With a political arms race in full force, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) has raised almost $750,000 in less than 48 hours since his shout of ‘You lie!’ to President Obama during the Wednesday address to Congress, almost matching the Internet-fueled haul of his likely Democratic opponent. A senior GOP official said Wilson, who apologized to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel after the health-care speech but has since refused a more public apology, has turned his own previous sleepy campaign machine into an Web-friendly effort. Just as liberals have poured cash into the campaign of Rob Miller, who lost to Wilson by almost eight percentage points in 2008, conservatives are pouring contributions into Wilson’s campaign at an astonishing rate. Miller, a former Iraq war veteran, has raised more than $1 million for his 2010 rematch with Wilson, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Republicans expect Wilson to also top more than $1 million by Monday because of the immense publicity he’s received in the last 48 hours. In the relatively inexpensive South Carolina district, which takes in the southern portion of the state, the two opponents will likely have their two-year budgets filled in less […]
No commercial vessel has ever successfully travelled the North-east Passage, a fabled Arctic Sea route that links the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific far more directly than the usual southerly cargo route. No commercial vessel has ever successfully travelled the North-east Passage, a fabled Arctic Sea route that links the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific far more directly than the usual southerly cargo route. It has been one of the elusive goals of seafaring nations almost since the beginnings of waterborne trade, but for nearly 500 years the idea has been dismissed as an impossible dream. Now, as a result of global warming, the dream is about to come true. Within days, a journey that represents both a huge commercial boon and a dark milestone on the route to environmental catastrophe is expected to be completed for the first time. No commercial vessel has ever successfully travelled the North-east Passage, a fabled Arctic Sea route that links the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific far more directly than the usual southerly cargo route. Explorers throughout history have tried, and failed; some have died in the attempt. But early next week the German-owned vessels, Beluga Fraternity and Beluga […]
LANDAU IN DER PFALZ, Germany — Government officials here are reviewing the safety of a geothermal energy project that scientists say set off an earthquake in mid-August, shaking buildings and frightening many residents of this small city. The geothermal plant, built by Geox, a German energy company, extracts heat by drilling deep into the earth. Advocates of the method say that it could greatly reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels by providing a vast supply of renewable energy. But in recent months, two similar projects have stirred concerns about their safety and their propensity to cause earthquakes. In the United States, the Energy Department is scrutinizing a project in Northern California run by AltaRock Energy to determine if it is safe. (The project was shut down by the company last month because of crippling technical problems.) Another project, in Basel, Switzerland, was shut down after it generated earthquakes in 2006 and 2007 and is awaiting the decision of a panel of experts about whether it can resume. The Landau project will be allowed to continue operating while the review panel, which held its first meeting last Friday, deliberates. Geox officials initially denied any responsibility for the […]
China is now the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide, the most important global warming pollutant. However, new findings suggest wind farms could potentially eliminate much if not all of China’s carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector for the foreseeable future. Demand for electricity in China is increasing at a rate of about 10 percent per year. At the same time, coal accounts for roughly 80 percent of total electricity production. This suggests that China’s emissions of carbon dioxide could grow accordingly. For example, the equivalent of 800 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants are needed to meet the rising Chinese demand for electricity anticipated by 2030. This could add as much as 3.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, compared to current annual Chinese emissions of 6.6 billion tons. Wind is currently only a minor contributor to China’s energy needs, with an installed capacity of 12.2 gigawatts at the end of 2008, or just 0.4 percent of its total electricity supply. However, China is now the world’s fastest growing market for wind power, with an annual growth rate of more than 50 percent over the past decade. ‘The world is struggling with the […]
A new comprehensive economic survey shows that the recession has plunged 2.6 million more Americans into poverty, wiped out the household income gains of an entire decade and pushed the number of people without health insurance up to 46.3 million. The grim economic statistics unveiled Thursday in the Census Bureau’s annual report on income, poverty and health insurance are destined to grow bleaker. Since the data were collected in the spring, millions of people have lost their jobs. ‘When the numbers come out next year at this time, I expect them to look even worse,’ said Robert Greenstein, executive director of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The statistics reflect the toll the recession has taken on the nation since the downturn officially began in December 2007. The nation’s poverty rate rose to 13.2 percent in 2008, up from 12.5 percent in 2007, the Census Bureau data showed. That was the first significant increase since 2004 and the highest level in 11 years. In all, 39.8 million Americans were living in poverty in 2008, defined as an income of $22,025 for a family of four. The last time there were that many poor […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
