Category Archives: gaia

There Are So Many Aides Out There – Being disabled has changed a lot in 40 years

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I promised that I would talk about the Child’s Playhouse today and I will but I have not talked about my experiences both of the other three disabilities and the week long pledge I took. The playhouse was a put together model of 2 huge rooms, built on a scale as if human adults were children. Each of the two rooms illustrated many of the challenges children face like tables, counter tops, drawers, and cabinets (the organizers quickly pointed out that they were not saying children WERE handicapped much like pregnancy can be described as a disease but it is really not), and the second room had furniture, peoples legs and a partial staircase. It was so cool because to get to stuff, especially if you couldn’t talk you had to climb on things. The stairs were a huge challenge and kinda scary as was walking around peoples legs.  It was big fun. Here is another thing that helps the disabled and I got to tell you from trying to open the door to the playhouse – it was real hard.

http://www.power-access.com/Model-2300-door-opener.html

 

Model 2300 Residential Door Opener

 

To assist disabled individuals toward independence, or for anyone who finds a closed door a problem… Power Access 2300 residential door opener makes access by opening the door and egress by closing the door easier.

Installation Ease

  • No modification of the door or jambs
  • Plugs right into a regular 115vac wall outlet
  • Complete instructions are packed with every door opener
  • Virtually maintenance free
  • Fits in most interior and some exterior door applications
  • Left and right hand door openers are available (hand can be changed in the field in a matter of minutes)
  • Low profile model, for limited room above the door
  • Door opener opens and closes the door

An Array of Companion Controls (wired or wireless)

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I Am Fascinated With Wheelchair Lifts – I am so glad I decided to do the residential handicapped stuff

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I was recounting in the last post about a “handicapped” workshop that had an amazing experiential component to it. There were 4 common ailments included that everyone got to try out: being blind (which I have described), being in a wheelchair which was kind of boring but boy has that changed since 1977, having an arm amputated and being deaf. Like I said the wheelchair experience was just rolling around in this large open space. They did not want us to take them outside because we could break them or we could be hurt ourselves. They did give each of us a cautious trip down some stairs at the door to the outside. There were three of them and it was creepy. My grandma was in a wheelchair so I did it better than most.

They had an extra attraction called being a child, which I will talk about tomorrow. So here is a wheelchair lift.

http://www.freedomliftsystems.com/WheelchairAccessibleVerticalPlatformLifts.asp?gclid=CKKJ0f_7jbMCFdEWMgodawoAjg

Wheelchair Platform Lifts

A simple and inexpensive wheelchair porch lift uses less space and is often a much more attractive and affordable solution than the alternative of installing a ramp.

These reliable vertical lifts can be installed outdoors or indoors and are designed to be completely resistant to the harshest weather conditions.

Wheelchair platform lifts for residential and commercial installations are easily installed and have a lifting range from 28″ up to as much as 12 feet (144″).

Our systems are an economical way to offer home / building accessibility.

Twenty years of manufacturing experience has resulted in the most durable and economical solution for wheelchair platform lift access in North America.

We will help you have a successful project, starting with offering four categories of wheelchair platform lifts.

Residential lifts for home use provides an attractive and practical solution for making your home accessible for a wheelchair user.

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Conservation International – An organization with a history

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These type organizations when founded (1987) were founded for “the long haul”. The belief was then that Humans might damage the Earth but not destroy it. Well here we are,  when it looks like Humans may kill off themselves and maybe permanently in some respects changing the Earth, and these organizations sort of plod on. They need to pick up the pace. While I understand the desire to do good work in the 3rd world. They may want to change the minds help the 1st world countries first.

http://www.conservation.org/Pages/default.aspx

Two Conservation International Leaders Honored by World’s Top Conservationists

September 12, 2012
Conservation International Applauds its President Dr. Russell Mittermeier and Board Member President Ian Khama for receiving Honorary Membership of IUCN at World Conservation Congress

Jeju, South Korea – Conservation International’s long time President, Dr. Russell Mittermeier, a world-renowned  primatologist, herpetologist and conservationist, was granted Honorary Membership today by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the world’s largest international environmental organization. The award was presented at the World Conservation Congress taking place this week in South Korea, on the recommendation of the IUCN Council to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to conservation.

“Russ Mittermeier is an innovative, proactive and scientifically informed conservationist,” declared IUCN on its website.  “A renowned primatologist and herpetologist, he has undertaken extensive field work and made major contributions to the conservation of the fauna of Madagascar, the fauna of South America (especially in Brazil and the Guianas), primates in general, and freshwater turtles worldwide.”

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The United Nations Makes These Type Lists All The Time – There is a reason for that

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The U.N does a whole lot of good. It does not balance out the bad that humans do to each other and to the planet. Not even close, but they are trying. Again in third world countries no less.

http://www.unep.org/

Afghanistan, UNEP Launch USD $6 Million Initiative to Help Communities Adapt to Effects of Climate Change

Bamyan, Afghanistan, 11 October 2012 – The Government of Afghanistan, through its National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), has launched a USD $6 million climate change initiative, the first of its kind in the country’s history.

This landmark scheme – to be implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and funded mainly by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) – aims to help communities that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as drought, and to build the capacity of Afghan institutions to address climate change risk.

“The Government of Afghanistan is showing a remarkable commitment to working with communities for a landscape approach to dealing with climate change in the country,” said Michael Keating, UN Afghanistan Resident Coordinator, speaking from Bamyan in the Central Highlands, some 200km west of Kabul.

“We also welcome the opportunity to help Afghan institutions better deal with shocks and hazards, and increase resilience at a decentralized level,” he added.

UNEP identified Afghanistan as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, because of the potential impacts and its current limited capacity to react to these impacts. Climate change adaptation is especially important in developing nations, since those countries are predicted to bear the brunt of climate change effects. The overarching goal is to reduce the vulnerability of biological systems to these impacts.

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World Wide Fund – The save the animals people are the best

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People who work in poor countries to try save animals are some of the noblest people on the planet.

http://wwf.panda.org/

Elephants are the largest living land mammals on the planet.
Incredibly intelligent and social, they have no real predators in the wild. Except humans.

Due to their magnificent ivory tusks, which are carved and sold as luxury ornaments, elephants have been hunted for centuries. Now they are diminishing at such a rapid pace, that we risk losing them for good.

Join the million voices against illegal wildlife trade on our Facebook page and stay up to date with latest developments and campaign actions.

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Environmental Defense Fund – One of my favorite organizations

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To be candid, most of the national environmental organizations suck. They refuse to take local input and when they want something to happen because of a national agenda or a deal they have cut, they will shove it down the local’s throat. Case in point, the Sierra Club and other Environmental Organizations with a base in Chicago want to rip high speed rail straight through Springfield with no consideration for the town’s best interests for the path of that rail line. These guys are a little more sensitive to local issues.

http://www.edf.org/annual-reports/2011

Our mission is to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends.

Guided by science and economics, we find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

Complete report

Individual chapters

 

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Voyager Leaves The Solar System – What an amazing and historic time

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I am 57 years old and it may all be down hill from here. Seriously. In humankind’s 100,000 year history we just threw a spear out of here. In terms of what we were promised – you know warp drive, aliens and foreign civilizations it is kind of drab; but in terms of goal posts, it is a huge leap. Some might even say a quantum leap. All I can say is WOW.

http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2012/10/more-evidence-that-voyager-has-exited-the-solar-system/

More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system

Friday, October 5, 2012

A science blog with Eric Berger

Something very, very interesting is happening with Voyager 1, the human probe that’s the very farthest from Earth.

New data from the spacecraft, which I will discuss below, indicate Voyager 1 may have exited the solar system for good. If true, this would mark a truly historic moment for the human race — sending a spacecraft beyond the edge of our home solar system.

At last check, NASA scientists said they were not yet ready to officially declare that Voyager 1 had officially exited the solar system by crossing the heliopause.

To cross this boundary scientists say they would need to observe three things:

1. An increase in high-energy cosmic rays originating from outside our solar system

2. A drop in charged particles emanating from the sun.

3. A change in the direction of the magnetic field.

As I reported in June,  in regard to the first point, scientists have observed a sustained increase in galactic cosmic rays during recent months.

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Environmental News Network – Just one article out of hundreds

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This site is a little busy as they used to say, but it is really informative.

http://www.enn.com/climate/article/45052

From: Editor, Science Daily
Published October 5, 2012 01:11 PM

Non-Native Plants Show a Greater Response Than Native Wildflowers to Climate Change

Warming temperatures in Ohio are a key driver behind changes in the state’s landscape, and non-native plant species appear to be responding more strongly than native wildflowers to the changing climate, new research suggests.

his adaptive nature demonstrated by introduced species could serve them well as the climate continues to warm. At the same time, the non-natives’ potential ability to become even more invasive could threaten the survival of native species already under pressure from land-use changes, researchers say.

The research combines analyses of temperature change and blooming patterns of 141 species of Ohio wildflowers since 1895. Overall, the average temperature increased 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) in Ohio between 1895 and 2009. And 66 wildflower species — or 46 percent of the 141 studied — flowered earlier than usual in response to that warming.

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The Sierra Club – A group I join and quit when the price is right

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The Sierra Club has drifted pretty far from John Muir’s roots. They signed a deal with Clorox about 10 years ago. I mean it is unclear when exactly because they keep the terms of the deal ultra secret. Anyway the rough outlines of the deal is that Clorox created a “green” cleaning supplies line and the Sierra Club gets a chunk (percentage) of the sales profits from that line. The deal must have obviously been that the Sierra Club get off the companies back about chlorine. So now, when they offer stuff to join for a year, and that stuff is good enough, I join.  Other than that I just cost them junk mail fees.

http://www.sierraclub.org/

 

Mighty Wind

09/28/2012

Did you notice that last weekend the largest onshore wind farm in America started operation in north-central Oregon? The 845 MW Shepherds Flat facility will generate an estimated 2 billion kWh each year — enough to power 235,000 homes. On top of that, this clean power will eliminate about 1.5 million metric tons of carbon pollution annually — the equivalent of taking approximately 260,000 cars off the road.

Who built Shepherds Flat? We, the people, did! Caithness Energy relied on more than a billion dollars in loans guaranteed by the Energy Department. With the project up and running, and with a long-term commitment from Southern California Edison to buy power, it looks like a good investment. Maybe that’s why Google also kicked in $100 million.

Shepherds Flat is the kind of project we should be building across the U.S. — or at least in those parts, like the Eastern Columbia River Gorge, with abundant wind resources. Yet the Republican Party opposes even extending the Production Tax Credit that wind power has had for decades. Right now, they would probably sooner move Burning Man to the National Mall than help finance more success stories like Shepherds Flat.

Here’s why that’s crazy:

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