December 28, 2012

Will the New Ethanol Blend Tank My Ride?

The EPA has approved a new gas mix with more ethanol, but it might damage your car.

After years of debate—and I'm not exaggerating on that—my husband and I finally bought a car. We settled on a Prius C, a pint-sized younger sibling of the iconic originals that gets 53 miles per gallon.

I drove the car for weeks before I finally had to stop at a gas station. When I pulled open the door to my tank, I found a stark warning sign on the cap telling me I was NOT to put any gasoline blend higher than E10 in my tank.

E10 means gasoline with a 10 percent mix of ethanol, generally derived from corn, and it used to be the highest blend of ethanol allowed in the United States. Ten states require all gas to include 10 percent ethanol. About 80 percent of the gasoline consumed in the US is blended with ethanol, according to the industry's trade group, the Renewable Fuels Association. Most of us—myself included—don't pay a lot attention to what gas we're pumping into our cars, outside of "diesel" or "unleaded," and might not have realized that we are already pumping corn into our tanks.

But we'll have to start paying attention soon, as the Environmental Protection Agency has approved a new policy that will allow states to raise the blend to up to 15 percent ethanol (also known as E15). The EPA says the fuel is approved for use for cars and light trucks from the model year 2001 and later.

http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2012/12/will-e15-tank-my-ride

December 23, 2012

NRA shill Wayne LaPierre on Meet the Press today. The lowest of the low has been reached.

(Reposting from LBN for DUer Astazia, who is posting from a cell phone)

After his supposed "Press Conference" was not open for questions he spewed more blame for gun violence on everything but the guns themselves. There was a time that MTP was somewhat acceptable but no more. Giving this highly paid & dishonest glorified lobbyist ANY AIR TIME while kids are still being buried goes beyond despicable! Shame on them. Just wanted to see if we as a group let them.know that the insensitivity, combined with what will be a hard holiday as is for those in Newtown, as well as all over the country. It is a disgrace that David Gregory or whomever allowed this lobbying shill for the gun manufacturers to be a featured guest on your air. David Gregory should be replaced as managing editor. NBC & MTP apparently truly have no class & no shame. I don't always agree with the format on MTP, but this is the last straw. I don't know how they sleep at night. This is distressing. PLEASE, if you agree with this let them know.


Edited to add link to the original thread, with replies.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014345998

December 21, 2012

Rock Center: Richard Engel and Crew Believed They Wouldn't Make It Out of Syria Alive, 1st Interview

http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/20/16053302-engel-and-crew-believed-they-wouldnt-make-it-out-of-syria-alive?lite

December 19, 2012

Richard Engel Describes Kidnapping In Syria

Quite a terrifying story! This was sent to me, didn't see it posted elsewhere in this forum. Just so glad to know that Richard Engel and his companions are safe.

November 18, 2012

Coast Guard ends search for 2 after oil rig fire

Source: USA Today

8:14PM EST November 17. 2012 -

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Coast Guard on Saturday evening called off its search for two workers missing after a fire broke out on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, sending an ominous black plume of smoke into the air reminiscent of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that transformed the oil industry and life along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Chief Petty Officer Bobby Nash told The Associated Press that the search was ended at about 5:25 p.m. CST.

Coast Guard officials said in a news release Saturday that helicopters were searching for the missing workers from the air, while a cutter searched the sea.

The blaze, which started Friday while workers were using a torch to cut an oil line, severely burned at least four workers. Their burns were not as extensive as initially reported, said Leslie Hoffman, a spokeswoman for Black Elk Energy, which owned the platform.


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/17/coast-guard-ends-search-for-2-after-oil-rig-fire/1711719/

November 8, 2012

Ohio woman ordered to wear 'idiot' sign for driving on sidewalk to avoid school bus

CLEVELAND - A woman caught on camera driving on a sidewalk to avoid a Cleveland school bus that was unloading children will have to stand at an intersection wearing a sign warning about idiots.

Court records show a Cleveland Municipal Court judge on Monday ordered 32-year-old Shena Hardin to stand at an intersection for two days next week. She will have to wear a sign saying: "Only an idiot drives on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."

The judge ordered her to wear the sign from 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. both days.

Hardin's license was suspended for 30 days and she was ordered to pay $250 in court costs.


http://www.driving.ca/ottawa/Woman+drove+sidewalk+avoid+school+ordered+wear+idiot/7505368/story.html

Includes video:

&feature=player_embedded

November 5, 2012

GasBuddy develops Sandy gas availability site

Finding gasoline in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy has been about as easy as finding a needle in a haystack, which has led GasBuddy developers to come up with an innovative way to track where gasoline (diesel availability is not covered at this time) is available.

The tool is immediately available for those in the affected regions by visiting http://www.gasbuddy.com/sandy from a web broswer via desktop, or mobile phone connection. Due to the approval process for smartphone apps, this tool will be web-based only at this time, but GasBuddy is looking into ways to permanently have such a feature in its smartphone apps as well.

GasBuddy spotters in the region are urged to update the fuel availability information so that motorists looking for gasoline can find it. GasBuddy is also working with some gas stations to keep their information updated, but as word gets out about the new tool, use and reporting will likely continue to increase.

Read more at http://blog.gasbuddy.com/posts/GasBuddy-develops-Sandy-gas-availability-site/1715-518011-1435.aspx#1hCcxxeVVWr1bSAh.99

Example:



I think this is very cool! Tried this and it really works! Spread it around!

October 28, 2012

Sweden runs out of garbage, forced to import from Norway

Photo: Smath/Flickr

Sweden, a recycling-happy land where a quarter of a million homes are powered by the incineration of waste, is facing a unique dilemma: The nation has run out of much-needed fuel.

Sweden, birthplace of the Smörgåsbord, Eric Northman, and the world’s preferred solar-powered purveyor of flat-pack home furnishings, is in a bit of a pickle: the squeaky clean Scandinavian nation of more than 9.5 million has run out of garbage. The landfills have been tapped dry; the rubbish reserves depleted. And although this may seem like a positive — even enviable — predicament for a country to be facing, Sweden has been forced to import trash from neighboring countries, namely Norway. Yep, Sweden is so trash-strapped that officials are shipping it in — 80,000 tons of refuse annually, to be exact — from elsewhere.

You see, Swedes are big on recycling. So big in fact that only 4 percent of all waste generated in the country is landfilled.

Good for them! However, the population's remarkably pertinacious recycling habits are also a bit of a problem given that the country relies on waste to heat and to provide electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes through a longstanding waste-to-energy incineration program. So with citizens simply not generating enough burnable waste to power the incinerators, the country has been forced to look elsewhere for fuel. Says Catarina Ostlund, a senior advisor for the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency: “We have more capacity than the production of waste in Sweden and that is usable for incineration.”

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/recycling/blogs/sweden-runs-out-of-garbage-forced-to-import-from-norway

October 21, 2012

Recall: Sunscreen could burst into flames on skin

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A recall is underway for Banana Boat products that could give new meaning to the word sunburn.

Energizer Holdings (ENR), the consumer goods conglomerate that produces Banana Boat products, announced Friday that certain of the brand's sunscreen sprays may potentially burst into flames on users' skin if they come in contact with a flame or spark before the spray is completely dry.

Energizer said it has received reports of four "adverse events" in which the sprays have caused burns in the U.S., and one in Canada. The company said it believes the problem stems from the fact that the spray valves on the products in question dispense more than is typical in the industry, meaning that the spray takes longer to dry.

"If a consumer comes into contact with a flame or spark prior to complete drying of the product on the skin, there is a potential for the product to ignite," Energizer said in a statement.


http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/19/news/companies/sunscreen-recall-flames/index.html



Maybe not so great for your active lifestyle.

October 15, 2012

Schumer calls for Social Security safety measures

Source: (Albany) Times Union

NEW YORK — Sen. Chuck Schumer says scammers are stealing thousands of senior citizens' Social Security payments, often with just one phone call.

The New York Democrat on Sunday urged the federal Social Security Administration to take safety measures to curb the fraud.

As of August, the senator says, there have been more than 19,000 reports of attempted identify thefts. That's about 50 each day.

The payments are directly deposited into private bank accounts. Scammers divert payments by obtaining account information, then making a phone call to reroute the money to their own accounts.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Schumer-calls-for-Social-Security-safety-measures-3948279.php

---

As if seniors didn't have enough to worry about from the Republicans...