Magnitude: Now 7.9, according to the USGS
Epicentre: 31.021°N, 103.367°E
Death Toll: over 12,000
Still missing: over 18,600
Aftershocks: magnitude 4 to magnitude 6
The USGS now states that the quake resulted from "The earthquake reflects tectonic stresses resulting from the convergence of crustal material slowly moving from the high Tibetan Plateau, to the west, against strong crust underlying the Sichuan Basin and southeastern China."
In the Eocene Epoch, India slammed into Asia, which created the Tibetan Plateau over time. So this stress was built up from the west and the east. There is nowhere for China to go when this pressure builds up from both sides. It has no release but for earthquakes.
China’s southwestern region has some major faults, and off its coast the Pacific Plate is jamming itself beneath the continental crust of China as well as the Philippines Plate, which is also cramming itself beneath China. Between the Pacific Plate and the Philippines Plate lays the Mariana Trench, the deepest trench in the ocean. This all means, lots of tectonic activity, lots of stuff moving around and lots of stress building up. Which means, now and then to relieve the stress, earthquake.
Last night while people were sleeping in the US, morning time UK while people were rising for work, an earthquake struck in Sichuan Province, southwestern China. It buried 900 students beneath their school, among others. The death toll at this time for the province, is 8,500 people.
It registered 7.8 on the Richter Scale, according to the USGS. Its epicenter was ten kilometers deep (6.2 miles). Over 900 miles away in Beijing, people felt the shaking. In Shanghai, skyscrapers swayed like leaves in the wind. People in Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan felt it.
The deadliest recorded earthquake China has suffered killed nearly a quarter of a million people in 1976 (updated May 13; was orginally reported 1978, figure taken from an AP report).
Nuttier than a Snickers Bar. They are all nutters. I am talking about, the people campaigning for president of the U.S. of A. this year. Here is why: John McCain is simple. He is so obviously insane, there is no denying it. You can see it in his eyes. They glow with an inner light fueled by misfiring synapses that flap around in the dark like bats in a bellfry. They shimmer like the gas planet Saturn, methane and CO2 from all the greenhouse gas spewed by his party's homies, churning around in a soup. And anyone who would run for this position for the Republican party after the oil company dictatorship that has reigned supreme in this country for the past seven and a half years, would have to be. Plus, he says wacky things that contradict themselves. Hillary Clinton was driven nuts by her husband. He may have been a good president, but he was a shyte hubby. He believes receiving oral sex from other women is not cheating. And she remained married to him all these years. Also, she is not right in the head if she thinks taking away the gas tax for a season will improve the economy. I don’t know about you, but saving one dollar eight cents a week (18 cents times ten) is not going to inspire me to suddenly run out to Macy’s department store and buy a pair of $100 sandals (If you want to improve the economy, punish the oil companies, whose record profits will enable their executives’ great-great-great-etc grandchildren to inherit more cash than Anna Nicole Smith’s baby. Gas tax pays for many things, and does not punish them. In fact, people might buy MORE of their product if it is cheaper, so it could actually REWARD them). Now she is putting on her Blue Collar hat, portraying herself as the champion of the working class. Really? When was the last time she had to forgo dining out for a month in order to get both the electric bill and the water bill paid (never)? And why exactly, when she was a big-wig for Wal-mart in the ‘80s and ‘90s, did she do nothing when the retail giant fought against labor unions? (we all know what a great employer the company has been) But apparently, many Democrats are nutters too, cause they believe her when she says she represents the working people. Barak Obama is a nutter. He thinks telling the truth and having really good ideas that will cause actual improvement, will get him elected president of this country. He believes he will be able to get this government to pull away from corporate lobbyists like Big Oil. The people of North Carolina are nutters. They voted him in 56%. (1% picked "no preference". Is that a choice?) They are inspired by someone who seems honest and intelligent. When was that ever a factor in electing a president? (With sarcasm, I speak, said Yoda)
Giuliani and the rest, well…
Cyclones, another word for hurricanes (as well as typhoons), do normally occur in the Bay of Bengal. On this planet, in most cases, warm water + wind blowing the right way = tropical storms. The average occurrence of tropical storms is 4 to 6 storms with only 2 reaching cyclone status per year, and the season runs from the spring through fall, going to sleep from June til September, being influenced by such factors as monsoons when the ITCZ moves over land. The peak number normally occur in October. They form in the ITCZ (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone), the same wind belt where storms form in the Atlantic. The frequency of storms has been found to be increasing during ENSO (El Nino) years (according to the SAARC Meteorological Research Centre). The powerful cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, formerly Burma, on May 2, 2008. At its peak it was a Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (kmh). Highest recorded winds were 220 kmh. The storm surge caused a large tidal wave 12 feet in height that washed out entire villages. UN officials report that hundreds of thousands of people are now homeless. There is massive price gouging of food, water and fuel.
The death toll now stands at 15,000 people, with 30,000 still missing. (May 5) UPDATE MAY 7: OVER 22,000 DEAD, 41,000 MISSING, 1 MILLION HOMELESS. The UN has consulted with many scientists and last year issued a report which included the statement, that the intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes/cyclones/typhoons is increasing, and is directly related to global warming. If as you read this, you sit on your sofa, or computer chair, or on the grass of the park, and feel helpess, you are not. You care enough to read this, and you can care enough to unplug your clothes dryer, or increase the temp so the air conditioning is not so low you can sleep beneath a blanket in the hot of summer; you can shop with your carbon footprint in mind; you can ride a bike to work; you can vote. We are not helpless. We have enough will and brain power to make change. Peace out.
Recently, you may have asked yourself (or not), "What in the heck is Smart-Grid?" No, it’s not a new toothpaste that makes your teeth whiter than Arnold Swarzenegger’s unnaturally gleaming choppers. No, it’s not a new technology by Victoria’s Secret to hoist your breasts even higher off your chest. It’s about energy use, and electricity demand. Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton talk about it briefly in their energy plans. Barak’s take on it is informed whilst Hillary’s is quite odd and obviously naiive. (This was discovered by me, before I decided who I would vote for in next week’s primary). You, the consumer, need to know what it is, because it is coming your way in the near future. Smart-Grid 101 What’s in a name? Smart-grid is a nickname for system of utility applications that enhance and automate the monitoring and control of electrical distribution networks for added Its goal is to add reliability, efficiency and cost effectiveness to the process of distribution of electricity. Which countries are using or testing smart-grids? ("on" means, onwards from that year) Denmark Norway (2007 on with compulsive implementation by 2013) Italy (2000 on, 27 million on smart-grid by 2005) Ireland (2005 on, compulsive in all homes by 2012) America (2006, legislation approved in California to develop) Australia (2004 on) Turkey (gas/water/elec meters; 500,000 pre paid meters employed…pre-paid means people are very much aware of their usage, spot on) The Netherlands (2005 on, compulsive by 2013) Finland Sweden (2004 on, compulsive by 2009) New Zealand (2005 on) Canada (2007 on) What is happening with it right now? Pacific Northwest National lab has joined up with local utility companies to develop a smart-grid test project with area homes. They are partnered with the Gridwise Architecture Council, an org that arose out of the US Energy Dept (well, I do declare, they did something progressive for once!). Xcel Energy Company out of Boulder Colorado has plans in the works for a hundred mil sunk into its smart-grid project. Roy Palmer, head of regulatory affairs at Xcel says, "We just can't keep building more coal plants." (Smart dude.) In Baltimore, Maryland, households using smart-grid get a lower rate at off-peak times. In a suburb of Milton, Ontario, 200 test homes were implanted with a little box hooked up to their home computer, that enables them to use smart-grid technology by deciding if they apply it to items in their household when other homes are at peak use. It can be overridden by household members, if they think the thermostat is not high or low enough for comfort. They can also set it to lower the temp in the house during cold weather at night like at midnight when everyone is asleep, or turn off the porch light at a certain time. Groovy cool (sorry). In the future: Appliances would be designed to interact with smart-grid. The implementation of such technology will save us on energy usage, and over 20 years, to prevent the building of 90 more coal fired plants, says John Wellinghoff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Smart-grid will prevent rolling blackouts in areas like southern California where at peak times power plants are sucked as dry as an iced latte on a hot summer day. What can you do: Get involved. For info on attending meetings of the Gridwise Architecture Council, go to http://www.gridwiseac.org/getinvolved/ Read. http://www.smartgridnews.com/
Over the past week, voters in the Triangle area of North Carolina have been receiving strange phone calls. Strange in that it is an automated voice call instructing them that their voting registration packet will be arriving in the mail soon, and this after the period for registering by mail had passed. Strange also, in that these calls seem to be targeting black voters (in other words, Democrats). Strange again, in that many of the people who were contacted had also already registered. And lastly, strange that the interest group making the calls did not identify itself in the call nor how to reach them to stop these calls, which is the law. Someone let the State Attorney General know about it, and he issued a statement denouncing it. When his office investigated the calls, they discovered they were coming from Women’s Voices-Women Vote. Who works for this group? Interestingly, its president is someone who recently donated a shed-load of cash to Hill-Pac, Hillary Clinton’s campaign org. And, the Executive Director is someone who used to work for Bill Clinton during his 1992 campaign, and Women's Voices-Women Vote's attorney also has worked for the Clintons. Hillary’s camp denies anything to do with it. In a statement, her Raleigh, North Carolina spokeperson stated that Hill-Pac "has no connection to the organization conducting these robo-calls… and has never accepted any funds from this organization." Hogwash, Hillary, hogwash. You are very worried about Barak Obama in North Carolina, and are on the warpath in a nasty way. Shame on you. I hope this news gets out there into the mass media. I was straddling the atmosphere on who I would vote for, but this has certainly made up my mind. I do not vote for liars and cheaters, thanks. My son said to me months ago, in his youthful 19 year old way, he's not voting for her, she seems like a liar. Her eyes are dishonest. This coming from a registered Democrat, who wants peace and sanity from his country. (would I have raised anyone other than, a John Lennon Jr?)
General Motors has posted a 3.3 billion dollar loss for its first quarter in 2008. The company blames a "falling US market" and "loss of consumer interest in SUVs".
Boo frikkity hoo.
H= Hillary and B= Barak (duh...) H: Industries pay for GHG emissions 100% B: Industries pay for GHG emissions 100% H: Reduce GHG emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050 B: Reduce GHG emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050 H: 25% of electricity from alternative energy by 2025 B: 25% of electricity from alternative energy by 2025 H: Funding 10 "smart grid" cities* B: Invest in a digital "smart grid"** H: All new fed buildings have to be carbon neutral after January 2009 B: Reducing electricity demand 20% by 2020; making all new buildings carbon neutral; improving energy efficiency 50% in new buildings and 25% in existing by 2030 H: $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund & $150 for green energy research funding B: $150 b invested in clean energy switchover; double green energy research money from current levels H: Get away from nuclear plants B: Use of clean coal plant H: 60 b gallons of biofuel for vehicles by 2030 B: 60 b gallons of biofuel to be in use by 2030 H: Cars 55 mpg standard by 2030 B: Double car fuel economy standards by 2026 B: Address and reduce deforestation & promote carbon sequestration with incentives for farmers and "forest owners" *Hillary’s smart grid is a city where there is peak demand has protection against blackouts; there are plug ins for hybrids (wassup wit plug-in hybrids? Why not simply, plug in vehicles, as have already been in the past?) as well as making other green technology easier to use. **Barak’s smart grid is referring to the grid of electrical power that connects cities where renewable energy is a part of the grid and more accessible. They are nearly the same, even the numbers and years. My problems with the plans are as follows: Couldn't they have been more creative? As well as, SOMEBODY is copying off someone else's test paper. I feel like a high school teacher who caught someone cheating. Biofuels produce CO2 & take up a lot of room to grow. Stop acting like they are the answer, unless they can come up with something that is super duper presto whammo biofuel. They should only be used for mass transportation if necessary. 55 mpg as well as double the current standard for car fuel efficiency, is still pathetic. With technology even as it is today, this should be much higher in the future. If you want to use coal, tell it like it is. It produces CO2 and unless you capture its emissions, don’t act like it’s a good thing to use it when you are trying to reduce GHG. If you are going to promote the use of electric cars, go for it and promote completely electric ones. The hybrids produced now do just fine with recharging their own batteries and switching over to fuel. You do not need to plug them in. This is just people who obviously do not know how a bloody hybrid works, apparently, writing this stuff. Dang. The good stuff: 100% industry responsibility for producing GHG rocks. Nuclear plants do suck for environmental reasons, as well as, they don’t really make a profit even. Sod the "smart grid" thing. If you are going for a better system, make the power system for the whole damn country work. And quit using corny catch phrases. (no one ever really keeps those catch phrase promises anyway, do they? Shut up.) The real answer: Make the oil industry pay for what it has done. It’s kinda like the cigarette companies making ciggies more addictive and then our being able to sue them for getting cancer. They lobbied for the ability to have bigger cars and SUVs. They lobbied against greener technology for many years. Make them pay for ALL the research as well as all the money needed to build greener cities, power plants, etc. They can afford it: they made more money than any other industry, what the past 2 years and running?
See below for a recipe on how to make your own laundry detergent. I made a batch this morning, and am testing it on towels as I write this. We should start with, what makes "soap" work. In washing fabrics, you apparently need a hydrocarbon (which comes from animal or plant, and hello, that includes oil) and a fatty acid. These two things remove the soil by the hydrocarbon bonding with it, as well as send it off by the fatty acid bonding with the water molecules. Which is why when you wash your hands with bar soap, the grease and dirt comes off and washes away in the water. Pretty nifty. Commercial laundry detergents are made from processed petroleum, aka synthetic. In the past people made their own from stuff like olive oil and other natural ingredients. The Romans apparently made soap from ashes and fats, the source of inspiration, reportedly animal sacrifices later dumped in the river (yum). Sulfuric acid is added nowadays to detergents that contain petroleum products to imitate natural ingredients. Enzymes make stains come out more easily. These are proteins, and come from micro-organisms grown in labs. Alkalis (metal compounds like salts) are also added and these are called surfectants and prevent minerals in the water from bonding with the fabric. Add some more chemicals for scent, color, and to increase efficiency. If it is a powder, sodium sulfate for caking resistance. Some contain bleach. Most do not contain phosphate any longer, since it is very bad for rivers and other water bodies, but dishwasher detergents STILL DO. Anionic ingredients come from sodium or potassium salts. Most commercial detergents use ketoesters for perfumes because they will stay in the fabric and be released for weeks. I chose a variety of products to research the ingredients of, in liquid as well as powder form. The thing about powder form is it comes packaged in a recycled fiber cardboard box as opposed to a big arse plastic bottle. Tide 2X liquid laundry detergent ingredients: All they will tell me is "Biodegradable surfectants (including Anionic and Nonionic) and enzymes". Obviously, it has perfumes and dyes as well. The stuff is a funny color and has a strong smell. Where do those come from? Tide Simple Pleasure Vanilla and Lavender detergent (sure to set off your eczema to add to your simple romantic pleasure with the amount of perfumes and dyes in this baby…and do they list them? Naw.) Ingredients: "Biodegradable Anionic, Nonionic Surfactants, Enzymes". 25 uses for $14.99 (well, I DO declare) How is detergent made? Apparently, it is mixed up, dehydrated, jiggled around, and blended. Is it tested on animals? You betcha, unless they say it isn’t. Method and Seventh Gen do not, and I know Tesco brand in the UK says it is not. Seventh Generation uses cocont oil derived stuff as well as "natural water softeners", "non-animal derived enzymes" salt, and sodium gluconate, and oh, a preservative. (And it costs an arm, a leg and a foot.) All the commerical brands have the same ingredients listed. They leave out the obvious, perfumes and dyes and the fact that they are tested on animals, on the package. Arm & Hammer has an added ingredient, baking soda. If you want alternatives that do not cost a fortune, you can buy Dr. Bronner's castile soap and wash your clothes in it, and it is made from organic plant-based oils that are fair trade with no synthetic chemicals added. It costs $8.99 for 16 oz and goes a long way. It is also packaged in 100% recycled plastic.
Finally, a man with a plan (who is not actually running for office).
My older sister recently moved to Texas, and right before she moved she reminded me, everything is bigger in Texas (mayhaps she was also reminding me of the smallness in my sex life from 2005 to mid-2007). Including, the scale of how things are done.
T. Boone Pickens is from Texas. He has gazillions of dollars he made off oil wells, and he is in his eighties and still going strong. (Imagine the size of the hair on the wallet sniffers after him down in Texas! Everything is bigger in…)
He has decided to go “green” and for two reasons: he believes the scientific reports about global warming, as well as, he would like very much to make money off green energy.
T. Boone (any relation to T. Bone?) has invested a bunch of money (to the tune of ten billion smackaroos) in wind power. His energy company, Mesa Power, will build 2700 turbines that will provide enough power for one million homes. (That is about the same as two big arse nuke plants, and without the nasty by-product, thanks.)
T. Boone stated he is “an environmentalist”, proudly and smartly. And now he has the actions to back it up.
He also likes the idea of solar power and wants the US to become thus powered in the west and wind powered from Canada to Texas, all for electricity. I think he’s onto something. However, he thinks natural gas should be used for vehicles, which is not the greatest of ideas. Electric cars can be plugged in and powered by the greener sources as well. (for long distance like what diesel trucks do now, they could have bigger batteries or, they could use biofuel. However, biofuel does still produce CO2. I know. We can build teleporters and do away with transportation. Beam me up. Oops, we beamed up the pig lizard thing instead! Run! Never mind, it’s inside out and it exploded.*)
Earth Day is approaching, y’all. What if everyone reading this who does not have one, puts up a clothesline (having the a yard with which to do so) and hangs out their clothes instead of using their dryer? We could create t shirts with a clothesline on them that say, I hang mine out for the planet. (Imagine the double entendre on that one.)
Peace out, and Happy Earth Day in 3 days.
*Galaxy Quest reference
