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hosenmoney: #chomsky #education

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 23:41:33 -0400

hosenmoney:

#chomsky #education

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Sun, 16 Sep 2012 00:23:15 -0400

Conspiracy of silence: The irresponsible politics of climate change

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 00:11:50 -0400

Conspiracy of silence: The irresponsible politics of climate change:

climateadaptation:

Must read of the week. Why are politicians not addressing climate change? Because you don’t ask.

Highlights

Climate change does not register as a high-priority issue for most Americans, and the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns are both exacerbating the situation by ignoring the issue.

The consequence of this inattention will be an irreversible commitment to a much higher level of global warming than either Obama or Romney care to admit.

If Americans are to have any hope of addressing climate change, a grassroots social movement must challenge the irresponsibility of both candidates.

"(Environmental agencies need) “to cut through the red tape, break through the bureaucratic hurdles,..."

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 15:12:16 -0400

“(Environmental agencies need) “to cut through the red tape, break through the bureaucratic hurdles, and make this project a priority . . . and get it done.””

- President Obama, forcefully told agencies to rush the permit process to build the Keystone XL Pipeline, March 2012. (via climateadaptation)

climateadaptation: The Keystone XL Pipeline route will separate...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 15:03:27 -0400

climateadaptation:

The Keystone XL Pipeline route will separate thousands of miles of animal habitat, destroy fragile forests, put thousands of farms at risk, and threaten drinking water aquifers used by dozens of cities where millions of Americans work and live - all for Canadian oil that will primarily be sold on the international market.

Above: South of Fort McMurray, swaths of trees were removed to make way for an underground oil pipeline that carries product from the oil sands mines to processing facilities. Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post

climateadaptation: More tangible examples of climate...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 15:01:04 -0400

climateadaptation:

More tangible examples of climate impacts.

laboratoryequipment:

Western Fires Kill Thousands of Cattle

Across the West, major wildfires are wreaking havoc this summer on the region’s economically fragile livestock industry. In areas such as remote Powder River County, Mont., ranchers says they could be grappling with the devastation for years to come.

Hay is in short supply. Hundreds of miles of fence and numerous corrals and water tanks must be rebuilt. Thousands of head of displaced livestock are being shipped to temporary pastures. Similar scenes are playing out in Oregon, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho. Including Montana, the value of the six states’ cattle industries approaches $9 billion annually.

Unexpected ozone loss observed above United States

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 14:59:35 -0400

Unexpected ozone loss observed above United States:

harvardseas:

The following is an excerpt from an article published in Harvard Magazine on July 26, 2012:

A team of Harvard scientists led by Weld professor of atmospheric chemistry James G. Anderson announced today the discovery of serious and wholly unexpected ozone loss over the United States in summer. The finding, published in advance online on July 26 at Science’s Science Express website, is startling because the complex atmospheric chemistry that destroys ozone has previously been thought to occur only at very cold temperatures over polar regions where there is very little threat to humans. (A large hole in the ozone layer persists over Antarctica.) The discovery also links—for the first time—ozone loss (an issue around which world leaders successfully organized to ban chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs) to climate change (a global problem that has so far proven politically intractable).

The ozone layer blocks a large fraction of the sun’s ultraviolet light from reaching the earth, protecting life forms from potentially damaging radiation that in humans can lead to skin cancer. But stratospheric ozone is susceptible to chemical catalysts of manmade origin, such as chlorine and bromine, which are present in the earth’s atmosphere as a result of the formerly widespread commercial use of CFCs. And the chemical reactions that destroy ozone are highly dependent on both atmospheric temperature and the presence of water vapor.

Anderson’s team has discovered that during intense summer storms over the United States, water vapor is thrust by convection far higher into the lower stratosphere than previously thought possible, altering atmospheric conditions in a way that leads to substantial, widespread ozone loss throughout the ensuing week. The paper links the loss of ozone over populated mid-latitude regions in summer to the frequency and intensity of these big storms, which could increase with climate change resulting from rising levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere.

[read more]

NYPD to Launch All-Seeing System to Track Crime

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 14:58:44 -0400

NYPD to Launch All-Seeing System to Track Crime:

socialuprooting:

The New York Police Department will soon launch an all-seeing “Domain Awareness System” that combines several streams of information to track both criminals and potential terrorists.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says the city developed the software with Microsoft.

Kelly says the program combines city-wide video surveillance with law enforcement databases.

He says it will be officially unveiled by New York’s mayor as soon as next week.

Kelly spoke Saturday before an audience at the Aspen Security Forum.

The NYPD has been under fire for surveillance of Muslim communities and partnering with the CIA to track potential terror suspects. Muslim groups have sued to shut down the NYPD programs.

Kelly defended the policies as key to thwarting 14 terror plots against the city since the attacks of Sept. 11th.

thegreenurbanist: thepenultimateindeed: “What would a...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 12:56:24 -0400

thegreenurbanist:

thepenultimateindeed:

“What would a McMansion become if it weren’t a single-family dwelling? How could a vacant big box store be retrofitted for agriculture? What sort of design solutions can you come up with to facilitate car-free mobility, ‘burb-grown food, and local, renewable energy generation?”

Reburbia offers some compelling solutions for turning urban sprawl into self-sustaining, walkable communities.

Click the picture to see the winners of the Reburbia design competition.

Reburbia website wasn’t working for me but found more details at dwell.com.

The US Forest Service has released several free and excellent climate adaptation videos, case studies, and reports.

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 12:51:43 -0400

The US Forest Service has released several free and excellent climate adaptation videos, case studies, and reports.:

climateadaptation:

The presentations and case studies are tuned for use by practicing land managers and foresters, especially in the western U.S. But, they are particularly useful for students of adaptation, disaster managers, ecologists, forest management, etc.

Via USF Climate Change Resource Center.

Damning report against republican record: Voted 247 times to dismantel environmental and public health laws in 2011. Votes favored oil and gas companies.

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 21:55:33 -0400

Damning report against republican record: Voted 247 times to dismantel environmental and public health laws in 2011. Votes favored oil and gas companies.:

climateadaptation:

Report shows Republicans voted in favor of stripping environmental laws to help the oil and gas industry.

“Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Ed Markey released a new report that provides an updated analysis of the anti-environment record of the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress. In 2011 and in the first half of 2012, the Republican-controlled House voted 247 times to dismantle environmental and public health protections.

The report, prepared by the Democratic staff of the Energy and Commerce Committee, found that the House averaged one anti-environmental vote for every day the House was in session in 2011 and in the first half of 2012. Nearly one in five of the 1,100 legislative roll call votes thus far this Congress – 19% – were votes to undermine environmental protection.

The report also found that the oil and gas industry has been the largest beneficiary of this anti-environment record in the House. The House has voted 109 times on legislation that would enrich the oil and gas industry. This includes 45 votes to weaken environmental, public health, and safety requirements applicable to the oil industry, 38 votes to prevent deployment of clean energy alternatives, and 12 votes to expedite review of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The full report is available here.

A comprehensive list of all anti-environment votes in the 112th Congress is available here.

A list of all votes related to the oil and gas industry is available online here.

"In 2011, Republicans voted 37 times to block action to address climate change, including votes to..."

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 21:54:44 -0400

“In 2011, Republicans voted 37 times to block action to address climate change, including votes to overturn EPA’s scientific findings that climate change endangers human health and welfare; to block EPA from regulating carbon pollution from power plants, oil refineries, and vehicles; to prevent the United States from participating in international climate negotiations; and even to cut funding for basic climate science.”

- U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, report, “The Anti-Environment Record of the U.S. House of Representatives 112th Congress.” (via climateadaptation)

"In 2011, Republicans voted 77 times to undermine Clean Air Act protections, including votes to..."

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 21:53:41 -0400

“In 2011, Republicans voted 77 times to undermine Clean Air Act protections, including votes to repeal the health-based standards that are the heart of the Clean Air Act and to block EPA regulation of toxic mercury and other harmful emissions from power plants, incinerators, industrial boilers, cement plants, and mining operations.”

- U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, report, “The Anti-Environment Record of the U.S. House of Representatives 112th Congress.” (via climateadaptation)

"Now that Mitt Romney has ground out a victory against the weakest GOP field in a generation and the..."

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:53:11 -0400

“Now that Mitt Romney has ground out a victory against the weakest GOP field in a generation and the most extreme in history, he’s now turning his attention to the general election. To use a particularly vivid metaphor, he’s shaking his Etch-a-Sketch as hard as he can, trying to erase his far-right pandering in the primaries. But despite his head fakes towards moderation, no one should doubt that a President Mitt Romney would enact a dangerously extreme agenda for our country, and nothing makes that clearer than the person he selected as his constitutional and judicial advisor: Robert Bork.”

- Mitt Romney’s Secret Weapon for the Right: Robert Bork (via azspot)

provocatoria: “Let us not forget that after the first World...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 19:40:38 -0400

provocatoria:

“Let us not forget that after the first World War, that it was the British and the French who sliced up the Middle East and North Africa with no respect or empathy for the indigenous people of those lands. Now what we are talking about today is not a problem with Britain, but with the world. It is a problem of imperialism. It is a problem of a system which places importance, and places priority on big business ahead of human life. It just so happens that the human lives we’re talking about at the moment are predominantly Muslim. Colonization is not done.”

- Lowkey

The Private Prison Business: This Investor Presentation For A Private Prison Is One Of The Creepiest Presentations We've Ever Seen

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:31:34 -0400

The Private Prison Business: This Investor Presentation For A Private Prison Is One Of The Creepiest Presentations We've Ever Seen:

reagan-was-a-horrible-president:

Anyway, eager to learn more we checked out a recent earnings presentation from Corrections Corp of America, where in addition to spelling out the company’s latest financials, management also walks through the macro bull case for prisons.

And this is where it gets creepy, because as an investor you’re pulling for scenarios where more people are put in jail.

Among the bullish datapoints.

The US prison program only seems to go up over time.

Private prisons only account for 10% of the entire prison business, meaning the opportunity is big.

There’s a growing issue with immigration detention, creating opportunities for private prisons.

The existing prison infrastructure is decaying.

While some states may slow incarceration during recessions (via increased use of parole to save money) they always make up for it when the recession is over.

It’s all pretty weird, but we’re not judging one way or another here… just pointing out that it’s a strange business to be in: Caging humans for profit.

The writer may not be judging, but I am. Caging your fellow humans for profit isn’t just strange - it’s evil. Period.

CIA Chief: We’ll Spy on You Through Your Dishwasher

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:35:40 -0400

CIA Chief: We’ll Spy on You Through Your Dishwasher:

socialuprooting:

More and more personal and household devices are connecting to the internet, from your television to your car navigation systems to your light switches. CIA Director David Petraeus cannot wait to spy on you through them.

Earlier this month, Petraeus mused about the emergence of an “Internet of Things” — that is, wired devices — at a summit for In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital firm. “‘Transformational’ is an overused word, but I do believe it properly applies to these technologies,” Petraeus enthused, “particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft.”

All those new online devices are a treasure trove of data if you’re a “person of interest” to the spy community. Once upon a time, spies had to place a bug in your chandelier to hear your conversation. With the rise of the “smart home,” you’d be sending tagged, geolocated data that a spy agency can intercept in real time when you use the lighting app on your phone to adjust your living room’s ambiance.

“Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters — all connected to the next-generation internet using abundant, low-cost, and high-power computing,” Petraeus said, “the latter now going to cloud computing, in many areas greater and greater supercomputing, and, ultimately, heading to quantum computing.”

Petraeus allowed that these household spy devices “change our notions of secrecy” and prompt a rethink of “our notions of identity and secrecy.” All of which is true — if convenient for a CIA director.

The CIA has a lot of legal restrictions against spying on American citizens. But collecting ambient geolocation data from devices is a grayer area, especially after the 2008 carve-outs to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Hardware manufacturers, it turns out, store a trove of geolocation data; and some legislators have grown alarmed at how easy it is for the government to track you through your phone or PlayStation.

That’s not the only data exploit intriguing Petraeus. He’s interested in creating new online identities for his undercover spies — and sweeping away the “digital footprints” of agents who suddenly need to vanish.

Police used water cannons and tear gas to break up a march by...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:34:41 -0400

Police used water cannons and tear gas to break up a march by thousands of Chilean students on Thursday, the first protest this year by student groups whose demonstrations demanding education reform paralyzed major cities in 2011. [READ MORE]

accuweather: More Than 1,200 Record Highs Set This Week in...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:31:39 -0400

accuweather:

More Than 1,200 Record Highs Set This Week in U.S.

Have we skipped over spring and gone straight into summer?

socialuprooting: Some “recovery” we’re having…

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:25:27 -0400

socialuprooting:

Some “recovery” we’re having…