Map Giveaway Draw - 1940 Global Alternate Universe

That is pretty cool.  :-)

Some scenes were rather odd

I’m all for buying up land in Alaska, then pumping Greenhouse Gases like crazy to turn it into a tropical paradise!

Actually, the issue in Philly was a late change in the EPA fule requirements as they transition from MTBE as an oxygenation additive to Ethanol.

The MTBE was there, but no longer able to be used.

And Ethanol demand is up, so there are not just tankers of it sitting around waiting to be added to gasoline to replace MTBE.

And thus once again, the actual SHORTAGES of fuel are caused by government regulation NOT actual shortages.  Same thing we had several years ago when the MTBE requirement was first imposed…  SSDD, your government inaction (pun intended)

I just saw The Banff Mountain Film Festival.  Some excellent footage from around the world by people looking to challenge whatever limits that might have been imposed on them.

http://www.chestnutmtnproductions.com/banff/banffhome.htm

If it comes to your corner of the world - i recommend checking it out.

clearly, people would, or it would not continue to operate, or it would have changed its rules.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/21/AR2005092102036.html

EXCERPT
Clinton seems to have found his role as facilitator-in-chief, urging us to give up our deadly national passivity(LJ Note : A Clinton trademark…no economic initiatives, no energy policy, no move on Osami bint Lami, no response but words to the first WTC attack[1993], a chicken run from Mogadeshu with only high tech low results battles/wars, including Yugoslopia, for the remainder of his term.) and start thinking things through for ourselves. Commandeering the role of government through civic action suddenly feels like a very empowering notion – the alternative being to find oneself stranded in a flood waving a shirt from a rooftop(LJ NOTE : Thanks to decades of Louisiana state and local Democrat misappropriation and mismanagement of Levy repair funds.)
…

The White House doesn’t seem to realize it yet, but we are entering a post-spin era in public life(LJ NOTE : The Clinspin machine geared up his last year in office. Recall/google the Clinton attempt at a Middleeast solution…Yassar turned down an offer of 98% of everything he wanted. Since Clinton’s Reaper Visit he has revved it up to CLINSPIN). The shift has long been underway in the business world, propelled by the Enron catastrophe and the collapse of the (LJ NOTE : CLINTON) dot-com bubble. Process, not perception(LJ NOTE : Sounds like the liberal classroom…“Process , not result,”) is king in boardrooms today. After so much corporate malfeasance it all got too dire to put up with fake CEOs anymore. (LJ NOTE : Google the timeline. The malfeasance was during the Clinton years, while the the cleanup occured during the W years.)
…

The irony is that no one would have believed that Clinton – the king of spin, who went out under a cloud of indecency five years ago – could climb back to such credibility. …he’s backlit now by his disciplined handling of the economy(LJ NOTE : A Republican US Congress held his feet to the fire and he trumpeted his accomplishment.), the unsought(LJ NOTE : Read as INCORRECT.) comparisons of how well FEMA used to perform under his watch and the enlightened(LJ Note : Last Chance! Redemption) nature of his global activism.
…

On Clinton’s face these days is a look of wry, judicious knowingness(LJ NOTE : William Jefferson Clinton will win an Academy Award. A feat never accomplished by Ronald Reagan[ http://www.reelclassics.com/Actors/Reagan/reagan.htm ].) It’s the look of political wisdom, and it imparted to his conference’s departing crowd something like serenity.
(LJ NOTE : He’s ba-acck!!)
END EXCERPT

@Yanny:

The earth is warming up, I think theres pretty good evidence of that. Underground temperatures have risen a few degrees, polar ice caps are melting, all small signs. The cause is also probably a combination of greenhouse gases, the shifting equilibrium of the earth, and other small things. However it is a dangerous trend and we need to take steps to prevent it. Should it be our top priority, no.

The evidence is not as good as many people think. In the 1970s the trend was that temperatures were falling. It all depends on where you start counting from. An experiment with double the amount of carbon dioxide proved that plants with the increased carbon dioxide levels grew to double their normal size and could produce double the amount of oxygen, therefore sustaining a larger population. Even the satellite proof fails to take clouds into account, which lower he temperature a great deal.