Engadet is reporting that James Kim and his family have gone missing. While I do not know him personally, he is a member of the tech community and so I wanted to post his picture here. Apparently he and his family (wife and two kids) have been missing since last weekend when they took a trip from San Francisco to Seattle. Here is the picture that Engadget has posted as well as one I pulled from

Props to Mr. D. Perkins for providing a bit of inspiration for today's post.

So, when an episode of Coach started they would play the theme song over the opening credits, which was kind of unique in that the theme song was played by what sounded like a college marching band and the credits were just a bunch of different shots of football memorabilia. I'm not sure if that song was just the theme song for the show, or if it was supposed to be the fight song for Minnesota state. It would have made a terrible fight song probably. It was a little too sit-commy.

I can't really remember much about the football memorabilia. I think it was just a random assortment of like, footballs and trophies and old black and white photos and maybe some olde-timey football helmets. I suppose this was designed to make the viewer appreciate and revere the great football tradition at Minnesota State, but I'm also fairly sure that there wasn't anything in the piles of memorabilia that, directly, had anything to do with Minnesota State. Well, maybe there was like, a pennant or something that said Minnesota State and had been faded to look all old, but I don't think the producers of Coach would have gone to the trouble to take a bunch of black and white photos of people in old football uniforms that said "Minnesota State" or make a bunch of fake trophies or anything like that. Probably what they did was just find a bunch of old football memorabilia where it's impossible to tell what team that piece of memorabilia is associated with. Then they piled it all up in some old dusty wooden room, slapped on a Minnesota State pennant and filmed it up-close with a bunch of sweeping shots.

I can't decide if this was brilliant or stupid.

As the months go on the idea that their exists "doubt" about the scientific consensus on the reality of global warming continues to surface. That was most recently seen on The Conscious Earth in a small handful of comments in the post "An Inconvenient Truth Squeezed from Classrooms".

If there is such thing as a credible global warming skeptic, they would need to meaningfully confront two powerful facts before their opinions can be taken seriously:

1) That a comprehensive review of all peer reviewed scientific studies through the past decade found every one of them confirmed that global warming is occuring and human made greenhouse gases are to blame. And,

2) That despite overwhelming scientific consensus, more than half of all news media articles surveyed give as much support to climate change 'skeptics' as they do to sound climate science.

This represents both the widespread corruption of our news media, and dismal level of critical thinking in our public discourse. Both will need to be confronted to solve global warming.

See Al Gore's commentary below.



Clip via Hugg.com

A little piece of advice from a Kiwi friend came home to haunt me today. In NZ, it is nowhere near as easy to return an item of clothing as it is in the UK or USA. Generally speaking, if you do what I do when out clothes shopping, which is buy things without trying them on and then return them for a refund after trying them on at home, you're going to get stung. Often they won't take the item

ATV Tour
Migriño, BCS
November 5, 2006

We have an early flight to Salt Lake City before heading to Los Cabos. 4:45 A.M. and we're getting out of bed. Its fucking early. And I'm not feeling great this morning. Its going to be a long flight.

I'm sick with a head cold all the way to Los Cabos. I manage to grab some Dayquil in SLC which helps, but not much. I've run out of tissues and my handkerchief is soaked through and through. Isn't vacation fun!?

When we arrive in the San Jose del Cabo airport we pass through customs and immigration. Immediately after customs we are welcomed to Mexico. "¡Bienvenidos á México! How can I screw you with transportation to your hotel, señor?" We are instantly mobbed by people hawking all kinds of transportation options who tell us if we don't travel with them, we won't be able to get to our hotel. I have never felt so pressured into taking some kind of bus in my life! The cost is $24 for the two of us, I give the lady $25 and she gives me a ticket, but no change. When I ask for my dollar, she asks me if I think she is trying to steal from me? Do I think a dollar really makes a difference to her?


ATV Tour
Migriño, BCSYes, puta, I do think you're stealing from me. I want my dollar. We get our change and head to the hotel. This airport is fucked.

We arrive at the Hilton los Cabos and are welcomed by the staff. They explain to us that we don't need to go check in at the counter, instead they take us to the bar for a margarita. Dayquil plus liquor? ¡Claro! They bring us our check-in materials and show us to the room. The hotel is very nice and we have an ocean view room right above the pool. More Dayquil, down the hatch.

Its at this moment that I realize I haven't packed a bathing suit. Oops. I throw on some shorts and we head down to the pool. After a quick swim we went to the pool bar — in the pool — for another drink. I remind Steph that people who sit in the pool at the bar and drink all day don't just have freakishly large bladders.

Welcome to our ool. Notice there is no "p" in our ool. Let's keep it that way.

Since I'm still feeling a bit like death warmed over we decide to take a shower and head out to dinner. We head over to San Jose del Cabo, one of the two major towns that make up Los Cabos. I ask the bellman where to go for dinner, he suggests a place we found in Lonely Planet Baja called El Ahorchado (The Hangman). So we take a cab to the center of town to look around and then decide to walk to the restaurant. Downtown is absolutely deserted on a Sunday night, except for the guys trying to sell us a timeshare. Por favor, no me moleste, pendejo. I don't want your timeshare.

We start walking to El Ahorcado with directions from one of the timeshare guys. Why are we the only gringos out here? After 20 minutes or so we finally get to the restaurant and sit down for dinner. El Ahorcado is a taqueria frequented mostly by locals. You sit down at a table with a few bowls of different salsas, pickled vegetables like carrots, potatoes and red onions and some lime & cilantro. The menu is mostly tacos of all sorts with some quesadillas and queso fundido. We order some queso fundido, tacos and two quesadiallas, one each with squash blossoms and huitlacoche (corn mushroom a.k.a. corn smut a.k.a. Ustilago maydis for the genetics nerds among us). The food is amazing! For less than $20 we leave fat and happy. We'll be back! This was one of the places mentioned in the Lonely Planet guidebook, and definitely a hit.


Tropic of Cancer
Off to bed very early...

November 6, 2006

Good Morning, México!

We wake up early and catch the sunrise on the balcony with a hot cup of coffee before heading down to breakfast. Since I stay with Hilton hotels so much we're entitled to a free continental breakfast every day. A darn good thing, considering its $15/person! We find out that it includes not just the usual bread, fruit, juice and coffee but also smoked salmon and smoked marlin, yogurt, meats and cheeses. We can eat well and eat healthy for breakfast, what a deal.

After breakfast we pick up our rental car in the hotel rental office. Its a brand new Chevy Malibu with only 150 Km on the odometer — that's just under 100 miles for the metric challenged among us. Having driven in Mexico before I recall that Mexican drivers are fast and absolutely crazy, so we coin the phrase "When in Mexico, drive like a Mexican". And I did! The speed limit is 60 - 70 Km/hr (~40 - 45 MPH), but we're doing 100 - 120 Km/hr (64 - 75 MPH) over to the Mega, a local store like a Super Target, for some provisions. Tequila, margarita mix, beer, snacks and a bathing suit are all we need for now, so we head back to the hotel and down to the pool with drinks in hand. Why pay $10 for a margarita at the bar when I can spend $20 on a bottle of tequila and margarita mix and make my own?


Icecream Vendor
La Paz, BCSThe pool is gorgeous, its an infinity pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the perfect place to do some reading in the sun. After a few hours we head back to the room...

What the hell? Why does our room smell like a sewer?!

The maintenance man comes up with a bottle of Lysol to clear the air. The hotel sends up a bellman and tells us we have a new room waiting for us. Hopefully it doesn't smell like mi culo. Before we can get settled in we need to change and meet our bus to head to Migriño for an ATV tour along the Pacific beaches. Our driver picks up another couple at a hotel in Cabo San Lucas on the way. They own Ripple Run, a hotel in the Pacific Northwest, and proceed to tell us how much better it is in Oregon. If its better there, why didn't you stay, pray tell? Apparently they never travel on the same flight so they don't die together if the plane goes down. Freaks. I happen to be reading Freakanomics on this trip and the book discusses just this kind of misunderstanding of risks. They perceive a high risk in dying on a flight, but they stand a better chance of dying while driving — especially in Mexico! However, since they drive all the time and are in control of the car, they perceive the risk to be lower, even though the statistics show otherwise. Fools.

At Migriño, we meet our guide and get an introduction to riding an ATV. We decided to share an ATV with me driving and Steph holding on for dear life. The guide takes us up through the hills and then down to the beach where we're set free for 45 minutes to tear it up and go wherever we want. The first thing we both notice is the trash strewn along the trails and beach. Its unfortunate, but the environment is not well cared for in Mexico outside of the major tourist areas. We have an absolute blast down on the beach and dunes before heading back to the top of one of the hills nearby to watch the sunset over the Pacific. I highly recommend using Baja's for a fun afternoon!


The Road to
La Candelaria, BCSWe get back to the hotel, make a quick run to San Jose del Cabo for dinner — more time share hawkers! — and back to bed. This room sure is noisy...

November 7, 2006

Neither of us slept well last night. The location of the new room is very close to the lobby and stairs down to the pool, beach, etc. It was extremely noisy and woke us up multiple times through the night. Before breakfast we talk to the front desk and ask them to find us a quieter room.

Before hitting the road, we needed a good meal to get us going. So we headed down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. After finishing our meal we get a bill for almost $50! We ask the waiter why we received such a large bill and he explained that we at the buffet, not the continental breakfast. So we engage the manager who explains that the continental breakfast does not include the meats, cheeses, yogurt, etc. that we were explained were part of the deal yesterday. The manager continued to explain that we are not allowed to go to the continental breakfast buffet and take our own food, we need a waiter to bring us the food that we want. WTF?

Today is our first day on the road. We drove up Mexico 1 on the eastern side of the Baja to La Paz (see the map). We made a few stops along the way including the Tropic of Cancer, marked with a large shrine the the Virgin of Guadelupe and in a small town called El Triunfo to check out some local art. It was all crap, unfortunately. The guide book called the art colorful baskets made from reeds. Instead, the baskets are the color of the natural reeds and not of very high quality. Bummer. This is the first of many inaccurate entries in the Lonely Planet guidebook.

Heading north through the mountains the road is twisty and Steph was looking a little green from car sickness. She swears it's not my driving. I don't believe her.


Potter
La Candelaria, BCSWe arrive in La Paz just before lunch and head down to the oceanfront called the malecón where we walked around and found some lunch. We had hoped to do some sightseeing and shopping here, but there wasn't much going on. Instead we headed inland where we went to a small potter's shop called Ibarra where they make some traditional pottery that is only sold there in the factory. We bought a few small pieces and headed across town to a weaver's cooperative where we hoped to buy some tapestries for the house. All of the good stuff was imported from Teotítlan del Valle in Oaxaca, hundreds of miles away on the mainland! I was there years ago and I'm more sure than ever that we need to go back to Oaxaca some day to buy some woven rugs. Needless to say we didn't buy anything! Yet more bad info from the guidebook.

La Paz was very hot, so we found an icecream shop along the malecón where we tried a few flavors. First I checked out elote flavor. Imagine this: corn icecream! It tasted like corn! A bit odd for me! I settled on a pineapple and coconut icecream — think piña colada — and Steph had nanche icecream. What's a nanche (caution, poorly translated Spanish Wikipedia link!) you ask? We had no idea, but it was good! Turns out its a tropical fruit that is common in the Baja. Who knew?

Back on the road we drove south on Mexico 19, heading down the western side of the Baja. We decided to make the entire loop around the southern Baja in a counterclockwise direction on this day, plus Mexico 19 is a lot nicer road than Mexico 1. Our next stop was Todos Santos, a small community with a large number of artists, including some Americans. Since we got into town late, we didn't get to see a lot of art, but we did find some gorgeous locally made pottery in one shop. We also ran across an eco-tour company named Todos Santos Eco Adventures. After speaking to some people in town we decided to take a guided hike along the ocean cliffs which we scheduled for Friday morning.

One of the shopkeepers told us about a great hotel al ong the ocean just to the west of town. Posada la Poza is a gorgeous, small hotel in the most unlikely place at the end of a rutted dirt road. Getting here in our Chevy Malibu was interesting. I read the warning pasted on the windshield that the car was meant for on-road use only, off-road usage is not covered by the car's insurance. Oops. Posada la Poza is absolutely stunning! We sat on the whale watching deck and had a margarita as the sun splashed. If you ever find yourself in Baja, you owe it to yourself to spend some time in Todos Santos and spend a night, or more, in Posada la Poza.

Back on the road, we do a death defying drive back to our hotel under the cover of darkness. I think driving at night down here is absolutely nuts. I don't think it was the best choice for us due to the crazy roads and even crazier drivers.

Speaking of Mexican roads...

Every time I have been in Mexico I noted that many major roads — not interstates like we have in the US, but major "country" roads that connect cities and towns — head right through the center of town. This means that all traffic heads right through the middle of the town, including locals, tourists and all of the truck traffic. Unfortunately, many of these towns have no stop signs or traffic lights. What they do have is speedbumps, and lots of them! So if you see the words "Tope Aquí" on a sign by the side of the road, SLOW DOWN. Otherwise, your Chevy Malibu might wind up airborne. Also, watch for "Reductor de Velocidad", same shit, different pile.

We get back to the hotel and change rooms to a junior suite at the far end of the hotel, away from all the noise of the previous room. Unfortunately, the maid has decided to throw away a number of papers we had in the room (receipts, etc.), some of which we needed. The front desk manager was embarrassed and sent us a bottle of wine and dessert to make up for it. Nice touch!

November 8, 2006

Today is the designated pool day. I was up at 5:45 AM, head down to the pool and stake out a bed poolside for the remainder of the day...

Another morning, another breakfast at the hotel. After being seated, we're asked if we're going to have the buffet or continental breakfast. Of course, being cheap as we are, we want the continental breakfast. The waiter tells us where to go for the food... but wait! Yesterday we were told the waiter would get food for us. Steph goes off to talk to the manager and figure out what the deal is. The story has changed... again! We are allowed to get our own food (yay!) but we are limited to "fruit, juice, bread & coffee!". He so kindly spells it out for Steph with lots of hand gestures. Make up your mind, pendejo, and stick with it.

We spend the day poolside drinking margaritas and beers and sleeping under the canopy spread above the bed. This is the life...


Sunset on the beach
San Jose del Cabo, BCSOn a friend's recommendation we made dinner reservations at the Sea Grill at Las Ventanas, the swankiest resort in Los Cabos. We had an amazing 7-course tasting menu of Mexican foods from around the country as we sat right on the beach with the waves crashing nearby on a moonlit night. Unbelievable! As we ate our dinner they had a number of fire dancers performing an act on the beach. Hot bodies, lots of fire, dancing and drumming. This is the one moment I didn't have my camera that I really wish I did.

November 9, 2006

Today we're headed to La Candelaria, a small town about 20 miles outside of Cabo San Lucas in the mountains. The only way to get there is a dirt road using the directions we found in the Lonely Planet book. There is some locally made pottery from this small ranching village of less than 100 people which we read about and decide to check out. Perhaps we'll find some cool art or just have a good story to tell.

The directions to the road to La Candelaria are decent. The first challenge comes when we reach a three-way fork in the road. The book says to take the rightmost fork. We do and wind up on a dirt road through a small, poor suburb of Cabo San Lucas. After asking around for directions we figure out we're on the wrong road and manage to find the right road. It was the middle fork after all.

A short distance up this dirt road we pass a gate which is manned by an old gentleman who works for the ranchers. His job is to prevent poaching of the animals, so he lets two crazy Americans in a totally inappropriate car pass. We're on a dirt road... we keep driving. The directions make vague references to forks in the road where we have to turn, but our mile markers are now all out of whack because of our detour. We come to a fork in the road which looks right... so we take it. Wrong turn! We backtrack to Yonke Chinos, a junkyard out in the middle of nowhere. I ask for directions and get some half-assed directions which don't match the guidebook. Essentially, stay straight on this dirt road for 50 Km or more... sure, why not?!


Waves crashing on the beach
San Jose del Cabo, BCSWe drive for 20 min or so and see no landmarks. Are we lost? I flag down an oncoming SUV. He rolls down his window and I say, "Señor, puede ayudarme, por favor." (Mister, can you help me, please?). At this very moment I realize he's speaking perfect English to me and doesn't speak Spanish. He tells me we're on the right road in the wrong car and can't understand why we'd want to go to La Candelaria. We press on through some small towns and more stops to see if we're on the right path. It takes us almost 2 hours to go 20 miles, but finally we make it.

We find some locals and ask who has pottery for sale, they send us down a small rutted road to a old lady's home. Amongst clucking hens and a few goats we find her and she invites us into her ramshackle home. We take a seat and she pulls out some poor quality pottery with the prices marked in chalk on the side of each piece. Not exactly what I was looking for! However, we've come this far and disrupted this old woman, so we buy a small piece for 50 pesos (~$5). While $5 isn't a lot of money to you or I, $5 will make a difference in her life. We thank her for her hospitality and walk back up to town. After checking out another artists wares — conveniently made by someone else in another town — we declare this trip a bust and head home. The sign on the way out of La Candelaria says 22Km to Cabo San Lucas, the Lonely Planet guidebook tells you this is inaccurate and its really 27Km. Lonely Planet is wrong again. Its 22Km back to the paved roads on the outskirts of Cabo. We did finally manage to find some of the random landmarks (a fig tree in the arroyo with a small shrine, for instance, is only visible on the return trip!).

We make another trip to the Mega for some more tequila, another trip to El Ahorcado for dinner and then back to the hotel for the night. On the way home we got gas... and I got ripped off for $45 by the gas station attendant. I handed him a 500 peso bill, he handed me back a 50 peso bill and told me that I owed him 375 pesos. I apologized, handed him 500 pesos, got my change and left. Suddenly, I realized that I had just been screwed out of 450 pesos (~$45). Crap. Not a good way to end an otherwise good day.

November 10, 2006


Cliffs on the Pacific
South of Todos Santos,
BCSWe wake up very early for the drive to Todos Santos to meet our guide for the hike. After a hearty breakfast in Todos Santos we meet our guide, Mauricio and take a short drive down to one of the local fishing beaches for the start of the hike. We hiked up ~200m/660 feet and then headed along the cliffs and through the rocks as we made our way south. Mauricio was amazing, he knew most of the local flora and fauna and stopped to point them out along the way. We walked through the various cacti and scrub brush along the way. There's no real trail here, we blazed our own trail along the cliffs, past the old port and down to another beach where we had lunch under a palapa (thatched roof open air hut) on the beach. The hike itself was only ~4 miles, but it took us almost 4 hours due to the numerous stops we made along the way to take pictures and discuss the history of the area. November is the very beginning of the whale watching season, so we got lucky seeing a few humpback wales blowing water out of their blowholes off the coast.


On top of the world!
South of Todos Santos,
BCSThough I didn't notice it until the next day, I had apparently stepped on one of the thorny bushes along the hike. Since I was wearing tennis shoes I didn't have very good protection from the thorns. I got lucky, a 2" thorn pierced the sole of my shoe and, thankfully, exited the sole on the outer edge, rather than inserting itself directly into my foot! Next time, I'm bringing hiking boots.

November 11, 2006

Its our last day! Time to pack up and go home. Looking back, it was a great trip. We had a ton of fun, despite some problems along the way. We drank... a LOT! Two bottles of tequila (700mL each), a six pack of beer, a bottle of wine... and that's just what we had in our hotel room!


Cactus
South of Todos Santos,
BCSWill we go back? Probably not to Los Cabos, but I'd definitely head back to Todos Santos again in the future.

One last item to note. We made it back to Atlanta safely and were getting ready to head through customs with our stuff. I reached for something in Steph's hand and we managed to drop the piece of pottery we had purchased in Todos Santos! Oh crap! Now its in pieces... Steph is trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but it will never be the same. Bummer.

Tonight is a hallmark night. It is the night that I feel digg has begun to suck. What used to be a technology related news site has turned into a bunch of liberal propaganda, more than I care to stomach. Within the past number of weeks there have been ad-nauseum anti-Christian, anti-government, anti-war, pro-atheist, pro-abortion etc. stories promoted to the front page that it honestly makes

The first ever report on sewage contamination in the Great Lakes ecosystem has revealed poor water treatment standards and the widespread dumping of raw sewage by our cities.

In total, 93 billion litres of raw sewage are entering the lakes each year, posing an environmental risk and a threat to the primary drinking water source for millions of people on both sides of the Canada - US border.

The report, titled The Great Lakes Sewage Report Card, was released by Sierra Legal and evaluates the sewage treatment standards of 20 municipalities from both Canada and the United States. Green Bay, Peel Region and Duluth ranked the highest among all cities while Detroit, Cleveland and Windsor received the report's worst grades due mostly to their reliance on combined sewers - a system that carries both rainwater and sewage in one pipe and can easily become overloaded in heavy rain storms. Buffalo, Durham-York, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toledo and East Chicago did not respond to requests for information and were not included in the analysis.

The report called foir improved treatment standards while making the following general recommendations:

• Water Conservation: Increased water conservation for households could immediately reduce water use by more than 40% and dramatically reduce the demand for water treatment.
• Rain Water Diversion: Disconnect residential downspouts and footing drains, and use rain barrels and porous landscaping materials to reduce the volume of storm water entering municipal systems in the first place.
• Separate Combined Sewage Systems: in order to stop sewage overflows during heavy rains.
• Stop Chemicals Pollution: Preventing toxic chemicals from entering the sewage system in the first place would significantly reduce the burden of sewage effluent and sludge.
• Fund Infrastructure and Research
  

Despite decades of international conservation work to protect the lakes, the report did not find a single municipality with what it considered a fully up-to-date wastewater treatment system.

A better commitment is clearly needed.

The Great Lakes contain 20% of all the fresh water in the world, but they replenish at a rate of just 1% per year. This means that the sewage we are dumping today will be with us for the next century.

Read the complete report here.
See all grades here.

Owing to enthusiastic Veuve Cliquot consumption last night, followed by a bout of insomnia between 2.30am and 5.30am, I am not at my best today. Insomnia is a relatively recent thing for me, so I'm not used to dealing with it. Every time it happens I swear to myself that next time, I will not lie there staring at the ceiling, but go and do something useful with the time. Each time, I think no,

As most have now read, Laurie David - producer of An Inconvenient Truth - authored an editorial appearing in the Washington Post stating that the National Science Teachers Association refused to accept 50,000 free copies of the movie. In response, the NSTA has issued a press release stating that:

• NSTA policy states that the association cannot endorse any outside organization's products and/or messages to its members.
• The NSTA suggested making the DVD available via alternative means of distribution (e.g. by providing a mailing list of our members to producers, announcing its availability in our publications, etc.).

Their statement, however, did not address the quote cited in the Post article stating "Accepting the DVDs would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters," and this is the issue that has inflamed so many Americans.

While the NSTA readily accepts financial support from special interest businesses, it draws the line at accepting reputable, scientifically endorsed content free of charge. The problem is that while teachers and educators can have 100% control over the way a film is presented in a lesson plan, ongoing financial support as supplied by corporations will always be subject to political pressures. The public is rightfully wary of this and the NSTA, though well meaning and reputable, is no more immune to financial pressure than any other large organization.

True, the NSTA did offer another way of potentially distributing the films, but they did so while hiding behind policy. A policy that obstructs the ready acceptance of a valuable educational resource, while at the same time allows them to receive corporate dollars from organizations like Exxon Mobil who are infamous for funding disinformation on global warming. A fact which was pointed out clearly by the Royal Society - one of the world's leading scientific bodies - earlier this year.

If the NSTA is to be trusted to engage in responsible relationships with active deniers of climate change science, should it not also be trusted to faithfully and objectively distribute information that is consistent with the best science in the world, and that addresses the biggest environmental problem facing all citizens and all students?

I think so.


For more response on the debate visit the comments to the article on Digg.com.

Ruby.......snores, beaths like a monster, some people think she's human. I think its not the dog that matters but the bite....

This morning, I had just finished an email to Activist in which (inter alia) I bitched about the fact that I still hadn't received the results of my masters degree. It was a long email, and it took quite some time to write. I was concentrating hard, since Activist's state of mind is fragile due to an ongoing battle with anorexia, and I worry about saying the wrong thing. I didn't notice the

Sportvision, a company based in New York City, debuted its "1st and Ten" system on September 27, 1998, and football fans everywhere rejoiced! Sportvision provides ESPN and Fox Sports with the ability to enhance their football telecasts with this technology. In this article, we'll look at how the 1st and Ten system works.read more | digg story

A hardcore gamer waits in line for a Nintendo Wii but none were found. Four PlayStation 3 consoles roll off the truck at that moment he arrives and he's given the chance to buy them. He walks away from the "bundle" offer without a single PlayStation 3 after realizing it wasn't worth the cost. Has Sony's hype dwindled so quickly?read more | digg story

The Greater Vancouver Regional District has lifted the boil water advisory for the region. After 11 days, all residents of the Lower Mainland can now safely use tap water.

The producers of An Inconvenient Truth have offered to supply American classrooms with 50,000 copies of the movie free of charge. That offer has been rejected by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the nation's leading science education teachers group, citing a risk to funding from key financial supporters.

One of those supporters is Exxon-Mobil.

The news was buried deep in the Washington Post website and reported by Laurie David, a producer of the film and founder of StopGlobalWarming.org

In their e-mail rejection, they (NSTA) expressed concern that other "special interests" might ask to distribute materials, too; they said they didn't want to offer "political" endorsement of the film; and they saw "little, if any, benefit to NSTA or its members" in accepting the free DVDs.

Gore, however, is not running for office, and the film's theatrical run is long since over. As for classroom benefits, the movie has been enthusiastically endorsed by leading climate scientists worldwide, and is required viewing for all students in Norway and Sweden.

Still, maybe the NSTA just being extra cautious. But there was one more curious argument in the e-mail: Accepting the DVDs, they wrote, would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters." One of those supporters, it turns out, is the Exxon Mobil Corp.

Oil industry supporters will be quick to endorse the decision, agreeing that An Inconvenient Truth does indeed represent a special interest. What they will conveniently ignore is that unlike industry friendly messages pushed into the curriculum, An Inconvenient Truth is based on, and endorsed by, objective science - the very subject the National Science Teachers Association says it promotes.

What truth is more inconvenient? It depends where your pay cheque comes from.

Start Date: Aug 6, 2006 Lost to date: 40 lbs.

There once was a girl with a pretty little curl right in the middle of her forehead/And when she was good, she was very very good, and when she was bad she was....

Stuffing herself full on Thanksgiving Day, to the tune of a six-pound overnight weight gain. Making herself absolutely sick as a dog. Eating cornbread dressing till it came out her ears. Single-handedly representing the deadly sins of gluttony followed by sloth.

And then came Friday. Yep, six pounds up, two of which dropped after the ensuing three days. I know that, logically, I could not have gained six pounds eating my 4,200 calories that I diligently entered into Fitday on Thanksgiving. Yet there it is.

Ironically, also on Friday, I went clothes-shopping for the first time since starting this program in August and realized that I had dropped two sizes.

I do wish the next month and its attendant social obligations was over, though.

For the last few days I have been feeling under the weather. Is it a result of the dust that is gently swirling around the house in the wake of the unpacking marathon, combined with exhaustion? Or am I being struck down by actual illness?I am rarely ill. That's because I recognise the feeling of being under the weather, and take immediate remedial action. Witness:1 Banana1 tsp spirulina

Cowboy and I have run ourselves into the ground this weekend, but it was worth it. But for a few things that need putting away in an as-yet-undetermined location, we have unpacked. I only had one strop based around the fact that Cowboy was gleefully re-wiring everything in sight and simultaneously ignoring pleas that tuning in the VCR that we never use was not exactly top priority, while I did

Audio

Akron/Family – Love and space – Young God
The Whitest Boy Alive – Inflation – Asound/Bubbles
Migso – Russo – Variz
Christina Carter – Moving intercepted – Kranky
Kelly Joe Phelps – Crow’s next – Rounder
Greg Malcolm – Staring at the sun – Kr-aa-k
Yoko Ono – Tape piece lll : Snow piece – Mercer Sound
OOIOO – ATS – Thrill Jockey
Boogie – track #1 – cdr
Beirut – Scenic world – 4AD
Triosk – Lazyboat – Leaf
Loosers – One albino doesn’t make a summer – Ruby Red
Freddy Fresh - Humdinger - Howlin Hits - Rec's 05
The Cravats - Still - Over
Clinic - Harvest (within you) - Domino
To my boy - The Grid - xl
Joanna Newson - Cosmia - Drag CIty
Get Cape . Wear Cape . Fly - War of the Worlds - atlantic
The polyjesters - carnival - chateau valleaux
The Twilight Singers - live with me - One little Indian
Yippah - Again with subtitles - Ninja tunes
Gotan Project - Mi Confesion - xl
Mabulu - Bula Bula - World music networks
North Sea Radio orchestra - Every day Hath its night - oof records
Alexander 's Annexe - Push door to exit - warp
Koji Asano (Baroque Ensemble) - No.1 - solstice

His name is Josh Kring... Married a Hippy, become a filmmaker, drinks only coors light beer, says the show Lost is better than The Sopranos, thinks he can fix it in photoshop and never learn how to stop the dog....from barking...shortly after this picture was taken.....(2 seconds)...he walked into gold light and didn't return till 14 months later....minus two fingers and a head full of gray hair he lives in a small town in Gerogia

For whatever it was we did to upset you*, we are truly repentent and do most humbly apologise. We further beseech you not to retaliate to future unwitting transgressions with bombardments of flying windblown faeces, but instead to come inside for tea and insects so that we may discuss the issue and reach a mediated solution acceptable to all parties. Yours truly and bow-scrapingly, Urbans.*We

Levi's is releasing of the world's first fully sustainable denims from a major label.

Starting tomorrow 20 Levi's stores across the UK will be stocking the company's new eco jeans featuring completely organic materials and fully certified sustainable production processes. Based on the company's 570 style for women and 506 for men, the new eco jeans will feature 100% organic cotton denim, coconut shell wasteband button, non-galvanised metal fly buttons, and colours produced from potato starch, mimosa flower and Marseille soap.

Unfortunately, environmental groups have again managed to alienate themselves from an environmental victory by creating a downer out of good news. Jessa Latona of the Centre for Alternative Technology used her 2 second sound bite to bemoan rampant consumption rather than to embrace sustainable business.

"Switching to organic cotton and reducing carbon emissions at manufacturing will hopefully become the norm for the fashion industry,"

"However, rather than running to the shops tomorrow and buying a new pair of jeans, consumers could create their own eco wardrobe by recycling and reusing old clothes - getting creative with last season's jeans rather than throwing them out.

I would suggest that rather than searching for ways to criticize sustainable business solutions, Ms. Latona would do well to get creative with her PR opportunities and look for ways to lend momentum to an admirable initiative by Levi's. The most effective thing environmental groups can do is endorse this effort and push other companies to follow suit.

Just 30,000 pairs are being produced for the European launch, but by next winter the company hopes to expand the green friendly range to include more organic choices in their popular Red Tab styles, and they are leaving the door open for incorporating the same sustainable materials and practices throughout other products lines. The one drawback to the new jeans is cost with the initial sticker price set at approximately £80 (roughly $175 Canadian). However, the price should fall as Levi's increases volume and expands the sustainable design into other styles over the coming months.

I am trying to ignore the fact that I have a sore throat. I tried to ignore it last night too, and enjoy my birthday dinner out. We went to a place called The Last Supper, and it was really excellent: superb food, atmosphere, and some half-way decent live music. Unfortunately both Cowboy and I marked ourselves out from the crowd by yawning our way through dinner. Still, I feel that I have

The BC government excels in supplying warm and fuzzy sound bites on its environmental record and commitment to reduce greenhouse gases, but at no time has their true commitment been more clearly demonstrated than in the past week.

While the public gathers at Environment Minister Barry Penner's office to protest BC's newly approved coal fired power plants which will single handedly increase BC's carbon dioxide emissions by 120%, Premier Gordon Campbell declared that BC's coastal waters will be open for oil drilling within three years.

Any opening of the BC coast to oil drilling would need federal approval, and Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn has stated point blank that addressing this issue is not in the federal government's plans, but Campbell has continued to pursue the issue despite consistent opposition from the public and the feds.

And so, while the overwhelming majority of British Columbians oppose coal power, oppose oil development and support action on global warming, the BC Liberals continue in their own commitment - to the fossil fuel industry and to moving British Columbia away from a sustainable energy future.

Here's a fun quiz and some little known facts about turkeys to help you pass the time between the parade and dinner. Happy turkey day everyone!read more | digg story

"Cell phone owners will be allowed to break software locks on their handsets in order to use them with competing carriers under new copyright rules announced Wednesday."read more | digg story

You know that Margaret Atwood quote? "...everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise." That's exactly how I feel. Today is my 29th birthday. So far I have had a lovely day: Cowboy woke me up before he went to work, to give me a cup of tea and my presents. I got some fabulous things. Activist sent me a copy of "I Am A Bird Now", by Antony & The Johnsons, which I love;

British Columbia is continuing its march towards the dark ages by pursuing coal fired generation plants.

To date, no coal fired power station has been built in BC, but the Liberal government plans to change that by awarding a contract to build a new coal power plant in Princeton, BC.

Coal power plants are North America's number one source of mercury. And while 1 in 12 American women of child bearing years have blood mercury level high enough to harm an unborn baby, BC has remained blissfully free of similar health concerns thanks to a legacy of responsible choice in favour of clean energy.

BC now faces a choice - to honour and continue that legacy by embracing the province's massive untapped potential for renewable energy, or cave in to business pressure and fossil fuel reliance while causing mercury pollution and a 120% increase in the province's greenhouse gas emissions.

The BC Liberal government was one of many groups active in the Sumas Energy 2 battle (SE2), which successfully stopped an American natural gas burning plant from being built directly across the border, citing air quality concerns for Canadians. Now Canadian residents are being asked to shoulder the health and climate impacts of coal power by the same government that opposed SE2.

Citizen's opposing BC's use of coal are encouraged to attend a protest rally at B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner’s office in Chilliwack on Thursday afternoon.

Details of tomorrow's rally below:

• Date: Thursday, November 23rd.
• Time: 3:30 p.m
• Location: #105 – 8615 Young Street, Chilliwack, BC
  

Now that a Democratic Congress and Senate (pun intended) has been elected, you can help keep momentum rolling by sending a letter to the new Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, and the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, urging swift action on global warming and clean energy.

Follow this link to send a letter to each courtesy of the League of Conservation Voters action page. The action letter is open to all nations.

There is a perception by many that genetically modified food is a cure all for world poverty and food crises. What if you were to hear that an unintended side effect of eating genetically modified (GMO) foods could be infectious diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as mad cow disease?

This is the threat uncovered by a former Monsanto employee, who has tried and failed to bring such concerns to company management, with the result that an unknown amount of potentially toxic substances is making their way into the food you eat because of the actual technique used by Monsanto to create genetically engineered crops.

Monsanto modifies the genes of existing plants through a technique known as gene insertion. By using a device called a "gene gun" researchers bombard plant tissue with new genes. After firing new genetic material into existing cotton, corn or rice cells, the new genetic information gets imbedded into the existing plant cells resulting in a new variation of the crop (for example it will be resistant to pesticides like RoundUp, allowing farmers to use the chemical to kill off weeds without killing the crop).

The catch is that in addition to inserting the new gene, the technique damages other genes in the plant as well, leading to malformed proteins within the plants DNA. Why does this matter? Diseases such as mad cow disease are caused by certain malformed proteins, and although it would be downright misleading to say that gene insertion causes mad cow disease, it is 100% valid to say that it causes malformed proteins with unknown health effects, and that these new proteins are not being tested or monitored to ensure human safety.

Kirk (a former Monsanto employee) understood that particle bombardment can cause unpredictable changes and mutations in the DNA, which might result in new types of proteins.

Kirk had just been studying mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) and its human counterpart, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). These fatal diseases had been tracked to a class of proteins called prions. Short for “proteinaceous infectious particles,” prions are improperly folded proteins, which cause other healthy proteins to also become misfolded. Over time, they cause holes in the brain, severe dysfunction and death.

When Kirk tried to share his concerns with the (Monsanto) scientist, he realized, “He had no idea what I was talking about; he had not even heard of prions. “These Monsanto scientists are very knowledge about traditional products, like chemicals, herbicides and pesticides, but they don’t understand the possible harmful outcomes of genetic engineering, such as prion proteins. So I am explaining to him about the potential untoward effects of these foreign proteins, but he just did not understand.”

Worse news still is the amount of time it may take for any health impacts to come to light. Diseases caused by malformed proteins may not show up in humans for decades, in the case of mad cow for up to 30 years. The point being that we are not going to know if the GMO food we are eating today is safe until some time towards the middle of the century.

Not only are Monsanto and biotech industry incapable of ensuring the safety of their products, but this article demonstrates something about the real motivation behind the development of GMO food. Rather than ending world hunger, the true goal is the successful patenting and ownership of our food resources by private corporations. Ask any CEO with a high school education what the perfect money making business is and you will get the following answer - the monopolistic control of a perfectly inelastic good.

What better money making enterprise could there be then having sole ownership over the food we eat?

A story that made the front page of Digg had said saved games on a Wii will not transfer to another Wii. That story was inaccurate, or just plain wrong. The problem occurs when a Wii is bricked after the first update and cannot d/l the second. If both consoles have both updates, the saves will transfer without question.read more | digg story

Start Date: Aug 6, 2006 Lost to date: 44 lbs.

So, here I am, three and one-half months into my new way of life, and I haven't set any weight-loss records or anything but I'm doing okay by really counting both carbs and calories, counting total carbs instead of net carbs, and sticking with "real" food.

And then, lo and behold, through a contest at Livin La Vida Low Carb, I win a shopping spree at the fine low-carb superstore at Viva Low Carband I discovered that there are lots more low-carb snack foods than when I did Atkins many moons ago. Yesterday, my big box of snacks arrived, and as I looked at my haul I realized I was trying to replicate the binge-snacking of my high-carb days with low-carb binge foods. Let's see, I had some Just the Cheese snack rounds, which thankfully now come in a low-sodium version, and I found myself checking to see what the carb cost of eating the whole bag would be (that answer would be: 4). The whole bag of Texas Cinnamon-flavored pork rinds: 5. I found myself thinking: maybe I CAN count net carbs and not total carbs.

In other words, I found myself on a slippery slope. Having low-carb treats does not mean a carte-blanche pass into low-carb binging. It's time to see if the iron-will self-control I've managed to muster when faced with mountains of high-carb treats can hold over to learning to enjoy low-carb treats in moderation.

I've never been good at moderation, otherwise I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. But guess there's no time like the present to learn.

Worldy goods!A van full of removal men arrived two hours earlier than they said they would, and I welcomed them with a giant sigh of relief. Since I had received no confirming telephone call from the removal subcontractor, a slight doubt that the worldly goods would arrive today had entered into my mind.I had to stand in my kitchen and tick boxes off an inventory list as six burly men carried

Start Date: Aug 6, 2006 Lost to date: 44 lbs.

Thanksgiving approaches, and there's a cajun-spice-injected turkey with my name on it about to be slipped into a vat of peanut oil and fried within an inch of its life. I don't know who invented fried turkey, or under what circumstances, but it's a great way to avoid the tasteless, dry bird on national Turkey Day.

I have to confess here that I'm going to set a bad example of low-carbers everywhere on Thanksgiving. I'm not even attempting to stay legal. I'm eating what the family eats, and sending the leftovers packing. On Friday, it's back to the grindstone and hopefully I'll feel gross and bloated enough to make getting back on track easier.

1. Driving my new-to-me car to the petrol station and not knowing how to open the pannel so the attendant could fill it up (yes, they have attendants in NZ).2. Assuming that the man who left what in London counts as large gap in traffic was letting me out. After all, I did have my indicator on. Apparently, he just felt like leaving a gap and then speeding up into it. Horn honking. Everyone

The Hetch Hetchy valley, which in the eyes of many rivals Yosemite in sheer drama and beauty, was flooded in the 1920s to supply water and power to California residents. Now environmentalists are bolstered by a recently released government report stating that the restoration of the valley would be both viable and potentially desirable.

The dismantling of the dam in Hetch Hetchy would represent a symbolic act of renewal while providing an invaluable learning opportunity to test best practices for environmental reclamation in a living, breathing laboratory.

At the moment we really don't know what exactly will work best unless we give it a go,' said Joy Zedler, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin, who has created a phased restoration plan. Scientists hope to learn much about how to restore a landscape from what is likely to be little more than a moonscape of mud when first revealed. That knowledge will boost reclamation projects around the world. Zedler believes they will amass information that will be used globally

The proposed project has gained widespread support, including that of Harrison Ford, who was involved in making a documentary that backs the plan. However, cost remains the biggest hurdle to the successful implementation of the project, with estimates ranging from $1 billion to $10 billion all in.

Despite the cost hurdles, the plan is not without precedent. In the Florida Everglades over $10 billion has been set aside to restore threatened wetlands. A similar effort in densely populated California would present a startling message of environmental values that would be sure to gain the attention of citizens and policy makers the world over.

Start Date: Aug 6, 2006 Lost to date: 44 lbs.

So, I'm getting my lunch ready to bring with me to work this morning, already dressed and ready to head out the door, when my 81-year-old mom, who lives with me and usually talks first and considers the ramifications later, remarks: "you looked like you moved an army out of those pants."

Huh? Until that moment, I didn't realize that these khakis were all of a sudden seriously too big. I realized they were barely hanging on. When did that happen, and how did I miss it?

I think people who are significantly overweight, either subconsciously or out of habit, stop paying attention to how their clothes fit. If it buttons, it's great. A little baggy? Even better. We defiantly value comfort over style and fit--not because we don't like the way we look, of course, but because we're practical, down-to-earth people and we're above such shallow concerns as style and fit.

Yeah, right. Yet I find myself almost paralyzed at the thought of buying new clothes. I don't know what size to buy. Egads. I might have to actually go to a store and try something on. Oh well, I won't think about that today. I'll just schlep around in my army-moving pants a little while longer.

summer days are gone...its cold here...61. The last two winters I have lived without heat in my apartment. I think its time to go buy a heater.

Everyone's seen The Breakfast Club. Some, more than others: some, maybe even eight or nine times. Some of us even own the soundtrack on CD.I want you to access the deep recesses of your mind: recall the scene in the library where the kids are an hour or two into the detention and Elizabeth Daily's classic "Waiting" plays over scenes of each character undertaking various activities in a vain

Click to enlarge.

Audio

Rusko – SNES dub – Dub Police
Hu Vibrational – Meta M’bulu – Bonghee Music bm3
Whistla – 7th ray dub – Ox Rider Records
Jackie Mittoo – Grand funk – Light In The Attic
Carlton & the Shoes – Happy land – Soul Jazz
Marlon Asher – Ganja farmer – Greensleeves
John Fahey – Commerative Transfiguration and Communion at Magruder Park – Vanguard
Sandro Perri – Romeo heart (slight return) Constellation
Anga Diaz – A Love Supreme – World Circuit
Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchitananda – Impulse
Barbara Morgenstern – Basia has got the blues – Gusstaff Records
Martin Rev – Temptation - Soul Jazz
Dennis Alcapone - Ball of Confusion - Trojan
The skygreen Leopards - Disciplines of california - cosmos recordings
Kid Congo Powers - Sophisticated Boom Boom - Transolar Records
Tinariwen - Oualahila Ar Tesinam - Union square
Paul Rooney - Lucy Over Lancashire - SueMi Records - www.suemi.de
Alpha 606 - Anarchy in China - Touchin' Bass
The Black Dog - Virtual - BBE

More from my father's stock of short poems to make your children laugh:Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bearFuzzy Wuzzy had no hairFuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy,Was he?I have seen this one attributed to Rowena Califf, and there is a wikipedia on it here.

Delegates at the international conference on climate change have agreed to set a timetable to cut greenhouse gas emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 during meetings in 2008. The announcement came on the last day of the two week conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

Among the provisions for the timetalbe is an agreement not to force mandatory cuts in the greenhouse gas emissions of developing nations like China - a move that is fair will likely cause continued resistance from President Bush in cutting US emissions.

Fifteen years ago I watched Highlander 2, the heinous sequel to the entertaining original, that features a future Earth cloaked in an artificially generated ozone "shield" meant to protect humanity from the effects of a shattered ozone layer.

Fast forward to the present day where at the ongoing UN Climate Conference Paul J. Crutzen of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Chemistry is proposing a similar solution to the global warming crisis.

Leveraging the theory of 'global hazing' Crutzen has put forward the idea that we can combat global warming by intentionally releasing massive quantities of airborne pollutants to block out the rays of the sun.

And while Mr. Crutzen admits that he tabled the proposal "to startle the policy makers" and that he is "not enthusiastic about it", it is apparently gaining the attention of all the wrong people including NASA's Ames Research Center who is reportedly hosting a closed-door workshop on the global haze proposal and other "geoengineering" ideas for mitigating climate change.

That such an extreme solution is being considered when established co2 reduction techniques and energy conservation strategies remain shelved disturbingly reveals how committed policy makers and business leaders are to the deluded idea that mankind can control nature through technology.

There's only one possible good that can come from such a proposal. That by stampeding blindly into embracing the money making potential of this "solution", chemical manufacturers totally annihilate big oil's propaganda attempts to convince us that global warming doesn't exist.

During the last couple of years I have been conducting an increasingly frantic quest to find products I am not allergic to. My body reacts violently (with associated rashes and itching) to many expensive products, viz skincare, make-up and other products applied to the skin, including washing powders.Here, then, is the story of my search for deodorant. NaBloPoMo made me do it.I had always used

All residents of Greater Vancouver are urged to boil their water before drinking, brushing teeth and washing food for an indefinite period of time.

The warning comes on the heels of yesterday's record storm that left 200,000 Lower Mainland residents without power and resulted in a level of water turbidity never seen in the area due to large amounts of mud and dirt falling into the regions three reservoirs.

In the coming days, CBC Newsworld will be repeating "The Denial Machine", a special documentary on the disinformation campaign forwarded by the fossil fuel industry to deceive citizens about the greatest threat to the future of our planet.

The Denial Machine investigates the roots of the campaign to negate the science and the threat of global warming. It tracks the activities of a group of scientists, some of whom previously consulted for Big Tobacco, and who are now receiving donations from major coal and oil companies.

You can tune into CBC Newsworld on the date and times listed below, or view the program with Media Player at the Fifth Estate website. View the trailer at the bottom of this post and mark your calendars.

Upcoming showtimes:

• Friday November 17 at 10pm ET
• Saturday November 18 at 1 am, 4am & 9am ET
• Sunday November 19 at6 am & 7pm ET
• Tuesday November 21 at 4am ET
  

After taking over control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in last week's elections, Democrats have begun to push President Bush into accepting hard limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Barbara Boxer of California, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut - three powerful Democrats who will be heading key environmental committees - issued a letter to Bush yesterday urging the President to urged Bush to work with them "to signal to the world that global warming legislation is on the way."

"The recent elections have signaled a need to change direction in many areas, including global warming," the senators wrote. "If we are to leave our children a world that resembles the earth we inherited, we must act now to address GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions.

"When the 110th Congress begins in January, we pledge to work to pass an effective system of mandatory limits on greenhouse gases."

The battle will be a tough one, as Bush's representative to the UN Climate Conference, Paula Dobriansky, reaffirmed the US government's anti-Kyoto stance. It remains to see if the new balance of power in Washington will result in action on global warming or legislative gridlock.

Boxer is the incoming chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Bingaman is to chair the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Lieberman will chair the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Screw down my diodes and call me Frank, I have a banner image! It's a photo I took in Cornwall last Christmas, and with some judicious cropping and clear coding advice, I am the Reigning Queen of banner images.All thanks to the lovely kate. Finally, someone in the Blogger help forum with clear instructions that actually work. No matter how many times 'Vin' posted the link to his webpage of

In the latest spin effort by the two time defending Fossil of the Day award winner, Canadian Environment Minister Rona Ambrose used her speech at the UN Climate Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, to try to convince the world that Kyoto is being used by opposition parties to divide Canada.

Ms Ambrose cites the Tory Clean Air Act - legislation so thoroughly criticized by Canadian media and opposition parties that she can no longer talk about it in her own country - as proof of the Conservative's commitment.

Fortunately, the international community is not buying her line any more than Canadians are. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin responded to Canadian inaction by urging the European Union to impose a punitive import tax on goods from countries such as Canada that refuse to sign on to a tougher second phase of the global warming deal.

Dominique de Villepin said countries that do not commit to new targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions should not be allowed to benefit by avoiding the costs associated with reducing global warming. He said France would make specific proposals for the European Union to discuss in the new year.

Environment Minister Rona Ambrose was not aware of the details of the French proposal

The other thing that Ms. Ambrose seems unaware of is that her Conservatives are a minority government, representing a minority of Canadians. The majority of this country supports Kyoto as well as strong action on climate change, so it is you Ms Ambrose who are attempting to divide the country on this issue. Not the other way around.

I guess Tony Blair must read The Conscious Earth. Last month, I wrote a piece addressing the critics call for yearly reductions in greenhouse gas emissions rather than the British government's originally proposed 10 year targets.

Ideally, there is probably a happy middle ground to be found. Legally binding annual cuts in greenhouse gases are undesirable for the same reason balanced budget legislation is a poor fiscal policy. They unduly restrict the responsiveness of governments to unforeseen needs and emergencies. Unexpected events do and will occur and can often push a nation into debt for a given year, whether that debt is measured in dollars or carbon dioxide makes little difference. The point is to remain financially, and environmentally sustainable over time.

In today's Queen's Speech, the government announced its new climate change bill promising five-year targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions, and suggesting that an independent commission - rather than ministers - would set the targets. Those targets would in-turn be set within the context of a legal commitment to cut CO2 emissions by 60% from 1990 levels by 2050.

Bang on.

It is now for the government to make good on its promises by passing the bill intact and undiluted. In doing so, they would set an example for most the world to follow.

In what is likely the world's most aggressive action against SUV's, London mayor Ken Livingstone has unveiled plans to charge the highest polluting vehicles £25 per day to drive in the central city. Meanwhile, cars with the lowest emissions, including electric vehicles and hybrids would receive a 100% exemption.

Mr Livingstone said they would have three years to trade their cars in for less polluting vehicles, and those considering the purchase of a Band G (high emission) vehicle should consider the additional cost.

The move is both correct and visionary for placing the costs of carbon emissions where they belong - on the consumers who choose polluting vehicles over efficient one.

The World Resource Institute has offered a new perspective on US greenhouse gas emissions. By looking at carbon dioxide contributions of each state, they shed new light on the magnitude of the United States' impact on global warming.

As the article points out, if the individual states were ranked as nations six of them would rank among the top 30 greenhouse gas emitters in the world- Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Florida.

Slicing the numbers a different way, the map below shows how the greenhouse gas emissions of other countries compare to the US. In short, it would take the sum total of all emissions from Brazil, Russia, India, the UK, South Korea and Canada to equal that of the United States.

Start Date: Aug 6, 2006
Lost to date: 40.4 lbs.
Still to go: Triple digits

Finally hit the 40+ mark--yea!! It's funny how, when you have a lot of weight to lose, it takes a long time for people to really notice. No one has, so far, but I can see subtle changes in the shape of an arm, the watchband that's suddenly too loose, and I'm wearing clothes that four months ago I couldn't get into at all. I remember my buddy Jimmy Moore, in chronicling his amazing 180-pound loss in "Living La Vida Low-Carb" (the book), talking about it taking a while for people to notice that he was losing weight.

In a strange way, it's almost easier when no one is paying attention, I think. You're wearing the same clothes--they just fit better. Once people start noticing, then the pressure's on to keep it up. I guess it's that "as long as no one notices I'm losing weight, I could fail without it being so public" mentality that accompanies you when you've failed at diet after diet, year after year.

How do you get past that?

Fifty-six countries are responsible for 90% of the world's greenhouse gases emissions, and Canada ranks a dismal 51st when it comes to providing meaningful action to reduce those emissions.

This is the result of a report issued today that combines each country's emissions levels, emissions trends and climate policy to calculate an overall ranking for each. Canada's performance placed them behind 47th place Australia who did not even sign the Kyoto Accord, while the United States placed 53rd with only China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia faring worse.

The report was announced in the midst of the latest international climate conference in Nairobi, Kenya, where members of Canada's opposition parties, and representatives of Quebec, have lambasted Federal Environment Minister Rona Ambrose in advance of her arrival at the conference.

Liberal and Bloc Québécois environment critics John Godfrey and Bernard Bigras joined Bechard and the environmental groups, urging the government to recommit to the Kyoto targets. NDP critic Nathan Cullen is expected at the UN meeting today, but was unable to attend the news conference because of a scheduling problem.

Meantime, Bigras handed out to delegates from other countries copies of a letter he wrote, on the House of Commons letterhead, that denounced the Harper government and highlighted the majority support among Canadian MPs for the Kyoto Protocol.

Environmental groups have also chimed in, awarding Ms. Ambrose the Fossil of the Day award for the government's non-existent performance in addressing global warming.

Despite her tough talk, international environmental groups gave her their "fossil of the day" award for making "ridiculous claims" about Canada meeting all of its Kyoto commitments except for the targets.

"What kind of misleading nonsense is this from the ex-chair of the conference of parties (to the Kyoto protocol)?" asked Greenpeace Canada spokesman Steven Guilbeault. "It's absolutely scandalous."

Ms. Ambrose will have an opportunity to pick her own bones with critics on Wednesday when she is expected to address the conference on behalf of the Conservative government.

Today I feel like I have regressed. One of the aims of coming to Kiwi-land was to reduce stress, find better living, have more space, and generally chill the fuck out for a while. Until today, I was well on the road achieving this.I was having a decent morning of organising things: speaking to the dude in charge of the excavation of the road to the Urban HillFort and ensuring that the lorry

Amidst the frequent backdrop of gloomy environmental news, the American National Academy of Sciences is reporting that deforestation has ceased or reversed in a host of key nations throughout the globe including the United States, Russia, Vietnam, Chile, most of Europe - and most surprisingly - within the rapidly developing economies of China and India.

The report covers the world's 50 most forested countries, excluding Canada who stopped conducting national inventories in 1990 because of internal disputes regarding how to conduct the surveys.

Though widespread deforestation notably continues in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria and the Philippines, the report projects that the tendency towards reforestation will continue, with most countries restoring their forests within 20 to 30 years.

Start Date: Aug 6, 2006
Lost to date: 37 lbs.
Still to go: Triple digits

I did one of those "Lifeline" screenings yesterday--you know the ones. You pay $125 or so, and they do ultrasound scans to tell you if you have blocked carotid arteries or osteoporosis or peripheral vascular disease or an aortal aneurysm. I have never had any of those tests before, so I figured, why not? I toyed with the idea of telling them I'd been eating low carb for more than three months but why ruin the day of these robotic techs who make their living traveling from church to school to meeting hall, running ultrasounds on hypochondriacs?

It's actually a good thing to do, though, especially for someone who is overweight and has marginal medical care. Often, I'm afraid, these things go hand in hand. I have only to get within 20 yards of my doctor, who I call "M.D. Lite" behind her back, before she's pulling out the 1,200-calorie low-fat diet sheet. I could wallpaper every room in my house with them. Got a sniffle? Go on a diet! Have an earache? Reduce those calories and cut out that fat! Sheesh.

Anyway, the screeners didn't find anything worth rushing me to a hospital for yesterday so in three weeks I'll get my results in the mail.

ooooooooo Lyla

In a good follow up to my previous post, below is a comment from over decade ago on the cost of addressing global warming.

"To live in a (sustainable) future, we require a design. To pay the bills from the past, we need a means. To act we need a way to serve. For those who say that times are tough, that we can ill afford sweeping changes because the existing sytem is already broke or hobbled, consider that the US and the former USSR spent over $10 tillion on the Cold War, enough money to replace the entire infrastructure of the world, every shcool, every hospital, every roadway, building and farm.

"In other words, we bought and sold the whole world in order to defeat a political movement. To now assert that we don't have the resources to build a restorative economy is ironic, since the threats we face today are actually happening, whereas the threats of the post-war nuclear stand-off were about the possibility of destruction."

- Paul Hawken, The Ecology of Commerce

The European Court of Justice, responsible for trying European Union (EU) law, is threatening to take the UK to court for its ongoing failure to curb greenhouse gases in commercial buildings. Specifically, Britain has not implemented the EU building directive that requires governments to label all public buildings on a sliding A-G scale to indicate their level of energy efficiency.

Predictably, property developers are leading the opponents to the initiative, complaining that rating the energy efficiency of buildings will cause ones with a low score to lose value as companies renting office space will choose more highly rated buildings in order to protect their environmental reputation.

Congratulations folks, that is the whole point. Like energy ratings for appliances and light bulbs, and mileage standards for cars, telling customers how energy efficient their office spaces are is the most direct way to encourage efficient design as well as the redevelopment of older offices to meet more climate friendly standards. Putting better standards on appliances and cars has never resulted in putting GE and major motor companies out of business, and better building standards are not about end the property development industry.

In order for the world to successfully address climate change the business community is going to have to stop derailing solid policy and start living up to what it purports to be - champions of the free market. In their own language, a successful business is the result of survival of the fittest, and in the coming era the fittest for survival will be the leanest and most efficient, not the most wasteful and lazy.

Business has no problem with seeing other companies fail in the face of superior competition. The time is fast coming when the best competitors will be the ones that work with the environment and not against it. For those who cannot make that grade, let them fall. Competition will supply a better alternative.

Last night, for the first time, the earth moved for Cowboy and I. Literally, not figuratively.As you can see from the picture below, Aotearoa lies directly on a fault line, which accounts for its spectacular beauty, but also for the 15,000 earthquakes that show up on the boffins' equipment every year. Between 100 and 150 of those can be felt by humans.In the temporary accommodation, we got all

Today's post comes from an Internet café in Cuzco, Peru, so if all of the apostrophes end up looking like some sort of Turkish money denomination, blame the Peruvian government and their insistence on using keyboards that favor their own language to mine.

I bet that Coach was one of the least successful shows ever ported to an international audience. The whole premise of the show revolves around the admittedly limited sport of American Football; specifically college football at an invented university in a relatively obscure state.

I can imagine your typical Argentine or Hungarian man, unable to sleep one night and flipping through the channels on his small, non-Japanese television, when what should he see, but a poorly dubbed comedic show featuring a bunch of tall Americans talking about things he has never heard of. Seriously, how would you translate jokes about defensive backs and quarterback sneaks in to Hungarian?

More than anything, this man would be completely confused. "What the hell is this?" he would probably say, but he would say it in whatever language he actually spoke, not English as implied above.

However, I bet all of his confusion would be put to rest when Luther came in wearing some sort of outlandish suit, or maybe those cellophane glasses the eye doctor gives you after he dialates your pupils. Then, my friends, our poor sleepless man would laugh himself back to a peaceful slumber.

Ah Luther, the great international equilizer.