Donald Trump takes huge lead in latest Iowa poll, double nearest competitor in Republican field, July 29, 2015 Gravis Poll

Gravis poll conducted Wed., July 29, using interactive voice response technology.

7/31/15, "Trump and Clinton Lead Latest One America News Network National Poll," prnewswire, advfn.com

"One America News Network, "OAN", a credible source for 24/7 national and international news, released today its most recent 2016 Republican and Democratic Presidential National Poll results conducted by Gravis Marketing. The poll results show that GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump has a significant lead with 30.8 support among Republicans. Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush comes in second with 13.3%, trailing Trump by a margin of 17.5%. Scott Walker earned the third spot, receiving 12.5% followed by Ben Carson with 6.1%. Mike Huckabee rounds out the top five with 5.6%....

The polls were conducted on July 29^th using interactive voice response, IVR, technology and weighted separately for each population in the question presented. The poll was conducted exclusively for One America News Network. See www.oann.com/pollnational."

Image above from, "Iowa Polling Results," One America News Network, 7/31/15.

.......................................
 
Margin of error 6.5% for Republican caucus, 6.4% for Democrat caucus. 227 registered Republicans planning to vote in the caucus sampled:

7/31/15, "Iowa Polling Results," One America News Network
 
"Gravis Marketing, a nonpartisan research firm, conducted a random survey of 670 registered voters in Iowa regarding the presidential election. The sample includes 227 Republican Caucus participants, 236 Democratic Caucus participants, and 207 planning to vote in 2016, but will not participate in the primary elections. The poll has a margin of error of ± 3.8% [6.5% for Republican Caucus/6.4% for Democratic Caucus]. The total may not round to 100% because of rounding. The polls were conducted using IVR technology and weighted separately for each population in the question presented. The poll was conducted for One American News Network....

Gravis Marketing is a non-partisan research firm headquartered in Florida. Gravis Marketing is the recipient of the 2013 American Association of Political Consultants award for 2012 Presidential Primary domestic and international phone calls."
..........................

Scott Walker "a distant second:"

7/31/15, "Walker trails in first Iowa poll since April, Trump in the lead," wxow.com, Madison, Wisc.

"For the first time in more than three months, Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wisconsin) is trailing in a poll of likely Republican Iowa caucus voters.

Donald Trump has surged into the lead in a new Gravis Marketing poll with support from 31 percent of those surveyed. Walker is a distant second at 15 percent, with Jeb Bush in third place at 10 percent.

Governor Walker has spent more time campaigning in Iowa than any other state since January and has been in the in the lead there in every poll since mid-April.

In the last poll Gravis conducted in Iowa May 28-29, Gov. Walker was at 17 percent, leading the rest of the GOP field by 4 points. But in that poll, Trump was polling at zero percent."

...................

Scott Walker again says he'll skip Florida GOP primary, having in May 2015 suggested he'd to so "in deference to" Bush and Rubio:

7/28/15, "Walker Tells Private Group He'll Skip Florida Primary," Real Clear Politics, Rebecca Berg

"Scott Walker has insisted he will be able to “compete anywhere in the country” as a candidate for president — but, at a private event in St. Louis on Sunday, Walker said he does not plan to compete in Florida, contradicting his own public assertions that he would not skip that primary. During a fundraiser at the St. Louis home of Rex Sinquefield, Missouri’s most active Republican donor, Walker reasoned that it “doesn't make a ton of sense for him to pour cash into Florida” with Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in the race, said one person who was present for Walker’s remarks. Bush is a former Florida governor, and Rubio is a senator from Florida....

A second person who was present confirmed that Walker said it would not make sense for him to try to compete in Florida with Rubio and Bush in the race.

Walker also predicted that the Republican primary contest could extend into April, the first person said, which would make any one primary, even in a large state such as Florida, less important to Walker’s overall strategy.

This rundown of Walker’s campaign strategy, which he shared with a closed-door audience of Missouri elected officials and Republican donors, marks a departure from how he has framed his path to the Republican nomination in public, particularly in regards to Florida.

In a May interview with radio host Laura Ingraham, Walker made headlines when he suggested that he might pass over the Florida primary, one of the first winner-take-all contests, because the home-field advantage for Bush and Rubio would be too strong.

"I don't think there's a state out there we wouldn't play in, other than maybe Florida, where Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are...essentially tied," he said.

But Walker later attempted to walk back that remark, telling reporters during a trip to Florida in June: "If I didn't think I could compete, I wouldn't be here today.”

His comments to Ingraham, Walker added, were merely “in deference to two favorite sons here in Florida,” the New York Times reported. “And I thought that Gov. Bush and Sen. Rubio certainly would have a competitive advantage over anybody because of their presence as favorite sons in this state and having won statewide elections.”

In a statement to RealClearPolitics on Tuesday, Walker’s campaign echoed those remarks by Walker in June, insisting he intends to “play everywhere."

“The governor is going to play everywhere as evidenced by his travel to 11 states since becoming a candidate,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Walker. "We have long said Gov. Walker has appeal with voters of all kinds across all states, but we have also acknowledged the obvious that there are two Floridians in the race.""...





..........................

Mexican trashes special gift of US residency, is arrested for burglary but released, then proceeds to brutually murder two native Americans on Crow Reservation in Montana, tries to murder their daughter

7/31/15, "Mexican accused of horrific double murder, was legal immigrant," Washington Times, Stephen Dinan

Jesus Deniz, Park Cty. sheriff

"The man accused of killing two Good Samaritans who tried to help him on a Montana roadside was encountered by immigration authorities earlier this year after a burglary arrest, but was unable to be deported because he had already gotten legal status, federal authorities said this week.

The horrific killing has drawn attention at a time when crimes committed by immigrants are a hot political topic, thanks in part to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s claim that Mexican society sends bad elements to the US."...

[Ed. note: It's not a "claim," Mr. Dinan: “Mexico would have died...without the option to send its rural poor-fully one-fifth of its population-to the United States.”...6/17/13...."We propose a five-word constitutional amendment: There shall be open borders." WSJ, 7/3/1984, (parag. 5). The US political class wants the poorest, most government-dependent electorate.]

(continuing): "Jesus Yeizon Deniz Mendoza, an 18-year-old Mexican man, has been charged with the killing of Jason and Tana Shane, who saw him stopped on the side of the road Wednesday and tried to help him. When they showed up on the scene with their daughter, Mr. Deniz pointed a gun at them and demanded money, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the federal court case.

The Shanes said they didn’t have any money and Mr. Deniz started to walk away, but then changed his mind and shot the father, then the mother and then the daughter, who was by this time running away. She managed to escape, though not before being shot in the back, the FBI affidavit said.

Mr. Deniz told the FBI he shot the three people with a .22 caliber rifle because he was tired of waiting, and because he thought he heard the daughter laughing at him, FBI Special Agent Larry J. McGrail II said in the affidavit.

Mr. Deniz is Mexican, and the Obama administration deems him a legal permanent resident who entered the country legally on May 31, 2013 — though they didn’t say how he earned that status initially.

Crime amongst Mexican immigrants has become a major issue in recent weeks after Mr. Trump, in announcing his presidential campaign, said Mexico sends “criminals, drug dealers, rapists” to the U.S.

His comments have been challenged by Hispanic-rights activists who said they were offensive and incorrect, pointing to statistics that immigrants generally have lower crime rates than native-born Americans.

But a spate of recent high-profile murders with illegal immigrants as the chief suspects has sharpened the debate, and put a focus on American immigration policy — partly because the suspects have often had previous run-ins with immigration authorities.

Indeed, just a month ago (June 2015) Mr. Deniz was arrested by police in Worland, Wyo., on burglary charges. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were informed, but they couldn’t do anything because he was a permanent resident, and his crime didn’t rise the level of being kicked out of the country.

If convicted in the new case, however, he could be deported, ICE said.

“This individual does not have any criminal convictions, and, as a permanent resident, is not currently removable. Thus, an ICE detainer cannot be placed on the individual at this time,” the agency said in a statement. “However, ICE is closely monitoring this case and coordinating with local authorities. If he is convicted for a criminal offense that allows him to be removed from the country, after the completion of sentence, ICE intends to take him into custody and pursue his removal from the United States.”

Worland police declined to comment on the earlier burglary case, saying it’s an active investigation."

Image caption: "A booking photo of Jesus Yeizon Deniz from the Park County Sheriff's Department in Wyoming"


====================

7/31/15, "Federal murder charges laid for shooting on Crow Reservation," indianz.com

"A non-Indian man was charged in federal court on Thursday for murdering two people on the Crow Reservation in Montana.

The criminal complaint accuses Jesus Yeizon Deniz, 18, of murdering J.S. and T.S. on Wednesday morning. Relatives and news reports have identified the victims as Jason Shane, 52, and his wife, Tana Shane, 50. The couple's daughter, 26-year-old Jorah Shane, also was shot during the incident and remains hospitalized. Deniz has not yet been charged in connection with her victimization. Despite being shot in the back and having a bullet graze her head and face, Jorah Shane was able to provide key details about the incident, according to an affidavit submitted with the criminal complaint. She also was able to identify Deniz as the shooter. Family members have not yet told Jorah that her parents were killed, the Associated Press and The Billings Gazette reported. According to the affidavit, Jorah saw Deniz get in her parents vehicle and drive away from the scene of the crime in Pryor, near the western border of the reservation. He was apprehended a couple of hours after the shooting in neighboring Wyoming. Upon being interviewed by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Deniz admitted that he shot three people who had stopped to help him because he had run out of gas, the affidavit stated. The .22 caliber rifle allegedly used was still in the Shanes vehicle.

"Deniz told the interviewing agents that he shot the victims because he was getting tired of waiting around, and because the daughter laughed at him," the affidavit stated. Deniz lives in Worland, Wyoming, according to his Facebook page. Worland is about an hour east of Meeteetse, the area where he was apprehended. It's not clear why Deniz was in Pryor, about three miles north of Worland. Authorities are looking into his trip to Montana as part of their investigation, KPAX reported."
...........................
.........................

6/17/2013, “Mexico would have died...without the option to send its rural poor-fully one-fifth of its population-to the United States.”...

"Syria and Egypt can't be fixed," Asia Times, by Spengler 
..................................
Wall St. Journal advocated open borders in 1984:

"The nativist patriots scream for “control of the borders.”...

"We propose a five-word constitutional amendment: There shall be open borders." (parag. 5):  

 
July 3, 1984, "REVIEW and OUTLOOK (Editorial): In Praise of Huddled Masses," Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) (scroll down)

"Amid the fireworks and picnics as this nation celebrates its independence tomorrow, we hope Americans stop to ask, what is the United States? The question is especially appropriate at this moment in the history of a nation of immigrants; upon returning from its July 4 recess Congress will try to finish work on the Simpson-Mazzoli bill.

The answer to the question is in the first words of our Constitution, “We, the people.” It was the people, and especially new people, who worked this land into a New World. We hope today’s gentlepeople, the descendants of the tired and poor who sought refuge on these shores, can still spare a thought for today’s huddled masses, yearning to be free.

Simpson-Mazzoli, we are repeatedly told, is a carefully crafted compromise. It is in fact an anti-immigration bill. Note well that despite its grant of amnesty for aliens who have been residents long enough, its most outspoken opponents are the Hispanics, who would prefer to live with the present laws. Its constituency is an interesting and perhaps portentous alliance of the “nativist” Americans who still dominate Mountain States politics and the “Club of Rome” elitists of the Boston-Washington corridor.

We can hope that the bill will die in the House-Senate conference, which still must resolve such contentious differences as whether or not to have a program of temporary guest workers for agriculture. If it survives conference, President Reagan would be wise to veto it as antithetical to the national self-confidence his administration has done so much to renew.

If Washington still wants to “do something” about immigration, we propose a five-word constitutional amendment: There shall be open borders. Perhaps this policy is overly ambitious in today’s world, but the U.S. became the world’s envy by trumpeting precisely this kind of heresy. Our greatest heresy is that we believe in people as the great resource of our land. Those who would live in freedom have voted over the centuries with their feet. Wherever the state abused its people, beginning with the Puritan pilgrims and continuing today in places like Ho Chi Minh City and Managua, they’ve aimed for our shores. They — we — have astonished the world with the country’s success.

The nativist patriots scream for “control of the borders.” It is nonsense to believe that this unenforceable legislation will provide any such thing. Does anyone want to “control the borders” at the moral expense of a 2,000-mile Berlin Wall with minefields, dogs and machine-gun towers? Those who mouth this slogan forget what America means. They want those of us already safely ensconced to erect giant signs warning: Keep Out, Private Property.

The instinct is seconded by the “zero-sum” mentality that has been intellectually faddish this past decade. More people, the worry runs, will lead to overcrowding; will use up all our “resources,” and will cause unemployment. Trembling no-growthers cry that we’ll never “feed,” “house” or “clothe” all the immigrants — though the immigrants want to feed, house and clothe themselves. In fact, people are the great resource, and so long as we keep our economy free, more people means more growth, the more the merrier. Somehow the Reagan administration at least momentarily adopted the cramped Club-of-Rome vision, forgetting which side of this debate it is supposed to support. Ronald Reagan, we thought, marched to different bywords — “growth,” for example, and “opportunity.”

If anyone doubts that the immigration and growth issue touches the fundamental character of a nation, he should look to recent experience in Europe. Some European governments are taken in by the no-growth nonsense that economic pies no longer grow, and must be sliced. They are actually paying immigrants and guest workers to go home: the Germans pay Turks, the French pay North Africans, the British pay West Indians and Asians. It was this dour view of people as liabilities, not assets, that led to the great European emigration to the U.S. in the first place. Meanwhile, Europe today settles into long-term unemployment for millions while the U.S. economy is booming with new jobs.

The same underlying difference in vision applies in political ideals. The individual is the lightning rod of 20th-century politics. The totalitarians of the Communist Bloc don’t allow their people to leave. The foremost use of the machinery of the state is to wall in the citizens. If we cannot change their regimes, the least we can do is to offer refuge to those of their peoples with the opportunity and courage to arrive here. To do otherwise is to say that the ideals upon which this Republic was founded are spent, that what is left is to negotiate the terms of surrender.

America, above all, is a nation founded upon optimism. The Republic will prosper so long as it does not disavow this taproot. The issue is not what we offer the teeming masses, but what they offer us: their hands, their minds, their spirit, and above all the chance to be true to our own past and our own future."

============================= 

 

 

 

 

 

Filthy Rio water threatens 2016 Olympics, raw sewage flows into beach water, water filled 'with putrid sludge' and 'littered with rotting fish,' would be closed 'immediately' if in US, per AP. Two blowout UN Rio climate summits prove the climate industry has nothing to do with climate, just a US led fraud to transfer money from poor to rich and demonize relatively clean Americans

7/30/15, "Dirty Rio Water a Threat at 2016 Olympics," AP, Brad Brooks, Jenny Barchfield, Rio de Janeiro

2015, Rio Guanabara Bay

"The waters where Olympians will compete in swimming and boating events next summer in South America's first games are rife with human sewage and present a serious health risk for athletes, as well as for visitors to the iconic beaches of Rio de Janeiro.

An Associated Press investigation found dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria from sewage in venues where athletes will compete in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic water sports.

In the first independent comprehensive testing for both viruses and bacteria at the Olympic sites, the AP conducted four rounds of tests starting in March. The results have alarmed international experts and dismayed competitors training in Rio, some of whom have already have fallen ill with fevers, vomiting and diarrhea.

These ailments could knock an athlete out for days, potentially curtailing Olympics dreams and the years of hard training behind them.

"This is by far the worst water quality we've ever seen in our sailing careers," said Ivan Bulaja, a coach for the Austrian team, which has spent months training on the Guanabara Bay. "I am quite sure if you swim in this water and it goes into your mouth or nose that quite a lot of bad things are coming inside your body."

Sailor David Hussl has already fallen ill.

"I've had high temperatures and problems with my stomach," Hussl said. "It's always one day completely in bed and then usually not sailing for two or three days."

Water pollution has long plagued Brazil's urban areas, where most sewage isn't collected, let alone treated. In Rio, much of the waste runs through open-air ditches to fetid streams and rivers that feed the Olympic water sites and blight the city's picture postcard beaches. Brazilian authorities pledged that a major overhaul of the city's waterways would be among the Olympics' most significant legacies. But the stench of raw sewage still greets travelers touching down at Rio's international airport.
.............
Prime beaches remain deserted because the surf is thick with putrid sludge, and periodic die-offs leave the Olympic lake littered with rotting fish.

More than 10,000 athletes hailing from over 200 countries are expected to compete in the Aug. 5-21, 2016, games. Nearly 1,400 of them will come into contact with waters that have suffered from rampant sewage pollution, as they sail in the Guanabara Bay; swim off of Copacabana Beach; and canoe and row on the brackish waters of the Rodrigo de Freitas Lake. And starting next week, hundreds of athletes will take to the waters in Olympic trial events.

Brazilian officials insist the waters will be safe, but the AP testing over five months found not one venue fit for swimming or boating, according to international experts, who say it's too late for a cleanup.

"What you have there is basically raw sewage," said John Griffith, a marine biologist at the independent Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Griffith examined the protocols, methodology and results of the AP tests. "It's all the water from the toilets and the showers and whatever people put down their sinks, all mixed up, and it's going out into the beach waters."

In the U.S., Griffith said, areas with such levels of contamination "would be shut down immediately." Brazilian officials who oversee water quality at the Olympic sites said they are not monitoring for viruses.

1992 Rio Climate Summit, Al Gore (R)

But Leonardo Daemon, coordinator of water quality monitoring for the state's environmental agency, said officials are strictly following Brazilian regulations on water quality, which are all based on bacteria levels.

"What would be the standard that should be followed for the quantity of virus? Because the presence or absence of virus in the water ... needs to have a standard, a limit," he said. "You don't have a standard for the quantity of virus in relation to human health when it comes to contact with water."

Fernando Spilki, a top Brazilian virologist, carried out four rounds of viral and bacterial water testing for the AP, collecting samples at three Olympic sites.

Spilki's testing looked for three different types of human adenovirus that are typical "markers" of human sewage in Brazil. In addition, he tested for enteroviruses, the most common cause of upper respiratory tract infections in the young, which can also lead to brain and heart ailments. He also tested for rotavirus, the main cause of gastroenteritis globally.

The test results consistently found high counts of active and infectious human adenoviruses, which cause explosive diarrhea, violent vomiting, respiratory trouble and other illnesses.

The concentrations of the human adenoviruses were roughly equivalent to that seen in raw sewage — even at one of the least-polluted areas tested, Copacabana Beach, where marathon and triathlon swimming will take place and where many of the expected 350,000 foreign tourists may take a dip.

The AP found another Olympic site thought to have been largely cleaned up in recent years, the Rodrigo de Freitas Lake, is among the games' most polluted waters. Results ranged from 14 million adenoviruses per liter to 1.7 billion per liter.

By comparison, water quality experts who monitor beaches in Southern California become alarmed by viral counts spiking to 1,000 per liter.

"Everybody runs the risk of infection in these polluted waters," said Dr. Carlos Terra, a hepatologist and head of a Rio-based association of doctors specializing in liver disease. Terra said approximately 60 percent of Brazilian adults have been exposed to hepatitis A, primarily because of exposure to sewage.

Kristina Mena, an associate professor of public health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and an expert in water risk assessment, examined the AP data and estimated international athletes at all water venues would have a 99 percent chance of being infected by the pathogens if they ingested just three teaspoons of water, although this doesn't automatically mean a person would fall ill. That depends on immunity and many other factors.

Brazilians are exposed from childhood and build up immunities. But foreign athletes and tourists won't have that protection.

Dr. Alberto Chebabo, who heads Rio's Infectious Diseases Society, warned that all foreigners heading to Rio for the Olympics, whether athletes or tourists, should get vaccinated against hepatitis A. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends travelers to Brazil get vaccinated for typhoid."

———

"Associated Press sports writer Stephen Wade and senior producer Yesica Fisch contributed to this report."

Above image, Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro

-----------------------------------------

Top image caption: "Rio state government has already said it will miss its target of reducing pollution in Guanabara bay by 80%," via BBC Sport Sailing

==========================

Second Image: 1992 Rio Climate Summit, Al Gore, right, George Bush EPA Chief and former WWF Pres., Wm. Reilly, center, Sen. John Chafee, left. EPA photo

=============================

7/29/15, "Rio 2016: Organisers' pollution challenge in Guanabara Bay," BBC Sport Sailing

Ethanol blends are even worse for air quality when used in cold temperatures yet are being promoted in areas like northern Europe where very low temperatures are common-Atmospheric Environment study, Sept. 2015

Sept. 2015, "Primary emissions and secondary organic aerosol formation from the exhaust of a flex-fuel (ethanol) vehicle," Atmospheric Environment, sciencedirect.com, R. Suarez-Bertoa^{a, ,} et al.

"Abstract

Incentives to use biofuels may result in increasing vehicular emissions of compounds detrimental to air quality. Therefore, regulated and unregulated emissions from a Euro 5a flex-fuel vehicle, tested using E85 and E75 blends (gasoline containing 85% and 75% of ethanol (vol/vol), respectively), were investigated at 22 and −7 °C over the New European Driving Cycle, at the Vehicle Emission Laboratory at the European Commission Joint Research Centre Ispra, Italy. Vehicle exhaust was comprehensively analyzed at the tailpipe and in a dilution tunnel. A fraction of the exhaust was injected into a mobile smog chamber to study the photochemical aging of the mixture. We found that emissions from a flex-fuel vehicle, fueled by E85 and E75, led to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, despite the low aromatic content of these fuel blends. Emissions of regulated and unregulated compounds, as well as emissions of black carbon (BC) and primary organic aerosol (POA) and SOA formation were higher at −7 °C. The flex-fuel unregulated emissions, mainly composed of ethanol and acetaldehyde, resulted in very high ozone formation potential and SOA, especially at low temperature (860 mg O₃ km⁻¹ and up to 38 mg C kg⁻¹). After an OH exposure of 10 × 10⁶ cm⁻³ h, SOA mass was, on average, 3 times larger than total primary particle mass emissions (BC + POA) with a high O:C ratio (up to 0.7 and 0.5 at 22 and −7 °C, respectively) typical of highly oxidized mixtures. Furthermore, high resolution organic mass spectra showed high 44/43 ratios (ratio of the ions m/z 44 and m/z 43) characteristic of low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosol. We also hypothesize that SOA formation from vehicular emissions could be due to oxidation products of ethanol and acetaldehyde, both short-chain oxygenated VOCs, e.g. methylglyoxal and acetic acid, and not only from aromatic compounds.

1. Introduction

The use of biofuels is increasing worldwide as a result of a promotion to meet the growing demand of transport related energy as well as to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (European Commission, 2009). Biofuels were seen as a measure to reduce emissions of GHGs from road transport because they were considered CO₂ neutral.

The EU has set a target of 10% share of renewable energy in the transport sector, to be complied with by 2020 (2009/28/EC). Biofuels covered 4.3% of this share in 2010 (80% biodiesel, 20% ethanol) (European Commission, 2013).

Previous studies have suggested that increasing ethanol content in fuel blends reduces the emission of some regulated gases (CO and total hydrocarbons, THC) and CO₂ (Clairotte et al., 2013, Durbin et al., 2007, Graham et al., 2008 and Andrade et al., 1998). However, despite promising benefits in terms of reducing regulated compounds and CO₂ emissions, it has been shown that higher ethanol concentrations in fuel blends lead to higher emissions of ethanol and carbonyl compounds, mainly acetaldehyde, which are associated with urban air pollution and the formation of persistent pollutants (Clairotte et al., 2013, Durbin et al., 2007, Graham et al., 2008 and Andrade et al., 1998). In the atmosphere, ethanol is a precursor of acetaldehyde and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN); hence, a change in the ethanol emissions will affect atmospheric composition and chemistry. Photochemical oxidation by OH radicals is the main atmospheric sink of ethanol (Atkinson et al., 2006). Ethanol's atmospheric life time is about 4 days (Atkinson et al., 2006), with acetaldehyde being the main oxidation product at ∼95% yield. Acetaldehyde is classified as a hazardous air pollutant by the U.S. EPA (Chemical Summary for Acetaldehyde), and its subsequent oxidation can also lead to production of ozone (O₃) and PAN. Thus, the fate of atmospheric reactive nitrogen (NOy) could be affected by an increase in the PAN to NOy ratio (Millet et al., 2012a). Moreover, modeling studies have reported that in the case of a considerable shift from gasoline to ethanol blends, urban ozone levels would increase (Cook et al., 2011, Diana and Mark, 2012 and Jacobson, 2007).

Previous studies have shown that, while in some metropolitan areas formaldehyde is almost always the predominant carbonyl emitted by vehicles (acetaldehyde/formaldehyde ratio emitted <1 b=""> for Brazilian cities acetaldehyde/formaldehyde ratios

are ≥1 (Corrêa et al., 2003, Nguyen et al., 2001 and Corrêa et al., 2010). This behavior has been attributed to the use of ethanol and gasohol (gasoline with 24% of ethanol content) as fuels (Corrêa et al., 2003, Nguyen et al., 2001 and Corrêa et al., 2010). Incomplete combustion of ethanol results in higher acetaldehyde emission compared to formaldehyde. Carbonyl compounds are among the main volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in the atmosphere of cities where ethanol blended fuels are used (Corrêa et al., 2010). They are also the main ozone precursors in those cities (Corrêa et al., 2010).

Atmospheric reactions of VOCs have been of great interest for the study of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. SOA is a major contributor to airborne particulate matter (Hallquist et al., 2009), which is associated with adverse health effects (Pope et al., 2002). SOA not only impoverishes air quality but also has an impact on climate via scattering and, absorption of light as well as aerosol–cloud interactions (Ramaswamy et al., 2007, Orlando et al., 1999 and Saleh et al., 2014)....

4. Conclusions

The results obtained in our study show that widespread use of vehicles running on high ethanol-content fuel blends, E85 and E75, needs to be thoroughly evaluated due to the negative effects that their emissions may have on urban air quality....

Emissions factors of all the compounds studied increased at the lower temperature. The FFV emissions resulted in a high ozone formation potential (OFP), which was nearly 4 times higher at lower temperature (218 and 860 mg O₃ km⁻¹ at 22 and −7 °C, respectively)....These results show that SOA formation from vehicular exhaust can arise from the reaction and/or oxidation of small functionalized molecules such as acetaldehyde and ethanol and not only from aromatics, as it is often hypothesized....

The use of flex-fuel vehicles with high ethanol content fuel blends is being promoted in regions like northern Europe, where very low temperature is a common scenario. The extensive use of these vehicles at low temperature will result in high emissions of ethanol and acetaldehyde that may lead to large formation of O₃ and SOA....

Acknowledgments

The VELA staff is acknowledged for the skilful technical assistance, in particular M. Cadario, R. Colombo, G. Lanappe, P. Le Lijour, F. Muehlberger, and M. Sculati as well as Rene Richter from PSI. We acknowledge the financial support by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SAPMAV 200021_13016). The authors also acknowledge the MASSALYA instrumental platform (Aix Marseille Université, lce.univ-amu.fr) for the provision of the PTR-ToF-MS measurements used in this publication and the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME, Grant numbers 1162C0002 and 1262C0017)."




............................

Twenty percent of 500,000 population in Delhi, India has no access to piped water and is forced to buy water from mafia with no interference from law enforcement or politicians-BBC

7/28/15, "Water mafia: Why Delhi is buying water on the black market," BBC News, Delhi, by Sanjoy Majumder

"In the congested Delhi neighbourhood Sangam Vihar, home to 500,000 people, the air is fraught with anticipation.

Rows of men and women are gathered in its narrow lanes, some sitting on their haunches. 

Large plastic drums are placed strategically in front of them.

Suddenly a cry goes up: "It's here, it's here."

A water tanker backs into the lane, and the place descends into chaos.

Young men charge towards the truck, clambering onto the top with pipes, which are then lowered into the tank. Others push the drums in place - there's a mad scramble to fill them up with clean water. 

Fights break out as some people are pushed out of the way.

"It's always like this," Jainisha Khatoon says. "People push and pull. We get abused. That's when I step back."

In 15 minutes, the water runs out and the tanker drives away, leaving many desperate people behind.

"It only comes once every 10 days or so," says Rupa Jha, another resident.

"How do you expect it to last? We have to buy water from private suppliers. Water's always available but at a price."

About 20% of Delhi's population have no access to piped water and have to be supplied by water tankers. But the difference between demand and supply is more than 750 million litres a day.

So they have to rely on the black market - water supplied by private contractors, or "the water mafia", as it has come to be known.

"It's always existed here. A network of people who steal water and then supply it to those who need it," says Anuj Porwal, a social activist from Sangam Vihar.

"They have the backing of the police and local politicians. That's why no one can stop them," he alleges.

The allegations have always been denied.

It costs about $10 (£6) to buy 200 litres of water from the mafia. In contrast, water provided by the city government is free, when available. 

"I make about $80 a month. So you can imagine how hard it is for us to come up with that kind of cash," says Bimla, another resident of the area.

Under the cover of darkness, the mafia works to bridge the gap between supply and demand.

It is 04:00 at Balla, a sandy enclave by the banks of the Yamuna river that flows through Delhi. 

The single street, with a few shops and houses on either side, is deserted save for a few stray dogs. 

It's also dark - most of the streetlights are switched off or are missing.

A row of tankers snake through the street and then pull into one of several alleys. Men jump out and quickly haul thick pipes which are then rigged into the tanks. 

The other end of the pipes are attached to borewells sunk deep into the ground. With a low hum, thousands of litres of water are pumped into the trucks.

It takes less than half an hour to fill up a truck. As one leaves, another takes its place. 

Details are entered into a logbook.

It's a well organised operation that is conducted swiftly and stealthily.

"No one really challenges them because they can be dangerous," one local resident warns us.

The men themselves are reluctant to talk. 

When one does, he offers this by way of explanation: "We only supply water to those areas that need it." 

The immediate fallout of this informal, but shadowy, syndicate is that many of Delhi's residents - especially its poorest - are paying a price for a resource that's meant to be freely available.

But there's a long-term impact too. The mafia is drawing out water from India's groundwater, which is slowly being critically depleted.

If unchecked it could lead to a potentially devastating social and economic cost." Top two images via BBC.

France should drop out of climate summit and apologize for gutting the climate and groveling to fossil fuel royals of Saudi Arabia for 3 weeks in the heart of the summer. French climate reserved for oil rich, denied to the people

7/27/15, "King Salman's French holiday: A throne, motorcades and a lift to the beach," BBC

Sprawling French villa reserved for Saudi king (isn't sprawl bad?)

"Saudi Arabia's King Salman has arrived in the south of France for a three-week break - but the monarch is not your average holidaymaker. 

Locals are already upset after a public beach was closed so he can relax in private, while a 300m (985ft) exclusion zone has been implemented around his villa. 

Many businesses are, however, more than happy to meet his demands. They claim the Saudis bring much-needed revenue to the area. 

So what exactly is on the King's holiday checklist? We took a look. 

As the head of one of the world's richest royal families, it is no surprise that King Salman is a fan of palatial accommodation. 

His villa in Vallauris is nestled among the rocks of the French Rivera - and stretches for several hundred metres along the picturesque coast.

Part of Saudi King's entourage

Built in 1932 by the architect Barry Dierks, Chateau de l'Horizon - as it was once known - has hosted many famous guests, including Winston Churchill, Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe. 

For the next three weeks, it will house King Salman's family
and closest aides.

Preparations have been under way for some time, with locals reporting a flurry of activity in and around the grounds.

New windows have been installed, fresh flowers planted - and there have even been rumours of a throne on the balcony so the King can enjoy unspoiled views.

Several hundred other Saudis are accompanying the King on his visit - more on them later.

King Salman and his entourage arrived at Nice airport on Saturday on board two private planes operated by Saudi Arabian Airlines.

A 10-vehicle motorcade was there to greet the 79-year-old monarch and his guests, before whisking them away to his private residence.

At least 400 luxury saloon cars with tinted windows have been hired, according to local drivers.

They will be used to transport the King's relatives and friends around the region to local tourist spots and beaches. 

"They ask us to take them to restaurants, or they say they want to visit Saint Tropez, Monaco, Nice or villas in the area, because they want to buy property," one driver told AFP.

Summer holidays are the perfect opportunity to spend time with family and friends - but inviting 1,000 of your nearest and dearest may seem excessive. 

King Salman's huge entourage of relatives, staff and military officials have taken up residence along the French coast.

While his inner circle will spend time at his seafront mansion, around 700 others are staying in lavish hotels in Cannes. 

The influx of visitors from the oil-rich nation has led to increased security in the area.

Police vans have been pictured at the entrance to the King's residence, while security guards have been spotted relaxing on sun loungers. 

Some locals are irked by the exorbitant attention being given to the monarch and his guests, while others are happy to accommodate them. 

"The economic impact for us, but also restaurants, chauffeurs and all those who worked at his villa, is real," said Serge Reinhard, the director of the four-star Hotel Montaigne, where half of the rooms have been booked by Saudis.

Workers arrive at Saudi mansion

Perhaps the tallest order on the King's checklist. 

The sandy shores of La Mirandole run alongside his Vallauris mansion - and are usually packed with holidaymakers and sunbathers. 

But the beach has now been sealed off by the authorities to allow King Salman to holiday in private. Members of the public are also banned from coming within 300m of his villa by sea. 

The move has enraged locals. More than 100,000 people have signed a petition against the closure, insisting the beach is a public area that should be "available for the benefit of all".

Police boats are patrolling the coastline on the look-out for intruders. 

The mayor of Vallauris has also written to President Francois Hollande to protest against unauthorised work carried out on the shore. 

Saudis constructed special lift, promise to remove at end of holiday

A slab of concrete was poured directly onto the sand to install a temporary elevator to allow for easier access for King Salman. 

"We understand the security reasons and the nation's greater interest," Mayor Michelle Salucki wrote. 

"But nobody can exonerate himself from the laws of the land.""

.










Public beheading of woman in Saudi Arabia, Jan. 2015

1/15/2015, "Layla bint Abdul Mutaleb Bassim was shown being dragged through a car park repeatedly screaming 'I did not kill' in a video leaked onto the Internet just prior to her execution, reports the Times of London," NY Daily News, "Saudi Arabia publicly beheads woman for allegedly murdering stepdaughter: report"



=====================

Images 1 and 2 getty, second to last ap




........................................

Eight Deutsche Bank staff to be charged in CO2 trading scam and $150 million tax evasion by Frankfurt chief prosecutor, other current or former Deutsche employees still under investigation-Reuters

7/25/15, "German prosecutor to charge eight Deutsche Bank staff in carbon tax case -Spiegel," Reuters, Frankfurt

"A German prosecutor is set to charge eight Deutsche Bank employees following an investigation into tax fraud linked to trading of carbon certificates, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday, without disclosing any sources.

Frankfurt's chief prosecutor will accuse them of securing fees and bonuses from participating in a carbon emission certificate scam that resulted in tax evasion worth 136 million euros ($149 million), the magazine reported.

At least 14 people have been jailed in three countries so far for their involvement in carbon trading VAT fraud. European police agency Europol has estimated such crime has cost taxpayers more than 5 billion euros in lost revenue since 2008.

The Frankfurt prosecutor said in May that they were investigating 26 current or former employees at Deutsche, 17 on suspicion of tax evasion, five for money laundering and four for obstruction of justice.

Der Spiegel referred to around 21 staff in its report, including the eight to be charged. It said the Frankfurt prosecutor had decided not to charge three people following the investigation and was continuing to investigate a dozen or so other employees at the bank. It did not say whether they were current or former employees.

The Frankfurt chief prosecutor declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank, contacted by Reuters, said that the bank's investigation into CO2-related matters was continuing. "We are cooperating with the relevant authorities."

The carbon trading scandal emerged in 2009 when British authorities notified Deutsche Bank about suspicious deals, known as "carousel fraud", designed to generate tax refunds when no tax had been paid.

The cases involved buyers importing contracts for CO2 emissions rights into one EU member state from another, free of VAT. The buyers then did not sell them for use in that market but sold them on to an untraceable series of companies in an agreed chain, which ultimately re-exported them, pocketing a rebate from tax authorities, sources familiar with the matter have said.

The carbon tax fraud was one of a long list of scandals and other issues that eventually led to a purge of Deutsche Bank's leadership in June, including the resignation of co-Chief Executive Anshu Jain.

The bank's largest shareholder, Blackrock, denied that it had pushed for Jain to step down, German daily Tagesspiegel said on Saturday, quoting the head of Blackrock's German operations, Christian Staub.

"Members of our global board have made it clear that we did not exercise influence in this case," Staub was quoted as saying, adding that Blackrock would, in general, make itself heard when things get out of hand. "We do exercise influence, but we work behind the scenes.""

A Deutsche Bank spokesperson declined to comment on the Tagesspiegel report. ($1 = 0.9101 euros)."

"(Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Alexander Hübner; Editing by Susan Fenton)"



......................

International team of scientists finds drought, famine, and power transfer in Fertile Crescent over past 6000 years correspond to high volumes of wind driven atmospheric dust-published in Quaternary Science Reviews, 9/1/15

[Note: Scientists' original title referenced "climate variability" rather than "climate change:"  “Abrupt climate variability since the last deglaciation based on a high-resolution, multi-proxy peat record from NW Iran: The hand that rocked the Cradle of Civilization?” (paragraph 9)]

7/23/15, "Study Finds Abrupt Climate Change May Have Rocked the Cradle of Civilization," rsmas.miami.edu, press release
.....................

"UM Rosenstiel researchers uncover the effects of climate on human societies"
.................

"New research reveals that some of the earliest civilizations in the Middle East and the Fertile Crescent may have been affected by abrupt climate change. These findings show that while socio-economic factors were traditionally considered to shape ancient human societies in this region, the influence of abrupt climate change should not be underestimated. 

.........

A team of international scientists led by researchers from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science found that during the first half of the last interglacial period known as the Holocene epoch, which began about 12,000 years ago and continues today, the Middle East most likely experienced wetter conditions in comparison with the last 6,000 years, when the conditions were drier and dustier. 

“Evidence for wet early Holocene was previously found in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea region, North and East African lakes and cave deposits from Southwest Asia, and attributed to higher solar insolation during this period,“ said Ali Pourmand, assistant professor of marine geosciences at the UM Rosenstiel School, who supervised the project. “Our study, however, is the first of its kind from the interior of West Asia and unique in its resolution and multi-proxy approach.”

The Fertile Crescent, a region in west Asia that extends from Iran and the Arabian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and northern Egypt is one of the most climatically dynamic regions in the world and is widely considered the birthplace of early human civilizations.  “The high-resolution nature of this record afforded us the rare opportunity to examine the influence of abrupt climate change on early human societies. We see that transitions in several major civilizations across this region, as evidenced by the available historical and archeological records, coincided with episodes of high atmospheric dust; higher fluxes of dust are attributed to drier conditions across the region over the last 5,000 years,” said Arash Sharifi, Ph.D. candidate at the department of marine geosciences and the lead author of the study.

(Image caption): Climate variability during the past 5000 years as told by the concentration of titanium (Ti) in sediment core from Neor Lake, NW Iran. The vertical orange bands denote periods of dry and dusty condition, which correlate with historical records of drought and famine in Iranian Plateau, Mesopotamia and Eastern Mediterranean (brown and black horizontal bars respectively). Transition between ruling dynasties (gray arrows) in Iran and North Mesopotamia coincides with the episodes of dry and dusty condition in the region (peaks in Ti intensities). Credit: Arash Sharifi

The researchers investigated climate variability and changes in paleoenvironmental conditions during the last 13,000 years based on a high-resolution (sub-decadal to centennial) peat record from Neor Lake in Northwest Iran. Abrupt climate changes occur in the span of years to decades.

This study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation to A. Pourmand (EAR-1003639) and Elizabeth Canuel (EAR-1003529), is titled “Abrupt climate variability since the last deglaciation based on a high-resolution, multi-proxy peat record from NW Iran: The hand that rocked the Cradle of Civilization?” The paper, which will be published in the September 1 issue of the journal of Quaternary Science Review, is currently available online.

The study’s authors include: Arash Sharifi, Ali Pourmand, Larry C. Peterson, Peter K. Swart of the UM-RSMAS; Elizabeth A. Canuel, Erin Ferer-Tyler of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary; Bernhard Aichner, Sarah J. Feakins of the University of Southern California; Touraj Daryaee of the University of California, Irvine; Morteza Djamali of the institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'ecologie, France; Abdolmajid Naderi Beni, and Hamid A.K. Lahijani of the Iranian National Institute of Oceanography and Atmospheric Science, Iran." 

.............................
=================== 

Sept. 2015 Quaternary Science Reviews:

Sept. 2015, "Abrupt climate variability since the last deglaciation based on a high-resolution, multi-proxy peat record from NW Iran: The hand that rocked the Cradle of Civilization?" Quaternary Science Reviews, Arash Sharifi^{a, b, ,} , Ali Pourmand^{a, b}, Elizabeth A. Canuel^c, Erin Ferer-Tyler^c, Larry C. Peterson^b, Bernhard Aichner^d, Sarah J. Feakins^d, Touraj Daryaee^e, Morteza Djamali^f, Abdolmajid Naderi Beni^g, Hamid A.K. Lahijani^g, Peter K. Swart^b

 "Highlights

•A high-resolution, multi-proxy record of climate variability from NW Iran is presented.

•High dust fluxes observed during the last deglacial and mid-late Holocene.

•Low dust fluxes during early Holocene coincide with higher water availability

*Atmospheric teleconnection between North Atlantic climate and interior of West Asia.

•High aeolian [wind] inputs correspond with drought and famine over the last 5000 years.

Abstract

We present a high-resolution (sub-decadal to centennial), multi-proxy reconstruction of aeolian [wind] input and changes in palaeohydrological conditions based on a 13000 Yr record from Neor Lake's peripheral peat in NW Iran. Variations in relative abundances of refractory (Al, Zr, Ti, and Si), redox sensitive (Fe) and mobile (K and Rb) elements, total organic carbon (TOC), δ¹³C_TOC, compound-specific leaf wax hydrogen isotopes (δD), carbon accumulation rates and dust fluxes presented here fill a large gap in the existing terrestrial paleoclimate records from the interior of West Asia. Our results suggest that a transition occurred from dry and dusty conditions during the Younger Dryas (YD) to a relatively wetter period with higher carbon accumulation rates and low aeolian [wind] input during the early Holocene (9000–6000 Yr BP). This period was followed by relatively drier and dustier conditions during middle to late Holocene, which is consistent with orbital changes in insolation that affected much of the northern hemisphere. Numerous episodes of high aeolian [wind] input spanning a few decades to millennia are prevalent during the middle to late Holocene. Wavelet analysis of variations in Ti abundances as a proxy for aeolian input revealed notable periodicities at 230, 320, and 470 years with significant periodicities centered around 820, 1550, and 3110 years over the last 13000 years. Comparison with palaeoclimate archives from West Asia, the North Atlantic and African lakes point to a teleconnection between North Atlantic climate and the interior of West Asia during the last glacial termination and the Holocene epoch. 

............

We further assess the potential role of abrupt climate change on early human societies by comparing our record of palaeoclimate variability with historical, geological and archaeological archives from this region. The terrestrial record from this study confirms previous evidence from marine sediments of the Arabian Sea that suggested climate change influenced the termination of the Akkadian empire. In addition, nearly all observed episodes of enhanced dust deposition during the middle to late Holocene coincided with times of drought, famine, and power transitions across the Iranian Plateau, Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean region. These findings indicate that while socio-economic factors are traditionally considered to shape ancient human societies in this region, the influence of abrupt climate change should not be underestimated."

  ==============
................

7/23/15, Sciencedaily.com report: [Note scientists' original title referenced "climate variability" rather than "climate change:"  "“Abrupt climate variability since the last deglaciation based on a high-resolution, multi-proxy peat record from NW Iran: The hand that rocked the Cradle of Civilization?” (Paragraph 9)] 

7/23/15, "Abrupt climate change may have rocked the cradle of civilization," sciencedaily.com

"Effects of climate on human societies"

"Summary: New research reveals that some of the earliest civilizations in the Middle East and the Fertile Crescent
may have been affected by abrupt climate change. These findings show that while socio-economic factors were traditionally considered to shape ancient human societies in this region, the influence of abrupt climate change should not be underestimated. 

A team of international scientists led by researchers from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science found that during the first half of the last interglacial period known as the Holocene epoch, which began about 12,000 years ago and continues today, the Middle East most likely experienced wetter conditions in comparison with the last 6,000 years, when the conditions were drier and dustier.

"Evidence for wet early Holocene was previously found in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea region, North and East African lakes and cave deposits from Southwest Asia, and attributed to higher solar insolation [sunlight] during this period," said Ali Pourmand, assistant professor of marine geosciences at the UM Rosenstiel School, who supervised the project. "Our study, however, is the first of its kind from the interior of West Asia and unique in its resolution and multi-proxy approach."

The Fertile Crescent, a region in west Asia that extends from Iran and the Arabian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and northern Egypt is one of the most climatically dynamic regions in the world and is widely considered the birthplace of early human civilizations.

"The high-resolution nature of this record afforded us the rare opportunity to examine the influence of abrupt climate change on early human societies. We see that transitions in several major civilizations across this region, as evidenced by the available historical and archeological records, coincided with episodes of high atmospheric dust; higher fluxes of dust are attributed to drier conditions across the region over the last 5,000 years," said Arash Sharifi, Ph.D. candidate

at the department of marine geosciences and the lead author of the study.

The researchers investigated climate variability and changes in paleoenvironmental conditions during the last 13,000 years based on a high-resolution (sub-decadal to centennial) peat record from Neor Lake in Northwest Iran. Abrupt climate changes occur in the span of years to decades."

---

Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
...................

---

Journal Reference:

Arash Sharifi, Ali Pourmand, Elizabeth A. Canuel, Erin Ferer-Tyler, Larry C. Peterson, Bernhard Aichner, Sarah J. Feakins, Touraj Daryaee, Morteza Djamali, Abdolmajid Naderi Beni, Hamid A.K. Lahijani, Peter K. Swart. Abrupt climate variability since the last deglaciation based on a high-resolution, multi-proxy peat record from NW Iran: The hand that rocked the Cradle of Civilization? Quaternary Science Reviews, 2015; 123: 215 DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.006

===================

...........................