text:
Fox Turns to Texas PR Firm to Shape Mexico's Image in U.S.
By Sam Enriquez
Times Staff Writer
MEXICO CITY —
President Vicente Fox has rehired the Texas PR man and political consultant who quietly helped engineer his election victory in 2000. This time, though, he wants Rob Allyn & Co. to put the brakes on what many Mexicans see as growing anti-immigration, anti-Mexican sentiment in the United States.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would add 700 miles of border fencing and make illegal immigration a felony.
Fox denounced the measure as shameful. His foreign minister called it stupid and underhanded.
"How many of us don't have a relative in the United States, working and trying to make a living?" said Rodrigo Ivan Cortes Jimenez, an elected deputy in Mexico's lower house and a member of its commission on foreign affairs.
"It's about image, and they have a distorted image," he said of U.S. lawmakers. "The contributions of Mexicans in the United States, who are making their best effort, generating lots of wealth, are not known."
The immigration bill, which is expected to reach the Senate in February, has no provision for allowing temporary Mexican workers -- a further slap, in Fox's view. He and President Bush agree on the need for a so-called guest worker program.
Fox cannot seek reelection next year, and his legacy may rest in part on his pledges to secure an agreement with the United States to grant legal status to the millions of Mexicans now living and working north of the border illegally.
So last week he turned to the political operative who helped him topple Mexico's longtime ruling party to win the presidency.
Rob Allyn helped George W. Bush defeat Ann Richards for the governorship of Texas in 1994. Three years later, he saw another potential winner in Fox, then governor of Guanajuato state.
Allyn agreed to join Fox's fledgling presidential campaign, but only in secret.
For three years, Allyn worked clandestinely, helping craft Fox's message of change, as well as his TV commercials, his polling and his wardrobe. The publicist made dozens of trips to Mexico, traveling under three pseudonyms.
Fox, of the National Action Party, or PAN, came from behind to defeat Francisco Labastida of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which had ruled Mexico for seven decades.
During Mexico's official campaign season in the first six months of 2000, Allyn worked with Penn, Schoen & Berland, a polling and political consulting firm. They operated Democracy Watch, a nonpartisan group hired by Mexicans to conduct national exit polls as a hedge against election fraud.
Their secret role in the Fox campaign was revealed a week after the July 2 election by the Dallas Morning News. Allyn told the newspaper he hid his work for Fox because he didn't want to be a political liability. Mexicans are sensitive to foreign interference, especially involving the United States.
"Basically, for three years I'd go home from my real job to a secret job," he told the paper. "I led a second life for that period."
Allyn, who also worked on Bush's presidential campaigns, now faces a bigger challenge with the migration issue.
Demands for stemming illegal immigration are growing louder in the United States as Mexican and Central American workers spread across the country. Debate in states such as Minnesota, South Carolina and Virginia echoes arguments heard in California before voters in 1994 passed Proposition 187, which barred illegal immigrants from most public services, including schooling. That law was overturned by a federal court.
"Our focus is on public opinion, which influences policy outcomes in Congress," said Allyn, 46, who grew up in Huntington Beach and moved to Texas when he was in high school. "There is a huge misperception among the U.S. public about Mexico."
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said Allyn's message should be that Mexicans have sunk deep roots in their U.S. neighborhoods and that they contribute more to society through their work, taxes and families than they take away in public services.
Allyn, whose firm is now owned by Fleishman-Hillard, said he'd like to talk about the two countries' trade ties and the importance of Mexican labor to the U.S. economy. He'd also like to survey Americans' attitudes on Mexico and Mexicans.
"We're not going to be their Washington lobbyists," he said, "but I want to be honest about the point of influencing public opinion to help change attitudes about Mexico, about immigration, about border security."
Fox's former foreign minister, Jorge Castaneda, said such a task would require more than a public relations firm.
"Allyn is perfectly competent," Castaneda said. The two men worked together during the Fox campaign. "But the Mexican government has to use the embassy, the 45 consulates, and they all need to be speaking with the media, debating these issues and taking the case to the American people."
Times researchers Carlos Martinez and Cecilia Sanchez contributed to this report.
Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas will party to the end. Here's a look back at 25 years
The hotel-casino will close Feb. 3 to make way for a new Virgin Hotel, set to debut in late fall.


Can your car keys cheat on you? Bizarre Tata Tiago keyless entry fail.
Remember those schoolboy days when you'd try to unlock your bicycle with a key from your friend's bicycle, Bizarrely a Tiago owner was able to relive those moments thanks to a critical flaw in the Keyless Entry system of his car.
A car's keyless entry system works on the same principle as your TV remote, The tiny 'car remote' for your car consists of a short-range radio transmitter. When the remote is within a specific range (typically, 5-25 meters) of your car and you press one of its buttons, a coded signal, embedded in a radio signal, is sent to a receiver unit installed inside your car. The receiver unit then decodes and translates that signal, which consequently locks/unlocks the doors of the car. Keyless entry systems started out as a gimmick and in the very early days of keyless entry systems, around the 1960s, the transmitters were extremely simple. They sent out a single signal, and the vehicle responded by locking or unlocking. As keyless remote systems became common, the simplicity of this system created a big problem as anyone could drive down the street with a transmitter and unlock any car! They all used the same frequency and there was minimal to no security.
By the 1980s, keyless entry systems had become slightly more advanced and foolproof. You can see this level of sophistication in the above images. The first shows a controller chip (black) and a DIP switch (blue). A DIP switch has eight tiny switches arranged in a small package and soldered to the circuit board. By setting the DIP switches inside the transmitter, you controlled the code that the transmitter sent. The car would unlock only if the receiver's DIP switch were set to the same pattern. This provided some level of security, but not much. Eight DIP switches provide only 256 possible combinations. That's enough to keep several neighbours from unlocking each other's cars, but not enough to provide any real security.
Firstly, your car's transmitter controller chip has a memory that holds the 40-bit code set by the manufacturer. When you push a button on your key fob, it sends that 40-bit code along with a function code that tells the car what you want to do (lock, unlock, Follow-Me-Home headlamps etc.).
The receiver's controller chip also has a memory that holds the current 40-bit code. If the receiver gets the 40-bit code it expects, then it performs the requested function. If not, it does nothing.
There is a one-in-a-billion chance of your car's keyless remote unlocking another car's doors. When you consider the fact that all car manufacturers use different systems and that the newest systems use many more bits, you can see that it is nearly impossible for any given keyless system to open any other car.
In this particular incident, the Tiago owner had to face that minuscule possibility. It shouldn't pose that big of a worry as car's today have an Immobiliser System(anti-theft system) which lets you start the car only if the code being transmitted from the keys match the code in the ECU. We hope that Tata Motors addresses this issue at the earliest and if necessary initiate a recall for all the affected vehicles.


Celebrate Earth Day, TODAY, with the Campti Field of Dreams at its Conservation and Soil Health Field Day. This year's guest speaker, Dr. Carl Motsenbocker, a global leader in sustainable agriculture will be presenting, "An Introduction to Organic Agriculture" at the Natchitoches Parish Library – Northeast Branch in Campti, from 10 am – 12:30 pm.
This event, hosted by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in partnership with Campti Field of Dreams, is FREE and open to the public. Immediately following the presentation the event will move to the Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Farm, 681 Campti Bayou Road, roughly 1.5 miles from the library for the farm tour at 1 pm. Join us for an informative event for the entire family. Lunch will be provided at the farm.
The workshop presentation will be on the fundamentals of sustainable/organic farming and the importance of the three pillars of sustainable agriculture: profit over the long term, stewardship of our nation's land, air and water, and the quality of life for farmers, ranchers and their communities. The small farm tour will demonstrate sustainable agriculture systems that builds soil and conserve natural resources. It includes seasonal high tunnels, hugelkultur beds, pigs, sheep, goats, and poultry on pasture.
Carl Motsenbocker is a professor of horticulture and sustainable agriculture holding a dual appointment with Louisiana State University and the LSU AgCenter in the School of Plant Environmental and Soil Sciences (Formerly Department of Horticulture). Motsenbocker holds three degrees in horticulture (B.S. Cornell, M.S./PhD. North Carolina State University) and joined the LSU faculty in 1991 after working in Thailand in agricultural development as a Peace Corps Volunteer and then graduate school in North Carolina. Dr. Motsenbocker works directly with small to large-scale vegetable and small fruit sustainable growers throughout Louisiana on cultural practices and marketing as well as with farmers markets and other direct marketing outlets.
Campti Field of Dreams aims to increase awareness among farmers and value-added producers of the assistance available for implementing conservation measures. Through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service EQIP program, there are grants for season extending high tunnels, cost – sharing on fencing, seeding, cover crops and other sustainable agriculture practices. There are also loans available through the USDA Farm Service Agency to help you get started. Join us to learn more.
Would be great to see and read about this event and others "PRIOR" to 364 days until the event possibly being seen again! People might be able to attend were this mentioned prior to the event in this journal and this is not the first time same happened AFTER!


WHO (World Health Organization) has concluded that coffee does not cause cancer.
The Who division called IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) had previously thought coffee was linked to cancer; but they have now changed their minds, based on additional information.
The only cancer risk related to coffee (or tea ,or any warmed beverages) is if they are too hot. Very hot liquids can stress the throat. Any drink heated to 65 degrees (Celsius) has a cancer risk. The main cancer affected by these very hot liquids is Oesophageal cancer; the 8th most common cancer in the world.
So keep drinking your coffee - with no worries!
You owe it to yourself to be as healthy as possible; and what better way than enjoying a nice cup of coffee?
Drinking a couple cups a day can cut your risk of Diabetes by 10% or more. Decaf also helps, but not as much. These results have come out of a 'meta analysis' where a number of studies were combined, and analyzed (study source: PubMed).
No one is yet sure how coffee does this. It might be from the polyphenols it contains. It is also possible that there other, related factors - perhaps people who drink coffee are more active, or have less time to eat sugary foods. The benefits of coffee are higher for people who are not overweight.
Other dietary choices that may help reduce Diabetes include beans, Dark Leafy greens, Citrus, Berries, Sweet Potatoes (not white potatoes), and others. In general they are foods that have a low glycemic index. You can read more about this at Diabetes.org.
Are you in the mood for some coffee? Then its time to get a great deal on beans!
Is Coffee Healthy? Does it Stop Cancer?
Millions of people drink coffee every morning. It is a daily ritual, and many (if not most) of them cannot imagine their morning without coffee. But we don't drink it out of health reasons; we drink coffee because we enjoy it. We enjoy the flavor, the ritual, and we like to get some help waking up.
Now it turns out those daily coffees might actually be good for us as well!
There are news reports out now about studies that show how healthy coffee is. Coffee reduces your chance of breast cancer, prostate cancer, head & neck cancers, and endometrial cancer.
One of the newest studies found that liver cancer can be reduced by up to 50% by drinking 3 cups of coffee a day. This is an amazing statistic; liver cancer is one of the top 7 cancers in the world for cause of death. Coffee consumption can also reduce your chance of Diabetes by up to 25%; and this might explain some of the anti-cancer benefits of coffee.
Some people believe that inhaling the fumes from a freshly made pot of coffee might also confer health benefits; but to our knowledge this has never been studied.
Overall, for some people, drinking coffee reduces the overall chance of death.
Of course, your own personal experiences might vary. No study can say for sure how you personally will respond. The studies mentioned typically involve 2 or 3 cups of coffee - there is no evidence that overdosing with more coffee will be healthy. And everyone should pursue a healthy diet, good exercise, and deep sleep. All we can do is have another cup of coffee, and hope for the best!
You can learn more at our site, CoffeeScience.com.


text:
Grant number like: FZ-261408-18
FZ-261408-18
Devoney K. Looser
Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ 85281-3670)
Biography of Sisters Jane Porter (1775–1850) and Anna Maria Porter (1778–1832), 19th-Century British Novelists
Research and writing of a book on British sister novelists Jane Porter (1775-1850) and Anna Maria Porter (1778-1832), contemporaries of Jane Austen.
Decades before the Brontës, Jane Porter (1775-1850) and Anna Maria Porter (1778-1832) burst onto the literary scene. The Porters unabashedly published as sisters, signing their names to dozens of novels, poems, and plays. They were pioneering, single career women at a moment of cultural change, negotiating the literary marketplace with the marriage marketplace. They were widely fêted and admired. But as they reveal in moving, unpublished letters, they paid a steep price. For a woman, Anna Maria concluded, public fame was the death knell of private happiness. To add insult to injury, their fall from popularity was so precipitous that few today have heard of them. My book, Sister Novelists, is poised to be the first biography of the Porter sisters, sharing for the first time stories of their accomplished, lovelorn, and complicated lives. It promises to shift understandings of struggles faced by the first generations of professional women writers in the age of Jane Austen.
British History; British Literature; Gender Studies
Public Scholars
$60,000 (approved)
$60,000 (awarded)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
U.S. Government Warns Of Cyber Attack
by Mac Slavo | Apr 14, 2022 | Headline News | 9 comments
The United States government is already blaming Russia for a future cyber-attack, warning that there could be a "cyber tool" created that allows hackers to gain "full system access" to multiple control systems, including the power grid.
Use your discernment, because this could be a false flag. The United States could very easily take down the grid and blame it all on Russia as an excuse to get more involved in the war. The government has effectively now "warned" so they can wash their hands of this once it is done. Hopefully, it'll never happen, but if it does, apply critical thinking to everything.
Multiple US government agencies issued a joint alert Wednesday warning of the discovery of malicious cyber tools created by unnamed advanced threat actors that they said were capable of gaining "full system access" to multiple industrial control systems, according to the Guardian.
The public alert from the Energy and Homeland Security departments, the FBI, and National Security Agency did not name the actors or offer details on the find. But their alleged private-sector cybersecurity partners said the evidence suggests Russia is behind the tools and that they were configured to initially target North American energy concerns.
One of the cybersecurity firms involved, Mandiant, said in a report that the tools' functionality was "consistent with the malware used in Russia's prior physical attacks" though it acknowledged that the evidence linking it to Moscow is "largely circumstantial". It called the tools "exceptionally rare and dangerous".
FBI Is "Concerned" About A Possible Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure
Most Mainstream Media Is Fear-Mongering Over A Cyber Attack: Here's How To Prepare
The U.S. has been warning of a cyber attack since Russia "invaded" Ukraine.
The CEO of another government partner, Robert M. Lee of Dragos, agreed that a state actor almost certainly crafted the malware, which he said was configured to initially target liquified natural gas and electric power sites in North America.
Lee referred questions on the state actor's identity to the US government and would not explain how the malware was discovered other than to say it was caught "before an attack was attempted".
"We're actually one step ahead of the adversary. None of us want them to understand where they screwed up," said Lee. "Big win." – The Guardian.
There are several things going on right now that require our attention, not fear. Stay prepared and aware of what's going on. There seems to be a lot of different things that could quickly go wrong right now and it'll take only one mainstream media report to panic the masses into a really disastrous, riotous, and fear-based reaction.
"There Is A Dark Side To Our Species" This Is What People Fear The Most In A Societal Collapse… And It Isn't Hunger, Disease, or Exposure
Anonymous on April 14, 2022 at 12:57 pm
Maybe they should consider closing these networks from any outside accessibility before they start warning us of the dangers of their being on the internet with anyone else on the internet having the opportunity to attack them through it.
Planned on April 14, 2022 at 2:23 pm
Love how they always warn
us of an upcoming "future"
attack. Why, it's almost
as if…..
Vocal on April 14, 2022 at 2:28 pm
Wouldn't surprise me if this
were to happen . You know
these globalist, satanic,
elitist pieces of garbage
are just itching to take down
the grid and make our lives
even worse than they've
already made them!!
toony loons on April 14, 2022 at 2:31 pm
Multiple US government agencies issued a joint alert Wednesday
Evil birds of a feather…
Anonymous on April 14, 2022 at 4:05 pm
Beyond Thunderdome…
Genius on April 14, 2022 at 7:47 pm
That's ok, I don't need power to make shine 😉
Spider25 on April 15, 2022 at 11:32 am
The Dirty World Economic Forums mitts are all over this!
DGotcha on April 15, 2022 at 11:43 am
If they could figure out a way to kill the power to only our government entities – we might ALL be a lot safer.
Bill on April 16, 2022 at 6:38 pm
That the gov't is warning citizens of a cyber attack is like the fox warning the hens there is a predator lurking about.


Virginia's Mountain Playgroundâ"¢ – Giles County – Nature at Her Best!
Camp, Fish, Float, Ride: Enjoy the Two Virginias!
Muddy ACCE Race Event is Fun!
May 21- Pearisburg Community Market  announces new free program for kids ages 5-12!
2017 FREE Summer Food Program!


text:
Phase transformation and morphological evolution of ion-beam sputtered tin oxide films on silicon substrate
Yong Sahm Choe, Jae Ho Chung, Dae Seung Kim, Gyeung Ho Kim, Hong Koo Baik
Amorphous tin oxide films were deposited on a silicon substrate by ion-beam sputtering (IBS) using a SnO2 target. Phase transformation and morphological changes of deposited films at different annealing temperatures were studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Crystallization of the as-deposited film started at 350°C and SnO and SnO2 phases formed at 400°C. Disproportionation of SnO into Sn and SnO2 was observed at 450°C followed by the oxidation of metallic tin at 550°C. Large volume changes accompanying the oxidation of metallic tin at this temperature caused the partial detachment and formation of heavy wrinkles on the film. These results suggest that the oxygen deficiency of tin oxide films should be avoided by optimizing the deposition process, since a drastic morphological change at the phase transformation to SnO2 during annealing may destroy the integrity of the thin films and degrade the long-term stability of tin oxide films used as gas sensors at high temperatures.
Materials Research Bulletin
Published - 1999 Jul 1
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Phase transformation and morphological evolution of ion-beam sputtered tin oxide films on silicon substrate'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
stannic oxide Chemical Compounds
Ion beams Chemical Compounds
Tin oxides Engineering & Materials Science
Silicon Chemical Compounds
Phase transitions Chemical Compounds
Tin Chemical Compounds
Choe, Y. S., Chung, J. H., Kim, D. S., Kim, G. H., & Baik, H. K. (1999). Phase transformation and morphological evolution of ion-beam sputtered tin oxide films on silicon substrate. Materials Research Bulletin, 34(9), 1473-1479. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-5408(99)00139-7
Choe, Yong Sahm ; Chung, Jae Ho ; Kim, Dae Seung ; Kim, Gyeung Ho ; Baik, Hong Koo. / Phase transformation and morphological evolution of ion-beam sputtered tin oxide films on silicon substrate. In: Materials Research Bulletin. 1999 ; Vol. 34, No. 9. pp. 1473-1479.
@article{049cd258c13d4a428140775fe0b2a802,
title = "Phase transformation and morphological evolution of ion-beam sputtered tin oxide films on silicon substrate",
abstract = "Amorphous tin oxide films were deposited on a silicon substrate by ion-beam sputtering (IBS) using a SnO2 target. Phase transformation and morphological changes of deposited films at different annealing temperatures were studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Crystallization of the as-deposited film started at 350°C and SnO and SnO2 phases formed at 400°C. Disproportionation of SnO into Sn and SnO2 was observed at 450°C followed by the oxidation of metallic tin at 550°C. Large volume changes accompanying the oxidation of metallic tin at this temperature caused the partial detachment and formation of heavy wrinkles on the film. These results suggest that the oxygen deficiency of tin oxide films should be avoided by optimizing the deposition process, since a drastic morphological change at the phase transformation to SnO2 during annealing may destroy the integrity of the thin films and degrade the long-term stability of tin oxide films used as gas sensors at high temperatures.",
author = "Choe, {Yong Sahm} and Chung, {Jae Ho} and Kim, {Dae Seung} and Kim, {Gyeung Ho} and Baik, {Hong Koo}",
journal = "Materials Research Bulletin",
Choe, YS, Chung, JH, Kim, DS, Kim, GH & Baik, HK 1999, 'Phase transformation and morphological evolution of ion-beam sputtered tin oxide films on silicon substrate', Materials Research Bulletin, vol. 34, no. 9, pp. 1473-1479. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-5408(99)00139-7
Phase transformation and morphological evolution of ion-beam sputtered tin oxide films on silicon substrate. / Choe, Yong Sahm; Chung, Jae Ho; Kim, Dae Seung; Kim, Gyeung Ho; Baik, Hong Koo.
In: Materials Research Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 9, 01.07.1999, p. 1473-1479.
T1 - Phase transformation and morphological evolution of ion-beam sputtered tin oxide films on silicon substrate
AU - Choe, Yong Sahm
AU - Chung, Jae Ho
AU - Kim, Dae Seung
AU - Kim, Gyeung Ho
AU - Baik, Hong Koo
N2 - Amorphous tin oxide films were deposited on a silicon substrate by ion-beam sputtering (IBS) using a SnO2 target. Phase transformation and morphological changes of deposited films at different annealing temperatures were studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Crystallization of the as-deposited film started at 350°C and SnO and SnO2 phases formed at 400°C. Disproportionation of SnO into Sn and SnO2 was observed at 450°C followed by the oxidation of metallic tin at 550°C. Large volume changes accompanying the oxidation of metallic tin at this temperature caused the partial detachment and formation of heavy wrinkles on the film. These results suggest that the oxygen deficiency of tin oxide films should be avoided by optimizing the deposition process, since a drastic morphological change at the phase transformation to SnO2 during annealing may destroy the integrity of the thin films and degrade the long-term stability of tin oxide films used as gas sensors at high temperatures.
AB - Amorphous tin oxide films were deposited on a silicon substrate by ion-beam sputtering (IBS) using a SnO2 target. Phase transformation and morphological changes of deposited films at different annealing temperatures were studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Crystallization of the as-deposited film started at 350°C and SnO and SnO2 phases formed at 400°C. Disproportionation of SnO into Sn and SnO2 was observed at 450°C followed by the oxidation of metallic tin at 550°C. Large volume changes accompanying the oxidation of metallic tin at this temperature caused the partial detachment and formation of heavy wrinkles on the film. These results suggest that the oxygen deficiency of tin oxide films should be avoided by optimizing the deposition process, since a drastic morphological change at the phase transformation to SnO2 during annealing may destroy the integrity of the thin films and degrade the long-term stability of tin oxide films used as gas sensors at high temperatures.
JO - Materials Research Bulletin
JF - Materials Research Bulletin
Choe YS, Chung JH, Kim DS, Kim GH, Baik HK. Phase transformation and morphological evolution of ion-beam sputtered tin oxide films on silicon substrate. Materials Research Bulletin. 1999 Jul 1;34(9):1473-1479. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-5408(99)00139-7


text:
The Dangerous Impact of Cryptocurrency Mining on the Environment
How to Buy Bitcoin with Prepaid Card
More and more people are getting into cryptocurrency mining, but how does this process affect the environment?
Cryptocurrency is a digital form of exchange that makes use of a decentralized peer-to-peer network to produce, record, and send the coins over the chain. The mining process involves miners competing to solve complex computing algorithms via cryptographic validation, and the first one who solves the hash gets rewarded in the currency. Blocks of these verified transactions are then added to the chain.
itc.ua
According to researchers from The University of New Mexico who are looking into the environmental impact of crypto mining, there are several areas which are greatly affected by this operation:
"What is most striking about this research is that it shows that the health and environmental costs of cryptocurrency mining are substantial; larger perhaps than most people realized," said Benjamin Jones, UNM researcher.
But the process of verifying these currencies requires a lot of computational power, which, in turn, demands a huge amount of energy.
The paper called "Cryptodamages: Monetary value estimates of the air pollution and human health impacts of cryptocurrency mining" evaluates the environmental effect of these cryptocurrency mining techniques. The University of New Mexico researchers Andrew Goodkind (asst. professor, Economics), Benjamin Jones (asst. professor, Economics) and Robert Berrens (professor, Economics) are using existing data on the energy used by cryptocurrency and a set of economic valuation techniques to determine just how much cryptocurrency mining costs.
"Our expertise is in estimating the monetary damages, due to health and environmental impacts, of different economics activities and sectors," Berrens clarified. "For example, it is common for economists to study the impacts from energy use connected to production and consumption patterns in agriculture, or with automobile production and use. In a world confronting climate change, economists can help us understand the impacts connected to different activities and technologies."
Cryptocurrency Mining and Electricity Consumption
hitecher.com
Mining requires the use of specialized computer hardware, which consumes a lot of electricity. Also, mining farms, which are large scale mining operations, are working in various regions around the world where they can profit from the fastest internet connections and cheapest energy sources.
The structure of cryptocurrencies is also an issue, as most Proof of Work-based coins use an algorithm that makes the hashes harder to solve over time, which means that the electricity demands are also increasing, as well as their associated damages.
"An important issue is the production process employed in the blockchain for securing new blocks of encrypted transactions. Along with supply rules for new units of the currency, some production processes, like the predominate Proof-of-Work (POW) scheme used in Bitcoin, require ever-increasing computing power and energy use in the winner-take-all competition to solve complex algorithms, and secure new blocks in the chain,"– Berrens explicated.
"With each cryptocurrency, the rising electricity requirements to produce a single coin can lead to an almost inevitable cliff of negative net social benefit," read the paper.
"We looked at climate change from greenhouse gas emissions of electricity production and also the impacts local air pollutants have when they are carried downwind and across local communities," Goodkind stated.
The paper estimated that in 2018, every $1 of Bitcoin value generated damage of $49 in health and climate in the United States. The researchers' data shows that in 2018, the cost of creating Bitcoin matched the cost of its damages. Those damages include pollutants resulting from the burning of fossil fuels for energy, such as carbon dioxide, fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. Inhaling these pollutants for an extended period of time has been linked to an increased risk of early death.
"By using large amounts of electricity generated from burning fossil fuels. Cryptocurrency mining is associated with worse air quality and increased CO2 emissions, which impacts communities and families all across the country, including here in New Mexico,"- said Jones.
The researchers estimated the electricity consumption and the resulting carbon emissions for four of the most mines cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Monero. The four cryptos accounted for between 3 and 15 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from 2016 to mid-2018.
The data on emissions were collected for various pollutants associated with each kilowatt-hour produced in the United States and China, where most of the world's cryptocurrency mining operations are located. They inferred from several extensive U.S. data to calculate the health and climate impacts – or "cryptodamages"- in China.
thebell.io
Their climate damage estimates are based on carbon dioxide emissions resulting from electricity production.
In China, climate change is about 89% because of cryptodamages, while the rest of 11% is because of human health effects. In the United States, nearly 60% of cryptodamages impact the climate, while 40% affect health.
This is because emissions resulting from electricity production are higher in China than in the United States. Cryptocurrency mining in China greatly influences the rates of premature mortality. According to the researchers, every 50,000 Bitcoins mined in China result in 12 additional deaths from exposure to particulate matter.
A New Scientist research shows that Bitcoin mining generates carbon emissions as the entire country of Estonia, with Chinese miners having a contribution of 47%. The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) found out this year that Bitcoin's power consumption surpassed that of Switzerland.
The mining hardware also requires cool systems in order to prevent overheating while computing such complex algorithms. This consumes additional energy, which was not included in this study, meaning that even more energy and thus more damages are being produced.
Cryptocurrency Mining and Carbon Emissions
http://theconversation.com/
The study revealed that in 2018, the entire network had an electric consumption of 31.3 terawatt hours, which generated 17.3 megatons of carbon dioxide.
China is the largest producer and consumer of coal energy in the world, having mines in the Xinjiang and Inner Mongolian regions. Coal energy sources have 30% cheaper energy than those using renewable energy. When comparing mined cryptos with renewable energy sources in Canada, the same mined crypto in China would have a quadruple amount of CO2 emissions.
A CoinShares research report calculated that 77.6% of crypto-mining operations use electricity from renewable resources, while the rest of the 22.4% rely on fossil and nuclear producers.
Many extensive cryptocurrency mining facilities are located in regions such as the Pacific Northwest, Upstate New York, Northern Scandinavia, Iceland, and Georgia, where mostly renewable energy sources are used.
As we can notice, renewable energy production models have less of an impact on the environment. We can only hope that miners and mining farms will try to shift towards using more renewable energy than those based on fossil fuels to lessen the negative effects of carbon emissions. Also, if cryptos change from their PoW protocol to PoS, which is less memory intensive than the former, this could drastically reduce energy consumption.
Featured image: sharespro.ru


Looking for Speed Queen at Brasher's Home Furnishing in Bruce, MS?
Brasher's Home Furnishing in Bruce, MS is an authorized dealer of Speed Queen Products. The history of Speed Queen, from its humble beginnings in 1908 as Barlow and Seelig Manufacturing to the present is a fascinating change of events. And today, as in 1908, Speed Queen continually strives to provide you with quality products that are backed by superior customer service. With over 100 years of commercial quality and expertise they bring to you a line of washers and dryers built with a no-nonsense design and performance-based construction for your home. These products will get your clothing cleaner. After all, it's what you expect from a company that only does laundry!
So if you are looking for Speed Queen products in Bruce, Pittsboro, Calhoun City, Houlka, Vardaman, Coffeeville, Water Valley and Oxford, or if you have any questions about Speed Queen products, please feel free to call us at 662-983-2368 or simply stop by Brasher's Home Furnishing at any time and we would be glad to help you.