Showing posts with label global warming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label global warming. Show all posts
Climate change summit in Copenhagen brings more polluting carbon emission
In spite of the economic downturn that needs some form of austerity among delegates of the global warming conference in Copenhagen, those who will attend will display a measure of extravagance. The huge number of cars, limousines, and gas-guzzling private jets coming to the capital city of Denmark will produce polluting carbon dioxide---the agent that is blamed for the planet's warming.
According to Majken Friss Jorgensen, managing director of Copenhagen's biggest limousine business, her company has only twelve vehicles, but during the summit there will be 200. Together with other limousine companies, the number of vehicles is expected to reach more than 1,200. Of these, only 5 will be among the class of “non-polluting cars”---the electric or the hybrid.
In addition to the agents of pollution on the road, Danish airports are expecting 140 private jets to be used by the VIP delegates and guests.
“The airport says it is expecting up to 140 extra private jets during the peak period alone, so far over its capacity that the planes will have to fly off to regional airports – or to Sweden – to park, returning to Copenhagen to pick up their VIP passengers.
As well 15,000 delegates and officials, 5,000 journalists and 98 world leaders, the Danish capital will be blessed by the presence of Leonardo DiCaprio, Daryl Hannah, Helena Christensen, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Prince Charles. A Republican US senator, Jim Inhofe, is jetting in at the head of an anti-climate-change "Truth Squad." The top hotels – all fully booked at £650 a night – are readying their Climate Convention menus of (no doubt sustainable) scallops, foie gras and sculpted caviar wedges. “---Telegraph.co.uk (12/05/09, Gilligan, A.)
Whether this flashy summit will realize its goal of saving the planet is unclear. The strident controversies behind global warming are still raging. There is no unanimity if the observed climatic alteration is truly a man-made phenomenon or part of a cycle of planetary change. There are serious questions on the validity and veracity of certain climate data on which decisions have been based.
The doubts behind global warming have intensified as scientists have been accused of tampering data to influence policy and public opinion. An embarrassment to the global warming proponents, the fraud reports cast a bad shadow on the credibility and recommendations of the environmental scientists.(Photo Credit: chrismadden.co.uk) =0=
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$30 billion aid needed by poor countries to curb global warming
Just as the Copenhagen international conference on climate change is about to start, United Nations climate chief Yvo de Boer said an emergency $30 billion funding is needed by poor countries to help them deal with the effects of climate change. The funding which will largely come from rich donor-countries is endorsed by the European Union is needed to curb carbon emissions that are thought to be some experts to the main cause of global warming.
“Scientists say carbon gas emissions must be reduced globally in the next decade by 25 to 40 percent from 1990 levels to control rising temperatures. The European Union has pledged 20 percent cuts, and more if other nations agree.
China has proposed reducing its emissions by 45 percent from 2005 levels, while India has offered a 20 to 25 percent cut.”---VOA, (12/06/09) (Photo Credit: magazine.ucla.edu.)
Small and poor countries decry the fact that they bear the brunt of pollution that they are not largely responsible of. The aggressive move of rich countries to advance industrialization cause many parts of the world to suffer from pollutants brought by the destruction of the environment =0=
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Record flooding in Manila by Typhoon Ondoy
On September 26, 2009, Saturday, between 8 AM to 2 PM, a heavy downpour in Metro Manila brought water rising--- surpassing a previous record of rainful in 1967. According to PAGASA, the rain brought by Typhoon Ondoy, registered 341 millimeters in a 6-hour period. It surpassed the record 42 years ago for the highest rainfall record in a 24-hour period of 334 millimeters in the area.
Metro Manila and 25 provinces were put on disaster emergency. The provinces affected by the flooding were Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon, Isabela, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro Oriental, Mindoro Occidental, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, and Bataan.
“At least 25 villages in Marilao, Meycauayan, San Miguel and Bocaue in Bulacan were also flooded, with floodwaters reaching up to waist-high. In Metro Manila, at least 33 villages in Marikina, Malabon, Muntinlupa, Quezon, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, Valenzuela and San Juan Cities were also flooded.”---GMAnews.TV (09/25/09)
Typhoon Ondoy waterlogged streets in the city of Manila, hampering movement and forcing at least 363 families of more than a thousand individuals (mainly from San Mateo town) to evacuate their homes. At least 9 people were reported missing as the typhoon lashed the country. The poor drainage system and clogging of sewers and waterways were partly to blame for the torrential flood.
It is unclear if this wicked weather is related to the climate change brought by global warming as currently debated. Believers of man-made weather changes assert that catastrophes from high C02 emissions and pollution could cause these foul weather aberrations. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the earth’s climate changes in cycles that spans in centuries--- with man, contributing little to the fluctuations in weather.
Whatever the reason(s), it is expected that flooding in many areas could displace many people which might cause considerable suffering, political and social instability. The weather experience in the Manila, Philippines where about 10 million people live is not an isolated one. (PHoto Credits: GMAnews.TV; Kerolic) =0=
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Fighting global warming and pollution
On my way home this Wednesday, September 23, 2009 from NYU Clinical Cancer Center, I wasn’t able to use my usual route to Queensboro bridge using First Avenue where the UN Headquarters building stands. Many police officers guarded each street corner preventing motorists like me to go close to the United Nations building which was having a general assembly. I almost crossed a red light when a police officer distracted me with the brisk order that I had to change course. In spite of the onset of fall, the weather was hot.
At Third Avenue, it took me almost an hour to reach the bridge to Astoria and I had time to listen to the radio inside my car, one among those that clogged the streets. What was discussed in the airwaves was the climate summit in UN where Pres. Barack Obama warned of worldwide catastrophes if nothing is done on global change. His tone was almost hyperbolic, but an NY tabloid printed alarming articles of the disasters that may befall the city if man-made global warming is not halted.
America is the biggest polluter of the environment. Obama is speaking for planet preservation, but the United States is not among the countries who signed the Kyoto Treaty on the environment. Among the fastest growing economies and significant polluters, China and India ignore their hydrogen fuel and methane gas emissions. Like the US, if they strictly comply with the standards by cutting their emissions, their industries will suffer.
The believers of global warming are as many as those who doubt its existence. The UN scientific panel studying environmental changes said in February 2007 that global warming is real and “unequivocal,” and for the last 50 years, human activity i.e. industrial use of fossil fuel and burning of forests, is likely to have contributed to the alteration the earth’s climate. The UN speakers ominously told the world that time is running out before global catastrophes occur.
“The latest report from the climate panel predicted that the global climate is likely to rise between 3.5 and 8 degrees Fahrenheit if the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere reaches twice the level of 1750. By 2100, sea levels are likely to rise between 7 to 23 inches, it said, and the changes now underway will continue for centuries to come. “ ---New York Times (09/25/09, Science)
I’m reminded by hypocrisy when leaders who support measures to rescue the planet are among the biggest contributors of CO2 emissions and pollution. In New York, the streets are filled with gas guzzlers that give rides to the UN delegates. In their expensive limousines, diplomats and head of states display their disregard of global warming ---their limousines burn lots of hydrocarbons as they idle on the streets.
Former vice-president Al Gore, America’s leading advocate against global warming who was awarded an Oscar for a documentary “The Inconvenient Truth” had been repeatedly criticized for his jet travels that ruin the ozone layer. Senators and congressmen are similarly cited for their lifestyles that contribute to environmental damage. If these guys are serious about cleaning up the pollution and saving the earth, I guess the work on the environment must be done right at their home and backyard. (Photo Credit: freejay3) =0=
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Turning off the lights in defense of planet Earth
There’s a good feeling that can be derived from participating in the Earth Hour celebration----a campaign by environmental groups to bring consciousness for the need to conserve our planet’s resources. More than 50 years ago, we have recognized the polluting influence of human activity on earth and only lately that we’re made aware of global warming---a concept of environmental change that divides scientists and laymen---those who believe it is real and those who don’t.
On March 28, 2009, between 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM non-essential lights on the Eiffel tower of Paris, the acropolis of Greece, the ancient Pyramids of Egypt, the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium of China, Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Basilica, the Roman Colloseum of Italy and the Empire State building of New York City will be dimmed to bring the message of saving the planet.
More than 2,800 municipalities in 84 countries worldwide agree to shut down lights for 60 minutes to mark Earth Hour so that people can “internalize” the issue of caring for the environment. In the Philippines, the streets of Manila together with a hundred more towns and cities will be blackened in solidarity to the Earth Hour.
“The Earth Hour event is a message of hope and action,” Cebu Archbishop Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal said. “We will send this message to our world leaders, so that we can look forward to a meaningful action on their part — an action that can spell a big difference for our world… According to DENR regional secretary Antonio Principe, the country expects to save at least 560 megawatts of power during the one-hour lights off period, equivalent to cutting down roughly 330 tons on carbon dioxide emission.”----Philstar (03/28/09/ Gatdula, D)
Whether global warming is just part of the normal cycle of the planet or a true man-made phenomenon, it is clear that humanity must work hard to lessen the pollution that foul our environment. The earth is now inhabited by about 7 billion people, a threefold rise in the last 300 years, capable of accelerating environmental damage on the irreplaceable lifeforms of the planet.(Photo Credits: dstueber; Wootang01; Ollik) =0=
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“Win or lose, after the election we go shopping.”
Except for the people of Georgia and the Philippines, CNN reveals, seventy-five percent (75%) of the world wants Sen. Barack Obama to be the next US president.
The Fil-Am Democrat (FLD,) who spoke of ethnic “ignorance” and cautioned her kababayans that “a nation of bigoted fools is hopeless” raged over the support for Sen. John McCain. As a continuation of my blog: “On Filipino’s support for McCain: This goes deeper than ignorance,” on October 24, 2008, I proceed to think more on the Filipino. See what we have and you decide.
The Georgians
The small East European country with 6 million people allied with the United States was recently invaded by Russia. Georgians probably wanted a candidate like Sen. McCain with experience to help them deal with their problem with Russia.
What do Filipinos want?Pres. Bill Clinton’s popular catch words “It’s the economy, stupid!” helped him win over the republican Pres. George H. W.Bush Sr.
It’s the economy again, but this time, Filipinos seriously weigh in on homeland security, the war on terror, religious freedom, illegal aliens, foreign policy, social security, taxation, healthcare, education, abortion, same-sex marriage, global warming, and stem cell research. That's hell of a lot to think about.
Everybody knows the future of American is at stake. Tied with their moral values, they face conflicting issues in their way of life which are difficult to reconcile. At the risk of losing hold of their American dream, they have to decide with their moral stand, relying on what they hear from family and friends, church, media and workplace. Like any voter, they are vulnerable to misread the election issues and decide against their own respective interests.
Religion & TraditionThere are those who think religion isn’t needed in America anymore. The liberal extremists assert tradition is blasé and counterproductive. They want to ban prayers in school. They protest the mention of God in government. They trash the Christmas tree, efface the “In God We Trust” in the US currency, and prohibit the Christ’s birthday scene display in public. To advance abortion and same-sex marriage, they push on redefining life and the meaning marriage, hoping to change the constitution.
Many Filipinos don’t agree. Families decry the assault of liberalism on morals and ethics. They worry on the effects of secularist relativism for themselves and their growing children. They recognize the contribution of religious believers in the building of America. Rejecting corruption and injustice, many quietly abide with Pope Benedict XVI, the Orthodox Christians, denominational Christian sects, and other faiths including the Muslims and Jews.
US & Philippine PoliticsThe US election reflects the politics in the Philippines. The ACORN voter registration fraud in USA is just as deplorable as the “Hello Garci” scandal of Gloria M. Arroyo and the Joc Joc Bolante election money diversion.
There is hypocrisy, corruption, and distortions hurled on both sides. The manipulation of public opinion through massive campaign spending and eloquent talk has made it hard to ascertain truth.
Filipinos find it hard to buy on promises of change without action. But surely there are those who put their trust on promises. In the crisis that damaged the credibility of the financial system, they have a schizophrenic view of the motives of leaders. They are disappointed and angered for even the retired economics guru Alan Greenspan admitted his mistake in handling the economy.
The financial bailout of $700 billion seems not enough to solve the economic meltdown which some say comes every hundred years. The economy continues to be volatile. Federal Reserves chairman Ben Shalom Bernanke and Treasury secretary Henry Paulson struggle to bring the economy on track. Yet, even with resiliency and optimism, Americans ask if the new president can deliver.
But Filipinos aren’t that politically engaged. They rather stay on the side to focus on their personal lives, work hard to recoup the lost time to advance their dream and that of their families. They are ambivalent to vote for a candidate with grandiose promises, questionable past, and unproven track record of service. Yet, they also worry about a president coming from the ranks of old politics.
“Redistribution of Wealth”Counted among the successful migrants in America, Filipinos play by the rules. They work hard in the tradition of free enterprise. Many avoid the greed and corruption they see in their native land and they hurt when they see it happen in Washington and Wall Street.
They believe honest job gets rewarded better than being idle and lazy. They know competition is a force which drives people to advance in the social ladder; they frown on dole-outs which encourage indolence. Their friends and relatives who have not seen the gruelling work in America may not agree with them.
Unlike the 12 million aliens who gate-crashed USA, majority of Filipinos waited for years working legally to become integrated and become citizens. Taking the capitalist mindset to pursue the American dream, they look at government’s sudden interest in private property with suspicion.
The candidate who wants to intrude into private money by “spreading wealth” isn’t what successful Filipino migrants desire in spite of the fact that sharing wealth abides with their Christian beliefs. In some ways, they want other people to share America’s pie, but they want them to respect the law and work by the rules.
Filipinos are unwilling to be dictated by politicians on what to do with their health insurance, retirement money, savings, investments, and 401Ks. They desire to do charity in their own terms. Socialist liberals, riding on many cash-strapped Americans needing financial help are tempted to tap and give away money to “level the playing field.” Filipinos know the devil lies in the details of a drastic plan and they ask if an elected official(s) can have a blank check using tax-payers' money to reprogram society.
Broken Promises & Taking ResponsibilityPres. Bill Clinton didn’t fulfill his promise on universal healthcare. Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda grew in strength and the stock market ballooned into a bubble which ruptured almost at the end of his term.
Clinton didn't correct the warped and corrupt business practices of Wall Street in his time, paving the way for its collapse, damaging the finances of ordinary people in the Main Street.
The immorality in the Monica Lewinsky affair almost kicked Clinton by impeachment. In spite of approving reviews from democrats, he didn’t take enough responsibility as the people expected. The same frustration apply to Pres. George W. Bush and the “do nothing” warring officials of the senate and congress.
The credit card and mortgage debts are out of hand. Americans live beyond their means. The government has not exercised enough oversight and the moral guardians are losing sway over the people's sense of right and wrong.
Greedy investors and financial managers have signed in borrowers worse than the loan scammers in the Philippines. Those who can’t pay for their homes dodge their complicity by leaving blame to mortgage lenders and the government. Responsible citizens don’t think this way.
With this mess, who then will the public vote? Those who are buried in debt and joblessness root for a promised savior-president, but Filipinos are more pragmatic. Maybe they heard of financier Bernard Baruch’s advice: “Vote for the man who promises least. He'll be the least disappointing.”
Partisan Media The media spread truth and lies. The public has become the captive of its bias and agenda. The media failed to vet on Obama’s background which citizens need to know. Instead, they drum up inanities which distract the focus of the electorate. By pounding on anti-American themes throughout the Bush administration, the media have succeeded in demonizing USA around the world. With huge latitude to control information, it’s easy for them to influence the thinking of the people here and abroad.
Against the majority, many take a detached and independent stand against the media’s excesses. There is lopsidedness in the information stream from the liberal New York Times, Washington Post, MSNBC, and CNN against the underdog conservative defenders in Fox News and the rightist talk radio announcers. Filipinos ask, “How sure are you that the media give you the right information?” Is it any wonder the US newspapers have suffered dropping readership and many Americans don’t turn on their TV anymore?
Movie Stars & Celebrity PoliticsHollywood has joined the political fray too. Filipinos have seen it happen in the Philippines. Talk show hosts like Jay Leno, movie star Barbra Streisand, TV darling Oprah Winfrey, singer Madonna, lesbian comediennes Ellen de Generes and Rosie O’ Donnell, atheist and anti-religion Richard Dawkins, and secularist anti-conservative movie director Michael Moore rein over liberalism while conservatism and traditional family values aren’t given a fair shake to express itself.
The culture these celebrities promote is not what Filipinos can easily take---bait, hook, and sinker. Many believe they can better rely on themselves about how they'll conduct their lives than trust the movie stars.
The prospect of a USA rising under a liberal president seems dampened by a silent fear of an economically and culturally waning America whose moral moorings is fast fading. Conservative Americans and Filipinos are worried by the change in society (for the better or worse.) Even the academics from universities are viewed with distrust; in their erudition they have their own self interest to pursue.
Foreign Vote in the US ElectionWith Obama’s African ancestry, people abroad hope he will somehow think like his Kenyan forebears and have sympathies for the cause of the outside world. Those who harbor anti-American sentiments find Obama likeable against McCain for being an “extension” of Pres. Bush. Foreigners have generously donated money in Obama’s campaign chest counting that their interest will be served if he gets elected.
Race IssueIn the privacy of their homes and in the tone of their humor, there are as much racial undertones that Filipinos are willing to admit. It also goes true with the Americans, but perhaps lesser. Lacking multiracial exposure compared to those who have been in USA longer, Filipinos are still more likely to favor a white man to be president, but this can change. A combination of simple preference, ignorance, colonial mentality, and bigotry are to blame if they vote solely on the basis of race.
You DecideThink seriously where you stand on the issues. Decide wisely. The economy is important as the questions on where the culture of America is going--- the milieu in which our children will live in the future. Resilient and adaptable, I expect all of us will accept whoever wins. We must be prepared to enjoy or suffer the consequences which go with the decision. As Imelda Marcos said in her uncanny wry humor, “win or lose, after the election, we go shopping."
Photo Credits: wwww.hamburg.mi.us; amobb; wishymom; mariozucca; Amm; leeKlement; j-walkblog; ahurey; chuckumentary) =0=
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1st Mayon Trail Run a Success
More than 150 runners answered the starting gun in the 1st Mayon Trail Run- a 5 kilometer fun run and an 18 kilometer foot race which had the runners negotiating man-made and natural obstacles including climbing a hill, fording a river and navigating sandy trails laden with volcanic debris.
Mindanao War: "humanity hanging on the cross of iron"
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron."---Dwight Eisenhower (April 16, 1953.) Photo Credit: Joe Galvez.
The Bounty of Green River Formation: Hyping America's Vast Oil Shale Reserve
We’ve bad mouthed the use of oil because it pollutes the environment. Yet for a time, in spite of our need to clean up the atmosphere and help lessen global warming, we’re still stuck with fossil-fuel based technologies. Until we perfect our cleaner alternatives of solar, electro-magnetic, nuclear, wind, hydroelectric, hydrogen, fuel cell etcetera versus the use of oil, there’s always this temptation to tap the bowels of the earth for precious combustible hydrocarbons to fuel the world economy.
The United States of America is ambivalent about drilling, but right at the heartland, the nation which owns 25% of the world’s wealth, has a vast reserve of shale oil that boggles the imagination of dreamers, prospectors, and entrepreneurs.
Oil shale is hard to unlock and stubborn to get. That’s the downside. But if this reserve is extracted and utilized (with utmost care to spare the environment,) the benefit will not only be for Americans, but for the world as well. The fast growing economies of China and India alone have astronomically raised the world’s need for oil and there is little indication that it’s abating.“While oil shale is found in many places worldwide, by far the largest deposits in the world are found in the United States in the Green River Formation, which covers portions of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
The estimates of the oil resource in place within the Green River Formation range from 1.2 to 1.8 trillion barrels. Not all resources in place are recoverable; however, even a moderate estimate of 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from oil shale in the Green River Formation is three times greater than the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Present U.S. demand for petroleum products is about 20 million barrels per day. If oil shale could be used to meet a quarter of that demand, the estimated 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from the Green River Formation would last for more than 400 years.” –Oil Shale Resources of USA, Source: ostseis.anl.gov/guide/oilshale/index.cfm =0=
Wow Words For Al Gore's Climate Agenda
There is little argument against Al Gore’s call for a shift from fossil-fuel based energy sources to environmentally friendly fuel alternatives to preserve the planet. His ambitious target date for the next US president to accomplish this is 10 years. But those who know Gore and his gas-guzzling life-style know better. He isn’t immaculately in synch with his climate agenda making them suspect politics or hypocrisy to be partly behind his high-brow rhetoric. As a famed leader of the environmental movement, the Nobel prize-winner Gore joins California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats, and Liberals to promote clean sources of energy by tapping on solar, wind, hydroelectric, and hydrogen power. Surely, this is good to the environmentalists' and green planet-savers' ears. However, for practical purposes, these energy sources aren’t well-developed to meet our present requirements. It will take sometime, most likely exceeding the timeline Gore has envisioned, before sanitized technologies will dominate our energy consumption.
Many experts believe the rational approach to the energy shortage is to do everything. We require all technologies and means: oil drilling, methane gas, coal, electro-magnetic, bio-fuels, and nuclear power (in addition to what the Democrats prefer) for us to be energy sufficient at this time. Others advocate to open USA's Strategic Petroleum Reserves to ease up the price of gasoline.Drilling oil in the vast continental USA, off-shore reefs, inland Utah-Wyoming-Colorado shales, and the Alaskan National Wilderness Reserve is basically what the majority of Americans want. They know these resources have to be tapped, sooner or later. They think it's cost-saving and time-efficient to have them set up ahead, anytime we need them.
But the lawmakers, influenced by lobbyists and interest groups, have been indecisively slow. People complain why these authorities aren’t listening. There appears to be a big gap to bridge between them and what the government decision-makers plan to do.
Hampered by the fear of adding more damage to the environment, the Democrats like Gore who resisted oil exploration, are being blamed for having dilly-dallied since 10 years ago, against the proposal of Pres. George W. Bush and the Republicans. As the energy crisis comes full-blown to a level which hurts, we’re caught flat on our noses. Many believe, had we started tapping America’s rich energy reserves earlier (as carefully as we can to avoid unduly adding to the destruction of the planet,) pipes could have been in place to gush oil needed to solve our present fuel problems. But excuses are commonplace in politics. The gamut of reasons why they can’t do the drilling now is as strong as our fear of global warming---as many as the bewildering explanations why oil prices continue to rise.
Overcoming political party squabbles and setting aside the environmental debacle, we must do everything to solve the present energy crisis. While we start cleaning up our planet of pollution and avert the deleterious effects C02 emissions in the environment, we can’t escape using oil for awhile. Without perfecting the technologies of other sources of energy, we can’t focus in tackling the issue of global warming right at the core. We’ve been trying to tap energies from solar, wind, water, and nuclear to run our industries and light up our cities. When done in a large scale, this will surely rebalance the equation of energy supply and demand. Alternative sources of energy will lessen speculations in oil futures---one of main reasons which drive worldwide fuel prices sky-high.
We’ve made in-roads to replace our cars with the hybrids, the plug-ins, the bio-fuel driven, and the ethanol-powered. Yet it will take sometime before clean, efficient, and less costly hydrogen and fuel cells will be in wide use to free us from our dependence on gas. Al Gore's audacious target is fine, but can we do it? When the private entrepreneurs and government doers ride the wagon, maybe we will.=0=
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