Humans Caused 100% of the Past Century’s Global Warming – Futurism

Unnatural Causes

100 percent of global warming over the past century has been caused by humans. In 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report stated a clear expert consensus that: It is extremely likely [defined as 95-100% certainty] that more than half of the observed increase in global average surface temperature from 1951 to 2010 was caused by the anthropogenic [human-caused] increase in greenhouse gas concentrations and other anthropogenic forcings together.

Then in 2014, research in the journal Climate Risk Management using rigorous statistical techniques revealed an objective link between global temperature increases and human activity, with a probability exceeding 99.999 percent. In fact, according to a Skeptical Science review of studies on human and natural contributions to global warming:

The overwhelming majority of scientistsabout 97 percentagree not only that climate change is happening, but that it is caused by humans. Nevertheless, most people dont agree:they tend to disbelieve these kinds of statistics, or see climate change denial as an equally valid, alternative point of view.

Despite clear evidence that global warming is caused by humans, many people believe natural processes are playing a major role: only 43 percent of people in the U.K., 49 percent of Germans, 34 percent of Norwegians, and 55 percent of the French believe that climate change is mostly or completely caused by humans. Even fewer peopleonly about one-third of all people in these four countriesbelieve that more than 80 percent of scientists agree that climate change is a real, human-caused phenomenon.

In the U.S., Pew data shows that about 48 percent of all adults believe climate change is caused by humans, but about 31 percent believe that global warming is the result of natural causes. A full 20 percent believe that it doesnt exist at all. Only about 40 percent of Americans expect global warming will have harmful effects on wildlife, weather patterns, and shorelines. When it comes to that figure citing almost all climate scientists agreeing that global warming is caused by humans, only 27 percent of Americans believe thats true. As for everyone else? 35 percent saying more than half, of global warming is caused by humans, 20 percent saying about half, is and 15 percent believefewer than half or almost none.

Although these differences in opinion exist along political lines in the U.S. in particular, it is critically important to drive conversations about climate change. Forcing policy changes in the current political climate isnt easy, and without public pressure and widespread support, its near impossible. This is why helping people understand the facts about climate change is so important. Species are already dying, and extreme, climate change-induced weather is already killing people. This is terrible news, but it does mean that the facts will be harder and harder to ignore. Maybe then the conversations will be easier to have.

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Humans Caused 100% of the Past Century's Global Warming - Futurism

Physicists: Time Crystals Exist, and We Can Create Them – Futurism

Really Strange and Really Real

Its confirmed. Time crystals can exist. Two teams of researchers, one from Harvard University and the other from the University of Maryland, had their peer-reviewed work on time crystals published todayin the journal Nature.The Harvard-based team used an experimental setup that created an artificial lattice in a synthetic diamond. The Maryland team, on the other hand, continued on their previous work using a chain of charged particles called ytterbium ions.

Both studies built off of time crystal theories developed from Princeton University. Our work discovered the essential physics of how time crystals function, said Princetons Shivaji Sondhi. What is more, this discovery builds on a set of developments at Princeton that gets at the issue of how we understand complex systems in and out of equilibrium, which is centrally important to how physicists explain the nature of the everyday world.

Unlike other, more conventional crystals, time crystals are lattices that repeat not just in space but also in time, breaking what is known as time-translation symmetry. A time crystal is a quantum phenomenon that has movement while remaining in its ground, or lowest energy, state. In other words, it moves without spending energy and does not settle into a thermal equilibrium. Its one of the first examples of a non-equilibrium phase of matter.

Sondhi used the analogy of periodically squeezing a sponge to explain the system: When you release the sponge, you expect it to resume its shape. Imagine now that it only resumes its shape after every second squeeze even though you are applying the same force each time. That is what our system does.

This strange matter,first proposed in 2012 by physicist and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek, was only considered theoretically possible after considerable debate in September of 2016. Then, the first-ever time crystal was made just a month later in October. By then, it seemed very clear that time crystals are real.

Weve known since earlier this year thatthese two teamswere developing ways to actuallycreate time crystals. Their published works further confirm that time crystals can, indeed, exist, and one possible application for this new phase of matter is in quantum computing. Because the quantum behavior in a time crystal isnt affected by outside forces, researchers see it as a potential tool for protecting information in quantum computers.

Thats all still far off. For now, work on time crystals is focused on helping us better understand physics. Although any applications for this work are far in the future, these experiments help us learn something about the inner workings of this very complex quantum state, said Chris Monroe, who led the Maryland team.

This opens the door to a whole new world of nonequilibrium phases, Andrew Potter, who was part of the Maryland team, told Science Daily. Weve taken these theoretical ideas that weve been poking around for the last couple of years and actually built it in the laboratory. Hopefully, this is just the first example of these, with many more to come.

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The World Doubled Its Solar Power Capacity in 2016 – Futurism

Here Comes the Sun

The rise of the solar energy industry is astounding. Though virtually nothing in the early 2000s, the worldssolar capacity is now at 305 gigawatts. The countries taking the lead in this worldwide solar power surge are the United States and China, with the United Kingdom leading the rest of Europe.

A report compiled by SolarPower Europe notes that both the U.S. and China almost doubled the amount of solar energy they added in 2016 from 2015s numbers. Just to give an example in the case of the U.S., the state of New York alone has increased its solar power use by more than 800 percent. The 49 other states are also contributing to the growth, with California dominating them all, boasting a 34 percent share of the U.S. market.

As for China, its now the worlds largest solar energy producer. Reports from Chinas National Energy Administration (NEA) estimate that the country more than doubled its solar energy production in 2016. By last years end, China reached 77.42 gigawatts of solar, generating around 66.2 billion kilowatt-hours of power.

In Europe, despite suffering setbacks due to cuts in government incentives for solar adoption, the U.K. managed to increase its solar capacity by 29 percent, with Germany following at 21 percent and France with 8.3 percent.

Solar energy adoption has become increasingly viable due to a notable drop in costs. According to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the cost for installing solar-powered systems has dropped by more than 60 percent over the last decade. For one, solar panels have become cheaper, encouraging adoption in a host of other areas apart from roofing.

As the world faces the realities of climate change, with global temperatures hitting another all-time-high record in 2016, efforts to fight the climate problem are now more crucial than ever. One of the ways governments and various groups in the private sector can contribute to this fight is through the increased use of renewable energy sources, like solar energy.

In order to meet the Paris [climate agreement] targets, it would be important if solar could continue its rapid growth, explained James Watson, chief executive at SolarPower Europe. The global solar industry is ready to do that and can even speed up. To reach the goals of the agreement, half of the worlds energy must be generated from renewables by 2060.

Renewables can also drive the economy forward by providing jobs. In the case of solar energy in the U.S., roughly209,000 Americans now work in the industry, according to The Solar Foundation. Thats more than double 2010s figure, and the number is expected to increase to more than 360,000 by 2021. Its an industry thats already employing more people than its fossil fuel counterparts combined.

Solar energy isnt the only alternative source currently being explored and developed. Other efforts include harnessing wind energy, which just coveredmore than 50 percent of one U.S. power grids energy demands. Efforts are being undertaken to improve nuclear energy production, specifically research in sustainable fusion, as well as developments in solar fuel technology. With all of these efforts combined, humanity has a chance to stop or even reverse the damage done to the planet.

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The World Doubled Its Solar Power Capacity in 2016 - Futurism

ACLU launching People Power to resist Trump immigration policies … – The Guardian

The ACLU is hosting a People Power action event on Saturday, when it will issue specific guidelines to activists on how they can have an impact on immigrant rights at a local level. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

The American Civil Liberties Union is launching an ambitious plan to create a swath of freedom cities capable of resisting Donald Trumps immigration policies.

The civil rights organization, which has emerged as one of the Trump administrations major foes, plans to leverage individual cities local authority to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation.

The ACLU will reveal the freedom cities effort during the official launch of its new grassroots online platform, People Power, on Saturday. It will distribute a set of ordinances to activists, encouraging them to pressure local sheriffs and police commissioners to adopt more lenient policies on undocumented immigrants.

As Donald Trump does what he does, the greatest political power is in the cities and towns across America, said Faiz Shakir, the ACLUs national political director.

Because constitutionally, cities have sovereignty rights unto their own.

The ACLU is hosting a People Power action event on Saturday, when it will issue specific guidelines to activists on how they can have an impact on immigrant rights at a local level. The event will be live-streamed, and Shakir said ACLU supporters had already set up 2,300 watch parties across all 50 states.

Essentially we want people to think of their cities as cities of resistance, Shakir said. The ACLU will issue nine ordinances to activists on Saturday, and ask them to present them to their local officials.

The ordinances resemble a pledge that could be made by local sheriffs or police commissioners. They include a commitment to require a judicial warrant before detaining people at the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and to not authorize or engage in surveillance of a person or group based on their perceived immigration status.

We will be asking people to arrange a meeting with their sheriff or their police commissioner or their local precinct commander and raise these draft ordinances at that meeting, Shakir said. And have them discuss what their policies are with respect to immigrants. That would form the basis for follow-up meetings and follow-up policy advocacy.

Activists will be encouraged to submit details of their meeting to the People Power website, Shakir said, enabling more people to attend. The ACLU has tripled its membership since the night of the November election, according to the Washington Post, and collected more than $80m in donations.

In planning the action, Shakir said he had deviated away from the theory that [political action] needs to be simple.

Im saying, OK, people are fired up and Im going to test that and give them something a little bit difficult and hard and complex but has meaningful impact.

The freedom cities plan represents a new foray into grassroots organizing for the ACLU, which has traditionally focused more on legislative action.

Shakir, a former senior adviser to former speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and former Senate minority leader Harry Reid, joined the ACLU on 20 January Trumps inauguration day to kick off the organizing effort. He has hired people who worked on Bernie Sanders campaign and for the White House under Barack Obama to work on the project.

The initial focus is on immigration, Shakir said, but the ACLU plans to expand, and have activists lobbying local officials on LGBT rights, womens equality, police surveillance and other issues.

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ACLU launching People Power to resist Trump immigration policies ... - The Guardian

EU Brexit chief: ‘Let Britons keep freedom of movement’ – The Guardian

A number of UK citizens have expressed a strong desire to maintain close ties to EU countries despite Brexit. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

British citizens should be able to choose to keep various benefits of EU membership, including freedom of movement, the European parliaments chief Brexit representative has said.

Guy Verhofstadt said he hoped to convince European leaders to allow Britons to maintain certain rights if they apply for them on an individual basis.

His comments come as Theresa May attends the final EU leaders spring summit in Brussels on Friday before she is expected to trigger article 50, which could come as soon as next week.

Boris Johnson has urged the prime minister to reject EU demands for a divorce bill estimated at up to 52bn, but a Conservative MEP said the UK was very close to an agreement on the costs of Brexit and the rights of expats.

Verhofstadt told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: All British citizens today have also EU citizenship. That means a number of things: the possibility to participate in the European elections, the freedom of travel without problem inside the union ...

We need to have an arrangement in which this can continue for those citizens who on an individual basis are requesting it.

But the former Belgian prime minister said the European parliament was committed to ensuring that countries outside the EU did not have a better deal than member states.

He also warned that the parliament would have the power to veto any deal brokered between the UK and European commission.

Verhofstadt claimed to have received more than 1,000 letters from British citizens who do not want to lose their relationship with European civilisation and criticised the remain campaign for speaking only about economics rather than voters emotional connection to the continent. Some Britons felt they were losing a part of their identity by having their EU citizenship taken away, he said.

He described Brexit as a tragedy, disaster, catastrophe for the EU and said the rights of UK citizens living in the EU and EU citizens living in Britain would be his first priority for negotiations after article 50 is triggered, beginning the formal process of Britain leaving the bloc.

EU and UK citizens cannot be the victim of the political games we have seen, Verhofstadt said. Reaching a deal on their futures would be the first chapter of a withdrawal agreement that needs to be finalised by November or December at the latest, he added.

The agreement will also include a deal on the size of the divorce bill and transition arrangements, he said. The remainder of the two-year leaving period will be spent starting to define the nature of Britains future partnership with the EU.

Verhofstadt ruled out a return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, warning that this could threaten the peace process. What cannot happen is that we destroy all the efforts that have been undertaken [in] the last 20-30 years to have peace there, so no hard border, we cannot return to the hard border, he said.

The Brexit representative had previously said the EU needed to be open and generous to individual British citizens and that politicians were considering how to enable them to maintain their ties to the continent.

He told an audience at Chatham House in January: We are scrutinising, thinking, debating how we could achieve that. That individual UK citizens would think their links with Europe are not broken.

In Brussels, the idea of EU citizenship rights for Britons has already been dismissed as a non-starter, with EU insiders pointing to vast political, legal and technical hurdles.

The EUs 27 remaining member states, which are in charge of Brexit negotiations, would have to rewrite treaties, which governments have repeatedly ruled out in recent years. Several senior EU experts have previously told the Guardian such a plan has no chance of success. This proposal is absolutely not serious, one former ambassador said, describing the idea as very vague and for the distant future.

EU diplomats also stress that Verhofstadt has no power to put the idea on the agenda of Brexit talks. The Liberal MEP is the parliaments Brexit representative, but will not have a place at the negotiating table, although the parliament will be informed and consulted.

The former Belgian prime minister hopes to use the parliaments right to veto the deal a blunt, but potentially deadly instrument to set the agenda. But he may face difficulty in winning support from the parliament to hand out meaningful EU citizenship benefits to Britons. MEPs from other political groups believe he would struggle to convince the two biggest groups, the centre-right bloc and the Socialists, to back his idea.

Verhofstadt, who leads the Liberals, the fourth-largest group, does not have unqualified support among MEPs. Privately, some senior MEPs from rival groups have dismissed his claim that the parliament would veto a deal it does not like. A member of one of the largest groups told the Guardian that MEPs would fall into line with their governments once a deal has been reached between EU leaders.

Formal negotiations cannot begin until May triggers article 50, which she has promised to do by the end of March, but the Conservative MEP Vicky Ford told the Today programme the UK and EU were nearing agreement on a potential Brexit divorce bill and the rights of Britons living in other EU countries.

Both sides are very close on the money, Ford said. The EU are saying they will only ask us to contribute what weve committed to and the prime minister is saying we dont walk away from commitments. If that principle is agreed, then we can move on.

On Thursday, Johnson, the foreign secretary, called on May to emulate Margaret Thatcher and resist EU demands for money, but the Irish taoiseach, Enda Kenny, was among the EU leaders supporting a fee.

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Getting freedom from health – Jackson Hole News&Guide

Whats the rush on repealing Obamacare? Its true President Trump did promise speediness during the campaign. (Youre going to end up with great health care for a fraction of the price and thats gonna take place immediately after we go in. OK? Immediately. Fast. Quick.) But that was before he discovered that health care was complicated.

This sort of thinking will send us back to discussions about how our president has no permanent convictions on any subject except the inferiority of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a reality show host. Lets move on. We have a national disaster to watch unrolling.

Under orders to do something immediatelyfastquick, the House has begun to race through what Republican leaders hope will be Obamacare repeal and replacement so swift their membership will hardly notice its happening.

They just want to get it out and get it on, grumbled Rep. Frank Pallone, of New Jersey, the leading Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which rejected a proposal to hold the bill until Congress got the requisite estimates on how much the whole thing would cost and how many people it would leave uncovered. Details shmetails.

We can act now or we can keep fiddling around and squander this opportunity to repeal Obamacare, and begin a new chapter of freedom for the American people, said Rep. Kevin Brady, of Texas, the chairman of another committee thats pushing the bill through at lightning speed.

This offers us our annual opportunity to recall when Janis Joplin sang that freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose.

The GOP replacement bill is very big on freedom.

Theres freedom for wealthier Americans not to pay taxes that help subsidize health insurance for their low-income fellow citizens. Freedom for those who can afford coverage to refuse to buy it. Freedom for insurance companies to hike their prices for middle-aged customers. Freedom for the states to stop providing Medicaid-backed health insurance for maternity care, when nearly half of all the births in the country are currently covered by Medicaid.

It gives power back to the insurance companies to discriminate against womens health care, which is more expensive, said Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington.

Our new health and human services secretary, Tom Price, is very big on the freedom of doctor-patient relations. Price, a surgeon, talks constantly about keeping the government from stepping in. (You need to know that what your doctor is recommending for you is exactly what he or she believes is right for you based upon education and science, not based upon what Washington is telling them he or she must do.)

Unless, of course, the doctor and patient are deciding whether or not she wants to terminate a pregnancy.

Price is a longtime opponent of abortion in all shapes and forms. He twice co-sponsored bills to establish that the Constitution protects the rights of zygotes from the moment of fertilization. That would ban not only abortion but also morning-after pills and, according to some advocates, birth control methods like IUDs.

The Obamacare repeal bill makes it much less attractive for insurance companies to cover abortions in their policies and includes a ban on federal funds for Planned Parenthood. Lately, it seems as if everything the House touches includes a ban on funds for Planned Parenthood. Someday soon you will learn that there was a Planned Parenthood amendment attached to a measure renaming a post office in Nebraska after a recently deceased World War II veteran.

You wouldnt think getting rid of an organization that provides crucial services like breast exams, family planning and checks for cervical cancer would be a major fixture of a health bill. But this is an administration that wants to fight terrorism by defunding the Coast Guard to pay for a wall. What can I tell you?

Planned Parenthood does not get federal funds for abortions, but it does get a lot of money for its other work with underserved poor and rural Americans. Trump has let it be known that hed support the organization if it just stopped providing abortions, period. Planned Parenthood refused, under the theory that women need, um, the freedom to make that choice on their own.

So youve got two sides here, people. One believes all Americans should have the freedom to make their own decisions about their bodies. The other believes all Americans should have the freedom to not have health insurance. You pick. But do it fast.

2017 NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

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Hometown Hero: Operation TBI Freedom – FOX21News.com

Operation TBI Freedom is this years Community Partner Hometown Hero for their work with veterans and active duty members who have suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury or other combat related trauma.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Since Operation TBI Freedom began in 2008 the organization has served over 2,000 thousand individuals and their families.

In the Army culture we call it Battle Buddies. You never leave your Battle Buddy behind and were not going to leave our veterans behind, said Frederick Hinton, Eligibility Specialist for Operation TBI Freedom.

Operation TBI Freedom works with veterans and active duty members who have suffered from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or other combat related trauma.

We offer non-clinical case management. What that means to us is we really walk the journey with the veteran that has suffered the TBI, said Susan Holmes, Program Manager for Operation TBI Freedom.

Case managers create a life plan for their clients which covers all aspects of real life.

Anything thats going on in their lives. So it could be their medical or their mental health aspect, it could be something going on directly with their injury, but it also could be their financial situation, housing, familial support structures, said Holmes.

Were Colorado first and were Colorado proud of our veterans here, said Hinton. We want to put them first and those that have a TBI are dealing with a lot of invisible wounds.

Hinton, now works for Operation TBI Freedom, but he was once a client himself.

I was in a dark place. I didnt want to do much of anything. I started to isolate myself and Im married, 24 years of marriage. I have three kids and I was just out there flapping in the wind, he said.

Hinton has a TBI and served in the Army for 21 years.

I didnt have a purpose when I got out, he said.

Hes since found his purpose again, serving those he used to serve alongside.

This truly is a calling for everybody that works here, what we do, we dont do it for the money. We do it because we care about our brothers and sisters and we do it for all branches of service, Hinton said.

Holmes said the reason why the program works is because people like Hinton do care.

Every single Case Manager out there is a 20-plus year veteran, she said. Theyve all been there and done that. They speak the language.

We dont want them to be a statistic, said Hinton. We dont want them to end up being a number because theyre not a number. Theyre important to us and they should be important to everybody else.

Hometown Heroes will get their awards March 16 during a dinner at the Broadmoor.

To get involved with the Red Cross visit, http://www.redcross.org/news/event/Pikes-Peak-Chapter-Hometown-HeroesColorado-Springs

To learn more about Operation TBI Freedom visit, https://craighospital.org/programs/operation-tbi-freedom

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Home away from home: Freedom Christian Fellowship hosts international students – The Herald Journal

Come over to Revs. Ron and Karen Flessners home in Logan on Wednesday nights and you can be sure to experience a hearty dinner, followed by song, prayer and Bible study.

Its all part of Freedom Christian Fellowship, a multicultural, multi-ethnic, non-denominational effort by the native midwestern couple.

Our mission is to love God with all of our heart, soul and strength, said Karen Flessner, co-founder, executive director and associate pastor of the fellowship.

Story continues below video

Freedom Christian Fellowship welcomes anyone in the Cache Valley community, but places emphasis on international students from Utah State University.

That emphasis is reflected in the Flessners basement, where worship takes place every week. Small flags from different countries sit on a table. Framed pictures of past congregations from places like Africa and South Korea hang on the walls.

That is who we are, that is what we are, said Karen Flessner as she gave a tour around the basement.

Ron and Karen Flessners lives and their spiritual evolution are part of the story of how Freedom Christian Fellowship came to be.

Ron was born and raised in Illinois. His father was a pastor, but Ron claimed he really didnt believe the gospel until he was 16 years old.

It was one summer during the middle of his teenage tears when he found God, after he participated in a tent meeting service in central Illinois. Ron received his master of divinity degree in his native state, and began serving a mission in Illinois and Michigan in 1980.

Karen was born and raised in a Muslim country where her family practiced Taoism and Buddhism. She left her home country in 1995 to come study at Western Michigan University. Describing herself as a first generational curse breaker in her family, she converted to Christianity the same year. Karen became a professional minister and clinical Christian counselor.

Ron and Karen first met in February 1998 at a campus ministry retreat in Michigan. The following November, they were married.

The Flessners came to Logan in 2006 to start Freedom Christian Fellowship.

This came about through prayer, Karen Flessner said. The Lord called us.

Flessner said the goal of Freedom Christian Fellowship is not to entertain, despite the fact that on most Bible study nights, the family might break out the guitar or bongos to accompany their singing.

We are here for God, Karen Flessner said. We are dependent on God to lead us. We dont do anything on our own.

Get along with each other

Ron talked about the importance of bringing international students into Freedom Christian Fellowship.

God our creator loves us no matter the color, ethnicity or nationality, he wrote in an email to The Herald Journal. While here in Logan, Utah, we need to learn how and to practice how to understand and get along with each other.

But having international students over for dinner and worship goes beyond learning and understanding the Bible or God, Ron Flessner said.

When someone is new in town, especially in a new culture, that person needs to learn how to play by the new rules and how to be successful in their new daily lives, he wrote.

The Flessners expressed their support for the international students in their congregation.

We believe international students, scholars and their families should not feel alone or left out while they are in Logan, Ron Flessner wrote. If permitted, we would like to be their friend and family away from family. We would like them to feel at home, while away from their home.

Jinsu Choi, a USU graduate student majoring in civil environmental engineering, hails from South Korea.

Its been a big transition. I couldnt speak English at all when I first came here, Choi said. Ron and Karen gave me a lot of help.

Back home, when he was growing up, Chois family would attend church, but he did not.

I came here with a lot of challenges and maybe thats why I became a Christian, Choi said. Ron and Karen gave me a lot of opportunities.

He said got involved in the Freedom Christian Fellowship when he started playing guitar for the Flessners in their weekly Bible studies.

I started to read the Bible and I pray before eating. I go to church every Sunday, Choi said. Previously, my friends were any people, but today my friends are people in a church.

Samuel Serrano, a sophomore majoring in graphic design, came to Logan last year from Colombia. He heard about the Freedom Christian Fellowship through a fair on campus, where he met Ron Flessner.

I was looking for a Christian church because Ive been Christian my whole life, Serrano said. There are a million Mormon ones and a couple Christian ones.

He said joining Freedom Christian Fellowship has been a great experience.

Youre building your relationship with God the more you know about him, the better it makes you as a person, Serrano said.

Bible study with the congregation is great, he said, but the weekly dinners and togetherness with the Flessners is something else.

I feel like Im part of the family, he said.

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Home away from home: Freedom Christian Fellowship hosts international students - The Herald Journal

Freedom, revolt and pubic hair: why Antonioni’s Blow-Up thrills 50 years on – The Guardian

Memory is a great maker of fictions. Take the 1960s. The decade exists in the public imagination in a quite different way from the one most people actually lived through. The old line goes that if you can remember the 60s you werent there, but its probably more truthful to say you were there, only you didnt hang out in Carnaby Street, have your clothes made by Mr Fish or trip on acid while driving a Lotus Elan. You didnt swing. But there was something infectious in the air all the same, something in the decades high summer of 1967 that smacked irresistibly of a burgeoning freedom and revolt. Maybe it was the news that homosexuality had been decriminalised, or hearing the Beatles A Day in the Life for the first time, or the unprecedented glimpse of pubic hair in that film at the Odeon. What was its name again?

The film was Blow-Up, and 50 years after its UK release it reverberates way beyond the notoriety of Jane Birkin showing her bits on screen. Appropriately for a picture about perception and ambiguity, it plays very differently from the one I remember first seeing years ago I could have sworn it was in black and white, for a start. It marked a departure from director Michelangelo Antonionis previous studies in alienation, most notably La Notte, in which Jeanne Moreau wanders lonely about the streets of Milan while the beautiful people party on in listless defiance of boredom.

Blow-Up, his first English-language production, dives head-first into swinging London, seen from behind the wheel of a dandy photographers Rolls convertible already, younger readers will be thinking of Austin Powers as he bounces from slumming in a dosshouse to cavorting with dolly birds and models in his studio. There is a reason Antonioni has made the protagonist a photographer a man who looks but doesnt see just as there was for replacing his original actor, Terence Stamp, with the relatively unknown David Hemmings.

But the film has something else Antonioni had never deigned to include before: a story. An oblique and maddening one, for sure, but a story nonetheless. The photographer, fed up with the birds and the mod fashion shoots, goes off in search of fresh air and fresh mischief. He finds himself in a park, where the breeze sounds in the tops of the trees like the sea at low tide. In the distance, he sees a man and a woman, together, canoodling. He points his camera and takes a few snaps of them. On his way out, the woman (Vanessa Redgrave) chases after him and demands, urgently, that he hands over the film. He refuses. She tracks him back to his studio where they smooch, smoke a joint, play some music and he sends her away with the wrong roll.

And here is where the film unfolds its most brilliant and memorable sequence, the part you want to watch over and over again. Alone in his dark room, our hero blows up the photos from the park and discovers that he may have recorded something other than a tryst. Cutting between the photographer and his pictures, Antonioni nudges us ever closer until we see the blow-ups as arrangements of light and shadow, a pointillistic swarm of dots and blots that may reveal a gunman in the bushes, and a body lying on the ground. Has he accidentally photographed a murder?

Contemporary audiences watching the way Thomas, the photographer, storyboards his grainy images into evidence would surely have been reminded of Zapruders film of the Kennedy assassination in 1963: the same patient build-up, the same slow-motion shock. When Thomas returns to the park he does indeed find a corpse. Its the grassy knoll moment. We feel both his confusion and his excitement at turning detective hes involved in serious work at last instead of debauching his talent on advertising and fashion. But, abruptly, his investigative work goes up in smoke.

Next morning, the photographs and the body have disappeared. The woman has gone, too. This links to larger fears of conspiracy, a sense that shadowy organisations are hovering in the background, covering up their crimes and getting away with it.

Blow-Up looks back to Zapruder but also ahead to Watergate and a run of films that riffed in a similar manner to Antonioni, with his inquiring, cold-eyed lens: Gene Hackman, stealing privacy for a living as the surveillance genius in The Conversation (1974); witness elimination and the training of assassins by a corporation in The Parallax View (1974); later still, Brian de Palmas homage to the sequence via John Travoltas sound engineer in the near-namesake Blow Out (1981). But these sinister implications are not on the directors mind. Where we anticipate a murder mystery, Antonioni balks us by posing a philosophical conundrum. It is not about mans relationship with man, he said in an interview at the time, it is about mans relationship with reality.

Having created the suspense, he declines to see it through and sends Thomas off on an enigmatic nocturnal wander to a party where he gets stoned, to a nightclub full of zombified youth where, bafflingly, he makes off with a broken guitar. (The films other symbolic artefact is an aeroplane propeller he buys in an antique shop). Finally, and famously, he encounters a bunch of mime-faced rag-week students acting crazy and playing a game of imaginary tennis on an empty court. We even hear the thock of the tennis ball, though there isnt one in sight. Antonioni seems to offer only a shrug: reality, illusion, who can tell the difference? Whenever I watch Blow-Up, I feel a sense of anticlimax, of a road not just missed, but refused. Yet as much as it irritates, it still intrigues, and asks a question that relates not merely to cinema but to any work of art: can we enjoy something even if we dont get it?

Blow-Up has great things in it Hemmingss insolent gaze, how he throws himself across the floor to reach the phone

Its a question discussed by a mother and daughter in my new novel, Eureka, on seeing the film in the week of its Uk release, in March 1967. Eureka itself is about the making of a mystery film in London, not another Blow-Up, but an adaptation of Henry Jamess short story The Figure in the Carpet: two friends revere an ageing novelist, who tells one of them that no reader has ever located the elusive secret of his work, the string the pearls were strung on, the buried treasure, the figure in the carpet. The friends efforts to discover what it is becomes an increasingly fraught and bitter contest. The screenplay is interspersed between the storys chapters.

Reviews of Blow-Up at the time gave it a guarded welcome. Penelope Houston in the Spectator called it a failure for which I would trade 10 successes. Dilys Powell reckoned Antonionis cinema beautiful and difficult, and suggested that his films might become even stranger and more exciting. Not many would agree that they did. What might have been a turning point led only to a cul-de-sac. Vagueness and obfuscation hardened into a style. Zabriskie Point (1970), his meditation on America, is a lowering, vacuous mess. The Passenger (1975), about another disappearing act, had its fans, though Kenneth Tynan wasnt one of them: Maria Schneider and Jack Nicholson are under-directed to the point of extinction. One doesnt mind (one can even tolerate) bad acting: but slow bad acting is insupportable. There is something terribly dismal in his vision of humankind, and terribly humourless. Few major filmmakers have shown so little faith in story.

But Blow-Up, flawed as it is, can still thrill us 50 years on. It has great things in it Hemmingss insolent blue gaze, and the daft way he throws himself across the floor to reach the phone; the wind soughing through the trees in the park; the busy jazz score by Herbie Hancock; the unsettling charm of those London streets. And, in the sequence from which it takes its title, that rapt attention to the photographers art really is something to behold.

Eureka by Anthony Quinn is published by Jonathan Cape on 6 July. To order a copy for 11.04 (RRP 12.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over 10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of 1.99.

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Freedom, revolt and pubic hair: why Antonioni's Blow-Up thrills 50 years on - The Guardian

Celebrate National Nutrition Month by eating right – LA Daily News

March is National Nutrition Month, and this years theme is Put Your Best Fork Forward. Each day provides a fresh opportunity to make smart food choices for better health and every small step or forkful made toward eating well counts.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics first celebrated National Nutrition Month (NNM) in 1980 to encourage healthier eating practices. Today, the public is more knowledgeable about food and nutrition than ever before. In fact, we are often inundated with an overwhelming amount of information and resources about what to eat. We can embrace the theme of NNM this year by getting back to basics and make simple steps to eat better that are proven by science.

Here are some evidence-based healthy eating practices you can implement now to help you Put Your Best Fork Forward.

If you want to make changes to your eating habits and, just as importantly, get results, tracking your food intake is critical. Studies demonstrate that those who track their food are more successful with weight loss and sustaining a long-term plan. While web-based applications like MyFitnessPal and Lose It! provide extensive food databases that include the nutrition facts, a simple paper journal and pen will suffice.

The evidence is clear that eating seafood, especially fatty fish like tuna and salmon, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, helps reduce the risk of illnesses like heart disease, depression and Alzheimers disease. Many people dont get the recommended two to three servings of fish per week and with the brain and eye development benefits this is particularly important for pregnant and nursing mothers, as well as children. Whats more, a study in the Nutrition Journal reported that canned or pouched tuna is a cost-effective protein and a way for all of us to enjoy the health benefits of fish.

People who eat more fruits and vegetables tend to be healthier and live longer than those with intake that falls short. Eating more fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of chronic illnesses including heart disease and cancer. One large-scale study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health found that eating at least seven servings of fruits and vegetables daily compared to eating less than one serving daily reduces the risk of death by 42 percent.

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We have all heard repeatedly that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but choosing a breakfast that is high in protein can help keep weight off by reducing hunger and daily food intake while stabilizing blood sugar levels. To boost your morning protein consumption, reach for foods like eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lox, Canadian bacon and protein smoothies. Adding protein-containing ingredients like nuts, nut butter, seeds and cheese to common breakfast items like oatmeal or toast can help increase breakfast protein.

Mindful eating strategies that help slow down the pace of eating controlled portions and remove distractions during mealtime can have an overall positive impact on the dining experience, while reducing the likelihood of the common problem of overeating. Simple habits like avoiding the use of electronics while eating, using smaller plates and making healthy foods accessible can make a big difference.

LeeAnn Weintraub, a registered dietitian, provides nutrition counseling and consulting to individuals, families and businesses. She can be reached at RD@halfacup.com.

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Celebrate National Nutrition Month by eating right - LA Daily News

Mastering the Great Lakes ecosystem – Buffalo Business First


Buffalo Business First
Mastering the Great Lakes ecosystem
Buffalo Business First
John Grabowski knew he wanted to work in environmental science but he couldn't get the jobs he wanted without some field experience. And he couldn't get field experience without a degree. Subscribe to get the full story. Already a subscriber? Sign in ...

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Mastering the Great Lakes ecosystem - Buffalo Business First

VC-Backed Biotech Ecosystem: A Market In Healthy Equilibrium – Forbes

VC-Backed Biotech Ecosystem: A Market In Healthy Equilibrium
Forbes
Rather than focusing on the changes in funding levels, the number of companies getting financed is a better metric of changes in ecosystem activity. The chart below captures updated data on the decade-long balance we've witnessed on the private side ...

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VC-Backed Biotech Ecosystem: A Market In Healthy Equilibrium - Forbes

How Demonetisation Has Forever Changed The Education Ecosystem – Huffington Post India

Demonetisation has had a multitude of effects but what has not been much discussed is the impact on the education system, from students to institutions.

Rajiv Masand (name changed), is a worried student. His father is not able to pay his medical college fees. The reason is simple; the college is refusing to take cash, their preferred mode of payment so far. Depositing money in the bank is not an option because of the fear of the Income Tax Department, which is now using analytics to track unaccounted payments. At the same time Suresh Agnihotri (name changed) is hopeful to get a seat that was formerly reserved for "management quota" in the institution of his choice.

College authorities, on the other hand, are worried too, but not for the same reason. The unaccounted capitation fees that they were collecting in cash, are no longer a given. People are willing to pay much lower sums in cash and prefer cheque payments.

The entire private education ecosystem is in a tizzy, for cash has now become a taboo word. In a country where a fraction of people pay taxes (apart from the salaried lot, which has to compulsorily pay), the business and the political classes have borne the brunt of demonetisation.

Politicians are major stakeholders in several educational institutions, and their ecosystem thrives on cash. Donations are the preferred mode of cash recovery, keeping their political machinery well oiled. And demonetisation is pinching them significantly. The person who is going to suffer the most, though, is the middleman, who is feeling the pinch as the "paid" seatsand commissionsdry up. Earlier, he could charge a solid commission as a liaison between the institution and the candidate. As cash changed hands, he could retain a fat margin in between. No longer, as the candidates prefer to pay directly now, and lower amounts would reduce the commission in between.

The Indian private education system (especially in some pockets like medical), have been force fed cash, with each MBBS seat going for 30-50 lakh and an MD seat going for 2.0 crore. Surely they feel the pinch, as cash sources dry up and more and more payments move through the banking channels. This has impacted the ancillary services too, such as canteens that were running purely on cash. Now as the receipts comes through banking channels, payments have to go through the banking channel too, setting up a domino effect. While a few institutions have embraced cheque and online payments for all the ancillary services, others still rely on cash.

Businesspersons have not been declaring income but have been paying fat fees for education. Now, if they pay the college fees through the banking channel, the IT department is surely going to go after them as the corresponding income has to be declared, increasing the tax incidence. The leeway that they can use is to show that the income is the share of the student, which still would not be enough to manage the tax incidence.

Not only in India, foreign education has also been quite actively funded by black money and demonetisation is bound to have an impact. Systematically, the conversion cost is going up in the black market, taking up the landed costs as well.

This has a flip effect alsogood but financially challenged students have a better chance of getting seats that were reserved for the moneyed class. The so-called "management quota" will hopefully find fewer takers and leave more seats available to meritorious students. On the institutional side, once capitation fees start coming through the system, the education ecosystem will get structured in such a way that the institution would not get undue advantage.

The impact on education plans is multifaceted as the entire ecosystemthe management and the institution and the studentswill have to adjust to move with the banking channel and not be dependent on cash. While it would be wishful thinking to expect the cash channel to fade entirely, the education ecosystem has changed irrevocably, and institutions have no choice but to make changes if they are so survive.

Indians On Oscars Red Carpet

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How Demonetisation Has Forever Changed The Education Ecosystem - Huffington Post India

Vegetation removal ‘enhancing’ the ecosystem – Coast News

CARLSBAD The palm grove and non-native species of vegetation are gone from the Lake Calavera Preserve, according to city officials.

Craddock Stropes, management analyst, said the citys efforts are near completion with the project. She said March 17 is the final of the 120-day planting and observing period for native species brought back to the preserve.

We are pretty much finished now, Stropes said. They are now in the sort of maintenance period.

The city obtained a permit to clear vegetation from the Lake Calavera Dam, which also included mitigation measures allowing for the clearing of non-native trees and vegetation.

Native species such as western sycamore, western cottonwood, coast live oak, California blackberry, red willow and Mexican elderberry were planted.

Mexican fig palms and Brazilian peppertrees were injected with herbicide and an estimated 120 trees and other vegetation were removed.

In addition, a new unisex restroom near the dam has been completed and is open for visitors.

It is a big difference, Stropes said. Its quite an enhancement to the preserve.

The project hit a roadblock in June 2016 when residents questioned the city council for not giving notification to residents around the preserve and the work. As a result of the backlash, the city organized a workshop in July 2016.

Crews began work in August and now officials are keeping a close eye on the landscape to make sure no non-native vegetation returns.

Winter storms, meanwhile, have not slowed the project and in fact, Stropes said, have all but eliminated the use for a temporary irrigation system constructed to water the new plants.

Also, the lake level rose to within one inch of the spillway after last weeks storm, but has now receded about six to seven inches due to evaporation, she added.

The rain has definitely filled the lake, Stopes explained. Its been a good enhancement to the ecosystem.

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Vegetation removal 'enhancing' the ecosystem - Coast News

Three Ways to Bolster The Innovation Ecosystem for Women – Xconomy

When the topic of encouraging more female leadership in the startup economy arises, discussions usually center on what women entrepreneurs should do differently. How they should present with greater authority, or how they should dress the part for their next investor pitch. Put frankly, how they should adopt any manner of different behaviors.

I would like to change the narrative. The solution lies as much with usas a community of peers, investors, service providers, and technologistsas it does with the entrepreneur herself. We all bear some responsibility for creating a more diverse startup community.

Regardless of gender, no one succeeds alone. Every prominent tech mogul will cite teachers, former bosses, and family members who guided them in their journey toward their recognized and honored achievements. Those of us in leadership roles within this industry need to understand and embrace the role we play for others, including women, who dare travel down the tumultuous-but-fantastic path of technology innovation.

Three tenets offer a starting point for creating a positive environment for female tech entrepreneurs:

Check Your Bias At The Door

Many women tech entrepreneurs come up with compelling ideas. But they run into significant obstacles when attempting to secure funding; especially if the business concept targets a female audience. They often hear a VC, who more often than not is male, tell them, I dont understand that demographic, so Im not a good fit for you.

Investors know only too well how to challenge assumptions in any business plan, validate opportunities, and drill down to uncover a startups secret sauce. Possessing specific end-customer experience, while always nice to have, does not disqualify them from funding a particular company. Expertise in ecommerce, software, customer service and device manufacturing all carry across multiple end markets.

To say, I dont understand that demographic may feel true. But would not understanding the 18-to-24 demographic preclude you from investing in a business like Snapchat?

The fact of the matter is that most VCs are male. So check that bias before the meeting begins. Focus on listening and asking a lot of questions about business and technology fundamentals. The answers may reveal an opportunity in a market that other investors are ignoring, and an entrepreneurial starwho just happens to be femaleworthy of funding.

Meet Us Where We Network

Entrepreneurs are coached to develop personal and professional networks of people who can help them advance their careers, raise capital, build companies, and solve various business problems. But many of the people that these entrepreneurs are trying to reach, those who have been there, done that, stop building out their networks once they achieve success. They fall back to their existing, old guard connections.

So dont take networking for granted. Developing a thriving innovation economy takes a commitment by its leaders to mentor the next generation of innovators, including women. Rather than expecting them to come to you, seek out forums where women are already coming together to support and coach each other. Some of these forums in San Diego include UC San Diegos MyStartUpXX and Athenas Technology Special Interest Groups. As a community we must also commit to holding events that seek to bring together diverse groups of individuals to brainstorm ideas, and make a commitment to creating safe spaces that emphasize listening and coaching over broadcasting opinions. In addition, it is vital that we continue to recognize and celebrate the achievements of women already pioneering their way in tech through marquee events like Athenas Annual Pinnacle Awards.

Keep The Bar High

While it is important that we take time to encourage and educate female entrepreneurs, it does not mean that we change the standards by which we evaluate innovation. Successful entrepreneurs thrive on the challenge of launching a new venture and pride themselves in overcoming myriad financial, operational and marketing obstacles. Female innovators are no different. Instead, we as collaborators, investors and advisors must work to ensure a truly level playing field exists for both men and women. We do this by putting aside assumptions about the individual and focusing on the quality of their idea. Ask the hard questions, expect informed answers and take pains to provide actionable and specific feedback whether you are assessing a pitch, participating in a workshop or engaging in mentoring. Everyone benefits when we do.

(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of Ms. Gasser.)

Elizabeth Gasser is the vice president of corporate strategy for Qualcomm and is responsible for engaging with the companys executive team and business unit owners to drive portfolio investments consistent with strategic priorities. She is also an active board member for Athena, a San Diego-based organization that promotes professional growth for women in STEM-related industries.

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Three Ways to Bolster The Innovation Ecosystem for Women - Xconomy

Thales launches ECOsystem UTM – Shephard Media

UV Online

10th March 2017 - 10:30 by The Shephard News Team

Thales has launched a new UAS traffic management (UTM) system called ECOsystem UTM, the company announced on 7 March.

The platform incorporates UAS management technology from Unifly, including its validation engine software application that conducts real-time validation of UAS flight plans. Combined with Thales' ECOsystem decision support platform, the solution aims to support the aviation industry as it evolves to safely track and integrate UAS into the manned aviation domain.

ECOsystem uses a suite of tools and predictive analytics that allows stakeholders to optimise their operations, as well as contribute to global optimisation through data sharing and collaborative applications. The system is configurable to the customers' operational requirements, from a global cloud-hosted service, to a local single-facility deployment.

ECOsystem UTM adds drone registration, pilot registration, flight planning, and regulatory/business rules with geospatial and meteorological information to enable adaptable workflows for managing UAS operations as well as customisable situational awareness using tools such as map overlays, terrain views and 3D projections. The UTM application and data enable automated flight authorisations as well as real-time alerting and intervention in emergency situations.

The application aims to support the rapidly growing demand for UAS operations in both visual line of sight and beyond visual line of sight while ensuring the public's safety, security and privacy.

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Thales launches ECOsystem UTM - Shephard Media

While de-bushing spare a thought for the ecosystem – Nation News

ALL OF A sudden, some Government parliamentarians and officials have woken up to a perceived need to de-bush several privately-owned plots of land.

I wish to issue a word of caution where this newly fashionable idea is concerned.

The ecology of Barbados, taken as a whole, has become accustomed to a situation in which several different areas have become overgrown with weed, small trees and bushes.

There seems to be a sustained and complete sudden assault on the homes of birds, butterflies, moths, lizards, slugs, snails, frogs and toads, and so on. I strongly suspect that this will be highly deleterious to the lives and existence of these harmless and very helpful creatures.

Any food crop farmer in Barbados can at present afford to take pollination and cross-pollination of his plants for granted. But if the safe havens of the pollinating agents are destroyed or even largely destroyed, a new situation, a very harsh reality, will unfold.

Please do not think I am against any helpful beautification in Barbados countryside at all. All that I am asking is not to make it too much or too soon.

Also please remember that pasture land for cattle, sheep and goats is already being sharply reduced.

MICHAEL MOSELEY

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While de-bushing spare a thought for the ecosystem - Nation News

Industrial Microbiology Market to Show Impressive Growth Rate Between 2016-2024 – Digital Journal

Impact analysis of key growth drivers and restraints are included in this report to better equip clients with crystal clear decision-making insights.

This press release was orginally distributed by SBWire

Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/09/2017 -- Industrial microbiology is the application of microbiology techniques for management and exploitation of microorganisms for production and processing of useful products on a commercial scale. Industrial microbiology has wide applications in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, agriculture products, industrial chemicals, environment and others. The growing research in these field for obtaining high quality products is expected to fuel growth of the global industrial microbiology market. Moreover, factors such as increasing awareness among researchers related to new strains of microorganisms capable of producing enhanced quality products which have applications in drug development, food processing and other industries is expected to fuel growth of the global industrial microbiology market.

Request Sample Copy of the Report @ http://www.mrrse.com/sample/2085

Future Market Insights offers forecast of the global industrial microbiology market between 2016 and 2026. In terms of value, the market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period. The study demonstrates market dynamics that are expected to influence the current environment and future status of the global industrial microbiology market over the forecast period. It includes key trends, drivers, restraints, and opportunities influencing growth of the global industrial microbiology market over forecast period 20162026. Impact analysis of key growth drivers and restraints are included in this report to better equip clients with crystal clear decision-making insights.

Make an Enquiry @ http://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/2085

North America industrial microbiology market is estimated to account for 27.3% revenue share in 2016, and is expected to dominate the global industrial microbiology market over the forecast period. Europe industrial microbiology market is expected to register a significant CAGR over the forecast period.

Read Complete Report @ http://www.mrrse.com/industrial-microbiology-market

Some key market participants included in FMI's global industrial microbiology market include Merck KGaA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Asiagel Corporation, Eppendorf AG, bioMerieux SA, Novamed., QIAGEN, Sartorius AG, 3M and Danaher Corporation

About MRRSE MRRSE stands for Market Research Reports Search Engine, the largest online catalog of latest market research reports based on industries, companies, and countries. MRRSE sources thousands of industry reports, market statistics, and company profiles from trusted entities and makes them available at a click. Besides well-known private publishers, the reports featured on MRRSE typically come from national statistics agencies, investment agencies, leading media houses, trade unions, governments, and embassies.

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Industrial Microbiology Market to Show Impressive Growth Rate Between 2016-2024 - Digital Journal

Public access to beaches on Singer Island – WPEC

SINGER ISLAND, Fla. 9CBS12)

Palm Beach County leaders recently approved spending more than $1 million for a beach nourishment project on Singer Island that lacked public access, but thats about to change after a judges ruling.

The surreal setting of Singer Island is where crystal clear waters meet the calming sands of serenity. Its beautiful, but good luck getting to parts of it since theres nearly two-miles of beach without public access.

CBS12 found a public pathway to the beach off North Ocean Drive thats impassible. The vegetation prevents the public from reaching the sand and shore.

Singer Island property owner and activist Fane Lozman recently filed a lawsuit against the city trying to get easement opened back up. The city never maintained it, this is what you have left, he said.

A judge agreed and directed the city to rebuild and maintain it. The ruling comes just weeks after the county completed a $1.4 million project to bring 50,000 cubic yards of sand to the beach.

Public tax dollars have been used all these years, have been spent to make private improvements to what is a private beach here and the court did the right thing, Lozman said.

Several people who live in the beachfront condos along the easement tell CBS12 theyre now concerned, especially for their safety.

I think itll be detrimental to the community here, Sharon Leiman said. This is more of a private area and I really like it to remain that way.

The City of Riviera Beach did not respond to CBS12 for comment.

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Public access to beaches on Singer Island - WPEC

Cape May beaches: Gorgeous, welcoming and potentially dangerous – New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio

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CAPE MAY This South Jersey citys beaches draw scores of vacationing families every year. But something is happening beneath the breaking waves that is both alarming and concerning.

For many years, there was no beach here, according to Mayor Clarence Chuck Lear. In 1991, the Army Corps of Engineers came in and pumped an initial 900,000 cubic yards of sand onto the main beach, with plans to replenish every two years for the next 50 years. But with the replenishment came a drop off caused by the waves. Learsays when the waves come in, they crash, so the drop off is quick and severe.

The severe drop off has created dangerous conditions for surfers and bodysurfers. Last year, there were few injuries, but there have been very serious ones in the past, although no fatalities.

In 2001, Lear says a young man was bodysurfing in Poverty Beach and he broke his neck. It was a severe and permanent injury because of the drop off.

Another South Jersey beach is dealing with a similar situation. North Wildwood has been fighting off a legal challenge by relatives of a man who drowned in 2012 after unstable sand caused by tidal flow collapsed under his feet. Two others also drowned at the beach in 2009.

We want to monitor this and stay on top of this, Lear says.

On Jan. 1, he created a permanent beach safety committee of residentsand families who have been affected by or have an interest in surfs and safety.

He says they continue to look for answers, trying to make it as safe as possible through education. Lear is encouraging the federal government and the Army Corps of Engineers to at least study it and see if there is anything they can do in Cape May that can possibly make the beaches as safe as possible.

Beach replenishment is still very vital to Cape May and Lear wants to make sure that program continues.

Were concerned. We want to hopefully find a solution, but in the end, after all the studies, there may not be a solution to all this, says Lear.

He says the best way to stay educated is to spread the word. Beach safety videos are on YouTube. Brochures are being given out by beach patrols and the beach tag staff during the summer to educate. Signs, warning of heavy shore break, have also been set up at every beach entrance.

While the efforts continue to make Cape May beaches safer, Lear says if you go to Cape May, just be mindful that some of the waves can be tricky. Keep your eyes open and face the water so youre not caught off guard.

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Cape May beaches: Gorgeous, welcoming and potentially dangerous - New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio