Category: Disastrous

They knew

~ susie ~ 4 Comments

Governor Rick Snyder's 2016 State of the State address

Of course they did!

LANSING — The Snyder administration quietly trucked in water to state buildings in January of 2015 – ten months prior to Governor Snyder publicly admitting there was reason for concern in Flint, according to a document obtained by Progress Michigan.

The document is a Facility Notification sent by the Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB) in response to poor water quality in Flint. The notification stated that water coolers were being installed on each occupied floor next to the drinking fountains so that state workers could choose to continue to drink Flint water or a safe alternative.

“It appears the state wasn’t as slow as we first thought in responding the Flint Water Crisis. Sadly, the only response was to protect the Snyder administration from future liability and not to protect the children of Flint from lead poisoning,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “While residents were being told to relax and not worry about the water, the Snyder administration was taking steps to limit exposure in its own building.”

Meteorologist: Blizzard was ‘juiced’

~ susie

The Blizzard in NYC Last Weekend [OC] [3000 x 2000]

Via Brad Blog:

[…]veteran meteorologist Paul Douglas who says his “jaw dropped” after looking at the storm data.

Among his reasons for amazement, he tells me, were the extraordinary snow fall amounts (“3 to 5 inches an hour” in many places) as well as “water temperatures in the Gulf Stream in the mid- to even upper-70s” in January, which, he says, is “at least 6-7 degrees warmer than average.”

“The warmer the water, the higher the water vapor above the Gulf Stream. There’s simply more water in the air, more fuel. This was the equivalent of pouring rocket fuel on a Bic lighter,” he explains. “It intensified into a ‘bomb’ that was able to suck all this additional Atlantic moisture inland, and hurl it at New York and Philly and Washington, and all points in between.”

Douglas, who is both a self-identified Republican and evangelical Christian, says this storm — and the many record storms we’ve witnessed over the past several years — adds still more evidence of a climate “on steroids,” thanks to the continued burning of fossil fuels.

“There’s little doubt in my mind that this storm was ‘juiced’,” he says. “We are conducting an experiment on not only the atmosphere, but the oceans, and hoping that everything turns out okay.”

It’s not just Flint

~ susie

City Water Tunnel No. 2 Section Valve

Oh well, it’s not like we care about poor kids anyway!

Water authorities across the US are systematically distorting water tests to downplay the amount of lead in samples, risking a dangerous spread of the toxic water crisis that has gripped Flint, documents seen by the Guardian show.

The controversial approach to water testing is so widespread that it occurs in “every major US city east of the Mississippi” according to an anonymous source with extensive knowledge of the lead and copper regulations. “By word of mouth, this has become the thing to do in the water industry. The logical conclusion is that millions of people’s drinking water is potentially unsafe,” he said.

Documents seen by the Guardian show that water boards in cities including Detroit and Philadelphia, as well as the state of Rhode Island, have distorted tests by using methods deemed misleading by the Environment Protection Agency.

There is no suggestion that EPA regulations have been broken, but the agency’s guidelines have been systematically ignored.

The revelation comes as the growing crisis in Flint, Michigan, has prompted an emergency EPA order, the condemnation of Barack Obama and the resignation of a top agency official.

The documents show a pattern of behaviour in addressing public health concerns about water across the US where “gamed” tests help ensure that water utilities don’t breach federal lead and copper rules.

Dr Yanna Lambrinidou, a Virginia Tech academic, has disclosed what she considers to be evidence of deceptive practices by city water authorities after she sat on an EPA taskforce that reviewed federal rules on lead and copper poisoning that have been in place since 1991.
Continue reading “It’s not just Flint” →

Clinton expresses ‘outrage’ at Flint water contamination scandal

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Hillary 6

A water pollution scandal in the US has risen to the surface of this year’s presidential campaign. Lead-contaminated drinking water was piped to Flint after the city in Michigan switched its supplier in 2014 to save cash. Efforts are now underway to protect the population, with bottled water being distributed, but Hillary Clinton used Sunday night’s… Continue reading “Clinton expresses ‘outrage’ at Flint water contamination scandal” →

Polluted politics in Flint

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Cyber Security Summit at U of M

Michael Moore is right: Arrest Gov. Snyder!

Lansing — Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said Thursday replacing her city’s myriad of lead-leaching water pipes could cost as much as $1.5 billion, while the state’s top health official deemed Flint’s water unsafe to drink without filtration.

“We have not done a final assessment of that,” Weaver said Thursday after a closed-door meeting with Gov. Rick Snyder at his Lansing office. “We’ve heard from millions up to $1.5 billion. We’re doing assessments right now to see what it’s going to cost.”
Continue reading “Polluted politics in Flint” →

Mississippi River is about to have a record flood

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

https://youtu.be/mSAqkGU2nQ4

The Mississippi River is flooding in a big way right now, at the wrong time of year, and is forecasted to match or break 22-year-old crest records over the next few days. Meteorologists are calling it “insane.” Over the next three to four days, the Mississippi is predicted to reach a crest height of 49.7 feet… Continue reading “Mississippi River is about to have a record flood” →

Child identity theft is real…

~ Boohunney ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday, I ran up on a discussion on social media about child identity theft. What started out as a conversation about parents using their kids’ Social Security numbers to turn back on shut off utilities, conversations turned to some of my friends that had their kids’ Social Security numbers taken and used for years without any knowledge. Good lord, the tales of the messes this kind of identity theft caused, I was really, really surprised.

Today, I did catch an excerpt from a book on this very subject…

So why are children a target for identity thieves? It’s called “runway.” A child’s Social Security number is pristine. There is no reason for a minor to use it in connection with any financial or credit-related transaction before reaching the age of 18–when he or she then becomes legally responsible for any contract they sign. Consequently, there’s been no need for them, or their parents, to check their credit.

A pristine Social Security number in the hands of a skilled identity thief can be a ticket to truckloads of credit and significant cash. It holds the promise of an undisturbed romp for 15 years or more. Just think of all the bank accounts that could be opened; all the credit cards, personal loans, student loans, car loans and mortgages that could be secured; all the apartments that could be rented; all the smartphones, utilities and cable and Internet services that could be obtained; all the medical treatments, prescriptions and devices that could be purchased; all the tax refunds that could be mined; all the illegal jobs that could be obtained; and all the welfare or unemployment benefits that could be had with a gaggle of unblemished, unmonitored Social Security numbers and more than a decade of wide-open road?…

Many have absolutely no idea how it happened, and it takes time to track this down and document everything. And while the situation is being investigated and (maybe) resolved, their credit has been decimated and their ability to participate in the economy is limited. Countless victims can’t get a loan, find someone to rent them an apartment, get a utility or cellphone turned on without a hefty deposit, open their mailbox without receiving some letter referencing a creditor they’ve never heard of, or get and keep a job in an already difficult job market, and they even, on occasion, get arrested for a crime they didn’t commit in a state where they have neither lived nor visited.

Sounds like a nightmare to me. I couldn’t think of an more devastating blow to a young adult wanting to get a higher education or just start out on their own.

In Georgia, child identity theft is a big problem within the state’s foster care program.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Erica Byfield asked state officials why it has taken Georgia’s Department of Family and Child Services nearly four years to implement laws that would help track identity fraud in foster youth, and correct the problem before they become adults.

A former Georgia foster youth, Aaron, said that law may have helped him avoid the credit nightmare he said he is living. Aaron told Byfield utilities, credit cards, even financing for a Chevy Suburban appeared on his credit report when he was in kindergarten.

“I’ve never had a car in my life,” Aaron told Byfield.

He spent 13 years in foster care shuffled between group homes and family; then years on the streets, homeless. Aaron said he has been flooded with credit problems since turning 21, when he realized someone stole his identity.

“I’m 25,” Aaron said. “I’m approaching the age where I want to get a house, get a car, and I’m tired of riding the bus man! But right now I have no choice, because I can’t get those things.”…

Federal leaders wanted tougher regulations, which is why in 2011 the president signed a law to protect foster youth from fraud. It requires credit checks to make sure there are not any inaccuracies. Originally it was for kids 16 and up, but new regulations includes children as young as 14. The federal government gave states time to comply. Our investigation found Georgia rolled out state wide credit checks for foster youth last month. The checks occur on the child’s birthday.

All I can say is that with the plethora of ways people can be defrauded, this is just about the worst way and one that totally missed my radar. If you you still have minor children, definitely run a credit report.

Passing gas

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Scientists have detected a disproportionate number of methane bubble plumes off the Washington and Oregon coast. The warming Pacific ocean may be triggering the release of this powerful greenhouse gas, which has remained frozen beneath the seafloor for thousands of years.

The new study, which has been accepted for publication in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, details over 160 bubble plumes observed over the past 10 years. An inordinate number of these plumes were observed at a critical depth where frozen methane “ice”, or hydrate, decomposes on account of warmer ocean temperatures. Lead researcher H. Paul Johnson from the University of Washington says these plumes are probably not coming from the seafloor sediments, but rather from decomposing frozen methane.

The downstream effects of this leaking methane aren’t entirely clear, though historically, methane has contributed to sudden and dramatic swings in the Earth’s climate. Once in the Earth’s atmosphere, methane acts as a powerful greenhouse gas. On a related note, warming-related methane emissions have also been detected in Arctic permafrost and off the Atlantic coast.

methane gas

This map shows the locations of the 168 bubble plumes included in the study. (Credit: University of Washington)

It’s also not clear how much methane gas is actually getting to the surface. The researchers say that most of the deep-sea methane is getting gobbled up by marine microbes during the journey up. These microbes convert the methane into carbon dioxide, which results in low-oxygen and acidic conditions in deeper offshore waters. From there, this tainted water trickles along the coast and makes its way into coastal waterways.

“Current environmental changes in Washington and Oregon are already impacting local biology and fisheries, and these changes would be amplified by the further release of methane,” noted Johnson in an AGU statement.

S. Carolina emerged from flooding that left 12 dead

~ susie

nc weather map

Just want to note that the SC congressional delegation all voted against relief aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy:

Even South Carolina residents who had been through Hurricane Hugo a quarter century ago said they have never seen anything like this, the deadly torrents that have crumbled roads, submerged houses and cars and killed at least 12 people. “They’re saying it’s a once-in-1,000-year rainstorm, and I’m inclined to believe it,” said Sean Brennan, a real… Continue reading “S. Carolina emerged from flooding that left 12 dead” →