BREAKING: Kim Jong-Un death confirmed, now registered to vote in Chicago.
If only ....
Friday, February 10, 2012
NO FUN IN LA-LA LAND: L.A. Board of Supervisors Impose $1,000 Fine for Having Fun on the Beach. Liberals remind me of H. L. Menken’s definition of Puritanism: “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”
FAT OR FERAL? Obesity epidemic strikes U.S. pets. More here. Note the deliberate link in both articles of pet obesity to human obesity – both are “epidemic.”
But here’s the relevant question: would you prefer your pet to be protected, fat, and alive? Or feral, skinny, and ... starving to death?
Exactly the same question is relevant for humans. Would you rather be living in a democratic, capitalist society where you can afford to be obese? Or would you rather live in a chaotic totalitarian society where you afford to be ... starving?
I know what my choices are.
But here’s the relevant question: would you prefer your pet to be protected, fat, and alive? Or feral, skinny, and ... starving to death?
Exactly the same question is relevant for humans. Would you rather be living in a democratic, capitalist society where you can afford to be obese? Or would you rather live in a chaotic totalitarian society where you afford to be ... starving?
I know what my choices are.
“THEY SHOULD REGISTER corrupt pols in Chicago, but that would be all of them, I guess.” I’m for a nationwide registry. Also put ‘em on the ‘do not fly’ list as potential terrorists.
NEW YORK TIMES: World's Glaciers Losing Billions Of Tons Of Ice Per Year.
Quoting the same source, John Wahr, Fox News reports that the Himalayan glaciers have lost no ice in the past 10 years. US News & World Report, using the same source, reports Earth’s Polar Ice Melting Less Than Thought.
Same source, same data, different emphases to conclude with the “correct” narrative.
Here’s what I find facinating. In the reports, there are two sets of numbers bandied about: 230 billion tons of ice melt causing the oceans to rise 0.06 in/year (US News) and 150 billion tons of ice melt, causing the oceans to rise 0.4 mm/year (NYT).
So now let’s convert those numbers to a common baseline: mm/year per 100 billion tons of melt. The NYT numbers convert to 0.27 mm/year of ocean rise; the US News numbers convert to 0.66 mm/year. That’s roughly a 250% disparity.
And yet the NYT, with the lower number, has a decidedly gloomy headline while US News, with the much higher number, is decidedly optimistic.
Perhaps it would be wise to pay attention to Dr. Wahr: “Eight years of data is great, but it’s still hard to see any kind of trend or to say whether ice loss is accelerating. All I can say is that we have a better sense of the current state of the cryosphere.”
And check the math ....
Quoting the same source, John Wahr, Fox News reports that the Himalayan glaciers have lost no ice in the past 10 years. US News & World Report, using the same source, reports Earth’s Polar Ice Melting Less Than Thought.
Same source, same data, different emphases to conclude with the “correct” narrative.
Here’s what I find facinating. In the reports, there are two sets of numbers bandied about: 230 billion tons of ice melt causing the oceans to rise 0.06 in/year (US News) and 150 billion tons of ice melt, causing the oceans to rise 0.4 mm/year (NYT).
So now let’s convert those numbers to a common baseline: mm/year per 100 billion tons of melt. The NYT numbers convert to 0.27 mm/year of ocean rise; the US News numbers convert to 0.66 mm/year. That’s roughly a 250% disparity.
And yet the NYT, with the lower number, has a decidedly gloomy headline while US News, with the much higher number, is decidedly optimistic.
Perhaps it would be wise to pay attention to Dr. Wahr: “Eight years of data is great, but it’s still hard to see any kind of trend or to say whether ice loss is accelerating. All I can say is that we have a better sense of the current state of the cryosphere.”
And check the math ....
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