Monday 7/6/2009
The Curse of Cheddar Bay
John MacFarlane on stuff, things
An incomplete index of what John is doing right now and a little bit before right now. And possibly a little bit before that.
"… other than to say on her Facebook page on Saturday that she is ‘now looking ahead and how we can advance this country together.’"
Sunday 7/5/2009
Political Memo - If White House Is Her Goal, Palin’s Route Is Risky. I delight in the way the NYT delights in quoting her incoherence. Democracy is dead.
"In a hammer stroke the NSW Government’s special legislation would override the National Parks and Wildlife Act, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, the Threatened Species Conservation Act, the Forestry Act, the Water Management Act, the Fisheries Management Act and the Local Government Act."
Friday 7/3/2009
The NSW government decides it wants to have a Rally Car race, whether the people who live near the proposed route like it or not. From newmatilda.com.
"The amount of plastic that will be produced this decade will nearly equal the total produced in the 20th century."
"According to a report by Bloomberg this week, Macarthur Coal, an Australian company that is the world’s biggest exporter of pulverized coal, plans to double production over the next five years."
"On Monday, the European Commission, the European Union’s executive branch, said that it had reached a voluntary agreement with some of the biggest names in the electronics industry to introduce a common charger for cellphones that fits all models."
Wednesday 7/1/2009
Speaking of deniers, this comment (#8) is probably one of the funnier ones I have read in quite some time.
"Of the 25 per cent which the poll found opposed the [emissions trading] scheme, 29 per cent felt Australia should “not go it alone” but wait for other nations. Another 25 per cent felt it would damage the economy, 24 per cent felt climate change was not a product of human activity, and 17 per cent thought the cuts were inadequate."
From an SMH article that also notes that the opposition wants an amendment that declares the coal industry an “emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industry, thus entitling it to free permits”. Because why would we want this legislation, about emissions, to do anything about emissions-intensive industries?
But the above poll figures are interesting, because it shows that the people who think climate change isn’t anthropogenic is 24 percent of 25 percent, or 6 percent. Which qualifies it for fringe status at most.
Thursday 6/25/2009
transportation;
An ode to my bike light.
Neiman Journalism Lab interviews the developer who built the user-driven expenses tracker for the newspaper’s website.
"Once upon a time, geographic relevance determined a station’s name, but now, the authority says it is open to any naming agreements that can raise revenue for its transit system, including ones not directly tied to location."
M.T.A. Sells Naming Rights to Brooklyn Subway Station. All aboard for the Barclay’s stop.
"… [I]f you are any kind of normal person, you won’t be able to tell which machine is which, and so it will pretty much look like two or more enormous microwaves with swords violently mating."
