTimes.com

January 28, 2012

Peter Wynn Thompson for The New York TimesA pool of spent nuclear fuel at the LaSalle County Generating Station in LaSalle, Ill. When the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future was established two years ago, after the Obama administration killed a proposed repository for nuclear waste atYucca Mountain in Nevada, one of the items on its...
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Solar panels are the next space race – China produces more than 10,000 MW of solar cells annually. United States, 1,000 MW

January 28, 2012

…As a portend of things to come for the solar industry, solar power is now cheaper to acquire and use than diesel fuel in India. As a result, Indian manufacturers are exchanging diesel fuel for solar panels to power their operations. That’s a big deal for the environment, as well as the solar industry at large....
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Cellulosic Biomass Could Meet California’s Transport Fuel Needs – The Bioenergy Site

January 28, 2012

…Both President Barack Obama and his predecessor in the White House have identified production of ethanol from cellulosic materials such as switchgrass and wood as vital to overcoming the U.S. “addiction” to oil. In recent years, California also adopted several bold new initiatives, including: (1) AB32, The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which...
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Nukespeak: The Selling of Nuclear Technology from the Manhattan Project to Fukushima | | AlterNet

January 28, 2012

While it is true that Patrick Moore was a member of Greenpeace in the  1970s, in 1986 he abruptly turned his back on the very issues he once passionately defended. He claims he “saw the light” but what Moore really  saw was an opportunity for financial gain. Since then he has gone from  defender...
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Welfare Drug Testing Bill Withdrawn After Amended To Include Testing Lawmakers

January 28, 2012

Amazing… “There was an amendment offered today that required drug testing for legislators as well and it passed, which led me to have to then withdraw the bill,” said Rep. Jud McMillin (R-Brookville), sponsor of the original welfare drug testing bill. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/welfare-drug-testing-bill_n_1237333….
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32 million reasons to cheer new school lunch rules

January 28, 2012

There are 32 million reasons why the United States Department of Agriculture’s new school meal standards are good news. That’s the number of children who participate in the National School Breakfast and Lunch programs in the U.S. and who will soon be served far more nutritious — and hopefully delicious — school meals....
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Inside Apple’s Hidden Factories. Finally. | Mother Jones

January 28, 2012
micro_polluter

Christopher Mims (GRIST)..Here are a bunch of (simulated) apps that, judging by Apple’s recent treatment of similarly socially conscious fare, will never, ever make it onto an actual iPhone. Luckily we still have the web, which Jobs did not manage to own before being sent to the great reincarnation lotto in the sky. Mother Jones created these apps,...
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New York City could open up 1,200 acres of rooftops for farming

January 28, 2012
New York City could open up 1,200 acres of rooftops for farming

Given how valuable space is in New York City, the city’s rooftops are strangely empty. But a proposal from the city’s planning department could change that by making 1,200 acres of commercial rooftops available for urban farmers to open greenhouses across the city. City law imposes restrictions on how tall buildings are allowed to...
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U.S. productivity went to The Angry Birds…

January 28, 2012
funny graphs - The Angry Bird Effect


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Hacked IRL: Same Difference

January 28, 2012
epic win photos - Hacked IRL: Same Difference


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HyperSolar harnesses sunlight to produce cleaner-than-clean hydrogen fuel

January 27, 2012

HyperSolar claims it is developing a zero carbon method of producing hydrogen gas from wastewater by harnessing solar energy. Hydrogen gas is a clean source of fuel in that, theoretically at least, the only waste product is water. But hydrogen gas does not occur naturally on Earth, and requires energy to create. Typically that...
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Stop Embarrassing Wastage of Food in the U.S. of more than 34 million tons of food waste each year – 14% of the total solid waste stream.

January 27, 2012

EPA Food Recovery Challenge Aims to Halt Embarrassing Wastage of Food in the U.S. The US generates more than 34 million tons of food waste each year, accounting for almost 14 percent of the total municipal solid waste stream. Food waste now represents the single largest component of municipal solid waste reaching landfills and...
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India Now Produces Power More Cheaply FromSolar Than From Diesel – Bloomberg

January 27, 2012

Bloomberg – India is producing power from solar cells more cheaply than by burning diesel for the first time, spurring billionaire Sunil Mittal and Coca-Cola Company’s mango supplier to jettison the fuel in favor of photovoltaic panels. The cost of solar energy in India declined by 28 percent since December 2010, according to Bloomberg...
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Big planning for $10 billion dollar “Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization of 2011″ Bill s.1855

January 27, 2012

Please see full s.1855 at CBO: Excerpts belows.1855 would amend the Public Health Service Act and the United States Code to authorize funding for certain activities carried out by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Veterans Affairs (VA) that would support the readiness of the public health system to address public...
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Smartest words on primary debate… and dumbest. Wow these two are our choices?

January 27, 2012

How would Newt and Mitt handle U.S. future crisis…By distracting from the crisis?  thestatecolumn.com…The final Republican presidential candidate debate before the Florida primary election featured a lot of back and forth “distracting” from the issues between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, according to Rick Santorum….After the crowd had seemingly become transfixed on the quarreling...
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S. 1149, Geothermal Production Expansion Act of 2011

January 27, 2012

CBO- S. 1149 would authorize BLM to offer noncompetitive leases of up to 640 acres for lands adjacent to known geothermal discoveries. Under the bill, a company that identified a geothermal resource that extended onto federal land adjacent to company-controlled lands could acquire the lease for a specified amount (bonus bid) determined by BLM...
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Update: America Has A $16.4 Trillion Debt Ceiling In 52-44 Senate Vote | ZeroHedge

January 27, 2012

Update: the Senate has failed to reject a bid to stop the debt ceiling hike with a simple 52 vote majority all of it along party lines. The US now has $16.4 trillion in debt capacity as of Friday. Since roughly $100 billion was plundered from Pension Funds in the past month, The US will...
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Lawmakers question Google on its new privacy practices – Computerworld

January 27, 2012

Google’s decision this week to share user data across its online services has caught the attention of eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives, with the lawmakers asking whether the changes will compromise privacy. Please continue reading at: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223749/Lawmakers_question_Google_on_i…
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Apple customers voice mixed reaction to reports of poor working conditions

January 27, 2012
Apple customers voice mixed reaction to reports of poor working conditions

Amid renewed reports of poor working conditions at factories making Apple products in China, it’s unclear whether customers will demand change. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223755/Apple_customers_voice_mixed_reaction_to_reports_of_poor_working_conditions
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If The Economy Is Improving….?

January 27, 2012

Everywhere you turn these days, someone is proclaiming that the economy is improving. When they try to convince you that the economy is getting better, ask them these questions…. If the economy is getting better, then why did new home sales in the United States hit a brand new all-time record low during 2011? If the...
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Warren Buffett’s Long Quest to Build A Geothermal Power Plant

January 26, 2012

Forbes has an article on Warren Buffett’s interest in geothermal power – Warren Buffett’s Long Quest to Build A Geothermal Power Plant. Here’s a sobering sign of the challenges facing the geothermal industry: Even Warren Buffett has spent the better part of a decade trying to build a single geothermal power plant in California....
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Australian Government tries to hide its own peak oil report

January 26, 2012
Australian Government tries to hide its own peak oil report

peakenergy - I find myself somewhat surprised some local peak oil activists managed to get the odious Piers Akerman at the awful Daily Telegraph to print this story, but I guess stranger things have happened – TOD ANZ points to the story – Australian Government tries to hide its own peak oil report. The Daily Telegraph...
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Why Is Type 1 Diabetes Rising Worldwide? wired.com

January 26, 2012
NCHS-obesity

wired.com - One of the best-elaborated hypothesis suggests that lack of exposure to infections in childhood keeps the various components of the immune system from learning how to hold themselves in balance. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a version of the “hygiene hypothesis” (past posts here, here and here), which says that a too-clean childhood can lead to...
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Local Public Health Preparedness for Radiological and Nuclear Incidents

January 25, 2012
Local Public Health Preparedness for Radiological and Nuclear Incidents

Local Public Health Preparedness for Radiological and Nuclear Incidents (PDF)Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General Why We Did This Study According to the 2010 National Security Strategy, the American people face no greater or more urgent danger than a terrorist attack with a nuclear weapon. If State and...
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CRS — Chemical Facility Security: Issues and Options for the 112th Congress

January 25, 2012
CRS — Chemical Facility Security: Issues and Options for the 112th Congress

Chemical Facility Security: Issues and Options for the 112th Congress (PDF) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists) The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has statutory authority to regulate chemical facilities for security purposes. The 112th Congress has extended this authority through October 4, 2012. The 112th Congress has debated the scope...
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Jon Stewart finds being rich… Hard to believe?

January 25, 2012

Filed under… Very Funny. Jon Stewart: I Can’t Believe Mitt Romney Makes $57,000 Per Day …That’s So Much More Unbelievable Than My Own $41,000 Per Day http://ace.mu.nu/archives/326045.php
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The Report on Carcinogens: What Went Wrong and What Can Be Done to Fix It

January 25, 2012
The Report on Carcinogens: What Went Wrong and What Can Be Done to Fix It

The Report on Carcinogens: What Went Wrong and What Can Be Done to Fix It Source: Competitive Enterprise Institute There is nothing wrong in principle with publishing periodic reports identifying substances that pose carcinogenic risks to humans. Cancer remains a serious disease even though advances in diagnosis and treatment have rendered most types much...
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Ultra-sustainable zHome becomes the first community of WaterSense labeled new homes in the Nation (W

January 25, 2012

 zHome – the ultra-sustainable, 10-unit townhome development in Issaquah, WA that is redefining the future of housing – is also the first community in the Nation in which every home has earned the WaterSense label for new homes Please continue reading at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/EE79C979798335AF85257990006206D6
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CRS — Economic Downturns and Crime

January 25, 2012
CRS — Economic Downturns and Crime

Economic Downturns and Crime (PDF) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists) The United States is currently recovering from a broad recession that is considered the longest- lasting economic downturn since World War II. Various indicators of economic strength, such as the unemployment rate and foreclosures, reached their worst showings in decades...
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CRS — Nuclear Power Plant Design and Seismic Safety Considerations

January 25, 2012
CRS — Nuclear Power Plant Design and Seismic Safety Considerations

Nuclear Power Plant Design and Seismic Safety Considerations (PDF) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists) The earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station and the earthquake that forced the North Anna, VA, nuclear power plant’s temporary shutdown have focused attention on the seismic criteria applied to...
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Chinese firms selling solar panels for less than cost

January 25, 2012

Here comes that trade war over solar panels we’ve been hearing about — the one that will have unfortunate consequences for the domestic rollout of solar power. A forthcoming study by the federal government could finally set this snowball in motion. The study reveals that Chinese solar panel makers are selling their wares at...
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The High-Radiation Lives and Risks of Nuclear-Nomad Subcontractors

January 25, 2012

“Gabrielle Hecht has an interesting piece on the subcontracted workers of the nuclear energy industry, in Japan and elsewhere. These workers face far more exposure to radiation than salaried workers; in Japan, 90% of the nuclear workforce is contracted. This is an eye-opening look at a practice that ‘carries exceptional risks and implications. And...
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EPA Awards Over $470,000 to Provide Safe, Reliable Drinking Water to Louisiana Residents (LA)

January 25, 2012

 A new grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will help provide safe, reliable drinking water to the people of Louisiana Please continue reading at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/E04486590740B4AE8525799000602A25
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The Blueprint for an America Built to Last…promotes homegrown and alternative energy sources.

January 25, 2012
Blueprint for an America Built to Last

whitehouse.gov, the President outlined a series of ideas to build an economy that works for everyone, one that will bring about a new era of American manufacturing, and promote homegrown and alternative energy sources. Taken together, those ideas represent a blueprint for the future - Check it out Source www.whitehouse.gov
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State of the Union Deep Dive – WhiteHouse.gov

January 25, 2012

Americans who watched an online broadcast of President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address saw something a little different: a side by side display of charts, graphs and other visual representations of why the President’s policies are so important for our country and our economy. You can see the slides here, or download them at slideshare State...
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Swing Voters… They drink the coolaid

January 25, 2012

When our words trump our actions… We are history. From ilovecharts
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Change…

January 25, 2012

From ilovecharts
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ACA to Host Free Webinar on Chemical Data Reporting Rule; EPA Says it Will Post More Information on Byproducts by Feb. 1

January 25, 2012

ACA is hosting a free webinar for its members on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule requirements and electronic reporting tool.  ACA’s Virtual Learning Conference will take place on Feb. 15, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EST, and will be conducted by Martha Marrapese and Amanda Price of...
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SCAQMD Rule 1107 Continues on Hold

January 25, 2012

California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) remains in a holding pattern with its amendments to Rule 1107 for limiting volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the Coating of Metal Parts and Products as it works to determine how to model worker exposure to tertiary butyl acetate (TBAc) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC). Please continue...
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EPA and California DTSC Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Partner on Green Chemistry

January 25, 2012

California’s Green Chemistry Initiative is being designed by its Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). Its latest draft (Oct. 31, 2011) of the Safer Consumer Product Alternatives Regulations to implement the initiative broadens the scope of the program, and the time frames for identifying chemicals of concern and for building a priority list of...
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Hackers Manipulated Railway Computers, TSA Memo Says

January 25, 2012

“Hackers, possibly from abroad, executed an attack on a Northwest rail company’s computers that disrupted railway signals for two days in December, according to a government memo recapping outreach with the transportation sector during the emergency. … While government and critical industry sectors have made strides in sharing threat intelligence, less attention has been...
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Amateur UAV Pilot Exposes Texas River of Blood

January 25, 2012

 ”Carlton Purvis of Security Management News reports that a tip from an amateur UAV enthusiast ‘is what led Texas authorities to open a major criminal investigation into the waste practices of a Dallas meat packing plant.’ The photo shows a river of blood.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Massive Abuse in Jails » Blog of Rights

January 25, 2012

Read the report >> aclu.org…Juan Pablo Reyes was punched by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies over and over again in the ribs, mouth and eyes, breaking his eye socket and leaving his body badly bruised. After falling to the ground, the deputies continued to kick Reyes, an inmate at the Los Angeles County Jail,...
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Mass Incarceration and Criminal Justice in America : The New Yorker

January 25, 2012

Over 6 million caged in America… More than under Stalin at its height For a great many poor people in America, particularly poor black men, prison is a destination that braids through an ordinary life, much as high school and college do for rich white ones. More than half of all black men without...
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Unemployment down mainly because people have left workforce

January 25, 2012

The NYT mentioned the drop in the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent from a peak of 10.0 percent in 2009 as evidence of the economy’s recovery. Most of this decline is the result of people leaving the labor force. (Workers are only counted as being unemployed if they are still looking for work.) The employment to...
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The Free Press…. people of Vermont are in a race against time to prevent another Fukushima in their back yard—which is also all of ours. 

January 25, 2012

In 2003 Entergy made a deal with the state of Vermont. The Louisiana-based nuke speculator said that if it could buy and operate the decrepit Vermont Yankee reactor under certain terms and conditions, the company would then agree to shut it down if the state denied it a permit to continue. The drop dead...
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Google to spy on users’ private data including calendars and emails

January 25, 2012

FAQ: Google’s new privacy policy – The Washington Post What is Google doing?: In a nutshell, Google is taking information from almost all of your Google services — including Gmail, Picasa, YouTube and search — and integrating the data so that they can learn more about you. (Information from Google Books, Google Wallet and Google...
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Federal employees owe $1.03 billion in unpaid taxes – The Washington Post

January 25, 2012

The Washington Post…Congressional staffers owed about $10.6 million in unpaid taxes in 2010, a slight increase from the previous year and a growing slice of the roughly $1 billion owed by federal and postal workers nationwide. The figures come as Republican efforts to pass legislationallowing federal agencies to fire tax delinquent federal employeeshave slowed and as the...
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Are Expensive Batteries Worth the Extra Cost? | Wired.com

January 25, 2012

Wired… Clearly, these cheaper batteries are not nearly as good as the more expensive ones. Ok, but what about the total energy? If I integrate these three curves, I get the following stored energies: DG (Dollar Store) = 2983 Joules (0.829 Watt*hours). Energizer = 10,798 Joules (3.00 Watt*hours) Duracell = 9,398 Joules (2.61 Watt*hours)...
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Jan. 25, 1945: Fluoridation — Better Teeth, or Commie Plot? | Wired.com

January 25, 2012

…Grand Rapids undertook a study before implementing its fluoridation project, meant to clear up any safety concerns. Fluoride protects tooth enamel but is nevertheless toxic, even potentially lethal, in concentrated form. The Grand Rapids study concluded that the benefits strongly outweighed any risks, and the program got the green light. Please read more from: ...
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War…

January 25, 2012

Ht- wilwheaton
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New Obesity Prevention Campaign …insensitive words and pictures are absolutely harmful to our health

January 25, 2012

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) sponsored two new billboards in Albany, NY, warning residents that cheese makes you fat in what is possibly most irresponsible way ever. The first features an obese man’s disembodied torso and the words, “Your abs on cheese.” The second features an obese woman’s butt and thighs and the...
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“10 million people contacted Congress, Wales said. “That’s not an abuse of power, that’s democracy..

January 25, 2012

 - Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales,
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Genius Unveils World’s First Battery-Free Wireless Mouse – inhabitat

January 25, 2012
Genius DX Battery-Free Wireless Mouse

Genius just took a big step forward for computer peripherals by launching the world’s first wireless battery-free mouse. The mighty mouse eschews wasteful AAAs and heavier lithium-ion batteries in favor of an electric double-layer ultracapacitor that requires just a quick 3 minute charge each day. The Genius DX-Eco runs on a 2.4 Ghz connection,...
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Photo captures Westinghouse’s nuclear knowledge flying around China

January 25, 2012

The NRC has been slow to embrace the latest nuclear designs. Not so the People’s Republic. Will the sale of expertise to Beijing come back to haunt the U.S.? Please read more from:  http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/photo-captures-westinghouses-nuclear-knowledge-flying-around-china/12340
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State of the Union highlights: energy is a top priority

January 25, 2012

President Obama’s State of the Union address was heavily focused on energy development and investments into renewable energy technologies. Americans should not have to choose been environmental… Please read more from:  http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/state-of-the-union-highlights-energy-is-a-top-priority/12460
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