Crossroad

e-health Czech style

2011-01-07T03:28:00.000-08:00

Over the past 20 years, the European Commission has spent over one trillion euros to address issues of e-health, such problems as Electronic Health Records (EHR or EMR). That number is four European trillions, not billions, as we learn on page 4 of this official EU document. Now you might think: "Hooray, Brussels is paying for it. Our cash-strapped health system is going to survive the

Vote now on a new era - new taxes

2009-05-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

The critical moment, your opportunity to influence decisions on new taxes, is now. In December, the Copenhagen conference will negotiate a new treaty, replacing the expiring the Kyoto treaty. Governments are likely to agree to mandatory limits on CO2. The method to achieve these limits will be the introduction of new taxes, taxes on either fossil fuels or on emissions. Here in Europe, the

Obama's Visit to Prague (Road to Hell?)

2009-04-04T04:24:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge. We started this blog in December 2008, with the remark: "The Czech republic will assume presidency of the EU in January 2009. The priorities they set . . the three E's : The Economy, Energy and the External Relations of the EU. The first two are already disaster areas. Let's see what is likely to happen in the third area . .." Now, only half way through his six month

Brrr! What's Happening to the Sun?

2009-02-22T07:46:00.000-08:00

(As always, click on the picture to enlarge it; you will see it describes the years 1988 to 2008. Or click on c4s to find the source of data and other details.) What are the causes of this temperature drop, according to the popular press, the lunatic fringe, and climatologists? Global warming stopped!!! Some headlines scream: New Ice Age Coming Soon. Others, more moderate, predict at

The Earth's Atmosphere: Weather is not climate

2009-01-26T01:56:00.000-08:00

The argument often made by deniers and repeated by naive readers is "They (scientists), cannot even predict the weather for more that three days, so how can they know what would happen in 50 or 100 years? On the face of it, this sounds like a sensible question. The physics of planetary temperature is a very different problem, however, than weather prediction. It is actually much simpler

What about that 800 lb gorilla?

2009-01-26T01:55:00.000-08:00

The water cycle. c4s In a comment to the last post ( January 20 2009, 14:36 by Ken) Ken says: " The vast majority of the public believes that C02 controls all of the greenhouse effect, when in reality water vapour is the dominant contributor. It is the 800 lb gorilla, not C02. Which begs the question: Why is water vapour omitted from climate modelling? Omitting water

Climate disruption: Politics and science

2008-12-31T01:27:00.000-08:00

In a pleasant surprise, the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznań, Poland ended with a “growing consensus" about what needs to be done. The agreements should lead to commitments in Copenhagen at end of this year cutting emissions 20% by 2020. As we enter what may be a groundbreaking new year, let's look at some of the research and information behind these decisions, as well as a few of the

Happy? New Year.

2008-12-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

Certainly an exciting year is ahead, at least to those with a strong sense of irony. In the first post of this blog we pondered doom scenarios in general philosophical terms. Now it is time to get specific: The Czech republic will assume presidency of the EU in January 2009.The priorities they set on their already running presidency website are the three E's : The Economy, Energy and the

Steps ahead

2008-11-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

"More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly." Woody Allen translations Imagine: steps A field covered with freshly-fallen snow, undisturbed and pristine, except for a single line of footprints