#environmental investigation in Utah

[semperenvironmental1]

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[spacetimewithstuartgary]

NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 to conduct space station research

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are headed to the International Space Station for the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission in September. Once on station, these crew members will support scientific investigations that include studies of blood clotting, effects of moisture on plants grown in space, and vision changes in astronauts.

Here are details on some of the work scheduled during the Crew-9 expedition:

Blood cell development in space

Megakaryocytes Orbiting in Outer Space and Near Earth (MeF1) investigates how environmental conditions affect the development and function of megakaryocytes and platelets. Megakaryocytes, large cells found in bone marrow, and platelets, pieces of these cells, play important roles in blood clotting and immune response.

"Understanding the development and function of megakaryocytes and platelets during long-duration spaceflight is crucial to safeguarding the health of astronauts," said Hansjorg Schwertz, principal investigator, at the University of Utah.

"Sending megakaryocyte cell cultures into space offers a unique opportunity to explore their intricate differentiation process. Microgravity also may impact other blood cells, so the insights we gain are likely to enhance our overall comprehension of how spaceflight influences blood cell production."

Results could provide critical knowledge about the risks of changes in inflammation, immune responses, and clot formation in spaceflight and on the ground.

Patches for NICER

The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope on the exterior of the space station measures X-rays emitted by neutron stars and other cosmic objects to help answer questions about matter and gravity.

In May 2023, NICER developed a "light leak" that allows sunlight to interfere with daytime measurements. Special patches designed to cover some of the damage will be installed during a future spacewalk, returning the instrument to around-the-clock operation.

"This will be the fourth science observatory and first X-ray telescope in orbit to be repaired by astronauts," said principal investigator Keith Gendreau at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

"In just a year, we diagnosed the problem, designed and tested a solution, and delivered it for launch. The space station team—from managers and safety experts to engineers and astronauts—helped us make it happen. We're looking forward to getting back to normal science operations."

Vitamins for vision

Some astronauts experience vision changes, a condition called Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome. The B Complex investigation tests whether a daily B vitamin supplement can prevent or mitigate this problem and assesses how genetics may influence individual response.

"We still do not know exactly what causes this syndrome, and not everyone gets it," said Sara Zwart, principal investigator, at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Houston. "It is likely many factors and biological variations that make some astronauts more susceptible than others."

One such variation could be related to a metabolic pathway that requires B vitamins to function properly. Inefficiencies in this pathway can affect the inner lining of blood vessels, resulting in leaks that may contribute to vision changes. Providing B vitamins known to affect blood vessel function positively could minimize issues in genetically at-risk astronauts.

"The concept of this study is based on 13 years of flight and ground research," Zwart said. "We are excited to finally flight test a low-risk countermeasure that could mitigate the risk on future missions, including those to Mars."

Watering the space garden

As people travel farther from Earth for longer, growing food becomes increasingly important. Scientists conducted many plant growth experiments on the space station using its Veggie hardware, including Veg-01B, which demonstrated that "Outredgeous" red romaine lettuce is suitable for crop production in space.

Plant Habitat-07 uses this lettuce to examine how moisture conditions affect the nutritional quality and microbial safety of plants. The Advanced Plant Habitat controls humidity, temperature, air, light, and soil moisture, creating the precise conditions needed for the experiment.

Using a plant known to grow well in space removes a challenging variable from the equation, explained Chad Vanden Bosch, principal investigator at Redwire, and this lettuce also has been proven to be safe to consume when grown in space.

"For crews building a base on the moon or Mars, tending to plants may be low on their list of responsibilities, so plant growth systems need to be automated," Bosch said. "Such systems may not always provide the perfect growing conditions, though, so we need to know if plants grown in suboptimal conditions are safe to consume."

TOP IMAGE: Scanning electron-microscopy image of human platelets prior to launch to the International Space Station. Credit: University of Utah/Megakaryocytes PI Team.

LOWER IMAGE: This view shows NICER’s 56 X-ray concentrators. Astronauts plan to cover some of them with special patches on a future spacewalk. Credit: NASA

[mrm101]

The Sample Return Capsule (SRC) will land today in the Utah Test and Training Range, south west of Utah City.

The OSIRIS Rex (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) will release the SRC capsule at 11:42 BST (the spacecraft itself will then fire its engine to avoid Earth at 12:02 BST to fly-by at a distance of 485mi so it can continue on another mission). The SRC capsule will enter the Earths atmosphere at 15:42 BST at 12km/sec (feature than an Apollo/Orion reentry from the Moon) and will experience a deceleration of some 32g.

11:42BST (04:42MDT) E-04:00:00 SRC release

12:02 (05:02) E-03:07:00 OSIRIS Rex divert TCM burn (flyby 485mi)

15:00 (08:00) LANDING COVERAGE NASA TV

15:42 (08:42) 14:38:28UT E-0 Entry Interface

E+00:00:51 Maximum heating

E+00:00:61 Maximum G (31.8G)

* At 110,000ft and mach 1.4 drogue chute mortor fires. ejecting the canister cover and expelling a tubular sabot containing the drogue chute.

* Sabot chute deploys pulling out bridle, lines and canopy of drogue chute

E+00:02:25 Drogue Chute Deploy

* Drogue chute inflates, sabot and its chute detach via break tie

* 10,000ft drogue chute detach pulling out 24ft diameter main parachute from its deployment bag

E+00:07:06 Main Chute Deploy

* Main chute inflatesE+00:13:05 Touchdown

Pyrotechnic cutter severs main parachute riser

The recovery team will arrive in four helicopters, first a Lockheed Martin safety engineer will approach the capsule and measure the capsules temperature remotely to ascertain if it is safe to approach, next the atmosphere will be sampled and the area around the capsule will be inspected for any potential hazards.

Them a team from the University of Arizona lead by Principle Investigator Dante Lauretta will cordoned off the area around the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) with flags to denote a keep-out zone and then conduct environmental sampling in that area to build up a library of anything, air, soil, organic matter etc, which could possibly have contaminate the asteroid samples during the landing and recovery.

Once the capsule, weighing 45kg (100 lb), is ready for transport it will be lifted by two people into a metal transport crate and wrapped in multiple layers of Teflon and a tarpaulin. Next the wrapped crate will be fitted with a cargo harness and secured to a lift cable.

This will be attached to a hired Bell Jet Ranger helicopter (in rehearsal's anyway), as a slung load and flown to a hanger at Hill Air Force Base (the range HQ) equipped with a clean room (tent like structure in this case).

There the capsule will be opened and the sample canister will be extracted. The day after both the sample canister and the capsule will be flown to NASA’s Johnson Spaceflight Centre in Houston for storage and from there the sample will be divided and distributed to science investigator teams around the world.

Coverage on NASA TV from 3pm BST (10:00am EDT)... (the picture of the capsule under a parachute is from the recovery rehearsal conducted on 23 August 2023 which was dropped from a helicopter fro the rehearsal)

[evoldir]

Fwd: Graduate position: CzechU.PhylogeographyDesertPlants

Begin forwarded message: > From: evoldir@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca > Subject: Graduate position: CzechU.PhylogeographyDesertPlants > Date: 12 June 2024 at 05:11:19 BST > To: rdmpage@gmail.com > > > Dear all, > > The Plant Biodiversity and Evolution Research Group at the Czech > University of Life Sciences (https://ift.tt/VQbe4HX) seeks a > highly motivated Ph.D. student to take part in the investigation > of the phylogeography of North American desert species of the genus > Chenopodium. The main aim of the project is to better understand the > evolutionary history of the North American desert biota in the context > of Neogene orogenic activity and the Pleistocene glacial-interglacial > cycles, as well as the influence of these events on geographic patterns > of genetic diversity predicted by refugia hypotheses. The study is > funded by an international collaborative project between Czech (Czech > University of Life Sciences) and American (Brigham Young University, > Utah) research institutions, supported by the Inter-Excellenece program > of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. > > Requested qualification: > > - MSc (or equivalent) in Biology/Botany > - experience with field work, sampling and plant determination > - experience with basic molecular genetic techniques (DNA >  extraction, PCR) > - experience with genetic/genomic data analysis (phylogenetics or >  population genetic) > - good English communication skills (written and spoken) > > Desirable qualification: > > - experiences with Illumina library preparation > - basic experience with GIS analyses > - basic experience with bioinformatic and statistical analysis of NGS >  data > - basic experience with bash and R scripting > > Personal qualities: > > - good presentation skills > - willing to learn > - networking skills > - ability to collaborate and cooperate with other team members > - keen interest in plant evolution and speciation > > We offer: > > - a four-year position with a tax-free Ph.D. stipend (120.000 - >  192.000,- CZK/year) > - additional funding (30% employment) covered by the project (gross >  salary 200.000,- CZK, which is cca 113.600,- CZK/year after tax) > - friendly and inspiring working environment in an international >  working group > - collaboration with researchers from other institutions in Czech >  Republic and the USA > - opportunity to master up-to-date methods (both wet lab and >  bioinformatic) > - possibility to attend international conferences > - flexible working hours, 25 days of paid vacation > - subsidized meals at the university canteen > > For details see > https://ift.tt/qYaotBN, > the application deadline is the 30th of June 2024. The position is > available from the 1st of October 2024, at the latest. > > For informal queries about the position or the project, please contact > Dr. Bohumil Mandák mandak@fzp.czu.cz > > Karol Krak > Czech University of Life Sciences Prague > Faculty of Environmental Sciences > Kamýcká 129 > CZ 165 00 Praha 6 - Suchdol > +420 22438 2996 > https://ift.tt/VQbe4HX > > Krak Karol

[rise-tv]

The Mysterious History of Cow Mutilation

Let's explore how the mysterious phenomenon of cows being found dead with missing body parts in the 1970s reveals that the explanations are related to aliens or demonic cults.

Explanation - The Instagram And Facebook Shutdown:-

In the 1970s, farmers across the country started noticing weird phenomena. Their cows ended up dead, with parts of their heads and genitals missing. Historian Michael J. Goleman delves into the riddle and uncovers explanations that have nothing to do with aliens or demonic cults.

According to Goleman, allegations of cow mutilation first appeared in 1973, primarily in the West and Midwest. Small-scale ranchers were generally the ones to report them. When local law enforcement investigated, they typically discovered that the cows' ears, eyeballs, rectums, and genital organs had been removed with "surgical precision." According to newspaper sources, more than 10,000 instances happened by the end of the decade.

Some speculated that the mutilation was part of an undisclosed government initiative to test biological weapons. Some news reports speculated that UFOs or cults could be involved. However, ranchers generally believed that this was an administrative scheme. Some witnesses described seeing unidentified helicopters near crime scenes and possibly being pursued by the aircraft. On a few occasions, enraged ranchers fired on government helicopters. The threat was strong enough that the Nebraska Guard began flying at 2,000 feet instead of 1,000 feet during training.

Investigations Begin In Cow Mutilation Case:-

Goleman advises looking at the background to understand why the panic occurred. Ranchers faced severe conditions in the early 1970s. To begin, many people felt intimidated by rising government environmental conservation initiatives, which included reducing grazing on public lands. Feed prices rose due to high inflation rates and the federal government's purchase of significant grain in response to global food shortages. Then the Nixon government implemented a beef price freeze. The overall situation, dubbed "The Wreck," was especially bad for small farms, which lacked the political power of larger businesses.

When organizations such as the Colorado Department of Investigation investigated these mutilations and discovered no evidence that humans were involved, some ranchers feared that this might be yet another instance of official corruption. In truth, the concept of a government plot was not that far-fetched. After all, the Army inadvertently killed over 4,500 sheep in Utah while experimenting with nerve agents in 1968, and it refused to accept responsibility until 1998.

A Reference to The Edge of Wonder TV:-

As far back as the 1600s, up through the 1980s, and until today, reports of cattle mutilations can be found. What happened when Missouri farmers spotted an enormous reptile, a spaceship, and levitation technology all at once? Watch the detailed video on the Edge of Wonder and join the Rise TV Show for more real reptilian sightings in history.

Goleman’s Point of View:-

However, according to Goleman, the vast majority of "cow mutilation" was very certainly carried out by scavengers such as coyotes, birds, and badgers, which ingest delicate tissue such as eyes and genitalia first. (Without the dramatic element, accidental deaths of cows were not unusual.) It seems that law enforcement officers who were inexperienced with scavenger behaviour described their removal of cow body parts in ways that implied human involvement. This likely fueled early media accounts, which prompted other farmers to report "mutilations." But vets and massive ranchers were wary from the start. Finally, Goleman contends that the mutilation fear was a manifestation of rising cynicism toward the government, which helped define American politics in the years that followed.

Final Thoughts:-

Historian Michael J. Goleman investigates the mysterious phenomenon of cows being found dead with missing body parts in the 1970s, revealing that the explanations behind these incidents are not related to aliens or demonic cults.

Ranchers faced difficult conditions in the 1970s, including government environmental initiatives and economic challenges, which led to panic and fear among some ranchers. The text highlights a historical incident involving the Army's accidental killing of sheep, which contributed to ranchers' mistrust of the government.

The phenomenon of "cow mutilation" was largely caused by scavengers, but inexperienced law enforcement officers and media accounts fueled belief in human involvement. The fear of cow mutilation was a reflection of growing cynicism towards the government during that time.

[trenttrendspotter]

How to Get Your Brand in the Movies

You know your brand is a star, but have you ever wondered how to get your brand into the movies?

There are many ways to get your brand in a movie and make that positioning partnership, as well as grow your brand. Generating awareness of your brand is limited only by your imagination and budget. However, you don't need a multimillion dollar budget to make that happen.

Lainie Strouse, the president of Lower Merion Productions has developed, produced and sold ���Teacher of the Year,” is executive producer of “E.A.T. with Gavin Rossdale” and the feature film, “Abby's Party.”

According to Strouse, there are a lot of ways to figure out what movie projects you should be investigating. It starts with:

What are your goals for the brand?

What is your brand story?

What is the positioning of your brand? What kind of movie does it make sense to be in?

What is your strategy? What are you trying to do to get your brand to the next level?

What are your demographics, who is your audience and what kind of movie would influence them?

How are you selling your product and what might help sales?

What kind of visibility are you seeking? Do you want your product to be in the movie, supporting the movie or part of the promotion of the movie? What kind of engagement are you seeking?

You have to be creative when strategizing what opportunities you want.

A great starting point might be what can you offer the movie?

For instance, every movie needs promotion. Do you have celebrities, a cause or a very publicizable message and how can your brand help a movie get more buzz? Do you have product or make-up artists that would be available? What budget can you invest in the project? Remember, producers need you.

To be in a movie you need to be able to give it product and/or support it in any of these one or more ways. What can your brand offer to support a movie? Movie producers are always  on the lookout for everything that their projects need from products to cash. And they are always seeking revenue streams to support their projects.

Providing products to be on-screen is known as entertainment marketing or product placement. Julia Roberts was caught wearing a Wallaroo unisex fedora hat called The Outback in her new movie “Ticket to Paradise,” co-starring George Clooney. Roberts’ character wears the sun-protective fedora fabulously, highlighting the importance of protecting one’s skin from dangerous UV rays.

Earlier this year, the trendiest compost bin, Bamboozle, made its appearance in Netflix's most talked about kitchen on the show “Beef.” The composting bin dabbed by The Strategist as the one “all the ‘hot, environmentally conscious’ New Yorkers have,” was recently spotted adorning the kitchen counter of the fabulous Amy Hau, better known as Ali Wong, a true aficionado of chic design.

How did that happen? The great news is that small brands can get far if they can figure out how to make what they are offering attractive and to be at the right place at the right time. Producers are going to manufacturers. How can you get them to come to you or better yet, how can you get to them and create opportunities?

You may consider meeting producers by getting involved with or going to:

Sundance in Park City, Utah and/or getting involved in many of their events.

Film festivals around the country.

Reading the trade publications of the industry such as Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.

Becoming familiar with IMDb, the internet movie database.

Seek opportunities with relevant makeup and hairstylist guilds.

Go to film schools and see what opportunities they may offer or that you can suggest.

Contact independent film production companies.

If you want to pay a fee you could also consider contacting product placement companies such as International Promotions, BenLabs, etc.

Kia Kiso, award-winning independent producer and president of Zaza Productions has more than 60 producing credits on a wide range of projects including commercials, music videos, TV pilots, series, award shows, short films and social issue documentaries. Her producing awards and accolades include multiple nominations and wins for feature documentary “Mile… Mile & A Half,” a music video for Keb’ Mo’s “America the Beautiful,” and a “Recommend by Oprah” designation for her feature documentary, “Spiritual Liberation.”

“Filmmakers are eager to find good, mutually beneficial deals,” Kiso encourages. “However, the commission and fees of product placement companies sometimes make the relationship more trouble than it is worth. So, at the very least, brands should post on their website how they can be contacted for opportunities. Yet often we do not have the time or bandwidth to do deep-dive research and cold calls to marketing departments ourselves. So, when like-minded brands reach out to us, we are in heaven. We become eager to find a way to make it work. Within reason, of course. Ultimately, our job is to protect the creative vision of the project, so be judicious with your offer. Be creative and flexible because there are many ways to structure the relationship so everyone’s goals are met.”

Strouse suggests if you are seeking alignment for your beauty brand you can:

Get your products visible in the movie.

Help out with makeup, etc. on the set.

Be in gift bags.

Do touch ups at parties.

Kiso says, “While producing several of my documentaries, I have seen success with brands who understood what we were up to, had the same audience/customer, and were creative in the ways we could partner up. In addition to social media pushes, one retail brand offered up stores and parking lots for crowdfunding event spaces. Another provided their product to be used in the film and for our community giveaways. Our popular, award-winning film became synonymous with their products.”

Strouse adds, "There is a magic that happens when you start this process. It can be lightning in a bottle. It is all about creating a win-win then running with it."

Want to Learn More? Attend the “We Make Movies” Workshop

9:30 p.m. EST, Wednesday, July 19, 2023

60-minute panel

The Jewish Filmmakers Network is hosting We Make Movies, a workshop about how you can raise corporate funding for your film. The 60-minute panel features Lainie Strouse, Kia Kiso and Nancy Trent.

The following will be discussed:

How to identify target companies

How to make your film appealing to sponsors

What timing and cost considerations must you know

How to approach companies and organizations

How to close the deal

How to understand expectations and manage the relationship

[metrolabs]

Fume Hood Safety Series- FHSS 1

In the realm of laboratory safety, the occurrence of fume hood catastrophes continue to perplex and concern researchers and industry professionals alike. The pressing question remains: Why do these incidents persist, and how can we effectively prevent them?

At Metrolabs, our expertise lies in the design, manufacturing, and installation of a wide range of laboratory furniture, including fume hoods, anti-vibration tables, and storage cupboards, among others. With decades of experience in the field, we have come to realize that a significant number of our inquiries stem from fume hoods manufactured by various brands that have experienced failures. Significantly, while there seems to be a loose correlation between the age of the fume hood system, this does not appear to be a causative factor. Quite surprisingly, despite the scale of the issue, there seems to be a dearth of discussion on its causative factors, autopsies of incidents, and possible preventative measures. In this inaugural article of the Fume Hood Safety Series, we delve into two case studies, examining the preventive measures and general practices crucial for the safe operation of fume hoods within a laboratory environment.

Case Study 1University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Laboratory Explosion (2008):

In 2008, a fume hood explosion at UCLA resulted in the unfortunate death of a research assistant. Sangji, 23, research assistant, was working with a nitrogen manifold in a fume hood on the fourth floor of UCLA’s Molecular Sciences Building. Unexpectedly, the syringe plunger dislodged from the barrel, exposing tBuLi to the atmosphere. Inadvertently, Sangji also knocked over an open flask of hexane in the hood. The tBuLi ignited, causing a fire that spread to the solvent and Sangji’s clothing. It is unclear whether Sangji wore eye protection, but was not wearing a lab coat and had nitrile gloves on. Despite the presence of a safety shower in the lab, Sangji could not utilize it. Sangji was promptly taken to the hospital but unfortunately succumbed to injuries a few days later.

Analysis: The explosion at UCLA was caused by the reactive nature of tBuLi, along with the accidental presence of hexane which led to an uncontrolled cross-reaction and subsequent explosion inside the fume hood. Improper handling techniques in the handling of the tBuLi and improper storage practices- the accidental presence of hexane, which was negligently left inside the hood could be theorised to be the main cause of the accident. Not wearing PPE such as the lab coat or eye protection definitely contributed to the severity of the consequences of the accident.

Prevention: Proper training on handling reactive chemicals, implementing rigorous safety protocols, wearing of proper personal protective incidents (PPE), ensuring appropriate storage conditions and protocols, ensuring the absence of other substances that might cross-react catastrophically, and conducting regular risk assessments can help prevent similar incidents.

Case Study 2Evacuation at the University of Utah Lab after Fume Hood Explosion (2023):

A small explosion in room 328 of the Fletcher Building at the University of Utah led to the evacuation of the facility. The incident, contained within a fume hood, occurred during laboratory work in the Physics & Astronomy Department. No injuries were reported, and damage was limited to the fume hood and the lab. Authorities, including the university’s Environmental Health and Safety Department, are investigating the cause of the explosion. There is no ongoing risk to the surrounding area.

Analysis: Education on proper synthesis methods, strictly abiding by the chemical incompatibility charts, frequent fume hood assessment & maintenance activities in accordance with the IQ/OQ charts, and proper chemical storage protocols might have prevented this mishap.

Why talk about Fume Hood safety in particular?

There have been increasingly numerous fume hood-related catastrophic accidents across India, and many of them have been preventable. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that it is truly due to gods grace that there aren’t a much greater number of accidents that occur, because of many of the poor lab techniques, safety practices and poor engineering practices in the design and manufacture of the hood being followed. To prevent any such devastating but perfectly preventable accidents from happening at all, we must autopsy such incidents, and implement good lab practices and good engineering practices in the design, manufacturing and usage of such hoods. This will increase the safety of personnel inside the laboratory, increase work efficiency, mitigate risk in case of accidents and also prove to be more environmentally friendly. To address the need for Fume Hood Safe Practices is the need of the hour for us all.

Proper Usage of Fume Hoods: Guidelines for Accident Prevention and risk mitigation

Material of Construction: Compatible material of construction for each part of the fume hood. The reactions and processes undergone in the fume hood, the reagents used, and the temperatures reached, etc. must be kept in mind- the chosen material of construction in every aspect of the fume hood must withstand all these conditions that occur during the due course of usage.

Scrubber compatibility and maintenance: Scrubbers must be chosen in accordance with the type of reactions and the type of reactions and care must be taken to ensure that incompatible reactions are not undergone inside the fume hood. Prompt, regular maintenance must take place according to the IQ/OQ protocol.

Proper reagent storage: Reagents must be clearly labeled and properly stored within the appropriate storage area. Care must be taken to keep the container lids closed tightly, and that photosensitive substances are kept in a sufficiently dark location. Incompatible reagents must be stored separately from each other to prevent accidental cross-reactions. Unused substances and spillage must NEVER be left or stored in the fume hood, for any reason.

Plan and organize experiments: Before starting any experiment, the procedures and ensuring proper segregation of substances must be planned. The workspace for each chemical must be clearly defined and overcrowding must be avoided to minimize the risk of accidental reactions.

Follow safety protocols and proper lab techniques: Established safety protocols and guidelines for the use of fume hoods must be adhered to. Proper technique must be followed for the handling of all reactions and processes. Proper training must be provided for all personnel for safety protocols, proper technique, and good laboratory practices.

Why talk about Fume Hood safety in particular?

Fume hood explosions in laboratory settings can have severe consequences for both personnel and infrastructure. By examining real incidents, we can better understand the causes and work toward implementing effective preventive measures. To prevent fume hood explosions, it is crucial to prioritize proper chemical handling, storage, and disposal practices, conduct thorough risk assessments, ensure proper ventilation, and maintain electrical safety protocols. By prioritizing laboratory safety and adhering to these preventive measures, we can minimize the risks of fume hood explosions and create a safer working environment for researchers. More about each factor will be discussed in the upcoming articles in the Fume Hood Safety Series (FHSS).

Sources and Citations

[1] Vellutato, A. (2021). Cleaning and Disinfecting Laminar Flow Workstations, Bio Safety Cabinets and Fume Hoods. In Handbook of Validation in Pharmaceutical Processes (pp. 419-428). CRC Press.

[2] “Deadly UCLA lab fire leaves haunting questions” Los Angeles Times, 2009

[3] “Learning From UCLA: Details of the experiment that led to a researcher’s death prompt evaluations of academic safety practices” Chemical & Engineering News, 2009

[4] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Chemical Laboratory Safety and Security: A Guide to Developing Standard Operating Procedures.

[accenagroupblog]

Stormwater BMP Solutions for Stormwater Management & Control

Stormwater Best Administration Practices (BMPs) are fundamental for overseeing stormwater spillover and forestalling contamination of neighboring streams. In this article, we will investigate the significance of Stormwater BMPs and how they are carried out to safeguard the climate and consent to guidelines.

Stormwater BMPs are measures or practices intended to catch, treat, or oversee stormwater spillover to limit its effect on the climate. These practices are ordinarily utilized in building locales, modern offices, business properties, and neighborhoods to forestall contamination like dregs, synthetics, and flotsam and jetsam from entering storm channels and, at last, waterways, lakes, and seas.

The utilization of Utah Stormwater BMP is vital for safeguarding water quality and guaranteeing consistency with neighborhood, state, and government guidelines. These guidelines, for example, the Perfect Water Act in the US, require the execution of Stormwater BMPs to diminish the contamination of stormwater overflow from development and other land improvement exercises.

Different Stormwater BMPs can be utilized based on the site conditions and explicit prerequisites. A few regular models incorporate residue bowls, sediment walls, vegetative supports, stormwater lakes, downpour gardens, porous asphalt, and green rooftops. These BMPs are intended to catch and treat stormwater spillover, permitting silt and poisons to settle or be sifted through before the water is released offsite.

In addition to protecting water quality, Stormwater BMPs can also provide other benefits. They can help prevent erosion, reduce flooding, recharge groundwater, and create habitat for wildlife. Many BMPs are also cost-effective and can be integrated into the overall design and landscaping of a property, adding aesthetic and functional value.

Proper implementation and maintenance of Stormwater BMPs are crucial for their effectiveness. Customary reviews, upkeep, and fixes are essential to guarantee that BMPs work accurately and meet their expected reason. Checking and documentation are additionally fundamental for showing consistency with guidelines and recognizing any required changes or enhancements.

Assume you are a land owner, engineer, or building site chief. It means a lot to work with qualified experts to configure, execute, and keep up with Stormwater BMPs that are proper for your site and conform to neighborhood guidelines. Accena Gathering (accenagroup.com) is a respectable organization gaining practical experience in stormwater executives and can give master direction and arrangements custom fitted to your necessities.

Utah Stormwater Management BMP provides a wide range of additional environmental consulting services, such as monitoring water quality, managing hazardous waste, and evaluating air quality. The company's team of specialists has the expertise required to guide businesses through complicated environmental standards and assist them meet their sustainability objectives. Look no further than Accena Group if you're looking for a trustworthy partner for your Utah SWPPP BMP management requirements or any other environmental consulting services. This company may assist your company in being more environmentally responsible while also enhancing its bottom line with its compelling tone and complete solutions.

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[wozziebear]

"As in Maryland, depletion means many communities could simply run out of drinking water.

A little more than one-third of America’s total volume of drinking water comes from groundwater, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. But small and rural communities are disproportionately dependent on wells, which typically cost less than treating and transporting water from rivers and lakes. Of the nation’s 143,070 water systems, 128,362 rely primarily on groundwater, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

In one particularly stark example, Arizona said in June that it would stop granting permission to build houses in the Phoenix area that rely on groundwater, because there wasn’t enough water for the homes that had already been approved.

Arizona has seen an explosion of wells, and they’ve gotten much deeper. In effect, across much of the state, the wells are chasing rapidly falling water levels downward.

Many of the country’s fast-growing communities are in places with limited rainfall, like Arizona, Texas, and Utah, and other areas across the southwest.

The National Association of Home Builders, asked about the wisdom of building houses where water is running out, said the industry was responding to the demands of homebuyers who want to live in those areas.

Susan Asmus, the association’s senior vice president for regulatory affairs, said builders follow the rules that local officials establish. She said it was up to governments to determine where and how it’s appropriate to build homes. The officials who approve those developments “obviously think they can manage the challenges,” Ms. Asmus said in a statement.

The federal government sets rules on groundwater, but not its overuse or depletion, although experts say Congress has the constitutional authority to do so. Overall, federal responsibility for water is scattered among a half-dozen different agencies.

America’s approach to regulating water is “a total mess,” said Upmanu Lall, director of the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University.

The 2021 infrastructure law increased spending for water storage, recycling and desalination programs, which might reduce some groundwater demand. A White House spokesman, Angelo Fernández Hernández, wouldn’t say what the Biden administration’s position was on whether the federal government should regulate groundwater extraction.

Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, represents a state where groundwater depletion is particularly severe. Almost two-thirds of monitoring wells in Oregon show a statistically significant decline in water levels since 1980.

Mr. Wyden is also chairman of the Water and Power Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over groundwater management. Presented with the Times’s findings, he said the federal government needed to work with states to address what he called “the groundwater crisis.”

Any effort to impose federal oversight would very likely face opposition from agricultural groups. The American Farm Bureau Federation, which represents farmers, said states were best suited to address groundwater problems. The federal government’s role should be to spend money on infrastructure projects and help farmers pay for new technology, according to Courtney Briggs, the federation’s senior director of government affairs."

America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/28/climate/groundwater-drying-climate-change.html

[semperenvironmental1]

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[fatehbaz]

Early 2020: Return of uranium mining and poisoning.

US federal government makes big investments in uranium. US Department of Energy plans major revival or uranium mining. “Stock prices skyrocket” during pandemic and uranium becomes “world’s best-performing major commodity”. Canadian mining companies gear-up for uranium extraction. Australia anticipates possible lifting of uranium mining bans in NSW and Queensland. Native communities (including Lakota, Ute, Navajo) contend with planned uranium mines and radioactive waste shipments.

-------------------------------------------

5 March 2020: New South Wales considers revival of uranium.

NSW support of uranium mining strengthens [...]. The New South Wales Government has been encouraged to support the repeal of the Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities Act to help lift Australia’s uranium mining ban. The New South Wales Legislative Council’s report into the Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Repeal Bill 2019 highlights that the ban is impeding the state’s understanding of this resource. [...] Australia has the world’s largest uranium deposits [...]. If the draft legislation is enacted, it would become legal to mine for uranium in New South Wales for the first time since 1987. [Source: Tara Ham!d. Australian Mining. 5 March 2020.]

----------------------------------------------

12 March 2020: Navajo country still contending with uranium poisoning.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

23 April 2020: US president’s office adds $150 million to 2021 budget to purchase uranium from US mines; office releases report, year-long study, recommending total revival of uranium industry.

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25 April 2020: White Mesa uranium mill anticipates increased radioactive waste shipments as Ute Mountain people resist the poisoning.

‘A long-anticipated Trump administration report aimed to “revive and   strengthen the uranium mining industry” was released Thursday [23 April 2020], and if its recommendations are implemented, it could provide direct government support for uranium production in San Juan County where the country’s last conventional uranium mill and several idled mines are located. Uranium companies applauded the plan within hours of its release while numerous conservation groups and Native American tribal leaders announced opposition. [...] Residents of the Ute Mountain Ute community of White Mesa, which is located several miles south of Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill, have long worried that groundwater contamination around the mill site could worsen and eventually reach its drinking water aquifer. The Ute Mountain Ute Environmental Programs Department sent a letter to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality in January pointing to “overwhelming data showing significant trends of increasing groundwater contaminants and acidification” below the mill site [...].’ [Source: Zak Podmore.“ Trump administration plan could revive the uranium industry in Utah, raising concerns from conservationists.” The Salt Lake Tribune. 25 April 2020.]

------------------------------------------------------------------

10 May 2020: Lakota resistance against uranium mining in the Black Hills; Canadian mining company wants to open major uranium mine in the region.

Paha Sapa, also known as the Black Hills. […] The Lakota call Paha Sapa “the heart of everything that is.” […] Today, [Regina] Brave and other Lakota elders are staring down yet another encroachment on their historic lands: a 10,600-acre uranium mine proposed to be built in the Black Hills. The Dewey-Burdock mine would suck up as much as 8,500 gallons of groundwater per minute from the Inyan Kara aquifer to extract as much as 10 million pounds of ore in total. Lakota say the project violates both the 1868 U.S.-Lakota treaty and federal environmental laws by failing to take into account the sacred nature of the site. […] A legal win for the Lakota would represent an unprecedented victory for a tribe over corporations such as Power­tech, the Canadian-owned firm behind Dewey-Burdock, that have plundered the resource-rich hills. And it could set precedents forcing federal regulators to protect indigenous sites and take tribes’ claims more seriously. The fight puts the Lakota on a collision course with the Trump administration, which has close ties to energy companies and is doubling down on nuclear power while fast-tracking new permits and slashing environmental protections — even using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to further roll back regulations. All of this makes Black Hills mineral deposits more attractive than they’ve been in decades. […] Though many experts say the U.S. already has more of the mineral than it can use, Trump’s proposed 2021 budget would allocate $150 million to stock a new reserve with domestically mined uranium. The share prices of U.S. mining companies jumped after the report’s release, while factors related to COVID-19 caused the global price of uranium to surge throughout March and April.

-------------------------------------------------------------

11 May 2020, one day later: US Department of Energy announces Uranium Reserve program, full revival of uranium industry.

---------------------------------------------------------

22 May 2020: Native communities of Ute Mountain must contend with increased shipment of radioactive waste to White Mesa.

“The facility has gone from being the North American continent’s dry, low-level radioactive waste disposal facility of choice … to now being the world’s radioactive waste dump,” said Scott Clow, the environmental programs director for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, which has land three miles south of the mill. “That is something the tribe opposes,” he added. “The tribe does not want these materials to continue to be delivered to their neighborhood, their traditional lands, and stored there forever.” In January, the tribe sent a letter to the state pointing to “overwhelming data showing significant trends of increasing groundwater contaminants and acidification” below the mill site and requesting the state conduct a thorough investigation into the root causes of the contamination, which include “rare toxic metals” such as beryllium, cadmium, nickel and thallium. [Excerpt from Podmore. Salt Lake Tribune.]

------------------------------------------------

3 July 2020: North Queensland authorities want to lift ban, revive uranium mining in rural, Aboriginal-administered regions.

“North Queensland First leader and Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan wants Queensland to lift the ban on uranium mining. Speaking in Townsville alongside his new NQF candidate Clynton Hawks Mr Costigan said the Palaszczuk government needed to resume mining to revive the fortunes of regional north Queensland. [...] "After inspecting what's left at Mary Kathleen last year, I came to the conclusion we should go back to the future and mine uranium in Queensland again exporting it to the world, creating jobs and economic development," Mr Costigan said. Uranium mining is legal in South Australia and NT but was banned in Queensland in 1989 by the Labor government, then repealed by the LNP Newman government in 2012, and then banned again in 2015 by the Palaszczuk government. [Source: Derek Barry. “Jason Costigan wants Queensland to export uranium again.” The Canberra Times. 3 July 2020.]

-----------------------------------------------------

6 July 2020: Uranium value “skyrockets” thanks to pandemic and US government support; uranium becomes “world’s best-performing major commodity”.

14 July 2020:

[dalerwalker2]

Brian Laundrie committed suicide, according to an autopsy report.

Brian Laundrie committed suicide, according to an autopsy report.

Brian Laundrie committed suicide, according to an autopsy report. According to an autopsy report issued on Tuesday, Brian Laundrie, whose disappearance prompted a worldwide investigation in September when his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, went missing and was subsequently discovered slain, killed himself. Petito, 22, was found strangled to death on the outskirts of Wyoming's Grand Teton national park, where the couple had been travelling together in a van. Laundrie's remains were discovered in a Florida nature preserve last month, one month after Petito was found strangled to death on the outskirts of Wyoming's Grand Teton national park, where the couple had been travelling together in a van. After returning to his parents' house in Florida alone in early September and then disappearing, the 23-year-old was labelled a person of interest in the investigation. Petito's parents reported her missing three days before Laundrie's family said he left their North Port home with a bag but left his money and cellphone behind. Laundrie's skeleton remains were found in the marshy Myakkahatchee Creek environmental park, and the original coroner's report was ambiguous. After the bones were transferred to a forensic anthropologist, Steven Bertolino, attorney representing Laundrie's parents, said on Tuesday that they had gotten a more thorough report. more about Brian Laundrie : Brian Laundrie search results are updated in real time Human remains were discovered but were not identified. "Chris and Roberta are still grieving the death of their son and hope that these results will provide closure for both families," Bertolino added. Laundrie was never prosecuted in relation to Petito's death, but on September 24, a federal arrest warrant was issued by a Wyoming court after a grand jury indicted him for the unlawful use of a debit card that Petito's family claims was hers. FBI agents have been scrutinising objects discovered near Laundrie's death for evidence, including a water-damaged notepad. The FBI has yet to provide a comment on the investigation's progress. Petito's disappearance, as well as the search for Laundrie, who was documenting the couple's cross-country experiences on social media, drew national attention. Officers in Moab City, Utah, revealed body-cam video of them interacting with the couple after receiving a domestic violence complaint on August 12th. A sobbing Petito is heard in the film confessing the two had battled, with cops finally separating them for the night, with Laundrie fleeing to a hotel. Laundrie is heard telling the cops that they had "a slight skirmish" and that he did not want to pursue a domestic violence prosecution. The officers controversially judged that Petito was the aggressor. He adds, "I'm not going to pursue anything since she's my fiancée, and I love her." "It was simply a quarrel," says the narrator. "I'm sorry it had to come to this." It was the last time Laundrie and Petito were recorded together. The family refused to speak with detectives, according to North Port police investigating Laundrie's disappearance, which Bertolino later claimed was on his advice. There have been no charges filed in this case. Laundrie and Petito met as children on Long Island, New York, and then relocated to North Port, Florida, to live with Laundrie's parents, some 34 miles south of Sarasota. According to their social media accounts, they started their "van life" trip in July and plan to arrive in Oregon by Halloween. from new 24 hour: Brian Laundrie ‘s family won’t aid with FBI search, says Gabby Petito’s attorney. As he pursues Brian Laundrie, Dog the Bounty Hunter is pitching a new reality show, according to a report. Coroner: Gabby Petito died after being suffocated to death. Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, is under investigation for alleged abuse of power. source : theguardian#instagram #happy #nature #photography #fashion #instadaily #beauty #instalike #fun #friends #me #summer #tbt #cute #beautiful #likeforlike #smile #music #ootd #family #model #follow4follow #lifestyle #design #motivation #beach #sunset #amazing #dog #makeup Read the full article

[koreaunderground]

(2019/04/15) Fear of biological agent strikes Busan as US troops continue bio-surveillance project

[warisboring.com][1]

  [1]: <https://warisboring.com/fear-of-biological-agent-strikes-busan-as-us-troops-continue-bio-surveillance-project/>

# Fear of biological agent strikes Busan as US troops continue bio-surveillance project

Jo He-Rim

10-13 minutes

* * *

Jo He-Rim Asia News Network Busan, the second-largest city in South Korea, is once again living in terror of biological warfare experiments in the... ![Fear of biological agent strikes Busan as US troops continue bio-surveillance project][2]

  [2]: https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/warisboring.com/images/bio-warfare-640x300.jpg

Jo He-Rim Asia News Network

Busan, the second-largest city in South Korea, is once again living in terror of biological warfare experiments in the aftermath of renewed allegations that US troops stationed in South Korea are conducting such tests at the city’s seaport.

Every morning, dozens of residents and activists gather to block the entrance to the Pier 8 military storage centre for US Forces Korea in Busan’s Nam district, to stop the US soldiers from going to work.

At night they hold candlelight vigils, carrying signs that read, “Nam district residents are not test subjects for viruses” and “Abolish the biological weapons test lab.”

Busan Port’s Pier 8 is among the military facilities in South Korea and the US where the US operates a biosurveillance project, dubbed JUPITR ATD for “Joint United States Forces Korea Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition Advanced Technology Demonstration.”

While JUPITR’s stated aim is the development of early-warning detection capabilities to protect the USFK and South Korea from biological and chemical threats, it has been the subject of constant criticism since 2015.

In May 2015, the Pentagon confirmed that its laboratory in Utah had “inadvertently” sent live anthrax samples to one of its military bases in South Korea, rather than the inactivated samples that were meant to be delivered for the project.

The USFK has denied allegations that it is conducting biological tests using hazardous materials such as live agents or toxins, but the debate still rages on.

“Why don’t they (the United States) just conduct the tests inside their country? Why in S. Korea?” Kim Suk-heun, the leader of a regional civic task force calling for an end to the “biological weapons lab,” told The Korea Herald.

“We want the facility and the project to be withdrawn, altogether.”

Lack of trust deepens fear

The controversy over the biosurveillance project resurfaced in March when a local daily ran a report citing the US Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Estimates, under which more than $3.5 million was allocated for JUPITR at Pier 8 �� showing that the project is still ongoing.

The budget estimates, which set aside funds for live agent tests, fanned public suspicion about the project.

“They say they only have detection devices (for biological agents) and that they do not run tests, but last year’s budget clearly shows that their program includes experiments using live agents,” Kim said.

The fear also spread to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where the USFK’s Camp Humphreys is located, prompting the city to request USFK’s clarification on the issue. The US military base also operates laboratory facilities and allocates part of its budget for the JUPITR ATD project.

On April 2, the USFK released a statement explaining that it has not conducted any experiments involving biological or chemical agents.

“It is a defense system to issue an early alert to the USFK and S. Korean government in case of chemical or biological threats,” said the USFK response, quoted by the ministry in Korean. “The ‘live agent testing’ stipulated in the budget estimate is only conducted in the United States and not in South Korea.”

The USFK also told The Korea Herald that the funding specified in the budget estimates for the JUPITR program had been realigned to other chemical and biological early-warning programs in the United States.

“Improvements and upgrades to the JUPITR program formally ended in 2018, but the passive defensive early warning capability remains,” the USFK said, www.asianewsnet.netadding that there are no firm decisions in place on any potential new programs in South Korea associated with the threats.

Defending against biological threats

The JUPITR ATD project was launched in April 2013 in support of US policies recognizing the importance of detection capabilities to guard against biological and chemical threats.

Led by the US Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense and the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, the project was touted as the Pentagon’s flagship project for “how biosurveillance would manifest itself,” said Peter Emanuel, the leader of JUPITR ATD at the time in 2013, in a December 2014 interview with CBRNePortal.com.

The project consists of four parts: Early Warning, Biological Identification Capabilities Sets, Assessment of Environmental Detectors and a Biosurveillance Portal. Together, they are designed to form a comprehensive surveillance and reaction system to guard against biological and chemical threats.

The lack of any explanation about the project and what is happening in South Korea has amplified people’s fears.

North Korea stepped up its rhetoric against the US program via its news outlet in March, saying the United States was preparing for biochemical warfare to “control the entire Korean Peninsula” in a “barbaric manner.” It also stressed that the North does not possess any biological or chemical weapons.

The 2015 anthrax incident led to some changes. In the joint panel investigation conducted following the incident, the USFK admitted that it had carried out biological equipment testing and proficiency training after importing inactivated biological agent test samples from the US.

The investigation report revealed that the USFK had brought in and tested dead anthrax samples 15 times at Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul between 2009 and 2014. In 2015, 1 milliliter of inactive Yersinia pestis (bubonic plague) samples were delivered to the Osan Air Base for JUPITR — along with the live anthrax sample, rather than the intended inactivated anthrax sample.

Following the incident, the S. Korea-US Status of Forces Agreement was revised to mandate that the USFK file a report with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when importing any biological agent, including inactivated biological agents. The Defense Ministry said it recently confirmed with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that no cases have been reported by US troops since the revision of the SOFA.

“USFK works very closely with the S. Korean government by reporting scheduled shipments of any JUPITR-related resources within the SOFA Disease Prevention and Control Subcommittee,” the USFK told The Korea Herald.

Limits of the military project

While the US Army has been promoting the project as a way to cut costs and time and provide better performance results by introducing new instrumentation to upgrade biothreat detection capabilities, not much has been revealed to the South Korean public.

“It is a military issue, and it is difficult to inform the public of every detail about the project,” an official who refused to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter said when asked to confirm details of the project.

According to Emanuel, who led the project in 2013, the JUPITR project involves determining the equipment and process for biosurveillance. He described it as an “aggressive” attempt that “nobody has ever attempted to do so in such kind of a scale before.”

Emanuel, currently senior research scientist for bioengineering at the US Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, also said the alliance with South Korea had led to the biosurveillance project being conducted in the country, adding that the USFK had requested the capabilities.

“The reality of the situation is that the senior leadership in the USFK asked for capabilities, and they made themselves available to test these forward-leaning ideas,” he said in the 2014 interview with CBRNePortal.com.

Currently, only Pier 8 in Busan and Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek are officially confirmed as operating the JUPTR program. But the Osan and Gunsan air bases also appear to have been venues for the project.

In 2016, the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center managing the JUPITR ATD “did a complete make-over of two existing Air Force labs and also set up an Army lab from scratch,” Brady Redmond, the laboratory project lead, was quoted as saying in an article posted by the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center on April 15, 2016.

According to the article, Edgewood “increased the sample throughput of three US military laboratories in South Korea from two to three samples of suspected biological warfare agent per day to dozens per day with a 24-hour turn-around time for results.”

Able Response, a joint exercise by South Korea and the US against biological threats, also appears to have supported the biosurveillance project, according to the US Defense Ministry’s budget estimates for fiscal years up to 2016. The joint exercise, which was conducted from 2011 to 2016, was replaced by a tabletop training session called “Adaptive Shield.”

The biological agent test scare is ongoing. There are more allegations that the experiments may have involved other infectious diseases.

“They are said to be dealing with deadly biological agent samples such as plague and anthrax — weapons of mass destruction. Even if they do not intend it, accidents can happen and that would just be horrendous,” Kim said.

In addressing the residents’ concerns, the Nam district governor and Busan City officials criticized the project, while lawmakers across the aisle have proposed bills to prevent biological agents from entering the country.

“(The proposed bills) are unlikely to be passed because of the SOFA regulations. So I am currently negotiating with the Defense Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office to allow the residents to conduct on-site inspections,” said Rep. Park Jae-ho of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, representing Nam district’s B division, told The Korea Herald.

While the Defense Ministry is reluctant to speak about the JUPITR ATD project, saying it is a US military project, it reiterated that US troops are not conducting any biological tests at military bases here.

“We are making efforts together with the USFK to find ways to raise people’s understanding of the biosurveillance operation,” a ministry spokeswoman said.

USFK officials also said they are reviewing ways to address misunderstandings among the general public.

[severelynerdysheep]

uhh jsyk thatveganteacher is homophobic and supports peta

1) ThatVeganTeacher is a bisexual woman who actively advocated for LGBT+ rights on her large platform. If you are going to make such a serious accusation like this, then you have to back up that accusation with clear evidence. If you have any evidence that this bisexual LGBT+ rights advocate is homophobic, please provide it. Otherwise your just doing a massive disservice to this incredibly serious issue 

2) Again, what has she said about PETA? PETA isn't just some horrendous organization you can link to people in order to slander folks. Did she say that she supports PETA's campaigns which can be pretty sexist? Did she express uncritical support of everything PETA has ever done? Or did she (rightly) express support for the many vital undercover investigations PETA conduct exposing the horrors faces by the victims of these industries? Did she express support for their petition work? You have to actually say what she did that you find objectionable, you can't just say “she supports PETA” without anything to back that up or to provide context. What has she actually said?

And can we just take a moment to recognise some of the vital work PETA has done, as problematic as they can be, and as much as we need to hold them to account when they do problematic shit. Which they have indeed done, and you haven't provided any evidence that ThatVeganTeacher has supported any of the bad actions of PETA such as their historic use of sexism in their campaigns. Because we have to talk about both the good and the bad instead of just painting the entire organizations and its history as some unique evil boogyman which is entirely unjustified. 

1983: PETA got the U.S. Department of Defense underground “wound lab” shut down and achieved a permanent legal ban on shooting dogs and cats in military wound laboratories.

1998: PETA succeeds in getting Taiwan to pass its first-ever law against cruelty to animals after the group rescued countless dogs from being beaten, starved, electrocuted, and drowned in Taiwan’s pounds.

2004: After PETA campaigning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to dropped plans for numerous painful chemical tests, sparing tens of thousands of animals.

2010: After PETA releases its undercover investigation into laboratories at the University of Utah, Utah legislators voted to amend an archaic state law so that government-run animal shelters will no longer be forced to sell dogs and cats to laboratories on demand.

2011: After campaigning by PETA, the U.S. military ended the use of monkeys in the Army’s chemical-attack training course.

2012: After two years of PETA campaigns and a lawsuit brought by PETA and local residents, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico put an end to the plan by the Bioculture corporation to set up a monkey-breeding facility and sell monkeys to U.S. laboratories.

2016: Following a PETA campaign that saw the end of poisoning tests on dogs in 2007 in the U.S. and in 2013 in the E.U, PETA scientists succeeded in also convincing the Canadian government to also change its laws to end this testing

2016: After years of PETA campaigning, funding and promoting non-animal testing methods, The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act was signed into law.

2017: Following a 10-year PETA campaign Israel banned by law the import of “beef” from slaughterhouses that use the “shackle and hoist” method of kosher slaughter

2018: Following a PETA appeal, South Korea stopped requiring that dogs be subjected to a yearlong pesticide poisoning test. Japan, Canada, the EU, and the U.S. also eliminated this test by law following the work of PETA scientists.

And a great article here about PETA from @acti-veg

[reading-writing-revolution]

Heather Cox Richardson:

December 9, 2020 (Wednesday)

Today’s big story remains the loss of our neighbors to Covid-19. Today, our official death count passed the number of those killed in the 9-11 attacks. On that horrific day in 2001, we lost 2977 people to four terrorist attacks. Today, official reports showed 3,140 deaths from Covid-19, the highest single-day toll so far. Hospitals are overwhelmed, our health care workers exhausted.

As the country suffers, Trump has launched a new approach in his attempt to steal the 2020 election. While he has previously insisted that he actually won, and that his “win” must be recognized, this morning he tweeted simply “OVERTURN.” Republican leaders have ducked the question of Trump’s refusal to acknowledge Joe Biden’s win in the election by saying that the president has a right to challenge an election through legal means. Few of them commented on this new attack on our democracy.

Instead, the Republican attorneys general of seventeen states supported a lawsuit Texas has asked the Supreme Court’s permission to file against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, suing them over their voting processes. A majority of voters in those four states voted for Biden, thus giving him their state’s electoral votes and the presidency. The states that want to sue are all Republican-majority states. They are hoping they can get the Supreme Court to allow them to sue, and that it will then agree with their complaint and throw out the votes from those states so the Republican legislatures there can then choose their own electors and give the win to Trump.

Astonishingly, this argument comes from the party that claims to oppose “judicial activism.”

The states that have declared their support for Texas’s lawsuit are: Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia. They are essentially asking the Supreme Court to disfranchise the majority in the United States and to let them put their chosen president in the White House. This assault on American principles is breathtaking.

Trump has also filed a motion to join Texas’s lawsuit in his personal capacity as a presidential candidate. His lawyer says that he “seeks to have the votes cast in the Defendant States unlawfully for his opponent to be deemed invalid.” Tonight, at a White House Hanukkah party, Trump told the crowd that with the help of “certain very important people, if they have wisdom and if they have courage, we are going to win this election.” The attendees chanted “four more years.”

Legal experts say this case is a non-starter. University of Texas Law Professor Steve Vladeck writes, “It is lacking in actual evidence; it is deeply cynical; it evinces stunning disrespect for both the role of the courts in our constitutional system and of the states in our elections; and it is doomed to fail.”

But the fact that Republican leaders have accepted, rather than condemned, this attempt to overturn a legitimate election says they are willing to destroy American democracy in order to stay in power. On CNN tonight, former Ohio Governor John Kasich, a Republican himself, called the lawmakers supporting Trump’s attack on democracy “morally and ethically bankrupt.”

Republicans might be stoking attacks on our electoral system because they know the courts will shut them down. After all, Trump’s lawyers are currently 1-51 in court, and it is unlikely the Supreme Court will take up Texas’s lawsuit. So siding with Trump is a cheap way for leaders to avoid alienating his voters when they will want those voters in 2022.

But they are playing a deeply cynical and wildly dangerous game. Yesterday, the official Twitter account of the Arizona Republican Party asked followers if they were willing to die to overturn the election, then posted a clip from the film “Rambo” in which the main character is threatening someone’s life, saying “This is what we do, who we are. Live for nothing, or die for something.”

Today, talk show host Rush Limbaugh told his listeners that they are, in fact, still a majority but they are plagued with “RINOs” who are selling them out. “I actually think that we’re trending toward secession,” he said. “I see more and more people asking what in the world do we have in common with the people who live in, say, New York? What is there that makes us believe that there is enough of us there to even have a chance at winning New York? Especially if you’re talking about votes….” (New York City has more people than 40 of the 50 states.) He went on: “There cannot be a peaceful coexistence of two completely different theories of life, theories of government, theories of how we manage our affairs. We can’t be in this dire a conflict without something giving somewhere along the way.”

The theme of civil war, and of America tearing itself apart, was one pushed hard by Russian operatives in 2018. On Twitter, “Civil War” trended today. An actual civil war is highly unlikely, but the unwillingness of leaders to stop this language is already leading to death threats against election officials. The longer they permit it to go on, the worse things will get.

Republicans are working to undermine the incoming Democratic administration in other ways, too. Last week, Attorney General William Barr announced that he appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham as special counsel in October to investigate the FBI agents who worked on the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. While the law about special counsels says they must come from outside the government, Barr claims to have found a loophole in that rule. Durham can be fired only for specific reasons such as conflict of interest or misconduct. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) applauded the appointment and the continuation of the investigation.

Today Biden’s son Hunter told the media that he has just learned that he is under investigation by the Department of Justice for tax issues, although CNN suggested it is a much wider financial investigation than that, and that it began in 2018. The Justice Department is also investigating a company related to Joe Biden’s brother James. While the DOJ is supposed to be independent of the president, these investigations echo Trump’s own calls for such investigations. Immediately Representative Ken Buck (R-CO) called for a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, and tonight, Trump tweeted that “10% of voters would have changed their vote if they knew about Hunter Biden…. But I won anyway!”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Fox News Channel personality Laura Ingraham today that Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) should be “removed from Congress” after an Axios report that a Chinese intelligence operative had worked to ingratiate herself with California lawmakers between 2011 and 2015. The operative targeted a number of politicians, including Swalwell, and she fundraised on his behalf, but there is no evidence she broke any laws. In 2015, FBI officers alerted Swalwell, who immediately cut all ties to her. He was never accused of any wrongdoing. The operative left the country unexpectedly during the FBI investigation.

Although the Axios story was about Chinese espionage, right-wing media is aflame with attacks on Swalwell in what seems an attempt to discredit a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. Don Jr. tweeted that Swalwell “was literally sleeping with a Chinese spy,” an allegation that is nowhere in the story, although the story mentions that two unidentified midwestern mayors had affairs with her.

The White House appears to be trying to sabotage the Biden administration not only by keeping the Biden team from information it needs, but by tying its hands and slowing it down. The day after the election, the Trump administration proposed a new rule requiring the new Department of Health and Human Services appointees to review most of the department’s regulations by 2023. The rule would automatically kill any regulations that haven’t been reviewed by then. This would mean that, just as the new administration is trying to fight the coronavirus, it would be slammed with administrative paperwork. The department’s chief of staff denies the unusual move is political, saying that a review is necessary because one hasn’t been done for 40 years.

Now that the transition process has finally started, Trump loyalists are blocking meetings, or sitting in on them to monitor what is being said, especially at the Environmental Protection Agency. At Voice of America, Trump’s appointed head, Michael Pack, has refused to give meetings or records to Biden’s team. For their part, Biden’s transition folks are avoiding fights in order to get whatever information they can.

Republican senators are also signaling that they intend to delay confirmations on Biden’s nominees, although in the past 95% of Cabinet nominees have had hearings before an inauguration, and 84% of those were approved within three days. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), for example, questioned the experience of Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra. Becerra is the Attorney General of California, and he sat on the House Committee on Ways and Means, which oversees health issues, during his 24 years in Congress. “I don’t know what his Health and Human Services credentials are,” Cornyn told The Hill. It’s not like [Trump’s HHS Secretary] Alex Azar, who worked for pharma and had a health care background.”

[spaceexp]

NASA Satellite Offers Urban Carbon Dioxide Insights

NASA - Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) logo. March 6, 2020 Using data from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, researchers found links between the population density of cities and how much carbon dioxide they produce per person.

Image above: NASA Satellite Offers Urban Carbon Dioxide Insights NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) measures the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over areas like Las Vegas, Nevada, to help researchers better characterize the sources and sinks of the greenhouse gas. Image Credits: Bert Kaufmann/CC BY-SA. A new NASA/university study of carbon dioxide emissions for 20 major cities around the world provides the first direct, satellite-based evidence that as a city's population density increases, the carbon dioxide it emits per person declines, with some notable exceptions. The study also demonstrates how satellite measurements of this powerful greenhouse gas can give fast-growing cities new tools to track carbon dioxide emissions and assess the impact of policy changes and infrastructure improvements on their energy efficiency. Cities account for more than 70% of global carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy production, and rapid, ongoing urbanization is increasing their number and size. But some densely populated cities emit more carbon dioxide per capita than others. To better understand why, atmospheric scientists Dien Wu and John Lin of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City teamed with colleagues at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. They calculated per capita carbon dioxide emissions for 20 urban areas on several continents using recently available carbon dioxide estimates from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite, managed by the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Cities spanning a range of population densities were selected based on the quality and quantity of OCO-2 data available for them. Cities with minimal vegetation were preferred because plants can absorb and emit carbon dioxide, complicating the interpretation of the measurements. Two U.S. cities were included: Las Vegas and Phoenix. Many scientists and policy makers have assumed the best way to estimate and understand differences in carbon dioxide emissions in major cities is to employ a "bottom-up" approach, compiling an inventory of fossil fuel emissions produced by industrial facilities, farms, road transport and power plants. The bottom-up method was the only feasible approach before remote-sensing data sets became available. This approach can provide estimates of emissions by fuel type (coal, oil, natural gas) and sector (power generation, transportation, manufacturing) but can miss some emissions, especially in rapidly developing urban areas. But for this study, researchers instead employed a "top-down" approach to inventory emissions, using satellite-derived estimates of the amount of carbon dioxide present in the air above an urban area as the satellite flies overhead. "Other people have used fuel statistics, the number of miles driven by a person or how big people's houses are to calculate per capita emissions," Lin said. "We're looking down from space to actually measure the carbon dioxide concentration over a city." Published Feb. 20 in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the study found that cities with higher population densities generally have lower per capita carbon dioxide emissions, in line with previous bottom-up studies based on emissions inventories. But the satellite data provided new insights. "Our motivating question was essentially: When people live in denser cities, do they emit less carbon dioxide? The general answer from our analysis suggests, yes, emissions from denser cities are lower," said Eric Kort, principal investigator and associate professor of climate and space sciences and engineering at the University of Michigan. "It isn't a complete picture, since we only see local direct emissions, but our study does provide an alternative direct observational assessment that was entirely missing before." The Density Factor, and Exceptions Scientists have hypothesized that more densely-populated urban areas generally emit less carbon dioxide per person because they are more energy efficient: That is, less energy per person is needed in these areas because of factors like the use of public transportation and the efficient heating and cooling of multi-family dwellings. Satellite data can improve our understanding of this relationship because they describe the combined emissions from all sources. This information can be incorporated with more source-specific, bottom-up inventories to help city managers plan for more energy-efficient growth and develop better estimates of future carbon dioxide emissions.

Image above: A spatial map of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) present in columns of the atmosphere below NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite as it flew over Las Vegas on Feb. 8, 2018. Warmer colors over the city center indicate higher amounts of carbon dioxide. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Utah. The OCO-2 data show that not all densely-populated urban areas have lower per capita emissions, however. Cities with major power generation facilities, such as Yinchuan, China, and Johannesburg, had higher emissions than what their population density would otherwise suggest. "The satellite detects the carbon dioxide plume at the power plant, not at the city that actually uses the power," Lin said. "Some cities don't produce as much carbon dioxide, given their population density, but they consume goods and services that would give rise to carbon dioxide emissions elsewhere," Wu added. Another exception to the higher population density/lower emissions observation is affluence. A wealthy urban area, like Phoenix, produces more emissions per capita than a developing city like Hyderabad, India, which has a similar population density. The researchers speculate that Phoenix's higher per capita emissions are due to factors such as higher rates of driving and larger, better air-conditioned homes. Looking Ahead The researchers stress there's much more to be learned about urban carbon dioxide emissions. They believe new data from OCO-2's successor, OCO-3 - which launched to the International Space Station last year - along with future space-based carbon dioxide-observing missions, may shed light on potential solutions to mitigating cities' carbon emissions. "Many people are interested in carbon dioxide emissions from large cities," Wu said. "Additionally, there are a few places with high emissions that aren't necessarily related to population. Satellites can detect and quantify emissions from those locations around the globe."

Animation above: This animation shows the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, the first NASA spacecraft dedicated to studying carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. Animation Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Launched in 2014, OCO-2 gathers global measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide - the principal human-produced driver of climate change - with the resolution, precision and coverage needed to understand how it moves through the Earth system and how it changes over time. From its vantage point in space, OCO-2 makes roughly 100,000 measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide over the globe every day. JPL manages OCO-2 for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. While OCO-2 wasn't optimized to monitor carbon emissions from cities or power plants, it can observe these targets if it flies directly overhead or if the observatory is reoriented to point in their direction. In contrast, OCO-3, which has been collecting daily measurements of carbon dioxide since last summer, features an agile mirror-pointing system that allows it to capture "snapshot maps." In a matter of minutes, it can create detailed mini-maps of carbon dioxide over areas of interest as small as an individual power plant to a large urban area up to 2,300 square miles (6,400 square kilometers), such as the Los Angeles Basin, something that would take OCO-2 several days to do. For more information on OCO-2 and OCO-3, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/oco2 https://ocov3.jpl.nasa.gov/ Environmental Research Letters: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab68eb Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/JPL/Jane Lee/University of Utah/Paul Gabrielsen. Greetings, Orbiter.ch Full article