Stephan: Here is a path out of the carbon era, and into something much more than solar and wind, the new technologies I have been talking about. We can only hope our pathetic Congress, particularly the MAGAt members can comprehend why this matters so much, and provide the necessary funding
Small, modular, direct air capture plant Third Way
Images of a clean-energy future tend to feature wind turbines and solar panels, iconic symbols of the struggle to halt global warming. But the United States is pursuing a much wider range of solutions to drive down greenhouse gas emissions. Soon, a direct air capture facility, or a carbon capture and storage project, or a clean hydrogen hub could be proposed in a town near you. Maybe one already has. Two recent laws — last year’s bipartisan infrastructure legislation and this year’s Inflation Reduction Act — offer developers billions of dollars to build these kinds of projects.
Experts say these technologies are needed to tackle climate change. They can help cut carbon from hard-to-decarbonize parts of the economy that cannot simply switch over to renewable electricity. But there are very few large-scale examples operating today. To help people visualize what all this new infrastructure could look like, Third Way, a center-left D.C. think tank, commissioned the design studio Gensler to illustrate hypothetical projects, showing how they could […]
Stephan: As I have told you over and over, one of the things that stands out for me as I survey the media every day, are the constant arrests and indictments of Republican politicians, former politicians, and close-in minions. I am amazed that some journalist in mainstream media hasn't picked this up and assembled a list of all these people. The corruption of American Republican politicians is astonishing, starting at the top with criminal Trump. What also has become clear to me is that in the U.S. there are two standards of law. If you are an ordinary person and break a law you get arrested, tried, and sent to prison. In contrast, if you are rich enough, or hold a high enough office you usually, not always as in this case, for instance, but usually you get away with it. Look at Michael Flynn, John Eastman, Steve Bannon, et al, and, of course, Trump. And one of the things that stands out, is how disloyal these people are to the interests of the United States.
David Rivera, former Miami Republican congressman was arrested Monday in connection to an ongoing federal criminal investigation. Credit: Alan Diaz/AP
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA. — Former Florida Republican Rep. David Rivera, who had successfully outflanked a series of investigations during his lengthy political and consulting career, was arrested Monday by federal authorities in connection with an ongoing probe into his work with Venezuela’s authoritarian regime.
Rivera, who represented a Miami-area district from 2011 to 2013, was detained in Georgia on Wednesday in connection with a Miami grand jury indictment issued last month. His arrest was first reported by The Associated Press. According to the indictment unsealed on Monday night, Rivera and his former political consultant, Esther Nuhfer, are facing charges of conspiring against the U.S., failing to register as foreign agents and engaging in illegal financial transactions including money laundering.
“It was the purpose of the conspiracy for the defendants to unlawfully enrich themselves by engaging in political activities in the United States on behalf of the government of Venezuela, and by representing the interests of the government […]
Stephan: Fundamentalist patriarchal religiosity whether Christian, Jewish, or Muslim is very sick psychologically because it is deeply dysfunctional sexually. It is judgmental, self-righteous, and obsessively male-dominant. Here is an example of the thinking and the sickness of this cohort, this by an American congressman. A Republican, of course.
Republican Representative Bob Good of Virginia, a self-described “biblical conservative” and far-right ultra-MAGAt extremist, delivered angry, ugly, and false statements on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives during Thursday’s debate on legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages. The bill passed 258-169, with all no votes coming from Republicans.
U.S. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), a self-described “biblical conservative” and far-right ultra-MAGA extremist, delivered angry, ugly, and false statements on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives during Thursday’s debate on legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages. The bill passed 258-169, with all no votes coming from Republicans.
Among his false statements, Good claimed the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision recognizing the constitutional right to marriage for same-sex couples came immediately after Massachusetts – and no other state – made marriage equality legal in 2004.
But among his most offensive remarks, Congressman Good claimed the bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, will “ensure that the marriage laws in the most liberal state, irrespective of how radical they might become in […]
Stephan: Here is further proof that respecting and fostering the wellbeing of the Matrix of Life benefits everyone. I don't understand why this is so hard for conservatives to understand, but then I don't understand why they would go out and shoot a wolf.
Sea otters — such as this one at an amusement park in Japan — once roamed as far south as Baja California Credit: Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Scientists often study the grim impacts of losing wildlife to hunting, habitat destruction and climate change. But what happens when endangered animals are brought back from the brink?
Research has shown restoring so-called “keystone” species — those with an outsized impact on their environment — is vital for the health of ecosystems, and can come with unexpected benefits for humans.
Here are some notable examples from North America.
Wolves
Few species evoke the American wild as much as wolves.
Though revered by Indigenous communities, European colonists who arrived in the 1600s embarked on widespread extermination campaigns through hunting and trapping.
By the mid-20th century, fewer than a thousand gray wolves were left in the continental United States, down from at least a quarter million before colonization.
Extinction was averted in the 1970s when lawmakers passed the Endangered Species Act, helping revive the apex predator in parts of its former range.
Stephan: Here is another example of what I have been telling you is going to be essential in dealing with climate change -- the development of new technologies that foster wellbeing. This is good news.
Plastic waste Credit: dreamtime
Researchers have created an enzyme variant that can break down environmentally damaging plastics, which typically take centuries to degrade, in just a matter of hours to days.
This discovery could help solve one of the world’s most pressing environmental problems: what to do with the billions of tons of plastic waste piling up in landfills and polluting our natural lands and water.
The enzyme has the potential to supercharge recycling on a large scale that would allow major industries to reduce their environmental impact by recovering and reusing plastics at the molecular level.
“The possibilities are endless across industries to leverage this leading-edge recycling process,” says Hal Alper, professor in the chemical engineering department at the University of Texas at Austin.
“Beyond the obvious waste management industry, this also provides corporations from every sector the opportunity to take a lead in recycling their products. Through these more sustainable enzyme approaches, we can begin to envision a true circular plastics economy.”
“THROUGH THESE MORE SUSTAINABLE ENZYME APPROACHES, WE CAN BEGIN TO ENVISION A TRUE CIRCULAR PLASTICS ECONOMY.”
