bananas
bananas's JournalNuclear weapons lab worker seriously burned in accident
Source: Associated Press
A Los Alamos National Laboratory employee was in critical condition Monday after being burned in an accident that also sent eight other workers at the nuclear weapons research facility to the hospital.
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One patient was transported to the burn unit at University of New Mexico Hospital and another was admitted to the Los Alamos Medical Center in stable condition, she said.
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The center has been cited in several federal safety audits, including for a 2012 incident in which a worker unknowingly opened a canister containing uncontrolled radioactive material.
Operations there were shut down in early 1999 after a series of safety accidents.
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Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Nuclear-weapons-lab-worker-seriously-burned-in-6241516.php
Muted celebrations of Buddha's birthday in Nepal, with prayers turned to those lost in quake
Source: Associated Press
Celebrations of Buddha's birthday in Nepal were muted on Monday, as the faithful turned their prayers to loved ones lost in the country's massive earthquake and worries that the tragedy might be the start of a much larger reckoning.
According to Buddhist scripture, when the land becomes burdened — by pollution, overpopulation or simply too much evil — a cleansing may be in order. First there is an earthquake and then fire. Next, a storm and possibly a tsunami.
"This is just the beginning," said Premaya Lama, caretaker of the Nedyon Unphong Thapchyo Monastery, a half-built prayer house festooned with sun-faded prayer flags flapping in a gentle breeze on the banks of the Trishuli River in Nepal's central Nuwokot district.
"It is written, and so it shall come," she said. Yet she told the faithful gathered at the monastery Monday not to worry — just pray, and be with your families. "No one is immortal. No one is safe."
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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/05/04/muted-celebrations-buddha-birthday-in-nepal-with-prayers-turned-to-those-lost/
Gulf States Want U.S. Assurances and Weapons in Exchange for Supporting Iran Nuclear Deal
Gulf States Want U.S. Assurances and Weapons in Exchange for Supporting Iran Nuclear Deal
Regional leaders seek quid pro quo of fighters, missile batteries, surveillance equipment
By Jay Solomon and Carol E. Lee
May 2, 2015 12:43 p.m. ET
155 COMMENTS
WASHINGTON—Leading Persian Gulf states want major new weapons systems and security guarantees from the White House in exchange for backing a nuclear agreement with Iran, according to U.S. and Arab officials.
The leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, plan to use a high-stakes meeting with President Barack Obama next week to request additional fighter jets, missile batteries and surveillance equipment.
They also intend to pressure Mr. Obama for new defense agreements between the U.S. and the Gulf nations that would outline terms and scenarios under which Washington would intervene if they are threatened by Iran, according to these officials.
The demands underscore the complicated diplomatic terrain Mr. Obama is navigating as he drives toward a nuclear deal with Iran, one of his top foreign-policy goals. They also demonstrate how a pact aimed at stabilizing the Middle East risks further militarizing an already volatile region.
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Grace Lee Whitney, Yeoman Rand on Original 'Star Trek,' Dies
Source: NBC
Grace Lee Whitney, 85, the futuristic-clipboard-bearing Yeoman Janice Rand on the original series of "Star Trek," died this weekend in the town of Coarsegold, California, her family confirmed. No cause of death was reported.
Whitney, a recovering alcoholic, spent the last 35 years of her life helping others with addiction problems, often at women's correctional facilities or the Salvation Army, her family said. They said she was credited with having helped thousands of people successfully complete 12-step addiction programs.
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As closely identified with Yeoman Rand as she was, however, her family stressed Sunday that Whitney's preference would be to be remembered as a "successful survivor of addiction."
"Grace experienced 35 years of sobriety through continuous fellowship with others and through God and Jesus," they said.
Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/grace-lee-whitney-yeoman-rand-original-star-trek-dies-n353001
Transformation of Yoga in the United States
Transformation of Yoga in the United States
By Rick Nauert PhD
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 1 May 2015
A new study traces the evolution of yoga in the US marketplace over the last thirty years. For some, the commercial success of yoga has been a blessing while for traditional practitioners, the new practice patterns are a disturbing trend.
In the review, researchers from Chapman University discovered the meaning of yoga is decreasingly associated with spirituality and increasingly associated with medicine and fitness. The study argues that the shift in the meanings are due to the changes in how yoga gurus are trained, how healthcare markets have learned to appreciate the benefits of the practice, and how capitalism has commercialized the product.
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Public Release: 30-Apr-2015
Chapman University research on the yoga market from 1980 to the present
Research shows how meanings and practice of yoga changed as it was adapted by the US market
Chapman University
ORANGE, Calif. - Researchers in Chapman University's Argyros School of Business and Economics and their collaborators have just published a study on the evolution of yoga in the marketplace. Assistant Professor Gokcen Coskuner-Balli, Ph.D., co-authored the study, which examined how the meaning of yoga transformed in the past three decades. The results show that yoga became decreasingly associated with spirituality and increasingly associated with medicine and fitness. The study argues that the shift in the meanings are due to the changes in how yoga gurus are trained, market contests amongst different meanings and the distinct branding practices of small and big players in the market.
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International Dark Sky Association Receives National Environmental Award
International Dark Sky Association Receives National Environmental Award
Press Release Source: International Dark-Sky Association
Posted Thursday, April 30, 2015
The International Dark-Sky Association is honored to announce that it has received a 2015 National Environmental Excellence Award for its innovative International Dark Sky Places program. The award, granted by the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP), was given for outstanding environmental contributions in the area of public involvement and partnerships.
The International Dark Sky Places program was established in 2001 to recognize excellent stewardship of the night sky. Designations are based on stringent outdoor lighting standards and innovative community outreach and partnerships.
“We are so thrilled to receive this award and want to applaud all of our Dark Sky Places for their inspiring commitment to night sky protection,” IDA Executive Director Scott Feierabend said. “They’re the ones on the ground doing this important work.”
Efforts to obtain a designation can take up to several years depending on the site and often require significant collaborations with public officials and surrounding businesses and communities.
The program uses a positive reinforcement approach to motivate communities to engage in public outreach and implement dark sky friendly lighting that helps taxpayers’ pockets, increases ecotourism, and provides educational and recreational opportunities for locals and visitors.
“Although we are a resource during the application process, the real legs of the program are the individual efforts of local citizens,” said IDA Program Director John Barentine. “Volunteers educate their community about light pollution, do night sky quality surveys, and collect donations to support good lighting.”
Designations not only help protect the environment, they also help the protected areas and their surrounding communities stay financially viable by providing a new and unique ways to draw visitors and attract government funds.
Since the program began, 10 Communities, 22 Parks and nine Reserves have received International Dark Sky designations, comprising more than 43,000 square km (16,000 square miles) on four continents.
Contact:
Dr. John Barentine
IDA Dark Sky Places Program Manager
+1 520-293-3198
john@darksky.org
The International Dark Sky Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Tucson, Arizona, advocates for the protection of the nighttime environment and dark night skies by educating policymakers and the public about night sky conservation and promoting environmentally responsible outdoor lighting. More information about IDA and its mission may be found at http://darksky.org.
NAEP is a national nonprofit association of environmental scientists and professional planning experts dedicated to the advancement of ethical environmental practices in the United States and abroad. Its Awards Initiative recognizes the best environmental work of nonprofits, public agencies and environmental professionals. Learn more about NAEP at http://naep.org.
Did Tesla Just Kill Nuclear Power?
Did Tesla Just Kill Nuclear Power?
Jeff McMahon
5/01/2015 @ 8:13AM
It would be almost three hours until Tesla’s big announcement, but inside a Northwestern University classroom near Chicago Thursday night, the famed nuclear critic Arnie Gunderson had the inside scoop:
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk was about to announce an industrial-scale battery, Gunderson said, that would cost about 2¢ per kilowatt hour, putting the final nail in the coffin of nuclear power.
Thus Tesla’s big news broke first not amongst the throng of reporters gathered under swirling colored lights at the carmaker’s Hawthorne, Calif. headquarters, but in the middle of a debate on the future of nuclear power sponsored by students agitating for a “Fossil Free NU.” It was Gunderson vs. Jordi Roglans-Ribas, the director of the Nuclear Engineering Division of Argonne National Laboratory.
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Then Gunderson told the audience of about 80 students and visitors that it was a momentous day in history—because of something that was about to happen in California.
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Tesla will sell the home battery, the Tesla Powerall, for $3,500, a fraction of the $13,000 price observers had expected, and perhaps more importantly, a fraction of the cost of the $10,000 battery announced earlier this week by European competitors Sungevity and Sonnenbatterie.
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Bernie Sanders and Elon Musk changed history yesterday.
Expect the fossil and nuclear industries to ramp up their sleazy PR tactics.
Elon Musk Debuts the Tesla Powerwall
Published on May 1, 2015
Tesla Powerwall Keynote by Elon Musk "The Missing Piece"
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