Everything

Has a tsunami ever affected the United States? Yes… just last week.

Chaos Theory

Manmade and natural events can change important characteristics of U.S. waterways, ports, and harbors, and investigating those changes are an important responsibility for NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. Following last week’s tsunami, Coast Survey’s staff and equipment on the West Coast are assisting with detection of submerged debris in critical marine transportation arteries along the coast.

The tsunami left the port at Crescent City, Calif., in a shambles, with marine debris and wreckage above and below the waterline. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asked Coast Survey to assist with hydrographic survey support there, to help make sure commercial and recreational vessels can begin to navigate safely and efficiently once again.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Army Corp of Engineers also asked Coast Survey to survey the federal channel at Santa Cruz, Calif., which also experienced extensive damage and destruction to boats.

Coast Survey staff and navigation response teams have deployed to both port areas, and are coordinating with USCG and USACE to begin the hydrographic surveys.

Using a small boat equipped with powerful echo-sounding SONAR equipment, the teams will search the seafloor for sunken vessels, debris, and other hazards dangerous to commercial shippers and recreational boaters. The teams will also check the areas for shoaling. If the teams find shoaling, they will measure the bathymetry for updating NOAA’s nautical charts of the areas.

The Coast Survey navigation manager based in California is coordinating rapid response survey requests and navigational resources from areas impacted by last week’s tsunami.

Gulliver’s Travels .mp3 (free music)

Don’t Ever Wake a Sleeping Giant
Song Info. by Daniel Brouse

Daniel released a song from The End’s project “2011 the Year Before Heaven” entitled For Me? Just a ‘lil Light .mp3 (free download).

It is about answering a question… if God asked, “What can I do for you?”

Lyrics — “Jewel, tool or just a fool?”

A friend wrote:
Three years ago, the US had one of the most horrific financial crises in history caused by a massive fraud. Not a single financial executive is in jail… helllloooooooo!!!

I replied:
Correction… those who committed crimes on the business side, such as, Bernie Maddof, are in jail for a very, very long time (and/or their son committed suicide.) On the other hand, all the homeowners who commtited fraud… I didn’t see any of them go to jail. not paying back one’s debts is what caused the financial crisis.

“forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” = debts are not forgiven, they are repaid.

RESPONSE
Adam Harris
Well put. But people were very mislead.

John Bernard
The problem was cause by poor loaning practices in the first place

Daniel Brouse
er, a… poor borrowing practices. it is a conusmers responsibility not to claim ignorance. there was not fraud for that part… consumer greed. as a banker, i blame the individuals who borrowed the money… and the educational system fo…r not teaching even basic finance in public schools.

credit rule number 1 — don’t borrow money you can’t pay back

Adam Harris
True that. But in times tough to turn an offer like the ones they were given down.

John Bernard
It looks nice on paper when you lay it out like that but it isn’t really so simple. You make the lenders seem like a bunch of little angels that screwed by those devilish poor people. How dare they!

Neal Goldberg
as banker you should probably be publicly flogged you greedy little monkey

Neal Goldberg
Not even tough times if I took on all the credit cards I was offered whether I used them or not I’d be screwed…

Neal Goldberg
Banks are allowed access to 9/10 of what actual money they have… Maybe if you scum sucking assholes didn’t pool bullshit loans together that you knew you wouldn’t get paid for and sell them as securities to China we wouldn’t have to accept their lead poisoned toys and we’d have the balls to say something about it…

Neal Goldberg
A person who lends you something and then cuts your life apart to get it back is known as a LOAN SHARK they work for REAL GANGSTERS

Neal Goldberg
And yeah I guess Bernie committed that crime himself huh? NO there were other bankers, other investors, other political organizations that over looked at the very least what he was doing and all those SCUM BAGS should be in jail too…

Neal Goldberg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41s1oWM9vOQ These are REAL GANGSTA’s

Neal Goldberg
Rule number 1 never ever mistake a banker for an actual human being… Humans are born with sympathy, empathy and they feel pain… Bankers are highly trained autobots who only feel pain in the numerical sense, they have no sympathy for you…r job loss or hunger, and no empathy for your social, economical or racial background… In short they don’t give a fuck about YOU… They are interested in ownership, they are not interested in education, they pay for the commercials you see begging you to buy into what they are selling because you need it and “no” you are not good enough without it… They foreclose house’s on troops in Iraq, they simply don’t give a FUCK…

Daniel Brouse
i guess that makes it easier… to blame the shadows for our own casting

Neal Goldberg
Stop hiding in the Dark BITCH I live on earth why do I have to read the small print cause your crooked mouth can’t say that shit out loud

Neal Goldberg
Tell me the truth you loaned me this money as a predatory lender

Neal Goldberg
I’m sorry why the fuck did we bail out the banks? So they can foreclose on the house they didn’t get paid back for, THATS WHY THE FUCK WE BAILED YOU OUT

Neal Goldberg
Oh wait I can’t pay you back cause you took my job too, and now I’ve got no job no car no house the LEAST of my concerns is paying you back 20% interest on money I shouldn’t owe you in the first place

Daniel Brouse
sorry to say… in this regard, you are correct. a lil’ paper i wrote that predicted the current events…

if ya wanna get into that logic… it is the gov’t that is to blame for borrowing money. the gov’t should not borrow money. citizen…s of the US are to blame for that. of course, in the end… the scales of justice will balance:
The Golden Rule’s Social Justification

Neal Goldberg
Word now we’re getting somewhere but the problem is really that ALL of our money is borrowed because it’s printed by a bank THE FEDERAL RESERVE “BANK” is a privately owned “BANK” every dollar we print comes at “25%” interest too the BANK, …this BANK was never ever in the plans for America. We never wanted a central bank, ever, never, ever. Woodrow Wilson says it was his biggest mistake, and they pushed the legislation through on christmas eve so no one could vote against it… WHO OWNS THE FEDERAL RESERVE “BANK” Rockafeller, Morgan, Rothchild and Warburg

Neal Goldberg http://www.apfn.org/apfn/fed_reserve.htm very interesting shit… We Are the Fools Mr. Brouse but no more….

Marco Sforza
Neal Goldberg, your comments are real. And just amazing. I’m glad i read this all. And dude Neal, you just made me wiser i think. thanks dude. youre really smart. and if ur comments were any more correct I’d start reconsidering perfection to be real again haha. good man. good.

Neal Goldberg
Dude listen I’m not smart or I’d have these people’s heads on a stick but I can’t do it alone I’m just musician and there’s nobody who wants to here songs about this shit… They ain’t putting you on a clear channel owned station if you’re …gonna talk shit about their sponsor’s but together, WE OWN THEM… All their money means shit if we don’t buy their goods… My dream is that Walmart folds with there rottin milk wreaking up their whole cheap store full of shit Americans used to make with their own hands… This whole bank talk has major implications to what is going on in the world… People in the middle east are saying enough is enough but unless an educated extremely righteous person who is willing to sacrifice, steps up we’re all gonna get sucked back into the this bullshit money game…

Neal Goldberg
We are out there we are struggling and they are pitting the middle class against itself, divide and conquer… That union shit is not about better teacher performance it’s about indoctorinating your kids with test scores and ZERO critical t…hinking… How many kids you go to highschool with that did better then you but couldn’t logically find there way around a fucking mall map, gimme a break… it staggering. it’s all connected they are robbing all of us in every possible way, worse yet we’re robbing each other in the name of progress, eat or be eatin… There’s enough food for ALL of us, to bad it’s genetically modified so that you have to buy the fucking seeds from them the next year, like they’re selling you a disposable car charger, like they make each one different for more profit, for a bigger fucking yacht… I hope they burn still tied to the dock… Shit rolls down hill folks lucky I grew up in the Valley, I went to school in the Hills, and I was born so far south that my blood boils with the have-nots…

Daniel Brouse
ha! well, justification is here. guess it doesn’t matter if we like it or not… everything balances out in the end. that’s why they talk about it in the Religions Of The Book… jews, christians, muslims… all believe in gods Book… H…er accounting book… and in the end, they say God’s checkBook will balance

however, i must disagree with you about being just a musician and not writing songs about this stuff. i find the message of music to be the mose powerful, if we humans are gonna envoke change and help right the injustice?

like this one:
Tell me this again:
Time is growing thin
Many will lose
And, some may win

The who whose
Baring a grin
Looked within
And, gave throughout
The entire route
From birth to death
Earns worth

One second’s value
Is the same as two
The value holds true
I can’t save time
For a rainy day
I can’t accumulate
At any rate
Time

I’m
To emulate
My potential
The energy in me
Make my genetic
Kinetic
The value in me

Figure how
To find the value
In now

One second’s value
Is the same as two…
Or more
The value holds true
For sure
Put meant
In every
Moment
Make very
Important
The presentSee More

Daniel Brouse
ps this conversation seems to be *worth* something… does anyone mind if i repost it publicly?

Neal Goldberg
Word. but banker, man, you are an artist…. Help us fight from the inside… Read their fucking names out loud, who are these scum suckers where can we find them. If some asshole is gonna protest at a funeral about gays in the military I’m …sure I can find some peeps to picket outside dushberries 5 mil. apartment in the city… Lets get the truth out, get angry, you gotta say “I’m a human being god Damn it” The fucking were tolls on the turnpike were to build a fucking bridge that now you’re not gonna build, so tear down down the fucking tolls… We passed the legal marijuana law now fucking build the infrastructure or we’re gonna kick your ass to the curb, YOU DUMB ASS POLITICIANS WORK FOR US THE PEOPLE… Lobbyists should be ousted on site, it BRIBERY a five year old could see that… TELL ALL THE PEOPLE THAT YOU SEE… FOLLOW ME DOWN

John Bernard http://news.slashdot.org/story/11/03/14/1323257/Anonymous-Leaks-Internal-Bank-of-America-Emails?from=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+%28Slashdot%29

Daniel Brouse
‎”I’m a human being god Damn it”

Flooding From Tsunami

Japan's Coast Before the Earthquaker

NASA’s Terra satellite’s first view of northeastern Japan in the wake of a devastating earthquake and tsunami reveal extensive flooding along the coast. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired the top image of the Sendai region on March 12, 2011, at 10:30 a.m. The lower image, taken by Terra MODIS on February 26, 2011, is provided as a point of reference.

Water is black or dark blue in these images. It is difficult to see the coastline in the March 12 image, but a thin green line outlines the shore. This green line is higher-elevation land that is above water, presumably preventing the flood of water from returning to the sea. The flood indicator on the lower image illustrates how far inland the flood extends.

Both images were made with infrared and visible light, a combination that increases the contrast between muddy water and land. Plant-covered land is green, while snow-covered land is pale blue. Clouds are white and pale blue. The paved surfaces in the city of Sendai colors it brown.

MODIS detected a fire burning near the shore north of Sendai. The fire is marked with a red box. It is also surrounded by floods.

The photo-like true-color image acquired a few hours later shows plumes of sediment washed into the ocean along the coast and a dark plume of smoke near Sendai. Both images are from the MODIS Rapid Response System, which provides twice-daily images of Japan.

NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.

Instrument: Terra – MODIS

Christchurch Eartquake

It is a modern human tendency to focus on the number of an earthquake—specifically, the magnitude, or what people used to call the “Richter scale.” But the destruction from a quake usually has more to do with location and timing. Such was the case with the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, on February 22, 2011.

A September 2010 earthquake centered 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Christchurch, in the plains near Darfield, struck at 4:35 a.m., had a magnitude of 7.1, and caused some structural damage and one death (by heart attack). The earthquake in February 2011 occurred at 12:51 p.m. and just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the center of Christchurch. It had a magnitude of 6.3, though was officially classified—scientifically speaking—as an aftershock of the 2010 quake. At least 166 people died, and the city of Christchurch was devastated structurally and emotionally. Many people are still missing.

The natural-color image above was captured on March 4, 2011, by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. Overlain on the map are seismological measurements of the ground shaking in the Christchurch area on February 22, as noted by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazard Program.
The deeper the red color of the circle, the more intense the “peak ground acceleration,” or shaking of the earth. Note how intensity is highest right around the most densely developed areas of Christchurch. City officials and news accounts also described liquefaction—the softening and loosening of the soil due to shaking and groundwater penetration—that was 300 to 500 percent worse than during the September 2010 earthquake.

There are two forms of energy that cause the shaking in an earthquake. “P” or primary waves provide the initial, often vertical, jolt that lifts people and structures off the ground. “S” or secondary waves lead to horizontal shaking. Most structures collapse during the longer-duration S waves because buildings are not designed to handle this side-to-side motion. In Christchurch, the quake occurred so close by that the lag between P and S waves was a mere second.

References
GeoNet (2011, March 4) Christchurch badly damaged by magnitude 6.3 earthquake. Accessed March 8, 2011.
GNS Science (2011, February 25) February 22nd earthquake in Christchurch. Accessed March 8, 2011.
New Zealand Herald (2011, February ) Christchurch earthquake: Levels of liquefaction 300-500 pc worse. Accessed March 8, 2011.
U.S. Geological Survey (n.d.) Shake Map: South Island of New Zealand. Accessed March 8, 2011.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon, using ALI data from the EO-1 Team and USGS Earthquake Hazard Program. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.

Slavery never went away. It just evolved into more efficient slavery: wage servitude.
Men As Beasts of Burden

There are concerns about using ethanol in gasoline. It is possible that ethanol is actually worse for the environment and increasing the rate of global warming; however, the EPA is allowing E15.

E15 (a blend of gasoline and ethanol)

In response to a request by Growth Energy under section 211(f)(4) of the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has partially granted a waiver to allow fuel and fuel additive manufacturers to introduce into commerce gasoline that contains greater than 10 volume percent (vol%) ethanol and up to 15 vol% ethanol (E15) for use in model year (MY) 2001 and newer light-duty motor vehicles, subject to several conditions. On October 13, 2010, EPA granted a partial waiver for E15 for use in MY2007 and newer light-duty vehicles (i.e., cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty passenger vehicles). On January 21, 2011, EPA granted a partial waiver for E15 for use in MY2001-2006 light-duty motor vehicles. These decisions were based on test results provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other information regarding the potential effect of E15 on vehicle emissions. Taken together, the two actions allow, but do not require, E15 to be introduced into commerce for use in MY2001 and newer light-duty motor vehicles if conditions for mitigating misfueling and ensuring fuel quality are met. EPA is in the process of completing work on regulations that would provide a more practical means of meeting the conditions.

Prior to the distribution of E15, fuel and fuel additive manufacturers are required to register the fuel with EPA. For more information on fuel registration visit the Registration and Health Effect Testing page. There are also a number of other actions including changes to various state and local laws that may also affect the distribution of E15.

What is E15?

Ethanol is an alcohol that can be mixed with gasoline to result in a cleaner-burning fuel. The most common blend of gasoline and ethanol is E10, or 10 percent of ethanol to 90 percent of gasoline. E10 was granted a waiver under Clean Air Act section 211(f)(4) by operation of law over 30 years ago. E15 is gasoline containing 15 vol% ethanol.

The primary source of ethanol is corn, but other grains or biomass sources may be used.
What is the E15 waiver?

In order to protect the emission control systems of vehicles and engines, the Clean Air Act prohibits the introduction of fuels or fuel additives that are not substantially similar to the fuels or fuel additives used in certifying vehicles and engines to emission standards. However, the Act authorizes EPA to grant a waiver of this prohibition for a fuel or fuel additive if it can be demonstrated that vehicles and engines using the otherwise prohibited fuel or fuel additive will continue to meet emission standards over their “full useful life” (100,000 or 120,000 miles, depending on the vehicle type and model year).

In March 2009, Growth Energy (a coalition of U.S. ethanol supporters) and 54 ethanol manufacturers applied for a waiver to increase the allowable amount of ethanol in gasoline from E10 to E15. The waiver application included data on the impact of E15 on vehicle emissions, fuel system materials, and driveability. Additional data were developed by DOE, which in 2008 began testing for potential impacts of various ethanol-gasoline blends on emissions of MY2007 and newer light-duty motor vehicles. This testing followed enactment of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which calls for significantly increasing the amount of biofuels, such as ethanol, to be used in transportation fuel. EPA received over 78,000 public comments about Growth Energy’s application.

Initially, EPA partially granted Growth Energy’s waiver request application. Based in large part on DOE test data, the Agency approved the waiver for and allowed the introduction into commerce of E15 for use in MY2007 and newer light-duty motor vehicles, subject to certain conditions. EPA did not approve the waiver for E15 use in MY2000 and older light-duty motor vehicles, heavy-duty gasoline engines and vehicles (e.g., delivery trucks), highway and off-highway motorcycles, and nonroad engines, vehicles, and equipment (e.g., boats, snowmobiles, and lawnmowers) due to insufficient test data or other information to support a waiver for these vehicles and engines. At the time of the announcement in October, EPA deferred action on E15 for use in MY2001-2006 light-duty motor vehicles until DOE test data for those model years became available.

On January 21, 2011, after DOE test data were made available to the public (see EPA Docket #EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0211 at www.regulations.gov), EPA took further action on Growth Energy’s waiver request application to approve the introduction into commerce of E15 for use in MY 2001-2006 and newer light-duty motor vehicles, subject to the same conditions that apply to the partial waiver decision for later model year vehicles. Taken together, the two waiver decisions allow the introduction into commerce of E15 for use in MY2001 and newer light-duty motor vehicles if the waiver conditions are met.
What Vehicles May Use E15?

* Flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs).
* MY2001 and newer cars.
* MY2001 and newer light-duty trucks.
* MY2001 and newer medium-duty passenger vehicles. (SUVs).

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What Vehicles and Engines May Not Use E15?

* All motorcycles.
* All vehicles with heavy-duty engines, such as school buses, transit buses, and delivery trucks.
* All off-road vehicles, such as boats and snowmobiles.
* All engines in off-road equipment, such as lawnmowers and chain saws.
* All MY2000 and older cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles (SUVs).

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What Conditions are Part of the Waiver Decision?

EPA placed two types of conditions on the waiver for E15: those for mitigating the potential for misfueling of E15 into vehicles, engines and equipment for which E15 is not approved, and those addressing fuel and ethanol quality. All conditions must be met prior to the introduction of E15 into commerce.

Fuel quality conditions:

* Ethanol used for E15 must meet ASTM International D4806-10.
* The Reid Vapor Pressure for E15 is limited to 9.0 psi during the summertime.

Misfueling mitigation conditions:

* Labels must be placed on E15 retail dispensers indicating that E15 use is only for MY2001 and newer motor vehicles.
* Product Transfer Documents (PTDs) must accompany all transfers of fuels for E15 use.
* Parties involved in the manufacture of E15 must participate in a survey of compliance at fuel retail dispensing facilities to ensure proper labeling of dispensers.
* Parties must submit a plan addressing conditions to EPA for approval.

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What is EPA doing to Address Potential Misfueling?

EPA is in the process of establishing a regulatory program to help mitigate potential misfueling of vehicles, engines, and equipment for which E15 is not approved. Concurrently with the October 13, 2010 partial waiver decision, the Agency proposed a rule that would require all E15 fuel dispensers to have a label if a retail station chooses to sell E15, and sought comment on separate labeling requirements for fuel blender pumps and fuel pumps that dispense E85. Similar to the prohibition in Clean Air Act section 211(f)(1), the rule would prohibit the use of gasoline containing greater than 10 vol% ethanol in vehicles and engines not covered by the partial waiver for E15. In addition, the rule would require PTDs specifying ethanol content and Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) to accompany the transfer of gasoline blended with ethanol and a national survey of retail stations to ensure compliance with these requirements. The rule would also modify the Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) program by updating the Complex Model to allow fuel manufacturers to certify batches of gasoline containing up to E15. The measures were designed to help promote the successful introduction of E15 into commerce.

EPA held a public hearing on the proposed rule in November and provided a 60-day public comment period that ended on January 3, 2011.

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Notices and Updates
NOTE: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download, to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader.

Under the authority of Clean Air Act section 211(f)(4), EPA may consider the March 2009 application from Growth Energy for a waiver for a gasoline-ethanol blend with up to 15 vol% ethanol (E15) to be used in non-flexible-fueled vehicles.

EPA reviewed Growth Energy’s application along with available test data, other information and public comments. On October 13, 2010, EPA determined that, subject to compliance with the conditions listed in the waiver decision, a gasoline produced with greater than 10 volume percent (vol%) ethanol and up to 15 vol% ethanol will not cause or contribute to a failure of MY 2007 and newer cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty passenger motor vehicles to achieve compliance with applicable emission standards over the vehicles’ full useful life. Therefore, EPA partially and conditionally granted Growth Energy’s waiver request for a gasoline-ethanol blend with up to 15 vol% ethanol. On January 21, 2011, EPA took further action on Growth Energy’s waiver request and granted a partial waiver for E15 use in MY 2001-2006 cars, light duty trucks and medium-duty passenger vehicles, subject to the same conditions that apply to the partial waiver for newer light-duty motor vehicles.

* Partial waiver for use of E15 in MY2001-2006 light-duty motor vehicles | PDF Version (22 pp; 2.7MB; January 26, 2011)
* Fact Sheet: EPA Announces E15 Partial Waiver Decision | PDF Version (3 pp; 510K; EPA-420-F-11-003; January 21, 2011)
* Partial waiver for use of E15 in MY2007 and newer light-duty motor vehicles | PDF Version (58 pp, 4.57M, published November 4, 2010)
* Status Update (July 2010)
* Status Update (PDF) (2 pp, 493K, November 30, 2009)
* Extension of Comment Period: Notice | PDF Version (2 pp, 75K, published May 20, 2009)
* Notice of Receipt of Waiver Application | PDF Version (3 pp, 77K, published April 21, 2009)

For further information or assistance, please contact Robert Anderson (anderson.robert@epa.gov) or at 202-343-9718.

“Apart from Buddhism, the college also teaches courses like Buddhist music, sculpture, foreign languages, kung fu and tea-making.”

Giant Buddha College