"A preliminary review by the National Weather Service found that the powerful tornado that ravaged Missouri's capital Wednesday night rated at least an EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, indicating maximum wind speeds of 160 mph."
Something new has been added. "As LiveScience reports, researchers from France recently discovered the brand new feature of the ocean floor near Mayotte, and it’s absolutely massive. The volcano, which now stretches some 800 meters off the seafloor, didn’t even exist six months prior, and reports from island residents paint a clear picture of when it was created."
They're discovering new forms of wood. "But now, a large team of US researchers has found a single solution that appears to manage everything using a sustainable material that both reflects sunlight and radiates away excess heat. The miracle material? Wood. Or a form of wood that has been treated to remove one of its two main components." (Grokked from John)
"NASA has chosen its first commercial partner for a proposed space station, known as the Lunar Gateway, to be built near the Moon. On Thursday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Maxar Technologies would build the first component of the Gateway—the power and propulsion element. Like the name suggests, it will provide electricity to the Gateway and help move it around."
"'Low whole-grain consumption was associated with the largest cancer burden in the US, followed by low dairy intake, high processed-meat intake, low vegetable and fruit intake, high red-meat intake and high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages,' Zhang said." Good thing we're all not smoking like chimneys anymore, amiright? "The researchers found that colon and rectal cancers had the highest number and proportion of diet-related cases, at 38.3%." Fiber. Eat more fiber, peoples. And remember how studies showed "organic" or "whole foods" really don't help you? "People who frequently eat organic foods lowered their overall risk of developing cancer, according to a study published last year in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Specifically, those who primarily ate organic foods were more likely to ward off non-Hodgkin lymphoma and postmenopausal breast cancer than those who rarely or never ate organic foods." Again, ultra-processed foods were developed to counter the rising cost of food to provide cheap calories as income disparity started taking off.
Remember the concept of moving our food sources to the ocean as the surface soils continue to be degraded? You know like eating seafood and seaweed? "Already, 29% of edible fish and seafood species have declined by 90% -- a drop that means the collapse of these fisheries… But the issue isn't just having seafood on our plates. Ocean species filter toxins from the water. They protect shorelines. And they reduce the risks of algae blooms such as the red tide." Gone by 2048. Also as a reminder, when I was a kid, "Orange Roughy", Chilean Sea Bass, cat fish, tilapia, and a number of other fish we consider "premium" these days weren't even considered good dog food. And now, most of what is sold as "grouper" and other premium fish (especially in restaurants) aren't those fishes but other "junk" fish. We're boned. (Grokked from Karl Schroeder)
Fish farms you say? "A sudden surge in algae has killed at least eight million salmon in one week across Norwegian fish farms, the state-owned Norwegian Seafood Council has said." Expect to pay more for "wild caught" salmon this year. Even if Norwegian salmon is mostly sold to Japan. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"On Capitol Hill Thursday, NOAA’s acting chief, Neil Jacobs, said that interference from 5G wireless phones could reduce the accuracy of forecasts by 30 percent. That’s equivalent, he said, to the quality of weather predictions four decades ago." The problems of expanding the spectrum we use for communications, sometimes that space is already used for something else. (Grokked from Mary Lou Klecha)
"Plastic bags are not biodegradable and can do great harms to wildlife. Cities and states across the country are banning plastic bags, but those bans may be having unintended consequences." So, here's an example of what is bad about "whataboutism" reporting. Note that plastic bags are only better when it comes to "climate change", and then only when you reuse them several times. And yes, making paper is more environmentally worse with other pollution issues… but there's no mention of just where those plastics come from (and if I had to guess the study doesn't check the full life of the materials, ie. the oil production to make the plastic). Soooo, oooo they're all "contrarian" and I'm feeling all abashed. Nope. Paper bags can be made more environmentally friendly (so can plastic bags, btw). And I remember Chief Iron Eyes crying and exactly what he was crying over, plastic bag pollution in the environment is worse. It also contributes to the problems of micro plastics in our water. So no, plastic bags are not better. My guess is when you include the carbon footprint for the oil extraction to make the plastic beads that are made into plastic bags you will see a much more even climate change effect. Paper breaks down faster. Paper is also digestible. And that's the point. So yes, banning plastic bags does increase other plastics use (garbage bags which are heavier plastic… but they don't have to be made that way), but that also assumes we are only going to do one thing, and not address the myriad problems of pollution and climate change. You know, like recycling, reuse of containers for garbage processing, reduction of materials we just throw away, etc.
"But now, for the first time in decades, the disability rolls are shrinking. More people with disabilities are returning to work and holding on to their jobs. With unemployment at a nearly 50-year low, companies are struggling to find workers. And that means people who had trouble finding a job in the past are suddenly in demand. That includes people with disabilities." These people are still disabled, but companies are now "forced" to actually "figure it out."
"For decades, researchers have followed the participants of a 1960's preschool program. They found a range of social and economic benefits, and not just for the participants in the program." As I write this, there's no transcript, but highly recommended. The project was meant to improve grades, at which it didn't succeed, but the program's participants, and their kids, did. Preschool programs, Headstart and all the others, help improve lives, and the improvements affect generations of kids.
These assholes and their entitlement mentalities. "Huckabee built his dream house on a public beach, a spot where some of the more than 4 million spring breakers and tourists who come to Walton County each year had been parking their lawn chairs and fishing poles since time immemorial. That meant the Fox News contributor had to share much of the 115-foot-long spit of sand in front of his $6 million house with those who helped pay for it—the people who watch his TV show. And he didn’t like it one bit… So Huckabee, father of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, lobbied local officials to cleanse it of the riffraff." You know, like Jesus did. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"Thousands of women who've had abortions have taken to social media to share their experience. Many argue they would have been worse off economically, had they been forced to deliver a baby." There's a lot of "maybe that was the baby who would cure cancer" arguments going around. Okay, what if the mother who was forced to give birth, but had to give up school or a good job or even just have the time was the one who would cure cancer? These things are never good arguments. But then, the right-to-life side is doing absolutely nothing to help these new mothers.
How goes Brexit? "UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation in an emotional speech on Friday, finally bowing to intense political pressure over the failure to deliver her signature policy -- Britain's withdrawal from the European Union." Just as a reminder, Theresa May only got the job because Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson (who is being named as a possible replacement) all ran away from responsibility after they won the Brexit vote. The chances of a hard Brexit just went up exponentially.
"Brexiteers, nostalgic for the days of the British Empire, feel Europe still owes them from rescuing the continent from the Nazis, and complain the European Union has humiliated their prime minister." It was 75 years ago, Europe celebrated your grandparents (who did the actual liberation). Get over yourselves and your entitlement and realize that we're all in this together.
How go the Trade Wars? "'It’s happening, it’s happening fast and I think things probably are going to happen with China fast because I cannot imagine that they can be thrilled with thousands of companies leaving their shores for other places,' Trump said during remarks at the White House, providing no evidence of such an exodus." Narrator voice; there are no current talks and there is no schedule for continuing discussions.
"Asia Pacific markets traded mixed Friday, as worries over trade tensions between the United States and China weighed on investor sentiment."
"Jason Moon with New Hampshire Public Radio reports on how advocacy groups in that state are training voters in an art known as bird-dogging." That name is used a pejorative in most elected representative circles. It brings thoughts and worries about the "gotcha" questions. It shouldn't. We should get direct answers from the people who want to represent us.
In case you haven't seen the video of the president putting his lackies on the line to agree he was totally calm when he stormed out of the room on the meeting on infrastructure. Totally like what a stable genius would do. He then went on to belittle everyone else at the meeting, and then reiterated the conspiracy of the "deep state." (Grokked from a lot of people)
"The videos alter the audio of Pelosi’s speech at a Center for American Progress event Wednesday in which she accuses President Trump of a 'cover-up,' editing the clip to make it appear as though she is slurring her words." And, "President Donald Trump on Thursday night tweeted out an edited video showing Nancy Pelosi stumbling over her words, escalating the personal attacks he has made against the Democratic House Speaker." Plus "The crudely edited video comes amid warnings from the US intelligence community that more sophisticated video manipulation may be part of future disinformation campaigns targeting the American electorate." Welcome to the 2020 disinformation campaigns. Oh, and Facebook and Twitter are saying it's "satire" and won't be taking it down.
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