The John James Newsletter 165

11 March 2017

You may think your actions are meaningless and that they won’t help, but that is no excuse, you must still act

Mohandas Gandhi

Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people

John Adams

It is no longer rare to meet adults who have never swum except in a swimming pool, never slept except in a building, never run a mile or climbed a mountain, never been stung by a bee or a wasp, broken a bone or needed stitches. Without a visceral knowledge of what it is to be hurt and healed, exhausted and resolute, freezing and ecstatic, we lose our reference points. We are separated from the world. Climate change, distant wars, the erosion of democracy, the resurgence of fascism can all can be reduced to abstractions

George Monbiot

So its not just coming from permafrost and clathrates in the Arctic and from fracking ……

Source of enormous Pacific methane pool is found

Bacteria are making a methane pool stretching from Panama to Hawaii. The bacteria that release vast pools of methane in the ocean have been found, clustered on a narrow ledge at the edge of an oceanic trench that stretches along the Americas. The pools of methane they release are enormous. This is the first time that scientists have sampled the seafloor sediments to track down the bacteria generating giant ocean methane pools. “Scientists are predicting these low-oxygen zones will get larger and closer to the surface as the oceans warm,”

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/source-enormous-pacific-methane-pool-found-1608419 

The Methane Monster Roars 

Lying along the Arctic’s subsea continental margins and beneath permafrost are methane hydrates that cumulatively contain the equivalent of up to 10,000 gigatons of carbon. For perspective, humans have released approximately 1,475 gigatons C02 since 1850. Paul Beckwith: “It is my view that our climate system is in early stages of abrupt climate change that, unchecked, will lead to a temperature rise of 5 to 6C within a decade or two. Obviously, such a large change in the climate system will have unprecedented effects on the well-being of every plant and animal on our planet.”

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/28490-the-methane-monster-roars 

The Donbass Is Breaking Away from an Agonized Ukraine

One can judge the seriousness of these developments by the truly Herculean efforts made by the western corporate media not to notice them. Even Boris Johnson, who was in Kiev, was focusing exclusively on the upcoming Eurovision competition, and not on the dramatic developments taking place in the southeast.

http://www.unz.com/tsaker/the-donbass-is-breaking-away-from-an-agonizing-ukraine/

US says ‘all options on table’ to deal with North Korea

US Ambassador to the UN calls Kim Jong-un arrogant and ‘a not rational person’.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/warns-options-table-deal-korea-170308201401965.html 

China Warns US, North Korea Heading for Collision

His remarks highlight Beijing’s waning influence over Pyongyang. “The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming towards each other, with neither willing to give way,” Wang Yi said, adding: “The question is: are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?”

http://www.voanews.com/a/china-warns-us-and-north-korea-heading-for-collision/3755091.html 

Inspiring innovators redefine the construction industry

3D-printed houses, automatically designed hospitals, prefabricated skyscrapers — once futuristic dreams are now a reality  inspiring innovators redefine the industry that demonstrate the potential of innovation in construction and give a glimpse of the industry’s future.

https://www.weforum.org/reports/shaping-the-future-of-construction-inspiring-innovators-redefine-the-industry 

Shell Oil Made Climate Change Video 25 Years Ago!

The effects of climate change are obvious to everyone except people who have major investments in oil. But it seems that at least one huge oil company KNEW about the dangers of climate change and global warming as far back as 1991.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46579.htm

Biologists say half of all species could be extinct by end of century 

One in five species on Earth now faces extinction, and that will rise to 50% by the end of the century unless urgent action is taken. “The living fabric of the world is slipping through our fingers without our showing much sign of caring,” These animals and plants provide us with our food and medicine. They purify our water and air while also absorbing carbon emissions from our cars and factories, regenerating soil, and providing us with aesthetic inspiration.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/25/half-all-species-extinct-end-century-vatican-conference

Republicans Lick Chops While Revving Up to Dismantle the Endangered Species Act 

This legislative effort is about fundamentally gutting one of our nation’s most important bedrock conservation laws and replacing science-based decision-making with political horse-trading that sells out our endangered wildlife. Corporate interests want to make it legal to drive rare plants and wildlife extinct. It’s as simple as that.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39676-republicans-lick-chops-while-revving-up-to-dismantle-the-endangered-species-act

Extreme heatwave days already hitting poorer nations more than rich 

The scale of the threats posed by global warming and the prospect of more rapid shifts will likely stretch rich and poor nations alike.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/extreme-heatwave-days-already-hitting-poorer-nations-more-than-rich-20170303-guq7jl.html

Civil war in the Vatican as conservatives battle Francis for the soul of the church

When Pope Francis was elected nearly four years ago he was escorted – like every pope before him – from the Sistine Chapel to the Room of Tears. … Today the Vatican is beset by tension, turmoil and rebellion.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/04/vatican-civil-war-conservatives-battle-francis-lent#img-1

How A Corporate Spy For A Kazakhstan Company Infiltrated The Global Anti-Asbestos Network 

The global spying operation was the brainchild of K2 Intelligence and involved placing a corporate spy at the heart of the anti-asbestos movement. The spy posed as a journalist wanting to make a campaigning documentary about the nefarious activities of the asbestos industry in Asia where the material is not banned.

https://newmatilda.com/2017/03/05/lethal-lies-how-a-corporate-spy-for-a-kazakhstan-company-infiltrated-the-global-anti-asbestos-network/

WikiLeaks publishes ‘biggest ever leak of secret CIA documents’ 

The thousands of leaked documents focus mainly on techniques for hacking and reveal how the CIA cooperated with British intelligence to engineer a way to compromise smart televisions and turn them into improvised surveillance devices.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/07/wikileaks-publishes-biggest-ever-leak-of-secret-cia-documents-hacking-surveillance 

“Oily residue is pouring down from the sky.”

One of Islamic State’s parting shots – setting oil wells on fire – is still making people sick in northern Iraq. Riveting and awful.

http://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2017/mosul-oil/ 

Afraid of World War III? We may already be there – on social media 

McLuhan, who coined the term “global village” to describe a world linked through electronic media, made an observation with particular relevance for social media today: when the mind is overloaded by facts, it reverts to myth to understand the world. “Myth is an instantaneous grasp of a complex situation,”

http://www.smh.com.au/world/democracy-the-global-war-you-fear-we-may-already-be-there-20170301-gunzyb.html

China’s response to aggressive Trump comments

China Expands Its Strategic Airlift Capability, Prepares To Expand Its Sphere Of Influence

Roughly the size of the Boeing C-17 Globemaster, the Y-20 is a crucial component in China’s growing ability to expand its strategic power projection capabilities. After initially expressing a need for 400 of these aircraft, they later revised to 1000. As China makes a concerted effort to secure its strategic interests as far away as the Horn of Africa, a viable strategic airlift capability is essential. China is rapidly breaking free from its regional power status, and will continue to gain greater influence in global economic, political, and military spheres.

https://southfront.org/china-expands-its-strategic-airlift-capability-prepares-to-expand-its-sphere-of-influence/

Chinese troops appear to be operating in Afghanistan

It’s a unique dilemma for Washington. China’s assistance in war-torn Afghanistan is seen as helpful. All the saber rattling in the South China Sea is not.So the US appears willing to cooperate where it can, and confront where it must.

http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/chinese-troops-afghanistan

China’s banking system overtakes eurozone to become the biggest in the world

The massive size of China’s banking system is less a cause for celebration than a sign of an economy overly dependent on bank-financed investment, beset by inefficient resource allocation, and subject to enormous credit risks

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/china-s-banking-system-overtakes-eurozone-to-become-the-biggest-in-the-world-a7614691.html

Parasitic wooden cubes on1970s Parisian building for more energy efficiency

The design calls for a series of bio-sourced wooden cubes to be mounted onto the structure — extending the useful space horizontally through openings in the exterior. This extension would reduce the total energy consumption of the building by a factor of four.

http://www.zmescience.com/science/parasitic-wooden-cubes-level-1970s-parisian-building-space-efficiency/ 

The John James Newsletter 161

15 February 2017

A Message of Hope from Gen Z

I am Sarah – I was asked to write an insight of my generation’s thinking on climate change. I am in no way the only voice, but I am one voice. I hope you find it useful. This is an opinion piece. I am 23.

I would appreciate it if you read it to the end, because I offer solutions to all the things I grumble about. 

If you are in your mid twenties now, you will have seen the climate change talks around you grow from their very beginning – where hope was a seed growing and everything seemed like it was possible and all it needed was a little hope and ingenuity. We all assumed the conservative governments just needed a little convincing, then we got small gestures offered by left wing governments who didn’t really know what they were doing. People who did know what they were doing were swept slowly under the rug, to the point where to be a climate change activist even seemed a little ‘Oh how sweet, they really think they can do something… But you’re fighting a losing battle, honey’.

The news bias didn’t help.

And this is not really a conscious attitude at all. Maybe it’ll be conscious when you meet a climate change denier at a party and give 5 minutes to trying to change their mind, but how do you change stupidity, fear and ignorance?

It’s a subtle anxiety that is ever present at the back of everyone’s mind. Perhaps it was similar to the nuclear threat a few decades ago (what did we learn from grassroots activism and engagement then we can apply now?). How much time do we have left? And why the bloody hell have those we trusted to lead us put us here?

And I think this has all led to the apathy permeating my generation. Due to our social media saturated lives, we are bombarded with 10-20 desperate causes a day, from climate change to poverty to refugees to homelessness. It gets to a point where if you engage in everything you will fall apart – likely to end up buried under your doona in a flood of tears and no earthy use to anyone.

Everything seems insurmountable, you assume humanity is doomed and put your head in the sand and switch off. We feel like we have tried since we were small to get someone to listen, to get the big guys and girls to stop ruining our planet but selfishness always wins. And what is the point in putting your energy into that when you could be putting it into something closer to home- like a soup kitchen or just your Facebook feed.  We just haven’t developed the resilience of the older generations, and perhaps due to our ever-present internet social awareness don’t have the single minded arrogance often needed to kick start a revolution

Band-aids on a sinking ship are much easier to do than finding the captain, convincing them their ship is sinking, asking them to give their jacket to the freezing engineer and getting them to fix the pump… while everyone around you is muttering that it is too late now anyway, the captain wont listen as they have a great insurance deal on this boat and it’s worth it for them to sink the ship and 2000 souls to keep their brothers ship-building business afloat.

If you want to engage my generation you’ll need to be clever, optimistic and solutions based:

If you flick the switch the 10-35 year old age group is an incredible resourceful and passionate untapped resource. It’s just stripping away the layers and layers of hopelessness and disillusionment. Ideas to change the world are at this moment sitting in heads everywhere who’ve lost hope.

Suggestions on how to engage my generation from an actual 20-something:

Social media to connect like-minded people into feeling empowered together

(Empowered, not depressed, is the word here. The attention space of a flick through generation is short, so I’d say get people meeting up as soon as possible, with a recurring Facebook event a great way to do that.) It’s fine getting the passionate people involved, but getting everyone else involved in some level is important too. A funny, engaging and inspiring social media presence will help a lot here.

Social gatherings – so talking circles can achieve real things on a grass-roots level

Encouraging young people (and old) to get together once a week/fortnight/month to discuss a way forward. An organization like the Platform could provide resources to make it easy for local community leaders and everyday citizens to kick start a group in their area. (I find luring people my age with cupcakes and pizza is often a great way to get people to turn up in the beginning. We’re a broke, hungry generation who’ll join pretty much anything if we get fed while we talk! A weekly meeting in a church hall/community space with free food, an optional 5 dollar donation and like-minded people where everyone’s ideas are heard? Brilliant!) The idea of talking circles not being talked at is important here. It’s the way to engage a resourceful but wrung out generation.

Lobby your MP’s together. Write them letters and emails during the group time. Have people who want to stick around at the end and lobby people together over a cup of tea. Keep the good vibes going.

Get onto Universities

Most already have a flagging and worn out climate change action group. Putting fire into their bellies with optimism, real solutions and hope for the future could re-ignite a lot of burnt out infrastructure that already exists. I’d try the uni’s who already offer Crisis Management, Environmental Resource Management and Climate courses and those uni’s at the top of the ranking lists in other area such a Melbourne uni, Sydney uni and RMIT first. The children of the wealthy often have much more time on their hands. Also uni’s often have a pizza budget for stuff like this. 😉

Make it easy to be involved. Make it not a chore

Most of us are working at least part time, while studying full time, while stressing about our futures, while also on some kind or other of mental health medication. Make it a pleasure to be part of this cause and ignite the fire in our bellies that makes it feel like things are possible again.

Make it feel like our fight again.

A slightly altered version of newsletters that’s easily digestible and has a bigger emphasis on optimism, grass roots community activism and maybe a story with an example about how grassroots activism once made a real change in each addition. Ending it on a funny or heartwarming, story will leave people feeling good at the end of it, while also more open to absorbing the serious stuff. Maybe run that one alongside the other more serious ones- would it be too hard to quickly chop and change a couple bits and sending out the other version alongside the first?

It’s the old adage of convincing people scared of water to go swimming. Get them to put their feet in the shallows before asking them to jump into the ocean.

Get in touch with people already in the field of climate change activism, possible young people who haven’t become too bitter or set in their ways yet, and get them on board. Would they be interested in setting up a Platform/etc in their area, with support from your group?

Creative fundraising that engages people

A sense of humour is a much better engager than anything else. Armageddon fun run? Come dressed as your favourite post apocalyptic go getter and run the length of, say, a new road that will need to be built with rising sea levels, (Hash run?- look it up) with clues along the way to get you to your destination 3-5kms away; where there might be pizza and beers and soft drink and an informal chat about getting involved. Raises money and awareness and everyone has lots of fun at the same time. Make the positives and fun about getting involved the focus rather than the ‘for god’s sake we’re all f*cked’. I know personally I’d be much more likely to get involved in something like that than a dry weekly lecture where you leave feeling worse than when you got there.

Which gets me to the structure of the engagement

Talking circles aside, maybe the introduction when everyone has arrived and has a piece of pizza and a seat can be: here’s an update on what we talked about last time, some bad news that we can do something about, some good news on the topic. An hours/flexible talking circle, run by someone who is a great facilitator without a trace of ego. Hard to find but solid gold.

The social media presence should include at least 35% funny, cute, heartwarming stories/funny memes both related and unrelated to the page. Likes= engagement= people sticking around. They might like it for the cute puppy pictures, but then get drawn into a meeting when they’re hungry and bored on a Wednesday night. You’re fighting for space amongst a million other distractions.

Make them feel they are an essential part of something they want to be a part of. No pressure, fun group with real actions and fire in their bellies, without ending up with one person steamrollering the rest.

Make it easy to lobby your MP’s from your phone

An app where you choose what politicians you want to send a message too- maybe multiple ones if you want- just tap to tick the boxes- type out a quick message send it from the app.

In your newsletters, if there’s a particular politician who can really change something you’re writing about, put a link for your readers to lobby them with a link from the email to the app where they hit the link and the politicians are already loaded and all they have to do it write a message and hit send. It wouldn’t hurt to have a funny dancing puppy as the message sent screen. J

I don’t know much about app development, but the poli’s email addresses are public, it would be a fairly simple form app. Easy to use is the key here. Fun is the turning handle.

Form links with other climate groups and find common ground

Hold rallies where everyone can meet each other. To quote Dumbledore probably paraphrasing someone else: “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided… in the end, the greatest weapon [against climate catastrophe in this case] is you.”

Tell people from the go everything horrible that’s happening and they will just close their browser

My generation is fit to bursting with resourceful, well-connected people who are just worn out, busy and worn down. Make it easy, make it fun and make it an environment where good ideas are heard and acted upon.

Knowledgeable people coming to talk to groups of young (and older) people is great too – but it has to be at least 50% group discussion. We need to know that positive solutions are there, that we can be a part of implementing them, and that doing so won’t require a sacrifice of our whole way of life.

Lighting that fire in our bellies is very much a do-able thing. The way forward just needs to be bright and clear. If it’s centered around local groups people want to bring their friends to, then it’s only a matter of time before it gains momentum.

Lastly, help people feel a part of something bigger that they can be a real part of. I cannot stress this enough. People need to feel like they’re being heard in an environment that fosters good ideas and positive actions.

Lastly, please do not forget what it is to be young, and also remember that being young in 2017 is very different from being young in 1969.

Hopefully this is useful. It’s just what I thought of off the top of my head one afternoon. I’m no social media whizz but I think I have a fairly good grasp of the attitudes of my age group. 

Go forth so we can all live long and prosper. 

Love, Sarah

The John James Newsletter 114

16 April 2016

In the darkest hours of existence we grasp tight, no matter how illusory, to the starry gleams of hope

Milton

Washington’s game plan for Iraq was to shock and terrorise the entire country, deliberately ruin its infrastructure, do nothing while its culture and history were ransacked, and then make it ok with an unlimited supply of cheap household appliances and imported junk food

Naomi Klein

My job was to encourage world leaders to promote US commercial interests. In the end, those leaders become ensnared in a web of debt that ensured their loyalty. We can draw on them whenever we desire to satisfy our political, economic, or militarily needs. In turn, they bolster their political positions by bringing industrial parks, power plants, and airports to their people. The owners of US engineering and construction companies become fabulously wealthy.

John Perkins

Most of World Bank’s Private Investments Linked to Tax Havens

Poor countries are cheated out of an estimated US$100 billion in taxes a year by companies using offshore havens and other tax-dodging tricks. The World Bank is complicit in promoting tax havens with the majority of its private investments going to companies with offshore accounts,

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Most-of-World-Banks-Private-Investments-Linked-to-Tax-Havens-20160411-0017.html 

Banks Are Making Huge Profits from Tax Havens

The five banks reported more than US$5 billion in profits in 2015 thanks to their offshoring money in tax havens

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Oxfam-Banks-Are-Making-Huge-Profits-from-Tax-Havens-20160316-0008.html 

US corporations have $1.4tn hidden in tax havens

Analysis of the 50 biggest US businesses claims Apple has $181bn held offshore, GE $119bn and Microsoft $108bn

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/14/us-corporations-14-trillion-hidden-tax-havens-oxfam 

Panama Papers: How the Seychelles saved Syria

A seemingly insular regime harnessed the tools of globalisation to ensure its survival. Three Syrian companies close to the government – Maxima Middle East Trading, Morgan Additives Manufacturing and Pangates International – used the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca to create shell companies in the Seychelles to avoid the increasing pressure of global sanctions. This paid for fuel that kept Syria’s Air Force in the air.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/04/seychelles-saved-syria-160407085452247.html 

Confessions of a Panama Papers Hit Man

Let us not be distracted. Let us instead focus on the super rich who finance the political campaigns that support their interests, promise lucrative consulting jobs when politicians leave office, and hide their fortunes in tax havens.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/04/12/confessions-panama-papers-hit-man 

Tigers Are Now Extinct In A Country Where They Used To Thrive

Six years after 13 countries pledged to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2020, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) declared tigers “functionally extinct” in Cambodia. The US could has an estimated 5,000 tigers in captivity, 95% owned by individuals. It has no system to monitor how many there are, who owns them, when they’re sold or traded.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/04/07/3767502/countries-acting-on-tiger-population/ 

England’s last golden eagle likely died of natural causes

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/14/englands-last-golden-eagle-feared-dead 

Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger With 20 kW Capacity & 90% Efficiency

the ORNL equipment could shorten the time needed to boost a battery back up to 80% range from 8 hours or more to as little as 3 hours. That could even make it suitable for applications away from home, such as shopping malls.

http://cleantechnica.com/2016/04/14/wireless-ev-charger-with-7-kw-capacity-90-efficiency-developed-at-ornl/ 

Hunt wants Australia to lead world in battery storage

“Solar and storage together are the future of electricity. That’s a huge direction in Australia and we are the world’s leading household solar nation. Now we want to be number one in the deployment of battery storage.” http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/hunt-wants-australia-to-lead-world-in-battery-storage-98694

Fracking’s Total Environmental Impact Is Staggering

A new report details the sheer amount of water contamination, air pollution, climate impacts, and chemical use in fracking in the US. For the past decade, fracking has been a nightmare for our drinking water, our open spaces, and our climate.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/04/14/3768993/environment-america-fracking-report/ 

The Greenland Summer Melt Season Just Started in April

melt season that usually starts as May rolls into June and has never iniated before May 5th just began on April 11 That’s 24 days ahead of the previous record and more than a month and a half ahead of the typical melt start.

https://robertscribbler.com/2016/04/12/the-greenland-summer-melt-season-just-started-in-april/ 

Greenland sees record-smashing early ice sheet melt 

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/13/greenland-sees-record-smashing-early-ice-sheet-melt-climate-change 

Global warming may be far worse than thought, cloud analysis suggests 

Climate change projections have vastly underestimated the role that clouds play, meaning future warming could be far worse than is currently projected. A doubling of C02 could result in a global temperature increase of up to 5.3C – far warmer than the 4.6C older models predict.The analysis of satellite data found that clouds have more liquid rather than ice, than has been assumed. Clouds with ice crystals reflect more solar light than those with liquid, stopping it reaching and heating the Earth’s surface, which means that models showing future warming are misguided

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/07/clouds-climate-change-analysis-liquid-ice-global-warming 

Arctic ice loss

Since 2003, Greenland has lost more than 272 Tkg of ice a year, and that affects the way the Earth wobbles in a manner similar to a figure skater lifting one leg while spinning. On top of that, West Antarctica loses 124 Tkg and East Antarctica gains about 74 Tkg, helping tilt the wobble further. They all combine to pull polar motion toward the east

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/09/melting-ice-sheets-changing-the-way-the-earth-wobbles-on-its-axis-says-nasa 

Pope Francis—Overturning the Concept of “Just War”

The “just war” is obsolete as the massive civilian casualties undercuts the moral ground for conceiving any war as just.

http://lobelog.com/pope-francis-overturning-the-concept-of-just-war/#more-33810 

The Dictator of the Vatican

Francis’s “People’s Pope” persona has always belied an autocratic temperament that is coldly efficient at achieving his aims.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/08/the-dictator-of-the-vatican-pope-francis-amoris-laetitia-divorce-communion/ 

A Harbinger of the End of the Fossil Fuel Era

Coal production as Peabody Energy Declares Bankruptcy, as an end becomes more and more visible in an ongoing global coal industry collapse and retrenchment. In three of the world’s largest coal producing and consuming regions (India, China, and the US) production, imports and exports are down. In the US, coal production has fallen by more than 50% since 2008.

https://robertscribbler.com/2016/04/13/a-harbinger-of-the-end-of-the-fossil-fuel-era-coal-production-exports-plummet-as-peabody-energy-declares-bankruptcy/ 

4 Things to Know About the Peabody Energy Bankruptcy

In the last couple of years, more than 50 coal companies have declared bankruptcy. Activists in the US have halted the construction of more than 150 new coal-fired power plants since the early 2000s.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/04/13/4-things-know-about-peabody-energy-bankruptcy 

Here’s What Science Has To Say About Convincing People To Do Something About Climate Change

The best way to motivate people to support action to limit climate change is to explain the dangers of not taking action. While that may not seem surprising, it is only recently that the immorality of inaction have been a key focus of top US politicians.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/04/12/3768314/climate-action-risk-morality/ 

Youth Homelessness Matters Day

Of the 105,000 Australians that are homeless, more than a quarter are under 18. Most are fleeing family breakdowns or domestic violence. Yet the Abbott/Turnbull government cut millions from the support services so that hundreds are turned away every day. Homelessness should have no place in Australia.

https://www.facebook.com/SenatorLudlam/photos/a.10150326711144470.368416.17351204469/10154174922334470/

LSD’s impact on the brain revealed in groundbreaking images

The brain scans revealed that trippers experienced images drawn from many parts of their brains as regions once segregated spoke to one another. Further images showed that other brain regions that usually form a network became more separated in a change that accompanied users’ feelings of oneness with the world, an “ego dissolution”.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/11/lsd-impact-brain-revealed-groundbreaking-images 

Australia could be world leader in solar-powered electric vehicles

With an already high penetration of residential solar PV systems in Queensland and South Australia and the emergence of home battery technologies, there is an exciting opportunity for Australia to be a market leader in electric vehicles powered by solar energy,

http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/utilities-say-australia-could-be-world-leader-in-solar-powered-electric-vehicles-74096 

Radioactive boars run wild around Fukushima reactors

Communities in northern Japan are being overwhelmed by radioactive wild boars which are rampaging across the countryside after being contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/radioactive-boars-run-wild-around-fukushima-reactors-xfmh3gfxx 

Extreme 409.3 Parts Per Million on April 10

Simply put, a rapid atmospheric accumulation of greenhouse gasses is swiftly pushing the Earth well outside of any climate context that human beings are used to. The influence of an extreme El Nino on the world ocean system’s ability to take down a massive human carbon emission together with signs of what appears to be a significantly smaller but growing emission from global carbon stores looks to be setting the world up for another record jump in atmospheric CO2 levels during 2016.

https://robertscribbler.com/2016/04/11/hothouse-gas-spikes-to-extreme-409-3-parts-per-million-on-april-10-record-rate-of-atmospheric-co2-increase-likely-for-2016/ 

Arctic ‘heatwave’ hits the North Pole

Storm Frank causes temperatures to soar by 60°F taking the icy region close to melting point

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3379988/Arctic-heatwave-hits-North-Pole-Temperatures-soar-60-F-bringing-icy-region-close-melting-point.html 

45.8°C in Bhubaneswar south India shatters all time heat records

While April is just half way through and temperatures are setting new records every other day, peak summer months may bring more harsh weather to several cities of East India.

http://www.skymetweather.com/content/weather-news-and-analysis/heatwave-grips-bhubaneswar-temperature-breaks-heat-record/ 

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