Saturday, January 24th, 2015
Amihai Zippor, - The Grapevine
Stephan: Here is the latest on the solar tree technology that garnered such a strong response when I ran the initial story. I am going to explore whether I could do this on my own property, the scale is wrong, whether we could do it on the island.
Credit: Sologic
Imagine hiking on a path knowing there’s a tree that will put you in touch with the world.
The Sologic eTree is a public space made from 100 percent sustainable materials, that provides rest, shade, free WiFi and a place to cool your water.
“The eTree is like a tent open on all sides and gives without asking for anything. It says come, sit down in the shade, and provides solar energy for cooling water, charging your batteries, and connects you to the universe with WiFi,” Israeli entrepreneur Michael Lasry told From the Grapevine.
Lasry said its distinctive design is based on the southern Israeli acacia, a species of desert tree that grows near pockets of underground water and can provide ample shade.
To mimic the acacia’s relationship with water, one of the eTree’s chief functions is a fountain that uses solar energy to cool water for anyone passing by. Dew and runoff from the fountain collect in a basin, acting as a water trough for animals.
The concept for eTree came from Lasry’s work on residential solar panel systems. But as consumer costs skyrocketed, he quickly realized […]
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Friday, January 23rd, 2015
Stephan: Here is the latest on the devolution of power to cities, one of the most fascinating political trends in the U.S.. Because the Federal government and often the state governments are so corrupt -- three Speakers of state legislatures have been indicted recently -- the real action centers are the cities. Cities and town governments don't have the option of spending most of their time posturing and bloviating, they actually have to get something done. Here is a good piece on what is happening in several large cities. I take this as excellent news.
The city of Seattle has increased contracts with women- and minority-owned businesses from $11 million to $34 million using an equity toolkit.
Credit: Shutterstock.
1. City ID cards for everyone who needs one.
in: New Haven, Conn.; San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, and Los Angeles, Calif.; Asbury Park, Mercer County, Trenton, and Princeton, N.J.; New York; Washington, D.C.
While immigration policy is contested on the national stage, many local governments are taking steps to improve the lives of the undocumented people living and working in their communities.
From Los Angeles to New Haven, 11 cities across the country have instituted municipal ID programs. Now New York, a city with an estimated half-million undocumented immigrants, is preparing to launch the country’s largest program in January 2015.
With the new city IDs, New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, will be able to apply for a job or library card, access health services, sign a lease, or file […]
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Friday, January 23rd, 2015
Stephan: Here is some more good news about cities. Finally L.A. is beginning to deal realistically with water conservation. This is being closely watched by other cities and represents a real attempt to rethink water, which is still basically designed on the basis of Roman engineering.
The Los Angeles River in 2013. Engineers turned it into a narrow concrete channel in the 1940s, after a flood destroyed homes and left 100 people dead in 1938.
Credit: Steve Lyon/Flickr
For thousands of years, city planners have engineered water into submission — think aqueducts.
“That’s really the core of modern water infrastructure,” says David Sedlak, the author of Water 4.0. “It’s the ancient idea that the Romans gave us. Collecting water somewhere on the outskirts of the city, sending it with gravity into the city, and then when we’re done with it, we put it back underground in a sewer and send on its way.”
It’s the way most cities are designed. And you can hear the echoes of that ancient plumbing in Los Angeles, where rain answered prayers last month amid an epic drought. […]
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Friday, January 23rd, 2015
Ari Phillips, - Think Progress
Stephan: For almost 30 years one of the best things I experienced when I lived in California was the time spent backpacking and hiking in the Big Trees areas. They are so magnificent and, when you realize that some of these trees are over a 1,000 years old, it is quite humbling. It is a magical experience to spend time there.
Beginning in the late 80s we began to notice that in some areas the trees seemed to be under stress and, by the mid 90s it was clear many were dying. Now for the first time we have real data. It makes me very sad.
California big trees.
Credit: Shutterstock
A group of California scientists published a study this week comparing forest surveys from the 1920s and ’30s to recent U.S. Forest Service data. What they found was not encouraging for the future of the state’s renowned large trees. Published on Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found that drought, changes in land use, and fire suppression efforts have caused the number of trees larger than two feet in diameter to decline by 50 percent in a 46,000 square mile area of the state’s forest they surveyed.
“Older, larger trees are declining because of disease, drought, logging and other factors, but what stands out is that this decline is statewide,” said study leader Patrick McIntyre, who manages biodiversity data for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Forests are becoming dominated by smaller, more densely packed trees, and oaks are becoming more dominant as pines decline.”
With California currently locked in a serious drought, the role of water […]
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Friday, January 23rd, 2015
Colleen Curry, - Vice News
Stephan: By almost any standard one cares to use, the Red value states of the old confederacy are unhealthy places to live. People have shorter life spans in those states. Infant mortality is, well, mortal. Am I exaggerating: A child born in rural North Carolina for instance, has less of a chance of living to age two than a child born in Botswana Africa. Sexually Transmitted Diseases are higher in the South. Teen pregnancies are higher than in Blue value states. Now data tells us this same skew is true about HIV/AIDS. All of this is the result of the Theocratic Right's social choices that create ignorance and poverty, and that undermine any social safety network.
The Deep South has the highest death rate of newly diagnosed AIDS cases in the country, according to new research which analyzes the growing epidemic in the region and seeks to articulate its causes, which include social stigma, rural geography, and poverty. (emphasis added)
Researchers at the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and the Centers for Disease Control worked together to analyze the diagnosis and death rates of HIV and AIDS patients in nine “target” states in the Deep South, including: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
Those states now account for 49 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS, despite making up just 37 percent of the national population, (emphasis added) according to the research published in the Journal of Community Health. Researchers also found the region has the lowest five-year survival rate for new AIDS diagnoses in the country; nearly a third of those diagnosed with AIDS in 2003-04 died within five years of being told they were infected.
Susan Reif, of the Duke University Global Health […]
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