Eideard

Photo by Julie Denesha/Getty Images

Record snowfall, killer tornadoes, devastating floods: There’s no doubt about it. Since Dec. 2010, the weather in the USA has been positively wild. But why?

Some recent news reports have attributed the phenomenon to an extreme “La Niña,” a band of cold water stretching across the Pacific Ocean with global repercussions for climate and weather. But NASA climatologist Bill Patzert names a different suspect: “La Nada.”

“La Niña was strong in December,” he says. “But back in January it pulled a disappearing act and left us with nothing – La Nada – to constrain the jet stream. Like an unruly teenager, the jet stream took advantage of the newfound freedom–and the results were disastrous…”

“By mid-January 2011, La Niña weakened rapidly and by mid-February it was ‘adios La Niña,’ allowing the jet stream to meander wildly around the US. Consequently the weather pattern became dominated by strong outbreaks of frigid polar air, producing blizzards across the West, Upper Midwest, and northeast US.”

The situation lingered into spring — and things got ugly. Russell Schneider, Director of the NOAA-NWS Storm Prediction Center, explains:

“First, very strong winds out of the south carrying warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico met cold jet stream winds racing in from the west. Stacking these two air masses on top of each other created the degree of instability that fuels intense thunderstorms.”

Extreme contrasts in wind speeds and directions of the upper and lower atmosphere transformed ordinary thunderstorms into long-lived rotating supercells capable of producing violent tornadoes.2
In Patzert’s words, “The jet stream — on steroids — acted as an atmospheric mix master, causing tornadoes to explode across Dixie and Tornado Alleys, and even into Massachusetts…”

All this because of a flaky La Niña..?

And of course there’s this million dollar question: “Does any research point to climate change as a cause of this wild weather?”

“Global warming is certainly happening,” asserts Patzert, “but we can’t discount global warming or blame it for the 2011 tornado season. We just don’t know … Yet.”

Not that non-scientists won’t leap to negative conclusions as a result.

Not that anti-scientists won’t leap to stupid conclusions as a result.

More than 350 million people in the world now have diabetes, an international study has revealed. The analysis, published online by the Lancet on Saturday, adds several tens of millions to the previous estimate of the number of diabetics and indicates that the disease has become a major global health problem…

The dramatic and disturbing increase is blamed by scientists on the spread of a western-style diet to developing nations, which is causing rising levels of obesity. Researchers also say that increased life expectancy is playing a major role…

“Diabetes … is set to become the single largest burden on world health care systems,” one of the study’s main authors, Professor Majid Ezzati, of Imperial College London, told the Observer…

The study – funded by the World Health Organisation and the Gates Foundation – analysed blood from 2.7 million participants aged 25 and over from across the world over a three-year period…

The team then used advanced statistical methods to estimate prevalence rates among the participants. It was estimated that the number of adults with diabetes was 347 million, more than double the 153 million estimated in 1980 and considerably higher even than a 2009 study that put the number at 285 million…

It was found that in the US glucose levels had risen at more than twice the rate of western Europe over the past three decades. In wealthy nations, diabetes and glucose levels were highest in the US, Malta, New Zealand and Spain, and lowest in the Netherlands, Austria and France…

I’m fond to point out that condemning fast food restaurants because they serve unhealthy food is akin to cautioning people to stay out of grocery stores because they are full of aisles and aisles of cookies and sugary cereals. It’s what you pick to eat, folks. The coronary corollary to this is that if people don’t order it, they won’t sell it.

Differences? Well, Mueller prefers a .40 calibre Glock

Private information about Google users was demanded by governments or police a total of 14,201 times in 26 developed countries in the last six months of last year, according to figures released for the first time by the internet giant…

In an effort to highlight the amount of online censorship that exists, Google disclosed that it had received more requests from the United States than anywhere else – and that it complied with anywhere from three-quarters to more than 90% of the requests depending on which country they were made in…

Google began releasing its half-yearly Transparency Report in April 2010 as a way to highlight state censorship of the internet. “For the first time, we’re disclosing the reasons behind requests for content removal and the percentages of user data requests we comply with, in whole or in part,” a Google spokesman said…

The figures show that Brazil still leads the way in requesting that Google removes content from its services, with 263 orders, ahead of South Korea, Germany, Libya and India…

Google also, for the first time, revealed that it had received no content removal requests from Chinese authorities in the latter part of 2010. Google began redirecting Chinese users to its uncensored Hong Kong site in June 2010 amid allegations of state spying.

No surprises here for me. Considering it’s been 47 years since the first time I had a couple of FBI agents show up where I worked in an attempt to scare me off from continued opposition to the VietNam War.

Over the years you develop a bit of a callus on the bits of your freedom that stick out and are abraded by hypocrites in and out of government who prattle about this land of liberty. The Patriot Act is only something new and threatening to those who’ve never gotten off their rusty dusty and offered public dissent to American bigotry, foreign policy and snoops in general.

 
Thanks, Ursarodinia

 
This was the view at sunset, last night – looking just north of west at Las Conchas fire smoke plume. The wildfire grew from about 1000 acres at sunset to about 6000 acres overnight. 8-12 miles away as the raven flies.

Los Alamos National Labs are closed today as are schools and everything else in Los Alamos County. The communities of Los Alamos and White Rock started voluntary evacuations. Several smaller communities closer to the fire totaling 400 households or so were under mandatory evacuation.

The fire is within a mile of LANL boundaries, this morning – and everyone from Homeland Security to surrounding county fire departments are added to the fire crews. We all remember the fire that destroyed hundreds of home in Los Alamos several years back and hope to stop that being repeated.

Yes – it’s west of us. That ain’t good. Prevailing summer winds vary from south to west. Air quality this morning is abysmal. The smell of smoke woke me during the night. It’s settling into La Cieneguilla Valley pretty thick. I’ll have a better idea after sunrise.

We’re probably safe; but, safe doesn’t mean a whole boatload with wildfires until they’re contained. Even then, with Rocky Mountain winds – any fire can jump containment.

UPDATE: Folks who haven’t lived in the Southwest aren’t used to the numbers describing size out here. We have wildfires bigger than cities in other parts of the country. In the last 6 hours the fire has grown from 6000 to 44000 acres. Two or three dozen woodlands homes are gone. Families got out with the clothes on their back and not much else.

Backfires and burn outs appear to have blocked the fire from the two main population centers, White Rock and Los Alamos. Winds have changed again and are headed into unburned timber towards Jemez Springs. For the moment.

UPDATE 2: Los Alamos is now under a mandatory evacuation. Shifting winds, strong winds – no one’s safety can be guaranteed.

The evacuation order does not include White Rock – though residents are urged NOT to go to White Rock in case that community is added to the evacuation. Los Alamos residents are divided into three groups to aid in an orderly evacuation and the reverse 911 system is in effect making robocalls to residents to let them know when it’s time for their section of the town to evacuate. [2PM MDT, 27 June 2011]

UPDATE 3: Los Alamos is now mostly empty of residents. Streets are patrolled by local cops, state police and the national guard to prevent looting. The fire is now up to 60000 acres.

UPDATE 4: Thursday 30 June, the fire is up over 92,000 acres. The town of Los Alamos looks secure; but, the spread up Santa Clara Canyon has rocketed past anything expected and the Santa Clara Pueblo and the Puye Cliff Dwellings look to be threatened.

UPDATE 5: Monday 4 July – folks are allowed to return home to Los Alamos. The fire is still burning at the northern and southern ends. Now up over 121,000 acres.

Wootton Bassett was the first town in more than 100 years to be granted
the “Royal” title in recognition of its parades for fallen soldiers

For several years, the flag-draped coffins of fallen servicemen and women have been met by large crowds who line the streets to pay their respects as they return to British soil.

But repatriation flights are to be diverted and will no longer be flown back to RAF Lyneham and through the small Wiltshire town of Royal Wootton Bassett, where they were saluted come rain or shine.

Instead, they will arrive back to RAF Brize Norton, where they will be driven through the back gate and then down side roads, neatly avoiding the nearby town of Carterton, as they make their way to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Andrew Robathan, Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, admitted that the decision to avoid public scenes of emotion had been taken deliberately.

“The side gate was seen by the Ministry of Defence and the police as the most appropriate way to take out future corteges,” he told Radio Oxford…

A spokesman added: “Consideration has also been given to ensure the dignity and solemnity of the military repatriation ceremony is maintained and to those who are arriving at RAF Brize Norton about to deploy on operations.”

In other words, “we don’t want the silly buggers still serving in the British military to see what awaits them after a decade of dishonor!”

Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

A general election that was designed to put Thailand political divisions in the past has been upended by the emergence of Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled former prime minister, as front runner.

To her supporters 44-year-old Miss Shinawatra, is “pretty, rich, clever, international”.

The businesswoman mother of one has energized the opposition Pheu Thai party ahead of next Sunday’s crucial election and left the ruling Democrats – led by Old Etonian prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva – in the doldrums…

A raft of opinion polls show Pheu Thai (For Thais) opening up a gap that will give them a lead in the 500 seat parliament and maybe even scrape over the magic 251 to allow them to form the government without recruiting smaller coalition allies.

The fresh-faced woman vying to become Thailand’s first female prime minister was a virtual unknown barely a month ago…

Mr Thaksin, 61, who lives in self-imposed exile in Dubai avoiding a two-year jail term for corruption and abuse of power, is widely seen as the power behind his sister. Yesterday he made a barely veiled plea for his return after next weekend’s election. He said. “If we cannot forget the past, we are still talking about the past and there is no way we can move ahead.”

Pheu Thai’s policy pledges are an echo of Mr Thaksin’s tax give-aways during his years in power between 2001 and 2006, before he was ejected in a military coup.

Cheap health-care, a bump in minimum wages and guaranteed prices for rice farmers top the pledges…

Gen Prayuth – a staunch loyalist of ailing 83-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej – has repeatedly said he would keep out of politics and refuted constant speculation of a coup if the election’s outcome is not to the Thai elite’s liking. But Thailand has endured 18 coups or coup attempts since 1932…

Voters are not surprisingly fearful of post-election divisions.

The fact remains that the monarchy – via the military – has pretty much intervened whenever it felt the Thai people didn’t make a democratic decision the King didn’t agree with.

Honda Motor Company has announced its 2020 CO2 emissions reduction targets to address climate change and energy issues. Honda said its global environmental slogan will be: “Blue Skies for Our Children.”

Honda has been pursuing its own environmental targets; in 2006, Honda set a goal to reduce global CO2 emissions from use of its motorcycles, automobiles and power products by 10% by the end of 2010 compared to year 2000 levels. In 2010, the goal was attained by all products.

Honda said it has now set a goal to reduce CO2 emissions from its global products by 30% by the end of 2020 compared to year 2000 levels. Furthermore, in addition to reducing CO2 emissions during production and supply chain, Honda said it will strengthen its efforts to realize reductions in CO2 emissions through its entire corporate activities. Honda will also strengthen its efforts in advancing technologies in the area of total energy management, to reduce CO2 emissions through mobility and people’s everyday lives.

The new global environmental slogan and symbol will be used with Honda’s internal and external environmental activities and communications around the world.

Anyone surprised to see an automobile company with higher environmental standards than Congress? Not so incidentally, one with a record of delivering on what it promises.

Click pic to enlarge

The first two blossoms on one of my favorite chollas out in the back meadow by the bosque.

After a long dry winter and a matching spring – courtesy of La Niña – our high desert flowers have been sparse and late. This cholla is several feet high and often has nests from a few pairs of prairie birds; so, I tend to leave it undisturbed except when I can’t resist capturing a few snaps of its brilliant flowers.

You can see another dozen or so buds in the same frame – ready to explode in the coming week.

Would you invest in this company?

Most people make a living while they’re at work. But what if you could earn a few bucks just walking to the office?

Gigwalk, a startup founded last summer in Mountain View, Calif., takes the phrase “mobile workforce” literally. The company harnesses America’s vast army of iPhone users, enlisting them to complete various “gigs” when they’re out and about.

Rates for these micro-tasks have included $5 to snap a picture of a restaurant’s chalkboard menu for an online restaurant guide, $7 to visit a wireless store and check on product placement for a cell phone manufacturer and $30 to test out a new iPhone app. Users are encouraged to work gigs into their regular routines, picking up pocket cash while they make trips to the gym or run errands.

“It’s whatever is convenient,” says Ariel Seidman, the co-founder and CEO of Gigwalk. Inspiration for the service came last spring when Seidman, 34, was the director of mobile search for Yahoo. He watched mapping companies spend exorbitant amounts of time and money dispatching contractors to gather information from far-flung locales. What if they could rely instead on iPhone users who were already there..?

“I thought it was an amazing concept,” says Jeff Clavier, a managing partner at SoftTech VC, which…invested in Gigwalk. “After five minutes I thought, ‘This is like mobile crowdsourcing…’”

Gigwalk uses iPhone owners’ GPS locations and home addresses to filter and distribute appropriate gigs for them. Once a user accepts a gig, there’s a limited time to finish it, usually a couple of days. After a completed task is approved, the user gets paid through PayPal.

Gigwalk’s biggest challenge? Getting people to take time out of their day for small payouts of just $2 to $15 apiece. Seidman says he doesn’t expect anyone to drive 15 minutes to do a $2 or $5 gig. But he hopes they’ll be willing to work multiple gigs into their morning commutes, or squeeze in a task that’s just two doors down from wherever they happen to be at the moment.

Absolutely makes sense. And only possible in what has become a qualitatively changed information age – both in terms of acquiring and distributing data.