Saturday, January 27, 2018

Do you wish you could just get rid of weeds, in your garden, once and for all? This article may have you Thinking Twice. A Chemical in One Kind of Weed may kill Cancer.

New Discovery Finds Garden Weed Offers Hope for Cancer | Care2 Healthy Living

While stinging nettles may be the bane of gardeners across the land, new research found that they offer hope in the treatment of cancer. Traditionally used for allergy relief and as a way to boost dietary nutrition, a substance in the weed identified as JPC11 was found to fight cancer in two ways.

 From article, (While stinging nettles may be the bane of gardeners across the land, new research found that they offer hope in the treatment of cancer. Traditionally used for allergy relief and as a way to boost dietary nutrition, a substance in the weed identified as JPC11 was found to fight cancer in two ways.


New research published in the medical journal Nature Chemistry found that these nuisance weeds may offer hope in the treatment of cancer. The researchers identified a substance called JPC11 which appears to interfere with cancer cells’ ability to divide rapidly—a process necessary to the survival of cancer in the body.
JPC11 in stinging nettles seems to have an innate intelligence to differentiate between healthy and cancerous tissue, leaving healthy tissue unharmed.
While the research on JPC11 as a potential treatment for cancer, and prostate and ovarian cancer in particular, is still in the preliminary stage, it could offer a more effective and focused cancer treatment. Researchers concluded that their findings “offer a new approach to cancer therapy.”
Earlier research found that stinging nettles may also be helpful for precancerous conditions. In one study researchers found that nettles was superior than the drug treatment finasteride for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is a condition in which the prostate becomes enlarged and is often a precursor to prostate cancer.)

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Me, "While this article tells you how to find nettles in your backyard. I would still buy them at a farmer's market to make sure you are getting the real thing."

A Zero Carbon World will need Carbon Capture.

Bipartisan approach to combat climate change is stuck in Congress

CLOSE WASHINGTON - A proposal mired in Congress could go a long way to curbing the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change - and Republicans from fossil fuel producing states are helping lead the effort.

 From article, (A proposal mired in Congress could go a long way to curbing the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change — and Republicans from fossil fuel producing states are helping lead the effort.
The bill would extend and expand a tax credit to reward companies for practicing “carbon capture and storage,” an expensive process supporters say can extract up to 90% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from the use of fossil fuels in producing electricity and other industrial processes.

In Texas, the independent power company NRG Energy last year completed a $1 billion venture known as Petra Nova that's become the world’s largest post-combustion system for capturing carbon at a power plant.
Petra Nova separates more than 90% of the carbon dioxide from 240 megawatts of coal-fired power at a generating plant near Houston. It injects the captured gas into the ground to extract more crude.

But the use of the process has been limited by its high price tag. Carbon capture is only going to succeed if its readily available and affordable, objectives the revamped tax credit seeks to accomplish, said Waltzer with the Clean Air Task Force.

“If we’re going to get these kinds of technologies applied not just in the U.S. but in countries like India, like China, we’re going to need to get them deployed and see the costs come down," he said. "We think (carbon capture) is a crucial component of getting to a zero carbon world.”

The FUTURE Act, which has the backing of 25 senators and 44 House members would increase the amount of the credit for each ton of carbon extracted, eliminate the 75 metric ton limit for new projects, and allow companies to take advantage of the credit if they start building before Jan. 1, 2024. 

Waltzer said the last provision is especially important because lenders would be more willing to finance carbon capture and storage projects knowing the government was investing in the project. He compared the proposed credit favorably to the tax breaks Congress granted in the 1990s that elevated the fortunes of the wind industry.)

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Your Flying Car?

Don't sit in traffic, soar above the freeway in a personal helicopter.

It's a Jetsons-style dream that has been promised to urbanites for decades: Skip the congested streets by flying above them in a personal helicopter for a fast, painless commute. In a few massive cities, most notably São Paulo, Brazil, commuting by helicopter is a reality for the wealthy.



From article, (It's a Jetsons-style dream that has been promised to urbanites for decades: Skip the congested streets by flying above them in a personal helicopter for a fast, painless commute.
In a few massive cities, most notably São Paulo, Brazil, commuting by helicopter is a reality for the wealthy. Since last year, São Paulo has even had a on-demand helicopter service operated by Voom, a project of Airbus's Silicon Valley development outpost.
For most of us that dream is still far away as we pack into buses or trains to get to work or spend too much time stuck in traffic on the freeway. But at CES two weeks ago, a few exhibitors showed how they plan to bring the idea of the air taxi to more people. You might even call them flying cars, because the idea -- hop in and take yourself where you need to go -- is about the same. 
We first saw the SureFly at the Paris Air Show in June. Made by Ohio-based Workhouse Group, the SureFly can carry two  people at 70 miles per hour and at a maximum altitude of 4,000 feet. On a full tank of gas it can fly for an hour, and there's a backup battery that gives an extra 5 minutes of flight time to get you safely back down to the ground.
With eight rotors on four arms that extend out from the cockpit, the SureFly looks almost like a giant drone, albeit one that's rather boxy. The simple controls are limited to a couple of buttons and a joystick. Workhouse says it is developing the SureFly for medical and agricultural uses, first responders as well as private consumers...C) 


Another BRT starts up.

First BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) Line in Columbus Launches on Monday

New Year's Day will mark the start of service for the CMAX, the first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line to be developed by the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA). Rides will be free on the line - which features specially-branded buses that run up and down Cleveland Avenue - for the first week of its...


 From (2017) article, (New Year’s Day will mark the start of service for the CMAX, the first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line to be developed by the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA). Rides will be free on the line – which features specially-branded buses that run up and down Cleveland Avenue – for the first week of its operation.

Apart from their distinctive look, the new buses will be different from regular COTA buses in a few other ways – they’ll have lower doors to speed up the boarding process, USB charging ports, and built-in sensors that communicate with traffic lights to limit red-light stops.

“CMAX is a brand new way for COTA to provide public transportation in our growing region,” said Emille Williams, COTA’s Interim President/CEO, in a statement. “The service will improve mobility and connect the communities along Cleveland Avenue with employment opportunities, education and healthcare services.”

The CMAX will make limited stops between downtown and State Route 161, where a new Northland Transit Center will feature an indoor waiting area and also serve as a Park and Ride location (the line will continue north, making all local stops, to the Ohio Health Westerville medical campus). The new transit center sits in the parking lot of a former Meijer store that was converted into offices by Huntington Bank.

BRT systems are often described as a hybrid system that combines the faster travel times and branded stations of light rail with the lower cost and flexibility of buses. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy lists five “essential elements” of a BRT system, including a dedicated right of way and off-board fare collection.)

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Going Against the Federal Government, New Jersey and Virginia want to be a part of Carbon: Cap and Trade

New Jersey, Virginia Take Steps Toward Joining East Coast Carbon Market

With federal policies to control greenhouse gas emissions in limbo, more states are taking steps toward putting a price on carbon pollution. New Jersey moved closer to re-joining the East Coast's carbon cap-and-trade system this week when the state Senate's Environment and Energy Committee passed a bill to restore the state's role in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or RGGI, the nation's first cap-and-trade program, launched in 2009.

 From article, (With federal policies to control greenhouse gas emissions in limbo, more states are taking steps toward putting a price on carbon pollution.
New Jersey moved closer to re-joining the East Coast's carbon cap-and-trade system this week when the state Senate's Environment and Energy Committee passed a bill to restore the state's role in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or RGGI, the nation's first cap-and-trade program, launched in 2009.
Newly elected Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has pledged to support the bill. His predecessor, Chris Christie, had pulled the state out as he positioned himself to run for the Republican presidential nomination.
Virginia, another swing state where Democrats have strengthened their hand, is also looking to join RGGI. If that happens, the addition would increase the size of the carbon market by more than 40 percent due to the large number of coal-fired power plants in the state. But legislative action there on carbon emissions hit a stumbling block in a committee vote this week, indicating that political support there is shakier.
RGGI has proven popular in most of the states that participate, steering them toward lower carbon dioxide emissions while generating revenues.
Prior to New Jersey's exit, the state received roughly $50 million a year in cap-and-trade revenue to spend on clean energy and energy efficiency measures, a figure that would likely be higher now if the state re-enters the program.
The New Jersey legislature has tried three times in recent years to rejoin RGGI, only to watch Christie veto the measures. The new legislation making its way through the legislature now would make it harder for future governors to pull out of the cap-and-trade system.)

California Gov. says, "We will get to 5 Million Electric Cars..."

Gov. Brown wants 5 million electric cars on the road by 2030

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to dramatically increase the number of electric cars on California's roads in order to slash the state's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions - transportation. In an executive order unveiled Friday, Brown set a new goal of getting five million zero emission vehicles on the road by 2030.

 From Article, (Gov. Jerry Brown wants to dramatically increase the number of electric cars on California’s roads in order to slash the state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions – transportation.
In an executive order unveiled Friday, Brown set a new goal of getting five million zero emission vehicles on the road by 2030. That’s a fourteen-fold increase from the number currently on the road -- 350,000.
“We’re going to get there, believe me,” Brown said in his State of the State speech on Thursday. “We all got a lot of work.”
To meet the new goal, Brown is calling for a $2.5 billion investment in hydrogen and electric vehicle chargers and vehicle rebates over the next eight years. Most of the money will come from the state’s cap-and-trade program, which generates revenue by making polluters like power plants and gasoline refiners purchase permits to emit carbon dioxide, a contributor to climate change.
“This is a recognition on the part of the administration that we need to increase our commitment not just to selling the vehicles, but to investing in electric vehicle infrastructure,” said Adrienne Alvord, the western states director of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
There are just 14,000 public charging stations in California today, and researchers have identified the lack of places to plug in is as one of the biggest obstacles to getting more electric vehicles on the road. By increasing the number of electric chargers to 250,000 (and adding 200,000 hydrogen fueling stations) state officials hope to ease “range anxiety,” the concern that electric vehicle drivers will be stranded without a place to charge. They also hope the chargers will increase the visibility of EVs as a viable alternative to gasoline-powered cars.
“The biggest single barrier to greater penetration of electric is lack of consumer awareness that there are vehicles available that can meet their needs,” said Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board, on a conference call Friday. “There have to be enough of them out there that people can see so they get a chance to look them over and realize that they’re not being asked to participate in some risky new experiment. They’re being offered an opportunity to buy into some very attractive new cars.”)


Bigelow wants to be the provider of a Commercial Space Station after the U.S. pulls out of the ISS. For funding, Bigelow should look to the ISS and see what research the ISS is doing, that Bigelow can do for Profit.

Bigelow Aerospace ready to step up after possible space station defunding

Posted: Friday, January 26, 2018 7:29 PM EST Updated: Friday, January 26, 2018 7:29 PM EST LAS VEGAS (FOX5) - The race to space is heating up for commercial businesses, including one right here in the Valley. This comes after news broke that NASA may be forced to stop funding the International Space System by 2025.

From article, (The race to space is heating up for commercial businesses, including one right here in the Valley. This comes after news broke that NASA may be forced to stop funding the International Space System by 2025.
At Bigelow Aerospace, crews are hard at work, creating technology that’s out of this world.
“There is no handbook that explains how to operate a commercial space station,” Bigelow VP of Corporate Strategy Blair Bigelow said. “This is something that only the government has been doing.”
In 2016, Bigelow partnered with NASA to launch a prototype called BEAM, which stands for Bigelow Expandable Activity Module.
And so far, it’s been a success.
“It was awarded a mission extension and it’s now a more operational part of the ISS,” Bigelow said. “It’s been used as a mini-warehouse of sorts.”
But folks at Bigelow have even bigger plans. This is just a scale of their latest project: B-330, set to launch in 2021, just four years before the possible defunding of the ISS.
“Abandonment of the ISS without a commercial alternative would be absolutely foolish,” Bigelow said.)

Me, "What Bigelow Aerospace should be doing is looking at the ISS and seeing what research they are doing, that can be transferred over to a Bigelow Commercial Space Station, to do for Profit. Once you have a steady supply of income, from the commercial sector, on materials, biologic, chemical research, and industrial production, etc., in zero G,  continual funding is not a problem."

Solar Power Industry will be okay with Trump Tariff, because, it had time to get prepared.

Solar power industry faces obstacles with Pres. Trump's plans for tariff

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- It's been a rough week for the solar power industry. President Donald Trump announced a massive tariff on solar panels from other countries. Some experts predict it will put 23,000 Americans out of work. But a local solar energy company tells FOX 4 there could be a silver lining in those dark clouds.

 From article, (a local solar energy company tells FOX 4 there could be a silver lining in those dark clouds.
“We don’t feel like the sky is falling at this point,” said Scott White at Cromwell Solar.
You might be surprised to hear a solar power company representative predict sunny skies for their business.
But here, at Cromwell Solar in Lawrence, Kan., not only are their bullish on the industry’s prospects, the company plans to hire an additional 20 workers.
It’s not what you’d expect to hear after President Trump announced a 30% tariff on imported solar panels.
“Someone more famous than I once said the sun is still shining in Kansas,” White said.
And here’s why they’re smiling at Cromwell Solar: Most of the solar panels you’ve ever seen are imported.
The solar industry has been bracing for a hefty tariff on imported panels for nine months---and the price skyrocketed.
“Just the threat of these tariffs spiked the market, we’ve seen prices go up the last nine months about 30%. So, we know where the price was before,” said White.
So now, with more certainty on the cost to import solar panels, Scott White believes, homeowners looking to harness the power of the sun and the local companies installing those panels, won’t see a major change in the overall price tag on a project.
“Our feeling here at Cromwell is that it’s going to keep things where they were, as of the day before this. And maybe with some luck, (the prices) will go down a little bit now that there’s some certainty.”)


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Google and Facebook are not Monopolies. They do have numerous slants on news, depending on what people are interested in writing about. This is like TV, and Radio News, which have Liberal or Conservative news stories and a writer writes for whichever one he wants.

George Soros Shares Opinion On Future Of Bitcoin, Facebook, Google

Legendary macro trader George Soros gave his remarks on the future of Bitcoin, Facebook, and Google at the annual World Economic Forum on Thursday. There's no denying that cryptocurrencies have had an incredible effect on the worldwide financial scene.

From article, (George Soros went on to discuss the negative influence of Internet giants like Google and Facebook, labeling them an obstacle to innovation and warning that they could have devastating consequences on the functioning of democracy.
“Social media companies influence how people think and behave without them even being aware of it. This has far-reaching adverse consequences on the functioning of democracy, particularly on the integrity of elections,” said Soros.
Soros is the founder of the Open Society Foundations, which he created to support democracy and human rights around the world. He stated that social media companies deliberately seek to make their services addictive, which is “very harmful, particularly for adolescents.”)

Me, "I disagree. Internet giants, like Google, do control some of the news they disperse to users, but it is controlled by popularity. If people find a news item interesting, it moves up the ranks to the top. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, it is a good way to see what the populus is interested in, and to comment on it. If Google was a monopoly, this news article, would never have made it out, to criticise Google or Facebook. 
As for Facebook. Once again, Facebook relies on its users to see what is the most important news item to them and includes it in its news feeds. Without Facebook, sharing would not have been a reliable way of getting the word out to people about personal and popular news. As long as you keep in mind that Google and Facebook are listing popular, personal and public news with algorithms, just like TV news or Radio news, with there liberal or conservative leanings, Google and Facebook will continue to be a popular place to get important news." 


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