Monday, January 31, 2011

Global Business Leaders fear Revolt Spreading

"Battle to halt Climate Change..fear of Africa Revolt spreading..Globalized Economy"

Davos political leaders struggle to advance agenda

by Jean-Louis de la Vaissiere – Sun Jan 30, 5:35 am ET

…

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) – Global business leaders headed home from Davos on Sunday after a week in which were courted by politicians seeking plans to deal with debt, food scarcity, climate change and revolt on the Arab street.

Davos political leaders struggle to advance agenda

After a brutal four days of world leaders
speeches, wild parties, global ...

The world economy may be steering itself cautiously out of the doldrums, but leaders have struggled to agree remedies to the key threats on the agenda at the annual World Economic Forum's elite annual networking event.

"Let me highlight the one resource that is scarcest of all: time," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, as dozens of senior international figures swung by to lobby some of the richest and most powerful people on the planet.

Ban was specifically talking about the battle to halt climate change, but he could just have easily be addressing stalled world trade talks, Europe's debt crisis, Chinese asset-price inflation or soaring world food prices.

There was no lack of good will in Davos, the self-selecting group that makes the annual pilgrimage up the mountain to this snowbound resort is largely sold on the virtues of a globalised economy and multilateral cooperation.

But many of the debates at this year's event were pessimistic in tone, and the political guests sometimes appeared caught flat-footed by shock events far beyond the Davos Congress Centre.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev put on a credible show of defiance to the terrorists who bombed a Moscow airport shortly before he was due in Davos, but his arrival was delayed and his visit cut short.

His opening day speech was preceded by a minute of silence, and worries about extremist violence took the shine off the Russia delegation's unveiling of a billion-dollar oil exploration deal with US giant ExxonMobil.

Meanwhile, Forum organisers were scrambling to address the number one topic of anxious discussion in the venue's corridors -- the popular revolts in North Africa and the risk of their spreading throughout the Arab world.

Davos managed to produce a trio of newly-minted ministers from the Tunisian interim regime, and they were warmly welcomed to the fold as champions of the fight for freedom, but between sessions delegates sought news from Egypt.

Western leaders fear Egypt's revolution will trigger bloodshed and boost Islamism, but don't want to be seen to be backing an autocrat like strongman Hosni Mubarak, and Davos never really managed to address the issue.

Meanwhile, topics debated with great elan at Davos 2010 have scarcely moved on: post-earthquake reconstruction in Haiti has stalled, the Middle East peace process is in ruins and Iran clings doggedly to its nuclear plants.

Since then the Lebanese government has fallen and Ivory Coast has found itself divided between two would-be presidents and on the brink of war.

With the political and environmental crises proving intractable, the Forum spent a lot of time listening to rival economic recovery plans, but here again Western leaders were on the defensive.

Russia and fast-growing India duelled to see which could plaster the resort city with more triumphant posters, and Chinese executives and officials made placatory noises about global trade imbalances without making concessions.

But a string of European leaders concentrated on defending the stability of the euro and their deficit reductionplans, while the United States insisted they had got it all wrong and that now was not the time to cut spending.

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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Drinking Swimming Pool Water in an Emergency

It can be safe, but treat it first.

can-i-drink-swimming-pool-water-in-an-emergency

You may be surprised to discover how many residential swimming pools are in your neighborhood. Just for fun, open up Google Earth and zoom into your neighborhood and see how many there are around you. City dwellers probably won’t see many, but many parts of the country are dotted with pools.

According to the National Swimming Pool Foundation there are approximately 10 million Swimming Pools in the United States… about 6 million in-ground pools and 4 million above-ground pools based on percentages discovered in a pool marketing report from the year 2000.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2000) there are 105 million households in the United States.

So, on average, there is one swimming pool for every 10 households in America.

The average size in-ground swimming pool holds about 20,000 gallons of water.
The average size above-ground swimming pool holds about 10,000 gallons of water.

This works out to be about 160 billion gallons of water that is stored in swimming pools across America. That is 1,500 gallons of water for every household in America, theoretically enough water to sustain each household (a family of four) for 375 days.

Of course, there are some major problems with this way of thinking.
There aren’t many residential pools in the cities (not enough room), swimming pools are more concentrated in areas with hotter climate, and are more often found in areas where people can afford the luxury.

Nevertheless, as you can see, there is quite a resource of water available in many locations, enough to ‘get by’ during a disaster event that brings down the municipal water supply or a long term power outage that shuts down everything including all well-pumps.

Drinking swimming pool water can be safe, if you are smart about it and treat it properly.

Immediately after an event, and for a period of days, most all swimming pool water will be in fairly good condition. That is, the water will be fairly clean because of ongoing maintenance, treatment, and pool pump filtering, at least up until the disaster event.

Depending on the outdoor temperature, and time of year, after a few days the pool water will begin to deteriorate and begin to grow algae. This deterioration can be greatly minimized if the pool is immediately covered in some way. Some pool owners already have covers, but if you do not, a sufficient size tarp will work OK (a good prep to have).

The chlorine that is put in swimming pools to maintain sanitation from bacteria and other nasties, will break down fairly quickly when exposed to the UV rays in sunlight. Normally, a pool is kept at about 3 to 5 ppm chlorine (parts per million) and is checked often by using a swimming pool test kit.

During a situation when the pool pump will not operate (loss of electrical power), chlorine tablets floating around in their dispenser container will help to keep some level of chlorine in the pool. But without filtration and agitation, its effectiveness will be diminished. At some point the pool will begin to grow algae.

The FDA says that water is safe to drink with chlorine levels up to 4 ppm. A quick tap-water check here indicates that our municipal drinking water is 1 ppm, probably just enough to keep it safe from bacteria.

If using swimming pool water to drink, it is highly recommended to treat it prior to drinking. The best thing is to boil it for 1 minute. If the power is out, this becomes harder to do.

Even if you are going to boil the water, it will be best to filter it first with a quality drinking water filter, which will not only effectively remove bacteria and pathogens, but will make it taste better.

One of the highest quality drinking water filters I have found, is the Berkey water filter. I own one. Not saying that just because they are a sponsor of this site, but I really believe it (know it). I’ve used the Berkey for over a decade, and in fact it is used daily to filter our drinking water from tap – mainly to remove the chlorine and fluoride prior to drinking.

If the swimming pool is being used as an emergency water source during a disaster, and the water is becoming green with algae, this filter will remove it completely. I believe that a drinking water filter should be a mandatory preparedness item for anyone who is prepping.

Although I wouldn’t rely on a swimming pool as a backup source for drinking water (even if it is your neighbor that has one), it can be used as a drinking source if properly treated. After all, the human body will not survive more than several days without any source of water intake.

Note that there can be other chemicals in swimming pools besides chlorine, and I’m not necessarily advising that all swimming pools can be safe to drink from, although when you think about it, how many people and kids end up drinking the water anyway… when’s the last time you heard of someone keeling over because they drank water from their swimming pool…

So, if you have a swimming pool, and there is an unfortunate disaster taking down the municipal water supply, don’t be surprised if your neighbors start knocking on your door to ask if they can dip into your water source.

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Alert: Japan volcano's biggest eruption in 50 years

Lightning and fire: Japan on alert after volcano's biggest eruption in 50 years

A one-mile cordon has been established around a volcano on Mount Kirishima after it erupted scattering rocks and ash across southern Japan and sending smoke billowing 5,000ft into the air.

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 3:59 PM on 27th January 2011

The Meteorological Agency raised the volcanic alert to level 3 as ash today continued to spew from Shinmoedake on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, and residents have been banned from going within a mile of the volcano following its worst eruption in 50 years.

Force of nature: Lightning strikes as Shinmoedake erupts, scattering ash and rocks across a wide swathe of southern Japan

Ash and smoke continued to billow 5,000ft above Shinmoedake today as residents were banned from going within a mile of the volcano

Agency volcanologist Sei Iijima said the eruption did not pose a threat to nearby cities, and a major eruption was not imminent. But he added: 'You can never say never with a volcano, although the lack of magma movement beneath the surface leads us to believe that this activity won't lead to a large-scale eruption,' he told ABC News.

The volcano, one of 20 inside Mount Kirishima, began erupting around 7.30am yesterday morning and by 3pm heavy smoke had risen to nearly 5,000ft, prompting the meteorological agency to raise the alert level.

Volcanic activity is often reported at Kirishima, but this is the largest eruption recorded there since 1959.

Volcanic activity is often reported in the Kirishima range, but Shinmoedake's is the largest eruption since 1959

Under a cloud: A man takes a picture of erupting Shinmoedake from Takaharu, where an evacuation centre has been established

Air space above the mountain remained open today but airlines cancelled a number of domestic flights because of the haze and the buildup of ash on train tracks forced Japan Rail to close several lines. Roads were also shut because of poor visibility.

A small evacuation center was set up overnight in the town of Takaharu, seven miles east of Kirishima, and the town's general affairs manager Yuji Nakashima said: 'People told us their windows were rattling and they heard roaring sounds coming from the mountain.'

When I said that 'ball lightning' has little to do with volcanic activity I in fact meant to state that it has little to do with *this* volcanic activity. To my knowledge there is no evidence of 'ball lightning' at this eruption. That said, it is pretty much unexplained and there are a multitude of theories explaining its formation which have little application in a volcanological context.

- James Ashworth, Lancaster, UK, 28/1/2011 16:59

Click to rate Rating 3

@ Alan: "I think that volcano's will start erupting all around the world,along with earthquakes." - I think this is a fair prediction, because that's exactly what they've always done. "This is due to our planet & solar system is entering the center of the galactic plane." - Yeah now see, this is not such a good statement. Because it's plain rubbish. "The lighting that seems to be coming out of the volcano might be a piezoelectricity effect when crystals,like quartz,mica,produce an electrical current when pressure is applied." - The cause of volcanogenic lightning is still much debated, but general consensus seems to be that ash particles become charged somehow (probably due to collision during ejection from the vent) and are then separated in the plume (e.g. due to mass differences). The charge difference in different areas of the plume then results in lightning. "There's also such a thing called Ball Lighting." - Indeed there is, but it has nothing to do with volcanic activity!

- James Ashworth, Lancaster, UK, 28/1/2011 16:54

Click to rate Rating 8

I think that volcano's will start erupting all around the world,along with earthquakes.This is due to our planet & solar system is entering the center of the galactic plane.The lighting that seems to be coming out of the volcano might be a piezoelectricity effect when crystals,like quartz,mica,produce an electrical current when pressure is applied.There's also such a thing called Ball Lighting.Since its located on the Pacific Rim,this is not unusual.

- Alan Surfs, Ventura,California, 28/1/2011 16:17

Click to rate Rating 11

Oh....a volcano.....neat. Anyone have change for a $5? I need a Coke real bad...

- Rador, Gulf Coast, US, 28/1/2011 16:14

Click to rate Rating 28

"This is a small volcano erupting mildly and not even spewing lava." It's not that small. And it most definitely is 'spewing lava'. The chunks of material being ejected from the crater are quite clearly incandescent, even if you have to look at night to see this. Just because they're not molten and glowing bright red doesn't mean they're not 'lava' - they're just a different kind of lava than you see in Hawaii and other effusive eruptions. This group of volcanoes is andesitic, as with many Japanese volcanoes, and the eruption products reflect that. "This volcano will pump out more CO2 in 4 days than everyone on the planet will release in the whole of 2011." No it won't. On average the world's volcanoes put out somewhere around 200 million tonnes of CO2 per year (quoted from the USGS). Annual anthropogenic emissions of CO2 will at a guess be somewhere between 25-30 billion tonnes (26.8 in 2003) (USGS again). Even if my guess is off by a factor of 10, you can work it out...

- James Ashworth, Lancaster, UK, 28/1/2011 13:46

Click to rate Rating 25

Oh, no. GLOBAL DISRUPTION! predict this time next year, January 2012, we will see a rise in Global Warming, I mean Climate Change, whoops, I mean GLOBAL DISRUPTION articles and studies. All man-made of course. Eerybody knows Mother Nature doesn't have cash.

- Bones, USA, 28/1/2011 13:41

Click to rate Rating 16

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