Barbara Dehn
Sorry Virginia, Insurance companies aren't Santa
Read More: Health Care, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Industry, Healthcare Reform, Insurance Companies, Obama Health Care, Politics News
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..... It was the Christmas season and I was at a holiday gathering at one of my husband's work friends. I had finished working a 12-hour shift in the Pediatric ICU. I changed into something festive and was looking forward to a little break.
I didn't want to think about how much busier our unit would soon be after yet another local hospital shut down. You see, a huge insurance company had bought up a bunch of hospitals and was busy trying to make them more efficient. After about 18 months, they stated in the press that the costs were too high, and they had to close more hospitals because there just weren't enough funds to cover the cost of providing care. I thought I understood, I mean after all, MRIs, CAT scans and surgeries are expensive, but I wondered about the numbers of people paying their premiums and where all that money went. Boy was I surprised when I found out.
I'd been at the holiday party for about a half hour when I discovered that my husband's friend was married to one of the insurance company executives. Soon after, I heard him laughing when someone asked if the hospital closing meant that his wife would also be looking for a job."
"Are you kidding me?" he asked with a wide grin. "They all just got their holiday bonuses. Her check was for $60,000.00, and that's on top of the quarterly bonuses they all got. She'll be just fine. We're going to take the kids sailing in the Caribbean."
I was stunned. I felt like the 8 year old, who just heard from an older cousin that not only was there no Santa Claus, but I was an idiot to ever believe in the first place.
I'm not usually speechless, because I'm used to working in life and death situations, but I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. That feeling lasted about a minute, but then the ICU nurse in me, the one with attitude, spoke up.
"Let me see if I get this straight," I asked, "You mean that Insurance company X doesn't have enough money to provide care to the people who've paid their premiums, but there's more than enough for bonuses for executives who close hospitals so those same people are left out in the cold. Is that what you're saying?"
And this was his answer, "Wake up. That's how the real world works." Then he asked me what I did for a living, which is when the real fireworks began.
I learned a lot that evening. I learned another lesson in human nature. At the hospital, I was privileged and honored to see the best in people. People who devoted their lives to perfecting pediatric heart transplants, and others who made certain that children could walk without a limp or live without pain.
I was around a lot of heroes, and in my naiveté, I forgot that while there are many who are in the business of helping people, there are others who are only in the business of helping themselves and lining their own pockets. Even if it hurts the folks they're supposed to be serving.
And that, Virginia, is the real truth
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-dehn/sorry-virginia-insurance_b_285164.html
Friday, September 18, 2009
Some White People Have Simply Lost Their Minds
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Read More: Barack Obama, Birthers, Earnest Harris, Glenn Beck, Racism, Rep. Joe Wilson, Rush Limbaugh, Politics News
There is no other way to say this but to put it all on the table. Some white people have simply lost their minds because they are besides themselves trying to figure out how in the world they slipped up and let an African-American man in the White House, as President of these not so United States.
While thankfully there are a few whites who have been willing to speak up about what is really bubbling up, or more like, spewing forth lately, people like former President Jimmy Carter, Tim Wise and some other bloggers here on The Huffington Post, most people simply have tiptoed around the huge white elephant in the room. The outrageous incidents, which seem to be increasing in frequency -- Glenn Beck's obvious racial appeals by saying Obama hates white people, Sen. Joe Wilson's unprecedented outburst before the world yelling at the President, the birther's refusal to accept the truth, the almost mob like town hall meetings where some people openly carried signs that were perfect for a Klan rally, Rep. Lynn Jenkins' "White Hope" remark, 'tea party" leader Mark Williams referring to President Obama as "an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief," the uproar over the President of The United States daring to give an inspirational speech to America's school kids -- I could go on but you get the point -- these are nothing more than the ugliest of racism that has simply boiled over the sides of our famed and mythical melting pot.
Right-wing whites have simply reached the point where they cannot take it any more. And the message seems to be that they will say and do whatever it takes to de-legitimize this President. And they seem to be certainly saying "never again." The saddest part about all of this is that it was just a few moths ago that many of us in the multi-ethnic coalition that banded together to usher in the Obama era were celebrating what looked like the start of a new seemingly post racial America. But just nine months later, I have to say I don't think I have seen a time when the bitterness and seeming us against them mentality was more evident. And by "us against them," I mean whites against the flood of people of color that are seeming to challenge the idea of what it means to be America and American. All you had to do was look at the faces of some of the Congressman in the crowd at President Obama's speech to see the venom that was only thinly veiled. It almost matched what we saw and heard from some of the people in the crowds at the recent town hall meetings.
The irony in all this is the challenge the Rep. Wilson's, Glen Beck's, Sean Hannity's and Rush Limbaugh's throw down by trying to intimidate the rest of us by daring us to call out this racism and to call them what they are -- silly men, and some women, who have seen the future and realize that the future is one where white men are not the only ones with a seat at the table anymore. And this scares the hell out of them. So they spew this crap and dare us to stand up to it and speak the truth. But we have to let them know that we will not back down, that we will not go away, that we will indeed call them out, no matter how many times they target a Van Jones, or whoever is next since they can't get to Obama. This country is changing, for the better, whether they like it or not, so they might as well accept it and find something else to do. The Republican Party can only make a fool of itself for so long before it completely implodes. And no attempt to put a Black mouthpiece like Michael Steele in front can disguise the fact that the Party is losing control of itself and some of these formerly disguised racists that pretend they are not anti-Black. No just anti anything from an African-American who dares actually have the gumption to call himself President and dare to do what he promised he would do when the country duly and fairly elected him.
I know President Obama is in a tough place and he can't really call these people out. He has to be "Presidential." But we can speak up. The issue is not health care reform or President Obama being too far left, because we have had people on the left run this country before. And we have had battles over health care, social security and other issues before. What we have never witnessed, at least when it came to the respect afforded our country's leader, whether it was former Presidents George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton, is this level of disrespect and overt vitriol directed at a President. All Presidents have had their opponents. But when you think through what has been directed at Obama, and his family for that matter with some of the truly low things that have 'slipped out" of people's mouths, like the South Carolina Republican activist, Rusty DePass, who said an escaped gorilla was probably Michelle Obama's ancestor, there is no denying this is beyond civil disagreement.
But I for one am not going to be intimidated into silence and I will call these racists what they are. I can accept and respect differing viewpoints, but what President Obama, and the rest of us, don't have to accept is racism disguised as patriotism. Let's call it what it is, racism born out of a fear that those darker skinned people have taken over. This is just not the America they expected, at least not so soon.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earnest-harris/some-white-people-have-si_b_289194.html
(I had this conversation with a couple of my friends last night and it was lively. How much of this resistance to healthcare and CHANGE is due to racism? Would Joe Wilson have caslled the President of the USA a liar on national TV if the President was white? What it was Bush? An honest idelogical difference is one thing; blind, stubborn refusal to listen is something else. Would the idiot Kanye West have taken the stage and floor from a black woman at the awards presentation? Or was it an honest difference of opinions that escalated into a publicity oppurtunity for him?)
digg Huffpost - stumble reddit del.ico.us ShareThis
Read More: Barack Obama, Birthers, Earnest Harris, Glenn Beck, Racism, Rep. Joe Wilson, Rush Limbaugh, Politics News
There is no other way to say this but to put it all on the table. Some white people have simply lost their minds because they are besides themselves trying to figure out how in the world they slipped up and let an African-American man in the White House, as President of these not so United States.
While thankfully there are a few whites who have been willing to speak up about what is really bubbling up, or more like, spewing forth lately, people like former President Jimmy Carter, Tim Wise and some other bloggers here on The Huffington Post, most people simply have tiptoed around the huge white elephant in the room. The outrageous incidents, which seem to be increasing in frequency -- Glenn Beck's obvious racial appeals by saying Obama hates white people, Sen. Joe Wilson's unprecedented outburst before the world yelling at the President, the birther's refusal to accept the truth, the almost mob like town hall meetings where some people openly carried signs that were perfect for a Klan rally, Rep. Lynn Jenkins' "White Hope" remark, 'tea party" leader Mark Williams referring to President Obama as "an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief," the uproar over the President of The United States daring to give an inspirational speech to America's school kids -- I could go on but you get the point -- these are nothing more than the ugliest of racism that has simply boiled over the sides of our famed and mythical melting pot.
Right-wing whites have simply reached the point where they cannot take it any more. And the message seems to be that they will say and do whatever it takes to de-legitimize this President. And they seem to be certainly saying "never again." The saddest part about all of this is that it was just a few moths ago that many of us in the multi-ethnic coalition that banded together to usher in the Obama era were celebrating what looked like the start of a new seemingly post racial America. But just nine months later, I have to say I don't think I have seen a time when the bitterness and seeming us against them mentality was more evident. And by "us against them," I mean whites against the flood of people of color that are seeming to challenge the idea of what it means to be America and American. All you had to do was look at the faces of some of the Congressman in the crowd at President Obama's speech to see the venom that was only thinly veiled. It almost matched what we saw and heard from some of the people in the crowds at the recent town hall meetings.
The irony in all this is the challenge the Rep. Wilson's, Glen Beck's, Sean Hannity's and Rush Limbaugh's throw down by trying to intimidate the rest of us by daring us to call out this racism and to call them what they are -- silly men, and some women, who have seen the future and realize that the future is one where white men are not the only ones with a seat at the table anymore. And this scares the hell out of them. So they spew this crap and dare us to stand up to it and speak the truth. But we have to let them know that we will not back down, that we will not go away, that we will indeed call them out, no matter how many times they target a Van Jones, or whoever is next since they can't get to Obama. This country is changing, for the better, whether they like it or not, so they might as well accept it and find something else to do. The Republican Party can only make a fool of itself for so long before it completely implodes. And no attempt to put a Black mouthpiece like Michael Steele in front can disguise the fact that the Party is losing control of itself and some of these formerly disguised racists that pretend they are not anti-Black. No just anti anything from an African-American who dares actually have the gumption to call himself President and dare to do what he promised he would do when the country duly and fairly elected him.
I know President Obama is in a tough place and he can't really call these people out. He has to be "Presidential." But we can speak up. The issue is not health care reform or President Obama being too far left, because we have had people on the left run this country before. And we have had battles over health care, social security and other issues before. What we have never witnessed, at least when it came to the respect afforded our country's leader, whether it was former Presidents George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton, is this level of disrespect and overt vitriol directed at a President. All Presidents have had their opponents. But when you think through what has been directed at Obama, and his family for that matter with some of the truly low things that have 'slipped out" of people's mouths, like the South Carolina Republican activist, Rusty DePass, who said an escaped gorilla was probably Michelle Obama's ancestor, there is no denying this is beyond civil disagreement.
But I for one am not going to be intimidated into silence and I will call these racists what they are. I can accept and respect differing viewpoints, but what President Obama, and the rest of us, don't have to accept is racism disguised as patriotism. Let's call it what it is, racism born out of a fear that those darker skinned people have taken over. This is just not the America they expected, at least not so soon.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earnest-harris/some-white-people-have-si_b_289194.html
(I had this conversation with a couple of my friends last night and it was lively. How much of this resistance to healthcare and CHANGE is due to racism? Would Joe Wilson have caslled the President of the USA a liar on national TV if the President was white? What it was Bush? An honest idelogical difference is one thing; blind, stubborn refusal to listen is something else. Would the idiot Kanye West have taken the stage and floor from a black woman at the awards presentation? Or was it an honest difference of opinions that escalated into a publicity oppurtunity for him?)
Edible Schoolyard - A Non-Profit Group Teaching Gardening to Urban School Kids
Written by John Chappell
Published on September 18th, 2009Posted in local food, nutrition and health, organics
With all the news surrounding food safety, global pollution, misguided government food policies, and the myriad of other problems faced by consumers, it’s always comforting to occasionally read some good news. Here’s a bit of uplifting news. An organization, Edible Schoolyard, bringing gardening knowledge to junior high school kids in urban areas.
The program strives to teach inner city youth about gardening and consuming fresh, seasonal produce. From its own website, Edible Schoolyard specifically defines its goal of involving students “in all aspects of farming the garden and preparing, serving, and eating food as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.”
» See also: Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food: Significant Fresh Visions from the USDA
Alice Waters, one of the founders of the program has also recently written a book, also entitled “Edible Schoolyard“, detailing the program and its efforts to bring gardening education to local youth. You can visit the Edible Schoolyard website, and learn about their mission to educate youngsters in the world of growing their own produce, consuming a healthy diet, and becoming more self sufficient.
If you happen to be looking for a worthy organization to donate a few dollars to, motivation to get out into your own garden with your own kids, or just simply a positive story in times of negativity, you should check out the Edible Schoolyard website.
This isn’t by any means the only organization to promote gardening for school children, but they were one of the first, integrating gardening in their curriculum since 1995. Other resources for introducing gardening to school kids include KidsGardening.org and CitySprouts.org, just to name a few. These links also offer guidance for people interested in starting a program similar to Edible Schoolyard in their town, or at their local school
Written by John Chappell
Published on September 18th, 2009Posted in local food, nutrition and health, organics
With all the news surrounding food safety, global pollution, misguided government food policies, and the myriad of other problems faced by consumers, it’s always comforting to occasionally read some good news. Here’s a bit of uplifting news. An organization, Edible Schoolyard, bringing gardening knowledge to junior high school kids in urban areas.
The program strives to teach inner city youth about gardening and consuming fresh, seasonal produce. From its own website, Edible Schoolyard specifically defines its goal of involving students “in all aspects of farming the garden and preparing, serving, and eating food as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.”
» See also: Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food: Significant Fresh Visions from the USDA
Alice Waters, one of the founders of the program has also recently written a book, also entitled “Edible Schoolyard“, detailing the program and its efforts to bring gardening education to local youth. You can visit the Edible Schoolyard website, and learn about their mission to educate youngsters in the world of growing their own produce, consuming a healthy diet, and becoming more self sufficient.
If you happen to be looking for a worthy organization to donate a few dollars to, motivation to get out into your own garden with your own kids, or just simply a positive story in times of negativity, you should check out the Edible Schoolyard website.
This isn’t by any means the only organization to promote gardening for school children, but they were one of the first, integrating gardening in their curriculum since 1995. Other resources for introducing gardening to school kids include KidsGardening.org and CitySprouts.org, just to name a few. These links also offer guidance for people interested in starting a program similar to Edible Schoolyard in their town, or at their local school
Hello DC!" Mayor Adrian Fenty began his speech at the opening of the White House Farmer's Market, before asking "are you excited about farmers' markets?" The crowd's cheering and applause answered his question. The rain had not managed to damper people's spirits minutes later when First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage.
"I have never seen so many people excited about fruits and vegetables," she began, "people are pumped and it's raining outside...this is good." Indeed, the spirit of the first day of this market was one of celebration and enthusiasm for all things local and organic.
The market, which will be held weekly on Thursday until the end of October, is only the latest from an organization called FreshFarm. Focused on getting goods from producers operating around the Chesapeake Bay into communities that have a need for fresh, local, foods, the organization manages eight other markets in the DC and Baltimore area.
Not your ordinary farmers' market
While waiting in the long line at the entrance as visitors, both vendors and shoppers alike, were cleared through the slow security process, it became clear that this was not your typical farmers' market opening. Indeed, the presence of a mayor, the First Lady, and the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, makes for a special food-buying experience. The question seemed to be: Beyond the high-profile patrons, what is special about this market over others in the city?
Photo credit: David DeFranza
Ann Harvey Yonkers, co-director of FreshFarm Markets in Washington, DC, told the crowd that a market is about making a connection with a greater system that has, for too long, been ignored. She told that crowd that, through her work with FreshFarm, she has learned that "farmers...are one of the least appreciated...professions in the country." Shopping at a farmers' market, she added, is a way to give food producers the respect they deserve. "Every time you eat local food," she told the crowd, "you are saving farmland one delicious bite at a time."
This process, Secretary Vilsack explained, has become easier in the last 15 years as the number of farmers' markets has increased from 1,700 to over 4,700 nationwide. He also announced a plan, as part of the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative, to invest nearly $5 million dollars to support new and existing farmers' markets.
Reconnecting with farmers is important, but local farmers' markets have a powerful impact on our neighborhoods and communities as well. As Michelle Obama explained in her speech that "this market is not just about food, it's about our community," she paused for a moment before adding "and this is just the beginning of the conversation." Hopefully, the discussion will be held over a meal made from local produce bought at this new market.
Read more about farmers' markets:
Obama to Set Up a Farmers' Market Outside White House?
Readers' Most Interesting Farmers Market Finds (Slideshow)
5 Strategies for Getting the Most from Your Farmers' Market
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
How's the Union Square Farmers Market a Representation of Green Eating?
Celebrating National Farmers' Market Week
A Perfect Holiday Appetizer: Vodka Tomatoes with Basil and Sea Salt
A Fast Look at Slow Food: How to Eat Slower and Greener Every Day
Food Scrap Smoothies and Other Ways to Skip the Landfill Without Composting
Avoid Getting Hoodwinked When Buying Locally
"I have never seen so many people excited about fruits and vegetables," she began, "people are pumped and it's raining outside...this is good." Indeed, the spirit of the first day of this market was one of celebration and enthusiasm for all things local and organic.
The market, which will be held weekly on Thursday until the end of October, is only the latest from an organization called FreshFarm. Focused on getting goods from producers operating around the Chesapeake Bay into communities that have a need for fresh, local, foods, the organization manages eight other markets in the DC and Baltimore area.
Not your ordinary farmers' market
While waiting in the long line at the entrance as visitors, both vendors and shoppers alike, were cleared through the slow security process, it became clear that this was not your typical farmers' market opening. Indeed, the presence of a mayor, the First Lady, and the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, makes for a special food-buying experience. The question seemed to be: Beyond the high-profile patrons, what is special about this market over others in the city?
Photo credit: David DeFranza
Ann Harvey Yonkers, co-director of FreshFarm Markets in Washington, DC, told the crowd that a market is about making a connection with a greater system that has, for too long, been ignored. She told that crowd that, through her work with FreshFarm, she has learned that "farmers...are one of the least appreciated...professions in the country." Shopping at a farmers' market, she added, is a way to give food producers the respect they deserve. "Every time you eat local food," she told the crowd, "you are saving farmland one delicious bite at a time."
This process, Secretary Vilsack explained, has become easier in the last 15 years as the number of farmers' markets has increased from 1,700 to over 4,700 nationwide. He also announced a plan, as part of the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative, to invest nearly $5 million dollars to support new and existing farmers' markets.
Reconnecting with farmers is important, but local farmers' markets have a powerful impact on our neighborhoods and communities as well. As Michelle Obama explained in her speech that "this market is not just about food, it's about our community," she paused for a moment before adding "and this is just the beginning of the conversation." Hopefully, the discussion will be held over a meal made from local produce bought at this new market.
Read more about farmers' markets:
Obama to Set Up a Farmers' Market Outside White House?
Readers' Most Interesting Farmers Market Finds (Slideshow)
5 Strategies for Getting the Most from Your Farmers' Market
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
How's the Union Square Farmers Market a Representation of Green Eating?
Celebrating National Farmers' Market Week
A Perfect Holiday Appetizer: Vodka Tomatoes with Basil and Sea Salt
A Fast Look at Slow Food: How to Eat Slower and Greener Every Day
Food Scrap Smoothies and Other Ways to Skip the Landfill Without Composting
Avoid Getting Hoodwinked When Buying Locally
Beware of Late-Night Eating
Posted: September 18, 2009 12:14 PM Beware of Late-Night Eating
Read More: Bedtime Snack, Circadian Rhythms, Diet, Eating, Nutrition, Sleep, Weight, Weight Gain, Living News
Don't eat after 7 pm.
It's okay to eat late at night so long as you didn't pig out during the day.
Scratch that. It's not about timing, it's about calories.
No, it's about timing and calories.
Confused? I know, the messages tend to get mixed and muddled. So let me set the record straight (for now) based on a recent finding that will have you thinking twice about that late-night snack.
Northwestern University has just come out with a study that shows what a lot of people don't want to hear: eating when the body prefers to be sleeping (ahem, when it's dark outside and most of your neighbors are in bed) can have an impact on weight gain--regardless of your calorie load for the day. Timing your meals, it turns out, plays a much bigger role in your weight equation than previously thought.
This doesn't surprise me in the least. We've known for quite some time how influential the body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm, can be on its physiology. Recent studies have also confirmed that this clock regulates energy use, suggesting the timing of meals may matter in the balance between caloric intake and expenditure.
In other words, time a meal badly in relation to your body's clock, and you'll gain weight. Time it perfectly, and your body will use those incoming calories to burn for energy rather than store them as fat.
Without even getting into the scientific details of how this is so, it's easy to imagine how the body would prefer to not have to work so hard when it wants to sleep. The moment you put something in your mouth when the body is trying to slow down and get some rest, it's screaming back at you: What are ya doing? It's time for bed! I don't want to burn these calories now. Let's save them for tomorrow...and put them on the shelf for now (as fat).
So, based on these findings, let me offer some advice short of writing the new diet book:
-Set a time after which you try not to eat anything prior to bed. Ideally, this time should be at least an hour before hitting the pillow.
-Choose bedtime snacks intelligently. If you eat dinner on the early side, and need a snack before bedtime, go for something that entails complex carbs and a little protein, such as a piece of toast with a small smearing of a nut butter on top.
-Avoid fatty foods before bedtime. This is not the time to be chowing down on hot fudge sundaes, triple-cheese pizzas, and the classic burger and fries.
I've always said that getting good sleep is one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to lose weight. Now there's one more reason hit the hay on a empty stomach.
Sweet Dreams.
Michael Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com
This article on late-night snacking and weight gain is also available at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.
Follow Dr. Michael J. Breus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thesleepdoctor
(For those of us who have trouble getting to sleep, and staying that way. My blood pressure medications make me drowsy so I take them at night and sleep pretty good lately. I am not always successful, but I LIKE to have popcorn at night as a snack. Good roughage, low calories.)
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-michael-j-breus/beware-of-late-night-eati_b_291401.html
Read More: Bedtime Snack, Circadian Rhythms, Diet, Eating, Nutrition, Sleep, Weight, Weight Gain, Living News
Don't eat after 7 pm.
It's okay to eat late at night so long as you didn't pig out during the day.
Scratch that. It's not about timing, it's about calories.
No, it's about timing and calories.
Confused? I know, the messages tend to get mixed and muddled. So let me set the record straight (for now) based on a recent finding that will have you thinking twice about that late-night snack.
Northwestern University has just come out with a study that shows what a lot of people don't want to hear: eating when the body prefers to be sleeping (ahem, when it's dark outside and most of your neighbors are in bed) can have an impact on weight gain--regardless of your calorie load for the day. Timing your meals, it turns out, plays a much bigger role in your weight equation than previously thought.
This doesn't surprise me in the least. We've known for quite some time how influential the body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm, can be on its physiology. Recent studies have also confirmed that this clock regulates energy use, suggesting the timing of meals may matter in the balance between caloric intake and expenditure.
In other words, time a meal badly in relation to your body's clock, and you'll gain weight. Time it perfectly, and your body will use those incoming calories to burn for energy rather than store them as fat.
Without even getting into the scientific details of how this is so, it's easy to imagine how the body would prefer to not have to work so hard when it wants to sleep. The moment you put something in your mouth when the body is trying to slow down and get some rest, it's screaming back at you: What are ya doing? It's time for bed! I don't want to burn these calories now. Let's save them for tomorrow...and put them on the shelf for now (as fat).
So, based on these findings, let me offer some advice short of writing the new diet book:
-Set a time after which you try not to eat anything prior to bed. Ideally, this time should be at least an hour before hitting the pillow.
-Choose bedtime snacks intelligently. If you eat dinner on the early side, and need a snack before bedtime, go for something that entails complex carbs and a little protein, such as a piece of toast with a small smearing of a nut butter on top.
-Avoid fatty foods before bedtime. This is not the time to be chowing down on hot fudge sundaes, triple-cheese pizzas, and the classic burger and fries.
I've always said that getting good sleep is one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to lose weight. Now there's one more reason hit the hay on a empty stomach.
Sweet Dreams.
Michael Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com
This article on late-night snacking and weight gain is also available at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.
Follow Dr. Michael J. Breus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thesleepdoctor
(For those of us who have trouble getting to sleep, and staying that way. My blood pressure medications make me drowsy so I take them at night and sleep pretty good lately. I am not always successful, but I LIKE to have popcorn at night as a snack. Good roughage, low calories.)
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-michael-j-breus/beware-of-late-night-eati_b_291401.html
Increasing Size of Catalyst Particles May Lead to Longer Fuel Cell Lifetimes
18 September 2009
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and MIT have found that increasing the particle size of a fuel cell catalyst can decrease its degradation and therefore increase the useful lifetime of a fuel cell.
Current fuel cells use platinum and platinum alloys as a catalyst. While platinum can withstand the corrosive fuel cell environment, it is expensive and not very abundant. To maximize platinum use, researchers use catalysts made with platinum particles as small as two nanometers (approximately 10 atoms across). However, platinum catalysts this small degrade very quickly, resulting in short fuel cell lifetimes, or larger platinum loadings.
The US Department of Energy estimates that fuel cells must function for 5,000 hours, or approximately seven months of continuous use, to be practical for automotive energy solutions.
UW Madison materials science and engineering assistant professor Dane Morgan and Ph.D. student Edward Holby, working in collaboration with Professor Yang Shao-Horn from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, developed a computational model that shows that if the particle size of a platinum catalyst is increased to four or five nanometers (approximately 20 atoms across), the level of degradation significantly decreases. This means the catalyst and the fuel cell as a whole can continue to function for much longer than if the particle size was only two or three nanometers.
The stability of bulk versus nanoparticle materials can be understood intuitively by thinking of cheese. When you leave a large chunk of cheese out and the edges get crusty, the surface is destroyed, but you can cut that off and there is still a lot of cheese inside that is good. But if you crumble the cheese into tiny pieces and leave it out, you destroy all of your cheese because a larger fraction of the cheese is at the surface.
—Dane Morgan
Their modeling work is funded by 3M and the US Department of Energy. The research into the fundamental physics of particle size will be useful as scientists extend their platinum studies to exploring platinum alloys, which can reduce platinum consumption when used as fuel cell catalysts. Morgan is beginning to research models to study size effects on the stability of platinum alloys, such as copper-platinum and cobalt-platinum catalysts.
Fuel cells are just one of many energy technologies—solar, battery, etc.—with enormous potential to reduce our dependence on oil and our carbon emissions. Computer simulation offers a powerful tool to understand and develop new materials at the heart of these energy technologies.
—Dane Morgan
(Not sure if we really want to switch out our fuel cell components every 7 months, or 5,000 hours, but I ghuess you could look at it like we do changing the oil or air filters. As long as its not complicated or expensive to do, maybe DIY, it would probably be okay.)
18 September 2009
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and MIT have found that increasing the particle size of a fuel cell catalyst can decrease its degradation and therefore increase the useful lifetime of a fuel cell.
Current fuel cells use platinum and platinum alloys as a catalyst. While platinum can withstand the corrosive fuel cell environment, it is expensive and not very abundant. To maximize platinum use, researchers use catalysts made with platinum particles as small as two nanometers (approximately 10 atoms across). However, platinum catalysts this small degrade very quickly, resulting in short fuel cell lifetimes, or larger platinum loadings.
The US Department of Energy estimates that fuel cells must function for 5,000 hours, or approximately seven months of continuous use, to be practical for automotive energy solutions.
UW Madison materials science and engineering assistant professor Dane Morgan and Ph.D. student Edward Holby, working in collaboration with Professor Yang Shao-Horn from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, developed a computational model that shows that if the particle size of a platinum catalyst is increased to four or five nanometers (approximately 20 atoms across), the level of degradation significantly decreases. This means the catalyst and the fuel cell as a whole can continue to function for much longer than if the particle size was only two or three nanometers.
The stability of bulk versus nanoparticle materials can be understood intuitively by thinking of cheese. When you leave a large chunk of cheese out and the edges get crusty, the surface is destroyed, but you can cut that off and there is still a lot of cheese inside that is good. But if you crumble the cheese into tiny pieces and leave it out, you destroy all of your cheese because a larger fraction of the cheese is at the surface.
—Dane Morgan
Their modeling work is funded by 3M and the US Department of Energy. The research into the fundamental physics of particle size will be useful as scientists extend their platinum studies to exploring platinum alloys, which can reduce platinum consumption when used as fuel cell catalysts. Morgan is beginning to research models to study size effects on the stability of platinum alloys, such as copper-platinum and cobalt-platinum catalysts.
Fuel cells are just one of many energy technologies—solar, battery, etc.—with enormous potential to reduce our dependence on oil and our carbon emissions. Computer simulation offers a powerful tool to understand and develop new materials at the heart of these energy technologies.
—Dane Morgan
(Not sure if we really want to switch out our fuel cell components every 7 months, or 5,000 hours, but I ghuess you could look at it like we do changing the oil or air filters. As long as its not complicated or expensive to do, maybe DIY, it would probably be okay.)
09/18/2009 10:32 AM
Increased Biofuel Production Likely to Expand Gulf Dead Zone - Report
SustainableBusiness.com News
Scientists in Pennsylvania report that boosting production of crops used to make biofuels could make a difficult task to shrink a vast, oxygen-depleted "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico even toughter.
The zone, which reached the size of Massachusetts in 2008, forms in summer and threatens marine life and jobs in the region. The new study is scheduled for the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Christine Costello and W. Michael Griffin and colleagues explain that the zone forms when fertilizers wash off farm fields throughout the Mississippi River basin and into the Gulf of Mexico. The fertilizers cause the growth of algae, which eventually depletes oxygen in the water and kills marine life. Government officials hope to reduce fertilizer runoff and shrink the zone to the size of Delaware by 2015. But that goal could be more difficult to reach due to federally-mandated efforts to increase annual biofuel production to 36 billion gallons by 2022, the study says.
The scientists studied the potential effects of increased biofuel production on the "dead zone," with a life-cycle analysis of nitrate fertilizer use on biofuel crops such as corn, soy, switch grass and stover (corn stems and leaves). They conclude that meeting the biofuel production goals will likely increase the depletion of oxygen compared to current levels in the Gulf due to more nutrient runoff.
(This is hard to understand since switchgrass takes no fertilizer, and corn stems and leaves are waste products of corn and also require NO fertilizer more necessary to grow the corn. We shouldnt even be using corn anyway. Switchgrass and stems do not affect the food chain at all. Perhaps we need to find other fertilizers with a lower nitrate concentration - manure?)
Increased Biofuel Production Likely to Expand Gulf Dead Zone - Report
SustainableBusiness.com News
Scientists in Pennsylvania report that boosting production of crops used to make biofuels could make a difficult task to shrink a vast, oxygen-depleted "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico even toughter.
The zone, which reached the size of Massachusetts in 2008, forms in summer and threatens marine life and jobs in the region. The new study is scheduled for the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Christine Costello and W. Michael Griffin and colleagues explain that the zone forms when fertilizers wash off farm fields throughout the Mississippi River basin and into the Gulf of Mexico. The fertilizers cause the growth of algae, which eventually depletes oxygen in the water and kills marine life. Government officials hope to reduce fertilizer runoff and shrink the zone to the size of Delaware by 2015. But that goal could be more difficult to reach due to federally-mandated efforts to increase annual biofuel production to 36 billion gallons by 2022, the study says.
The scientists studied the potential effects of increased biofuel production on the "dead zone," with a life-cycle analysis of nitrate fertilizer use on biofuel crops such as corn, soy, switch grass and stover (corn stems and leaves). They conclude that meeting the biofuel production goals will likely increase the depletion of oxygen compared to current levels in the Gulf due to more nutrient runoff.
(This is hard to understand since switchgrass takes no fertilizer, and corn stems and leaves are waste products of corn and also require NO fertilizer more necessary to grow the corn. We shouldnt even be using corn anyway. Switchgrass and stems do not affect the food chain at all. Perhaps we need to find other fertilizers with a lower nitrate concentration - manure?)
Russell Simmons - Founder of Global Grind.com
Posted: September 17, 2009 12:45 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers'
Twenty-Seven Million Slaves
Read More: Child Labor, Children, Debt Bondage, Human Trafficking, Migrant Smuggling, Slavery, Somalia, World News
Human trafficking, otherwise known as child labor, migrant smuggling, sex worker trafficking, debt bondage, or good old fashioned slavery, adds up to one inescapable reality. An estimated 27 million human beings worldwide today are living lives of exploitation and humanity stripped bare beyond the bone of basic human rights. This is a bigger number than at any point in documented history.
They are objects of ownership, forgotten as children in need of love, nurturing and protection; forgotten as flesh and blood creatures that bruise and bleed and are more than vessels for sex; forgotten as individuals with the desire for purpose and peace and protection from the violence and intimidation they face every day. If they are not a source of revenue for those who own them, they are a useless, expendable tool. The physical pain and the psychological scars that result are indelible. Globally, some 24 percent of victims of human trafficking are children, and 66 percent overall are women. Not surprisingly, 79 percent of the victims are subjected to sexual exploitation.
None of this is acceptable on any level, but it goes on at such staggering levels every day. How? We know that no human being should be the property of another. So how can this be happening? Didn't we learn anything from the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the 400 years of injustice that has followed for its African victims? Why do we need so many dedicated organizations at work every day addressing human trafficking? The world needs to know about the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and their intensive work to begin to understand the scope and patterns involved, including the governmental, criminal and legal ramifications of human trafficking. We need to support NGOs and grass-roots efforts for victim's rights/recovery and global awareness such as Free the Slaves world-wide, Somaly Mam Foundation in Cambodia, and Touch a Life Foundation in Ghana. It is inspiring to see some efforts are founded or shaped by the direct involvement of those formerly enslaved, who are determined to help others suffering the same fate.
While we are getting a handle on how big the issues of human trafficking are from a humanitarian, economic and criminal perspective, we can't escape the truth that this will not go away without addressing the root causes of poverty and ignorance. To heal the wounds inflicted on survivors of human trafficking we can't look away. We have to demand as the human race, at bare minimum, we must make a human being endowed with the inalienable right of dignity so that they cannot be bought or sold.
A few months ago, I was appointed the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Permanent Memorial to Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, which will be erected on the grounds of the UN in New York City. It's an honor to be of service in memorializing such a defining chapter in human rights and history. But that's just the thing -- it's a chapter. We've got to be focused on writing the rest of the book and we've got to make sure that humanity does better than allowing the continued slavery of our sisters and brothers who need their race to care
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russell-simmons/27-million-slaves_b_290057.html
Posted: September 17, 2009 12:45 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers'
Twenty-Seven Million Slaves
Read More: Child Labor, Children, Debt Bondage, Human Trafficking, Migrant Smuggling, Slavery, Somalia, World News
Human trafficking, otherwise known as child labor, migrant smuggling, sex worker trafficking, debt bondage, or good old fashioned slavery, adds up to one inescapable reality. An estimated 27 million human beings worldwide today are living lives of exploitation and humanity stripped bare beyond the bone of basic human rights. This is a bigger number than at any point in documented history.
They are objects of ownership, forgotten as children in need of love, nurturing and protection; forgotten as flesh and blood creatures that bruise and bleed and are more than vessels for sex; forgotten as individuals with the desire for purpose and peace and protection from the violence and intimidation they face every day. If they are not a source of revenue for those who own them, they are a useless, expendable tool. The physical pain and the psychological scars that result are indelible. Globally, some 24 percent of victims of human trafficking are children, and 66 percent overall are women. Not surprisingly, 79 percent of the victims are subjected to sexual exploitation.
None of this is acceptable on any level, but it goes on at such staggering levels every day. How? We know that no human being should be the property of another. So how can this be happening? Didn't we learn anything from the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the 400 years of injustice that has followed for its African victims? Why do we need so many dedicated organizations at work every day addressing human trafficking? The world needs to know about the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and their intensive work to begin to understand the scope and patterns involved, including the governmental, criminal and legal ramifications of human trafficking. We need to support NGOs and grass-roots efforts for victim's rights/recovery and global awareness such as Free the Slaves world-wide, Somaly Mam Foundation in Cambodia, and Touch a Life Foundation in Ghana. It is inspiring to see some efforts are founded or shaped by the direct involvement of those formerly enslaved, who are determined to help others suffering the same fate.
While we are getting a handle on how big the issues of human trafficking are from a humanitarian, economic and criminal perspective, we can't escape the truth that this will not go away without addressing the root causes of poverty and ignorance. To heal the wounds inflicted on survivors of human trafficking we can't look away. We have to demand as the human race, at bare minimum, we must make a human being endowed with the inalienable right of dignity so that they cannot be bought or sold.
A few months ago, I was appointed the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Permanent Memorial to Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, which will be erected on the grounds of the UN in New York City. It's an honor to be of service in memorializing such a defining chapter in human rights and history. But that's just the thing -- it's a chapter. We've got to be focused on writing the rest of the book and we've got to make sure that humanity does better than allowing the continued slavery of our sisters and brothers who need their race to care
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russell-simmons/27-million-slaves_b_290057.html
Rain Barrel Has Pitcher Built In
Some rain barrels are utilitarian and others are silly, but if you are going to attach something to the side of your house it might as well be elegant and practical too. Apartment Therapy shows Dutch Designer Bas van der Veer's "A drop of water"- a "a rain barrel that makes saving water really easy by providing a watering can that is automatically filled when it rains. This way, the user doesn't have to fill the can with our precious tap water, but uses 'free' rainwater instead to water the garden."
With the small tap at the bottom of the barrel the watering can can be refilled after using it...Due to the compact size of 'A Drop of Water', the design can also be used in smaller gardens or even on balconies.
The designer shows the entire production process, a fascinating exercise. Have a look at Bas Van Der Veer's website
(The pictures are much better explanations of the idea, but a water pitcher is built into the top of the rain barrel, with the handle facing away from the wall. As the rain water enters the barrel it fills the bright green pitcher first, then overflows and fills the rain barrel.)
With the small tap at the bottom of the barrel the watering can can be refilled after using it...Due to the compact size of 'A Drop of Water', the design can also be used in smaller gardens or even on balconies.
The designer shows the entire production process, a fascinating exercise. Have a look at Bas Van Der Veer's website
(The pictures are much better explanations of the idea, but a water pitcher is built into the top of the rain barrel, with the handle facing away from the wall. As the rain water enters the barrel it fills the bright green pitcher first, then overflows and fills the rain barrel.)
Biotechnology Could Cut C02 Sharply - Report
SustainableBusiness.com News
Industrial biotechnology has the potential to save the planet up to 2.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year and support building a sustainable future, a new WWF report found.
Industrial biotechnology applications are already widely used in everyday life. They help reduce the amount of time needed to bake fresh bread, increase the yield in wine, cheese and vegetable oil production and save heat in laundry washing. Industrial biotechnology could help create a true 21st century green economy, the report states.
WWF Denmark identified the potential to be between 1 billion and 2.5 billion tons of CO2 per year by 2030, more than Germany's total reported emissions in 1990.
"Low carbon biotech solutions are a good example of hidden or invisible climate solutions that are all around us already today but are easy to overlook for policymakers, investors and companies." says John Kornerup Bang, Head of Globalization Program at WWF Denmark and coauthor of the report.
A newer example on how biotechnology solutions could help reduce carbon emissions is the harvesting of biogas from waste digesters and wastewater streams.
The report emphasizes the potential of taking that existing technology even one step further and creating fully closed loop systems.
Biorefineries are able to transform any biobased waste material into a valuable feedstock for the production of other biobased materials. The possible emission reductions for such processes are estimated to be as high as 633 million tons of CO2.
The report indentifies four fundamental dimensions of industrial biotechnology: Improved efficiency, the substitution of fossil fuels, the substitution of oil-based materials and the creation of a closed loop system with the potential to eliminate waste.
But as with most technologies, the potential to achieve sustainability objectives does not automatically translate into such goals being realized.
"Politicians need to set the path toward a green economy. This will not be easy, and we must look for new solutions, which can help us reduce emissions very quickly. It is clear that there is no alternative to explore these innovative pathways," John Kornerup Bang said.
Denmark-based industrial biotechnology company Novozymes (NVZ.L) supported the research in this report. Novozymes is one of the many green stocks covered in Progressive Investor. Click here to learn more.
The report can be downloaded at the link below.
Website: www.divshare.com/download/8537942-24e
(While it must be considered that this report may very well be biased, because it was paid for by a biotech company, it does raise some interesting concepts.)
SustainableBusiness.com News
Industrial biotechnology has the potential to save the planet up to 2.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year and support building a sustainable future, a new WWF report found.
Industrial biotechnology applications are already widely used in everyday life. They help reduce the amount of time needed to bake fresh bread, increase the yield in wine, cheese and vegetable oil production and save heat in laundry washing. Industrial biotechnology could help create a true 21st century green economy, the report states.
WWF Denmark identified the potential to be between 1 billion and 2.5 billion tons of CO2 per year by 2030, more than Germany's total reported emissions in 1990.
"Low carbon biotech solutions are a good example of hidden or invisible climate solutions that are all around us already today but are easy to overlook for policymakers, investors and companies." says John Kornerup Bang, Head of Globalization Program at WWF Denmark and coauthor of the report.
A newer example on how biotechnology solutions could help reduce carbon emissions is the harvesting of biogas from waste digesters and wastewater streams.
The report emphasizes the potential of taking that existing technology even one step further and creating fully closed loop systems.
Biorefineries are able to transform any biobased waste material into a valuable feedstock for the production of other biobased materials. The possible emission reductions for such processes are estimated to be as high as 633 million tons of CO2.
The report indentifies four fundamental dimensions of industrial biotechnology: Improved efficiency, the substitution of fossil fuels, the substitution of oil-based materials and the creation of a closed loop system with the potential to eliminate waste.
But as with most technologies, the potential to achieve sustainability objectives does not automatically translate into such goals being realized.
"Politicians need to set the path toward a green economy. This will not be easy, and we must look for new solutions, which can help us reduce emissions very quickly. It is clear that there is no alternative to explore these innovative pathways," John Kornerup Bang said.
Denmark-based industrial biotechnology company Novozymes (NVZ.L) supported the research in this report. Novozymes is one of the many green stocks covered in Progressive Investor. Click here to learn more.
The report can be downloaded at the link below.
Website: www.divshare.com/download/8537942-24e
(While it must be considered that this report may very well be biased, because it was paid for by a biotech company, it does raise some interesting concepts.)
EPA Throws Up Hands As Mercury Puts 100,000 People At Risk In California
EPA Throws Up Hands As Mercury Puts 100,000 People At Risk In California
JASON DEAREN | 09/18/09 08:00 AM |
Read More: California, Environment, Epa, Mercury, Mercury In Fish, Mercury Mining, Mercury Poisoning, Mining, Water Contamination, Green News
Kate Woods sits alongside a mercury-contaminated creek on her family's property in New Idria, Calif., Thursday, March 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Get Breaking News Alerts
NEW IDRIA, Calif. — Abandoned mercury mines throughout central California's rugged coastal mountains are polluting the state's major waterways, rendering fish unsafe to eat and risking the health of at least 100,000 impoverished people.
But an Associated Press investigation found that the federal government has tried to clean up fewer than a dozen of the hundreds of mines – and most cleanups have failed to stem the contamination.
Although the mining ceased decades ago, records and interviews show the vast majority of sites have not even been studied to assess the pollution, let alone been touched.
While millions live in the affected Delta region, the pollution disproportionately hurts the poor and immigrants who rely on local fish as part of their diet, according to a study conducted by University of California, Davis ecologist Fraser Shilling. His research found that 100,000 people, which he calls a conservative estimate, regularly eat tainted fish at levels deemed unsafe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"Tens of thousands of subsistence anglers and their (families) are consuming greater than 10 times the U.S. EPA recommended dose of mercury, which puts them at immediate risk of neurological and other harm," Shilling said.
But neither the state nor federal government has studied long-term health effects of mercury on the people who regularly eat fish from these waters.
The legacy of more than a century of mercury mining in California – which produced more of the silvery metal than anywhere else in the nation – harms people and the environment in myriad ways.
Near a derelict mine in this California ghost town, the water bubbling in a stream runs Day-Glo Orange and is devoid of life, carrying mercury toward a wildlife refuge and a popular fishing spot.
Far to the north, American Indians who live atop mine waste on the shores of one of the world's most mercury-polluted lakes have elevated levels of the heavy metal in their bodies and fears about their health.
And other mercury mines are the biggest sources of the pollution in San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast.
In all, this metal known as quicksilver has contaminated thousands of square miles of water and land in the northern half of the state.
Records and interviews show that federal regulators have conducted about 10 cleanups at major mercury mines with mixed results, while dozens of sites still foul the air, soil and water. The AP's review also found that the government is often loathe to assume cleanup costs and risk litigation from a failed project.
Mercury from mine waste travels up the food chain through bacteria, which converts it to methylmercury – a potent toxin that can permanently damage the brain and nervous system, especially in fetuses and children.
The federal government calls methylmercury one of the nation's most serious hazardous waste problems, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is a possible carcinogen.
Mercury is considered most harmful to people when consumed in fish. People who regularly consume tainted fish are at risk of headaches, tingling, tremors and damage to the brain and nervous system, according to the CDC.
The toxin is less of a threat in drinking water, which is filtered and monitored more closely.
Mining in California ceased decades ago, leaving behind at least 550 mercury mines, though no one knows for sure how many. One U.S. Geological Survey scientist says the total may be as high as 2,000.
"Mercury tops the list as the most harmful invisible pollutant in the (state's) watershed," said Sejal Choksi of San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental watchdog group for the bay. "It has such widespread impacts, and the regulatory agencies are just throwing up their hands."
In the 19th and 20th centuries, California produced up to 90 percent of the mercury in the U.S. and more than 220 million pounds of quicksilver were shipped around the world for gold mining, military munitions and thermometers. Much of the liquid mercury was sent to Sierra Nevada gold mines, where miners spilled tons of it into streams and soil to extract the precious ore.
"There's probably a water body near everybody in the state that has significant mercury contamination," said Dr. Rick Kreutzer, chief of the state Department of Public Health's Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control.
Government officials blame mining companies for shirking their financial responsibilities to clean the sites, either by filing for bankruptcy or changing ownership.
When the government does target a site, success is not guaranteed.
The Sulfur Bank Mine has made the nearby Clear Lake the most mercury-polluted lake in the world, despite the EPA spending about $40 million and two decades trying to keep mercury contamination from the water. Pollution still seeps beneath the earthen dam built by the former mine operator, Bradley Mining Co.
For years, Bradley Mining has fought the government's efforts to recoup cleanup costs. An attorney for the company didn't return calls seeking comment.
For the Elem Band of Pomo Indians, whose colony is next to the lake and shuttered mine, the mercury has made it unsafe to eat local fish.
Their colony was built in 1970 by the federal government over waste from the mine. Officials knew it was contaminated, but were not aware at the time how dangerous mercury was to people. The mine is now a Superfund site.
State blood tests on 44 volunteer adult tribe members in the 1990s found elevated levels of mercury. The average level was three times higher than found in people who do not eat tainted fish, but regulators said only one man was at immediate risk of brain damage or other harm.
Yet the EPA determined that the tribe's mercury levels were a serious enough threat for the agency to spend millions of dollars removing contaminated dirt from the colony's homes and roads.
Many have moved from the colony, leaving about 60 of what was once a community of more than 200 people.
As a child, Rozan Brown, 31, said she ate lake fish, swam in the turquoise waters of the mine waste pit and played on mercury-tainted mine waste piles.
"When I was pregnant, I drank the water," Brown said. "When I was breast-feeding, I worked as a laborer during some of the (mercury) cleanups."
The CDC says high levels of mercury can cause brain damage and mental retardation in children when passed from mother to fetus. Brown's son, Tiyal, has been diagnosed with autism. The CDC has found no link between mercury and autism, but agency spokesperson Dagny Olivares said in an e-mail, "Additional information is needed to fully evaluate the potential health threats."
At most abandoned mercury mines, especially ones in remote places, nothing gets done at all.
Twenty-seven years ago the EPA shut down New Idria Mine, once the second-largest mercury producer in North America. The mine and its towering blast furnace still sit untouched. Acidic runoff flows from hills of waste and miles of tunnels into a pool that smells like rotten eggs. The toxic brew turns nearby San Carlos Creek orange and kills aquatic life before flowing into the San Joaquin River.
"It's really hard living up here," said Kate Woods, 51, standing on a wooden bridge in front of her rural home, tucked amid the hills and cattle ranches just downstream of the mine. "It would be paradise here but for this damned orange creek."
Woods and her brother, Kemp, experience tremors in their hands and headaches, she said, blaming prolonged mercury exposure through water and dust. The EPA found mercury in the creek exceeding federal standards in 1997, records show. Field researchers sent a "high priority" referral to state water quality regulators, warning the mercury could be migrating into a popular fishing area and eventually to the Delta-Mendota Canal, "a drinking water conveyance to other parts of California."
Neither agency undertook the expensive cleanup, nor did they conduct the follow-up studies to find out if New Idria's mercury was the source of the contamination found downstream.
EPA officials said mines such as New Idria are a concern but are not always the agency's highest priority.
"We are here to protect the environment, and sometimes we do it better than other times," said Daniel Meer, EPA's assistant Superfund director for the region. "We can't start cleaning up everything all at once."
The EPA, with financial help from the mine owners, has covered up waste piles at two mines feeding pollution into Cache Creek to try to reduce the mercury flowing into the Delta, but no one has touched the other problem sites.
At least 13 other mine sites also pollute Cache Creek, and are responsible for 60 percent of the mercury in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where thousands regularly catch and eat local fish, state water quality officials said.
"What can we do? We're evaluating that now," said Jerry Bruns, a mercury control official with the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board. "It's complicated, we can't just go in there and do whatever we want. There are Native American archaeological sites and different landowners."
A separate cluster of derelict mercury mines near San Jose has been called the largest source of the toxin in the San Francisco Bay's south end, where warning signs warn fishermen of the "poisonous mercury" polluting the water.
A solution to California's mercury pollution is nowhere near at hand, state and federal regulators say.
"It took a hundred years to occur," said the EPA's Meer. "And it may take a hundred years or more to solve."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/18/epa-throws-up-hands-as-me_n_291144.html
JASON DEAREN | 09/18/09 08:00 AM |
Read More: California, Environment, Epa, Mercury, Mercury In Fish, Mercury Mining, Mercury Poisoning, Mining, Water Contamination, Green News
Kate Woods sits alongside a mercury-contaminated creek on her family's property in New Idria, Calif., Thursday, March 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Get Breaking News Alerts
NEW IDRIA, Calif. — Abandoned mercury mines throughout central California's rugged coastal mountains are polluting the state's major waterways, rendering fish unsafe to eat and risking the health of at least 100,000 impoverished people.
But an Associated Press investigation found that the federal government has tried to clean up fewer than a dozen of the hundreds of mines – and most cleanups have failed to stem the contamination.
Although the mining ceased decades ago, records and interviews show the vast majority of sites have not even been studied to assess the pollution, let alone been touched.
While millions live in the affected Delta region, the pollution disproportionately hurts the poor and immigrants who rely on local fish as part of their diet, according to a study conducted by University of California, Davis ecologist Fraser Shilling. His research found that 100,000 people, which he calls a conservative estimate, regularly eat tainted fish at levels deemed unsafe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"Tens of thousands of subsistence anglers and their (families) are consuming greater than 10 times the U.S. EPA recommended dose of mercury, which puts them at immediate risk of neurological and other harm," Shilling said.
But neither the state nor federal government has studied long-term health effects of mercury on the people who regularly eat fish from these waters.
The legacy of more than a century of mercury mining in California – which produced more of the silvery metal than anywhere else in the nation – harms people and the environment in myriad ways.
Near a derelict mine in this California ghost town, the water bubbling in a stream runs Day-Glo Orange and is devoid of life, carrying mercury toward a wildlife refuge and a popular fishing spot.
Far to the north, American Indians who live atop mine waste on the shores of one of the world's most mercury-polluted lakes have elevated levels of the heavy metal in their bodies and fears about their health.
And other mercury mines are the biggest sources of the pollution in San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast.
In all, this metal known as quicksilver has contaminated thousands of square miles of water and land in the northern half of the state.
Records and interviews show that federal regulators have conducted about 10 cleanups at major mercury mines with mixed results, while dozens of sites still foul the air, soil and water. The AP's review also found that the government is often loathe to assume cleanup costs and risk litigation from a failed project.
Mercury from mine waste travels up the food chain through bacteria, which converts it to methylmercury – a potent toxin that can permanently damage the brain and nervous system, especially in fetuses and children.
The federal government calls methylmercury one of the nation's most serious hazardous waste problems, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is a possible carcinogen.
Mercury is considered most harmful to people when consumed in fish. People who regularly consume tainted fish are at risk of headaches, tingling, tremors and damage to the brain and nervous system, according to the CDC.
The toxin is less of a threat in drinking water, which is filtered and monitored more closely.
Mining in California ceased decades ago, leaving behind at least 550 mercury mines, though no one knows for sure how many. One U.S. Geological Survey scientist says the total may be as high as 2,000.
"Mercury tops the list as the most harmful invisible pollutant in the (state's) watershed," said Sejal Choksi of San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental watchdog group for the bay. "It has such widespread impacts, and the regulatory agencies are just throwing up their hands."
In the 19th and 20th centuries, California produced up to 90 percent of the mercury in the U.S. and more than 220 million pounds of quicksilver were shipped around the world for gold mining, military munitions and thermometers. Much of the liquid mercury was sent to Sierra Nevada gold mines, where miners spilled tons of it into streams and soil to extract the precious ore.
"There's probably a water body near everybody in the state that has significant mercury contamination," said Dr. Rick Kreutzer, chief of the state Department of Public Health's Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control.
Government officials blame mining companies for shirking their financial responsibilities to clean the sites, either by filing for bankruptcy or changing ownership.
When the government does target a site, success is not guaranteed.
The Sulfur Bank Mine has made the nearby Clear Lake the most mercury-polluted lake in the world, despite the EPA spending about $40 million and two decades trying to keep mercury contamination from the water. Pollution still seeps beneath the earthen dam built by the former mine operator, Bradley Mining Co.
For years, Bradley Mining has fought the government's efforts to recoup cleanup costs. An attorney for the company didn't return calls seeking comment.
For the Elem Band of Pomo Indians, whose colony is next to the lake and shuttered mine, the mercury has made it unsafe to eat local fish.
Their colony was built in 1970 by the federal government over waste from the mine. Officials knew it was contaminated, but were not aware at the time how dangerous mercury was to people. The mine is now a Superfund site.
State blood tests on 44 volunteer adult tribe members in the 1990s found elevated levels of mercury. The average level was three times higher than found in people who do not eat tainted fish, but regulators said only one man was at immediate risk of brain damage or other harm.
Yet the EPA determined that the tribe's mercury levels were a serious enough threat for the agency to spend millions of dollars removing contaminated dirt from the colony's homes and roads.
Many have moved from the colony, leaving about 60 of what was once a community of more than 200 people.
As a child, Rozan Brown, 31, said she ate lake fish, swam in the turquoise waters of the mine waste pit and played on mercury-tainted mine waste piles.
"When I was pregnant, I drank the water," Brown said. "When I was breast-feeding, I worked as a laborer during some of the (mercury) cleanups."
The CDC says high levels of mercury can cause brain damage and mental retardation in children when passed from mother to fetus. Brown's son, Tiyal, has been diagnosed with autism. The CDC has found no link between mercury and autism, but agency spokesperson Dagny Olivares said in an e-mail, "Additional information is needed to fully evaluate the potential health threats."
At most abandoned mercury mines, especially ones in remote places, nothing gets done at all.
Twenty-seven years ago the EPA shut down New Idria Mine, once the second-largest mercury producer in North America. The mine and its towering blast furnace still sit untouched. Acidic runoff flows from hills of waste and miles of tunnels into a pool that smells like rotten eggs. The toxic brew turns nearby San Carlos Creek orange and kills aquatic life before flowing into the San Joaquin River.
"It's really hard living up here," said Kate Woods, 51, standing on a wooden bridge in front of her rural home, tucked amid the hills and cattle ranches just downstream of the mine. "It would be paradise here but for this damned orange creek."
Woods and her brother, Kemp, experience tremors in their hands and headaches, she said, blaming prolonged mercury exposure through water and dust. The EPA found mercury in the creek exceeding federal standards in 1997, records show. Field researchers sent a "high priority" referral to state water quality regulators, warning the mercury could be migrating into a popular fishing area and eventually to the Delta-Mendota Canal, "a drinking water conveyance to other parts of California."
Neither agency undertook the expensive cleanup, nor did they conduct the follow-up studies to find out if New Idria's mercury was the source of the contamination found downstream.
EPA officials said mines such as New Idria are a concern but are not always the agency's highest priority.
"We are here to protect the environment, and sometimes we do it better than other times," said Daniel Meer, EPA's assistant Superfund director for the region. "We can't start cleaning up everything all at once."
The EPA, with financial help from the mine owners, has covered up waste piles at two mines feeding pollution into Cache Creek to try to reduce the mercury flowing into the Delta, but no one has touched the other problem sites.
At least 13 other mine sites also pollute Cache Creek, and are responsible for 60 percent of the mercury in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where thousands regularly catch and eat local fish, state water quality officials said.
"What can we do? We're evaluating that now," said Jerry Bruns, a mercury control official with the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board. "It's complicated, we can't just go in there and do whatever we want. There are Native American archaeological sites and different landowners."
A separate cluster of derelict mercury mines near San Jose has been called the largest source of the toxin in the San Francisco Bay's south end, where warning signs warn fishermen of the "poisonous mercury" polluting the water.
A solution to California's mercury pollution is nowhere near at hand, state and federal regulators say.
"It took a hundred years to occur," said the EPA's Meer. "And it may take a hundred years or more to solve."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/18/epa-throws-up-hands-as-me_n_291144.html
50 million new patients? Expect doc shortages
50 million new patients? Expect doc shortages
Revamped health care system could swamp primary care physicians
Dose of reality
Do health care reform headlines leave you saying “huh?” Visit msnbc.com's guide to health reform and send us claims you'd like fact-checked.
Medical bill disasters: Your stories
What if you can’t pay when illness strikes? That was the top health reform concern for msnbc.com readers. Share your story here.
Health care videos
Is O'Reilly in favor of public option?
Sept. 18: Dylan Ratigan joins the Morning Joe gang to consider Bill O'Reilly's comments which seem to signal support for health care reform to increase competition.
Rep. Periello on health care
Health care debate is missing Teddy’s voice
College students boo Baucus plan
Did Baucus blow it?
Have your say on health care reform
As the government ponders health care reform, what are your top concerns?
Health care: How a bill becomes a law
As Congress works on an overhaul of health insurance, here's how the process will work.
NBC News
updated 5:53 p.m. ET, Sun., Sept . 13, 2009
BOSTON - Among the many hurdles facing President Barack Obama's plan to revamp the nation's health care system is a shortage of primary care physicians — those legions of overworked doctors who provide the front line of medical care for both the sick and those hoping to stay healthy.
As Massachusetts' experience shows, extending health care to 50 million uninsured Americans will only further stress the system and could force many of those newly insured back into costly emergency rooms for routine care if they can't find a primary care doctor, health care observers said.
Massachusetts, home of the nation's most ambitious health care law, has seen the need for primary care doctors shoot up with the addition of 428,000 people to the ranks of the insured under a 2006 law that mandates health care for nearly all residents.
To keep up with the demand for primary care doctors, the country will need to add another 40,000 to the existing 100,000 doctors over the next decade or face a soaring backlog, according to Dr. Ted Epperly, president of the Kansas-based American Academy of Family Physicians.
"It's like giving everyone free bus passes, but there are only two buses," he said.
The need for more primary care doctors comes as the country's shortage of all doctors is expected to worsen, according to a study by the Association of American Medical Colleges, which found the rate of first-year enrollees in U.S. medical schools has declined steadily since 1980.
If current patterns persist, the study shows the country will have about 159,000 fewer doctors than it needs by 2025.
A raft of ideas has been proposed to ease that pressure — from boosting loan repayment programs for medical students studying primary care to narrowing the salary gap between primary care doctors and specialists like brain surgeons and cardiologists.
All the efforts have a single objective — increasing the number of primary care doctors to give them spend more time with the patients who need them the most.
As part of his health care overhaul, Obama has stressed the need to "elevate the profile of family care physicians and nurses as opposed to just the specialists who are typically going to make more money."
Obama has said that more insured Americans will require both an increase in primary care doctors and a team approach to care.
"If you look at what's happening in some states, like Massachusetts, where they tried to create a universal system — and they haven't quite gotten there yet — they have had a problem with an overload of patients," he said in July.
He even chose as his pick for U.S. surgeon general Dr. Regina Benjamin, who has made her name delivering primary care to poor and immigrant communities in Alabama. Benjamin also worked in the National Health Service Corps, a program that helps young doctors pay off medical school loans by serving in poorer communities.
In a 2008 survey of physicians, the Massachusetts Medical Society found the average wait time to see an adult primary care doctor was 50 days, with some doctors reporting wait times for new patients of up to 100 days. That's compared to 2005, before the law was signed, when the average wait was 47 days and the longest was 87 days.
The society also found a drop in the number of primary care doctors accepting new patients. In 2008, 42 percent had closed their practice to new patients compared with 33 percent in 2004, before the law was signed.
Family doctors need a raise
Part of the problem is that those trained to intervene after a heart attack typically earn more than those who help prevent the heart attack from happening in the first place, said John Auerbach, the Massachusetts Medical Society's immediate past president.
"We have devalued the work of what a primary care physician does," he said.
Epperly, of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said primary care doctors need a 30 percent pay increase. The average family doctor makes about $160,000 year, he said. A 30 percent increase would bring them over $200,000, compared with the average $300,000 for a specialist, he said.
When Dr. Robert Flaherty launched a private practice in 2001, he soon found himself cramming in as many patients as possible to make ends meet, leaving little time to discuss with them the steps they could take to prevent future health troubles.
"I constantly felt that conflict of going faster than I should," said Flaherty, 40, who gave up his practice after four years for a hospital post. "Everyone knows if you want to make a decent living, become a specialist; if you want to be banging your head, go into primary care."
Massachusetts is trying to expand access to primary care by encouraging doctors to adopt a team approach by relying more heavily on nurse practitioners and health educators for basic care and counseling, said Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. JudyAnn Bigby.
Nurse practitioners already figure prominently in the operation of private clinics set up in pharmacies, offering basic services like flu shots and treatments for minor ailments. CVS Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co., which operate hundreds of the clinics around the country, say they are faster than a visit to a primary care doctor and less expensive than a trip to the emergency room.
The state also offers loan repayments up to $75,000 for new doctors who agree to work in community health centers for three years. So far, 70 new doctors have signed up.
Another way to expand primary care is to have some specialists provide the equivalent of primary care, according to Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.
He said obstetrician-gynecologists essentially serve as primary care physicians for many women — a model that could be used for patients who rely on other specialists.
Ryan Van Ramshorst is the kind of young primary care doctor advocates say the country needs to fill the gap. A fourth-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, Ramshorst is doing his residency in general pediatrics.
"When I wrote on my medical school application that I wanted to help people, I really meant it," he said.
The federal National Health Service Corps, the same program that helped Regina Benjamin, is helping him, covering two years of his tuition and expenses in exchange for him spending at least two years in a clinic in an underserved area.
Ramshorst said he's thankful for the opportunity but said plans to expand the corps — the Obama administration has announced $200 million in federal stimulus funds to boost the corps by 3,300 doctors and clinicians — is no replacement for adding more primary care doctors and increasing pay.
"We need something with a bigger scope," he said.
Revamped health care system could swamp primary care physicians
Dose of reality
Do health care reform headlines leave you saying “huh?” Visit msnbc.com's guide to health reform and send us claims you'd like fact-checked.
Medical bill disasters: Your stories
What if you can’t pay when illness strikes? That was the top health reform concern for msnbc.com readers. Share your story here.
Health care videos
Is O'Reilly in favor of public option?
Sept. 18: Dylan Ratigan joins the Morning Joe gang to consider Bill O'Reilly's comments which seem to signal support for health care reform to increase competition.
Rep. Periello on health care
Health care debate is missing Teddy’s voice
College students boo Baucus plan
Did Baucus blow it?
Have your say on health care reform
As the government ponders health care reform, what are your top concerns?
Health care: How a bill becomes a law
As Congress works on an overhaul of health insurance, here's how the process will work.
NBC News
updated 5:53 p.m. ET, Sun., Sept . 13, 2009
BOSTON - Among the many hurdles facing President Barack Obama's plan to revamp the nation's health care system is a shortage of primary care physicians — those legions of overworked doctors who provide the front line of medical care for both the sick and those hoping to stay healthy.
As Massachusetts' experience shows, extending health care to 50 million uninsured Americans will only further stress the system and could force many of those newly insured back into costly emergency rooms for routine care if they can't find a primary care doctor, health care observers said.
Massachusetts, home of the nation's most ambitious health care law, has seen the need for primary care doctors shoot up with the addition of 428,000 people to the ranks of the insured under a 2006 law that mandates health care for nearly all residents.
To keep up with the demand for primary care doctors, the country will need to add another 40,000 to the existing 100,000 doctors over the next decade or face a soaring backlog, according to Dr. Ted Epperly, president of the Kansas-based American Academy of Family Physicians.
"It's like giving everyone free bus passes, but there are only two buses," he said.
The need for more primary care doctors comes as the country's shortage of all doctors is expected to worsen, according to a study by the Association of American Medical Colleges, which found the rate of first-year enrollees in U.S. medical schools has declined steadily since 1980.
If current patterns persist, the study shows the country will have about 159,000 fewer doctors than it needs by 2025.
A raft of ideas has been proposed to ease that pressure — from boosting loan repayment programs for medical students studying primary care to narrowing the salary gap between primary care doctors and specialists like brain surgeons and cardiologists.
All the efforts have a single objective — increasing the number of primary care doctors to give them spend more time with the patients who need them the most.
As part of his health care overhaul, Obama has stressed the need to "elevate the profile of family care physicians and nurses as opposed to just the specialists who are typically going to make more money."
Obama has said that more insured Americans will require both an increase in primary care doctors and a team approach to care.
"If you look at what's happening in some states, like Massachusetts, where they tried to create a universal system — and they haven't quite gotten there yet — they have had a problem with an overload of patients," he said in July.
He even chose as his pick for U.S. surgeon general Dr. Regina Benjamin, who has made her name delivering primary care to poor and immigrant communities in Alabama. Benjamin also worked in the National Health Service Corps, a program that helps young doctors pay off medical school loans by serving in poorer communities.
In a 2008 survey of physicians, the Massachusetts Medical Society found the average wait time to see an adult primary care doctor was 50 days, with some doctors reporting wait times for new patients of up to 100 days. That's compared to 2005, before the law was signed, when the average wait was 47 days and the longest was 87 days.
The society also found a drop in the number of primary care doctors accepting new patients. In 2008, 42 percent had closed their practice to new patients compared with 33 percent in 2004, before the law was signed.
Family doctors need a raise
Part of the problem is that those trained to intervene after a heart attack typically earn more than those who help prevent the heart attack from happening in the first place, said John Auerbach, the Massachusetts Medical Society's immediate past president.
"We have devalued the work of what a primary care physician does," he said.
Epperly, of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said primary care doctors need a 30 percent pay increase. The average family doctor makes about $160,000 year, he said. A 30 percent increase would bring them over $200,000, compared with the average $300,000 for a specialist, he said.
When Dr. Robert Flaherty launched a private practice in 2001, he soon found himself cramming in as many patients as possible to make ends meet, leaving little time to discuss with them the steps they could take to prevent future health troubles.
"I constantly felt that conflict of going faster than I should," said Flaherty, 40, who gave up his practice after four years for a hospital post. "Everyone knows if you want to make a decent living, become a specialist; if you want to be banging your head, go into primary care."
Massachusetts is trying to expand access to primary care by encouraging doctors to adopt a team approach by relying more heavily on nurse practitioners and health educators for basic care and counseling, said Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. JudyAnn Bigby.
Nurse practitioners already figure prominently in the operation of private clinics set up in pharmacies, offering basic services like flu shots and treatments for minor ailments. CVS Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co., which operate hundreds of the clinics around the country, say they are faster than a visit to a primary care doctor and less expensive than a trip to the emergency room.
The state also offers loan repayments up to $75,000 for new doctors who agree to work in community health centers for three years. So far, 70 new doctors have signed up.
Another way to expand primary care is to have some specialists provide the equivalent of primary care, according to Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.
He said obstetrician-gynecologists essentially serve as primary care physicians for many women — a model that could be used for patients who rely on other specialists.
Ryan Van Ramshorst is the kind of young primary care doctor advocates say the country needs to fill the gap. A fourth-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, Ramshorst is doing his residency in general pediatrics.
"When I wrote on my medical school application that I wanted to help people, I really meant it," he said.
The federal National Health Service Corps, the same program that helped Regina Benjamin, is helping him, covering two years of his tuition and expenses in exchange for him spending at least two years in a clinic in an underserved area.
Ramshorst said he's thankful for the opportunity but said plans to expand the corps — the Obama administration has announced $200 million in federal stimulus funds to boost the corps by 3,300 doctors and clinicians — is no replacement for adding more primary care doctors and increasing pay.
"We need something with a bigger scope," he said.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Texas Newspaper Backs Pickens Plan
EDITORIAL
Break the curse of oil addiction
EDITORIAL BOARD
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
When T. Boone Pickens framed U.S. energy dependence on foreign oil as a national security issue, people couldn't agree fast enough. He launched an aggressive advertising campaign pushing wind and solar power as an alternative to imported oil in 2008.
With gasoline prices hovering at $4 a gallon and driving up the cost of anything that had to be shipped, plus the skyrocketing cost of fuel oil causing utility bill spikes, Pickens' message resonated.
Since then, gasoline prices have dropped, U.S. consumers aren't feeling as pinched at the pump, and the health care debate now commands the national attention.
As Pickens reminded American-Statesman editors and reporters this week, the national security threat posed by U.S. dependence on oil produced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has not waned.
Neither has his interest in lessening that dependence. So Pickens is back on the stump, pushing legislation that would provide tax incentives for freight haulers to replace their diesel-burning 18-wheelers with rigs powered by natural gas.
Pickens, a billionaire oilman and staunch Texas Republican, has picked up support from U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, the majority leader; President Bill Clinton; and Al Gore, the former vice president, among others.
The reasoning behind the idea is simple: Big rigs are constantly on the move, spewing fossil fuel emissions in their wake. Incentives for trucking companies to buy natural gas-burning vehicles would lessen dependence on foreign oil and contribute to cleaner air. Transmission and delivery costs would be miniscule when compared to the savings, Pickens said.
Though battery powered vehicles are hailed as the transportation future, batteries aren't practical for powering 18-wheelers, Pickens says, and there are transportation experts who concur.
Pickens built a fortune by punching holes in the ground and remains a controversial figure. His critics may be wary of the motive, but there is no denying his core message: Our country is addicted to buying oil from people who don't like us.
Those old enough to remember the shock induced by the oil embargo of the 1970s should also recall that we've been talking about reducing our dependence on foreign oil ever since. The talk stage is as far as we usually get.
Like the junkies we are, we promise to get clean after just one more fix. And so it goes until the next time OPEC dries up the supply and drives up the price of U.S. energy.
We should not let desire to argue over the messenger and his message rob us of the necessity to shed our oil dependence.
Rigs that burn natural gas may not be the whole solution, but that certainly is a move in the right direction.
You need to set a username for your Statesman.com account before you can comment.
Set Username
Alexander wrote:
News Flash: I deeply regret to inform the Leftist wackos in this blog that the coup de grace to solar and wind “energy sprawl” was administered earlier today by Senator Lamar Alexander in the Wall Street Journal. “Energy Sprawl and the Green Economy.” Link follows: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574404762971139026.html Here is one passage from his article: “Let's put this into perspective: We could line 300 miles of mountaintops from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Bristol, Va., with wind turbines and still produce only one-quarter the electricity we get from one reactor on one square mile at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant.” Its gonna be nuclear power, people.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 8:52:45 PM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
ABraut wrote:
In the history of nuclear power, there have been two notable incidents. As of 2007 there were 436 operating nuclear power plants and 48 under construction, none of them are named Chernobyl.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 4:12:12 PM Report AbuseName *
atheist wrote:
safe, cost effective nuclear power plants =Chernobyl
# Posted on 9/17/2009 3:15:36 PM Report AbuseName *
eddieleggs wrote:
Obama's alma mater
[Bertha] Lewis told ABC News that all the negative attention is a "modern day form of McCarthyism" and said ACORN's efforts help make sure "poor people, young people, minorities are participating in this democracy." "There is an undertone of racism here. I think they're basically saying these people shouldn't be trusted, how could they be trusted? You know, they're all poor black and brown people," Lewis said.
Where's faux Reverend Jesse Jackson in all this? Holed up somewhere dreaming of castrating Obama? Can you believe these people? This is the result of fifty years on the liberal plantation. People from the gutter to the White House shouting "Racism!" whenever they're challenged with the truth.
Special thanks to NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Food Network for providing Obama cover while he ran with this pack of scumbags.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 2:18:16 PM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
Greenie wrote:
Power Plants take up too much space. Smaller outlets are being used in other countries, i.e. Germany. There was an article in fastcompany.com about a smaller grid that produces power at a more local level. Sounded promising.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 1:59:51 PM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
Alexander wrote:
The obvious answer for power plants is cost effective nuclear power, coal, natural gas and low-cost versions of solar and wind. However, due to siting problems and the huge spacial footprint issues, solar and wind will never be more than token solutions. The obvious answer for mobile power is domestic gasoline, natural gas and short range batteries powered by nuclear plants. The answer remains: ALL THE ABOVE.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 12:35:37 PM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
ktacorp7 wrote:
We need to build electric generating plants that operate on GAS not oil, coal or other polutants.. That solves the issue of distribution..
# Posted on 9/17/2009 10:58:22 AM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
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Reeve wrote:
OK, look. Electric cars are laughable. 70% of US electricity is from burning coal. So electric cars run on coal. Coal pollutes via black particulates, SO2, oxides of nitrogen (aka acid rain), and heavy metals like mercury. Electrical energy should be natural gas fired in place of coal, but the coal lobby is vastly more powerful than the NG lobby. And, as you al ought to know by now, the US is run by lobby. It's that simple.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 9:55:09 AM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
Texan by Marriage wrote:
Actually if you take Pickens points and blend them with a diversified production through renewables, you get there. If we put hot water and solar panels on houses and industrial spaces. There is no need for large scale plants. In fact we can reduce electric and gas consumption by 8% in TX by using solar hot water combined with on demand gas. This is a huge amount of energy savings. Also, if we put some of the new thin film solar on top of the box stores using net metering, we could keep from adding any additional plants for the next 20 years. If we use our heads and think through the issues, we can solve energy, security, and pollution issues just by working smarter.
Alexander wrote:
No one is against using natural gas for vehicles. We used in naturla gas in pickup trucks in West Texas back in the 1960's. Likewise, no one is against "ending our dependency" on foreign oil. BUT it makes absolutely no sense at all for the British and Chinese to come in and develop new Oil fields 200 miles south of Houston in the outer continental shelf. That action will INCREASE our dependency on "foreign" oil as the owners will be foreigners.
Break the curse of oil addiction
EDITORIAL BOARD
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
When T. Boone Pickens framed U.S. energy dependence on foreign oil as a national security issue, people couldn't agree fast enough. He launched an aggressive advertising campaign pushing wind and solar power as an alternative to imported oil in 2008.
With gasoline prices hovering at $4 a gallon and driving up the cost of anything that had to be shipped, plus the skyrocketing cost of fuel oil causing utility bill spikes, Pickens' message resonated.
Since then, gasoline prices have dropped, U.S. consumers aren't feeling as pinched at the pump, and the health care debate now commands the national attention.
As Pickens reminded American-Statesman editors and reporters this week, the national security threat posed by U.S. dependence on oil produced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has not waned.
Neither has his interest in lessening that dependence. So Pickens is back on the stump, pushing legislation that would provide tax incentives for freight haulers to replace their diesel-burning 18-wheelers with rigs powered by natural gas.
Pickens, a billionaire oilman and staunch Texas Republican, has picked up support from U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, the majority leader; President Bill Clinton; and Al Gore, the former vice president, among others.
The reasoning behind the idea is simple: Big rigs are constantly on the move, spewing fossil fuel emissions in their wake. Incentives for trucking companies to buy natural gas-burning vehicles would lessen dependence on foreign oil and contribute to cleaner air. Transmission and delivery costs would be miniscule when compared to the savings, Pickens said.
Though battery powered vehicles are hailed as the transportation future, batteries aren't practical for powering 18-wheelers, Pickens says, and there are transportation experts who concur.
Pickens built a fortune by punching holes in the ground and remains a controversial figure. His critics may be wary of the motive, but there is no denying his core message: Our country is addicted to buying oil from people who don't like us.
Those old enough to remember the shock induced by the oil embargo of the 1970s should also recall that we've been talking about reducing our dependence on foreign oil ever since. The talk stage is as far as we usually get.
Like the junkies we are, we promise to get clean after just one more fix. And so it goes until the next time OPEC dries up the supply and drives up the price of U.S. energy.
We should not let desire to argue over the messenger and his message rob us of the necessity to shed our oil dependence.
Rigs that burn natural gas may not be the whole solution, but that certainly is a move in the right direction.
You need to set a username for your Statesman.com account before you can comment.
Set Username
Alexander wrote:
News Flash: I deeply regret to inform the Leftist wackos in this blog that the coup de grace to solar and wind “energy sprawl” was administered earlier today by Senator Lamar Alexander in the Wall Street Journal. “Energy Sprawl and the Green Economy.” Link follows: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574404762971139026.html Here is one passage from his article: “Let's put this into perspective: We could line 300 miles of mountaintops from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Bristol, Va., with wind turbines and still produce only one-quarter the electricity we get from one reactor on one square mile at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant.” Its gonna be nuclear power, people.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 8:52:45 PM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
ABraut wrote:
In the history of nuclear power, there have been two notable incidents. As of 2007 there were 436 operating nuclear power plants and 48 under construction, none of them are named Chernobyl.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 4:12:12 PM Report AbuseName *
atheist wrote:
safe, cost effective nuclear power plants =Chernobyl
# Posted on 9/17/2009 3:15:36 PM Report AbuseName *
eddieleggs wrote:
Obama's alma mater
[Bertha] Lewis told ABC News that all the negative attention is a "modern day form of McCarthyism" and said ACORN's efforts help make sure "poor people, young people, minorities are participating in this democracy." "There is an undertone of racism here. I think they're basically saying these people shouldn't be trusted, how could they be trusted? You know, they're all poor black and brown people," Lewis said.
Where's faux Reverend Jesse Jackson in all this? Holed up somewhere dreaming of castrating Obama? Can you believe these people? This is the result of fifty years on the liberal plantation. People from the gutter to the White House shouting "Racism!" whenever they're challenged with the truth.
Special thanks to NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Food Network for providing Obama cover while he ran with this pack of scumbags.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 2:18:16 PM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
Greenie wrote:
Power Plants take up too much space. Smaller outlets are being used in other countries, i.e. Germany. There was an article in fastcompany.com about a smaller grid that produces power at a more local level. Sounded promising.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 1:59:51 PM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
Alexander wrote:
The obvious answer for power plants is cost effective nuclear power, coal, natural gas and low-cost versions of solar and wind. However, due to siting problems and the huge spacial footprint issues, solar and wind will never be more than token solutions. The obvious answer for mobile power is domestic gasoline, natural gas and short range batteries powered by nuclear plants. The answer remains: ALL THE ABOVE.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 12:35:37 PM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
ktacorp7 wrote:
We need to build electric generating plants that operate on GAS not oil, coal or other polutants.. That solves the issue of distribution..
# Posted on 9/17/2009 10:58:22 AM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
Reeve wrote:
OK, look. Electric cars are laughable. 70% of US electricity is from burning coal. So electric cars run on coal. Coal pollutes via black particulates, SO2, oxides of nitrogen (aka acid rain), and heavy metals like mercury. Electrical energy should be natural gas fired in place of coal, but the coal lobby is vastly more powerful than the NG lobby. And, as you al ought to know by now, the US is run by lobby. It's that simple.
# Posted on 9/17/2009 9:55:09 AM Report AbuseName *
E-mail Address *
Reason for abuse *
Texan by Marriage wrote:
Actually if you take Pickens points and blend them with a diversified production through renewables, you get there. If we put hot water and solar panels on houses and industrial spaces. There is no need for large scale plants. In fact we can reduce electric and gas consumption by 8% in TX by using solar hot water combined with on demand gas. This is a huge amount of energy savings. Also, if we put some of the new thin film solar on top of the box stores using net metering, we could keep from adding any additional plants for the next 20 years. If we use our heads and think through the issues, we can solve energy, security, and pollution issues just by working smarter.
Alexander wrote:
No one is against using natural gas for vehicles. We used in naturla gas in pickup trucks in West Texas back in the 1960's. Likewise, no one is against "ending our dependency" on foreign oil. BUT it makes absolutely no sense at all for the British and Chinese to come in and develop new Oil fields 200 miles south of Houston in the outer continental shelf. That action will INCREASE our dependency on "foreign" oil as the owners will be foreigners.
Ohio Solar Project
German company to build area's largest solar field in Wyandot County
BLADE STAFF
UPPER SANDUSKY, Ohio - Northwest Ohio soon will be home to one of the largest solar energy fields in the eastern United States. Construction will begin as early as next month on an 83-acre solar field outside of Upper Sandusky.
It will use over 165,000 panels from First Solar Inc. to supply electricity to 6,000 homes. First Solar, born in Toledo but now based in Arizona, has its only North American solar-panel making plant in Perrysburg Township.
The $30 million project will provide electricity to American Electric Power, one of the largest utilities in the country and a provider of electricity to large chunks of northwest Ohio.
The firm has signed a 20-year agreement to purchase power from the 10.08-megawatt facility, to be called Wyandot Solar LLC. It is to be the first of what will be several such facilities in Ohio.
"Solar is really just starting to develop in a way that's more cost-effective, so it's important that we support projects like this," said Melissa McHenry, a spokesman for AEP.
The Columbus utility has 1.5 million customers in 61 counties in Ohio, including Hancock, Wyandot, Allen, Paulding, Putnam,
Defiance, Seneca, and Wood.
The solar plant, which will require only a handful of employees to operate, is being built and will be operated by a subsidiary of Juwi Solar Inc., a German firm that has constructed hundreds of solar fields in Europe and Africa.
Wyandot County Commissioner Mike Wheeler said construction of the solar facility will mean about 90 construction jobs in the region.
The plant, in Salem Township near an American Electric Power substation north of Upper Sandusky, is expected to be in operation in about 13 months.
The state last year enacted a law that altered the way electricity is regulated in Ohio.
Among its provisions, utilities are required to generate a portion of their electricity through solar energy.
The Upper Sandusky facility will be the first such large-scale venture to meet that requirement, but its 10-megawatt capacity represents a fraction of the 12,000 megawatts the company generates in Ohio.
There will be no changes in electricity rates for AEP customers when the solar plant is in operation.
FirstEnergy Corp. of Akron, whose subsidiary Toledo Edison serves customers across much of metropolitan Toledo, is focusing its renewable-energy efforts on converting a former coal plant along the Ohio river to burn biomass instead, spokesman Mark Durbin said.
FirstEnergy this month issued a request for proposals to purchase renewable-energy credits from its customers.
The credits, issued to homes or businesses that might have their own solar panels or windmills, would be purchased by FirstEnergy to allow it to meet the state's renewable-energy requirements, Mr. Durbin said
BLADE STAFF
UPPER SANDUSKY, Ohio - Northwest Ohio soon will be home to one of the largest solar energy fields in the eastern United States. Construction will begin as early as next month on an 83-acre solar field outside of Upper Sandusky.
It will use over 165,000 panels from First Solar Inc. to supply electricity to 6,000 homes. First Solar, born in Toledo but now based in Arizona, has its only North American solar-panel making plant in Perrysburg Township.
The $30 million project will provide electricity to American Electric Power, one of the largest utilities in the country and a provider of electricity to large chunks of northwest Ohio.
The firm has signed a 20-year agreement to purchase power from the 10.08-megawatt facility, to be called Wyandot Solar LLC. It is to be the first of what will be several such facilities in Ohio.
"Solar is really just starting to develop in a way that's more cost-effective, so it's important that we support projects like this," said Melissa McHenry, a spokesman for AEP.
The Columbus utility has 1.5 million customers in 61 counties in Ohio, including Hancock, Wyandot, Allen, Paulding, Putnam,
Defiance, Seneca, and Wood.
The solar plant, which will require only a handful of employees to operate, is being built and will be operated by a subsidiary of Juwi Solar Inc., a German firm that has constructed hundreds of solar fields in Europe and Africa.
Wyandot County Commissioner Mike Wheeler said construction of the solar facility will mean about 90 construction jobs in the region.
The plant, in Salem Township near an American Electric Power substation north of Upper Sandusky, is expected to be in operation in about 13 months.
The state last year enacted a law that altered the way electricity is regulated in Ohio.
Among its provisions, utilities are required to generate a portion of their electricity through solar energy.
The Upper Sandusky facility will be the first such large-scale venture to meet that requirement, but its 10-megawatt capacity represents a fraction of the 12,000 megawatts the company generates in Ohio.
There will be no changes in electricity rates for AEP customers when the solar plant is in operation.
FirstEnergy Corp. of Akron, whose subsidiary Toledo Edison serves customers across much of metropolitan Toledo, is focusing its renewable-energy efforts on converting a former coal plant along the Ohio river to burn biomass instead, spokesman Mark Durbin said.
FirstEnergy this month issued a request for proposals to purchase renewable-energy credits from its customers.
The credits, issued to homes or businesses that might have their own solar panels or windmills, would be purchased by FirstEnergy to allow it to meet the state's renewable-energy requirements, Mr. Durbin said
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Duke picks Convergys for 'smart grid' system
Duke picks Convergys for 'smart grid' system
September 15, 2009 4:34 PM ET
Duke Energy Selects Convergys to Support Smart Grid Initiative with Precedent-setting Smart Customer Information SystemFinal Glance: Utilities companiesStocks rise on retail sales, manufacturing dataMidday Glance: Utilities companiesEarly Glance: Utilities companies
All Associated Press newsBy DAN SEWELL
CINCINNATI (AP) - Power company Duke Energy Corp. has chosen Convergys Corp. to provide billing and other services for the new advanced meters Duke wants to start rolling out to its four million customers, the companies said Tuesday.
The meters are part of an effort to modernize the nation's electricity grid. Duke's five-year, $1 billion plan is designed to bolster reliability, detect power outages and provide real-time information to customers about electricity consumption in order to improve efficiency.
Convergys said its software will help Duke with billing, account management and collections for its "smart grid" system. Digital communications will help customers track their daily usage and what they owe on their bills, while streamlining the utility's meter-reading tasks.
"It really is about enabling us to give you more options, more information; more control in terms of how you use energy and manage your energy bill," said Todd Arnold, senior vice president for smart grid and customer systems at Duke Energy.
He said Duke expects to begin pilot programs before mid-2010. Arnold said the new system will improve communications and help the utility rapidly detect and react to power outages and other problems, such as when a major storm hits.
Convergys wouldn't say how much the contract is worth, but said it could lead to more business as the industry adopts smart grids.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke has customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Convergys, based in Cincinnati, provides outsourcing for business services including billing, call centers and human resources.
September 15, 2009 4:34 PM ET
Duke Energy Selects Convergys to Support Smart Grid Initiative with Precedent-setting Smart Customer Information SystemFinal Glance: Utilities companiesStocks rise on retail sales, manufacturing dataMidday Glance: Utilities companiesEarly Glance: Utilities companies
All Associated Press newsBy DAN SEWELL
CINCINNATI (AP) - Power company Duke Energy Corp. has chosen Convergys Corp. to provide billing and other services for the new advanced meters Duke wants to start rolling out to its four million customers, the companies said Tuesday.
The meters are part of an effort to modernize the nation's electricity grid. Duke's five-year, $1 billion plan is designed to bolster reliability, detect power outages and provide real-time information to customers about electricity consumption in order to improve efficiency.
Convergys said its software will help Duke with billing, account management and collections for its "smart grid" system. Digital communications will help customers track their daily usage and what they owe on their bills, while streamlining the utility's meter-reading tasks.
"It really is about enabling us to give you more options, more information; more control in terms of how you use energy and manage your energy bill," said Todd Arnold, senior vice president for smart grid and customer systems at Duke Energy.
He said Duke expects to begin pilot programs before mid-2010. Arnold said the new system will improve communications and help the utility rapidly detect and react to power outages and other problems, such as when a major storm hits.
Convergys wouldn't say how much the contract is worth, but said it could lead to more business as the industry adopts smart grids.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke has customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Convergys, based in Cincinnati, provides outsourcing for business services including billing, call centers and human resources.
6 money lessons of the Great Recession
6 money lessons of the Great Recession
As we breathe a sigh of relief that the sky hasn't fallen, let's not forget what we've learned from economic hard times. Here's a brief refresher course.
[Related content: debt, debt reduction, budgeting, spending, housing]
By Philip Moeller, U.S. News & World Report
It's unclear whether the economy has hit bottom. Investment markets are moving up. Jobless rates didn't get any worse. Cash for Clunkers has given the auto industry a real boost. And stimulus funds are slowly making their way into the real world. So, at the risk of tempting fate, it's probably safe to venture outdoors once more. The sky will not be falling. Life as we know it will not be ending. There will be a World Series in the fall, and college football stadiums will be jammed with fans.
Bing: How to negotiate a bargain
Before moving on to better times, however, let's think a bit about how we've responded to the big problems that began emerging in 2006 and 2007. What are some of the clear money lessons we've learned? Almost by definition, these lessons seem very obvious today. But our children and grandchildren will forget many of them, just as we forgot the hard-knocks lessons of our parents and grandparents. Here's some starter advice:
1. The experts are often wrong. Don't forget that our current problems were predicted by very few people and that the "smart money" spent a lot more time protecting itself than helping anyone else. All of the kind words from banks, brokerages and real estate companies didn't amount to much when crunch time arrived. Many years will pass before our trust in financial institutions and leaders is restored. Never accept what you hear at face value -- ask questions, do your homework and make sure your interests are protected.
More from MSN Money and U.S. News & World Report
The best financial advice ever
America's best places to find a job
Recession lessons from the movies
15 recession-resistant cities
3 steps back to the sanity of cash
8 industries that will sit out a recovery
2. Budgeting is cool. I spend a lot less money each month than I did two years ago, and most days I feel that the quality of my life has improved. I owe much of the credit to the hour or so I spend each month with our household budget. (See "How much you should spend on . . .") I don't spend much cash or write many checks. I charge as much as I can on a credit card that provides rebates, and I pay off the entire balance every month. I pay nearly all of my bills through online banking and download them into a spreadsheet. As I inch closer to my own retirement, my downsized spending profile is turning out to be a great adjustment. Even if the economy and stock market soar for years, I'm never giving up that spreadsheet. (Skip the spreadsheet with "The 6 best budgeting sites.")
3. Everything's negotiable. Tough times make for tough shoppers, and bargaining for a better deal is becoming part of our DNA. Retail pricing is disappearing in a world of online discount stores and aggressive bloggers eager to share details of their latest bargain finds. A few vendors such as Apple can still get away with premium prices linked to consumer value perceptions. But for most products, it's a cost-plus world. Even the opaque pricing of electricians, plumbers and other home-repair providers is under assault from the online information explosion. The recession may have forced us to become more price conscious. Technology will make sure we never go back. See "Your 5-minute guide to online bargains."
4. Actively manage your investment accounts. See what happens when you put your money into an investment account and forget about it? Repeat after me: Never be a passive investor, never be a passive investor, never be a passive investor, never -- well, you get the idea. Look at your retirement accounts monthly, and consider rebalancing them quarterly. If transaction fees make rebalancing unduly expensive, consider shifting your accounts into holdings that don't penalize you for doing the right thing.
Takeaways from a bear market
5. Don't bank on housing wealth. We're all convinced we'll never make this mistake again, but just wait. Even a few years of solid increases in home values could bring on mass amnesia. So, while the memories and lessons are still vivid, make sure your retirement plans aren't dependent on an appreciating piece of real estate. Housing gains should be viewed as a cushion, not a fundamental requirement for sufficient retirement income.
MSN Real Estate: How much is your home worth now?
6. Stay healthy, stay solvent. People who get regular exercise are healthier -- mentally as well as physically -- than people who don't. They live longer. They're happier. Their brains even work better. Exercise need not cost you a penny, whereas poor health is very expensive. If a serious recession has any silver lining, it's the realization it brings that your quality of life is largely up to you.
As we breathe a sigh of relief that the sky hasn't fallen, let's not forget what we've learned from economic hard times. Here's a brief refresher course.
[Related content: debt, debt reduction, budgeting, spending, housing]
By Philip Moeller, U.S. News & World Report
It's unclear whether the economy has hit bottom. Investment markets are moving up. Jobless rates didn't get any worse. Cash for Clunkers has given the auto industry a real boost. And stimulus funds are slowly making their way into the real world. So, at the risk of tempting fate, it's probably safe to venture outdoors once more. The sky will not be falling. Life as we know it will not be ending. There will be a World Series in the fall, and college football stadiums will be jammed with fans.
Bing: How to negotiate a bargain
Before moving on to better times, however, let's think a bit about how we've responded to the big problems that began emerging in 2006 and 2007. What are some of the clear money lessons we've learned? Almost by definition, these lessons seem very obvious today. But our children and grandchildren will forget many of them, just as we forgot the hard-knocks lessons of our parents and grandparents. Here's some starter advice:
1. The experts are often wrong. Don't forget that our current problems were predicted by very few people and that the "smart money" spent a lot more time protecting itself than helping anyone else. All of the kind words from banks, brokerages and real estate companies didn't amount to much when crunch time arrived. Many years will pass before our trust in financial institutions and leaders is restored. Never accept what you hear at face value -- ask questions, do your homework and make sure your interests are protected.
More from MSN Money and U.S. News & World Report
The best financial advice ever
America's best places to find a job
Recession lessons from the movies
15 recession-resistant cities
3 steps back to the sanity of cash
8 industries that will sit out a recovery
2. Budgeting is cool. I spend a lot less money each month than I did two years ago, and most days I feel that the quality of my life has improved. I owe much of the credit to the hour or so I spend each month with our household budget. (See "How much you should spend on . . .") I don't spend much cash or write many checks. I charge as much as I can on a credit card that provides rebates, and I pay off the entire balance every month. I pay nearly all of my bills through online banking and download them into a spreadsheet. As I inch closer to my own retirement, my downsized spending profile is turning out to be a great adjustment. Even if the economy and stock market soar for years, I'm never giving up that spreadsheet. (Skip the spreadsheet with "The 6 best budgeting sites.")
3. Everything's negotiable. Tough times make for tough shoppers, and bargaining for a better deal is becoming part of our DNA. Retail pricing is disappearing in a world of online discount stores and aggressive bloggers eager to share details of their latest bargain finds. A few vendors such as Apple can still get away with premium prices linked to consumer value perceptions. But for most products, it's a cost-plus world. Even the opaque pricing of electricians, plumbers and other home-repair providers is under assault from the online information explosion. The recession may have forced us to become more price conscious. Technology will make sure we never go back. See "Your 5-minute guide to online bargains."
4. Actively manage your investment accounts. See what happens when you put your money into an investment account and forget about it? Repeat after me: Never be a passive investor, never be a passive investor, never be a passive investor, never -- well, you get the idea. Look at your retirement accounts monthly, and consider rebalancing them quarterly. If transaction fees make rebalancing unduly expensive, consider shifting your accounts into holdings that don't penalize you for doing the right thing.
Takeaways from a bear market
5. Don't bank on housing wealth. We're all convinced we'll never make this mistake again, but just wait. Even a few years of solid increases in home values could bring on mass amnesia. So, while the memories and lessons are still vivid, make sure your retirement plans aren't dependent on an appreciating piece of real estate. Housing gains should be viewed as a cushion, not a fundamental requirement for sufficient retirement income.
MSN Real Estate: How much is your home worth now?
6. Stay healthy, stay solvent. People who get regular exercise are healthier -- mentally as well as physically -- than people who don't. They live longer. They're happier. Their brains even work better. Exercise need not cost you a penny, whereas poor health is very expensive. If a serious recession has any silver lining, it's the realization it brings that your quality of life is largely up to you.
Why a meltdown could happen again
Why a meltdown could happen again
A year after Lehman Brothers collapsed and the financial system nearly went with it, we've heard much talk but seen no real reform.
[Related content: financial services, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Barack Obama, Michael Brush]
By Michael Brush
MSN Money
A year ago this week, Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ, news, msgs) blew up, dramatically advancing one of the worst financial disasters in history. The reckless behavior of greedy Wall Street bankers had come home to roost, making life a lot tougher for the rest of us.
Since then, what have President Barack Obama and Congress done to prevent them from doing it to us again?
The latest news on Wall Street regulation
Pretty much what Obama did when he spoke to Wall Street earlier this week. Talk.
"They really haven't done anything that could prevent another meltdown," says Joseph Mason, a financial-sector expert who used to work for one of the main national banking regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC.
A year after the demise of Lehman, there are no new rules in place to:
1) Control the vast "shadow banking industry" of mortgage originators, insurers and investment banks that caused the crisis.
2) Limit excessive risk taking by big Wall Street banks.
3) Rein in the short-term incentives in lavish pay and bonus packages that tempted executives to take excessive risks.
4) Beef up regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission so they can do a better job policing Wall Street.
The key takeaway: There's nothing in place to stop another financial meltdown.
Banks at it again
Yes, the president has sent reform proposals to Congress, but they've stalled.
"Quite frankly, they've made hardly any progress," agrees Edward Grebeck, a debt market strategist with Tempus Advisors in Stamford, Conn. "I don't think anything positive has been done."
And while politicians bicker over health care and with the markets up so much that the urgency for financial reform has receded, Wall Street banks are back to work.
Citigroup (C, news, msgs), Morgan Stanley (MS, news, msgs) and other banks are churning out financial instruments similar to the ones that helped cause the crisis. They're producing securities backed by home mortgages and commercial loans, often repackaging their old mortgage securities as new products.
More from MSN Money
CEOs earn big bonuses for bad year
Why every cold beer costs you more
4 'zombie' stocks better off dead
Why execs' fat perks roll on
Wall Street's high-tech war on investors
The banks say these products are safe, but that's what they said the last time. Banks still aren't required to disclose exactly what's in them. "There is very little transparency, so it is difficult to understand exactly what risks these firms are taking," says Tim Yeager, a professor at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.
Because these securities are backed by home mortgages and commercial loans, they could easily be vulnerable to home mortgage defaults or a wave of defaults on commercial loans that many analysts expect is on the way. Huge amounts of commercial loans are coming due over the next two years. Many banks are balking at rolling over these loans because the underlying values of the buildings backing the loans have slipped so much and because of uncertainties about the economy.
Video: 'We will not go back to reckless behavior,' Obama says
"We haven't changed the rules. The banks are still allowed to do what they did before, so there's always the threat these products they are issuing can go 'underwater' again," says David Becher, an assistant professor of finance at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business.
Another sign that Wall Street is again taking on too much risk lies in the huge profits they're raking in from trading, which can be inherently risky. In the first half of the year, the top five Wall Street banks -- Bank of America (BAC, news, msgs), Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group (GS, news, msgs), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, news, msgs) and Morgan Stanley -- made $23.3 billion, much of it off their $56 billion in trading revenue, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal. That was only slightly below the $58 billion in trading revenue they made in the first half of 2007, the peak of the boom.
One measure of risk -- their own estimates of the amount they could lose on an average trading day -- was running 70% higher in the second quarter of this year than during the boom. It recently stood at $1 billion compared with $592 in the first half of 2007, according to The Journal.
Don't worry; be happy
Some observers say it's OK that a year has gone by without reform; we don't want to get it wrong. But the political reality is that as the urgency passes, it's harder to pass reforms.
"We have lulled ourselves into the mind-set that we are out of the woods, when we aren't," says Cornelius Hurley, the director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law at Boston University School of Law. "I don't think time is our friend here. We risk losing the sense of urgency so that nothing happens."
A year after Lehman Brothers collapsed and the financial system nearly went with it, we've heard much talk but seen no real reform.
[Related content: financial services, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Barack Obama, Michael Brush]
By Michael Brush
MSN Money
A year ago this week, Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ, news, msgs) blew up, dramatically advancing one of the worst financial disasters in history. The reckless behavior of greedy Wall Street bankers had come home to roost, making life a lot tougher for the rest of us.
Since then, what have President Barack Obama and Congress done to prevent them from doing it to us again?
The latest news on Wall Street regulation
Pretty much what Obama did when he spoke to Wall Street earlier this week. Talk.
"They really haven't done anything that could prevent another meltdown," says Joseph Mason, a financial-sector expert who used to work for one of the main national banking regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC.
A year after the demise of Lehman, there are no new rules in place to:
1) Control the vast "shadow banking industry" of mortgage originators, insurers and investment banks that caused the crisis.
2) Limit excessive risk taking by big Wall Street banks.
3) Rein in the short-term incentives in lavish pay and bonus packages that tempted executives to take excessive risks.
4) Beef up regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission so they can do a better job policing Wall Street.
The key takeaway: There's nothing in place to stop another financial meltdown.
Banks at it again
Yes, the president has sent reform proposals to Congress, but they've stalled.
"Quite frankly, they've made hardly any progress," agrees Edward Grebeck, a debt market strategist with Tempus Advisors in Stamford, Conn. "I don't think anything positive has been done."
And while politicians bicker over health care and with the markets up so much that the urgency for financial reform has receded, Wall Street banks are back to work.
Citigroup (C, news, msgs), Morgan Stanley (MS, news, msgs) and other banks are churning out financial instruments similar to the ones that helped cause the crisis. They're producing securities backed by home mortgages and commercial loans, often repackaging their old mortgage securities as new products.
More from MSN Money
CEOs earn big bonuses for bad year
Why every cold beer costs you more
4 'zombie' stocks better off dead
Why execs' fat perks roll on
Wall Street's high-tech war on investors
The banks say these products are safe, but that's what they said the last time. Banks still aren't required to disclose exactly what's in them. "There is very little transparency, so it is difficult to understand exactly what risks these firms are taking," says Tim Yeager, a professor at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.
Because these securities are backed by home mortgages and commercial loans, they could easily be vulnerable to home mortgage defaults or a wave of defaults on commercial loans that many analysts expect is on the way. Huge amounts of commercial loans are coming due over the next two years. Many banks are balking at rolling over these loans because the underlying values of the buildings backing the loans have slipped so much and because of uncertainties about the economy.
Video: 'We will not go back to reckless behavior,' Obama says
"We haven't changed the rules. The banks are still allowed to do what they did before, so there's always the threat these products they are issuing can go 'underwater' again," says David Becher, an assistant professor of finance at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business.
Another sign that Wall Street is again taking on too much risk lies in the huge profits they're raking in from trading, which can be inherently risky. In the first half of the year, the top five Wall Street banks -- Bank of America (BAC, news, msgs), Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group (GS, news, msgs), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, news, msgs) and Morgan Stanley -- made $23.3 billion, much of it off their $56 billion in trading revenue, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal. That was only slightly below the $58 billion in trading revenue they made in the first half of 2007, the peak of the boom.
One measure of risk -- their own estimates of the amount they could lose on an average trading day -- was running 70% higher in the second quarter of this year than during the boom. It recently stood at $1 billion compared with $592 in the first half of 2007, according to The Journal.
Don't worry; be happy
Some observers say it's OK that a year has gone by without reform; we don't want to get it wrong. But the political reality is that as the urgency passes, it's harder to pass reforms.
"We have lulled ourselves into the mind-set that we are out of the woods, when we aren't," says Cornelius Hurley, the director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law at Boston University School of Law. "I don't think time is our friend here. We risk losing the sense of urgency so that nothing happens."
OAKLAND PARK Reaches New Low
Oakland Park challenges chef over effort to feed homeless
An executive chef was told to shut down his program providing meals to the homeless after Oakland Park city officials said he needed a permit.
The feeding program at Steven's Field was shut down following complaints.
Photo BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
Once the private chef of A-listers like Rod Stewart, Ivana Trump and billionaire Allen Stanford, Jonas Hagg began donating his culinary talents to Oakland Park's homeless community last month, giving out free meals for transients gathered at a Steven's Field pavilion five days a week.
``I was driving past Sixth Avenue every day and I saw the homeless folks out there,'' said Hagg, an executive chef for Dish Culinary Solutions, a catering company. ``As a Christian, I just felt led to do something.''
But on Sept. 11, which President Barack Obama designated a day of national service, Hagg was told to shut down his outdoor soup kitchen.
The city and the Broward Sheriff's Office have been receiving complaints since August from neighbors living near the pavilion who were put off by the traffic the outdoor breakfasts were attracting.
This string of complaints represents the latest in an ongoing volley among philanthropic groups, residents and city officials hoping to maintain a polished image in Broward County.
In 2001, the city of Fort Lauderdale tried to move a beachside weekly picnic for the homeless to a more remote location, but lost a lawsuit.
Recently, local groups have received public backlash for handing out sandwiches and snacks at a highly visible section of Stranahan Park. Fort Lauderdale's City Commission stopped short of voting on the issue, but vowed to find other locations, such as city parking lots.
And now Oakland Park officials have challenged Hagg's breakfasts, presenting him with a copy of the city ordinance -- and an option:
Applying for a permit and paying a per-day fee to rent the pavilion.
``We haven't shut it down,'' said Assistant City Manager Horace McHugh. ``We said they need to come in and go through the proper regulatory process.''
Oakland Park's city ordinance requires a permit for events with groups of 20 or more, or programs ``sponsored'' by a person or organization.
Because food is provided, the one-hour breakfasts -- which draw anywhere from a dozen to two dozen people -- are considered sponsored events, McHugh said.
Hagg could apply for a permit to hold four such breakfasts a year, free of charge. After that, the daily rate is $150 per day for nonresidents. If granted a permit, Hagg, who lives in Hollywood, would have to pay the city $900 per week to rent the pavilion.
HIGH-END CUSTOMERS
Hagg, who makes a living crafting gourmet food for high-end customers, said his low-key morning meals with Oakland Park's down-and-out were the highlight of his day.
He said the homeless community was skeptical of his efforts at first, but soon came to accept him and his partner, Rich Judy, a volunteer with the Coalition to End Homelessness, once they saw the pair come back day after day.
They'd show up at 8:30 a.m., offering free coffee, sandwiches, fruit and light fare to people who had spent the night sleeping nearby.
Four years ago, a similar program helped Judy get off the street and transition back into mainstream society, he said.
A former transient, Judy was sleeping on Fort Lauderdale beach when Debra Allen, a pastor, walked up to him and asked him whether he was hungry. Allen gave Judy two bags of food, which he devoured instantly.
In the weeks that followed, he developed a friendship with Allen, who provided food for him and others sleeping near the beach six days a week. She persuaded him to get off the street and helped him get a job working with the AmeriCorps-VISTA volunteer program.
He's hoping to encourage the same type of transformations in the lives of other people, many of whom are newly homeless casualties of the sliding economy, he said.
``I'm a testament that the homeless can find themselves again and get off the street and become productive members of society,'' said Judy, who lives in Fort Lauderdale.
MEETING SCHEDULED
Hagg and Judy are scheduled to meet with city officials Wednesday to try and iron things out.
The 39-year-old chef is hoping Wednesday's meeting will be an opportunity for him to compromise with the city and possibly partner with the local government in the effort to combat hunger and homelessness in Oakland Park.
``I'm seeking solutions,'' Hagg said. ``I'm going to do my part and ask them to do what's right.''
The city of Oakland Park maintains that, like any other official group, Hagg and Judy must follow official city rules if they want to use the pavilion at Steven's Field, one of the city's public parks.
Hagg, who has prepared multi-course meals in the well-adorned homes of the country's elite, said providing food for those who can't afford shelter was nothing more than a simple act of human decency.
``On a personal level, cooking for famous people and millionaires, it almost made me sick when I saw a different side of the coin,'' he said. ``Cooking for the homeless is not something I do for my profession, it's something I do for my own soul.''
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bigdon10 wrote on 09/16/2009 09:23:24 AM:
This comes under the heading,"Somebody should Say Something..!" Why can't people just let things be? They see a fat man working in just a bathingsuit in his garden and they feel they have to call and complain. They see 4 kids playing in the front yard and they call in a "bad parenting" complaint. And we wonder where all the RAGE comes from in today's society.
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mht103 wrote on 09/16/2009 09:05:47 AM:
No good deed goes unpunished!
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rlr33130 wrote on 09/16/2009 08:35:02 AM:
It amazes me that the local residents of Oakland Park would complain about someone feeding the needy and not so fortunate because it creates a little traffic congestion in their area. I have a good idea, let the homeowners move out if they do not like it! Also, the traffic congestion complaints could not possibly be caused by the homeless walking to the pavilion to eat a much needed meal!
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sandman00500 wrote on 09/16/2009 08:08:11 AM:
Congratulations to to Oakland Park for regaining the "Selfish and Stupid Municipality Award" for 2009. Oakland Park represents everything that is wrong with our society in avoiding solutions to a national problem. "Its not our problem so move it somewhere else" is theirs and therein lies the problem. If Oakland Park is "worried about tarnishing their image" they shouldn't because they already have by beating up on the less fortunate and those in need of assistance. A shameful performance, second only to Fort Lauderdale, the desperate, money-hungry, tourist-tramping collective of first rate municipal a-holes.
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Rojo1000 wrote on 09/16/2009 07:00:58 AM:
...this is insane, someone helping the poor from his own pocket and the community has to complain about some 30 people getting a decent meal...lets have those government morons try living on the streets and find their own food for a change...priorities are NOT where they should be, shame on oakland park!
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PecuecaFea wrote on 09/15/2009 11:43:07 PM:
Hagg & Judy,
Thank you for doing the right thing and extending a hand to those in dire need.
Oakland Park bureaucrats, shame on you.
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tdiaz wrote on 09/15/2009 11:22:29 PM:
The city of Oakland Park should reconsider this Issue.
To: Hagg & Judy thumbs up... Good job!!!
(Why isnt the City of Oakland Park, or Broward County, feeding its homeless?)
An executive chef was told to shut down his program providing meals to the homeless after Oakland Park city officials said he needed a permit.
The feeding program at Steven's Field was shut down following complaints.
Photo BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
Once the private chef of A-listers like Rod Stewart, Ivana Trump and billionaire Allen Stanford, Jonas Hagg began donating his culinary talents to Oakland Park's homeless community last month, giving out free meals for transients gathered at a Steven's Field pavilion five days a week.
``I was driving past Sixth Avenue every day and I saw the homeless folks out there,'' said Hagg, an executive chef for Dish Culinary Solutions, a catering company. ``As a Christian, I just felt led to do something.''
But on Sept. 11, which President Barack Obama designated a day of national service, Hagg was told to shut down his outdoor soup kitchen.
The city and the Broward Sheriff's Office have been receiving complaints since August from neighbors living near the pavilion who were put off by the traffic the outdoor breakfasts were attracting.
This string of complaints represents the latest in an ongoing volley among philanthropic groups, residents and city officials hoping to maintain a polished image in Broward County.
In 2001, the city of Fort Lauderdale tried to move a beachside weekly picnic for the homeless to a more remote location, but lost a lawsuit.
Recently, local groups have received public backlash for handing out sandwiches and snacks at a highly visible section of Stranahan Park. Fort Lauderdale's City Commission stopped short of voting on the issue, but vowed to find other locations, such as city parking lots.
And now Oakland Park officials have challenged Hagg's breakfasts, presenting him with a copy of the city ordinance -- and an option:
Applying for a permit and paying a per-day fee to rent the pavilion.
``We haven't shut it down,'' said Assistant City Manager Horace McHugh. ``We said they need to come in and go through the proper regulatory process.''
Oakland Park's city ordinance requires a permit for events with groups of 20 or more, or programs ``sponsored'' by a person or organization.
Because food is provided, the one-hour breakfasts -- which draw anywhere from a dozen to two dozen people -- are considered sponsored events, McHugh said.
Hagg could apply for a permit to hold four such breakfasts a year, free of charge. After that, the daily rate is $150 per day for nonresidents. If granted a permit, Hagg, who lives in Hollywood, would have to pay the city $900 per week to rent the pavilion.
HIGH-END CUSTOMERS
Hagg, who makes a living crafting gourmet food for high-end customers, said his low-key morning meals with Oakland Park's down-and-out were the highlight of his day.
He said the homeless community was skeptical of his efforts at first, but soon came to accept him and his partner, Rich Judy, a volunteer with the Coalition to End Homelessness, once they saw the pair come back day after day.
They'd show up at 8:30 a.m., offering free coffee, sandwiches, fruit and light fare to people who had spent the night sleeping nearby.
Four years ago, a similar program helped Judy get off the street and transition back into mainstream society, he said.
A former transient, Judy was sleeping on Fort Lauderdale beach when Debra Allen, a pastor, walked up to him and asked him whether he was hungry. Allen gave Judy two bags of food, which he devoured instantly.
In the weeks that followed, he developed a friendship with Allen, who provided food for him and others sleeping near the beach six days a week. She persuaded him to get off the street and helped him get a job working with the AmeriCorps-VISTA volunteer program.
He's hoping to encourage the same type of transformations in the lives of other people, many of whom are newly homeless casualties of the sliding economy, he said.
``I'm a testament that the homeless can find themselves again and get off the street and become productive members of society,'' said Judy, who lives in Fort Lauderdale.
MEETING SCHEDULED
Hagg and Judy are scheduled to meet with city officials Wednesday to try and iron things out.
The 39-year-old chef is hoping Wednesday's meeting will be an opportunity for him to compromise with the city and possibly partner with the local government in the effort to combat hunger and homelessness in Oakland Park.
``I'm seeking solutions,'' Hagg said. ``I'm going to do my part and ask them to do what's right.''
The city of Oakland Park maintains that, like any other official group, Hagg and Judy must follow official city rules if they want to use the pavilion at Steven's Field, one of the city's public parks.
Hagg, who has prepared multi-course meals in the well-adorned homes of the country's elite, said providing food for those who can't afford shelter was nothing more than a simple act of human decency.
``On a personal level, cooking for famous people and millionaires, it almost made me sick when I saw a different side of the coin,'' he said. ``Cooking for the homeless is not something I do for my profession, it's something I do for my own soul.''
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bigdon10 wrote on 09/16/2009 09:23:24 AM:
This comes under the heading,"Somebody should Say Something..!" Why can't people just let things be? They see a fat man working in just a bathingsuit in his garden and they feel they have to call and complain. They see 4 kids playing in the front yard and they call in a "bad parenting" complaint. And we wonder where all the RAGE comes from in today's society.
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mht103 wrote on 09/16/2009 09:05:47 AM:
No good deed goes unpunished!
Reply to this Comment Recommend (1) Report abuse
rlr33130 wrote on 09/16/2009 08:35:02 AM:
It amazes me that the local residents of Oakland Park would complain about someone feeding the needy and not so fortunate because it creates a little traffic congestion in their area. I have a good idea, let the homeowners move out if they do not like it! Also, the traffic congestion complaints could not possibly be caused by the homeless walking to the pavilion to eat a much needed meal!
Reply to this Comment Recommend (2) Report abuse
sandman00500 wrote on 09/16/2009 08:08:11 AM:
Congratulations to to Oakland Park for regaining the "Selfish and Stupid Municipality Award" for 2009. Oakland Park represents everything that is wrong with our society in avoiding solutions to a national problem. "Its not our problem so move it somewhere else" is theirs and therein lies the problem. If Oakland Park is "worried about tarnishing their image" they shouldn't because they already have by beating up on the less fortunate and those in need of assistance. A shameful performance, second only to Fort Lauderdale, the desperate, money-hungry, tourist-tramping collective of first rate municipal a-holes.
Reply to this Comment Recommend (2) Report abuse
Rojo1000 wrote on 09/16/2009 07:00:58 AM:
...this is insane, someone helping the poor from his own pocket and the community has to complain about some 30 people getting a decent meal...lets have those government morons try living on the streets and find their own food for a change...priorities are NOT where they should be, shame on oakland park!
Reply to this Comment Recommend (3) Report abuse
PecuecaFea wrote on 09/15/2009 11:43:07 PM:
Hagg & Judy,
Thank you for doing the right thing and extending a hand to those in dire need.
Oakland Park bureaucrats, shame on you.
Reply to this Comment Recommend (5) Report abuse
tdiaz wrote on 09/15/2009 11:22:29 PM:
The city of Oakland Park should reconsider this Issue.
To: Hagg & Judy thumbs up... Good job!!!
(Why isnt the City of Oakland Park, or Broward County, feeding its homeless?)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Clearwire unveils largest WiMax test area
September 15, 2009 10:16 AM PDT
Clearwire unveils largest WiMax test area
by Lance Whitney Font size Print E-mail Share Post a comment Yahoo! BuzzClearwire Communications has created a sandbox more than 20 square miles in size where developers can play with WiMax.
Clearwire announced on Tuesday the launch of the largest test area yet for its 4G WiMax service in Silicon Valley. Covering a wide area from Santa Clara to Mountain View to parts of Palo Alto, the company's Clear 4G WiMAX Innovation Network will let developers test the mobile broadband network on a large scale.
First announced in April by Clearwire, the Clear 4G WiMAX Innovation Network is seen as a testbed to prepare for the launch of commercial WiMax service in the San Francisco Bay area next year.
The 20-square-mile service will hit the campuses of Intel and Google, two investors of Clearwire's 4G WiMax network who've already begun their own own internal 4G testing. Cisco Systems, which will provide equipment to Clearwire, will get coverage in a few months as the network grows.
To play in the new WiMax sandbox, developers must register with Clearwire's development program and describe the WiMax ideas they'd like to pursue. Developers would also need to buy a Clearwire WiMAX USB modem for $49.99. Clearwire says it will provide the service for free to a limited number of qualified developers prior to the commercial launch.
Clearwater will also join and help sponsor the Sprint Open Developer Conference running October 26 to 28 in Santa Clara. The company encourages developers working with Clear 4G WiMax to attend the conference to learn more about the service.
Clearwire touts its Clear 4G WiMax service as offering peak download speeds of up to 10 Mbps, with an average of 3 Mpbs to 6 Mbps. As a comparison, the company says that today's 3G networks can only reach speeds of about 600 kbps to 1.4 Mbps.
WiMax has faced tough competition from LTE for the battle to become the wireless 4G standard. Backed by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, LTE is sometimes forecast as the ultimate victor with potentially the more dominant share of the market. But WiMax is also expected to grow as deployments ramp up.
(Let see: 20 square miles would cover MS and Hialeah with free, fast wireless broadband Internet. Cool.)
Clearwire unveils largest WiMax test area
by Lance Whitney Font size Print E-mail Share Post a comment Yahoo! BuzzClearwire Communications has created a sandbox more than 20 square miles in size where developers can play with WiMax.
Clearwire announced on Tuesday the launch of the largest test area yet for its 4G WiMax service in Silicon Valley. Covering a wide area from Santa Clara to Mountain View to parts of Palo Alto, the company's Clear 4G WiMAX Innovation Network will let developers test the mobile broadband network on a large scale.
First announced in April by Clearwire, the Clear 4G WiMAX Innovation Network is seen as a testbed to prepare for the launch of commercial WiMax service in the San Francisco Bay area next year.
The 20-square-mile service will hit the campuses of Intel and Google, two investors of Clearwire's 4G WiMax network who've already begun their own own internal 4G testing. Cisco Systems, which will provide equipment to Clearwire, will get coverage in a few months as the network grows.
To play in the new WiMax sandbox, developers must register with Clearwire's development program and describe the WiMax ideas they'd like to pursue. Developers would also need to buy a Clearwire WiMAX USB modem for $49.99. Clearwire says it will provide the service for free to a limited number of qualified developers prior to the commercial launch.
Clearwater will also join and help sponsor the Sprint Open Developer Conference running October 26 to 28 in Santa Clara. The company encourages developers working with Clear 4G WiMax to attend the conference to learn more about the service.
Clearwire touts its Clear 4G WiMax service as offering peak download speeds of up to 10 Mbps, with an average of 3 Mpbs to 6 Mbps. As a comparison, the company says that today's 3G networks can only reach speeds of about 600 kbps to 1.4 Mbps.
WiMax has faced tough competition from LTE for the battle to become the wireless 4G standard. Backed by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, LTE is sometimes forecast as the ultimate victor with potentially the more dominant share of the market. But WiMax is also expected to grow as deployments ramp up.
(Let see: 20 square miles would cover MS and Hialeah with free, fast wireless broadband Internet. Cool.)
Switchgrass-to-biofuel test now in second year
Switchgrass-to-biofuel test now in second year
Successful stands are more than three feet tall; no harvesting for now
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updated 10:42 a.m. ET, Mon., Sept . 14, 2009
ARDMORE, Okla. - Watching grass grow is tedious, but researchers in the Oklahoma Panhandle say they'll stare at their switchgrass — all 1,000 acres of it — until they know whether they've found a commercially viable source of biofuel.
The site is billed as the largest such project in the world as scientists try to determine if making ethanol from switchgrass is cost effective. The goal is to determine whether small-scale experiments of using the tall, thin plant native to the Great Plains to make ethanol can be duplicated on a large scale.
And if so, whether farmers and others involved in its production could make a profit.
Supporters acknowledge that cellulosic ethanol is likely years away from commercial use, especially at the level of traditional corn-based ethanol. But they believe it could help expand the industry. Ethanol, an alcohol obtained from the fermentation of sugars and starches, is used as an additive to or a replacement for petroleum-based fuels.
The $2.2 million experiment, a project of the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center that is being led by the Ardmore-based Noble Foundation, began last year with the planting of switchgrass on three fields near Guymon, a town 100 miles north of Amarillo, Texas. The grass will help feed a biorefinery planned in nearby southwest Kansas.
The idea of using switchgrass to make ethanol isn't new, but the scope of the project is unique.
"We think that we can really serve as a catalyst to bring all the players around the table and the 1,000 acres really is the calling card," said Billy Cook, senior vice president and division director for the Noble Foundation's agricultural division.
"We're not going to have a single solution to our energy deficit. It's going to take all the players. Some will be more successful than others, but everybody's got a place at the table right now."
No need to replant
Unlike corn, switchgrass doesn't need to be replanted each year. It also takes less tractor fuel and fertilizer to produce, can be grown on marginal land and doesn't require as much water.
But perhaps most important, advocates say, is that switchgrass isn't used for food. That means it wouldn't drive up grocery prices, which has been a sticking point in the wide-scale production of corn-based ethanol.
A spokesman for an industry trade group calls the use of cell-based feedstocks — such as switchgrass — in ethanol as a "logical evolutionary step." Cellulose, the main ingredient in a plant cell's walls, is the most common organic compound in the world.
"Grain-based ethanol is not going anywhere," said Matt Hartwig of the Washington, D.C.-based Renewable Fuels Association. "Ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks won't replace it, but will add to it and make it a larger industry."
The nation's renewable fuel standard ensures demand for ethanol. In 2007, the Energy and Independence Security Act passed by Congress called for 11.1 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline this year, with that number rising to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
Hartwig said that standard caps the amount of ethanol levels that can be met from corn at 15 billion gallons in 2015. By 2022, 16 billion gallons have to come from cellulosic feedstocks.
Woodchips in Northwest?
Hartwig said the type of feedstocks used in production of cellulosic biofuels could differ by region. While switchgrass would be viable in the Great Plains, wood chips could be used in the Pacific Northwest.
"That makes sense," he said. "That's part of the allure of this."
An Environmental Protection Agency analysis released in May projected the production of 900 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass is economically feasible by 2022. The analysis noted that "the majority of the switchgrass is projected to likely be grown in Oklahoma, where the majority of acres are replacing wheat and hay." Smaller portions would be expected from West Virginia and New Hampshire.
In June 2008, Panhandle farmer Curtis Raines planted the 1,000 acres, using four types of switchgrass seeds. Some of the acreage was watered, some was not; some seeds were planted in fallow fields, others in fields where wheat was recently harvested.
The successful grass stands are now 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall, and researchers likely won't cut the grass this year. In the first year after planting, about a quarter to a third of the switchgrass stand's eventual yield can be harvested. That number jumps to about two-thirds after the second year and 100 percent after the third year, which would be 2011.
Nearby biorefinery planned
Abengoa Bioenergy Corp., the North American division of a company based in Spain, plans to start construction early next year on a $300 million biorefinery in Hugoton, Kan., about 35 miles from Guymon. Completion is expected by early 2012.
Cook said three varieties of the switchgrass proved successful in the Panhandle plots and good stands were found in both irrigated and non-irrigated fields.
Raines does the day-to-day maintenance on the fields, while research programs supervisor Shawn Norton and other Noble Foundation researchers frequently make the 360-mile one-way trip from Ardmore to Guymon to monitor progress on the 1,000 acres. Smaller switchgrass test plots are in Ardmore.
"On this large of acreage, we really didn't know what to expect," Cook said. "We've seen complete stand failures in some situations and 100 percent stand establishments in others. We're pretty comfortable that we've got a pretty good handle on it and we're learning more as we go."
(Swithgrass has a lot of potential, along with algae, for our energy future.)
Successful stands are more than three feet tall; no harvesting for now
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Want to buy a hybrid, but concerned about the cost? Check out these models and comparisons.
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Police execute search warrant in Yale slaying
Police: Fake cop arrested after stopping mayor
Where are the 'Biggest Losers' now?
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Clean water laws often ignored, at cost to health
2,000-year-old menorah depiction found
NBC: U.S. forces kill al-Qaida leader in Somalia
Dangerous staph germs found at U.S. beaches
Most viewed on msnbc.com
Swine flu deaths show this flu is different
Ice cream really can control your brain
Police: Fake cop arrested after stopping mayor
Obama backs extending Patriot Act provisions
Kansas couple’s trash bin tryst takes wrong turn
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updated 10:42 a.m. ET, Mon., Sept . 14, 2009
ARDMORE, Okla. - Watching grass grow is tedious, but researchers in the Oklahoma Panhandle say they'll stare at their switchgrass — all 1,000 acres of it — until they know whether they've found a commercially viable source of biofuel.
The site is billed as the largest such project in the world as scientists try to determine if making ethanol from switchgrass is cost effective. The goal is to determine whether small-scale experiments of using the tall, thin plant native to the Great Plains to make ethanol can be duplicated on a large scale.
And if so, whether farmers and others involved in its production could make a profit.
Supporters acknowledge that cellulosic ethanol is likely years away from commercial use, especially at the level of traditional corn-based ethanol. But they believe it could help expand the industry. Ethanol, an alcohol obtained from the fermentation of sugars and starches, is used as an additive to or a replacement for petroleum-based fuels.
The $2.2 million experiment, a project of the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center that is being led by the Ardmore-based Noble Foundation, began last year with the planting of switchgrass on three fields near Guymon, a town 100 miles north of Amarillo, Texas. The grass will help feed a biorefinery planned in nearby southwest Kansas.
The idea of using switchgrass to make ethanol isn't new, but the scope of the project is unique.
"We think that we can really serve as a catalyst to bring all the players around the table and the 1,000 acres really is the calling card," said Billy Cook, senior vice president and division director for the Noble Foundation's agricultural division.
"We're not going to have a single solution to our energy deficit. It's going to take all the players. Some will be more successful than others, but everybody's got a place at the table right now."
No need to replant
Unlike corn, switchgrass doesn't need to be replanted each year. It also takes less tractor fuel and fertilizer to produce, can be grown on marginal land and doesn't require as much water.
But perhaps most important, advocates say, is that switchgrass isn't used for food. That means it wouldn't drive up grocery prices, which has been a sticking point in the wide-scale production of corn-based ethanol.
A spokesman for an industry trade group calls the use of cell-based feedstocks — such as switchgrass — in ethanol as a "logical evolutionary step." Cellulose, the main ingredient in a plant cell's walls, is the most common organic compound in the world.
"Grain-based ethanol is not going anywhere," said Matt Hartwig of the Washington, D.C.-based Renewable Fuels Association. "Ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks won't replace it, but will add to it and make it a larger industry."
The nation's renewable fuel standard ensures demand for ethanol. In 2007, the Energy and Independence Security Act passed by Congress called for 11.1 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline this year, with that number rising to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
Hartwig said that standard caps the amount of ethanol levels that can be met from corn at 15 billion gallons in 2015. By 2022, 16 billion gallons have to come from cellulosic feedstocks.
Woodchips in Northwest?
Hartwig said the type of feedstocks used in production of cellulosic biofuels could differ by region. While switchgrass would be viable in the Great Plains, wood chips could be used in the Pacific Northwest.
"That makes sense," he said. "That's part of the allure of this."
An Environmental Protection Agency analysis released in May projected the production of 900 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass is economically feasible by 2022. The analysis noted that "the majority of the switchgrass is projected to likely be grown in Oklahoma, where the majority of acres are replacing wheat and hay." Smaller portions would be expected from West Virginia and New Hampshire.
In June 2008, Panhandle farmer Curtis Raines planted the 1,000 acres, using four types of switchgrass seeds. Some of the acreage was watered, some was not; some seeds were planted in fallow fields, others in fields where wheat was recently harvested.
The successful grass stands are now 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall, and researchers likely won't cut the grass this year. In the first year after planting, about a quarter to a third of the switchgrass stand's eventual yield can be harvested. That number jumps to about two-thirds after the second year and 100 percent after the third year, which would be 2011.
Nearby biorefinery planned
Abengoa Bioenergy Corp., the North American division of a company based in Spain, plans to start construction early next year on a $300 million biorefinery in Hugoton, Kan., about 35 miles from Guymon. Completion is expected by early 2012.
Cook said three varieties of the switchgrass proved successful in the Panhandle plots and good stands were found in both irrigated and non-irrigated fields.
Raines does the day-to-day maintenance on the fields, while research programs supervisor Shawn Norton and other Noble Foundation researchers frequently make the 360-mile one-way trip from Ardmore to Guymon to monitor progress on the 1,000 acres. Smaller switchgrass test plots are in Ardmore.
"On this large of acreage, we really didn't know what to expect," Cook said. "We've seen complete stand failures in some situations and 100 percent stand establishments in others. We're pretty comfortable that we've got a pretty good handle on it and we're learning more as we go."
(Swithgrass has a lot of potential, along with algae, for our energy future.)
Home Green Home: The Quickest Carbon Cut
Home Green Home: The Quickest Carbon Cut
Buildings gobble up almost half the world’s energy and spew out nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Making them greener is the quickest, easiest way to avoid a climate catastrophe.
Heavenly Power
Solar panels cover the roof of the Paul VI hall near the cupola of Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican (Photo: Reuters)
Imagine for a moment taking all America’s cars and trucks off the road.
That would be the climate impact of green building, say consultants McKinsey & Co, who reckon that 520 billion dollars spent on building efficiency through 2020 would reduce U.S emissions by 1.1 gigatons every year.
Sounds expensive, but wait: That cash would also buy 1.2 trillion dollars of energy savings in a world facing rising prices and insecurity of supply. No wonder the Empire State Building in New York is going green. The retrofit should slash power bills by 38 percent.
And no wonder the U.S. and China put building efficiency at the heart of their climate plans, while Europeans are dumping wasteful lightbulbs and India is nurturing an eco-building revolution: In the campaign against global warming, green building promises quick wins.
On the other hand, if we do nothing our rapidly urbanizing world will double emissions from buildings by 2030. And because buildings are the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in most countries, this would make it impossible to prevent runaway global warming.
Solid Foundations
The building sector has the largest potential for significantly reducing emissions, says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Energy consumption could be reduced by 30 to 50 percent.
Incredibly, the IPCC says those savings could come at no extra cost. Many buildings need upgrading anyway, and energy-efficiency investments will pay for themselves by saving money on energy bills. And unlike carbon capture or geo-engineering, it can be done today, with proven technologies, many inspired by traditional architecture.
“The Romans did it,” points out Daniel Mill, senior consultant with Camco, one of the world’s biggest energy efficiency consultancies, “they cooled air coming into rooms by funneling it through ducts in the ground.”
Modern buildings by contrast spend 80 to 90 percent of their energy budget on cooling, heating, ventilation, lighting, and appliances.
Building & Climate
In cold climates, better insulation of walls, roofs, floors, and windows is essential. Making buildings airtight, and orienting living areas towards the sun, also reduces heating costs.
In hot climates, better ventilation and protection from the sun are the priorities. Open plan designs help circulate air while roof gardens, thick walls, and shaded corridors reduce demand for air conditioning.
Energy-efficient appliances and lighting solutions, such as skylights, automated lighting, and low-energy bulbs, make a huge difference. Lighting accounts for around 17 percent of global energy consumption, according to Siemens Energy CTO Michael Weinhold.
Power to the People
Space and water heating/cooling systems must be more efficient. Gas-powered systems are cleaner than electric ones, but greener alternatives include geothermal heat pumps, biomass burners, air-to-water heat pumps, wood-burning, and solar-powered systems.
An even more efficient solution, says Daniel Mill, is to share energy. “Rather than each house having individual hot water boilers you have a shared boiler. Underground pipes distribute the water around the neighbourhood.”
The next step is to generate power locally. In Malmo, Sweden, they burn household waste to generate heat and electricity. By going off-grid they don’t lose energy in transmission. The houses are 40 to 60 percent more energy efficient than average European homes, says Mill, and only three percent of their waste goes to landfill.
From Malmo to Masdar City in the Arabian Desert, eco building is a hot topic. And there are plenty of standards to certify efficient and sustainable architecture: Australia’s GreenStar, Japan’s CASBEE, or the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Breaking Old Ground
The problem is that the focus is on new buildings whereas the vast majority of buildings are old.
“Even in 2050, 80 to 85 percent of buildings will be buildings that are standing now,” says Mill. “We have got to do something about our existing stock.”
Some people are retrofitting old homes. In the U.S. homeowners can get 1500 dollar tax credits for making their homes more energy efficient. And in Germany, since 2004, homeowners have been able to get energy efficiency loans at preferential interest rates, reducing German emissions.
There are huge barriers, however.
First, buildings have extremely long life cycles. It is difficult to renovate them on the promise of energy savings in the distant future. The payback time for investments resulting in at least 20 percent reduced energy use ranges “from 15 to 25years in existing buildings”, says the United Nations Environment Programme Sustainable Building Initiative (UNEP-SBCI).
Second, building users, who pay the energy bills, often don’t own the building so are unwilling to invest. The building owners, on the other hand, don’t pay the energy bills and so feel the same.
Third, politicians, lawmakers, and markets have not championed green building.
"Not a SINGLE suggestion (on the Bali Action Plan) from the Parties, including agencies and observers, covered the building sector," complained Kilaparti Ramakrishna, UNEP’s senior advisor on environmental law and conventions, in April 2009.
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UNEP-SBCI points out that of 4500 projects in the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism only 12 seek to reduce energy demand from buildings. “Market forces alone will not bring about emission reductions from buildings,” it concludes in a study that argues that government regulations such as building codes are more effective.
Some governments have made encouraging moves. The UK Carbon Reduction Commitment will from 2010 reward owners of commercial property for cutting energy use and penalize them for wasting energy. The Sustainable Buildings Code will require all new buildings to meet efficiency levels that will increase year by year.
There is also the European Union’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the U.S. government’s Energy Star program.
“We know it can be done, the technology is there,” concludes Daniel Mill. “We need architects and builders designing buildings to suit the climate and environment rather than just to make money.”
editor: James Tulloch
publishing date: September 14, 2009
Buildings gobble up almost half the world’s energy and spew out nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Making them greener is the quickest, easiest way to avoid a climate catastrophe.
Heavenly Power
Solar panels cover the roof of the Paul VI hall near the cupola of Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican (Photo: Reuters)
Imagine for a moment taking all America’s cars and trucks off the road.
That would be the climate impact of green building, say consultants McKinsey & Co, who reckon that 520 billion dollars spent on building efficiency through 2020 would reduce U.S emissions by 1.1 gigatons every year.
Sounds expensive, but wait: That cash would also buy 1.2 trillion dollars of energy savings in a world facing rising prices and insecurity of supply. No wonder the Empire State Building in New York is going green. The retrofit should slash power bills by 38 percent.
And no wonder the U.S. and China put building efficiency at the heart of their climate plans, while Europeans are dumping wasteful lightbulbs and India is nurturing an eco-building revolution: In the campaign against global warming, green building promises quick wins.
On the other hand, if we do nothing our rapidly urbanizing world will double emissions from buildings by 2030. And because buildings are the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in most countries, this would make it impossible to prevent runaway global warming.
Solid Foundations
The building sector has the largest potential for significantly reducing emissions, says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Energy consumption could be reduced by 30 to 50 percent.
Incredibly, the IPCC says those savings could come at no extra cost. Many buildings need upgrading anyway, and energy-efficiency investments will pay for themselves by saving money on energy bills. And unlike carbon capture or geo-engineering, it can be done today, with proven technologies, many inspired by traditional architecture.
“The Romans did it,” points out Daniel Mill, senior consultant with Camco, one of the world’s biggest energy efficiency consultancies, “they cooled air coming into rooms by funneling it through ducts in the ground.”
Modern buildings by contrast spend 80 to 90 percent of their energy budget on cooling, heating, ventilation, lighting, and appliances.
Building & Climate
In cold climates, better insulation of walls, roofs, floors, and windows is essential. Making buildings airtight, and orienting living areas towards the sun, also reduces heating costs.
In hot climates, better ventilation and protection from the sun are the priorities. Open plan designs help circulate air while roof gardens, thick walls, and shaded corridors reduce demand for air conditioning.
Energy-efficient appliances and lighting solutions, such as skylights, automated lighting, and low-energy bulbs, make a huge difference. Lighting accounts for around 17 percent of global energy consumption, according to Siemens Energy CTO Michael Weinhold.
Power to the People
Space and water heating/cooling systems must be more efficient. Gas-powered systems are cleaner than electric ones, but greener alternatives include geothermal heat pumps, biomass burners, air-to-water heat pumps, wood-burning, and solar-powered systems.
An even more efficient solution, says Daniel Mill, is to share energy. “Rather than each house having individual hot water boilers you have a shared boiler. Underground pipes distribute the water around the neighbourhood.”
The next step is to generate power locally. In Malmo, Sweden, they burn household waste to generate heat and electricity. By going off-grid they don’t lose energy in transmission. The houses are 40 to 60 percent more energy efficient than average European homes, says Mill, and only three percent of their waste goes to landfill.
From Malmo to Masdar City in the Arabian Desert, eco building is a hot topic. And there are plenty of standards to certify efficient and sustainable architecture: Australia’s GreenStar, Japan’s CASBEE, or the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Breaking Old Ground
The problem is that the focus is on new buildings whereas the vast majority of buildings are old.
“Even in 2050, 80 to 85 percent of buildings will be buildings that are standing now,” says Mill. “We have got to do something about our existing stock.”
Some people are retrofitting old homes. In the U.S. homeowners can get 1500 dollar tax credits for making their homes more energy efficient. And in Germany, since 2004, homeowners have been able to get energy efficiency loans at preferential interest rates, reducing German emissions.
There are huge barriers, however.
First, buildings have extremely long life cycles. It is difficult to renovate them on the promise of energy savings in the distant future. The payback time for investments resulting in at least 20 percent reduced energy use ranges “from 15 to 25years in existing buildings”, says the United Nations Environment Programme Sustainable Building Initiative (UNEP-SBCI).
Second, building users, who pay the energy bills, often don’t own the building so are unwilling to invest. The building owners, on the other hand, don’t pay the energy bills and so feel the same.
Third, politicians, lawmakers, and markets have not championed green building.
"Not a SINGLE suggestion (on the Bali Action Plan) from the Parties, including agencies and observers, covered the building sector," complained Kilaparti Ramakrishna, UNEP’s senior advisor on environmental law and conventions, in April 2009.
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UNEP-SBCI points out that of 4500 projects in the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism only 12 seek to reduce energy demand from buildings. “Market forces alone will not bring about emission reductions from buildings,” it concludes in a study that argues that government regulations such as building codes are more effective.
Some governments have made encouraging moves. The UK Carbon Reduction Commitment will from 2010 reward owners of commercial property for cutting energy use and penalize them for wasting energy. The Sustainable Buildings Code will require all new buildings to meet efficiency levels that will increase year by year.
There is also the European Union’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the U.S. government’s Energy Star program.
“We know it can be done, the technology is there,” concludes Daniel Mill. “We need architects and builders designing buildings to suit the climate and environment rather than just to make money.”
editor: James Tulloch
publishing date: September 14, 2009
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