Deal with the Devil

 

Lights out!

By Michael deAdder

Eat safe

 

Lightning season is here

Fast facts and how to stay safe

Chris Vagasky, University of Wisconsin-Madison

As the weather warms, people spend more time outdoors, going to barbecues, beaches and ballgames. But summer isn’t just the season of baseball and outdoor festivals – it’s also lightning season.

Each year in the United States, lightning strikes around 37 million times. It kills 21 people a year in the U.S. on average.

For as often as lightning occurs – there are only a few days each year nationwide without lightning – there are still a lot of misunderstandings about nature’s largest spark. Because of this, a lot of people take unnecessary risks when thunderstorms are nearby.

I am a meteorologist who studies lightning and lightning safety, and a member of the National Lightning Safety Council. Here are some fast facts to keep your family and friends safe this summer.

Cornell Study Links Motherly Care to Extended Human Life

Your mother's gift 

By CORNELL UNIVERSITY 

A Cornell University study explores the role of maternal care in the evolution of long lifespans in humans and other mammals. Research by Matthew Zipple indicates that species where offspring rely on prolonged maternal care tend to live longer and reproduce less frequently. This pattern extends beyond primates to other mammals and supports theories linking longer lifespans to enhanced maternal and grandmother support, providing insights into phenomena such as menopause and intergenerational health.

The relationship between mother and child may offer clues to the mystery of why humans live longer than expected for their size – and shed new light on what it means to be human – according to a new Cornell University study.

“It’s one of the really mysterious things about humans, the fact that we live these super long lives as compared to so many other mammals,” said Matthew Zipple, a Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow in neurobiology and behavior at Cornell University. “What we’re putting forward is that a part of the explanation for our long lifespan is this other foundational aspect of our lives, which is the relationship between the mother and her child.”

The paper was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).

In their models, Zipple and co-authors found consistently that in species where offspring survival depends on the longer-term presence of the mother, the species tends to evolve longer lives and a slower life pace, which is characterized by how long an animal lives and how often it reproduces.

CDC Recommends Updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines for Fall/Winter Virus Season

The CDC's new guidance on COVID shots

Centers for Disease Control

The CDC recommended the updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines and the updated 2024-2025 flu vaccines to protect against severe COVID-19 and flu this fall and winter.

It is safe to receive COVID-19 and flu vaccines at the same visit. Data continue to show the importance of vaccination to protect against severe outcomes of COVID-19 and flu, including hospitalization and death. 

In 2023, more than 916,300 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and more than 75,500 people died from COVID-19. During the 2023-2024 flu season, more than 44,900 people are estimated to have died from flu complications.

Key Senate Panel Launches Probe of Big Oil-OPEC Collusion

Sheldon Whitehouse goes after Big Oil

JULIA CONLEY for Common Dreams

Announcing a probe into potential efforts by fossil fuel companies to illegally coordinate with international oil producers in order to fix prices, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Wednesday wrote to 18 oil giants demanding that they turn over communications with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, commonly known as OPEC.

Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wrote to companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips in his capacity as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, weeks after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused the former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources Company of attempting to collude with OPEC.

Text messages, WhatsApp communications, and records from in-person meetings showed that Scott Sheffield tried to collude with representatives of OPEC countries to manipulate oil and gas production worldwide and raise oil and gas prices.

The commission made its discovery while reviewing a plan by ExxonMobil to acquire Pioneer in a $64.5 billion deal.

Really clear choice

Fair question

 

Success follows failure less often than expected, study finds

Benefits of failure are overrated

American Psychological Association

Ed Wexler

The platitude that failure leads to success may be both inaccurate and damaging to society, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

Researchers conducted 11 experiments with more than 1,800 participants across many domains and compared national statistics to the participants' responses. 

In one experiment, participants vastly overestimated the percentage of prospective nurses, lawyers and teachers who pass licensing exams after previously failing them.

Is Your Pregnancy Diet Safe? The Latest Research on Fish and Mercury

Fish is good for you but mercury isn't. Watch your intake.

By UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER 

Researchers have introduced a novel approach to evaluate the neurodevelopmental effects of fish consumption during pregnancy, focusing on the balance between mercury exposure and nutritional value. This study highlights the potential benefits of consuming low-mercury fish and the risks associated with high-mercury varieties.

Be a good neighbor

Survey Trolls, Opt-In Polls, and the New Era of Survey Science

A major reason not to trust polls

By Teresa Carr

Last December, a joint survey by The Economist and the polling organization YouGov claimed to reveal a striking antisemitic streak among America’s youth. One in five young Americans thinks the Holocaust is a myth, according to the poll. And 28 percent think Jews in America have too much power.

“Our new poll makes alarming reading,” declared The Economist. The results inflamed discourse over the Israel-Hamas war on social media and made international news.

There was one problem: The survey was almost certainly wrong. The Economist/YouGov poll was a so-called opt-in poll, in which pollsters often pay people they've recruited online to take surveys. According to a recent analysis from the nonprofit Pew Research Center, such polls are plagued by “bogus respondents” who answer questions disingenuously for fun, or to get through the survey as quickly as possible to earn their reward.

In the case of the antisemitism poll, Pew’s analysis suggested that the Economist/YouGov team’s methods had yielded wildly inflated numbers. In a more rigorous poll posing some of the same questions, Pew found that only 3 percent of young Americans agreed with the statement “the Holocaust is myth.”

These are strange times for survey science. Traditional polling, which relies on responses from a randomly selected group that represents the entire population, remains the gold standard for gauging public opinion, said Stanford political scientist Jon Krosnick. 

But as it’s become harder to reach people on the phone, response rates have plummeted, and those surveys have grown exponentially more expensive to run. Meanwhile, cheaper, less-accurate online polls have proliferated.

On the eve of Independence Day, extremists on the Supreme Court declared Donald Trump a king.

The Court’s immunity ruling is unhinged and dangerous

By Mitchell Zimmerman 

If you hadn’t read the news in four years — or just arrived from another galaxy — the Supreme Court’s de facto grant of immunity to Donald Trump for his alleged federal crimes might sound almost reasonable.

There are “unique risks,” six right-wing justices warned, that if a president were required to answer criminal charges, his energies would be “diverted.” He might become “unduly cautious,” less willing to take “bold and unhesitating action.” 

But if you’ve followed even a shred of news, you know this reasoning is utterly unhinged — and dangerous. The risk the right-wing majority refuses to consider is that a president might “boldly” and “unhesitatingly” try to overturn our constitutional democracy. 

The real danger isn’t that an “unduly cautious” president will worry too much about being charged with crimes. The danger is that a faithless president can use the enormous powers of the presidency to overturn an election he lost. That’s what nearly happened after the 2020 election — a matter the majority says not one word about..

Nonetheless, the six hold that when a president is performing “core constitutional powers” — engaging in actions which the Constitution says he can do — he is totally immune to criminal prosecution. 

In the oral argument of the case, Trump’s attorneys were asked about the seemingly absurd notion that a president would be immune to prosecution if he officially ordered the assassination of a political rival. They didn’t dispute it. And now the Supreme Court just adopted that absurd theory.

Similarly, a president would now enjoy “absolute immunity” from prosecution if he told the attorney general, “Forge evidence that my opponent sold secrets to China and arrest him for treason.” He could freely sell national secrets to Russia. Auction pardons. Or assassinate unfriendly judges.

Where does this outrageous theory come from? Not the Constitution.

The six right-wingers’ ruling has no basis in law or logic — and turns the lessons of our history upside down. The Constitution includes no language granting the president immunity from criminal charges, and the Founding Fathers were dead set against an all-powerful executive. 

The Founders considered it a feature, not a fault, that under the proposed Constitution the president would be restrained. They maintained the president wouldn’t pose a threat to liberty because he wouldn’t be above the law, unlike the King of England. 

As Alexander Hamilton wrote, former presidents who’d committed crimes during their presidency would thereafter be “liable to prosecution and punishment in the ordinary course of law.” 

The conservative majority of the Supreme Court acknowledged, in theory, that a president is not 100 percent above the law. Even Trump’s own lawyers conceded the point.

Nonetheless, the six ignored Trump’s concessions and will now require his federal criminal trial to go through a time-consuming process to assess the immunity claims. That will delay the trial until after the election — which could give Trump the power to fire all of the prosecutors and dismiss the charges against himself if he wins.  

Why would the conservative justices do all this to protect Trump? So they can continue to impose their right-wing power on America.

The extremists currently enjoy a six-three Supreme Court majority. But Justice Thomas is 76 and Justice Alito is 74. Their seats could become vacant in the next four years and potentially flip. By protecting Donald Trump from prosecution, they’re trying to prevent that outcome.

The upcoming election could determine whether the far-right majority is flipped on its head — or paves the way for a deeper assault from extreme judges and politicians.

Mitchell Zimmerman is an attorney, longtime social activist, and author of the anti-racism thriller Mississippi Reckoning. His writing can also be found on his Substack, Reasoning Together with Mitchell Zimmerman. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

Cheap!

 

Eat safe

Portable air filters in daycares can reduce indoor pollution by 85%

Cleaner air for the little ones

Kristina Marusic, Environmental Health News

Portable air filters in daycares and early learning centers can decrease harmful indoor pollutants by 83%, according to a new report.

The report, published by the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia-based nonprofit advocacy group Women for a Healthy Environment, assessed PM2.5 — fine particulate matter pollution that can penetrate deep in our lungs — at eight daycare centers in Philadelphia that received air filters from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Air pollution linked to ‘huge’ rise in child asthma GP visits

Exposure to PM2.5 is linked to health effects including asthma and other respiratory diseases, heart disease, cancer, neurodevelopmental problems like ADHD and autism, and mental illness. Previous studies have indicated that being exposed to PM2.5 during childhood is particularly harmful.

The study was small, but the findings were significant because few studies have assessed indoor air quality and the use of air filters at daycares and early learning centers, where children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of indoor air pollution. In addition to the reduced pollution, daycare providers reported multiple benefits including less coughing, allergies and absenteeism.

Are Plastic Water Bottles Safe? New Study Sparks Concern Over VOCs

Sun and plastic can turn toxic

By NANJING INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 

A recent study explores the health hazards associated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from plastic water bottles when they are exposed to sunlight. The research thoroughly investigated the types and toxicity of VOCs released under ultraviolet-A (UV-A) and solar irradiation, highlighting the importance of improved storage methods to guarantee the safety of drinking water.

Plastic water bottles are ubiquitous due to their convenience, yet they harbor potential risks. Sunlight exposure can lead these containers to degrade and emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are potentially detrimental to human health. The booming bottled water market underscores the urgency for safer alternatives. In response to these concerns, there is a pressing need for in-depth research into more secure materials and production methods for water containers.

Considering Residential Solar? Beware of Scammers, BBB Warns

Getting Solarized is smart, but watch out for crooks

By Bonnie Phillips / ecoRI News staff

Solar installation in Charlestown.
Photo by Will Collette

As the focus on renewable energy ramps up in New England and across the United States, and more homeowners are considering installing rooftop solar panels, the Better Business Bureau is warning about scammers using misleading sales tactics to convince homeowners to go solar.

“Con artists use misleading sales tactics and lies to trick homeowners out of money and personal information,” according to the BBB. “If you’ve received an offer for ‘free solar panels,’ it could be a scam.”

Larry Chretien, executive director of the Green Energy Consumers Alliance, said that while he has no specific evidence of such scams in the area, “we generally know there are some solar scammers out there.”

The way such scams work, according to the BBB, is that someone contacts the homeowner, either by email, phone, social media, or in person, pretending to be a solar company salesperson. The “representative” has a special offer: they can install solar panels on the home for a low cost, or even free. Of course, the deal is only available for a limited time, they claim, instilling a sense of urgency and adding pressure on the homeowner.

From here, the scam can go several ways. In some versions, the scammer is after personal information. They ask the homeowner to fill out forms that include banking details “to see if you qualify.” 

Other times, the “solar representative” claims the person must pay upfront costs, which they promise will be reimbursed by a (non-existent) government program. In other instances, the scammer may begin the installation of the solar panels but then never returns to finish the job. 

Or, they may install the panels but do a poor job, resulting in panels that don’t work. If the homeowner reaches out to the scammer to finish the job or fix the panels, they become unreachable and disappear.

Chretien urged caution and patience when considering the installation of residential solar.

EDITOR'S NOTE: There ARE honest solar contractors out there.  SolPower was Charlestown's choice as the contractor for the 2017 Solarize Charlestown program. We were among the first to sign up.

I can vouch for SolPower's business practices - from the initial contract and projections for savings, to installation and to getting the right paperwork done to qualify for the sizable federal tax credit and to sell excess solar electricity to National Grid. 

The only "deviation" from SolPower's promises compared to our actual experience was that we actually produced a lot MORE electricity than they projected, leading to lower than expected power bills and higher rebate checks from National Grid. For much of the year, our net electricity cost is under $100 a month.

Instead of taking 12 years to break even as projected, I believe we've already made up our cost - town discount - federal tax rebate. - Will Collette

It’s not “price gouging,” it’s "price pack architecture"

It means selling you less stuff for the same price.

By Jim Hightower 

We should pay attention to corporate America’s fluctuating wordplay, for their frequent contortions of language disguise ploys to dupe, confuse, and rip off us hoi polloi — i.e., their customers.

For example, here’s a mouthful that’s been gaining popularity among manufacturers of food products: price pack architecture.

It’s a bit of gobbledygook meant to obscure the profiteering practice of ever so quietly shrinking the size and contents of their packages — without lowering prices. Economists dubbed this “shrinkflation,” but that too clearly implied gouging. Thus, corporate image-makers invented the incomprehensible nonsense phrase of PPA to cloak their anti-consumer trickery.

This convoluted codeword also allows the tricksters to brag openly about their cleverness to their Wall Street investors. Here’s Coca-Cola’s CEO, for example, doing corporate-speak to bankers in February: “We are leveraging our revenue growth management capabilities to tailor our offerings and price pack architecture to meet consumers’ evolving needs.”

English translation: Consumers will need to pay us more for less Coke. You could almost hear the bankers weep for joy over Coke’s sneaky scheme to stiff its customers.

Perhaps you’ve wondered what big-time corporate CEOs actually do to rake in their exorbitant salaries, now averaging more than $8,000 an hour! Well, there it is: The CEO’s main job is to keep workers’ pay low, monopolize markets, and constantly invent slick ways to squeeze another dime from each consumer’s pocket.

It’s not honest work, but it does pay well. Coca-Cola’s CEO James Quincey, for example, hauled in $25 million in pay last year. That’s 1,800 times more than the annual income of the typical Coca-Cola worker, who will now pay more for a sip of Coke, thanks to Quincey’s “price pack architecture.”

OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

Post-debate analysis

MAGAnuts take a step closer to the brink

Victoria Gu’s ADU bill will help address housing crisis

Low-impact solution to affordable housing needs 

Before the bill was passed, Sen. Gu met with RISD
students who came up with ADU designs for Rhode Island

Legislation sponsored by House Commission on Housing Affordability Chairwoman June S. Speakman and Sen. Victoria Gu to help Rhode Islanders to develop accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on their property has been signed into law. The legislation is intended as a way to boost production of an affordable housing option.

ADUs, sometimes referred to as in-law apartments or granny flats, are accessories to existing housing, created as a conversion of part of a house (such as a walkout basement), an attachment to a house or a smaller, detached dwelling. 

Here is one of those designs (RISD)

They have become increasingly popular around the country in recent years as states and municipalities balance the need to create more housing while preserving the character of residential neighborhoods. Seniors, especially, have taken to ADUs as a way to downsize while continuing to live independently in their community.

The legislation (2024-H 7062A, 2024-S 2998A) was written in collaboration with stakeholders and advocates, including AARP, for which increasing production of ADUs has been a primary policy goal for several years.

The new law, which took effect immediately when Gov. Dan McKee signed it June 25, provides homeowners statewide the right to develop a single ADU on an owner-occupied property to accommodate a disabled family member, or within the existing footprint of their structures or on any lot larger than 20,000 square feet, provided that the ADU’s design satisfies building code, size limits and infrastructure requirements.

The measure is meant to encourage the development of rental units that are likely to be more affordable than many other apartments, and also to provide opportunities for homeowners with extra space to generate income that helps them maintain ownership of that property.

“One of the drivers of our housing crisis is the low construction rate in Rhode Island. Our state has the lowest per-capita construction rate in the whole country. We need to be creative and be willing to allow construction of housing, particularly affordable, moderate and small units like ADUs,” said Chairwoman Speakman (D-Dist. 68, Warren, Bristol). 

“Our commission learned that there are many people in Rhode Island who already have space that they’d like to use in this way, but our laws make it complicated. This bill removes some of the obstacles to building ADUs while respecting municipal land use policies.”

Said Senator Gu (D-Dist. 38, Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown), “ADUs offer the ‘missing middle:’ housing that is smaller, more affordable and smartly repurposes our existing buildings and garages. 

Plastic Free July is a waste of time if the onus is only on consumers

Choices are made by manufacturers and retailers BEFORE you can choose

Bhavna Middha, RMIT University and Ralph Horne, RMIT University

Arctic ice, Shutterstock

Every year, the Plastic Free July campaign asks us to refuse single-use plastic. The idea is that making a small change in our daily lives will collectively make a big difference. And hopefully, better behavior will stick and become a habit.

The intent is good, but consumers shouldn’t have to bear full responsibility for plastic pollution. Individual sacrifices – particularly temporary ones – won’t make a significant difference.

Governments, manufacturers and retailers need to get serious about tackling this problem. If Plastic Free July put pressure on the supply side of the equation, rather than demand, it could be more successful.

Our research spans food packaging including plastics, waste, sustainable consumption and social practices. We know consumer demand is only one part of the picture. Eliminating plastic waste requires broader systemic changes.

Don't dump lye off the New England coast

Dangerous experiment

JULIA CONLEY for Common Dreams

Biodiversity advocates called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reject a new geoengineering project spearheaded by researchers in Massachusetts that one critic said would do "nothing to solve the root causes of the climate crisis and instead puts at risk the oceans' natural capacity to absorb carbon and their role in sustaining life on Earth."

Friends of the Earth (FOE) and other groups warned that an experiment called LOC-NESS by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) carries "potentially catastrophic risks" for the Atlantic Ocean, where researchers have proposed dumping more than 60,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide near Cape Cod to test a "carbon dioxide removal approach" called Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE).

WHOI's website states that the experiment would involve the release of "nontoxic, fluorescent Rhodamine WT dye into the ocean from a research ship," with researchers tracking the dye's movement over 72 hours in order to determine whether the ocean's alkalinity could be enhanced.

If so, the scientists say, they could ultimately help to regulate atmospheric carbon.

The EPA's notice about the proposed study from last month, however, says that the project "would involve a controlled release of a sodium hydroxide solution"—which is "essentially lye, a substance known to cause chemical burns and one that must be handled with great care," according to Tom Goldtooth, co-founder and member of the board of directors of the national Climate Justice Alliance.

Trump Supreme Court says Trump CAN be a dictator, so long as it's "official"

"In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law," warned Justice Sonia Sotomayor. "With fear for our democracy, I dissent."

JAKE JOHNSON for Common Dreams

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled along ideological lines on Monday that former President Donald Trump is entitled to "absolute immunity" for "official acts" taken while he was in office, a decision that liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned makes any occupant of the Oval Office "a king above the law."

Writing for the majority in the 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts declared that Trump "may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts."

But Sotomayor countered in her dissent that the majority distorted the concept of core constitutional powers "beyond any recognizable bounds," effectively granting Trump the sweeping immunity he demanded as he faces charges for attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election in a failed last-ditch bid to remain in power.

"When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority's reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution," Sotomayor wrote. "Orders the Navy's SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Immune, immune, immune."

"In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law," the justice added. "With fear for our democracy, I dissent."

Post-debate idiots

By Ann Telnaes

Trump's tax plan

Tina and Victoria got the job done

Coastal resiliency legislation from Rep. Spears, Sen. Gu signed into law 

Gov. Dan McKee has signed legislation sponsored by Rep. Tina Spears and Sen. Victoria Gu to mandate the creation and maintenance of a statewide coastal resiliency plan, the Act on Coasts. 

The plan will assess community vulnerabilities, recommend mitigation strategies along ocean and riverine coasts, and recommend financing strategies to implement these resiliency strategies.

“Rising sea levels aren’t just coming – they are already here,” said Representative Spears (D-Dist. 36 Charlestown, New Shoreham, South Kingstown, Westerly). “The question is what we plan to do in response. This bill will ensure that the state climate resiliency plan accounts for mitigation and resiliency efforts along all our coasts and waterways.”

The 2021 Act on Climate already mandates a statewide climate change resiliency plan. This legislation (2024-H 7022Aaa, 2024-S 2298Aaa) adds a dedicated coastal resiliency plan to that mandate and ensures that it be reviewed and updated at least every two years, as coastal conditions in Rhode Island change and mitigation strategies evolve.

“In the past year we’ve seen repeated and severe flooding and erosion along our coasts and rivers statewide. We have to do more to adapt so that we don’t lose the places we love in South County,” said Senator Gu (D-Dist. 38, Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown). “While work is already underway across the state to mitigate these adverse effects, we need to integrate all the federal, municipal, and state efforts into a comprehensive and actionable plan.”

New Study Reveals That Simply Looking at Trees Can Boost Your Mental Health

Then you can hug them

By BANGOR UNIVERSITY 

The study, conducted by Bangor University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and published in the journal People and Nature, showed that city-dwellers who focus on greenery instead of human-made structures experience reduced anxiety and increased feelings of restorativeness.

CRMC takes two years to decide that deliberately building a house in a flood zone is a bad idea

CRMC denies request to build stilt house on Narrow River in Narragansett

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

Coastal regulators have denied a proposal for a single-family home on a parcel along the Narrow River in Narragansett that frequently floods during storms.

Bonnet Shores resident Nicholas Veltri submitted an application to the Coastal Resources Management Council in 2022, to build a 603-square-foot, two-bedroom residence, elevated on stilts, on a piece of property at the corner of Wilson Drive and Pettaquamscutt Avenue. After a nearly three-hour meeting on June 25, CRMC rejected the proposal.

The proposal has been dogged by controversy since its inception. Neighbors to the site opposed the project, alleging if built it would exacerbate a flooding problem that already exists for abutters and other nearby residents. Narragansett’s Planning Board voted to deny approval of the project in March 2022, but the Zoning Board approved the plan later that year.

CRMC staff recommended the council deny Veltri’s application, writing in its final report that “substantive objections have been received for this project, and that a new residence on the subject parcel is likely to increase stormwater flooding impacts to the area, already a burden for the existing Town stormwater BMP and neighboring landowners.”