Archive | August, 2011

U.S. Geologists Sharply Cut Estimate Of Shale Gas – NYTimes.com

25 Aug

Natural gas resource estimates like those produced by the federal Geological Survey and the Energy Information Administration have been criticized by market analysts and energy experts because they often give an overly optimistic and simplistic view of how useful natural gas will be as a source of fuel that can replace oil and coal. Resource estimates often include gas in pockets that are so small or so deep that it may never be drilled or produced at any price. The gas may also be in areas that are off limits or impractical to drill.

via U.S. Geologists Sharply Cut Estimate Of Shale Gas – NYTimes.com.

America’s Sweatshop Diplomacy – NYTimes.com

25 Aug

America the greedy, the mean-spirited, the hunting ground of the rich and super-rich:

The America that the Hershey’s workers have seen is surely not the one the J-1 visa was created to promote. But perhaps it is the America we have become. Hershey’s business strategy is a microcosm of the downsizing and subcontracting that so many American companies have pursued during the past few decades in search of ever cheaper labor.

via America’s Sweatshop Diplomacy – NYTimes.com.

Children’s Digital Library: Mission

24 Aug

Check it out.

As families move from Kenya to Finland or Brazil to Mexico or Viet Nam to California, books published in their native country or in their first language often must be left behind. In their new homelands, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to find children’s books from their cultures and in their mother tongue. Parents have little access to the books and stories from their youth to pass on to the next generation. Many children must grow up without knowledge of their family’s heritage and first language. A fundamental principle of the Foundation is that children and their families deserve to have access to the books of their culture, as well as the majority culture, regardless of where they live. According to a paper published in 2005 by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in preparation for the second meeting on the World Summit on the Information Society, “Denial to access to information in one’s mother tongue is equivalent to a denial of a human right.” The report also concludes, “In terms of pedagogy, how do children learn best? In their mother tongue.”

The ICDL Foundation’s goal is to build a collection of books that represents outstanding historical and contemporary books from throughout the world.

via ICDL – Mission.

Tea-Party Values, Many are Fine

24 Aug

Economist her Gintis recently reviewed a favorite Tea-Party tract, Williard Skousen’s The Five Thousand Year Leap: Twenty-Eight Great Ideas That Are Changing the World. Gintis concludes:

I was prepared to dislike this book, but was pleasantly surprised at how ecumenical a message Skousen has to offer. Moreover, the book is easy to read and hence will be accessible to the common citizen and voter who may, if lucky, get to read one or two books a year such deep subjects as the nature of American society.

Here’s some of those 28 great ideas:

(2) A Free People Cannot Survive Under a Republican Constitution Unless They Remain Virtuous and Morally Strong;
(6) All Men Are Created Equal;
(11) The Majority of the People may Alter or Abolish a Government Which has Become Tyrannical;
(14) Life and Liberty are Secure Only so Long as the Right to Property is Secure;
(16) The Government Should be Separated into Three Branches–Legislative, Executive, and Judicial;
(17) A System of Checks and Balances Should be Adopted to Prevent the Abuse of Power;
(19) Only Limited and Carefully Defined Powers Should be Delegated to Government, All Other Being Retained in the People; Continue reading →

How Many Species on Earth? It’s Tricky – NYTimes.com

24 Aug

How many undiscovered species are we wiping out every day?

Scientists have named and cataloged 1.3 million species. How many more species there are left to discover is a question that has hovered like a cloud over the heads of taxonomists for two centuries.

“It’s astounding that we don’t know the most basic thing about life,” said Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.

On Tuesday, Dr. Worm, Dr. Mora and their colleagues presented the latest estimate of how many species there are, based on a new method they have developed. They estimate there are 8.7 million species on the planet, plus or minus 1.3 million.

via How Many Species on Earth? It’s Tricky – NYTimes.com.

East Coast Earthquake Knocks Power Out At Virginia Nuke Plant, Others On Alert

23 Aug

Fukushima, it CAN happen here.

Now, multiple news outlets are reporting possible incidents at nuclear power plants across the east coast following the surprising earthquake this afternoon.

via East Coast Earthquake Knocks Power Out At Virginia Nuke Plant, Others On Alert | ThinkProgress.

Rethinking the Office Workspace, Part Two – NYTimes.com

23 Aug

Do we want more of this for our children?

Mawani’s film brings to the screen what numerous long-term studies have shown: that a lack of autonomy over one’s daily tasks leads to boredom (at best), utter despair and even increased mortality rates. Yet, time and again, proposed solutions ignore these deeper issues and focus instead (see last month’s column) on the furniture.

via Rethinking the Office Workspace, Part Two – NYTimes.com.

Hydraulic Fracturing, Debated – Frack no!

23 Aug

The townspeople of Andes, New York, said “Frack, no!”

As different as they were, the message was the same and it was eloquently proclaimed: “What we have here is unique and beautiful.” “We have to take action to keep the town we love.” “We must take our destiny into our own hands.” “Andes could become the model for the country.” One of the speakers was a local and a folksinger. She made up a song on the spot and taught it to everyone. The refrain was “If we work together / Then we can make it better.”

via Hydraulic Fracturing, Debated – NYTimes.com.

Born, and Evolved, to Run – NYTimes.com

23 Aug

What’s the political equivalent of running barefoot?

We also went to Africa and went to people who’d never worn shoes. What we discovered was that people who run barefoot tend to run differently than people who wear modern shoes; they run in a much lighter and gentler way because it would hurt to run the way people do in shoes.

via Born, and Evolved, to Run – NYTimes.com.

Liberty, from a Republicrat Point of View

23 Aug

by decree of king george.jpg

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