That would be how far south?
"A woman’s brain injury from a headfirst fall from a ride at Dollywood was caused by a mix of sleet and rain that made the ride ‘‘dangerously slick’’ and a lack of safety measures, according to a lawsuit against the Tennessee theme park. Tedi A. Brown suffered permanent disabilities after the Florida woman plunged from the Waltzing Swinger ride while on vacation with her husband and five of their children in December 2013, the suit said. Defendants are Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. and Dolly Parton Productions Inc. Herschend operates and manages the theme park. Brown and her husband filed the suit recently in US District Court in Knoxville. ‘‘Out of respect for the process and as a matter of practice, Dollywood does not comment on pending litigation,’’ spokesman Pete Owens said."
Maybe we should get something to eat:
"New diet guidelines might pull back from meat" by Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press January 03, 2015
WASHINGTON — A panel that advises the US Agriculture Department appears set to recommend that Americans be told not only what foods are better for their health, but also for the environment.
I think fasting from this fart mist might be best.
That means that when the latest version of its dietary guidelines comes out, the government may push even harder than it has in recent years for people to choose more fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and other plant-based foods — at the expense of meat.
Have you seen the lunches? They suck!
The beef and agriculture industries are objecting, saying an environmental agenda has no place in what has always been a practical blueprint for a healthy lifestyle.
The advisory panel has been discussing the idea of sustainability in public meetings, indicating that its recommendations, expected early this year, may address the environment. A draft recommendation circulated last month said a sustainable diet helps ensure food access for both the current population and future generations.
While it sure smells good, this is another way to starve you so the elite can have more. I'm sure their buffet tables won't be taking a hit, nor will their fat hides.
A dietary pattern higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods is ‘‘more health promoting and is associated with lesser environmental impact than is the current average US diet,’’ the draft said.
Yeah, it's all do-gooder altruism that motivates them. That's why so many people are hungry in this country and why food stamp use is at an all-time high.
That appears to take at least partial aim at the beef industry. A study by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last year said raising beef for the American dinner table is more harmful to the environment than other meat industries such as pork and chicken.
See? They want you to lower your standard of living. Chicken or pork, just as good (isn't) and cheaper!
The study said that compared with other popular animal proteins, beef produces more heat-trapping gases per calorie, puts out more water-polluting nitrogen, takes more water for irrigation, and uses more land.
Maybe we should be more like India. Could wash down the vegan meal with a beer even.
As the advisory committee has discussed the idea, doctors and academics on the panel have framed sustainability in terms of conserving food resources and also what are the healthiest foods.
There is ‘‘compatibility and overlap’’ between what’s good for health and good for the environment, the panel says.
Once the recommendations are made, the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments will craft the final dietary guidelines, expected about a year from now.
Published every five years, the guidelines are the basis for USDA’s ‘‘My Plate’’ icon that replaced the well-known food pyramid in 2010 and is designed to help Americans with healthy eating.
Guidelines will also be integrated into school lunch patterns and other federal eating programs.
The meat industry has fought for years to ensure that the dietary guidelines do not call for eating less meat.
Currently, the guidelines recommend eating lean meats instead of reducing meat altogether.
But another draft discussed at the panel’s Dec. 15 meeting says a healthy dietary pattern includes fewer ‘‘red and processed meats.’’
In response, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association sent out a statement by doctor and cattle producer Richard Thorpe calling the committee biased and the meat recommendation absurd. He said lean beef has a role in healthy diets.
Objections are coming from Congress, too.
A massive year-end spending bill enacted last month noted the advisory committee’s interest in the environment and directed Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack ‘‘to only include nutrition and dietary information, not extraneous factors’’ in final guidelines.
Congress often uses such nonbinding directions to put a department on notice that lawmakers will push back if the executive branch moves forward.
Environmentalists are pushing the committee and the government to go the route being considered.
‘‘We need to make sure our diets are in alignment with our natural resources and the need to reduce climate change,’’ said Kari Hamerschlag, with the advocacy group Friends of the Earth.
Michael Jacobson, from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the idea of broader guidelines isn’t unprecedented. They have already been shaped to address physical activity and food safety, he said.
‘‘You don’t want to recommend a diet that is going to poison the planet,’’ he said.
Like pesticides and herbicides, or even worse, GMOs?
--more--"
Look, I'm not saying you should eat crap, but what's that squirming around in your lunch box?
What's next, a shit sandwich?
See you at the shit pit!
And just in case you forgot:
"Maine’s blueberry harvest for 2014 has surpassed 100 million pounds and probably will become the second-biggest on record. University of Maine blueberry specialist Dave Yarborough told WSNX-FM that cool, wet weather is best for a blueberry crop, and that’s what the state had last summer. He said pollination was another factor, noting that 75,000 beehives were brought to Maine to assist. Yarborough said the harvest won’t surpass the record of 110.6 million pounds in 2000. The final tally won’t be ready until later this month, but Yarborough said that based on early estimates he expects a harvest of 105 to 110 million pounds."
But you better be careful on that ice.
Pilgrim nuclear plant puts waste in concrete casks
Chew on that for a while while I renew my energy for blogging and get warm.
"Carbon tax could be tough sell on Beacon Hill" by Jay Fitzgerald, Globe Correspondent January 04, 2015
Here is a couple reason why:
Public schools to close due to cold
A rush to get homeless in from cold
So $ayeth the king.
Environmentalists got what they wanted last month with the release of a state study that lays the intellectual groundwork for a multibillion dollar “carbon tax” on gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, and other fossil fuels blamed for accelerating climate change.
I guess the Japanese experience taught them nothing.
Using the study’s findings, environmentalists are planning to renew a push this year to pass a carbon tax in Massachusetts, after previous attempts faltered on Beacon Hill. State Senator Michael Barrett, Democrat of Lexington, said he will file carbon tax legislation later this month.
That's offen$ive!
Then comes the hard part: Persuading skeptical lawmakers and residents that increasing gasoline and heating oil prices by a minimum of 27 cents per gallon and monthly natural gas bills by 12 percent is the politically and economically right thing to do.
You money-hungry $cum can freeze your asses off for all I care.
Keep in mind, the Legislature only reluctantly approved a 3 cents per gallon increase in the state’s gas tax two years ago and voters two months ago repealed a measure that tied future gas-tax increases to the rate of inflation.
After the repeal these clowns went and stuck their heads in the ice!
Add skyrocketing electricity prices, and it’s not exactly a friendly climate for those wanting to tax fossil fuels into near oblivion in Massachusetts.
I would say it's down near ho$tile. These jerks are worse than the Zionists.
*************
The carbon tax is considered by policy analysts as a blunt but effective instrument to discourage the use of fossil fuels, which emit so-called greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, that contribute to global warming.
And guess who is taking the beating, consumers?
Supporters of such a tax concede that heavily taxing gasoline, heating oil, and natural gas would by itself spur fierce opposition, but they propose offsetting the costs with tax breaks or direct rebates to taxpayers.
Such a plan, supporters say, would cut carbon emissions by as much as 5 to 10 percent a year while minimizing the potential economic harm.
I thought it was $uppo$ed to be all good.
This “revenue neutral” approach is modeled on British Columbia, Canada, which in 2008 implemented a carbon tax while deeply cutting individual and corporate income taxes.
I told you it was all another $windle!!
The province today has the lowest personal income tax in Canada and one of the lowest corporate income taxes in North America — and it has cut fuel consumption by 16 percent, according to published reports
“We really see a revenue-neutral carbon tax as a transformative policy,” said Rebecca Morris, spokeswoman for Climate XChange, a local environmental advocacy group.
The state study, which cost $150,000 to produce, recommended direct rebates to residents.
More wasted tax loot, and worse -- it's nothing but agenda-pushing propaganda flying in the face of reality!!!!
***********
The Massachusetts study — conducted by a team of energy and economic consulting firms hired by the state Department of Energy Resources — projected that the state might experience small job and income gains as a result of revenue-neutral carbon taxes, largely through consumers and businesses buying less energy produced in other states and countries. That would mean more money staying in the Massachusetts economy and spent on goods and services from local firms, the report concluded.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, an economic research firm in West Chester, Pa., said it’s possible to craft a revenue-neutral carbon tax that minimizes harm to an economy. “A carbon tax is a great idea to reduce carbon emissions and cut your dependence on foreign oil, assuming it’s done right,” said Zandi.
Looks like you will have to start burning some coal.
But the state report also noted that energy-intensive industries, such as transportation, manufacturing, construction, and utilities, would probably see job and income losses. Michael Ferrante, president of Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association, a trade group for heating oil dealers and wholesalers, said it doesn’t make sense to impose a new tax on fossil fuels when Massachusetts consumers and businesses already pay some of highest energy prices in the nation.
It does if you are addicted to money.
He added that he believes lawmakers would ultimately abandon carbon tax offsets and spend the revenues on other programs.
They tend to do that, yeah.
“That’s the most laughable aspect of this entire thing,” he said. “The ‘revenue neutral’ idea is just a Trojan horse to get the tax passed. They want to tax [fossil fuels] out of existence.”
Governor-elect Charlie Baker, whose inauguration is Thursday, has yet to take a position on the findings of the carbon tax study. During the recent gubernatorial campaign. Baker was asked at an environmental forum if he would support an “economywide,” revenue-neutral carbon tax.
Baker praised efforts to lower carbon emissions, but said he didn’t want to “do anything that profoundly disadvantages the economy, the citizens, the businesses of Massachusetts relative to other states.”
It wasn’t an outright rejection of a carbon tax — but not an endorsement either.
--more--"
Somehow I've once again lost my appetite.
Related: State Senate report warns of climate change threats
This as it is snowing in Hawaii, where temperatures have dropped into record cold, and while the rest of the nation is in a deep freeze:
In a separate development Monday, officials said the National Weather Service is about to boost its computing power by more than tenfold, which officials hope will translate to better forecasts.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s two supercomputers will more than triple in computational ability this month and more than triple again by October in an upgrade that will cost $44.5 million. Computers will go from being able to handle 426 trillion operations a second to 5,000 trillion calculations. The supercomputers are in Northern Virginia and Orlando.
Also see: NOAA Already Wrong
Yeah, we will see if new computers and their calculations(?) help correct the pathological lying.
And look, up in the sky:
"Dozens of Maine residents say they saw a large fireball streak across the sky this week. The Portland Press Herald reported the American Meteor Society received more than 330 reports of a ‘‘bright fireball’’ in the Northeast on Monday at 6:35 p.m. The nonprofit’s website lists nearly 60 entries from Maine. A map of the reports shows some of the heaviest concentrations of reports came from southern Maine. Fireballs are extra-bright meteors caused when chunks of space debris burn up while entering Earth’s atmosphere. Maine witnesses described the fireball as a bright, greenish light that lasted several seconds while streaking low on the southern horizon (AP)."
Related: CIA Claims That It Reported Half Of UFO Sightings In 1950s and 1960s
Gee, that is really going to seal up the alien conspiracy theories.
I wish I had a spaceship to go get my Globe this morning.
