from 29 minutes ago -(after today’s drop of the stock markets of 995.55 and of Nasdaq of similar extreme, at one point I noted it was -89.88 on my note card and the NYSE was at 9922, [90% or more programmed trades in lot groups of shares all at once according to bloomberg], my note, cricketdiane)
29 minutes ago
(Reuters) – Nasdaq Operations said it will cancel all trades executed between 2:40 p.m. to 3 p.m. showing a rise or fall of more than 60 percent from the last trade in that security at 2:40 p.m or immediately prior.
Nasdaq said the stocks affected and break points will be disseminated soon.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Nasdaq to cancel trades
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6456QB20100506?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
(CNN)
Citizens monitor Gulf Coast after oil spill By John D. Sutter, CNN May 6, 2010 2:02 p.m. EDT
Hmmm . . .
The 26-year-old is trying to monitor the effects of the oil spill that threatens to wreak environmental and economic havoc on the Gulf Coast of the United States.
Warren knows that satellites and other official means are used to measure the extent of the oil spill, which occurred after an offshore oil rig exploded on April 20 and subsequently sank, causing an underwater oil pipeline to rupture.
But satellites only come by so often. And they are much higher in the air.
Hovering at 1,000 feet above the ground, Warren’s camera is able to take pictures with 100 to 1,000 times better resolution than the satellites, he said.
“There’s a lot of need for documentation on the scale of a person,” he said Wednesday from Louisiana, where he had just arrived to set up monitoring efforts with the help of local people and organizations.
(etc.)
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/05/06/crowdsource.gulf.oil/index.html?hpt=C1
***
My Note -
Will try to continue – the cable is dead.
- cricketdiane
***
Your hair, pet’s fur can help clean oily Gulf Coast
(Mother Nature Network) — If you’ve been keeping tabs on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, you’ve probably been wondering how exactly you can help.Well, for those of you with furry, four-legged flatmates, it can be as easy as sweeping the floors and collecting all that errant fur and hair.
So how exactly can hoarding pet fur help with cleaning up one of the worst environmental disasters in recent memory? Enter Matter of Trust, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that’s been accepting donations of non-filthy pet fur and human hair since 1998 to craft oil-absorbing hairmats — described as “flat square dreadlocks” — and hair-stuffed containment booms made from recycled pantyhose.
(etc.)
I must say, sending along fur to Matter of Trust via Excess Access is an eco-ideal spring cleaning mission for folks with critters around the house.
In addition to pet owners, groomers and salon owners can get involved too by sending in bulk shipments of hair/fur. In fact, as of Tuesday, 400,000 pounds of hair was en route to the Gulf Coast.
(includes list of what they need )
As operations to contain the oil disaster continue, CNN’s Brooke Baldwin takes a look at what lies beneath the sheen.
As operations to contain the oil disaster continue, CNN’s Brooke Baldwin takes a look at what lies beneath the sheen.
Commercial vessels
Two modern container ships in San Francisco
Commercial vessels or merchant ships can be divided into three broad categories: cargo ships, passenger ships, and special-purpose ships.[41] Cargo ships transport dry and liquid cargo. Dry cargo can be transported in bulk by bulk carriers, packed directly onto a general cargo ship in break-bulk, packed in intermodal containers as aboard a container ship, or driven aboard as in roll-on roll-off ships. Liquid cargo is generally carried in bulk aboard tankers, such as oil tankers, chemical tankers and LNG tankers, although smaller shipments may be carried on container ships in tank containers.
Passenger ships range in size from small river ferries to giant cruise ships. This type of vessel includes ferries, which move passengers and vehicles on short trips; ocean liners, which carry passengers on one-way trips; and cruise ships, which typically transport passengers on round-trip voyages promoting leisure activities aboard and in the ports they visit.
Special-purpose vessels are not used for transport but are designed to perform other specific tasks. Examples include tugboats, pilot boats, rescue boats, cable ships, research vessels, survey vessels, and ice breakers.
Most commercial vessels have full hull-forms to maximize cargo capacity. Hulls are usually made of steel, although aluminum can be used on faster craft, and fiberglass on the smallest service vessels. Commercial vessels generally have a crew headed by a captain, with deck officers and marine engineers on larger vessels. Special-purpose vessels often have specialized crew if necessary, for example scientists aboard research vessels. Commercial vessels are typically powered by a single propeller driven by a diesel engine. Vessels which operate at the higher end of the speed spectrum may use pump-jet engines or sometimes gas turbine engines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship
Naval vessels
American aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and a replenishment ship
There are many types of naval vessels currently and through history. Modern naval vessels can be broken down into three categories: warships, submarines, and support and auxiliary vessels.
Modern warships are generally divided into seven main categories, which are: aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines and amphibious assault ships. Battleships encompass an eighth category, but are not in current service with any navy in the world.[42]
Most military submarines are either attack submarines or ballistic missile submarines. Until the end of World War II , the primary role of the diesel/electric submarine was anti-ship warfare, inserting and removing covert agents and military forces, and intelligence-gathering. With the development of the homing torpedo, better sonar systems, and nuclear propulsion, submarines also became able to effectively hunt each other. The development of submarine-launched nuclear missiles and submarine-launched cruise missiles gave submarines a substantial and long-ranged ability to attack both land and sea targets with a variety of weapons ranging from cluster bombs to nuclear weapons.
Most navies also include many types of support and auxiliary vessels, such as minesweepers, patrol boats, offshore patrol vessels, replenishment ships, and hospital ships which are designated medical treatment facilities.[43]
Combat vessels like cruisers and destroyers usually have fine hulls to maximize speed and maneuverability.[44] They also usually have advanced electronics and communication systems, as well as weapons.
Fishing vessels
The Albatun Dos, a tuna boat at work near Victoria, Seychelles
Fishing vessels are a subset of commercial vessels, but generally small in size and often subject to different regulations and classification. They can be categorized by several criteria: architecture, the type of fish they catch, the fishing method used, geographical origin, and technical features such as rigging. As of 2004, the world’s fishing fleet consisted of some 4 million vessels.[37] Of these, 1.3 million were decked vessels with enclosed areas and the rest were open vessels.[37] Most decked vessels were mechanized, but two-thirds of the open vessels were traditional craft propelled by sails and oars.[37] More than 60% of all existing large fishing vessels[45] were built in Japan, Peru, the Russian Federation, Spain or the United States of America.[46]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship
My Note -
All good to know because that represents a massive amount of petroleum products being burned across the board each and every minute of every day – but I want to know a little more about how much it takes to move these ships across the water in fuel consumption and then add to that airplanes and other sources using it (more or less).
So I’m going down the ships page a little ways to see if I can find it -
- cricketdiane
**
As environmental laws are strictening, ship designers need to create their design in such a way that the ship -when it nears its end-of-term- can be disassmbled or disposed easily and that waste is reduced to a minimum.
MS Freedom of the Seas under construction in a shipyard in Turku.
Construction
Ship construction takes place in a shipyard, and can last from a few months for a unit produced in series, to several years to reconstruct a wooden boat like the frigate Hermione, to more than 10 years for an aircraft carrier. Hull materials and vessel size play a large part in determining the method of construction. The hull of a mass-produced fiberglass sailboat is constructed from a mold, while the steel hull of a cargo ship is made from large sections welded together as they are built.
A ship launching at the Northern Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland
Generally, construction starts with the hull, and on vessels over about 30 meters, by the laying of the keel. This is done in a drydock or on land. Once the hull is assembled and painted, it is launched. The last stages, such as raising the superstructure and adding equipment and accommodation, can be done after the vessel is afloat.
Once completed, the vessel is delivered to the customer. Ship launching is often a ceremony of some significance, and is usually when the vessel is formally named. A typical small rowboat can cost under US$100, $1,000 for a small speedboat, tens of thousands of dollars for a cruising sailboat, and about $2,000,000 for a Vendée Globe class sailboat. A 25 metres (82 ft) trawler may cost $2.5 million, and a 1,000-person-capacity high-speed passenger ferry can cost in the neighborhood of $50 million. A ship’s cost partly depends on its complexity: a small, general cargo ship will cost $20 million, a Panamax-sized bulk carrier around $35 million, a supertanker around $105 million and a large LNG carrier nearly $200 million. The most expensive ships generally are so because of the cost of embedded electronics: a Seawolf class submarine costs around $2 billion, and an aircraft carrier goes for about $3.5 billion.
Repair and conversion
An able seaman uses a needlegun scaler while refurbishing a mooring winch at sea
Ships undergo nearly constant maintenance during their career, whether they be underway, pierside, or in some cases, in periods of reduced operating status between charters or shipping seasons.
Most ships, however, require trips to special facilities such as a drydock at regular intervals. Tasks often done at drydock include removing biological growths on the hull, sandblasting and repainting the hull, and replacing sacrificial anodes used to protect submerged equipment from corrosion. Major repairs to the propulsion and steering systems as well as major electrical systems are also often performed at dry dock.
Vessels that sustain major damage at sea may be repaired at a facility equipped for major repairs, such as a shipyard. Ships may also be converted for a new purpose: oil tankers are often converted into floating production storage and offloading units.
Ship graveyard in France
End of service
Most ocean-going cargo ships have a life expectancy of between 20 and 30 years. A sailboat made of plywood or fiberglass can last between 30 and 40 years. Solid wooden ships can last much longer but require regular maintenance. Carefully maintained steel-hulled yachts can have a lifespan of over 100 years.
As ships age, forces such as corrosion, osmosis, and rotting compromise hull strength, and a vessel becomes too dangerous to sail. At this point, it can be scuttled at sea or scrapped by shipbreakers. Ships can also be used as museum ships, or expended to construct breakwaters or artificial reefs.
Many ships do not make it to the scrapyard, and are lost in fires, collisions, grounding, or sinking at sea. There are more than 3 million shipwrecks on the ocean floor, the United Nations estimates.[49] The Allies lost some 5,150 ships during World War II.[50]
Propulsion systems
A bird’s eye view of a ship’s engineroom
Propulsion systems for ships fall into three categories: human propulsion, sailing, and mechanical propulsion. Human propulsion includes rowing, which was used even on large galleys. Propulsion by sail generally consists of a sail hoisted on an erect mast, supported by stays and spars and controlled by ropes. Sail systems were the dominant form of propulsion until the nineteenth century. They are now generally used for recreation and competition, although experimental sail systems, such as the turbosails, rotorsails, and wingsails have been used on larger modern vessels for fuel savings.
Mechanical propulsion systems generally consist of a motor or engine turning a propeller, or less frequently, an impeller. Steam engines were first used for this purpose, but have mostly been replaced by two-stroke or four-stroke diesel engines, outboard motors, and gas turbine engines on faster ships. Nuclear reactors producing steam are used to propel warships and icebreakers, and there have been attempts to utilize them to power commercial vessels (see the NS Savannah).
There are many variations of propeller systems, including twin, contra-rotating, controllable-pitch, and nozzle-style propellers. Smaller vessels tend to have a single propeller. Large vessels use multiple propellers, supplemented with bow- and stern-thrusters. Power is transmitted from the engine to the propeller by way of a propeller shaft, which may or may not be connected to a gearbox. Some modern vessels use electric motors connected directly to the propeller shaft, usually powered by generators. These electric systems are often more energy efficient than other systems where the engine is mechanically connected to the propeller.
(etc.)
Design considerations
Hydrostatics
Some vessels, like the LCAC, can operate in a non-displacement mode.
Boats and ships are kept on (or slightly above) the water in three ways:
- For most vessels, known as displacement vessels, the vessel’s weight is offset by that of the water displaced by the hull.
- For planing ships and boats, such as the hydrofoil, the lift developed by the movement of the foil through the water increases with the vessel’s speed, until the vessel is foilborne.
- For non-displacement craft such as hovercraft and air-cushion vehicles, the vessel is suspended over the water by a cushion of high-pressure air it projects downwards against the surface of the water.
A vessel is in equilibrium when the upwards and downwards forces are of equal magnitude. As a vessel is lowered into the water its weight remains constant but the corresponding weight of water displaced by its hull increases. When the two forces are equal, the boat floats. If weight is evenly distributed throughout the vessel, it floats without trim or heel.
A vessel’s stability is considered in both this hydrostatic sense as well as a hydrodynamic sense, when subjected to movement, rolling and pitching, and the action of waves and wind. Stability problems can lead to excessive pitching and rolling, and eventually capsizing and sinking.
Hydrodynamics
Fishing boat Dona Delfina
The advance of a vessel through water is resisted by the water. This resistance can be broken down into several components, the main ones being the friction of the water on the hull and wave making resistance. To reduce resistance and therefore increase the speed for a given power, it is necessary to reduce the wetted surface and use submerged hull shapes that produce low amplitude waves. To do so, high-speed vessels are often more slender, with fewer or smaller appendages. The friction of the water is also reduced by regular maintenance of the hull to remove the sea creatures and algae that accumulate there. Antifouling paint is commonly used to assist in this. Advanced designs such as the bulbous bow assist in decreasing wave resistance.
A simple way of considering wave-making resistance is to look at the hull in relation to its wake. At speeds lower than the wave propagation speed, the wave rapidly dissipates to the sides. As the hull approaches the wave propagation speed, however, the wake at the bow begins to build up faster than it can dissipate, and so it grows in amplitude. Since the water is not able to “get out of the way of the hull fast enough”, the hull, in essence, has to climb over or push through the bow wave. This results in an exponential increase in resistance with increasing speed.
This hull speed is found by the formula:
or, in metric units:
where L is the length of the waterline in feet or meters.
When the vessel exceeds a speed/length ratio of 0.94, it starts to outrun most of its bow wave, and the hull actually settles slightly in the water as it is now only supported by two wave peaks. As the vessel exceeds a speed/length ratio of 1.34, the hull speed, the wavelength is now longer than the hull, and the stern is no longer supported by the wake, causing the stern to squat, and the bow rise. The hull is now starting to climb its own bow wave, and resistance begins to increase at a very high rate. While it is possible to drive a displacement hull faster than a speed/length ratio of 1.34, it is prohibitively expensive to do so. Most large vessels operate at speed/length ratios well below that level, at speed/length ratios of under 1.0.
Vessels move along the three axes: 1. heave, 2. sway, 3. surge, 4. yaw, 5. pitching, 6. roll
For large projects with adequate funding, hydrodynamic resistance can be tested experimentally in a hull testing pool or using tools of computational fluid dynamics.
Vessels are also subject to ocean surface waves and sea swell as well as effects of wind and weather. These movements can be stressful for passengers and equipment, and must be controlled if possible. The rolling movement can be controlled, to an extent, by ballasting or by devices such as fin stabilizers. Pitching movement is more difficult to limit and can be dangerous if the bow submerges in the waves, a phenomenon called pounding. Sometimes, ships must change course or speed to stop violent rolling or pitching.
***
My Note -
Hmmm . . . That is an interesting part of this -
Some modern vessels use electric motors connected directly to the propeller shaft, usually powered by generators. These electric systems are often more energy efficient than other systems where the engine is mechanically connected to the propeller.
(from wikipdedia ship entry)
***
Ship pollution
Ship pollution is the pollution of air and water by shipping. It is a problem that has been accelerating as trade has become increasingly globalized, posing an increasing threat to the world’s oceans and waterways as globalization continues. It is expected that, “…shipping traffic to and from the USA is projected to double by 2020.”[51] Because of increased traffic in ocean ports, pollution from ships also directly affects coastal areas. The pollution produced affects biodiversity, climate, food, and human health. However, the degree to which humans are polluting and how it affects the world is highly debated and has been a hot international topic for the past 30 years.
Oil spills
The Exxon Valdez spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound.[52]
Oil spills have devastating effects on the environment. Crude oil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are very difficult to clean up, and last for years in the sediment and marine environment.[53] Marine species constantly exposed to PAHs can exhibit developmental problems, susceptibility to disease, and abnormal reproductive cycles.
By the sheer amount of oil carried, modern oil tankers must be considered something of a threat to the environment. An oil tanker can carry 2 million barrels (320,000 m3) of crude oil, or 62,000,000 gallons. This is more than six times the amount spilled in the widely known Exxon Valdez incident. In this spill, the ship ran aground and dumped 10.8 million gallons of oil into the ocean in March 1989. Despite efforts of scientists, managers, and volunteers, over 400,000 seabirds, about 1,000 sea otters, and immense numbers of fish were killed.[53]
The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation has researched 9,351 accidental spills since 1974.[54] According to this study, most spills result from routine operations such as loading cargo, discharging cargo, and taking on fuel oil.[54] 91% of the operational oil spills were small, resulting in less than 7 tons per spill.[54] Spills resulting from accidents like collisions, groundings, hull failures, and explosions are much larger, with 84% of these involving losses of over 700 tons.[54]
Following the Exxon Valdez spill, the United States passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA-90), which included a stipulation that all tankers entering its waters be double-hulled by 2015. Following the sinkings of the Erika (1999) and Prestige (2002), the European Union passed its own stringent anti-pollution packages (known as Erika I, II, and III), which require all tankers entering its waters to be double-hulled by 2010. The Erika packages are controversial because they introduced the new legal concept of “serious negligence”.[55]
Ballast water
A cargo ship pumps ballast water over the side
When a large vessel such as a container ship or an oil tanker unloads cargo, seawater is pumped into other compartments in the hull to help stabilize and balance the ship. During loading, this ballast water is pumped out from these compartments.
One of the problems with ballast water transfer is the transport of harmful organisms. Meinesz[56] believes that one of the worst cases of a single invasive species causing harm to an ecosystem can be attributed to a seemingly harmless jellyfish. Mnemiopsis leidyi, a species of comb jellyfish that inhabits estuaries from the United States to the Valdés peninsula in Argentina along the Atlantic coast, has caused notable damage in the Black Sea. It was first introduced in 1982, and thought to have been transported to the Black Sea in a ship’s ballast water. The population of the jellyfish shot up exponentially and, by 1988, it was wreaking havoc upon the local fishing industry. “The anchovy catch fell from 204,000 tons in 1984 to 200 tons in 1993; sprat from 24,600 tons in 1984 to 12,000 tons in 1993; horse mackerel from 4,000 tons in 1984 to zero in 1993.”[56] Now that the jellyfish have exhausted the zooplankton, including fish larvae, their numbers have fallen dramatically, yet they continue to maintain a stranglehold on the ecosystem. Recently the jellyfish have been discovered in the Caspian Sea. Invasive species can take over once occupied areas, facilitate the spread of new diseases, introduce new genetic material, alter landscapes and jeopardize the ability of native species to obtain food. “On land and in the sea, invasive species are responsible for about 137 billion dollars in lost revenue and management costs in the U.S. each year.”[53]
Ballast and bilge discharge from ships can also spread human pathogens and other harmful diseases and toxins potentially causing health issues for humans and marine life alike.[57] Discharges into coastal waters, along with other sources of marine pollution, have the potential to be toxic to marine plants, animals, and microorganisms, causing alterations such as changes in growth, disruption of hormone cycles, birth defects, suppression of the immune system, and disorders resulting in cancer, tumors, and genetic abnormalities or even death.[53]
Exhaust emissions
Exhaust stack on a container ship.
Exhaust emissions from ships are considered to be a significant source of air pollution. “Seagoing vessels are responsible for an estimated 14 percent of emissions of nitrogen from fossil fuels and 16 percent of the emissions of sulfur from petroleum uses into the atmosphere.”[53] In Europe ships make up a large percentage of the sulfur introduced to the air, “…as much sulfur as all the cars, lorries and factories in Europe put together.”[58] “By 2010, up to 40% of air pollution over land could come from ships.”[58] Sulfur in the air creates acid rain which damages crops and buildings. When inhaled sulfur is known to cause respiratory problems and increase the risk of a heart attack.[58]
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling, with the hulls being discarded in ship graveyards. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially steel, to be reused.
Ship breaking near Chittagong, Bangladesh
In addition to steel and other useful materials, however, ships (particularly older vessels) can contain many substances that are banned or considered dangerous in developed countries. Asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are typical examples. Asbestos was used heavily in ship construction until it was finally banned in most of the developed world in the mid 1980s. Currently, the costs associated with removing asbestos, along with the potentially expensive insurance and health risks, have meant that ship-breaking in most developed countries is no longer economically viable. Removing the metal for scrap can potentially cost more than the scrap value of the metal itself. In the developing world, however, shipyards can operate without the risk of personal injury lawsuits or workers’ health claims, meaning many of these shipyards may operate with high health risks. Protective equipment is sometimes absent or inadequate. Dangerous vapors and fumes from burning materials can be inhaled, and dusty asbestos-laden areas around such breakdown locations are commonplace.
Aside from the health of the yard workers, in recent years, ship breaking has also become an issue of major environmental concern. Many developing nations, in which ship breaking yards are located, have lax or no environmental law, enabling large quantities of highly toxic materials to escape into the environment and causing serious health problems among ship breakers, the local population and wildlife. Environmental campaign groups such as Greenpeace have made the issue a high priority for their campaigns.[59]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship
***
from 29 minutes ago -(after today’s drop of the stock markets of 995.55 and of Nasdaq of similar extreme, at one point I noted it was -89.88 on my note card and the NYSE was at 9922, [90% or more programmed trades in lot groups of shares all at once according to bloomberg], cricketdiane, my note.)
29 minutes ago
(Reuters) – Nasdaq Operations said it will cancel all trades executed between 2:40 p.m. to 3 p.m. showing a rise or fall of more than 60 percent from the last trade in that security at 2:40 p.m or immediately prior.
Nasdaq said the stocks affected and break points will be disseminated soon.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Nasdaq to cancel trades
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6456QB20100506?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
(CNN)
Citizens monitor Gulf Coast after oil spill By John D. Sutter, CNN May 6, 2010 2:02 p.m. EDT
I wanted to add this part because it is happening now – and then I can go back and look at it better later –
TOPWRAP 8-Greece backs austerity plan but euro, US stocks fall
Newsweek – MarketWatch – New York Times – The Atlantic – Wikipedia: 2010 European sovereign debt crisis
Lessons of the Spill
Diverse mechanisms have evolved that enable the various animal species to inhabit a wide range of environments. In animals whose bodies consist of a single layer of cells, waste disposal is accomplished principally by diffusion from the site of waste production to the outside environment. This method is very efficient when the distances over which wastes diffuse are relatively short, when there is a high surface area to volume relationship, and when the rate of waste production is relatively low.
〖CO〗_(2 )+ H_2 O ⇆ H_2 CO_3 ⇆ H^+ + HCO_3^-
well durn it – I had it right in the Windows 7 Word doc
**
CO2 + H2O <=> H2CO3 <=> H+ + HCO3-
**
Sadly the Coast Guard has had a long standing culture of not being interested in addressing ballast water, perhaps this is why we have their proposals with a lengthy timeline. This administration, for all their rhetoric about going green has not encouraged legislation in congress to address ballast water despite the largest elected voice of the American people passing the change we needed with legislation in 2008 (395-7). This was while the 3 highest members of this administration were Senators and because the Senate would not address the issue because they considered the issue of dumping pathogens in US waters a states rights issue. Now with uncontrolled oil spilling into shipping lanes, to be spread around the world by ballast system this administration is going to allow the Coast Guard to follow the lead of an (international) organization representing business,the IMO. This is despite a report in late 2009 for congress describing how national legislation for ballast water would effect the cost of imports. This would allow the cost of manufacturing to again become competitive in our country. Yet despite Americans suffering because of a lack of jobs this president is trying to help Senator Boxer, who was instrumental in killing ballast water legislation to be re-elected, and pushed for NY Governor Patterson, that helped create strong ballast legislation in NY, to step aside. Our largest employers are the big box stores of foreign made consumer products mostly transported into our country by ship. Our Secretary of State calls for quick ratification of the Law of The Sea Treaty despite knowing that creating national ballast water regulation would then be harder to implement. This will allow for the cost of foreign goods in big box stores, such as Walmart, our Secretary of States, former employer, to remain cheap, while the President negotiates currency manipulation and hidden carbon emissions with a communist country to create more jobs for Americans. Sad our Secretary of state would not recognize the issue of water being problematic for pathogens and chemicals when used to transport bait fish into NY, while knowing the federal government did not endorse the safety of fish movement across state line. This was while she was a Senator working with the state to draw up state regulations for bait fish being brought into NY from her home state of Arkansas. She did manage however to help to make sure NY residents can not use the fish found in their own states natural waters for bait fish. NY for a time even shut down small bait shops with ponds near them that could not pay for testing of the fish in them, while fish transported from outside NY jurisdiction or federal endorsement were brought in for sale. It is quite hard to believe that our Secretary of State will care about this issue when negotiating trade with China one of the largest ship builders in the world, that is one of our largest employers, with its headquarters in a state where our Secretary of State is a former first lady. Interesting that according to statistics from the university of Pine Bluff in Arkansas, claim the state produces 85% of the bait fish in the US. It is time for American to stand up and let our politicians know that we are sick of allowing foreign business interest, the rights to destroy our countries environment for profits today, while leaving nothing for future generations of our children.
Did you know that if they don’t ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty, then our nation has no standing where they are fighting to drill in the Arctic? That seems like a major crisis –
And while you’ve focused on bait fish – which I’m sure is critical to fishing – particularly sport and recreational fishing – have you noticed the entire Gulf of Mexico is covered in crude oil?
Dumping of ballast water has been an on-going and continuing problem from shippers. I’m not sure that the largest ship builders are in China, but certainly many of the world’s largest ship builders are in Asia. Have you noticed the US to be anywhere on that list of the world’s largest or best shipbuilders? Doesn’t that seem to be a problem constituting even more jobs in an area where we are no longer competitive?
There are many organizations and government agencies across the world which have shifted from being protection for the public interest to serving interests of businesses. I’m not sure that is completely the case with the IMO but it has been the case even with many of our national organizations and state agencies and within some of our federal agencies during the multiple years of Republican administrations.
But, partly that is also our fault as citizens – the businesses and their lobbies showed up, they pitched for their interests, they schmoozed, they powdered the palms of those in authority and they did whatever it took to serve their interests. The citizens of our nation didn’t come close to matching their influence at the table, even if we showed up at all. Every time I hear one of them use the word “stakeholders” – I cringe because it is a sure indication we weren’t at that table when they were deciding something that would affect us forever and the only real stakeholders they’ve served didn’t include us except maybe in some twisted estimation of what that would be.
If you are really interested in doing something about them dumping ballast water indiscriminately without sequestering it and handling it properly, then I suggest you interact with the ICC – International Chamber of Commerce who is widely interconnected with the US Chamber of Commerce and mostly run by bankers and large insurance conglomerates, hedge fund brokers and assholes – or maybe all assholes which happen to also be bankers, oil companies, insurance giants and hedge funds. They make more of the decisions about the choices to dump ballast water than anyone else and it is being done in a way that suits them.The ICC and US Chamber have lobbied heavily to prevent those ballast dumping regulations all around the world and in the IMO, at the UN, in the US Congressional Chambers, throughout the shipping industry and everywhere else something might be done. So, get up there at the table with them and set them straight.
The bait fish situation is likely a direct result of the Commerce Department, the use of the Fish and Wildlife agencies by some business interests being served over the local interests and regional wildlife interests. They have, as have many agencies been shifted to serve different missions in a lot of our states than what was originally mandated. And, through many tiny changes – the addition of words and phrases in the laws intended to protect people, to protect wildlife, to protect regional and local interests, to protect health, to protect the public interest, to protect clean air and water, etc. – the business interests with their attorneys and lobbyists have been changing our laws and regulations to suit their own interests whatever they might be. My suggestion is to back up through those laws affecting the use of bait fish from outside NY or that were intended to protect local wildlife, fish and regional waters – I bet they were changed to allow what is happening to serve the interests of somebody way beyond the Secretary of State, Clinton or her home state of Arkansas. After a bit of tracking, you’ll probably find whose idea it was to change it and how they did it. You can request a review of those laws that were altered by your Senators and Congressmen, the Inspector General of those agencies whose application of the state’s policy violates the federal laws that supercede them or directly request review by the US Congressional and Senate committees who provide oversight and legislation concerning those specific subjects.
The thing is this – let’s say that you and I sit down at a table to decide something and we come to the table with the public interest at heart. And, then thirty people sit down at that table with us, each of whom serve a business interest, a huge corporate set of interests, or some political interest and all of whom have none of the public interest in mind with any decency or common sense. So, you and I are then going to do the polite thing and listen to hear them out and each of those at that table although they are only serving their individual profit interests or their own sustained power interests are making it sound like doing it their way will serve the public’s interest. Then, after awhile – with no other voices at the table as well versed intellectually about how it will serve the public’s interest doing it their way – start to sound like it just must make sense. Hell, there are thirty well-dressed, well-educated, well-funded people saying so – how could it be wrong? That is exactly how entire cities and towns in Iceland were sold a bill of goods by Wall Street brokers that came to convince them to put their public funds into derivatives and it is how the Minerals Management Service was convinced to serve the interests of the oil industries it was supposed to be running roughshod over and it is how the EPA came to be agents and representatives at the state level in many states across our nation – of the chemical industries rather than to regulate them and enforce the regulations in place for the public good.
The question becomes – now, our survival is being impinged by many of these things and actually decimated in some cases – but the corporations still believe they are doing the right thing. It never occurs to them that by decimating the populations which will be their ultimate consumers, sooner or later their corporation will be decimated as well. In their minds – people are a dime a dozen and purely an expendable whether it is their own employees or their customers or the people in communities they are negatively affecting or even destroying.
It is one way to look at the US as the best and brightest. At times we have been. We are not that now. It is a shame that we have excluded all that could make it that way. We’ve shelved the best and brightest ideas or sold them off to other national interests and often given them to other nations as if those concepts weren’t marketable anyway. Then, other nations reaped the benefits from them. And, now they have all our money. And, all kinds of other goodies for their own national interests rather than for our own. And, now the foreign policy of international inter-dependence that started with Reagan and Bush Sr. has made our nation dependent on everybody. We’ve allowed our food sources to become controlled by monopolies of a few. Our manufactured goods are manufactured elsewhere, even those things we might need to buy every day or every week. And, our national energy needs for transportation are controlled by huge monopolies of a few and other nations. So, there you go.
Now, what?
You still wanna bitch about Senator Clinton – now Secretary of State Clinton. Or can you do some things to figure out how these laws were changed and challenge them and figure out who pushed for the changes that would benefit their profits or political interests? And, figure out what is going to be able to fix it while you’re at it.
And the next time you start getting all wrecked about bait fish – look around and check the unemployment figures at 27% in many California areas, the Gulf of Mexico that looks like a crude oil swamp and take a quick look at Goldman Sach’s man Blankfein testifying or being interviewed saying he is doing “God’s work” as he and his company steals people’s life savings and bankrupts companies that have been in business for over a hundred and fifty years and decimates economies around the world – including ours. Just add it to the list . . .
- cricketdiane, 06-03-10
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In order to have an accurate record can you please tell me the basis for your inclusion of the US Chamber in the statement “The ICC and US Chamber have lobbied heavily to prevent those ballast dumping regulations all around the world” Thanks. Brad Peck, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
I have it in my documents and will be glad to look it up there or online for you on Monday. I’m going to the graduation ceremonies for my youngest son this evening – but I’m very glad you asked and I will be happy to look it up for you and then post it here.
You know what though, while I have your attention – do you know that I’ve had it with your group’s activities which have yielded these insane results from your lobbying to have greater numbers of special visas for people to come from all over the world and take our white collar jobs to the furious efforts you’ve made to hinder financial regulations that have been much needed for a long period of time. Everytime I turn around your organization is doing something that defied all reason when you started doing it or lobbying for it and certainly defies all reason now. You’ve contributed more to the overall famine and ruin in the business community and to our overall economy than just about any one other organization. I don’t know how you managed to do that. There is something missing in your set of priorities when you start deciding your policy and positions on a multitude of subject matter where you insist on playing, lobbying, pushing press campaigns, influencing public opinion and shmoozing our legislators.
I don’t even begin to know how to help you with that but somebody sure does need to do it. There has to be two parts in the equation. Business profits are not the only thing in the necessary elements for getting the job done. There is an accompanying set of principles that must guide the decisions and policies made by anyone including your organization and the businesses it represents. That set of principles has to be the other part of the equation which is always there or it will always yield these same life-damaging, life-threatening, economically devastating results. I insist that you and your organization regroup and add these principles to your decision-making process. The greater good of people and nations is not the manner in which it can be twisted to suit your frame of reference to argue for doing things the way your organization wants.
The greater good of people is either served by business or business as a very basic concept forms no purpose at all. And, in a very basic sense, that seems to be missing from much of what your organization promotes, lobbies for, pushes to have and demands. It isn’t just an argument to serve you and your organization getting their way over others at the table.
And, sometime – I’d just like to know why your businesses and organization can serve both public good and its health and safety at the same time serving to provide healthy profits and business growth. Why can it serve both? I’m tired of hearing and seeing what happens when you don’t and when you serve profits and business at the expense of the other.
I’m ready to see a time when business serves the purpose for which it was designed and without serving the interests of people and protecting the interests of people and the public good, business denies the very foundation for which it was designed. How about fixing that already.
Thankyou –
I will look up those things for you so you can trail your own activities which you shouldn’t have engaged in – from the first.
And, if I note anything else – I will include it.
- cricketdiane
By the way, the next time you fete at Davos or lobby and persuade somewhere in the world for or against something that would be to the betterment of mankind – maybe you need somebody to take a genuine look at the results which would ensue if you were to get your way – BEFORE YOU DO IT.
Hope the graduation went well. Concerning the visas the U.S. is well served by have the best of the world’s talent working here. On financial regulatory reform we started calling for it long before the current crisis, we are not working to hinder anything, rather we are working to get it right. Regarding the rest I assure you that we agreed that business should serve the greater good and we believe that it does.