Lurker > Antifar

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06022018/eia-trump-greenhouse-gas-emissions-rise-climate-change-natural-gas-wind-solar-energy

The carbon footprint of the United States will barely go down at all for the foreseeable future and will be slightly higher in 2050 than it is now, according to a new projection by the Energy Department's data office.

If that projection came true, it would spell the end of an era in which the U.S. led the world in reducing the tonnage of carbon dioxide it pumped each year into the atmosphere.

The new plateau would reflect Donald Trump's determination to walk away from the Paris climate agreement, to abandon any thought of more ambitious climate change policies, and to overturn the main federal climate protections recently put in place, like President Barack Obama's rules to curtail emissions from electric power plants.

As the world's largest national economy and second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, an American retreat of this kind would seriously undermine the key goal of Paris, which is to bring net emissions to zero in the second half of this century.

Instead, the U.S. would almost single-handedly exhaust the whole world's carbon budget by midcentury.

Remarkably, such a failure to further improve the nation's climate performance would come even as the nation continues to move away from coal. The Energy Information Administration projection says that starting in 2022, practically all additional electricity generation capacity would come either from natural gas or wind and solar.

Coal would flatten out, but not disappear, and the boom in gas and oil would continue, turning the U.S. into a net exporter of energya likelihood that became apparent under Obama, and whose imminent arrival the Trump administration calls a signal economic achievement.

The projections are contained in the EIA's 2018 Annual Energy Outlook, published on Tuesday. Like all such prognostications, they depend heavily on assumptions and modeling methods, and are best thought of as case studies rather than as formal forecasts. They generally turn out to be at least partly wrong, and the agency has been criticized frequently for having low-balled the outlook for wind, solar and electric vehicles, among other blind spots.

The central projection, known as the reference case, assumes that existing policies and laws remain in place. Other projections tweak assumptions, such as economic growth rates, energy prices and the arrival of new technologies.

The long-term emission projections in this year's report don't differ radically from those of the pastthe annual reports rarely shift gears abruptly. Some of the assumptions have changedfor example, the Clean Power Plan's emissions rules, which Trump plans to get rid of, are no longer recognized.

Despite its limitations, the annual report is useful both as a snapshot of where we are and as a barometer of what we are likely to experience. It is the main place where energy trends are translated into climate accountingthe more so now, since under Trump the government has not issued a required periodic emissions report to the United Nations.

Generally, the report notes, the carbon footprint of the nation's energy economy in the decades ahead will mirror its track record on using, conserving and replacing fossil fuels.

In one relatively bright spot, the report projects that energy efficiency and the use of more clean energy will lower the carbon footprint of the average American from about 16 tons to about 13 tons over the next several decades. Americans contribute more than twice as much carbon dioxide per capita as do Chinese or Europeans, and vastly more than people in poorer nations. Cumulatively, Americans have accounted for the lion's share of the greenhouse gas that is currently in the air, warming today's climate.

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Take that as a no
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The Logical Professor has done it again
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Has anyone on CE played it?
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While we're discussing the Koch Brothers' unearned wealth, let's also note the Koch sons

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John Kelly, the adult in the room
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-kelly-rob-porter-abuse-allegations_us_5a7b691ae4b0c6726e0edd46

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly knew about a protective order against staff secretary Rob Porter well before Porter resigned Wednesday over allegations that he had abused his two ex-wives, Politico reports.

The order prevented Porter from being given full security clearance, a senior administration official told Politico.

Two sources told CNN later on Wednesday that Kelly, as well as other senior White House staffers, had been aware of the allegations for months.

Its unknown if Kelly took any action at the time, but on Wednesday he reportedly urged Porter not to resign and wrote a glowing review of the alleged abuser.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/i-was-shocked-john-kelly-scolds-then-defends-top-white-house-staffer-accused-of-domestic-abuse/ar-BBIQ8y8

White House chief of staff John Kelly said he was "shocked" to hear about the sweeping allegations of domestic and emotional abuse against top staffer Rob Porter, who resigned on Wednesday amid the fallout.

Kelly said in a statement released Wednesday night, "I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter. There is no place for domestic violence in our society." The remarks were a departure from comments attributed to Kelly earlier in the day, when he allegedly said Porter should "stay and fight," according to a story published by the news website, Axios.

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Is there a fucking genetic disease where Democrats think giving speeches is more important than using the leverage they have?
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https://twitter.com/elwasson/status/961404652251222021

Does anybody in this godforsaken party have a spine?
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That's like, the definition of thicc
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bump
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Got em
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The CIA sucks ass
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They knew about these allegations before hiring him

http://www.cnn.com/2018/02/07/politics/rob-porter-white-house-who-knew/index.html

Allegations of domestic abuse levied against top White House staffer Rob Porter by his ex-wives were known among senior aides to President Donald Trump for months, even as his stock in the West Wing continued to rise, multiple sources told CNN on Wednesday.

Porter denied the allegations but resigned on Wednesday.

A scramble ensued inside the West Wing to defend him when the claims became public this week, the sources said. That effort continues even after his resignation.

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I swear every time I tune in to the local one Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" is playing. But I doubt that's their most played song.
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Yes, and what's more I'm more likely to play them than games that will require me to change the disc
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They're pretty fine with violence; it's the sex that my mom doesn't care for
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Romulox28 posted...

Antifar posted...

LIsJustice posted...

Westworld?

Aren't there like, robot hookers in that show?

westworld is pretty much nonstop bloody violence and sex/nudity

Yeah that's not gonna work
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LIsJustice posted...

Westworld?

Aren't there like, robot hookers in that show?
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I recommended The Wire to them a while back, I think they watched the first episode and didn't care for it
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CableZL posted...

Have they already seen Breaking Bad?

Yep. And Better Call Saul.
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They don't do sci-fi, fantasy, or anything with too much sex in it
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https://www-cnbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/02/07/trump-staff-secretary-rob-porter-quits-after-ex-wives-claim-violence.html
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A:

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D:

E:

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G:

H:

Anything else:
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Today, when good news is reported, the Stock Market goes down.

I...think he's talking about wage increases here? But those have always been at odds with company valuations.
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gatorsPENSbucs posted...

if people are still killing cops like its nothing and treating them like scum then I definitely wouldnt allow him. If the country goes back to normal

Going back to normal would mean more cops dying on the job; the current figures are like 50 year lows
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Ground him
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Michael Scott No dot gif
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"okay"
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zH0mPfR posted...

Remember his bullshit stimulus plan?

Yes
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/us/politics/republican-fiscal-stimulus-deficits-inflation.html
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She farts loudly and smellily on a regular basis
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The Admiral posted...

Paper_Okami posted...

Antifar posted...

This is legalized wage theft

It's actually much closer to socialism, since tips earned by the front-of-the-house workers can now be redistributed more equally to the kitchen workers and bus boys. Surprised you comrades aren't in favor of this.

There is nothing to prevent restaurant owners from keeping that money for themselves, which is what studies (including one done by the labor department itself!) on this rule change suggest will happen:

https://www.epi.org/publication/employers-would-pocket-workers-tips-under-trump-administrations-proposed-tip-stealing-rule/

https://bnanews.bna.com/daily-labor-report/labor-dept-ditches-data-on-worker-tips-retained-by-businesses

Labor Department leadership scrubbed an unfavorable internal analysis from a new tip pooling proposal, shielding the public from estimates that showed employees could lose out on billions of dollars in gratuities, four current and former DOL sources tell Bloomberg Law.

The agency shelved the economic analysis, compiled by DOL staff, from a December proposal to scrap an Obama administration rule. The proposal would permit tip pooling arrangements that involve restaurant servers and other workers who make tips and back-of-the-house workers who dont. It sparked outrage from worker advocates who said the move would permit management to essentially skim gratuities by participating in the pools themselves.

Senior department political officialsfaced with a government analysis showing that workers could lose billions of dollars in tips as a result of the proposalordered staff to revise the data methodology to lessen the expected impact, several of the sources said. Although later calculations showed progressively reduced tip losses, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and his team are said to have still been uncomfortable with including the data in the proposal. The officials disagreed with assumptions in the analysis that employers would retain their employees gratuities, rather than redistribute the money to other hourly workers. They wound up receiving approval from the White House to publish a proposal Dec. 5 that removed the economic transfer data altogether, the sources said.

That's not socialism, it's more power and money in the hands of bosses.
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This is legalized wage theft
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Hm.

https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/960909840775249921
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Anteaterking posted...

In cases like this, does she have to return any/all of the money?

I think the money just isn't paid to her; the contract was terminated for cause. At any rate, she is suing for $70 million

After Tributes failure to provide the meals became clear, FEMA formally terminated the contract for cause, citing Tributes late delivery of approved meals. Ms. Brown is disputing the termination. On Dec. 22, she filed an appeal, arguing that the real reason FEMA canceled her contract was because the meals were packed separately from the heating pouches, not because of their late delivery. Ms. Brown claims the agency did not specify that the meals and heaters had to be together.

She is seeking a settlement of at least $70 million. Her subcontractors, Cooking With A Star LLC, and Breedlove Foods Inc., have threatened to sue her for breach of contract, Ms. Brown said. Kendra Robinson, the caterer who runs Cooking With A Star, said she has about 75,000 meals her company prepared for FEMA sitting in an Atlanta warehouse.

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Sparksfanboy posted...

@Antifar
This your alt, or user impersonation?

This is my alt.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/us/fema-contract-puerto-rico.html?smid=tw-share

The mission for the Federal Emergency Management Agency was clear: Hurricane Maria had torn through Puerto Rico, and hungry people needed food. Thirty million meals needed to be delivered as soon as possible.

For this huge task, FEMA tapped Tiffany Brown, an Atlanta entrepreneur with no experience in large-scale disaster relief and at least five canceled government contracts in her past. FEMA awarded her $156 million for the job, and Ms. Brown, who is the sole owner and employee of her company, Tribute Contracting LLC, set out to find some help.

Ms. Brown, who is adept at navigating the federal contracting system, hired a wedding caterer in Atlanta with a staff of 11 to freeze-dry wild mushrooms and rice, chicken and rice, and vegetable soup. She found a nonprofit in Texas that had shipped food aid overseas and domestically, including to a Houston food bank after Hurricane Harvey.

By the time 18.5 million meals were due, Tribute had delivered only 50,000. And FEMA inspectors discovered a problem: The food had been packaged separately from the pouches used to heat them. FEMAs solicitation required self-heating meals.

Do not ship another meal. Your contract is terminated, Carolyn Ward, the FEMA contracting officer who handled Tributes agreement, wrote to Ms. Brown in an email dated Oct. 19 that Ms. Brown provided to The New York Times. This is a logistical nightmare.

Four months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, a picture is emerging of the contracts awarded in the earliest days of the crisis. And examples like the Tribute contract are causing lawmakers to raise questions about FEMAs handling of the disaster and whether the agency was adequately prepared to respond.

On Tuesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which has been investigating the contract, asked Representative Trey Gowdy, the committee chairman, to subpoena FEMA for all documents relating to the agreement. Lawmakers fear the agency is not lining up potential contractors in advance of natural disasters, leading it to scramble to award multimillion-dollar agreements in the middle of a crisis.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a bipartisan congressional investigation found that a failure to secure advance contracts led to chaos and potential for waste and fraud. Democrats asserted that FEMA was similarly inept preparing for this storm.

It appears that the Trump Administrations response to the hurricanes in Puerto Rico in 2017 suffered from the same flaws as the Bush Administrations response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, wrote Representatives Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland and Stacey E. Plaskett, the nonvoting delegate from the United States Virgin Islands.

In November, The Associated Press found that after Hurricane Maria, FEMA awarded more than $30 million in contracts for emergency tarps and plastic sheeting to a company that never delivered the needed supplies.
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Puerto Ricans depended heavily on emergency aid dispatched by FEMA. The Department of Homeland Security has doled out more than $1 billion in contracts related to Hurricane Maria, which made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sept. 20.

On Oct. 3, FEMA awarded one of its largest food contracts to Tribute. For $5.10 each, the company agreed to provide 30 million ready-to-eat meals by Oct. 23.

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Questionmarktarius posted...

As Germany's largest union IG Metall has in the past set standards across the country.

How does that work?

I'm guessing this means "due to their large size, the deals they reach have often set precedents for other industries and unions to follow."
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Kinda expected, given that GTA V has it on the current-gen systems
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*making jerkoff motion so vigorously I break my wrist*
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darkjedilink posted...

Yeah, it's a shame America won't bend over for legitimate Communism.

I agree.
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NinjaBreakfast posted...

Mal, I take it you will be as kind in your interpretation of reactions the next time some dumb advert goes viral and the ''''''left'''''' reaction is essentially 'boy this is dumb as shit'.

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Note: Because of the shitty districting at the state level; PA Republicans actually have the power to impeach judges if they wanted to
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More significant Trudeau-crowd interaction of the past week:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-town-hall-nanaimo-1.4516953
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Sephiroth1288 posted...

That the policy that was repealed only existed since 2015?

The problem it combats only existed with the rise of video streaming in like 2010, and there were concrete examples of ISPs throttling video traffic in the few years before NN
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Even if you don't mind his businesses, the way he conducts himself as some sort of imgur meme king is cringeworthy.
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It's not a bold experiment on the impact of long weekends on childhood education, but because the state is broke.
https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21736102-low-teacher-pay-and-severe-budget-cuts-are-driving-schools-brink-whats-matter

FORTY miles from Tulsa, sometimes along unpaved roads, sits Wagoner High School, with its 650 pupils, championship-calibre football team and show barna seemingly ordinary small-town school. But unlike most high schools, Wagoner is closed on Mondays. The reason, a severe reduction in state funds, has pushed 90 other school districts in Oklahoma to do the same. Teacher pay is the third-lowest in the country and has triggered a statewide shortage, as teachers flee to neighbouring states like Arkansas and Texas or to private schools. Most of our teachers work second jobs, says Darlene Adair, Wagoners principal. A lot of them work at Walmart on nights and weekends, or in local restaurants. Ms Adair hopes that Walmart does not offer her teachers a full-time job, which would be a pay rise for many.

The roots of the fiasco are not hard to determine. As in Oklahomas northern neighbour, Kansas, deep tax cuts have wrecked the states finances. During the shale boom, lawmakers gave a sweetheart deal to its oilmen, costing $470m in a single year, by slashing the gross production tax on horizontal drilling from 7% to 1%. North Dakota, by contrast, taxes production at 11.5%. The crash in global oil prices in 2014 did not help state coffers either. Oklahoma has also cut income taxes, first under Democrats desperate to maintain control over a state that was trending Republican, and then under Republicans, who swept to power anyway. Mary Fallin, the Republican governor, came to office pledging to eliminate the income tax altogether. Since 2008 general state funds for K-12 education in Oklahoma have been slashed by 28.2%the biggest cut in the country. Property taxes, which might have made up the difference, are constitutionally limited.

Other state agencies are broke, too. Highway patrolmen are told not to fill their petrol tanks to save money. Those caught drunk-driving are able to keep their licences because there are no bureaucrats to revoke them. Prisons are dangerously overcrowded, to the point that the states director of corrections publicly says that something is going to pop. But unlike Kansas, whose Republican legislature eventually rebelled and reversed the tax cuts over the governors veto, Oklahoma will find its troubling experiment much more difficult to undo. Because of a referendum passed in 1992, any bill that seeks to raise taxes must be approved by three-quarters of the legislature.

No fact embarrasses Oklahomans more, or repels prospective businesses more, than the number of cash-strapped districts that have gone to four-day weeks. Yet even such a radical change may not help finances much. Paul Hill, a professor of education at the University of Washington, Bothell, estimates that the savings are in the 1 or 2% range at most. That sliver is still important to Kent Holbrook, superintendent of public schools in Inola (the self-styled Hay Capital of the World). In my mind, thats five or six teachers, says Mr Holbrook. Already, from 2008 to 2016, he has lost 11 teachers from a corps that once numbered 100. He has also had to reduce Spanish classes and, for the tenth year running, delay buying new textbooks.
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The real reason why so many school districts are resorting to a tighter calendar is that it is the only true perk they can offer to poorly paid teachers, whose salaries start at $31,600 and who have not received a rise for ten years. The exodus to Texas and Arkansas, which included Oklahomas Teacher of the Year in 2016, continues unabated. A 20-minute drive across the border often results in a $10,000 increase.

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The stock market is not the economy
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https://twitter.com/dril/status/959646059126550528
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People confuse "not guilty by reason of insanity" with "okay, you get to go back to your normal life now, you're free to go."
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I was still thinking about the question
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