Saturday, December 3, 2011

Crude Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf Oil Spill Tracker

Report DetailsNRC Report ID: 997011
Incident Time: 2011-12-02 14:30:00
Nearest City: LA
Incident Type: PLATFORM
Material: OIL: CRUDE
Medium Affected: WATER
Suspected Responsible Party: TAYLOR ENERGY
SkyTruth Analysis
Lat/Long: 28.936111, -88.968889 (Explicit)
Reported Sheen Size: 500 feet by 3.5 miles (area 212.12 acres)
Reported Spill Volume: 2 gallons
SkyTruth Minimum Estimate: 226.77 gallonsReport Description
CALLER IS REPORTING A RELEASE OF DIESEL FUEL FROM A DOWNED PLATFORM CAUSED BY HURRICANE IVAN. THIS WAS DISCOVERED DURING AN OVER FLIGHT.

[This kind of spill happens all the time. It would take me days of ceaseless blogging to keep up with these kinds of incidents. 226.77 gallons may not sound like a lot, but this is not a one time incident. Oil platforms spill this kind of mess frequently. Oil compainies are jacking off their crude oil all over the face of our environment; meanwhile, the Media stays quiet.]

Mob Oil: Unbelievable Amount Of Oil Spills in the U.S.

If someone tells you that oil spills don't happen that much, just tell them to go to this website, oilspill.skytruth.org. There are so many spills it would be impossible to keep up with all of them. Check the website daily. You won't believe how many new spills happen every day that we never hear about.

Texas is fast becoming a dirty shit hole. Why would anyone want to let their state become like Texas? Drill baby drill my ass.

(video) An imminent ice age debunked

Texas Drought Update for Austin & San Antonio

The following is a drought update from the National Weather Service. I cut and pasted what was interesting to me. To read the full report click here.

DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
121 PM CST THU DEC 1 2011
...ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...THE HILL COUNTRY AND RIO
GRANDE PLAINS REMAIN IN MODERATE TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
STATUS...
SYNOPSIS...
DROUGHT CONTINUES TO PLAGUE ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. THE
MONTH OF NOVEMBER SAW SEVERAL COLD FRONTS THAT DID PRODUCE
SOME BENEFICIAL RAINFALL ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. THE
RAINFALL WAS WIDESPREAD AND AMOUNTS VARIED GREATLY RANGING
FROM A HALF-INCH TO OVER THREE INCHES. MORE FREQUENT AND
WIDESPREAD RAINFALL EVENTS OVER SEVERAL MONTHS WILL BE
NECESSARY TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE CURRENT
RAINFALL DEFICITS.
THE LA NINA PATTERN IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE
EQUATORIAL PACIFIC THROUGH THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER.
THIS USUALLY MEANS BELOW AVERAGE RAINFALL AND WARMER THAN
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES DURING THE LATE FALL AND INTO THE
WINTER ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.

THE US DROUGHT MONITOR (USDM) VALID NOVEMBER 29TH AND
ISSUED ON DECEMBER 1ST...SHOWED ALL OF THE HILL COUNTRY
AND SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS IN MODERATE (D1) TO EXCEPTIONAL
DROUGHT (D4) CONDITIONS.
EXTREME DROUGHT (D3) TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4) CONDITIONS
PREVAIL THE REMAINDER OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.
FIRE DANGER IS CURRENTLY MODERATE DUE TO THE RECENT RAINFALL.

THE COUNTIES WITH ESTABLISHED OUTDOOR
BURN BANS INCLUDE ATASCOSA...BANDERA...BEXAR...CALDWELL...
COMAL...DEWITT...DIMMIT...EDWARDS...FRIO...GILLESPIE...
KARNES...KENDALL...KERR...KINNEY...MAVERICK...MEDINA...
REAL...UVALDE...VAL VERDE...WILLIAMSON AND ZAVALA COUNTIES.

THE DECEMBER 1ST KEETCH-BYRAM DROUGHT INDEX (KBDI) SHOWED KBDI
VALUES RANGED FROM 400 TO 600 ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
TEXAS AND THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS. THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA HAS
KBDI VALUES OF 500 TO 700.
THE INDEX RANGES FROM ZERO TO 800...WITH ZERO REPRESENTING A SATURATED SOIL AND 800 A COMPLETELY
DRY SOIL.
AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS...

THE NOVEMBER 29TH TEXAS CROP AND WEATHER REPORT ISSUED BY TEXAS
A AND M AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM...INDICATED PRECIPITATION OVER
THANKSGIVING RANGED FROM 0.1 OF AN INCH IN THE WESTERN PART OF
THE DISTRICT TO 1.25 INCHES IN THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN COUNTIES.
SOME LANDOWNERS BEGAN PLANTING OATS FOR LIVESTOCK GRAZING.
LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS CONTINUED SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDING OF CATTLE...
AS WELL AS CULLING AND SELLING OFF HERDS DUE TO THE CONTINUED
DROUGHT CONDITIONS AND HAY SHORTAGES. PASTURES GREENED UP WITH
SOME WINTER FORBES AND GRASSES. COOLER WEATHER SLOWED OR STOPPED
THE GROWTH OF SUMMER PERENNIAL GRASS.
CLIMATE SUMMARY...

MOST AREAS RECEIVED AT LEAST SOME RAINFALL DURING NOVEMBER AND
THIS HELPED TO CHIP AWAY AT SOME OF THE DEFICITS THAT HAVE GROWN
VERY LARGE OVER THE PAST YEAR. RAINFALL DEFICITS ARE 20 TO 30
INCHES OVER THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS.LOCATIONS OVER THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS CURRENTLY HAVE RAINFALL
DEFICITS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES.
THROUGH MIDNIGHT NOVEMBER 30TH...SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL
RECEIVED 1.81 INCHES OF RAIN. THIS WAS 0.47 OF AN INCH BELOW
THE NORMAL OF 2.28 INCHES. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT SAN
ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL FOR NOVEMBER WAS 62.9 DEGREES. THIS
WAS 1.8 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 61.1 DEGREES.
DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...THERE WILL BE A GOOD CHANCE
FOR ADDITIONAL RAINFALL. ALTHOUGH THE RAINFALL COULD BE
WIDESPREAD...MOST OF THE RAIN WILL BE LIGHT WITH ACCUMULATIONS
EXPECTED TO AVERAGE ONE-QUARTER TO ONE-HALF INCH WITH A
FEW LOCATIONS RECEIVING UP TO ONE INCH.

THE LATEST CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK
ISSUED ON NOVEMBER 30TH AND VALID DECEMBER 8TH THROUGH DECEMBER
14TH IS CALLING FOR...............GREATER CHANCES FOR ABOVE NORMAL
RAINFALL.

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

THE LACK OF RAINFALL CONTINUES TO CAUSE LAKES AND RESERVOIRS
TO FALL SLOWLY.
MANY STOCK
TANKS REMAIN EXTREMELY LOW AND MANY HAVE DRIED UP.

THE 7 DAY STREAM FLOW AVERAGE IS IN THE TO 10 TO 24 PERCENT
(BELOW NORMAL) RANGE OR LESS THAN 10 PERCENT (MUCH BELOW) FOR
BASINS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS.
AREA LAKES...RIVERS AND RESERVOIRS REMAIN WELL BELOW NORMAL
POOL ELEVATIONS. LEVELS ARE LIKELY TO CONTINUE FALLING AS THE
DROUGHT CONTINUES. LEVELS SHOULD NOT FALL AS QUICKLY WITH
EVAPORATION RATES DECREASING DUE TO COOLER TEMPERATURES.
THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM (SAWS) REMAINS IN STAGE 2 WATER
RESTRICTIONS.

AUSTIN REMAINS IN STAGE 2 WATER RESTRICTIONS...SAN MARCOS
REMAINS IN STAGE 2 WATER RESTRICTIONS AND THE CITY OF
KERRVILLE IS CURRENTLY IN STAGE 4 WATER RESTRICTIONS.

NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AROUND DECEMBER 16, 2011 OR
SOONER IF NECESSARY.

Friday, December 2, 2011

(Video) Climate Change -- Has the Earth been cooling?

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Is Mitch McConnell Made of Clay?

Can you tell who the real Mitch McConnell is?

(video) Climate Change -- isn't it natural?

Record Breaking Heat in Texas for November 2011

Texas Record Breaking Heat for November 2011

Suncor Tar Sands Refinery Leaks Crude into south Platte River

by Anthony Swift/Climate Progress/Dec. 1, 2011

reposted from NRDC's Switchboard

Andrew Dessler takes on Richard Lindzen in dualing e-mails discussing climate change

Andrew Dessler is a professor at Texas A&M University in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences. His research subject areas are climate systems research and climate change policy. Professor Dessler, in his book The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: a Guide to the Debate, conveys the complexity of the current global climate change.

Richard Lindzen is an American atmospheric physicist and Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of technology. Lindzen is known for his work in the dynamics of the middle atmosphere,atmospheric tides and ozone photochemistry. Professor Lindzen is a climate change contrarian/skeptic.

Both professors duel back and forth in an email conversation on Dessler's blog. It's interesting to read their email exchanges.

You can read their e-mail duel here

(video) Burning Methane From Frozen Lake

An Arctic Wildcard Could Make the Climate Go Bust

by Bryan Walsh/Time/December 1, 2011

Republican Bill Demands a Quick Keystone XL Permit

by Dan Frosch/NYT/Nov 30, 2011

Coalition Calls On U.S. Politicians to Consider Their "Moral Obligation" to Address Climate Change

by Stephen Lacey/Climate Progress/Dec. 1, 2011

(video) Your Civil Liberties for Lower Prices

posted by Cameron Wiltshire on/Disinformation/November 30, 2011

You Tube video by Luke Rudkowski

Residents in Alaska City Could See $9-a-Gallon Gas

by Mary Pemberton/AP/November 30, 2011

Dutch Researcher Creates A super-Influenza Virus With The Potential To Kill Half the World's Population

posted by Good German/Disinformation/November 30, 2011

original post at DoctorTipster.com

After Praying for Rain, Texas Governor Rick Perry Prays for the EPA to Stop Environmental Regulations

by Stephen Lacey/Climate Progress/Aug. 9, 2011
(Yesterdays news worth reading today)

Flood-gate: Perry Officials Try to Hide Sea Level Rise from Texans with "Clear-Cut Unadulterated Censorship"

by Joe Romm/Climate Progress/Oct.12, 2011
(Yesterdays news worth reading today)

West Texas Sees Worst Drought Since Dust Bowl

by Joe Romm/Climate Progress/May 1, 2011
(Yesterdays news worth reading today)

State Climatologist: "It's Likely Much of Texas Will Still Be in severe Drought" Next August, With Worse Water Shortages

by Joe Romm/Climate Progress/Sep.1, 2011
(Yesterdays news worth reading today)

Devastating Drought in Southern Plains Likely to Continue

by NOAA/October 20, 2011
(Yesterdays news worth reading today)

Warming-Enhanced Texas Drought Is Once in "500 or 1,000 Years ... Basically Off the Charts," Says State Climatologist

by Stephen Lacey/Climate Progress/November 30, 2011

Clean Energy Sandards Can Scale Renewables and Reduce Pollution at No cost to the Economy, Study Finds

by Richard W. Caperton/Climate Progress/ November 30, 2011

Strict EU emissions standards may "essentially ban" tar sands from Canada

by Damian Kahya & Richard Anderson/BBC News/November 29, 2011

...African leaders call on Canada to fight global warming, not boost tar sands

by Draw the Line at Tar Sands/November 30, 2011

In Durban, Growing Criticism of Canada's Position on Kyoto and Push for Tar Sands

by Stephen Lacey/Climate Progress/November 30, 2011

(video) Newt Gingrich Explains His Stance on Climate Change to Bill O'Reilly

Discussed last night (November 29, 2011) on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. You might want to have your kids leave the room while you watch this video. Things get a little - umm - dirty.

'Language: A Key Mechanism of Control'

Since Newt Gingrich is back in the race again, we need to take at look at how he uses words to portray his thoughts and ideas.

In 1994, Gingrich circulated a GOPAC memo entitiled Language: A Key Mechanism of Control whcih contained words he believed would be beneficial in using against his (or the Republicans) opponents. The words were titled as "Contrasting Words" and were tested by focus groups to see which words stimulated more negative reactions than other words. See if you recognize some of the words used by Gingrich and Republicans here:

decay... failure (fail)... collapse(ing)... deeper... crisis... urgent(cy)... destructive... destroy... sick... pathetic... lie... liberal... they/them... unionized bureaucracy... "compassion" is not enough... betray... consequences... limit(s)... shallow... traitors... sensationalists...

endanger... coercion... hypocrisy... radical... threaten... devour... waste... corruption... incompetent... permissive attitudes... destructive... impose... self-serving... greed... ideological... insecure... anti-(issue): flag, family, child, jobs... pessimistic... excuses... intolerant...

stagnation... welfare... corrupt... selfish... insensitive... status quo... mandate(s)... taxes... spend(ing)... shame... disgrace... punish (poor...)... bizarre... cynicism... cheat... steal... abuse of power... machine... bosses... obsolete... criminal rights... red tape... patronage

The positive words that Republicans should use when talking about themselves or a policy issue were titled "Optimistisc Positive Governing Words".
See if you recognize some of the words used by Gingrich and the Republicans below:

share... change... opportunity... legacy... challenge... control... truth... moral... courage... reform... prosperity... crusade... movement... children... family... debate... compete... active(ly)... we/us/our... candid(ly)... humane... pristine... provide...

liberty... commitment... principle(d)... unique... duty... precious... premise... care(ing)... tough... listen... learn... help... lead... vision... success... empower(ment)... citizen... activist... mobilize... conflict... light... dream... freedom...

peace... rights... pioneer... proud/pride... building... preserve... pro-(issue): flag, children, environment... reform... workfare... eliminate good-time in prison... strength... choice/choose... fair... protect... confident... incentive... hard work... initiative... common sense... passionate

It's interesting to see how the "Contrasting Words" instill a sense of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in its listeners. Knowing that a speaker is trying to control you emotionally and psychologically is half the battle in keeping a clear mind while focusing on what the issue really is.

Oxfam: Extreme Weather Has Helped Push Tens of Millions into "Hunger and Poverty" in "Grim Foretaste" of Warmed World

by Joe Romm/Climate Progress/ November 29, 2011

Pascal's Wager used as a reason to embrace the science behind climate change

"This is what I see and what troubles me. I look on all sides, and I see only darkness everywhere. Nature presents to me nothing which is not matter of doubt and concern." Pensees #229

Pascal's Wager is an attempt to convice a religious nonbeliever to accept the reality that God is real and believing in God will result in a lifetime of happiness here on Earth as well as infinite happiness in the hereafter. The idea states that we are all players in this game whether we like it or not, and that we must either wager on belief or nonbelief - those are our only options. So since we are already playing, whether we realize it or not, the obvious best choice is to just Believe, because after all, once we die and succumb to the darkness that is death, what if we find out that there is a God, and because of our unbelief we only have torment to look forward to? In the mind of Pascal, if we wager on Belief in God, then we have actually gained two lives - the life we live now will be better because we chose the more moral and upright way to live, and the life in the hereafter will be infinitely better, because, well, we're in heaven instead of that other place.

I have my own thoughts and feelings about Pascal's Wager, but I'm not writing about this idea today to try and convince the reader to believe in God, but as a reason to embrace the science behind anthropogenic climate change, and hopefully as a reason for positive action towards a more sustainable and livable planet.

These ideas are Pascal's but I'm going to use Climate Change in the sentences instead of God. Pascal's original thoughts can be found in his writings from Pensees, part III, note 233. The idea goes as follows:

1. Climate Change is, or Climate Change is not.

2. A Game is being played...where heads or tails will turn up.

3. According to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions.

4. You must wager for or against Climate Change, it is not optional.

5. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that Climate Change is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.

6. Wager, then, without hesitation that Climate Change is. There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.

Let me explain #5 and #6 this way: Weighing the options of whether to really embrace solutions for a greener planet and sustainability is an infinitely happy choice to make. We may die, but our children will live on and their children will live on and their children will live on and so on and so forth. It's a circle that will continue to remain unbroken for a long time. So by choosing to take steps to make our planet a better place to live, we not only save ourselves, but also the infinite number of lives of those who will follow after us once we are gone. Conversely, what kind of terrible world are we leaving for our young children? People are not truly grasping how bad the world is becoming with the continuation of the burning of fossil fuels. It takes a little research, but when you see how people around the world are being mistreated, used and exploited in the name of oil and other fossil fuels it becomes a little sickening. A world without ozone days, oil spills, air pollution, water pollution, ash dump spills, toxic chemicals, toxic waste, calmer and more predictable weather is a good thing. What is so great about the status quo when it means that so many should suffer so we can have a lifestyle that seems to be better than most? The cost is too great. We are saying, indirectly, that we are better than the unfortunate people being taken advantage of so we can enjoy our way of life. A high standard of living is a good thing, but it should be achieved in a way that is more sustainable for everyone.

And what if Climate Change is Not? Well, you win anyway. Look at the world you will leave behind for those you love. Clean water, clear air, a greener more livable and sustainable planet. It is an infinitely happy choice. No cost is too great.

Wager, then, without hesitation that Climate Change is. There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

(Video) Herman Cain's Lover of 13 Years Confesses

Watch - how Ginger White betrays her lover...

Watch - how Ginger White produces the phone records...

Watch - how Ginger White produces Herman Cain's phone number!!!

Watch - how the tv reporter calls the number...

Watch - how Herman Cain answers!!!!

Oh My Golly Just Too Good To Be True!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

View The Video Experience Here.