Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315672759?client_source=feed&format=rss
nfl playoff schedule Rex Ryan tattoo Alaska earthquake houston texans houston texans green bay packers Joe Webb
Friday, June 28, 2013
Paula Deen's 'Today' appearance ends in tears
NEW YORK (AP) ? Paula Deen dissolved into tears during a "Today" show interview Wednesday about her admission that she used a racial slur in the past, saying anyone in the audience who's never said anything they've regretted should pick up a rock and throw it at her head.
The celebrity chef, who had backed out of a "Today" interview last Friday, said she was not a racist and was heartbroken by the controversy that began with her own deposition in a lawsuit. Deen has been dropped by the Food Network and as a celebrity endorser by Smithfield Foods.
"I've had to hold friends in my arms while they've sobbed because they know what's been said about me is not true and I'm having to comfort them," she said.
Deen told Lauer she could only recall using the "n-word" once. She had earlier said that she remembered using it when retelling a story about when she was held at gunpoint by a robber who was black while working as a bank teller in the 1980s in Georgia. In a deposition for the lawsuit involving an employee in a restaurant owned by Deen and her brother, she had said she may also have used the slur when recalling conversations between black employees at her restaurants.
Looking distressed and her voice breaking, Deen said if there was someone in the audience who had never said something they wished they could take back, "please pick up that stone and throw it as hard at my head so it kills me. I want to meet you. I want to meet you.
"I is what I is and I'm not changing," she said. "There's someone evil out there that saw what I worked for and wanted it."
An uncomfortable Lauer tried to end the interview, but Deen repeated that anyone who hasn't sinned should attack her.
Deen said she appreciated fans who have expressed anger at the Food Network for dropping her, but said she didn't support a boycott of the network.
"These people who have met me and know me and love me, they're as angry as the people who are reading these stories that are lies," she said.
___
Online:
http://www.today.com/
___
Follow Dave Bauder on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dbauder
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/paula-deens-today-appearance-ends-tears-120225940.html
Thursday, June 27, 2013
94 in Alaska? Weather extremes tied to jet stream
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The jet stream, the river of air high above Earth that generally dictates the weather, usually rushes rapidly from west to east in a mostly straight direction.
But lately it seems to be wobbling and weaving like a drunken driver, wreaking havoc as it goes.
The more the jet stream undulates north and south, the more changeable and extreme the weather.
The most recent example occurred in mid-June when some towns in Alaska hit record highs. McGrath, Alaska, recorded an all-time high of 94 degrees on June 17. A few weeks earlier, the same spot was 15 degrees, the coldest recorded for so late in the year.
You can blame the heat wave on a large northward bulge in the jet stream, Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis said.
Several scientists are blaming weather whiplash ? both high and low extremes ? on a jet stream that's not quite playing by its old rules. It's a relatively new phenomenon that experts are still trying to understand.
Some say it's related to global warming, but others say it's not.
Upside-down weather also happened in May: Early California wildfires fueled by heat contrasted with more than a foot of snow in Minnesota. Seattle was the hottest spot in the nation one day, and Maine and Edmonton, Canada, were warmer than Miami and Phoenix.
Consider these unusual occurrences over the past few years:
? The winter of 2011-12 seemed to disappear, with little snow and record warmth in March. That was followed by the winter of 2012-13 when nor'easters seemed to queue up to strike the same coastal areas repeatedly.
? Superstorm Sandy took an odd left turn in October from the Atlantic straight into New Jersey, something that happens once every 700 years or so.
? One 12-month period had a record number of tornadoes. That was followed by 12 months that set a record for lack of tornadoes.
And here is what federal weather officials call a "spring paradox": The U.S. had both an unusually large area of snow cover in March and April and a near-record low area of snow cover in May. The entire Northern Hemisphere had record snow coverage area in December but the third lowest snow extent for May.
"I've been doing meteorology for 30 years and the jet stream the last three years has done stuff I've never seen," said Jeff Masters, meteorology director at the private service Weather Underground. "The fact that the jet stream is unusual could be an indicator of something. I'm not saying we know what it is."
Rutgers' Francis is in the camp that thinks climate change is probably playing a role in this.
"It's been just a crazy fall and winter and spring all along, following a very abnormal sea ice condition in the Arctic," Francis said, noting that last year set a record low for summer sea ice in the Arctic. "It's possible what we're seeing in this unusual weather is all connected."
Other scientists don't make the sea ice and global warming connections that Francis does. They see random weather or long-term cycles at work. And even more scientists are taking a wait-and-see approach about this latest theory. It's far from a scientific consensus, but it is something that is being studied more often and getting a lot of scientific buzz.
"There are some viable hypotheses," Stanford University climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh said. "We're going to need more evidence to fully test those hypotheses."
The jet stream, or more precisely the polar jet stream, is the one that affects the Northern Hemisphere. It dips down from Alaska, across the United States or Canada, then across the Atlantic and over Europe and "has everything to do with the weather we experience," Francis said.
It all starts with the difference between cold temperatures in the Arctic and warmer temperatures in the mid-latitudes, she explained. The bigger the temperature difference, the stronger the jet stream, the faster it moves and the straighter it flows. But as the northern polar regions warm two to three times faster than the rest of the world, augmented by unprecedented melting of Arctic sea ice and loss in snow cover, the temperature difference shrinks. Then the jet stream slows and undulates more.
The jet stream is about 14 percent slower in the fall now than in the 1990s, according to a recent study by Francis. And when it slows, it moves north-south instead of east-west, bringing more unusual weather, creating blocking patterns and cutoff lows that are associated with weird weather, the Rutgers scientist said.
Mike Halpert, the deputy director of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, said that recently the jet stream seems to create weather patterns that get stuck, making dry spells into droughts and hot days into heat waves.
Take the past two winters. They were as different as can be, but both had unusual jet stream activity. Normally, the jet stream plunges southwest from western Washington state, sloping across to Alabama. Then it curves slightly out to sea around the Outer Banks, a swoop that's generally straight without dramatic bends.
During the mostly snowless winter of 2011-12 and the record warm March 2012, the jet stream instead formed a giant upside-down U, curving dramatically in the opposite direction. That trapped warm air over much of the Eastern U.S. A year later the jet stream was again unusual, this time with a sharp U-turn north. This trapped colder and snowier weather in places like Chicago and caused nor'easters in New England, Francis said.
But for true extremes, nothing beats tornadoes.
In 2011, the United States was hit over and over by killer twisters. From June 2010 to May 2011 the U.S. had a record number of substantial tornadoes, totaling 1,050. Then just a year later came a record tornado drought. From May 2012 to April 2013 there were only 217 tornadoes ? 30 fewer than the old record, said Harold Brooks, a meteorologist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory. Brooks said both examples were related to unusual jet stream patterns.
Last fall, a dip in the jet stream over the United States and northward bulge of high pressure combined to pull Superstorm Sandy almost due west into New Jersey, Francis said. That track is so rare and nearly unprecedented that computer models indicate it would happen only once every 714 years, according to a new study by NASA and Columbia University scientists.
"Everyone would agree that we are in a pattern" of extremes, NOAA research meteorologist Martin Hoerling said. "We don't know how long it will stay in this pattern."
___
Online:
NOAA on the jet stream: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/jet.htm
Jennifer Francis study linking Arctic sea ice loss to jet stream changes: http://bit.ly/1aAFM5g
___
Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at http://twitter.com/borenbears
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/94-alaska-weather-extremes-tied-jet-stream-070623134.html
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
The Ouya will make or break the indie gaming console industry ...
After a year of anticipation (and a few delays), the $99 Ouya is finally available at retail outlets. Even better, the Kickstarter-backed indie console has already sold out online on both Amazon and GameStop, a sign that there?s demand for a cheap and flexible Android-backed gaming system.
The Ouya is a trailblazer, paving the way for the Nvidia Shield, the GameStick and even the portable VR system Oculus Rift. But there have been?plenty of rough patches along the way. And if they?re not remedied, then the Android console trend could be tarnished with an untrustworthy reputation.
The first and perhaps most detrimental sin Ouya has committed since moving into production is that it?s done a great job of alienating its core fanbase ? the ?early backers.? Up until today, Ouya has maintained that all?consoles awarded for backing the project initially on Kickstarter were shipped out in May, but plenty of early backers continued to complain about not receiving their consoles. The day before release date of the console, as the Ouya rolled out?physically in stores, CEO Julie Uhrman sent a letter to backers about the issue:
Over the past few months, we encountered and conquered many challenges spanning both hardware and software in order to bring the best product we could to market. We have tried to make sure that the challenges we faced did not impact our early supporters, but unfortunately we came up short.
As a result of this misstep, some early (and mostly international) backers will have to wait another 15 to 17 days before receiving their consoles. The whole tangle has left a bitter taste in the mouths of what was expected to be the Ouya?s core fanbase, following the company?s decision to put retailers ahead of the people.
The second problem with the Ouya is the perceived lack of polish and features from both the hardware and software perspective. When the original review consoles went to journalists in March, first impressions were tepid at best: the hardware felt chintzy, the software was lacking, and the UI was confusing. Ouya took the criticism, raised another round of funding, delayed the first shipment, and spent time retooling the console.
While the new Ouya console has made strides in the wake of its lackluster development model ? including a redesigned controller and updated firmware to address the UI hiccups ? it?s far from perfect. Although games are free to play, the console?requires credit card information to even access any kind of software. Worse, there really isn?t much software at all, at a paltry 175 games, and what?s available is?not great: A quick scan of the top-rated games from Ouya show a handful of emulators, but original titles lack any flash (or?reputation) to bring gamers to the device.
All in all, things aren?t expected to be perfect with an independent console system ? especially the first one for a company. However, the glaring problems with the Ouya could place a black mark on all Android consoles as a whole, and that?s a shame.
Gamers are a fickle and stubborn bunch, and even major players like Microsoft are oftentimes forced to walk back unfavorable situations to something more palatable for the community. At this point, loyal gamers feel like they?ve been duped, cheated, and lied to, so Ouya needs to work double-time over the next six months to bring the console up to par.
A string of great games that don?t require emulators or tricky hacking to run would be a great first step, as would an extra gift to early backers for the delay in execution. With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One coming down the pike, this is Ouya?s only shot to win back the favor it has unceremoniously lost.
Source: http://gigaom.com/2013/06/25/the-ouya-will-make-or-break-the-indie-gaming-console/
johnny depp John Zawahri Suki Waterhouse apple apple Sagrada Familia Animal Crossing New Leaf
Immigration bill faces another major hurdle in Senate
A major addition to the immigration bill that beefs up border security and effectively serves in part as a ?redo? of the legislation will face a crucial procedural vote in the Senate on Monday afternoon.
Written after a series of negotiations between Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Democratic Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, the amendment is intended to ease concerns of skeptical lawmakers who are calling for tougher border enforcement as part of the bill.
The bill retains the language of the original one proposed by a bipartisan group of eight senators earlier this year, but adds 119 new pages, Corker says. While most of the language would remain the same, the Corker-Hoeven version strengthens security measures by nearly doubling the amount of security agents along the nation's borders. The bill would also mandate the construction of a fence stretching "no less than" 700 miles along the U.S. border with Mexico and provide funding for aerial surveillance of the area. The federal government will be required to meet a series of security benchmarks before immigrants living in the country illegally would be allowed to obtain permanent legal status.
?The American people want a strong, comprehensive immigration reform plan, but we need to get it right,? Hoeven said in a statement last week. ?That means first and foremost securing the southern border before we address other meaningful reforms to our immigration policy. They want to know that ten years from now, we won?t find ourselves in this same position, having to address the same problem.?
The Senate will vote on whether to end debate on the amendment, which will allow it to move on to final passage within the next few weeks.
Lawmakers rejected a similar (and less costly) amendment to the bill proposed by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn last week by tabling the measure, so supporters of the new amendment hope it will serve as a new vessel to entice more Republicans to sign on to the bill.
The co-authors of the original immigration bill, including Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have spoken optimistically about securing as many as 70 votes for the final bill in the Senate, the number they think the bill needs to show the effort has wide bipartisan support. The bill is likely to get the support from 60 members needed to overcome a filibuster, but getting 70 would put pressure on the House?a chamber with a higher concentration of conservative lawmakers?to act.
?We?re very, very close to getting 70 votes," Graham said during a weekend interview on ?Fox News Sunday.?
The Senate is expected to hold the procedural vote on the Corker-Hoeven amendment at about 5:30 p.m. Monday.
brandon weeden felicia day nfl 2012 draft miami dolphins buffalo bills st louis rams ryan tannehill
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Adidas Springblade: Shoes with Actual Springs Might Be a Good Idea?
Adidas has another new running shoe, this one even more divergent than its Boost shoe
They also look like hell to clean.
The Springblade's 16 blades are made form a propietary polymer, which has been in development for six years and is designed to be hard enough to provide the bounce-back energy return Adidas wanted, but soft enough so it doesn't just break from being brittle.
Beyond style, there are a few differences between the Springblade and the Boost, despite both being part of Adidas's Energy Running umbrella. According to Steve Vincent, Adidas's head of Innovation, Boost is more for "unlimited energy"?think long runs?while the Springblade is "explosive energy" you'll feel with every step.
Who would benefit most from this style of shoe? "A heel striker will probably get a little more out of it," Vincent says, "Since you're engaging all of the blades, but it will return energy for any style of runner." That's similar to our experience with the Boost, though the forward propulsion of all of the blades?as opposed to the upward bounce from foam soles?should be a bit more useful for forefoot runners. Also, the Springblades aren't really designed for trail running, and are probably best left for the road.
Like Adidas's CrazyQuick basketball shoes, the Springblade has a modular midsole that allows it to give different parts of your foot different feedback. The rear blades are thicker than those at the front of the foot, and even from side to side, the thickness of the blades differs. That sounds a little worrisome for extreme heat and cold, actually, but Adidas promises the thermoplastic material holds up to the elements. You'll want to keep an eye on actual tests for this, though.
Adidas says that it's even calibrated the blades to respond to the average weight of a person wearing each size shoe?so a size 10 men's shoe will have different reflexive properties than a size 7 women's.
The Springblade isn't going to be out until August 1st?meaning it misses most of the summer-running season. That's unfortunate, especially since it looks so great. But we've also got plenty of reservations about how well this is going to perform, since we haven't been able to try on a pair, and the entire Springblade line is being launched with significantly less pomp than the gigantic Boost/Energy Running event earlier this year.
The upper is a fairly standard treatent, with Adidas's TechFit four-way stretch snug on the foot. Robbie Fuller, Design Director of Advanced Concepts at Adidas, said the idea from the start was to keep things simple, since the blades are so striking on their own. At one point there was an idea to match lines to each blade, but that ended up camouflaging them too much. So, the basic design is simple, but with "inferno red" on black as the launch color.
The material underwent a bunch of official-sounding tests, like having ballistic steel balls fired at the shoes, but the best thing Adidas said was that a bunch of people ran hundreds of miles in them and felt great and didn't get hurt. Which, of course, we'll want to test for ourselves, but that's all that really should matter here. We'll have samples in for a full review soon.
The Springblade will be out on August 1st for $180.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/adidas-springblade-shoes-with-actual-springs-might-be-563449885
Azarenka NFL fantasy football Chris Kluwe Jennifer Granholm Tulane player injured fox sports obama speech
These Trippy Dripping Ink Portraits Are Face-Meltingly Creepy
When you're painting, drips are usually bad. But if you're clever enough, you can put 'em to good use. That's what artist Ben Dehaan did with his project "Uncured," by using a print loaded with some ultraviolet cured ink to create face-melting portraits worthy of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
     |
Java stevie wonder 2013 NFL Mock Draft paleo diet paleo diet earth day Luis Suarez
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Tianhe-2 supercomputer claims the lead in Top 500 list, thanks its 3.1 million processor cores
As predicted, Chinese supercomputer Tianhe-2 (also known as the Milky Way-2) has now been crowned the most powerful supercomputer in the world. Arriving years ahead of schedule, and packing 32,000 Xeon processors alongside 48,000 Xeon Phi accelerator processors, the supercomputer can manage a quadrillion mathematical calculations per second (33.85 petaflops), double that of last year's king (and closest rival), the Titan. In this year's results, 80 percent of the Top 500 used Intel processors, while 67 percent had processors with eight or more cores -- as clock speeds stall, supercomputer development has now focused on processors running in parallel. Top 500 editor Jack Dongarra adds that "most of the features of the [Tianhe-2] system were developed in China, and they are only using Intel for the main compute part," meaning that you can expect to see more Chinese entrants (and possibly champions) over the next few years. For now, however, the US still claims the majority of the Top 500, with 253 top-ranking supercomputers.
Via: CNET
Source: Top 500
end of the world end of the world december 21 2012 norad 12/21/12 winter solstice Jabari Parker
Monday, June 17, 2013
Massachusetts gas prices up a penny
BOSTON (AP) -- The price of a gallon of gas in Massachusetts has crept up by a penny in the past week yet remains well below the national average.
AAA Southern New England reports Monday that self-serve, regular climbed in the past week to an average of $3.50 per gallon, eleven cents lower than the national average.
The price in Massachusetts is seven cents higher than at the same time a year ago and a penny higher than a month ago.
AAA found self-serve, regular selling for as low as $3.37 per gallon and as high as $3.69.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/massachusetts-gas-prices-penny-171937690.html
Pokemon X and Y Apple Developer PS4 iOS 7 tim tebow Mac Pro Kingdom Hearts 3
Colo. wildfire evacuees see destruction firsthand
Incident commander Rich Harvey, center, talks about the progress of the Black Forest Fire in Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday, June 15, 2013. The number of homes destroyed in Colorado's most destructive wildfire ever continues to rise. Authorities reported early Saturday that 473 houses had been incinerated. That compares with a report of a little over 400 just a few hours earlier.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Incident commander Rich Harvey, center, talks about the progress of the Black Forest Fire in Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday, June 15, 2013. The number of homes destroyed in Colorado's most destructive wildfire ever continues to rise. Authorities reported early Saturday that 473 houses had been incinerated. That compares with a report of a little over 400 just a few hours earlier.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Residents look at a map of the Black Forest Fire after a press briefing in Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday, June 15, 2013. The number of homes destroyed in Colorado's most destructive wildfire ever continues to rise. Authorities reported early Saturday that 473 houses had been incinerated. That compares with a report of a little over 400 just a few hours earlier. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
In this Tuesday, June 12, 2013 photo, released Saturday, June 15, 2013, by the U.S. Air Force, an American flag hangs in front of a burning structure in the Black Forest, a thickly wooded rural region north of Colorado Springs, Colo. Authorities reported early Saturday that 473 houses had been incinerated. That compares with a report of a little over 400 just a few hours earlier. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Master Sgt. Christopher DeWitt)
Judy Scott, of Black Forest, Colo. waits for an informational meeting for residents affected by the Black Forest Fire at Palmer Ridge High School in Monument, Colo. on Saturday, June 15, 2013. Scott's home was partially damaged by the fire. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
A note written on a vehicle's dusty window reads, "Help Save Black Forest. Pray" at a Red Cross shelter for evacuees of the Black Forest Fire at Palmer Ridge High School in Monument, Colo. on Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) ? Residents returning to the neighborhoods they were driven from just days ago by Colorado's most destructive wildfire ever are seeing firsthand the path of destruction left behind by the flames.
Firefighters battling the fire in a rural region northeast of Colorado Springs have made huge advances in recent days, aided by unexpected rain showers and calmer winds, and authorities lifted most evacuation orders. Fire crews expanded containment lines Saturday to 55 percent.
Jack and Judy Roe thought their home was among the nearly 500 destroyed but found it standing amid other scorched houses in their neighborhood.
"We've been on such an emotional roller coaster over this thinking we had lost everything and then to find out that it's still there. It was a big relief to us, but I mean, our hearts were breaking for our neighbors," Judy Roe said. Describing the scene, she said she saw charred piles of what remained of homes, with bricks the only distinguishable feature.
Bob and Barbara Metzger lost their home, while nearby by their SUV, clotheslines and surrounding trees were spared.
"As long as the world around me looks the same, I'll be fine," Barbara Metzger said, showing a photo of her burnt home with surviving trees around. "We'll rebuild."
Authorities have also gained a clearer picture of a grim landscape in a burn area covering 25 square miles.
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said the fire's destruction has made it difficult for his deputies to assess damage. Deputies have said "it looks like a nuclear bomb went off in some of those areas, and you can't even recognize whether it was a house or some other kind of structure," Maketa said. "That is the level of incineration and destruction that took place in some areas."
The fire exploded Tuesday amid record-setting heat and tinder-dry conditions. Two people have died, their bodies found inside their garage Thursday. Their car doors were open as though they had been about to flee, authorities said.
It's unknown what sparked the blaze, but investigators believe it was human-caused. So far, it's cost more than $3.5 million to fight.
On Saturday, worried residents waited for permission to return to their neighborhoods to see the damage. They also worried about potential looters as Maketa tried to reassure them, saying deputies are on patrol.
"We have not let up any of our security efforts," he said.
The site of the wildfire is only a few miles away from the state's second most destructive wildfire, the Waldo Canyon Fire, which burned last summer.
The lessons from that fire spurred a quicker response, officials said. When the latest wildfire began in Black Forest, a thickly wooded rural region northeast of Colorado Springs, authorities swiftly evacuated tens of thousands of people from an area larger than the Denver metropolitan area.
White House officials said Saturday that President Barack Obama called Gov. John Hickenlooper on Friday to get an update on conditions and reinforce his commitment to help. The president also expressed his concern for the devastation and gave his condolences to families who have lost relatives.
Elsewhere in Colorado, fire crews worked to contain other smaller wildfires. In Canon City, 50 miles southwest of Black Forest, the Royal Gorge Fire burned 5 square miles and was 65 percent contained. A lightning-sparked fire in Rocky Mountain National Park had burned nearly 500 acres and was 30 percent contained.
___
Associated Press writer Ivan Moreno contributed to this report from Denver.
Associated Pressbulls heat goldman sachs brandon carr knicks coach encyclopedia britannica white lion mike d antoni resigns
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Beyond NYC: Other places adapting to climate, too
BONN, Germany (AP) ? From Bangkok to Miami, cities and coastal areas across the globe are already building or planning defenses to protect millions of people and key infrastructure from more powerful storm surges and other effects of global warming.
Some are planning cities that will simply adapt to more water.
But climate-proofing a city or coastline is expensive, as shown by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's $20 billion plan to build floodwalls, levees and other defenses against rising seas.
The most vulnerable places are those with the fewest resources to build such defenses, secure their water supplies or move people to higher ground. How to pay for such measures is a burning issue in U.N. climate talks, which just wrapped up a session in the German city of Bonn.
A sampling of cities around the world and what they are doing to prepare for the climatic forces that scientists say are being unleashed by global warming:
___
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands. In a country where two-thirds of the population lives below sea level, the battle against the sea has been a matter of life and death for centuries.
The Dutch government devotes roughly 1 percent of its annual budget to its intricate system of dikes, dunes and sea walls. Improvements to cope just with the effects of climate change have been carried out since 2003 ? though planning began well before that.
The focus in the 20th century was on a spectacular series of sea defenses, including massive steel and concrete barriers that can be quickly moved to protect against storm surges.
But current techniques embrace a philosophy of "living with water:" Floods are inevitable, and it's better to prepare for them than to build ever-higher dikes that may fail catastrophically.
Thousands of waterways are being connected so the country can essentially act as one big sponge and absorb sudden influxes of water. Some areas have been designated as flood zones. Houses that can float have been a building sensation.
Along the coast, the country has been spouting huge amounts of sand in strategic locations offshore and allowing the natural motion of waves to strengthen defensive dunes.
____
VENICE, Italy. Sea level rise is a particular concern for this flood-prone city. It's in the process of realizing an expensive and oft-delayed system of underwater barriers that would be raised in the event of flooding over 43 inches (110 centimeters), higher than the 31-inch (80-centimeter) level that floods the famed St. Mark's Square.
Venice, a system of islands built into a shallow lagoon, is extremely vulnerable to rising seas because the sea floor is also sinking.
The constant flooding puts the city's considerable architectural treasures at risk. Venice has experienced 10 events over 4 feet 7 inches (140 centimeters) since 1950, including a devastating 1966 flood. Plans for the new so-called Moses barriers will cost more than 4 billion euros. The first of these have been moved into place in recent days. Many Venetians remain skeptical of the project due to the high costs and concerns over environmental risks.
___
LONDON. The low-lying capital of a perpetually soggy country, London has long been vulnerable to flooding ? particularly when powerful storms send seawater racing up the River Thames.
But Londoners already have a powerful flood defense: the 570-yard-long (half-a-kilometer-long) Thames Barrier, composed of 10 massive steel gates, each five stories high when raised against high water.
Some have called for Thames Barrier ? in operation since 1982 ? to be replaced or supplemented by an even more ambitious flood defense system farther down the river. But Britain's Environment Agency says the defenses should hold until 2070.
Meanwhile, environmentally conscious Londoners have made plans to battle some of the other predicted effects of global warming by promoting better water management, expanding the city's Victorian sewage network, and "urban greening" ? the planting of trees and rooftop gardens to help manage the urban heat island effect.
___
MIAMI. Southern Florida is one of those places that show up as partially under water in many sea level projections for this century. So it's no surprise local leaders are seeking ways to adapt. Four counties of South Florida, including Miami-Dade, have collaborated on a regional plan to respond to climate change. Their overarching goal: keeping fresh water inland and salt water away.
The first action plan calls for more public transportation, stemming the flow of seawater into freshwater, and managing the region's unique ecosystems so they can adapt.
Before writing the plan, the counties reviewed regional sea level data and projected a rise of 9 to 24 inches (23 to 61 cm) in the next 50 years along a coastline that already has documented a rise of 9 inches over the last 100 years.
"The rate's doubled. It would be disingenuous and sloppy and irresponsible not to respond to it," said Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi, who oversees the Florida Keys.
___
NEW YORK CITY. Mayor Michael Bloomberg last week announced one of the most ambitious plans for defending a major U.S. city from climate change. Recommendations range from installing removable flood walls in lower Manhattan to restoring marshes in Jamaica Bay in Queens, and from flood-proofing homes to setting repair timeframe standards for phone and Internet service providers.
In lower Manhattan, a removable system of posts and slats could be deployed to form temporary flood walls. The height would depend on the ground elevation and potential surge. The approach is used along some Midwestern rivers and in the Netherlands, city officials said.
Projects also include a 15-to-20-foot levee to guard part of Staten Island, building dunes in the Rockaways, building barrier systems of levees and gates to bar one creek from carrying floodwaters inland, and possibly creating a levee and a sizeable new "Seaport City" development in lower Manhattan.
___
BANGLADESH. A low-lying delta nation of 153 million people, Bangladesh is one of Asia's poorest countries, and one that faces extreme risks from rising sea levels. Its capital, Dhaka, is at the top of a list of world cities deemed most vulnerable to climate change, according to a recent survey by risk analysis company Maplecroft. The World Bank says a sea level rise of 5 inches (14 centimeters) would affect 20 million people living along the country's 440-mile (710-kilometer) coast. Many of these people would be homeless.
Bangladesh is implementing two major projects worth $470 million that involve growing forests on the coastal belt and building more multistory shelters to house people after cyclones and tidal surges. Developed nations have so far provided $170 million to the fund.
"Bangladesh is opting for adapting to the climate change impacts as the world's developed nations are not doing enough to cut down carbon emissions," said Forest and Environment Minister Hasan Mahmud in a recent speech in Dhaka. "We want the donors to contribute more to our efforts."
___
MALDIVES. The Maldives, an upmarket beach paradise for tourists, has also become a symbol of the dangers of climate change.
Made up of hundreds of islands in the Indian Ocean, it's one of the most low-lying nations in the world, and exceptionally vulnerable to rising seas.
Some scientists have said the Maldives could disappear within decades, and former President Mohamed Nasheed even proposed relocating all 350,000 inhabitants to other countries.
While other researchers say those fears may have been overblown, the country is taking measures to protect itself.
A seawall was built around the capital, Male, after flooding in the 1980s. That wall protected the city from the worst effects of the devastating 2004 tsunami, which temporarily put large swaths of the country under water.
The country's climate adaptation plans call for relocating residents from small vulnerable islands to bigger, better protected ones.
It's also creating new land through land reclamation, expanding existing islands or building new ones, to ease overcrowding. The reclaimed land is being elevated to better withstand rising seas.
___
BANGKOK, Thailand. Even before the consequences of climate change became evident, scientists were well aware that Bangkok ? whose southern suburbs border the Gulf of Thailand ? was under serious threat from land subsidence.
Sea level rise projections show Bangkok could be at risk of inundation in 100 years unless preventive measures are taken. But when the capital and its outskirts were affected in 2011 by the worst flooding in half a century, the immediate trigger was water runoff from the north, where dams failed to hold very heavy rains.
Industrial areas in the capital's suburbs, housing important businesses, were devastated. So the focus was put on a short-term solution for that area.
The government recently announced winning bids totaling 290.9 billion baht ($9.38 million) by Chinese, South Korean and Thai firms to run the flood and water management schemes, including the construction of reservoirs, floodways and barriers.
Solutions to the problem of rising seas are still being studied.
"Construction alone is not sustainable," says Seree Supratid, director of a climate and disaster center at Rangsit University. "People have to adapt to nature. For example, you know Bangkok will be flooded by the rising seas in the next 100 years, then you have to learn to build your houses in a way the floodwater cannot reach it, putting it up high or something."
___
CUBA. Officials recently finished a study of the effects of climate change on this island's 3,500 miles (5,630 kilometers) of coastline, and their discoveries were so alarming they didn't immediately share the results with the public to avoid causing panic.
According to the report, which The Associated Press obtained exclusively, rising sea levels would seriously damage 122 Cuban towns or even wipe them off the map by 2100. Scientists found that miles of beaches would be submerged while freshwater sources would be tainted and croplands rendered infertile. In all, seawater would penetrate up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) inland in low-lying areas, as oceans rose nearly 3 feet (85 centimeters).
Those frightening calculations have spurred systemic action in Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean and one that is heavily dependent on beach-loving European and Canadian tourists. In recent months, inspectors and demolition crews have begun fanning out across the island with plans to raze thousands of houses, restaurants, hotels and improvised docks in a race to restore much of the coast to something approaching its natural state.
In the tourist resort of Varadero, the country faces a dilemma: Tearing down seaside restaurants and hotels threatens millions of dollars in yearly tourism revenue, while allowing them to stay puts at risk the very beaches that are the main draw.
___
MBEERE, Kenya. While sea level rise threatens some coastal communities in Africa, the continent faces even bigger climate-related problems inland. Climate scientists have projected shifts in rainfall patterns leading to extended droughts in some areas and increased flooding in other parts. To small-scale farming communities, these shifts could be disastrous, adding further stress to scarce water supplies.
Adaptation therefore is focused on learning to cope with the climatic changes, adjusting farming practices and improving water conservation efforts.
In Kenya's Mbeere district, where people say they're noticing longer dry spells, U.K.-based charity group Christian Aid is teaching farmers to help them predict the seasons and know better what to grow and when to plant.
A text messaging system helps farmers get up-to-date weather reports specific to their locations.
"We are supporting them to access and interpret climate information and help them make forward-looking decisions so that their farming is better suited to the predicted changing conditions," said Mohamed Adow, of Christian Aid. "Farmers live off the land and the weather, and small changes to weather patterns can be a big disaster to small-scale farmers in Africa whose entire livelihoods and well-being depend on farming."
__
Associated Press writers Raphael Satter in London, Jennifer Kay in Miami, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Farid Hossain in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Thanyarat Doksone in Bangkok, Paul Haven in Havana and Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, contributed to this report.
Second in a two-part package on climate change and adaptation.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/beyond-nyc-other-places-adapting-climate-too-105538665.html
final four Ray J I Hit It First Rick Pitino Spike Albrecht NCAA Championship Game michigan basketball ncaa final four
Friday, June 7, 2013
Judge's Ruling Challenges Nation's Organ Transplant System
WASHINGTON -- It's a life or death matter: Who gets the next scarce donated organ? In an unprecedented challenge to the nation's transplant system, a federal judge has allowed one dying child ? and a day later another ? to essentially jump the line in rulings that could have ramifications for thousands of people awaiting new organs.
Over and over, the nation debates the fairness of transplant policies, from Mickey Mantle's liver in the 1990s to people today who cut their wait times by moving to another city where the list is shorter. But back-to-back rulings by a federal judge this week appear to be a legal first that specialists expect to prompt more lawsuits from people seeking a shorter wait, just like the parents of two patients in a Philadelphia hospital ? 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan and 11-year-old Javier Acosta.
"People who have privilege or people who complain more loudly or have political voice shouldn't be able to claim special treatment," said Lawrence O. Gostin, a prominent health law professor at Georgetown University, who questioned the legal basis of the rulings. Transplant policies aim to be "fair and just for everyone, not just for that one heart-wrenching case."
Johns Hopkins University transplant surgeon Dr. Dorry Segev put it more starkly: "Every choice that is made in transplantation in favor of one patient means the likely death on the list for another patient."
Indeed, when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius refused to intervene in Sarah's case, she pointed out that three other children also at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia were in the same condition, and 40 other seriously ill Pennsylvanians over the age of 12 also were awaiting a lung transplant.
The Murnaghans challenged a lung transplant policy that matches children under 12 with pediatric donors, who are rare, or offers them adult lungs only after adolescents and adults on the waiting list have a chance at them. The family said Sarah will die without a new set of lungs soon and argued that children under 12 should have equal access to adult donations. Javier Acosta's family of New York City filed a similar lawsuit Thursday, saying he may die on the waiting list like his brother did two years ago. Like Sarah, Javier's lungs have been destroyed by cystic fibrosis.
"The problem is, we can't build a system around making exceptions for everybody that isn't getting the transplant when they need it," Dr. John Roberts, who heads the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network's board, said Thursday.
The bigger issue that these lawsuits raise: Should the nation's transplant policy be changed so that children always get preference? Roberts said that is a fair question that society needs to debate, and if so, what age to set as the cutoff. Do 16-year-olds get the same preference as grade-schoolers?
Segev, the Hopkins surgeon who transplants kidneys and livers, offers a tougher example: What if an organ was available that would give a 25-year-old a 98 percent chance of success and a 15-year-old a 5 percent chance of success ? who gets it, especially if the 15-year-old is a little sicker?
Transplant policies vary widely by organ, and Roberts said the under-12 policy for lungs accounts for younger children's different medical needs. They're particularly hard to transplant, children don't tend to fare as well and adult lungs don't always fit them. The policy includes steps to increase access: Lungs donated by 12- to 17-year-olds are first offered to patients that age and then to younger children before they're offered to adults, for example.
It's a balancing act that is set not just by doctors, but by committees that include transplant recipients, patient advocates and ethicists. The goals include limiting wait times and getting organs to patients who stand the best chance of success.
Segev said the biggest disparity in the country isn't about children but geography: In some areas, people donate more organs, allowing patients to shop around for shorter lines and even get on more than one list if they have the means to get to a far-away hospital within hours of an organ becoming available. For instance, Apple CEO Steve Jobs' 2009 liver transplant was in Tennessee, where the wait was much shorter than back home in California.
Then there are questions about people who need a transplant because of diseases caused by poor lifestyle choices. Nearly 1 in 5 liver transplants goes to current or former heavy drinkers, like Mickey Mantle back in the 1990s. Many transplant centers now require patients awaiting a new liver to give up drinking for six months to qualify.
Roberts compared setting transplant policies to a deadly game of musical chairs ? there just aren't enough organs to around so that everyone has a shot at winning, something that would change if only more people were organ donors.
"If everybody wants us to always have a chair for the kids, we can but who else is that going to hurt?" Roberts said. "These are terrible decisions that have to be made when you don't have enough organs."
"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });
bubba masters winner instagram facebook chicago cubs split pea soup recipe the client list yahoo.com/mail
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)