 | "There's Justice In The Universe" |
| Posted 7/19/2008 6:49 PM CDT Far too many children's toys contain phthalates -- chemicals that help make plastic toys soft and flexible but also have known links to birth defects, fertility problems, early puberty, and breast and testicular cancer. A Congressional conference committee is considering banning the toxins. Ironically, it's not the toy industry or the retailers that are lobbying hardest against the phthalate ban. It's Exxon Mobil —one of the largest manufacturers of DINP (the primary phthalate used in toys) in the country—and its trade association, the American Chemistry Council. Exxon Mobil has spent millions this year and millions more last year lobbying against this. Four members of the Congressional committee are undecided. Help them make up their minds by clicking on: http://www.breastcancerfund.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=4340505&msource=actn0708&auid=3814826 For more information: http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=4132341&msource=actn0708&auid=3814823 http://www.douglassreport.com/dailydose/dd200807/dd20080714a.html Take Action: http://www.uspirg.org/action/product-safety/toy-safety-bill?id4=ES |
| Posted 7/18/2008 2:20 PM CDT "Most of Texas's wind-energy production is in petroleum-producing West Texas, where nearly 4,000 wind turbines tower over oil pump jacks and capture the breeze that blows across the flat and largely barren landscape. The new plan would not directly build a slew of new turbines, but would add transmission lines capable of moving about 18,000 megawatts. One expert said that is enough to power more than 4 million homes. "Supporters predict the plan will spur new wind power projects, create jobs, reduce pollution and lower energy costs. Texans pay some of the highest electric rates in the country, in part because of congested transmission lines. Texas electric customers will bear the cost of construction over the next several years, paying about $3 or $4 more per month on their bills... but that increase would easily be offset by lower energy prices." http://www.heraldextra.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=273846&Itemid=36&mosmsg=Thanks+for+your+vote%21 [My Comment: What's needed now is more attention being given to development of solar power all across the state & the nation.] |
| Posted 7/18/2008 8:53 AM CDT Nuclear energy is more expensive to produce than any other source of energy. Add to this the fact that there is no way to safely deal with nuclear waste and you can see that it's incorrect to label it as 'alternative energy'. The proper definition of 'alternative energy' is "environmentally sound renewable fuel sources not utilizing fossil fuels". So, when I read that Perry and his corporate sponsors are now referring to nuclear power as 'alternative energy', I object. If they want to call it an alternative source of energy, then I have to grudgingly acquiesce -- but 'alternative energy' it is not. |
| Posted 7/17/2008 8:15 PM CDT While we all understand about the reality of CO2 and its relationship to global warming (Note: Even “those” who pretend not to know “really do”), many of us are unaware of a major source of carbon dioxide: long term worldwide underground coal fires. The fires in China alone produce as much CO2 as all of the cars in the USA. [Note: Scientists have determined that coal fires in China consume about 200 million tons of coal per year]. Although this is both a natural phenomenon and a manmade problem, it behooves us all to consider taking an even more active approach than we seem to be doing. http://tinyurl.com/ktfal |
| Posted 7/16/2008 1:23 PM CDT "Today, thanks to Charles Darwin and the countless evolutionary scientists and writers he inspired — in fields as diverse as astrophysics, geology, genetics, primatology, sociobiology, and brain science — I interpret my Christian faith in far broader and more this-world realistic ways than ever before. It is obvious to me now that God didn’t stop revealing truth vital to human wellbeing back when people believed the world was flat and religious insights were recorded on animal skins. God is still communicating faithfully today, publicly, through the worldwide, self-correcting scientific enterprise. I now see science as revelatory and facts as God’s native tongue." Read more: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080701/why-i-thank-god-for-charles-darwin.htm http://www.newsweek.com/id/46039 |
| Posted 7/15/2008 3:00 PM CDT In a revealing series of articles, the Austin American-Statesman examines sex education in Texas, the state with the nation's highest teen birthrate. A Texas A&M professor talks about his five-year study on the message and the reality of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/13//0713pruitt.html Texas spends a lot of money on abstinence programs, but debate and doubt over the effectiveness of the programs is growing. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/13/0713abstinence.html Teachers believe there are strict limits on what they can discuss about sex education. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/14/0714abstinenceclass.html Young people talk about abstinence and education. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/14//0714abstinencekids.html The state requires that schools teach students about "human use reality" rates of failure for condoms. But there's little agreement on what that really means. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/14/0714abstinencerealityrates.html What isn't being taught in Texas public schools about sex education starts with what's not in the health textbooks. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/14/0714abstinencetextbooks.html Sex education in Texas fails teens, writes the Austin American-Statesman in an editorial. http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/07/07/13/0713abstain_edit.html WWW.TFN.ORG |
| Posted 7/15/2008 10:03 AM CDT 125,000+ years ago, the world's sea levels were approximately 25-50 feet higher than today's present levels (most of Florida was under water). At 100,000 YBP, sea levels started dropping during the last glacial period. They eventually dropped down to 350 feet below present levels, thus leaving coral reefs high and dry. Approximately 18,000 YBP, sea levels started rising again. Sea levels stabilized at approximately 5,000 YBP. However, sea levels are now suddenly on the rise again. |
| Posted 7/14/2008 8:40 PM CDT While I understand the astronomical causes of long term global warming & that we're currently in a fluctuating interglacial period, what cannot be denied is that greenhouse gases have steadily increased since the advent of the Industrial Revolution (especially since WWII). The effects of this were first given international attention back in the 70s when Eskimos reported the northward migration of warmer weather plant species & the tipping over of gravestones of the early white settlers that had been anchored in the permafrost. Now we even see the creeping release of methane hydrates & the worsening of ocean acidification / and will be the next 'headline grabbers'. As a species, we're generally quite pathetic. We should be mindful that 2 other forms of hominids have gone extinct in the last 100,000 years & that we're currently witnessing the greatest extinction of plants and animals that's occurred in 65 million years. And it wouldn't hurt to remember the ancient coral reefs in Florida that sit 30 feet above sea level as mute testimony to past warming periods that occurred without mankind's help / imagine what can happen with our assistance. I, also, know there's nothing much I can say that will stem the releasing of even more greenhouse gases. However, I am doing what I can to help provide for a better world for the future than it would be if I did otherwise [i.e., am a part of Austin's wind power program; have my house fully weatherized with extra insulation; have a hybrid vehicle; am a member of a variety of organizations (especially those that support education for women), etcetera.] |
| Posted 7/14/2008 1:59 PM CDT "Although water vapor traps more heat than CO2, because of the relationships among CO2, water vapor and climate, to fight global warming nations must focus on controlling CO2. Atmospheric levels of CO2 are determined by how much coal, natural gas and oil we burn and how many trees we cut down, as well as by natural processes like plant growth. Atmospheric levels of water vapor, on the other hand, cannot be directly controlled by people; rather, they are determined by temperatures. The warmer the atmosphere, the more water vapor it can hold. As a result, water vapor is part of an amplifying effect. Greenhouse gases like CO2 warm the air, which in turn adds to the stock of water vapor, which in turn traps more heat and accelerates warming. Scientists know this because of satellite measurements documenting a rise in water vapor concentrations as the globe has warmed. The best way to lower temperature and thus reduce water vapor levels is to reduce CO2 emissions." http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/page.cfm?tagID=274 [My Comment: We need to remember that there are greenhouse gases other than water vapor and CO2. And we need to remember that greenhouse gases are transparent to solar radiation but opaque to long wave radiation. These are facts.] http://www.oilandgasforum.net/oefonline/glossary.htm |
Posted 7/13/2008 12:12 PM CDT
Obama publicly states that our
children should learn to speak
Spanish. Despite the fact that
my child is completely fluent
in both spoken and written Spanish
at a high literacy level, I'm
still amazed at his arrogance.
If you don't understand why,
just click on the following
YouTube clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZprtPat1Vk&feature=related
After watching it, if you're not
at least a little bit disappointed
in his oration, then watch it again.
Is this the candidate of six months
ago? As he strays from his teleprompter,
we'll see more of the cards that he'd
kept face down on the table previously.
