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Monday, February 4, 2008
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Healthcare
Paul Krugman (via The NYT): "I believe that universal health care has to be THE central item in a progressive agenda -- not just because it's the right thing to do, but because of its political economy implications. As I explain in Conscience of a Liberal, Republicans went all-out in 1993 to block health reform because they feared that success would reinvigorate the progressive agenda. And they were right. Now, if I had my way I'd just go to single-payer, Medicare for All. But that's politically impossible, at least for now. What had me hopeful was that the Democratic candidates seemed to be offering a more feasible path that could work politically: regulation, subsidies, mandates, plus public-private competition that could eventually lead to single-payer."
"2008 pres"
6:45:02 PM 
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Science policy
USGS: "The 2009 budget includes a net increase of $8.2 million to support the water census component of the $21.3 million Water for America Initiative with the Bureau of Reclamation. To support the water census, the National Streamflow Information Program is funded at $23.8 million, including an increase of $3.7 million to upgrade 350 streamgages with real-time telemetry and to reinstate 50 discontinued streamgages in 2009. Increases of $3.0 million for the Ground-Water Resources Program and $1.5 million for Cooperative Geologic Mapping will provide additional support for the water census by increasing knowledge related to groundwater resources."
"2008 pres"
6:40:44 PM
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Hurricane response
USGS: "Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) say that the lessons learned and technology deployed before, during and after Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005 can be used to help the public, emergency responders and policymakers prepare for and reduce losses from future hurricanes. This and much more is detailed in, 'Science and the Storms: the USGS Response to the Hurricanes of 2005,' a new USGS report which was discussed today at two Congressional briefings. The publication showcases everything from the discovery of new storm surge modeling techniques to the use of satellite imagery and airborne lidar, or light detection and ranging, to measure land loss and landscape change to how science helps determine water quality and flooding threats."
"2008 pres"
6:14:07 PM
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? for President?
Here's the Super Tuesday Status Update from Talking Points Memo.
Talking Points Memo: "A few more numbers. Today's Gallup tracking poll is up and it has a slight notch back up for Hillary. From 2 points to 4. Looking over the bigger picture, there were now a total of 6 non-tracking polls released over the weekend and until today. The highest Obama lead is 6 and the highest Clinton lead is 8. But the more recent of the polls seems to favor Obama, though I should note they're all pretty closely clumped together in time. And a very similar picture seems clear in California. A scattering of polls, which taken together show something like a tie but with the trend moving in Obama's direction."
Political Wire: "CQ Politics provides a good five minute multimedia slide show overview of the Super Tuesday primaries."
Here's a roundup of state by state polls from Political Wire for Democrats and Republicans from Political Wire.
TPM Election Central: "Super Tuesday eve roundup."
Josh Marshall: "The balance of polls over the weekend and today showed tight races across the country and a small but discernible momentum in Obama's direction. But this afternoon SurveyUSA, which runs computerized polls, put out a raft of polls from Super Tuesday states around the country. And they all looked favorable to Hillary.
Mass: Clinton 56%, Obama 39%
Alabama: Obama 49%, Clinton 47%
Missouri: Clinton 54%, Obama 43%
California: Clinton 53%, Obama 41%
"Those numbers are much more favorable to Clinton than most of the rest of the polls out there. At a minimum they're at the strong Clinton end of the spectrum. But they're also the most recent."
Political Wire: "Political Wire got an advance look at the latest Cook Political Report/RT Strategies national survey which shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. Hillary Clinton, 43% to 37%, just outside the 5.1 point margin of error. In the GOP race, Sen. John McCain leads Mitt Romney, 39% to 24%, with Mike Huckabee third with 18%."
Political Wire: "The latest CNN/Opinion Research national survey finds Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. Hillary Clinton, 49% to 46%, within the survey's 4.5 point margin of error...In the Republican race, Sen. John McCain leads Mitt Romney, 44% to 29%, with Mike Huckabee at 18%."
Political Wire: "A new Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll in Utah shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. Hillary Clinton among likely voters, 53% to 29%. On the Republican side, it's a blowout with Mitt Romney registering 84% support, followed by just 4% for Sen. John McCain."
Political Wire: "The latest Reuters/C-Span/Zogby tracking poll shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. Hillary Clinton in three of the four key Democratic Super Tuesday races surveyed -- Georgia, Missouri, and California -- and the two were tied in the fourth, New Jersey. On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain leads in three out of four key Super Tuesday states -- including winning more than 50% support in New York and New Jersey -- but trails Mitt Romney in California."
Political Wire: "The latest CBS News/New York Times poll finds the Democratic race tied with Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton each getting 41% support...On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain holds a wide lead over Mitt Romney, 46% to 23%."
"2008 pres"
6:09:08 PM
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Economic policy
Captain's Quarters: "The White House has submitted its budget request for 2009, and it gives everyone a mixed bag. It increases military spending and attempts to cut some programs and reduce others. However, its total spending puts the US above $3 trillion for the first time."
"2008 pres"
4:52:19 PM
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? for President?
Rocky Mountain News: "Mike Huckabee hasn't won a Republican presidential contest in a month. The result: money is tighter, his staff is smaller and he can't seem to get the attention he once did. Still, he says he's sticking around for the long haul - well past Tuesday's coast-to-coast primaries and caucuses if need be. 'I'll stay in until someone has 1,191 delegates,' the former Arkansas governor insisted Sunday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from Kennessaw, Ga. He was referring to the number of convention delegates needed to win the party nod. 'A year ago, nobody said I'd still be here,' he said. 'Look who's still on his feet.'"
Rocky Mountain News: "Republican John McCain says he will try to win over some conservative Republicans by promising to appoint judges in the mold of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. McCain said he has a history of praising both men and that he expects to emphasize that record when he addresses a major gathering of conservatives in Washington later this week."
"2008 pres"
6:39:20 AM
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2008 Democratic National Convention
Here's a report on traffic plans for this summers Democratic National Convention from The Rocky Mountain News. They write:
...the Downtown Denver Partnership is trying to make their rush hours happy again by offering free monthly RTD bus and light rail passes, $100 Visa gift cards or $100 certificates to downtown restaurants for downtown workers who leave their cars at home during the convention...
"We researched this idea when the convention was awarded to Denver in spring 2007," said Aylene Quale, transportation manager for the downtown organization. "We looked into programs that were put into place in other cities that hosted large events, like the Olympics and political conventions. We learned that when you combine education with incentives, you get stronger results," Quale said. "So that's what we're doing with this program." The partnership won a $173,000 federal traffic-congestion grant and is matching it with $43,000 of its own local funding. It is currently doing online polling of workers at selected downtown companies to determine what type of incentive is most attractive. The full-month bus pass would allow participants to ride RTD buses and light rail free for all of August. To earn the $100 gift cards or restaurant certificates, participants would have to agree to leave their cars at home at least one day during the convention and keep a log of their travels. "We've had a significant response so far," Quale said. More than 1,700 responses were received by last week. The partnership will get the results by mid-February but doesn't plan to announce the details of the program until June 1, when it plans to launch an upgraded interactive Web site for downtown information.
"2008 pres"
6:25:46 AM
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World Wetlands Day
We missed World Wetlands Day on February 2nd. From the website:
2 February each year is World Wetlands Day. It marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Each year since 1997, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and groups of citizens at all levels of the community have taken advantage of the opportunity to undertake actions aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in particular. From 1997 to 2007, the Convention's Web site has posted reports from more than 95 countries of WWD activities of all sizes and shapes, from lectures and seminars, nature walks, children's art contests, sampan races, and community clean-up days, to radio and television interviews and letters to newspapers, to the launch of new wetland policies, new Ramsar sites, and new programmes at the national level. Government agencies and private citizens from all over the world have sent us their news, often with photographs, and these annual summaries and 900+ individual reports, with more than 1200 images, make an excellent archive of ideas for future celebrations.
And each year since 1997, the Ramsar Secretariat, with generous financial assistance from the private sector Danone Group, has offered a new selection of posters, stickers, videos, pocket calendars, leaflets and information packs free of charge and has suggested a unifying theme for the benefit of those who wish to use it. Here is a general guide to both the annual WWD index pages and the reports of each year's activities.
Thanks to The Environmental News Network for the heads up. They write:
To celebrate World Wetlands Day, which falls each year on February 2, the Republic of Congo has designated four new Wetlands of International Importance, including one that is the second largest in the world. World Wetlands Day commemorates the signing of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. This international treaty, now ratified by 158 countries, protects 1,742 wetland sites, totaling more than 165 million hectares. Known by its French name "Grands affluents," the second largest protected wetland area in the world covers 5.9 million hectares and surrounds Congo's only previous Ramsar site. This enormous area lies along the Congo River, which with its tributaries represents the most important hydrological system in Central Africa. The newly protected wetland includes the river basins of the four major Congo River tributaries - the Oubangui, Sangha, Likouala-Mossaka, and Alima rivers. The lakes, ponds, marshes, flooded and swampy forests, and permanent and temporary rivers of the Grands affluents wetland host endangered species - the forest elephant, gorilla, and hippopotamus - and offer refuge to migratory fish and bird species during periods of drought. A wide variety of plant species, macro invertebrates, fishes, birds, reptiles and aquatic mammals are found here, according to Ramsar's Evelyn Parh Moloko's description of the area, which is based on information compiled by Gilbert Madouka, the Ramsar focal point in Congo, and Gilbert Mbati.
"2008 pres"
6:13:31 AM
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Climate Change: The earth is a beautifully complex system
A recent study shows that warmer ocean waters are effecting the number of hurricanes that make landfall according to The Environmental News Network. From the article:
A warming global ocean -- influencing the winds that shear off the tops of developing storms -- could mean fewer Atlantic hurricanes striking the United States according to new findings by NOAA climate scientists. Furthermore, the relative warming role of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans is important for determining Atlantic hurricane activity. The article, to be published on January 23 in Geophysical Research Letters, uses observations to show that warming of global sea surface temperatures is associated with a secular, or sustained long-term increase, of vertical wind shear in the main development region for Atlantic hurricanes. The increased vertical wind shear coincides with a downward trend in U.S. landfalling hurricanes.
"We looked at U.S. landfalling hurricanes because it is the most reliable Atlantic hurricane measurement over the long term,"[caron] says Chunzai Wang, a physical oceanographer and climate scientist with NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami and lead author on the article. "Using data extending back to the middle nineteenth century, we found a gentle decrease in the trend of U.S. landfalling hurricanes when the global ocean is warmed up. This trend coincides with an increase in vertical wind shear over the tropical North Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, which could result in fewer U.S. landfalling hurricanes." For the article, Wang worked with Sang-Ki Lee of the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies-University of Miami. In terms of hurricane strength, Wang notes, "The vertical wind shear is not the only factor affecting Atlantic hurricane activity, although it is an important one."[caron] Other factors include atmospheric humidity, sea level pressure, and sea surface temperature. This study also suggests that where the global ocean warming occurs is important for determining the vertical wind shear in the Atlantic hurricane main development region -- within the 10°-20° North latitude belt that stretches from west Africa to Central America. Whether future global warming increases Atlantic hurricane activity will probably depend on the relative role induced by sustained long-term warming over the tropical oceans.
Observations from 1854 to 2006 show a warming of sea surface temperature occurring almost everywhere over the global ocean, with large warming in tropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. Warmer waters in the tropical Pacific, Indian and North Atlantic oceans produce opposite effects upon vertical wind shear; that is, warming in the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans increase vertical wind shear in the Atlantic hurricane main development region, while warming in the tropical North Atlantic decreases vertical wind shear. Overall, warming in the Pacific and Indian oceans is of greater impact and produces increased levels of vertical wind shear which suppresses Atlantic hurricane activity.
"2008 pres"
6:02:47 AM
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Water levels in the Leadville Mining District
Here's an update on mine drainage problems in the Leadville area from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
Lake County commissioners are concerned that plugged mine drainage tunnels and rising water tables are leaching heavy metals into the Arkansas River, potentially creating water quality problems both locally and for downstream users. Lake County Commission Chairman Ken Olsen is frustrated by proposed federal studies and is promoting a "local solution" that would tap into a collapsed tunnel that once provided Leadville with more fresh water during winter, in the process lowering water tables that experts say could be leaching minerals like zinc and cadmium into the watershed...
The commissioners alerted Colorado's congressional delegation of the problem in November, but have received little response. They are also seeking state funds to deal with the problem.
Groundwater tables are rising in the old mining district east of Leadville, which has caused new springs to sprout throughout the area from August to November. Some are in California Gulch, below the Yak Tunnel Superfund site. Scientists suspect the tables are rising because of collapses in the Leadville Tunnel and other mining tunnels throughout the heavily mined area. The Leadville Tunnel was constructed by the federal government to drain mines to spur metal production during World War II and the Korean War. It is managed by the Bureau of Reclamation. A water treatment plant was built in 1992 to treat flows from the tunnel. The Yak Tunnel was built by mining companies from 1895-1906 to dewater mines. It was declared an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site in 1983, and a treatment plant, also built in 1992, still operates in California Gulch. Meanwhile, the Canterbury Tunnel, constructed by Leadville water users to deliver fresh water from the East Fork of the Arkansas River above the Leadville Tunnel, has experienced cave-ins as well, and its flow reduced by tenfold, Olsen said...
Levels of cadmium in California Gulch below the Yak treatment plant were 30 times previously recorded limits and zinc is more than 80 times what was previously found, when measured last fall. Olsen said it should be of concern to downstream water users when the heavy snowpack - about 4 feet as of Thursday - begins to melt in spring. "What it's doing is leaching out and dissolving metals in areas not previously subject to leaching," Olsen said. Olsen said the solution presented to commissioners by the federal agencies was to further block the Leadville Tunnel - which he said is the primary cause of the problem - and drill more wells. Before that is done, more studies would be required, he said. "It's been a problem for 50 years, but all they want to do is open another study," Olsen said.
The local solution is to drill horizontally and drain the better water from the Canterbury Tunnel, removing it from interception by the Leadville Tunnel and reducing the pressure on groundwater tables. "Eighty to 90 percent of the water on the east side is good, so the idea is to take the good water out and lower the water table," Olsen said. In the letter to Congress, cost ranges of $4.5 million to $6.5 million for boring into the Canterbury Tunnel were suggested, while the Leadville Tunnel containment plan would cost $4 million to $4.5 million. Olsen said the cost of a permanent solution to the problem could be closer to $40 million - about the same amount it has cost to build and operate the treatment plants since 1992.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
5:50:41 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 10:06:59 PM.
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