Thorium – the kinder, safer nuclear power?

My problems with nuclear power are more or less the standard worries about meltdowns and waste. In my opinion, those problems will get worse as the planet warms. I also think that we can’t afford to discard nuclear power out of hand. There are some versions of it that seem better than what we have now, including Liquid Fluorine Thorium Reactors(commonly referred to as LFTR):

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How we know what we know: Ice ages

This isn’t a new video, but it’s a good one for people looking for better understanding of ice ages:

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The loss of ice is accelerating Arctic warming

It may come as a shock to some, but as the global temperature has been rising, ice has been melting. In the Arctic ocean, this has meant a decline in multi-year sea ice. While conservatives have been busy pretending that the ice totally isn’t melting, climate scientists have been looking into what follows as the ice recedes. The news isn’t good:

Arctic sea ice isn’t just threatened by the melting of ice around its edges, a new study has found: Warmer water that originated hundreds of miles away has penetrated deep into the interior of the Arctic.

[Read more…]

Reminding police to prevent crime rather than baiting children into committing it

I really don’t understand why it’s so difficult for police to think of ideas that don’t seem calculated to punish poor people for being poor and living in poor areas. In this case, police literally targeted poor children by parking fake Nike trucks with shoes in them near places like basketball courts, and leaving the doors open. ‘Cause we all know that children always fully understand the ramifications of their actions, and are known for their self control, so only the really bad ones will take something they want when it’s just sitting there!

Fortunately, people caught on and organized a “counter-sting”:

[Read more…]

By the hoarders, for the hoarders: Billionaires are incompatible with a democratic society

I spent most of the last six years or so helping conduct experiments in science education. To get funding, we had to show evidence supporting our techniques and expectations. During the work we had oversight from both our company and experts at the NSF. This wasn’t just making sure that the grant money wasn’t being misused, it was also to ensure that the children on whose classrooms we were experimenting were not harmed by our experiments. These students are real people, and their schooling, good or bad, has ripple effects that will last for their entire lives. [Read more…]

Natural Gas is Immoral: Fracking destroys potable water

Ending the use of fossil fuels isn’t just about slowing climate change. It’s also about surviving climate change. The extraction, processing, and use of fossil fuels all present hazards to human health that will only grow as the temperature rises.

From the dawn of fracking technology, there have been serious concerns about contamination of our water supply. These concerns were largely waved away, and in the years that followed, fracking became just another means for the fossil fuel industry to poison their surroundings for profit. Now, even as we hear about companies like Nestle hoarding access to fresh water, a new study has outlined the degree to which the fossil fuel industry is destroying the American water supply. Farron Cousins from Ring of Fire Radio has more: [Read more…]

Climate change and zombie evolution

It’s no secret to fans of biology and of excellent video games that zombies are real. There are a few different versions of zombie infection that have different effects depending on the zombifying organism and its host. In this case, we’re talking about zombie ants and the Cordyceps fungi that prey on them.

The image is a silhouette of a

For those who need a refresher, Cordyceps spreads through spores, which attach to the species they specialize in, and grow into its body. Mycelium – the root-like structures that make up most of a mushroom’s body – grows into the host and feeds on it, growing to replace the host tissue with more fungus. As this happens, the host is compelled to change its behavior. It is forced to seek out a good location to die. This means gaining elevation, and clamping onto a twig or a leaf. The ant then dies, and the Cordyceps puts out a “fruit body” like the various toadstools we eat. Spores are released, and drift around until they land on a new host and the cycle can begin again.

So where do climate and evolution come in? [Read more…]

Past is Prologue: Keystone brutality was allowed under Obama, but is encouraged under Trump

The Keystone pipeline has not gone away; nor has the mortal danger to all of us it represents. The constant shitstorm from the Republican Party has made it difficult to keep focus on any one issue, and the media has been largely complicit in creating that problem and in making it worse. Keystone is Old News, and the most immediate danger it presents is to poor people. American Tradition dictates that “their” problems be ignored if there’s more potential for profit elsewhere.

The announcement of Kennedy’s retirement, combined with the theft of a Supreme Court nomination, and the rest of the Republican campaign to take over the the Judicial Branch, means that we can expect any and all challenges to the fossil fuel industry to be crushed by the courts. Case in point, South Dakota’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a regulator’s approval of the pipeline.

This fight will not go away because for a lot of people, it’s literally a fight for survival. To crush any efforts toward actual justice, the biggest fossil fuel companies have budgets surpassing those of many nations, and they can afford to buy as many mercenaries as they think they need. The Oil Must Flow, and countless millions have been and will be killed to support that fanatical ideology.

Under Obama, mercenaries and police waged war on behalf of Enbridge. They set dogs on peaceful protestors, beat people, shot them with rubber bullets, sprayed them with water in sub-freezing temperatures, used tear gas and pepper spray, and even explosives that nearly blew off an arm of one of the protesters. And under Obama, they got away with it.

How long is it until ICE decides they have jurisdiction over Native Americans? Reservations are technically sovereign territory after all (not that we’ve ever respected that), so there are borders around them that just HAVE to be patrolled by trigger-happy white supremacists!

It might not be this year or next, but we’re going to see an increase in clashes between the interests of the super-rich, and the interests of humanity. Both major parties have a record of siding with money and power against people, but today’s Republicans won’t just “regretfully” allow companies to do what they want – they’re going to actively cheer on escalating brutality, and the more cruelty and sadism they show, the more the Republican base will love them.

I’ll try to keep my readers up to date on this, but you should also follow Dallas Goldtooth on Twitter, and keep an eye on the Indigenous Environmental Network.

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Fox News and Cubavision: Characteristics of state propaganda networks

According to Media Matters, Fox “news” has given Trump 15 million dollars in free advertising since April 28th.

On July 5, President Donald Trump went to Montana for another “Make America Great Again Rally.” Fox News not only teased the rally throughout the day, but aired the president’s speech — during which Trump lashed out at critics, took a swipe at the #MeToo movement, and gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a pass — in its entirety.

Fox aired the rally for an hour and 14 minutes, bringing the network’s total airtime given to Trump rallies to 7 hours and 47 minutes since April 28. According to iQ media, a media monitoring service, the advertising value of Trump’s Montana rally was $1,902,542.65. Since April 28, Fox News has gifted Trump $15,174,430.00 in free advertising by airing his rallies.

It should be pretty obvious why this is a problem, but in case it’s not let me put it this way – While the Dems and independents have to pay for ad time on news networks, and have their coverage split with many, many other people and issues, Trump and those in his favor get that kind of coverage and advertising for free, given by the immensely wealthy people who run Fox.

[Read more…]

Pruitt Resigned! Now what?

EDIT: Pruitt is being replaced by his deputy, Andrew Wheeler. More on him soon.

Living in the Trump era has made me more than a little paranoid. I think it’s a good thing that Pruitt is out, but I do not trust that he left for the obvious reasons. I would very much like to be wrong, but I doubt this will mean an end to Pruitt’s agenda, or to deliberate waste of resources. Twenty years ago, I think we could expect that Pruitt’s resignation would be followed by his incarceration, and some level of contrition from his defenders. Ten years ago, I would expect Pruitt to be replaced by somebody who is much more boring, and will push ahead the exact same agenda with less flambouyant corruption.

Now? Now I’m not so sure. For all I know, the “new normal” is escalation, and the next person will be Charles or David Koch, or Joe Barton.

This could be a victory, but I think it’s far too soon for celebration.

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