Palin's 50 Nifty States

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Not Only in the Gulf

In this photo released by Greenpeace, a firefighter who was submerged in thick oil during an attempt to fix an underwater pump is brought ashore by his colleagues in Dalian, China on Tuesday.

Growing China oil spill threatens sea life, water

China's largest reported oil spill had more than doubled by Wednesday, closing beaches on the Yellow Sea and prompting an environmental official to warn the sticky black crude posed a "severe threat" to sea life and water quality.

Some workers trying to clean up the inky beaches wore little more than rubber gloves, complicating efforts, one official said.

China Central Television reported that 400,000 gallons of thick crude have spilled since a pipeline ruptured in Dalian. The slick covers over 165 square miles, and is washing ashore on beaches around the Yellow Sea. Unlike the US, China does not have adequate equipment or technology to deal with the spill

"We don't have proper oil cleanup materials, so our workers are wearing rubber gloves and using chopsticks," an official with the Jinshitan Golden Beach Administration Committee told the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper in apparent exasperation. "This kind of inefficiency means the oil will keep coming to shore. ... This stretch of oil is really difficult to clean up in the short term."

The pipeline that ruptured was at a port on the Yellow Sea, and did not involve any drilling activity. However, according to Offshore Magazine (July, 2010), there are a total of 121 deepwater rigs. With the rising middle class in China and India using more and more energy the need for exploration and drilling will only increase.
How will these developing countries cope with the increased number of spills and accidents? Will they be able to adequately respond to any problems? If this article is any indication, there is reason to believe that the environment is at risk, because poorer countries don't have access to the technologies that they need. And as we know since the BP-Deepwater Horizon blowup, even technology can't save us every time.

Bananas and Insurance

While sitting in the chair at the oral surgeon's office today waiting for my mouth to get numb, I finally figured out why I hate bananas. Prior to giving me the Novocaine shots (3), he numbed the spot with some topical anesthetic, and I remembered that the dentist of my childhood, Dr. Worrell, used to do the same thing. Except Worrell's tasted like bananas.
Unfortunately I have lousy teeth with very thin enamel. I was always in the dentist's office when I was a kid getting a cavity filled or having rotten baby teeth pulled. I actually liked Dr. Worrell; he had quarter horses on his ranch (which I'm sure my parents helped pay for) and had great horse magazines in his office waiting room. He was friendly, and I don't remember it ever hurting when I got fillings.
But I do remember that nasty banana tasting topical crap. I have often wondered where my aversion to bananas came from, and now I know.
I had plenty of time to think while sitting in the dentist's chair : I had 2 root canals in the last 2 days. The first one was actually cleaned out 1 1/2 weeks ago, before camp, but they stuffed it with medicine because it was so infected. Yesterday they took the medicine out and filled it in.
Today they did another, non-infected, tooth. I have to get the crowns done before September 1 when our insurance changes. I should say: increases beyond all expectations.
Our district is changing insurance companies once again, this time to TRS. This is the third change in the 3 years I've been here. It's got a large deductible, and it doesn't cover much. It's an irrevocable move, and I'm not sure I like it. Of course, I don't know what our previous insurer was offering, so I can't compare. I went with the level that will cost me $35/mth, as opposed to the 2nd tier, which is $100/mth more. Fortunately I am not on any medications, and have no illnesses/diseases at the moment, so hopefully I will be OK at the lowest level. I am just hoping that it covers my annuals at the dermatologist and eye doctor, which I have to have. At least I have some insurance.
wish me luck,
rem

A Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945 (Minus North Korea’s)

Time Bomb!
- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

It's hard to imagine how much damage has been done both to the environment and to people by all these "tests." Fortunately we haven't conducted any tests since they were halted by the first President Bush 2 decades ago. I hope that ban continues.

Camping Out

This is our last day of camp; tomorrow we have the student presentations and closing ceremony, and are done by noon. It has been fast and furious this year. We spent what seemed like days on the road, 7 vans of teachers and students traveling around central Texas in a half-mile long caravan.
My favorite remains Bracken Bat Cave. Our guide this year was outstanding - very knowledgeable, friendly, and able to answer all our questions. We spent about an hour listening and asking questions. Then after hiking back to the cave opening, we waited. We could see the vortex of bats circling near the mouth of the cave, and faintly hear their chirping, and the rustle of millions of wings. All 70 people were relatively quiet as we sat on the rocks at the top edge of the collapsed sinkhole.
And then the vortex slowly expanded into the bowl as the bats began to move out of the cave. Not a person in the crowd spoke for the next 20 minutes as we sat, awestruck at the sight. I can't describe what its like to watch the bats come out and fly away - in the 20 minutes before it got too dark to see them, we saw maybe 500,000 emerge. It takes 5 hours for the 20 million bats who live in the cave to all leave for the night.
We camped by the Blanco River at Wimberley for 4 nights, but fortunately it wasn't as hot as last year. There was also a lot more water in the river. I actually camped in a tent under some pecan trees. It was pretty nice, with a cool breeze at night.


















Some of us went to Jacob's Well, the headwaters of Cypress Creek. It's a hole straight into (or out of) the Trinity Aquifer, and flowing at a pretty good rate this year. During the drought it completely quit, for the first time ever. The kids enjoyed swimming in the ice cold water.

It's time to leave for the BBQ at Rio Vista Park.
be safe
rem

Geography Bee

Several rounds.
1st round
Blue vs. Yellow: Which direction does the world's longest river flow? In what desert would you find a 2-humped camel? Blue wins
Maroon vs. Gray: What is the most populous country in Africa? What mountain range separates Europe and Asia? In what body of water would you find the Loch Ness monster? (no one gets this) Maroon wins
Orange vs White: What is the absolute location of the Tropic of Cancer? What is New Zealand's primary export? What is the world's longest river? Orange wins
Black vs Peach: What is the tilt of the Earth's axis? What is the lowest place on land? Peach wins
Purple vs. Green: Mt Everest is on the border between what 2 countries? When writing coordinates, what is listed first? Green wins

Country/capital death match between Gray and Black for a trip to the quarters. Gray advances.

Quarters:
Blue v Gray: Blue whoops up!
Orange vs Purple: Purple
White vs Green: Green
Maroon vs Peach: Maroon


Semis:

Purple vs Green: Purple pulls out a win on the final question
Blue vs. Maroon: no one gets the first question, Blue takes the next 2 quickly, Maroon answers the monsoon question, then Blue takes the final question.

Championship round:
Purple vs Blue
purple strikes first, blue strikes back, then takes the third question when maroon rings the flyswatter before the question is asked, then takes another one for the win

Way to go Blue team, which included a HHS student!

More Fun

This is the biggest geography camp ever - over 70 participants: about 15 teachers and more than 50 students. We have added some new teachers and schools this year, including Austin High and Frenship.
This morning the students have gone on a scavenger hunt around campus, so I am charging the iPhone and playing in the computer lab. I charged the phone last night, but listened to npr news this morning, and the battery is drained. Maybe it needs a new battery - should it really last just a couple hours with the headphones on?
This morning we get to go to Aquarena Springs and do the glass-bottom boat tour, for the umpteenth time. It's a beautiful place, but after living there, snorkeling in the lake (illegally), and riding the boat a hundred times, I could skip it and be ok. However, I do know the guy that runs the River Systems Institute, based at Aquarena. They do some important work, studying water issues in Texas.
Kids are back from the scavenger hunt, gotta go.
later,
rem

Camp

Time again (it sure goes by quick these days) for Geography Camp at Texas State. This will be my 6th year to attend, and I wouldn't miss it for all the tea in China. A whole week with 3 of my top students, 30 other kids, and about 10 teachers/friends from across Texas.
This year is a sort of "Best of the Best" field trips we've done in the past - Bracken bat cave (my personal fav), Natural Bridge Caverns, religion tour of Austin - Hindu temple and a synagogue, among others - and a bunch of other places. We'll spend a few days in town, at the dorms, and a few days camping at University Camp in Wimberley, on the Blanco River.
I always enjoy visiting with my colleagues, and all the kids are wonderful - the best and brightest that Texas has to offer. Maybe this year our team can win the geography bee, but if the kid from Arlington Seguin is back, I won't be holding my breath. He was great.

Movin' on Up

screen shot of Hays Co.

Forbes has a new map up - migration at the county level. Click on any county in the US, and see in and out migration, along with income levels, destinations, and county of origin. Can't wait to use it during the unit on population.

360 Days

Predictions, based on 8 years of data sets, for spread of the oil from the BP disaster.

Reflections

It's the middle of the afternoon in China, so I am wide awake even though its the middle of the night here in Texas. I am still in China in my head, too.

What comes to mind:

Government –After listening to many lectures and having conversations with Dr. Who and Vivian, I have a better understanding of the government's need to be so "in control" - there are 1.3 billion people here, so it is necessary for safety and stability. Also, the people's standard of living has risen dramatically in recent times, so the government is doing a good job, as far as they are concerned.

Economy – It's growing very fast, evidenced by the building boom in cities. Everything like ditch-digging and street sweeping is still done by hand; cranes do heavy lifting for tall buildings and they are everywhere. There are also tourists everywhere, almost none foreigners, a sign of the growing middle class. They go in groups - do they not have cars? is it not allowed to travel by yourself? - so they are easy to spot.

Transportation – There are still many bicycles/tricycles, but lots of electric scooters, and growing numbers of cars – the Chinese dream. In Beijing there are no semis on the roads - the warehouses are all on the outskirts of town, and I guess everything is delivered to the small shops in vans.

Rural areas – Seem a step back in time, with all labor done by hand. We saw only one tractor in the rural areas we traveled through, and it was old and rusty. However, most of the people working in the fields were middle-age or older; all the young people seem to have gone to the city.

Philosophy- The primary thoughts expressed by all people over 30 were "for the good of the community" and "harmony between heaven and earth is the most important goal." This touches every aspect of life, from personal relationships to designing cities.

Pollution – A purple-brown haze covered all of eastern China, a result of rising energy use; China is opening 1 new coal-fired power plant per week. We asked Vivian if the sky was ever blue, and after thinking for a minute she said "during the Olympics," when China shut down all the plants. The pollution is so thick the sun is an orange ball that you can stare at without damaging your eyes.

I am too tired to try to draw any conclusions; I only have more questions:

What would happen if they had labor-saving machines – where would all the people work?

Will the younger generation continue to excel, since most of them are only children who are spoiled and used to getting their way (I saw lots of little kids having temper tantrums who were just catered to by their parents).

How will the culture keep alive the concept of community first when the current kids grow up?

As more Chinese have contact with foreigners, like our translator Vivian, will they begin to demand more western style democracy and freedoms? How will the government react?

It's 5:30 am here, I should try to get a little sleep.

take care, be safe

rem