Drinking water unsafe at thousands of schools
Federal government has done little to monitor the problem, AP finds
Israel Aguila gets a drink from a water dispenser June 1 at Lovell High School in Cutler, Calif. Signs posted above the kitchen sink warn students not to drink from the tap because the water is tainted with nitrates, a potential carcinogen, and DBCP, a pesticide that scientists say may cause male sterility.
When parents try to control every bite
Overbooked kids? Nah, it’s the parents who stress
Overprepared for kindergarten?
Picking teachers: Should parents weigh in?
Ready for school? Planning checklist
How much homework is too much?
How to pack the perfect school lunch
Do you take first day of school photos? Send them
Kids and parenting videos
Fifth's disease danger for pregnant women
Sept. 26: A common virus among kids, called Fifth's disease, could be dangerous for pregnant women. WVIT's Lisa Carberg reports.
Woman to give up baby after embryo mix-up
Big baby makes big news in Indonesia
Study: Spanked kids have lower IQs
Paul Pierce on Clinton Global Initiative
updated 8:28 a.m. ET, Fri., Sept . 25, 2009
CUTLER, Calif. - Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.
An Associated Press investigation found that contaminants have surfaced at public and private schools in all 50 states — in small towns and inner cities alike.
But the problem has gone largely unmonitored by the federal government, even as the number of water safety violations has multiplied.
"It's an outrage," said Marc Edwards, an engineer at Virginia Tech University who has been honored for his work on water quality. "If a landlord doesn't tell a tenant about lead paint in an apartment, he can go to jail. But we have no system to make people follow the rules to keep school children safe?"
The contamination is most apparent at schools with wells, which represent 8 to 11 percent of the nation's schools. Roughly one of every five schools with its own water supply violated the Safe Drinking Water Act in the past decade, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency analyzed by the AP.
In California's farm belt, wells at some schools are so tainted with pesticides that students have taken to stuffing their backpacks with bottled water for fear of getting sick from the drinking fountain.
Experts and children's advocates complain that responsibility for drinking water is spread among too many local, state and federal agencies, and that risks are going unreported. Finding a solution, they say, would require a costly new national strategy for monitoring water in schools.
Schools with unsafe water represent only a small percentage of the nation's 132,500 schools. And the EPA says the number of violations spiked over the last decade largely because the government has gradually adopted stricter standards for contaminants such as arsenic and some disinfectants.
Children at risk
Many of the same toxins could also be found in water at homes, offices and businesses. But the contaminants are especially dangerous to children, who drink more water per pound than adults and are more vulnerable to the effects of many hazardous substances.
"There's a different risk for kids," said Cynthia Dougherty, head of the EPA's Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water.
Is the water at your child's school contaminated with unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins?
Still, the EPA does not have the authority to require testing for all schools and can only provide guidance on environmental practices.
In recent years, students at a Minnesota elementary school fell ill after drinking tainted water. A young girl in Seattle got sick, too.
The AP analyzed a database showing federal drinking water violations from 1998 to 2008 in schools with their own water supplies. The findings:
Water in about 100 school districts and 2,250 schools breached federal safety standards.
Those schools and districts racked up more than 5,550 separate violations. In 2008, the EPA recorded 577 violations, up from 59 in 1998 — an increase that officials attribute mainly to tougher rules.
California, which has the most schools of any state, also recorded the most violations with 612, followed by Ohio (451), Maine (417), Connecticut (318) and Indiana (289).
Nearly half the violators in California were repeat offenders. One elementary school in Tulare County, in the farm country of the Central Valley, broke safe-water laws 20 times.
The most frequently cited contaminant was coliform bacteria, followed by lead and copper, arsenic and nitrates.
The AP analysis has "clearly identified the tip of an iceberg," said Gina Solomon, a San Francisco physician who serves on an EPA drinking water advisory board. "This tells me there is a widespread problem that needs to be fixed because there are ongoing water quality problems in small and large utilities, as well."
Schools with wells are required to test their water and report any problems to the state, which is supposed to send all violations to the federal government.
But EPA officials acknowledge the agency's database of violations is plagued with errors and omissions. And the agency does not specifically monitor incoming state data on school water quality.
Critics say those practices prevent the government from reliably identifying the worst offenders — and carrying out enforcement.
CONTINUED : ‘Just no excuse’
Saturday, September 26, 2009
California funds biggest energy efficiency plan
California funds biggest energy efficiency plan
Regulators set $3 billion budget for home retrofits, other conservation
California's $3.1 billion energy efficiency budget for utlities includes money to help homeowners use less power from the electricity grid and instead produce some of their own electricity via solar panels.
The best idea America ever had
Sept. 25: In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams, filmmaker Ken Burns talks about his latest project, a history of America's national parks.
Ken Burns: 'The parks represent our best selves'
Fewer crabs mean fewer jobs
Activists urge action as sewage flows into Chesapeake
Running out of rainforest
China’s ‘cancer villages’
Harnessing the wind
Running dry in much of India
Calif. farm areas drying up
Lights out for Earth Hour
New U.S. marine sanctuaries
'Nature's Best' awards
Earth from above
Wrong-embryo baby’s parents laud guardian
1 in 4 teens with own car has been in a crash
‘Single Ladies’ dancing baby is YouTube hit
Most viewed on msnbc.com
updated 4:53 p.m. ET, Fri., Sept . 25, 2009
LOS ANGELES - California is embarking on the most aggressive energy efficiency plan among U.S. states, having earmarked $3.1 billion to retrofit homes and other programs that will cut power needs equivalent to three medium-sized power plants.
The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday unanimously approved plans by Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Gas to provide $3.1 billion in consumer rebates and other efficiency programs over the next three years.
That budget is 42 percent higher than the previous three-year plan. The state pioneered the concept of letting utilities raise rates as they spurred conservation, which still is not the case in many U.S. states.
Edison International's unit Southern California Edison, PG&E Corp's main unit Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric Co and its Southern California Gas Company will funnel the money into a dozen statewide programs and some extra smaller initiatives.
The energy saved through the programs would be the same amount of power produced by three 500 megawatt power plants, according to the CPUC.
The programs will also avoid 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and create between 15,000 and 18,000 jobs.
The move by regulators follows Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's order earlier this month that the state get a third of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020.
The most populous state is also the biggest U.S. alternative energy market, and its environmental standards, including car pollution rules and green building regulations, are models for national and international policies.
To reach California's goals, however, broader programs that have "holistic approaches" to energy efficiency are key, said Michael Peevey, the commission's president, in a statement.
"Capturing the full energy efficiency potential in the state requires more than simply providing rebates to support the installation of the latest and greatest widget," Peevey said.
The funds will kick off the largest residential retrofit effort in the United States. Called CalSPREE, the program aims to cut energy use by 20 percent for up to 130,000 homes in the state by 2012.
The budget also includes $175 million for innovative programs to make zero net energy homes and commercial buildings; $260 million for local efforts to retrofit public sector buildings and save energy; and more than $100 million for education and training programs.
It also phases down subsidies for basic compact fluorescent lamps, shifting to solid state lighting and other efficient light technologies.
Regulators set $3 billion budget for home retrofits, other conservation
California's $3.1 billion energy efficiency budget for utlities includes money to help homeowners use less power from the electricity grid and instead produce some of their own electricity via solar panels.
The best idea America ever had
Sept. 25: In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams, filmmaker Ken Burns talks about his latest project, a history of America's national parks.
Ken Burns: 'The parks represent our best selves'
Fewer crabs mean fewer jobs
Activists urge action as sewage flows into Chesapeake
Running out of rainforest
China’s ‘cancer villages’
Harnessing the wind
Running dry in much of India
Calif. farm areas drying up
Lights out for Earth Hour
New U.S. marine sanctuaries
'Nature's Best' awards
Earth from above
Wrong-embryo baby’s parents laud guardian
1 in 4 teens with own car has been in a crash
‘Single Ladies’ dancing baby is YouTube hit
Most viewed on msnbc.com
updated 4:53 p.m. ET, Fri., Sept . 25, 2009
LOS ANGELES - California is embarking on the most aggressive energy efficiency plan among U.S. states, having earmarked $3.1 billion to retrofit homes and other programs that will cut power needs equivalent to three medium-sized power plants.
The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday unanimously approved plans by Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Gas to provide $3.1 billion in consumer rebates and other efficiency programs over the next three years.
That budget is 42 percent higher than the previous three-year plan. The state pioneered the concept of letting utilities raise rates as they spurred conservation, which still is not the case in many U.S. states.
Edison International's unit Southern California Edison, PG&E Corp's main unit Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric Co and its Southern California Gas Company will funnel the money into a dozen statewide programs and some extra smaller initiatives.
The energy saved through the programs would be the same amount of power produced by three 500 megawatt power plants, according to the CPUC.
The programs will also avoid 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and create between 15,000 and 18,000 jobs.
The move by regulators follows Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's order earlier this month that the state get a third of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020.
The most populous state is also the biggest U.S. alternative energy market, and its environmental standards, including car pollution rules and green building regulations, are models for national and international policies.
To reach California's goals, however, broader programs that have "holistic approaches" to energy efficiency are key, said Michael Peevey, the commission's president, in a statement.
"Capturing the full energy efficiency potential in the state requires more than simply providing rebates to support the installation of the latest and greatest widget," Peevey said.
The funds will kick off the largest residential retrofit effort in the United States. Called CalSPREE, the program aims to cut energy use by 20 percent for up to 130,000 homes in the state by 2012.
The budget also includes $175 million for innovative programs to make zero net energy homes and commercial buildings; $260 million for local efforts to retrofit public sector buildings and save energy; and more than $100 million for education and training programs.
It also phases down subsidies for basic compact fluorescent lamps, shifting to solid state lighting and other efficient light technologies.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Mud-Loving Bacteria Increases Fuel Cell Output by 800%
Mud-Loving Bacteria Increases Fuel Cell Output by 800%
Written by Jerry James Stone
Published on September 1st, 20094 CommentsPosted in Fuel Cells
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst evolved a new strain of the Geobacter microbe that increases power output per cell by 800%.
The hairy mud-loving microbe uses its hairlike filaments–called pili–to produce an electric current from both mud and waste water. The pili are only 5 nanometers in diameter (20,000 times smaller than a human hair); they’re also a thousand times longer than they are wide. But they are strong!
“This new study shows that output can be boosted and it gives us good insights into what it will take to genetically select a higher-power organism.” The work, supported by the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Department of Energy, is described in the August issue of the journal, Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
The pili–usually called nanowires–have an amazing ability to shift electrons. Which is exactly how they create a current from waste and mud.
Creating a unique biofilm, they transfer the electron products to iron in both soil and waste. It’s the same process that allows bacteria to stick to your teeth but requires less flossing.
“In very short order we increased the power output by eight-fold, as a conservative estimate,” says Derek Lovley from the research team. “With this, we’ve broken through the plateau in power production that’s been holding us back in recent years.”
These findings open many doors for microbial fuel cell architecture and will hopefully lead to many applications beyond extracting electricity from crap.
One possibility is treating a single home’s waste in order to produce localized power for the unit. Of course, I rather see that process implemented on a grand scale like for businesses. But it is more likely to take root developing countries.
And for you Apple geeks there might even be a crap-powered iPhone in your future.
The researchers grew the bacteria on graphite electrodes using acetate as a food for the colony. Once the slimy biofilm was formed they added a small 400-millivolt current that forced the Geobacter to lose more electrons.
Lovely and his colleagues first discovered the Geobacter back in 1987 in sediment under the Potomac River. Initially it was used in decontaminating soil as it respires iron and other metals similarly to the way we breathe. It was in 2002 when they discovered it could produce electricity from organic matter and all hell broke loose. But it wasn’t til 2005 that the electrically conductive pili were discovered.
A genus of proteobacteria, Geobacter are an anaerobic respiration bacterial species. It was the first organism with the ability to oxidize radioactive metals and petroleum compounds into environmentally benign carbon dioxide
Written by Jerry James Stone
Published on September 1st, 20094 CommentsPosted in Fuel Cells
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst evolved a new strain of the Geobacter microbe that increases power output per cell by 800%.
The hairy mud-loving microbe uses its hairlike filaments–called pili–to produce an electric current from both mud and waste water. The pili are only 5 nanometers in diameter (20,000 times smaller than a human hair); they’re also a thousand times longer than they are wide. But they are strong!
“This new study shows that output can be boosted and it gives us good insights into what it will take to genetically select a higher-power organism.” The work, supported by the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Department of Energy, is described in the August issue of the journal, Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
The pili–usually called nanowires–have an amazing ability to shift electrons. Which is exactly how they create a current from waste and mud.
Creating a unique biofilm, they transfer the electron products to iron in both soil and waste. It’s the same process that allows bacteria to stick to your teeth but requires less flossing.
“In very short order we increased the power output by eight-fold, as a conservative estimate,” says Derek Lovley from the research team. “With this, we’ve broken through the plateau in power production that’s been holding us back in recent years.”
These findings open many doors for microbial fuel cell architecture and will hopefully lead to many applications beyond extracting electricity from crap.
One possibility is treating a single home’s waste in order to produce localized power for the unit. Of course, I rather see that process implemented on a grand scale like for businesses. But it is more likely to take root developing countries.
And for you Apple geeks there might even be a crap-powered iPhone in your future.
The researchers grew the bacteria on graphite electrodes using acetate as a food for the colony. Once the slimy biofilm was formed they added a small 400-millivolt current that forced the Geobacter to lose more electrons.
Lovely and his colleagues first discovered the Geobacter back in 1987 in sediment under the Potomac River. Initially it was used in decontaminating soil as it respires iron and other metals similarly to the way we breathe. It was in 2002 when they discovered it could produce electricity from organic matter and all hell broke loose. But it wasn’t til 2005 that the electrically conductive pili were discovered.
A genus of proteobacteria, Geobacter are an anaerobic respiration bacterial species. It was the first organism with the ability to oxidize radioactive metals and petroleum compounds into environmentally benign carbon dioxide
Lessons in Loving While My Father Was Dying
Jason Mannino - Conscious Career Coach, Life Coach, Speaker/Trainer, Founder: The People Agenda
Posted: September 25, 2009 12:39 PM BIO
Lessons in Loving While My Father Was Dying
Read More: Cancer, Castro, Death, Death & Dying, Death And Dying, Dying, Florida, Gay, Lung Cancer, Welfare, Living News
Fifteen years ago at my grandmother's funeral was the last time I saw my dad. Two weeks ago I was standing in front of him face to face. It wasn't the visit I had hoped for. He had departed his body 3 days earlier, and I was in attendance at his funeral. As I looked at my dad's lifeless body I said goodbye in my mind as a deep sense of love, gratitude, and amazement, mixed with the grief that comes from not wanting to let go, swept over me.
The gratitude and amazement were directly related to the journey of resolution and healing I had begun with my father nine months ago. Last November, I heeded the call to heal and resolve what had essentially been thirty years of an estranged relationship. Thirty years ago my mom and dad split up. The catalyst was a torrid affair he chose not to end. So, my mother changed the locks and put his stuff on the porch. It was a terrifying time. My dad's business went bankrupt and my mother was left with very little resources to take care of me and my two brothers. She went on welfare and within a couple of years got back to work and was able to keep our home. Although, I did have some interaction with my father, at least until high school, it was always very strained and cold. The truth is, he and his wife embarrassed me. I internalized all of the judgments my mother had passed, who largely remained embittered and cynical about the situation until she died in 2003. They were uneducated, lacked any sort of style, class, were essentially socially inept, and of course, my father was a "no good_____," you fill in the blank.
Regardless, ten years ago, while living in San Francisco, I began the process of healing my relationship with him on a mental level. At that time standing in a gay bar in the Castro with beer in hand, and shockingly loud dance music that you had to scream over, a friend asked, "WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FATHER LIKE?!" My response, "I DON'T HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH MY FATHER!" In that moment something shifted and I immediately realized that I did indeed have a relationship with my father. I knew in that moment that I had a choice to make, and I did. I knew that not only was "I don't have a relationship with my father," the description of my "relationship" with my father, but also that I could choose the relationship that I desired.
As a result of this realization I began the process of reconnecting with my father and even moving into forgiveness. Six months earlier my father learned from an uninvited source that me and my twin brother are gay. My father wasn't happy with this discovery and at one point on a birthday had the audacity to suggest that I consider "homo-reparative" therapy. I said to my dad, "Dad, it's my birthday. We can end this conversation now and never speak again, or you can wish me a happy birthday." He wished me a happy birthday. Our relationship continued strained, with a phone call every few months at most. After my mother died in 2003 I decided, again, that I would attempt to repair my relationship with my only living parent, and continued infrequent, superficial, yet cordial phone calls.
Nine months ago I realized that my movement towards resolution over those years was a process of going through the motions, in which I had not let go of all my old judgment or misinterpretations. At this point, I had not fully embraced my father in my heart. There was more work to do. So, my intention embarking upon this journey nine months ago was to resolve the past and learn to love my father.
I had no idea last November, when I made the call with this intention that he had just been diagnosed with Liver Cancer. You might say my timing was uncanny. I executed a full on action plan to heal my relationship with him and nurture him from afar. It included daily prayers, and visualizations in alignment with my desired outcome. It included weekly calls and e-mails keeping him abreast of what was happening in my life. It included doing deep emotional work to resolve all of the old judgments and beliefs that I had bought into many years ago.
At moments I found myself feeling resentful. I resented that I was finally moving into a more loving relationship with my dad at a time when every conversation we had was about the latest trip to his oncologist, the latest diagnosis on whether or not this cancer battle would be won, and the recent hellacious, treatment side effects. I found myself asking, "When do I get to have a father? Why am I the one doing the nurturing here?" An answer came quickly, and I realized I was being given an opportunity to act in alignment with the level of emotional and spiritual maturity I had realized since my mother's death six years earlier. I was being given an opportunity to fully reside in self-loving and understand that in order to effectively nurture another I must deeply nurture myself.
My dad opted for a year-long oral chemotherapy treatment that had killer side effects. One month ago he was rushed back to the hospital to discover the cancer spread to his lungs. The doctors made it clear, "There is nothing more we could do." When these words landed on my ears from my brother's mouth 3000k miles away my body leaped into survival mode. My heart began racing and sweat began to ooze from my pores. I thought to myself, "Who makes these decisions?" "There is nothing more we can do." I had heard these words six years prior when my mother died and we were forced to make the choice to remove her life support. I began asking, "What do you mean? How can this be? This isn't right! This is wrong! He is a young man (69)! What do you mean there is nothing more we can do? He just has to die?!? This can't be!" I am not sure exactly who I thought I was being in that moment, suggesting that I had the power to say what could and couldn't be in regards to my dad's death. I realized quickly that this was my ego's grand attempt at control. It also dawned on me that in my experience of death it is this initial loss of ego control that is perhaps the greatest cause of the pain that is experienced upon losing a loved one. I have learned from some of my greatest teachers that suffering is actually the sum of pain times resistance (suffering=pain x resistance). In this context it is the ego's resistance to letting go of control rather than accepting the painful circumstance that yields suffering.
My dad on the other hand was a fine example of ease and grace as he went through this experience. Less than two weeks after being sent home with the message, "There is nothing more we can do," he expired his body. I am faithful that although he could have easily been around for another 6 months or more that he and spirit conspired to ease his suffering and the suffering of his loved ones by "checking out," before his cancer reared an even uglier head.
My dad lived a humble existence. For many years I judged the fact that he never made a lot of money and left my mother on welfare. I didn't know at that time that all of the events of my past were brought into my reality to teach lessons that were meant uniquely for me. I am grateful for the lessons I have received through my father's willingness to play his role perfectly in my life. Some of the lessons include turning inward to know the boundless love that exists for me inside. When I realized the inward loving that resides within me I then realized that it is not possible for a parent to not love a child. The simple act of conception itself is a divine act made of loving. In this realization for what felt like the first time in my heart I came to embrace My Father.
After fifteen years I decided I would go see my father. Prior to my trip a colleague asked, "When you visit, what would you like him to say to you?" Through tears I answered, "I want him to say, 'I am proud of you.'" I thought I would make it while he was still living. Alas, that was not what spirit had in store for me. However, after my last conversation with him, while he was still in the hospital, he was fairly coherent, and asked, "What are you up to?" I shared some significant accomplishments with him that were going on at the time. He responded, "I am proud of you." That was the last conversation I had with my father alive.
Please share you comments - how has your experience of going through the dying process with someone expanded your consciousness or brought you into expanded loving.
(My Dad died at age 84 from an aortic valve stenosis. It happened suddenly and I grieved for a month, without crying once. We had a strained relationship also
from the time I became an adolescent throughout most of my life. When I got out of the Army I resolved to repair our relationship, if I could, and made several attempts, unsuccessfully. He would just NOT allow me to get emotionally closer to him. My Mom died of lung cancer after fighting it for 18 months. I was amazed how well she took the inevitability of death so well. After four course of chemotherapy and its terrible side effects, she just said, enough. We had several long heartfelt talks, during which I realized for the first time that she was somewhat disappointed that I did not give her grandchildren to spoil. I wish we had taken out the family picture books and went over them to review all the good times we had in the past, as a family. We did some remembering, but there was a lot left out. I realized that when my sister and I were cleaning out her things afterward. We spent an entire afternoon laughing and crying as the memories were relived and remembered. She had become very spiritual in her later years and was sure she was going to a better place. I am sure she did.)
You can receive Jason's weekly posts by checking become a fan at the top.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-mannino/lessons-in-loving-while-m_b_299441.html
Posted: September 25, 2009 12:39 PM BIO
Lessons in Loving While My Father Was Dying
Read More: Cancer, Castro, Death, Death & Dying, Death And Dying, Dying, Florida, Gay, Lung Cancer, Welfare, Living News
Fifteen years ago at my grandmother's funeral was the last time I saw my dad. Two weeks ago I was standing in front of him face to face. It wasn't the visit I had hoped for. He had departed his body 3 days earlier, and I was in attendance at his funeral. As I looked at my dad's lifeless body I said goodbye in my mind as a deep sense of love, gratitude, and amazement, mixed with the grief that comes from not wanting to let go, swept over me.
The gratitude and amazement were directly related to the journey of resolution and healing I had begun with my father nine months ago. Last November, I heeded the call to heal and resolve what had essentially been thirty years of an estranged relationship. Thirty years ago my mom and dad split up. The catalyst was a torrid affair he chose not to end. So, my mother changed the locks and put his stuff on the porch. It was a terrifying time. My dad's business went bankrupt and my mother was left with very little resources to take care of me and my two brothers. She went on welfare and within a couple of years got back to work and was able to keep our home. Although, I did have some interaction with my father, at least until high school, it was always very strained and cold. The truth is, he and his wife embarrassed me. I internalized all of the judgments my mother had passed, who largely remained embittered and cynical about the situation until she died in 2003. They were uneducated, lacked any sort of style, class, were essentially socially inept, and of course, my father was a "no good_____," you fill in the blank.
Regardless, ten years ago, while living in San Francisco, I began the process of healing my relationship with him on a mental level. At that time standing in a gay bar in the Castro with beer in hand, and shockingly loud dance music that you had to scream over, a friend asked, "WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FATHER LIKE?!" My response, "I DON'T HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH MY FATHER!" In that moment something shifted and I immediately realized that I did indeed have a relationship with my father. I knew in that moment that I had a choice to make, and I did. I knew that not only was "I don't have a relationship with my father," the description of my "relationship" with my father, but also that I could choose the relationship that I desired.
As a result of this realization I began the process of reconnecting with my father and even moving into forgiveness. Six months earlier my father learned from an uninvited source that me and my twin brother are gay. My father wasn't happy with this discovery and at one point on a birthday had the audacity to suggest that I consider "homo-reparative" therapy. I said to my dad, "Dad, it's my birthday. We can end this conversation now and never speak again, or you can wish me a happy birthday." He wished me a happy birthday. Our relationship continued strained, with a phone call every few months at most. After my mother died in 2003 I decided, again, that I would attempt to repair my relationship with my only living parent, and continued infrequent, superficial, yet cordial phone calls.
Nine months ago I realized that my movement towards resolution over those years was a process of going through the motions, in which I had not let go of all my old judgment or misinterpretations. At this point, I had not fully embraced my father in my heart. There was more work to do. So, my intention embarking upon this journey nine months ago was to resolve the past and learn to love my father.
I had no idea last November, when I made the call with this intention that he had just been diagnosed with Liver Cancer. You might say my timing was uncanny. I executed a full on action plan to heal my relationship with him and nurture him from afar. It included daily prayers, and visualizations in alignment with my desired outcome. It included weekly calls and e-mails keeping him abreast of what was happening in my life. It included doing deep emotional work to resolve all of the old judgments and beliefs that I had bought into many years ago.
At moments I found myself feeling resentful. I resented that I was finally moving into a more loving relationship with my dad at a time when every conversation we had was about the latest trip to his oncologist, the latest diagnosis on whether or not this cancer battle would be won, and the recent hellacious, treatment side effects. I found myself asking, "When do I get to have a father? Why am I the one doing the nurturing here?" An answer came quickly, and I realized I was being given an opportunity to act in alignment with the level of emotional and spiritual maturity I had realized since my mother's death six years earlier. I was being given an opportunity to fully reside in self-loving and understand that in order to effectively nurture another I must deeply nurture myself.
My dad opted for a year-long oral chemotherapy treatment that had killer side effects. One month ago he was rushed back to the hospital to discover the cancer spread to his lungs. The doctors made it clear, "There is nothing more we could do." When these words landed on my ears from my brother's mouth 3000k miles away my body leaped into survival mode. My heart began racing and sweat began to ooze from my pores. I thought to myself, "Who makes these decisions?" "There is nothing more we can do." I had heard these words six years prior when my mother died and we were forced to make the choice to remove her life support. I began asking, "What do you mean? How can this be? This isn't right! This is wrong! He is a young man (69)! What do you mean there is nothing more we can do? He just has to die?!? This can't be!" I am not sure exactly who I thought I was being in that moment, suggesting that I had the power to say what could and couldn't be in regards to my dad's death. I realized quickly that this was my ego's grand attempt at control. It also dawned on me that in my experience of death it is this initial loss of ego control that is perhaps the greatest cause of the pain that is experienced upon losing a loved one. I have learned from some of my greatest teachers that suffering is actually the sum of pain times resistance (suffering=pain x resistance). In this context it is the ego's resistance to letting go of control rather than accepting the painful circumstance that yields suffering.
My dad on the other hand was a fine example of ease and grace as he went through this experience. Less than two weeks after being sent home with the message, "There is nothing more we can do," he expired his body. I am faithful that although he could have easily been around for another 6 months or more that he and spirit conspired to ease his suffering and the suffering of his loved ones by "checking out," before his cancer reared an even uglier head.
My dad lived a humble existence. For many years I judged the fact that he never made a lot of money and left my mother on welfare. I didn't know at that time that all of the events of my past were brought into my reality to teach lessons that were meant uniquely for me. I am grateful for the lessons I have received through my father's willingness to play his role perfectly in my life. Some of the lessons include turning inward to know the boundless love that exists for me inside. When I realized the inward loving that resides within me I then realized that it is not possible for a parent to not love a child. The simple act of conception itself is a divine act made of loving. In this realization for what felt like the first time in my heart I came to embrace My Father.
After fifteen years I decided I would go see my father. Prior to my trip a colleague asked, "When you visit, what would you like him to say to you?" Through tears I answered, "I want him to say, 'I am proud of you.'" I thought I would make it while he was still living. Alas, that was not what spirit had in store for me. However, after my last conversation with him, while he was still in the hospital, he was fairly coherent, and asked, "What are you up to?" I shared some significant accomplishments with him that were going on at the time. He responded, "I am proud of you." That was the last conversation I had with my father alive.
Please share you comments - how has your experience of going through the dying process with someone expanded your consciousness or brought you into expanded loving.
(My Dad died at age 84 from an aortic valve stenosis. It happened suddenly and I grieved for a month, without crying once. We had a strained relationship also
from the time I became an adolescent throughout most of my life. When I got out of the Army I resolved to repair our relationship, if I could, and made several attempts, unsuccessfully. He would just NOT allow me to get emotionally closer to him. My Mom died of lung cancer after fighting it for 18 months. I was amazed how well she took the inevitability of death so well. After four course of chemotherapy and its terrible side effects, she just said, enough. We had several long heartfelt talks, during which I realized for the first time that she was somewhat disappointed that I did not give her grandchildren to spoil. I wish we had taken out the family picture books and went over them to review all the good times we had in the past, as a family. We did some remembering, but there was a lot left out. I realized that when my sister and I were cleaning out her things afterward. We spent an entire afternoon laughing and crying as the memories were relived and remembered. She had become very spiritual in her later years and was sure she was going to a better place. I am sure she did.)
You can receive Jason's weekly posts by checking become a fan at the top.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-mannino/lessons-in-loving-while-m_b_299441.html
Save Money on Groceries with Free Local Fruit
Save Money on Groceries with Free Local Fruit
Harvesting fruit from abandoned fruit trees can fill your pantry for free.
By Marye Audet
Lancaster, TX, USA | Fri Sep 25 15:30:00 GMT 2009
READ MORE ABOUT:
Buy Local | Fruit | Get Recession-Ready | Local Food | Penny Pinching
Free fruit is always an easy way to save money on groceries. Not everyone has an orchard, especially in urban areas but you can almost always find a fruit tree or two on any street in any town. Much of the fruit from these trees just rots on the branches or on the ground. People just don't have time to deal with homegrown fruit anymore and so many of your neighbors may be leaving the fruit to the bees.
Harvesting Abandoned Fruit for Free
In my immediate area there are several kinds of trees from apple to wild plum. The wild plums tend to be growing along the creek beds and hedgerows. Usually these are areas where you can feel free to forage unless you are trespassing on someone's property.
Pear, peach, and apple trees are abundant in people's yards. Of course you can't just hop their fence and start picking so here are some tips for harvesting free fruit.
People's Yards or Business Locations
If the tree is in someone's yard the best thing to do is to keep an eye on it for signs that they are harvesting. If they aren't there will be signs of rotting fruit around the base of the tree. The best thing to do is to go up to the door, or approach them when they are working outside and ask if they need help in harvesting the fruit.
That will usually spark a lively conversation and you can offer to harvest, and give them part of the harvested fruit. Not only is it easy, but you may have made a new friend. Most of the time people are thrilled to get rid of the fruit that encourages vermin and bees in the suburbs.
Abandoned Property
It gets a little trickier when the property has been abandoned. If it has a real estate sign out front you can contact the real estate office and ask for permission to harvest. Be sure to get the name of the person you are speaking with in case someone questions you.
If the property has long been abandoned and there is no contact number it will probably be fine if you harvest the fruit. Just be ready to leave if someone asks you to.
City Owned Property
Sometimes trees will be on property that is owned by the city such as roadsides, city parks, and nature areas. It is best to contact the city for permission in this case. Usually you will be given the go ahead; they really don't care about the fruit. Get the name of the person who gave you permission in case there is any question.
Be Neighborly
Always leave the area cleaner than you found it. Take home the rotting fruit that you can't use and put it on your compost. It's also a nice gesture to bring the person you spoke with a jar of your homemade plum jelly, or applesauce that you made from the fruit you collected.
There is still a lot of wild food to forage even if you live in the city. You just need to think outside the grocery store mentality and keep your eyes open for possibilities. Saving money on grocery shopping can allow you to pay off a bill or stash a little extra cash for a rainy day. Urban foraging is a great way to make it happen.
Simple Urban Foraging Rules
This urban foraging video from G-Word has some great ideas but a few dangers that I would like to point out:
You should never pick anything from someone else's yard without permission. It's asking for trouble.
The same rule applies for a business. Don't take anything without asking.
Roadside weeds may well be edible but they are steeped in automobile exhaust. Not very appetizing or organic.
Never eat something, especially in an urban setting, without washing it first. Even if it hasn't been hit with auto exhaust dog pee is not very appetizing.
Be sure to invest in a good guide to foraging so that you don't mix up something edible with something poisonous.
Foraging for wild and abandoned foods is a good way to save money but be safe and neighborly in the process.
More articles saving money
6 Tips to Save Tons of Money on Sustainable Foods
Find Local Grocery Deals
Get Recession-Ready: 10 Ways to Tighten Your Belt in the Kitchen
(I live across the street from a middle school and have 3 large mango trees in my front yard. The kids come into my yard and try to knock the fruits down with stones, poles, etc. when it comes into season. I love mangos myself and would like to harvest the mangos myself, but I admire the boys initiative and allow them to take 2 mangos each, per day. My concern is if they get hurt throwing the stones, etc. Nobody has been hurt yet, but there has been a few close calls.)
Harvesting fruit from abandoned fruit trees can fill your pantry for free.
By Marye Audet
Lancaster, TX, USA | Fri Sep 25 15:30:00 GMT 2009
READ MORE ABOUT:
Buy Local | Fruit | Get Recession-Ready | Local Food | Penny Pinching
Free fruit is always an easy way to save money on groceries. Not everyone has an orchard, especially in urban areas but you can almost always find a fruit tree or two on any street in any town. Much of the fruit from these trees just rots on the branches or on the ground. People just don't have time to deal with homegrown fruit anymore and so many of your neighbors may be leaving the fruit to the bees.
Harvesting Abandoned Fruit for Free
In my immediate area there are several kinds of trees from apple to wild plum. The wild plums tend to be growing along the creek beds and hedgerows. Usually these are areas where you can feel free to forage unless you are trespassing on someone's property.
Pear, peach, and apple trees are abundant in people's yards. Of course you can't just hop their fence and start picking so here are some tips for harvesting free fruit.
People's Yards or Business Locations
If the tree is in someone's yard the best thing to do is to keep an eye on it for signs that they are harvesting. If they aren't there will be signs of rotting fruit around the base of the tree. The best thing to do is to go up to the door, or approach them when they are working outside and ask if they need help in harvesting the fruit.
That will usually spark a lively conversation and you can offer to harvest, and give them part of the harvested fruit. Not only is it easy, but you may have made a new friend. Most of the time people are thrilled to get rid of the fruit that encourages vermin and bees in the suburbs.
Abandoned Property
It gets a little trickier when the property has been abandoned. If it has a real estate sign out front you can contact the real estate office and ask for permission to harvest. Be sure to get the name of the person you are speaking with in case someone questions you.
If the property has long been abandoned and there is no contact number it will probably be fine if you harvest the fruit. Just be ready to leave if someone asks you to.
City Owned Property
Sometimes trees will be on property that is owned by the city such as roadsides, city parks, and nature areas. It is best to contact the city for permission in this case. Usually you will be given the go ahead; they really don't care about the fruit. Get the name of the person who gave you permission in case there is any question.
Be Neighborly
Always leave the area cleaner than you found it. Take home the rotting fruit that you can't use and put it on your compost. It's also a nice gesture to bring the person you spoke with a jar of your homemade plum jelly, or applesauce that you made from the fruit you collected.
There is still a lot of wild food to forage even if you live in the city. You just need to think outside the grocery store mentality and keep your eyes open for possibilities. Saving money on grocery shopping can allow you to pay off a bill or stash a little extra cash for a rainy day. Urban foraging is a great way to make it happen.
Simple Urban Foraging Rules
This urban foraging video from G-Word has some great ideas but a few dangers that I would like to point out:
You should never pick anything from someone else's yard without permission. It's asking for trouble.
The same rule applies for a business. Don't take anything without asking.
Roadside weeds may well be edible but they are steeped in automobile exhaust. Not very appetizing or organic.
Never eat something, especially in an urban setting, without washing it first. Even if it hasn't been hit with auto exhaust dog pee is not very appetizing.
Be sure to invest in a good guide to foraging so that you don't mix up something edible with something poisonous.
Foraging for wild and abandoned foods is a good way to save money but be safe and neighborly in the process.
More articles saving money
6 Tips to Save Tons of Money on Sustainable Foods
Find Local Grocery Deals
Get Recession-Ready: 10 Ways to Tighten Your Belt in the Kitchen
(I live across the street from a middle school and have 3 large mango trees in my front yard. The kids come into my yard and try to knock the fruits down with stones, poles, etc. when it comes into season. I love mangos myself and would like to harvest the mangos myself, but I admire the boys initiative and allow them to take 2 mangos each, per day. My concern is if they get hurt throwing the stones, etc. Nobody has been hurt yet, but there has been a few close calls.)
Care About the Earth? Four Simple Ways to Take Action
Avital Binshtock, SIERRA magazine's lifestyle editor and editor of the Sierra Club's Green Life blog.
Posted: September 25, 2009 12:17 PM BIO
Care About the Earth? Four Simple Ways to Take Action
Read More: Activism, Beach Cleanup, Change, Charity, Climate Crossroads, Climate Week Nyc, Community, Community Organizing, Congress, Constituents, Earth, Editors, Elected Officials, Environment, Environmental Activism, Fundraising, Gandhi, Green, Green Living, Letter Writing, Nonprofits, Party, Planet, Sierra Club, Social Life, Social Networking, Tree Planting, Green News
It's officially Climate Week, so in the spirit of being environmentally proactive, we're providing tips about how to take Earth matters into your own hands. In case you feel discouraged that you can't do enough, remember Gandhi's words: "Almost everything you do will seem insignificant, but it is very important that you do it."
1. Band Together: There's power in numbers, so lead the charge by organizing a neighborhood or community group that can come together to create positive planetary change. Pick an earth-changing activity such as beach-cleaning, tree-planting (make sure you know the proper methods), or letter-writing (see No. 4). Promote your activity with a phone tree or email forwards.
2. Get Online: If the above tip doesn't ring true for you because you can't find a group of interested enough people proximal enough to you, you've got another option: Get active online. There are plenty of green petitions to sign and forward, environmental organizations to check out, and social networks to join. At the Sierra Club's Climate Crossroads, for example, you can post your actions and follow others', or join or create an activist group.
3. Throw a Party: Who says that doing good work can't be fun? In fact, activist work is meant to be social. There are many ways to bring buds together in the name of positive progress. One idea is to pick a worthy environmental nonprofit, as well as an eco-aware bar or restaurant, and host a fundraiser there, with proceeds going to your chosen charity.
4. Put Pen to Paper: Writing a letter has always been a powerful act: Leaders pay attention when enough constituents contact them with the same concern. Write a well-crafted letter to elected representatives, and to editors of influential publications, to louden the collective change-fueling voice. Address any environmental issue you feel strongly about; anecdotal evidence shows that it only takes 10 to 20 letters to get a congressperson to perk up
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/avital-binshtock/care-about-the-earth-four_b_299252.html
Posted: September 25, 2009 12:17 PM BIO
Care About the Earth? Four Simple Ways to Take Action
Read More: Activism, Beach Cleanup, Change, Charity, Climate Crossroads, Climate Week Nyc, Community, Community Organizing, Congress, Constituents, Earth, Editors, Elected Officials, Environment, Environmental Activism, Fundraising, Gandhi, Green, Green Living, Letter Writing, Nonprofits, Party, Planet, Sierra Club, Social Life, Social Networking, Tree Planting, Green News
It's officially Climate Week, so in the spirit of being environmentally proactive, we're providing tips about how to take Earth matters into your own hands. In case you feel discouraged that you can't do enough, remember Gandhi's words: "Almost everything you do will seem insignificant, but it is very important that you do it."
1. Band Together: There's power in numbers, so lead the charge by organizing a neighborhood or community group that can come together to create positive planetary change. Pick an earth-changing activity such as beach-cleaning, tree-planting (make sure you know the proper methods), or letter-writing (see No. 4). Promote your activity with a phone tree or email forwards.
2. Get Online: If the above tip doesn't ring true for you because you can't find a group of interested enough people proximal enough to you, you've got another option: Get active online. There are plenty of green petitions to sign and forward, environmental organizations to check out, and social networks to join. At the Sierra Club's Climate Crossroads, for example, you can post your actions and follow others', or join or create an activist group.
3. Throw a Party: Who says that doing good work can't be fun? In fact, activist work is meant to be social. There are many ways to bring buds together in the name of positive progress. One idea is to pick a worthy environmental nonprofit, as well as an eco-aware bar or restaurant, and host a fundraiser there, with proceeds going to your chosen charity.
4. Put Pen to Paper: Writing a letter has always been a powerful act: Leaders pay attention when enough constituents contact them with the same concern. Write a well-crafted letter to elected representatives, and to editors of influential publications, to louden the collective change-fueling voice. Address any environmental issue you feel strongly about; anecdotal evidence shows that it only takes 10 to 20 letters to get a congressperson to perk up
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/avital-binshtock/care-about-the-earth-four_b_299252.html
Study Gives Green Light to Green Roofs
Study Gives Green Light to Green Roofs
By David Bois | Thursday, September 24, 2009 2:00 PM ET
Material selection and system design are certainly critical considerations that go into constructing a modern, efficient building with minimized environmental impact. But the quest for sustainable construction doesn't stop with the windows, or with recycled materials, or with water recycling.
No, to cap it all off, you've got to think of the roof. And Tonic reported back in July of findings that suggested that white roofs could mimic the albedo effect provided by the ice caps by reflecting incoming solar energy and driving temperatures and down cooling costs.
Now, a Michigan State University study suggests that roof design should go green, literally and figuratively.
As reported by EurekAlert, the study currently published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology involved the monitoring of green roofs installed on several large urban buildings in Maryland and Michigan.
The MSU team calculates that a broad, urban-scale approach to installing green roofs -- those that include soil and living grass and other plant life -- could provide the equivalent benefit of removing thousands of vehicles from the roads.
It's long been known that a green roof can serve to cool a building down and efficiently capture rainwater. But the MSU study appears to be among the first to actually quantify the benefits provided by a green roof design, particularly as they relate to greenhouse gas emissions.
(Green roofs are also supposed to last twice as long as conventional roofs. I painted my roof with white paint, after sealing it first. A green roof would be the next step. My roof is pitched so having soil, plants, and flowers on it will probably be a problem. My gutters funnel rainwater into my rain barrel. I drilled 12 inch holes in my converted garbage can, mostly at the top, to catch the rainwater. Holes much bigger might allow rats and mice to gain entry.Urban flat roofs seem much better suited for green roofs.)
By David Bois | Thursday, September 24, 2009 2:00 PM ET
Material selection and system design are certainly critical considerations that go into constructing a modern, efficient building with minimized environmental impact. But the quest for sustainable construction doesn't stop with the windows, or with recycled materials, or with water recycling.
No, to cap it all off, you've got to think of the roof. And Tonic reported back in July of findings that suggested that white roofs could mimic the albedo effect provided by the ice caps by reflecting incoming solar energy and driving temperatures and down cooling costs.
Now, a Michigan State University study suggests that roof design should go green, literally and figuratively.
As reported by EurekAlert, the study currently published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology involved the monitoring of green roofs installed on several large urban buildings in Maryland and Michigan.
The MSU team calculates that a broad, urban-scale approach to installing green roofs -- those that include soil and living grass and other plant life -- could provide the equivalent benefit of removing thousands of vehicles from the roads.
It's long been known that a green roof can serve to cool a building down and efficiently capture rainwater. But the MSU study appears to be among the first to actually quantify the benefits provided by a green roof design, particularly as they relate to greenhouse gas emissions.
(Green roofs are also supposed to last twice as long as conventional roofs. I painted my roof with white paint, after sealing it first. A green roof would be the next step. My roof is pitched so having soil, plants, and flowers on it will probably be a problem. My gutters funnel rainwater into my rain barrel. I drilled 12 inch holes in my converted garbage can, mostly at the top, to catch the rainwater. Holes much bigger might allow rats and mice to gain entry.Urban flat roofs seem much better suited for green roofs.)
Fuel Cell Buckeye Bullet Breaks 300 mph
Written by Christopher DeMorro
Published on September 25th, 2009, Posted in Fuel Cells
A student engineering team from Ohio State University broke into the 300 mph club yesterday with their hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle. The Buckeye Bullet 2 averaged 300.992 MPH yesterday in the flying kilometer, with a top recorded speed of 304 MPH.
» See also: Student-Built, Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Powered Boat to Set Sail on Hudson River
» Get Gas 2.0 by RSS or sign up by email.
The original Buckeye Bullet was the first electric vehicle to break the 300 MPH barrier, and the Buckeye Bullet 2 continues that legacy, in hydrogen form. This vehicle differs from Jesse Jame’s hydrogen fuel streamliner in that it actually went the whole distance at a sanctioned event, and the power comes from a custom 700 horse electric engine fed by hydrogen fuel cells. Jesse Jame’s vehicle was a big-block Chevy fueled by actual hydrogen.
The record run was set at the Bonneville Salt Flats yesterday, though it has not yet been officially confirmed. The front-wheel drive Buckeye Bullet 2 now holds the FIA record for the first hydrogen vehicle to break 300 MPH, and the fastest recorded speed for an electric drive vehicle. How come I never got to do cool things like this in college? I just had a lot of friggin’ homework…
Kudos to the Buckeyes though, this is quite an achievement, one that will hopefully be made “officially official” in the coming days.
Source: Buckeye Bullet Blog
Tags: bonneville, buckeye, buckeye bullet, buckeye bullet 2, buckeyebullet, buckeyes, FIA, flats, land speed, land speed record, landspeed, ohio, ohio state university, record, salt, university of ohio
You might also like:
Student-Built, Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Powered Boat to Set Sail on Hudson River
Germany to Launch Nationwide Hydrogen Fuel Network by 2015
Mercedes Launches its First Ever Production Fuel Cell Vehicle
Mud-Loving Bacteria Increases Fuel Cell Output by 800%
Published on September 25th, 2009, Posted in Fuel Cells
A student engineering team from Ohio State University broke into the 300 mph club yesterday with their hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle. The Buckeye Bullet 2 averaged 300.992 MPH yesterday in the flying kilometer, with a top recorded speed of 304 MPH.
» See also: Student-Built, Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Powered Boat to Set Sail on Hudson River
» Get Gas 2.0 by RSS or sign up by email.
The original Buckeye Bullet was the first electric vehicle to break the 300 MPH barrier, and the Buckeye Bullet 2 continues that legacy, in hydrogen form. This vehicle differs from Jesse Jame’s hydrogen fuel streamliner in that it actually went the whole distance at a sanctioned event, and the power comes from a custom 700 horse electric engine fed by hydrogen fuel cells. Jesse Jame’s vehicle was a big-block Chevy fueled by actual hydrogen.
The record run was set at the Bonneville Salt Flats yesterday, though it has not yet been officially confirmed. The front-wheel drive Buckeye Bullet 2 now holds the FIA record for the first hydrogen vehicle to break 300 MPH, and the fastest recorded speed for an electric drive vehicle. How come I never got to do cool things like this in college? I just had a lot of friggin’ homework…
Kudos to the Buckeyes though, this is quite an achievement, one that will hopefully be made “officially official” in the coming days.
Source: Buckeye Bullet Blog
Tags: bonneville, buckeye, buckeye bullet, buckeye bullet 2, buckeyebullet, buckeyes, FIA, flats, land speed, land speed record, landspeed, ohio, ohio state university, record, salt, university of ohio
You might also like:
Student-Built, Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Powered Boat to Set Sail on Hudson River
Germany to Launch Nationwide Hydrogen Fuel Network by 2015
Mercedes Launches its First Ever Production Fuel Cell Vehicle
Mud-Loving Bacteria Increases Fuel Cell Output by 800%
Gates Foundation brings banking to the poor
Gates Foundation brings banking to the poor
Says less fortunate deserve access to savings accounts, financial services
Sharon Farmer / AP
Tatomkhulu-Xhosa, left, explains to Bill and Melinda Gates how he has lived with and been treated for TB in recent years at a clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, best known for its work combating diseases, this week announced an effort to bring banking, including savings accounts, to the poor.
Latest news on charities
Jessica Biel joins celeb Mt. Kilimanjaro climb
Group raising awareness about the need for clean water worldwide
Airline tickets raise cash for AIDS
Travelers can donate $2 or more to held fund U.N. health goals
Gates Foundation: Banking on the poor
Says less fortunate deserve access to savings accounts, financial services
Pastor swims English Channel for charity
‘It was a great expereince,’ he says after nearly 14 hours in water
Prosecution sums up case at Astor trial
Son, co-defendant accused of stealing millions from philanthropist's estate
Helping women sweat their way to success
Can-do cable brings talents of disabled to light
Ready, willing and abled
Helping veterans go from ‘helmets to hardhats’
How helmets to hardhats helped two vets
updated 1:35 p.m. ET, Mon., Sept . 21, 2009
SEATTLE - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, best known for its work combating malaria, AIDS and other diseases, announced an effort this week to bring banking, including savings accounts, to the poor.
It may be hard to understand how savings is even an issue for the people who live on less than $2 a day, said Bob Christen, who directs the Gates Foundation's financial services initiative. However, access to a safe place to store money is a top priority of poor people around the world, he said.
That's why the world's richest charitable foundation announced a $35 million grant to help facilitate agent banking services already being developed in Africa, Asia and South and Central America.
Christen said the Gates grant will provide assistance to numerous organizations through the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, whose efforts are historic in the world of banking, and will help people climb out of poverty, save for their children's education, build their businesses and plan for the future.
The ideas for bringing savings accounts, insurance and other financial services to the poor include transferring money by way of mobile phones and setting up banking kiosks in markets and post offices.
The Gates Foundation has invested a total of $350 million so far in other financial services for the poor, including micro-credit, which involves small loans for poor entrepreneurs.
Saving money
Christen says savings accounts are a more basic need of many people. An estimated 2.5 billion people — more than half the world's adult population — do not have access to savings accounts and other financial services.
People are forced to buy and pawn jewelry or make other poor investments to keep their money safe.
Foundation research identified this as an area that is not getting investment dollars and turned its attention in this direction.
"It became very obvious that the single service that is least developed that most people need is savings," Christen said. "People really want to be able to save in a safer place."
The Gates Foundation is providing an infusion of cash to facilitate the sharing of ideas among the innovators and to make sure the new systems offer a wide range of financial services.
Alfred Hannig, executive director of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, said banking innovation is happening in developing countries without the foundation's help, but the money will help speed implementation.
The alliance has a goal of reaching 50 million of the world's "unbanked" by 2012.
Paperless transactions
In a phone call from Nairobi, Kenya, where the alliance was hosting a meeting for representatives of 42 countries, Hannig said that plans are being made for a delegation from Kenya to go to Brazil to learn about that country's efforts to bring banking services to small villages along the Amazon River.
"People were waiting for this," said Hannig, who works for the German Technical Corporation and is based in Thailand. "This was very timely. They have been waiting for such a mechanism for such a long time."
Hannig said 60 percent of the money from the Gates Foundation will be redistributed in smaller grants to groups like the delegation from Kenya to Brazil, and the Bank of Thailand, which wants to measure banking access around the world through a survey.
He predicted that the ideas percolating in Africa, Asia and South and Central America will leap-frog existing systems in Europe and the United States.
For example, banking in industrialized nations is paper-based — people still use checks and cash for most of their financial transactions. The new technologies being tried out in the southern continents will lead to a paperless, cashless system
Says less fortunate deserve access to savings accounts, financial services
Sharon Farmer / AP
Tatomkhulu-Xhosa, left, explains to Bill and Melinda Gates how he has lived with and been treated for TB in recent years at a clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, best known for its work combating diseases, this week announced an effort to bring banking, including savings accounts, to the poor.
Latest news on charities
Jessica Biel joins celeb Mt. Kilimanjaro climb
Group raising awareness about the need for clean water worldwide
Airline tickets raise cash for AIDS
Travelers can donate $2 or more to held fund U.N. health goals
Gates Foundation: Banking on the poor
Says less fortunate deserve access to savings accounts, financial services
Pastor swims English Channel for charity
‘It was a great expereince,’ he says after nearly 14 hours in water
Prosecution sums up case at Astor trial
Son, co-defendant accused of stealing millions from philanthropist's estate
Helping women sweat their way to success
Can-do cable brings talents of disabled to light
Ready, willing and abled
Helping veterans go from ‘helmets to hardhats’
How helmets to hardhats helped two vets
updated 1:35 p.m. ET, Mon., Sept . 21, 2009
SEATTLE - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, best known for its work combating malaria, AIDS and other diseases, announced an effort this week to bring banking, including savings accounts, to the poor.
It may be hard to understand how savings is even an issue for the people who live on less than $2 a day, said Bob Christen, who directs the Gates Foundation's financial services initiative. However, access to a safe place to store money is a top priority of poor people around the world, he said.
That's why the world's richest charitable foundation announced a $35 million grant to help facilitate agent banking services already being developed in Africa, Asia and South and Central America.
Christen said the Gates grant will provide assistance to numerous organizations through the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, whose efforts are historic in the world of banking, and will help people climb out of poverty, save for their children's education, build their businesses and plan for the future.
The ideas for bringing savings accounts, insurance and other financial services to the poor include transferring money by way of mobile phones and setting up banking kiosks in markets and post offices.
The Gates Foundation has invested a total of $350 million so far in other financial services for the poor, including micro-credit, which involves small loans for poor entrepreneurs.
Saving money
Christen says savings accounts are a more basic need of many people. An estimated 2.5 billion people — more than half the world's adult population — do not have access to savings accounts and other financial services.
People are forced to buy and pawn jewelry or make other poor investments to keep their money safe.
Foundation research identified this as an area that is not getting investment dollars and turned its attention in this direction.
"It became very obvious that the single service that is least developed that most people need is savings," Christen said. "People really want to be able to save in a safer place."
The Gates Foundation is providing an infusion of cash to facilitate the sharing of ideas among the innovators and to make sure the new systems offer a wide range of financial services.
Alfred Hannig, executive director of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, said banking innovation is happening in developing countries without the foundation's help, but the money will help speed implementation.
The alliance has a goal of reaching 50 million of the world's "unbanked" by 2012.
Paperless transactions
In a phone call from Nairobi, Kenya, where the alliance was hosting a meeting for representatives of 42 countries, Hannig said that plans are being made for a delegation from Kenya to go to Brazil to learn about that country's efforts to bring banking services to small villages along the Amazon River.
"People were waiting for this," said Hannig, who works for the German Technical Corporation and is based in Thailand. "This was very timely. They have been waiting for such a mechanism for such a long time."
Hannig said 60 percent of the money from the Gates Foundation will be redistributed in smaller grants to groups like the delegation from Kenya to Brazil, and the Bank of Thailand, which wants to measure banking access around the world through a survey.
He predicted that the ideas percolating in Africa, Asia and South and Central America will leap-frog existing systems in Europe and the United States.
For example, banking in industrialized nations is paper-based — people still use checks and cash for most of their financial transactions. The new technologies being tried out in the southern continents will lead to a paperless, cashless system
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Is This the Light Bulb of the Future?
September 24, 2009, 9:00 am
Is This the Light Bulb of the Future?
By Eric A. Taub
Update | 3:15 p.m. Added correction and additional information.
Philips, the Dutch electronics giant whose products range from clothes irons to medical equipment to light bulbs, believes that it’s about to become $10 million richer.
That’s the value of a prize the company thinks it will win with its entry in the L Prize, a U.S. Department of Energy contest to create a viable LED-based alternative to a 60-watt light bulb.
Philips announced today that it is the first company to submit an entry in the contest. The company has first-mover advantage, because if their lamp is shown to meet the rules, then Philips wins, even if another company enters later with better results.
In May 2008, the Department of Energy announced that it would award $10 million to the first company that developed a solid-state lamp that could replace a standard bulb. Among the criteria: The lamp can use no more than 10 watts to create the equivalent light of a 60-watt incandescent bulb; the color of the light output must mimic that of today’s incandescents; and the bulbs must last at least 25,000 hours, as much as 25 times as long as today’s standard bulbs.
While $10 million is nice, the lighting companies are not in it for that prize. The contest winner will, more importantly, get access to potentially lucrative federal purchasing agreements.
In addition to the lighting specs, the company must also manufacture at least 75 percent of the value of the lamp in the United States, and package the product in this country.
“I want the Secretary of Energy to hold this thing and say it’s made in America,” said James Brodrick, manager of the Department of Energy’s Solid State Lighting Program.
To prove its prototype, Philips has shipped 2,000 samples to the Department of Energy, plus around 100 pages and a CD of supporting documents, according to Kevin Dowling, vice president of innovation at Philips Solid State Lighting Solutions. The tests will take close to one year to complete as the department independently evaluates Philips’s claims.
But to make that time frame, the government will need to cut at least one test short. To test the life span of the lamp would take close to three years of continuous lighting, so the Department of Energy will make sure that the lamps last at least 6,000 hours, or eight months, and then extrapolate from there.
“This will be the most publicly tested bulb ever,” Mr. Brodrick said.
Mr. Brodrick hopes that the L Prize has sped up the creation of an LED-based equivalent that is a quality product. The department is still smarting over mistakes made when compact fluorescent bulbs were introduced to the market. Consumers rebelled when they found the light output from C.F.L. bulbs to be cold and unpleasant, with much shorter-than-claimed lifetimes, and the potential to pollute due to the mercury in each lamp.
By setting the L Prize’s criteria, “we’ve probably eliminated almost 25 products that were horrible,” Mr. Brodrick said. “We test LED bulbs today that claim on the package that they’re equivalent to 40 watts, but are really like 20 watt bulbs.”
Before you plan on replacing your lighting with new LED lamps, know that the first products won’t be cheap. Today’s LED-based lamps cost up to $100 each. To get the cost down, Mr. Brodrick has enlisted 27 utility companies around the country as L Prize partners. Once a winner is chosen, the utilities will help promote and possibly subsidize the cost of the lamp.
It’s in the utilities’ interests to do so, both for P.R. reasons and because if enough people buy LED lamps, there will be less demand for power and for new power plants. In several states, such as California, profits are “decoupled” from consumption. Profits are made based on a fair rate of return, and energy rates are adjusted to meet that level.
How much the new bulbs will eventually cost is anybody’s guess, but clearly there’s no market if they’re too expensive. “Over the long term, we can absolutely get the cost down to the $20-25 range,” Mr. Dowling said.
A Box of Memory, Available Anywhere
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Marathon Tech Review: FM Radio Comes to the iPod
From 1 to 25 of 47 Comments
1 2 Next »
1. September 24, 2009
9:28 am
Link
Way cool (literally; vide infra).
In addition to the nominal, obvious energy savings, the bulbs will be cooler–run at lower temperature–and result in lower energy costs for cooling. Furthermore, a bulb that lasts 25,000 hours means you might change it 1/25th as often as you used to change your old incandescent bulbs, saving you many hours of not-so-productive time.* Overall, the bulbs may well be a big plus for us all.
New joke: how many people does it take to change an LED bulb? Three; one to change the bulb, one to go ask grandpa to remember for the olden days how light bulbs get changed, and grandpa, to rummage though his papers for the instructions.
— Joe
2. September 24, 2009
9:35 am
Link
Here in the Netherlands these LED lamps are not just experimental, we are required to use them in place of the old tugsten lamps. To be precise, the tungsten are illegal to sell above certain wattage and it is the idea to use LED in place. The illegal wattage value will be lower and lower until no tungsten are available (except in certain specialised cases)
— Chris dart
3. September 24, 2009
9:40 am
Link
Read the above with great interest. That was, until I read the following statement. It’s in the utilities’ interests to do so, both for PR reasons and because if enough people buy LED lamps, there will be less demand for power and new power plants. If the new LED’s are to save power, then how could more power plants be built to support same? And to even half expect the power folks to support such a product, is just ludicrous.
— Ted August
4. September 24, 2009
9:48 am
Link
$20 each?! That’s about $2000 to light my home, and only the light of 60W bulbs. That doesn’t sound economical.
— Ralph in Glen Cove
5. September 24, 2009
9:50 am
Link
They have been around for a while, even C.Crane has them in heir mail-out catalog and on-line, but they cost too much now. Maybe in the future the price will come down?
http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/
— Phil
6. September 24, 2009
9:50 am
Link
The other problem with CFL’s is they emit electric fields of about 2000 Volts per meter, with a frequency of 50 kHz or so. This creates electrical interference and dirty power which has been linked to cancer (Milham and Morgan, 2008). Most LED bulbs I’ve looked at do generate harmonics but no radiofrequency radiation. Some bulbs optimize the brightness using PWM, and those do emit RF. The FCC or some agency should ban unfiltered PWM (and switchmode power supply-based) products for residential and office use.
— JoeScientistPhD
7. September 24, 2009
9:51 am
Link
A laudable goal and a good structure to incentivize innovation. However, the article postulates that “It’s in the utilities’ interests to do so, both for PR reasons and because if enough people buy LED lamps, there will be less demand for power and new power plants”. This argument implies that utilities would prefer less energy demand from customers, and therefore, they would prefer less revenue and profits. The government would actually have to provide the subsidies in some form for the utilities to pass it on to the customers.
— Anand
8. September 24, 2009
9:53 am
Link
Yes, but will it work with a dimmer control? Today’s LED bulbs exhibit a nasty threshold effect. Although they work with a dimmer, they do so poorly. To get smooth light level control over the entire range would require a new type of dimmer for every one that’s installed in America today, and they won’t be cheap. Incandescent dimmers cost around $7-$8, and it’s likely that a redesigned LED dimmer will cost at least $25, due to higher complexity. If they get the cost of the bulbs down to $25 each, and one needs to get a new $25 dimmer for an 8-lamp chandelier, you’re looking at $250 to save a few cents worth of electricity a month, not to mention all the energy and CO2 that will be needed to manufacture the dimmers and the considerably more complex lights. These energy- and money-saving lights are starting to look like a colossal waste of money and resources — brought to you by a bunch of greenie-weenie wackos in your federal government, of course!
— Andrew
9. September 24, 2009
10:04 am
Link
I wish the US would do this with space based solar energy systems…or shall we just let the Japanese or Chinese take the lead in that too?
— doug l
10. September 24, 2009
10:19 am
Link
I am amazed these companies think government $10 million is more valuable than market place. Just imagine the market for such products.
The only question I have is if we implement such a drastic reduction in electric usage; why is my electric bill remains the same? Unless, the utility companies are part of this equation, this is an exercise in futility.
— jarugn
11. September 24, 2009
10:21 am
Link
How do you say “Yes We Can” in Dutch?
— VinnyC
12. September 24, 2009
10:37 am
Link
The article makes no mention of whether the bulbs are dimmable. I have dimmers on every light in my house. I reduce my electric consumption considerably simply by turning off lights I’m not using, and dimming the others. I’ve tried using LED and CFL’s but since they don’t dim (even CFL’s that say they do, don’t!) I’ve found them impractical.
— Rob Lang
13. September 24, 2009
10:48 am
Link
$20-$25 for a light bulb? Ain’t gonna happen in our marketplace. Please get real.
— dennis
14. September 24, 2009
10:49 am
Link
I didn’t understand the argument: “… if enough people buy LED lamps, there will be less demand for power and new power plants.” could somebody please explain?
— Mr. Jones
15. September 24, 2009
11:07 am
Link
Er, how about people just turn the danged lights off when they leave a room? And why doesn’t the DOE lobby for federal law mandating that office towers and other businesses not remain lit all hours of the day?
— brennan
16. September 24, 2009
11:09 am
Link
To Mr. Jones question, lighting is a large component of electric power draws. Over the years each household in the US has typically used more power and the country’s population has grown - so it requires more power plants to be built to supply it. If enough people were to use bulb’s like these it would reduce overall consumption noticeably and reduce or eliminate the requirements for additional powerplants - saving money, resources and eliminating additional large sources of pollution….at least that is the idea.
— Sasparilla
17. September 24, 2009
11:14 am
Link
Yesterday I bought a case (24) of the “40W” LED bulbs for $103 at the local grocery store. Last night, I installed fifteen in my chandelier. While they are probably not really equivalent to 40W incandescent bulbs, their 22.5W total power consumption is a huge improvement, even compared to the 10W incandescents I replaced. If the lifespan of the LEDs is anything like advertised (30,000 hours), I will be quite pleased with my purchase, and very happy to have done something to conserve a significant amount of energy.
— Jeff Stahoviak
18. September 24, 2009
11:19 am
Link
The new incandescents may prove to be a big competitor.
On CFLs:
I’ve been pleased by the CFLs - a handful died early but the rest have been operating 2 years or longer including areas where the light is on most of the day. As for the “odd” light hue, people are funny: they like what they’re used to but there is nothing inherently wrong or right about incandescent vs. CFL hues, vs. candles, vs. kerosene, vs. gas. A lampshade sort of makes this point moot. As for the slowness to full light, I actually find that makes me smile as it gets brighter over 20 seconds or so. Newer ones supposedly get to full light “immediately”. As for the mercury content, that is the same for the long fluorescents that no one seems to complain about; I put the dead ones in a bag (very few) and drop them off at my local hardware store when I go - no big deal, really. If one is really concerned about the mercury in CFLs regarding a young child, then they need to keep their children out of buildings where there are fluorescent lights since they all have mercury - but of course, no one does that, do they?
Good points of CFLs:
1. saves me money over the life of the bulb after the initial higher cost, in terms of energy savings and buying fewer bulbs
2. saves me time changing bulbs and buying them
3. less heat which is easier on fixtures and AC in the summer
4. lower wattage/heat means I can use a brighter bulb than with an incandescent
5. lower energy use means I am helping to reduce the need for more power plants.
— David S (swatter)
19. September 24, 2009
11:28 am
Link
Well, if it’s as good as the sonic toothbrush, it is bound to be fantastic.
I will never accept phosphorescent light. It’s depressing & I believe contributes to stress, distress & paranoia. Halogen lighting is excellent. Xenon bulbs are interesting.
But this sounds like the best answer yet: if anyone can do it, Philips can. Incandescents have that beautiful diffuse white or diffuse yellow light that is so easy on the eyes, especially in the long darker months.
For students to do well, light has to be cheerful. Most schools are cutting back so much, lighting in schools is quite depressing.
So go for it, please!
— Maria Ashot
20. September 24, 2009
11:29 am
Link
On the point about less need for power plants:
In many states, power plants receive incentives to get customers to save power rather than incentives to increase the power use. This has worked in that they promote or in some cases subsidize the use of power saving items. It is not the textbook “private sector” model just as the water you buy is not. I don’t know how the incentive structure is set up.
— David S (swatter)
21. September 24, 2009
11:30 am
Link
I meant “fluorescent,” obviously, not “phosphorescent!”
— Maria Ashot
22. September 24, 2009
11:38 am
Link
I don’t think how it would be in the utilities interest. They make their money by getting a return on the power plant they build to meet growing demand. Utilties alway fight projects that decrease power demand.
— Bill Delamin
23. September 24, 2009
12:06 pm
Link
What’s so hard to understand about this? Lighting in the home accounts for about 9% of total electricity usage in this country. LED lamps provide the opportunity to cut that usage by as much as 85%, or 7.5% of our total usage. They last 10 time longer than standard incandescent lamps which means less energy and materials used to manufacture all those bulbs and less trash in the landfills. If the price drops to $20 or $25 the consumer will see a net gain over the life of the bulb when you consider operation and replacement costs. That is, if they’re smart enough to look past the initial cost…a real problem with consumers in this country. It’s in the utility company’s best interests because reduced consumption in lighting can help offset the natural increase in consumption caused by population growth. That means they have to build fewer new power plants, which are complex projects that present some fincial risk to the utility and are hugely expensive. Oh, guess who gets to pay for those power plants in the long run. Somebody please explaing to me where the downside is.
— Jeff
24. September 24, 2009
12:18 pm
Link
Why not just use “Energy Safe Bulbs” From for instance the same co. Philips???. 11 watt equals 60 watt.
Can it be because it contains mercury and it’s alright to dump it in Africa???
— Chris
25. September 24, 2009
12:29 pm
Link
At Costco I saw ten CFL’s for $2.
Edison was subsidizing them.
The same can be done for LED’s, eventually.
My energy bill this month was $400.
I’m happy for anything that helps cut it down.
Bring it on.
Is This the Light Bulb of the Future?
By Eric A. Taub
Update | 3:15 p.m. Added correction and additional information.
Philips, the Dutch electronics giant whose products range from clothes irons to medical equipment to light bulbs, believes that it’s about to become $10 million richer.
That’s the value of a prize the company thinks it will win with its entry in the L Prize, a U.S. Department of Energy contest to create a viable LED-based alternative to a 60-watt light bulb.
Philips announced today that it is the first company to submit an entry in the contest. The company has first-mover advantage, because if their lamp is shown to meet the rules, then Philips wins, even if another company enters later with better results.
In May 2008, the Department of Energy announced that it would award $10 million to the first company that developed a solid-state lamp that could replace a standard bulb. Among the criteria: The lamp can use no more than 10 watts to create the equivalent light of a 60-watt incandescent bulb; the color of the light output must mimic that of today’s incandescents; and the bulbs must last at least 25,000 hours, as much as 25 times as long as today’s standard bulbs.
While $10 million is nice, the lighting companies are not in it for that prize. The contest winner will, more importantly, get access to potentially lucrative federal purchasing agreements.
In addition to the lighting specs, the company must also manufacture at least 75 percent of the value of the lamp in the United States, and package the product in this country.
“I want the Secretary of Energy to hold this thing and say it’s made in America,” said James Brodrick, manager of the Department of Energy’s Solid State Lighting Program.
To prove its prototype, Philips has shipped 2,000 samples to the Department of Energy, plus around 100 pages and a CD of supporting documents, according to Kevin Dowling, vice president of innovation at Philips Solid State Lighting Solutions. The tests will take close to one year to complete as the department independently evaluates Philips’s claims.
But to make that time frame, the government will need to cut at least one test short. To test the life span of the lamp would take close to three years of continuous lighting, so the Department of Energy will make sure that the lamps last at least 6,000 hours, or eight months, and then extrapolate from there.
“This will be the most publicly tested bulb ever,” Mr. Brodrick said.
Mr. Brodrick hopes that the L Prize has sped up the creation of an LED-based equivalent that is a quality product. The department is still smarting over mistakes made when compact fluorescent bulbs were introduced to the market. Consumers rebelled when they found the light output from C.F.L. bulbs to be cold and unpleasant, with much shorter-than-claimed lifetimes, and the potential to pollute due to the mercury in each lamp.
By setting the L Prize’s criteria, “we’ve probably eliminated almost 25 products that were horrible,” Mr. Brodrick said. “We test LED bulbs today that claim on the package that they’re equivalent to 40 watts, but are really like 20 watt bulbs.”
Before you plan on replacing your lighting with new LED lamps, know that the first products won’t be cheap. Today’s LED-based lamps cost up to $100 each. To get the cost down, Mr. Brodrick has enlisted 27 utility companies around the country as L Prize partners. Once a winner is chosen, the utilities will help promote and possibly subsidize the cost of the lamp.
It’s in the utilities’ interests to do so, both for P.R. reasons and because if enough people buy LED lamps, there will be less demand for power and for new power plants. In several states, such as California, profits are “decoupled” from consumption. Profits are made based on a fair rate of return, and energy rates are adjusted to meet that level.
How much the new bulbs will eventually cost is anybody’s guess, but clearly there’s no market if they’re too expensive. “Over the long term, we can absolutely get the cost down to the $20-25 range,” Mr. Dowling said.
A Box of Memory, Available Anywhere
Next post
Marathon Tech Review: FM Radio Comes to the iPod
From 1 to 25 of 47 Comments
1 2 Next »
1. September 24, 2009
9:28 am
Link
Way cool (literally; vide infra).
In addition to the nominal, obvious energy savings, the bulbs will be cooler–run at lower temperature–and result in lower energy costs for cooling. Furthermore, a bulb that lasts 25,000 hours means you might change it 1/25th as often as you used to change your old incandescent bulbs, saving you many hours of not-so-productive time.* Overall, the bulbs may well be a big plus for us all.
New joke: how many people does it take to change an LED bulb? Three; one to change the bulb, one to go ask grandpa to remember for the olden days how light bulbs get changed, and grandpa, to rummage though his papers for the instructions.
— Joe
2. September 24, 2009
9:35 am
Link
Here in the Netherlands these LED lamps are not just experimental, we are required to use them in place of the old tugsten lamps. To be precise, the tungsten are illegal to sell above certain wattage and it is the idea to use LED in place. The illegal wattage value will be lower and lower until no tungsten are available (except in certain specialised cases)
— Chris dart
3. September 24, 2009
9:40 am
Link
Read the above with great interest. That was, until I read the following statement. It’s in the utilities’ interests to do so, both for PR reasons and because if enough people buy LED lamps, there will be less demand for power and new power plants. If the new LED’s are to save power, then how could more power plants be built to support same? And to even half expect the power folks to support such a product, is just ludicrous.
— Ted August
4. September 24, 2009
9:48 am
Link
$20 each?! That’s about $2000 to light my home, and only the light of 60W bulbs. That doesn’t sound economical.
— Ralph in Glen Cove
5. September 24, 2009
9:50 am
Link
They have been around for a while, even C.Crane has them in heir mail-out catalog and on-line, but they cost too much now. Maybe in the future the price will come down?
http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/
— Phil
6. September 24, 2009
9:50 am
Link
The other problem with CFL’s is they emit electric fields of about 2000 Volts per meter, with a frequency of 50 kHz or so. This creates electrical interference and dirty power which has been linked to cancer (Milham and Morgan, 2008). Most LED bulbs I’ve looked at do generate harmonics but no radiofrequency radiation. Some bulbs optimize the brightness using PWM, and those do emit RF. The FCC or some agency should ban unfiltered PWM (and switchmode power supply-based) products for residential and office use.
— JoeScientistPhD
7. September 24, 2009
9:51 am
Link
A laudable goal and a good structure to incentivize innovation. However, the article postulates that “It’s in the utilities’ interests to do so, both for PR reasons and because if enough people buy LED lamps, there will be less demand for power and new power plants”. This argument implies that utilities would prefer less energy demand from customers, and therefore, they would prefer less revenue and profits. The government would actually have to provide the subsidies in some form for the utilities to pass it on to the customers.
— Anand
8. September 24, 2009
9:53 am
Link
Yes, but will it work with a dimmer control? Today’s LED bulbs exhibit a nasty threshold effect. Although they work with a dimmer, they do so poorly. To get smooth light level control over the entire range would require a new type of dimmer for every one that’s installed in America today, and they won’t be cheap. Incandescent dimmers cost around $7-$8, and it’s likely that a redesigned LED dimmer will cost at least $25, due to higher complexity. If they get the cost of the bulbs down to $25 each, and one needs to get a new $25 dimmer for an 8-lamp chandelier, you’re looking at $250 to save a few cents worth of electricity a month, not to mention all the energy and CO2 that will be needed to manufacture the dimmers and the considerably more complex lights. These energy- and money-saving lights are starting to look like a colossal waste of money and resources — brought to you by a bunch of greenie-weenie wackos in your federal government, of course!
— Andrew
9. September 24, 2009
10:04 am
Link
I wish the US would do this with space based solar energy systems…or shall we just let the Japanese or Chinese take the lead in that too?
— doug l
10. September 24, 2009
10:19 am
Link
I am amazed these companies think government $10 million is more valuable than market place. Just imagine the market for such products.
The only question I have is if we implement such a drastic reduction in electric usage; why is my electric bill remains the same? Unless, the utility companies are part of this equation, this is an exercise in futility.
— jarugn
11. September 24, 2009
10:21 am
Link
How do you say “Yes We Can” in Dutch?
— VinnyC
12. September 24, 2009
10:37 am
Link
The article makes no mention of whether the bulbs are dimmable. I have dimmers on every light in my house. I reduce my electric consumption considerably simply by turning off lights I’m not using, and dimming the others. I’ve tried using LED and CFL’s but since they don’t dim (even CFL’s that say they do, don’t!) I’ve found them impractical.
— Rob Lang
13. September 24, 2009
10:48 am
Link
$20-$25 for a light bulb? Ain’t gonna happen in our marketplace. Please get real.
— dennis
14. September 24, 2009
10:49 am
Link
I didn’t understand the argument: “… if enough people buy LED lamps, there will be less demand for power and new power plants.” could somebody please explain?
— Mr. Jones
15. September 24, 2009
11:07 am
Link
Er, how about people just turn the danged lights off when they leave a room? And why doesn’t the DOE lobby for federal law mandating that office towers and other businesses not remain lit all hours of the day?
— brennan
16. September 24, 2009
11:09 am
Link
To Mr. Jones question, lighting is a large component of electric power draws. Over the years each household in the US has typically used more power and the country’s population has grown - so it requires more power plants to be built to supply it. If enough people were to use bulb’s like these it would reduce overall consumption noticeably and reduce or eliminate the requirements for additional powerplants - saving money, resources and eliminating additional large sources of pollution….at least that is the idea.
— Sasparilla
17. September 24, 2009
11:14 am
Link
Yesterday I bought a case (24) of the “40W” LED bulbs for $103 at the local grocery store. Last night, I installed fifteen in my chandelier. While they are probably not really equivalent to 40W incandescent bulbs, their 22.5W total power consumption is a huge improvement, even compared to the 10W incandescents I replaced. If the lifespan of the LEDs is anything like advertised (30,000 hours), I will be quite pleased with my purchase, and very happy to have done something to conserve a significant amount of energy.
— Jeff Stahoviak
18. September 24, 2009
11:19 am
Link
The new incandescents may prove to be a big competitor.
On CFLs:
I’ve been pleased by the CFLs - a handful died early but the rest have been operating 2 years or longer including areas where the light is on most of the day. As for the “odd” light hue, people are funny: they like what they’re used to but there is nothing inherently wrong or right about incandescent vs. CFL hues, vs. candles, vs. kerosene, vs. gas. A lampshade sort of makes this point moot. As for the slowness to full light, I actually find that makes me smile as it gets brighter over 20 seconds or so. Newer ones supposedly get to full light “immediately”. As for the mercury content, that is the same for the long fluorescents that no one seems to complain about; I put the dead ones in a bag (very few) and drop them off at my local hardware store when I go - no big deal, really. If one is really concerned about the mercury in CFLs regarding a young child, then they need to keep their children out of buildings where there are fluorescent lights since they all have mercury - but of course, no one does that, do they?
Good points of CFLs:
1. saves me money over the life of the bulb after the initial higher cost, in terms of energy savings and buying fewer bulbs
2. saves me time changing bulbs and buying them
3. less heat which is easier on fixtures and AC in the summer
4. lower wattage/heat means I can use a brighter bulb than with an incandescent
5. lower energy use means I am helping to reduce the need for more power plants.
— David S (swatter)
19. September 24, 2009
11:28 am
Link
Well, if it’s as good as the sonic toothbrush, it is bound to be fantastic.
I will never accept phosphorescent light. It’s depressing & I believe contributes to stress, distress & paranoia. Halogen lighting is excellent. Xenon bulbs are interesting.
But this sounds like the best answer yet: if anyone can do it, Philips can. Incandescents have that beautiful diffuse white or diffuse yellow light that is so easy on the eyes, especially in the long darker months.
For students to do well, light has to be cheerful. Most schools are cutting back so much, lighting in schools is quite depressing.
So go for it, please!
— Maria Ashot
20. September 24, 2009
11:29 am
Link
On the point about less need for power plants:
In many states, power plants receive incentives to get customers to save power rather than incentives to increase the power use. This has worked in that they promote or in some cases subsidize the use of power saving items. It is not the textbook “private sector” model just as the water you buy is not. I don’t know how the incentive structure is set up.
— David S (swatter)
21. September 24, 2009
11:30 am
Link
I meant “fluorescent,” obviously, not “phosphorescent!”
— Maria Ashot
22. September 24, 2009
11:38 am
Link
I don’t think how it would be in the utilities interest. They make their money by getting a return on the power plant they build to meet growing demand. Utilties alway fight projects that decrease power demand.
— Bill Delamin
23. September 24, 2009
12:06 pm
Link
What’s so hard to understand about this? Lighting in the home accounts for about 9% of total electricity usage in this country. LED lamps provide the opportunity to cut that usage by as much as 85%, or 7.5% of our total usage. They last 10 time longer than standard incandescent lamps which means less energy and materials used to manufacture all those bulbs and less trash in the landfills. If the price drops to $20 or $25 the consumer will see a net gain over the life of the bulb when you consider operation and replacement costs. That is, if they’re smart enough to look past the initial cost…a real problem with consumers in this country. It’s in the utility company’s best interests because reduced consumption in lighting can help offset the natural increase in consumption caused by population growth. That means they have to build fewer new power plants, which are complex projects that present some fincial risk to the utility and are hugely expensive. Oh, guess who gets to pay for those power plants in the long run. Somebody please explaing to me where the downside is.
— Jeff
24. September 24, 2009
12:18 pm
Link
Why not just use “Energy Safe Bulbs” From for instance the same co. Philips???. 11 watt equals 60 watt.
Can it be because it contains mercury and it’s alright to dump it in Africa???
— Chris
25. September 24, 2009
12:29 pm
Link
At Costco I saw ten CFL’s for $2.
Edison was subsidizing them.
The same can be done for LED’s, eventually.
My energy bill this month was $400.
I’m happy for anything that helps cut it down.
Bring it on.
A Man, a Central Plan, and One Big Dam
A Man, a Central Plan, and One Big Dam
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If we could reduce our coal dependency by 50 million tons per year (reducing 100 million tons of CO2 annually in the process), but would need to relocate over a million people to do it, would we? The Chinese news service recently posted an update on the massive Three Gorges Dam, highlighting completion of the project, including the relocation of 1.3 million people.
The dam, which spans the Yangtze river, is over a mile long and five times larger than the Hoover Dam. The project has many critics, which cite changes to local ecosystems which could have unforeseen consequences, the potential for the reservoir behind the dam to become a cesspool of sewage and industrial pollutants, and accumulating silt, and the social impact of forcing so many people to leave their homes. The official party line is that the country needs clean energy, and the project will protect millions from flood waters, and millions of acres of farmland. Both sides are probably right.
Reduction on coal dependency in China is a critical element of a global approach to fighting climate change, but is this sort of central planning approach really the only way? Thomas Friedman wrote recently in the NY Times: "One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages. That one party can just impose the politically difficult but critically important policies needed to move a society forward in the 21st century...China's leaders understand that in a world of exploding populations and rising emerging-market middle classes, demand for clean power and energy efficiency is going to soar."
Yikes! I for one hope that our democratic system can lead to an equally positive climate outcome, without trampling on personal rights to do it.
Rather than promoting Chinese-style government, Friedman is really lamenting the failure of our congress to act in a bipartisan fashion to come up with a new energy and climate policy which reduces our overall consumption and dependence on fossil fuels. As Friedman says, "The fact is, on both the energy/climate legislation and health care legislation, only the Democrats are really playing. With a few notable exceptions, the Republican Party is standing, arms folded and saying 'no.'" What you end up with is what he calls "one party democracy."
This potential logjam created a pretty clear contrast between the Chinese president's speech to the UN climate summit - full of targets and planned action - and President Obama's, which was heavier on rhetoric, calls for action, and restatement of the problem, but lighter on specifics.
Even so, Obama's acknowledgment of urgency and strong statement of support for action on the global stage is significant progress. The signals are pretty clear that we need a new energy/climate policy, and we should be discussing "how" rather than "if". The beauty of cap and trade (if designed right), renewable energy targets, or even a carbon tax is that each points towards the needed outcome, without resorting to autocratic measures to get there. There are plenty of ways to change our footprint, from conservation, to wind and solar investment, to changing what we buy, what we make, and how we get around. We simply need to create more urgency and some choice.
Do our legislative officials have the will and public mandate to at least acknowledge that there is a problem, so that we can work on the solutions? Or will this be just another issue for bipartisan bickering and lobbyist influence? As Obama said "...the journey is long. The journey is hard. And we don't have much time left to make it." But the alternatives are not very appealing.
Read more: global warming
comments9 comments add your comment
Terry S. says
Sep 24, 2009 11:55 AM
Daniel S.- I think you are missing some very obvious facts. First, Global Change is not a law of science, it is just a theory. For it to be a law of science it must be absolute. Now just because one party disagrees with the other, does not mean that either party is disfunctional. Debate is the bases of the government in the US. As well, unlike China, the citizens can petition grievances with the government. I would also like to state that all progress is not always forward. Unless the progress improves the lives of the citizens, it is really not progress. The primary responsibility of government is to improve the lives of its citizens. No where is it written that the minority party must bow down to the majority party. While this may slow progress, it may also stop a trip down a dead end street of wasted time, energy and money. So while you may disagree with what the minority party has to say, you still need to hear what they say and fully research their documentation. While both parties are spouting data, the true path will lie somewhere down the middle. In doing the research on anything, you must look at the data as published, and the monetary gain or loss to the entity publishing it. This includes government. Governments are ultimately corporations. Just like any corporation, their job is to perpetuate themselves. Then of course you must factor in human nature. This is usually the easiest since it is based on Cheapest and Easiest.
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Terry S. says
Sep 24, 2009 10:45 AM
Interesting that everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon for wind and solar. Well to start, They have already started to complain about wind mills killing birds. As well, they have posted objections to the pollution created by the production of solar cells. I have to laugh when I read the article about China setting goals, since everything I have read states that no numbers are offered by the Primer's speech. To point to that dam and say it is an improvement, is a joke. Every American knows that you could never build such a thing in the US today. For that matter, people are trying to get the dams we have in place removed. Three Gorges Dam is a disaster waiting to happen. Earthquakes will loosen it and the silt will add the weight and as well clog it. The project was a dumb idea in the first place, and was stated as such when conceived. As for how long that chunk of concrete will stay in place is unknown, but at the same time, has any one else noticed that China is having more earthquakes and stronger ones at that?
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Elaine K. says
Sep 24, 2009 10:11 AM
In VA Old Dominion Electric wants to build a new coal fired power plant near Hampton Roads at a huge cost. If they would help people to have solar panels on their roofs and wind turbines or thermal energy instead we would be much better off. There is no need for a new power plant if they help everybody to have alternative energy at their own homes and with batteries and inverters many people could still have some power even when the company has a power outage. They should spend the money on providing alternative energy sources at peoples homes and farms.
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James G. says
Sep 24, 2009 9:12 AM
If China's leaders, or for that matter leaders anywhere in the world, had an full "understanding", they would not accept an "exploding population" as inevitable and they would begin to work on a solution to a problem that will undue all of the benefits of reducing carbon emissions through any of the meager proposals currently being considered. And climate change is only one of many problems resulting from over population that threatens the hopes and dreams of people everywhere on the planet to enjoy a comfortable existence.
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Michael M. says
Sep 24, 2009 8:56 AM
wind and solar power are the way to go, but definatly top graduaally replace the coal industry. updating the old coal plants and reverting to the clean coal type is good for the short term but we definatly must start switching to wind and solar. I'm for nuclear fussion power plants if done correctly and safely,
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Daniel S. says
Sep 24, 2009 8:28 AM
Apparently decisions must be made by the one political party that is functioning. It's not possible to be bipartisan with a party that's been taken over by people who reject modern science and seem to want to return to the 19th century. Let's not forget that the problems we're having are the result of the actions of that non-functioning Republican Party. The Republican Party replaced the Whigs. Now we need to replace the Republican Party.
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Jenny T. says
Sep 24, 2009 6:56 AM
Obviously we can't shut down all our coal fired power plants now. But we can start making them more efficient and less polluting. And we can replace the aging ones with wind power. We can also offer alternatives that spread over time. In Spain all new commercial buildings are required to have solar pannels. Twenty-five percent of their electricity is generated by renewable sources like solar and wind power. We can't do it overnight, but we can do it over time.
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Glyn P. says
Sep 24, 2009 4:56 AM
I sure would not want to live down stream --------------- I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of bipartisan bickering even though the clock is ticking .
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Dennis Wells says
Sep 24, 2009 4:36 AM
that's easy- shut down 50% of our power plants right now .
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9 comments
If we could reduce our coal dependency by 50 million tons per year (reducing 100 million tons of CO2 annually in the process), but would need to relocate over a million people to do it, would we? The Chinese news service recently posted an update on the massive Three Gorges Dam, highlighting completion of the project, including the relocation of 1.3 million people.
The dam, which spans the Yangtze river, is over a mile long and five times larger than the Hoover Dam. The project has many critics, which cite changes to local ecosystems which could have unforeseen consequences, the potential for the reservoir behind the dam to become a cesspool of sewage and industrial pollutants, and accumulating silt, and the social impact of forcing so many people to leave their homes. The official party line is that the country needs clean energy, and the project will protect millions from flood waters, and millions of acres of farmland. Both sides are probably right.
Reduction on coal dependency in China is a critical element of a global approach to fighting climate change, but is this sort of central planning approach really the only way? Thomas Friedman wrote recently in the NY Times: "One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages. That one party can just impose the politically difficult but critically important policies needed to move a society forward in the 21st century...China's leaders understand that in a world of exploding populations and rising emerging-market middle classes, demand for clean power and energy efficiency is going to soar."
Yikes! I for one hope that our democratic system can lead to an equally positive climate outcome, without trampling on personal rights to do it.
Rather than promoting Chinese-style government, Friedman is really lamenting the failure of our congress to act in a bipartisan fashion to come up with a new energy and climate policy which reduces our overall consumption and dependence on fossil fuels. As Friedman says, "The fact is, on both the energy/climate legislation and health care legislation, only the Democrats are really playing. With a few notable exceptions, the Republican Party is standing, arms folded and saying 'no.'" What you end up with is what he calls "one party democracy."
This potential logjam created a pretty clear contrast between the Chinese president's speech to the UN climate summit - full of targets and planned action - and President Obama's, which was heavier on rhetoric, calls for action, and restatement of the problem, but lighter on specifics.
Even so, Obama's acknowledgment of urgency and strong statement of support for action on the global stage is significant progress. The signals are pretty clear that we need a new energy/climate policy, and we should be discussing "how" rather than "if". The beauty of cap and trade (if designed right), renewable energy targets, or even a carbon tax is that each points towards the needed outcome, without resorting to autocratic measures to get there. There are plenty of ways to change our footprint, from conservation, to wind and solar investment, to changing what we buy, what we make, and how we get around. We simply need to create more urgency and some choice.
Do our legislative officials have the will and public mandate to at least acknowledge that there is a problem, so that we can work on the solutions? Or will this be just another issue for bipartisan bickering and lobbyist influence? As Obama said "...the journey is long. The journey is hard. And we don't have much time left to make it." But the alternatives are not very appealing.
Read more: global warming
comments9 comments add your comment
Terry S. says
Sep 24, 2009 11:55 AM
Daniel S.- I think you are missing some very obvious facts. First, Global Change is not a law of science, it is just a theory. For it to be a law of science it must be absolute. Now just because one party disagrees with the other, does not mean that either party is disfunctional. Debate is the bases of the government in the US. As well, unlike China, the citizens can petition grievances with the government. I would also like to state that all progress is not always forward. Unless the progress improves the lives of the citizens, it is really not progress. The primary responsibility of government is to improve the lives of its citizens. No where is it written that the minority party must bow down to the majority party. While this may slow progress, it may also stop a trip down a dead end street of wasted time, energy and money. So while you may disagree with what the minority party has to say, you still need to hear what they say and fully research their documentation. While both parties are spouting data, the true path will lie somewhere down the middle. In doing the research on anything, you must look at the data as published, and the monetary gain or loss to the entity publishing it. This includes government. Governments are ultimately corporations. Just like any corporation, their job is to perpetuate themselves. Then of course you must factor in human nature. This is usually the easiest since it is based on Cheapest and Easiest.
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Terry S. says
Sep 24, 2009 10:45 AM
Interesting that everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon for wind and solar. Well to start, They have already started to complain about wind mills killing birds. As well, they have posted objections to the pollution created by the production of solar cells. I have to laugh when I read the article about China setting goals, since everything I have read states that no numbers are offered by the Primer's speech. To point to that dam and say it is an improvement, is a joke. Every American knows that you could never build such a thing in the US today. For that matter, people are trying to get the dams we have in place removed. Three Gorges Dam is a disaster waiting to happen. Earthquakes will loosen it and the silt will add the weight and as well clog it. The project was a dumb idea in the first place, and was stated as such when conceived. As for how long that chunk of concrete will stay in place is unknown, but at the same time, has any one else noticed that China is having more earthquakes and stronger ones at that?
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Elaine K. says
Sep 24, 2009 10:11 AM
In VA Old Dominion Electric wants to build a new coal fired power plant near Hampton Roads at a huge cost. If they would help people to have solar panels on their roofs and wind turbines or thermal energy instead we would be much better off. There is no need for a new power plant if they help everybody to have alternative energy at their own homes and with batteries and inverters many people could still have some power even when the company has a power outage. They should spend the money on providing alternative energy sources at peoples homes and farms.
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James G. says
Sep 24, 2009 9:12 AM
If China's leaders, or for that matter leaders anywhere in the world, had an full "understanding", they would not accept an "exploding population" as inevitable and they would begin to work on a solution to a problem that will undue all of the benefits of reducing carbon emissions through any of the meager proposals currently being considered. And climate change is only one of many problems resulting from over population that threatens the hopes and dreams of people everywhere on the planet to enjoy a comfortable existence.
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Michael M. says
Sep 24, 2009 8:56 AM
wind and solar power are the way to go, but definatly top graduaally replace the coal industry. updating the old coal plants and reverting to the clean coal type is good for the short term but we definatly must start switching to wind and solar. I'm for nuclear fussion power plants if done correctly and safely,
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Daniel S. says
Sep 24, 2009 8:28 AM
Apparently decisions must be made by the one political party that is functioning. It's not possible to be bipartisan with a party that's been taken over by people who reject modern science and seem to want to return to the 19th century. Let's not forget that the problems we're having are the result of the actions of that non-functioning Republican Party. The Republican Party replaced the Whigs. Now we need to replace the Republican Party.
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Jenny T. says
Sep 24, 2009 6:56 AM
Obviously we can't shut down all our coal fired power plants now. But we can start making them more efficient and less polluting. And we can replace the aging ones with wind power. We can also offer alternatives that spread over time. In Spain all new commercial buildings are required to have solar pannels. Twenty-five percent of their electricity is generated by renewable sources like solar and wind power. We can't do it overnight, but we can do it over time.
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Glyn P. says
Sep 24, 2009 4:56 AM
I sure would not want to live down stream --------------- I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of bipartisan bickering even though the clock is ticking .
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Dennis Wells says
Sep 24, 2009 4:36 AM
that's easy- shut down 50% of our power plants right now .
Brad Pitt gives Katrina update at Clinton meeting
Brad Pitt gives Katrina update at Clinton meeting
Sept. 24, 2009, 6:39 PM EST
NEW YORK (AP) -- The average electric bill for one of the energy-efficient homes built in New Orleans by Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation is $35 a month, the actor said Thursday during an update on the project at the Clinton Global Initiative.
The cost of building the homes also is dropping. And by the time all 150 promised homes are completed, the cost will be comparable to standard buildings, Pitt said.
"I don't know how we build any other way anywhere else," he said. "We can no longer tell ourselves that implementing this technology is too complex a problem because it's just been proven on this little spot on the map."
Pitt started the foundation in 2007. The program focuses home construction in a section of New Orleans heavily damaged when Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005. The homes are being built with features including rooftop solar panels and energy-efficient appliances to help reduce electricity consumption.
The Clinton Global Initiative, an annual event started by former President Bill Clinton, brings together the public and private sector to discuss solutions to problems in four areas — climate change, poverty, global health and education.
At an afternoon panel discussing education, Queen Rania of Jordan said it was an evergreen subject in political campaigns but one that loses priority once politicians are in office because there often isn't any immediate political gain.
"The benefits of education sometimes don't fit in with the political cycle because you reap the benefits way down the line," she said. "What we need to do is realize that sense of urgency when it comes to education, because education is a matter of life and death."
She also emphasized the importance of the quality of education, saying that while educational enrollment was high in the Middle East, there hasn't been enough focus on teaching young people the skills to get them through life.
"Take young people who are opportunity starved, and there is political conflict around them, and that makes a very dangerous social mix. As you all know, what happens in the Middle East, does not stay in the Middle East," she said. "Critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, those kinds of skills are extremely important to empower our young people."
Among those joining the queen on the panel was U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who referred to her own history as the first in her family to go to college in talking about the need for both government and private investment in expanding educational opportunities.
"I was the first one to go to college and it wasn't because my parents could afford it, it was because we have the Pell grant program, we have programs that help to provide assistance," Solis said. "Those programs work and it's a good investment in our young people."
Attendees at the Clinton Global Initiative are expected to commit to steps they will take to work on global problems. Those who don't follow through on their commitments won't be allowed to return to subsequent events.
(Clinton, like Jimmie Carter, may have a bigger effect on the world AFTER leaving office than when they were in office.)
Sept. 24, 2009, 6:39 PM EST
NEW YORK (AP) -- The average electric bill for one of the energy-efficient homes built in New Orleans by Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation is $35 a month, the actor said Thursday during an update on the project at the Clinton Global Initiative.
The cost of building the homes also is dropping. And by the time all 150 promised homes are completed, the cost will be comparable to standard buildings, Pitt said.
"I don't know how we build any other way anywhere else," he said. "We can no longer tell ourselves that implementing this technology is too complex a problem because it's just been proven on this little spot on the map."
Pitt started the foundation in 2007. The program focuses home construction in a section of New Orleans heavily damaged when Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005. The homes are being built with features including rooftop solar panels and energy-efficient appliances to help reduce electricity consumption.
The Clinton Global Initiative, an annual event started by former President Bill Clinton, brings together the public and private sector to discuss solutions to problems in four areas — climate change, poverty, global health and education.
At an afternoon panel discussing education, Queen Rania of Jordan said it was an evergreen subject in political campaigns but one that loses priority once politicians are in office because there often isn't any immediate political gain.
"The benefits of education sometimes don't fit in with the political cycle because you reap the benefits way down the line," she said. "What we need to do is realize that sense of urgency when it comes to education, because education is a matter of life and death."
She also emphasized the importance of the quality of education, saying that while educational enrollment was high in the Middle East, there hasn't been enough focus on teaching young people the skills to get them through life.
"Take young people who are opportunity starved, and there is political conflict around them, and that makes a very dangerous social mix. As you all know, what happens in the Middle East, does not stay in the Middle East," she said. "Critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, those kinds of skills are extremely important to empower our young people."
Among those joining the queen on the panel was U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who referred to her own history as the first in her family to go to college in talking about the need for both government and private investment in expanding educational opportunities.
"I was the first one to go to college and it wasn't because my parents could afford it, it was because we have the Pell grant program, we have programs that help to provide assistance," Solis said. "Those programs work and it's a good investment in our young people."
Attendees at the Clinton Global Initiative are expected to commit to steps they will take to work on global problems. Those who don't follow through on their commitments won't be allowed to return to subsequent events.
(Clinton, like Jimmie Carter, may have a bigger effect on the world AFTER leaving office than when they were in office.)
Old Water Pipes Burst In LA
Torrents of water in drought-stricken L.A.
‘My prediction is there will be more of these things,’ lawmaker says
On Sept. 5, a large underground water main burst under Coldwater Canyon Blvd., sending a flood of water rushing through neighborhood homes and businesses.
Baby makes for real-life fire drill
Long-lost siblings reunite with missing sister
Helping women sweat their way to success
Woman fights pit bull to save boy
A fiery emergency landing in Germany and a milky-white protest in Belgium are among this week’s eye-catching images from across the globe.
Whoa, baby! Woman delivers 19-pound boy
5 bikini baristas accused of prostitution
Denver man indicted in alleged terror plot
Mackenzie Phillips: I was high on TODAY
Slain census worker was warned about area
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updated 9:16 a.m. ET, Thurs., Sept . 24, 2009
LOS ANGELES - Torrents of water swept cars off streets and barbecues out of backyards in Los Angeles in recent weeks, but the floods are coming from the ground rather than the sky.
Not a drop of rain has fallen on the city since June 5, according to the National Weather Service, but aging water pipes have blown up at a rate of more than one a day. Residents of the drought-stricken city are getting angry, muddy and wet as they watch millions of gallons of water wash away.
The number of breaks — 36 during the first three weeks of September — isn't unusual for a city the size of Los Angeles, said James McDaniel, senior assistant general manager with the Department of Water and Power. Rather it's the severity of the breaks, including one that created a sinkhole so big it nearly swallowed a fire truck.
"It's not what causes a break but why did the break break in such a way that it causes this much damage," McDaniel told a City Council panel Wednesday. His agency has appointed an expert panel to study the city's geology, its 7,200 miles of pipeline, its pattern of water use and any other potential causes.
Meanwhile, residents wonder if their street will be the next to spout a geyser the size of Old Faithful. A recent break that size in Studio City unleashed water 2 to 3 feet in streets, closing businesses, flooding homes and garages, and carrying away patio furniture.
"It's not our fault. We didn't know we were living next to such a dangerous situation," said Robert Lee as he stood on the porch of his home on a sunny, 90-degree morning shortly after the deluge and surveyed what was left of his front yard.
Geyser on the street
He had been standing in the driveway admiring his brother-in-law's new car, Lee said, when they heard a rumble and looked down to see water at their feet.
They were walking toward the source, a small leak in the street, when the geyser erupted from a 95-year-old trunk line that rained mud, water and rocks. The water flooded the lower half of Lee's split-level home and washed away his front yard and driveway.
"We lost the videotapes of all our children's birthday parties," he said, shaking his head. "You can't put a price on that."
Down the block, Tulsy Ball pointed to an empty garage with a water ring nearly 3 feet high.
"That's my production office," the independent TV producer said. Nearby, sat a mud-caked pile of expensive film-editing equipment.
Among the theories on possible causes are changes in water habits since the city began limiting lawn watering to twice a week because of the drought.
"Potentially it could cause a surge in flow," said Richard Little, who heads the University of Southern California's Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. "Couple that together with old brittle pipes and that's not a good recipe."
Old pipes?
Or it could just be the old pipes, says City Councilman Dennis Zine, whose district has been the site of several breaks.
The city's water system was put in place by William Mulholland, the self-taught engineer who built the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the revolutionary, gravity-flow system of pipes and channels that carries water from mountains and valleys more than 200 miles away.
The system allowed Los Angeles to grow from a dusty town of 102,000 people in 1900 to a metropolis of nearly 4 million today, but some pipes are as old as the aqueduct itself, completed in 1913.
The DWP has aggressively replaced old pipes in the past two years, but Zine said work crews are finding themselves unable to keep pace with the worn-out pipes.
"My prediction is there will be more of these things," he said.
(Wonder how many millions of gallons of rainwater go into the aging sewer pipes and are billed as bathwater, yard irrigation, etc. Thats what is happening in my town, and we are being charged for it like we used it for something good. MILLIONS of gallons of water per DAY being charged to municipalities that were NEVER used in the homes! Our water pipes are also aging and have breakdowns from time to time, but nothing like LA, so far. To sleeve the sewer lines is expensive - $39 a foot, and there are THOUSANDS of feet of sewers in my little town. Wonder what NEW sewer pipes might cost?)
‘My prediction is there will be more of these things,’ lawmaker says
On Sept. 5, a large underground water main burst under Coldwater Canyon Blvd., sending a flood of water rushing through neighborhood homes and businesses.
Baby makes for real-life fire drill
Long-lost siblings reunite with missing sister
Helping women sweat their way to success
Woman fights pit bull to save boy
A fiery emergency landing in Germany and a milky-white protest in Belgium are among this week’s eye-catching images from across the globe.
Whoa, baby! Woman delivers 19-pound boy
5 bikini baristas accused of prostitution
Denver man indicted in alleged terror plot
Mackenzie Phillips: I was high on TODAY
Slain census worker was warned about area
Most viewed on msnbc.com
Long-lost siblings reunite with missing sister
Major raids target notorious L.A. street gang
Plague death: Researcher dies from infection
Probes confirm water’s presence on the moon
For first time, a vaccine helps prevent HIV
Most viewed on msnbc.com
Whoa, baby! Woman delivers 19-pound boy
5 bikini baristas accused of prostitution
Finally! Underwear created for left-handed men
Denver man indicted in alleged terror plot
For first time, a vaccine helps prevent HIV
Most viewed on msnbc.com
updated 9:16 a.m. ET, Thurs., Sept . 24, 2009
LOS ANGELES - Torrents of water swept cars off streets and barbecues out of backyards in Los Angeles in recent weeks, but the floods are coming from the ground rather than the sky.
Not a drop of rain has fallen on the city since June 5, according to the National Weather Service, but aging water pipes have blown up at a rate of more than one a day. Residents of the drought-stricken city are getting angry, muddy and wet as they watch millions of gallons of water wash away.
The number of breaks — 36 during the first three weeks of September — isn't unusual for a city the size of Los Angeles, said James McDaniel, senior assistant general manager with the Department of Water and Power. Rather it's the severity of the breaks, including one that created a sinkhole so big it nearly swallowed a fire truck.
"It's not what causes a break but why did the break break in such a way that it causes this much damage," McDaniel told a City Council panel Wednesday. His agency has appointed an expert panel to study the city's geology, its 7,200 miles of pipeline, its pattern of water use and any other potential causes.
Meanwhile, residents wonder if their street will be the next to spout a geyser the size of Old Faithful. A recent break that size in Studio City unleashed water 2 to 3 feet in streets, closing businesses, flooding homes and garages, and carrying away patio furniture.
"It's not our fault. We didn't know we were living next to such a dangerous situation," said Robert Lee as he stood on the porch of his home on a sunny, 90-degree morning shortly after the deluge and surveyed what was left of his front yard.
Geyser on the street
He had been standing in the driveway admiring his brother-in-law's new car, Lee said, when they heard a rumble and looked down to see water at their feet.
They were walking toward the source, a small leak in the street, when the geyser erupted from a 95-year-old trunk line that rained mud, water and rocks. The water flooded the lower half of Lee's split-level home and washed away his front yard and driveway.
"We lost the videotapes of all our children's birthday parties," he said, shaking his head. "You can't put a price on that."
Down the block, Tulsy Ball pointed to an empty garage with a water ring nearly 3 feet high.
"That's my production office," the independent TV producer said. Nearby, sat a mud-caked pile of expensive film-editing equipment.
Among the theories on possible causes are changes in water habits since the city began limiting lawn watering to twice a week because of the drought.
"Potentially it could cause a surge in flow," said Richard Little, who heads the University of Southern California's Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. "Couple that together with old brittle pipes and that's not a good recipe."
Old pipes?
Or it could just be the old pipes, says City Councilman Dennis Zine, whose district has been the site of several breaks.
The city's water system was put in place by William Mulholland, the self-taught engineer who built the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the revolutionary, gravity-flow system of pipes and channels that carries water from mountains and valleys more than 200 miles away.
The system allowed Los Angeles to grow from a dusty town of 102,000 people in 1900 to a metropolis of nearly 4 million today, but some pipes are as old as the aqueduct itself, completed in 1913.
The DWP has aggressively replaced old pipes in the past two years, but Zine said work crews are finding themselves unable to keep pace with the worn-out pipes.
"My prediction is there will be more of these things," he said.
(Wonder how many millions of gallons of rainwater go into the aging sewer pipes and are billed as bathwater, yard irrigation, etc. Thats what is happening in my town, and we are being charged for it like we used it for something good. MILLIONS of gallons of water per DAY being charged to municipalities that were NEVER used in the homes! Our water pipes are also aging and have breakdowns from time to time, but nothing like LA, so far. To sleeve the sewer lines is expensive - $39 a foot, and there are THOUSANDS of feet of sewers in my little town. Wonder what NEW sewer pipes might cost?)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Will Electric Car Loans Be Enough?
Will Electric Car Loans Be Enough?
By Matthew DeBord
Posted Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - 4:51pm
Fisker Automotive, an electric carmaker that’s often spoken of in the same company as Tesla Motors (and occasionally the same lawsuits) has just, like Tesla, qualified for a Department of Energy loan. Tesla got $465 million earlier this year, and now Fisker has received $528.7 million. Both companies are supposed to use the money to bring affordable electric vehicles to market. Of course, “affordable” is a relative term. Tesla builds a $100,000-plus Roadster, but wants to bring out a sub-$50,000 sedan, the Model S. Fisker also builds an exotic, expensive supercar, the Karma, but has proposed a plug-in hybrid, code-named NINA, on the way. It will sell for slightly less than $40,000.
The DOE has been throwing around funds for new forms of transportation lately. Ford (F) and Nissan received billions at the same time Tesla got its loan. But at some point you have to look at the historic economics of the auto business. Tesla was probably running on financial fumes late last year. The DOE loan is a godsend—as it probably also is for Fisker—but will it be enough money? It takes an established carmaker something like a $1 billion to bring a new vehicle to market. A new vehicle that runs on gas, not a paradigm-shifting revision of personal mobility. Considered this way, the DOE loans to Tesla and Fisker, relative to what the Big Boys are getting, could be seen as … well, skimpy. Or even a bad investment, if both companies fail to create the not-really-that-affordable, electrified mass mobility they promise.
Matthew DeBord has written about the auto industry for the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, and Car Design News
By Matthew DeBord
Posted Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - 4:51pm
Fisker Automotive, an electric carmaker that’s often spoken of in the same company as Tesla Motors (and occasionally the same lawsuits) has just, like Tesla, qualified for a Department of Energy loan. Tesla got $465 million earlier this year, and now Fisker has received $528.7 million. Both companies are supposed to use the money to bring affordable electric vehicles to market. Of course, “affordable” is a relative term. Tesla builds a $100,000-plus Roadster, but wants to bring out a sub-$50,000 sedan, the Model S. Fisker also builds an exotic, expensive supercar, the Karma, but has proposed a plug-in hybrid, code-named NINA, on the way. It will sell for slightly less than $40,000.
The DOE has been throwing around funds for new forms of transportation lately. Ford (F) and Nissan received billions at the same time Tesla got its loan. But at some point you have to look at the historic economics of the auto business. Tesla was probably running on financial fumes late last year. The DOE loan is a godsend—as it probably also is for Fisker—but will it be enough money? It takes an established carmaker something like a $1 billion to bring a new vehicle to market. A new vehicle that runs on gas, not a paradigm-shifting revision of personal mobility. Considered this way, the DOE loans to Tesla and Fisker, relative to what the Big Boys are getting, could be seen as … well, skimpy. Or even a bad investment, if both companies fail to create the not-really-that-affordable, electrified mass mobility they promise.
Matthew DeBord has written about the auto industry for the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, and Car Design News
Female Fantasies: Shared Intimacies
Another reader responds about the way that fantasy fits into her sexual desires:
I probably should not begin writing this now ... being as tired as I am at the moment ... forging ahead ... I am a single woman, in my early 40s, in management, white/European descent, raised in the northeast, now settled in South Florida, some college ... am I rambling already ...?
Sexually speaking, I became sexually active at 14 with boys. At 23, I came out as a lesbian and dated only women for 12 years. Since my early 30s, my feelings on sexuality and gender can be summarized as follows, "If I like you, then I like you ... and what it is about you that makes you who you are. It's less about what's underneath a person's clothes, than what's in a person's heart that attracts me to them." I'm not a fan of labels, but if I had to, I would label myself a bisexual woman.
As a single woman, my sex life is 100 percent fantasy and self-gratification. Sexual fantasy (for me) is paramount to enjoyable playtime and climax. I have even stopped cold, on occasion, when my mind was "just not there" and I couldn't work out an enjoyable fantasy/idea/scenario in my head. It's usually not a problem if I think long enough. ;-) But, there are times when there is no person or situation off of which to build ... and if I'm tired enough, it's OK ... I'll skip it ... There's always tomorrow.
My fantasies run first and foremost to being someone else / looking completely different than I actually do, than toward exhibitionism or dominating someone else. But not at the same time.
I've always battled with my weight. More often than anything else, my fantasies are just good ole enthusiastic hot sex (with a celebrity, a co-worker, that cute bartender from the other night, etc. ...), but what's so hot is me, because I'm so slender and amazing looking. To play armchair psychiatrist, I'm not a hottie, but I wish I was. There is nowhere better than in my fantasies to envision myself as perfect.
I have held close a fantasy since (possibly) early high school of having sex on stage (originally with a man ..., later on a woman ..., and throughout by myself). The theater is dark, with one spotlight on the stage. There is a cane-back chair (a la Cabaret) and, well, there might be music. If there is, it's not relevant. The sex itself is fairly straightforward. Nothing acrobatic or terribly complicated. Just the feeling of being an object of fantasy ... of being a hot, platinum blond (think M. Monroe or Playboy) ... of being the impetus of desire in the audiences' loins. It occurs to me I have never given any thought to the make-up of the audience. I may be more of a narcissist than I originally thought.
Another semi-regular fantasy also involves "being" someone else, combined with domination ... This is far harder to write about than it might sound. In the fantasy, I'm a male (and not a particularly nice one) who is basically having his dick sucked by some generic, hot bimbo in an equally degrading location (like an alley behind a bar or in a men's bathroom). I cringe now when I think of the demanding, degrading tone I take with "my partner." But, when this is the scenario that works ... there is certainly no cringing.
Some insight: I think this scenario comes up more frequently as my stress level goes up at work. When I feel squashed down or unhappy, it becomes my desire to "pay it forward" and make someone else feel like shit, like I do. Of course, I would never treat anyone that way in real life, so my mind lets me bitch slap some ho' ... tell her to suck it harder ... and feel both satisfied and disgusted all at the same time.
My sexual desire tends to run in cycles. The 10 days leading up to the start of my monthly cycle is when desire is highest. I may masturbate daily during that time. As the cycle wanes, I will usually slack off and may only do this once a week. If I really feel like crap, I can be a sexual camel and just put it out of my mind until I forget how long it's been. On the other hand, when I drop weight and work out regularly, it's all I can do to not trawl the bars and fuck everyone.
Once I have a fairly good idea where (or with whom) my fantasy is going, the time needed isn't long. Sometimes I need only a few minutes (!), sometimes as long as 20-30 minutes. If I use a dildo, it can either make me climax way too fast, or complicate everything and turn it into a marathon. One toy I don't use is a vibrator. They're too strong and make my clitoris retract practically up into my chest cavity.
Hope this was OK to get the ball rolling. Glad to be of assistance in some small way!
Tags: female sexuality, response to the role of fantasy in your sex life, sexuality
My Made-Up Lover: Marshall, the Hydro-Geologist
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 6:08 PM By Daniel Bergner
|A third response to my question about the role of fantasy in your sex life.
Sexual fantasy plays a central role in my life, since I'm not sexually active. Much to my chagrin and frustration, my husband of six years, who was never all that horny to begin with, has lost all his desire for intimate physical relations. I therefore have to satisfy myself, but since I share a bed every night with someone who is not available as a partner, and I work all day either at the office or caring for my young kids, there is no opportunity for me to act on my desires—not even by myself. So I think about them instead.
I fantasize about sex daily. If sexual desire builds up long enough, I will have dreams at night that at least allow me to achieve orgasm, even if I'm not fully conscious for it.
I sometimes think about sex when I'm sitting alone in my cubicle with not enough to do. Sometimes in the car during my commute. But usually it's when I'm lying in bed, just before falling asleep or just as I'm waking up.
A third response to my question about the role of fantasy in your sex life.
My fantasies are sometimes fleeting sexual thoughts: masturbatory devices I've seen and am curious about; pornographic scenes I wish I could watch. But sometimes they're more intense and long-lived. Once I had a three-month affair where I experienced all the sensations of giddy infatuation with a completely made-up character. He had the face of an actor I saw in an in-flight movie while on a business trip ... I imagined him to be another guest at my Vietnamese four-star hotel. It sounds so pedestrian when I describe it, but at the time it was wildly romantic and engrossing: His name was Marshall, and he was a divorced hydro-geologist for Bechtel, bidding on infrastructure development for HCMC ports. Boring, right? But I fell in love with him! We ate together, stayed up late talking and drinking Hennessey from the business lounge bar, then accidentally-on-purpose falling into bed together, after which we got up the nerve to take a weekend trip to Hue which was pure heaven. After we both returned to the States, he surprised me by showing up for a visit and we—illicitly, guiltily—continued our affair in my home town for another couple of weeks. After which we broke up and moved on. Hey, it gave me something to think about, something to look forward to, someone (even a make-believe friend) to dress well for when I left the house each day.
I can generalize and say that my sexual fantasies most often involve a man who desires me. That's the single biggest, most irresistibly sexy turn-on I can imagine ... that hot, lingering stare from a man who thinks I am magnificent, and who can't wait to get his hands on my naked body. If it's not a months-long affair with Marshall, it's a week long storyline starring a TV show character, or Mr. Darcy, or a casual acquaintance from a rec league sports team. The unifying theme among the objects of my sexual fantasies is that I am THEIR object of desire.
Tags: marriage, response to the role of fantasy in your sex life, sex
I Am the Young Virgin Peasant Girl, or the School Whore
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 5:49 PM By Daniel Bergner
Another reader describes the role that fantasy plays in her sex life.
Fantasy is the essence of my sexual life. Fantasy is what brings novelty to sex within a long-term commitment; without fantasy sex becomes a calisthenic exercise.
I didn't begin fantasizing during sex until I was nearly 30. For most of my early 20s, I was able to keep my sex life interesting by sleeping with new people in new places—but at 25 I began to date the man I would later marry, and the variety I had once enjoyed slowly began to disappear. This is not to say the sex was bad—it was always enjoyable, and I was able to achieve small orgasms, which could easily happen 20 times in an hour. Each one was a very small peak, but the orgasms would build on each other; while I'd never experienced the volcanic eruptions I'd heard other women describe, with enough "mini-orgasms" I could reach heights of euphoria.
I can't remember what inspired me to start fantasizing during sex, but perhaps three years ago, I did so in conjunction with intense stimulation from my husband (simultaneous clitoral and vaginal) —and I experienced my first mind-blowing orgasm. I felt muscles throughout my entire body contract uncontrollably. When it was over, some of my world view had changed—I had to wonder if my previous mini-orgasms really orgasms at all. I began to lose interest in the mini-orgasms, and the big ones became easier and easier for me to achieve. To reach the "big" orgasm, there could be some variation as far as the method of physical stimulation is concerned—but to the best of my memory, there was always fantasy.
My fantasies most often revolve around power and power imbalances, and often taboos. In a milder fantasy I might imagine I am a young virgin peasant girl whose family is one of many that works the land of a rich land owner; the landowner or his son forces himself on me, and I know I have no choice but to let him do what he wants. Or I might imagine I am the school whore, or a social misfit, and the football team is taking turns with me. From there, the fantasies get more hard-core. Many of my fantasies involve things that disturb me in my non-sex life; it is often hard for me to find the right balance between too soft-core and too hard-core. It seems that ideas that gross me out—but not too much—cause my vaginal muscles to contract, and this leads to my orgasms. On a few occasions I've gone too far in my fantasies, and ended up disturbing myself (and then not wanting sex anymore). Because this fantasy life is still relatively new to me, I am still coming to terms with the fact that things that I find to be wrong (rape; taking advantage of those without power) are the things that bring me to orgasm.
Tags: fantasy, power, Rape, response to the role of fantasy in your sex life, sex
My Husband Had an Affair. I Fantasize About the Other Woman.
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 5:39 PM By Daniel Bergner
Here's one response to my question about what role fantasy plays in your life.
I would say that I use sexual fantasies in two separate ways:
1) I use them when I am having sex. I am married and have always been monogamous, and my husband had an affair early in our marriage. I find myself fantasizing about his having sex with other women when we are having sex. I would say I do this regularly, probably every time, but the fantasies tend to be brief: mere flashes really. I do not have a good visual memory so I fantasize (and think in general) in "impressions." I also have violent sexual fantasies while having sex, and they tend to be more prevalent when I'm actually aroused (which I would say I am about half the time), and the closer I get to orgasm, the more violent they become, especially if the orgasm is difficult to attain. By "violent," I mean I have rape fantasies where I am being raped (almost always) by a man, and unless I put my husband in that role (rare), the man is always someone I do not know, although in the fantasy he would not necessarily be a stranger. Again, these fantasies are brief, although it's difficult to say how long since the whole thing is very situational. I would say no longer than maybe 20 seconds, although I'll have several in a row or replay the same one over if necessary.
2) I use them when I masturbate. I would say these are pretty similar, although since I am more likely to have an orgasm when I masturbate, and since it's quicker and less intimate, my fantasies tend to "run" quicker in my head (same fantasy, faster show time). I have a few fantasies that are in regular rotation for this purpose, and often I do not think about my husband at all, even to imagine him with another woman, which is (as I said) something I do when we are together.
General comments: I always fantasize at least some when I'm having sex or masturbating. I never fantasize out in the "real world," and I never fantasize about famous people or even people I know (other than regarding my husband as I've otherwise mentioned). Most of my fantasies are modified from a scene I've seen on TV or in a movie, for example, I use the scene from Excalibur where Arthur's father transmutes into the form of another man and has sex with Arthur's mother while wearing bloody armor; and (I'm ashamed to say) the rape scene from The Accused.
In my fantasies, I equate male violence with actual desire. I do not personally like "romance" when it comes to sex. (Rose petals on the bed? Come ON. I'd just think about how I would have to clean them up.) I prefer passion, which I equate with aggression. Not to get all "therapy session" on you, I will say this: My husband's affair was very early in our marriage, and I have always secretly assumed it was because I am inadequate in one or more ways sexually. As a result, when he wants sex, I always assume he wants sex, not sex with me particularly, so I substitute what I feel like I'm missing from him (a genuine desire as evidenced by passion and a lack of control) with fantasy.
Tags: fantasy, monogamy, response to the role of fantasy in your sex life, sex
Sexual Fantasy and Orgasm
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 3:30 PM By Daniel Bergner
Thanks to the many women who wrote in over the past week, thoughtfully and candidly, in reply to my initial question:
What role does sexual fantasy play in your life? Some researchers say that erotic fantasy does not play a major part in women’s lives. Little is truly known. How often—and when—do you fantasize about sex? What are the fantasies? How long do they last? We at DoubleX hope you will get deeply into the details. Understanding lies in such depth.
For newcomers, I am still interested in responses to this original question. To those of you have already written in, let’s continue exploring the subject. As always, send replies to xxdesirelab@gmail.com.
Several of the answers I've received note that fantasy is essential to reaching orgasm. Researchers are beginning to study the parts of the brain that are involved in sexual climax. For those of you who depend on fantasy to come, is your sense that fantasy is putting you over the edge by stoking up arousal? By shutting off the voices of inhibition? By creating a kind of distance between you and your partner? Is fantasy serving in some other way?
I noticed that very few of last week's responders said they do not often fantasize. Probably this was a product of the way I phrased the initial question. Please don't hesitate to write in with your thoughts if you fantasize rarely or not at all.
I'm going to post a few of the early replies now, with more to follow next week along with a comment on threads that are emerging. If you'd like to reflect on what you read, that would be great, but please remember to be respectful. This is a blog that aims not for judgment but insight.
Tags: orgasm, sex
Welcome to the Desire Lab
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 3:19 PM By DoubleX Staff
Welcome to the "Desire Lab." The blog is designed to be one part confession, one part research, and we need your help. It will be moderated by Daniel Bergner, who wrote this fabulous New York Times Magazine story, “What Do Women Want?” Learning from the experiences of individual women and the experiments of scientists, he is now turning the article into a book.
Daniel, the author of three award-winning books of journalism, will regularly ask a question inspired by the current explorations of sex researchers and by your contributions. We invite you to send him candid, thorough answers to xxdesirelab@gmail.com. It may feel strange to type out things you’ve never shared with anyone. But try it. This is an ambitious project. Consider the blog a place to safely explore passions and lusts, longings and ideas. Our hope is to create a community moderated by Daniel, who will continue to pose questions and move the conversation along.
The identities of everyone who writes in will be kept secret. We will publish many of the answers on the blog, and Daniel may e-mail you back to learn more for his book.
(I have always been intrigued with how women think, and especially their fantasies. They seem to exist in a parallel plane from us guys, where EVERYTHING has meaning, and is observed and analyzed accordingly. Only recently have I become aware that they are aware of us watching them ALL THE TIME, even if its just a glance, and they have given us no overt clues to us, as having noticed us noticing. I enjoy women with an active fantasy life, especially if she includes me in it, and gives me an important, if not leading, role. I also like to share my fantasies with her so she can get an idea of where I am coming from, literally and figuratively. Power exchanges and taboos are also big. Previous girlfriends have educated me about their fantasies in the past and taught me things I had never thought about doing, before I met them. A couple times a month an old girlfriend would turn into Nasty Girl and persuade me- and coach me- to treat her rough and talk to her in a demanding and critical voice while I spanked her fine full butt, slapped her nice boobies around, and pinched her big nipples hard, for starters.)
I probably should not begin writing this now ... being as tired as I am at the moment ... forging ahead ... I am a single woman, in my early 40s, in management, white/European descent, raised in the northeast, now settled in South Florida, some college ... am I rambling already ...?
Sexually speaking, I became sexually active at 14 with boys. At 23, I came out as a lesbian and dated only women for 12 years. Since my early 30s, my feelings on sexuality and gender can be summarized as follows, "If I like you, then I like you ... and what it is about you that makes you who you are. It's less about what's underneath a person's clothes, than what's in a person's heart that attracts me to them." I'm not a fan of labels, but if I had to, I would label myself a bisexual woman.
As a single woman, my sex life is 100 percent fantasy and self-gratification. Sexual fantasy (for me) is paramount to enjoyable playtime and climax. I have even stopped cold, on occasion, when my mind was "just not there" and I couldn't work out an enjoyable fantasy/idea/scenario in my head. It's usually not a problem if I think long enough. ;-) But, there are times when there is no person or situation off of which to build ... and if I'm tired enough, it's OK ... I'll skip it ... There's always tomorrow.
My fantasies run first and foremost to being someone else / looking completely different than I actually do, than toward exhibitionism or dominating someone else. But not at the same time.
I've always battled with my weight. More often than anything else, my fantasies are just good ole enthusiastic hot sex (with a celebrity, a co-worker, that cute bartender from the other night, etc. ...), but what's so hot is me, because I'm so slender and amazing looking. To play armchair psychiatrist, I'm not a hottie, but I wish I was. There is nowhere better than in my fantasies to envision myself as perfect.
I have held close a fantasy since (possibly) early high school of having sex on stage (originally with a man ..., later on a woman ..., and throughout by myself). The theater is dark, with one spotlight on the stage. There is a cane-back chair (a la Cabaret) and, well, there might be music. If there is, it's not relevant. The sex itself is fairly straightforward. Nothing acrobatic or terribly complicated. Just the feeling of being an object of fantasy ... of being a hot, platinum blond (think M. Monroe or Playboy) ... of being the impetus of desire in the audiences' loins. It occurs to me I have never given any thought to the make-up of the audience. I may be more of a narcissist than I originally thought.
Another semi-regular fantasy also involves "being" someone else, combined with domination ... This is far harder to write about than it might sound. In the fantasy, I'm a male (and not a particularly nice one) who is basically having his dick sucked by some generic, hot bimbo in an equally degrading location (like an alley behind a bar or in a men's bathroom). I cringe now when I think of the demanding, degrading tone I take with "my partner." But, when this is the scenario that works ... there is certainly no cringing.
Some insight: I think this scenario comes up more frequently as my stress level goes up at work. When I feel squashed down or unhappy, it becomes my desire to "pay it forward" and make someone else feel like shit, like I do. Of course, I would never treat anyone that way in real life, so my mind lets me bitch slap some ho' ... tell her to suck it harder ... and feel both satisfied and disgusted all at the same time.
My sexual desire tends to run in cycles. The 10 days leading up to the start of my monthly cycle is when desire is highest. I may masturbate daily during that time. As the cycle wanes, I will usually slack off and may only do this once a week. If I really feel like crap, I can be a sexual camel and just put it out of my mind until I forget how long it's been. On the other hand, when I drop weight and work out regularly, it's all I can do to not trawl the bars and fuck everyone.
Once I have a fairly good idea where (or with whom) my fantasy is going, the time needed isn't long. Sometimes I need only a few minutes (!), sometimes as long as 20-30 minutes. If I use a dildo, it can either make me climax way too fast, or complicate everything and turn it into a marathon. One toy I don't use is a vibrator. They're too strong and make my clitoris retract practically up into my chest cavity.
Hope this was OK to get the ball rolling. Glad to be of assistance in some small way!
Tags: female sexuality, response to the role of fantasy in your sex life, sexuality
My Made-Up Lover: Marshall, the Hydro-Geologist
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 6:08 PM By Daniel Bergner
|A third response to my question about the role of fantasy in your sex life.
Sexual fantasy plays a central role in my life, since I'm not sexually active. Much to my chagrin and frustration, my husband of six years, who was never all that horny to begin with, has lost all his desire for intimate physical relations. I therefore have to satisfy myself, but since I share a bed every night with someone who is not available as a partner, and I work all day either at the office or caring for my young kids, there is no opportunity for me to act on my desires—not even by myself. So I think about them instead.
I fantasize about sex daily. If sexual desire builds up long enough, I will have dreams at night that at least allow me to achieve orgasm, even if I'm not fully conscious for it.
I sometimes think about sex when I'm sitting alone in my cubicle with not enough to do. Sometimes in the car during my commute. But usually it's when I'm lying in bed, just before falling asleep or just as I'm waking up.
A third response to my question about the role of fantasy in your sex life.
My fantasies are sometimes fleeting sexual thoughts: masturbatory devices I've seen and am curious about; pornographic scenes I wish I could watch. But sometimes they're more intense and long-lived. Once I had a three-month affair where I experienced all the sensations of giddy infatuation with a completely made-up character. He had the face of an actor I saw in an in-flight movie while on a business trip ... I imagined him to be another guest at my Vietnamese four-star hotel. It sounds so pedestrian when I describe it, but at the time it was wildly romantic and engrossing: His name was Marshall, and he was a divorced hydro-geologist for Bechtel, bidding on infrastructure development for HCMC ports. Boring, right? But I fell in love with him! We ate together, stayed up late talking and drinking Hennessey from the business lounge bar, then accidentally-on-purpose falling into bed together, after which we got up the nerve to take a weekend trip to Hue which was pure heaven. After we both returned to the States, he surprised me by showing up for a visit and we—illicitly, guiltily—continued our affair in my home town for another couple of weeks. After which we broke up and moved on. Hey, it gave me something to think about, something to look forward to, someone (even a make-believe friend) to dress well for when I left the house each day.
I can generalize and say that my sexual fantasies most often involve a man who desires me. That's the single biggest, most irresistibly sexy turn-on I can imagine ... that hot, lingering stare from a man who thinks I am magnificent, and who can't wait to get his hands on my naked body. If it's not a months-long affair with Marshall, it's a week long storyline starring a TV show character, or Mr. Darcy, or a casual acquaintance from a rec league sports team. The unifying theme among the objects of my sexual fantasies is that I am THEIR object of desire.
Tags: marriage, response to the role of fantasy in your sex life, sex
I Am the Young Virgin Peasant Girl, or the School Whore
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 5:49 PM By Daniel Bergner
Another reader describes the role that fantasy plays in her sex life.
Fantasy is the essence of my sexual life. Fantasy is what brings novelty to sex within a long-term commitment; without fantasy sex becomes a calisthenic exercise.
I didn't begin fantasizing during sex until I was nearly 30. For most of my early 20s, I was able to keep my sex life interesting by sleeping with new people in new places—but at 25 I began to date the man I would later marry, and the variety I had once enjoyed slowly began to disappear. This is not to say the sex was bad—it was always enjoyable, and I was able to achieve small orgasms, which could easily happen 20 times in an hour. Each one was a very small peak, but the orgasms would build on each other; while I'd never experienced the volcanic eruptions I'd heard other women describe, with enough "mini-orgasms" I could reach heights of euphoria.
I can't remember what inspired me to start fantasizing during sex, but perhaps three years ago, I did so in conjunction with intense stimulation from my husband (simultaneous clitoral and vaginal) —and I experienced my first mind-blowing orgasm. I felt muscles throughout my entire body contract uncontrollably. When it was over, some of my world view had changed—I had to wonder if my previous mini-orgasms really orgasms at all. I began to lose interest in the mini-orgasms, and the big ones became easier and easier for me to achieve. To reach the "big" orgasm, there could be some variation as far as the method of physical stimulation is concerned—but to the best of my memory, there was always fantasy.
My fantasies most often revolve around power and power imbalances, and often taboos. In a milder fantasy I might imagine I am a young virgin peasant girl whose family is one of many that works the land of a rich land owner; the landowner or his son forces himself on me, and I know I have no choice but to let him do what he wants. Or I might imagine I am the school whore, or a social misfit, and the football team is taking turns with me. From there, the fantasies get more hard-core. Many of my fantasies involve things that disturb me in my non-sex life; it is often hard for me to find the right balance between too soft-core and too hard-core. It seems that ideas that gross me out—but not too much—cause my vaginal muscles to contract, and this leads to my orgasms. On a few occasions I've gone too far in my fantasies, and ended up disturbing myself (and then not wanting sex anymore). Because this fantasy life is still relatively new to me, I am still coming to terms with the fact that things that I find to be wrong (rape; taking advantage of those without power) are the things that bring me to orgasm.
Tags: fantasy, power, Rape, response to the role of fantasy in your sex life, sex
My Husband Had an Affair. I Fantasize About the Other Woman.
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 5:39 PM By Daniel Bergner
Here's one response to my question about what role fantasy plays in your life.
I would say that I use sexual fantasies in two separate ways:
1) I use them when I am having sex. I am married and have always been monogamous, and my husband had an affair early in our marriage. I find myself fantasizing about his having sex with other women when we are having sex. I would say I do this regularly, probably every time, but the fantasies tend to be brief: mere flashes really. I do not have a good visual memory so I fantasize (and think in general) in "impressions." I also have violent sexual fantasies while having sex, and they tend to be more prevalent when I'm actually aroused (which I would say I am about half the time), and the closer I get to orgasm, the more violent they become, especially if the orgasm is difficult to attain. By "violent," I mean I have rape fantasies where I am being raped (almost always) by a man, and unless I put my husband in that role (rare), the man is always someone I do not know, although in the fantasy he would not necessarily be a stranger. Again, these fantasies are brief, although it's difficult to say how long since the whole thing is very situational. I would say no longer than maybe 20 seconds, although I'll have several in a row or replay the same one over if necessary.
2) I use them when I masturbate. I would say these are pretty similar, although since I am more likely to have an orgasm when I masturbate, and since it's quicker and less intimate, my fantasies tend to "run" quicker in my head (same fantasy, faster show time). I have a few fantasies that are in regular rotation for this purpose, and often I do not think about my husband at all, even to imagine him with another woman, which is (as I said) something I do when we are together.
General comments: I always fantasize at least some when I'm having sex or masturbating. I never fantasize out in the "real world," and I never fantasize about famous people or even people I know (other than regarding my husband as I've otherwise mentioned). Most of my fantasies are modified from a scene I've seen on TV or in a movie, for example, I use the scene from Excalibur where Arthur's father transmutes into the form of another man and has sex with Arthur's mother while wearing bloody armor; and (I'm ashamed to say) the rape scene from The Accused.
In my fantasies, I equate male violence with actual desire. I do not personally like "romance" when it comes to sex. (Rose petals on the bed? Come ON. I'd just think about how I would have to clean them up.) I prefer passion, which I equate with aggression. Not to get all "therapy session" on you, I will say this: My husband's affair was very early in our marriage, and I have always secretly assumed it was because I am inadequate in one or more ways sexually. As a result, when he wants sex, I always assume he wants sex, not sex with me particularly, so I substitute what I feel like I'm missing from him (a genuine desire as evidenced by passion and a lack of control) with fantasy.
Tags: fantasy, monogamy, response to the role of fantasy in your sex life, sex
Sexual Fantasy and Orgasm
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 3:30 PM By Daniel Bergner
Thanks to the many women who wrote in over the past week, thoughtfully and candidly, in reply to my initial question:
What role does sexual fantasy play in your life? Some researchers say that erotic fantasy does not play a major part in women’s lives. Little is truly known. How often—and when—do you fantasize about sex? What are the fantasies? How long do they last? We at DoubleX hope you will get deeply into the details. Understanding lies in such depth.
For newcomers, I am still interested in responses to this original question. To those of you have already written in, let’s continue exploring the subject. As always, send replies to xxdesirelab@gmail.com.
Several of the answers I've received note that fantasy is essential to reaching orgasm. Researchers are beginning to study the parts of the brain that are involved in sexual climax. For those of you who depend on fantasy to come, is your sense that fantasy is putting you over the edge by stoking up arousal? By shutting off the voices of inhibition? By creating a kind of distance between you and your partner? Is fantasy serving in some other way?
I noticed that very few of last week's responders said they do not often fantasize. Probably this was a product of the way I phrased the initial question. Please don't hesitate to write in with your thoughts if you fantasize rarely or not at all.
I'm going to post a few of the early replies now, with more to follow next week along with a comment on threads that are emerging. If you'd like to reflect on what you read, that would be great, but please remember to be respectful. This is a blog that aims not for judgment but insight.
Tags: orgasm, sex
Welcome to the Desire Lab
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 3:19 PM By DoubleX Staff
Welcome to the "Desire Lab." The blog is designed to be one part confession, one part research, and we need your help. It will be moderated by Daniel Bergner, who wrote this fabulous New York Times Magazine story, “What Do Women Want?” Learning from the experiences of individual women and the experiments of scientists, he is now turning the article into a book.
Daniel, the author of three award-winning books of journalism, will regularly ask a question inspired by the current explorations of sex researchers and by your contributions. We invite you to send him candid, thorough answers to xxdesirelab@gmail.com. It may feel strange to type out things you’ve never shared with anyone. But try it. This is an ambitious project. Consider the blog a place to safely explore passions and lusts, longings and ideas. Our hope is to create a community moderated by Daniel, who will continue to pose questions and move the conversation along.
The identities of everyone who writes in will be kept secret. We will publish many of the answers on the blog, and Daniel may e-mail you back to learn more for his book.
(I have always been intrigued with how women think, and especially their fantasies. They seem to exist in a parallel plane from us guys, where EVERYTHING has meaning, and is observed and analyzed accordingly. Only recently have I become aware that they are aware of us watching them ALL THE TIME, even if its just a glance, and they have given us no overt clues to us, as having noticed us noticing. I enjoy women with an active fantasy life, especially if she includes me in it, and gives me an important, if not leading, role. I also like to share my fantasies with her so she can get an idea of where I am coming from, literally and figuratively. Power exchanges and taboos are also big. Previous girlfriends have educated me about their fantasies in the past and taught me things I had never thought about doing, before I met them. A couple times a month an old girlfriend would turn into Nasty Girl and persuade me- and coach me- to treat her rough and talk to her in a demanding and critical voice while I spanked her fine full butt, slapped her nice boobies around, and pinched her big nipples hard, for starters.)
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