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The Power of Gratitude: It's About What You Have, Not What You're Going to Get
With the hustle and bustle of everyday
life, it's easy to forget about what and
who you're grateful for.
By Mike Robbins
Hydrogen -- Star Gas, Everywhere, Yet Unseen. Sunlight is its Child.(Haiku by Stephen Wetlesen)
64 Nations Say No to GMO, Yet US Govt Nears Illegal GMO LabelingThe WHO has already declared that five of the major chemical herbicides used to grow GMO crops are either likely or definitely cancerous, yet the USA still makes secret trade deals that would allow biotech to push their genetically modified ‘food’ on Americans who don’t want to eat it. Advancements in Batteries and Power Electronics Are Poised to Change the Electrical Landscape“Going off the grid” is being considered as better batteries and power electronics make it possible to power a home without using the utility grid. Off-grid means there is no connection to a utility company at all. If we are going to go off-grid then we must investigate several issues:... After Chattanooga Shooting, One of the Country’s Largest States Is Taking Dramatic Action Involving Concealed CarryOfficials in Florida are vowing to expedite concealed carry permits for active duty military personnel and veterans, weeks after a gunman opened fire on two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killing four Marines and one sailor. The move was announced Monday amid a heated national debate on whether service members should be allowed to carry guns to protect themselves if another similar tragedy ever occurs... After two years, White House says ‘no’ to petition asking for pardon of Edward SnowdenMore than two years later, after more than 160,000 people signed an official White House petition asking that the administration pardon Edward Snowden, the government is finally responding. But the people who signed the petition, which called the former National Security Agency contractor who revealed information about government snooping a national hero, aren't likely to be pleased with the response. Alan Greenspan: Soaring Entitlements, Govt Spending 'Extremely Dangerous' to US Economy
Former Fed Chairman Alan
Greenspan warns that
government spending
"extremely dangerous" to the
future of the US economy. Analyst Razza: Rate Hike to Be 'Disastrous' for Millions of Americans
The Great Recession
officially lasted from
December 2007 until June
2009. Bill to repeal US crude export limits passes Senate energy committee
The US Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee
passed Thursday, in a 12-10
vote, a bill to repeal
long-standing limits on US
crude exports, setting up a
possible full Senate vote on
the export policy this fall. China, Russia to hold joint naval, air drillsChina and Russia will hold joint military drills in the waters and airspace of the Sea of Japan, Beijing said Thursday, the latest defence cooperation between the countries. Clean Fuel Process Aims To Cut Diesel-Based Air Pollution In HalfThe NanoCatalyst processor offers several improvements to current industry standards. Unlike traditional refineries, this process is scalable and portable with an ultra-low carbon footprint Congress asking for full review of EPA's new power plant regulationAs chairperson of the Senate Clean Air and Nuclear Safety subcommittee, Sen. Shelly Moore Capito joined a group of congressional members asking for a full review of the EPA's new Clean Power Plan rule, stating the regulations are costly and questioning the legality of the rule. "As proposed, the rule is not tailored to minimize the burdens on states and local governmental entities, or to avoid unreasonable costs. States and affected entities would be required to make decisions to shut down existing facilities, begin developing new infrastructure and make potentially expensive and irreversible decisions even if the rule is ultimately struck down or modified,".. Convicted Israel Spy Pollard To Be Paroled on Nov. 21A federal parole board has ruled that Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer convicted of spying for Israel, will be released in November after serving a 30-year prison sentence, his attorneys said on Tuesday.Pollard, who has remained jailed for decades despite efforts by successive Israeli governments to secure his early release, will be required to remain in the United States for five years under the terms of his parole, the attorneys said in a statement. CURC/EPRI roadmap provides path forward for coalCoal-based generation is a key component of a diverse electricity generation portfolio for the United States and provides significant economic and energy security benefits, but faces some challenging environmental requirements. Coal has addressed similar challenges in the past through public/private sector partnerships to develop and deploy affordable technologies that dramatically reduce emissions. Defying Voters’ Wishes, House Passes the DARK ActThis dangerous, biotech-industry-friendly GMO labeling legislation is on its way to the Senate, but the fight is far from over Economy Main Factor In US Emissions DeclineRecent declines in greenhouse gas emissions in the US were spurred more by the economic recession than by a shift from coal to natural gas, according to new IIASA research. Federal Judge Threatens to Haul IRS Commissioner Into Court, but Has Equally Harsh Words for Trial LawyerA federal judge not only threatened to hold IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in contempt if the agency didn’t provide documents in the manner ordered by the court, but he issued the same strong warning to his lawyer as well. Feds allege Xcel contractors falsified weld tests at Monticello nuclear plantFederal investigators have accused two former contract employees for Xcel Energy Inc. of willfully violating procedures and falsifying reports about safety-related tests of casks filled with high-level nuclear waste stored at the Monticello, Minn., nuclear power plant. Fires in U.S. West threaten thousands of structuresFires burning in drought-parched California on Tuesday menaced thousands of structures as firefighters struggled to corral the blazes there and elsewhere in the U.S. West, authorities said. The so-called Lowell Fire north of the state capital, Sacramento, has injured four of the 2,277 firefighters battling it, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). One firefighter was hospitalized with serious burns, CalFire said. Florida's Supposed ‘Flesh-Eating' Bacteria Claims Seven LivesFlorida officials are warning residents about dangerous water-borne bacteria responsible for a rising number of deaths this summer. “Beach season is a welcome time of the year for swimmers and sunbathers, but along with the warm weather comes warm water, and a potential health hazard: Florida health officials are issuing their yearly warning to swimmers about the dangers of a flesh-eating bacteria... Forests take years to rebound from droughtIn the virtual worlds of climate modeling, forests and other vegetation are assumed to bounce back quickly from extreme drought. But that assumption is far off the mark, according to a new study of drought impacts at forest sites worldwide. Living trees took an average of two to four years to recover and resume normal growth rates after droughts ended, researchers report today in the journal Science. Fracking tracking: NCPA following anti-frac effortsThe National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) has launched a new fracking tracking mechanism. The map tracks hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" bans, restrictions and other government action against what it calls a "revolutionary technique" used to enhance U.S. oil and gas production. Fresh nuclear leak detected at Fukushima plantSensors at the Fukushima nuclear plant have detected a fresh leak of highly radioactive water to the sea, the plant's operator announced Sunday, highlighting difficulties in decommissioning the crippled plant. Fukushima leak 'could cause hydrogen explosion' at nuclear plantWarnings of risk of hydrogen explosion due to build up of gases in containers leaking radioactive water at Japan's disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant. Greece advances in loan talks, under fire for euro exit planGreece pushed ahead with talks on a new rescue loan Tuesday, but its government came under increasing pressure over claims it had a top-secret plan to prepare for a euro exit that involved accessing citizens' personal tax data. Emissaries from Greece's international creditors held a second day of preparatory talks with Greek officials, ahead of higher-level negotiations later this week on the country's new multi-billion euro lifeline. Hacked Jeep: Whom to Blame?The failure apparently occurred in not one, but multiple places in the connected car’s system architecture. Blame, according to multiple automotive industry analysts, could also extend to parties beyond Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). They include Sprint — a system integrator — with whom Chrysler contracted for secure vehicle network access via the telematics control unit, and Harman Kardon, who designed an in-vehicle infotainment system. Here’s What Happens in the Hour After You Drink a Can of Coke (and What Happened to Me When I Tried It)“Pop” goes the tab on a can of Coke. Maybe you sip it and it’s gone in 20 minutes, or maybe you were thirsty and downed it in just a few glugs. Either way, 39 grams of sugar and 45 milligrams of sodium — in addition to some phosphoric acid, caffeine and other ingredients — from a 12-ounce serving are now in your system. And while you might not be actively thinking about it at the time, your body is hard at work processing the beverage. Hidden Vacation Health Risk: Pool Parasites
It’s high season for summer
vacations, and for millions
of Americans that means
trips to beach villas,
lakefront cabins, and swank
hotel resorts with inviting
pools, bubbling hot tubs,
and ornamental water
fountains. Hope...“God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us - in the dreariest and most dreaded moments - can see a possibility of hope.” ― Maya Angelou INVESTIGATION: Three Days Before Dr. Bradstreet Was Found Dead in a River, U.S. Govt. Agents Raided His Research Facility to seize a Breakthrough Cancer Treatment Called GcMAFOver the last few days, we’ve learned that before being found shot in the chest and floating in the river, pioneering medical researcher Dr. Bradstreet was working with a little-known molecule that occurs naturally in the human body. Called, “GcMAF”, this molecule has the potential to be a universal cancer cure for many people. It has also been shown to reverse signs of autism in the vast majority of patients receiving the treatment. Is Social Security About To Run Out?The Social Security disability program will run out of money in late 2016, a report issued Wednesday by the Social Security and Medicare trustees warned. 'Jaw-dropping': Medicare deaths, hospitalizations AND costs reducedThe U.S. health care system has scored a medical hat trick, reducing deaths, hospitalizations and costs, a new study shows. Mortality rates among Medicare patients fell 16% from 1999 to 2013. That’s equal to more than 300,000 fewer deaths a year in 2013 than in 1999... Lithium-Ion Is Drop-In Replacement for Lead-Acid BatteriesSaft announces the release of its Xcelion 6T™ battery for powering military vehicles. The Xcelion 6T™ is a lithium-ion (Li-ion) drop-in replacement of lead-acid batteries that provides equivalent power of two (2) lead-acid batteries at a quarter of the weight and half the volume. The launch signals the conclusion of a two-year industrialization program, in which Saft successfully reduced the cost of the Xcelion 6T™ to increase its commercialization and create a versatile off-the-shelf product. MH370 search: Debris found in Reunion may give clues on when plane part brokeWhen investigators get an in-person view of a wing component that likely came from a Boeing 777, they'll be looking for not only a serial number but clues as to why the part broke off the Boeing 777. One group of independent observers said Thursday that the damage to the component -- a right wing flaperon -- should give authorities a good indication that the piece came off while the plane was still in the air. Modern vehicle braking systems prove hackable under digital-radio broadcastsLast week, it was reported that two US security researchers successfully compromised a Jeep Cherokee’s air-conditioning system, radio, windscreen wipers, and brakes while a Wired Journalist was in the midst of driving it. Jeep has since patched this vulnerability, but days later, the Manchester-based NCC Group raised the ante higher by broadcasting a signal that disabled another vehicle’s braking system. The attack, recreated for research purposes within NCC’s property, sent data from a mobile device to the vehicles internet-connected infotainment system using digital audio broadcasting. Moody's: Coal has a futureAs a number of coal companies file for bankruptcy protection and more teeter on the edge of chapter 11, there was a bit of good news this week about an industry slugged by declining need and tougher environmental regulations. Moody's Investors Service boldly predicted that coal isn't going away anytime soon. Yes, the beleaguered industry is suffering from domestic and international pressures, but coal will always be needed to keep the power on. More and bigger drilling-linked earthquakes rattle OklahomaSeveral earthquakes shook Oklahoma on Monday as the state experiences a sharp increase in the frequency of tremors linked to wastewater disposal from gas and oil drilling, including from fracking, state and federal officials said. Three of Monday's quakes measured above a magnitude 4.0, with a 4.5 earthquake centered just north of Crescent, roughly 45 miles (72 km) north of Oklahoma City, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. Natural gas as an electricity source: Is it sustainable?While an international report predicts the rise of solar electricity worldwide, a different electricity revolution is already happening locally: the rise of natural gas. Natural gas recently overtook coal as the top source in the U.S. for electric power generation for the first time. N.C. Authorities Respond To 250,000 Gallon Sewage SpillA tiny North Carolina city spilled a large amount of wastewater into local waterways this month, drawing oversight from state authorities. About “250,000 gallons of sewage is estimated to have spilled into the Deep River after a pipe burst ... New Manufacturing Techniques, Safety Advances Could Overhaul Li-Ion Battery BusinessAn advanced manufacturing approach for lithium-ion batteries, developed by researchers at MIT and at a spinoff company called 24M, promises to significantly slash the cost of the most widely used type of rechargeable batteries while also improving their performance and making them easier to recycle. “We’ve reinvented the process,”... New material has potential to out-silicon siliconGallium nitride (GaN) is said to be the next important semiconductor for power electronics -- mostly because it enables a much higher efficiency than silicon. .. New research may change the design of solar panels foreverAlthough solar panels have become more streamlined over the last few decades, they still have numerous flaws -- including their design and shape. Researchers reshape solar spectrum to turn more light to electricityResearchers have developed a technique for capturing photons that normally bypass photovoltaic cells inside solar panels. The technology promises to boost solar cell efficiency. Currently, solar cells aren't capable of absorbing photons in the visible and near-infrared regions of the solar spectrum. But researchers at the University of California , Riverside created a new filter made of a unique hybrid material that captures, converts and combines these elusive photons into higher-energy spectral bands. Say Hello to the GridA new report from the National Surveys on Energy and Environment reveals that a majority of Americans (59%) responded “don’t know” when asked whether their state requires a set percentage of electricity to be generated renewably (via a renewable portfolio standard). And of the 41% who did answer the question, only half got it right – in other words, they were no more accurate than a coin flip. Scientist: Oil slick likely from natural seafloor seepageCoast Guard officials say it will likely be a couple more days before they can definitively say what caused a miles-long oil slick to materialize off the Santa Barbara County coast this week, but an expert said Thursday it was more than likely the result of ocean-floor seepage. Beaches all along the coast remained open and crowded Thursday, with health officials saying the 3-mile sheen is harmless to people. That's in contrast to the mass closure that occurred in the same area in May when a broken pipeline spilled 100,000 gallons of crude oil, fouling sands, seabirds and fishing areas for miles. Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant's Unit 1 trips againFor the second time in four days, the Unit 1 reactor at the Sequoayah Nuclear Power Plant tripped Monday due to a fluctuation in the voltage output from the plant's generator. Shrinking Dead Sea leaves trail of perilous sinkholesA neglected grove of date palms, their leaves long fallen, trunks drooping in the searing heat at the lowest point on earth, is the latest casualty of a dramatic rise in sinkholes wreaking havoc along the coast of the Dead Sea. State of U.S. renewables: slow growingAccording to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Office of Energy Projects' Energy Infrastructure Update, in the first six months of 2015, there were a total of 125 energy units added -- for a total of 3,888 megawatts (MW). In June alone, 10 units were added, for a total of 491 MW. Sweltering Iraq declares four-day weekend from ThursdayWith temperatures expected to surpass 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) for at least the second time this month, the government decided to designate Thursday and Sunday official holidays, the cabinet said in a statement news-flashed on state television. The weekend in Iraq is Friday and Saturday. The Divine Right of BureaucratsLast month marked the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, the Great Charter. At Runnymede on the banks of the Themes, the barons compelled England’s king to acknowledge for the first time that he was subject to the rule of law... The ‘Unprecedented Move’ a Conservative Congressman Just Took to Oust John Boehner From LeadershipRep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) filed a resolution to declare “the office of Speaker of House of Representatives vacant,” effectively stripping Boehner from his Speakership. This Fukushima catastrophe is not over… We should continue to be very worried.“Complete failure” of ice wall built to contain extremely radioactive water… Plutonium is flowing into Pacific, will for many years to come — Strontium in ocean hits record level, huge increase reported since April Tokyo Under Fire For Plans To Speed Return Of Fukushima EvacueesIn a bid seen by critics as aiming to speed up reconstruction, the Japanese government is preparing to declare sections of the evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant a safe place to live. The ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to revoke many evacuation orders by March 2017, if decontamination progresses as hoped, meaning that up to 55,000 evacuees could return to the homes they abandoned more than four years ago. Trust...“Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” ― Stephen Covey U.S. appeals court upholds bulk of Obama air pollution ruleA U.S. appeals court on Tuesday mostly upheld a major federal environmental regulation requiring some states to limit pollution that contributes to unhealthy air in neighboring states. The U.S. Court of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected several broad challenges to the regulation. But in a partial loss for the government, the court said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will have to reconsider the 2014 emissions budgets it set for various states for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions U.S. Coast Guard investigates oil slick off California coastThe slick, spanning approximately 3 square miles (8 square km) of the Pacific about 1,000 yards (meters) from shore, was spotted off Goleta State Beach, but the origin of the sheen was unknown, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Sondra-Kay Kneen. Wave energy test rolling forward in HawaiiJust off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, last month a wave energy generator began contributing small ripples of electricity to the local utility's grid. In this one-year test of new technology, the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of Hawaii are collaborating to gather data which could help shape the future of wave energy technology. This test also will help show how well wave energy might help utilities address crucial, growing challenges with maintaining grid stability while relying more heavily on renewables. Work begins to dismantle cover at Fukushima plantThe operator of the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant began Tuesday dismantling the cover shrouding the No. 1 reactor building, installed in the wake of the 2011 disaster to keep radioactive materials from dispersing. Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers removed one of the six panels, each about 7 meters in width and about 42 meters in length, using a crane. [Editor: Will be taking a one week haitus next week. Please survive without us.!!]July 28, 20153 Alternative And Natural Ways To Fight Alzheimer’sAs powerful as the mind can be, it is the one part of the human body that needs the most protection. Not only is it guarded by thick bone and tough skin, it is surrounded by fluid to keep it in a constant state of suspension free from external impact. However, for all your bodies’ protective measures your mind safety is still constantly threatened by internal factors. Addicted to antibiotics, Chile's salmon flops at Costco, grocersThe coastal waters of Chile, the world's second-largest producer of salmon, are awash with a bacteria known as SRS, or Piscirickettsiosis. The bacteria causes lesions and haemorrhaging in infected fish, and swells their kidneys and spleens, eventually killing them. Unable to develop an effective vaccine, Chilean farmers have been forced to increase antibiotic use. ... Are Psychiatric Drugs Involved in the Latest Lafayette, Louisiana Shootings?Here we go again. A drifter and lone wolf is somehow off his meds. His anger boils over while he has access to guns. He then goes on a shooting spree killing innocents who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. How many times will the media avoid the most important questions in these recurring tragedies? A weak open for US stocks; Chinese market drops sharplyIn China, the Shanghai stock index plunged 8.5 percent Monday, its worst fall since 2007, despite government efforts to calm the market. Beirut's mounting trash reflects crisis of governmentThe stench of uncollected refuse in the streets of Beirut is a stark reminder of the crisis of government afflicting Lebanon, where politicians divided by local and regional conflicts have been unable to agree on where to dump the capital's rubbish. Mounting piles of garbage festering in the summer heat are triggering health warnings and protests by residents furious their government failed to avoid a crisis ignited by the long-scheduled closure of a major landfill site last week. Boy Scouts OK gay leaders; Mormon church may quitDespite a compromise allowing conservative church-sponsored units to pick their own volunteer leaders, the Mormon church said it might leave the organization after Monday’s decision to lift a nationwide ban on openly gay adult leaders. Change...“There is nothing wrong in change, if it is in the right direction. To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.” ― Winston Churchill Chemotherapy: Another Study Shows that it ‘Just Doesn’t Work’The closer the cancer patient is to death’s door, the more likely that chemotherapy will accelerate the dying process, as well as considerably affect their quality of life for the worse. The better the quality of life, the more it will be eroded. China stocks drop 8.5% in massive routChina's Shanghai Composite index shed 8.5% on Monday, a bone-rattling decline that raises questions about the government's ability to prevent a crash. Beijing managed to stabilize markets with a dramatic rescue in late June and early July, intervening in a number of ways to limit losses for investors. But the rout has now resumed: Monday's slump was the biggest daily percentage decline since 2007. Climate Guru Hansen Warns of Rapid Sea Level RiseLeading climate scientist and activist James Hansen is warning that the 2 degree Celsius limit to Earth’s temperature rise agreed by world leaders is “highly dangerous.” His new research paper shows that sea levels are rising much more quickly that previously believed. Construction begins on nation's first offshore wind farmConstruction has begun off Rhode Island's coast on the nation's first offshore wind farm. Deepwater Wind is building a five-turbine wind farm off Block Island, which it expects to power 17,000 homes as early as next year. Coronal mass ejectionA coronal mass ejection (CME) is a massive burst of gas and magnetic field arising from the solar corona and being released into the solar wind, Crude Oil and Commodity PricesWTI $47.39 Brent - $53.47 Drought Makes California A Breeding Ground For West Nile VirusExperts say the threat of West Nile virus has been increased by drought in California, where one person has already died of the illness this year. Last year saw a surge in West Nile deaths in California... E1, E2 and E3The three components of nuclear EMP, as defined by the IEC, are called E1, E2 and E3. ... Because of the similarity between solar-induced geomagnetic storms and nuclear E3, it has become common to refer to solar-induced geomagnetic storms as "solar EMP." At ground level, however, "solar EMP" is NOT known to produce an E1 or E2 component. Failure to Protect U.S. Against Electromagnetic Pulse Threat Could Make 9/11 Look Trivial SomedayThe Potential Consequences Are Almost Unimaginable... there have been an enormous increase in our dependency on electronics, computers, and microelectronics. An attack may never happen. But the more vulnerable the U.S. is to such an attack, the more likely it is to be used against us. FERC: Tighter standards needed to guard against utility cyberattacksCyber-intruders have more ways than ever to hack into the computer networks that control the North American power grid, so the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is pushing for tighter security standards to help keep them out. It won't be an easy job, especially because FERC wants companies that serve the utility industry to do more. Global stocks rebound, ignoring decline in Chinese marketsEuropean stocks snapped a five-day losing streak on Tuesday, with merger activity and earnings news lifting major markets by more than 1 percent, as investors shrugged off another fall in Chinese stocks and Brent oil's slide to a six-month low. The rebound in Europe looked set to extend to the United States. Futures markets pointed to a rise of more than 0.5 percent on Wall Street. GM Salmon Headed to Rivers and Stores Near You
House passes reform bill for the Secret ServiceLegislation to overhaul the Secret Service easily passed the House on Monday in the aftermath of high-profile security incidents at the White House. Lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the measure in a 365-16 vote following a string of embarrassing scandals, including last year’s White House fence jumper and Secret Service agents caught with prostitutes while on a presidential trip in Colombia. How Ocean Acidification Could Endanger Hundreds of Marine SpeciesScientists are warning that ocean acidification is impacting microorganisms in our ocean known as phytoplankton and, as they pay a key role in ocean habitats, any future loss or change in species numbers could impact marine life in a big way. Ocean acidification isn’t always mentioned in conjunction with phytoplankton blooms, and the U.S. Government has been slow to link the two, but MIT researchers say acidification of our oceans could impact phytoplankton in a big way, and that will be bad news for our marine life. How Will We Feed 9 Billion People on Earth of the Future?Putting food on the table is one of the most basic human endeavors, and we've funneled plenty of innovation and ingenuity into the task. Farming is so intrinsic to our existence that some scientists think we can peg the start of the Anthropocene, the Age of Humans, to the dawn of agriculture some 11,700 years ago. Right now, though, climate change is mixing with environmental decline, wasteful cultural practices and a booming number of humans to alter the global food supply. In the future, with projected populations of at least 9 billion, will good food become much harder to find? In dispute over coal mine project, two ways of life hang in the balanceNeither tribe created the modern energy economy. They did not build the railroads or the power plants or the giant freighters that cross the ocean. But the Crow Tribe, on a vast and remote reservation here in the grasslands of the northern Plains, and the Lummi Nation, nearly a thousand miles to the west on a sliver of shoreline along the Salish Sea in Washington state, have both become unlikely pieces of the machinery that serves the global demand for electricity -- and that connection has put them in bitter conflict.
“Judge a man by
his questions rather
than by his answers.”
― Voltaire Keystone XL: Horse Riders From the Four Directions Join in Protest in Pierre, SDIndigenous voices may have been largely quelched in the hearing room, but they will be vociferous outside it when evidentiary proceedings begin on July 27 in South Dakota over TransCanada’s application to route the Keystone XL pipeline through the state. Large Hadron Collider discovers new particleThey’re calling them pentaquarks. What you need to know of the latest discovery about the tiny particles that make up our world... Pentaquarks are an exotic form of matter first predicted back in 1979. Everything around us is made of atoms, which are mode of a cloud of electrons orbiting a heavy nucleus made of protons and neutrons. But since the 1960s, we’ve also known that protons and neutrons are made up of even smaller particles named “quarks”, held together by something called the “strong force”, the strongest known force in nature in fact. New Alzheimer’s Treatment Fully Restores Memory FunctionAustralian researchers have come up with a non-invasive ultrasound technology that clears the brain of neurotoxic amyloid plaques – structures that are responsible for memory loss and a decline in cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients. North Dakota crude breakeven prices as low as $24/b: state agency
US crude prices would still
need to drop significantly
before falling below
breakeven prices in North
Dakota's four most prolific
counties, according to data
released by the state
Department of Mineral
Resources Monday. Report of Solar Geophysical ActivitySolar activity has been at very low levels...Solar activity is expected to be very low with a chance for a C-class flares on days one, two, and three (28 Jul, 29 Jul, 30 Jul). The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on days one and three (28 Jul, 30 Jul) and quiet to active levels on day two (29 Jul). Sequoyah Unit 1 reactor shut downs unexpectedlyThe Unit 1 reactor at TVA's Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant shut down unexpectedly around 2 p.m. today, TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said. TVA is still investigating the cause of the trip... Solar flareOn July 23, 2012, a massive, and potentially damaging, solar superstorm (solar flare, coronal mass ejection, solar EMP) barely missed Earth, according to NASA. There is an estimated 12% chance of a similar event occurring between 2012 and 2022 Solar users urge Westar to rethink rate hike proposalWestar customers want the utility to rethink how it's proposing to bill solar energy users and remove that altogether from its rate increase proposal. That was the overwhelming sentiment at Wichita State University's Hughes Metropolitan Complex on Thursday, when the Kansas Corporation Commission hosted its final public hearing on Westar's rate increase proposals. South Korea declares end to MERS outbreakPrime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn has said the MERS threat is over and South Koreans "can now be free from worry." The outbreak forced thousands into quarantine and wreaked havoc on the nation's economy. Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and 1,000 robotics researchers warn of threat of military artificial intelligenceA letter, presented at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Argentina, is warning about the threat of military artificial intelligence. It is signed by 1,000 artificial intelligence and robotics researchers as well as high profile individuals such as Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and scientist Stephen Hawking. Here is the letter: That Arctic Ice Growth Surprise? It Doesn’t Disprove Climate ChangeNew data shows that in 2013 Arctic ice actually grew rather than retreating as climate change models had predicted. Far from proving climate change is a myth or that ice retreat has ended, as skeptics are now claiming, this reveals something much more interesting about our warming climate. Turkey couples IS bombing runs with striking Kurdish targetsTurkey's sudden willingness to join the fight against the Islamic State group is a sign that it's afraid of losing clout with the U.S., but its second front against Kurdish rebels in Iraq on Saturday could complicate Washington's war. For months, Ankara had been reluctant to join the U.S.-led coalition against IS despite gains made by the extremist group on Turkey's doorstep. Now, Turkish warplanes are directly targeting IS locations — the latest bombing run coming early Saturday for a second straight day. Turkey then opened a second front on Kurdish rebel sites. Voters speaking up for clean energyAt a time when it seems like everyone and their brother are jumping into the political ring, climate change prevention activist group NextGen Climate is calling on presidential candidates and elected officials to lay out a plan to power the United States with more than 50 percent clean energy by 2030. Yorkers discuss problems and myths of the solar-electric revolutionSolar energy is the future of worldwide electricity production, according to an international report, but the local future of the renewable energy source remains in doubt. The Bloomberg New Energy Finance report predicted the price of solar production will continue to drop until it is the cheapest form of power in most national markets. Sun in York: Bob Astor, spokesman for Shipley Energy, sees the potential for solar energy to become the cheapest form of generated electricity, but he notes that the upfront cost for installation is significant. July 24, 20157th Dead Doctor: Found Among Five Slain in CaliforniaPerhaps you’ve heard about a tragic rash of dead or missing doctors in one month’s time? Seven have either died under strange circumstances or were victims of brutal murders. There are also five who have simply vanished along with one medical lawyer. Although we make no assertions, thirteen medical workers involved in high profile cases in thirty days, needs documentation. Additionally, most of these cases are simply unsolved. 20 million people made homeless by increase in natural disastersOne person a second loses their home to natural disasters. The research suggests disaster displacement is on the rise, and as policy leaders worldwide advance towards the adoption of a post-2015 global agenda, the time has never been better to address it. Age-related macular degeneration patient receives bionic eye transplantYou might remember the Argus II implant from when it first gained market approval in the US back in 2013. The ambitious prosthesis is back, with researchers now looking to utilize the technology to treat patients with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The effort forms part of a feasibility study, and early results are positive. Anger...“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” ― Buddha Antidepressants Causing Birth Defects and Are Found in Water Supplies
APS installs first of 1,500 residential solar systems in PhoenixArizona Public Service Co., or APS, an electric utility company, has completed the installation of the first of 1,500 solar power systems under the APS Solar Partner Program, an initiative that will see solar panels installed on 1,500 customer homes across the Valley of the Sun in Phoenix at no cost to the host customer. Armadillos spreading leprosy in FloridaState health officials are warning Floridians to stay away from armadillos. They say the animals are responsible for a recent spike in leprosy cases in the state. Nine cases have been reported in Florida this year. That nearly matches the state's yearly average. Each of the cases involved a person who was in direct contact with armadillos. A shift in power: Could solar displace other energy sources?By the end of the decade, solar PV is projected to be cost-competitive with retail electricity prices in a significant portion of the world as module prices and installation costs continue to decline. In fact, Navigant predicts global annual revenue from solar PV installations is to surpass $151.6 billion in 2024. At U.S. Capitol, Arizona Apaches protest planned copper mineScores of Native American demonstrators protested at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday against a proposed $6 billion copper mine in Arizona at a site that members of the Apache tribe say is sacred. Australia Scrambles to Rescue Vanishing Animals, BirdsThe Australian government has set new targets to protect and recover threatened mammals, birds and plants, and improve recovery practices under the nation’s first Threatened Species Strategy. At the Threatened Species Summit in Melbourne Thursday, Environment Minister Greg Hunt set out the new strategy. Brain-Eating Amoeba That Plagued Utilities ReturnsThe brain-eating amoeba that fatally afflicted several Louisiana residents in recent years has struck again, this time in California. “A 21-year-old woman died recently after contracting a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba that thrives in warm bodies of water,” Accuweather reported. Change...“There is nothing wrong in change, if it is in the right direction. To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.” ― Winston Churchill China's air less polluted in first half of 2015: GreenpeaceChina saw levels of two common air pollutants improve modestly in the first half of 2015, environmental group Greenpeace East Asia said on Wednesday. Average levels of PM2.5 - particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers that can penetrate deep into the lungs - fell 16 percent in the first six months from a year ago, the group said, adding that sulfur dioxide levels also fell 18 percent. Cincinnati On Brink Of Infrastructure DisasterCincinnati is undergoing a water infrastructure crisis, and it is unclear where it will find the funding it needs to make upgrades. “A massive problem — growing out of sight in Greater Cincinnati — is draining government coffers, squeezing family budgets and threatening the future of a system we can’t live without. Coal ash vote is set for todayThe U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on a coal ash bill that, among other things, will allow states to establish permit programs instead of the federal government. Congress inches toward functionalityAccording to the 'Healthy Congress Index,’ both chambers are seeing more action in committees, instead of behind closed doors. Criminal Inquiry Is Sought in Clinton Email AccountTwo inspectors general have asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into whether sensitive government information was mishandled in connection with the personal email account Hillary Rodham Clinton used as secretary of state, senior government officials said Thursday. Dates of sun’s entry into each Zodiac constellationDates of sun’s entry into each zodiacal constellation and the corresponding ecliptic longitude (sun’s position in degrees, east of the March equinox point). Distributed Solar Power Revenues May More Than Triple in DecadeGlobal revenues from distributed solar photovoltaic power are expected to more than triple in a decade as the technology becomes viable without subsidies, according to the industry analyst firm Navigant Research. Earth’s Climate Breaks Heat Records in 2014The year 2014 was Earth’s warmest year on record, a new international report confirms. The facts are found in the 26th annual State of the Climate in 2014 report released online Thursday by the American Meteorological Society. New records were set by rising levels of land and ocean temperatures, rising sea levels and increasing accumulations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Eye drops could spell the end of cataract surgeryPeople suffering from cataracts aren't exactly flush with options when it comes to restoring their vision. As they grow over time, they start to impede the ability to perform everyday tasks like reading and driving, prompting surgical removal either by scalpel or laser. But new research suggests a less invasive solution might be on the way in the form of a naturally-occurring molecule that can be administered through a simple eye drop. FedEx Express Soon To Be Powered by BiofuelBeginning in 2017 anyone sending a package via FedEx may be sending it a little bit more sustainably. Today Red Rock Biofuels announced that it would produce approximately three million gallons of low-carbon, renewable jet fuel per year for FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. The agreement runs through 2024, with first delivery expected in 2017. Between the two of them, Southwest Airlines and FedEx will be purchasing Red Rock’s total available volume of jet fuel. Finding Another EarthThe discovery of a super-Earth-sized planet orbiting a sun-like star brings us closer than ever to finding a twin of our own watery world. But NASA's Kepler space telescope has captured evidence of other potentially habitable planets amid the sea of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. First solar desalination plant to be built in CaliforniaDue to Californian draughts, 2015 was the second year in which agriculture in the Central Valley was left with a water allocation of 0 %. A company wants to fix this problem using solar thermal technology to recycle unusable water for agricultural irrigation. Good Company: HP joins Amazon, Google, Apple on quest for renewablesAnother tech company has decided to jump into the renewable game. Hewlett-Packard (HP) is the latest to announce a wind farm to help power their buildings Google, Yahoo, Facebook team up in fight against bad ad botsThere are harmless bots that crawl the web and announce what they're doing as they go about their business - and then there are bots that don't. Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and others in the online ad business are teaming up to stamp out the latter under a new pilot program with the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). Greek bailout vote puts Syriza party rebellion to the testGreece's leftist government tried on Wednesday to contain a rebellion in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' Syriza party ahead of a vote in the evening on reforms required to start talks on a rescue deal. A first set of reforms that focused largely on tax hikes and budget discipline triggered a rebellion in Syriza last week and passed only thanks to votes from pro-EU opposition parties. Greenland's Undercut Glaciers Melting Faster than ThoughtGreenland's glaciers flowing into the ocean are grounded deeper below sea level than previously measured, allowing intruding ocean water to badly undercut the glacier faces. That process will raise sea levels around the world much faster than currently estimated, according to a team of researchers led by Eric Rignot of the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Guantanamo Bay: Closure plan in 'final stages'The White House is in the "final stages" of drafting a plan to close the controversial US military prison Guantanamo Bay, a spokesman has said. Josh Earnest said the closure of the Cuban detention camp was a national security interest. Gun-toting drone prompts federal investigationA video of a drone with a handgun capable of firing shots remotely has prompted law enforcement to descend on the drone's 18-year-old creator.How Good Posture Keeps You Healthy
Poor posture can make you
look older and heavier, and
researchers have found it
speeds aging because it adds
stress to joints and
contributes to chronic back
pain. How long before every city is powered by renewables?New Bedford, Massachussetts is the latest on a growing list of cities who will be relying on renewable energy to power their residents. As the list grows, is anything less than 100 percent good enough? How mosquitoes find you to bite youMosquitoes use a triple threat of visual, olfactory, and thermal cues to home in on their human targets, a new Caltech study suggests. If Vaccines Don’t Cause Brain Damage, Why is GlaxoSmithKline Paying Out $63 Million To Vaccine Victims?Since the swine flu panic that was widespread in 2009, prompting more than 60 million people to get vaccinated against it, countless amounts of individuals – predominantly children – have developed a range of health conditions. Mainly, brain damage has been the issue; everything from sleep disturbances and memory impairments to hallucinations and mental illness have been experienced by those who received the swine flu vaccine. Judicial Watch: Donor Lists Were Used by IRS to Target AuditsJudicial Watch says it has obtained documents that show Internal Revenue Service employees used donor lists from conservative non-profit groups to target people for audits. Lawmakers Warn There Are Two Secret Side Deals to Iran Nuclear Agreement That Won’t Even Be Shared With CongressThe lawmakers reportedly met with the International Energy Agency in Vienna on Friday and were informed that “two side deals made between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the IAEA as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will remain secret and will not be shared with other nations, with Congress, or with the public,” according to a press release. Lexus paint-job flashes to driver's heartbeatThere's nothing like putting your foot down in a powerful car to raise your heart-rate – and a new Lexus concept car can demonstrate exactly that. Working with M&C Saatchi, Lexus Australia has rigged up a one-off RC F V8 coupe so that its paintwork flashes in time with the heartbeat of a person inside. Mangroves help protect against sea level riseMangrove forests could play a crucial role in protecting coastal areas from sea level rise caused by climate change, according to new research involving the University of Southampton. More ice mountains in Pluto’s heartA second range of ice mountains has been found on Pluto, in images from New Horizons. Murkowski, Cantwell Unveil Broad, Bipartisan Energy BillAfter months of listening sessions, hearings, and negotiations, U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski , R- Alaska , and Maria Cantwell , D- Wash. , today formally introduced their broad, bipartisan energy bill. Focused on a wide range of national energy opportunities and challenges, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 features five titles reflecting common ground on energy efficiency, infrastructure, supply, accountability, and land conservation. NASA Working on Something Straight Out of ‘Star Trek’In March, NASA said the concept of “warp drive” was “impossible,” but news is swirling that it hasn’t stopped engineers from conducting tests that could someday allow for faster-than-the-speed-of-light travel. National windmill policy? Senate Finance Committee votes to extend renewable tax creditsIn a final vote of 23-3, the Committee reported out a "tax extenders" bill preserving language that allows wind farms to qualify as long as they start construction while the tax credits are in place. Those credits expired at the beginning of the year. New NASA video on flood prediction...predicting floods is notoriously difficult. Floods depend on a complex mixture of rainfall, soil moisture, the recent history of precipitation, and much more. Snowmelt and storm surges can also contribute to unexpected flooding. Thanks to NASA, however, the predictions are improving. The video above has more. New U.S. Stream Protection Rule Infuriates Big CoalNew national regulations to prevent or minimize the impacts of coal mining on surface water, groundwater, fish and wildlife were proposed today by the Obama Administration. The Stream Protection Rule would safeguard about 6,500 miles of streams nationwide over a 20 year period. Nexen says may take months to pinpoint cause of Alberta pipeline spillThe leak in the double-layer pipeline spilled more than 31,500 barrels of emulsion, a mixture of bitumen, water and sand, onto an area of about 16,000 square meters (172,000 square feet). Nigerian leader: Forces ready soon to take on Boko HaramNigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said Tuesday a multinational African force will be in place within 10 days to take the fight to the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram that has killed thousands and was behind the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls. Oregon salmon trucked north to stem die-off in warm watersWater that would rarely top 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 Celsius) at this time of year in the Warm Springs River has reached 76 (24.4 Celsius), hot enough to weaken juvenile spring salmon immune systems, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fisheries supervisor Rich Johnson told Reuters on Wednesday. About 2,000 of the fish were dying every day before they were relocated, he said. "If the weather continues warm, there could be more problems for fish," Johnson said, noting that river temperatures across the region spiked a full month earlier than usual this year. Pluto's atmosphere found being stripped away by the solar windNew Horizons has discovered a region of cold, dense ionized gas tens of thousands of miles beyond Pluto — the planet’s atmosphere being stripped away by the solar wind and lost to space. Beginning an hour and half after closest approach, the Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument observed a cavity in the solar wind — the outflow of electrically charged particles from the Sun — between 48,000 miles (77,000 km) and 68,000 miles (109,000 km) downstream of Pluto. SWAP data revealed this cavity to be populated with nitrogen ions forming a “plasma tail” of undetermined structure and length extending behind the planet. Rambler: ‘Mining Will Never Satisfy Its Appetite’In this exclusive interview with ICTMN, San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler talks about the tribe’s epic battle to save Oak Flat, its most revered sacred site; he responds to comments made by an executive of Resolution Copper, the company with a controversial copper mining plan that would destroy Oak Flat and contaminate the aquifers that supply the area with water ... Social Security Disability Fund Projected to Be Depleted in 2016Social Security’s Disability Insurance trust fund will run out of reserves next year without congressional action, trustees said, urging U.S. lawmakers to address the nation’s unsustainable entitlement programs. Beyond 2016, continuing income will be sufficient to pay 81 percent of scheduled disability payments, trustees said in an annual report released in Washington on Wednesday. One solution mentioned is Congress shifting funds from the larger Social Security retirement fund. Soda Leads to Diabetes Even If You're Thin: Study
Whether you are slim or
obese, if you drink lots of
sugary soda or other
sweetened drinks you are
more likely to develop type
2 diabetes, a new analysis
reveals. Some Hope for US Renewable Energy Tax Credits As Extension Bill Passes CommitteeIn a lopsided 23-3 vote, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee voted yesterday to extend a number of renewable energy production tax credits through the end of 2016. The vote allows developers of wind, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, incremental hydroelectric, and ocean energy to take advantage of federal tax credits for projects begun before December 31, 2016. sPower Breaks Ground on 45-megawatt Sandstone Solar Facility in Florence, AZsPower, a leading renewable energy provider, announced that construction has begun on its 45-megawatt (MW) Sandstone Solar project in Florence, Arizona . The facility is scheduled to start delivering clean, renewable energy by the end of the year under a 21-year power purchase agreement between sPower and SRP. Study: Chemo doesn't help end-stage cancer patientsA new study finds that half of cancer patients received chemotherapy in their final months of life, even though the therapy – which can cause nausea, vomiting and other grueling side effects – had no chance of curing them. TEP seeks to expand new solar power program in ArizonaThe renewable energy plan TEP filed last week with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) includes a proposal to add up to 1000 new participants in the TEP Residential Solar Program. The program, made available this year to approximately 500 homeowners, provides fixed-price electric service using solar arrays installed on customers' homes. The Critical Thing Your Doctor Needs to Know – and Probably Doesn’tWhat Anna’s doctors missed in their diagnostic and treatment process lies at the crux of her health condition. Perhaps, rather than drugs or surgery or even diet changes, what Anna needs is a new job – or at least a new boss! – so her mind can relax, her stress responses can flip off, her relaxation responses can turn on, and her body’s natural self-repair mechanisms can once again activate so Anna’s body can heal. The Great Disrupter? TRYING TO MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE OF TESLA'S BATTERYUTILITIES MAY NEVER be the same in the wake of Tesla's announcement in late April that it will be offering a 220-pound battery pack for home use to store solar power, but it won't be because of Tesla's batteries. The Many Health Benefits of Sweating
The Real Reason Holistic Doctors Are Being Killed and VanishingPlease help to protect me, as well as those who helped me with this explosive information everywhere so it is less likely they will come for me like they have for these now deceased doctors. The Remedy: Take Love SeriouslyAs individuals we may not yet be aware of our calling or purpose, or even recognize that we have something to accomplish while we are here. But we can rest assured that all of us share the same purpose. Our function is to bring peace to the world. To accomplish this we need to release ourselves from conflict and unify our thought system. Some might think: “Easier said than done,” but nothing is more difficult than attempting to maintain two diametrically opposed thought systems while striving for peace and happiness. Think the US Solar Industry Doesn’t Need the Solar ITC? Think Again.“What I’m worried about is the end of the ITC,” said Tony Clifford, CEO of Standard Solar a solar developer based in Maryland during an interview at Intersolar North America. In preparation for a presentation that he was giving at the show, Clifford sought out studies other than those conducted by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) about what will happen to solar in the U.S. should the ITC go away. He wanted to look beyond SEIA, the lobbying arm of the industry, because Clifford said he would expect SEIA to say the end of the ITC will be catastrophic for the solar industry, it is a lobbying organization after all. While he does believe the industry will be harmed he wanted to see what other independent studies were showing. Turkey allows U.S. to use key base to strike ISISTurkey has agreed to let the United States launch airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from the strategic Incirlik Air Base, a senior Obama administration official has told CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan. For months, Washington has sought permission for the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS to use Incirlik as a launching pad. Turkey had been resistant to the idea amid domestic opposition. But in recent days, Turkey has been hit by a surge of violence blamed on ISIS-linked militants. U.S. proposes voluntary oil and gas company cuts in methane emissionsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a program for oil and gas companies to make voluntary pledges to cut and track emissions of methane, one component of its wider strategy to target the potent greenhouse gas and combat climate change, the agency said Thursday. US Senate energy bill to speed LNG exports, clarify SPR sales limits
Key US senators have reached
a deal on a broad package of
energy sector reforms that
if enacted would speed
decision-making on liquefied
natural gas exports, focus
the intent of the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve and
require reviews of how
federal rules impact
electric system reliability. Utility Solar May Cost Less, But It’s Also Worth LessA new report released last week asserts that utility-scale solar is much more economical than small-scale solar. The clear implication is that we should let incumbent utilities build or buy solar from large-scale arrays instead of allowing customers to generate their own power. There are several reasons to seriously question the mistaken assertion that big solar is better. July 21, 2015800 troops from US, Europe take part in Moldova exercisesSome 800 troops from Moldova, the U.S., Romania, Poland and Georgia are taking part in joint military exercises in Moldova, a former Soviet republic that borders Ukraine. The "Joint Effort 2015"exercises began Sunday and will run until July 25 at a military base in Moldova's second-largest city of Balti, where many ethnic Russians live. ACEEE: A very long way to go before the U.S. can claim to be energy-efficientJust a few days ago we shared a story that ranked the U.S. electric grid as the worst in the industrialized world. Now the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has released the findings of its second annual scorecard, and the news isn’t any better. The scorecard evaluates the energy efficiency of 16 leading world economies in 31 areas. The U.S. ranked 13th. The ACEEE report notes that the U.S. has made "some progress” toward increased energy efficiency but "the overall story is disappointing.” AEP power lines stolenAEP Ohio has reported to local law enforcement agencies that thieves have been taking copper wire from power lines over the last few months. A lot can happen in 35 years: Where will energy be?A lot has happened in the energy industry in 35 years -- and it's possible even more may happen in the next 35 years. As technology changes, energy efficiency should increase... "We find that the energy intensity of the U.S. economy has steadily improved since 1980, with the majority of this improvement due to energy efficiency. Each of the major sectors has shown gains," ACEEE said... Alzheimer's Researchers Optimistic About New Treatments
New experimental drugs from
Eli Lilly and Co and Biogen
have shown promise in
slowing down the progression
of the mind-wasting disease,
attracting the attention of
investors and patients. California irrigator faces record $1.5 million fine for drought violationState regulators on Monday proposed a record $1.5 million fine against a northern California irrigation district accused of defying emergency drought restrictions by continuing to draw surface water placed off-limits for such diversions. The penalty, if approved by the state Water Resources Control Board, would be largest ever levied against a water user for an alleged unauthorized diversion during a drought, agency officials said. Can U.S. Nuclear Plants Operate For 80 Years?The nuclear industry in the United States has been at a standstill for several decades. After an extraordinary wave of construction in the 1960s and 1970s, the nuclear industry ground to a halt. A confluence of events killed off new construction, including high interest rates, cost overruns, delays, and the Three Mile Island incident that scared the public and turned it against nuclear power. But despite the nuclear industry's inability to build more than a handful of new nuclear power plants since the 1980s, nuclear power still accounts for about 19 percent of electricity generation in the United States, the third largest source of electricity behind coal and natural gas. Can You Spot What Iran’s Khamenei Was Holding During His Speech on the Nuclear Deal? The Mainstream Media Ignored ItIn their coverage of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s speech on Saturday during which he made his first public comments on the agreement over Iran’s nuclear program, major media outlets either intentionally or inadvertently failed to mention that the top Iranian figure was holding a rifle at the podium. China's Gold Reserves Grow 57% Since 2009The People’s Bank of China on Friday said it has 53.32 million troy ounces of the precious metal in reserve. It last reported its holdings in April 2009. China wants to see its yuan recognized as a reserve currency like the U.S. dollar, the Japanese yen, the euro and the British pound. But that isn't likely to happen soon, the Journal notes, because China's government tightly control's the yuan's value. Coal and gas layoffs mount as prices continue to fallConsol Energy , based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , is the latest, announcing on Tuesday that it was laying off 470 workers, more than 10 percent of its workforce at its coal mines in Pennsylvania and in its gas drilling operations throughout the region. A spokesperson for the energy giant said that 180 coal miners will lose their jobs, while another 290 workers will be laid off from the company’s gas drilling and operations division. This past April, the company had already laid off 165 workers Eruption of Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland and its impact on SO2 concentrations in Europe'In the end we were lucky, but at the end of September we were getting pretty scared. Eight thousand years ago - which is nothing in geological time - Bardarbunga experienced an eruption even bigger than that of the 1783-84 Laki eruption. Europe's first ultra-deep-sea robotic glider to monitor deep sea pollutionThe deep sea is the new frontier for mining, oil exploration, and other industrial activities as they leave the continental shelves for areas miles beneath the ocean surface. Along with this comes greater dangers to the environment, which will require constant monitoring. To provide the needed eyes, Britain's National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and partners are developing the BRIDGES Glider. As Europe’s first ultra-deep-sea robot glider, the craft is capable of reaching 75 percent of the world's oceans to depths of up to 5,000 m (16,400 ft). Exports of Oman crude in June outpaces production on surge in China demand
Oman exported more crude oil
in June than it produced
after trading giant ChinaOil
picked up an unprecedented
49 cargoes during the Platts
Dubai Market on Close
assessment process in April. Failing to competeHey, did you hear that? It sounds as if the drumbeat might be getting louder for competition in the electric power business... "The data demonstrate that customer choice jurisdictions that steadily adapted and expanded retail choice out-perform, or at least compare favorably with, the states that have so far rejected broad-based customer market access," the group's William Massey said. Flavor Manufacturers’ Trade Group Is the De Facto Regulator of Flavor Additives in the US
Forbes: IRS May Crack Down on Retirees Failing to Take IRA Distributions
Many Americans over 70
aren't taking required
distributions from their
IRAs, and the IRS may soon
go after them. Greek Banks Reopen After 3 Weeks But Tax Increase Pushes Up PricesGreeks woke up Monday morning to a new era: banks were finally open after being closed down for three weeks but new taxes meant coffee, tea and even condoms all cost more. In downtown Athens, people lined up in an orderly fashion as the banks unlocked their doors at 8 a.m., taking a number and reading the paper as they waited for their turn at the till. Many restrictions on transactions, including cash withdrawals, remained, however. How to Make Your Body Ripe for MiraclesYou may know that your body is brilliantly equipped with natural self-repair mechanisms that repair broken proteins, kill cancer cells, fight infections, retard aging, and generally keep your body healthy. But did you know that these self-repair mechanisms can be flipped on – or off – with the power of thoughts, beliefs, and feelings that originate in the mind? It’s not New Age hocus pocus. It’s simple physiology! Here’s how it happens for the nerds among you who, like me, like to understand how things in the body work. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Advancements Boost Global Shift to Power Management Products as Military Applications Become Dependent on Energy On-The-Go SolutionsResearch is showing the global market for hydrogen fuel cells is expected to continue grow at an impressive pace according to Grand View Research, due to an increasing shift toward renewable energies. Portable applications dominated the market for the energy sources while being driven by military applications and other markets requiring energy on-the-go. If the future is solar, what happens when the sun goes away?In March, a solar eclipse over Europe created an important look into how a solar-heavy grid would handle an outage -- and the answers gave a look into the future of the grid... The next two eclipses will hit in 2021 and 2026, when solar capacity is expected to triple from today's rates. to be ready for this... Ignorance is a ChoiceThroughout recorded history, humankind have had very short lifespans. After the advent of agriculture, the average life expectancy shrunk to much less than 40 years. This is not a lot of time to figure out life. On top of that, with the advent of civilization, people had to toil most of the day under feudal lords. Most of them were slaves. Knowledge was scarce. Whatever knowledge was available was held by the elite. The high priests, royalty and the wealthy were the only ones with access to any knowledge. Most people were illiterate. They lived in ignorance In bid for Syngenta, Monsanto woos U.S. farmer supportAs Monsanto Co struggles to convince rival Syngenta AG to discuss a potential merger, the seed and agrochemical giant is also wooing U.S. farmers, aiming to ease concerns about the proposed tie-up that could prompt regulatory challenges. Company executives have been criss-crossing the U.S. heartland, meeting with soybean and corn growers and a range of powerful farm lobby organizations to seek their support,... Intelligent life in the universe?Scientific arguments suggest that alien civilizations should be common in our galaxy. If so, where is everybody? That question is known as the Fermi paradox. Iran's return won't impact oil price as much as shale, says Russia's Novak
The expected increase in
Iranian crude on the global
market after sanctions
against the country are
lifted probably won't impact
international oil prices
significantly as the extra
volumes are already priced
in, Russia's energy minister
Alexander Novak said late
Thursday, adding that shale
oil production costs are a
more significant factor in
pricing levels. Is Climate Change Really Going to Give us a 20-Foot Sea Level Rise?“This evidence leads us to conclude that the polar ice sheets are out of equilibrium with the present climate,” Dr. Andrea Dutton is quoted as saying. “As the planet warms, the poles warm even faster, raising important questions about how ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica will respond. While this amount of sea-level rise will not happen overnight, it is sobering to realize how sensitive the polar ice sheets are to temperatures that we are on path to reach within decades.” KKK, Black Panther Group Clash Over Confederate Flag Outside South Carolina CapitolA sea of Confederate flags held by screaming Ku Klux Klan members fluttered in front of the South Carolina Statehouse Saturday, just as a counter rally featuring African flags on the other side of the Capitol wrapped up. The Loyal White Knights of the Klu Klux Klan, based in North Carolina, vowed to protest the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse last week — and made good on that promise. Let each state decide how to handle coal ash?A new coal ash recycling bill that establishes minimum disposal standards that apply to more than 1000 coal ash dumps throughout the United States has been introduced by Senators John Hoeven (R-ND) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). The bill is companion legislation to Congressmen John Shimkus (R-IL) and David McKinley's (R-WV) bill in the House, mirroring the previous legislation. McCain: Iran Deal Will 'Nuclearize the Middle East'
The deal that's been reached
with Iran will "nuclearize
the Middle East," Sen. John
McCain said Monday, but he
also doesn't believe
Congress will approve it in
the first round. Native IntelligenceThe Indians who first feasted with the English colonists were far more sophisticated than you were taught in school. But that wasn't enough to save them Natural disasters forced 20 million from their homes in 2014: reportNearly 20 million people were forced to flee their homes due to floods, storms and earthquakes last year, a problem likely to worsen due to climate change, but which could be eased by better construction, a report said on Monday. Asia is particularly prone to natural disasters, accounting for almost 90 percent of the 19.3 million displaced in 2014, led by typhoons in China and the Philippines, and floods in India, the Norwegian Refugee Council said. New Survey Reveals Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity ChallengesInformation technology (IT) executives within critical infrastructure organizations see a need for public-private threat intelligence sharing partnerships (86% of respondents) to keep pace with escalating cybersecurity threats, according to a survey released today by The Aspen Institute and Intel Security. A majority (76%) of survey respondents also indicated they believe a national defense force should respond when a cyber attack damages a critical infrastructure company within national borders. Additionally, although most respondents agree that threats to their organizations are on the rise, they maintain a high degree of confidence in existing security No solace for food-deprived polar bears as sea ice wanesSome experts had thought the bears might be able to mitigate the effects of reduced food intake by entering a "walking hibernation" during summers, an energy-conserving state of reduced activity and metabolic rate akin to the winter hibernation other bear species undertake. A study released on Thursday showed this is not happening. Obama’s Newest Gun Control Scheme Involves Social Security BenefitsObama was unable to push through stricter background check laws for gun buyers through Congress in 2013, but through executive action, the Social Security Administration could threaten to cut off benefits by adding millions of people to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)... Oceans slowed global temperature rise, scientists reportHeat trapped below the surface will begin moving up kicking off a warming cycle.
Peach Bottom nuclear power plant could run out of spent fuel storage space in 2019For Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station employees, however, working near tens of thousands of used fuel rods --- still lethally radioactive --- is business as usual. Some of those rods have been in the fuel pool since 1976, according to Krista Connelly , spokeswoman for the southern York County power plant. "Peak coal" by 2020 could save China thousands of lives: studyBringing coal use to a peak by 2020 could save China billions of dollars in environmental costs, slash water consumption by nearly 30 percent and prevent tens of thousands of deaths from coal-related illnesses, a study released on Thursday said. China's coal demand fell for the first time in over a decade in 2014, and production also dipped 5.8 percent in the first half of this year, largely as a result of a slowdown in major downstream sectors like power, steel and cement. Report of Solar Geophysical ActivitySolar activity has been at very low levels for the past 24 hours. Solar activity is expected to be very low with a chance for a C-class flares and a slight chance for an M-class flare on days one, two, and three (21 Jul, 22 Jul, 23 Jul). The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on day one (21 Jul), quiet levels on day two (22 Jul) and quiet to active levels on day three (23 Jul). Russia adds naval and air force hardware as Putin orders creation of reserve armyRussian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a new reserve armed force to be created to improve training and military readiness at a time of increased tensions with the West over Ukraine. The new reserve force has been in discussion for several years and was first ordered by Putin in 2012 shortly after his re-election as President, with the latest decree published late on Friday. Russia, U.S. agree fishing ban in Arctic as sea ice meltsThe United States, Russia and other Arctic nations signed an agreement on Thursday to bar their fishing fleets from fast-thawing seas around the North Pole, an agreement delayed more than a year by tensions over Ukraine.The accord, also signed in Oslo by the ambassadors of Canada, Norway and Denmark, is a response to global warming, which is melting sea ice in the central Arctic Ocean, an area the size of the Mediterranean. Senator: Compensate residents near site of atomic bomb testPeople who lived near the site of the first atomic bomb test in the New Mexico desert and later developed cancer and other health problems need to be compensated, a U.S. senator said Thursday. The federal government neglected residents of the historic Hispanic village of Tularosa near the Trinity Site, where the weapon was detonated on July 16, 1945... Singing Changes Your BrainWhen you sing, musical vibrations move through you, altering your physical and emotional landscape. Group singing, for those who have done it, is the most exhilarating and transformative of all. It takes something incredibly intimate, a sound that begins inside you, shares it with a roomful of people and it comes back as something even more thrilling: harmony. Solar energy generating noise barriers undergo tests in the NetherlandsHighway barriers could deliver more than just noise protection if a test currently underway in the Netherlands proves successful. The colorful roadside barriers incorporate luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) which transfer light to conventional solar panels at the side in order to generate energy. Speed demon: EV market moving at an incredible paceElectric vehicles (EV) are getting a boost from all sides -- most recently, by the Sierra Club, who has released an updated interactive Electric Vehicle Guide, featuring an EV consumer incentive database. Searchable by zip code, the database identifies what rebates, tax credits, EV charging incentives, utility programs, and discounts are available in each user's community. Stephen Hawking launches $135 million search for aliensThe 'Breakthrough Initiative', entirely funded by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner and launched in London on Monday by physicist Stephen Hawking, is by far the biggest and most comprehensive search for alien intelligence ever attempted. Still Waiting: Cherokee Freedman Say They’re Not Going AnywhereWith the re-election of Principal Chief Bill John Baker, the controversy of whether the Cherokee Freedmen will maintain their status as citizens within the Cherokee Nation has come back to the fore. Their quest to remain citizens according to the 1866 treaty between the Cherokee Nation and the United States remains stuck in U.S. District Federal Court. Truvia’s Sweet Scam: Highly Processed, GMO, and Contains Hardly Any Stevia
If you’re one of the people
who was excited when the
“natural” sweetener that was
allegedly made from the
stevia plant UCLA Health hit by hack; medical data on 4.5 million people exposedThe LA-based university health system says the data stolen was not encrypted. University of California (UCLA) Health has been hit by a cyberattack that exposed the data of about 4.5 million people in the region. US-China Nuclear Trade Vital to American InterestsCongress is reviewing a renewed bilateral trade agreement, named after Section 123 in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, to replace the one that expires in December. Where does water go when it doesn’t flow?More than a quarter of the rain and snow that falls on continents reaches the oceans as runoff. Now a new study helps show where the rest goes: two-thirds of the remaining water is released by plants, more than a quarter lands on leaves and evaporates and what’s left evaporates from soil and from lakes, rivers and streams. “The question is, when rain falls on the landscape, where does it go?” .. Why We Should Bring Meditation Into Schools“If every eight year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.” ~ Dalai Lama Imagine if meditation was a regular part of school life for children. Just think how different the world would be. If every child was able to connect to the ocean of consciousness that permeates all that is, the desire to do wrong by others would dissolve. July 17, 2015200 Club: Coal retiring at a rate of one plant every 10 days since 2010Coal plants are retiring at record rates, the most recent example being Alliant Energy's announcement that it will phase out coal use at six of its Iowa plants -- marking the 200th coal plant in the United States to close. Acidic Arctic Ocean Threatens Food WebOne byproduct of rising carbon-dioxide levels is increasing ocean acidity — a phenomenon that scientists have termed an existential threat to marine life. The waters of the Arctic and the far-north Pacific are particularly prone to acidification as a result of several natural factors, so scientists regard the region as the proverbial canary in the coal mine for the rest of the world's oceans. A new study shows that within just fifteen years these waters may be too acidic for a range of marine animals to build and maintain their shells year round. Aging Infrastructure Persists as Top Concern for Water, Wastewater UtilitiesThese days, it's difficult to have a conversation about water or wastewater without broaching the subject of aging infrastructure. Identifying it, fixing it, and paying for it are at the forefront of our minds and, as evidenced in Black & Veatch's fourth annual Strategic Directions report, it is once again the number one challenge facing water and wastewater utilities. Asian oil buyers will tread cautiously despite Iran deal
The nuclear deal agreed by
Iran will lead to additional
flows of its oil into Asia,
arguably the world's most
dynamic oil market and one
where top exporters are
already locking horns in a
battle for market share. Battery Competition Brewing in Hawaii Courtesy of New Sony VentureIt hasn't taken long for Hawai'i to emerge as a bustling hive of activity revolving around intelligent battery storage technology. From well-established market leaders such as LG Chem and Samsung SDI to fast rising young companies such as Tesla/SolarCity and Stem, it's safe to say that practically every company looking to stake a claim in the nascent market for distributed battery storage solutions has established a presence in the Aloha State. Beet Juice Boosts Cognitive Function In One DoseCould beet juice provide you a brain boost superior to coffee or tea? Recently, Deanna Minich, PhD, founder of Food and Spirit, brought to my attention an amazing new study on beets and their role in promoting cognitive health. Black Hills Sacred Peak Could Keep Murderer’s NameThe 7,242-foot peak was named in the late 1850s by Lieutenant Governor K. Warren in honor of General William S. Harney, who was commander of the military in the Black Hills area. Harney killed 100 innocent Lakota in a village along Blue Water Creek in 1855, so many Native Americans don’t feel one of their sacred sites should be named for him. Boston's winter 'nightmare' over as snow heap finally meltsThe last vestige of Boston's record winter snowfall - a heap of filthy snow in a parking lot near the harbor - melted under a hot July sun on Tuesday, leading the governor of Massachusetts to declare the end of the city's winter "nightmare." The pile in the city's historic Seaport District had at one point stretched up to 14 feet (4.3 meters) high, but as temperatures climbed in July, five months after the last major blizzard, the garbage-filled heap finally turned into a puddle. Britain should avoid deep injection shale wells: task forceThe oil and gas industry uses deep injection wells to dispose of wastewater when drilling for shale, but some have been linked to earthquakes in the United States. The hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, technology required to release gas trapped in rocks has been used at only one well in Britain. Catching Fire: Was Entergy Indian Point an environmental crisis or a lesson learned?Entergy found that the incident happened when a failure of insulation caused a main transformer at the plant's Unit 3 to short circuit and catch fire. The internal investigation by the company found that the water and foam used to extinguish the fire leaked outside the containment systems' capacity -- along with fluid from the transformer on the plant's non-nuclear side. China May Spur World Recession, Morgan Stanley's Sharma Says“The next global recession will be made by China,” Sharma, who manages more than $25 billion, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. “Over the next couple of years, China is likely to be the biggest source of vulnerability for the global economy.” Climate Talks Nearing Consensus in Behind-the-Scenes MeetingsPublicly, the United Nations climate-change talks look mired in disputes over everything from money to the length of the proposed agreement. Behind the scenes, a deal may be closer than it seems, according to a report today from two veteran negotiators who’ve organized a series of unofficial meetings among key countries. Ecologists predict impact of climate change on vulnerable speciesAs climate changes, many species are spreading beyond their historical ranges. Here biologists announce a method to predict which species decline as a result. Testing the method in Ontario, Canada, lakes where bass species have expanded northward with increasing temperatures, small fishes and fishes which rarely occurred with bass species were most likely to be lost where bass recently established. The method can predict losses due to competition and predation in a variety of organisms. El Niño blowing down wind projectionsWind energy performance is expected to remain below normal in most regions into the final quarter of 2015, according to Vaisala, after record low wind anomalies that challenged many project operators in the United States in the beginning of the year. Energy Storage Savings – Coming Soon to a Utility Rate Near YouForget energy storage as the technology of the future, for many utility customers the time for storage is already here. Commercial and industrial customers in parts of California, New York, and Hawaii are already using energy storage to save on utility bills by cutting demand charge expenses. According to new analysis by the energy systems integration and management software company Geli, those energy storage savings could expand to include customers in another 43 states if battery prices continue their downward spiral. Fed chief Janet Yellen sees first rate hike later this yearUnfazed by the recent global turmoil, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen offered an optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy, including workers' wages, and reaffirmed that the central bank is likely to begin raising interest rates later this year. Feds will go door-to-door to seize illegal immigrants’ Obama amnesty approvalsGoosed into action by an angry federal judge, federal immigration authorities will go door-to-door demanding illegal immigrants return the three-year amnesty approvals the Obama administration issued to them in defiance of a court order. First images trickle in following New Horizons' historic flybyOne of these new images is a close up of the equatorial region of Pluto near the heart-shaped plain. It was captured an hour and a half before the flyby at a distance of 47,800 mi (77,000 km) and has enough resolution to distinguish features less than a mile in diameter. First Solar, Utilities Say Big Solar Farms Cheaper Than RooftopsBuilding vast fields of solar panels for utilities is cheaper than bolting lots of little ones to rooftops, and now First Solar Inc. has more data to prove it. First U.S. small modular reactor inches aheadIf the project successfully navigates the regulatory and economic hurdles, it could begin producing power by 2023. The site for the plant has not yet been selected, but an early leading candidate is the Idaho National Laboratory complex. In many ways, the project is by no means certain. "UAMPS is still in the investigatory stage," said LeVarr Webb, spokesman for Salt Lake City-based UAMPS. "We haven't yet made a final decision to go forward." Florida's Supposed ‘Flesh-Eating' Bacteria Claims Seven LivesFlorida officials are warning residents about dangerous water-borne bacteria responsible for a rising number of deaths this summer. Fossils indicate human activities have disturbed ecosystem resilienceA collection of fossilized owl pellets in Utah suggests that when the Earth went through a period of rapid warming about 13,000 years ago, the small mammal community was stable and resilient, even as individual species changed along with the habitat and landscape. By contrast, human-caused changes to the environment since the late 1800s have caused an enormous drop in biomass and “energy flow” in this same community, researchers reported today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Friendship...“ True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation. ” ― George Washington Fukushima Radiation Spikes 7,000% – MSM is Quiet About it!Cleanup crews trying to mitigate Japan’s never-ending radiation crisis at Fukushima ran into more problems recently after sensors monitoring a drainage gutter detected a huge spike in radiation levels from wastewater pouring into the Pacific Ocean. The Tokyo Electric Power Company says radiation levels were up to 70 times, or 7,000 percent, higher than normal, prompting an immediate shutdown of the drainage instrument. The first readings came around 10 a.m. local time on February 22, setting off alarms not once but twice as radiation levels spiked to extremely high levels. Gas overtakes coal but for how long?The use of natural gas for power generation hit a milestone recently and is expected to continue growing, although it’s not likely to permanently supplant coal for many years. Gov’t Expert: West Coast will soon be hit by 800 Trillion Bq of Fukushima Cesium-137
About 800 tera
becquerel of Cesium- 137 is
going to reach West Coast of
North America by 2016,
equivalent to 5
percent of the total Cs-137
amount discharged
to the pacific ocean after
the Fukushima nuclear
disaster, [Michio Aoyama, a
professor at Fukushima
University] was Greek lawmakers pass austerity bill despite dissentGreek lawmakers voted overwhelmingly early Thursday to approve a harsh austerity bill demanded by bailout creditors, despite significant dissent from members of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' own left-wing party. Hillary: Where Do You Stand on GMO Labeling?...Hillary expressed her enthusiastic support for GMO agriculture. She also perpetrated a lot of the same misinformation about genetic engineering that Monsanto and the rest of the industry regularly spout off about, including the lines about how there’s no difference between hybridization and genetic engineering, and how drought-resistant seeds and crops are a big part of the biotech industry’s game plan. Her appearance at the convention served as a reminder of Hillary’s deep ties to Monsanto, ties that have earned her the title of “Bride of Frankenfood.” House passes bill to keep highway aid flowing to statesThe House passed a bill Wednesday to temporarily shore up funding for transportation programs and prevent a shutdown in highway and transit aid to states at the end of this month. But Senate Republicans are trying to cobble together a longer-term bill that could provide money for several years. The House bill would provide $8 billion to keep transportation aid flowing through Dec. 18 while lawmakers work on a long-term bill. It passed by a vote of 312-119. How Can We Keep Track of Earth's Invisible Water?It's no secret that Earth is a wet and wild place—from grade school onward, most people can readily cite the fact that water covers about 70 percent of the planet's surface. And images taken from space show our home world as a "blue marble" awash in oceans, rivers and lakes. Iowa utility agrees to phase out seven coal plants in settlementThe Sierra Club said on Wednesday that an Iowa utility has agreed to phase out seven coals plants in a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency, the state and the environmental group. Iran's conservatives take aim at nuclear dealIran's security hawks have begun sniping at their country's historic nuclear deal, emboldened a day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described some of the world powers that signed it as "untrustworthy". Khamenei's remark will be understood by Iranians to refer largely to the United States and Britain, the "Great and Little Satans" long reviled by Iran's revolutionary theocracy for their support of the Shah, overthrown in 1979. Islamic Terrorists Strike America Again
A gunman unleashed a barrage
of gunfire at two military
facilities Thursday in
Tennessee, killing at least
four Marines and wounding a
soldier and a police
officer, officials told CBS
News. Is natural gas the next coal?With a focus on clean power, coal is being retired. But what will take its place as the leading source of electricity in the United States? It turns out -- something already has. Losing the war with IranBy any reasonable assessment, the United States is losing its 36-year war with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The surrender to Iran on sanctions and nuclear weapons will be one more stage in the American defeat by a determined, dishonest and surprisingly effective theocratic dictatorship in Tehran. NCAI Demands Environmental Review of Enbridge Pipeline Through Wild Rice LandsThe National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has passed a resolution calling for a full environmental impact statement on a proposed oil pipeline that would cut through indigenous wild rice lands. The resolution, passed on July 1, noted that manoomin—wild rice—is not only sacred to the Anishinaabe but also that tribes in Minnesota are the largest producers of it in the U.S., making it an economic mainstay as well as a federally protected tribal resource. Netanyahu says Israel not bound by Iran deal as he hints at military strikePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday after world powers reached a historic nuclear deal with Iran that Israel was not bound by it and signalled he remained ready to order military action. Netanyahu’s harsh criticism of the agreement came after he warned for months that the deal being negotiated would not prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. New Horizons re-establishes contact with Earth after historic flybyNASA can breathe again now that its New Horizons Pluto probe has phoned home. The unmanned nuclear-powered probe re-established contact with the Deep Space Network at 8:54 pm EDT – 13 hours and five minutes after today's historic flyby of the distant dwarf planet. This marks the successful completion of New Horizons' exploration of Pluto and provides scientists with information that should shed new light on the origins of the Solar System. New Report: U.S. Power Sector Continues to Reduce Air Pollution Emissions in Advance of EPA's Clean Power PlanThe most comprehensive analysis to date on U.S. power plant air pollution emissions shows that most of the nation's largest electric utilities have seen significant reductions in global warming pollution in recent years. The report's release comes as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prepares to finalize the Clean Power Plan to further reduce that pollution. NOAA, Partners Predict Severe Harmful Algal Bloom For Lake ErieNOAA and its research partners, using an ensemble modeling approach, predict that the 2015 western Lake Erie harmful algal bloom season will be among the most severe in recent years and could become the second most severe behind the record-setting 2011 bloom. Obama announces plan for high-speed Internet in low-income homesCalling the Internet a 21st century necessity, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a program to bring faster Internet connections to more low-income households, particularly to help students living in public and assisted housing stay ahead in school. Under ConnectHome, the public, private and nonprofit sectors have pledged to work together to provide high-speed connections and digital devices to more families at lower cost. Planned Parenthood Caught Selling Body Parts of Aborted Fetuses in Undercover VideoAfter a 3-Year Investigative Journalism Study of Planned Parenthood, The Center for Medical Progress released its videotaped exposé filmed on July 25, 2014. The video shows two actors posing as employees of a human biologics company discussing with Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services, how Planned Parenthood sells the body parts of aborted fetuses, using partial-birth abortions to supply intact body parts. Pluto’s Close-Up Photo Reveals Something Scientists Say ‘Could Be a Game ChangerEspecially astonishing to scientists was the total absence of impact craters in a zoom-in shot of one otherwise rugged slice of Pluto. That suggests that Pluto is not the dead ice ball many people think, but is instead geologically active even now, its surface sculpted not by collisions with cosmic debris but by its internal heat, the scientific team reported. Rainfall drives rapid melt, flow of the Greenland ice sheetAccording to a new study published in Nature Geoscience, the Greenland ice sheet has been shown to accelerate in response to surface rainfall and melt associated with late-summer and autumnal cyclonic weather events. Rand Paul sues Obama over foreign banking lawFACTA blamed for causing overseas Americans to renounce citizenship. Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday officially sued the Obama administration, seeking to stop it from enforcing a federal banking law that has led large numbers of Americans overseas to renounce their citizenship Record Levels Of Radiation Detected In Sea Water Near Fukushima1,000,000 Bq/m3 of Strontium-90 (nuclear radiation) at two locations in sea water near to Fukushima. Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission, with a half-life of 28.8 years. The 1,000,000 Bq/M3 reading represents the highest reading in recorded history. Renewables outpace nuclear in economies making up 45 percent of world population: reportSolar, wind and other forms of renewable energy besides hydro-electric dams now supply more electricity than nuclear in Japan, China, India and five other major economies accounting for about half the world's population, an atomic industry report shows. Report of Solar Geophysical Activity
Solar activity has been at
very low levels for the past
24 hours. Solar activity is
expected to be very low with
a chance for a C-class
flares on days one and two
(17 Jul, 18 Jul) and
expected to be very low with
a slight chance for a
C-class flare on day three
(19 Jul). The
geomagnetic field is
expected to be at quiet to
unsettled levels on days
one, two, and three (17 Jul,
18 Jul, 19 Jul). Seaweed that tastes like bacon? Sign me up!Oregon State University researchers have patented a new strain of a succulent red marine algae called dulse that grows extraordinarily quickly, is packed full of protein and has an unusual trait when it is cooked. This seaweed tastes like bacon. Shale does not mean end to Argentina's natural gas imports: IAPGArgentina likely will continue to import natural gas supplies to meet peak demand, even as its production from large shale and tight gas resources grows in the next two decades, the Argentine Institute of Oil and Gas (IAPG) said. Space station astronauts take shelter from space junkA piece of space junk forced the three space station astronauts to seek emergency shelter Thursday. For nearly an hour, the American and two Russians hunkered down in their Soyuz capsule, which is docked to the International Space Station, in case they had to make a quick getaway. The fragment from an old Russian weather satellite ended up passing harmlessly, about 1½ miles away. States Take Aim at Power-Plant RulesState regulators are descending on Washington Tuesday to make last-minute pleas for changes in the Obama administration's sweeping new rules for power-plant emissions, which will determine the direction of utility investments for decades to come and could affect the price of electricity. Suncor oil sands project aims to replace steam with radio wavesSuncor Energy Inc has launched a pilot project to replace the high-pressure steam used to extract bitumen from oil sands with radio frequency technology developed by U.S. defense contractor Harris Corporation. Canada's largest oil and gas company, which produces 440,000 barrels per day from Alberta's oil sands, said on Tuesday that the technology could significantly reduce costs, greenhouse gas emissions and water usage. Teenager convicted of 50,000 cybercrimes receives a slap on the wrist, no jail timeJulius Kivimaki, a 17-year-old Finnish teen, was arrested for, taken to trial over, and has since been convicted of 50,700 cybercrime offenses, most of which are related to hijacking emails, blocking traffic to sites, and credit card theft Tesla CTO: Bulk Energy Storage Will Grow Much Faster Than People ExpectAt the standing-room-only opening keynote at Intersolar 2015, all the talk was on the future of solar and how energy storage was helping to pave the way for greater adoption of it. Dr. Eicke R. Weber, the director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) opened the show outlining the great progress that solar has made in the past two years by stabilizing supply and demand. “Therefore in 2016, 17, 18 you will see production capacity and the market catch up, which means we should not expect further falling prices for PV modules,” he said, adding “You can expect stable prices and maybe even some modest increases.” The Latest Sign That Coal Is Getting KilledCoal is having a hard time lately. U.S. power plants are switching to natural gas, environmental restrictions are kicking in, and the industry is being derided as the world's No. 1 climate criminal. Prices have crashed, sure, but for a real sense of coal's diminishing prospects, check out what's happening in the bond market. The New Horizons Probe Has Made Its Closest Approach to PlutoMission scientists have received the confirmation signal that the pre-programmed event went as planned and the craft is healthy This Guy Drank 10 Coca Cola A Day For A Whole Month. When You See His Results, You’ll Be ShockedTake one sip of Coca-Cola and you know it possibly couldn’t be that good for you. It’s chock-full of sugar and acid and all that fun stuff that probably isn’t so good for your body. It’s fine in moderation, but when you take it to the extreme, that’s when you have a problem. Tom Hutchinson: Iran Deal May Be 'Building Blocks for World War III'The historic nuclear deal between Iran and six major global powers “may have laid the building blocks for World War III, but there may be a few more products to sell in the meantime” because Tehran will snap up technological innovations, Tom Hutchinson, senior editor of the Newsmax newsletter "The High Income Factor," told Newsmax TV. Treat climate change as seriously as national security: reportGovernments should treat climate change as seriously as threats to national security or public health, partly by focusing more on the worst scenarios of rising temperatures, an international report said on Monday. Crop failures, extreme heat waves or high rates of sea level rise could be so harmful that governments should examine even small chances of the most severe impacts, according to the study by about 60 experts from 11 nations. U.N. Security Council to vote Monday on endorsing Iran deal -U.S. diplomatThe United Nations Security Council is due to vote on Monday on a resolution that would endorse a deal placing long-term curbs on Iran's nuclear program, but retain an arms embargo and ban on the supply of ballistic missile technology, said a U.S. diplomat. US has yet to notify 21.5 million data breach victims: OfficialsTwo months after discovering that sensitive personal information on 21.5 million Americans was compromised in a hack of government databanks, none of those affected has been officially notified, government officials said on Tuesday. U.S. Takes Down ‘Darkode,’ a Massive ‘Think Tank for Cybercriminals’U.S. law enforcement, in coordination with more than a dozen international authorities, shut down Darkode—a secretive online bazaar for exploits, malware, botnets and stolen personal information, like credit cards.
US weekly coal carload volumes rebound from almost 25-year low: AAR
The latest total was a
decrease of 10.5% from the
year-ago week. Viaducts with wind turbines, the new renewable energy sourceWind turbines could be installed under some of the biggest bridges on the road network to produce electricity. So it is confirmed by calculations carried out by a European researchers team, that have taken a viaduct in the Canary Islands as a reference. This concept could be applied in heavily built-up territories or natural areas with new constructions limitations. Wake Up New York: Water Infrastructure In Peril“Through most of our recent history, New Yorkers could be blissfully unworried about water. It arrived at faucet spouts and shower heads via nameless streams, distant reservoirs and subterranean pipes. Catch basins, drains and toilets whisked rainwater and wastewater out of sight. But the days of taking Gotham’s water for granted must come to an end.” West Coast of North America to be Slammed by 2016 with 80% As Much Fukushima Radiation As JapanA professor from Japan’s Fukushima University Institute of Environmental Radioactivity (Michio Aoyama) told Kyodo in April that the West Coast of North America will be hit with around 800 terabecquerels of Cesium- 137 by 2016. EneNews notes that this is 80% of the cesium-137 deposited in Japan by Fukushima, according to the company which runs Fukushima, Tepco: What’s Up with the Algae Biofuels Industry?Algae, algae, algae — biofuels made from and by the littleist creatures in the advanced bioeconomy is back in focus this week, as the DOE puts $18 million in funding into the marlet aimed at stimulating sub-$5 per gallon algae biofuels by 2019. What are the current generation of algae technologies and companies up to? July 14, 2015
3 Alternative Health Doctors Found Dead In the Last 2 Weeks After Run-Ins With The FedsIn the past several weeks, a number of controversial natural health doctors have died under mysterious circumstances. Some of them have even had recent encounters with federal agents and bureaucracies. 10 Belfast Police Hurt in Riot Over Blocked Protestant MarchAt least 10 police officers have been injured in nighttime Belfast riots after the British territory's main Protestant brotherhood was blocked from marching past a Catholic district, an annual confrontation that usually ends in violence. 10 Hallmarks of an Authentic Healer or TeacherHumanity, as a whole, is evolving faster than any other time in history. As we evolve, new understandings and new ways of Being come into focus, and those new ways can be confusing and downright frustrating to manage. Sometimes we need a helper in navigating through those frustrations and other imbalances and reach out to a teacher or healer who has been there and done that. Algal Blooms Kill Hundreds Of Long Island TurtlesToxic water has been responsible for the death of hundreds of turtles on the eastern end of Long Island this year. “The turtles washed up dead [in the spring], a die-off scientists blame on waterborne toxins that have reached unprecedented levels for reasons that aren't entirely clear,” CTV News reported. “The die-off could signal trouble for fish, shellfish, and the health of local bays,” CBS News reported. Another reason the West Antarctic ice sheet is meltingThe amount of heat flowing toward the base of the West Antarctic ice sheet from geothermal sources deep within Earth is surprisingly high, according to a new study led by UC Santa Cruz researchers. The results, published July 10 in Science Advances, provide important data for researchers trying to predict the fate of the ice sheet, which has experienced rapid melting over the past decade. Bumblebees Are Getting Squeezed by Climate ChangeAcross North America and Europe, the insects are just not keeping up with shifting temperatures Honeybee woes dominate the news, but those pint-sized pollinators aren’t the only members of the Apoidea family that are dropping like flies. Bumblebees are also feeling the heat—specifically, from climate change. Across both North America and Europe, those fuzzy insects are failing to keep up with shifting temperatures, disappearing from their southern range while also refusing to migrate north. California's best kept secret getting out as support for desert renewables increasesA new plan to bring cooperation between local, state, and federal agencies to increase renewable energy is a hit among residents -- at least those who know about it. "The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) is a comprehensive effort to plan for renewable energy and land and wildlife conservation in California's desert," according to the Pew Charitable Trust. California towns getting water by truck as drought continues and wells run dryThat's because at least 1,300 residential wells have run dry, affecting at least 7,000 people. When your taps start spitting out air here, Paul Boyer and his team are who you call. Can California compromise on hydraulic fracturing?There are still plenty of unknowns with hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, but even after proving harmful effects on humans and the environment, is it possible to come to a compromise to keep the practice? A new report thinks so. Chinese stocks stage recovery as confidence seeps back to marketsAround 400 companies began trading again on Monday as Chinese markets built on recovery that began last week Clean energy forecast: Cloudy with bright spotsGlobal clean energy investment in 2015 is facing headwinds from the financial markets, with the sharp rise in U.S. currency over the last 12 months reducing the dollar value of deals struck in other countries; and volatility in share prices, particularly in China, holding back equity-raising by specialist clean energy companies from both public market investors and venture capital and private equity funds, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). In fact, clean energy investment worldwide was $53 billion in the second quarter of 2015, BNEF reports, down 28 percent from the same time in 2014. But there are bright spots. Coal ash will be hauled across 27 miles of highway in Clark County beginning next monthBeginning the first week of August and continuing through late 2017, East Kentucky Power Cooperative will move 560,000 tons of coal ash across Clark County. Dump trucks from The Allen Co. will haul the material 27 miles over public roads, such as Ford Road, Ky. 627, the Winchester bypass, Interstate 64 and Ky. 89. The trucks won't go through downtown Winchester. Confidence...“ Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong. ” ― Peter T. McIntyre Cuba to build 7 wind farms financed by foreign investorsThe project is part of an effort by the island to generate 24 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, with officials planning to attract more than $600 million in foreign investment. Cuba plans to build six other wind farms using different sources of funds as it boosts clean energy generation. Democratizing solar: The Obama planThe Obama administration has announced a program to make sure every American can have access to solar technology -- if they choose to. The program's goal is to increase access to solar, including for low- and moderate-income families -- as well as expanding opportunities to join to solar workforce. EIA report forecasts further US shale oil output drops in August
US crude oil production from
shales is projected to fall
for the fourth month in a
row in August to 5.357
million b/d, a drop of
91,000 b/d from July
estimates, the US Energy
Information Administration
said Monday in its latest
Drilling Productivity
Report. Elektra One Solar becomes first solar-electric aircraft to cross the Alps in both directionsIt's been quite a month for electric aircraft. First, the Solar Impulse 2 broke distance and duration records when it flew from Japan to Hawaii. Then, two competing teams both claimed to have made the world's first electric flight across the English Channel. Now, Germany's PC-Aero says that its Elektra One Solar has become the first solar-electric plane to cross the Alps in both directions. Emails Link Lerner to Regulator Who Went After WalkerThe Journal cites emails showing the pair, who have been friends for 20 years, were in contact between 2011 and 2013, discussing personal and political issues – and noting the time is significant "because those were the years when the IRS increased its harassment of conservative groups and Wisconsin prosecutors gathered information that would lead to the John Doe probe that began in September 2012." Firefighting Planes Briefly Grounded By Drone Over WildfireAuthorities briefly grounded air tankers that were fighting a wildfire in Southern California on Sunday after a drone flew close to the blaze. The planes fighting a 35-acre fire on the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest were grounded for about eight minutes until the drone left the area, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Carol Underhill said. Food Stamp Enrollment Stats Will Leave You SpeechlessThe number of beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, has exceeded 45 million for 48 straight months, according to data released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Greek PM Tspiras faces party revolt over bailout dealGreece's leftwing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faces a showdown with rebels in his own party on Tuesday furious at his capitulation to German demands for one of the most sweeping austerity packages ever demanded of a euro zone government. Just hours after a deal that saw Greece surrender much of its sovereignty to outside supervision in return for agreeing to talks on an 86 billion euro bailout, doubts were already emerging about whether Tsipras would be able to hold his government together. How Climate Change will Affect Air TravelGlobal air travel contributes around 3.5 percent of the greenhouse forcing driving anthropogenic climate change, according to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). But what impact does a warming planet have on air travel and how might that, in turn, affect the rate of warming itself? A new study by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and University of Wisconsin Madison found a connection between climate and airline flight times, suggesting a feedback loop could exist between the carbon emissions of airplanes and our changing climate. The study was published today in Nature Climate Change. Infants At Risk From Pennsylvania Nitrate ContaminationPennsylvania families are worried tap water contamination poses a threat to infants after nitrate levels spiked this year. Explosive levels of nitrates prompted some York County residents to switch from well water to bottled water in recent weeks. The Soltis family, which includes a 6-month-old daughter, has been “drinking bottled water and using it to mix formula... Iran, world powers reach landmark nuclear agreementThe United States and
other world powers reached a
historic agreement with Iran
on Tuesday that calls for
limits on "Every path to a nuclear
weapon has been cut off," IRS Ignores Deadline to Hand Over Lerner EmailsThe Internal Revenue Service is ignoring a court-imposed deadline to turn over newly found Lois Lerner email documents essential to investigations of the IRS tax-exempt scandal. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan last week ordered the agency to turn over 1,800 new emails from Lerner, who ran the tax exempt unit which decided which organizations could receive tax exempt status. LED lightbulbs create wireless networks wherever they are installedVarious researchers have created ways to transmit wireless information from LED light fittings, to act as a form of enhancement to Wi-Fi based networks known as "Li-Fi." But now engineers at the University of Virginia (U.Va) have come up with a new twist on this theme – they claim to have created an algorithm that makes almost any device fitted with standard visible- light LEDs able to communicate with other equipment with similar LEDs. Let's remove the barriers to more NTAsNon-Transmission Alternatives are electric utility system investments and operating practices that can defer - or even possibly completely replace - the need for specific transmission projects, at lower total resource cost, by reliably reducing transmission congestion at times of maximum demand in specific grid areas. Nothing less will do: Tech companies want 100 percent renewablesFacebook is working to keep up with its counterparts, Google and Apple, by investing in large amounts of renewable energy on their properties. These days, if you are running your data centers off anything less than 100 percent renewable energy, you are not keeping up with the industry. OPEC sees 'more balanced' oil market in 2016 as non-OPEC supply slowsOPEC expects a "more balanced market" next year with world oil demand growth set to outpace growth in non-OPEC supply, and the call on OPEC crude set to climb above 30 million b/d next year for the first time on an annual basis since 2013, the oil producer group said Monday. Oregon is Next on Nestlé’s List of “Drought-Stricken States to Suck Dry”Nestlé is closing in on a lucrative water privatization deal that will hand it millions of gallons of some of the cleanest drinking water in drought-ravaged Oregon — permanently. And get this: Nestlé will only pay one penny per 40 gallons of water — and then it will turn around and sell the same water back to the public for $2.63 per gallon. Overblown: Report slams economic claims of Atlantic Coast PipelineThe claimed economic benefits of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) are overstated, lack sufficient supporting data, and fail to account for environmental and societal costs, according to a new analysis by Synapse Energy Economics commissioned by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). Pentagon moves toward lifting ban on transgender troopsThe study will "start with the presumption that transgender persons can serve openly without adverse impact on military effectiveness and readiness, unless and except where objective, practical impediments are identified," Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said in a statement announcing the move. Psychologists authorize CIA, DOD torture, says report. Does torture work?A new report detailing how the APA helped authorize 'enhanced interrogations' has prompted renewed questions about torture's effectiveness in intelligence-gathering. Reaction in Germany: 'Everyone lost'For Greeks, the deal entails deep new spending cuts, tax hikes and other harsh austerity measures. For Germans, the agreement means Europe's largest economy will send billions more in bailouts to a country that's regarded here as unproductive and beset by corruption. Realignment is Happening – This is No Time for Caution!We’re in a crucial opening up phase. The underlying matrix is shifting strongly, whilst at the same time, looking darker on the surface. But don’t be put off, the shifts are creating openings; many are finding the intervention energies within their own being easier to break down and expel — make hay whilst the sun shines! So waste not a moment, explore into your consciousness deeply; embrace everything that challenges you as a gift to go deeper and unfold more. .. Report of Solar Geophysical ActivitySolar activity has been at very low levels for the past 24 hours. Solar activity is expected to be very low with a chance for a C-class flares on days one, two, and three (14 Jul, 15 Jul, 16 Jul). The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to minor storm levels on day one (14 Jul) and quiet levels on days two and three (15 Jul, 16 Jul). Responsibility...“ At the end of the day, you are solely responsible for your success and your failure. And the sooner you realize that, you accept that, and integrate that into your work ethic, you will start being successful. As long as you blame others for the reason you aren't where you want to be, you will always be a failure. ” ― Erin Cummings Seabird Populations on the DeclineUBC research shows world’s monitored seabird populations have dropped 70 per cent since the 1950s, a stark indication that marine ecosystems are not doing well. Sixth-Century Misery Tied to Not One, But Two, Volcanic EruptionsIn the summer of A.D. 536, a mysterious cloud appeared over the Mediterranean basin. “The sun gave forth its light without brightness,” wrote the Byzantine historian Procopius, “and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear.” In the wake of the cloud's appearance, local climate cooled for more than a decade. Crops failed, and there was widespread famine. From 541 to 542, a pandemic known as the Plague of Justinian swept through the Eastern Roman Empire. Solar-powered plane grounded for weeksA solar-powered plane has been grounded by damaged batteries for at least a few weeks after completing its record-breaking five-day journey from Japan to Hawaii. The Solar Impulse 2's team says the batteries were overinsulated and overheated on Day 1 of the Japan-Hawaii leg. The team said Saturday that it monitored the situation throughout the flight but could not cool the cells. Solar vs. Solar: Who wins when it comes to cost?Utilities may want to listen up. According to the Brattle Group, U.S. utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are significantly more cost effective than residential-scale, or rooftop, solar PV systems to achieve the economic and policy benefits of PV solar. Study suggests volcanic eruptions behind pause in climate changeOver the last few years, many possible explanations have been bandied about for the so-called pause in climate change, a plateau in global surface air temperatures that is out of step with rising greenhouse gas concentrations. But now an international research effort is laying responsibility at the feet of volcanic eruptions, whose particles it has found reflect twice as much solar radiation as previously believed, serving to temporarily cool the planet in the face of rising CO2 emissions. TEP: Net metering opponent to solar advocateTucson Electric Power (TEP) has announced a project that, a month ago, would have been out of place for the utility. After changing their mind on net metering, TEP wants to be known as the solar advocate -- but more importantly, the customer advocate. Tesla's Power Storage Batteries Are Making WavesOur latest news comes from Elon Musk , the celebrated developer of the Tesla electric car. Musk has announced that his company will be manufacturing batteries to store energy generated by solar and wind systems, with a predicted price tag of less than half the current battery costs. This reduced price point is huge news for the energy landscape. The power of prediction: A model for utilities operating windBird deaths have long been a frustration among utilities that operate wind, but if you could predict where the birds are headed -- would you? A new study gives utilities the tools to figure it out. The Real Reason to Avoid MSG: Industry Secret Ingredient for Food AddictionYou likely already know that the food ingredient monosodium glutamate (MSG) isn’t good for you. You may even know some of the popular reasons why. But did you know that MSG is primarily used by the food industry to keep us addicted to ‘big taste, little nutrition’ food? It’s an industry secret. Read on to find out why MSG makes you eat more fast food while fattening up the food industry’s bottom line. The Science Behind Food Addiction, and Helpful Tools on the Path to Recovery
The Vitamin Found To Destroy Cancer CellsEvidence is mounting that humble little vitamin E plays a big role in keeping women safe from breast cancer. Several recent studies have shown it can inhibit the metabolism of cancer cells, leading to their death. This black hole outgrew its galaxyAstronomers have discovered a gigantic black hole – among the most massive black holes ever found – inside a normal-sized galaxy. This Is the Message Anonymous Posted Last Night Before the New York Stock Exchange OutageThe night before the New York Stock Exchange temporarily suspended trading due to an “internal technical issue,” the hacker collective Anonymous had a cryptic message for Wall Street on Twitter. “Wonder if tomorrow is going to be bad for Wall Street…. we can only hope,” said the tweet posted at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday. This means war, but are we prepared for cyber warriors?Cyber thieves take personal and financial data. Cyber pirates steal industrial and commercial intellectual property. But the cyber attacks that threaten to destroy or disarm critical infrastructure systems like the electric grid are true declarations of war. Pernicious cyber warriors seek to undermine society's sense of security and its standard of living. This Might Make You Think Twice About Injecting Your Child With GardasilThere are only about 50 HPV experts in the world, and Dr. Harper is one of them. Again, she has stressed that there is absolutely zero proof that these vaccines work, and that they are safe and effective. Tom Selleck Accused Of Stealing Water For Avocado FarmYou may know him as the star of “Magnum, P.I.” or as Monica’s boyfriend in “Friends,” but now Tom Selleck is gaining notoriety for something else altogether: water theft. Ultrasound cuts healing time of chronic wounds by 30 percentResearchers discovered that applying the vibrations of an ultrasound served to stimulate a certain pathway that substitutes for the regular fibroblast migration route and recruits the cells to the wound bed Up in smoke: Duke Energy demolishing coalDuke Energy has long been known for coal in North Carolina, and, as they move away from those investments, they are also removing a symbol of the generation source that defined them for so long. The utility plans to demolish the two red-and-white smokestacks at their L.V. Sutton Plant in Wilmington. Vaccines DO Cause Autism-Undeniable Scientific ProofThere is absolutely undeniable scientific proof that vaccines cause autism. There is no question! Case closed! Game over! The people and the mainstream media who claim that the vaccine autism link has been thoroughly debunked are all bought and paid for by the vaccine industry. They are lying and being paid to do it! And anyone who speaks against them gets royally defamed and defaced by the vaccine industry controlled media. Wildfires ravage Canada and Alaska causing mass evacuations"Extreme." "Unprecedented." "Historic." Those are just a few of the words being used to describe the start of this year's fire season in North America. The wildfires are centered in the northwest of the continent, but their consequences are far-reaching. Thick smoke has blanketed parts of Wisconsin and North Dakota. It's triggered air alerts in Minnesota and Montana and muddied skies as far south as Tennessee and Colorado. July 10, 20156.5 - SOLOMON ISLANDSAnger...“ Never respond to an angry person with a fiery comeback, even if he deserves it... Don't allow his anger to become your anger. ” ― Bohdi Sanders Another Gov’t Agency Is Buying Massive Amounts of AmmoThe U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says it plans to purchase 54,000 rounds of ammunition in a move that’s now raising eyebrows after at least one other federal government entity was recently accused of mysteriously stockpiling massive amounts of ammunition. The Las Vegas Sun reported that the bureau, tasked with managing and developing the country’s water resources, is planning to buy the ammunition for law enforcement use at Hoover Dam and Lake Mead in Nevada. Army plans to cut 40,000 troopsThe Army plans to cut 40,000 soldiers from its ranks over the next two years, a reduction that will affect virtually all of its domestic and foreign posts, the service asserts in a document obtained by USA TODAY. The potential troop cut
comes as the As El Nino looms, cloud seeding gets tailwindCircling thousands of feet above Tasmania's farmland in a light aircraft, Christina Nebel prepares to release tiny chemical particles as part of a cloud-seeding scheme estimated to have helped boost rainfall on the Australian island by over 10 percent. The program is one of a handful globally riding a wave of renewed interest in the decades-old technology as drought hits places from the United States to the Philippines, with the specter of a strong El Nino weather pattern later this year threatening worse to come. Atomic bonds: Uranium just one focus of Canada-India partnershipCanada: Secure, reliable, responsible producer of energy to the world. India: Potentially the fastest growing economy in the world. The pairing may seem unlikely, but there are many things that bind them together for the foreseeable energy future -- the least of which is atomic energy. Atomic clocks could be used to monitor volcanoes and predict eruptionsIf you've ever been to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, you may have been aware of two things; its magnificent grandeur, and the fact that it's an active supervolcano that, if it ever erupted again, would be worst event to hit the Earth since the dinosaur-killing asteroid. To help keep an eye out for this and similar events, a team at the University of Zurich have developed a means of monitoring volcanic events using atomic clocks. Attack on US power grid could cost $1tnA cyber attack which shuts down parts of America's power grid could cost as much as $1 trillion to the US economy, according to a report published yesterday. Company executives are worried about security breaches, but recent surveys suggest they are not convinced about the value or effectiveness of cyber insurance. Blood Test Could Identify Diabetes Decades Before it DevelopsScientists at the MRC’s Clinical Sciences Centre (CSC) in West London are the first to show that a small molecule circulates in the blood of people who are in the early stages of type 1 diabetes. A simple blood test could detect this biological marker years, maybe decades, before symptoms develop. “If we can identify and treat patients earlier, we may be able to help them to avoid secondary complications... California retail electricity sales growth to fall on increased PV: CECCalifornia's retail sales of electricity are expected to grow more slowly over the next decade because of a jump in anticipated photovoltaic capacity, especially among homeowners, a preliminary analysis by the California Energy Commission showed July 7. Challenges...“ It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get. ” ― Confucius China's new energy vehicle production surgingChinese automakers produced more than 25,000 new energy vehicles in June, four times as many as they did in the same month last year, as the government promotes use of less polluting vehicles, new data indicated on Tuesday. Breaking down last month's figures, they produced 10,500 electric cars, growing 200 percent year on year, and 6,663 plugin hybrid cars, growing 700 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Coming Soon? Hybrid Solar Power Devices that also Store EnergySupercapacitors have been compared to the flash from an old camera. They give an immediate burst of energy, which is then gone. A number of companies have combined supercapacitors with batteries for applications that require immediate response and sustained capacity. Startup SunVault Energy has developed a graphene hybrid device that is both a supercapacitor and battery storage. It is modular in design, meaning it can be shaped to power. Consumer's tech demand is creating a new environmental challenge
While electrical and
electronic equipment have
never been more efficient,
economical or in demand,
consumers' desire to own the
best and the latest is
contributing to an
environmental issue of
increasing seriousness and
concern, according to a new
report. Deforestation drives worsening flooding in KashmirIn April, scores of hillside homes in Fraswad and Shalnand villages in Jammu and Kashmir collapsed in a landslide amid heavy rains. Eighteen people died. Not long ago, those same sloping hills had been covered in forest. But illegal tree harvesting by timber smugglers denuded the area, making it ripe for conversion to homes, local people say. Galactic radio jets and dark matterThe afterglow of the Big Bang points to invisible dark matter, in places where galactic jets travel at near light speed... Astronomers have used the cosmic microwave radiation – the afterglow of the Big Bang – to locate sites of invisible dark matter in our universe. As it happens, the locations of dark matter correlate with places where jets of material from the centers of massive active galaxies travel at near light speed. German Wind and Solar Power Overwhelming Neighboring GridsGermany’s drive to harness wind and solar power is producing so much electricity that it’s spilling over into neighbors’ grids and increasing the threat of blackouts. Poland and the Czech Republic are spending $180 million on equipment to protect their systems from German power surges, while Austria is curbing some trading to prevent regional networks from collapsing. On a windy day, the overflow east can exceed the output from four atomic reactors. Greece agrees to tax hikes, cuts in pension spendingGreece finally met a deadline that counted on Thursday and made a series of sweeping proposals that its creditors needed by midnight to set off a mad rush toward a weekend deal to stave off a financial collapse of the nation. The package met longstanding demands by creditors to impose wide-ranging sales-tax hikes and cuts in state spending for pensions that the left-leaning Greek government had long resisted. Greece submits aid request; still to send full planEuro zone members have given Greece until the end of the week to come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that will keep the country from crashing out of Europe's currency bloc and into economic ruin. USA TODAY Hackers 'stole data of millions of US government workers'Those affected include government job applicants, federal contractors, and over a million of their partners, the Office of Personnel Management said. The figure is more than five times higher than the number of people that were feared to have been affected. The data breach, which came to light in April, was widely blamed on China. HECA wins six-month suspension of state reviewHydrogen Energy California has won a regulatory timeout, giving its developer six months to close a key business deal or face termination of the controversial, $4 billion chemical and power plant proposed in western Kern County... HECA proposes to convert coal and petroleum coke into chemicals for sale and generate electricity for sale to the power grid during times of peak demand. Its design work is supported in part by $408 million in federal subsidies aimed at demonstrating the commercial viability of "sequestering" coal-derived carbon emissions underground. Honda Sets World Record for Fuel Efficiency – 100 MPGHonda has earned a new Guinness World Record for fuel efficiency. In a 25 day drive across all of the European Union’s contiguous countries, a Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC diesel averaged 2.82 liters per 100km (100.31 miles per gallon). INSPIRE-ing: World's largest renewable energy databaseThe energy sector now has access to the world's largest collection of global renewable energy standards and patents. Launched by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Standards and Patents in Renewable Energy (INSPIRE) platform, is the first and most complete solution of its kind, helping users search, locate, and analyze 400 international standards and more than 2 million patents for renewable energy technology. James Comey: FBI Thwarted ISIS-Inspired Attacks on July 4U.S. authorities thwarted plots to kill people in the United States around the July 4 holiday, FBI Director James Comey said on Thursday.Comey told reporters more than 10 people inspired by the Islamic State's recruitment online have been arrested over the past four weeks, some of which were focused on attacks around the July 4 holiday. Kazakhstan’s Endangered Antelopes Dying By the ThousandMore than 120,000 saiga antelope have been confirmed dead in central Kazakhstan, more than a third of the global population of this critically endangered mammal. Wildlife experts believe that a combination of environmental and biological factors is contributing to the die-off... Saigas have in the past 10 years only begun to recover from a global population size of less than 50,000 animals following a 95 percent crash in numbers. More than half of incremental Iran crude exports to head Asia: IEEJ analyst
More than half of
incremental Iranian crude
exports will likely head to
Asia when Western economic
sanctions against Iran are
lifted, a senior oil analyst
at the Institute of Energy
Economics, Japan said
Thursday. Mr. Quinn's war: coal industry faces multiple battlesIn a speech that invoked Roman emperors, David Letterman , Archimedes and Voltaire, Mr. Quinn vilified the Obama administration's policies, carried out mostly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , regulations on everything from power plant emissions and water contamination. He compared the government's recent pledge of federal assistance for unemployment-stricken Appalachian coal communities to war reparations. New Map Reveals How Those ‘Green’ Cars Aren’t Exactly Great for the Environment EverywhereA new study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research has found that the emissions put off from power plants supplying energy to electric cars while they charge could actually be causing just as much environmental harm as traditional vehicles that pipe out exhaust along the highway. Nuclear Energy Adds $60 Billion a Year to US EconomyThe economic and financial consulting firm's analysis, "The Nuclear Industry's Contribution to the U.S. Economy," also measures other economic and societal benefits from the commercial nuclear industry. The study finds that the nuclear industry accounts for about 475,000 full-time jobs, both direct and secondary. Nuclear plants significant to Arizona, US economiesA recent report by the Brattle Group said that nuclear power plants are significant to Arizona and the U.S. economically. According to the report, nuclear power contributes $1.6 billion in direct and secondary output and $1.1 billion in gross domestic product in Arizona . Arizona also accounts for 5,700 jobs in nuclear. NYSE halts trading suddenly following glitch speculationUPDATED x6: Software and router glitches are being blamed for outages at the NYSE and United Airlines, respectively. Protecting planet not a choice but a duty, pope saysPope Francis on Tuesday appealed to the world not to turn its back on the "reality" of environmental decay and its effects on the poor, saying protecting the planet was no longer a choice but a duty. Renewable Energy Storage Project Near Desert Center AdvancesEagle Crest Energy plans to transform the site into a pumped storage electricity station that can bank energy from solar, wind and geothermal power plants for release during times of peak demand and to maintain grid stability. The proposal calls for converting two of the mine's vacant pits into reservoirs that transfer water back and forth through a state-of-the-art underground turbine system that can produce up to 1,300 megawatts of electricity – enough to power nearly 1 million homes. Report of Solar Geophysical ActivityC1 event observed. Solar activity is likely to be low with a slight chance for an M-class flare on days one, two, and three (10 Jul, 11 Jul, 12 Jul). The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to active levels on day one (10 Jul), unsettled to minor storm levels on day two (11 Jul) and unsettled to active levels on day three (12 Jul). Study: Global sea levels have risen six meters or more with just slight global warmingA new review analyzing three decades of research on the historic effects of melting polar ice sheets found that global sea levels have risen at least six meters, or about 20 feet, above present levels on multiple occasions over the past three million years. What is most concerning, scientists say, is that amount of melting was caused by an increase of only 1-2 degrees (Celsius) in global mean temperatures. Taliban, Afghan officials begin peace talks in PakistanIn a significant development, officials of the Afghan government on Tuesday began two-day talks with representatives of Taliban to bring peace in the war-torn country, officials said. The peace talks are being held in Pakistan, according to an Associated Press report. This is the first high level meeting between the two sides even as few details were made available about the peace talks that began in Islamabad over iftaar the sunset meal Muslims take to break their dawn to dusk fasting. Three Island Nations Are Ready for Renewable EnergyPowering and fueling societies by harvesting solar, wind and other clean, renewable energy resources makes good sense anywhere, anytime – especially now that technical performance has improved and costs have dropped so dramatically. Nowhere is this more true than it is for small island nations where energy costs are high and human populations, not to mention ecosystems and natural resources, fragile and threatened. US 2015 coal production at lowest level since 1987: EIA
US coal production is
expected to total an
estimated 921.5 million st
in 2015, down 7.5% from 2014
and the lowest total since
1987, a coal analyst for the
Energy Information
Administration said Tuesday. U.S. forecaster sees El Nino likely into Northern Hemisphere into springThe Climate Prediction Center, an agency of the National Weather Service, said in its monthly report that it saw the likelihood that El Nino would last through the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2015-16 at more than 90 percent. U.S. government outlines solar power boost for the poorThe White House took steps this week to boost the installation of solar power and other renewable energy in federally subsidized housing and increase the number of jobs in the industry for poor people. The U.S. administration has set a goal of installing 300 megawatts of solar and other renewable energy in affordable housing by 2020, tripling a goal President Barack Obama set in 2013 that has already been surpassed. US Solar Production Is Being Vastly UnderreportedThe actual number, according to SEIA and kWh Analytics, was 30.4 million MWh. Where is the difference coming from? Behind-the-meter systems, such as residential and non-residential rooftop solar PV installations, of which there are close to 700,000 throughout the U.S. The EIA included none of those in its report, counting only utility-scale solar plants with capacity greater than 1,000 kilowatts (kW). Washington Football Team Suffers Heavy Blow as Judge Upholds Trademark CancellationOn Wednesday, a federal judge in Northern Virginia ordered the cancellation of six of the Washington football team’s seven trademark registrations. The decision comes more than a year after the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found the name of the team to be “disparaging to Native Americans.” Federal law – specifically the Lanham Act – prohibits trademarks that denigrate people or bring them into “contempt or disrepute.” Water water everywhere, but is it too soon for wave energy?Although wave energy development in the European Union (EU) is going full-steam ahead, the technology still has a ways to go in the United States. However, a new development is giving researchers in the U.S. a chance to look at the long-term effects of wave energy. July 7, 2015Admiration...“ I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life; I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well. ” ― Theodore Roosevelt Billionaire Tesla CEO has fascinating ideasAs CEO and product architect of electric luxury car maker Tesla, you are building the first brand that will surpass Apple in look and feel. But that's just a means to an end, isn't it? Your ultimate goal is much grander, and that's what people don't seem to get. I think you're plotting a self-reinforcing infrastructure of global energy production and conservation. This is good stuff. I get it, Elon. I get you. Here's how I see your vision: Bright ideas: New regulations pave way for solar energy"We're still at a point where neither solar nor wind energy would be used for providing electricity in Las Vegas if it weren't for the regulatory push," Brown said. "If you put yourself in an isolated part of Nevada, where you're not close to the electricity grid, then wind and solar energy may be attractive economically." Engineers and scientists are working on thinner, lighter materials to turn sunrays into electricity and designing new methods of storing power. Character...“ Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. ” ― Abraham Lincoln China is building two untested nuclear reactors on Pakistan's coastPakistan has agreed to the construction of two nuclear reactors in Karachi, a coastal city in a tsunami-prone zone. After the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, scientists and civil society activists are asking why. .. Karachi approved the plan in late June when the city’s environmental agency deemed, “after careful review,” that the project was safe. Yet the impact assessment on the reactor site, at a popular beach known as Paradise Point, remains secret. Cleanup of coal ash in Belleville to begin soonA $35 million cleanup job to remove hazardous coal ash from a downtown Belleville site will soon begin after a brief delay. Coal ash worries run deep near shuttered Robeson County plantThe water from the canal passes by the pond, and by the edge of his 43-acre farm, before entering the Lumber River. "The swamp feeds right into the river. There's no acknowledgement from Duke of the vulnerability through the river from the swamp," said Mac Legerton, the executive director of the Center for Community Action in Lumberton. "It's not just the people who are exposed, but the animals and plants." Dissenting Lawmakers Punished as Corporate Takeover of United States Advances
Dutch students reveal solar-powered family carDutch students have developed a new family car that is not only powered by the sun, but generates more energy than it uses. Stella Lux seats up to four people and is designed to be efficient, intelligent and comfortable. EU dismisses Greek referendum as 'not legally correct'European Commission says Greek vote 'neither legally nor factually correct', and relief of Greek debts now 'off the table' .. Alexis Tsipras had told voters that a No vote would give him an unanswerable mandate to secure a more lenient deal including debt relief with his international creditors. Even fruit flies think before they act: first evidence of consciousness fragments in insectsAre some insects smart enough to make conscious decisions in a way similar to humans? New research published in the journal Science suggests so, having found that the common fruit fly possesses a special gene that allows it to think before it acts rather than just engage in pre-programmed, instinctual behaviors. Evidence That the Human Body is a Projection of ConsciousnessOne of the key principles of quantum physics is that our thoughts determine reality. Early in the 1900′s they proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt with an experiment called the double slit experiment. They found that the determining factor of the behavior of energy (‘particles’) at the quantum level is the awareness of the observer. For example: electrons under the same conditions would sometimes act like particles, and then at other times they would switch to acting like waves (formless energy), because it was completely dependent on what the observer expected was going to happen. Whatever the observed believed would occur is what the quantum field did. Film Covers the Many Dangers of the Cheap Meat Industry
Freedom...“ Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed -- else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. ” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower GELF to Governor: Goal should be 100 percent renewablesGovernor Andrew Cuomo's New York State energy plan is coming under more fire for not going far enough when it comes to renewables and climate change. Environmental activists claim that the Governor's call for 50 percent of the state's electricity to be met by renewables by 2030 is a step in the right reduction -- but falls far short of needed action. GMO Fluorescent Lamb Accidentally Eaten
Greece Enters Uncharted Territory After Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Austerity MeasuresGreece lurched into uncharted territory and an uncertain future in Europe’s common currency Sunday after voters overwhelmingly rejected demands by international creditors for more austerity measures in exchange for a bailout of its bankrupt economy. Greece's economic problems linked to its coal-based energy policiesAs Greece prepares for its referendum, Takis Grigoriou takes Greece to task for its highly polluting lignite power sector, its ditching of a successful solar program in favour of more coal, the minimal insulation in its buildings that locks in high fuel bills, and Syriza's failure to tackle these issues. The good news? Greece's latest €1.4bn coal project looks like going unfunded. Instead of phasing out lignite Greece opted to engage in a long battle to preserve the ailing industry while putting an abrupt end to solar energy development by blocking new applications. Hacking Team hacked: firm sold spying tools to repressive regimes, documents claimThe cybersecurity firm Hacking Team appears to have itself been the victim of a hack, with documents that purport to show it sold software to repressive regimes being posted to the company’s own Twitter feed. The Italy-based company offers security services to law enforcement and national security organisations. It offers legal offensive security services, using malware and vulnerabilities to gain access to target’s networks. Here's How U.S. Groundwater Travels the Globe Via FoodMajor aquifers are being drained for agricultural use, which means the water moves around in some surprising ways. Freshwater in the United States is really on the move. Much of the water pulled from underground reservoirs called aquifers gets incorporated into crops and other foodstuffs, which are then are shuttled around the country or transferred as far away as Israel and Japan, according to a new study. Hidden supermassive black holes revealedScientists have detected 5 supermassive black holes previously clouded from view. The research suggests there are millions more hidden black holes out there. Hit by drought and seawater, Bangkok tap water may run out in a monthBangkok's tap water supply may run out in a month, as the country waits for long overdue rains to replenish sources depleted by drought and threatened by seawater creep, the chief of the capital's water authority said. Thailand is suffering its worst drought in more than a decade. In an effort to maintain water levels in the dams that supply water for agriculture in the provinces as well as taps in the capital Bangkok, the government has asked farmers to refrain from planting rice since last October. India's $100 billion solar push draws foreign firms as locals take backseatThe money pouring into India's solar industry is likely to be soaked up by foreign-organized projects such as one run by China's Trina Solar - not the country's own solar panel manufacturers. Irans Nuclear Program A Child Of Washingtonhe start of Irans nuclear program can arguably be pegged to December 8, 1953 . .. To make sure nuclear materials were not diverted to making weapons, Eisenhower proposed establishing a watchdog within the UN. That watchdog would later become the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Is Donald Trump Right on Immigration?While Donald Trump continues to make waves with his recent comments regarding illegal immigration, FBI crime statistics and other data reveal an interesting revelation: Donald Trump was right... The House Committee on Homeland Security has also reported:
"Islamic State" strongholds hit in major US-led air strikesIn one of the largest operations of the US-led coalition, airstrikes have targeted "Islamic State" positions in Iraq and Syria. There were a total of 38 airstrikes reported in the operation on militant-held positions. Many of Earth’s biggest aquifers overstressedPeople around the world rely on groundwater for drinking and crop irrigation. But a new satellite data study says that many of our biggest aquifers are overstressed. Approximately 2 billion people rely on groundwater for their primary water source, and groundwater is used to irrigate many of the crops that people depend on for food. Needless to say, groundwater is a very valuable resource. As with any valuable resource, it is a good idea to keep track of it, but that can be difficult to do with groundwater because it resides underneath the ground. Now, using new satellite technology, scientists have mapped trends of groundwater depletion in 37 of the world’s biggest aquifers—about one-third showed signs of highly unsustainable water use. MATS Ruling Offers Little ReprieveWhy the Supreme Court decision isn't what it seems. Specifically, the court took issue with the EPA for failing to consider the billions of dollars in compliance costs associated with its 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule, or MATS. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said, "The agency gave cost no thought at all, because it considered cost irrelevant to its initial decision to regulate." Monsanto Invests Billions In New Carcinogenic Herbicide To Replace RoundUpIt was reported last week that Monsanto will be replacing their controversial herbicide RoundUp with another dangerous substance known as Dicamba. Natural Medicine Changes LivesNone of the medications my dad was taking addressed any of these underlying causes, so I decided it was time to take a different approach. Newly Discovered Danger of High Fructose Corn Syrup is AlarmingIt’s no mystery that packaged and prepared foods in our grocery stores are full of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Though while more food makers are omitting this ingredient due to health dangers (and consumer demand), some companies are still including this health-damaging ingredient. Now, new troubling scientific studies reveal how high fructose corn syrup-containing foods are causing yet another unwanted side effect – heart failure. No Independent Diabetes Research: Only 6% of All Publications Without “Conflict of Interest”Overall, 704 articles could be assessed for conflicts of interest, and only 42 (6%) were considered fully independent. In articles with at least one pharmaceutical author, 89% of the co-authors had a conflict of interest. Obama to pardon dozens of non-violent drug offenders, NY Times reportsPresident Barack Obama plans to pardon dozens of non-violent drug offenders in coming weeks, likely commuting more sentences in one action than any president in almost 50 years, The New York Times reports. Oklahoma Case Could Open Doors to More Earthquake-Fracking LawsuitsState Supreme Court's to decision to allow Sandra Ladra to sue energy companies over quakes could encourage others to step forward with liability cases. The Oklahoma State Supreme Court has ruled that Sandra Ladra can proceed with her case to sue multiple oil and gas companies over injuries she suffered when a major earthquake struck her home Owner of 'Tetris' rights takes Hawaii home, ranch off gridThe 6,000-square-foot house has a view overlooking Diamond Head, Waikiki and the Pacific Ocean, and two Tesla cars in the driveway. It's not the two electric cars that set the property apart from its swanky neighbors. The difference is that this solar-powered home is completely energy independent. Homeowner Henk Rogers, 61, hopes the technology he is using in his home can help make other homes across Hawaii -- and the world -- energy independent as well. Paradise found? Local renewables can boost island experienceLocally generated renewable energy can unlock socio-economic benefits for islands, specifically, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Marshall Islands, according to research from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Developing the vast renewable energy resources of Fiji, the Marshall Islands and Vanuatu would provide substantial socio-economic benefits for their citizens, according to Renewables Readiness Assessments for the three island nations which find that a combination of solar, wind, geothermal, marine, biomass and biofuel could meet domestic energy needs while decreasing electricity costs, increasing energy access, and boosting energy independence. 'Perfect storm' causing gasoline shortages in Mexico: analyst
The state company
traditionally prides itself
in ensuring supplies of all
fuels to industry and
consumers. But long lines
have formed in recent weeks
at the pumps of the service
stations that still have
gasoline on sale. Photographer Captures Children Hypnotized By TV, Proving The Zombie Takeover Is RealChildren, especially in their early years, are like sponges. Place them around an adult with a foul mouth, and they will begin mimicking their language soon enough. Set them in front of a television screen to maintain some peace and quiet in the house, and they will, undoubtedly, learn from what they are viewing and begin displaying similar behavior. Which is why the art series titled “Idiot Box” ... PNM wants San Juan coal accords kept secretPublic Service Company of New Mexico filed new coal-supply agreements for the San Juan Generating Station on Wednesday for review by the state Public Regulation Commission, but it's requesting that the PRC not publicly release those contracts. Politician to Politician: A cry for help with energy strategyThe United States Senate is working to create a new national energy policy, but is taking a unique tactic of seeking input from the nation's governors to help form that policy. Forty-five senators, including all of the Senate Democrats, wrote a letter to the governors. Renewable Energy Storage Project Near Desert Center AdvancesEagle Crest Energy plans to transform the site into a pumped storage electricity station that can bank energy from solar, wind and geothermal power plants for release during times of peak demand and to maintain grid stability. The proposal calls for converting two of the mine's vacant pits into reservoirs that transfer water back and forth through a state-of-the-art underground turbine system that can produce up to 1,300 megawatts of electricity - enough to power nearly 1 million homes. Report of Solar Geophysical ActivityM1 event observed. Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for M-class flares and a slight chance for an X-class flare on days one, two, and three (07 Jul, 08 Jul, 09 Jul). The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet levels on days one, two, and three (07 Jul, 08 Jul, 09 Jul). Researcher Reveals Monsanto Has Known Since 1981 That Glyphosate Promotes Cancer
Sale of San Juan Coal mine finalizedThe final sale agreement for San Juan Mine was completed on Wednesday. The sale agreement meets an original July 1 deadline set by the state Public Regulation Commission for that and other agreements in a plan intended to keep the San Juan Generating Station operating. The deadline was extended a month toby the Public Regulation Commission at a June 24 meeting in Santa Fe. Save Your Liver With Medicinal Plants
To get the maximum benefit
from medicinal plants, there
are certain things you need
to know. Scientists Baffled After Finding 10th Century Medicine that Kills Antibiotic-Resistant ‘Superbug’An ancient Anglo-Saxon potion, used to treat eye infections in the 10th-century, has shown the potential to eradicate the modern MRSA superbug,.. Solar-powered plane lands safely in HawaiiSwiss pilots have made aviation history after successfully landing the plane attempting to fly around the world powered only by solar energy in Hawaii at sunrise Friday. Solar PV Systems Shine OnTwo major trends define the residential photovoltaic (PV) solar market: dramatic price declines and rampant growth. Since 1998, the installed cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has fallen each year by an average of 6 to 8 percent, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. A staggering 6.2 GW of solar capacity was added in 2014, a number which includes commercial and utility installations Texas’ Plan to Bring Home Its Stockpile of Gold BarsForget Fort Knox or the Federal Reserve. Texas has decided to start keeping its gold holdings within in its own borders. But what makes sense politically in such a sovereignty-loving place is creating a logistical conundrum. Texas is the only state that owns an actual stockpile of gold, according to public sector and financial industry experts — not just gold futures or investment positions, but approximately 5,600 gold bars worth around $650 million. The holdings, stored at a New York bank, for some harken back to century-old fears about the security of currency not backed by shiny bullion. The Brain Does NOT Create ConsciousnessIn a recent interview on Waking Times aired on The People’s Voice Network, Dr. Eben Alexander, Harvard Neurosurgeon presents compelling scientific research in the field of consciousness that examines the unfolding reality that the brain does NOT create consciousness. Misleading concepts that focus on reductive materialism have kept us in the dark about the true nature of the human soul and its integral part in our evolution as spiritual beings. This Plant Treats Asthma, Rheumatism And Kidney StonesFrom root to leaves, all the parts of celery are beneficial to human health. It is extremely effective in treating asthma and rheumatism, as well as improving circulation and digestive disorders. To Stop Mosquito Bites, Silence Your Skin's Bacteria...in the on-going battle between human and mosquito, we might just have gained the upper hand. Scientists at Texas A&M University believe they have found a way to outsmart the bloodsuckers by tricking them into deciding not to bite us, and their main allies in this ruse are the billions of bacteria that live on our skin. Traders Now Betting Fed to Wait Until 2016 for First Rate Hike
U.S. short-term
interest-rate futures
contracts rose on Thursday
as a weaker than expected
government report on jobs
prompted traders to put on
bets the Federal Reserve
will wait to raise interest
rates until next year. US scientists: Warm oceans cause concern of coral bleachingAbnormally warm ocean temperatures are creating conditions that threaten to kill coral across the equatorial Pacific, north Pacific and western Atlantic oceans, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday. Coral bleaching occurs when coral is stressed by changes in its environment, causing it to release algae living in its tissue. The coral then turns pale or white and becomes more susceptible to disease. In severe cases, the coral can die, permanently changing the habitat for fish and shellfish. U.S. shares follow global markets lower after Greece voteWall Street stocks followed global markets lower after the opening bell Monday after voters in Greece yesterday rejected austerity plans demanded by international creditors, casting doubt on the country's future in the eurozone. The early declines in the U.S. stock market following the 'No' vote in Greece were not as sizable as some pundits predicted and Wall Street pros said there was no signs of panic in markets. Walk to improve your health“Walking is a superfood. It’s the defining movement of a human.” For example, one study found that walking for two miles a day or more can cut your chances of hospitalization from a severe episode of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by about half... July 3, 20157 Top "Healthy" Foods to Avoid
6.1 - SOUTHERN XINJIANG, CHINAAnother win for utilities: Supreme Court hits EPA hard on systematic failuresThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is being hit from all sides. First, with the Supreme Court shooting down the federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) and now from the state side as the same court decides Michigan v. EPA, which sought to determine if the EPA must consider how costly it would be for power plants to comply with environmental rules before EPA decides to implement them. Black hole wakes up after 27 yearsOn June 15, a monster black hole started showing signs of extraordinary activity that hasn’t happened since 1989. Astronomers around the world are watching. Body Found In Inaccessible Oregon Wastewater SystemThe circumstance is strange because the only way for something to enter the system is through “a sink, shower drains, removing a manhole or by having access to a pump station,” the WWMT report said. BP Agrees to Pay $18.7 Billion for Gulf Oil DisasterBritish oil giant BP has reached agreements with the United States, five States and many local governments totaling $18.7 billion to settle all civil claims arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. By the Numbers: Federal Energy R&D StagnatesWhile wind and solar power reap direct expenditures and , the tax breaks energy source getting the most federal research dollars may be a surprise. Can marijuana cure PTSD? Many veterans say yesNo one is saying this is a cure-all, but it is a cure,? says Stys, his dark, tired eyes gazing out the window of his mountainside cabin... Chickenpox Vaccine When Mandated INCREASES Disease Outbreak, South Korean Study FindsWhy, if the vaccines work, is South Korea experiencing year after year increases in chickenpox (varicella) outbreaks as their mandated vaccine uptake (97%) reaches close to universal compliance? China on bold move to build low-carbon energy systemChina is making concrete efforts to battle climate change by building a low-carbon energy system, according to the country's national pledge plan submitted to the United Nations on Tuesday. China planned to increase its installed capacity of wind power and solar power to 200 gigawatts (GW) and around 100 GW by 2020, respectively, according to the plan titled "Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC)". Crisis proportions: EU energy markets impacting energy povertyPeople across the world are experiencing energy poverty, and a new study by the European Commission (EC) has found that as many as 11 percent of the European Union's (EU) population may fall in that category. Energy poverty is when a household cannot adequately heat their homes at an affordable cost. Documents: Mexican army ordered troops to 'kill criminals'A human rights group said Thursday that military documents show high-ranking officers had given Mexican soldiers standing orders to kill criminals ahead of an army mass slaying of suspected cartel members after they surrendered. DOI Issues Determination: Pamunkey becomes No. 567; First Federally Recognized Tribe in Va.The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn issued final determinations today to acknowledge the Pamunkey Indian Tribe as a federally recognized Indian tribe. Additionally the Duwamish Tribal Organization has been denied. According to the DOI, The Pamunkey Indian tribe, which has occupied its land base in southeastern King William County, Virginia – which was shown on a 1770 map as Indian Town – “was found to have met all seven mandatory criteria for Federal acknowledgment as set forth in 25 CFR Part 83.7. Duke Energy accused of flexing its political muscle in attack on birdsThe United States House of Representatives is looking at a bill that includes a provision relating to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) -- which could affect utilities now and in the future. According to the Audubon Society, that bill was a "sneak attack on birds" and would prohibit using funds from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute anyone violating the act, HR 2578. Egypt's Sisi warns of new crackdown against domestic 'enemies'President Abdel Fattah Sisi, paying tribute to his assassinated top prosecutor, on Tuesday signaled the start of an even harsher security crackdown targeting “enemies” of his government. Employers Slam Obama's Overtime Plan: Will 'Cost Billions'The National Retail Federation says Obama’s proposed rule change to greatly increase how many salaried employees can claim overtime would force companies to use more part-time and entry- level workers. Businesses also may offer fewer promotions and convert salaried employees to hourly to avoid raising their pay, the NRF said. EPA Proposes to Cancel Some Uses of an Insecticide Commonly Used for Residential, Industrial and Commercial Purposes
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is
proposing to cancel certain
uses of the insecticide
propoxur after
preliminary human health
assessment found risks from
certain applications. Executive Order on Overtime May Spark Next Recession
Economists using data to
forecast economic growth
might want to focus some
attention on the White House
instead. Based on the
pursuit of fairness rather
than data, the Obama
administration decided 5
million workers deserve a
raise. Export-Import Bank expiresThe Export-Import Bank's charter expired at midnight, the first time it has lapsed since its founding in 1934. The bank is a federal agency that exists to help U.S. businesses export their products. Known as Ex-Im, the bank provides loans and credit insurance to U.S. companies operating abroad when private lenders won't provide financing. The bank is a net positive for the U.S. Treasury, generating a $675 million dollar surplus to the Treasury in FY2014. FBI investigating attacks on San Francisco-area Internet cablesThe Federal Bureau of Investigations is investigating an attack on fiber optics lines that has caused widespread disruptions in Internet service in California's Bay area and as far north as Seattle. For the 11th Time Within a Year, a Fiber Optic Cable Has Been Intentionally Cut in CaliforniaThe latest attack was discovered Tuesday morning in Livermore, California, joining other attacks dating back to July 6, 2014. The FBI in connection with local law enforcement is investigating the vandalism that has occurred in Fremont, Walnut Creek, Alamo, Berkeley, San Jose and now Livermore. Forward...“ Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer. ” ― Denis Waitley France Continues Exploring Energy StorageFrench electric utility EDF (Electricité de France) is evaluating use of an advanced Li-ion battery storage system for grid frequency regulation at its Concept Grid Lab. Located south of Paris at EDF’s R&D site in Les Renardières, Seine-et-Marne region, EDF's Concept Grid Lab is a live power distribution network designed to support, help design and test “bleeding” and cutting-edge smart grid technology. Germany added 101 MW of solar PV in May as slowdown continuesGermany added 101 MW of new solar PV capacity in May, the highest since January, but annual growth remains on track for the lowest level since at least 2007, according to the latest data from the grid regulator BNetzA. So far this year, Germany added only 520 MW of new solar installations, still bringing total installed solar PV capacity to 38.754 GW. Germany to shut down coal-fired plants, extend power grid: sourcesThe German government decided on Thursday to order the shutdown of several coal-fired plants in order to reach its ambitious climate goals by 2020, government sources told Reuters. Gov’t Official Refuses to Personally Issue Gay Marriage Licenses — and Here’s the Supreme Court Quote She’s Using to Back Her StanceDespite her personal opposition to same-sex unions, Lang said that other staff members will be available to issue gay marriage licenses. “I am grateful that the First Amendment continues to protect the sincerely held religious beliefs of public servants like me,.. Greece and Puerto Rico: Lessons for AmericaGreece has forced itself into this position after years of living beyond its means. The country has too many bureaucrats, pensions that are unsustainable, regulations that kill jobs, and people who want to spend more than they earn. Generations of irresponsible politicians have encouraged this habit of living beyond their incomes and spending more than they earn. Greece Defaults on IMF DebtThe IMF confirmed that Greece had not made its scheduled 1.6 billion euro loan repayment to the fund. As a result, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde will report to the global lender's board that Greece is "in arrears," the official euphemism for default. Greece: Poll shows 2 sides neck and neck before referendumThe brief but intense campaign in Greece's critical bailout referendum ends Friday, with simultaneous rallies in Athens supporting "yes" and "no" answers to a murky question in what an opinion poll suggests could be a very close vote. Green Spaces Make Kids Smarter
Imagination...“ Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will. ” ― George Bernard Shaw Iran takes possession of 13 ton hoard of gold"A sum of 13 tons of gold
that had been purchased
before and was deposited in Seif said the transfer is evidence the talks are having some success. Fars News reported the retrieval of the gold was the result of months of hard work. That much gold is worth about $485 million based on current price per ounce. Japan's top three automakers to spend $50 million to subsidize hydrogen stationsJapan's top three automakers said on Wednesday they will spend up to 6 billion yen ($48.92 million) combined to subsidize the cost of operating hydrogen fuelling stations as the country aims to lead the world in developing cars that use the fuel. Japan is set to miss an ambitious target of having around 100 of the fuelling stations in place by March next year,.. Judge orders man who shot down neighbor's drone to pay $850"Perhaps in SF it's normal for folks to have drones hovering over their property but we live in the country for privacy. I will be willing to split the cost with you, but next time let us know when you're testing surveillance equipment in our area," McBay wrote in an email. June Jobs Report Shoves 30-Year Mortgage Rates LowerTwo hundred twenty-three thousand persons were added to U.S. payrolls last month, and a net negative sixty-thousand person revision was made to the results of the two months prior. Including the revision, total jobs added last month fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Mortgage rates are reacting positively -- rates are now dropping. Man Applies for Marriage License to Have Two WivesA Montana man has applied for a marriage license so he can legally wed his second wife. Nathan Collier of Billings said Wednesday that last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage inspired him to try to force the acceptance of polygamous marriages. Mandatory Vaccine Measure Signed Into Law in CaliforniaThe new law, which makes California only the third state to eliminate religious and other personal vaccine exemptions, generated vociferous opposition from some parents, many of them fearing what scientists say is a debunked link between childhood vaccinations and autism. Native Cooking: Is It Chowder, or Chowdah?No matter how you say it or spell it, chowder, is still one of my favorite foods. In Rhode Island, where I grew up, the chowder is thin, basically clams and their broth with onion and, maybe some potatoes or Jerusalem artichokes*. This is the way the Wampanoag have made it for eons. New CO2 rules should aid Keystone XL approval, TransCanada saysTransCanada Corp said on Tuesday that tightening climate-change rules from the governments of Canada and the province of Alberta help justify the construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project. Northern Alaska Coastal Erosion Threatens Habitat and InfrastructureIn a new study published today, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey found that the remote northern Alaska coast has some of the highest shoreline erosion rates in the world. Analyzing over half a century of shoreline change data, scientists found the pattern is extremely variable with most of the coast retreating at rates of more than 1 meter a year. NYTimes Publishes Offensive Picture of Pope After Censoring Muhammad CartoonThe New York Times refused to publish cartoons depicting Muhammad, the founder of Islam, after the Charlie Hebdo killings in January, but did publish a picture of Pope Benedict XVI made of condoms, Mediaite reports. Obama calls for expansion of overtime payThey're called managers, and they sometimes work grueling schedules at fast food chains and retail stores. But with no overtime eligibility, their pay may be lower per hour than many workers they supervise.With those employees in mind, the Obama administration is proposing making up to 5 million more people eligible for overtime -- its latest effort to boost pay for lower-income workers. These workers would benefit from rules requiring businesses to pay eligible employees 1½ times their regular pay for any work beyond 40 hours a week. Obama OKs, Expedites Huge $29M Payout to Agencies Assisting Charleston Victims
The Obama administration is
fast-tracking a huge payout
to the agencies helping
victims of the Charleston,
South Carolina church
shooting, giving the
families of those slain
millions more in potential
assistance than victims from
Sandy Hook, Boston, and
other mass murders. Pence says Indiana will not comply with coal plant regulationsIndiana will not comply with President Barack Obama's plan to battle climate change by requiring reductions in emissions from coal-fired power plants, Republican Gov. Mike Pence said Wednesday. The proposal as currently written, known as the Clean Power Plan, will make Indiana electricity more expensive and less reliable and hurt economic growth in Indiana and across the nation, Pence wrote in a letter to Obama. Perception is reality: SCE trying to improve public opinion of SONGSSouthern California Edison (SCE) has faced numerous issues with the closure of their San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), but now that it is closed, they are looking to create a positive perception of the plant. To do this, the utility has begun offering tours of the shuttered nuclear plant. Polar bears face steep declines because of melting sea ice: U.S. studyImperiled polar bears will see a population crash in most parts of the Arctic Ocean if global greenhouse gas emissions continue at current rates, causing accelerated melting of the sea ice the bruins depend on for survival, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday. Politico: George Soros Helps Pro-Hillary Groups Hit $24 Million MarkAccording to a Politico report, two super PACs and a nonprofit took in $24.3 million during the first half of this year — which accounts for more than half of the $45 million raised by the campaign since it launched in April. Puerto Rico governor: Creditors should help solve crisisPuerto Rico's governor said Thursday that creditors are responsible for helping the U.S. island out of its economic crisis because they lent money knowing the government was running a deficit. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla also sought to clarify comments recently published in The New York Times saying he believes Puerto Rico's $72 billion public debt is unpayable. Report of Solar Geophysical ActivityC3 event observed. Solar activity is expected to be low with a slight chance for an M-class flare on days one, two, and three (03 Jul, 04 Jul, 05 Jul). The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet levels on day one (03 Jul), quiet to unsettled levels on day two (04 Jul) and unsettled to minor storm levels on day three (05 Jul). Researchers Work on Getting Intermittent Fasting FDA Approved as Adjunct Cancer Treatment to Improve Long-Term Survival Rates
Russia examines 1991 recognition of Baltic independenceThe Russian chief prosecutor's office is to examine whether the Soviet Union acted legally when it recognised the Baltic states' independence in 1991... Last week Russia's chief prosecutor declared illegal the transfer of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine in 1954. Small modular reactor bill passes state SenateA bill to support the manufacturing of small modular reactors in Washington state passed the state Senate 31-12 on Tuesday as the Legislature wrapped up its work. Small Robot Developed to Investigate Interior of Primary Containment Vessel of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2Developing procedures and methodologies for removing fuel debris from the PCV requires an understanding of its distribution. The robot will be used to determine the location and positioning of fallen objects, if any, and conditions along access routes to the PCV base. This must be done prior to a full investigation around the PCV base. Soil: A Matter of Life or DeathSoil is quite literally a matter of life or death—our life or death. India calls its soil “Sacred Mother” because it’s the source of all fertility. But have you ever thought about the economic, social and political impact of soil? Solar Impulse 2 breaks three records en route to HawaiiSolar Impulse 2 has started smashing records even before the longest leg of its round-the-world flight is complete. At around three quarters of the way to its next touch down in Hawaii, the single-pilot aircraft has broken the world records for longest distance and duration for solar aviation, with the record for longest ever solo flight of any kind thrown in for good measure. Solar Net Metering a Subsidy to Utilities?The report responds to an ongoing battle between electric companies and their customers over the value of solar energy. It shows how utilities have—falsely—asserted that customers saving money with solar are costing them, and that instead solar customers have been providing benefits far beyond what they’re compensated for. Split Reaction: 2015 NY State Energy PlanLast week, Governor Andrew Cuomo finalized the 2015 New York State Energy Plan -- a bold policy framework which establishes clear goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent, generate 50 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources, and increase energy efficiency by 23 percent by 2030 -- in order to move New York forward by combatting the threat of climate change and establishing itself as a national renewable energy leader. Stanford creates semiconductor-like solar cell -- but will utilities ever see it?Energy innovation is constantly evolving, and researchers at both universities and utilities are looking for the next big thing. But there is a gap between research and use, causing many innovations to come to the market years after development -- or not at all. State [Maine] to study new way to reimburse small-scale solar power generatorsLawmakers on Tuesday directed state utilities regulators to study and create a new way to reimburse homeowners or businesses that generate a portion of their own electricity. Study: Targeted LEDs could provide efficient lighting for plants grown in spaceA Purdue University study shows that targeting plants with red and blue LEDs provides energy-efficient lighting in contained environments, a finding that could advance the development of crop-growth modules for space exploration. Testing Heats Up at Sandia's Solar TowerThis month, engineers lifted Sandia’s continuously recirculating falling particle receiver to the top of the tower at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility, marking the start of first-of-its-kind testing that will continue through 2015. The Sandia-developed falling particle receiver works by dropping sand-like ceramic particles through a beam of concentrated sunlight, capturing and storing the heated particles in an insulated tank. The technology can capture and store heat at high temperatures without breaking down, unlike conventional molten salt systems. The Crisis: Regeneration or Degeneration?When literally billions of people, the 99 percent, are hungry or struggling to survive with justice and dignity; when the majority of the global body politic are threatened and assaulted by a toxic environment and food system; when hundreds of millions are overwhelmed with chronic health problems; battered by floods, droughts, and weather extremes; when endless wars and land grabs for water, land and strategic resources spiral out of control; When indentured politicians, corporations and the mass media conspire to stamp out the last vestiges of democracy in order to force a “Business-as-Usual” paradigm down our throats, it’s time for a change, Big Change. The Rapid Rise of Residential Energy StorageEnergy storage is heralded as the critical technology that will make widespread adoption of renewable energy possible. Storage bottles sunlight, addressing a key drawback to solar energy — that it can’t provide electricity when the sun isn’t shining. Energy storage also cures additional utility ailments from grid resiliency to power smoothing. Tsipras vows to push on with referendumIn a televised national address, Tsipras also reaffirmed his support for a "no" vote in the referendum. He insisted that a "no" vote would not put Greece's place in the euro or in the European Union at risk. United to Fly on Jet Biofuel Sourced From TrashUnited Airlines has invested $30 million in alternative fuels developer Fulcrum BioEnergy, a company that turns municipal solid waste into low-cost sustainable aviation biofuel. UW Researcher Discovers Groundwater Modeling Breakthrough 84 Years in the MakingA University of Wyoming professor has made a discovery that answers a nearly 100-year-old question about water movement, with implications for agriculture, hydrology, climate science and other fields... “We now have a reliable way to couple groundwater to surface through the soil that people have been looking for since 1931,” Ogden says, almost in awe of the moment. Wastewater Chlorination May Birth SuperbugsTreated wastewater may contribute to the creation of superbugs, according to a study from researchers at UNC Charlotte... The upshot is that these new forms of antibiotics appear to be “contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance in the environment,.. “Wastewater tests have found every type of antibiotic known,” she said. “The problems antibiotics cause when they are not broken down by treatment is they get into streams, where bacteria are becoming immune to them, and more dangerous, superbug, bacteria can be formed.” Water Utilities Don't See Climate Change As PriorityWhen executives at U.S. water utilities were asked about the biggest anxiety for their industry, “only about 10 percent said that climate change, which could further reduce water supplies in already water-stressed regions, was a significant sustainability issue,.. Watts Bar is first nuclear plant to meet post-Fukushima upgrade requirementsThe Watts Bar Nuclear Plant near Spring City, Tenn., has become the first nuclear power plant in America to gain regulatory approval for meeting new equipment and safety standards adopted in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. White House directs GMO regulators to update, improve oversightThe White House on Thursday directed the three U.S. agencies that oversee biotech crop products to improve and modernize their regulatory "framework" to boost public confidence in a system that critics call a failure. Why is UK expanding nuclear as US tries to get out?The United Kingdom is working to expand their energy footprint, and is looking to nuclear. Minister of State Andrea Leadsom's spoke to the Nuclear Industry Association conference about how nuclear can help increase the clean energy in the country. Leadsom explained that the country is working to not only maintain reliable energy, but also to keep costs low. Why Restricting Your Eating Time Period To 8 Hours Will Transform Your Health & FitnessI tried the ‘six small meals a day’ plan, I tried a 100% whole-food diet, I blended, I chopped. I tried numerous workout plans as well, but nothing seemed to be truly resonating with my body. I found myself lethargic most of the day, sick of always planning my meals, and frustrated that with how much effort I was putting into planning my diet and workouts, I still wasn’t seeing or feeling the results I had hoped for. But this all changed when I discovered intermittent fasting (IF). |
became more commonly
available, I’m afraid I have
some bad news for you.