LA Is BUILT OUT: High-profile land use attorney part of anti-development ballot measure

Here

I have to agree. My initial take is: LA is BUILT OUT. Anyone who drives in LA, which is virtually everyone, knows this. The nuances notwithstanding, and despite political high-wire acts explaining how we can cram more multi-unit structures anywhere in the city without affecting traffic (which is just aggravating news to hear when one is already aware of reality and can't beliece someone would say something so brazenly stupid and unbelievable), I am completely in favor of voting yes to such a measure. And at least temporarily, until they can figure the traffic out and develop a city you can move around in without spending hours in mind-numbingly bad traffic for the simplest of commutes or basic errands. Special note: I am already a biker and walker. The city is being way over built and it's ruining where I grew up. Shame. This legislation is needed.

#sprawl  #overbuilt   #smartgrowth   #traffichell  #overdeveloped  #greed  #corruptpoliticians 

Pope Francis Decries Consumerism in Christmas Mass, Urges Us to Live with More Compassion, Humility, Civility

Here   How wonderful Pope Francis' words... thinking so many of the same thoughts... wishing our culture would take a turn sharply this direction, and without the impetus of war. Burying our guns and turning the soil instead with shovels. Planting trees and fruit and expanding humanity.

"In a society so often intoxicated by consumerism and hedonism, wealth and extravagance, appearances and narcissism, [Jesus] calls us to act soberly, in other words, in a way that is simple, balanced, consistent, capable of seeing and doing what is essential … Amid a culture of indifference which not infrequently turns ruthless, our style of life should instead be devout, filled with empathy, compassion and mercy, drawn daily from the wellspring of prayer.”

U.N. Security Council puts sanctions focus on Islamic State | Reuters

U.N. Security Council puts sanctions focus on Islamic State | Reuters 

"The U.N. Security
Council warned on Thursday that some countries are failing to implement
long-standing sanctions against Islamic State, as an unprecedented
meeting of finance ministers put the global focus on cutting off the
militant group's funds."

Are you kidding... this HAS to be implemented. It must be considered a crime, of a pretty heinous type, to aide and abet an enemy like ISIS. How can any country or company be let to slide on this??? 

Paris Accord 'big win,' even as climate threat still looms

Here

"Obama said the accord would send a powerful signal, channel investment into low-carbon projects and spur job creation in those areas.

The president also said that he imagined walking with his grandchildren watching a “quiet sunset” and “knowing . . . that our work here and now gave future generations cleaner air and cleaner water and a more sustainable planet. And what can be more important than that?”

Tweets and Takes on the Paris Climate Agreement

My two initial thoughts: Thought: ok/good to ratify weak starting point that can ratchet up every few years. Thought: governments are selfish and cynical, at least partially corrupt often, amazing they could get something better than lipstick on a pig.

Years from now, our grandchildren will reflect on humanity’s moral courage to solve the climate crisis and they will look to December 12, 2015, as the day when the community of nations finally made the decision to act. -- Al Gore

BREAKING: Historic ‪#‎ParisAgreement‬ to lay foundation for 100 percent clean energy, limit warming to 1.5 celsius environmentamerica.org/news/ame/histo….  ‪#‎COP21‬final - good news - formal process established to assess progress & strengthen, beginning in 2018. perhaps most important part? -- Michael Brune, Sierra Club

Our children would not understand us, would not forgive us -- Laurent Fabius 

Whatever the outcome from Paris #COP21... it's the beginning of the end of age of fossil fuels ‪#‎keepitintheground‬ -- Bhaskar Diol 

Friends of the Earth International says #COP21 agreement is a "sham" twitter.com/ndcnona/status… ‪#‎climatechange‬ ‪#‎worldpoli‬

Friends of the Earth International: US removed liability and compensation and only reduces emissions by 20% "Island Nations will go Extinct" 

#COP21... an historic turning point. It does not mean climate justice is here. Not even close. But our progress is irreversible -- Michael Brune, Sierra Club

We don't have another lifetime to wait - 350 - SIGN PETITION - Politicians must fall in line, we need a future of 0% FOSSIL FUELS 100% RENEWABLES BY 2050"

We don't have another lifetime to wait - 350  SIGN PETITION to POLITICIANS IN PARIS

"WE CHOOSE SURVIVAL! Politicians must fall in line, we need a future of 0% FOSSIL FUELS 100% RENEWABLES BY 2050"

Funny,
but not signing this I guess we choose extinction? Funny species, ours.
Haha. My friend says our species just like to party. In Slapshot, the
wife says, 'Well, you can only drink so much, and screw so much!' Haha.
Smart gal. Guess we look for funny pictures of cats after that. Or other
things to immediately stimulate the pleasure centers of our brain,
relating to gratification and living, and not spending too much (or a
lot) of time on survival and longer term planning. I understand this but
not entirely, a little like Spock. The kids in Venice spend $12-14 on
glasses of wine at most of the restaurants here now! I wonder if any of
them save money; we can't afford to do that, and we're not kids. Oh
well. Sigh. Party on Wayne... live for today... carpe diem.... #eldersshouldknowbetter #buddhismanddetachment #goodintentionsanddetachfromresults #wearenotthewindandwearepartofit

Today American Middle-Class is No Longer the Majority, and Sliding

Study: US middle-class families are no longer in the majority | The Sacramento Bee 

Yep. And shrinking. Search this site for "1%" "or "2%" for more on growing income inequality. Or search "income inequality" or "Bernie Sanders", "Robert Reich", or "Mitt Romney".

Shame the robber barons that are deflating the soul of America -- shared prosperity, a huge healthy middle class. Middle class wages have not grown in 30 years. Search this site for "middle class"; while the top 1-2% have taken all income growth in the last 30 years.

Today, "...below 50 percent of the total this year, Pew found. In 1971, the middle
class accounted for 61 percent of the population, and it has been
declining steadily since."

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article48918655.html#storylink=cpy

Paris Climate Conference Week 2

The New York Times is running features on what we can expect, and is already happening, like mountains with little or no snow. Here

Arnold Schwarzeneggar is there; "I, personally, want a plan. I don’t want to be like the last horse and buggy salesman who was holding out as cars took over the roads. I don’t want to be the last investor in Blockbuster as Netflix emerged."

That's exactly what is going to happen to fossil fuels. Here

Climate Change and Millennials: The Future is in Our Hands - Scientific American Blog Network

Climate Change and Millennials: The Future is in Our Hands - Scientific American Blog Network 

Because we are doing so poorly to control this, the next generation must get (and is getting) involved now. Two new ways to visualize this have occurred to me:

(1) It is like, "Daddy! A fire in the house has crept further from the office down the hall and toward our bedrooms!" And daddy gets up and puts a little sand and some water on a small part of the creeping flames and goes back to watching TV, with flames still crackling and streaking toward the ceiling. By the time our kids really wield the handles of power themselves, how is the house going to look?

(2) It is like a tsunami. We know an enormous wall of water is moving across the ocean at us. It is inevitable. Each time we walk or bike to the store instead of use the car, the wall of water gets a little smaller. Each time we buy an electric car, it gets smaller. Every solar panel installed, it gets smaller. Etc.

Personal sustainability: stay healthy! And help the community -- Santa Monica Venice Christmas Run!

December 5th -- tomorrow! http://christmasrun.com/index.php We're doing the 5k. Pretty flat, except the bump up to Neilson at the beginning. And a last bump up from Venice before the right turn on Pacific toward the end. And a benefit for Harverst Home, benefitting homeless women and their children. How rough is that. Homeless problem so bad in general, and in Venice and Santa Monica specifically.
Help the community and enjoy the run all!

"Can clean energy save the gorillas of Virunga National Park?" -- CNN

Here Beautiful story. Beautiful pictures. Such an endangered, beautiful brother species.

Obama Urges Climate Deal as UN Summit Opens in Tense Paris

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/11/30/climate-talks-kick-off-france/76551062/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/30/us/politics/paris-climate-talks.html?_r=0

"If the talks fail — as they did in two previous attempts to achieve such a deal — then nations will continue on a trajectory that scientists say LOCKS THE PLANET INTO a future of rising sea levels, more frequent floods, worsening droughts, food and water shortages, destructive hurricanes and other catastrophic events."

Sign a petition here to tell world leaders in Paris to pass a meaningful, adequate plan. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-urges-world-action-on-climate-change-hour-is-almost-upon-us/2015/11/30/2765bac4-975c-11e5-8917-653b65c809eb_story.html 

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/india-partner-in-climate-change-talks-says-us/article7930177.ece 

"In an e-mailed statement to The Hindu, a State Department spokesperson said: “We are partnering with India on responsible energy development. India is a strategic partner that has one of the largest economies in the world, and it recognizes the critical importance of increasing energy security, reducing emissions, and improving resilience in the face of climate change.”

Fashion in So Cal, 2015: Comfort is King

How clothes in the USA have changed, for the better I think.

Washington Post article here 

Here in Venice, California I can attest it's pretty casual! Flip-flops and shorts can be worn pretty much all year (with a sweat or warm removable upper layer). And the high 80-degree temperature days in October and November (!) are pretty much necessitating that even if it wasn't a look of choice.

That women worse dresses and men suits -- at home, work and school -- almost exclusively up until the 1920s and 30s really is something. Sounds pretty repressed and formal, and uncomfortable. (See temperature reference above. Suit and tie gentlemen?)

Egalitarian

Currently most if not many people are wearing a lot of jeans, sandals (Sanuks), tee shirts and tennis shoes (sneakers, running shoes, etc). Women can wear anything, yoga pants, shorts, skirts, jeans, tee shirts, dresses, as desired.

Better, it's hard to tell someone's socioeconomic class from their clothes in Venice. That guy with a scroungy beard, jeans and sandals can be a CEO for a tech company or a neo-homeless itinerant surfer from Europe with no job. Or one of your friend's friends. That's kind of cool. It takes out the heirs of feigning wealth, as the article alludes to for the 'formal' styles of the past.

Comfort is king, as it should be in my mind. If one needs to express themselves and or flaunt some money etc. with their wardrobe I suppose they can, but that seems out of date at the upper range, again which I think is nice.

The hip techsters who arrived in Venice a few years ago we're wearing a lot of black: like they do in San Francisco. Black boots, jeans, black sweaters and black-rimmed glasses. Looked horrible and out of place in Venice; thanks fully they've gravitated toward comfort over the last few years and this is not seen nearly as much.

My old boss in Emeryville (at a tech company in the Bay Area) work jeans, north face or soft cotton tee-shirts and nice running/hiking shoes. Everyone was free to dress in comfort.

This is cool. 2015. I'll try to take a picture and post it, but you'll see it everywhere in So Cal. Nice.

AP Interview: UN chief wants climate target review by 2020

https://news.google.com/#pcid=ncl-dU5upfhZOXu-yxMuO7xJxphj73clM&pt=FRONTPAGE

COP21: Paris climate deal 'more likely' after terror attacks

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34950442
While many leaders including Presidents Obama and Xi Jinping were always set to attend this conference, the recent violent attacks in Paris have encouraged others to come in an expression of solidarity with the French people.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-26/india-s-modi-poised-to-make-or-break-climate-talks-in-paris 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/paris-climate-change-conference/11991964/Paris-climate-change-conference-Everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-UN-summit.html

As France mourns, it also looks ahead to securing major climate conference - The Washington Post

As France mourns, it also looks ahead to securing major climate conference - The Washington Post 

A peace conference at heart, bringing nations together. For a common goal, under one sky.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/paris-climate-change-conference/11991964/Paris-climate-change-conference-Everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-UN-summit.html

Stop Monsanto’s plan to Kill GMO Labeling! | Food Democracy Now

Stop Monsanto’s plan to Kill GMO Labeling! | Food Democracy Now 



Sign at the link.

How The Paris Attacks Make A Global Climate Deal More Likely

Here

Leading causes of death in the US: What’s changed since 1969?

Here there are some good health advances. And decreasing the use of fossil fuels, like coal, helps too.

"Los Angeles currently gets roughly 40 percent of our electricity from dirty coal-fired power, which produces incredibly dangerous and expensive pollution like mercury, soot, smog and arsenic. According to a recent report by Physicians for Social Responsibility, "Coal pollutants affect all major body organ systems and contribute to four of the five leading causes of (death) in the U.S." A new report by the National Academy of Science found the national cost of treating the health effects from coal pollution to be $62 billion each year." Here Study Here

"Viewed in this way, the totality of coal's impact on health becomes clear. Coal pollutants affect all major body organ systems and contribute to four of the five leading causes of mortality in the U.S.:  heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory diseases."

‘The Attacks Will Be Spectacular’ An exclusive look at how the Bush administration ignored this warning from the CIA months before 9/11, along with others that were far more detailed than previously revealed. By Chris Whipple November 12, 2015 Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/cia-directors-documentary-911-bush-213353#ixzz3ruZNThBV

Wow ‘The Attacks Will Be Spectacular’ An exclusive look at how the Bush administration ignored this warning from the CIA months before 9/11, along with others that were far more detailed than previously revealed. By Chris Whipple November 12, 2015   Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/cia-directors-documentary-911-bush-213353#ixzz3ruZNThBV

Paris Reductions Only a Third of What's Needed

UNEPLive 



Announced National GHG emission reductions
fall far short of
that needed to keep temperatures below 2°C rise.... Now looking like
+3ºC++.

Throw Them into the Sea: Record response: CPUC hit hard on net metering - SmartGridNews

Record response: CPUC hit hard on net metering - SmartGridNews 

The CPUC can't cave entirely to industry. The public is about to throw them into the sea like tea in the Boston Tea Party.

Last week, "wheelbarrows full of signed postcards and petitions being pushed
(literally) toward the offices of the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) in support of net metering... more than 130,000 signatures in support of net metering."

Sierra Club Urges Us to Move Past Natural Gas, Fracking

Natural Gas: The Sierra Club opposes new electric generating units powered by natural gas, including peaking and combined cycle units.  Consistent with the Board’s goal of eliminating all fossil fuels from the electric sector no later than 2030, it is critical that the US avoid further high-capital investments in new natural gas plants and related infrastructure. 

The Sierra Club opposes the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).To limit the damage from fracking until it can be ended entirely, the Club calls for prompt closure of loopholes that effectively exempt fracking from important aspects of major national environmental laws.

Bill Nye demolishes climate deniers: “The single most important thing we can do now is talk about climate change.”

Here
Bill Nye will release a new book titled “Unstoppable.”....to explain the science behind climate change, debunks popular myths, and asks readers to take action in their own lives to create a sustainable future. The book is shot through with optimism, but Nye has no illusions about what lies ahead. 
The message is simple: 
Climate change is real; 
humans are causing it; and 
we have no choice but to build a better and cleaner world. 

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/06/bill_nye_demolishes_climate_deniers_im_not_a_scientist_therefore_im_not_going_to_use_my_brain/ 

Exxon, Keystone, and the Turn Against Fossil Fuels - The New Yorker

Exxon, Keystone, and the Turn Against Fossil Fuels - The New Yorker 

It's called progress, and evolution.

Obama Denies Keystone XL

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/us/obama-expected-to-reject-construction-of-keystone-xl-oil-pipeline.html?_r=0&referer=https://news.google.com/

Good news, overdue. Such a filty, dirty unnecessary thing that threatened US sovereignty.

New York's Attorney General Is Investigating Exxon | ThinkProgress

New York's Attorney General Is Investigating Exxon | ThinkProgress 

Exxon Mobil lying about climate change needs another post at least. And their paying for disinformation hacks to muddy the waters? Wow, fucking reprehensible. Hope the AG puts the screws to Exxon to the full extent of the law, and then some. Our planet's climate, potentially ruined with full awareness by the planet's most profitable company in the world. It doesn't get any uglier than this. Pitch black.

Scientists: Warming ocean factor in collapse of cod fishery

Here

Exxon Mobil Investigated in New York Over Possible Lies on Climate - The New York Times

Exxon Mobil Investigated in New York Over Possible Lies on Climate - The New York Times 

Just like the tobacco industry -- 'trust us!' UNbelievable. Fines and jail time needed here. Them knowingly perpetuating lies, at the cost of our ecosystem?

Asbestos became the biggest TORT case in history--who is going to pay for the reparation of these damages? The climate will change for hundreds of years whether we emit another ounce of CO2 tomorrow or not. Who will make up for this, and the time lost combating it?

Jeff Sessions: Kill The ‘Anti-Democratic’ Trans-Pacific Partnership In The Crib, Repeal Fast-Track Authority Now - Breitbart

Jeff Sessions: Kill The ‘Anti-Democratic’ Trans-Pacific Partnership In The Crib, Repeal Fast-Track Authority Now - Breitbart 



Yes, let's.

Fracking hurts Californians, Governor Brown. Come see for yourself. - 350

Fracking hurts Californians, Governor Brown. Come see for yourself. - 350 



Sing petition here:  http://act.350.org/sign/KernCounty



Too damaging, too water intensive, too polluting. #Keepitintheground

350.org – “Keep It In the Ground Act” Sets the New Bar for Climate Leadership

350.org – “Keep It In the Ground Act” Sets the New Bar for Climate Leadership 



The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

“Keep It In the Ground Act” Sets the New Bar for Climate Leadership

Washington, DC — 350.org
co-founder Bill McKibben and grassroots leaders joined Senator Jeff
Merkley (D-OR) and Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at the Capitol this
afternoon to introduce a bold new piece of climate legislation, the
“Keep It In the Ground Act.”

Love My Volt: Chevy Volt sales surge with 2016 model, Nissan Leaf continues Autumn fall

Chevy Volt sales surge with 2016 model, Nissan Leaf continues Autumn fall 



This is great news. Love my 2014 Volt. 40 miles all-electric, most days I burn no gas at all. After that 30-35 mpg on the gas tank can get me to any longer route. Made in the USA, it's fast, solid fit and finish. Love my Volt.

Iran Nuclear Deal: Centrifuge Decommissioning Begins (BBC)

I saw this on the BBC News App and thought you should see it:

Iran nuclear deal: Centrifuge decommissioning 'begins'

Iran begins to decommission uranium enrichment centrifuges as part of a nuclear deal agreed with world powers in July, its nuclear chief announces.

Disclaimer: The BBC is not responsible for the content of this email, and anything written in this email does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the email address nor name of the sender have been verified.

"Mr Salehi was quoted by Japan's Kyodo news agency as saying that work had begun on reducing the number of active centrifuge machines."

EPA: VW cheated on Audi, Porsche diesel SUVs, too

EPA: VW cheated on Audi, Porsche diesel SUVs, too 



Wow, yikes. I've owned Audis in the past. Loved the Quattro suspension and ride.

Now I have a VOLT that is made in the USA and uses only electricity most days.

Neil deGrasse Tyson lets the science deniers have it: “The beginning of the end of an informed democracy”

Here

Planned Emissions Cuts Not Enough to Save Climate, U.N. Says

Here Planned Emissions Cuts Not Enough to Save Climate, U.N. Says.

Hottest October On Record This Year in SoCal -- by 4 Degrees

Here Wow. We couldn't even find any fans or portable air conditioners -- not one. Climate change hits home. My central AC will cost 4-6 thousand dollars to replace. Never really needed it more than a couple days a year. Would open windows and get nice breeze. Now with all the windows open it was 80 dredges or above nights until about 11pm. Wow.

Life in Lesbos: "The Children's Feet Are Rotting - You Guys Have One Month and Then All These People Will Be Dead"

Here Heartbreaking. People there are trying to help - see article.

And yet there are comments like the below, which leaves one just speechless.

"Andy Williame

The people there are dreamers. Disappointed single women etc... feeling the need to care for something, hoping to get aome affection in return. Understandable. Just keep them there, the rest of Europe is colder and wetter.

27 October at 05:30"

The Paris Agenda: Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground, Auction Permits, Protect People | Mike Sandler

The Paris Agenda: Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground, Auction Permits, Protect People | Mike Sandler 

"Climate campaigners have adopted a slogan for the lead up to the
international climate change conference (COP-21) in Paris this December:
"Leave it in the ground."

"The UN's climate chief Christiana Figueres told the fossil fuel industry, "Three-quarters of the fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground."

How much can we afford to burn and stay under or at 2 degrees celsius change?

"...at the low end is McKibben's relatively risk-averse estimate of 565 gigatonnes
(GT) CO2."

"...Carbon Tracker put the number at 975 GT for an 80% probability of remaining below 2
degrees C."

"...(IPCC)'s proposed a budget of 1000 billion tonnes (Gt) of CO2... [for a]... 66% chance of avoiding 2 °C warming."

"But Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research notes that
between 2011 and 2014 CO2 emissions from energy production amounted to
about 140 GT of CO2, and when he subtracts emissions from deforestation
and cement production through the year 2100 (60 Gt and 150 GT), then at
the current global rate of 35 GT per year, the remaining 650 GT would be
used up in just 19 years! This puts the climate talks in Paris in
perspective.

"There is no time for low initial national "contributions"
with "ratcheting up ambition" after 5 or 10 year review periods. The
entire carbon budget will be gone by 2034!"

The countries of the world have agreed to 2 degrees C, but they have yet to agree on an
approach to leaving the excess fossil fuels in the ground."

"The math is clear: there is a fossil fuel bubble. There is more coal and oil in the ground than we can safely burn. In this framing, the Paris climate conference is really an economic conference, perched on the brink of a market crash in the fossil fuel sector."

As GOP candidates rip CNBC, the media empire strikes back - The Washington Post

As GOP candidates rip CNBC, the media empire strikes back - The Washington Post 

GOP ripping the mainstream media, probably because the GOP is no longer mainstream at all? Hmm.

Ruled mostly by 1950s-style white guys, who think women should stay in the kitchen, gay and LGBT people shouldn't exist, we should f*** up the environment, let the old-white guys rule banks and resources and keep the money -- and the rest of us 98%, well, certainly we are not mainstream.

Headlines on Monday: Middle East Probably Uninhabitable by End of Century; Lions Species Dwindle; Cured Meat (bacon, sausages, cold cuts) Cause Cancer;

Heat - "By the end of this century, areas of the Persian Gulf could be hit by waves of heat and humidity so severe that simply being outside for several hours could threaten human life."
What? Hard to imagine... and yet scientists are projecting it. Not science fiction writers.
Here 
"...truly shocking,” he wrote in an email exchange, and added that he found it ironic, “given the region’s importance in providing fossil fuels.”

Action - "If a major economy takes the lead, warming could be limited to 2°C"
Here
""If either the European Union or the US would pioneer and set a benchmark.... to roughly double their current domestic 2030 emissions reductions targets, which would certainly require substantial efforts. Yet it seems to be one of the few options to stay on track for eventually limiting warming below 2°C and fend off a drastic increase of weather extremes and sea-level rise."
Let's do it US. We have to do it.

Lions dwindle in Africa. Heartbreaking. Brutal indicator species, king of the jungle. One of the most loved, protected. And dwindling.
Here
“We are losing all the populations which are characteristic of the pristine view of lions,” he said. “Lions roaming free, hunting wildlife across the savanna.”
Heartbreaking.

Meat and cancer: cold cuts, bacon, hot dogs, sausages.
Here
Reduce risk: moderation, some avoidance, eating further down the food chain.
"There are several ways. People who eat diets rich in fruits, vegetables and fiber are at lower risk, as are those who exercise. Obesity, smoking and heavy alcohol consumption increase the risk of colorectal cancer. "
Colorectal and other regular screenings of course help. Maybe low-dose aspirin, but that has side effects (see article and research here )

Study suggests 'Quantum Entanglement' is real | NYC Today

Study suggests 'Quantum Entanglement' is real | NYC Today 

Things are connected. Probably everything is connected. #stopgreenhousegases #stopfuckinguptheplanet

And in a good way, this opens up potential for the human mind, consciousness, and species... for fun, the future and who knows what in the future. Cool.

Deep Sea Bacteria Eats Carbon Dioxide -- HELP

Here Or more accurately produces an enzyme that eats CO2. And produces a benign byproduct. Hopefully well. Example of Hail Mary pass that if not received we are in over our heads.
= #GOPdoomsourclimate #GOPwhoretocoal #GOPwhoretooil

Props to Canada, Elected Justin Trudeau and Ushering in a New Age

What might a Liberal cabinet look like? - Politics - CBC News 

This helps North America immediately!

A tired, old, conservative, oil-stained conservative Harper -- out, after 10 years. 10 fairly ugly years in my eyes.

A new, fresh, liberal hopeful PM in Justin Trudeau. If he gets his ship in order, and gets with technology and clean energy and shows up in Paris with climate cuts and a progressive package -- I'm celebrating the universe.

He is more multi-cultural than Harper, he has promised to tax the top 1-2% to give tax breaks to the middle class (WE need this in the USA), he is pro-marijuana legalization, he ran a positive camapaign -- the only non-negative ad running campaign I'm told -- this guy is a fresh, new generation leader. Please resist the Keystone XL Mr. Trudeau, modernize your economy, helps us all move forward.

A Few News Items Worth Posting: LA is Built Out, Buy the New 2016 Volt, See Interactive Map: Which Cities You Love Will Go Underwater Because of Global Warming and Sea Level Rise

A few recent headlines and stories worth posting.

LA is overbuilt. No more expansion, no more mega housing complexes, no more traffic please.
Anyone who has been on Sunset Boulevard eastbound after 4pm would agree with the Brentwood lawsuit.
Enough.
http://mynewsla.com/government/2015/10/14/brentwood-residents-sue-l-a-over-school-expansion-citing-bad-traffic/?google_editors_picks=true

My 2014 Chevy Volt has been getting 70+mpg since I got it. Love it. Fast, holds its line, fantastic fit and finish. Built in USA. Most days I burn no oil, not a drop of gas. The new Volt adds 10 more miles all electric to the 40-41 I get. And the review says it is even a better all-around car now.
http://www.slashgear.com/2016-chevrolet-volt-first-drive-13409405/

See which US cities will be underwater, when. Link to Climate Change Sea Level interactive map and graph, below and in article.

Type in your city, or the city of a loved one, and see how underwater it will be:
http://choices.climatecentral.org/widget.html#12/40.7600/-74.0501?compare=scenarios&carbon-end-yr=2100&scenario-a=unchecked&scenario-b=extreme-cuts

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/10/12/this-is-how-rising-seas-will-reshape-the-face-of-the-united-states/


"“The potential magnitude of sea-level rise is staggering,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton University climate researcher who is on the board of Climate Central and says he offered comment on a version of the study. “In the short term, it risks serious disruption of life along the coast while in the long term, it could lead to obliteration of a large and priceless amount of our cultural heritage, worldwide.”

10 Major Oil Companies Back Agreement to Prevent Climate Change

Here Much too late, too few and too weak. It may be a start. This industry as it is today needs to removed from the planet. Currently it is exactly like a cancer and we need to pursue all remedies to remove it.

Let's hope so. Predictably and time will tell:

Oil companies deny that joint climate pledge is lip service

Clinton, Sanders dominate Democrats’ first go on the debate stage - The Washington Post

Clinton, Sanders dominate Democrats’ first go on the debate stage - The Washington Post 



There were fantastic, funny and poignant moments throughout this night. And infuriating moments, when a viewer had to consider a number of brutally important issues that were discussed and that we are so far behind on in this country, due largely to the negligence and inaction of Republican factions in Congress. All five brought some great points forward. I'll say that it was a great night.

62% of Americans Have Less than $1000 in Savings?!!

Here Holy income inequality! This is staggeringly frightening. And pisses one off.
Middle class is poor. This is so wrong it is beyond words.

Almost 100 dead in Turkey After Blasts at Peace Rally in Ankara

Here This is one of the worst atrocities of the year. Basically leaves you speechless with sadness. One day will humankind get beyond this, in how many generations from now?

Clinton opposes new Pacific trade pact in break with Obama | Reuters

Clinton opposes new Pacific trade pact in break with Obama | Reuters 

This good news.

"Clinton... said she was worried the agreement would not do enough to crack down on
currency manipulation or protect consumers from excessively high drug
prices....

"The bar here is
very high and, based on what I have seen, I don't believe the agreement
has met it," Clinton....

"I don’t believe we
can afford to keep giving new agreements the benefit of the doubt. The
risks are too high that, despite our best efforts, they will end up
doing more harm than good," Clinton said....

Clinton's
opposition, however, could help her shore up support from labor groups
and liberal Democrats who oppose the pact out of concern it will cost
manufacturing jobs and weaken environmental laws."

Governor Brown Signs California's 350 Climate Legislation

Here 50 percent of grid electricity to come from clean sources by 2030; buildings to be 50 percent more energy efficient by 2030. This is very good stuff. The third "3" in the 350 was 50% less gas use in transportation in the state, but the oil lobbies paid and wrangled enough poor politicians to get that removed from the bill. Poor future. Happy rich gas company execs.

California's Economy Leading the Nation

Here And we have some of the most robust greenhouse gas emission standards in the nation.
Someone said you can't grow the economy and cut emissions? Check out California.

Georgia executes Kelly Gissendaner, despite plea from Pope Francis

Here The headline says much about Georgia, values, and our current Supreme Court.

California Governor Jerry Brown Press Conference September 2015 on SB350, Climate, California's Clean Energy Future

Here Jerry is fired up. September 2015. Big oil got the petroleum use reduction targets knocked down and out of this bill. Jerry is fired up, think he starts around 18 minutes in. Great stuff. We all have to keep ratcheting up our game, targets, and lowering our greenhouse gas emissions, one day, one hour, one legislative moment at a time. I'm fired up too. This is our future.
http://calchannel.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=3208

Russia, Syria, Obama, Putin, ISIS and Ukraine

Here    Russian President Vladimir Putin said, "...“ready to restore relations with America to the normal scale.” Adding that, “it wasn't our choice to limit them."

So Russia making a pact to share intelligence with Iran and Iraq on Syria, without prior US consultation or involvement, is a pretty big end-around.

This article is an interesting look at the headline subject from a Russian point of view.

Seeing the quote above, does that mean Obama is willing to give up and/or forgive what's up in the Ukraine, in order to play nice with Russia to try to fix (or slightly defuse, or what have you) the situation in Syria?

Big political football here.

Per the article, "The West despises Assad. Nevertheless, his government is far more palatable than ISIS or the total collapse of the Syrian state." An interesting perspective clearly without merit.

Importantly, Putin also "...suggested a broad international coalition against terrorism, "similar to the anti-Hitler coalition" of the past. Putin implored Muslim religious leaders to show "guidance" to stop the spread of terrorism associated with the faith."

Stay tuned.

Five Aspects of Happiness

Here from Care2.com We know this, and it angers us a little because we don't always (or even often) consciously remind ourselves of them. Or actively live them.
Two of the five are that (1) Happiness does not equal excitement; and (4)  Real happiness requires being challenged and contributing to the world in a purposeful way.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-harsh-truths-nobody-tells-you-about-happiness.html#ixzz3n36230Hm

Read Pope Francis' Full Homily at Madison Square Garden - ABC News

Read Pope Francis' Full Homily at Madison Square Garden - ABC News 

More great stuff, about finding spirit in big cities. Like yeast in dough.

Full Transcript of Pope Francis' Speech at the United Nations General Assembly

Read: The Full Transcript of Pope Francis' Speech at the United Nations General Assembly

Inspiring. Historic. Let's find our best selves too and get along with this thing called civilization, progress and evolution. We can and should be doing so much better.

My Thoughts on John Boehner's Resignation --

I'll weigh in, FANTASTIC. He's been the ballast to progress, the ball and chain tying us to obsolete, old white, greed favoring ways. Threatening to shut down the government, not working with Dems on important issues of our time, etc., etc., shameful. That he scurries out of the public eye just in time for avoiding the excoriation he should receive is fitting for him. To watch him behind the Pope for over an hour, and hear such beautiful notions and leadership from Francis--and seeing Boehner the man most responsible for the CHASM between where we are and where we should be--was brutal. Mr. Boehner, take your exit immediately and with shame.


Other thoughts on his party and resignation from NYT comments, some more harsh, some more nuanced:

Robert Lee (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/25/world/asia/xi-jinping-china-president-obama-summit.html?_r=1)

Toronto 15 hours ago

Bad week for the GOP. With the Pope speaking out for refugees, global warming and sharing the wealth, and China coming around on carbon emissions, what's left of their sorry platform?

frankly 32

by the sea 22 minutes ago

Maybe the pope touched his heart, and he realized that as captain of the lost boys on Republican Island, he was not engaged in the good fight but the fight against goodness -- with bleak prospects for a favorable judgment from the past, the future, or the Catholic God that Francis embodies. I hope Boehner will next avail himself of two of the church's finest institutions: confession and repentance. Chalk another plus up for the Francis Effect. 

Christine McMorrow

Waltham, MA, 02452 2 hours ago

I have mixed feelings about this. I have no doubt that the papal visit did something to him, as he was weepy all day yesterday. While I doubt it was the final trigger--I think his mind was already made up--I think perhaps the pope's exhortation to stop congressional divisions and enmity really moved him.

That said, Mr. Boehner was an abysmal speaker. He presided over the most contentious, polarizing, do-nothing Congress in likely US history. His feckless betrayal of President Obama over the grand bargain in 2011 enraged me. I think he always tended to play one side against the other in order to save his own reputation.

Well, it didn't work. He fabricated, he prevaricated, he refused to rein in the loony Tea Party (resulting in even more of them being elected the year after) and he continually insulted the president, perhaps to show his most rabid members he could be "tough."

For me it didn't work, and he is as much responsible for the nonstop political impasses as the Tea Party crowd itself. I place 50% of the blame on his shoulders. If he knew he wasn't up to the job, he should have resigned several years ago.

China to Announce Cap-and-Trade Program to Limit Emissions - The New York Times

China to Announce Cap-and-Trade Program to Limit Emissions - The New York Times 

Let's hope so. We all have to begin where we can, buy in, and proceed accordingly and ambitiously.

California has done it, is meeting its clean air standards faster than projected, and its economy is doing well.

The Pope's Visit, Address to Congress

Here I am so glad he is here. It is making me feel good. Today I'd say I consider myself spiritual by way of multiple religions, and was baptized a Catholic when I was a child.
Pope Francis is very special. His compassion seems to be inspiring most of us. I hope it continues to help melt walls and barriers to help us live better together.

Read the Speech Pope Francis Gave at the White House | TIME

Read the Speech Pope Francis Gave at the White House | TIME 

The Pope hanging out in the US is pretty cool. What a guy. Bringing some bursts of straight heartfelt insight -- love him in many ways.

"As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families..."

"...climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation."

"I would like all men and women of good will in this great nation to
support the efforts of the international community to protect the
vulnerable in our world and to stimulate integral and inclusive models
of development, so that our brothers and sisters everywhere may know the
blessings of peace and prosperity which God wills for all his children."

Hillary Clinton opposes Keystone XL pipeline VIDEO - CNNPolitics.com

Hillary Clinton opposes Keystone XL pipeline - CNNPolitics.com

Good stuff

Hillary Clinton opposes Keystone XL pipeline, Pope Francis Arrives in America - CNNPolitics.com

Hillary Clinton opposes Keystone XL pipeline - CNNPolitics.com

Pope Francis arrives in America

Two of the most influential and powerful people in the world stepping forward to combat climate change is telling and a harbinger of things to come. 

VW Cheated and Installed Emissions Under-Reporting Software?!

Here Awful, reprehensible, criminal. Their stock is getting hammered. The investigations are not over, and other countries are beginning theirs. VW is now seriously tainted goods. Some execs had mad cow disease, or just mad greed disease to try and pull something like that off instead of designing cars that complied with standards. Mr. Burns-like foolishness, and black-hearted.

Helped raise over $1 Million for Childhood Cancer today -- Malibu Triathlon 2015

Here

This was fun, and hard! Half mile swim, 18 mile hilly bike ride and 4 mile run in 80 degree weather. Colby does do some triathlon. Good for my health, and children's health-- salud, to our continued good health!

 

Eight trillion microbeads pollute aquatic habitats every day — and scientists are calling for a ban (Washington Post)

Here    What we don't know, we learn, but is also hurting us. We progress, in ways, and have to keep learning and progressing. Microbeads are news to me.

Deep ocean mercury is reaching California’s coasts - through the bodies and fur of marine mammals - The Washington Post

The troubling reason why deep ocean mercury is reaching California’s coasts - The Washington Post  



Wow, disgusting, sad, troubling, and an indictment of our ability to control our pollution.

Alaska, Obama, Cities Lost, and the Price of Climate Change - The Washington Post

The photo that says more about Alaska than all of Obama’s Instagram feed - The Washington Post 

Obama in Alaska, talking about climate change on his visit. Talks about Kivalina, typical low-lying city that is being submerged by rising seas / climate change. Will be interesting to see who flips the bill for these damages / loss of cities as below. Feds pay for it, or pay for adaptation due to inaction, while oil companies continue their free ride polluting CO2 into the atmosphere? For how long?

"...the price tag of this relocation is huge, and it’s unclear what the
federal government is willing to pay for. It pledged another $2 million
Wednesday to help remote Alaskan villages hard-hit by climate change,
but it will cost at least $100 million to move Kivalina. Even
constructing an evacuation road to higher ground will cost $15 million,
and maybe more than twice that if a causeway needs to be built as part
of the project."

Obama on Climate Change: Act Now or Condemn World to a Nightmare

Here NBC News    Here ABC News

Tell the CPUC It Must Protect and Grow Rooftop Solar

Here Got to still help out as much as possible on this.

Married, On Honeymoon... Still Seeing Climate Headlines

July Was Hottest Month on Record Globally

Study Confirms Climate Change Turned California Drought into Disaster, with Worst Yet to Come

China's Fossil Fuel Emissions Lower Than Estimated: Harvard Researchers
This important for Paris UN Climate target goal-setting and agreements later this year.


Martin O'Malley: Global Warming Fueled ISIS
Droughts, loss of farmland, unrest, anger.

I'll take a bit of a break, being in one of Earth's paradises, it's time to enjoy a functional, balanced beautiful ecosystem with my loved one...

England to Test Charge as You Go [wireless] 'Electric motorways' -- BBC News

Here Cool! "Electric cars are a hot topic in the motoring world, as people look for ways of not using petrol any more."

In Letter to Obama, U.S. scientists Praise Iran Nuclear Deal

Here Pesky scientists, using data and science and stuff.

The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here -- Rolling Stone

Here Great sobering article in Rolling Stone. Makes one think what Romans might have thought when Nero (modern GOP) fiddled while Rome burned.

Cecil the lion: We Will Remember, the Killer Not So Much

Cecil the lion: Twisted logic behind hunting (Opinion) - CNN.com 


I'm thinking, to kill a lion is a shameful thing. There is no game here. No old-school hunting need here. Just trophy hunting. Just ego-hunting. Just the desire to kill something beautiful, and grand. I'm thinking the hunter is a very small man. I'm thinking mankind is barely able to get out of the need to kill each other, and innocent animals (and let's be honest: this lion did nothing to the hunter, and they surely had shotguns if his little bow charade did not work out and Cecil charged).

Cecil was grand. He became the leader of a tribe at an older age. He should have been allowed to live out his life, as we all should.

I've signed petitions to Zimbabwe hoping to make such 'contracts' with hunters illegal. Tourism for the more well-adjusted of us is big money for African nations: we want to go and look, gawk, snap photos, see their habitat, see how they live. And if they are killed off (see below), there is nothing left to see.

Killing them just isn't on my radar.

Hunters need to find some robot targets, or worse maybe hunt themselves.

I hope the other Cecil's out there are allowed to live out a decent life.


"Sadly, lions aren't the only imperiled species hunted for sport.
Americans continue to kill rhinos, leopards, elephants, polar bears,
giraffes, leopards and a variety of other animals for gruesome mementos,
collecting heads as if they were merit badges. Perhaps the most
perverse part about this is that the rarer and more endangered these
species become, the more valuable they are to trophy hunters, as
evidenced by the $50,000 price tag of this hunt and the even more
egregious $350,000 permit auctioned off earlier this year by a member of the Dallas Safari Club to kill a critically endangered Namibian black rhino."

I'm in a good mood, but honestly the endangered species killing makes me furious. I'll save the foul language, but needless to say hunters interested in killing an endangered species is a most short-sighted, awful and soulless sort. Small-minded, greedy, and internally desperate and completely void of the connectedness and beauty of life.

Utah Actually Making Headway Against Chronic Homelessness by Giving Them Homes (Apartments)

Here Interesting. Good news. Here in Venice, so many homeless. San Francisco considering laws to help, among other things, make there city smell less like urine. Apparently this method saves Utah about $8000 per chronically homeless person per year too.

http://blog.sfgate.com/djsaunders/2015/06/09/warning-san-francisco-smells-like-a-toilet/
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/New-urine-resistant-walls-in-San-Francisco-shoot-6403283.php

Obama Climate Plan Not Strong Enough

Here It's a start, but emissions reductions need to be ramped up.

No doubt regarding the resistance to start helping, "The issue works in terms of painting out a larger narrative around the Republican Party as being out of step and out of touch,” the official said

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/clean-power-plan-2016-democrats-see-promise-120965.html?hp=c2_3

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-climate-20150802-story.html#page=1

Coal in Asia on the Decline ("On It's Knees")
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-03/obama-climate-plan-squeezes-asian-coal-as-china-fights-pollution

10 Dangers of Fracking: Why It's Harmful and Needs to Be Banned -- From CAF Coalition

10 Dangers of Fracking: Why It's Harmful and Needs to Be Banned

Don't Nuke the Climate! Sign Petition

Don't Nuke the Climate! Sign petition from the Nuclear Information and Resource Service

"http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5502/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=20658"

Don't Nuke the Climate!

June 16, 2015

Today, seven international clean
energy organizations launched a major new campaign in support of a
nuclear-free, carbon-free energy system and to prevent nuclear power
from being considered as a climate solution when the world's governments
meet at the COP 21 conference in Paris in December 2015.

California Gov. Brown, L.A. Mayor Garcetti Give Thumbs Up to Obama's 'Clean Power Plan'

Here Good. California's is already on track to meet and even exceed the goals/metrics of the plan.

Well, He Better. "Obama Unveils Tougher Climate Plan"

Here "Obama to Unveil Tougher Climate Plan" 


"The centerpiece of President Obama’s climate change strategy - the Clean Power Plan - is now finalized. It is the single biggest and most ambitious action the US has ever taken to tackle climate change. Under the initiative, the country will reduce carbon emissions by 32 percent on 2005 levels by 2030, lining up with the offer it made as part of this year’s international climate negotiations taking place in Paris. Prior to Monday’s announcement, hundreds of American companies expressed support for the plan and some of the country’s largest businesses committed to invest at least $140 billion to take on climate change. Support for the Clean Power Plan goes far beyond the private sector. Health advocates from coast to coast are heralding the plan’s finalization saying it will avoid 3,600 premature deaths, lead to 90,000 fewer asthma attacks in children, and prevent 300,000 missed work and school days. Social justice leaders also praised Monday’s announcement given the disproportionate impacts coal pollution has on poor and minority families. Opposition to the Clean Power Plan, however, is coming from expected corners: fossil fuel companies and the politicians and interests groups they fund. Despite these predictable attacks, the Clean Power Plan's anticipated positive impacts on public health, the economy and the chances for future generations to inherit a safe planet are driving the policy’s popularity."

http://treealerts.org/topic/public-health/2015/08/obama-finalizes-historic-clean-power-plan/#background-cust

Beijing China awarded the Winter Olympic Games in 2022?!

Yuk. My comment to article in Washington Post below: G Colby Venice

8:42 AM PDT

Ok, worries about natural snow, pollution in Beijing... so the IOC gives the games to them knowing mountains are a '2-hour car ride' away. How many vehicle trips is that? How much more pollution to heat the planet and decrease more of the world's snowpack? This is making me sick. Those high-speed trains better be electric, and their electric grid fueled by solar panels and not coal. At least that would be some modernization. And what of the nod given to China, still known to be horrible abusers of human rights, jailing people for free speech, denying women's and environmental rights, denying freedom of religion, like trying to exterminate the Tibetan Buddhist culture, etc. etc. IOC PLAYING THE HAND OF GREED ALL THE WAY DOWN THE NUMBER LINE. Shameful. This bid should be retracted and go back to the drawing board, with IOC/international support for a more fitting venue to host what are still in many ways a beautiful Games, one of the better things humanity does every couple of years.

Coffee and Alzheimer's: One Cup a Day Now the Best Policy

Here The effects of coffee and cognition are not yet fully understood. Doctors and studies used to suggest its use was bad; recently they've found a number of health benefits. Now a study fairly strongly suggests one cup a day is better than not drinking coffee or increasing over that number in terms of developing mild cognitive impairment.
Anyway, see article. Speaks of moderation. I like a cup of coffee, with 7 grain (or similar non-dairy)  milk. My preferred sweetener has gone from sugar, to turbinado (unrefined, not bleached) sugar, to agave (chemically processed is a bummer) to now chocolate protein powder (which is artificially sweetened, although some is sweetened with natural stevia though thid tastes artificial to me) or honey. The ratio of honey is hard to get right, too little doesn't help much and too much colors the flavor too much. That's TMI but there you go. Good luck with your intake and health as well.

Hillary Clinton Pledges to Install 500 Millions Solar Panels if She Becomes President - Time

Here Nice hope so.