text:
Mixed Messages Add Anxiety as Deadline Nears in Health Act
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: December 21, 2013
Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Contribute to Our Reporting
The Times would like to hear from Americans who have signed up for health care under the Affordable Care Act.
Steve Hebert for The New York Times
WASHINGTON — For most Americans, Monday is the deadline to sign up for health insurance that takes effect on Jan. 1. It was supposed to be a turning point in the troubled history of the new health care law, the moment when the spotlight would shift from the federal government's online marketplace to the insurance companies providing coverage to hundreds of thousands and eventually millions of people.
But as the date approaches, a series of decisions by the Obama administration to delay some of the law's most important provisions and to extend some deadlines has caused uncertainty among insurers and confusion among consumers.
Already the enrollment of young adults appears to be lagging behind the expectations of federal officials and insurers. And insurers, struggling with problems caused by the chaotic debut of the federal insurance exchange in October, have criticized the administration's last-minute changes, saying they could cause instability in the market.
The sudden shifts have sent a mixed message to consumers about the significance of the Monday deadline. They reduce the sense of urgency but not the need for coverage. Accordingly, federal and state officials said they were prepared for an increase in activity on their websites and at telephone call centers as uninsured consumers rushed to beat the deadline.
"The Dec. 23 deadline is a huge milestone on the way to coverage that will provide relief and hope to a lot of people," said Andrea J. Routh, the executive director of the Missouri Health Advocacy Alliance, a consumer group. "For many, this will be the best Christmas gift they've had in a long time."
Julie Bataille, a spokeswoman at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency was adding staff, training and outreach efforts across the country. "People tend to have questions and act when they come up against deadlines," she said.
President Obama said Friday that "more than one million Americans have selected new health insurance plans through the federal and state marketplaces" since they opened on Oct. 1. The administration had hoped that 3.3 million would be signed up by the end of this month, according to a memo prepared by the Health and Human Services Department in early September.
States running their own exchanges, like California, Connecticut, Kentucky and New York, said they had seen a surge in demand in the last few weeks.
"Momentum is growing," said Peter V. Lee, the executive director of the California insurance exchange. "Friends are telling friends. Families are telling families."
Kevin J. Counihan, the chief executive of the Connecticut exchange, said calls to its telephone call center had tripled in the last three weeks, to 6,000 a day. "We are really bracing for Monday," Mr. Counihan said. The Connecticut exchange is increasing its call center staff to 114 from 63.
The White House and health policy experts have repeatedly said the new insurance plans need to sign up large numbers of younger, healthier people to balance the financial risks of covering older Americans who require more medical care.
Federal officials have not disclosed demographic data on people buying insurance through the federal exchange, but early data from states suggest that people ages 55 to 64 are overrepresented while those younger than 35 are underrepresented.
In Colorado, 43 percent of people signing up for private plans in the first couple of months were in the 55-to-64 age bracket. In Connecticut, Rhode Island and Washington, the share was 40 percent. And in California and Kentucky, the proportion was 35 percent. Nationally, about 12 percent of the population is 55 to 64.
Larry Levitt, a senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said that people enrolling early included some with the greatest needs: people who had been locked out of the individual insurance market because of serious illnesses and those coming from federal and state programs for people with pre-existing conditions. Most of those programs, known as high-risk pools, are scheduled to end next year.
Many people who bought insurance on their own have received notices saying their policies were being canceled or discontinued because the policies did not comply with coverage requirements of the new health care law. Those expecting high medical bills had the strongest motivation to overcome the obstacles to buying insurance on the federal exchange.
"The mix of enrollment is much more important than the total number," Mr. Levitt said. "Those figures are not unrelated. If you assume that sicker individuals are likely to come in first, then a smaller pool is likely to be a sicker pool. The best guarantee of a diverse pool is a big pool, because that means you are probably reaching younger and healthier people."
The enrollment period for people seeking individual insurance continues through March 31. To be sure of coverage in January, people are supposed to pick plans by Monday and pay the first month's premium by Dec. 31.
The White House has encouraged insurers to relax those deadlines and provide coverage retroactive to Jan. 1 for people who sign up or pay later in the month. America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry's largest trade group, said its members would give consumers more time, to Jan. 10, to pay the first month's premium, provided they choose plans by Monday night.
"Our biggest concern is whether people will have the coverage they need next month," said Sandy Praeger, the insurance commissioner of Kansas. The concern, she said, is acute for people in the middle of a course of treatment, like cancer therapy, and those coming into the exchange from high-risk pools.
Jessica F. Waltman, a senior vice president of the National Association of Health Underwriters, which represents 100,000 agents and brokers, said that people trying to sign up should be aware that rates and benefits for some plans had been displayed inaccurately on the federal website, while some plans in some counties were not showing up at all.
Daniel J. Schwartzer, the deputy insurance commissioner in Wisconsin, said that such errors and omissions could affect thousands of people in his state, leading them to believe incorrectly that they would not be responsible for co-payments for doctors' services or prescription drugs.
"These glitches are creating consumer protection nightmares," Mr. Schwartzer said. "If companies display wrong information, we make them pay for it, we make the consumer whole. I don't know how we make the consumer whole when the problem is the fault of the federal government."
Gary M. Cohen, an Obama administration official supervising the federal exchange, said that such errors "should not happen" and added, "We want to fix things that are not working right."
The deadlines, which once seemed firm, are now somewhat flexible. Some state exchanges have enrollment and payment deadlines that differ by a few days from those of the federal exchange. Some insurers will provide retroactive coverage; others will not.
For a patient who receives hospital care early next month, before paying the January premium, those differences could have a big impact. An insurer who made coverage retroactive to Jan. 1 could pay most of the hospital bill, while patients in another health plan might have to pay it all themselves.


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Monday December 9, 2019; 06:08 pm EST
Two books with local connections are treats to put under the tree for younger children.
Denise Blum's Chesapeake Bay Crab Challenge is about Jay, a young boy who wakes up one morning to find his pet crab Clay missing from his aquarium. Where could Clay be? Will Jay find him?
Blum takes readers on a hunt through Chesapeake Country's Lusby, Oxford and Cambridge — to stores, restaurants and parks.
Children will recognize some of the local landmarks; the story begs a field trip to the unfamiliar places. (I wanted to climb into my car and take off for Rock Hall and Chestertown.)
Jay asks readers for help finding Clay, and Blum plants a clue in the pages. Told in rhyme, the story zips along, with bright illustrations and a handy map by Jess Hillard.
Blum books set in Ocean City, Virginia Beach, Baltimore and Delaware promise more fun (and day trips). Blum and business partner Lisa Sanderson are founders of Mainstay Publishing, which promises books that "will captivate readers young and old." Works for me.
Gambrills resident Missy Hodges believes "childhood is a magical time … where the real world and the pretend world need to be explored."
In A Giraffe Past Bedtime, Corinne calls out to Daddy, busy on the computer, claiming that animals are peering in her bedroom window. Are there really giraffes and ostriches outside? Daddy isn't convinced. Little kids look for excuses to stay up past their bedtimes. Maybe Corinne's imagination is working overtime.
Former Nickelodeon animator James Point du Jour (Hodges' colleague in the comptroller's office) illustrates Corinne's encounters with the animals in dreamy purple while Daddy's world is beige and grey.
Reality and make-believe meet in the story's colorful conclusion.
Mommy didn't appear in the book; maybe she was out, or maybe Daddy is a single father. But what shines through is the special bond between fathers and daughters. For this reviewer, the book recalled a special afternoon visiting animals with her dad a half century ago.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|General Discussion
|« Previous MessageNext Message »
|Sunanda Menon
|May 7 2013 5:49am
|MySQL Connector/Python 1.0.10 has been released
|View as plain text
Dear MySQL users, MySQL Connector/Python v1.0.10 is a new version of the 1.0 production release of the pure Python database driver for MySQL. MySQL Connector/Python version 1.0 is compatible with MySQL Server versions 5.5 and greater, but should work with earlier versions (greater than v4.1). Python v2.6 and greater as well as Python v3.1 and greater are supported. Python v2.4 and v2.5 are known to work, but are not officially supported. MySQL Connector/Python v1.0.10 is available for download from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/python/#downloads A brief summary of changes in MySQL Connector/Python v1.0 is listed below. Please check the ChangeLog file inside the distribution for a more complete list of changes or online at: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/relnotes/connector-python/en/ Changes in MySQL Connector/Python v1.0.10 (7 May, 2013) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Functionality Added or Changed: * A new connection option ssl_verify_cert checks the SSL certificate for the server against the certificate found in the file specified by the ssl_ca option. This option is disabled by default. Any certificate mismatch of invalid combination of SSL options will raise a ValueError exception. (Bug #16400735) * Connector/Python now supports the LOCAL keyword for LOAD DATA LOCAL. (Bug #16369511, Bug #16736916) * The MySQLConnection.cmd_shutdown() method now accepts an optional shutdown type. A new ShutdownType constants class was added. (Bug #16234441) * The GPL Connector/Python packages contained non-GPL documentation. This could be an issue when Linux distributions would like to repackage. PDF and other documentation formats now are removed from the GPL packages, which point in the README_DOCS.txt file to online availability of the manual. (Bug #68509, Bug #16430013) Documentation ------------- Online:http://dev.mysql.com/doc/connector-python/en/index.html The source distribution includes the manual in various formats under the docs/ folder. Reporting Bugs -------------- We welcome and appreciate your feedback and bug reports: http://bugs.mysql.com/ Enjoy! On Behalf of the MySQL/Oracle RE Team, Sunanda Menon
|• MySQL Connector/Python 1.0.9 has been released
|Sunanda Menon
|26 Feb
|• MySQL Connector/Python 1.0.10 has been released
|Sunanda Menon
|7 May


text:
How do I tell if I'm using the 64-bit kernel?
Use the System Profiler to determine if you're running a 64-bit kernel.
- From the Apple () menu, choose About this Mac, then click More Info.
- In the Contents pane, select Software.
- If 64-bit Kernel and Extensions is set to Yes, you are running a 64-bit kernel.
Note: A 64-bit kernel is not the same thing as a 64-bit processor.
Does running a 64-bit kernel have an impact on applications I usually run?
No, but it can have a significant impact on kernel extensions, usually used to enable third-party product hardware and special features. 32-bit kernel extensions will not work when your computer is running a 64-bit kernel. Products that use 32-bit kernel extensions may not work or may not recognize their associated hardware. Learn more about compatibility with the 64-bit kernel.
Can I switch between the 64-bit kernel and 32-bit kernel?
If you are using OS X Mountain Lion, switching to a 32-bit kernel is not supported. Mountain Lion uses 64-bit mode.
OS X Lion and earlier versions of OS X support a 32-bit kernel. Switching to the 32-bit kernel allows you use products that use 32-bit kernel extensions.
Can I find out if a kernel extension is 32-bit?
- From the Apple () menu, choose About this Mac, then click More Info.
- In the Contents pane, select Extensions. It may take a few moments for all your extensions to be listed.
- Look in the 64-Bit column to determine if an kernel extension is 64-bit compatible. If it is, the entry will be Yes.
Which Apple products ship with a 64-bit kernel as the default configuration?
A list of Macs that use the 64-bit kernel is available here.


text:
Yannash is the Choctaw word for buffalo.
Find these and other high end items in my Etsy shop.
Yannash is the Choctaw word for buffalo.
Find these and other high end items in my Etsy shop.
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text:
Britney Spears will only let Jason Trawick wear one hat, and he chose the boyfriend gig over being the pop star's agennt.
The two "have decided to end their professional relationship and focus on their personal relationship," a Spears rep told People magazine. "Since wrapping her recent world tour, Spears has been busy in the studio working on her next album."
The pair began dating last summer and have dodged engagement rumors for months. "They are very happy," a source said of the couple. "Things are really good with them."
The 28-year-old Spears might be taking it slow after two failed marriages. She married Jason Alexander, a childhood pal from Mississippi, in an ill-conceived Las vegas ceremony back in 2004 and then split three days later. Eight months after that, she got hitched to Kevin Federline, one her dancers. That marriage lasted jjust over two years and produced two children.
Trawick, 38, works for the William Morris Agency. Losing Spears as a client will still leave him with some high-profile celebs to represent, including Taylor Swift, Hilary Duff and Paris Hilton.


text:
Availability: In Stock
Product Code: Sand-Lover
A unique Land Rover Sand Lover design. Choose any of the T-shirt colours, print colours and sizes from the menus below.
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We accept all major Credit Cards and we ship Worldwide.
Our shirts are 100% unofficial. They are our own, unique work and not connected to any company or manufacturer. Our t-shirts pay tribute to great vehicles, their owners and enthusiasts.


text:
Chris Brown is singing a different tune, a day after lashing out online with gays slurs at another artist who'd provoked him.
"Yesterday was an unfortunate lack in judgment sparked by public Twitter attacks from Raz B, who was bent on getting attention," the "Forever" singer told TMZ on Thursday. "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and frustrated I am over what transpired publicly on Twitter."
After Raz reportedly ignited the hours-long war of words by referencing Brown's assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna last year, Brown had responded by mocking Raz-B's sexuality and the musician's past claims he'd been molested by several of his band's ex-managers.
U.S. & World
Brown, who is now serving a five-year probation sentence for the Rihanna assault plus community service, said he's "learned over the past few years to not condone or represent acts of violence against anyone."
"Molestation and victims of such acts are not to be taken lightly; and for my comments I apologize -- from the bottom of my heart," Brown told TMZ.
The R&B star added he's committed to "becoming a better person."
Turns out Raz-B also had a change of heart for his part in the Twitter feud.
"I want to publicly apologize for my direct attacks done out of anger," he told TMZ.
And thus was this great feud put to rest, for 2010 at least.
Selected Reading: TMZ, Daily News, E!


text:
About Steve's Club
Our Mission
"Steve's Club and its participating members provide a national network of programs through which at-risk or underserved youth of any socioeconomic background can join in the CrossFit Community at a reduced, low or no cost structure."
Steve's Club National Program is a member-based 501(c)(3) for at-risk youth fitness.
Our Vision
Imagine a country where kids grow up valuing fitness and nutrition, where youth from disadvantaged backgrounds are given the opportunity to improve their health, fitness, and personal development.
Teens from tough neighborhoods and difficult family lives choose to be involved in fitness, sports, and other positive outlets instead of drugs, gangs, and violence. After school, they go to their local gym (Affiliate) where they sweat alongside other members of their local community - firefighters, lawyers, doctors, businessmen, soccer moms, etc.
Steve's Club offers a positive framework and community to help at-risk youth grow into stronger and healthier individuals- both physically and mentally. Working out and eating well become second nature, and they learn life lessons in a supportive environment - discovering what they're capable of, pushing themselves to work hard and strive for something greater.
Steve's Club changes lives, but these changes happen on the individual and local level. We hope to reach these kids by offering free or subsidized access to fitness in their own neighborhoods.
Personal health is a strong platform for future development; by giving them the right tools and encouragement, we can make a difference in the lives of individual kids and begin to create change on a larger scale. The future of America rests with our youth.
Please help us Strengthen a Nation, One Kid at a Time.
Our Values
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- Support: Encourage and motivate others
- Positivity: Have a good attitude, rebound from challenges, believe that you can
- Discipline: Work hard, be dedicated, commit to excellence
- Character: Strive to be the best you can be
- Community: Give back, be a good role model, inspire others
SCNP Annual Reports
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Learn more about what Steve's Club National Program and it's Local Clubs have accomplished in 2015, and what our future plans are.
2014 Annual Report
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Download our Code of Ethics:
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text:
District chief killed in Nimroz roadside bombing
District chief killed in Nimroz roadside bombing
ZARANJ (Pajhwok): The administrative chief for Khashrud district of southwestern Nimroz was killed in a landmine explosion on Saturday, an official said.
A security source in the province, who wished to go unnamed, told Pajhwok Afghan News the Khashrud district chief, Mohammad Hasham Noorzai, was on his way to the district center from the provincial capital, Zaranj, when his vehicle hit the hidden bomb.
Noorzai was killed and his vehicle destroyed in the blast about six kilometers from the district headquarters, the source said, adding the insurgents would ambush Noorzai had he survived the bombing.
There has been so far no word from insurgents in this regard.
Related Article
Download "Pajhwok" mobile App, on your smartphone to read and access latest news, features, interviews, videos and photos about Afghanistan.


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HEROES Mentoring Program
Be a HERO for a Young Person today.
The HEROES mentoring program is led by the DU Volunteer Center at the Lettinga Campus with students from the Caledonia middle schools.
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- Attend a mentor training session on October 3rd or 4th
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- You'll also be invited to attend special mentoring events throughout the year.


text:
I lived in the projects untill I was ten. We had alot of silly tales our parents would tell us. Some I suppose were based on fact and some on predjudice maybe??
This one sticks out most in my mind.....
If you didn't close and lock your windows at night, NINJAS would come into your house and kill you. Ninja stars, samaurai swords and the whole bit. You had to be especially scared on the second floor because DUH....ninjas can, and obviously prefer to, scale walls,....hello?? You have no idea how many hot summer nights I slept through with the windows closed![smiley=cwm2.gif]
Now that I'm older and maybe a little bit wiser, : I can see where this came from. It may not have been our parents as much as peers. When I was a kid, my city, which is in the metro Boston area, recieved a HUGE influx of Cambodian immigrants. I think that the ninja rumors basically stemmed from ignorance and misunderstanding of thier culture which was working its way into our neighborhoods. It's pretty amusing on afterthought though, and the kids I grew up with and I still joke about it.
The other rumor we literally suffered through was the BLACK VAN. This black van had no windows and would drive the streets and grab up lone children to perform any number of horrible inexplicable acts upon them. (NO Nintendo for a month!! AHH!)
Obviously this one was meant to keep us off the streets, but I think that there is some truth to this one. Actually I think that many neighborhoods filled with children have experienced this.
I'm not sure if these can completely be catorigized into the "Urban Legends" group, but I think any group of kids growing up together has them. Anyone else have any??? ???
Ninjas & Black Vans
Started by JennaLaLune , Dec 09 2003 05:24 PM
6 replies to this topic
Posted 09 December 2003 - 05:24 PM
"Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is Blind." -Albert Einstein
Posted 18 March 2004 - 08:46 AM
Ninja Survive!
Take my hand and we'll go riding through the sunshine from above
Posted 18 March 2004 - 06:41 PM
Our van was white. Of course, I do think it stemmed from an actual occurance of some poor child being abducted by a man in a white van, but I was all of in my 20's before I got over my fear of all white vans.
Krafted with luv
by monsters
Posted 04 May 2004 - 04:40 AM
Ninjas and black vans? I thought it was an episode of "The A-Team" :o)
Posted 04 May 2004 - 04:41 AM
:o (
Posted 04 May 2004 - 04:43 AM
How do you do rhese darn things? ;o)
Posted 04 May 2004 - 04:52 AM
"I'm savoring my laz' bite....adios seventy-sixa, DOWN!!" <<Ed "Cookie" Jarvis, Boston Competitive eater finising a 76 ounce steak---err---side of beef.
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Steve Horn | May 8, 2012
By Steve Horn • Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - 16:06
Ever wonder why a blooming green energy industry has faced such harsh opposition? Now, as the old adage goes, "the cat's out of the bag."
The Guardian today revealed the network of fossil-funded groups coordinating the ongoing onslaught of attacks on renewable energy, particularly wind power. A memorandum passed to The Guardian from the Checks and Balances Project details the organizations and personnel acting as ringleaders to build an astroturf echo chamber of clean energy critics.
Guardian reporter Suzanne Goldenberg writes in "Conservative thinktanks step up attacks against Obama's clean energy strategy,"
"A number of rightwing organisations, including Americans for Prosperity, which is funded by the billionaire Koch brothers, are attacking Obama for his support for solar and wind power. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which also has financial links to the Kochs, has drafted bills to overturn state laws promoting wind energy."
A confidential memo seen by The Guardian and obtained by DeSmogBlog "advises using 'subversion' to build a national movement of wind farm protesters," explained Goldenberg.
That memo was crafted by John Droz, a Senior Fellow at the American Tradition Institute (ATI).*(see update below)* ATI was the right-wing think-tank behind the lawsuit to obtain University of Virginia climatologist Michael Mann's "ClimateGate" emails.
DeSmogBlog has covered ALEC's assault on renewable energy previously.
Other gold in the memo, as relayed by Goldenberg:
- "[A] national PR campaign aimed at causing 'subversion in message of industry so that it effectively because so bad that no one wants to admit in public they are for it.'"
- "[S]etting up 'dummy businesses' to buy anti-wind billboards, and creating a 'counter-intelligence branch' to track the wind energy industry.
- "[C]alls for spending $750,000 to create an organisation with paid staff and tax-exempt status dedicated to building public opposition to state and federal government policies encouraging the wind energy industry."
The memo was authored by John Droz Jr., an ATI Senior Felllow*. Droz runs the website "Wind Power Facts" and is a climate change denier, on the record saying,
Is Global Warming a scientifically resolved matter? No. There is some very convincing evidence (and scientists) that indicate that there is such a thing as Global Warming. But there are some very qualified scientists (with good evidence) that suggest just the opposite. More importantly, statements often appearing in the media like 'the majority of scientists' believe in Global Warming, are meaningless. First of all, no legitimate survey has ever been done, and secondly, science is not about the number of people who advocate a position.
Furthermore, Droz is registered as a speaker at this year's Heartland Institute (of DeSmogBlog's "Heartland Exposed" fame) "Denial-a-Palooza" event.
"These documents show for the first time that local Nimby anti-wind groups are co-ordinating and working with national fossil-fuel funded advocacy groups to wreck the wind industry," Gabe Elsner, Checks and Balances co-director told The Guardian.
The story as a whole is well worth the read. Stay tuned for more coverage on the topic by DeSmogBlog, as well.
[UPDATE May 10: The American Tradition Institute contacted DeSmog to distance itself from the memo, stating that ATI Senior Fellow John Droz was not representing the organization officially at the Feb 1-2 meeting.
David Schnare, Director of ATI's Environmental Law Center, told DeSmog via email:
"ATI did not commission the memo at issue. ATI did not endorse the memo. ATI did not attend, sponsor or support the meeting at which the memorandum was discussed. John Droz, acting on his own behalf, is the author of the memo."]
Image credit: Shutterstock | majeczka
This story was good timing. I
This story was good timing. I was only just telling Canman about this sort of thing in the last post:
Willis Eschenbach & Watts both seem to have been given a copy of the campaign proposal, as they have both had recent hit pieces on renewables.
Looking at that document on page 2, i find the following bit interesting:
"Most of this could be done by volunteers without having a formal national organization. Discuss how this would work and who would have what responsibilities.
Consider joining forces w some already established organization where there is substantial commonality and commitment (e.g. ATI, Heartland, IER, CEI, Marshall, Brookings, Cato, Manhattan, AfP, FW, CFACT, ALEC, NA-PAW, etc.)."
I would bet my last dollar that after seeing the Heartland doc, that some if not all of these organizations also fund Watts. Probably Climate Audit & Climate Depot also. And that these sites are the front groups for the front groups.
GingerLadySlipper replied on Permalink
I can't picture the Brookings Institute fooling with a creature like Watts. I think the grown men are still in charge at Brookings.
"I can't picture the
"I can't picture the Brookings Institute fooling with a creature like Watts. I think the grown men are still in charge at Brookings."
Yes, you are right. Apolgies to anyone from Brookings who might have been offended. They are quite independent from what I remember.
Has Someone Soiled The Air?
In classic denier style Rosa dragged out an arguement 'hiding' information but constantly implying that there is some sort of conspiracy that Wind is worse than Coal. Evidence was never provided until page two, and I doubt anyone would read that far.
I wanted to make sure that anyone who came across this rambling series of verbose comments didn't come away with the wrong impression. Namely, there is no conspiracy as Rosa implies.
The conclusion was predictable.
Here's what Rosa said, followed by my (unusually polite) rebuttal.
" 'Wind power provided 18.9% of electricity production and 24.1% of generation capacity in Denmark in 2008.'
"Lets call it say 20%. Errr, doesn't that mean they are using 20% less fossil fuels if wind is generating 20% of their power?"
No, it doesn't. Because fossil fuel plants continue to burn fuel while not generating electricity, and they burn it less efficiently when ramping to balance the variable wind generation. Denmark has to export most of its wind-generated electricity because the backup and balancing requirements are too great. They are now looking to the UK because the Scandinavian and especially the German grids can't take more, either.
So the question remains to compare fossil fuel use per unit of electricity consumed before and after wind on the grid.
I found some attempts to do this:
P.S. I mentioned taxpayer funds because "anoilman" pointed to utilities and energy companies' readiness to spend on wind. Please put aside your caricatures and read what I write.
P.P.S. This will probably be my last post, since we're going in circles with your refusal to look beyond the hype and assumptions about big wind.
(Assuming logic is involved.)
Here's two blogs that support your claim;
Check out the rebuttal from Michael Goggin of the American Wind Energy Association, on the JoeWheatley page;
"This appears to be a classic case of a lurking (or confounding) variable being used to misleadingly present correlation as causality; a comparable example is arguing that cigarette lighters cause lung disease since people who buy them tend to develop lung disease. In this case, the lurking variable that is the actual causal factor appears to be cold weather and its impact on heating demand, data that is available but that (for reasons we can only speculate) was not used in these correlational analyses."
"Cold temperatures drive heating demand, forcing Ireland's numerous fossil-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plants to fire up and run at a high level of heat production (and subsequently more emissions per megawatt-hour, MWh, of electricity, since CHP plants relative to the rest of the fleet are not optimized for electricity production, and CHP plants being run to produce maximum heat are not being operated in a way that is optimized for electricity production; moreover, it appears that the emissions associated with heat production are rolled into the data…"
So, what is happening is coal heating plants that are not used for electricity are firing up in cold weather and their emmissions are being included with electricity generation power plants. (Wind = cold if you live near cold water)
If you disconnect wind power from that grid, the emissions would of course increase dramatically, hugely immensely.
This also shows that you should not blindly look at numbers but actually study the factors involved in what is being looked at.
More on ...
See the rebuttals to Goggin's rebuttal in the comments at:
And you base that on a blogger post?
There is no emissions increase. None.
No evidence of it either. None.
The simple fact is that you haven't seen how much larger the emissions would be if you didn't have wind at all. You are blindly, ignorantly looking at numbers.
You are deluded to think that 10s of thousands of engineers and scientists have it all wrong, and there is a grand conspiracy to fake information and buy useless equipment in every nation in the world. Even at its best, SPECTRE couldn't do that.
According to you, they are buying equipment that doesn't work because they get a discount. Do tell do tell.
Here's the actual numbers from 2004, page 33 (as compared to NOT HAVING ANY WIND);
Would you prefer the 2007 report (page 10)?
I also applaud you efforts to hide your real sources. Why not link to the Climate Denier website, and the likely source of this crap?
Or that crappy Civitas report from earlier this year?
Oh… and lots of money is still flowing into Wind despite having the subsidies cut in 2010;
Yeah… Heavily subsidized… Right… Tell me another one;
"The competitive market has brought cleaner power supplies to the province. Most of Alberta's new supply is natural gas-fired. Alberta also now has 865 MW of wind generation, the second highest concentration of wind power in Canada. And none of Alberta's new generation is subsidized by Alberta taxpayers."
You need better information than misinformed bloggers Rosa. Much better.
Both of your Eirgrid citations are projections, not actual data.
I believe you to be intentionally stupid.
and you don't have measurements to make a point with.
Wind generates no CO2 in operation, correct?
Your numbers involved shutting off the coal and power plants. That is what Ireland did during high winds.
You are claiming that turning on coal and gas plants (as opposed to turning them off) will drive down CO2 emmissions. That is crazy talk. It defies all known science.
I like how you skip over the fact that Wind is unsubsidized in Alberta and competing against coal and gas using independant suppliers. That doesn't fit in with your whole grand conspiracy does it? Does any of that ring true at all?
Wind in Alberta survives only as long as there are enough people like you to pay extra for it to be on line.
Then you detest the free market.
Its deregulation so its not going to go away as long as it remains competitive with Gas and coal. Which it is.
Deregulation is a Libertarian Conservative agenda is it not? I thought you guys liked that stuff.
"Retail consumers have the option to buy electricity at competitive prices from third-party sellers or at regulated prices through the local utility."
The way this works is that by law the grid must buy back any energy at the going rate that the service provider charges.
So, if I personally bought a solar system and put in a two way power meter, the service provider must buy my energy for the same rate they sell it.
Its the same for any power source.
As for me and wind… I hardly notice the difference.
Sorry to mislead you. THEY CANCELED THE PROGRAM AND CONTINUED BUYING WIND FARMS. So I'm like the last person still paying extra and wind has really taken off here.
Rosa Rosa Rosa… its an environmentalists dream come true! Thank you for getting me to look all this stuff up!
Alberta is apparently unique in that generating capacity has not been keeping up with demand. Therefore, even in a free electricity market, there is a need for whatever wind generates. As you know, however, the AESO halted new wind connections in 2005 because of the lack of system flexibility able to cope with wind. In 2007, a new 1200-MW gas plant allowed more wind to be added.
So it's not so much that wind is competitive in Alberta, as demand is desperate.
Nevertheless, wind's "penetration" remains less than 3%. Because adding more wind requires adding more gas (and then operating them less efficiently, such that you are still unable to show actual reduction of carbon emissions per unit of electricity consumed).
Alberta's wind turbines, of course, are notorious for the high rates of bat deaths.
AESO has no choice. If I sell wind, they must buy it.
Its the law.
If I produce electricity they have to buy it for the same rate they sell it at. Its the law. I can even do it my home.
Here's the latest projects for one private (non subsidized) company, there are many companies;
Oldman 2 comes on line this year 2012 and there are many more in the works.
You are also lying about Alberta's demand. We have 11,000GW and have peak demands of 7500GW. So Enmax did not need to build that plant. There is such a glut of electricity right now that our rates have fallen to 6c per kwh. It was 11c when I moved here.
AESO is pushing to have Albertans subsidize power lines ($1200 per houshold) to the United States so we can sell you electricity instead of gas or coal.
Here's a video from a Conservative politician regarding power lines in Alberta;
(I couldn't vote Wild Rose, but I could vote for this guy.)
Source: Desmogblog (http://s.tt/1bePV)
GHG regulations
The Enmax financial reports mention the cost of compliance with provincial greenhouse gas regulations, which are offset by credits from wind. There's your subsidy. Enmax is selling the wind electricity as well as itself buying the "carbon credits". The wind plant is the means of paying for (not reducing) the carbon emissions from the fossil fuel plants.
Tax credits are new in what way Rosa?
All oil and gas Royalty Payments are also tax credits. Every single producer of oil and gas is getting a tax break for every single GJ they extract. Every last one of them, including Enmax.
Those Carbon Credits only kick in after a business hits a very high level of pollution.
So, we do not give a credit for all carbon emissions… But we do give it for every GJ dug out of the ground.
Thank you for pointing out the heavy heavy subsidy the oil and gas industry receives. Thank you.
Here's how those carbon credits work.
In order to even need credits you must produce 100,000 tons of GHG per year.
But… They only have to reduce carbon intensity. This means that polluters are increasing the amount of pollution they produce, and are not even attempting decrease it. That was very key to how George Bush rephrased carbon reduction in the Denial Machine;
Harper of course adopted the same policies. (Having Frank Luntz as his advisor couldn't hurt either.)
Socialist vegans against wind
The PR effort is obviously even stronger on the pro-wind side to characterize all of the opposition as NIMBY climate-denying Neandertals on the evidence of but one faction.
There are many well known reasons to oppose industrial wind power with its sprawling adverse impacts, typically on previously nonindustrial rural land and undeveloped wild land, and very low benefit. For anyone concerned about climate change, or the environment as a whole, giant wind is clearly a wasted effort that does more harm than good.
As for the "Tea Party", their opposition is certainly welcome, although it is hard to ignore the racist and regressive agenda behind it. George W. Bush (with pal Ken Lay of Enron) practically invented the modern wind industry (as subsidy farms), and most Republicans are just as supportive as Democrats, including the likely challenger to Obama, Mitt Romney, a testament himself to the power of corporate socialism.
Although Marita Noon is quoted in the main story as believing that Obama "wants us to pay more and use less", the fact is that all agents of the sham democracy in this corporatist nation want us to pay more and use more. Big wind fits the bill perfectly as it tries to make industrial depredation and corporate welfare "cool" and protection of the environment treasonous.
GingerLadySlipper replied on Permalink
Where do you get all this stuff from?
I should add that the American Wind Energy Association uses the same Republican Washington PR firm – Revolution – as several pro-oil groups (U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Center for Individual Freedom, and American Energy Alliance). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce in particular loves wind, because it opens up vast new lands to industrial development.
www.coalitionforsensiblesiting.com/doc/AWEAPolicyDoc-Nov2011.pdf :
'We need to create a space for the wind energy industry without defining it as an alternative to fossil fuels and coal and that goes beyond being one of many "renewables." "Renewables" in general are saddled with weaknesses that we don't want to have to carry.'
In other words, the wind industry itself is distancing itself from climate concerns, because their only interest is the continuation of subsidies.
The above document, the minutes of the AWEA's board meeting, also outlines the group's regional efforts: In addition to the expected focus on 'establishing, defending, and increasing state renewable/clean energy portfolio standard requirements to favor wind (e.g., by excluding large hydro)' [emphasis added]:
Other efforts include ensuring that siting regulations benefit developers, convincing utilities and regulators that wind provides reliable and economical capacity, and pleading with them to expand transmission and change the rules to benefit wind.
Local efforts also include contesting landscape, wildlife, and health protection rules as "not based on science".
Lovely people, indeed!
Ian Forrester replied on Permalink
Ever get out much Rosa?
Rosa complained:
"There are many well known reasons to oppose industrial wind power with its sprawling adverse impacts, typically on previously nonindustrial rural land and undeveloped wild land, and very low benefit."
Rosa, which would you rather have within a mile of your residence, a windfarm, a surface coal mine, a coal fired power station, a tar sands plant, a petroleum refinery or a nuclear reactor?
Have you ever been close to any of these? If so tell me which has the least impact on the environment. I have been close to all of these and I know which I find to have the least adverse impact.
False choice
Wind is not, and can not, since it is diffuse, intermittent, and highly variable, replace those other sources. (And petroleum is rarely used for electricity in most places.)
So its seemingly lower impact is meaningless, because it doesn't reduce the impacts from other sources.
You aren't up to date.
I like how you're so Johnny ready with this subject on this web page. Is that you job? I mean Desmogblog has an extremely low readership. (20% must be me alone.) Yet, Pow! You're here to rebutt.
I've visited the Wind Farms down south from here. They power my home. They have little impact on the area since they are also operating farms. In fact initially, it was the farmers who put them in. (Bat killers… some noise, but I live inner city, so I'm used to noise.)
Claiming that something can't work because it doesn't work now, means you are just plain stupid. That is a demonstratable fact.
Cars… Who'd want a car if there were no roads.. Oh wait…
Plumbing… Who'd want that? It would be too expensive to implement… Oh wait…
Buggy Whips… Oh wait, that must be what you are selling, right?
So, expand your mind a little. (Well OK a lot, you are very very limited.) Key people are interested in this issue and are trying to solve it;
Yeah… Bill Gates is a green freak… (You can't see me rolling my eyes at you.)
CO2 Capture… Head of R&D from Exxon is working on that one;
Is there anything else you are ignorant of or would like to learn about? I'm sure someone here would be happy look up facts that you are too lazy to look for yourself.
Ian Forrester replied on Permalink
Not a false choice
And you never answered my question. Typical of deniers.
The question is bogus
Your question is based on the assumption that selection of wind is exclusive of the others. I reject that assumption and therefore can not answer. Wind is in addition to those other sources.
The erection of a wind energy facility does not mean that a coal mine is shut down or even that less coal is burned.
In fact, you left out natural gas fracking fields from the list, a source that has risen in parallel with wind. Would you, in supporting a neighborhood wind "farm", also support fracking next door to provide the natural gas needed to back up the wind?
Ian Forrester replied on Permalink
Where do you get all your misinformation? Are you funded by the fossil fuel industry. Sounds like it.
Of course wind power and other energy sources will displace fossil fuels if used properly and not subject to lies and disinformation put out by the likes of you and your denier cronies.
If fracking was done in an open and honest manner and proper regulations were in place and enforced it wouldn't be the problem that it is today. It suffers the same problems as anti-wind farm groups they are dishonest and have huge quantities of money available to push their deceit.
That's my experience.
Their objective is to spread FUD. Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. I'm pretty sure thats why they never back their claims.
So… here's a funny thing… the equipment producers are one and the same.
GE makes a horrific portion of the Wind Turbines and at the same time owns a horrific portion of the Drilling\Wireline industry. They can't loose.
Variable: technology to deal with variable wind speeds is already in use. On the stator they put a speedometer, and a bunch of analog switches. If the rotor is moving slowly, they simply change configuration of the wiring to give a constant output frequency (60Hz). Problem solved years ago.
Batteries: Biggest issue, lots of people are working on it. Of course, oil\coal plants would benefit as well since we designed our entire electrical grid based on peak demand. Taking the edge off those peaks means fewer power plants.
Diffuse: Powerlines are needed to get the power moved from where its generated to where its needed. This is nothing new. No one has a coal plant next door, right?
(And yes, Hawaii uses petrol for its power plants. What else are they gonna do? I'm sort of suprised that they haven't got solar, but everything costs more in Hawaii, right?)
Rosa: In Calgary where we frack a lot, the local communities full of oil engineers opposed near by fracking. And yes with enough wind farms the coal power plants do indeed go away.
Maybe us oil field people know a bit more than someone like, say, you.
The Filthy Engineer replied on Permalink
I don't know where to begin
"Variable: technology to deal with variable wind speeds is already in use. On the stator they put a speedometer, and a bunch of analog switches. If the rotor is moving slowly, they simply change configuration of the wiring to give a constant output frequency (60Hz). Problem solved years ago."
I've been working in power generation for over 40 years and have never ever come across such a generator. The Hertz has to be within very small ranges otherwise one turbine will motor another. This would mean that they would have to have a vast amount of winding configurations. Please send me the link to this amazing piece of machinery. My Nobel prize will be welcome.
Batteries: Biggest issue, lots of people are working on it. Of course, oil\coal plants would benefit as well since we designed our entire electrical grid based on peak demand. Taking the edge off those peaks means fewer power plants.
I shake my head in disbelief. Just think of the size of a battery that you need for a few kilowatts. IE Toyota pious. Just imagine the size of batteries to store gigawatts.
(And yes, Hawaii uses petrol for its power plants. What else are they gonna do? I'm sort of suprised that they haven't got solar, but everything costs more in Hawaii, right?)
No they dont. They use diesel which is way different from petrol.
I really despair when I visit blogs like this that disseminate total rubbish. It gives science a bad name.
"No they dont. They use
"No they dont. They use diesel which is way different from petrol."
Is diesel made of rainbows and sunshine?
You are a stupid filthy lier.
Last time you were here, you were a Marine Engineer. Now you have a whole new expertise? Interesting. Do tell. So, you're like the Dr Who of engineering? "What kind they ask." "Everything he says."
"For the uninformed, the site is a home for rabid global warmists and greenies. All they seem to be able to do is shout down anyone who asks an innocent question. I wrote a very innocuous post querying in my profession as an engineer, why I thought models were not always all they're made out to be in the real world outside academe. I basically stated that as a marine engineer, I need input A to end up as output B. If it comes out Z in real life I would most likely have to resort to swimming. I ended my post with the simple question. "Can we have real science back".
Oh dear. They really do play the man and not the ball over there.
Oh and they deleted my post.
*scweems and stamps feet*
Posted by The Filthy Engineer at 19:49 "
I showed you a patent the last time you trolled around here. You forgot it already.
I received an internal presentation from GE on exactly this technology. I was working with their oil field group at the time. (GE had them lumped together at the time. You know… energy… kinda related, and when you have 300,000 employees, close enough.)
And yes… gigawatts is exactly what they are aiming for with liquid metal. Obviously you have pre-closed your mind to watching the video on the professor who has put his life behind the project. If you had any intellect (which you don't) you'd have quoted the European failures with liquid metal batteries, but I digress. But you're not here to listen, you are here to troll.
Here it is....
Here's the patent I showed you before;
Go ahead and read it again, appearently you will learn something new.
What kind of idiot would conveniently forgot things like that? Do tell Mr Engineer.
When you work on this stuff do you find the newer high power inverters more difficult to design in? I find the gate capacitance causes no end of grief with my designs. How about you?
"The PR effort is obviously
"The PR effort is obviously even stronger on the pro-wind side"
The pro wind crowd have more money for PR at their disposal than the collective fossil fuel companies? Care to point out on the forbes list where these companies are that have some much riches at their disposal to counter the denial juggernaut?
"There are many well known reasons to oppose industrial wind power"
Like impacts profits and monopoly of fossil fuels and impacts on funding for PR groups funded by fossil fuel companies?
"For anyone concerned about climate change, or the environment as a whole, giant wind is clearly a wasted effort that does more harm than good."
Willis Eschenbach, is that you? Only fossil fuels can save us right?
"As for the "Tea Party", their opposition is certainly welcome"
You had a few typos; "As for the TEA Party, their ability to be conned by fossil fuel companies to their detriment, is welcome".
Rosa, should we mitigate CO2?
Yes, obviously
But let's not automatically assume that industrial-scale wind is a good means of doing so. The absence of evidence for such a benefit from wind on the grid is striking.
"But let's not automatically
"But let's not automatically assume that industrial-scale wind is a good means of doing so. "
So what is?
I think we know how this works out in the fossil fuel agenda. Obviously taking on all renewables at once is a tough ask. Best to eliminate one (wind) & say that solar is not that good either, but ok eh?
Then once wind (competition) is out of the way, solar suddenly becomes the next target.
"Oh, we did believe solar was a credible alternative, but after a bit more research and number crunching, we have come to the conclusion, that solar is not good either (for fossil fuel profits)".
And you got numbers from where?
Just curious…
I mean its not like my house runs on magic. I have lights. I don't burn coal.
The Alberta grid
According to Alberta Energy (http://www.energy.alberta.ca/Electricity/682.asp), in 2010, 58% of your electricity comes from coal, 34% from natural gas, 2.7% from biomass, 2.3% from wind, and 2% from hydro.
No one's house is powered by wind at all...
… unless you elect to do so. I pay slightly more to do it. I don't even notice it in my budget. Electricity is almost nothing, its lumped in with water.
So no… my power doesn't come from any other source, and my wind doesn't go anywhere else.
Everyone on the grid gets the same electricity
You don't get any more wind energy than your neighbor who doesn't pay extra.
So... moving along to power lines and subsidies.
Here's a video from a Conservative politician regarding power lines in Alberta;
(I couldn't vote Wild Rose, but I could vote for this guy.)
Now skip forward to part 3 and 4. Alberta is planning to build a 16\32 billion dollar power line 'because Alberta needs it'. The government wants joe citizen to pay for it. But its real purpose it supply megawatts to the states. (At least according to US records.)
In effect… I'm meant to be subsidizing the American electrical grid. 'scuse me, if I say I don't wanna, and how come the those coal power plants need this kind of horrific subsidy? Can you explain that?
Feel free to look at the documentation at the Idaho National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Economic Region. Please explain why Americans need heavy heavy subsidies for their energy? From Canadians no less.
Brendan… one line is supposed to come from BC… So, you will be getting hit by this as well.
GingerLadySlipper replied on Permalink
17 or 18 years ago I was in Cornwall, England and saw lots of windmills. About that time I was in northern California near Sacramento and traveled past many windmills in the desert.
Since then more and more wind farms have arisen. It appears that the windmills do provide a good source of energy for the grid.
David B. Benson replied on Permalink
that is still to be firmly settled.
Anyway, those things are wind turbines; windmills are for milling corn.
Rosa, come back, where di you
Rosa, come back, where di you go?
You said to the question; Should we mitigate CO2?
"yes obviously".
Then said "But let's not automatically assume that industrial-scale wind is a good means of doing so. "
Source: Desmogblog (http://s.tt/1bePV)
I,m curious. If you believe we should mitigate CO2, but wind is not a good means of doing so, then what is? Surely if you can make the statement, you can back it up with something substantial?
Not exactly.
What she's insisting on is 'externalizing her costs'. i.e. releasing CO2 now because she doesn't have to pay for the damage it causes until much later.
Damaging the environment is free as far as she is concerned.
But as luck would have it, my power company called me up. (Yes… I began to worry.) They wanted me to sign up for a free upgrade to solar.
So here's how it works. I pay about $6500 for a complete system and I get a two way power meter. What's that you ask? Any extra energy I generate gets dumped onto the grid, and credited back to me. (I make money.) The probably targeted me because my house is so efficient. In winter I use less than half the power they plan to provide me with.
Work it out folks.. I'm getting a kicking discount for solar but remaining on the grid. They are getting me to build out more capacity.
So who's getting subsidized here? I'd be building out more capacity for the power grid… I put in money, they put in money.
Solar is a Libertarian Dream if you think about it. Fossil fuels and power grids are easily slavery. If you don't think they are watching you, stop paying your bills.
GingerLadySlipper replied on Permalink
My son-inn-law in Maryland was listening to a guy selling a solar system yesterday. I think they'll go for it – it sounds very feasible. They put in geothermal energy and now pay only an averge of $5 a month for the natural gas + the $13 dollar billing fee.
GingerLadySlipper replied on Permalink
My son-inn-law in Maryland was listening to a guy selling a solar system yesterday. I think they'll go for it – it sounds very feasible. They put in geothermal energy and now pay only an averge of $5 a month for the natural gas + the $13 dollar billing fee.
Here I yam
Your question isn't fair. I can note that I don't see any evidence that wind is able to mitigate CO2 emissions without having to propose what would. But obviously, the first thing is to use a lot less energy of all types, and not just electricity. The U.S. should allow the new-generation diesel cars now common in Europe that get 60-70 mpg. We should curtail animal and high-input farming (responsible for 20% of greenhouse gases — more than transportation — according to the UN) by following a more vegan and organic diet. And conserve electricity. My wife and I both work at home and our family still uses half the average electricity used by consumers in Vermont, which is already three-quarters the national average. I don't know how people use so much — could it just be a matter of not having the TV(s) on all the time?
What Information are you looking at?
Be specific. (I am a newb at this renewable calculations stuff.)
Fossil fuels never stop generating pollution. They produce CO during manufacture then they continue to produce CO2 as a waste in operation. (Double if you use oil from the tar sands.)
Here's what I found; Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, October 2006, postnote 268, Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation.
Interesting… Solar isn't that good. A healthy half to a quarter that of Coal or oil with CCS. (No CCS in Alberta.)
Anyways that shows wind with 1/10 the emmissions of Fossil Fuels assuming you use CCS (which most places don't). I'm sort of surpised that they mention CCS. Currently CCS isn't being used much because its hideously expensive. Perhaps thats just because Alberta wanted to use it for EOR which pretty much doubled the price tags on the power plants.
I'm begining to think CCS is getting mentioned all over the place to make coal and oil look good. Where is it really being used?
David B. Benson replied on Permalink
CCS is being used exactly nowhere. The two demonstration projects are stopped due to future li8ability concerns. [I opine that is silly, but there it is.]
That's what I thought.
In Alberta they were trying to 'refine' the CO2 out of the coal plants to use it for EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery). They canceled the project when they realized it was too expensive. (Doubling the cost of a power plant will do that to you.)
Speaking of EOR post people don't realize that what the industry does now is drill into a CO2 pocket, pump that up to the surface and then pump it back down somewhere else to force the oil out. They do it that way to avoid the messy cost of piplines.
"Your question isn't fair. I
"Your question isn't fair. I can note that I don't see any evidence that wind is able to mitigate CO2 emissions without having to propose what would."
Of course its fair. If you are going to say something doesnt work but a solution should be found. You should either provide concrete evidence why it shouldn't, not conspiracy theories, or/and define what should be done about it.
". But obviously, the first thing is to use a lot less energy of all types, and not just electricity. The U.S. should allow the new-generation diesel cars now common in Europe that get 60-70 mpg. We should curtail animal and high-input farming (responsible for 20% of greenhouse gases — more than transportation — according to the UN) by following a more vegan and organic diet. "
You sound like you are advocating 2 of the Pacala & Socolow mitigation wedges.
Pacala and Socolow of Princeton [78] have proposed a program to reduce CO2 emissions by 1 billion metric tons per year − or 25 billion tons over the 50-year period. The proposed 15 different programs, any seven of which could achieve the goal, are:
- more efficient vehicles − increase fuel economy from 30 to 60 mpg (7.8 to 3.9 L/100 km) for 2 billion vehicles,
- reduce use of vehicles − improve urban design to reduce miles driven from 10,000 to 5,000 miles (16,000 to 8,000 km) per year for 2 billion vehicles,
- efficient buildings − reduce energy consumption by 25%,
- improve efficiency of coal plants from today's 40% to 60%,
- replace 1,400 GW (gigawatt) of coal power plants with natural gas,
- capture and store carbon emitted from 800 GW of new coal plants,
- capture and reuse hydrogen created by No. 6 above,
- capture and store carbon from coal to syn fuels conversion at 30 million barrels per day (4,800,000 m3/d),
- displace 700 GW of coal power with nuclear,
- add 2 million 1 MW wind turbines (50 times current capacity),
- displace 700 GW of coal with 2,000 GW (peak) solar power (700 times current capacity),
- produce hydrogen fuel from 4 million 1 MW wind turbines,
- use biomass to make fuel to displace oil (100 times current capacity),
- stop de-forestation and re-establish 300 million hectares of new tree plantations,
- conservation tillage − apply to all crop land (10 times current usage).
You need 7 to make it work. Choose another 5 They seem to suggest that wind is ok & most of the sensible world agrees.


text:
It's March 4, 2010: Guatemala and El Salvador are battling in an international friendly match at the L.A. Coliseum. In the 45th minute of play, Guatemala are on the attack. The ball makes its way to Guatemalan -- and Chicago Fire -- midfielder Marco Pappa about 30 yards from goal.
Undeterred by distance, Pappa takes advantage of the time and space he has and blasts a left-footed shot. The ball rips through the air, tucking itself inside the upper 90 of the far post. Miguel Montes, the El Salvador keeper, has no chance.
This moment, this goal, defines Marco Pappa as a soccer player. He is creative, quick and blessed with a deadly left foot that cannons shots past top goalkeepers. But, despite his exceptional talent, Pappa's game can be fleeting. He disappears too often in matches. He struggles with his game-to-game consistency. He can't always harness his talent. But when he does control his skills, the results can be fantastic -- you just need to see his goal against El Salvador to see that.
Pappa was able to rein in his ability at times for the Fire in 2009, when he registered five goals and four assists in 30 games. But the 22-year-old winger is not content with those numbers. He wants more. And now, in his second full season with Chicago, Pappa feels that the time is right.
"I want to get better in all aspects [of my game]," Pappa said through a translator on Tuesday. "Now that I have played one season with the Fire, I think that I have enough experience to do things right."
And if the Fire are to improve upon last season -- when they fell a shootout short of making the MLS Cup final -- Pappa will have to get better. The team lost attackers Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Chris Rolfe this offseason, and many will be looking to Pappa to help fill the 11-goal, nine-assist void created by their departures.
"I would like to be able to step into their shoes," Pappa said of his former teammates. "'Temo and Rolfey were big presences on the team. I'm going to take it step by step, but I will do my best for the Fire."
It's important to remember that Pappa won't be alone in replacing Rolfe and Blanco. Joining him in that task will be returning forwards Brian McBride and Patrick Nyarko, as well as offseason signings Collins John and Julio Martiínez. Together, the five attackers should allow head coach Carlos de los Cobos' possession-based attack to run smoothly and effectively.
But regardless of who is there to help him out, Pappa has a goal of his own in mind for the new season.
"I want to improve on the achievements that the team had last year," Pappa said. "[But I also want] to grow as a man because that will lead to more experience in the world of soccer."


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Q After sweating through nearly four years of a stressful job, I can hardly wait to leave it. My concern is financial. I can't afford to be fired for looking around, which is what would happen. What can I do to keep news of my job search undercover? — No Initials Please
A A stealth job search has always been tricky to pull off without risk. In this age of digital exposure, the risk has shot up to red alert. Any day, I expect an insurance policy to pop up offering policy holders coverage of lost income when they search for a new job on the quiet, get caught and are fired.
Having said that, your risk is affected by how hard you are to replace and your relationship with your manager. Assuming there's no bad blood between you, managers aren't eager to endure the hiring process unnecessarily. Situations vary widely. Here are pointers on keeping a tight lid on your search:
If your smartphone were lost or stolen, what information would someone be able to access? That's the question recently addressed by the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearing-house in San Diego.
Do you, for example, sync your personal and work email accounts on your phone? Are your messages archived? Are sent messages accessible? How far back do they go? Do you have apps installed that provide direct access to your social networking accounts, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? Read all about privacy and your smartphone on the clearinghouse's website, privacyrights.org. Don't miss the organization's fact sheets.
Browse for Google's privacy policy and understand what user data may be spread from one Google product to another, including Gmail. Similarly, revisit privacy policies for all social media that you use.
Write "Confidential" atop your r�sum� and cover letter. During an interview, emphasize the need to keep your meeting quiet. If the job is what you want, and you anticipate an offer, say that you'll be happy to have your references checked with previous employers, including your current employer, once you've been hired. But until then, you'd appreciate confidential treatment.
Begin your search with several selected independent recruiters, as well as trusted professional and personal friends. Open networking is risky in a surreptitious search — talk travels. But you can increase your visibility in professional organizations and position yourself to hear about good job leads.
Anticipate who you will need as references, clueing them in on your undercover search as your faith in their discretion allows.
Make it very clear to potential hiring authorities that no contacts can be made at your present workplace until you accept a written offer, conditional on satisfactory references. (Don't chance buyer's remorse — get the offer in writing.)
Tell absolutely no one in your workplace that you're outward bound. Carry a disposable cellphone to step out of the office and return calls to a new unlisted number that rings only on that phone. If you're really worried, establish a new unlisted number for your home phone as well.
Dress normally at work; keep an interview change of clothing nearby. Be wary of too many dental appointments, sick kids and floods in your kitchen, or other cover stories for interviewing getaway time. Employers weren't born yesterday.
If your boss discovers your undercover search, be ready to stand and reason. Practice a confrontation in advance. Say that no one really wants to make changes into the unknown, but that for the following reasons — enumerate them — you are being forced to look elsewhere.
Your goal is to remove emotion from the discussion and perhaps work out an improved situation where you are, or to buy time. If the situation blows up, offer a quid pro quo: If you're not forced out, you'll train your replacement on your own time.


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The trip may have started out as a way to discover their roots, but it ended with a New York couple saying "I do" – for a second time – in a small village in Ireland.
As part of the ongoing extravaganza called "The Gathering: Ireland 2013," Debbie and Francis "Mac" McFadden spent eight days recently experiencing the country Irish-Americans like them were being encouraged to "come home to visit."
The hustle and bustle of Dublin. The scenic countryside where tradition holds that St. Patrick fasted for 40 days atop Croagh Patrick Mountain. The 15th century Bunratty Castle that played host to a medieval-style banquet complete with singing lords and ladies.
The husband and wife, together with 78 other relatives, and members of the East Islip, Long Island, division of the Ancient Hibernians Our Lady of Knock, a fraternal organization that's long helped new Irish immigrants adjust to life in America, saw it all – and more.
"It really did feel like we were home," says Mac, 57, who works for a local school district. "Everyone we met, from the CIE Tour International guides to the Irish people, made us feel like we were family."
The fourth day was the clincher.
At the Knock Shrine in the County Mayo village of Knock – world-renowned as the site where the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and John the Baptist are said to have appeared on Aug. 21, 1879 – Debbie and Mac reaffirmed the marriage vows they'd first made to each other 30 years ago on Long Island.
"It was an anniversary we'll never forget," says Debbie, a 52-year-old nurse. "And both our parents and our daughter were there for it."
The Gathering is though of in Ireland as "the people's party," with locals themselves intent on helping the huge Irish diaspora here in the U.S. soak up the best of the Emerald Isle's culture, tradition and unique sense of fun. Among the big events still to come this year are: Bloomsday in Bruff, a celebration of all things James Joyce; the Dublin Bay Prawn Festival; National Heritage Week; the Tramore Horseracing Festival; and the Cats Laughs Comedy Festival.
If You Go: The respected CIE Tours International has escorted millions of Americans to Ireland over the past 81 years, and offers many fully inclusive vacation options including exclusive motorcoach tour booked by the McFadden group. For info, call 1-800-243-8687 or visit www.cietours.com/gathering.


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Epiphany of St Corvus Gothic Raven Necklace
Love is both light and dark as is life itself. This pewter necklace beautifully expresses both sides.
- Our Price: $64.00
- Product Code: AG-P771
- Average Delivery: 2 - 5 Days within USA*
- Collection: Alchemy Gothic Jewelry and Decor
Ask a Queston About This Item
Epiphany of St Corvus Gothic Raven Necklace by Alchemy Gothic Jewelry and Decor
The dove of peace and love conjoins with the raven of conflict and battle, harmonizing in romantic redemption. The Irish Saint Columba pacifies Corvus, the Scandinavian warlord, ordaining eternal salvation - salutis aeternae.
A unique and gorgeous necklace to grace the neck of your lady love, this amazingly detailed necklace is made of fine English pewter and polished black pewter with white and jet black Swarovski crystals. It comes on a split 21 inch silvertone chain
|Availability & Delivery
|Out of stock normally refers to items that are out of stock with the manufacturer, not us as we stock only a limited number of items. Inventory is updated regularly and will be shown above with any sizes/colors/items out of stock indicated. Not all manufacturers provide inventory data and even in stock items can be sold out without notice. Items not shown out of stock are normally available, though average delivery time might include time for the item(s) to arrive to our warehouse from the manufacturer as well as delivery time to you and are an average estimatation. We will notify you of any out of stock items as soon as possible or you can contact us in advance of placing your order to verify availability.
|*Average Delivery:
|The average delivery time for delivery within the United States via Standard or Free Shipping. Deliveries outside the US will on average take an additional 10-15 days based on destination country and customs both in the US and at the destination. International deliveries may have additional import duties, taxes, or fees imposed before delivery that we cannot charge or estimate - contact your local customs office for information.
Note: This is the average, estimated time for delivery and is subject to availability, seasonal sales volume, and other potential, unforeseen delays. If you must have an item by a specific date, be sure to include that date in your cart comments when checking out.
|Shipping Details for This Product
|US Standard Shipping
|Made in the UK, it ships from Alchemy Gothics US Warehouse in Texas. Transit time for instock items are 1-4 business days, however, not all items and sizes are in stock at all times. Items which much be shipped from the UK will take 5-10 business days.
|US Express Shipping
|Made in the UK, it ships from Alchemy Gothics US Warehouse in Texas. Transit time for instock items are 1-2 business days, however, not all items and sizes are in stock at all times. Items which much be shipped from the UK will take 5-10 business days.
|International Delivery
|Made in the UK, it ships to our warehouse in Florida (about 4 days). We ship to you via US Priority Mail. Average delivery time is 2-10 business days but will vary with customs in your country. Import duties or fees may be required before delivery is made - contact your local customs office for details.
|PO Box/APO/Military Delivery
|Made in the UK, it ships from Alchemy Gothics US Warehouse in Texas. Transit time for instock items are 1-4 business days, however, not all items and sizes are in stock at all times. Items which much be shipped from the UK will take 5-10 business days.
|Return Information
|This item CAN be returned or exchanged. You can exchange it for a different size, color, or item, or return it. We offer cash refund (less shipping charge), as well as store credit for your purchase price plus an additional 10% (store credit can be applied to any future order from any of our online stores)
|Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper and other metals. It has a low melting point and is very easy to cast in molds. It has been used since ancient times for everything from jewelry to table wear and was once called the "poor mans silver". Generally pewter has a grayish/silver semi-dull finish, though this varies depending on the metals combined with the tin and can be colored black or other shades or plated with gold or silver. All our pewter pieces are lead and nickel free. Pewter is generally hypo-allergenic and will not tarnish or react in most conditions. Note it can break or crack if flexed multiple times and rings cannot be re-sized, though interior ring springs or other adjusters might be used.
|Care & Other Information
|Polishing Your Jewelry
|Pewter may dull or even tarnish over time depending on environmental factors and how often it is stored. It can be gently cleaned with a soft cloth or jewelry polishing cloth, but should NOT be cleaned with liquid or abrasive cleaners. Do not put in hot, salty water or dishwasher or submerge any pieces with an antique finish.
|All Alchemy Gothic pieces have a lifetime guarantee against defects and faulty workmanship. In the unlikely event that you should have any such problems, please return them to LABEShops for repair or replacement. With normal wear, your piece should last a lifetime, but do not excessively bend or flex pewter as it can break and such breakage is not covered under warranty.
|Country of Origin
|Made of Fine English Pewter in the United Kingdom
View More: Alchemy Gothic Jewelry and Decor, pewter, gothic jewelry, dove, ravens, hearts, love jewelry


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Hands-on Weekend Seminar-Workshop
The Masterson Method® Weekend Seminar is the next practical step to take after reading/viewing the Beyond Horse Massage Book/DVD.
In these hands-on workshops, you'll learn how to recognize and use the visual responses of the horse to your touch to find and release accumulated stress in key junctions of the body that most affect performance. Jim Masterson has successfully taught these techniques to hundreds of owners, therapists, and trainers worldwide, enabling them to open new levels of communication and relationship with their horses.
It is a prerequisite to purchase and review the Book and/or DVD: Beyond Horse Massage before attending the seminar-workshop.
We are now accredited by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork Organization (NCBTMB) for Continuing Education Credits.


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I came across this subject while reading some posts elsewhere on the internet. I think it's a subject worth, pardon the pun, exploring a little bit. Will the Phillies miss the contributions of Jayson Werth this season?
The obvious answer is yes. I think the Phils will miss the attitude and swagger that Werth was starting to cultivate so well when he was on the Phillies, particularly the last season that he played in 2010. Werth had real good reasons to do well, namely getting a new contract from a ballclub that was willing to pay the price for his successes that he's had at the plate.
What Jayson often brought to the game was a willingness to do well. He tried his best, and Phillies fans recognized his strong desire to succeed and appreciated it. That will probably always be a part of what Jayson brings to the game.
Will Werth be as successful as he was when he was a Phillie? Now that one is up to great debate. The Phillies, in the past three seasons in particular, have been a team with a mandate. That mandate is to make the playoffs and then go as deep into the playoffs as possible with a World Series appearance being the ultimate goal. Will the Nationals team of 2011 inspire a guy like Werth to do better knowing that they may not have that great of a chance to even make the playoffs in 2011?
This is a dilemma that Jayson will have to deal with. The Nationals may not lose 100 games this year, but they surely appear not to be in the driver's seat to win 100 games either. That fact has to hit home on a player like Werth, so we'll see what happens.


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Legislation to temporarily close Boca Chica Beach during SpaceX rocket launches is advancing to the full Senate — and now could be on the fast track to Gov. Rick Perry's desk.
House Bill 2623 by state Rep. Rene Oliveira is considered must-pass legislation for Texas to stay in the running for a new SpaceX launch site the company is considering building near Brownsville. Billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said talks with Texas about the commercial spaceport will be taken off the table without the beach closure bill.
The proposal hit a bump Monday in the Senate Committee on Administration when the upper chamber's longest-serving member John Whitmire, D-Houston, raised concerns about shutting down a public beach for a private company.
Whitmire's opposition pushed back a vote on HB 2623 until Wednesday, when it passed out of committee 4-0. The measure also was recommended for the Senate's calendar designated for uncontroversial bills, a move that could propel the proposal right to Perry's bill-signing pen.
Wednesday's unanimous vote included support from Whitmire, who said he originally misunderstood the bill's intent when he asked the committee earlier in the week to pump the brakes to allow time to get legal opinions on whether it violated the Texas Open Beaches Act.
Under the bill, state officials would have the authority to close the beach for up to 12 rocket launches a year but would leave it open the rest of the time. The proposal would prohibit beach closures during weekends and summer holidays.
Whitmire conceded Wednesday that he didn't fully grasp the measure days earlier and that it "is actually a temporary security issue and a safety issue for them to launch rockets and satellites if that becomes a reality."
"I would support this temporary closing for safety concerns as they launch a private sector satellite," he said.
Asked about Whitmire's issues with the bill, Oliveira said ahead of Wednesday's hearing that the situation had already been addressed and the bill was expected to pass committee.
"There often are things besides the merit of the bill that affect people's opinion," said Oliveira, D-Brownsville. "The concerns that Sen. Whitmire had have been addressed."
The senate dean's refusal earlier in the week to vote for the bill had the potential to slow down its momentum during a crucial stretch of the session when proposals live or die based on how expediently they can be ushered to the floor.
Since there were only four members of the panel present Monday — just enough to have a quorum — the measure was left pending without Whitmire's support.
The measure now heads to the full Senate, where it's expected to pass and land on Perry's desk. But a single senator could bump the bill off the local and uncontested calendar and place it in the legislative limbo known as the Senate's intent calendar — where plenty of bills this late in the session will never see the light of the upper chamber's floor.
The proposal's potential to ignite concerns in the full Senate is still a possibility. While casting a vote in favor of the bill, Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, cautioned: "this is not something we should take lightly."
But SpaceX lobbyists in the days since Monday have worked to calm hesitant lawmakers — and now they'll be focused on making sure it sails through the uncontested calendar and straight to Perry.


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Life is full of unexpected surprises. There is no way in the world I could have envisaged ten years ago that one day I would publish a book. Even less credible was the possibility that it would be a book to help people with type 2 diabetes find a way of eating to assist in individually managing their condition.
But that is exactly what I have done today. If you look at the side-bar, there it is. I can hardly believe it myself. How on earth did that happen?
A little over eight years ago I was just like many of the people who are reading this right now. I had just left the doctor's surgery with a handful of diet brochures, a new blood glucose test meter and a new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes to add to my various afflictions. But, unlike many newly diagnosed people, I was determined to conquer this one. I hit the ground running. I started seeking information and I haven't stopped since.
In the eight years since then I have learned from every source I could, commencing with my doctors, dieticians and educators but not limited to those and continuing with usenet and the web. I turned my affliction into my hobby. I learned to use the various medical search engines on the web and subscribed to email alerts from sites such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Diabetes Association, Journal of the American Medical Association, Heart, Endocrine Today, Diabetes in Control and many others. I read everything I could find. I learned to understand "Medi-speak" and how to pick a valid research paper from a poor one; and believe me, there are far too many poor ones.
I started on usenet's misc.health.diabetes, back when it was very active (usenet is fading these days), and later added more diabetes groups and web forums. I learned a lot from many good people who helped me. Over time I started trying to help others as they arrived, shocked and scared, on those forums. If their situation sounded like mine and I felt I could suggest a way to help, I did. And slowly, over time, I found that many people started to experiment for themselves using my suggestions and they worked for them too. Often we both learned from the mutual feedback of advice and experiment.
Over time I found that I am a good coach. Like many coaches, I found that some of those I helped achieved better results than the coach. I respect them but I do not envy them, because we each have to choose the right balance for ourselves. I could work harder and achieve tighter goals, but I balance that with my enjoyment of life. My signature on the web is "Everything in Moderation – Except Laughter". I keep that in mind when making lifestyle decisions. But I never forget that the laughter may become a bit strained if the terrible diabetes complications start to appear in my life. So I try to make sure I work just hard enough to ensure they do not. That can never be guaranteed but after more than eight years they have not arrived yet.
After a while I added other forums and groups to my morning and the number of new arrivals I responded to started to grow, especially on the American Diabetes Association Forum. I found that I was repeating myself daily. So I looked for a way to store the "standard" suggestions and discovered blogging. This blog started in 2006 as a type of archive; a way to give a new person a link to more information without typing it several times daily. Then it started to grow, as I answered more questions and posted some of those answers to the blog.
The book I have published today grew out of that experience, partly to help those who are more comfortable with a book than a computer screen. I finally made the decision to write the book when many of those who had followed my suggestions over the years urged me to write it for their relatives and friends.
That is the story behind the book. I'm a good coach, but not much of a salesman because I tend to be too honest and "tell it like it is".
I do not promise a cure. I don't have a magic bullet. I don't sell herbal mixtures, special potions or promise reversal of your diabetes in 30 days. After buying the book you don't get follow-up mail to buy anything or join a program or start a business. All you get is a book that is easy to read, easy to understand and offers clear and simple ideas to help you take control of your diabetes.
What I can promise is that following the suggestions in my book will help you understand much more clearly the relationship between the foods you eat and the consequences for your long term health. I can teach you a way to find an enjoyable way of eating that suits you. My hope is that this information may help you take control of your own diabetes management, just like many others who have reported back to me, and may help you delay the progression of your diabetes towards those terrible complications.
If you're really quick - you might even get delivery before Christmas :)
Seasons greetings to all. I just received my Christmas present; I hope you receive what you wish for.
Cheers, Alan, Australia


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In December, I had the opportunity to spend several days in Haiti visiting with several extraordinary MedShare partners. While I was overwhelmed by the challenges this country and its people continue to face, I keep finding myself thinking of one word when I consider the overall experience of my visit: HOPE.
I visited the Leveque community outside of Port-au-Prince, where – with support from MedShare-partner 410 Bridge – 93 families (half of those with a deaf family member) are living in community in permanent housing, and where eventually 169 families will dwell. Two of the community leaders who are deaf, Berthide and Mackenson, spent time learning about MedShare by reading our annual report since my sign language abilities don't extend much beyond "Nice to Meet You" and "Thank you!" They did teach me a few new signs including that for "cow" (which crossed the road often during our visit) and "love" (a sign they used in every photo taken).
As they showed us the amazing progress they've made in providing housing, access to water, agriculture and education for this community, I thought of the HOPE they are providing to hundreds of Haitians.
I was overcome with emotion when I visited the Isaie Jeanty Maternity Hospital and saw two beautiful but very small babies (less than 2 pounds) that had been given a chance at life thanks to supplies and incubators provided by MedShare in strong partnership with the First Lady of Haiti via Mona Adam, Northside Hospital in Atlanta, and GIANT. Thanks to dedicated Haitian leaders and health care providers, these babies and their families have HOPE for life.
While these stories of HOPE may seem small compared to the millions of Haitians in need, I am truly inspired by the people of Haiti that are working diligently hour-by-hour, day-by-day to rebuild their country. And, I am extremely grateful to the many MedShare supporters who have generously donated their volunteer time, medical supplies and equipment, and financial resources so that MedShare could support these efforts. MedShare has shipped 84 forty-foot ocean containers full of medical supplies and equipment to Haiti over the past 15 years, with 7 in 2012 alone. Thank you for supporting MedShare to provide HOPE and HEALING to the people of Haiti!
In Service,
Meridith Rentz, CEO & President


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Note: Ken Duke, 44, captured his first PGA TOUR victory Sunday in the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn., making a two-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to defeat Chris Stroud.
Since his youth, Duke has been a student under PGA Golf Professional Hall of Famer Bob Toski of Boca Raton, Fla., who also is a member of the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame. The PGA of America caught up with Toski shortly after Duke's victory. The legendary teacher offered his perspective on his relationship with Duke and what the amateur golfer may take away from having witnessed Duke's march to victory.
The phone hasn't stopped ringing after Ken Duke won the Travelers Championship. I'm very happy for him. It really is a milestone for me. I'm 86 and Ken's 44. I guess it shows you that two old farts can get it done.
I talked to Ken last night and then again this morning. I said, "If you can get a 64, you will win. I felt that 14-under would win, and anything below might be in a playoff. Well, he shoots a 66, is tied at 12-under-par, and then makes a birdie in the playoff. That' 13-under after it's all said and done, right?
I've been with Ken when he was 4 years old, and now he's 44. I have seen him go through so much, and the golf ball doesn't know how old you are and doesn't care. What you witnessed with Ken was a study of perseverance. How many amateur golfers would strive to do what he has to improve? He had his share of physical problems, but he kept working and working.
I can't tell you the technical things that will work, because you have to be with me on the lesson tee. What I can tell you is that you have to learn the fundamentals and apply them at all times – the right grip, the right posture, and putting the ball in the right position.
Ken was never a great driver of the ball. He pushed his drive on 18 in regulation into the left rough and was able to save par. I would tell him at his setup that he was aiming left and swing to the right. If all amateurs could understand that know where you are swinging, you would be much better off. So, if you aim right, swing to the right.
How can you learn the proper way to aim to a target? I'll tell you. You head straight to the putting green.
Start by stroking in a two-foot putt in a straight line. You concentrate on that, and start moving back to a longer putt, then a chip, a pitch, moving back through your irons and then to your driver. You learn that you keep all clubs square to the line of play.
That concept was introduced by (World Golf Teachers Hall of Famer) Seymour Dunn in 1922 ("Golf Fundamentals"). You learn that it all begins with a straight line. You will find that your aim will be better. I cannot guarantee that you will be playing golf like a professional like Ken Duke, but you may see a difference.
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The avg ship time is 5 to 10 business days unless noted on the product page.
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All Lionel, MTH, RailKing, K-Line, Bachmann, Wooden Railway sales are final,
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That means, if you have a manufacturing defect the manufacturer will advise you on how
to get the item repaired. If the item cannot be repaired the item will be replaced & if
it cannot be replaced you will be refunded.
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If an order is refused and sent back to us, you will be responsible for a 20%
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Design measures approximately 6.25 x 8.75″
Reusable stencil / mask – perfect for creating stunning backgrounds and embellishments for a variety of projects. These light weight and easy to clean stencils are flexible enough to allow use on non-flat areas and surfaces.
Can be used with inks, sprays, paints, pastes, chalks, pens and pencils, and can even be used for lightly embossing paper and card in die-cutting machines.
Can be used for papercrafting, mixed media, cake decoration, home decor, and various other creative endeavours.


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And monster truck rallies.
The viability of an LA stadium is not at all dependent upon it housing an NFL team. A football team would help a ton. But those stadia will be fine without one, IMO.
As for teams lining up to go to LA, don't bet the house on that. The LA market is very fickle. They show up late and leave early. If you are less than excellent, they don't show up at all. Not exactly an ideal circumstance for an NFL team.