Saturday, September 03, 2011

R-E-V-E-N-U-E !!!!!!!!


If the Republicans cannot get out of their own way to do the right thing for the country, then they are incompetent and need to be removed from office.


We don't need ideologues, we need legislators.


END   OF   DISCUSSION !


That is it.  No more bullshit !


The Republicans are not full partners in this country.  They are owned by Right Wing Extremists that have caused this problem.  There cannot be any Bi-Partisanship with extremists.  Governance begins with ownership and a partnership to 'get it done.'  That is not what exists in the House.  The government has been placed in peril by the very fact the people cannot get relief from their circumstances where there are reasonable solutions at hand.  The Republicans are placing the tax base of the USA in peril, hence its national security and the future of this nation.  



Conservationists muster their resources and do the right thing. We are all too used to it.

What I don't understand is why would this administration go through the cost of litigation when they are going to loss the argument in the first place.  We should have done this with Bush.


It is on the radar now.  



Everyone in the MORAL community knows the drill all too well.  And what is really interesting, the Environmental Defense Action Fund reminded me; these announcements are always, always made when it might slip by.  I never thought President Obama would resort to GOP tactics against this community.  I guess the coaching must have been among those that try to be the slickest.  It must be in Speaker Boner's playbook handed down over generations of polluters and human rights violators.


Obama, Ozone, and Political Horse-Trading (click title to entry - thank you)
September 3, 2011
By Dominique Browning 
President Obama has just announced a controversial decision  (because we're all paying close attention over the Labor Day weekend, of course) not to raise the ozone standards for air pollution–in spite of pressure from environmentalists and his own head of EPA, Lisa Jackson. He is responding, instead, to requests from House Speaker John Boehner, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; opposition to the regulation was focused on the expense  to businesses of meeting it, which they claimed was somewhere in the range of $20 to $90 billion annually….

DONATE TO YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION OF CHOICE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AFFORD.  THANK YOU.


The stake-holders will be numerous, the American Lung Association among them.


Obama is playing footsey with the "W"rong folks.  Does he actually think Boner and the US Chamber of Commerce deal it straight?  Does he actually believe they are friends to the American people?  NOT.  At all.  His idea of bipartisanship is poorly thought out.  If this is a shadow of his jobs proposal then he doesn't have one.  I don't know whom is advising him, but, it is too desperate for my palate.

Secretary Solis' "State of the American Worker"





The Clean Energy Sector needs the kind of attention to improve their market share that the Auto Industry received.  We have invested well into these vital technologies and they should NOT be left to flounder when it is moral to keep their employees at work to help the USA build a cleaner and stronger and domestic energy industry.  Their difficulty is by no fault of their own.

Michigan's Rick Snyder has to be litigated. The double standard and 'slick' language is a give away.

...What does bother (click title to entry - thank you) the governor is that he feels that some of his reforms have been misunderstood, something which he says is partly a communication failure on his part....


Snyder is taking a lot for granted with State's Rights when it comes to his "Occupation Laws" that take democratic rights away from citizens while assigning them to City Control Czars.


In that case, Snyder believes States Rights is more than appropriate.


But, when it comes to States Rights in environmental law, Snyder believes The State of Michigan should NOT address any unique issue and only have federal laws apply.  Not that the Great Lakes create environmental dynamics that are different from Arizona,. but, simply that the ELEMENTS on the Periodic Table of Elements are the same everywhere.


Snyder is just one of THOSE Republicans that don't have the capacity to discern what is important to Civil Rights or Environmental Law, so long as the 'bottom line' is correct.  He is most probably the worst Governor Michigan has ever seen.


In separate context to litigate either of these issues is a good idea, but, when realizing he is 'Cherry Picking' his States Rights makes any litigation more viable.


Oh, yeah, the 'slick' language thing.


Let's see if we can detect a lie when he states like any adolescent "But I was Misunderstood."


And the fact that when Snyder's legislation to date shows a profound lack of understand of States Rights but only a meandering through law for ideological achievements, there is a very clear character issue.  The character issue at hand is "He ain't got what it takes."


The way I see it there is only a few reasons to be an ideologue.  As noted with Christie fallling back on 'recognizable patterns of behavior' like calling for unnecessary studies means manipulation of the electorate will be better defined for himself to protect his cronies.


And then there is the Snyder reason to be an ideologue, so he can appear to know what he is doing regardless of the laws it insults or the harm it does.  The changes will be so radical even if a higher court states he is out of line, what difference does it make.  After all when his czars get finished, even partially finished he can then argue that he was right regardless of the Rule of Law.


Protectionist motives actually.


Then take the ALEC directive.  If one is an ideologue and the dialogue is dictated by sameness across the universe, how then can a Governor like Walker ever be "W"rong?


Creating DOCTRINE, which is what ALEC (click here) DOES, makes becoming a cronied millionaire at the cost of democracy; idiots work.  Doctrine then becomes a national mind think results in Wall Street MADE EASY.  I think the POPULOUS name would be "Wall Street for Idiots."


The rare find in Republican Leadership is one that actually thinks for a living.  Their culture is so mired in "Rove's World of Success" that no one dare venture outside of it.  Besides being in the world of populism is where any Republican lives these days, although, there are a rare exception.  That populism is created by Murdoch and his cell phone hackers at the very least.  Gossip is everything these days, except, perhaps in Libya and the nations of the Arab Spring where they are truly seeing their world changing to allow for the air they breath.


But, Snyder was never qualified for the job.  He massacred a Michigan Small Business of which he had conflict of interest in the offices he held in the company.  


The point is that bringing 'the quality' of leadership across a broad spectrum of government that can be documented as repeated and ideological while inconsistent in the understanding of The Rule of Law, is a viable challenge in any litigation against him or the misguided legislators.  When it is obvious exploitation of citizen's rights by destroying their local government and elected officials where no wrong doing can be cited or excluding the unique environmental needs of Michigan that are not legislated federally; the understanding that Snyder, like many of his cohorts, lean on ideology rather than sound understanding of governance.  That brings about a picture of incompetency that adds to litigation.  Incompetency when systemic and documented is a tool to clarify the understanding Snyder is misdirecting legislation in a way that is harmful to citizens and their inherent constitutional rights. 
.

So sorry.

Have I been obnoxious?


Better that than a fool.


Isn't easier and politically safe to believe God is going to fix eveything for the virtuous humans on Earth, than actually regulate to improve health and save lives?  I could never understand how Republicans actually got away with 'the idea' God is on our side.  THAT isn't even a tenant (lending) of the Bible.  The Christian Bible.  God demands human beings to LIVE UP TO expectations, not to be rescued for the lack of it.

I suppose there were no studies by the Petroleum Industry about THE PLUME and hurricanes either, huh?


Oil in the water at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Photograph: Gerald Herbert/Pool/EPA


Submerged suggest gulf spill is worse than BP claims (click here)

Scientists believe marine 'dead zones' being created; firm succeeds in blocking rig riser pipe with siphon


...Samantha Joye, marine science professor at the University of Georgia, who is working on the project, told the Guardian: "The plumes are abundant throughout the region. I would say they've become characteristic of this environment."...


September 3, 2011
1930.14z
UNISYS Infrared GOES East Satellite (click title to entry for 12 hour loop - thank you)


Who was that clown handing out monies for BP's liability along the Gulf Coast?  He isn't finished yet !




National poll pressures feds for coastal restoration (click here)


12:44 AM, Sep. 1, 2011  

We remember when $14 billion was real money.

That was one of the early guesstimates for restoring Louisiana's eroding Gulf Coast in the days before Hurricane Katrina ($100 billion is one estimate) and the BP oil spill (the billion-dollar meter's still running). Then there was the financial disaster of 2008 that put federal rescue-and-spending initiatives in the trillion-dollar realm to stabilize the nation's eroding economy.
Yet amid taxpayers' newfound concern about a mounting national debt and a re-examination of government's role in our lives, a recent survey caught our eye….


A NEW reason for the Petroleum Industry to raise prices.  What economic recovery?  There will never be a good time to regulate ozone.  Get over it and get it done!!!!




Sat Sep 3, 2011 6:09pm GMT

HOUSTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Sixty percent of crude oil production and more than half of natural gas output were shut in U.S.-regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday as Tropical Storm Lee hammered the Louisiana Coast, the U.S. government said.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said 844,190 barrels per day (bpd), or 60.3 percent, of Gulf oil production was shut after companies pulled workers form offshore platforms on Friday. Workers began returning to some platforms on Saturday, but no production had been restored.
Also, 2,896 million cubic feet per day of natural gas output, or 54.6 percent, was shut in as of Saturday. (Reporting by Erwin Seba: Editing by Vicki Allen)

What kind of fuel was used on the Space Shuttle?


Was it used successfully and could it be applied to consumer use on a large scale?

No more than m-ethane does when human error is added to the mix.  Should either of these fuels be used in their gaseous states on roadways?


Liquid gases of any kind have other dangers besides explosive capacities.  Due to higher densities and extremely low temperatures LNG and liquified hydrogen can make metal brittle.  NASA to date has been the largest user of hydrogen fuel.  


I would think if any agency could master the use of hydrogen extraction and its use as a fuel in automobiles it would begin and end with NASA.  


Hydrogen is much more accessible and in larger quantities in outer space and potentially a greater propulsion fuel to be captured and used while traveling in deep space.  It is the one element emitted from Sol in large quantities.


I sincerely believe NASA is the only research facilities prepared in both infrastructure and expertise to do this necessary research.


Published: Friday, November 05, 2010, 11:02 AM    
Updated: Friday, November 05, 2010, 11:11 AM

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (click title to entry - thank you)  -- A potentially dangerous hydrogen gas leak cropped up as NASA fueled Discovery for liftoff Friday, resulting in yet another delay for the space shuttle's final voyage -- possibly until the end of the month.

It was the latest -- and most serious -- problem to hit NASA's oldest and most traveled shuttle over the past week.

Another attempt would not be made before Monday, NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said....

I would think Research and Development for Hydrogen Vehicles would include 'cutting edge' extraction of H2 from Methane.


One of the challenges Hydrogen Fuel Cells face is providing enough fuel for large scale use of their technology.  Hydrogen is actually a rarer element than one might realize. Hydrogen is about 0.55 ppmv (parts per million volume) in Earth's atmosphere. The idea that a hydrogen fuel cell could be difficult to market on a large scale is realistic.

It is for that reason I find it odd that the companies seeking a market for their hydrogen fuel cell are not also seeking to find ways to extract hydrogen from other chemical mixtures.  I could foresee the use of m-ethane as a hydrogen source leaving behind a solid form of carbon such as DIAMONDS.

That is what 'gets me' about Wall Street, they are antiquated simpletons with no vision.


PRESS RELEASE
Aug. 16, 2011, 8:30 a.m. EDT
FuelCell Energy Announces Co-Production of Renewable Hydrogen for Vehicle Fueling From a Direct FuelCell(R) Power Plant (click title to entry - thank you)

First in the World, Wastewater Treatment Fuel Cell-Powered Hydrogen Energy Station



DANBURY, Conn., Aug 16, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- FuelCell Energy, Inc. a leading manufacturer of ultra-clean, efficient and reliable power plants, today announced a commissioning event for the Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plant that is providing renewable hydrogen for vehicle fueling along with ultra-clean electricity for the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) in Fountain Valley, California. The power plant efficiently converts biogas generated from the wastewater treatment process into ultra-clean electricity for use by OCSD and renewable hydrogen for an on-site vehicle fueling station operated by Air Products (NYSE:APD). Project participants include FuelCell Energy, Air Products and the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California Irvine with support from California Air Resources Board (CARB), South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Southern California Gas Company.



I have to wonder how much longer Lisa Jackson will stay at the EPA.

She is among the best EPA Secretaries the USA has ever had and there is no reason to believe disregarding her is going to keep her in that job.


It is difficult to get qualified people to take the risk of making the right decision on controversial issues.  Lisa Jackson is an 'equitable decision maker.'  


Besides knowing what she is doing, she also carefully weighs all the evidence before her.  That is dedication to purpose, which in a democracy is important.  She seeks to protect all of us and in the case of Ground Ozone the obstruction by the President for her to proceed is a hideous choice to her.  She is attempting to enforce the minimalist of standards in Ground Ozone levels, those for healthy adults.  


It has to start some where and to realize the past Bush White House actually allowed such dangerously low standards to exist is not only foolish it IS a human rights violation.  You know, I don't want to hear about the Chinese wearing masks in their cities when the USA is approaching the same standard.


Human Health is important to the people of this country and Secretary Sebilius needs to chime in on this one re-enforcing the cost to American's Health and their health care system.  This is ridiculous.


I didn't agree with Secretary Jackson about the dispersants used during the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster.


She did make decisions as best she could given the fact the Petroleum Industry had never provided research regarding the dispersants because they didn't have the research to present.  There was no long term data, there were no studies on marine life and there were not standards for underwater application.  She did what she had to do in that instance, which was to rule in favor of their use due to supporting reasons, including economic reasons at the time.  I was not alone in disagreeing with her either.  The decision was understandable however.


But, as then, I have to wonder if this administration is committed to APPROPRIATE standards for industry and buyer beware.


Environmental Regulation is not the problem, the policies of the past and present Republicans are.  The extreme the country finds itself should be no surprise to anyone and to realize what is REASONABLE to regulate is an economic hardship is all too clear as to why.

Christie needs MORE STUDIES. A million or two more or what? Dollars that is? How much is Christie spending for cronies?


Gov. Chris Christie (click title to entry -thank you) conditionally vetoed Thursday a permanent ban of a controversial natural gas drilling practice called fracking, and instead proposed the Legislature consider a one-year moratorium.
But one Senate sponsor of the bill said the Legislature may try to override his veto....


Christie should ask someone from Princeton to 'educate him' on why there is no need for any more studies.  Does he know where Princeton University is?  Yes?  No?  Maybe?  Firestone Library?  They have a great map room at the Firestone Library.



It is just that I am getting the feeling Republicans don't recognize the American Braintrust 
anymore.


Studies at Harvard about second hand smoke and children restrained in car seats and now a new demand by Christie for continued studies about a crony issue.  


Like what is the deal already?
  

President Obama is wrong about Ground Ozone. He is trading long term health effects for immediate fiscal gain. That is not the America I know.

There is absolutely NO REASON to pander to Wall Street with companies having accumulated gross profits over the past three years.  


NO WAY!


...The effect of ozone (click here) on mortality was generally higher in the warm season and among persons aged 65 years or over. For an increase in the 3-day running mean concentration of ozone of 21.3 μg/m3, the percentage of increase in daily.... 


The Republicans do things better than democrats, huh?  Really?  I guess this is just one of the 'unattainable' issues.  


I don't think so.  If President Obama wants to bargain with health for a short term jog to economic stability he isn't going to do it at the expense of a child's health.  He needs to tell the Republicans and Wall Street to get out of the way of economic development that means regulation that doesn't drive up the cost of health care and doesn' t kill people.


I mean, really now!


This capitulation is a direct result of the desperation by Republicans and their obstructionist tactics regarding economic development.  It is more than obvious that Republicans are under pressure to destroy Health Care Reform and return greed to Wall Street.  The pressure they are receiving from their cronies is NOW TRICKLING down to the policies of this administration to provide economic relief for companies with huge profits during the years since the 2008 collapse.


I suppose lobbyists have promised job growth for the sake of allowing Lung Disease.  Buoy, has the President got this one "W"rong.  He needs to stand against the tide and place blame where it belongs.  Shame on him.


This is pathetic.  The 'breathable air' in the USA is now 'unattainable' for HEALTHY ADULTS?  You know there isn't another planet I can go live on and the Shuttle Program is over anyway.  


Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 160, Number 2, August 1999, 390-396

Lung Function Growth and Ambient Ozone 
A Three-Year Population Study in School Children

THOMAS FRISCHER, MICHAEL STUDNICKA, CHRISTIAN GARTNER, ERICH TAUBER, FRITZ HORAK, ANDREAS VEITER, JOHN SPENGLER, JOACHIM KÜHR,and RADVAN URBANEK
University Children's Hospital of Vienna, and Pulmologic Centre, First Internal Department, Vienna, Austria; Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; and University Children's Hospital of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Ozone constitutes (click here) one of the major outdoor pollutants in industrialized countries. For the United States it was estimated that some 70 million people live in areas where the former national ambient air-quality standard of 120 ppb is frequently exceeded (1). Given that the ozone standard has now been changed to 80 ppb, an even greater proportion of the population is considered to live in potentially harmful environmental conditions. Current evidence further suggests that even this standard might be not stringent enough to protect ozone-sensitive (2) subjects from reductions in lung function. Small reductions in volume parameters can be observed in healthy children exercising at ambient ozone as low as 80 ppb (3). Whereas it can be argued that these alterations are trivial and not associated with respiratory morbidity, an increase in hospital admissions for asthma has been observed at similar ozone exposure (1). In places like Mexico City with extremely high chronic ozone exposure epithelial upper airways damage can be observed where atrophy of the nasal mucosa is present in the vast majority of children (4). The formation of oxygen radicals represents the biochemical basis for these observations (5). Ozone reacts slowly with water to give reactive hydroxyl radicals, which are able to oxidize a wide range of biomolecules. They can diffuse freely into cells and lead to ATP depletion, sulfhydril oxidation, and DNA strand breaks. Glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration are impaired, which may lead to cell death....


If the USA is developing an economy whereby even healthy adult lungs are on the chopping block, what kind of country have we become? 


... During the 3927-day period from April 1, 1981, to December 31, 1991,click here)  there were 720,519 admissions for which the principle diagnosis was a respiratory disease. After controlling for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, soiling index, and dew point temperature, the daily high hour concentration of ozone recorded 1 day previous to the date of admission was positively associated with respiratory admissions in the April to December period but not in the winter months.... 


The options are the same as they have always been, LAWSUITS and seeking standard from State and Local authority.  Maybe the States and Local Governments actually give a damn.  

The myth about m-ethane is very straight forward.

M-ethane produces higher (Not much higher) BTUs per molecule because it uses a single hydrogen explosion to ? capture ? energy and deliver 'steam power' to turbines and otherwise.


Where that is defeated in the consumerism of the product lies in the volume and  is relatively simple.


When the USA had a million people in its census and wood was used for fuel as they cleared the land for settlements, Earth hardly noticed.  But, in a country with 300 million PLUS people and growing there is a higher and higher demand for electricity.  Fossil fuels are no longer the answer.  They are antiquated forms of energy and need to be discarded as a reasonable source of power.


Let's make this real simple although grossly inaccurate.


If from the beginnings of the USA there was a consumption of one molecule of fossil fuel per year per person that would be a 'sustainable' amount no matter the source for one million people.


Now.


There are 300 million people in the USA and for the sake of argument there is still only one molecule of fossil fuels consumed.  Along with the increased consumption there is also destruction of biotic content to the country to facilitate that demand.  The country has not only increased its emissions of greenhouse gases by 300 times its past usage it has less carbon sinks.  Therefore, the amount of CO2 in the troposphere is STUCK there.  There is less and less carbon sinks available for an advancing consumerism of fossil fuels and the country is in a negative feedback loop to the levels of greenhouse gases.


Now realize that is a highly simplistic view of the world.  


Additionally, there are "Third World Countries" such as China and India moving into the modern age accommodated by Wall Street tycoons that see nothing but dollar signs and have complete disregard for the purpose of inviting them to these countries in the first place.  There has been gross mismanagement by Wall Street of diplomatic hopes for these countries and the global economy is grossly out of balance, the poverty of the 'commons' is not being resolved and is increasing and returning to First World countries and everyone is LOOKING for the CHEAP solution.  


Now realize that India simply love m-ethane .  They have used it as a fuel for generations as they assassinated wives with kitchen explosions and found women set on fire in ritual funeral pyres and otherwise.  Can you change that culture?  It isn't easy and while there are more penalties by the Indian government for that 'behavior' there is also a love for m-ethane that is soon not to go away.


China on the other hand looks at its billion plus citizens and sees a challenge.  They need and want CLEAN energy.  Their cities have been carpeted in smog, their rivers have seen the death of dolphin species and while the Panda is a beautiful symbol of hope for China their environment is in sincere danger.


The mountains of China still are dense with forests, but, due to the people that live in those areas there is dearly little wildlife since it is hunted.  I am quite confident there are extinct species we will never know about and that is true of the Chinese government.  Their people are so numerous that even in its far reaches there will be mystery about their biotic history.  Not that they don't love it.  That is not the case.


The directive for nations, regardless of their so called 'status' as First World vs Third World is to realize they have to approach development of their people not as a "World Trade Issue" that allows domination of the global money supply, but, to put their people to work with good wages so their internal economic growth increases.  


What has occurred with Wall Street 'free wheeling' it, is that the wealth of the USA was exported without any vision of sincere consumerism in places like China and India.  China and India are exploited for their cheap labor without developing a Middle Class so their profit margins are excellent.  The global market's troubles cannot be pinned on India and China as their 'democratized' leadership is extremely NEW to the idea of what a sincere 'free market' economy is all about and how THAT  is sustained.  As with any failure in capitalism it is Wall Street that is the villain.  Greed vs consumer base.  Greed always win out.  Always.  No vision, simply the bottom line.


The USA, the Chinese and the people of India really don't need them.  The people need to realize their own power in producing and sustaining consumerism.  What works for Small Local Business in the USA can and will work for China and India as well.  With increased wealth in a Chinese and Indian Middle Class the issues of the Climate Crisis will be a priority and the methods of achieving energy independence for all countries will become obvious.  


FOSSIL FUELS have to be abandoned and that should be a high priority for any leader today.