Map showing decline in DDT use, 2000 to 2014
DDT use declining toward oblivion: UNEP caption – Source: DDT Expert Group. Report of the Effectiveness Evaluation on DDT Pursuant to the Article 16 of the Stockholm Convention Animation prepared by: UN Environment Chemicals and Health Branch 2016, with the latest information available and may not reflect the current status.
More than 180 nations signed the Persistent Organic Pollutants Treaty (POPs), often called the Stockholm Convention. The treaty pledges nations to voluntarily work to rid the planet of dangerous and toxic organic chemicals.
DDT is named in negotiation documents as one of the Dirty Dozen most toxic pollutants; however, because there was no alternative that performed exactly like DDT, the nations made a special addendum to the treaty to allow any nation to use DDT to fight disease vectors (insects that carry disease). The World Health Organization tracks use of DDT.
In 2001, 43 nations said they thought DDT would be useful. But by 2015, 33 of those nations gave up DDT, due to insects developing resistance and immunity.
India, the sole remaining nation where manufacture of DDT occurs, plans to stop all DDT production by 2020. India discovered that more DDT makes the insect pests more resistant faster, instead of beating disease carriers.
This map from the UN Environmental Program shows declining use of DDT, 2000 to 2014. ][If that link doesn't work, and it's been iffy, try this one for information: https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/chemicals-waste/what-we-do/persistent-organic-pollutants/alternatives-ddt]
Leave a Comment »	| DDT, Persistent Organic Pesticides Treaty (POPs), pollution, Stockholm Convention, World Health Organization	| Tagged: DDT, pollution, POPs Treaty, Stockholm Convention, WHO - World Health Organization	| Permalink
September 14, 1901: McKinley died, Teddy Roosevelt ascended to presidency
September 14, 1901, front page of the Boston Morning Journal, announcing the death of President William McKinley. Image from Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers.
Lincoln, Garfield, then McKinley.
September 14, 1901, President William McKinley died in Buffalo, New York, eight days after having been shot at Buffalo's Pan American Exposition a sort of World Fair.
Within hours, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt took the oath as president.
Ken Burns explained the events of the day well in his long series of films on the Roosevelts:
Interesting to read the newspapers from an era before television, radio or especially internet.
Front page of the "3:00 p.m. edition" of the Buffalo Enquirer, September 14, 1901. Image from Nate D. Sanders Auctions
Last photos of President McKinley
"The Presidential Library that Isn't a Presidential Library"
Post from 2016, on the 115th anniversary of McKinley's death
President McKinley shot at the Pan American Exposition, September 6, 1901
1 Comment	| Assassination, History, Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt	| Tagged: Assassination, History, Presidents, September 14 1901, Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley	| Permalink
9/11/2017 – Fly your flag today, honor the victims and heroes
Rose honoring a victim at the 9/11 Memorial, Manhattan, New York City. (Photo by Ed Darrell)
Fly your U.S. flag today to honor the victims and heroes of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. The day is designated in U.S. law as National Patriot Day (36 USC § 144).
U.S. flag flies in front of construction restoring the sites of the World Trade Center in New York City (bus station opened a few weeks later).
Dates to fly the U.S. flag in September 2017
Leave a Comment »	| 9/11, Fly your flag today, History, Terrorism	| Tagged: 9-11, Fly your flag today, History, National Patriot Day, September 11, Terrorism	| Permalink
Boston Typewriter Orchestra. Is that a thing?
Alex Holman, first tenor Smith-Corona, Boston Typewriter Orchestra
Seems to be.
I note they use non-typewriter bells instead of the return bell on the typewriter. Bells fell out of favor with later electrics. Is that a problem?
Do activities like this preserve the culture of the typewriter, or burn out actual working typewriters at greater speed? The eternal problem of art versus conservation.
Tip of the old scrub brush to The Good Men Project.
The Clickity Clackity Old School Nostalgia of the Typewriter Orchestra https://t.co/srw7D44BNF
— Men's Style Guide (@MensStyleFeed) September 6, 2017
Jerry Lewis in "Who's Minding the Store," pantomime to Leroy Anderson's classic typewriter song
4 Comments	| Machines, Music, Technology, Typewriters	| Tagged: Machines, Music, Technology, Typewriters	| Permalink
Labor Day 2017: Fly the flag to honor American labor
Small U.S. flag flies at the grave of John Morris, the first worker killed in the battle outside of the Homestead Works Steel Mill in 1892. Photo by Alex Popichak / 90.5 WESA
Fly your U.S. flags today in honor of Labor Day, to honor American labor.
In Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912, flag-waving union organizers and textile workers confronted by armed state troops trying to quell union protests. Library of Congress photo.
Union leaders and historians work to keep alive the history of the 1892 Homestead Strike, 90.5 WESA-FM, July 2017
Leave a Comment »	| Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Labor and unions, U.S. Flag	| Tagged: Fly your flag today, History, Labor Day	| Permalink
September 2017: When to fly the the U.S. flag
A new flag for September: Flag patched up with pieces from many flags, including the flag from Ft. McHenry; displayed at the National 9-11 Memorial Museum in New York City. Photo by Ed Darrell, please use with attribution.
September features few dates to fly the U.S. flag in an average year. Labor Day is the only national holiday. Only California joined the union in a past September, so that's the only statehood date. Gold Star Mothers Day had fallen out of regular honors, until our two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
School reform efforts after 2000 turned to adding patriotism to the curriculum. Most states now require something be said about the Constitution in social studies classes, and that has increased focus on Constitution Day on September 17.
Attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, led to a new day honoring patriots, on that day of the month every year.
The dates are few, but the sobriety and somberness are great.
Here are the dates to fly the U.S. flag in September 2017. In order:
Labor Day, first Monday in September
California statehood, September 9 (1850, the 31st state)
National Patriot Day, September 11
Constitution Day, September 17
Gold Star Mothers Day, last Sunday in September
General information and non-chronological lists of all U.S. flag-flying dates
2 Comments	| Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, U.S. Flag	| Tagged: Flag etiquette, Flag Fly Dates, History, September, U.S. Flag	| Permalink
Letter of the week: What is wrong with you, white supremacists?
Letter-to-the-Editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, August 20, 2017.
"What is wrong with you?" Open letter to white supremacists, in the Salt Lake Tribune, by Jonna Ramey, August 20, 2017. Image maker unknown.
I am a 67-year-old American white woman. My parents enlisted in World War II to fight fascism. They both served; my mother was a nurse, my father navigated bombers. They lost friends in that bloody war so that all the world could be free of fascism. They did not fight so that some white people could claim supremacy or that Nazis could openly walk the streets of America.
White person to white supremacist person: What is wrong with you?
People of European heritage are doing just fine in the world. They run most of the world's institutions, hold much of the world's wealth, replicate as frequently as other humans. You're not in any danger here. The world is changing, that's true. Others want a piece of the pie. They work for it, strive for it and earn it. Technology (robotics) is having a greater effect on your job prospects than immigrants. Going forward, tackling corporate control and climate change will need all of our attention, ideas and energy. Put down your Tiki torches and trite flags and get involved in some real work.
By the way, the world won the war against Nazi fascism in the 1940s, just as America won the war against the Confederacy in the 1860s. Aligning with two lost causes just labels you as profound losers.
And finally, white person to white person: Like my parents before me, I will not stand idly by nor give up my rights or the rights of other Americans because you think you are better than some of us. It doesn't work that way. All Americans stand shoulder to shoulder against your hatred and bigotry.
Jonna Ramey
Kathryn found the letter on Facebook somewhere. Since we both have Utah roots, and anchors sometimes, the venue alone made it interesting.
On Facebook it came with a link to Leigh Melander, who turns out to have an affiliation with the Joseph Campbell Foundation (JCF). You remember, Campbell's series of interviews with Bill Moyers a few years ago became a hit television series. Melander seems to be an interesting voice in her own right.
(Who is Jonna Ramey?)
How did Melander chance across that image from the paper version of the letter in the Salt Lake Tribune?
Wouldn't it be amazing if supremacists paid more attention to Joseph Campbell's informed and hopeful outlook on use of myth to bring peace and happiness, instead of inventing false claims to drive hate?
Hate and discrimination are expensive. We can't afford them.
2 Comments	| Civil Rights, History, Newspapers, Racism	| Tagged: Charlottesville, Civil Rights, History, Jonna Ramey, Salt Lake Tribune, White supremacist	| Permalink
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