- Maybe the world shouldn’t worry so much about finding clean, renewable sources of energy after all? If switching from burning coal to natural gas won't have an appreciable effect on global warming any time in the next few decades, why bother? If a new study led by according to Tom Wigley, a senior research associate at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, is to be believed then all of the hullabaloo about cutting the use of environment-harming fuel sources and turning to wind power, solar power and natural gas is just a waste of time. Conversely, Wigley’s report predicts that cutting worldwide coal burning by half and using natural gas instead would increase global temperatures over the next four decades by about one-tenth of a degree Fahrenheit. Without being a scientist, it still seems possible to say that is not addressing the problem of global warming. Scientifically speaking, coal produces more global-warming gas per unit of energy than natural gas. The equation becomes more complicated by the types of greenhouse gases and other pollutants associated with each of these carbon-based fossil fuels. "From the CO2 perspective, gas is cleaner, but from the climate perspective, it gets complicated," Wigley stated. As tree-huggers will tell you loudly, coal burning is notoriously dirty, cranks out loads of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, soot and ash and dishes out heaping helpings of other pollutants. While none of those things are positive for the environment, sulfates do block incoming solar radiation, with a slight cooling effect. Conversely, clean natural gas is messy to produce and causes an unknown amount of methane to leak. Methane, also found in odoriferous cow farts, is a potent greenhouse gas with far more heat-trapping potential than carbon dioxide. But even if the leaks could be eliminated, Wigley estimates a shift to clean natural gas would still add to Earth's overall average temperature through about 2050. After that, the enviro-benefits would begin flowing to the tune of temperatures dropping by a few tenths of a degree Fahrenheit. Any methane leaks would prolong the warming trend until 2140. Putting Wigley’s findings in context does help, as the most widely reviewed studies predict a global average temperature rise of 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 under current fossil-fuel consumption rates. Thus, a switch to clean natural gas would have at least a mildly positive effect. Still, enviro-cynic Wigley believes it simply is not enough. “Relying more on natural gas would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, but it would do little to help solve the climate problem,” Wigley lamented. He has backing on that assertion from the Environmental Protection Agency, which has acknowledged that the data the natural gas industry so often touts in promoting clean natural gas is old and heavily flawed. The good news is that Wigley’s study only pertains to clean natural gas and not to other clean, renewable energy sources being honked by friends of the planet the whole world ‘round. Someone else will have to put in the time and effort to debunk the belief in them and prove that they too are a ginormous waste of everyone’s time and effort……….
- If someone told you that a dropped keg had sparked a fire, how long would it take you to guess the culprit as some drunk frat dude at Southwestern Louisiana A&M State U. who pounded one too many Natty Lights and knocked over his girlfriend’s aroma therapy candles in their crappy house just off campus? Oddly enough, that was not the story behind a major flash fire in Denver on Friday. The fire actually happened Friday morning, not Friday night, and it took place at the Rock Bottom Brewery in downtown Denver. Around 7:15 a.m., a worker dropped a keg on an area of the brewery’s floor where chlorine dioxide was spilled earlier in the week. Dropping an aluminum keg on the concrete floor caused a spark that reacted with the remnants of the chemical spill and a major flash fire resulted. Denver Fire Capt. Craig Carter confirmed that no one was hurt in spite of a small, toxic chlorine cloud forming around the fire. Several fire engines and at least a dozen firefighters responded to the scene along with a hazardous materials team. To ensure that the spill and fire were properly contained, firefighters closed off the area and evacuated a nearby restaurant. Aside from the careless worker who dropped the keg, a fair amount of blame for the spill also goes to whomever was tasked with cleaning up the chlorine spill in the first place, because they did a poor enough job to leave a substantial amount of the chemical in place and set the stage for a mini-HAZMAT scare. Why was chlorine dioxide in a brewery in the first place? Some sort of freaky, swimming pool-flavored beer variety? No, it is used for industrial-strength cleaning and bleaching. It is also apparently useful for anyone looking to start a fire using a keg and create some quality hazardous materials drama…………
- When you’re the biggest rock band in the world and you want a collection of artists to cover one of your most acclaimed albums, finding big names to participate tends not to be an issue. The list of current and past musical luminaries who will appear on a 20th anniversary tribute to U2’s 1991 LP 'Achtung Baby' is impressive, with former White Stripes/current Dead Weather/Raconteurs frontman/collaborator with every artist currently recording an album Jack White, ‘80s rockers Depeche Mode, rock legend Patti Smith and Irish folk/indie rocker Damien Rice all chipping in. That quartet tackled Love Is Blindness', 'So Cruel', 'Until The End Of The World' and 'One' respectively on the album, which was actually put together by Q magazine and not U2 itself. Bono spoke about the album during a press conference to promote new U2 documentary From The Sky Down', which is opening the Toronto International Film Festival. Like any successful artist or athlete, he admitted to being much harder on himself and his band than others, even when it comes to a great album. “It's strange, because when I hear the album, when U2 do it, all I hear is what's wrong with it. But when I heard all these artists doing it, I thought, 'It's really good,'” he said of the new version of “Achtung.” The same is true for the documentary, which Bono described as "excruciating" to watch. "I don't think really it's a film about our band in as much as it's a film about the creative process. If you're interested in that, you're going to be interested in this film I think," he remarked. That sentiment has been expressed by many artists featured in band documentaries, the idea of having a difficult time watching oneself on film. From The Sky Down is set to debut on U.S. television in late October and will also be included as a DVD with the deluxe edition of 'Achtung Baby', which will be re-released later this year. To truly maximize what can only be described as a blatant cash grab by re-releasing an old album, those behind the project will offer it in a variety of formats, including an Uber-Deluxe Edition, which will include six CDs, four DVDs, five 7" singles, 16 art prints, an 84-page hardback book, Propaganda fan club magazine, four badges, a sticker sheet and a replica of Bono's trademark sunglasses. For those who don’t want to use up a huge chunk of their latest paycheck, there is the Super-Deluxe version, which will include all of the CDs, DVDs and art prints from the Uber-Deluxe version as well as a 92-page hardback book…………
- So apparently someone in Europe is not a fan of cheap, hard-to-assemble, modern home furnishings. Perhaps soured by one too many multi-part coffee tables, chintzy chairs and furniture featuring some form of cardboard as a functional component, a mad bomber has been targeting IKEA stores across Europe over the past several months. The attacks on the Swedish company’s retail outlets began with attacks on stores in France, Belgium and The Netherlands in May. Subsequent attacked in Germany in June and Czech Republic on Sept. 2 showed "the same modus operandi," according to Europol. Based on that common M.O., Europol officials have concluded that the attacks are likely the work of a single man. They described the suspect as an Eastern European man, approximately 5’9, with fair, short-cropped hair, 35-45 years old and wearing glasses. His pattern is entering the store, leaving a homemade bomb and exiting quickly. Some of the bombs were potentially lethal, but no one was killed in any of the attacks. Not all of the bombs detonated, but two people were injured in the German attack. Europol has called on the public for help in identifying the bomber, which would probably be easier if he had left one of those always-fresh, blackmailer/mad bomber notes made out of letters cut from magazines that spelled out exactly what his beef with IKEA is, perhaps something like, “Bought a set of dining room chairs that was supposed to take 15 minutes to assemble. It took f**cking two hours and when we were done, the legs were uneven and two of the chairs collapsed when someone sat on them, you miserable a-holes!” Instead, Europol is left to piece together clues and rely on the notoriously unreliable assistance of the general public…………
- Give credit to Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, who is if nothing else a gifted liar. Scott, who masterminded his conference’s expansion from 10 to 12 teams with the addition of Colorado and Utah to allow it to meet the NCAA standard of 12 teams minimum to hold a conference championship game in football, is at the center of drama again thanks to a new round of conference jumping in Division I athletics. Texas A&M has announced plans to leave the Big 12 for the SEC and has an official invitation from the SEC assuming it can clear legal challenges to leaving the Big 12. That would leave the 10-team Big 12 (makes no sense, obviously) with nine schools and could inspire current members Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State to jump to the Pac-12. Adding to elite programs like Oklahoma and Texas would be a coup for the conference, but Scott did his best to smile and lie when asked about the prospect of those additions. Speaking with reporters on the sideline before Friday night's game between Arizona State and No. 21 Missouri, Scott said he would prefer to keep the 12-team model instead of expanding it to 16. "Our hope is that there is no expansions and all conferences that are at 12 stay at 12. That would be our vote," he lied. "We're very happy where we're at and we've got a lot to do over the next year." Okay, so you hope that two of the most successful and iconic programs in college football decide to stay right where they are instead of joining your conference, giving in a powerhouse collection of schools such as USC, Oregon, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas and Oklahoma State? Sure you don’t. "We haven't spent one minute thinking about going further, that's not our desire," Scott said. "It's when all this discussion started happening in the Big 12 and it seems like the SEC is going to go beyond 12 and teams started approaching, let's take a step back and look at the future -- if the landscape is going to change." Oh, that landscape is going to change and even if Scott wants to continue lying and claiming the Pac-12 considered, passed on and abandoned the possibility of a 16-team megaconference during its expansion talks last year, there is no way the conference will turn OU and Texas away if they come calling. It is an extremely political, semantic approach to the process because Scott and his crew can say, “Oh, we never solicited this and we wanted to see the Big 12 survive,” all the while rejoicing like giddy Star Wars dorks when they pass the one token hot chick at the annual Star Wars convention that serves as the lone social highlight of their year…………
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