What Mexico can teach Japan

Three Friends

Eco-Tourism is becoming big in Mexico. Delfiniti

, attracts hundreds of visitors each week to spend an hour swimming with, playing with, feeding, and getting to know dolphins. In Mexico and California, people have also realized that whales are worth more alive than dead. Whale watching tours make more money than whaling ships could – and the apparently sentient whales like to ‘hang out’ with the people in the whale watching ships. They know the people aren’t predators; they don’t try to capsize the ships.

More details to follow.

Saving the California Tiger Salamander

Why did the salamander cross the road?

To get to it’s habitat on the other side.

Tiger Salamander, Copyright Gerald and Buff Corsi

Environmentalists in California help endangered Tiger Salamanders cross the road that divides their habitat by catching them, picking them up, and carrying them across the street. Why not lay pipes under the roads for the salamanders to cross thru? and then induce them to enter the channels by something that smells good or tastes good? The same for turtles, and other things that go ‘squish’ under cars in the night.

Photo: © David Rosen/Wildside Photography

Celeste Monforton/Pump Handle: Crandall Canyon Disaster: Four Months Later

Celeste Monforton of The Pump Handle has a disturbing account of the current status of the Crandall Canyon disaster: Congress has cancelled scheduled hearings; even more disturbing, there’s an emerging record of failure(s) to report hazards as required – and what appears to have been the willful destruction of evidence.

Disturbing any way you look at it – assuming that you think workplaces ought to be safe. (If you don’t think that, I’m afraid my advocacy skills may not be up to the challenge).

Link to Dr. Monforton’s piece at The Pump Handle. We’ll try to follow up.

Zooillogix animals of the week

Zooillogix, one of the large fact-farm which is ScienceBlogs, publishes a weekly readers’ poll of favorite animals

. It’s bad enough to ask science types what they think – always bound to start trouble. But to ask them what they like? Here are some of the recent submissions. Res ipsa loquitur.

[photopress:ZooillogixThree_Toed_Sloth.jpg,full,centered]

[photopress:ZooillogixJaguarundi.jpg,full,pp_image]

[photopress:Zoo_illogix_Puffin.jpg,full,pp_image]

See the rest here at Zooillogix.

For those of you complaining that this is off-topic – you’re right. Sue me.

Leatherman Skeletool: 5 ounces (142 grams)

Leatherman has introduced the Skeletool and skeletool CX:

[singlepic=173,480,412,,left] The Skeletool has a removable

pocket clip – so it can be used with or without a sheath.

[singlepic=172,320,240,,right]

The Skeletool CX has carbon-fiber handles; Erik Sofge, in his Popular Mechanics review (link below) says that it’s got a particularly comfortable grip – no small asset for a tool that, almost by definition, one uses in less-than-ideal conditions. The CX also has some attachable bits stored inside the tool. (I’m not entirely sure how they both end up the same weight – this may be the result of my misreading the specs )

Link to Erik Sofge’s review at PopularMechanics.com.

Tyler Hicks

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Rats attempt to climb social ladder; seek parity with squirrels, lobby City Hall

Thomas J. Lueck (copy) and Tyler Hicks (images) of my hometown paper have reported that in the most prominent, and well-kept, public park in New York City, rats play as though they were squirrels. Notwithstanding municipal efforts to persuade them to relocate. From November 10, 2007, “Where the Rats Come Out to Play”:

The rat that was circling André Thomas’s feet was big and brazen, measuring more than a foot from the tip of its tail to a pointed snout that arched upward to the aroma of Mr. Thomas’s ham and cheese sandwich.

[singlepic=170,320,240,,]

The encounter might not have seemed all that unusual to many New Yorkers, who have become wearily accustomed to rats bounding along subway tracks or lurking about garbage bins, usually after dark.

But this rat sighting came as a shock to Mr. Thomas because of when and, especially, where it took place — 2 p.m. on a brilliant fall afternoon while he sat on a bench in City Hall Park, a nine-acre jewel of the municipal park system that underwent a $30 million renovation in 1999. The park is a cornerstone of the city’s efforts to revive Lower Manhattan.

“At first I thought it was a squirrel,” Mr. Thomas said as he strode away. “Isn’t this where the mayor works?”

Mr. Thomas’s rodent experience was hardly unusual. If he had looked under the park’s benches and around its meticulously cropped foliage, he would have spotted at least six other rats scurrying around, unconcerned about the humans all around.

[singlepic=171,320,240,,left]

The infestation of rats in City Hall Park, clearly an embarrassment to the city, was acknowledged in interviews by senior officials of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the city’s lead agency for rodent control, and the Department of Parks and Recreation.

“It’s just a big issue down there and we all recognize it,” said Jessica Leighton, the health department’s deputy commissioner for environmental health. Adrian Benepe

, the commissioner of parks and recreation, said that City Hall Park provided “a perfect set of circumstances for rats.” Continue reading →

Chicago Tunnel Map

The Chicago Tunnel Company Railroad Map:

[photopress:Chiacgo_Railroad_Tunnel_courtesy_Phil_Okeefe.jpg,full,centered]

Apparently the system, as it evolved, had many surplus tunnels. And a parcel delivery system that never quite caught on. Seems well-suited for moving food, medicine and people in emergencies. (We haven’t learned yet anything about the flood-resistance of these tunnels, which were, on average, about 40 feet under street level.

Pentagon misstates data in budget request

Tom VanDen Brook

of USA today has reported that

The Pentagon has asked Congress for $1.4 billion in emergency spending to combat a growing threat of sniper attacks in Iraq based on an overstated assessment of the extent of the attacks, its records show.

[photopress:Marine_sniper_ghillie_suit.JPG,thumb,alignleft]In last week’s spending request, the Pentagon said sniper attacks have quadrupled in the past year and, if unchecked, the attacks could eclipse roadside bombs as the top killer of U.S. troops. However, the rate of sniper attacks has dropped slightly in 2007 and fallen dramatically in the past four months, according to military records given to USA TODAY.

Pentagon officials acknowledged the mistake Monday after questions about the data were raised by USA TODAY.

“The term quadrupled will be removed from the justification because it is simply incorrect,” said Dave Patterson, deputy undersecretary of Defense. [photopress:Simo_Hayha.jpg,thumb,alignright]

In 2006, there were 386 sniper attacks on coalition forces, according to data from the Multi-National Force-Iraq headquarters in Iraq. Through Oct. 26 of this year, there were 269 sniper attacks, the figures show.

The Pentagon does not release the number of troops killed by snipers. Improvised explosive devices have killed about 1,600 U.S. troops, more than half of all combat deaths since the war began in 2003. Continue reading →

DARPA attempts to synthesize canine nose

[singlepic=167,320,240,,left] Sharon Weinberger reports at Danger Room that DARPA is attempting to synthesize or simulate the canine nose. We understand that it certain circumstances call for miniaturization – concealment, portability and risk limitation all make dog-and-handler teams, plus their needed transportation and support, relatively unwieldy. We’re reminded of General Patton’s admonition that “A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later.” We can have new human/canine teams ready to go in a matter of months, depending on the particular specialty (debris search, explosives search, general guard work). In addition to time spent raising and selecting canine candidates.

In the long run – a successful simulation of canine olfactory capability – would do very well at airports, and other security bottlenecks. But let’s not plan around having this capability any time soon. Let’s plan around technologies in hand. As someone who has to cop to liking Star Trek quite a lot, I still had problems every time the Enterprise

(or Voyager, etc.) crew made a big scientific or engineering breakthrough on the fly – in hours or minutes, without experimentation, getting it right the first time. Technology takes false turns, rethinking, and redesign.

Link to the excellent Sharon Weinberger’s piece on DARPA and dog noses at Danger Room. (and thanks to Sharon for giving us an excuse to post the cute dog photo).

Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant Whistleblower Fired: Project On Government Oversight (10/31/2007)

Peach Bottom is a nuclear power installation about 90 miles from Philadelphia, less than 100 miles from Washington, D.C., and less than 200 miles from New York City:

[singlepic=163,320,240,,left] “Parts of York County are within the ten mile Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) of two nuclear power plants-Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station and Three Mile Island (TMI) Nuclear Power Plant. ” ((From the York County Emergency Preparedness website. )) That’s a lot of risk for one community; let’s hope their evacuation planning and preparedness are in good shape. (Link to Acrobat/.pdf file on York County website).

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) reported, on October 31: (updates to follow):

Washington, DC – Kerry Beal, a whistleblower who exposed overworked and exhausted guards at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant, was notified this week by owner Exelon Nuclear that he “did not meet the selection criteria” for continuing to work at the plant.

Beal filmed guards sleeping at the plant only after his efforts to notify Wackenhut (Exelon’s Peach Bottom security contractor) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the regular occurrence of sleeping guards were met with inaction. Wackenhut Corporation lost its contract to provide security to the Peach Bottom nuclear plant because of the resulting publicity surrounding the sleeping guards.

“This is the stupidest thing they could have done. Now, they’ll ensure no one else will be brave enough to come forward and try to fix problems” said Danielle Brian, Executive Director, Project On Government Oversight.
Mr. Beal’s whistle-blowing prompted USA Today to editorialize: “The Peach Bottom case is a stark example of what has to go right in the crucial effort to keep nuclear plants safe. In this case, the plant owner, the security company and the NRC all failed. It shouldn’t take a hidden camera to make them do their jobs.”

An internal Wackenhut email released by POGO today shows that up until a few weeks ago, guards were still being forced to work more than 60 hours per week. The October 16, 2007 email from Wackenhut manager David Draghi notes: “I have revised the shift schedule…If you can afford to start giving your team members a break from 60 hours please do so.”

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission Order from 2003 sought to reign in the problem of overworked guards. But industry efforts to weaken the Order prevailed, resulting in the current situation where security officers can work up to 72 hours per week. POGO issued a letter to NRC Chairman Klein today pointing out that pending efforts at the NRC to strengthen the rules are being dragged out for another two years. Continue reading →

Jews, Moslems, and Humanity: A Christmas Story.

dervis_korkut11

This is the story of how Dervish Korkut, and his wife, Servet, Muslims of Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, saved the life of Mira Papo Solomanova, a young Jewish woman during World War II, how Mr. Korkut, the curator of the Sarajevo Museum, also saved the Sarajevo Haggada (click here), from the Nazis, and how Mira then saved Dervis and Servet’s daughter, Lamija and her family from the Serbs. Click here for the details in the New Yorker, here, here and here for other documentation on the Internet.

In 1942, Naza Commander Yohan Fortner arrived at the Bosnian National Museum in Sarajevo demanding the Sarajevo Hagadda. Dervish Korkut, Muslim, librarian, intellectual anti-fascist, and anti-communist, hid the book. He told Fortner that the book had already been taken by the Nazis. One way of looking at this is that Mr. Korkut risked his life to save a book. However, I would suggest that he devoted his life to saving books, ideas, culture, and humanity.

In April, 1942, Dervish protected a young Jewish woman, Mira Papo Solomanova, by bringing her home and passing her off as “Amira,” a Muslim servant, a cousin of his young wife, Servet, to help care for their infant son, Munib. They risked their lives to save another person.

In 1994, in a letter to the Holocaust Memorial at Yad Vashem, Israel, Mira documented how Dervish and Servet saved her life.

Dervish passed away in 1969. (While we originally reported that Servet had passed away in 1998 we now know that) Servet lives in Sarajevo, and we hope, in good health. In 1999 their daughter Lamija evacuated her children in advance of the collapse of Kosovo. Lamija and her husband were sent by the Serbs to a refugee camp. Lamija went to the Jewish community in Kosovo with a photocopy of Mira’s testimony. Four days later she and her husband were flown to Tel Aviv and reunited with their children, and Mira’s Israeli son, Davor Bakovic.

If this story is filmed, Harrison Ford should play Dervish, to Angleina Jolie’s Mira, and Uma Thuman’s Servet. Robert DiNiro should direct and play both Munib Korkut, and Davor Balkovic.

Regardless of whether or not this story makes it to the silver screen, the world needs more Dervish Korkuts, more Servet Korkuts, more Mira Papo Salomanovas, and fewer Yohan Fortners.

Celeste Monforton calculates odds on OSHA leaving lumps of coal, candy – or nothing in workers' stockings @ The Pump Handle

Celeste Monforton reminds us that at year’s end, the Secretary of Labor is required to make public certain filings:

It’s that time of year—time for the Secretary of Labor to issue her semi-annual regulatory agenda. Look for its publication in the Federal Register around the second week of December.I’ll be curious to see OSHA’s timetable for action on diacetyl, the butter-flavoring agent associated with severe lung disease in exposed workers.

* Will OSHA list diacetyl on its reg agenda?
* Will it provide a target date for publishing a proposed rule?

I’ll also be eager to see OSHA’s latest schedule for proposed rules to address:

* Hearing conservation for construction workers (who are not included in OSHA’s 1983 noise-control rule)

o Current target date: Undetermined. Will OSHA provide a date for proposing a rule?
* Hazards related to cranes and derricks (responsible for 80 U.S. worker deaths annually)

o Target date was October 2007. OSHA’s federal advisory committee on construction safety and health (ACCSH) recommended in October 2006 that the draft rule be published in order to keep the regulatory process moving forward. What date will OSHA offer for publishing the proposal?

* Diseases related to exposure to respirable crystalline silica
o Target date to complete peer review of risk assessment: September 2007. Asst. Secretary Foulke missed that deadline; will he give us a new one for early 2008?
o The SBREFA report* was completed in December 2003. Will the anti-regulatory, anti-worker forces clamour for a new SBREFA panel since the previous one was completed more than 4 years ago?
* Diseases related to exposure to beryllium
o Target date to complete SBREFA report* was September 2007. The Small Business Administration and OSHA have not yet even convened the required SBREFA panel. I’m predicting that OSHA’s will offer a new target date of April 2008 to complete the SBREFA report. (I further predict that OSHA won’t meet whatever target date they publish in the forthcoming reg agenda for the Beryllium SBREFA report.)

I’ll also be curious to see if OSHA revises its target dates for finalizing safety standards on:

* Vertical tandem lifts used in longshoring and at marine terminals
o Target date for publishing a final rule: December 2007. Will Mr. Foulke get this rule out by June 2008–by the 3 year anniversary of the close of the rulemaking record?
* Hazards related to electric power transmission and generation in post-construction settings (responsible for about 50 U.S. worker deaths per year)
o Target date for final rule: January 2008. Let’s hope that OSHA retains this January 2008 deadline and rings in the New Year by issuing this rule to protect workers from electrocutions. Every month of delay translates to four preventable worker deaths.

At times, I roll my eyes at OSHA’s regulatory agenda and I call it a joke. The target dates seem meaningless because OSHA never meets the deadlines it sets for itself. But, I must remind myself that these schedules aren’t the same as dates for cleaning out a sock drawer or rearranging the jars on the spice rack.

OSHA’s regulatory agenda (and MSHA’s too) address significant hazards that cause disabling injuries, illnesses and deaths among tens of thousands of U.S. workers. The exercise of preparing the agenda must be more than just changing the dates for new supposed deadlines. Every delay in months (and then usually years) can be calculated into actual cases of injuries, diseases and deaths that could have been prevented. The semi-annual revisions to OSHA’s and MSHA’s regulatory agendas demonstrate an Administration’s determination and commitment to the health and safety of U.S. workers. Target dates missed and then delayed reflect poorly on an Administration’s respect for workers’ health and lives.

OSHA’s Reg Agenda Coming Soon « The Pump Handle

Everson hiring/firing and the future of the American Red Cross

NB: to follow this story with some nuance, readers are advised to read Trent Stamp’s Take. TST is the blog of Trent Stamp (scroll down for bio), the founder of Charity Navigator. Many of comments are thoughtful and illuminating – suggesting that Stamp’s created a small community with shared concerns about nonprofit governance.

Link to Stamp’s most recent post – “Red Cross Debacle: Day Two.”

Stephanie Strom has been covering the ARC and other nonprofits for the Times for a couple of years. This is from her Thursday piece (November 29th), Firing Stirs New Debate Over Red Cross:

Nonprofit experts said that the Red Cross needed to move quickly to fill its top job, but that its culture, which is averse to change, coupled with the missteps of over more than a decade, would make it a difficult job to fill.

“You need someone like Colin Powell to step in,” said Paul C. Light, a professor of public service at New York University who does an annual survey of confidence in charities. “But there aren’t that many national figures like that who’ll take the job, and within that pool, there aren’t any who know anything about disaster relief, let alone blood. And who would take this job under these circumstances, anyway?”

I’m not certain what Professor Light means by “like Colin Powell” – particularly because Secretary Powell’s conduct prior to the invasion of Iraq has given many of his admirers pause.

We’d like to suggest six candidates to lead the Red Cross, and one structural change.

Candidates for the top post

Four people, any of whom would be outstanding in the top post:

Dr. Irwin Redlener, pediatrician, author of Americans At Risk, founder, with Paul Simon (not the senator) of the Children’s Health Fund, and head of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University (The Children’s Health Fund has four stars from Charity Navigator
); (A cursory review of the ARC’s history suggests that Dr. Redlener might be the first Jewish person to head the Red Cross);
Craig Fugate head of emergency services for the State of Florida (post about Fugate background coming later in the day);
William Bratton, currently the Chief of Police in Los Angeles; he’s also been head of the NYC Transit Police, Boston’s transit police equivalent, and Police Commissioner for the City of New York. Some may remember that he was forced out – despite outstanding successes – by then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Bratton has a history of doing impressive things without telling reporters about them: patrolling subways by himself and in uniform in the middle of the night, and he has a history of rescuing dogs and volunteering in animal shelters. This is in contrast to, for instance, a recent Cabinet member who made regular trips to Walter Reed to visit wounded soldiers – but made sure lots and lots of reporters knew about it.
Paul Maniscalco, former Deputy Chief of New York City’s Emergency Medical Service, co-author of “Understanding Terrorism and Managing the Consequences,” and currently on the faculty at George Washington University.

Disclosure: I’ve done unpaid consulting for Dr. Redlener, and hope I don’t unduly flatter myself by claiming him as a friend; I’ve corresponded with Craig Fugate, and pestered him with research questions, but we’ve never met; Bratton and I have several friends in common, and we’ve met – the first time walking our respective dogs in Central Park. We talked for an hour and it wasn’t until the next day that I knew who I’d met. Paul Maniscalco’s wife and I were colleagues at an investigative firm, and became friends.

Appoint an Inspector General – either in addition to, or in place of, the Ombudsman

ARC clearly has integrity and ethics issues – nationally and in regional and local branches. A strong Inspector General System – with authority over the national organization and the affiliates – would go a long way towards restoring trust.

Two oustanding candidates for ARC’s first Inspector General

Clark Kent Irvin – former IG for the Department of Homeland Security and before that the IG of the United States Department of State. And the author of Open Target: Where America Is Vulnerable to Attac,an account of his work – and frustrations – as Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security.

Bunnatine (“Bunny”) Greenhouse – the chief contracting officer for the Army Corps of Engineers – with a stellar record – until she complained about Halliburton’s no-bid contracts – and lost her job.

Using Mr. Ervin or Ms. Greenhouse as an Inspector General (or auditor, etc.) would immediately send a message that the ARC is serious about integrity and transparency – by hiring someone who puts integrity ahead of career.

"How to Survive (Almost) Anything" – Laurence Gonzalez

Laurence Gonzalez, the author of the new book Deep Survival , has a piece in the on-line edition of National Geographic Adventure. From “How to Survive (Almost) Anything,”

Accidents of all types used to be analyzed in terms of their physical or mechanical causes. When the cause was clearly human error, they were often written off as the result of foolishness or lack of training. But among those who investigate accidents, there is an increasing awareness that this type of analysis does not fully explain why otherwise rational people do what may seem irrational.

For example, in May 1989, Lynn Hill, the winner of more than 30 international rock-climbing titles, was preparing to climb what she called a “relatively easy” route in Buoux, France. She threaded her rope through her harness, but then, instead of tying her knot, she stopped to put on her shoes. While she was tying them, she talked with another climber, then returned to climb the rock face. “The thought occurred to me that there was something I needed to do before climbing,” she later recalled, but, “I dismissed this thought.” She climbed the wall, and when she leaned back to rappel to the ground, she fell 72 feet (22 meters), her life narrowly saved by tree branches. In her case, more training would not have helped. In fact, experience contributed to her accident. She had created a very efficient model for tying her rope to her harness. She could do it without thinking. So the act of tying her shoes may have been similar enough to tying her rope that it allowed her to reach the unconscious conclusion that her rope was tied, even while leaving a slight residue of doubt.

Continue reading →

Popular Logistics

Systems thinking on the biohumanosphere.