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POPSGod's Inbox Hahhaahhahahah!!! Since I'm being evil, I'm sure that Father Christmas would leave me coal in my stocking this year. Coal won't be so bad......................... As long as it comes with a grill and steaks.
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POPSThe 10 Most Puzzling Ancient Artifacts What are we to make of these finds? There are several possibilities: * Intelligent humans date back much, much further than we realize. * Other intelligent beings and civilizations existed on earth far beyond our recorded history. * Our dating methods are completely inaccurate, and that stone, coal and fossils form much more rapidly than we now estimate. In any case, these examples - and there are many more - should prompt any curious and open-minded scientist to reexamine and rethink the true history of life on earth.
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POPSKites could provide electricity for 100,000 homes Several other scientists are investigating the use of kites to harness energy from the wind - which some researchers estimate provides more than 100 times the amount required to power the entire planet. In 2007, Google´s philanthropic arm invested about $10 million in a US kite company called Makani. An Italian company called Kitegen has a multi-kite scheme that could generate a gigawatt of power, as much as a standard coal plant.
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POPS0.3% of Saharan Sun Enough To Power Europe The visionary proposal comes as the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission released its strategic energy technology plan which highlighted photovoltaic cells as one of the eight technologies that need to be developed in the future. The plan also includes fuel cells, hydrogen, clean coal, second generation biofuels, nuclear fusion, wind and smart grids.
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POPSArtificial life will be created 'within months' more (at source): Carole Lartigue and colleagues removed the bacteria's entire genome and inserted it into the yeast - an organism that is distant from bacteria on the tree of life. Yeast is easier to manipulate in the lab and this process allowed the team to alter the genes - in this case, deleting one gene not necessary for bacteria to live.
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POPSThe Unstoppable Coal Fire Blazing Beneath Pennsylvania In 1962, firemen in the Pennsylvanian mining town of Centralia successfully extinguished a minor blaze at a landfill dump – but little did they know a layer of coal just below the surface had ignited, creating a hidden and deadly inferno that raged undetected beneath the town for almost twenty years.
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POPSLife after oil: time to get ready James Kunstler's trademark pessimism, which, sadly, is probably right on the money. According to the Dept. of Energy, world energy demand now exceeds supply; get ready for a rough ride down the other side of the peak.
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POPSThe 10 most amazing unexplained artifacts Every once in a while archaeologists (and sometimes regular Joes) make some remarkable discoveries. Stunned, they are often unable to explain what it is they’ve found, how it came into existence, or ascertain its value. This is a comprehensive list of such artifacts; artifacts that many believe should have never existed given the discerned age/period of their creation.
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POPSMiners strike over NRA anti-Obama harassment After union votes to back Obama, company lets NRA on grounds to change their minds. Next door in VA, a flier circulates among coal miners: "Barack Obama Won't Take Away Your Gun, But John McCain Will Take Away Your Union."
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POPSThe power and the glory The market for energy is huge. At present, the world’s population consumes about 15 terawatts of power. (A terawatt is 1,000 gigawatts, and a gigawatt is the capacity of the largest sort of coal-fired power station.) That translates into a business worth $6 trillion a year—about a tenth of the world’s economic output—according to John Doerr, a venture capitalist who is heavily involved in the industry. And by 2050, power consumption is likely to have risen to 30 terawatts.
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POPSPollution in China 
"It was only when pollution literally started to bloom across the lakes of China earlier this summer that the country's leaders finally sounded full alarm on the environment. Blue-green algae blooms choked Lake Taihu - China's third biggest source of freshwater - in May, forcing 5 million people to use bottled water for drinking and bathing. "Soon after, local media were reporting outbreaks across the country. Rancid blooms contaminated Dianchi Lake in southwestern China, then Xinlicheng reservoir, the main source of water for Changchun - a northern city of almost 3 million people. In every case, pollution - either from factories, fertilizer or untreated sewage - was to blame. "Algae blooms are nature's response to discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus. Grown to excess, they choke waterways of oxygen, killing fish and fouling the air with a putrid smell. When prime minister Wen Jiabao visited Lake Taihu, he reportedly described it as an environmental wake-up call to the nation."
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POPSFixing it could improve our lives—and the planet: Batteries... It's an issue that goes beyond cars and mobile devices. To reduce carbon emissions, utilities are likely to shift more generating capacity from coal and natural gas to renewable sources like wind and solar. Solar cells and wind turbines require batteries because they provide power intermittently.
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POPSHarnessing Microbes To Meet Our Future Energy Needs "Microorganisms can provide just the services our society needs to move from fossil fuels to renewable biofuels," said Rittmann. "Only the microorganisms can pass all the tests, and we should take full advantage of the opportunities that microorganisms present."
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POPSAmerican Political Identity and Policy Orientation A nation that is evenly split in its political identity is decidedly center-left in its policy orientation: • By a margin of almost nine to one, Americans agree that “government investments in education, infrastructure, and science are necessary to ensure America’s long-term economic growth,” (79 percent agree, 12 percent neutral, 9 percent disagree). • More than three in four Americans (76 percent) also agree with the president’s argument that “America’s economic future requires a transformation away from oil, gas, and coal to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.” • Nearly three in four Americans believe that “government regulations are necessary to keep businesses in check and protect workers and consumers,” (73 percent agree, 15 percent neutral, 12 percent disagree). • Nearly two in three Americans (65 percent) agree that “the federal government should guarantee affordable health coverage for every American.”
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POPSNew Mexico: Land of Enchantment , Clean Energy State. Although 25 states have approved their own RPS, a national standard has stalled in the face of resistance from traditional coal-powered utilities and their allies in Congress. Wind and biomass are popular in New Mexico, but the desert sun that draws millions of tourists here also makes its solar power potential the second largest in America. So it is that the Clean Energy State's future just may lie in the south corner of the capital city, at the end of a dry road marked by a mile-long sculpture of a snake with jewelled eyes. ... Guardian
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POPSCommunist Personal Adds One of the most sinister legacies of communism is the odd side effect that its radical materialism wound up oposing beauty, love and sex. To this day, Chinese people will insist that traditional Chinese culture does not have a concept of love, that romance is a western notion, and that Chinese marriage is purely an arrangement out of social obligation. This is of course not true, but two generations have now been born under Communist propaganda, and that's long enough for them to forget which values are traditionally Chinese, and which ones are communist indoctrination. It's ironic to me that the reality of Communism is anti-love, anti-peace, probably anti-flower. The truth is that Communism is an ideology that is obsessed with money, materialism, and warfare. Understanding this explains a lot about the current socio-economic milieu in China and Russia.
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