⚉|⚇|⚉ Bathroom Stall Prophets

The Harper government has tightened the muzzle on federal scientists, going so far as to control when and what they can say about floods at the end of the last ice age.

Natural Resources Canada scientists were told this spring they need “pre-approval” from Minister Christian Paradis’ office to speak with national and international journalists. Their “media lines” also need ministerial approval, say documents obtained by Postmedia News through access-to-information legislation. (Vancouver Sun)

Big surprise here. Tories continue to micro-manage the issues to try and reduce their responsibility for not addressing them in the first place. Harper reminds me so much of “W” it makes me wretch. Idiot PM has a photo opt on a piece of the Arctic ice pack that is shrinking at alarming rates thanks to the climate change his government continues to completely ignore. But heck at least them tar sands are getting greener by the minute right Stephen (:

But the volume turned out to be much closer to that figure than the 42,000 gallons per day that BP first estimated. Weeks later that was revised to 210,000 gallons. Now, an estimated 500,000 to 1 million gallons of crude is believed to be leaking daily.

Think all that cheap shit from China doesn’t cost much. Well it may cost you next to nothing but that’s because millions of Chinese men, women and children are paying the difference with their lives.

Feel proud saving a few bucks on the backs of the Chinese. You deserve it.

The Independent (UK): A new El Niño has begun. The sporadic Pacific Ocean warming, which can disrupt weather patterns across the world, is intensifying, say meteorologists.

So, over the next few months, there may be increased drought in Africa, India and Australia, heavier rainfall in South America and increased extremes in Britain, of warm and cold. It may make 2010 one of the hottest years on record.

The warning signs continue to mount… mankind continues to consume. Nature ALWAYS wins… eventually.

The Daily Green: Below is a list of the newly listed chemicals, how each is used, and the health issue California researchers associated with it. The grim accounting: 12 compounds that may harm the male reproductive system; 11 that may cause cancer; eight that may interfere with the normal development of fetuses, babies and children; and two that may harm the female reproductive system. (Note: Chemicals are listed twice if they have effects on more than one body system.)

Male Reproductive Toxicants

1. n-Butyl glycidyl ether, a chemical used to make epoxy resins with a number of uses in common products
2. Carbaryl, a household pesticide used to kill a range of insects, and sold as Sevin by GardenTech and Bayer (also a developmental toxicant)
3. 2-Chloropropionic acid, a chemical used to make herbicides
4. Dichloroacetic acid, which forms in drinking water as a byproduct of disinfection using chlorine
5. Diglycidyl ether, a chemical used to make epoxy resins
6. Ethylene oxide, a chemical mainly used in the manufacturing of chemicals like antifreeze and polyester (also a developmental toxicant)
7. Ethyl-tert-butyl ether, a common gasoline additive
8. Methyl chloride, a chemical used primarily to make silicone polymers, but also used in other processes, including the oil refining
9. Methyl n-butyl ketone, an industrial solvent
10. Phenyl glycidyl ether, an industrial chemical
11. 1,3,5-Triglycidyl-s-triazinetrione, a constituent of some paints
12. 4-Vinyl-cyclohexene, a chemical used in the production of epoxy resins (also a female reproductive toxicant)

Carcinogens

1. Amsacrine, a chemotherapy drug
2. Bleomycins, antibiotics used in chemotherapy treatments
3. Chlorophenoxy herbicides, including 2,4-D, are common weedkillers sold for lawn and garden use
4. Marine diesel fuel
5. Progestins, synthetic hormones found in some birth controls
6. Styrene, an ingredient in many plastic and foam products
7. Toxins derived from Fusarium moniliforme (Fusarium verticillioides), a fungus
8. Vinyl acetate, a compound used to make polymers used in plastics, films, lacquers, adhesives, inks, water-based emulsion paints, floor tiling, safety glasses, cosmetics and personal care products and other goods
9. Wood dust
10. Zalcitabine, an HIV drug sold as Hivid
11. Zidovudine (AZT), an HIV drug

Developmental Toxicants

1. Tert-Amyl methyl ether, a common fuel additive
2. Carbaryl, a household pesticide used to kill a range of insects, and sold as Sevin by GardenTech and Bayer (also a male reproductive toxicant)
3. Chloroform, which is used in the manufacturing of other chemicals, and which can form in drinking water as a byproduct of disinfection using chlorine
4. N,N-dimethylacetamide, a solvent used in industries ranging from fibers and adhesives to pharmaceuticals and plasticizers
5. Ethylene oxide, a chemical mainly used in the manufacturing of chemicals like antifreeze and polyester (also a male reproductive toxicant)
6. 2-Ethylhexanoic acid, a chemical associated with phthalates and PVC plastics
7. p,p’-Oxybis (benzenesulfonyl hydrazide), an industrial chemical
8. Phenylphosphine, an industrial chemical

Female Reproductive Toxicants

1. Toluene, a constituent of oil, is found in gasoline and is used to make paints, paint thinners, fingernail polish, lacquers, adhesives and rubber
2. 4-Vinyl-cyclohexene, a chemical used in the production of epoxy resins (also a male reproductive toxicant)

CBC.ca: It looks as if low-speed electric vehicles will not make it onto Ontario’s roads.

The Ministry of Transportation has finalized its safety rules for a pilot project that would have allowed electric cars on the road, but the companies that make the cars say those regulations are too strict.

Torontonian Aaron Binder was looking forward to the arrival of the electric car. He’s a big believer in electric vehicles – and gets around the city on a Segway. He was encouraged when he heard the province had unveiled a pilot project to allow low-speed electric vehicles on the public streets, “so we could be like B.C., or even Alberta.”

But then came the fine print.

The ministry’s regulations for low-speed electric cars means adding safety features that are not demanded by Ottawa.

The rules in Ontario are even stricter than U.S. and European standards for the same class of vehicle.

Catherine Scrimgeor of Toronto-based ZENN Motors, the maker of an electric vehicle, says for her company it’s the final straw.

“The ZENN [electric car] as it exists right now – the ZENN car that we sell in Quebec and the United States – will not be marketed in Ontario,” she said.

Al Cormier is with Electric Mobility Canada, a group of electric vehicle manufacturers consulted by the province. He says the new rules reflect concerns about the safety when slow electric cars are added to the traffic mix.

“Ontario was trying to address that concern by having additional requirements. But these additions don’t make the project viable for [existing electric cars],” he said.

Cormier says he’ll be surprised if any electric car manufacturer will ever qualify for the province’s low-speed vehicle pilot project.

Electric car fans like Binder say they will have to wait until the full-speed models hit the streets.

Enough is enough. Is there any god damn excuse that any level of government hasn’t already pulled out of their ass to try and keep this car from getting a fair shake on the roads of Ontario?

Thanks Dalton for blowing smoke up the asses of Ontario tax payers with your constant green washing about Ontario’s commitment to alternative energy and more importantly electric cars.

Once again ZENN Canada gets kicked in the teeth while Detroit gets BILLION$ on OUR tax dollars to play checkup. Looks rather anti-competitive to me sir!

First, it’s NOT about speed. Of course if you actually drove in some of Ontario’s underfunded cities you’d realize that the only thing going fast is our tax dollars on potholes and broken water mains that your government stopped funding years ago!

Second. It’s not about safety. If safety were truly the issue then why would YOUR GOVERNMENT allow motorcycles and more importantly electric bikes and scooters that go no faster than the ZENN and are a LOT LESS safe.

Funny your government sure doesn’t seem to give a rat’s backside about our safety when you allow massive Hummers and four wheel drive vehicles that have bumper heights at or near the height of average mid-sized cars. But somehow we’re safer when contractors to drive MASSIVE front end loaders and other non-street legal equipment around city streets without a slow moving vehicle sign or license plate!

So why not cut the green washing BS and let Ontarians decide which type of automobile they would like to drive and invest in.

Enough is enough. Let me drive a ZENN in Ontario.

This is absolutely criminal. Here is a provincial government that has poured BILLION$ of our tax dollars into those dinosaurs from Detroit yet we’re supposed to believe that they are going to give small companies like ZENN a fair shake at Ontario’s car market. BULLSHIT!

CONTACT DALTON MCGUINTY AND DEMAND HIS GOVERNMENT
ALLOW ONTARIANS TO DRIVE THE CANADIAN MADE ZENN ON OUR CITY STREETS!
FAX: (416) 325-3745
Online Comment Form

The B Zero is powered by a 50kW electric motor, has a max speed of 130 kph (80 mph — electronically capped at that in Europe, might be something else if the car makes it to the US).

ABS brakes are standards, power steering, airbags, air conditioning, and an interesting feature that Pininfarina calls “soft sound”. It apparently makes the electric car a bit more noisy so that pedestrians can hear it better.

The LMP battery + supercapacitor pack gives the BlueCar an all-electric range of range of 250 km (153 miles).

The lithium-polymer battery, which they call the LMP, has an expected lifetime of about 200,000km (125,000 miles) and requires no maintenance. Unlike most other electric cars, the B0 has a battery pack and supercapacitors to help it better capture energy when using regenerative braking.

Leases for approx. $540/month ($6,500 annually) Canadian. (: