Embodied carbon has been traditionally deemed optional in carbon emissions analyses for buildings because it was estimated to be of small magnitude compared with operational carbon (WRI, Build Carbon Neutral). This presentation will look at likely future scenarios and show how, in the pursuit of zero-carbon buildings by ever-reducing operational emissions, embodied carbon is likely to become one of the key metrics to address in whole-life building sustainability. Furthermore, in the anticipation of cap-and-trade schemes, a price on carbon will affect all parties in the building industry.

Click here to watch or download the recorded webinar (via design intelligence).

w radomiu…..

…wbrew pozorom, mają tam spoko sklepy z materiałami budowlanymi.

sczaił mnie skurkowany. bajerował panią kioskarkę

szkoda że nie miałem procy…

sympatyczna gromadka

na rynku uroczystości się odbywały

myśmy z martą podziwiali a reszta to niewiem, chyba na szoping poszła.

jałć!

no niewiem

patrzył się na mnie jakbym mu rower zakosił

a to już kielce. kupowałem właśnie jakieś rurki żeby mi woda w domu cyrkulowała i się aż późno zrobiło

kielce

Lenuszka robi perpetuum mobile. już kończy zresztą 

w karakowie.  Kielu aka Pedro Alvarez pożyczył odemnie LOMO i focił

i focił

i focił i nieźle mu to wyszło

Perdo cyknął to zdjęcie a ja wtym czasie cyknąłem to zdjęcie jemu

tu zdjęcie nie udane aaale polansowac się można, co nie?

czekaliśmy na nadejście tego pana dość długo i z emocjami jak się zbliżał.

Kielu aka Pedro, widać,  uwielbia kozaczki, a ja natomiast zapiekanki i rajstopy.

Korzystając z okazji pozdrawiam panią magazynierkę z centrostalu co mi dziś suwnicą o udźwigu 3,2t porzewoziła całe 28 kg kątowników i pana co te kątowniki później ciął też.

hej! do lasu mie się zachciało…

jeleń z krzyżem na głowie

jeleń z kiczem w ręce

ostry performens albo instalacja jakaś wiejska:) ale serio, robiło wrażenie. też sobie może takie na działce postawię, co nie?

taką drogą przebyłem około 10 km. fajne uczucie. przez cały czas wzrastał we mnie lęk, że na końcu lasu jest szlaban i będę się musiał wracać. raz mnie takie coś spotkało i tym razem chyba bym siarczyście sklął, bo niespodziewałem się, że będzie nie tak łatwo. przez leśną rzeczkę się przejeżdżało, przez dziury jakieś i charpęście i to nie jakimś dżipem, tylko jak widać fordem fokusem (chrystepanie!).  spotkałem też niespodziewanie jakichś “leśniczych”. pytali mnie jak daleko jeszcze. a ja mówie że do zagnańska i że możemy sprawdzić w gps’ie. na to jeden z nich się zaśmiał: “eeh, tera to panie namierzanie, komórki, satelity… o! właśnie żona mie dzwoni, namierza mie satelita jedna cholera… hue hue hue”. śmiałem się i wsumie walnąłbym z nimi hoka, ale przecież prowadziłem.

w zagnańsku droga już lepsza

a w kielcach spotkałem brulionmana i ulkę i coniecośmy zeszli.

brulion patrzy i niewiem, wierzy czy niewierzy?

z innej bajki jakiś przepad

koty bez ogonów jakieś szpetne z fundamenta wyskakiwały.

korzystając z okazji pozdrawiam małomównych rzeźbiarzy. co tak sobie tylko skubią te drewienka i myślą.

Beginning November 5, 2009, USCIS began accepting H-1B petitions without a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) as long proof of LCA filing is submitted showing that the LCA has been pending for at least 7 calendar days. This accommodation is offered by USCIS for a period of 120 days ending March 4, 2010. The acceptable evidence to show that the LCA is pending is a copy of the email giving notice of the receipt of LCA by Dept. of Labor. I wish USCIS extends this “generous accommodation” indefinitely to help H-1B transfers, last-minute extensions, and such similar unexpected filings.

To meet customers’ growing demand for eco-friendly products Cambridge Industrial Design has started to use new software to examine the sustainability / environmental impact of our designs.   Sustainability Xpress provides a life cycle assessment on parts, exploring production processes and material alternatives.  A report can be produced illustrating the possible impacts (good or bad) over the parts lifetime.

Cambridge Industrial Design will be looking to integrate sustainable product design in all our projects over the coming months.

On November 11, 2009, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) announced that it will  temporarily accept H-1B petitions filed without certified Labor Condition Applications.  Previously, H-1B petitions required Labor Condition Applications (a/k/a “LCAs”) to be certified by the Department of Labor prior to submission.  LCAs require that the company agree to comply with the requirements of the H-1B visa program, and confirm that the company is paying at least the “prevailing wage” for the position.  These requirements ensure that foreign nationals are paid at least what the average U.S. worker is paid for the same type of work, and that U.S. wages are not depressed by bringing in foreign workers.

This new USCIS policy is a result of the recent changes by the Department of Labor in its system for certifying LCAs.  Many immigration attorneys have found the new process to be time consuming, frustrating, and prone to erroneous rejections.  For example, LCAs have been rejected because the Department of Labor states that the company’s federal Employer Identification Number (“EIN”) is false.  The company must then submit proof that the number is valid, such as providing the letter from the Internal Revenue Service issuing that number to the company.  After a week or more, the Department of Labor will acknowledge that the company did provide the correct EIN number in the filing.  However, the Labor Department then requires the company to resubmit a new LCA, taking yet still more time before the application can (finally) be certified.  The problems with this new certification system have caused countless delays in bringing in workers with essential skills, and have cost U.S. companies money and clients.

This new policy by the USCIS promises to help speed up the filing of H-1B visa petitions, and prevent needless and frustrating waits for LCA certification.  We appreciate that the USCIS recognizes the problem, and have taken steps to solve it.  Now when will the Department of Labor actually fix the problem with their certification system?  At the very least, the DOL should get a database with correct company names and Employer Identification Numbers from the IRS to prevent some of these issues.

Karol Brown
Immigration Attorney

Photographed by plastic nico

uncanny xmen #101

– License

Recently a lot of people woke up and realized that all of this bottled water we have increasingly craved over the last decade is bad for the environment.  But what about water coolers and water delivery services?  I had an assignment related to water coolers this week and it really got me thinking about their effect on our environment.

Water coolers are used in offices and homes because they provide “clean water” from a “known” source, they are easy to set up or move, and they can be returned after use.  There are bottle-less coolers out there, but these are less common because they must be hooked into a building’s water line.

So we have  lot of water coolers out there, and they are made of recyclable materials! Good, but not great.  A life cycle analysis on these water coolers shows that its not the production or end-of-life of the cooler that causes the most harm to the environment.  Its the impacts of using the cooler that are harmful.  The two key factors here are energy consumption and bottle delivery.

In general, water coolers consume energy constantly throughout the day, keeping a cold water resevoir ready to rock at all times.  When a hot water knob is added, a hot plate and hot water resevoir are required, consuming more energy.  The coolers have improved over time, but are still energy hogs.

Most bottled water is harvested at a spring, filtered, bottled, and transported to warehouses throughout the country which act as hubs for delivery trucks that bring the water to customers.  The bottles are large, heavy, and cylindrical (not the most ideal form for delivery).  And so the delivery method uses lots of gas, which is both environmentally terrible and expensive.

So how can I score water cooler sustainability?  I’m not really talking about one particular product here – this is a whole system.  So I’m not going to give it the standard Green REdesign star-score.  I will simply say this: the use of classic water coolers is much, much worse than the many alternatives: use the water fountain, get a point-of-use cooler, or just use the sink.  

Can we re-think this system (or other bottled water systems) as something sustainable?  Or must we just convince people to drink tap water, like these students did: click it.  This one is pretty big, so I’m gonna need a bit more time to research it.  Leave a comment if you have some ideas or good links!

A análise de ciclo de vida (ACV ou LCA na sigla em inglês) é uma das ferramentas mais antigas e robustas da gestão ambiental. Normatizado pela série ISO 14.040, trata-se do mapeamento dos impactos ambientais de um produto desde a extração da matéria-prima à disposição final após o uso.

É uma ferramenta de engenharia ambiental normalmente pouco utilizada, principalmente devido à sua baixa efetividade (altos custos de implantação e baixo valor percebido):

Levantar dados de impactos ambientais dos fornecedores nas intrincadas cadeias de suprimento de hoje não é fácil. A maioria dos dados nem sequer são medidos de forma regular e muitas vezes dependem de outras variáveis.

As aplicações tradicionais da ACV são limitadas à questões ambientais, e focam em um ou poucos indicador por vez. Muitas vezes a análise é criticada por gerar relatórios longos e sem objetividade, que muitas vezes vão parar na gaveta e não afetam a tomada de decisão.

Por último, o escopo e indicadores de cada projeto de ACV são definidos pelos pesquisadores de acordo com as necessidades e demandas correntes. Dessa forma, os resultados podem representar uma realidade inconsistente, ou simplesmente serem incomparáveis.

Com todos esses problemas, a ACV foi deixada de lado por muito tempo até recentemente ser re-apresentada como a melhor forma de se estudar os dados e informações necessárias para uma “economia verde”. Informação é poder e tem valor, com algumas adaptações da metodologia às suas reais necessidades, muitas empresas estão utilizando os princípios da Análise de Ciclo de Vida para trabalhar junto com seus fornecedores e clientes por um mundo melhor. Além do levantamento de informações ambientais, as aplicações da ACV se expandiram para incluir outras questões  ligadas ao desenvolvimento sustentável como a identificação e mensuração de impactos econômico-financeiros e sociais. Utilizada em conjunto com outras ferramentas, a nova geração de ACV tem estado cada vez mais presente nas organizações que lideram em questões “verdes”.

Um dos exemplos mais claros é do varejista Wal Mart, que simplificou sua análise a um questionário de 15 perguntas aos fornecedores. Está longe de ser a informação ideal, mas eles entenderam que “toda longa jornada começa com um primeiro passo”. (Vamos esperar que eles também dêem o segundo, terceiro, quarto…)

Mais informações:

• Simple1
• Sustainability Lifecycle Assessment (em inglês)
• Earthster (em inglês)
• Comunidade de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida
• EIO-LCA (em inglês)

Life-cycle Assessment and beyond

Life Cycle Assessment/Analysis (LCA) is one of the oldest and most comprehensive tools in environmental management. Standardized by ISO 14.040 series, it is a way to map environmental impacts of a product from the extraction of the raw materials used until the final disposal by the end of its use.

Its an environmental engineering tool, not well applied, mainly due its inefficiency (high costs and low perceived value):

To gather data about environmental impacts from suppliers in today’s complex supply chains is not easy. Most data are not even measured regularly, and usually depends on other variables.

Traditional LCA applications are limited to environmental issues, and focus in one or few indicaors at a time. The assessment is usually criticized for generating as a final result long and pointless reports, that end up in the bottom of drawers, not affecting the decision making process.

And last, the scope and indicators of each LCA project are defined by the researchers, accordingly to the needs and demands of their clients. The results may represent an inconsistent reality, or simply be un-standardized.

With all these issues, LCA was left aside for a long time until recently be re-introduced as a better way to study data and information needed for a “green economy”. Information is power and has value, adapting the original method to their needs, many companies are using the Life Cycle Assessment principles to engage suppliers and clients for a better world. Beyond the environmental information, LCA applications expanded to include other issues related to sustainable development such as identifying and measuring economic, financial and social indicators along a product’s life-cycle. Used together with other tools, new generation of LCA is more and more present in organizations leading the way towards a green future.

One of the clearest examples comes from Wal Mart, which simplified its assessment to a 15-questions questionnaire to its suppliers. It is far from perfect, but they understand that “every long journey starts with a first step”. (Lets just hope they take the second and third and fourth….)

Learn more:

• Simple1 (in Portuguese)
  
• Sustainability Lifecycle Assessment
• Earthster
• Comunidade de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (in Portuguese)
• EIO-LCA

By: PKKH

A lot can be achieved in two and a half decades. For an individual, its roughly one-third of the average lifespan. For a nation, its enough time for an entire generation to come through. A nation can be transformed from a marshy swamp into one of the largest economies of the world – as in the case of Singapore.

What did Indian Air Force (IAF) achieve in twenty six years while consuming over $2 billion? the answer to that is Zilch; Zero; Nada; Nothing – except a failed project and a continued embarrassment in the shape ‘Tejas’. Tejas LCA (Light Combat Aircraft, also known as Last Chance Aircraft) has gone many trials and tests and there’s no sign of induction as yet. It has now been announced to enter IAF in 2010.

Pakistan’s own ambitious JF-17 project was launched in partnership with China in 1995. In just eleven years and with just $500 million spent, the JF-17 was flying in Pakistani Airspace on March 23rd 2007 – with the maiden flight having taken place much earlier in 2003.

The Indian Air Force on the other hand has with significant assistance from France, Israel, and the United States worked on the Tejas (meaning Radiant) LCA project for over two decades and the aircraft is no closer to induction. Infact it gets worse; the unit cost of one JF-17 is $15 million dollars, while a Tejas will cost up to $31 million – which is closer to the far advanced Russian Su-30’s starting cost ($33 million). India would be well advised to buy more of the Russian aircraft instead of wasting billions of dollars in trying to produce its own ‘indigenous’ fighter plane.

In 1983, IAF launched a Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program to replace its flying coffins, the MiG-21’s. Earlier in 1981, a study was conducted by IAF, the ‘Long Term Re-Equipment Plan’, to make plans for a future aircraft that would not only replace MiG-21’s but also be cheaper option to foreign imported planes. The Indian government created an entire agency to manage the LCA Tejas program. Tejas was to be developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), but Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) was the managing agency of the program.

To develop Tejas, India sought help from Israel and France. The IAF’s Air Staff Requirement for the LCA would not be finalized until October 1985. So, for the first four years, Indian authorities failed to even come up with personnel list who would work on the project. Initially Indian authorities believed they would be able to do a test flight in 1990, and have Tejas induction ceremony in 1995. You would think that 12 years would be enough to produce a fighter plane – however thanks to India’s utter incompetence, Tejas is still waiting to be inducted into IAF as of October 2009.

In 1990 HAL started work on the technology demonstrators but because of the financial crunch in India, full-scale funding was not authorized until April 1993. First technology demonstrator, TD-1, was rolled out in Nov 1995 and was followed by demonstrator 2 in 1998, but they were kept grounded for several years due to structural concerns and trouble with the development of the flight control system. (http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/fighter/lca/).

The Indian engineers wanted to develop a fly-by-wire system of its own. This is no easy task and requires extensive knowledge of flight control laws and the expensive writing of a considerable amount of software code for the flight control computers, as well as its integration with the avionics and other electronic systems. India tried but failed. With no other option left, India sought help from British Aerospace and Lock Heed Martin for its ‘indigenous’ project, who in turn obliged in 1993.

Until 1998 when India, in an attempt to flex its muscles conducted meaningless nuclear tests which have recently been revealed to have been complete failures, Lockheed Martin was helping India’s failing Tejas project by providing a series of in-flight simulation tests of the integrated flight control software which were conducted on F-16 VISTA until July 1998.

For the Multi-Mode Radar (MMR) of Tejas, India turned to Ericsson, and Ferranti Defense Systems, who make such radars. The Indian engineers disgracefully decided to copy those radars and call it indigenous production. As of 2002, the development of MMR was experiencing major delays and costs escalation. It took India four years just to figure out the problem with the radar. Test results in May 2006 proved that the there was a compatibility issue between radar and the advanced signal processor module. The Indians would be well advised to learn from China – the undisputed champions of reverse engineering – before its own botched and expensive attempts.

India also signed a deal with Rafael of Israel to supply Laser pods, and Sextant of France and Elbit of Israel to supply multi-function displays. Despite all these failures, the Indian authorities still believed they produce the engine on their own. Initially it was decided to equip Tejas with the General Electric F404-GE-F2J3 engine. In 1986, a parallel program was developed to produce an indigenous engine. It was named, Kaveri, but India overconfidence while trying to reverse engineer only managed to ensure the production was slowed because of technical difficulties – followed by the 2004 test of the engine that was a complete failure.

In the end India had to turn to French aircraft company Snecma for technical assistance. The height of India’s false ego and attempts at saving face is evident from them naming the French engine that will be used in Tejas, as Kaveri. On the other hand, the GE engine is still being procured for use in Tejas planes that are going to be produced for induction into IAF. The engine trouble didn’t end there, in 2008 it was announced that Kaveri, is not ready for Tejas, and India announced, in May 2009, a tender for $750 million for more powerful GE engine or Eurojet EJ200 engine. (http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1802/18020420.htm)

As a result of all this rambling the unit cost of Tejas has jumped from $21 million to $30 million. The first batch of Tejas is scheduled to be inducted in IAF in 2010, and will be combat ready in 2012 – or so they say. By 2012, PAF will have at least 60 JF-17’s combat ready fully equipped and prepped up.

The JF-17 Thunder – a joint project between Pakistan and China – was riginally designed to be a small and capable lightweight fighter powered by a single engine to reduce costs – the JF-17 was supposed to be a simple and inexpensive solution for replacing large fleets of obsolete types in the air forces of developing countries. The JF-17 evolved into a more advanced fighter during the later stages of development with revised terms of reference by the Pakistan Air Force and the incorporation of more modern features and technologies.

Being simultaneously manufactured in Pakistan and China, ten JF-17’s have already been inducted in PAF. The Pakistan Air Force plans to make the first JF-17 squadron officially operational by the end of 2009.

Apart from smaller Air Forces, Egyptian and Iranian Air forces have confirmed interest in purchasing these aircraft from Pakistan.
The JF-17 Thunder project has been completed in a record period of four years. China National Aviation Corp officially signed the development contract for the FC-1 airplane in 1999. The project initially suffered a setback due to imposition of sanctions in 1999, which hindered acquisition of avionics and weaponry for the aircraft. The avionics had to be delinked from airframe development in 2001. China National Aviation Corp completes the detailed preliminary design in 2001 and in 2002 the company completed the detailed design structure and the system charts.

On 25 August 2003 the “owlet dragon” FC-1 airplane carried on the initial flight. It flew 17 minutes before it returned to the airport.
The aircraft was intended to be a match for the Indian Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), which is (despite all setbacks) still expected to form the backbone of the Indian Air Force in future. There are, however, some features like advanced and futuristic avionics and cost effectiveness that give the JF-17 an edge over the LC – apart from the fact that it is actually ready and being inducted in the Pakistan Air Force, compared to its Indian counterpart which may take many years, if it is ever finished. There are rumors within official circles in India that a proposal to purchase the 60 JF-17 aircrafts from Pakistan was actually drafted before being vetoed by Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik after the attacks in Mumbai.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE JF-17 and TEJAS LCA

Click to Enlarge

JF-17 – Specifications

Role: Multi-role combat aircraft.
Manufacturer: Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.
First flight: 25 August 2003.
Introduced: 12 March 2007.
Status: Under serial production and in active service.
Primary user: Pakistan Air Force.
Produced: In Pakistan: January 2008.
Unit cost: US$20 million (estimated).

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 14.0 m
Wingspan: 9.45 m (including 2 wingtip missiles)
Height: 4.77 m
Wing area: 24.4 m²
Empty weight: 6,411 kg
Loaded weight: 9,100 kg (including 2× wing-tip mounted air-to-air missiles)
Max takeoff weight: 12,700 kg
Power plant: 1× Klimov RD-93 turbofan
Dry thrust: 49.4 kN
Thrust with afterburner: 84.4 kN
G-limit: +8.5 g
Internal Fuel Capacity: 2300 kg

Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 1.8
Combat radius: 1,352 km
Ferry range: 3,000 km
Service ceiling: 16,700 m
Thrust/weight: 0.99

Armament

Guns: 1× 23mm internal GSh-23-2 twin-barrel cannon.
Hard points: 7 in total (4× under-wing, 2× wing-tip, 1× under-fuselage) with a capacity of 3,629 kg (8,000 lb) external fuel and ordnance.

Rockets: 57mm/90mm unguided rocket pods.
Missiles: Air-to-air missiles: PL-5E, PL-9C, PL-12 / SD-10.
Air-to-surface missiles: anti-radiation missiles; anti-ship missiles (AM-39 Exocet); cruise missiles (Ra’ad ALCM).

Bombs: Gravity/Unguided bombs: general purpose (Mk-82, Mk-84); anti-runway (Matra Durandal), Precision guided munitions: laser-guided (GBU-10, GBU-12, LT-2); satellite-guided, Cluster bombs: anti-armour (CBU-100/Mk-20 Rockeye).

Others: Up to 3 external fuel drop-tanks (1× under-fuselage 800 liters, 2× under-wing 800/1100 liters each) for extended range/loitering time, Externally mounted avionics pods for EW, ECM, ELINT, FLIR and targeting, BM/KG300G self-protection jamming (ECM) pod, KZ900 electronic reconnaissance (SIGINT) pod, Blue Sky navigation/attack pod, FILAT (Forward-looking Infra-red Laser Attack Targeting) pod.

Avionics: NRIET KLJ-7 multi-mode fire-control radar.

Production: 10 aircraft already inducted. First full batch manufactured in Pakistan to be inducted by end of the year.  30 planes will be manufactured at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex every year.

JF-17 Planned upgrades: all PAF JF-17 jets will be modified to aerial refueling capable; Subsequent upgrades will be made on PAF JF-17 jets approximately every five years.

PAF JF-17 Order: Pakistan Air force will produce total 350 JF-17 jets excluding export.

The Indian Air Force Tejas LCA

Tejas – Specifications

Role: Multi-role fighter.
Manufacturer: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
First flight: 4 January 2001.
Introduction: 2011.
Status: Under development / pre-production.
Primary user: Indian Air force.
Unit cost: US$20 million (estimated).

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 13.20 m
Wingspan: 8.20 m
Height: 4.40 m
Wing area: 38.4 m²
Empty weight: 6,500 kg
Loaded weight: 9,500 kg
Max takeoff weight: 14,500 kg
Power plant: 1× General Electric F404-GE-IN20 turbofan
Dry thrust: 53.9 kN
Thrust with afterburner: 85 kN
G limits: +8.5 g
Internal fuel capacity: 3000 liters

Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 2.0
Range: 3000 km
Service ceiling: 15,950+ m
Thrust/weight: 1.02

Armament
Guns: 1× mounted 23 mm twin-barrel GSh-23 cannon.
Hard points: 8 total: 1× beneath the port-side intake trunk, 6× under-wing, and 1× under-fuselage with a capacity of >4000 kg external fuel and ordnance.

Missiles: air-to-air missiles: Astra BVRAAM, Vympel R-77, Vympel R-73.
Air-to-surface missiles: Kh-59ME TV guided standoff Missile; Kh-59MK Laser guided standoff Missile, Anti-ship missile, Kh-35, Kh-31.
Bombs: KAB-1500L laser guided bombs, FAB-500T dumb bombs, OFAB-250-270 dumb bombs, OFAB-100-120 dumb bombs, RBK-500 cluster bombs.
Others: External fuel capacity: 5×800 liter tanks or 3×1,200 liter tanks, totaling 4,000/3,600 liters.

Avionics: EL/M-2052 AESA radar.

Production: Still in pre-production.

IAF orders: Indian Air force will get total 220 Tejas jets (Expected)

Pubblico oggi due interventi registrati in occasione del SANA di Bologna.

Sono due micro-interviste. La prima è a Fabrizio Zago, che ci spiega il concetto di LCA. La seconda è a Mario Zappaterra, che spiegherà brevemente qualcosa a proposito del nuovo disciplinare europeo di cosmesi ecologica/naturale.

Trovo che il mondo della cosmesi sia davvero in fermento, è un momento storico particolarmente interessante.

Speriamo porti buoni frutti!

            While I was looking up different topics associated with lung cancer, a common hit that kept coming up on the internet was the “Lung Cancer Alliance” or “LCA”. So, I thought this would be a good site to look at and I was right.

            The LCA is “the only non – profit organization dedicated solely to patient support and advocacy for people living with or are at risk for the disease.”

            Their mission is “to lead the movement to reverse decades of stigma and neglect by empowering patients, elevating awareness, and by changing health policies.”

            The LCA offers many different types of programs:

-Patient Empowerment Programs: (just a few for examples)

1) Phone buddy program – a free peer to peer mentoring program that matches survivors                                       and caregivers.

2) Lung Cancer Alliance Times-a quarterly newsletter distributed to patients, caregivers, families, etc.

- National Awareness:

1) No One Deserves Lung Cancer Tour Bus- a mutli – city tour that raises awareness

- Health Policies:

1) Educating state and federal policy leaders

2) Working with more than hundreds of volunteer advocates in more than 20 states.

3) Developing relationships with various organizations dedicated to addressing lung cancer.

            I discovered through looking around on their site that they are associated with the Lungevity Foundation. There are various standard tabs that talk about news and events, donations, facing lung cancer, etc.

            I was looking around on the site and clicked on a link titled, “Lung Cancer in the News”. I found this great article titled, “November is Lung Cancer Month” (which I did not know), by: Sue Eber.

            The article listed some facts that I had already come across and then there were some that I hadn’t seen yet. Here are some of them:

 - “Lung Cancer is second leading cause of death behind heart disease.”

- “Lung cancer in people who haven’t smoked is the sixth largest killer in the U.S.”

- “There is no diagnostic screening for lung cancer.”

- “Despite the high mortality rate, lung cancer receives the least amount of funding for research. Dollars for prostate and breast cancer outstrip funding for lung cancer by as much as 10 to 1.”

1) Lung Cancer Alliance; retrieved 11/1/09 from http://www.lungcanceralliance.org/

2) Sue Eber (2009); “November is Lung Cancer Month”; retrieved from http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/opinion/article_1583bc6a-c5a4-11de-b36f-001cc4c03286.html

Video #1 of 3

Video #2 of 3

Video #3 of 3

            I was looking on YouTube, originally for videos about alternative cancer treatments. I stumbled across a series of videos titled, “Lung Cancer: Through the Eyes of My Children” and all I have to say is, “Wow”.

            As I have stated before, I am the daughter of a lung cancer survivor. My father having lung cancer is by far the hardest thing I have ever gone through, so of course the title grabbed my attention. I couldn’t help but take a peek.

            The videos were shot in 2006.

            Video #1 is an introduction to the story. The cancer patient is named Susan L. DeWitt. She was the mother of three children: Cody who was 19, Gabrielle who was 13, and Gia who was 4.

            Some of the videos overlapped with information but they were all very moving. It was mainly interviews done with the two older children and lots of family photos documenting the journey.

            After a trip to the hospital, the children were told on January 9, 2004 that there mother had lung cancer. They were not able to do surgery because the tumor had spread, so they decided on chemotherapy.

            After treatments, the cancer had gone away but in September 2004, after a trip to the hospital for a headache, it was discovered the Susan had brain cancer.

            She eventually had 4 holes put into her skull to allow laser surgery to kill the cancer cells.

            She also ended up with a hole in her lung from one tumor, along with another tumor that wasn’t going away.

            I found these videos to be so relatable and very heartbreaking. There was definitely not a dry eye as I watched these videos. Quite a few times I had to pause them because it was just so overwhelming to hear these kids speak of what their mom was going through.

            What really struck me was that the two older children, especially Cody, were so concerned about each other and their young sister. Throughout the videos, Cody repeatedly kept saying it was so unfair for his little sisters to have to watch their mom go through it, and he was worried for them that they might have to grow up without a mother.

            Cody said numerous times that it is always said that the hardest thing for a parent to do was bury a child. He said that the hardest thing a child should never have to do was watch their parent die a slow, horrible death.

            I really related to Cody when he talked about his mom being there for his graduation from high school and that he wanted her there for the many important events to come in he and his sisters’ lives.

            I remember crying because I was engaged and I wanted my dad there to walk me down the aisle; to see me graduate and succeed in life; to finally make my parents proud. It was really tough.

            There were many facts in the video that were just so overwhelming:

            – “Lung cancer has a 15% survival rate.”

            – “Lung cancer will kill twice as many women than breast cancer this year.”

            – “There are roughly 3,000 deaths each year from second – hand smoke.”

            – “Health care costs for smoking related diseases add up to $75 billion a year.”

            – Lung cancer causes more deaths than breast, prostate, colon, liver, melanoma, and kidney cancer combined.

            At age 39, Susan Dewitt was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. She says that at that moment she knew that God’s plan for her was to start a foundation which is dedicated to raising the awareness and prevention of lung cancer and to save other families from the types of events that she and her family had been living through.

            With that, Susan Dewitt created “The Susan L. Dewitt Foundation for Extended Breath.”

            Susan L. Dewitt lost her battle on October 3, 2007 at the age of 43.

1) Cheryl Miller; “Susan L. Dewitt Foundation for Extended Breath”; retrieved 11/1/09 from http://www.susanldewitt.org

Sustainable Minds released its web-based life cycle analysis software last week.  It uses over 450 impact factors (based on the Okala Guide) to determine the ecological impact of the user’s product.  Basically, the software gathers information about a product’s materials, distribution methods, end of life treatment, etc, and assesses the ecological impact of each of these.  Then it spits out the overall impact of your design. 

What seems really cool about this tool is its concept generation support – it can quickly generate LCA reports for all of your concepts and compare them for you.  It puts sustainability at the forefront of the design process, where it belongs. 

Best of all, it is relatively cheap when compared with other LCA products on the market; weighing in at $700 per year for one user.  Of course, you can get the Okala Guide yourself and run your own LCA if you’ve got the time.

Check out Core77 for some more info on this release, and check back later for some updates on this program and the Okala Guide.

There is a broad consensus in the world on the necessity for a paradigm shift to a sustainable use of world recourses, consumption and production. The main debate is now on reducing Co2 emissions to prevent global warming. An equally important issue should be to fuel the beginning of a new industrial revolution, where greening of industry with cleaner production, sustainable consumption, social considerations and a new economy not based on infinite growth is the goal. As it was stated at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002: “Fundamental changes in consumption and production patterns are needed. More systematic management of product and material life cycle, i.e. life-cycle management (LCM), can accelerate the shift towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production”.

—

Humans have to a large extent separated themselves from nature, making nature a stranger. This is a crude misconception, because we are all part of nature, and completely dependent on it. In nature there is no waste, everything has its place in the process of the life cycle. This is natures own method of sustainability. It is an example to be followed by the human race, to close the gap that has been created over the last centuries between nature and humans.

—

Life cycle thinking has become a key focus in environmental policy making. Over the last decades there has been raised awareness of these issues and governments have created laws and policies to regulate the use of hazardous toxins and chemicals in industry. In further work of the greening of industry there will be a need for tools to measure the environmental impact of product processes, and highlight the areas that need to be improved. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method is being used for this purpose today, and there has been development of software which makes the process more effective and usable. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a methodology that has been developed to consider the overall environmental impacts of products systematically through their life cycle, from cradle to grave, or preferably from cradle to cradle.

—

Have a look at The Story of Stuff video, it´s a simplistic entertaining description of the system failure of our time.

So do ears, nose, mouth, hands, arms, toes, stomach, liver, elbows … and every other organ you can name or cannot name.

Pero no del Barça, ni del Madrid, ni de la cantidad de chorradas con las que el Marca, el Mundo Deportivo y demás medios de comunicación consiguen audiencia y hacen negocio con esta nueva forma de religión de masas.

Quiero hablar de las ganas que tengo de volver a jugar al fútbol. Sé que hay mucha gente que no entenderá esto, los que me comentan “si es que el deporte es muy malo” cuando les cuento de mi lesión y operación de ligamento cruzado anterior. Ellos no lo entienden porque no les apasiona jugar al fútbol, es como si le hablaras de la tortilla de patatas a un siberiano. Se trata de pasión y eso no se explica, o se tiene o no se tiene.

Estoy en mi última etapa de rehabilitación, ya practico otros deportes, así que pronto llegará el momento de volver a la cancha. Y sólo de pensar en ese momento se me ponen los pelos como escarpias. Luego será una decepción después de haber jugado, porque ni habré recuperado del todo la forma ni, las cosas como son, tiene uno edad para muchas florituras. Pero que me quiten lo bailao, habré jugado, habré luchado como un jabato y como siempre, estaré jodido si he perdido.

Eso es el fútbol. Incluso las estrellas más galácticas, Messi o Ronaldo, están jodidos de verdad cuando no pueden jugar o cuando les cambian antes del final. Porque sienten esa pasión, porque disfrutan de una forma irracional, porque les gusta como nada en el mundo. Y además viven de ello. Y bastante bien. Pero eso es un extra, inalcanzable para la mayoría de los mortales. Lo que está al alcance de todos es poder sentir esa pasión, ver cómo un balón se aproxima hacia ti y tienes la portería enfrente y le das con toda el alma y… bueno, dejemos un final abierto.

Mi hijo Iker, 5 años, cuando le preguntan cómo se llama, responde “Me llamo Iker y no soy del Madrid”. Lo hace para evitar el clásico comentario que debe estar cansado de escuchar “Ah, como Iker Casillas…”. Es bajito como Messi, hispano-argentino como Messi, aunque nunca llegará a jugar la mitad de bien que Messi (ojalá me equivoque). Pero el asunto es que le gusta jugar al fútbol, esa pasión de la que os estoy hablando ya ha empezado a crecer en él, y cada dos días me pregunta “¿Ya puedes jugar al fútbol papá? ¿jugamos?”

Uf, acaba de perder el Barça con los rusos… Pero de esto no quería hablar hoy, de la otra pasión futbolística, los colores, la hinchada, la afición… de eso hablamos otro día, ¿vale?

różne cuda mi się udawało sfotografować. tym razem prawdopodobnie sfotografowałem jedną z dwóch rzeczy tj. albo coś mi właśnie przychodzi do głowy, albo właśnie w tym momencie mi to coś mi z niej  wylatuje 

w więcej więcej

bardzo ładny kościół gdzieś pod rzeszowem

trampki mam

bardzo ładny budynek z dwoma porządnymi oknami, zasilany w energię elektryczną.

dziwne ale bardzo ładne

bardzo ładnie Pan Rysiu to robił.

bardzo ładny plener ale też bardzo się spóźniłem na niego

odpadł znak, to bardzo źle.

bardzo kwiatki

tu niewiem co bardziej czy te jabłka czy polonaise

tu naprawdę bardzo mi się podobało.

bartek bardzo się starał i ja też chciałem żeby wyszło że się boję ale bardzo słabo to wyszło

nic bardzo

mówię: barański weź uważaj bo się skaleczysz! skaleczył sie bardzo później

bardzo szczęśliwi

brat jacek mój bardzo mnie ładnie nałożył na panią jakąś.

nie bardzo

jak upadałem to bardzo mocno aparat uderzył mnie w ucho.

i to jeszcze bardzo długo przygotowywane

taaak bardzo

korzystając z okazji pozdrawiam tych policjantów co jechali za mną i mieli mnie złapać ale chyba się jednemu siku zachciało bardzo i zatrzymali się w polu a ja pojechałem dalej.

Taken from the Lomo site:

Taken by libellule with a Lomo LC-A in Zurich, Switzerland. These tags describe this photo: forest, woods, light and nature. This photo can also be found in the album Nature

 A serious photography shot for all those non Lomo lovers! A beautiful pic by Libellule showing gorgeous light and atmosphere. It looks as if it would have been a magical moment for you  anyway – but thanks for capturing it and sharing!

More great shots available here : http://www.lomography.com/homes/libellule

The AWG-LCA’s chair Michael Zammit Cutajar feels good, got some sleep.

Discussions at the AWG-LCA area have started, they realise – finally – that time is short. There’s a problem at AWG-KP (EU and the African Union), but at AWG-LCA things are better. In the area of mitigation contact group there are no subgroups, everything is happening under one big group. Would be good to get all LCA’s work into one contact group for Copenhagen, to bring everything together. The specific figures for finance and mitigation are still being debated. Hopefully the outcome of Copenhagen will be legally binding. It’s also important that the outcome conveys a clear political message to the world. Decision should give rise to an immediate action, not depending on what decisions might follow or be added later. All that should translate into a legally binding, ratifiable treaty. But because there’s no consensus on that, Michael Cutajar doesn’t have a personal confidence that there will be no a legally binding treaty ready by the December 18th. But hopefully it will create conditions for a creation of such treaty shortly after COP15.

Questions & answers:

Q: Can the different views converge under the Convention, as they are supposed under the Bali Action Plan?
A: There’s different understanding of the UNFCCC. The convention is a framework. It’s been filled with content for the past 15 years. It’s a construction, it’s guided by certain principles and provisions. The main contempt is what is common and what is differentiated responsibility?

Q: Yvo de Boer mentioned that the heads of states might give the negotiators stronger mandates/instructions for the negotiations. Have this trickled down to the working process under the AWG-LCA?
A: There’s a shift in mood, towards greater flexibility. That’s why I’m smiling today and not looking gloomy. Can’t say more than that at the moment. The “pressure-cooker” of Copenhagen is starting to bubble. Copenhagen is an important moment. There’s a lot to be harvested by December 18th, which might not be available later.

Q: Can the reason for smiling be that the pressure was taken away from the “pressure-cooker” by assuming that COP15 won’t succeed and won’t deliver the result mandated by the Bali Action Plan? Can we more sharply separate a legally binding treaty in Copenhagen from the “further collaboration after Copenhagen”?
A: There’s been a lot of misleading reporting and opinions about what is expected from Copenhagen. It’s not necessarily “post-Kyoto”. There’s a lot of “loose language” of that sort. Some people interpret the language as a legally binding treaty, some as something else. What is important to me is that there’s a consensus that a strong decision is needed, and that there’s no time left to take it later. The political content of that decision is very important too. It’s similar to the link of action taken by the Danish Prime-Minister that he voiced recently. The EU has been talking for ages about “a comprehensive agreement”. We can have a comprehensive, ambitious, legally binding treaty in Copenhagen – or later…

Q (awesome Laura asks): what is a possibility for taking more time to complete the negotiations to reach the agreement?
A: there’s a possibility that COP15 might extend AWG-LCA’s mandate to negotiate, but it won’t be politically wise. Because then people will say: “Ahh, you failed!..” The pressure is on, so… Thank you for this question and for wearing this awesome T-Shirt. How old will you be in 2050? (after having received the answer form Laura) I will turn 69 next week.

Q: If there’s a decision in Copenhagen to encompass everything that is agreed… can’t understand the rest of the question
A: In general terms, I’ve encouraged all the coaches and facilitators to get all the white papers boiled down by the end of this week. By the end of this week we won’t have a coherent and structured document, but there will be a much more coherent compilation of non-papers and white papers that will help to create a draft of the negotiating text. I hope there will be much shorter text by the end of this meeting and that the remaining options on the table will be more clear in Copenhagen.

Q: It’s important that people stop saying that the Kyoto Protocol will die or be replaced in Copenhagen. If there’s a political will, we can draft a legally binding text overnight. So it’s remarkable to hear that there might be “no legally binding treaty” in Copenhagen. How do you see how we can get to the legally binding treaty after Copenhagen? Because there won’t be the same political pressure on the negotiators after Copenhagen.
A: there are two sides to it. I’m counting on the political pressure to seal the deal in Copenhagen. Whether this deal will be legally binding is a secondary issue for me. Reaching consensus is what matters the most.

Q: would you offer some comments on the current negotiations on technology transfer?
A: it’s a very important element of the outcome of Copenhagen. There’s a lot of potential to improve the current performance. The current performance is not impressive at all. There should be more emphasis on cooperative technology and shared technology and on diffusing technology in a more meaningful way. I propose a combination of public and private expertise, just like in the Montréal Protocol.

Q: it’s important to keep the pressure and to highlight that is there’s a failure of Copenhagen, it’s a political failure. What if there’s no legally binding treaty in Copenhagen? How far the civil society’s reaction should go then?
A: The content of the treaty is what is important, the level of ambition on mitigation, on financial assistance is important. What if there a legally binding treaty with a weak content?.. What does your NGO prefer to focus on, the form or the content or the both? Adaptation and funding for adaptation are important too.

Thank you and see you in Copenhagen! I won’t remain a chair of LCA after about the Dec. 14, hope to see you before that.

Brought to you by:

Oleg (of 350.org)

From Barcelona….with love~