Thoughts. . .

. . . about our environment. . .

(from http://www.nbcnews.com/science/fracking-practices-blame-ohio-earthquakes-8C11073601)
". . .Research now reveals wastewater from fracking is linked to all the earthquakes in a town in Ohio with no history of earthquakes.

Fracking involves high pressure injection of water, sand and other materials into a well to fracture rock which opens up fissures from which oil and natural gas can flow freely. This process generates wastewater which is disposed of by pumping it underground.

Advocates claim fracking is a safe, economical source of clean energy, while critics argue that it taints drinking water supplies and causes other problems.

Before January 2011, Youngstown, Ohio had never experienced an earthquake since researchers began observations in 1776. In December 2010, the Northstar 1 injection well came online to pump wastewater from fracking projects in Pennsylvania into storage deep underground. In the year that followed, Youngstown recorded 109 earthquakes. The well was soon shut down. . ."


(from http://www.monbiot.com/2013/08/30/backwards-reasoning/)
". . .Many of those who deny that climate change is taking place reached that position as a result of their opposition to wind farms. This, for example, was the route taken by David Bellamy, who stumbled disastrously into the debate a decade ago.

During one of our discussions, he set me the following challenge:
“Why are the so-called greens backing a cartel of multinational companies which are hell bent on covering some of the best of our countryside with so-called wind farms, which can neither provide us with a sustainable source of future energy nor have any measurable effect reducing the amount of carbon dioxide pouring into the atmosphere? If he [George Monbiot] can disprove the latter – which is the mathematical truth – I will fall into line over global warming”.

In other words, if I could disprove his contention that windfarms are useless, he would accept climate change science. I don’t mean to disinter an ancient and long-settled debate, but to use this as an example of a common phenomenon, to which all of us succumb from time to time. When we don’t like an outcome, we reject the premise. . ."

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That Obama. . .

. . . first he causes a recession and he gets us deep in debt. Then he won't make any jobs and NOW THIS. . .

from
msnbc.com news services
updated 9/9/2011 2:36:54 PM ET 2011-09-09

"Bank of America is considering cutting at least 10 percent of its work force as part of a massive restructuring, according to published reports.

The Wall Street Journal said that officials at the Charlotte, N.C., bank have discussed cutting 40,000 employees, or 14 percent of the bank’s 288,000 total staff. Bloomberg put the job cuts at about 10 percent. They each cited people that were not identified by name. . ."

The bank recently sold $5 billion of preferred stock to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and also agreed to sell half its stake in a Chinese bank. Bank of America is also trying to sell a large portion of its mortgage business, the newspaper said.

The Journal said that most of the job cuts are expected to be made on its consumer side. It got rid of 63 unprofitable branches between April and June and said it plans to close 750 of its nearly 6,000 locations in the next several years. . . "

. . . I'm sure republicans will eventually (if not already) regale their gullible constituency with tales of how the president caused the earthquake and brought on a hurricane in the same week before having the nerve to make it rain for 5 days straight in the eastern part of the country. [And I'm sure they won't mention the paychecks, perks, stock options and bonuses the B of A execs will take when this is over.]





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I can't help it. . .

. . . I have to mention Michelle Bachmann again, and I realize it's old news, but. . .

Let me get this straight. 'GOD' is sending us a message? An earthquake and a hurricane are (separately, or as a 'package'?) a message from 'GOD' that we, as a nation, are spending too much? That's CLEAR! Isn't it????

The bigger question here is, was she really joking as her campaign spokesperson said? Or was that a bit of damage control after the fact. (Were she and her husband joking as well when speaking of their efforts to 'convert' gays to heterosexuality?) One commentator stated that Bachmann does not let criticism of these gaffes get to her. She does not respond or retaliate, like a Sarah Palin, when the press latches on to her outrageous outbursts. The commentator says this is how a 'seasoned' politician behaves. For Bachmann, that's good. Right?

I say to that commentator, and to the press at large, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE cover the news. ASK Michelle Bachmann if she was joking. Give us the real Michelle Bachmann. Is she, in fact, Michelle Bachmann- sophisticated, urbane wit? Or is she Michelle Bachmann- hayseed, fundamentalist, tribal, pre-scientific rube?

I really want to know.




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How many times. . .

. . . has someone said to you that they wish they could return to their childhood? I know I've heard it many. Sometimes I even think that maybe I would like to return to mine.

Take this week for example. First, we have an earthquake. A REAL, BONIFIDE EARTHQUAKE!! Right here on the east coast. And it wasn't just one of those earthquakes you hear about on the news the next day. I felt the earth shake. More than once. And everyone else in town felt it as well. Evacuation of the downtown buildings was automatic and simultaneous. It was like a huge block party - without the party (unfortunately). And when it occurred to me to inform my wife via cellphone and couldn't even connect to a working cell, I realized just how big the thing really was! That's not even mentioning the aftershock around 1AM Thursday morning.

Well, we all seemed to survive that well enough. Even managed to laugh a little about the 'severity' of the quake as pointed out on the internet by some west coast resident who is much more familiar with such occurrences and probably of much greater severity. So we plow onward through our workweek only to find out that a hurricane is due to affect our area by the weekend. And not just ANY hurricane! This baby is huge, strong and slow moving. Don't know what stats are available yet, but this storm (Irene, by name) will probably be one for our recordbooks based upon sheer size and strength. And its now Saturday night and she has arrived, so I'm listening to the rain slashing at the window and the wind howling outside as I write.

But sleep overcame me during the above, so I can now tell you that we appear to have come through this one alright. At least from the perspective of my house. Lots of leaves and small tree branches litter the area and the wind is still gusting, but I would dare to say we have another few hours and it'll be over.

WHFEWW!!!! Life goes one. Today I gotta replace the pull-cord of the ceiling fan in Harrison's room FOR THE THIRD TIME!!! Return to my childhood you ask??

Not me. NNNAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!




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earthquake, schmearthquake. . .

. . . they said on the west coast.

Well, maybe. I don't understand 'shallow' earthquakes compared to 'deep'(?) ones, but if the fact that it was 'shallow' was to our benefit, I hope to never experience one of the 'other' variety.

(from Jacob Adelman, The Associated Press)
". . ."Really all this excitement over a 5.8 quake??? Come on East Coast, we have those for breakfast out here!!!!" wrote Dennis Miller, 50, a lifelong California resident whose house in Pleasanton sits on an earthquake fault line.

On Twitter and Facebook and over email, people circulated a photo of a table and four plastic lawn chairs in a serene garden setting. One of the chairs flipped on its back. The mock image carried the title "DC Earthquake Devastation."

All the more laughable for some were the images of people fleeing buildings — the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do in a quake.

"Hey East Coast, the entire West Coast is mocking you right now," tweeted Todd Walker, an Anchorage TV anchorman.

Later Tuesday, a small earthquake centered near Oakland shook the San Francisco Bay area. The magnitude 3.6 quake struck at about 11:36 p.m. PDT and was also felt by people across the bay in San Francisco.

The tough earthquake talk comes from a coast that is apparently jaded by its own seismic activity — or perhaps not as experienced as it imagines itself to be.

Tuesday's quake was the East Coast's largest since 1944. California alone has seen 35 quakes of that size since then, and since Japan's massive 9.0 quake on March 11, that country has experienced 93 aftershocks that registered more than magnitude-6.0. . ."




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