The world has been talking about climate change for years now. Leaders from around the world have taken initiatives and make promises to combat the effects of climate change. But before we know about these initiatives, it is crucial to understand the impact of the change and how it affects us.
What is climate change?
NASA described climate change as a change in the average conditions -- such as temperature and rainfall, in a region, over a long period. Scientists have observed that earth's surface is warming, and many of the warmest years on record have happened in the past 20 years.
This change is affecting the natural eco-system of the planet and abrupting its natural course of functioning.
The IPCC says a 1.5°C average rise may put 20-30 per cent of species at risk of extinction. If the planet warms by more than 2°C, most ecosystems will struggle.
Effects of climate change
The effect of climate change is seen in the polar regions in an amplified manner. Earth's polar regions -- north and south -- are crucial for regulating the climate. But due to an increase in the temperature, the ice in the polar regions is melting - affecting the overall planet and the survival of the exotic species of the region.
Oceans are known to be 'carbon sinks', as they are responsible for absorbing huge amounts of carbon dioxide and preventing it from reaching the upper atmosphere. But due to the increased water temperatures and higher carbon dioxide concentrations, oceans are becoming more acidic affecting the flora and fauna.
The impact of climate change on forests vary according to their region of origin. With the temperature rise, the sub-artic forests are shifting towards the north in search of cooler weathers. Where as, the tropical forests such as the Amazon, a store house of abundant biodiversity, are becoming extinct.
Increased rainfall, floods
Climate change is having serious impact on the world's water systems through more flooding and droughts. Warmer air can hold a higher water content, which makes rainfall patterns more extreme. This is the reason for the increase in extreme situations of droughts or floods.
How does climate change affect us?
Health - Respirator disorders, mental health issues, over all body damage due to increased exposure to CO2.
Food - Extra CO2 is speeding up photosynthesis and causing plants to grow with more sugar and less calcium, protein, zinc, and important vitamins.
Home - Flooding, droughts, increasing sea levels and decreasing forests causing displacement.


Mayor Noam Bramson announced the results of his “Sustained Development” Plan at the City Council meeting on April 20th.
Say goodbye “property rights” and hello “collectivism”!
The plan mixes warm and fuzzy ideas everyone can support like adding more bike lines and walking trails, rain gardens, encouraging more recycling and increasing the number of children using City parks with onerous new regulations, aggressive new enforcement polices and a series of back-door tax increases couple with initiatives that have nothing to do with protecting the environment like increasing the number of people relying exclusively on the City government for news and information about New Rochelle, offering ESL classes to adults, tripling the number of artists living in the City and building additional subsidized housing. One idea in the plan is to create “friendly competition” among residents by distributing residents Con Ed bills to their neighbors to see who is “saving” the environment more, something that sounds a lot more like a gross invasion of privacy where my neighbor gets my electric bill and then ratsme out to some Green Czar in City Hall if they think I have too many of the wrong sort of lightbulbs.
The Mayor’s plan is nothing less than a massive power grab by government designed to dictate terms to residents and place every decision through a “social justice” prism masquerading as environmental policy.
According to Mayor Bramson’s Blog:
GreeNR articulates a broad vision for economic, environmental and social progress, while also outlining a detailed, specific and achievable plan of action tailored to our own community. It is intended to be a framework for goal-setting and decision-making that can help guide municipal action for the next twenty years. (emphasis added)
UPDATE: Quite a few readers have informed me of problems downloading the Plan from the City web site. I looked into this and discovered that whoever converted the file from its original format (probably Quark or similar publishing platform) did not properly convert/remove the image masks and so many very large image files were retained in the PDF causing the file to be 110 MB. I was not able to completely eliminate the image issue but did reduce the file size from 110 MB to 8.3 MB, a far more manageable size.
GreeNR Draft Sustainability Plan (reduced size version)
The Journal News recently asked the Mayor about the term “sustained development”. Notice how will not explain what the term means only about what is contained in the plan that uses that name.
Q. For a city like New Rochelle, what does it mean to be “sustainable”?
A. Our sustainability plan, GreeNR focuses on environmental conservation, economic growth and social equity. Its specific goals include reduced energy consumption, wastewater and flood control, habitat protection, expanded urban forestry, and transit-oriented development.
Why won’t proponents of so-called “sustained development” explain what the term means?
To better understand what the Mayor means by terms like “sustained development” and “social progress” or “social equity”, New Rochelle residents are well advised to understand more about ICLEI, the Belgian-based, United Nations-backed, organization that Mayor has brought into the City of New Rochelle under the guise of “going green”. As readers will find, ICLEI uses a “boiling frog” approach to foist its agenda on unsuspecting American citizens, an agenda far more radical than the Mayor is letting on, with the ultimate goal to lock in New Rochelle to their agenda for the coming decades without residents understanding the ultimate goals of this organization or what “forced sacrifices” they will be required to make under the ICLEI-inspired regime the Mayor seeks to impose through the friendly sounding “GreeNR” plan.
Make no mistake about the massive significance of this “Sustained Development” plan.
The Full Plan document begins by stating that as “ongoing standard practice, relevant municipal actions, such as Comprehensive Plan updates, zoning amendments, development agreements, and environmental assessments, should be reviewed for consistency with GreeNR’s objectives.” In other words, every decision made in the City of New Rochelle would be filtered through the prism of GreeNR so that the goals of GreeNR becomes the determining factor in the lives of every New Rochelle resident in perpetuity. The Full Plan goes on to required that the “City Administration should prioritize implementation of GreeNR, coordinate staff activities as necessary to fully develop strategies for action, and present decisions and options to the City Council in a timely and thorough fashion.” In other words, all activities of the government and every employee of the government will be priortized to carry out the “Sustained Development” plan. Of course, there is some blather about how the City Council can always change their mind but realize that anyone person who dares oppose a GreeNR initiative will be accused to not caring about “the future”, “our kids”, “the environment”, “health”, “quality of life” and every other demagogic term under the sun. Imagine the way the teachers union demands more and more “for the kids” by which they mean “for themselves”. Now square that and you have a rough idea of how difficult it will be to unwind the damage created by this ICLEI-inspired, United Nations-backed program.
In the meantime, be sure to read
Plan on attending the City Council’s public hearing on the GreeNR Draft on Tuesday, May 11th at 7:30pm. Speakers will be allotted three minutes each, although longer comments can be submitted in writing. You can sign up to speak when you arrive and do not need to pre-register.
Having now read through the entire document and researched the organizations behind all of this in the “All About ICLEI” Series mentioned above, I would like to suggest a few questions New Rochelle residents might want to ask…
Can the Mayor explain EXACTLY what he means about the term “sustained development”?
What is the “social progress” he is talking about?
The draft plan says that “Achieving GreeNR’s goals will require an ongoing commitment to sustainability, demonstrated not only through public policy, but also through individual action.” What “individual action” will this Sustained Development Plan “require” of residents. What will be the penalties for individuals who do not comply with the individual action requirements?
The Sustained Development Plan says that the average New Rochelle resident generates 103 gallons of sewage. That is a lot of sewage for one person; how was that number calculated?
According to the Introduction, the entire premise for the Sustained Development Plan is “Human beings are consuming resources more quickly than they can regenerate”. Based on what data? How was this number calculated? Who provided the data and who made the calculations? Where did the concept “borrowing from the future” originate? Is that phrase part of a PR campaign by any particular organization?
Another premise of this Sustained Development Plan is that Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) or “man-made” Global Warming is a proven scientific fact. Is it not the case that scientists who have been among the foremost proponents of AGW have been found to fabricate or lost data to support their claims that AGW is real — from claims about melting Himalayan Glaciers, phony tree ring data, and the infamous “Hockey Stick Graph” and many other scare-mongering claims have been now shown to be false.
The Sustained Development Plan asserts that “human activity is responsible for serious and harmful changes in the global environment, including increases in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases, with a consequent and accelerating rise in average global temperatures, now up 1.4 degrees since 1880”. Is it not the case that the head of the Climatic Research Unit in England has now admitted in a BBC interview that there has been no global warming since 1995, that there have been warming periods before and that they were not due to man-made changes, that the data for the ‘hockey stick graph’ upon which the most hysterical claims have been made has “gone missing”
Further, isn’t it true that the now discredited Climatic Research Unit is the group which maintained the time series of the instrumental temperature records that were featured prominently in both the 2001 and 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, that the IPCC itself was created by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme, both organizations of the United Nations? Isn’t also true that the primary focus of the UN has been to address “climate change” by having wealthy nations give money to poor nations to “pay” for the “cost” of climate change rather than actually eliminating the underlying factor — industrialization — that AGW proponents claim causes AGW?
The Sustained Development Plan asserts that the “scientific consensus points to an additional increase in global temperatures of between 3.2 and 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit, with dire consequences.” Meteorologist have trouble predicting the weather for the upcoming weekend. The City and School District cannot accurate predict next year’s tax increase. So, what computer models are being used to make such temperature predictions? How are those models independently tested and verified for accuracy? Who came up with these exact figures of “between 3.2 and 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit”? Over what period of time will these changes occur and what “dire consequences” will result?
Why does this entire introduction document sound very much like the speech given by David Kooris last September at the kick-off event? Were these “findings” pre-determined? How much of this document is ICLEI boilerplate material and now part of original work done by local residents? The graphics are very sophisticated for a City of New Rochelle presentation and report, did some outside organization produce this material? What is ICLEI or a related organization?
The introduction references economic growth in less-developed countries and says “the direct relationship between economic growth, greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption must be broken”. How does GreeNR propose to do that when economic growth in less-developed countries entails a growing middle-class that wants to own homes, cars, computers, major appliances and other products which are a fact of modern life in developed nations. Do you propose to prohibit individuals from buying these products? Retard their economic growth to inhibit the growth of a middle class in less-developed countries? How is this all the responsibility of New Rochelle residents?
The introduction says “it is true that some possible solutions may entail monetary expense, challenges to traditional industries, and alterations in familiar personal habits”. What are those, exactly?
What is meant by the phrase “we are capable of collective action when sufficiently motivated”? What is “collective action” and how is such action to be “sufficiently motivated”?
The report contains a photograph of bicycle racks in New Rochelle. The racks are empty. How much money and carbon emissions have been used to manufacture, transport, install and maintain these bicycle racks?
The report contains a photograph of people on Library Green. What is that photograph intended to convey to the reader?
The report says “New Rochelle has already taken a wide range of actions to achieve sustainability, including, but not limited to: transit-oriented development”. Is the development referred to here primarily Avalon One and Avalon Two? If so, have these developments result in more or less vehicular traffic and carbon dioxide emissions to New Rochelle? Is it not the case that since the completion of the Avalon projects, parking in the downtown area has become a contentious issue due to the proliferation of vehicles in the downtown area as the result of the “transit-oriented development” referenced in the plan?
The report says “the communities that position themselves earliest and most fully as models of sustainable action are likely to benefit from national shifts towards greener commercial activity”. How does “positioning” New Rochelle as a model of “sustainable action” cause the City to benefit from “greener commercial activity”. What exactly is “greener commercial activity”? what exactly is “sustainable action”?
What does the report mean by “social advancement”? How does this plan achieve “social advancement”?
The report says “the private residential and commercial sectors in New Rochelle account for 97.5% of our local energy consumption, and for comparable percentages of waste generation, water use, and other measures of sustainability.”? Given this, doesn’t “sustained development” mean placing new restrictions on the use of private property, lifestyle choices and commercial activity?
The report contains projections for 2030. Based on current data, there are 75,000 people living in 28,000 households or 2.67 people per household. By 2030, the projections say New Rochelle will add 5,000 people and 2,500 households or 2.00 people per household. Why do the projections indicate that future growth will consist of households that are, on average, 25% smaller than today’s households?
What is the source of data on Energy Use, CO2 Emissions, Non-Recycled Solid Waste, Water Use, Wastewataer Non-Storm Peak?
With regard to the 10 big goals, what does “subscribing” to the City website mean? People can visit a web site, they can bookmark it, they can type in the URL, they can subscribe to an RSS Feed (but they have to use an RSS reader for that). So, explain in detail what is meant by this term in this context? How does “subscribing” to the City web site help reduce energy use, carbon emissions, solid waste, wastewater, etc?
By 2030, the plan says there will be 2,500 new households and 95% of all new housing will be near mass transit. Define “near”. If Avalon Two is 400 households, does that mean you are talking about building six additional 50 story towers in downtown New Rochelle? Or some equivalent high-rise buildings? Given that the number of children in Avalon One and Two far exceeds the original projects, what will the impact be on already overcrowded schools? Will new schools needs to be built? Where will the land come from to build those schools? Former school properties have been sold to commercial developers or turned over to the Parks Department. Will new schools mean less parks? Is there a conflict here between building more high-rise apartments and condos the need for more schools and the goals for more trees, more shoreline, preserving natural spaces, a comprehensive walking and bicycling system?
Much of the Action Plan regarding Energy Consumption are based on municipal initiatives — green fleets, more efficient buildings, lighting, etc. – but all municipal energy consumption accounts for about 2.5% of the total. So how much impact will this really have?
The Action Plan says the City will “adopt requirements and guidelines to promote energy efficiency and conservation in the construction, renovation, and operation of buildings, with distinct standards for structures of different size and use.” As 95% of new construction is expected to be downtown high-rise apartment buildings, how much of the new “requirements and guidelines” will entail current homeowners having to retro-fit their homes at their own expense? How is requiring homeowners to pay for alterations to their homes to comply with government regulation different from a tax?
What are some examples of how the City can generate energy on public lands?
The Plan calls for a local loan program for Efficiency & Conservation Loans. These will be needed to make meeting new building codes more affordable. This would suggest there is some expectation that property owners will not be able to afford to alter their properties to meet the new building codes. What is the basis for this? What is the expected per capita cost of these changes? By individual, by household, for individual homeowners, commercial property owners? How exactly is an “Efficiency & Conservation Loan” secured by property tax obligations? How can a loan be paid back by “energy savings”? Won’t the lenders want actual money?
The plans sets a goal of 500 families composting their organic waste. How exactly does a family do this? What is organic waste? How is composted? Does the organic waste get stored on-site? Is it transported to a composting facility? Where will that composting facility be located? What impact on waste reduction goals will 500 families have on the goals of the plan?
The plan calls for “enhanced enforcement activities” to achieve the goal of near universal recycling. What will will these enforcement activities entail? Does this mean agents giving out tickets? What sort of fines are involved?
The plan calls for “recycling bins at public locations already served by trash collection”. How many of these locations are there? What will be the impact on recycling collection? Will additional trucks and employees be required? How much will that cost?
How do you propose to reduce encouraged water conservation and control infiltration to “reduce stress on wastewater treatment facilities”? Does this entail additional changes to building codes? Will there be enforcement activities involved? What sort of fines will be involved? What staff will carry out the enforcement activities?
The plan calls for a study to consider creating a a regional composting site for New Rochelle and other nearby municipalities. What has been done elsewhere? How big are these facilities in other areas? What are the quality of life issues with becoming the regional composting site for lower Westchester?
What contaminated properties can be reclaimed in New Rochelle and then converted to public use?
What is “sustainable landscaping”? What codes impede “sustainable landscaping”?
What will stricter enforcement of idling laws entail?
Does putting the word “smart” in front of another word help differentiate the term in a meaningful way. For example, the plan calls for more “Transit-Oriented Smart Growth”. Is that different from “building apartment buildings near the train station”? Is this really new? Larchmont’s train station has been ringed by apartment buildings for over 50 years. What makes the New Rochelle plan “smart” and does that imply that the Larchmont plan from 50 years ago was “smarter” or “dumber” or what?
How do you propose to restrict undesirable growth in lower-density areas? Does this mean that the City is currently permitting undesirable growth in lower-density areas? If so, why? What areas are meant by this?
What does “better define optimum scale” mean?
The plans calls for fostering “green job” growth and attracting additional “green businesses” to New Rochelle. What would these “green businesses” be in addition to? In other words, what “green businesses” are currently in New Rochelle? What is the definition of a “green businesses”? Is a nursery a “green businesses”? What effort was made to retain the largest “green businesses” in New Rochelle, a company that made solar panels? Why did they leave?
What does attracting artists to New Rochelle have to do with being more “green”? Do artists consume less energy or emit less CO2 or generate less solid waste than non-artists? Artists are mentioned several times in this plan but no obvious connection is made between “Sustained Development” and the benefits associated with “arts and culture”.
Are the walking and cycling goals realistic given the climate in New Rochelle? Is this not more of a seasonal thing? What is the basis for the claim that 3,300 people walk or bike to work?
There are already issues with parking in downtown, the plan calls for almost all new residences to be located in downtown, so where is the space for 350 bicycle spaces going to come from?
What is a “Complete Streets” policy?
What under-utilized alternative routes can be redesigned to facilitate downtown access?
How is the idea of a a free or low-cost “Jitney Service” different from Bee-Line Buses or Jim Killorin’s proposed downtown trolley?
What sort of financial incentives would be created to discourage single occupancy vehicle commuting? Does this mean paying people who carpool, fining or creating new costs to those who do not carpool or both?
The plan calls for distributing GreeNR canvas tote bags. Will these be provided to residents at no cost? How much will this cost the City? Will stores be prohibited from giving customers plastic or paper bags?
How is English language instruction for New Rochelle residents a “Green” initiative?
Does “Outdoor Classrooms” mean sending teachers and children at the public schools out into the woods and parks? How is this practicable when only a few schools (e.g., Barnard, Ward, ALMS, NRHS, etc.) are in a reasonable proximity to woods and parks? Do these constitute field trips? Would special permission be requried? Is this a backdoor way to deal with overcrowding in our schools due to downtown development? What is rains?
The Action Plan says “data within GreeNR draws whenever possible on firm, objective sources.” Which sources?
The Action Plan says “In many instances…hard data either could not be obtained or does not exist”. Which instances?
The Action Plan says “educated assumptions were made…generally in consultation with relevant staff or community experts.” Which staff or experts?
The Action Plan says a goal is to increase the average gas mileage of the municipal fleet by 50% from 10mpg to 15 mpg and reduce CO2 Emissions. The City has already put into service a “Green” garbage truck. What was the cost of acquiring the truck, all expenditures related to the truck prior to it going into service including costs related to problems with early attempts to outfit the truck, what have the cost of serving and maintenance of the truck since the first day it was on the street, in service, collecting garbage or other waste? Of the days since day one, how many days has the vehicle been available for service, how many days unavailable, how many day actually in service, how many days since the first day? How many miles per gallon did the vehicle get before it was “converted” to a green vehicle? How many miles per gallon does it get now?
The Action Plan seeks to base building codes on LEED Certification. Just to clarify this is the same LEED program created by the Natural Resources Defense Council? And isn’t the Natural Resources Defense Council a project created by the Tides Foundation? And isn’t this organization that has funded a wide range of radical groups including Islamist organizations like the Council for American Islamic Relations, a group with links to Hamas, and the Ruckus Society, a group of anarchist Greens who rioted and looted Seattle during the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting? Isn’t the Tides Foundation founded and run by Drummond Pike who personally repaid early $1 million embezzled from ACORN by Dale Rathke, the brother of Wade Rathke, the founder of ACORN who served as Chief Organizer for ACORN from 1970 to 2008. And isn’t this the same Wade Rathke who co-founded the Tides Center and currently sites on the Executive Board of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). And aren’t these individual and their colleagues strong proponents of wealth re-distribution who believe the United States is fundamentally racist and who have a stated goal of destroying the U.S. Financial System? And, if this is the case, is it wise to base our building codes in New Rochelle on a certification process they created?
Why does the implementation of the LEED “framework” include a need to “evaluate these standards for possible legal challenges”?
Who will determine what is the “highest economically feasible LEED standard” within the framework and what criteria will be used”?
What confidence should residents have that the City can “effectively establish administrative procedures for overseeing and enforcing new standards, with the following general framework for issuance of approvals: a building permit for acceptable design, a temporary certificate of occupancy upon confirmation of compliance, and a final certificate of occupancy for demonstration of operations” when the City has been unable to enforce current requirements regarding building permits and certificates of occupancy which are widely abused, especially by municipal employees and their friends and families who are adept at “playing the C of O game”?
Many residents have expressed concerned over the way in which the IDA suspends its own procedures in order to accommodate developers like Louis Capelli and Forest City/Ratner. The Action Plan calls for “fast-track procedures” for building applications featuring green design which include applications to the IDA. Doesn’t this undermine attempts to regularize IDA process?
What does “expand green building standards to encompass features beyond energy use”. What other uses are envisioned here?
The Action Plan notes “Possible Higher Construction Cost for Municipal Construction”. What higher costs? How much?
The Action Plan mentions “Primary Departmental Responsibility” for “Sustainability, Buildings, Development, Law”. Does New Rochelle have a “Sustainability Department”? What is that? How does it function? Who runs it? Who does the department head report to within the City government?
In what areas will it be practical to “enhance reliance on Segways, bicycles, and other low-emission vehicle options”? How does the Mayor get to City Hall most days? How about the City Manager?
Why is appropriate to rely on “realtors and appraisers to establish a method for quantifying property value increases associated with GreeNR Seals”? Isn’t their a conflict of interest here?
The Action Plan projects a $42 million increase in property values in 10 years due to the GreeNR Seal, based on what?
There are requirements for municipal buildings and private homes and businesses but none for “mid and high-rise building” where all changes appear to voluntarily and based on PR and moral suasion. Why are the mid and high-rise building exempt?
The Action Plan says “property owners can borrow the bond money to finance energy saving improvements and they repay the loan through a 15 – 20 year annual assessment on their property tax bills”. How is this different than a tax?
Will time spent on the proposed City Green Team take municipal employees away from their assigned responsibilities?
The Action Plan says the City will issue violations to homeowners who fail to recycle with concentration of enforcement efforts on routes with low compliance levels. What routes are those?
Who will pay for property owner inspection and repair of lateral lines in conjunction with property sales if this is made a requirement? The home owner? The home buyer? The City?
What is the expected impact of variable pricing for water, with rates increased during peak hours and cut during non-peak hours? How can residents be assured that United Water will not simply raise rates at peak times, in effect, punishing peak usage without rewarding off-peak usage?
Would Ward Acres represent a good regional composting site that could be utilized by New Rochelle and other nearby municipalities? Or is this another “great idea” from the North End crowd that will be shoved into the South End?
The Action Plan says that no violation notices issued within New Rochelle in 2009. Why put anti-idling restrictions in place if enforcement will be nonexistent?
The City Manager said conducting observation and data collection to evaluate the adequacy of current parking requirements was not feasible prior to recommending recent changes to parking downtown so how will such observation and data collection occur
What are some reasons that non-commuters would want to use the Transit Center garage during evening and weekend hours?
What steps would be taken to reduce car ownership among residents in the transit district — incentives, requirements, etc.?
What would be the purpose of a potential retrofit of portions of the Transit Center garage, for conversion to commercial use?
What ideas have been considered with regard to partnering with Metro-North and the New York State Thruway Authority to utilize air rights over their property for development? Have they done this elsewhere?
What is a “green business”? What is the difference between a green businesses and a business interested in greening their companies?
Does New York State law permit modifying IDA benefit standards to better target and promote green business attraction?
Why are the Workforce Housing goals part of a “Green” program? How is ensuring full compliance with County legacy grant obligations “green”?
Why is ensuring an adequate supply of appropriate and supportive senior housing part of the Action Plan for GreenNR?
What exactly is about artists that is “green”? How does tripling the number of artists living and/or working in New Rochelle impact the environment or contribute to “sustained development” of New Rochelle?
Wouldn’t saving the armory building represent preservation of an historic structure? Wouldn’t converting it to a sports facility, community center and/or museum be “creating a viable economic model for the adaptive reuse” of the Armory? Why is this not mentioned?
How does the goal of reducing traffic congestion and travel times around downtown comport with goal of adding 2,500 new households into the downtown area? Does this plan envision flying cars or other forms of personal aircraft?
Would the requirement of contributions from the owners of existing multi-family dwellings with fewer on-site parking spaces than current zoning would allow to fund a jitney service apply to buildings like Avalon Two which is allowed to count spaces in Avalon One?
How can ensure a fair system when you charge some public employees for a parking permit at City Hall while others get a credit for not parking when every employees personal situation is unique and so using or not using a car to get to work is more or less of an option?
How do you tell the difference between employees who “forgo” permits and those who simply do not need one? Why should employees who do not need a permit be paid for “forgoing” a permit while other employers who, for various reasons, need to get to work by car have to pay a fee? Will public employees simple park on nearby streets to avoid the permit fee? If they do park nearby and walk, will that count as “forgoing” a permit?
While it is nice that the parking permit rates are lower for scooters and motorcycles, isn’t there a seasonal factor involved? Are scooters and motorcycles safe to drive in winter or on rainy days? Is a year-round cycling solution really practical for a northern locale like New Rochelle?
What would mandatory conservation and recycling standards for permitted events in public parks entail?
Is it not a gross violation of privacy to publicly display private resource consumption by residents to their neighbors? What is the difference between “friendly competition” and being nagged by a neighbor about water or electricity use? Can you foresee problems with neighbors discussing who uses more water or energy and who is being “wasteful”, etc. Would the same apply to a comparable program for collecting and distributing recycling data? How different is this from turning neighbor against neighbor? Would neighbors report each other for violations?
How will a comprehensive community-wide plan for enhancing access to ESL instruction help the environment? What is “green” about this?
UPDATE, SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
If there is such concern over the 7,500 residents who do not speak English why is this plan only available in English?
Given the massive impact of this plan, why is a copy not being mailed to every resident of New Rochelle?
Since April 2009, a Sustainability Advisory Board — the primary forum for debating and resolving broad questions of GreeNR format and content– has met roughly every 6 weeks. Are those meetings covered under the New York State Open Meeting Law. If not, why not?
Why are so many of the people on the GreeNR committees NOT residents of New Rochelle?
Why are sections of the GreenNR plan not being finalized until AFTER the plan is voted on by the City Council?
What is the correct pronunciation of this plan? Is it “Gree NR” or Green R”. It is not “Green NR”, right. I am going with “Green R” as it is a little easier for me to pronounced.
The GreeNR plan is being presented as “just” goals and objectives. If so, why does the plan say “REMAINDER TO BE FINALIZED AFTER ADOPTION. POSSIBLE TEXT: The City Council conducted a public hearing on May 11, 2010, and then discussed GreeNR’s contents [and adopted amendments to the plan] during May and June of 2010. On June 15, 2010, the City Council formally adopted GreeNR as a policy statement and directed the City Manager to produce a strategy for implementing GreeNR’s recommendations.” Doesn’t this mean that as soon as the GreeNR plan is approved, the immediate next step will be to move towards developing an implantation plan? Will this “implementation plan” will be subject to FOIL and the Open Meeting Law?
If you got this far, it should be apparent that there is quite a bit in this plan that has absolutely nothing to do with the premise given at the outset — “Human beings are consuming resources more quickly than they can regenerate”. More email subscribers, more ESL classes, more subsidized housing and other elements of this “plan” will have absolutely no impact on the environment. Much of the plan includes things that are already being done without government intervention. Most of it involves using legal threats, fines, permit fees and taxes to badger people into changing their behavior more to the liking of some UN-backed, Belgian-based radical environmentalists.
Of course, we can all agree that nature walks, installing CF lightbulbs and painting the roofs of city buildings is fine but that is not this plans. As noted above, this plan represents a massive power grab by government designed to dictate terms to residents and place every decision through a “social justice” prism masquerading as environmental policy.
New Rochelle should reject this program, go back to the drawing board, select the reasonable, non-coercive elements to this plan, drop the “social progress” elements like ESL and affordable housing and focus on being good stewards of the Earth without “Big Brother” pitting neighbor against neighbor in what the proposed plan calls “friendly competition” but sounds a lot more like my neighbor getting my electric bill and then ratting me out to some Green Czar in City Hall.
For reading this epic post here is your reward:


text:
- 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 4″ piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped or sliced
- A small bunch of fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
- 1 whole bulb of garlic, cloves roughly smashed and peeled
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 10 cups water
- 5lb of spare ribs (whole rack, including rib tips)
- 1 8oz can tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup hoisin
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup sriracha
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- Juice of 1 fresh lime
- 1/3 cup chopped onions
- 1 heaping tbsp fresh minced garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Kosher salt
Brine the ribs
- In a large stockpot, combine all the brine ingredients except the vinegar, and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
- Add the vinegar and ribs to the pot, making sure the ribs are completely covered by the liquid (add a little more water if needed). Refrigerate overnight.
For the sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the onions, garlic, and a heavy pinch of kosher salt.
- Give the ingredients a quick stir, then cover the pot and allow the onions and garlic to saute lightly, sweating them until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes.
For the ribs
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Remove the ribs from the brine. Rinse off any excess brine and pat the ribs dry.
- Place the ribs in a large pan, and pour about 1 cup of sauce over the ribs, brushing it all over the top. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for approximately 3 hours, or until the ribs are tender and the meat is starting to shrink away from the ends of the bone. Remove from the oven and set the covered pan aside until it’s close to time serve.
- Set a clean, oiled gas grill to medium-high. Grill the ribs, basting them with the sauce and turning frequently every few minutes, until the ribs have acquired a nice crust and char.
- Remove the ribs from the grill to a cutting board and slice them into portions, about 2 ribs per portion. Serve the ribs with any remaining sauce.

domain: food


(PRWEB) June 13, 2011
TownHog, the largest and fastest growing provider of daily deals white label services, announced that it reaches over 50 million people online through its media partner network. The network also reaches millions more users through its media partners' radio and television stations, and newspapers.
This year has brought rapid growth to the San Francisco based company. Since January, TownHog launched its program in 25 new cities for CBS Local, as well as OpenTable’s Spotlight service, Cumulus Radio’s SweetJack.com, and LIN Media’s SaveNowLocal.com. Today the company provides daily deals in over 46 cities across the U.S. and Canada.
In December 2010, just one year after launching, TownHog announced its six million viewership mark. Six months later, its audience has increased nearly tenfold. This rapid growth reflects the network’s success in building a win-win-win platform for consumers, merchants and media partners.
TownHog has been a leading player in the daily deals space since 2009. With a reach of over 50 million users, TownHog offers its merchant partners exceptionally wide distribution through the largest network of elite white label partners, including Cumulus Radio, LIN Media, CBS, OpenTable, WABC, and the San Francisco Chronicle | SFGate, among others. TownHog’s growing network of online, newspaper, radio, and television partners allows it to target a diverse and more ideal audience than other daily deal services’ deal seeking email subscribers.


text:
Breaking Information E-mails
Among ladies surviving in farmworker communities in Florida — an crucial step up decreasing the dangers of acquiring HIV among a susceptible community with less usage of healthcare.
The approach? No nonsense and pretty direct.
“Many of those had been ashamed to see by themselves within the mirror — if they don’t know very well what an ordinary vagina seems like, just how do they understand if one thing is incorrect? ” said Patria Rojas, principal detective associated with research plus an associate professor at Florida Global University’s Robert Stempel university of Public health insurance and Social Perform.
So the main research was when it comes to females, who will be mostly Latina immigrants, to look at their bodies that are own. Rojas additionally talked towards the ladies about HIV, explained just what it’s and exactly how it is sent. As research, the ladies had to exercise using a condom that is female that can easily be positioned in your body hours before sexual intercourse, offering the lady more control of safer intercourse.
During the final end regarding the research, ladies in basic were 3 times more prone to make use of condoms, while solitary ladies had been four times almost certainly going to make use of them.
In accordance with the research, condom use went from 19 per cent to 33 per cent among sexually active ladies between the many years of 18 and 50.
Latino Among Democratic presidential promotions, an even more Latino that is visible existence
Rojas’ research, carried out under FIU’s Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and drug use, called Crusada, dedicated to Latina ladies in rural communities of this Homestead area in Florida where you will find less resources.
The Morning Rundown
“i did so this study mainly because ladies are at greater risk than ladies who have significantly more training, reside in communities where there was less HIV, and much more usage of therapy and medical care, ” Rojas said.
Associated with 40,324 HIV diagnoses when you look at the U.S. In 2016, around 1,277 had been women that are hispanic in accordance with the CDC.
The study evaluated the effectiveness of the CDC evidenced-based and culturally tailored intervention called SEPA. The phrase means “know” in Spanish, but it is additionally the Spanish-language acronym for wellness, training, prevention and self-care (salud, educacion, prevencion y autocuidado).
Intercourse being a taboo topic
Aside from socio-economic dilemmas, you will find social factors that may donate to making some Latinas more susceptible to HIV that is contracting or intimately transmitted conditions. There was nevertheless the belief in certain households that ladies must not talk to their partner about intercourse. Scientists describe this as an element of “marianismo” (through the Virgin Mary) — the belief that ladies should really be virtuous and pure compared to “machismo, ” where men could be more sexual and assertive and stay the people in order to make choices about exercising — or otherwise not practicing — safe intercourse, relating to Rojas.
Coaxing females because of these communities that are rural be involved in the research wasn’t effortless, since speaing frankly about intercourse is taboo for most of those. Rojas enlisted the aid of businesses and people in the grouped community whom convinced ladies to get involved.
”Some of those have actually young ones, however they would not understand how they got pregnant, ” stated Rojas, describing the knowledge that is limited for the females had about peoples sexuality and reproduction.
Margarita Hernandez, 52, took part in past studies and it is Rojas that is now helping to ladies to take part in the SEPA intervention.
“It’s hard to persuade them because most of them don’t do not hesitate, ” Hernandez stated. “they’ve their husbands on the situation, ” incorporating that lots of husbands do not feel at ease or want their wives to understand more about intercourse.
Just exactly What eventually ends up occurring, stated Hernandez, is the fact that a lot of women whom state they shall attend the meetings don’t show up.
Her child, Alicia Hernandez, 33, that is a kindergarten instructor, said she discovered a complete great deal through the classes. Growing up, her mom had been timid about talking to her about intercourse, Hernandez stated.
In sixth grade, Hernandez stated she received a paper at school for just one of her moms and dads to signal, providing permission for the intercourse training course. “I explained the course to my mom, but she stated no, no, no — then you’ll definitely discover and you may might like to do it, ” said younger Hernandez, who was simply a virgin whenever she got hitched, which she features to her strict upbringing.
The ladies noted there was nevertheless shyness within the community, saying there are lots of individuals who require information or have the information incorrect.
Like other studies, Rojas stated, there is certainly a correlation between higher condom and education usage. Lots of the immigrants who took part in her research additionally originate from rural communities inside their home nations where in actuality the tradition and resources are very different compared to big urban centers. In many cases, some immigrants that have come to work with the Florida farms do not talk Spanish or English but native languages.
Among the excellent results associated with the academic sessions, Rojas stated, is the fact that ladies went back once again to their communities and taught other females simple tips to make use of a feminine condom and the necessity of protecting yourself from HIV or any other intimately transmitted conditions.
“It had been significant, ” Rojas stated. “I happened to be surprised at just just how these ladies — and numerous of them have actually low attainment that is academic were perceptive and exactly how they learned. ”

domain: sociology


The Venus Project advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any socio-economic system that has gone before. It calls for a straightforward redesign of a culture, in which the age-old inadequacies of war, poverty, hunger, debt, and unnecessary human suffering are viewed not only as avoidable, but totally unacceptable.
New York was planning to tear down the High Line, an abandoned elevated railroad in Manhattan, when Robert Hammond and a few friends suggested: Why not make it a park? He shares how it happened in this tale of local cultural activism.
Venice, Italy is sinking. To save it, Rachel Armstrong says we need to outgrow architecture made of inert materials and, well, make architecture that grows itself. She proposes a not-quite-alive material that does its own repairs and sequesters carbon, too.
A 15min informational film, inspiring people to integrate sustainable energy approaches into urban development. Designed for use with city officials in South African cities. Developed for Sustainable Energy Africa, a leading NGO in the field.
Welcome to our multi-media platform where we explore the global shift to sustainability bringing you inspiring stories of green culture from activism and environmental issues to design and green living.
Imagine a cinema powered only by the energy of the sun that can entertain and educate communities anywhere, everywhere… The Sunshine Cinema is a mobile, solar-powered cinema that fuses storytelling & the power of contemporary […]
Do you ever feel frustrated that there are still so few women graduates of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? Is it really such a wonder when early in a girl’s life, she is inundated with pretty, pink toys – toys that usually don’t encourage her to enter those fields.
Enter GoldieBlox, a toy company out to show the world that girls deserve more choices than dolls and princesses, teaching girls that engineering and science can be fun too— growing their potential to build the future — literally.


+7 495 203 91 22
OOO INDIGANEFTEGAZ - a group of companies with stable partner relations with the largest Russian and international organizations.
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OOO INDIGANEFTEGAZ strategy is based on expanding and growing their own business in the field of road construction, the implementation of hydrocarbon fuel to the domestic and foreign markets. The increase in current supply and the creation of new long-term partnerships - allows a group of companies as a reliable partner in the current economic environment.
OOO INDIGANEFTEGAZ is a strategic partner of Major oil refineing companies petroleum trading companies and storage and transporttion companies both in the Russian Federation and in the international market, our project for the production and sale of, Mazut M100, Aviation Kerosene JP54, Diesel, Bitumen, LNG, Base oil.
Given the problem of rising economical tension, increased production and stretegic planing for the economical growth in the Russian Federation, OOO INDIGANEFTEGAZ together with strategic partners around the globe have developed a strategic solution to prove easy access to buyers and new clients to the fuel and energy sector, while focusing on improvment of the global gas emission and factooring the production of high quality fuel, petroleum and petrochemical products that meet state GOST standards and International standards.
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The number of customers include major bunkering, shipping, transportation, road construction and mining companies, manufaturing companies, production companies and traders.
OOO INDIGANEFTEGAZ is a leading supplier of fuel for a number of the largest...READ MORE


text:
Because your front foot hits later, you will have control problems. Also, each mound has its own set of challenges. There may be a huge crater by the rubber or the landing zone. If all you do is pitch off the flat you will never be able to cope with hte landing problem.
Also the mound is there for your advantage, but you must learn how to use it. This comes with practice, Ian.

domain: hobby


Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt
($2,050 and up; bikes.com)
An XC bike that's comfortable to ride. A dual-suspension freeride bike that loves to climb. Both describe the Thunderbolt, a 27.5-inch wheel, aluminum-frame rocket that handled technical climbs and fast singletrack equally well. Climb on board and the fairly relaxed 68.5 front fork geometry suggests a fun bike for flying downhill and, indeed, the 120 mm of travel felt more plush than it is. But hit a hill and the bike climbs nimbly.
Sugoi Icon Jacket
Built for mountain biking, the Icon has loads of mechanical stretch, so the streamlined fit doesn't feel restrictive. The hood and a drop-tail provide extra protection when needed and stow out of the way when not in use. Several pockets store everything you need and two vents whip up a cooling breeze.
The two key variables in a helmet: weight and protection. To meet both, Smith created Aerocore construction — an EPS foam sandwich filled with thousands of polymer tubes welded together. Smith says the combo absorbs 30 per cent more impact than EPS alone. The tubes also channel a cooling breeze.
This Cadillac of bike racks will live on your car, not because it's hard to mount — it's not, locking into a hitch with a few twists of a handle — but because it gets out of the way when needed. Even carrying four bikes, the rack swings off to one side. There's also a built-in cable-lock for securing the bikes to the rack.
Specialized Zee Cage II with Tool
Hidden in the bottom of this functional water bottle cage is a six-piece Allen-key tool set; leave your other one at home. Add the EMT Top Cap Chain Breaker, which replaces the top cap on your head tube with a chain breaker tool, and you're set for most mechanical issues on the trail.


text:
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Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi 2018 Full Album Ringtone Download is popular Free Mp3. You can download or play Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi 2018 Full Album Ringtone Download with best mp3 quality online streaming on MP3 Download I Am Happy Dili Tu Pappi Song Download Mp3 free file from HD Video to HQ Audio format. Download apk for Android with APKPure APK downloader. NoAds, Faster apk downloads and apk file update speed. Best of all, it's free Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots, and learn more about WavePad Music and Audio Editor. Download WavePad Music and Audio Editor and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Channa Ve Channa – Official Music Video (2019) By Abby V & Fereshteh Samimi HD Singer, Lyrics & Music: Abby V Music Programmer & Arranger: Gagan Singh Cast: Abby V & Fereshteh Samimi Production House: LP Mediaworks Producer: LP Mediaworks…Semi-Automatic (Music Box Version) - Twenty One Pilots…https://youtube.com/watch11. 11. 201490 tis. zhlédnutíDownload link below! A music box version of Twenty One Pilot's Semi-Automatic. This is a birthday present from Erkan to Michelle! "Happy Birthday Michelle, LReggae Music [No Copyright & Royalty Free] Upbeat Funky Happy…https://youtube.com/watch6. 1. 201719 tis. zhlédnutíThis piece of Reggae music is royalty free content that is no copyright and is available to download for free! Enjoy the upbeat, funky, happy instrumental. DFree Royality Music - Happy corporate soundtrack for your video…https://youtube.com/watch19. 7. 2016728 zhlédnutíDownload the mp3 file freely on my website http://www.segrafic.com Ok I'm not a musician, but I have needed a soundtrack for my video, so I made it by myselfStarMaker-Discover Music app for ios – Review & Download .IPA…https://appcrawlr.com/ios/starmaker-karaoke-auto-tuneStarMaker-Discover Music app for ios. Download StarMaker-Discover Music .IPA in AppCrawlr! Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. Влез в каталога ни и си избери от над 3000 песни! Тук ще намериш всички нови хитове от
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domain: artistic


text:
The 'slasher' genre has many different psycho killers that have left an impression on us. Psycho, for example, practically started the whole shebang. But although quite a few people have heard of Psycho, not that many know anything about it other than it's a horror film. I want to quickly touch on those titans that everyone has heard of and almost everyone has some idea of what they are.
Particularly because of recent and upcoming remakes, we should get to know these unstoppable freaky crazies. They rose to power during the late 70s and early 80s, and they are Michael Myers (of the Halloween series), Jason Voorhees (of Friday the 13th), and Freddy Krueger (of A Nightmare on Elm Street).
Let's start our horra history lesson!
Now, the guy who really got Slasher movies going was Michael Myers (not to be mistaken with Mike Myers; don't worry, it happens). Big scary dude, wears an gray expressionless mask, matching overalls, and can't seem to be killed by anything. He goes around killing people, particularly those around any of his surviving relatives (P.S. He's trying to kill his entire family). The series had 8 movies with a plot becoming more and more complex as it went along (though Halloween III was a bit of a sidewinder and had nothing to do with the rest). The first was extremely popular, and the second was not far behind. 'Three' was okay, but everyone wanted Michael Myers, not some other crap. Fans still liked 4, 5 and 6, but favour (and flavour) was on the decline. By Halloween H20 (number 7) , people were getting tired of it all. They watched it, but they weren't satisfied by it.
Up until this point, my opinion was pretty parallel to the opinion of the 'they' I keep talking about. Everyone else; the fan base. But then came Halloween Resurrection (craaazy eights!). This was another that many fans thought of as 'not satisfying'. I thought of it as pure garbage. The series plot ends at the beginning of the movie, then the rest is a bunch of sad acting from a bunch teens just waiting to be killed. Most of the time I was wondering "where did these clowns come from?" and couldn't care for their fates like I could for the characters in every single other movie in the set. Basically it was a movie saying "oh lookee! we can have Psyko Miko kill more teens," but it had no good reason to exist.
Later, the series was graced with Rob Zombie's remake of the original, which I personally thought did credit to the whole. Well developed characters along with a more human look at Michael Myers and his insanity was a very interesting change.
As much as people know the name and theme music of Michael Myers, they easily recognize the mask of Jason Voorhees (which actually didn't show up until the third movie). Again, this killer seems indestructible and kills people mostly because they stray into his 'territory'; he has less direction than Myers. He (well, the series) is also distinguished by the creepy "ki... ki... ki... ma... ma... ma..." sound that often signals his presence. Inspired by the Halloween series, Friday the 13th was supposed to be faster-paced and more violent. This series, however, managed to pull off 11 movies and one remake. In this case, the first three were the most popular, tailed by a decent fourth (which supposedly ended the series). The next five movies were not as good, though followed by the loyal fans. They were basically a constant repeat of the past with Jason being resurrected over and over, somehow, to kill again. Once more, things supposedly came to an end with Jason dying and this time going to Hell.
No such luck.
Jason X, the tenth installment, was a joke. Jason goes to the future! He gets frozen, picked up by a spaceship, rebuilt and future-a-fied by some nanobots or something, and gets to killing the passengers (I said the acting in Halloween Resurrection was bad; this was worse). I mean, they try to distract him with a hologram of two naked chicks. It was utterly ridiculous and might have done better if it was actually trying to be a comedy, but it wasn't. It was just a messy attempt to bring a new twist to the series.Freddy vs. Jason, the eleventh movie in this series, joined Jason's story with that of Freddy Krueger (making it also the eighth movie in the Freddy series). This was another that fans would generally enjoy but still wish it could have been better. It apparently takes place some time before Jason X since he's not all futury and stuff. And last but not least, a few weeks ago the Friday the 13th remake was released... and I'm not saying anything about it! Haha, no I'll be doing a full (albeit late) review on that some time tomorrow night.
And we arrive at Freddy, who sliced up teens in a whole new way: in their dreams. Also known as "that guy with the claws on his hand" by those who are unfamiliar with A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger is known for wearing a snazzy hat, striped shirt, and being completely covered in horrible burns. He's particularly nasty because he kills people in their dreams, causing them to die in real life. His series of nightmarish drug-trips had eight movies (including Freddy vs Jason) and some spin-offs. As usual, the first was the most popular, but the rest actually well recieved (by fans; 5 and 6 didn't go over too well with the critics). I know it looks like I'm hurrying through this one, but I haven't seen much of it yet. I need to get on that soon! Oh, and we can expect a remake for this series as well (all the cool kids are doing it), sometime around 2010. That's how they've got it scheduled anyhow.
A quick mention for one of the newer guys around the block who made a big impression on the Slasher world. The Scream trilogy, featuring a murderer with a ghost mask killing teens, has been extremely popular. It's known for showing signs of being a 'typical slasher', then turning them on their heads while still being a respectible bunch of horror films. After a long wait, they're planning to make a part 4 which is also scheduled for 2010.
I hope that helps put some of the big boys in context. We need everyone to be aware of them because they're important influences on horror, particularly slasher! Halloween gave the genre the boost into popularity, Friday the 13th kept it up, Nightmare on Elm Street made it more supernatural, and after a slow spell Scream started a new wave. Then we got to the gore-slasher movies (popularized by Saw) and now we're on to a crudload of remakes (which really got going with the Texas Chansaw Massacre remake). I won't go into details about this stuff, not today, because they're off subject! Besides, this is getting longer than I'd hoped.
See you next time with Friday the 13th!
9 years ago

domain: entertainment


NEW BEDFORD — The power of coding is bubbling up in some quarters in SouthCoast, with students gearing up for an Hour of Code at local colleges.
"I definitely think it is picking up steam," said Sid Martin, president of the Modern Technology Council, a Dartmouth-based nonprofit that's promoting the Hour of Code.
"It allows the development of critical thinking."
Organized by Code.org, the Hour of Code is a self-guided online tutorial that takes students through basic programming.
It's part of national Computer Science Education Week and, with backing from the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon and JP Morgan Chase, it's being celebrating for the first time this year.
Hoping to drum up local support, the Modern Technology Council reached out to institutions across SouthCoast. Traveling to UMass Dartmouth on Dec. 17, 117 eighth-graders from Westport will do an Hour of Code.
Durfee High School in Fall River teamed up with Bristol Community College to send 550 freshmen for an Hour of Code early next year.
Meghan Abella-Bowen, director of the SAGE program at BCC, said not enough students are going into computer science, forcing companies to seek talent from other countries.
"This is where we have jobs, and they're jobs that are growing in what we call the innovation economy," she said.
Abella-Bowen said even for students who want to go into other fields, learning coding can boost valuable "trans-verbal skills."
"The bottom line is: one of the key pieces of coding is that it's what we call flow-charting. ... It's that systematic thinking, it's about process thinking. It's about saying, 'OK, we have an issue, how are we going to work our way through it?'"


text:
1. In Thermal Stratification where water body is divided into several layers, the middle region which shows vertical temperature change is
2. Consider the following statements regarding Etalin Hydroelectric Project
1. It is based on the river Dibang.
2. It envisages construction of two dams.
3. It will be part of two states.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) All of the above
3. Consider the following statements regarding SAMEER App
1. It is the grievance redressal app for issues relating to air pollution.
2. It has been launched by CPCB and is applicable in NCR only.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
4. Consider the following
Arrange them in increasing order of GHG emissions as per Emissions Gap Report 2019
a) 4 < 1< 2 < 3
b) 1 < 4 < 2 < 3
c) 4 < 1 < 3 < 2
d) 1 < 4 < 3 < 2
5. Accelerator Lab has been launched in India by which of the following organizations?
d) None of the above
ANSWERS & EXPLANATION
Explanation: Lake Stratification is the separation of lakes into three layers –
- Epilimnion – the top of the lake.
- Metalimnion (or thermocline) – the middle layer, which may change depth throughout the day.
- Hypolimnion – the bottom layer.
The thermal stratification of lakes refers to a change in the temperature at different depths in the lake, and is due to the change in water’s density with temperature.
Cold water is denser than warm water and the epilimnion generally consists of water that is not as dense as the water in the hypolimnion. However, the temperature of maximum density for freshwater is 4 °C.
Explanation: Etalin Hydroelectric Project is based on the river Di bang in Arunachal Pradesh. It envisages construction of two dams—a 101.5 meter high dam on the Dir River near Yukon village and a 80-meter high dam on Tangon river.
The Dri and Tangon rivers are tributaries of Di bang. An underground powerhouse is proposed with 10 units of 307MW each.
Di bang is a tributary of the Brahmaputra River which flows through the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
3. Answer: A
Explanation: SAMEER app has been launched wherein air quality information is available to public along with provision for registering complaints against air polluting activities.
The app is developed by the Central Pollution Control Bureau (CPCB) which provides information on air quality for more than 100 cities across the country.
Explanation: As per the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report, the top four emitters are China, USA, EU and India.
India is the fourth-largest emitter of Green House Gases (GHGs).It excludes emissions from land-use change such as deforestation.
The rankings would change if land-use change emissions were included, with Brazil likely to be the largest emitter.
Explanation: United Nations Development Programme launches Accelerator Lab in India to work on tackling pollution
It was launched in collaboration with the government’s Atal Innovation Mission and will look to solve issues through innovative solutions.
The laboratory will also seek to address issues like sustainable water management and climate -resilient livelihoods.
The visions to make faster progress in meeting the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the U.N. by 2030

domain: geography


text:
Susan Holmes case: What happened in court Thursday Wochit
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the woman who filed a red flag case against a CSU police officer who fatally shot her son in July 2017.
The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Susan Holmes, 64, on suspicion of perjury and attempt to influence a public servant, both Class 4 felonies.
The warrant was issued Jan. 23, according to online court records. Arrest documents were not available as of Thursday afternoon.
According to online jail records, Holmes is not in custody. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office issued a “most wanted” notification for Holmes on Thursday afternoon.
Deputies attempted to serve the warrant at Holmes’ address once on Jan. 23, according to the Larimer County Sheriff Office online incident report. Though LCSO told 9News that multiple attempts were made.
The sheriff’s office typically sends out a weekly “most wanted” notification for Larimer County for suspects accused of a range of crimes.
In a Friday morning Facebook post, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said deputies have been unable to locate Holmes since the warrant was issued. He asked for anyone who may know the whereabouts of Holmes to contact the sheriff’s office.
The warrant allows for Holmes to be extradited from anywhere in the country back to Larimer County, Smith wrote.
“Ms. Holmes demonstrated enthusiasm to abuse the legal system when she fraudulently filed a red flag affidavit besmirching the name of an honorable CSU police corporal,” Smith said in a statement to the Coloradoan on Friday. “In doing so, she sought to deprive the officer of his constitutional rights.”
Smith said Holmes has now either fled the state or gone into hiding, which is why they’ve asked for the public’s help in finding her.
Holmes filed a red flag case — known as an extreme risk protection order — against Colorado State University Cpl. Philip Morris. Morris was one of two officers involved in the fatal shooting of Holmes’ 19-year-old son, Jeremy Holmes, on July 1, 2017. The Larimer County district attorney cleared both officers any wrongdoing in the shooting.
In the petition, Holmes claimed under oath she is a family or household member of Morris, specifically that she has a child in common with him. In a sworn written statement presented by Morris’ attorney during the red flag hearing, Morris said he did not share a child with Holmes.
Eighth Judicial District Chief Judge Stephen Howard denied Holmes’ petition in a Jan. 16 hearing.
Smith had refused to serve the petition and the notice of the hearing to Morris, calling it “a fraud” in a Facebook post prior to the hearing.
Holmes refused to present any evidence during the Jan. 16 hearing on the petition, claiming she believed Howard would not give her a fair hearing on the issue.
After the hearing, Holmes also refused to share any evidence with reporters, citing potential for appealing her case.
“I do not feel that I’ve perjured myself,” Holmes told reporters after the Jan. 16 hearing.
The red flag law allows law enforcement, a family member or household member to petition to have a person’s firearms removed if they are deemed by a judge to be a threat to themselves or others.
Holmes has been outspoken about police brutality since her son’s death. She ran for Fort Collins City Council unsuccessfully in 2018. After she announced her candidacy, Smith was critical of her past protests, citing an instance where she held a sign that read “Kill all police” on CSU’s campus.
At the time, Holmes responded that the sign was “intentionally provocative” and she was not truly advocating people to commit acts of violence. She added that she believed Smith’s post was a direct attack on her campaign and her platform.
The warrant for Holmes remains active, and no court dates have been set in this case. Online court records indicate Holmes is accused of committing these crimes Jan. 9, the day she filed the red flag petition. A $5,000 personal recognizance bond has been set in this case.
A personal recognizance bond allows the accused to sign themselves out of custody, promising to return for their next court date. If that person does not appear in court, they would have to pay the amount set by the judge — in this case, $5,000.
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.
Sady Swanson covers crime, courts, public safety and more throughout Northern Colorado. You can send your story ideas to her at firstname.lastname@example.org or on Twitter at @sadyswan.Support our work and local journalism with a digital subscription at Coloradoan.com/subscribe.
Read or Share this story: https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2020/01/30/arrest-warrant-issued-susan-holmes-perjury-red-flag-filing/2858674001/

domain: news


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Colt from the blue as Knost leads Heritage Open after second round
Colt Knost was the halfway leader after shooting a five-under-par 66 on the second day of the RBC Heritage in South Carolina.
While Knost on nine under held a two-shot lead over Carl Petterson, Luke Donald made the cut at two over with a two-under round of 69 as he looks to retain his world No 1 slot.
The Englishman needs to finish in the top eight at Harbour Town to remain ahead of Ryder Cup team-mate Rory McIlroy in the standings.
Surprise lead: Knost is nine under par
He struggled to a four-over-par 75 in the first round but improved second time out with three birdies in a bogey-free first seven holes.
He finally dropped a shot at 15 though, leaving him six shots off the top-eight finish he needs.
Under pressure: Luke Donald
Knost started the day in a three-way tie for the lead with Chad Campbell and Vaughn Taylor.
The American made an ideal start with birdies at the first two holes before finishing a bogey-free round with five birdies overall.
Petterson hit three consecutive birdies, and seven in total, as he followed up yesterday's 70 with a 65 although it could have been even better if he had not bogeyed the 15th.
Boo Weekley and Harris English were a further shot back after rounds of 66 and 68 respectively while Campbell (70) had slipped to a tie for fifth with Robert Garrigus (66).
Taylor hit four bogeys in his 73 to slip to a tie for 16th.
Defending champion Brandt Snedeker hit a 67 today to sit four under in a tie for seventh, with England's Gary Christian one stroke back following his 68.
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Kevin Hart’s latest feel-good movie is all about Fatherhood… and now he’s opening up about his real-life experiences on the subject.
The comedian shares daughter Heaven and son Hendrix with ex-wife Torrei Hart, and son Kenzo and daughter Karoi with his current wife, Eniko Parrish. While his current relationship with Eniko is strong, the couple underwent a public scandal in which Kevin eventually admitted to cheating on her while she was pregnant with their son.
On a recent episode of Red Table Talk with Will Smith, the father of four acknowledged how his infidelity affected his family, particularly his 16-year-old daughter Heaven. He shared:
“Having a little girl in my life, it’s tough. You don’t realize the impact that your mistakes can truly have. When the kids get involved, it’s a different feeling, a different emotion. Through my public debacles, I got on some armor, dude, it is very hard to shoot through this, poke through, it is very hard to bother me. … But when your child shows disappointment, shows emotion, shows ‘I don’t understand why?’ and you gotta have those conversations, well, now the head drops for the first time, and now you realize there is a different emotional chord that can be pulled on you that nobody else has the privilege of ever touching.”
He went on:
“My daughter touched on that chord. When me and my wife went through what we went through and the whole cheating display, my talk with Heaven, goddamn, goddamn. That was one like no other. Getting my daughter back. Getting my daughter to understand that I was sorry, that I made a mistake, that was real. To understand, like, I’m still Dad.”
“You know, like, you’re reading stuff — this is a child, right, every child has the internet. There’s nothing that you’re gonna come across that you’re gonna read that isn’t gonna have an impression. A child? Everything has a meaning. My daughter was tough on me. Until this day. Until this day, my daughter is tough on me. My daughter don’t play no games with her father, man.”
When Will remarked that he and Jada Pinkett Smith dealt with their own public issues by trying “to get out ahead of it so the kids know before the world knows,” the Jumanji star admitted:
“I’ve never been able to get to the kids first.”
Another example was the 41-year-old’s resurfaced homophobic tweets, which led to canceling his Oscars hosting gig. He explained:
“When the whole thing started to happen with the LGBTQ+ community and the misconception of me and what I was and what I feel, my daughter was so upset because she couldn’t process how people could think this about her father. And it was so tough because this was when I started to realize how my fame has an impact on my household. There is a certain level of obliviousness.”
The actor reflected:
“I had to really understand my daughter’s side. My daughter had a talk with me about her mother that rocked me. She checked me. She said, ‘I want you to stop saying because when you say these things, Dad, this and this and this.’ ‘But honey, I don’t mean — I’m just talking.’ ‘It doesn’t matter, Dad.’ … ‘But honey… I’m just being myself,’ ‘But Dad, you can’t.’”
Wow. TBH, it sounds like Heaven is super emotionally mature. Good for her for being open with her Dad and helping him to evolve. And we’re glad that Kevin has listened and learned from her, too.
Ch-ch-check out the full Red Table Talk episode (below):
Source: Read Full Article

domain: psychology


All the focus on accountable care organizations might be overkill, considering that participation is voluntary. Health plans face other deadlines, however. For instance, the clock is running for insurers to plan and prepare for transition to the ICD-10 coding system. The compliance date is Oct. 1, 2013, and the preparation involves a lot of work: There are approximately 13,000 ICD-9-CM codes; ICD-10-CM will have 68,000.
“Medical directors need to ensure their medical policies have been reviewed and updated as warranted for ICD-10,” says Jim Daley, director of risk and compliance information at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina and a nationally recognized expert on ICD-10. “Depending on the extent that specific codes are referenced in policies and on the number of policies, the policy review itself can consume hundreds or even thousands of hours. Even if specific codes aren’t mentioned in the policies, medical directors need to ensure that the policies will continue to operate as intended under the new code set.”
Expect IT challenges galore, says Daley. “IT applications may contain logic that enacts the medical policies, and that logic must be reviewed and updated for ICD-10. This will require the knowledge of medical directors to properly map logic to the new codes.”
ICD-10 (the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision) is the latest code set from the World Health Organization to categorize diseases. It is overseen in this country by the Department of Health and Human Services. Periodically, ICD goes through major revisions. In between, there is continuous updating of codes, as well as the addition of a handful of new ones each year. ICD-10 represents a scope of change not attempted since 1946 with ICD-6.


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I really enjoy eating dinner here. Nice atmosphere and great location for visitors that come to Chicago everything is good but I like the Pork chops and Ribs combination so when in Chicago good restaurant to visit
1 - 10 of 342 reviews
Valet parking right next door. Nice interior which has recently been changed. No longer has the bar scene with the great snacks. For a change, I had the rib eye steak, which was superb. Ribs remain great. Certain sides are now extra. The wait staff...More
Carson's Prime Steaks & Famous BBQ is a must, if you are in Chicago. Don't forget to put those bib on because it can get messy. Meat is very moist and not over priced. My trips to Chicago will always include Carson's rib.
We went here for a friend’s birthday dinner the other day. Prices were certainly decent….service was good…the dark old-school Chicago vibe was cool….but I wasn’t really wowed by our main courses. Our starters, on the other hand, were excellent. We got the corn bread (hot...More
Can I just say that I have been coming here for over thirty years. I hadn't been in a while since retiring and moving away. I was back in the city to celebrate my birthday and I asked to come here. I was surprised that...More
My brother and I visited Driehaus Museum this morning then walked to Carson's in downtown Chicago. I had the rib tips, fries, and coleslaw. The coleslaw was probably the best I've had eating out. I could only eat half the ribs and will have the...More
Seated at 7, our orders were placed at 7:20 with the food arriving at 8pm. We were rarely checked in on, drinks were never refilled unless asked for and while friendly, the overall service experience was mediocre. The food and ribs were excellent. 3 stars...More
This was the first time I had visited Carson's for about 20 years and I'm pleased to say that the food was every bit as good as I remembered it. Cornbread, ribs and coleslaw are all excellent. We didn't have room to sample the deserts!


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THAT WAS THE SEASON THAT WAS
2003-04 season review
The match programme for the recent Edinburgh-Glasgow game at Meadowbank featured end-of-season reports from all and sundry. Seasoned cliché spotters were delighted to see that most deployed the classic "rollercoaster" metaphor to describe the year gone by at Edinburgh Rugby. And with good reason. Even this column, which prides itself on the liberal use of the hackneyed line, would struggle to find a more apt reflection of the Gunners' 2003-04 campaign.
Among the highs was, of course, that extraordinary win over current European champions, Toulouse at Meadowbank in December. No other team has so far beaten them in the Heineken this year and, with all due respect to Wasps, no-one will. They are so far ahead of the rest on and off the field that they are in a league of their own. The Gunners pack fronted up to les toulousains in the scrum; the Hines-Murray boilerhouse scored identical touchdowns; and the Chainsaw sealed the win with a triumphant wave and the injection of pace that he always seems to find when a try for himself is in the offing.
That would have been enough for one season. But there was more. Home and away doubles over Munster and Leinster; a Celtic Cup final appearance at Murrayfield; five wins out of six in the Heineken pool; and an historic first appearance for a Scottish side in the European quarter-finals. At the turn of the year, Edinburgh were deservedly ranked sixth in Europe as a result. The continent's Press, even in London, sat up and took notice. The Gunners were acknowledged as being well worth their place in the Heineken's last eight, and are now breaking into the ranks of Europe's elite performers.
Throughout the season, when the Gunners were firing on all cylinders, they were a joy to watch. They ran the ball from everywhere, and threatened to score from anywhere. No less importantly, they had one of the League's most effective defences. The intelligent lines and pace of Derrick Lee earned him ten touchdowns to lead the club, ahead of the Brendan Laney's seven, and Hugo and Simon Webster's six scores apiece. The Chainsaw's 163 points led Edinburgh's overall scorers. Hugo's brilliant "try from the end of the Earth" against the Ospreys in March won the try of the season, but the big winger/full back scored just as good an effort against the same opponents at The Gnoll. And in the pack, the ball-playing ability of Allan Jacobsen saw the mighty Chunk notch four touchdowns, with the PL favourite looking increasingly like a worthy successor to the great Tom Smith in tight and loose. An amazing 26 players scored tries during the campaign.
A number of young guns joined the old hands in various national squads, and Edinburgh were also well represented in the national Under-21 squad. And there were international debuts for Tom Philip, Ali Hogg, and Andrew Dall during the season. The success of the youngsters while the internationals were Down Under in the World Cup proved to be a double-edged sword. They took the club to the top of the Celtic League and into the Cup final - an achievement whose magnitude was perhaps not recognised at the time. But the Gunners were hit hard during the Six Nations as a result when even their erstwhile reserve players found themselves in the national squad. They were that good.
The debate on the unfairness of the current League structure raged long and hard on the www.edinburghgunners.org.uk chatroom during the spring, as the club plummeted down the table. Like Leinster and Munster, Edinburgh's final position did not reflect their true worth. But fans and players could take some solace in the announcement that there will be a Six Nations break in the League next season, and in the performance of the youngsters and club players who stepped into the breach. Both of these developments will ensure that the Gunners emerge from a trying three months as a stronger squad.
This season did not see any silverware come to London Road, but with next year seeing fewer international absences in a real home-and-away League, plus an end of season Celtic Cup, as well as Europe, Edinburgh can remedy that next year. The knockout format of the Celtic Cup could suit their freewheeling style particularly well.
And it remains a young group of players. Of the current 32 man squad, half are still under 25 - 12 were born in the 1980s, with a further four born in 1979. The peak for many of them is some years away yet. Happily, it looks unlikely that there will be wholesale personnel changes in the close season, despite the SRU's financial difficulties. Most of those players who were out of contract have re-signed, or seem on the brink of doing so. And the season ended with the excellent news that Uncle Todd - who looked rejuvenated after his injury lay off - will don his boots again next season.
So, much progress on the pitch. But, equally importantly, there has been a great deal of that sort of thing in the stands too. As the pro-team and Edinburgh District machines were brought together in one unified organisation, the Edinburgh Rugby Supporters' Club was born last summer. Under the charismatic leadership of Howard McKenzie - and with the dedicated grafting behind the scenes of the Committee, other volunteers, and Edinburgh Rugby's backroom staff - from a standing start, a Clubroom, website, popular away trips, and successful social events were delivered in the inaugural season. Whereas before, people tended to turn up to games and disappear at full-time, now more and more people see Friday nights as a social night. New friendships have been made; the diehard travelling support continues to grow; and folk who started the year as complete strangers now meet on a regular basis to mutter darkly to one another about Welsh referees called Nigel - and most referees of other nationalities and various names, for that matter.
The players have sensed the change too. Not just in the two 5,000 crowds who came to see the Ospreys and Leeds Heineken games at Meadowbank, or the 12,000 or so home fans who made the trip to Murrayfield for the Cup final, but the 300 who travelled to Toulouse and Leeds, and the committed bunch who made the voyage to south Wales or the four provinces of Ireland for the bread and butter games. When the squad received a standing ovation after their pre-match warm-up from a travelling support that consistently drowned out the locals at Headingley, there was a real feeling that something special was afoot. The players always say how much they appreciate the support they receive at home or on their travels, and the supporters value the chance to talk to their favourites in the Meadowbank Clubroom or a far-flung bar. And this is only the beginning. There is much still to do.
The Supporters' Club voted sparkling Simon Webster - who also holds the world record for the shortest membership of the Lotus Elise Owners' Club - as man of the season, with Todd Blackadder and Derrick Lee close behind. Matt Dey scooped the young player of the season, ahead of Ander Monro and Ali Strokosch. For what it's worth, the highly arbitrary joint editorial/ERSC man of the match cumulative league saw Messrs Blackadder and Hogg finish joint top on four match awards each, with Brendan Laney and Allan Jacobsen close behind on three.
But every player in the squad grew in experience, and many made massive strides. Of the youngsters, editorial gold stars for particular brilliance go to Andrew Kelly, Simon Cross, Hugo, Ali Hogg, Ali Kellock, Tom Philip, Matt Dey, and Ander Monro, with Ali Strokosch making a late run for honours. Of the grizzled veterans, Joel Brannigan's much-improved scrummaging rightly earned him a call-up to the national squad, as did Jackie Joiner's quietly effective play in the centre. And there were gasps of amazement and widespread requests for sharp pinches across the District when Derrick Lee's usual sparkling form was, for once, actually recognised by selection for the national squad.
While Gunners fans will be fervently hoping that the vast bulk of the squad will remain intact for next term, nevertheless, the end of the season brings the end of several illustrious careers:
Marty Leslie left us late last year, despite Edinburgh Rugby's efforts to sign him up for the Six Nations period. Those who followed the club in its earlier incarnations will know just how important he was in setting the foundations for the success that we are beginning to enjoy; on some occasions winning games virtually single-handedly. The twitching in sympathy during the World Cup has been criticised. But you always knew that when Marty was twitching, he was up for it. Invariably that involved a touch of skulduggery, the winding up of the enemy, and a high class performance in the back row. He will be much missed.
Equally, Graeme Burns has been around since the game went open, and has been a great servant to the club. Another internationalist and thoroughly nice guy, his slick service and tactical kicking were particular features of his game. Happily, his experience seems likely to be put to good use in a coaching and outreach role with the club.
The Supporters' Club is now working on plans for next season, and hopes to keep the social momentum going through the summer. Get in touch through www.edinburghgunners.org.uk if you would like to get involved. In the meantime, enjoy your summer, and we will see you for what is now the traditional season curtain-raiser at the Mansell Cup at Goldenacre in August. The foundations are being laid on and off the field for future success. Be part of the team.

domain: sports


Can network science reveal structure in a complex healthcare system? A network analysis using data from emergency surgical services
Introduction: Hospitals are complex systems and optimising their function is critical to the provision of high quality, cost effective healthcare. Metrics of performance have to date focused on the performance of individual elements rather than the whole system. Manipulation of individual elements of a complex system without an integrative understanding of its function is undesirable and may lead to counterintuitive outcomes and a holistic metric of hospital function might help design more efficient services. Objectives: We aimed to use network analysis to characterise the structure of the system of perioperative care for emergency surgical admissions in our tertiary care hospital. Design: We constructed a weighted directional network representation of the emergency surgical services using patient location data from electronic health records. Setting: A single-centre tertiary care hospital in the UK. Participants: We selected data from the retrospective electronic health record data of all unplanned admissions with a surgical intervention during their stay during a 3.5-year period, which resulted in a set of 16 500 individual admissions. Methods: We then constructed and analysed the structure of this network using established methods from network science such as degree distribution, betweenness centrality and small-world characteristics. Results: The analysis showed the service to be a complex system with scale-free, small-world network properties. We also identified such potential hubs and bottlenecks in the system. Conclusions: Our holistic, system-wide description of a hospital service may provide tools to inform service improvement initiatives and gives us insights into the architecture of a complex system of care. The implications for the structure and resilience of the service is that while being robust in general, the system may be vulnerable to outages at specific key nodes.
Funder: Research Trainees Coordinating Centre; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000659