A special birthday cascade tribute for a longtime blegfriend who's just paranoid enough to believe it might not be about him (& just might listen to a song or two to discover if the music will save him again (from his [& our] complicity)):
Is there any such thing? Let's investigate—for good or ill. A blog about fiction and literature, philosophy and theology, politics and law, science and culture, the environment and economics, and ethics and language, and any thing else that strikes our fancy. (Apologies to Bertrand Russell)
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28 August 2014
21 August 2014
The gods are watching adverts
Found the first of the following three Kate Tempest vids on Huenemanniac. Thanks, Charlie, nice pick! And welcome to a coveted spot on WoW's renewing Wisblog Roll.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
10 August 2014
This Week in Water
The world's first Climate Change refugees have been granted residency in New Zealand. Rising sea tides on the Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu has contaminated the drinking water. Some predict that as many as 150 to 300 million people will be displaced by climate change during the first half of this century.
Climate data from 2013 published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society concluded:
A team of scientists has determined that sea level rise in the western tropical Pacific off the coasts of the Philippines and northeastern Australia is a result of human activity and likely will continue unabated.
Scientists have observed methane gas bubbling to the surface from the sea floor in the Arctic Ocean. These plumes could signal a major tipping point for climate change, causing trillions of dollars of damages to the world's economies. Methane, a greenhouse gas, is 20 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. One climatologist associated with the expedition that discovered this phenomenon tweeted: "If even a small fraction of Arctic sea floor carbon is released to the atmosphere, we're f'd."
The worst environmental disaster in North America in decades? A dam holding waste from Canadian gold and copper mines operated by Imperial Metals around Mount Polley in British Columbia broke, spilling up to 4 billion gallons of toxic slurry and sludge containing things like arsenic, mercury, and sulphur from the tailing pond into the Province's pristine lakes and streams.
A massive red tide algae bloom, some 80 miles by 50 miles, off the Gulf coast of Florida has killed thousands of fish and could cause further damage, including to people, if it washes ashore.
Scientists are reporting a man-made 'dead zone' about the size of Connecticut in size in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. It is purportedly second in size only to a similar zone in the Baltic Sea around Finland and is a result of agricultural runoff from farms along the Mississippi River.
Pharmaceutical waste from an anxiety medication, Oxazepam, released into a Swedish lake is decreasing Eurasian perch mortality rates. This is not necessarily a good thing.
Engineers at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are constructing an ice wall to keep contaminated water from the nuclear reactor disaster from polluting ground water.
A mysterious lake, some 30 to 60 feet deep, has appeared in the the Tunisian desert.
Canada wants to map and lay claim to the seabed around the North Pole. So does Russia.
Russia has released "Arctic Sunrise", the Greenpeace ship it seized last year in a protest against its Arctic drilling.
The world's largest naval exercise, RIMPAC 2014, involving militaries from 23 countries, got underway in the Western Pacific.
Also, ebola is spread only by direct contact with bodily fluids from an infected person.
Climate data from 2013 published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society concluded:
"Last year was one of the ten hottest on record. Depending on how scientists slice the numbers, the year ranked second or sixth. Australia experienced its hottest year since recordkeeping began in 1910, as did a research station at the South Pole, whose records date to 1957.
Average sea levels continue to creep up at consistent rate, of roughly three millimeters per year. Glaciers are losing mass at an accelerating rate.
Extreme events in 2013 caused significant damage. Typhoon Haiyan was the strongest recorded tropical cyclone at landfall when it crossed the Philippines in November with wind speeds of 170 knots (195 miles per hour). More than 5,700 people died because of the super storm.
In Canada, heavy rains flooded southern Alberta, resulting in the country’s most expensive natural disaster ever, at more than $US 6 billion."The Global Ocean Commission has determined that the world's oceans need saving from pollution and overfishing, and urgent action is needed within five years.
A team of scientists has determined that sea level rise in the western tropical Pacific off the coasts of the Philippines and northeastern Australia is a result of human activity and likely will continue unabated.
Scientists have observed methane gas bubbling to the surface from the sea floor in the Arctic Ocean. These plumes could signal a major tipping point for climate change, causing trillions of dollars of damages to the world's economies. Methane, a greenhouse gas, is 20 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. One climatologist associated with the expedition that discovered this phenomenon tweeted: "If even a small fraction of Arctic sea floor carbon is released to the atmosphere, we're f'd."
The worst environmental disaster in North America in decades? A dam holding waste from Canadian gold and copper mines operated by Imperial Metals around Mount Polley in British Columbia broke, spilling up to 4 billion gallons of toxic slurry and sludge containing things like arsenic, mercury, and sulphur from the tailing pond into the Province's pristine lakes and streams.
A massive red tide algae bloom, some 80 miles by 50 miles, off the Gulf coast of Florida has killed thousands of fish and could cause further damage, including to people, if it washes ashore.
Scientists are reporting a man-made 'dead zone' about the size of Connecticut in size in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. It is purportedly second in size only to a similar zone in the Baltic Sea around Finland and is a result of agricultural runoff from farms along the Mississippi River.
Pharmaceutical waste from an anxiety medication, Oxazepam, released into a Swedish lake is decreasing Eurasian perch mortality rates. This is not necessarily a good thing.
Engineers at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are constructing an ice wall to keep contaminated water from the nuclear reactor disaster from polluting ground water.
A mysterious lake, some 30 to 60 feet deep, has appeared in the the Tunisian desert.
Canada wants to map and lay claim to the seabed around the North Pole. So does Russia.
Russia has released "Arctic Sunrise", the Greenpeace ship it seized last year in a protest against its Arctic drilling.
The world's largest naval exercise, RIMPAC 2014, involving militaries from 23 countries, got underway in the Western Pacific.
Also, ebola is spread only by direct contact with bodily fluids from an infected person.
02 August 2014
This Week in Water
Tons of news this week, mostly bad. And mostly in the U.S. Let's get down to it:
Health Advisory: If you're one of the nearly half million people who live in or around Toledo, Ohio, DON'T USE THE WATER!
More Ohio news: Haliburton was hesitant to disclose the type and amounts of toxic fracking chemicals it spilled into the Ohio River on June 28. By the time it released the information some 70,000 fish had died and the drinking water for millions of residents was threatened.
Hydrofrackers spilled some 480 barrels of hydrochloric (HCL) acid in rural Oklahoma that could taint nearby creeks and water supplies.
A waterfront oil refinery in Delaware is asking taxpayers to pay to protect it from rising sea levels.
Who would've guessed? The 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is turning out to be much worse than people anticipated.
The depletion of the Ogllala Aquifer that stretches from Texas to South Dakota by human extraction—mainly for agriculture and energy use—threatens the bread basket of the U.S. and, potentially, the entire planet.
Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S., is at an all-time record lowest level.
In a related story, NASA satellites have revealed a shocking loss of groundwater in the Colorado River Basin, challenging long-term water supplies for seven states. Purportedly, many areas are drier than during the Dust Bowl era.
Remember that chemical spill in West Virginia in January of this year? Well, the company that poisoned the water of some 300,000 residents sure got its comeuppance: It was fined $11,000. Freedom (Industries)!
Taxpayers will have to shoulder most of the $2 billion cleanup of pollution in the Everglades from South Florida's sugar industries.
Acidic seas are turning phytoplankton toxic. Why should that matter? Well, for one thing they produce up to 60% of the earth's oxygen.
Scientists still don't understand why numerous species of starfish along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the U.S. are dying out.
Researchers have measured swells of up to 16 feet in the Arctic's Beaufort Sea north of Alaska in oceans that are typically frozen.
Is Kick'em Jenny, an enormous volcano some 6,000 feet beneath the Caribbean Sea where tectonic plates converge, a potential tsunami threat to the U.S.?
Will the world essentially run out of fresh water by 2040? It is not out of the question if current trends continue. Not only do fossil fuel facilities pollute the environment and increase global warming with their carbon emissions, they consume massive, untold amounts of water resources.
Water: the next gold rush? Many mega-national companies think it is and are maneuvering to control this vital resource.
As much as 60% of California is in record drought conditions.
California halts injections of fracking waste, warning that it may be contaminating aquifers. May be?
Is desalination of the Pacific Ocean a viable option for California in the face of its historic drought?
New climate models predict an Australian forever-drought.
New E.P.A. proposed rule: an attempt to keep small bodies of water clean for families and businesses or yet another overreaching intrusion by Big Gov't into private property?
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014: a much-needed upgrading of U.S. water and wastewater infrastructure or the nose of the privatization-of-water-systems camel into the tent?
"U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), U.S. Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) today introduced 'W21: Water in the 21st Century,' legislation that would help communities nationwide better prepare for the future by providing new incentives and investments to help residents, businesses and local water agencies to conserve, recycle and manage limited water supplies."
Health Advisory: If you're one of the nearly half million people who live in or around Toledo, Ohio, DON'T USE THE WATER!
More Ohio news: Haliburton was hesitant to disclose the type and amounts of toxic fracking chemicals it spilled into the Ohio River on June 28. By the time it released the information some 70,000 fish had died and the drinking water for millions of residents was threatened.
Hydrofrackers spilled some 480 barrels of hydrochloric (HCL) acid in rural Oklahoma that could taint nearby creeks and water supplies.
A waterfront oil refinery in Delaware is asking taxpayers to pay to protect it from rising sea levels.
Who would've guessed? The 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is turning out to be much worse than people anticipated.
The depletion of the Ogllala Aquifer that stretches from Texas to South Dakota by human extraction—mainly for agriculture and energy use—threatens the bread basket of the U.S. and, potentially, the entire planet.
Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S., is at an all-time record lowest level.
In a related story, NASA satellites have revealed a shocking loss of groundwater in the Colorado River Basin, challenging long-term water supplies for seven states. Purportedly, many areas are drier than during the Dust Bowl era.
Remember that chemical spill in West Virginia in January of this year? Well, the company that poisoned the water of some 300,000 residents sure got its comeuppance: It was fined $11,000. Freedom (Industries)!
Taxpayers will have to shoulder most of the $2 billion cleanup of pollution in the Everglades from South Florida's sugar industries.
Acidic seas are turning phytoplankton toxic. Why should that matter? Well, for one thing they produce up to 60% of the earth's oxygen.
Scientists still don't understand why numerous species of starfish along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the U.S. are dying out.
Researchers have measured swells of up to 16 feet in the Arctic's Beaufort Sea north of Alaska in oceans that are typically frozen.
Is Kick'em Jenny, an enormous volcano some 6,000 feet beneath the Caribbean Sea where tectonic plates converge, a potential tsunami threat to the U.S.?
Will the world essentially run out of fresh water by 2040? It is not out of the question if current trends continue. Not only do fossil fuel facilities pollute the environment and increase global warming with their carbon emissions, they consume massive, untold amounts of water resources.
Water: the next gold rush? Many mega-national companies think it is and are maneuvering to control this vital resource.
As much as 60% of California is in record drought conditions.
California halts injections of fracking waste, warning that it may be contaminating aquifers. May be?
Is desalination of the Pacific Ocean a viable option for California in the face of its historic drought?
New climate models predict an Australian forever-drought.
New E.P.A. proposed rule: an attempt to keep small bodies of water clean for families and businesses or yet another overreaching intrusion by Big Gov't into private property?
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014: a much-needed upgrading of U.S. water and wastewater infrastructure or the nose of the privatization-of-water-systems camel into the tent?
"U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), U.S. Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) today introduced 'W21: Water in the 21st Century,' legislation that would help communities nationwide better prepare for the future by providing new incentives and investments to help residents, businesses and local water agencies to conserve, recycle and manage limited water supplies."