Climate change is an issue that should not be partisan, yet in the United States, acceptance and belief in action on the issue are split down Party lines. This is because the wealthy interests who own the Republican Party don’t want action on climate change because it could cut into their profits, and they are the… Continue reading “Billionaires who own GOP are stopping action on climate change”
Awe-inspiring. Category 5 #HurricaneIrma GOES-16 30-second imagery, 500-meter resolution "Red" Channel. (Prelim/Non-operational) pic.twitter.com/J1SfqDXNFJ
— Mike Umscheid (@mikeumsc) September 5, 2017
Wildfire burning through mountains just north of downtown Los Angeles is largest ever within city limits, mayor says https://t.co/lBfwlBUmuA pic.twitter.com/GMpH9ts4pE
— ABC News (@ABC) September 2, 2017
If you live in Florida or along the Atlantic coast, you should check your flood probability here.
I live about a half-mile from the Delaware River, in a part of the city called the Riverwards. It’s very, very flat here.
I also live a half-mile south of a former chemical plant, and about a mile northwest of a major gas facility that stores liquified natural gas. (They call the ships that carry LNG “floating bombs.”)
I’m about three blocks north of Frankford Creek.
And now there’s this new hurricane, Hurricane Irma. Looks like it’s going to be a Cat 4, just like Harvey. They’re saying it might hit the East Coast in a week to ten days, although it’s still too early to tell.
As we just saw in Texas, an awful lot of people in America live sandwiched in between all kinds of potential threats. The less wealthy you are, the more likely it is. The job providers who get rich off these facilities live nowhere near them.
Bless their hearts.
Irma might turn out to sea and become what weather geeks call a fish storm. I hope so. But it does seem likely to hit the coast; we just don’t know how far north. The models are scary, but models aren’t the same as forecasts. If this was a forecast, I’d already be in my car and heading west:
This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety. #Harvey pic.twitter.com/IjpWLey1h8
— National Weather Service (@NWS) August 27, 2017
As a reporter 30 years ago, I covered stormwater politics. What I learned is that flood maps aren’t updated, and that’s for a reason. As long as the official map says it’s okay to build, a politician can sign off on development that means campaign cash in his pocket. Then officials are interviewed after massive floods, saying “it’s a once-in-500-year event.” Only if you go by their old maps!
I also remember when Bill Clinton tried to pass a FEMA regulation that if your house was destroyed more than 50% by flooding, you would not be permitted to rebuild in the same place. Well, all those wealthy Republicans with beachfront properties were furious, and kicked up a major fuss. Their politicians got Clinton to withdraw the change.
This is what I hate about Republicans. They have completely abdicated any pretense of working for the common good, it’s all about their donors. Period. That’s why nothing was done about all the climate change warnings, and it’s why one of the first things Trump did was rescind all of the executive orders on climate that Obama put in place because Republicans refused to allow anything substantive to happen.
Now we have someone who hates environmental protection in charge of the agency charged with protecting the environment. Even Richard Nixon cared about the environment!
7/ Since 2010, more than 7K residential buildings have been built in FEMA designated flood zones in Harris County, according to our analysis
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 27, 2017
A friend of mine on his social media account commented, “How can you have your worst weeks at work when you are on vacation?”
No joke. As we see the Presidency crumble further into disarray, Trump’s infrastructure council has now been disbanded.
President Donald Trump will not move forward with a planned Advisory Council on Infrastructure, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The infrastructure council, which was still being formed, would have advised Trump on his plan to spend as much as $1 trillion upgrading roads, bridges and other public works. Its cancellation follows Trump’s announcement Wednesday that he was disbanding two other business advisory panels.
Corporate chief executive officers this week had started to quit both the American Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum in protest over Trump’s remarks that appeared to confer legitimacy on white supremacists following a violent rally Aug. 12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
That is three advisory boards that have sunk. As if Trump would listen to any advice from them.
An executive order formally establishing the group was not issued until last month. The White House indicated that slots were still being filled on the 15-member council, which was to include experts on real estate, finance, construction, transportation and other areas.
Trump said via Twitter on Wednesday that he was shutting down the other two advisory councils to “avoid putting pressure on the business people” to remain on board, but momentum was already moving in that direction.
The Trump administration has put forward the outlines of an infrastructure package but not formally unveiled its full plans for Congress. The initiative has been waiting in line behind Trump’s legislative pushes on health care and tax reform, both of which have stalled.
On Tuesday, while in New York, Trump signed an executive order related to one aspect of his infrastructure-related ambitions: dramatically reducing the permitting time for new highways.
Maybe, someone needs to tell Trump that business people cannot associate with a President that make statements about shared blame for last weekend’s violent protests involving white supremacists. It generally isn’t good for business.
you should read @emilyhholden's excellent story: https://t.co/i6FQsfGXE4 utilities are in a really tricky spot here.
— a luminous presence shaped like Seth D. Michaels (@sethdmichaels) August 9, 2017
The New York Times published a draft of the report on Monday night. Power Plant A coal-fired power plant in Arizona John Fowler/Flickr The New York Times published a draft of a long-awaited government report on climate change on Monday night and the picture it paints is dire. Though the copy obtained by The New York… Continue reading “A key government report on climate change has leaked. Here’s what you need to know”
Chris Barratt, University of Dundee
Sperm count in men from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand declined by 50-60% between 1973 and 2011, according to a new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Surprisingly, the study, which analysed data on the sperm counts of 42,935 men, found no decline in sperm counts in men from Asia, Africa and South America, although there was limited data from these areas.
Overall, this is a very disturbing report. There has been a longstanding debate among scientists as to whether sperm counts have decreased or not. But what’s different about this study is the quality of the analysis. It was done in a systematic manner, accounting for several of the problems that had affected previous studies, such as the method used to count sperm and comparing studies performed sometimes decades apart. As such, most experts agree that the data presented is of a high quality and that the conclusions, although alarming, are reliable.
So what is going on? There has been concern for a number of years about an increase in abnormalities in male reproductive health, such as testicular cancer. The decline in sperm counts is consistent with these increases and this adds weight to the concept that male reproductive health is under attack and is declining rapidly.
In fact, if the data on sperm counts is extrapolated to its logical conclusion, men will have little or no reproductive capacity from 2060 onwards. The most rational explanation for the decline in male reproductive health is the changes in the environment. Current research suggests that the male foetus is particularly susceptible to exposure to pollutants and so changes that occur early in foetal life can have a very significant effect on the adult.
The simple answer is that we need much more research to find out why this decline in sperm count is happening. We cannot be complacent about the potential negative effect on fertility and must now urgently rally to substantially increase the research effort into male reproductive health.
Also, although the prevailing evidence shows a decline in reproductive health, not all studies show this; there are some geographical differences. It will be critical to determine what the key differences between geographical regions are – such as genetic differences and exposure to specific pollutants – so we can then examine treatment strategies to limit these negative effects.
If it’s the foetus that is mainly affected, what can the adult man do? Even in adults, exposure to chemicals, such as bisphenol A, which are thought to affect fertility, can have a negative effect, so men should limit their exposure to toxic chemicals. This includes stopping cigarette smoking. Also, a healthy lifestyle is very important as there is a known link between obesity and reduced sperm count.
Chris Barratt, Professor of Reproductive Medicine, University of Dundee
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Breaking news coming from the Washington Post Saturday night regarding Russian hacking. No, this isn’t election hacking. This time it is much worse. Now they are in the nuclear and energy companies systems. U.S. government officials have confirmed that the cyber intrusions into the networks were fishing expeditions designed to “assess their networks.” The Washington Post… Continue reading “Russian hackers/FSB have breached U.S. nuclear and energy networks”
