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At Sadhana Forest, trees spring from once-barren land - CSMonitor.com: "Aviram Rozin was excited. He had just returned from Haiti where the 80,000 Maya nut trees that volunteers with Sadhana Forest had planted there during the past five years had started to flower. Before long each tree would be producing huge quantities of nuts high in protein and other nutrients. One tree could supply enough yearly protein for a family of five."
"Faced with the dry climate, Rozin has come up with a simple, yet innovative, way to water the trees: wick irrigation. A two-liter plastic bottle filled with water is planted up to its neck next to each sapling or tree. A piece of cotton rope fed through a tiny hole in the bottom of the bottle acts as a wick, slowly moistening the soil. Loosening or tightening the bottle’s cap can control the rate of flow.
“The water drips very, very, very slowly toward the roots,” Rozin says, eliminating the need for conventional watering from above, a practice that allows most of the moisture to evaporate. In many places people must carry water to the trees themselves, so every drop saved is precious."
Thursday, April 09, 2015
Removing State-Based Obstacles to Affordable Healthcare | Cato Institute
Removing State-Based Obstacles to Affordable Healthcare | Cato Institute: "States can begin by repealing “Certificate of Need” (CON) laws. These are outdated and counterproductive laws which encourage cronyism, increase costs, and detract from the quality of health care.
Certificate-of-need laws require anyone wanting to open or expand a healthcare facility to prove to a regulator that the community “needs” it. Once they prove such a need, the state grants them a certificate which lets them operate. In some states the micromanaging can extend down to the level of expanding offices or adding new equipment. In North Carolina, for example, the state Department of Health and Human Services must approve the addition of basic necessities such as hospital beds."
"Legislators once thought they would tamp down health care costs by preventing unnecessary and duplicative expenditures. But instead, the certificate-granting process effectively grants monopoly privileges to existing hospitals and facilities—increasing costs in the process.
When a new provider petitions for a certificate, established providers are usually invited to testify against their would-be competitors. This means that some health care practices can openly challenge the right to exist of any practice that might hurt their bottom line. Indeed, hospital administrators openly admit that protection against competition thanks to CON laws has become an integral part of their business model."
"Large hospitals and other medical incumbents have another advantage: They can afford the lengthy and expensive process while smaller, newer health care providers cannot. Getting state approval for a certificate of need can take years or even over a decade, including appeals and re-appeals. In a place like Washington state, the application fee alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars. All of this discourages new entrants who lack the legal and financial resources to run the certificate-of-need obstacle course."
"According to studies from the Mercatus center at George Mason University, they decrease the availability of medical resources, do not make care more accessible for underserved communities, and increase the costs of care by 13.6 percent per-capita in the states where they exist. If there is any substantial benefit associated with these regulations, such a benefit has yet to present itself. The negatives, on the other hand, are unmistakable."
Certificate-of-need laws require anyone wanting to open or expand a healthcare facility to prove to a regulator that the community “needs” it. Once they prove such a need, the state grants them a certificate which lets them operate. In some states the micromanaging can extend down to the level of expanding offices or adding new equipment. In North Carolina, for example, the state Department of Health and Human Services must approve the addition of basic necessities such as hospital beds."
"Legislators once thought they would tamp down health care costs by preventing unnecessary and duplicative expenditures. But instead, the certificate-granting process effectively grants monopoly privileges to existing hospitals and facilities—increasing costs in the process.
When a new provider petitions for a certificate, established providers are usually invited to testify against their would-be competitors. This means that some health care practices can openly challenge the right to exist of any practice that might hurt their bottom line. Indeed, hospital administrators openly admit that protection against competition thanks to CON laws has become an integral part of their business model."
"Large hospitals and other medical incumbents have another advantage: They can afford the lengthy and expensive process while smaller, newer health care providers cannot. Getting state approval for a certificate of need can take years or even over a decade, including appeals and re-appeals. In a place like Washington state, the application fee alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars. All of this discourages new entrants who lack the legal and financial resources to run the certificate-of-need obstacle course."
"According to studies from the Mercatus center at George Mason University, they decrease the availability of medical resources, do not make care more accessible for underserved communities, and increase the costs of care by 13.6 percent per-capita in the states where they exist. If there is any substantial benefit associated with these regulations, such a benefit has yet to present itself. The negatives, on the other hand, are unmistakable."
The Truth about Infrastructure | Cato Institute
The Truth about Infrastructure | Cato Institute: "Spending advocates point to the 61,000 bridges that are rated “structurally deficient” (meaning they require more than routine maintenance). Yet they never mention that this number has steadily declined from nearly 138,000 in 1990 even as the number of highway bridges has grown. This continuing decline hardly signals a crisis.
The vast majority of structurally deficient bridges are locally owned. Some 15 percent of local bridges are deficient, compared with less than 4 percent of freeway bridges, which are mostly state owned.
A similar situation exists for highway pavement. The average roughness of pavement has steadily improved, but the smoothest pavements are state owned while local streets tend to have the most potholes."
The vast majority of structurally deficient bridges are locally owned. Some 15 percent of local bridges are deficient, compared with less than 4 percent of freeway bridges, which are mostly state owned.
A similar situation exists for highway pavement. The average roughness of pavement has steadily improved, but the smoothest pavements are state owned while local streets tend to have the most potholes."
AP investigation: Are slaves catching the fish you buy? (+video) - CSMonitor.com
AP investigation: Are slaves catching the fish you buy? (+video) - CSMonitor.com: "The slaves interviewed by the AP described 20- to 22-hour shifts and unclean drinking water. Almost all said they were kicked, beaten, or whipped with toxic stingray tails if they complained or tried to rest. They were paid little or nothing.
Runaway Hlaing Min said many died at sea."
Runaway Hlaing Min said many died at sea."
FBI figures tweaked to show phony increase in mass shootings, report says | Fox News
FBI figures tweaked to show phony increase in mass shootings, report says | Fox News: "FBI figures released last September appear to show so-called "mass shooter" attacks and deaths have dramatically increased since 2000. The report asserted there were a total 160 such incidents in public places between 2000 and 2013, with attacks dramatically increased to 17 in 2013 from just one in 2000. The statistics also showed murders jumping to 86 from just seven over the span.
But Lott's group said a major flaw is the fact that the data was gleaned from news reports, and noted recent accounts were more accessible, and thus over-represented. Recent cases of the far more common “active shooting incidents” were added to legitimate cases of mass shooting incidents, making the more recent years covered by the report appear to have a large increase in both mass shootings and deaths from them."
But Lott's group said a major flaw is the fact that the data was gleaned from news reports, and noted recent accounts were more accessible, and thus over-represented. Recent cases of the far more common “active shooting incidents” were added to legitimate cases of mass shooting incidents, making the more recent years covered by the report appear to have a large increase in both mass shootings and deaths from them."
Feds under fire for mass killings of starlings in Nevada | Fox News
Feds under fire for mass killings of starlings in Nevada | Fox News: "Land owners surprised to discover tens of thousands of dead birds across the high desert are criticizing the federal government over a mass killing of starlings in northern Nevada.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman said a pesticide was used to destroy the birds to prevent the spread of disease to dairy cows."
A U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman said a pesticide was used to destroy the birds to prevent the spread of disease to dairy cows."
FEMA Is Asking Mississippi to Do the Impossible ... Or Lose Disaster Aid | Cato Institute
FEMA Is Asking Mississippi to Do the Impossible ... Or Lose Disaster Aid | Cato Institute: "For example, in its most recent compendium on climate change the United Nations uses 107 different versions, all of which predict slightly different futures and none of which have been correct about the climate of the past two decades.
In those last two decades, according to the global satellite-sensed temperature record environmentalists used to love, there has been no net global surface warming whatsoever. Is it realistic to think we could use these same models to reliably predict how many tornados will hit Mississippi in 2050?
It simply can’t be done. Not only have these models failed to accurately predict global temperatures, but tornadoes are too small to be captured by them."
In those last two decades, according to the global satellite-sensed temperature record environmentalists used to love, there has been no net global surface warming whatsoever. Is it realistic to think we could use these same models to reliably predict how many tornados will hit Mississippi in 2050?
It simply can’t be done. Not only have these models failed to accurately predict global temperatures, but tornadoes are too small to be captured by them."
Real Progressives Should Support Indiana's Law | Cato Institute
Real Progressives Should Support Indiana's Law | Cato Institute: "would you want Unitarians to work the audio equipment at a Southern Baptist revival? Would you force a Jewish printer to produce anti-Semitic flyers? Would you require Muslim butchers to serve pork ribs?"
"We’re all born free and equal under the law. That means that we may associate with anyone who wishes to associate with us, and also to decline to associate. While governments must treat everyone equally, individuals should be able to make their own decisions on whom to do business with and how — on religious grounds or otherwise. Those who disagree with those choices can take their custom elsewhere and encourage others to do the same."
"gay photographers shouldn’t be forced to work fundamentalist celebrations, blacks shouldn’t be forced to work KKK rallies, and environmentalists shouldn’t be forced to work job fairs in logging communities. This isn’t the Jim Crow South; there are plenty of wedding vendors who would be willing to do business regardless of sexual orientation, and no state is enforcing segregation laws."
"We’re all born free and equal under the law. That means that we may associate with anyone who wishes to associate with us, and also to decline to associate. While governments must treat everyone equally, individuals should be able to make their own decisions on whom to do business with and how — on religious grounds or otherwise. Those who disagree with those choices can take their custom elsewhere and encourage others to do the same."
"gay photographers shouldn’t be forced to work fundamentalist celebrations, blacks shouldn’t be forced to work KKK rallies, and environmentalists shouldn’t be forced to work job fairs in logging communities. This isn’t the Jim Crow South; there are plenty of wedding vendors who would be willing to do business regardless of sexual orientation, and no state is enforcing segregation laws."
Earth Hour Celebrates Ignorance | Cato Institute
Earth Hour Celebrates Ignorance | Cato Institute: "I abhor Earth Hour. Abundant, cheap electricity has been the greatest source of human liberation in the 20th century. Every material social advance in the 20th century depended on the proliferation of inexpensive and reliable electricity.
Giving women the freedom to work outside the home depended on the availability of electrical appliances that free up time from domestic chores. Getting children out of menial labour and into schools depended on the same thing, as well as on the ability to provide safe indoor lighting for reading.
“
Its ideas would send the West back 100 years and keep poor nations impoverished and wretched.”
Development and provision of modern health care without electricity is absolutely impossible. The expansion of our food supply, and the promotion of hygiene and nutrition, depended on being able to irrigate fields, cook and refrigerate foods, and have a steady indoor supply of safe hot water.
Many of the world’s poor suffer brutal environmental conditions in their own homes because of the necessity of cooking over indoor fires that burn twigs and dung. This causes local deforestation and the proliferation of smoke- and parasite-related lung diseases."
Giving women the freedom to work outside the home depended on the availability of electrical appliances that free up time from domestic chores. Getting children out of menial labour and into schools depended on the same thing, as well as on the ability to provide safe indoor lighting for reading.
“
Its ideas would send the West back 100 years and keep poor nations impoverished and wretched.”
Development and provision of modern health care without electricity is absolutely impossible. The expansion of our food supply, and the promotion of hygiene and nutrition, depended on being able to irrigate fields, cook and refrigerate foods, and have a steady indoor supply of safe hot water.
Many of the world’s poor suffer brutal environmental conditions in their own homes because of the necessity of cooking over indoor fires that burn twigs and dung. This causes local deforestation and the proliferation of smoke- and parasite-related lung diseases."
Has Freedom of Association Become a Crime? | Cato Institute
Has Freedom of Association Become a Crime? | Cato Institute: "No one likes to feel the sting of discrimination, of rejection. But neither do we want to lose our right to choose our own associations, to be forced into associations we’d rather not be in. But to choose just is to discriminate. Indeed, we think of a “discriminating” person as one who chooses wisely. Notice, however, that such a person has his own reasons for so choosing—they’re not imposed on him by others. And that’s pretty much the way the common law struck the balance when it held that, absent the exceptions just noted, the often complex and always subjective reasons for choosing whether or not to associate with another were your business and yours alone. It was not the business of government to second-guess you, to try to discern the “real” reason why you chose to discriminate as you did."
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