He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.
— Benjamin Franklin
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He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.
— Benjamin Franklin
Climate change update:
Watch it disappear: Satellite images acquired from 23 to 25 August 2006 have shown for the first time dramatic openings – over a geographic extent larger than the size of the British Isles – in the Arctic’s perennial sea ice pack north of Svalbard, and extending into the Russian Arctic all the way to the North Pole.
Climate change could cause forests to spew out more and more nitrous oxide, aka laughing gas, a potent contributor to global warming. As a greenhouse gas, N2O is 296 times as powerful as carbon dioxide and accounts for 6 per cent of the greenhouse effect. German researchers found that nitrifying soil bacteria thrive on high nitrogen levels, producing mainly nitrates, which are turned into N2O by denitrifying bacteria. As human activity adds more nitrogen to the biosphere, the production of N2O by the bacteria looks set to grow.
Liar, liar, planet on fire: The administration claims it wasn’t trying to tell government scientists what to say about climate change, but e-mails obtained by Salon prove otherwise.
Liar, liar, part deux: In an unprecedented step, Britain’s leading scientists have challenged the US oil company ExxonMobil to stop funding groups that attempt to undermine the scientific consensus on climate change.
…And the rest of the science headlines:
Scientists using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered and directly imaged a small brown dwarf star, 50 times the mass of Jupiter, orbiting with a planet around a Sun-like star. Such an arrangement has never before been seen but might be common, the scientists say, leading to solar systems with distorted planetary orbits.
“I’m shocked, shocked:” The Environmental Protection Agency is not conducting required reviews to ensure that low-income and minority neighborhoods get the same environmental protection as other communities.
An independent panel of scientists strongly endorsed NASA’s plans to return to the moon, saying in a report Tuesday that lunar exploration will open the way toward broader studies of the Earth and solar system.
Mercury contamination is making its way into nearly every habitat in the United States, not just oceans, according to a report from the National Wildlife Federation. Mercury pollution from power plants and other industrial sources has accumulated in birds, mammals and reptiles across the country, and only cuts in emissions can curtail the contamination.
Symptoms of up to 20 percent of people with allergic rhinitis, meaning runny nose and sneezing, may be due to an allergy to their to houseplants. In the study, ficus trees in particular were a culprit.
Ivory Coast toxics disaster update: Authorities have charged two French executives of a Dutch-based commodities trader in connection with a toxic waste dumping scandal which killed seven people, the justice ministry said on Tuesday.
The lack of competent leadership at any level of the federal government is baffling…
The lack of competent leadership at any level of the federal government is baffling…
You’d think that in some far-flung corner of the empire someone competent would arise and percolate to the top of the operation. But perhaps the requirements of ideological purity are such that the great majority of such people are either quitting the government, or laying low until a sane administration comes into power.
And then there’s Bush’s personal loyalty, which seems to be especially fervent towards the incompetent…
And then there’s the Iraq Study Group – Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Baker um, Mr. Fixer called a briefing yesterday to give a “progress report”
Well, ‘we have nothing to report’
But, Baker has been ‘cleared’ to meet with “high representative of Iranian government
(H/T: cursor.org)
Panda bites drunk Chinese man, man bites panda back at Beijing zoo
At U.N., Chavez calls Bush ‘the devil’
He didn’t carry his remarks to their logical conclusion, insisting that Bush be deported from the USA and sent to live and rule over the Evil Empire that he — Bush — proclaimed and maintains exists.
Like I said, it’s only logical.
what’s on the war menu? Iran will soon be served well done by the same OSP c#ooks that served up Iraq:
NPR has the Special du jour
With this administration, you advance only if at first you fail.
And a (H/T: Thinkprogress) we note Bush’s former speechwriter David Frum’s lament:
shrub’s UN speech is ‘The Collapse of the President’s Iran Policy’
as we are reminded:
“Study calls Iran ‘biggest beneficiary’ of US war on terror