Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

A Timely Reminder …

Of all the potential catastrophic things that we are told will likely happen after January 20th when the trash is returned to the Oval Office, one of…

A Timely Reminder …

A third Texas woman has died under the state abortion ban | The Texas Tribune

Source: A third Texas woman has died under the state abortion ban | The Texas Tribune

Gibson issues cease and desist over Trump-backed guitars | Donald Trump | The Guardian

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Vintage custom Gibson Les Paul guitars, named after the American musician. Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images

Electric guitar maker claims president-elect-endorsed merchandise infringes on Les Paul trademark

Gibson, the maker of famous electric guitars, has issued a cease and desist order to the company behind a range of “Trump Guitars” endorsed by the US president-elect.

Gibson told Guitar World, which first reported the story, it took action because the design of the instruments being sold as Trump Guitars “infringes upon Gibson’s exclusive trademarks, particularly the iconic Les Paul body shape”.

Named for the American musician whom the Guardian once said “basically invented the electric guitar”, Gibson Les Pauls have been sold since 1952 and played by countless rock legends, among them The Edge of U2, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Slash of Guns n’ Roses.

Source: Gibson issues cease and desist over Trump-backed guitars | Donald Trump | The Guardian

Salt water creeping up Delaware River in worrying sign for big fresh water source | US news | The Guardian

Salty ocean water is creeping up the Delaware River, the source for much of the drinking water for Philadelphia and millions of others, brought on by drought conditions and sea level rise, and prompting officials to tap reservoirs to push the un-potable tide back downstream.

Officials say drinking water is not imminently at risk, but they are monitoring the effects of the drought on the river and studying options for the future in case further droughts sap the area, amid the climate crisis.

The salt front or salt line is where salt water from the ocean and freshwater meet in the river. That boundary is typically somewhere around Wilmington, Delaware, but the recent drought in the north-east has pushed it about 20 miles (32km) north, around Philadelphia international airport.

The farther the line moves upstream, the closer it gets to drinking water intakes, which officials have worked for decades to avoid.

 

Source: Salt water creeping up Delaware River in worrying sign for big fresh water source | US news | The Guardian

Great Smoky National Park, United States – Nacionalni park Grejt Smouki, Sjedinjene Države – Myrela

Danas je preostalo vrlo malo mjesta u kojima je prirodna sredina, još uvijek, netaknuta, ista kakva je bila i prije pojave ljudskog roda. Može zvučati paradoksalno, ali jedno takvo mjesto predstavljaju planine Grejt Smouki, koje se nalaze u nacionalnom parku sa osam miliona posjetilaca godišnje, što ga čini posjećenijim od ostalih zaštićenih zona u Sjedinjenim Državama. Smješten na južnom kraju Apalačkih planina, na površini od 2.090. km2, Nacionalni park Grejt Smouki, osnovan 1926. godine, obuhvata strme planine visoke i do 2.000 metara između kojih se pružaju široke doline. Središnji dio čini dugačak planinski vijenac sa složenim odvodnim sistemom koji obuhvata 3.057 kilometara uzburkanih planinskih tokova. Park, takođe, obuhvata 45 hidrografskih basena, a voda svuda leži blizu površine.

Sa ovakvim odlikama i klimom, u kojoj se smjenjuju vrela, sparna ljeta, i relativno blage zime, ne iznenađuje činjenica da je 95 odsto teritorije pod vegetacijom. Ono što čini Nacionalni park Grejt Smouki jedinstvenim jeste to što on predstavlja posljednje utočište vrstama s umjerenih ili sjevernih geografskih širina, koje su svoj procvat doživjele tokom pleistocena. Njegov biljni mozaik obuhvata oko 1.500 cvjetnica, od kojih je 130 drvenastih, i ukupno 2.200 bescvjetnica. Oko 20 odsto šume netaknuto je, dok su niži predjeli, vijekovima ogoljavani zarad zemljoradnje, danas poput laboratorija za botaničare u kojima se jasno razlikuju stadijumi rasta flore. U ovoj oblasti raste 14 vrsta šuma. Na najvišim nivoima nalazi se najveće prostranstvo pod crvenom jelom, na svijetu, što ukazuje na povezanost sa šumskim zajednicama u Mejnu, na krajnjem sjeveroistoku Sjedinjenih Država i sa zajednicama u Ontariju i Kvebeku u Kanadi. Nešto niže, zimzelenim četinarima pridružuju se javor i breza, a u nekim dolinama raste i do 20 vrsta širokolisnog listopadnog drveća u oblasti površine samo 500 m2. Bogatstvu flore parira raznovrsnost faune koja obuhvata oko 50 vrsta domaćih sisara.

Najlakše je ugledati brojne crne medvjede (Ursus americanus) i jelene (Odocoileus virginianus), iako je park čuven po sisarima srednje veličine poput crvene lisice, sive lisice, risa, rakuna, jazavca, tvora, mrmota i izvjesnog broja vjeverica i slijepih miševa. Ovdje živi preko 200 vrsta ptica, a vodeni tokovi pružaju stanište za trideset vrsta daždevnjaka, što predstavlja njihovu najveću raznolikost u svijetu. Početkom XIX vijeka, bizon i vapiti ili sjeverni jelen (Cervus elaphus) istrijebljeni su u ovoj oblasti, ali je sjeverni jelen ponovo doveden 2000. godine. Te iste godine, viđeni su puma i kojot, koji su ovdje došli iz drugih oblasti, što je dokaz da je ova okolina zdrava. Životinje su predstavljale još dva dijelića u mozaiku re-kreacije kosmosa koji su poznavali Čiroki Indijanci i prvi evropski doseljenici. Pored toga, u parku nalazi se najveća američka kolekcija drvenih koliba iz XIX vijeka, i zahvaljujući toj činjenici planine Grejt Smouki upisane su u Nacionalni registar istorijskih mjesta…

Source: Great Smoky National Park, United States – Nacionalni park Grejt Smouki, Sjedinjene Države – Myrela

Renewables powered 24% of US electricity – Darcy Hitchcock

Be thankful! For the last three quarters, renewables created about one quarter of the electricity we needed. Solar (rooftop and utility scale) was up 26 percent over the same period in 2023.

Photo by Los Muertos Crew on Pexels.com

According to the EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report, which includes data through September 2024, solar power generation (including both utility-scale and rooftop installations) shot up by 25.9% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

Utility-scale solar grew even faster – up 30.1% – while small-scale solar (mostly rooftop) increased by 16.2%. Combined, solar contributed more than 7% of the total electricity generated in the US so far this year.

Zooming in on September, utility-scale solar generation grew by a whopping 29% compared to September 2023, and rooftop solar climbed by 14.2%. Combined, solar generated 7.5% of the nation’s electricity that month.

Small-scale solar made up nearly 30% of all solar generation from January to September and provided 2% of the country’s electricity. Interestingly, small-scale solar is now producing almost double the electricity of utility-scale biomass, and over five times that of either geothermal or petroleum-based power.

https://electrek.co/2024/11/26/renewables-us-electricity-2024/

Source: Renewables powered 24% of US electricity – Darcy Hitchcock