Wednesday, August 2nd, 2017
NINA LISS-SCHULTZ, - Mother Jones
Stephan: Here is yet another negative proof of the correctness of the Theorem of Wellbeing. If you are a woman in a Red Value state you face a very stark degradation of your health care options, and the social outcome data makes if clear that Christofascist social policies are less effect, uglier to live under, wellbeing degrading, and much more expensive. Here's some data showing why I say that.
Credit: sjenner13/iStock
For years, anti-abortion advocates have used the claim that abortion is bad for women’s health to help justify restrictions on the procedure. But how do states with highly restricted access to abortion stack up when it comes to women’s health overall?
Not so well, according to a new report by two reproductive rights groups.
Released on Tuesday, the report by the abortion rights legal advocacy group Center for Reproductive Rights and the research organization Ibis Reproductive Health found that states with more anti-abortion laws also tend to have poor outcomes generally for women’s and children’s health compared with states that have fewer restrictions.
Researchers tallied up the number and type of abortion restriction in each state and sifted through data and literature on women’s health overall from 2015 to 2016. Then they gave each state two numbers: one for the number of restrictions and another for the number of women’s health “benchmarks” met by the state. These benchmarks included things like access to primary care providers, low maternal mortality rates, childhood vaccinations, and children receiving mental health care.
“Framing a measure like, ‘We’re doing […]
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Wednesday, August 2nd, 2017
Amanda Froelich, - inhabit
Stephan: Here is more good news about PV roofing. As with cars and batteries Elon Musk is meeting a need. He is involving himself in one technology after another that fosters wellbeing. And getting very rich in the process.
Tesla RV roof, now cheaper than standard roofing.
Good news for those who have been eyeing Tesla’s new Solar Roof – the company just announced pricing for its photovoltaic tiles, and they come in at just $21.85 per square foot. That’s nearly 20 percent cheaper than a normal roof — even without factoring in the energy savings. (emphasis added)
So far, Tesla has two styles available for pre-order: a textured black glass tile and a smooth grey tile. The tuscan and slate tiles will be available for installation in early 2018. According to the company, installing a Solar Roof takes between five and seven days – and Tesla manages the entire process itself.
The fact that the Solar Roof tiles are so economical is applaudable, considering that Consumer Reports predicted back in November that the tiles would need to cost under $24.50 per square foot to compete with traditional roofing materials. Tesla accomplished this — and went one step further. Now, the company is offering an infinite warranty for the tiles. “We offer the best […]
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Tuesday, August 1st, 2017
John McQuaid , - Scientific American
Stephan: In the toxic miasma of lies, corruption, and Christofascism that like an oily cloud shrouds the Trump Administration, the actual grinding of the mills of government is getting lost. So let's bring things up to date. The United States is being degraded to alarming degree, almost without comment. This is happening through the destruction of the carefully constructed matrix of regulations that have kept the worst corporate excesses at bay.
This may improve profits, but it will eat away at the quality of life for Americans and, ultimately, being extraordinarily costly to taxpayers. But that is what will create profit.
Credit: Amanda Montañez; Source: Research by Rena Steinzor and Elise Desiderio, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law; additional research by John McQuaid
Oil and gas wells let loose a lot of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In April, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suspended for three months an Obama administration rule to restrict such emissions, it did not defend wells or deny climate change. Instead the agency said the rule had not been studied enough. For instance, the EPA said the costs to get new well-venting systems approved had not been analyzed, so oil and gas companies had been unable to provide input as required by law.
Earlier this month an Appeals Court disagreed and overturned the delay as an illegal and “capricious” maneuver. “Even a brief scan of the record demonstrates the inaccuracy of EPA’s statements,” a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found. “The administrative record thus makes clear that industry groups had ample […]
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Tuesday, August 1st, 2017
Sarah Okeson, - DC Report.org
Stephan: This takes the information of the last report, and brings it into focus in the real world.
Briston Bay sockeye salmon.
Credit: Todd Radenbaugh
The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to undo a key decision that could eventually pave the way for a Canadian mining company to pollute rivers in the Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska which supports the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world.
The EPA published the notice of the proposed change that could benefit would-be miners of gold, copper and molybdenum as the annual Alaskan salmon run was taking place. More than 35 million sockeye salmon had been caught by Wednesday, far ahead of the 20-year average of 22.7 million, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
The company behind the proposed Pebble mine is Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. of Vancouver. Tom Collier, the CEO of the subsidiary that would build the mine, was chief of staff at the Interior Department under Bill Clinton.
Trump’s EPA, under […]
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Tuesday, August 1st, 2017
Mark Hand, Climate Reporter - Think Progress
Stephan: Here is another example of what is happening, this from the energy sector. Trump has appointed individuals who have made a career advocating for the removal of regulations governing the agency they now head, and they are being assisted by a a corrupt and craven congress.
Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), left, sponsored an amendment that restored fossil fuel research funding to its 2017 level of $668 million.
Credit: AP/Zach Gibson
The House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve a large spending bill for fiscal year 2018 that slashes clean energy spending and approves keeping fossil fuel research at current levels.
In a spending package known as the “minibus,” the House voted to set the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) budget at $1.1 billion, a 45 percent cut from the office’s fiscal 2017 budget of more than $2 billion. The Trump administration requested an even bigger cut for the Department of Energy office that would have lowered its budget to $636 million, or 70 percent, below the 2017 budget.
The funding measure passed 235–192, with five Democrats voting for, five Republicans voting against, and six representatives abstaining. It still needs approval from the Senate before it passes into […]
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