Year: 2010

A Hole in the World: The BP Oil Hemorrhage

Posted on by TL

It’s not an oil spill. There is no mere spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

There is a hole in the world. The floor of the Gulf of Mexico is hemorrhaging oil, and no one has a clue how to stop it. When they finally do plug the hold, the damage will likely be with us for decades.

From The Nation:

How long will it take for an ecosystem this ravaged to be "restored and made whole," as Obama’s interior secretary pledged it would be? It’s not at all clear that such a thing is even possible, at least not in a time frame we can easily wrap our heads around. The Alaskan fisheries have yet to recover fully from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, and some species of fish never returned. Government scientists estimate that as much as a Valdez-worth of oil may be entering the Gulf Coast waters every four days. An even worse prognosis emerges from the 1991 Gulf War spill, when an estimated 11 million barrels of oil were dumped into the Persian Gulf—the largest spill ever. It’s not a perfect comparison, since so little cleanup was done, but according to a study conducted twelve years after the disaster in the Persian Gulf, nearly 90 percent of the impacted muddy salt marshes and mangroves were still profoundly damaged.

We do know this: far from being "made whole," the Gulf Coast, more than likely, will be diminished. Its rich waters and crowded skies will be less alive than they are today. The physical space many communities occupy on the map will also shrink, thanks to erosion. And the coast’s legendary culture will contract and wither. The fishing families up and down the coast do not just gather food, after all. They hold up an intricate network that includes family tradition, cuisine, music, art and endangered languages—much like the roots of grass holding up the land in the marsh. Without fishing, these unique cultures lose their root system, the very ground on which they stand. (BP, for its part, is well aware of the limits of recovery. The company’s "Gulf of Mexico Regional Oil Spill Response Plan" specifically instructs officials not to make "promises that property, ecology, or anything else will be restored to normal." Which is no doubt why its officials consistently favor folksy terms like "make it right.")

If Katrina pulled back the curtain on racism, the BP disaster pulls back the curtain on something far more hidden: how little control even the most ingenious among us have over the awesome, intricately interconnected natural forces with which we so casually meddle. BP cannot plug the hole in the Earth that it made. Obama cannot order brown pelicans not to go extinct (no matter whose ass he kicks). No amount of money—not BP’s recently pledged $20 billion, not $100 billion—can replace a culture that has lost its roots. And while our politicians and corporate leaders have yet to come to terms with these humbling truths, the people whose air, water and livelihoods have been contaminated are losing their illusions fast.

"Everything is dying," a woman said as the town hall meeting was coming to a close. "How can you honestly tell us that our gulf is resilient and will bounce back? Because not one of you up here has a hint as to what is going to happen to our gulf. You sit up here with a straight face and act like you know, when you don’t know."

"Everything is dying."

More Carbon per Kilowatt: New Study Finds Greenhouse Gasses are Soaring

Posted on by TL

Found this hiding on Science Magazine’s Web site from 2007:

Stopping the runaway train of world carbon emissions is getting harder by the day, a new global analysis suggests. The culprit is a voracious global appetite for carbon-heavy fossil fuels. In 2003 and 2004, the amount of carbon released for every joule of energy used increased, reversing a long-standing trend, the study reports. That means greenhouse gas levels are rising even faster than previously feared, the authors say, although others aren’t so sure.

As countries develop, they typically generate less carbon dioxide for every unit of energy used. That’s because they typically move away from coal toward more carbon-efficient fuels such as natural gas, and economies evolve away from heavy manufacturing toward less energy-intensive service industries. But that trend of less carbon dioxide per unit of energy seems to be reversing globally.

Christopher Field of the Carnegie Institution in Palo Alto, California, and co-authors analyzed the relations between energy use, carbon emissions, and economics using public data through 2004. The bottom line: From 2000 to 2004, emissions levels have increased 3% per year–three times the rate of increase from 1990 to 1999.

In case any of our critics from the right are reading, Christopher Field is not Al Gore.

To Your Health! The Upside of Recessions

Posted on by TL

"Na zdrowie!" the Poles say. "To your health!"

And health may be the good news of any global economic downturn.

From Science Magazine:

You’ve lost your job, your house, and your savings. But, hey, you still have your health, right? Actually, you probably do–and it may even be improving. Researchers have found that, historically, Americans were healthier during the Great Depression and other economic downturns than they were during periods of prosperity. And they say the trend may still hold true today.

For many, the Great Depression conjures up images of wan, rail-thin men waiting in bread lines. At its peak in 1932, unemployment hit 22.9% and U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), a standard measure of economic performance, had shrunk by 14%. Despite these hardships, the average American was healthier during this period than during the economic booms that preceded and followed it, according to social researcher José Tapia Granados and his co-author Ana Diez Roux, both of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

The pair studied historical life expectancy and mortality data, GDP growth and unemployment rates, focusing on the years 1920 through 1940.

What did they find?

Tapia Granados’s team found an inverse association between economic health and population health: Life expectancy fell during economic upturns and increased during recessions. Mortality, meanwhile, tended to rise during economic upturns and fall during recessions. Deaths related to flu and pneumonia, for example, fell from about 150 per 100,000 people in 1929 to roughly 100 per 100,000 people in 1930, the researchers report online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Suicide was the only cause of death that increased during times of economic turmoil.

American Poles also quip, "Nie ma robi. Nie ma nic. Nie ma pienadze!, Son of a bitch!"

"I have no work. I have nothing. I have no money…"

"Son of a bitch!"

Na zdrowie!

Did Mammoth Extinction Begin Global Warming?

Posted on by TL

Mammoth

News from Science Magazine of the imminent release of a new study:

The jury is still out on whether humans wiped out the mammoths. But researchers have found evidence that the disappearance of the woolly giants probably helped to change the climate. If the beasts were indeed hunted to extinction, that means human-driven climate change could have started long ago, the researchers say.

Like modern-day elephants, mammoths were nature’s tree pruners. Their diet included large amounts of leaves and branches from young trees, and they kept the temperate northern lands of North America, Europe, and Asia well trimmed and mostly free of forests. In particular, mammoths feasted in the grasslands that had sprung up in Beringia, the land bridge between Siberia and Alaska that now sits at the bottom of the Bering Sea. But then, starting around 15,000 years ago, mammoth populations in the region plummeted. At about the same time, a genus of birch trees called Betula, native to the northern grasslands, underwent a population explosion.

And the results suggest the expansion of Betula trees actually warmed the earth a bit:

The results, the researchers report in a paper to be published in an upcoming issue of Geophysical Research Letters, suggest that when the mammoths disappeared, the Betula trees expanded across Beringia, forming forests that replaced as much as one-quarter of the grassland. The trees’ leaves, which are darker than grasses, absorbed more solar radiation, and their trunks and branches, which jutted above the snowpack, continued the effect even in winter. The researchers calculated that the mammoths’ disappearance contributed at least 0.1?C to the average warming of the world around 15,000 years ago. Within Beringia, the warming due to the loss of the mammoths was probably closer to 0.2?C, the team concluded.

Fascinating.

University Panel Clears Climate Scientist of Altering Data

Posted on by TL

From the NY Times:

An American scientist accused of manipulating research findings on climate science was cleared of that charge by his university on Thursday, the latest in a string of reports to find little substance in the allegations known as Climategate.

An investigative panel at Pennsylvania State University, weighing the question of whether the scientist, Michael E. Mann, had “seriously deviated from accepted practices within the academic community for proposing, conducting or reporting research or other scholarly activities,” declared that he had not.

Dr. Mann said he was gratified by the findings, the second report from Penn State to clear him. An earlier report had exonerated him of related charges that he suppressed or falsified data, destroyed e-mail and misused confidential information.

The new report did criticize him on a minor point, saying that he had occasionally forwarded to colleagues copies of unpublished manuscripts without the explicit permission of their authors.

The allegations arose after private e-mail messages between Dr. Mann and other scientists were purloined from a computer at the University of East Anglia, in Britain, and posted on the Internet. In one, a British researcher called a data-adjustment procedure Dr. Mann used a “trick.”

The e-mail messages led climate-change skeptics to accuse mainstream researchers, including Dr. Mann, of deliberately manipulating the findings of climate science in order to strengthen their case that human activity is causing the earth to warm up.

There is no doubt in the scientific community that global warming is real, it is happening, human beings are the cause, and we must do everything now to cease destruction of the environment before we make the planet uninhabitable for human beings and so many other forms of life. And science does not happen via email. Scientific studies are published in journals which most lay people in society – non-scientists- can neither read or comprehend.

Try reading a technical article from Science Magazine.

My point is not to affirm how little most of us know about real science – although that is pitifully true. The point is, no science happened in these emails with respect to the climate or anything else. Studies are published for the scientific community then critiqued by members of the scientific community.

I’m not defending Dr. Mann. But the far right must stop throwing mud at the scientific community because attention to climate change will require a rethinking of our economy, and much of that new economy will not include fossil fuels.

The Many Faces of Rand Paul

Posted on by TL

Honestly, I can’t keep up with this guy.

He wants next-to-no government, but does not approve of same-sex marriage.

See if you can reconcile the following, from Kentucky.com:

Republican senatorial candidate Rand Paul told a group of Christian home schoolers in Kentucky on Friday that he favors a separation of church and state, saying allowing the government into religious institutions "scares" him.

Yet he does not approve of same-sex marriage. That means he does not approve of GOVERNMENT PERMITTING same-sex marriage. As a candidate for the United States Senate, that’s the only possible interpretation of that position.

The tea party favorite also voiced his opposition to government faith-based initiatives that have been used to funnel federal and state funds into religious organizations.

"The faith-based initiative was getting government involved in churches basically, and that scares me a little bit, because there are things that you can say in the church that we think are sinful, and that should be something we can say," the Bowling Green eye surgeon told about 300 people in the sanctuary of Valley View Church in suburban Louisville. "But the second this church starts taking government money, then they’re going to say you can’t say these things are sinful."

Paul, a Presbyterian layman, campaigned at a Christian Home Educators of Kentucky convention where he was peppered with questions about his religious beliefs, brushing aside one about the age of the earth that he later described as ridiculous.

"I’m not running for minister," Paul said later. "I’m more than willing to stand up and say I’m a Christian, but I don’t think I have to go into every detail of what my religious beliefs are. If I were going to be the minister of their church, they’d have a right to ask me that."

No, not running for minister, but apparently hung up on a few issues. He’s not running for minster, but

Andrew Willis of Elizabethtown, who teaches his four children at home, said he hoped Paul’s answer would jibe with his own belief that the earth is about 6,000 years old.

"I’m not at all surprised that he didn’t want to answer that question," Willis said shortly after posing it. "I know that is hugely controversial."

Yes, that’s because the earth is actually a little over 4.5 billion years old. No, that’s not a matter of opion, religious or otherwise. "That’s the way it is," as Walter Cronkite used to say.

But science apparently doesn’t win many votes in Kentucky.

Free Outdoor Shakespeare This Weekend in Park Forest

Posted on by TL

From the Illinois Theater Center:

The Illinois Theatre Center, with the sponsorship of the Village of Park Forest, will present William Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET for three free outdoor performances, June 25, 26 and 27 on the Village Green stage in Downtown Park Forest.

This classic tragedy of “starcrossed lovers” has been called “the world’s best loved play.” It is certainly one of Shakespeare’s most performed works. The lines spoken by the title characters are among the most exquisite words of love ever spoken. The play’s eternal popularity has inspired several film adaptations, as well as the serving as the basis for the hit Broadway musical and Oscar winning movie WEST SIDE STORY.

Featured in the ITC cast are Byron Mitchell, Jessica Wilson, Chandler Lowe, Christopher Underwood, Justin Longnecker, Tracy Shaw, Bria Shaw, Rebekah Haynes, Andrew Wlos, Kyle Brown, Joe Gaudio, John Bird, Colin Kirchner, Bradfield Donaldson, Matthew David, Albert Clark and Ernest Ray. The play is directed by Etel Billig with stage combat sequences directed by Ernest Ray.

Performances are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 25, 26 &27 at 7:30 PM. The Village Green is located in the center of Downtown Park Forest, at Main Street and Cunningham Drive. Audiences are encouraged to come early and bring blankets and picnic supers. In the event of inclement weather, the performance will move indoors to the Illinois Theatre Center, directly adjacent to the Village Green. For more information, call 708-481-3510.

These performances are always awesome.

Hold Those Poll Numbers – Obama Produces Results, Not Theater

Posted on by TL
President Barack Obama

First, word from the latest CBS poll:

Most Americans do not believe President Obama has a clear plan to deal with the oil spill in the Gulf, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.

Just 32 percent say Mr. Obama has a clear plan to deal with the oil leak, while 59 percent (including 64 percent of Gulf coast residents) say he does not.

The numbers are not much better among those who watched the president’s Oval Office speech on the spill last week, with 35 percent of that group saying he has a clear plan and 56 percent saying he does not.

The spill isn’t the only issue on which the president is seen as lacking a plan of action: Just 41 percent say Mr. Obama has a clear plan for developing new sources of energy, while 45 percent say he has no clear plan. And when it comes to creating jobs, just 34 percent say he has a clear plan; 54 percent say he does not.

A majority of Americans – 61 percent – says the president’s response to the oil spill was too slow. Just 31 percent say they have “a lot” of confidence in his ability to handle a crisis, though a majority has at least some confidence that he can do so. Since January, the percentage who says Mr. Obama has strong qualities of leadership has fallen from 70 percent to 62 percent.

Overall, 43 percent approve of Mr. Obama’s handling of the oil spill, while 47 percent disapprove.

I remember listening to Cokie Roberts speak at a luncheon of the Inland Press Association a few years ago. I was actually looking forward to her presentation. The 2008 Presidential Election was still before us, and I was hoping for some insider wisdom from one of America’s most popular journalists.

When she opened her mouth, she graced us with poll numbers, the absolute “latest ABC poll results.” She presented us a good 20 minutes of meaningless drivel, letting us in on which way the winds had most recently blown.

It was rather sad. Cokie tried to prognosticate, didn’t even try to elucidate.

I was critical of President Obama after his speech last Tuesday evening. I wrote that I did not feel reassured by what the President said. I thought he sounded weak, and concluded with higher expectations for the morrow:

At any rate, I hope the President shows more spark tomorrow when he meets with BP execs. behind closed doors. If BP’s royalty don’t emerge from their meeting with POTUS looking like they just had a “Come-to-Jesus” moment, well, shame on President Obama.

The next day came the big announcement:

President Barack Obama wrested a $20 billion compensation guarantee and an apology to the nation from British oil giant BP Wednesday, announcing the company would set up a major claims fund for shrimpers, restaurateurs and others whose lives and livelihoods are being wrecked by the oil flooding into the Gulf of Mexico.

Applause broke out during a community meeting in Orange Beach, Ala., on the news.

“We asked for that two weeks ago and they laughed at us,” Mayor Tony Kennon said. “Thank you, President Obama, for taking a bunch of rednecks’ suggestion and making it happen.”

That floored me. Yes, $20 billion might be pocket change for BP in the long run, but it’s quite a bit for the people suffering loss – financial and otherwise – from the oil spill. Some members of the GOBP, like good old Joe Barton, criticized the agreement, calling it a “shakedown” and worse. Yes, Barton later apologized for that “misconstrued misconstruction,” or whatever. Members of the far right shuddered that there was no “due process,” as if every wrong can only be made right in this country by lengthy and extremely costly litigation.

President Obama simply cut through the red tape. If BP wanted to, they could certainly, even now, seek remedy in the courts — but that isn’t likely.

The President has resisted doing theater as Commander in Chief. Those moments are for campaigns, perhaps. A $20 billion (so far) agreement between a private corporation responsible for the worst environmental disaster ever in the Unted States and the highest elected official representing the people of this country — that’s incredible.

Put away the poll numbers. The media wants theater at every turn.

“No-Drama Obama” gets results.

Mark Kirk Makes Like Bunny, Flees From Press

Posted on by TL

Illinois politics takes us down the rabbit hole once again.

From Greg Hinz at Crain’s Chicago Business:

The Democratic and Republican nominees for the U.S. Senate, Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk, gave their views on planning and environmental issues at a Metropolitan Planning Council lunch on Monday.

But the news was what happened afterward: Mr. Kirk literally ran out the hotel door rather than answer questions about a host of recent reports that he repeatedly has exaggerated his experience and credentials.

The Peter Cottontail moment happened at the downtown Hyatt Regency, where about 1,000 folks were on hand for MPC’s annual big do.

Mr. Giannoulias, on the way in, stopped for a couple of minutes to chat with reporters. He left quickly after speaking but had a good reason: a fundraiser with Vice-president Joe Biden. Lunch then was served.

Mr. Kirk arrived after lunch, coming in via a side door.

He spoke for about 20 minutes, than walked down from the dais to have his picture taken with MPC President MarySue Barrett.

As soon as that was done — with a swarm of TV cameras and reporters moving toward the front of the ballroom — Mr. Kirk bolted for a back door.

With media in hot pursuit, he raced through a Hyatt kitchen and into the back seat of a black SUV — I believe it was a Cadillac Escalade — which instantly peeled out.

I know what you’re thinking.  Crain’s Chicago Business is the fountain of liberalism in Chicago, much more so than Boy’s Town.

Not quite.

Running away like Peter Cottontail won’t cut it with liberals, moderates, or conservatives in Illinois.

More here.

Video: Jonas Brothers Trapped in and Elevator

Posted on by TL

Here you go: the terrifying, riveting video all Jonas Brothers fans have been waiting for. Yes, this heart-stopping moment is brought to you by AOL News.

No, this isn’t ‘Love in an Elevator.’ This is the Jonas Brothers, after all.

Enjoy these meaningless few minutes as you watch the brothers elude danger, certain death…, well, none of that, really. If you’re here, just enjoy.