Month: December 2009

There Is An A/Hole Born Every Minute!

WAIT!  Wait! wait!  There is more on the climate change front….just when we thought that it was safe to read the news……

No matter which end of the environmental spectrum you care to dwell there will always be one a/hole that has a more outlandish theory…….my fav was cow farts…..but now we have a new reason for people, especially the idiotic, to hate animals……

Man’s best friend could be one of the environment’s worst enemies, according to a new study which says the carbon pawprint of a pet dog is more than double that of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle.

The Vales, specialists in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington, analysed popular brands of pet food and calculated that a medium-sized dog eats around 164 kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal a year.

Combine the land required to generate its food and a “medium” sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) — around twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4×4 driving 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) a year, including energy to build the car.

Cats have an eco-footprint of about 0.15 hectares, slightly less than driving a Volkswagen Golf for a year, while two hamsters equates to a plasma television and even the humble goldfish burns energy equivalent to two mobile telephones.

pets’ environmental impact is not limited to their carbon footprint, as cats and dogs devastate wildlife, spread disease and pollute waterways, the Vales say.

With a total 7.7 million cats in Britain, more than 188 million wild animals are hunted, killed and eaten by feline predators per year, or an average 25 birds, mammals and frogs per cat, according to figures in the New Scientist.

Likewise, dogs decrease biodiversity in areas they are walked, while their faeces cause high bacterial levels in rivers and streams, making the water unsafe to drink, starving waterways of oxygen and killing aquatic life.

And cat poo can be even more toxic than doggy doo — owners who flush their litter down the toilet ultimately infect sea otters and other animals with toxoplasma gondii, which causes a killer brain disease.

But despite the apocalyptic visions of domesticated animals’ environmental impact, solutions exist, including reducing pets’ protein-rich meat intake.

Okay, I have officially had enough!  What is next with these “people”….will we show how devastating babies are to the environment….with pampers and diapers and poop and………?  If one sets one’s mind to it….we could make a case for everything is killing the planet…..just depends where you want to stand in the debate….I put these “people” in the same category as PETA……see what happens when you do not eat enough red meat……..YOU BECOME A MORON!

An Ignored Idea

In keeping with the subject line of posts I will have another one onb alternatives….some good….some not so good…..but as I have been saying….it is time to FIX the damn problem and stop giving it lip service only……

There is a plentiful source of alternative energy that is being ignored……I know…Professor, do tell….do tell…..

It’s natural gas, the same fossil fuel that was in such short supply a decade ago that it was deemed unreliable. It’s now being uncovered at such a rapid pace that its price is near a seven-year low. Long used to heat half the nation’s homes, it’s becoming the fuel of choice when building new power plants. Someday, it may win wider acceptance as a replacement for gasoline in our cars and trucks.

Natural gas’ abundance and low price come as governments around the world debate how to curtail carbon dioxide and other pollution that contribute to global warming. The likely outcome is a tax on companies that spew excessive greenhouse gases. Utilities and other companies see natural gas as a way to lower emissions — and their costs. Yet politicians aren’t stumping for it.

about 27 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions come from coal-fired power plants, which generate 44 percent of the electricity used in the U.S. Just under 25 percent of power comes from burning natural gas, more than double its share a decade ago but still with room to grow.But the fuel has to be plentiful and its price stable — and that has not always been the case with natural gas. In the 1990s, factories that wanted to burn gas instead of coal had to install equipment that did both because the gas supply was uncertain and wild price swings were common. In some states, because of feared shortages, homebuilders were told new gas hookups were banned.

This is truly a low emissions industry and it is a good alternative for the foreseeable future…… then why not push it tooth and nail?  Lobbyists are the main answer….too many power generating industries are paying good money to keep this off the agenda….

In the area I live there are many, many natural gas wells that have been drilled but capped…..why?….because the oil companies were looking for more oil, not natural gas….

I will be watching the next big Washington sideshow….the energy debate…..to see if alternatives are there or if the gas companies get the same deal insurance companies got in the health debate……

Artificial Trees?

I know it is the Christmas season but these are not the artificial trees that we buy and hang energy consuming lights from….these trees can be used to clean the CO2 from the air we breath……NO!  Really!

I recently had a discussion with a good friend, Quin of Quintessential Havoc (go to blogroll and visit…a very thoughtful blog) about these trees that could be made that would help eliminate the CO2 from the air……at first I thought he was pulling my leg…..but on further examination I found the rest of the story…….

I found this on the company that is pioneering the technology:

A new kind of tree could cool the planet by removing a major greenhouse gas from the planet’s atmosphere.

What researchers are calling artificial trees, actually towers filled with various materials that adsorb carbon dioxide from the air, could play a major role in reducing climate change — if they prove profitable.

GRT’s artificial tree is based on an environmentally friendly resin, originally developed by Klaus Lackner, a professor at Columbia University in New York. The alkaline resin reacts with acidic carbon dioxide, holding it in place. After one hour exposed to the air, the resin is completely saturated with CO2.

Dry resin soaks up the CO2. Adding water releases the CO2, which is then captured and stored. Drying the resin again restores its abilities, a cycle that can be repeated indefinitely.

GRT plans to sell the purified CO2 to a range of buyers. Oil and natural gas companies are probably the biggest customers for the artificial trees. Petroleum companies pump CO2 underground to raise the pressure and force oil to the surface. Greenhouses could pump in extra C02 to help plants grow. Fizzy soda drinks and sanding auto parts also require concentrated CO2.

Another use for the artificial trees would be in the cap-and-trade carbon credit system. The idea is that companies that produce CO2 would pay another company, like GRT, to get rid of it. The most likely place to put the C02 is in the salt-lined caverns that once held oil, a process known as carbon sequestration.

This is my apology to Quin for thinking he was blowing smoke up my butt…..

Quin I appreciate the heads up on this fascinating subject….

It Is All So Much BS!

You know when you step in a pile of manure you just have to call it what it is…….

From the AP wire:

President Barack Obama is hailing a Senate vote to propel health care legislation toward final passage, calling it a “big victory for the American people.”By the thinnest possible margin, all 58 Democrats and the Senate’s two independents held together early Monday in a crucial test vote against unanimous Republican opposition. The move overcame a procedural effort that could have scuttled a final vote on the massive bill.

Obama said the Senate showed it could stand up to special interests and move the nation closer to a health insurance overhaul for families.

Please read it again……and think about what you have just read……(pause for reflection)…….

Do you recall the days after he won the election?  It was all abvout how the American people voted for change and how the American people voted for a new way of doing things in Washington….Remember?……

Partisanship is more entrenched than it ever was……..and look at the vote on health care….NOT ONE Repub voted for the Senate health reform bill….even though when read reads like a page out of a GOP playbook……and then Obama calls it a BIG win for the American people……where?…..yes 30 million more will have coverage….the problem is it is a forced coverage with a fine if it is not bought…the insurance companies got 30 million new customers without having to do anything but promise to eliminate the existing condition thing….which means that if you have an existing condition you will be able to buy insurance but it will cost several times more….

And then he goes on to say that it shows that we can stand up to special interests and win…really…if that is so damn true why did insurance stocks hit a 52 week high on the news of the vote?  Answer that one……

This is NOT a final bill but it is pretty much what the final version will look like….I would bet……

Climate Change–Impotent

Everybody for the last week has been watching Denmark and the issues coming out on climate change conference…….many leaders and lots of protesters have descended onto the capital…….even Obam has returned to the scene of one of his biggest screw ups…..the Olympics…….and what did he get this time?

Not much……it has been called a limp penis of a deal……

The agreement between the US, China, Brazil, India and South Africa is limited to lip service to the goal of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. It reportedly drops any reference to a 2010 deadline for a legally binding climate accord, which had been the centerpiece of earlier drafts, in favor of a pledge to continue discussions when the conference reconvenes in Mexico City next year, and to make progress by 2016.

While a draft communique reportedly proposes several numerical goals, such as an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, compared to a baseline of 1990, these are merely aspirational, with no actual targets for specific countries or groups of countries, and no concrete mechanisms for either verification or enforcement. The target of limiting the rise in world temperatures to 2 degrees Centigrade has been widely condemned by environmental activists and scientists, because it means the effective desertification of much of Africa. Even this “limit” is expressed only as a wish, an acknowledgment of the scientific consensus, and not translated into specific policies to achieve that goal.

Okay, I watched……what did these people accomplish?  Yet another waste of time chasing some Quixotic tilting of windmills………and they will do it all again and again….and the result will be the same…..wasted days and wasted nights……and the song remains the same……

Is Education The Real Answer?

We keep hearing the BS that the only way to get the jobs back in the good old US of A is with education…..do you believe this snow job?  The bad news, people is that the jobs that have gone overseas are NOT coming back!  It is that simple……

With that said…..the pundits that speak in the media about the necessity for education if the country is to remain in the 21st century is a need that we can meet and in doing so the country will regain its place as a world leading in industry…..

May I please see a show of hands of those out there that believe this?  (pause here for the vote)…..yes….I doubt the validity of such statements…not that the US cannot do it but rather that they, meaning those in governance, do not want it to be so….why?…if education is the absolute key, then why is it not an important part of the so called recovery?

A Public Agenda report, entitled “With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them,” notes that only about 20 percent of US students who start a two-year college program finish within three years, and only about forty percent of those who start at a four-year university finish within six years.

To explain its results, the study notes that the price of a college diploma has more than quadrupled in the past 25 years, while the median family income has increased only 150 percent during that time.

Only 10 percent of students who drop out report that boredom or lack of interest in the classes were significant influencing factors. Most students who left their classes would have liked to stay, but could not balance their curriculum and their financial obligations.

Nearly half of students at four-year universities work 20 or more hours a week. For community colleges, the figure jumps to sixty percent, while more than a quarter work 25 hours or more. These numbers point to the large proportion of students trying to earn degrees without significant help from parents, social services, or the government.

The study observes that the “traditional college experience” is nonexistent for most students. Only a quarter of students live on campus and “attend the sort of residential college we often envision.” Twenty-three percent of college students have dependent children.

Seventy percent of dropouts said they had no scholarships or student loan assistance. By contrast, only 40 percent of graduates reported getting no such aid. The odds of graduating are stacked most heavily against students who do not have parental support and, seeking to avoid a lifetime of indebtedness, are unwilling to take on student loans.

If education is truly the answer to our lack of industry and is truly the only way to revive the sector…then why is education in this country so sad?…..then why do Americans NOT get the best education in the world?….Then why has every president and his groups of criminals done NOTHING to make education more accessible to the people….ALL the people?

Sorry, dudes….but it is more profitable to have an uneducated workforce….why?….they will work cheap….and there is the answer to the question……when Americans work cheaper than their counterparts in Indonesia then the jobs will come home to roost…..but NOT before!

To buy into the concept of education will make the jobs return is delusional, at best….

Grumpy White Guys Rejoice!

Or as the rest of the world calls you….the GOP

Recently there was a report that white people would be in the minority by 2042 but circumstances beyond our control, the demographics have changed…….

Thanks to the AP for the following information:

The estimated time when whites will no longer make up the majority of Americans has been pushed back eight years — to 2050 — because the recession and stricter immigration policies have slowed the flow of foreigners into the U.S.Census Bureau figures released Wednesday update last year’s prediction that white children would become a minority in 2023 and the overall white population would follow in 2042. The earlier estimate did not take into account a drop in the number of people moving into the U.S. because of the economic crisis and the immigration policies imposed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The 2050 estimate is one of four projections released that is based on rates for births and deaths and a scenario in which immigration continues its more recent, slower pace of adding nearly 1 million new foreigners each year. Demographers said that scenario offers the best look for now at the future demographic makeup based on current conditions, rather than other models which assume higher rates of immigration.

But there could be a downside to the “good” news……

The actual shift in demographics will be influenced by a host of factors that can’t be accurately forecast — the pace of the economic recovery, cultural changes, natural or manmade disasters, as well as an overhaul of immigration law, which may be debated in Congress as early as next year.

With that said, the white grumpy guys need to be praying for the economic down turn to last a little longer to help turn the tide that is coming…..

The Next Legislative Sideshow

I have said that the next political theater, in the next year, will be energy and immigration…….well my prediction was a bit early

Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., on Tuesday filed the first comprehensive immigration reform bill in the current Congress, giving renewed hope to millions of undocumented immigrants in South Florida and around the country.

Provisions in the Gutierrez legislation — Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 — are somewhat similar to those in prior bills.

Undocumented immigrants in the United States prior to Dec. 15, 2009, would be encouraged to come forward and register with the government in exchange for a future path to residency and citizenship.

Certain immigrants in deportation proceedings, facing removal or ordered to depart would be able to apply for legalization under Gutierrez’s bill. Applicants would pay a $500 fine — lower than the thousands of dollars sought in prior bills — and must have clean criminal records. If approved, applicants would receive a six-year visa, which eventually could be replaced by a green card — the path to possible citizenship.

The bill also incorporates provisions of the DREAM Act, separate legislation filed earlier that would provide green cards to children of undocumented parents who are in high school or college and were brought to the United States as minors.

Can you hear that?  It is Lou Dobbs jerking off in the corner for now he has yet another apple to lock his teeth into…..since he may have political ambitions…it will be interesting to see if he attacks this in his usual way….or will he remain silent with the hopes of rants past will not come back to haunt him?  He smells a political future and will do what he may to have that voice….for the people……..now that is total crap!  If he goes into politics it will be for fame and fortune….and of course that darn pesky thing called POWER!

How Do We Fight The Fat?

Daily Agitator

There has been an amazing dialog going on and on and on and……that is the dialog about the increasing problem of obesity in the US.  Endless and I DO mean endless talkers and specials and ….whatever other technique they choose to use to make the point that Americans are FAT…..

With the recession in full swing az study was done in june by Gallup:

Healthways shows that in the past year, the number of Americans considered obese has jumped by 1.7 percent—or almost 5.5 million people—and that the obese report a much lower quality of life than those who are at healthier weights.

As part of their larger Well-Being Index, Gallup pollsters began surveying 1,000 Americans a day in an attempt to create a comprehensive index able to track the daily, monthly and yearly shifts in American life. As a result, they now have more than 460,000 completed surveys offering a unique perspective on trends in the health and happiness of America. Several of the questions on the poll have to do with weight and the data from Gallup indicates that the number of individuals who have a Body Mass Index over 30 and are thereby classified as “obese,” has risen from 25.1 percent of the population surveyed to 26.8 percent between the first quarter of this year and last. (BMI is the ratio of height to weight.)

And then there are those that say there is discrimination in the job market against fat people….there is probably a study on this too but I was unable to find it….well that is a bit of a lie….I did not Google…..

Let us get back to the whole TV evangelism on the subject of obesity.  Personally, I am really tired of the sanctimonious a/holes that preach about the situation of obesity…..these talkers do nothing but accuse the obese as lazy and unfit…..there self-serving answer to the problem is to exercise more and eat grass…..to which I yell HORSESH*T!

These mouthy hypocrites do NOT live on Main Street….they have all the advantages of the wealthy….gym access, personal trainers, dietitians, all the benefits of not having to worry about anything but who to book for today’s show.  Few offer any insight to the problem other than the laziness of the people who suffer from obesity….they spend their time trying to shame people and make fun of them….they have NO answers other than ridiculing them….

I know I am an SOB most of the time…and this post is NO different…..but unlike my well paid comrades…I have an answer that has escaped them……I bet you want the answer….right?

Since the fattest states are the poorest states….and if these self-serving people want to find a cure for obesity……then find a cure for POVERTY!  Period!

It is just that simple…….even the media talkers could grasp a simple solution….at least you would think they could……

Energy Alternative

If you have been watching or reading or listening stuff on the proposed energy reform bill, aka cap and trade, there is more but that is the focus that Repubs want, not anything that would help the environment just the damn silly part that they can attack with obfuscation…..this will be one of the major confrontations of the coming year….that is if the health debate moves on past the silly stuff…..

But with all that said there are alternatives been offered up by various people……

The proposal by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was being offered as an alternative to a more complex cap-and-trade climate bill already before the Senate and approved by the House. Senators who believe Congress must address the problem of climate change are trying to cobble together a bill that has broad enough bipartisan support to get the 60 votes needed for it to pass, possibly early next year.

Cantwell said her approach is a simpler way to reduce carbon pollution and boost clean energy alternatives. Like the rival Senate bill, it would impose limits on greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels and is designed to cut emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and about 80 percent by mid-century.

While the Cantwell-Collins bill would still limit greenhouse gas emissions, it would also allow limited trading of emissions allowances. The government would auction “carbon shares” — or allowances — to fossil energy producers and importers. Three-fourths of the revenue collected would be returned directly to consumers in the form of monthly checks and the rest would be used to spur clean energy and energy efficiency development and help in the transition to “green” jobs.

Allowances could be traded among the energy producers and importers that are subject to the cap, but not other traders or speculators.

Typically, the part that is almost always under attack has little to do with the overall bill……it will be just another confrontation with few alternatives offered to solve whatever problem that they want to make up….