UN experts denounce 'myth' pesticides are necessary to feed the world | Environment | The Guardian

Report warns of catastrophic consequences and blames manufacturers for ‘systematic denial of harms’ and ‘unethical marketing tactics’

The idea that pesticides are essential to feed a fast-growing global population is a myth, according to UN food and pollution experts.

A new report, being presented to the UN human rights council on Wednesday, is severely critical of the global corporations that manufacture pesticides, accusing them of the “systematic denial of harms”, “aggressive, unethical marketing tactics” and heavy lobbying of governments which has “obstructed reforms and paralysed global pesticide restrictions”.

The report says pesticides have “catastrophic impacts on the environment, human health and society as a whole”, including an estimated 200,000 deaths a year from acute poisoning. Its authors said: “It is time to create a global process to transition toward safer and healthier food and agricultural production.”

The world’s population is set to grow from 7 billion today to 9 billion in 2050. The pesticide industry argues that its products – a market worth about $50bn (£41bn) a year and growing – are vital in protecting crops and ensuring sufficient food supplies.

“It is a myth,” said Hilal Elver, the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food. “Using more pesticides is nothing to do with getting rid of hunger. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), we are able to feed 9 billion people today. Production is definitely increasing, but the problem is poverty, inequality and distribution.”

Elver said many of the pesticides are used on commodity crops, such as palm oil and soy, not the food needed by the world’s hungry people: “The corporations are not dealing with world hunger, they are dealing with more agricultural activity on large scales.”

The new report, which is co-authored by Baskut Tuncak, the UN’s special rapporteur on toxics, said: “While scientific research confirms the adverse effects of pesticides, proving a definitive link between exposure and human diseases or conditions or harm to the ecosystem presents a considerable challenge. This challenge has been exacerbated by a systematic denial, fuelled by the pesticide and agro-industry, of the magnitude of the damage inflicted by these chemicals, and aggressive, unethical marketing tactics…”

more: UN experts denounce 'myth' pesticides are necessary to feed the world | Environment | The Guardian

Impeach Trump: Add Your Name

Donald Trump has brought us to the brink of nuclear war, obstructed justice, and taken money from foreign governments. We need to impeach this dangerous president. Sign on now.

Impeach Trump: Add Your Name

Psychiatrists “Deeply Concerned” by Trump’s Instability Call for Urgent Mental Health Evaluation | Democracy Now!

We continue our interview with someone who’s led a discussion of mental health professionals who are deeply concerned about President Trump’s psychological instability. Dr. Bandy Lee is a forensic psychiatrist on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine who organized the “Duty to Warn” conference at Yale and edited the best-selling book, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President.”

AMY GOODMAN: Last month, Pentagon leaders told a Senate panel they would ignore any unlawful order by President Donald Trump to launch a nuclear strike. The testimony came as part of the first congressional hearings in more than 40 years on the president’s authority to start a nuclear war. This is Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY: We are concerned that the president of the United States is so unstable, is so volatile, has a decision-making process that is so quixotic, that he might order a nuclear weapon strike that is wildly out of step with U.S. national security interests…

…

AMY GOODMAN: So talk about—lay out what your concerns are as a psychiatrist.

DR. BANDY LEE: So, our concerns are that someone with this level of mental instability and impairment has this much power, in the office of the presidency—basically, the power to start a devastating war, to launch nuclear missiles, without any inhibition. You saw from the hearings that there is very little inhibition in place right now. Within five minutes of the commander-in-chief’s orders, nuclear missiles could be launched without question. And—

AMY GOODMAN: And how does that relate to his mental fitness?

DR. BANDY LEE: And, of course, his decision-making capacity, having such levels of impulsivity, having a loose grip on reality and being so fragile in his ability to cope with ordinary stresses, such as basic criticisms or unflattering news, will tend to unravel, especially in times of heightened stress, such as under the special counsel’s investigations…

transcript:Psychiatrists “Deeply Concerned” by Trump’s Instability Call for Urgent Mental Health Evaluation | Democracy Now!

SEE ALSO –
Homepage - National Coalition of Concerned Mental Health Experts
a group of mental health professionals who have come together after a Yale ethics conference, which led to the instant bestseller, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President.” We seek to alert lawmakers and the public to the dangerousness of the current president before an irreversible national or international crisis occurs. We represent more than the 27 in the book: we now number in the hundreds, and expect soon to number in the thousands or tens of thousands.

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Donald Trump has brought us to the brink of nuclear war, obstructed justice, and taken money from foreign governments. We need to impeach this dangerous president. Sign on now.

Impeach Trump: Add Your Name

Starving polar bear video exposes climate change impact | #climate

  Starving polar bear video exposes climate change impact - YouTube

Published on Dec 9, 2017 Video filmed in the Canadian Arctic provides graphic evidence of the impact of climate change on polar bears in the region, showing an emaciated animal scrounging for food on ice-free land. The footage was recorded by the conservation group Sea Legacy during a late summer expedition in Baffin Island. 'My entire Sea Legacy team was pushing through their tears and emotions while documenting this dying polar bear,' the photographer Paul Nicklen wrote on social media.

New insights into the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge & North American Winter Dipole | California Weather Blog

A timely example: Persistent Western ridge, Eastern trough next 2+ weeks

A pronounced example of the “Warm West/Cool East” temperature dipole pattern will develop over North America in the coming days. (NCEP via tropicaltidbits.com)

December 4, 2017

In the coming days, a remarkably persistent weather pattern will begin to develop across North America and adjacent ocean regions. Characterized by strong high pressure near the West Coast and low pressure over the Eastern Seaboard, this “quasi-stationary,” high-amplitude atmospheric wave pattern will essentially become locked in place for at least the next 2 weeks. Patterns like this have a tendency to become self-reinforcing, lasting for much longer than more typical transient weather patterns and leading to prolonged stretches of unusual weather. This particular event will be no exception: California (and much of the West Coast) will almost certainly experience an extended, multi-week warm and dry spell, while much of the East Coast shivers through repeated blasts of cold, Arctic air.

As it turns out, these upcoming anomalous conditions provide a timely example of several atmospheric phenomena my colleagues and I have been studying over the past few years. In this post, I’ll explore the broader climate context of recent North American weather extremes, with a focus on insights gleaned from two recent scientific papers published by my colleagues and me.

more: New insights into the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge & North American Winter Dipole | California Weather Blog

... meanwhile, in Austria: SEIDÄ PASS @ Dun Aengus Rattenberg (Visit Tirol / Austria) | #random

update ::: NEW VIDEOS FOR 2107 NOW ONLINE – Facebook

5.12.2016 - SEIDÄ PASS @ Dun Aengus Rattenberg (Visit Tirol / Austria) More "Perchten" Videos: facebook.com/seidaepass 👍

SEIDÄ PASS - Facebook

ABOUT
(German below)
☛ SEIDÄ PASS - Tankcore from Tirol – Austria ☚
As one of dozens traditional "Perchten" groups in our region we're on the roads in Brixlegg, Kramsach, Rattenberg and its surroundings to chase the evil "winter ghosts" within the so called "Perchtenlauf" each year on the 5th and 6th of December since 1999!

The name of this tradition most likely derives from the legend figure "Perchta". Our group consists of 25 people: a "Hex" (=witch), multiple "Läufer" (=runners) and plenty of "Tamperer" (=drummers) who are smashing on old gas canisters of cars.

Tradition, creative rythms, fun and show are important elements of our yearly "Hexentanz" (=dancing witch) events as shown in the video!


GERMAN:
☛ SEIDÄ PASS - Tankcore aus dem Tiroler Unterland ☚
Seit 1999 sind wir als eine von zig Perchtengruppen im Tiroler Unterland (Österreich) am 5. und 6. Dezember auf den Straßen von Brixlegg, Kramsach, Rattenberg und Umgebung unterwegs um im Rahmen eines alten Brauchtums - den sogenannten "Perchtenlauf" - die bösen Wintergeister zu vertreiben.

Der Name leitet sich am ehesten von der Sagengestalt "Perchta" ab. Unsere 25-köpfige Gruppe besteht aus einer "Hexe", mehreren "Läufern" in Fellgewändern und einer Vielzahl von "Tamperern", welche auf alten Autokanistern lautstarke Trommelklänge erzeugen. Tradition, kreative Rythmen, Spaß und ein gewisser Showfaktor werden bei unseren "Hexentänzen" jedes Jahr erneut zum Ausdruck gebracht!

(Facebook) ... meanwhile, in Austria: 5.12.2016 - SEIDÄ PASS @ Dun Aengus Rattenberg (Visit Tirol / Austria)

SEIDÄ PASS - Facebook

crossposted to WHATS MORE ART & STUDIES BLOG

WATCH this year's HURRICANES | NASA just released this spectacular animation of the atmosphere during hurricane season.

NASA just released this spectacular animation of the atmosphere during hurricane season. You are looking at something we call "Aerosols"... stuff like fine dust, smoke and salt particles. –– This new GEOS Simulation is a HUGE step forward in atmospheric monitoring and simulation. For Floridians there is a lot to take note of in this video like the hurricanes (salt) and the vast plumes of dust coming off Africa. You may remember hurricane Ophelia which hit Ireland as a post tropical cyclone. At 1:40 mins in you can see Ophelia pick up smoke from Portugal's extensive fires and stream it north into the UK.

Jeff Berardelli - Nerd Alert!! NASA just released this spectacular... (on Facebook)

Save the Grouse! Tell Sec. Zinke to Protect the Bird, the Herd, and the West. | Help Wildlife, Protect the Environment, Support Nature Conservation, Save the Planet

The sage grouse is an "indicator species" -- thriving sage grouse populations signal a healthy habitat for the 350 species that call the sagebrush home. But Sec. Zinke wants to dismantle plans to protect it.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Some people find it majestic; others think it’s funny-looking. But across the West, the iconic sage grouse is also known as an "indicator species": a thriving sage grouse population is a sign of a healthy sagebrush habitat. In recent years, the sage grouse was careening towards extinction -- until ranchers, conservationists, and industry workers reached a compromise to protect it.

It was a historic conservation success story. In 2015, Western stakeholders reached a bipartisan, win-win agreement that strengthened protections for the bird and the 350 other species that also rely on its habitat. The plan minimized the risk of wildfires and gave ranchers and landowners incentives to preserve sagebrush habitat.

Now Interior Secretary Zinke wants to gut that plan to please his buddies in the oil and mining industries -- and he’s only giving the public three weeks to comment on his plans.

Zinke is treating the sage grouse the same way he’s approaching national monuments like Bears Ears -- he’s ignoring public opinion and throwing out years of hard work, all to benefit the oil, gas, and mining industries.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is accepting comments from now until December 1st. Add yours to speak up for the sage grouse and its habitat.

SIGN THE PETITION: Save the Grouse! Tell Sec. Zinke to Protect the Bird, the Herd, and the West. | Help Wildlife, Protect the Environment, Support Nature Conservation, Save the Planet

Protest Sat Nov 11: No “Fire & Fury” Against North Korea or Iran, No U.S. Aggression in the Middle East! This Nightmare Must End: The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go! | In the Name of Humanity We Refuse To Accept a Fascist America

No “Fire & Fury” Against North Korea or Iran
No U.S. Aggression in the Middle East!
This Nightmare Must End: The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go!
In the Name of Humanity, We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America!
Saturday Nov 11 Protest (click for locations and times)

Protest Sat Nov 11: No “Fire & Fury” Against North Korea or Iran, No U.S. Aggression in the Middle East! This Nightmare Must End: The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go! | In the Name of Humanity We Refuse To Accept a Fascist America

Refuse Fascism Events on Facebook

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Donald Trump has brought us to the brink of nuclear war, obstructed justice, and taken money from foreign governments. We need to impeach this dangerous president. Sign on now.

Impeach Trump: Add Your Name

Samhain

Samhain is believed to have Celtic pagan origins and there is evidence it has been an important date since ancient times. Some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise around the time of Samhain. It is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It was the time when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and when livestock were slaughtered for the winter. As at Bealtaine, special bonfires were lit. These were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers and there were rituals involving them. Like Bealtaine, Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the Aos Sí, the 'spirits' or 'fairies', could more easily come into our world. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as remnants of the pagan gods and nature spirits. At Samhain, it was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink were left outside for them. The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. Mumming and guising were part of the festival, and involved people going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food. The costumes may have been a way of imitating, and disguising oneself from, the Aos Sí. Divination rituals and games were also a big part of the festival and often involved nuts and apples. In the late 19th century, Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer suggested that it was the "Celtic New Year", and this view has been repeated by some other scholars.

In the 9th century AD, Western Christianity shifted the date of All Saints' Day to 1 November, while 2 November later became All Souls' Day. Over time, Samhain and All Saints'/All Souls' merged to create the modern Halloween. Historians have used the name 'Samhain' to refer to Gaelic 'Halloween' customs up until the 19th century.

… In parts of southern Ireland during the 19th century, the guisers included a hobby horse known as the Láir Bhán (white mare). A man covered in a white sheet and carrying a decorated horse skull (representing the Láir Bhán) would lead a group of youths, blowing on cow horns, from farm to farm. At each they recited verses, some of which "savoured strongly of paganism", and the farmer was expected to donate food. If the farmer donated food he could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune. This is akin to the Mari Lwyd (grey mare) procession in Wales, which takes place at Midwinter. In Wales the white horse is often seen as an omen of death. In some places, young people cross-dressed In Scotland, young men went house-to-house with masked, veiled, painted or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed. This was common in the 16th century in the Scottish countryside and persisted into the 20th. It is suggested that the blackened faces comes from using the bonfire's ashes for protection Elsewhere in Europe, costumes, mumming and hobby horses were part of other yearly festivals. However, in the Celtic-speaking regions they were "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers".

Samhain - Wikipedia

photo: A Mari Lwyd, the Welsh equivalent of the Láir Bhán
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain#/media/File:Mari_Lwyd_(wiki).jpg


see also: what next: BBC Archive - #OnThisDay 1948: The villagers of Abbots Bromley | the weird and wonderful world of English folk customs

How Science Reveals That “Well-Being” Is a Skill - Mindful

World-renowned neuroscientist Richie Davidson on the scientific factors that shape well-being.

Do you see the good in everyone? Outlook is the ability to savor positive experience—from enjoying a coffee break at work to seeing kindness in every person.

“We know something about the circuitry in the brain which underlies this quality of outlook,” says Davidson, “and we also know, for example, that individuals who suffer from depression, they show activation in this circuitry but it doesn’t last—this activation is very transient.”

"Basically: You can get better at well-being. It’s a skill you can train for."

Whereas resilience requires thousands of hours of practice, research suggests “modest doses” of loving-kindness and compassion meditation can impact outlook—Davidson mentions a recent study where individuals who had never meditated before received 30 minutes of compassion training over two weeks. “Not only did we see changes in the brain but these changes in the brain actually predicted pro-social behavior,” says Davidson.

more: How Science Reveals That “Well-Being” Is a Skill - Mindful

How Science Is Unlocking the Secrets of Drug Addiction | National Geographic Society

We’re learning more about the craving that fuels self-defeating habits—and how new discoveries can help us kick the habit.


…Not long ago the idea of repairing the brain’s wiring to fight addiction would have seemed far-fetched. But advances in neuroscience have upended conventional notions about addiction—what it is, what can trigger it, and why quitting is so tough. If you’d opened a medical textbook 30 years ago, you would have read that addiction means dependence on a substance with increasing tolerance, requiring more and more to feel the effects and producing a nasty withdrawal when use stops. That explained alcohol, nicotine, and heroin reasonably well. But it did not account for marijuana and cocaine, which typically don’t cause the shakes, nausea, and vomiting of heroin withdrawal.

The old model also didn’t explain perhaps the most insidious aspect of addiction: relapse. Why do people long for the burn of whiskey in the throat or the warm bliss of heroin after the body is no longer physically dependent?

READ: How Science Is Unlocking the Secrets of Drug Addiction

'Katrina brain': The invisible long-term toll of megastorms (and other disasters)

Brandi Wagner pulls out the medications she must take on a daily basis to control a range of storm-related disorders

NEW ORLEANS — Brandi Wagner thought she had survived Hurricane Katrina. She hung tough while the storm’s 125-mph winds pummeled her home, and powered through two months of sleeping in a sweltering camper outside the city with her boyfriend’s mother. It was later, after the storm waters had receded and Wagner went back to New Orleans to rebuild her home and her life that she fell apart…

…Climate change experts agree. To avoid increasing loss of lives from the mega storms expected in the decades ahead, large coastal populations should relocate, researchers say. Mathew Hauer, a demographer at the University of Georgia, recently found that a predicted 6-foot rise in sea levels by 2100 would put 13 million people in more than 300 U.S. coastal counties at risk of major flooding.

But relocating large populations has its own risks. For the hundreds of thousands of New Orleans residents who rebuilt their lives far from home after Katrina, the loss of social ties and the stress of adapting to new surroundings also took a heavy psychological toll, according to recent research at the University of California.

There’s another problem with relocating people from coastal regions. It’s not just hurricanes that are expected to plague the planet as the climate shifts. Wildfires, droughts, inland flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes and other natural disasters are also expected to increase in frequency and intensity, making it hard to find a safe place to put down new roots…

more: 'Katrina brain': The invisible long-term toll of megastorms

The Opposite of Rape Culture is Nurturance Culture | Dating Tips for the Feminist Man

The opposite of masculine rape culture is masculine nurturance culture: men* increasing their capacity to nurture, and becoming whole.

The Ghomeshi trial is back in the news, and it brings violent sexual assault back into people’s minds and daily conversations. Of course violence is wrong, even when the court system for handling it is a disaster. That part seems evident. Triggering, but evident.

But there is a bigger picture here. I am struggling to see the full shape emerging in the pencil rubbing, when only parts are visible at a time.

A meme going around says ‘Rape is about violence, not sex. If someone were to hit you with a spade, you wouldn’t call it gardening.’ And this is true. But it is just the surface of the truth. The depths say something more, something about violence…

more: The Opposite of Rape Culture is Nurturance Culture | Dating Tips for the Feminist Man

Northern California Fires – on Fire Watch

my area on the 13th

i won't post a bunch of photos or details here, but want to say that the past week has been dramatic - you would have seen it in the news - an international story. just to say: safe here, but devastation is not all that far away. the air quality improved today, forecast winds arrived but not too strong – the Red Flag Warning for the [San Francisco] North Bay Area has been lifted. while firefighters have made major progress with containment this weekend, we are not "out of the woods" yet. Thankfully the forecast is for calm to light winds for the next three days to be followed by rain!

see todays LA Times: California wildfires have killed 40 people; dozens still missing as firefighters make progress - LA Times

my resource notes on Facebook –
• #SonomaValley #SonomaCounty #FireStorm *** RESOURCES ***
• FireStorm :: MENTAL HEALTH --- "Disaster Mental Health"

The Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite captured this image of smoke from wildfires in the US state of California on 9 October 2017. Wildfires broke out in parts of the state on 8 October 2017 around Napa Valley, and the smoke was spread by strong northeasterly winds.

In early October 2017, a series of wildfires started burning across the state of California, United States. They broke out throughout Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Mendocino, Butte, and Solano counties during severe fire weather conditions effectively leading to a major red flag warning from much of the Northern California area. Seventeen separate wildfires were reported at this time.[3] These fires included the Tubbs Fire (the most destructive), the Atlas Fire, Nuns Fire and others.

Due to the extreme conditions, shortly after the fires ignited on October 8 and 9, they rapidly grew to become extensive, full-scale incidents spanning from 1,000 acres (400 hectares) to well over 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) each within a single day. By October 14, the fires had burned more than 210,000 acres (85,000 ha), and destroyed an estimated 5,700 structures [4][1] while forcing 90,000 people to evacuate from their homes.[5] The Northern California fires have killed at least 42 people[1] and hospitalized at least 185,[6] making the week of October 8, 2017, the deadliest week of wildfires in California history.[7][8][1][9][2] Collectively, this event constitutes the largest loss of life due to wildfires in the United States since the Cloquet Fire in 1918.[10]

more: https://en.wikipedia.org/…/October_2017_Northern_California…

CAL FIRE - California Statewide Fire Map

Bristol Bay: EPA's Scott Pruitt met with mining CEO - CNNPolitics

Bristol Bay, a wetland area in southwest Alaska, is home to one of the world's most productive salmon fisheries.

(CNN)Within hours of meeting with a mining company CEO, the new head of the US Environmental Protection Agency directed his staff to withdraw a plan to protect the watershed of Bristol Bay, Alaska, one of the most valuable wild salmon fisheries on Earth, according to interviews and government emails obtained by CNN.

The meeting between EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Tom Collier, CEO of Pebble Limited Partnership, took place on May 1, Collier and his staff confirmed in an interview with CNN. At 10:36 a.m. that same day, the EPA's acting general counsel, Kevin Minoli, sent an email to agency staff saying the administrator had "directed" the agency to withdraw an Obama-era proposal to protect the ecologically valuable wetland in southwest Alaska from certain mining activities. 

In 2014, after three years of peer-reviewed study, the Obama administration's EPA invoked a rarely used provision of the Clean Water Act to try to protect Bristol Bay after finding that a mine "would result in complete loss of fish habitat due to elimination, dewatering, and fragmentation of streams, wetlands, and other aquatic resources" in some areas of the bay. 

"All of these losses would be irreversible," the agency said. 

The area is regarded as one of the world's most important salmon fisheries, producing nearly half of the world's annual sockeye salmon catch. Its ecological resources also support 4,000-year-old indigenous cultures, as well as about 14,000 full- and part-time jobs, according to the EPA's 2014 report…

more: Bristol Bay: EPA's Scott Pruitt met with mining CEO - CNNPolitics

Save Bristol Bay | Tell EPA to Protect Bristol Bay

Scott Pruitt is unlike any former EPA chief - Business Insider

The first months of the Trump administration have brought a rare blizzard of news about the Environmental Protection Agency.

Scott Pruitt, at the helm, has taken an unusually public role for an EPA chief. He makes news regularly with press appearances and regulatory decisions that sometime seem bizarre for a regulator charged with the safety of America's environment. And he arrived at a moment of apparent turmoil for the EPA.

There were days of press silence from the agency starting as soon as Trump took office. A former transition official, Myron Ebell, gave interviews in which he suggested the agency's staff and budget would be cut to a third of its size. Rumors flew, including the suggestion that Trump intended to ban science at the agency and scrub climate data from its servers. Trump's transition head emailed employees to tell them he had no idea what the president's plans were.

Those plans eventually cleared up, to the tune of a proposed 32% budget cut that Pruitt publicly supported. (That proposal never made it in to Congress's budget agreement, however.)

The public seems to have noticed all the turmoil. Since Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Business Insider readers have shown a renewed interest in environmental coverage. In March, a Gallup poll found that 57% percent of Americans think Trump is doing a "poor" job protecting the environment, a far worse ranking than George W. Bush or Barack Obama received in their first years.

All of which made us wonder: As he approaches his 100-day mark in late May, how unusual has Pruitt's short tenure at the agency really been?

more: Scott Pruitt is unlike any former EPA chief - Business Insider

BBC Archive - #OnThisDay 1948: The villagers of Abbots Bromley | the weird and wonderful world of English folk customs

BBC Archive - #OnThisDay 1948: The villagers of Abbots Bromley...:
1948: "The villagers of Abbots Bromley performed their annual traditional dance. Warning: contains some horny imagery."

Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, Staffordshire, c. 1938 | English Folk dance and song society

SEE ALSO: Let us introduce you to the weird and wonderful world of English folk customs – Museum Crush

Hooden Horse, Beckenham, Kent, 1950 (Photographer: Unknown) | English Folk dance and song society

English Folk Dance and Song Society: The National Organisation for the Development of the Folk ArtsCecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park RoadLondon

i am particularly intrigued by hobby horses... and, ended up starting a playlist:

hobby horse playlist on Youtube

mostly offline following surgery on infected finger

I was in the hospital for a few days for surgery on and treatment of an infected finger - amazingly bad stuff from a simple blister... and I still have all my fingers!

"I should be back in a few days"

Rob 

warning: graphic images below!

>>> about 1/2 of the skin has been removed from my middle right-hand finger due to a serious infection. it started out as a simple blister, but in 2 days i was seeing a doctor; at 3 days i was at the ER with red streaks up onto to my bicep; transferred to hospital in Napa for assessment by hand surgeon; 18 hours of IV antibiotics then surgery (not sure how long since i was totally sedated). 2 more days of IV antibiotics; sent home yesterday; now just laying low…. one-handed typing! (what is the sound of one hand typing? ;) ) … anyway, see the doc tomorrow and am supposed to get hooked up with local wound care clinic. 

i am curious to see how long to grow back skin. fortunately the bottom layer of skin was able to be saved so no grafts needed (so far) - hopefully smooth sailing.

i am home now, laying low

UPDATE
the following pics are at 4 days after surgery, and it looks like some skin is starting to grow!

you can still see some of the ink from when they outlined the red streaks going up my arm

at 6 days after surgery – growing new skin! –––

special thanks to RoseAdjoa for the excellent wound care!

SCANA, Santee Cooper pull plug on V.C. Summer !!!

As of April 2017, Construction at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Facility is 34 percent complete and billions of dollars over budget.

Efforts to build two state-of-the-art nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Plant in Fairfield County have gone inert.

Citing escalating costs, uncertainty over tax credits and the amount of Toshiba's recent financial pledge, SCANA Corp., the majority partner at V.C. Summer, said in a statement it plans to file a notice of abandonment with state regulators.

The decision follows a similar by minority partner Santee Cooper to suspend construction efforts. Santee Cooper said doing so would save its customers $7 billion...

...Green groups opposed to V.C. Summer declared victory shortly after news the reactors would be abandoned became public.

“We applaud Santee Cooper and SCE&G for making the right decision to protect their customers," Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said in a statement.

"This project has been a multi-billion dollar disaster," Smith continued. "We also call on Georgia Power and their utility partners to protect their customers from the similarly risky, mismanaged project in Georgia at Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle.”

Representatives for Friends of the Earth, which has also called for a V.C. Summer shutdown, say consumers who helped pay for the reactors deserve refunds.

"The damage that this bungled project has caused to ratepayers and the state’s economy must be promptly addressed by SCE&G, Santee Cooper and regulators and all effort must be made to minimize that damage," Tom Clements, a senior advisor for Friends of the Earth, said in prepared comments.

"It’s time for money to be refunded as it was collected from them under the false pretense that advance payment for the nuclear project was sound," Clements said...

complete article: SCANA, Santee Cooper pull plug on V.C. Summer | News | aikenstandard.com

Don't Let #DirtyEnergy Trump the #Climate | Crowdfunding and Petition

Don't Let #DirtyEnergy Trump the Climate

SIGN THE PETITION

Help Us Mobilize to Save #CleanEnergy from Trump’s #DirtyEnergy Plan

The Trump administration is laying the groundwork for a massive dirty energy bailout to ensure America continues to rely on nuclear and coal for years to come. This is a fight for America’s clean energy future and everything that comes along with it--millions of good jobs, thriving communities, and safe, healthy food, air, and water. 

Despite renewable energy's benefits, President Trump is prioritizing coal and nuclear industries and their executives by funneling billions of dollars in subsidies to keep dirty, old, dangerous power plants going.

NIRS is organizing to stop them, and we need you to join us!  Over the next six months, we have to educate and mobilize the public across the country. It is going to take petitions, protests, and lots of grassroots organizing – and we have to start now.

If we can stop Trump’s Nuclear and Coal Bailout, more of the dirty radiation and soot factories will close, and demand for solar, wind, and other clean, safe, efficient, renewable energy sources will accelerate.

We’ve started this crowdfunding campaign to raise $40,000 to get this effort off the ground.  The good news is: Your donation will go twice as far toward making that happen. Another generous supporter is offering to match every dollar you contribute, so your support will be doubled. 

You might have already signed our petition against the Nuclear and Coal Bailout (if you haven’t, just click here)—that’s a great start!

But here’s the thing: we need to reach thousands more people, to make sure they know about Trump’s plans and can take action to stop it. We ask that you make a contribution to support the campaign, so we can reach more people like yourself. We also hope you will tell your friends about the petition, as well as this crowdfunding effort. 

The good news is, some generous donors have offered to match every donation, no matter how big or small, to help us get there. For every dollar you and your friends give, another donor will match it.

Thanks for taking the time to learn about our campaign and for whatever support you can give.

For a Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free World!

The NIRS TeamJasmine Bright – Communications Specialist
Diane D’Arrigo – Radioactive Waste Project Director
Lyn Griffith Taylor – Energy Democracy Specialist
Denise Jakobsberg – Administrative Coordinator
Tim Judson – Executive Director
Mary Olson – Director, NIRS Southeast

Don't Let #DirtyEnergy Trump the Climate

SIGN THE PETITION