West Virginia school board alters climate change education standards

Because “West Virginia coal... has been taking on unfair negativity.”

Read the whole story

 

[Hat Monster]

At this point at least they're not even trying to hide that their industry is paying off politicians to make sure kids are given a twisted education.

 

[Rhonin]

mewmew[/url]":chjkzcuf]At least it's not religious motivation. "God doesn't believe in climate change so neither do we!"

Religious or Big Business ...... not sure which is scarier.

 

[THavoc]

deliciouswindow[/url]":1mw5tr1x]
It's silicon.
Silicon to iron is endothermic and results in a type II supernova. It's also the reason earth's core is so iron rich as that's the cutoff point. Anything heavier must be made by supernova.

Ok, correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the formation of iron in a star was it's death knell since iron stops all nuclear reaction and disrupts the internal balances of a star and causes it to collapse.

 

[linnen]

Wheels Of Confusion[/url]":39q4duer]

Drakkenmensch[/url]":39q4duer]

deliciouswindow[/url]":39q4duer]Clean coal + Oxymoron = Clean carbonDiMoron + water

I always found the idea of "clean coal" to be utterly laughable. Coal is pure carbon. Remove the carbon from coal and what's left? Nothing, which is exactly what clean coal is.

No it isn't pure carbon. It's a hydrocarbon-rich mineral. If it was pure carbon it would be called "graphite" and it wouldn't burn.

Hate to contradict you Wheels of Confusion, maybe graphite cannot burn, but diamonds ( the other pure carbon molecule) can.

Drakkenmensch could be talking about coke, where coal's impurities are driven out by high heat and no oxygen.

 

[Rhonin]

THavoc[/url]":2ko2vh8r]

CraigJ[/url]":2ko2vh8r]

THavoc[/url]":2ko2vh8r]Can't say I'm surprised actually.

It's no wonder W VA is considered a backwater state and a runner up in education.

One of the most depressing places I've ever been, outside of Detroit.

Beautiful country tho. Enjoyed my trip thru there in the fall. However, I really really couldn't stand talking to people. Luckily, I didn't have to until we stopped for gas.

Just be careful what water you drink.

 

[Some Idiot]

Dear WV,

Stop it, it's getting silly now.

Regards,
The Public.

 

[Stefan R]

Drakkenmensch[/url]":2x5iwbtt]

deliciouswindow[/url]":2x5iwbtt]Clean coal + Oxymoron = Clean carbonDiMoron + water

I always found the idea of "clean coal" to be utterly laughable. Coal is pure carbon. Remove the carbon from coal and what's left? Nothing, which is exactly what clean coal is.

That's just plain wrong. Carbon is the major component, yes. There is also lots of hydrogen, oxygen and - alas - sulfur found in coal as well as minerals.
Look it up.

 

[egoebelbecker]

mewmew[/url]":3exsdmsv]At least it's not religious motivation. "God doesn't believe in climate change so neither do we!"

No, but it's borrowing quite heavily from religion's playbook.

 

[rmaine]

Rhonin[/url]":uh33rdjd]

mewmew[/url]":uh33rdjd]At least it's not religious motivation. "God doesn't believe in climate change so neither do we!"

Religious or Big Business ...... not sure which is scarier.

I thought religion was a big business. Good profit margins in it.

 

[giltwist]

whoisit[/url]":2xkt7gv8]At this point, why call them schools? They seem to be becoming more like 'special interest indoctrination centers'. Don't like the science, then don't teach it because it creates a funding conflict.

Tell me about it. As a high school teacher certified in science and math, I get pretty darn frustrated with the state of public education. Heaven forbid I teach my students about anything other than y=mx+b... like how exponential growth makes the flat tax which sounds so tasty actually bad for the lower and middle classes.

One of the best lessons I ever wrote was about how Black Friday sales take advantage of the language of mathematical inequalities, such as "up to 75% off," in order to mislead customers. One of the most "teachers are out to get me" students in my class actually stopped the class dead silent for a whole minute when she said, without guile, "...but JCPenny would never do that to me."

 

[Hilarius]

THavoc[/url]":k56d9k5c]

CraigJ[/url]":k56d9k5c]

THavoc[/url]":k56d9k5c]Can't say I'm surprised actually.

It's no wonder W VA is considered a backwater state and a runner up in education.

One of the most depressing places I've ever been, outside of Detroit.

Beautiful country tho. Enjoyed my trip thru there in the fall. However, I really really couldn't stand talking to people. Luckily, I didn't have to until we stopped for gas.

I vacation in WV every Winter, and the people are always incredibly nice. Once while driving through blizzard-esque conditions, we had a complete stranger offer to hook up his plow and escort us 15 miles to our destination just out of the kindness of his heart. I would never accuse them of being intelligent or educated, but that doesn't make them bad people.

 

[Sobad]

THavoc[/url]":1hgme3a5]Can't say I'm surprised actually.

It's no wonder W VA is considered a backwater state and a runner up in education.

And yet we allow them to vote.

 

[Drakkenmensch]

giltwist[/url]":2vhq95im]One of the most "teachers are out to get me" students in my class actually stopped the class dead silent for a whole minute when she said, without guile, "...but JCPenny would never do that to me."

The only reason why large retail chains don't stab you squarely in the back is that they haven't found a way to properly bill you for the knife used in the process.

 

[Shudder]

THavoc[/url]":19eueuzb]

CraigJ[/url]":19eueuzb]

THavoc[/url]":19eueuzb]Can't say I'm surprised actually.

It's no wonder W VA is considered a backwater state and a runner up in education.

One of the most depressing places I've ever been, outside of Detroit.

Beautiful country tho. Enjoyed my trip thru there in the fall. However, I really really couldn't stand talking to people. Luckily, I didn't have to until we stopped for gas.

I make the trip through WV a couple times a year to see my parents in the south. You stop in Marietta (mile 1 in Ohio) and you stop around 60 or so in Virginia (one of the last couple exits before WV). If anyone has to go to the bathroom you throw them out of the car while moving full speed.

 

[THavoc]

Hilarius[/url]":2l68w35j]
I vacation in WV every Winter, and the people are always incredibly nice. Once while driving through blizzard-esque conditions, we had a complete stranger offer to hook up his plow and escort us 15 miles to our destination just out of the kindness of his heart. I would never accuse them of being intelligent or educated, but that doesn't make them bad people.

Without a doubt. There are a lot of very nice people there. I was generalizing, of course.

Not being well educated <> not being very nice & helpful.

 

[Forensics Person]

West Virginia state school board members Wade Linger and Tom Campbell are no doubt gloating between themselves that they are now officially on the fast track in politics.

"Aint every day ya get approached by them thar koal compny lobbyests with twenty dollar to change that thar schooling kariculem, today the school and tomorrow Wishingtin".

 

[giltwist]

Drakkenmensch[/url]":1yor5zqj]

giltwist[/url]":1yor5zqj]One of the most "teachers are out to get me" students in my class actually stopped the class dead silent for a whole minute when she said, without guile, "...but JCPenny would never do that to me."

The only reason why large retail chains don't stab you squarely in the back is that they haven't found a way to properly bill you for the knife used in the process.

That's why, instead, they charge you a monthly "knife cleaning" service charge as well as a "stabbing and manhandling" fee with every purchase.

 

[THavoc]

Shudder[/url]":3h3tjcmo]
I make the trip through WV a couple times a year to see my parents in the south. You stop in Marietta (mile 1 in Ohio) and you stop around 60 or so in Virginia (one of the last couple exits before WV). If anyone has to go to the bathroom you throw them out of the car while moving full speed.

Chevy Chase comes to mind. Are you him?

 

[Wheels Of Confusion]

giltwist[/url]":2mbrpbw8]

Drakkenmensch[/url]":2mbrpbw8]

giltwist[/url]":2mbrpbw8]One of the most "teachers are out to get me" students in my class actually stopped the class dead silent for a whole minute when she said, without guile, "...but JCPenny would never do that to me."

The only reason why large retail chains don't stab you squarely in the back is that they haven't found a way to properly bill you for the knife used in the process.

That's why, instead, they charge you a monthly "knife cleaning" service charge as well as a "stabbing and manhandling" fee with every purchase.

Don't forget the body disposal charge and the requisite "service fee," plus parts and labor.

 

[Drakkenmensch]

giltwist[/url]":bj1ogq47]

Drakkenmensch[/url]":bj1ogq47]

giltwist[/url]":bj1ogq47]One of the most "teachers are out to get me" students in my class actually stopped the class dead silent for a whole minute when she said, without guile, "...but JCPenny would never do that to me."

The only reason why large retail chains don't stab you squarely in the back is that they haven't found a way to properly bill you for the knife used in the process.

That's why, instead, they charge you a monthly "knife cleaning" service charge as well as a "stabbing and manhandling" fee with every purchase.

"Stabbing and manhandling"? Now that's just asking for a lawsuit.

They need to find a more inclusive term than manhandling that doesn't imply women are excluded from the process.

 

[death2all110]

How can I get in touch with these guys? I own a clean burning coal company that I'm sure they'd like to invest in!

 

[AM16]

Well there's the reason corporations are lobbying agains standardized education across usa: you can't buy them as easily that way.

Welcome to... chinaUSA? Except instead of government control it's the corporations that control the country.

Reminds me of the series Continuum.

 

[tr0623]

As a West Virginian, I have to say that this doesn't surprise me. In the southern part of the state, everything is controlled by the coal companies. And with both the houses of the legislature to be Republican led this coming year, I expect to see more changes in support of coal at the detriment of the state and its people. These companies only care about their bottom line. We are seeing increasing rates of black lung at the hospital that I work at and of course , there was UBB. Some type of compromise would be beneficial within the coal industry, but it is not going to happen. It is cheaper to spend money on getting someone elected to do your bidding, than it is to compromise.

 

[Lasbas]

Wheels Of Confusion[/url]":3h55z2uw]"Mercury is big business in this town, but our mercury industry has been getting a bad rap! So we'll just not teach children all that stuff about mercury toxicity."

Coal combustion still releases half of all mercury emissions in the U.S., and the risks are disproportionately borne by the developing brains of fetuses and children, who suffer I.Q. reductions from exposure. It doesn't have to be this way.

Since the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, medical waste and municipal waste incinerators have been able to reduce their mercury release by over 95%. But power producers pushed back and exempted themselves from the EPA-mandated MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) standards. Their reduction in mercury release was only 10% over the same period, despite the necessary technology being readily available.

 

[Relto]

death2all110[/url]":3o54om6b]How can I get in touch with these guys? I own a clean burning coal company that I'm sure they'd like to invest in!

You have politics backwards. They don't invest in businesses, businesses invest in them.

 

[Shudder]

THavoc[/url]":108vhrrh]

Shudder[/url]":108vhrrh]
I make the trip through WV a couple times a year to see my parents in the south. You stop in Marietta (mile 1 in Ohio) and you stop around 60 or so in Virginia (one of the last couple exits before WV). If anyone has to go to the bathroom you throw them out of the car while moving full speed.

Chevy Chase comes to mind. Are you him?

I'm getting there. His in-laws are better, though.

 

[Akemi]

It's to the point where I'm just not surprised anymore.

 

[azazel1024]

CraigJ[/url]":7er06b17]

THavoc[/url]":7er06b17]Can't say I'm surprised actually.

It's no wonder W VA is considered a backwater state and a runner up in education.

One of the most depressing places I've ever been, outside of Detroit.

Actually the parks and natural areas of Western Virginia are INCREDIBLY beautiful. In so many ways it is like large parts of the Colorado Rockies (yes, I've been both places many times), but the mountains start 5000ft lower and thus stop 5,000ft lower; Despite that, some similar climates (can get snow storms in large parts of W Va even in May and September).

The problem is, just about anywhere where you find PEOPLE in West Viriginia, you typically find run down, sad, dilapidated houses, towns and cities and backwards attitudes about EVERYTHING. A few exceptions exist, but they are relatively few.

A large part of the problem is that WVA is so damn rugged and they just don't have much other than coal and beautiful scenary.

 

[WebDev511]

Drakkenmensch[/url]

Seriously, let's just drop the clean coal research and go straight up fusion reactors. Much more potential there, and that could fuel actual starships to go colonize other planets.

+1 Fusion reactors would make the creation of clean hydrogen for fuel cells an instant reality. With that you can kiss all of the fossil fuels goodbye. Paradigm shift without the clutch anyone?

 

[azazel1024]

Hilarius[/url]":3284gdqs]

THavoc[/url]":3284gdqs]

CraigJ[/url]":3284gdqs]

THavoc[/url]":3284gdqs]Can't say I'm surprised actually.

It's no wonder W VA is considered a backwater state and a runner up in education.

One of the most depressing places I've ever been, outside of Detroit.

Beautiful country tho. Enjoyed my trip thru there in the fall. However, I really really couldn't stand talking to people. Luckily, I didn't have to until we stopped for gas.

I vacation in WV every Winter, and the people are always incredibly nice. Once while driving through blizzard-esque conditions, we had a complete stranger offer to hook up his plow and escort us 15 miles to our destination just out of the kindness of his heart. I would never accuse them of being intelligent or educated, but that doesn't make them bad people.

I've meet some bad people in WVA before. However, per capita (IE number of nice people I've met in different places versus number of mean people in those places), WVA deffinitely comes down on the side of "nicer people" than most states/places I have been. It does also come down on poorer, backwards attitudes and less educated, which makes me sadder.

 

[THavoc]

azazel1024[/url]":c2uw2w18]

I've meet some bad people in WVA before. However, per capita (IE number of nice people I've met in different places versus number of mean people in those places), WVA definitely comes down on the side of "nicer people" than most states/places I have been. It does also come down on poorer, backwards attitudes and less educated, which makes me sadder.

Agreed. This was what I was basically saying.

 

[azazel1024]

WebDev511[/url]":3k1jpglz]

Drakkenmensch[/url]

Seriously, let's just drop the clean coal research and go straight up fusion reactors. Much more potential there, and that could fuel actual starships to go colonize other planets.

+1 Fusion reactors would make the creation of clean hydrogen for fuel cells an instant reality. With that you can kiss all of the fossil fuels goodbye. Paradigm shift without the clutch anyone?

I agree 100%.

However, since I think even if we dedicated TRILLIONS of dollars to fusion research, it would still take decades (if ever), maybe we should also invest a smidge in to both research and REGULATIONS to clean up what we do have. Coal is going to be with us for decades to come, hopefully in continually diminishing capacity, but since we do have it, I doubt its a bad thing to invest some time, money and effort in to cleaning it up more.

By all means, expend the vast majority of effort on alternative energy like solar, wind, tidal better fission and fusion...but it doesn't make sense to expend no effort on coal.

 

[azazel1024]

THavoc[/url]":35xh7icn]

azazel1024[/url]":35xh7icn]

I've meet some bad people in WVA before. However, per capita (IE number of nice people I've met in different places versus number of mean people in those places), WVA definitely comes down on the side of "nicer people" than most states/places I have been. It does also come down on poorer, backwards attitudes and less educated, which makes me sadder.

Agreed. This was what I was basically saying.

Sorry, I assumed so. I just wanted to add on to what you were saying. Generally nicer people than a lot of places I've been. Part of why I love going there for backpacking and hiking when I can. I've debated retiring there when the time comes, but I just don't know that I can bring myself to.

 

[wvmikep]

tr0623[/url]":2dxyp715]As a West Virginian, I have to say that this doesn't surprise me. In the southern part of the state, everything is controlled by the coal companies. And with both the houses of the legislature to be Republican led this coming year, I expect to see more changes in support of coal at the detriment of the state and its people. These companies only care about their bottom line. We are seeing increasing rates of black lung at the hospital that I work at and of course , there was UBB. Some type of compromise would be beneficial within the coal industry, but it is not going to happen. It is cheaper to spend money on getting someone elected to do your bidding, than it is to compromise.

The politicians (state and federal) are killing coal jobs while doing NOTHING to diversify and grow the state economy.

 

[Eisenhower]

‘How do we mine it more safely and burn it more cleanly?'

We Evolve the ability to breathe Carbon Dioxide and eat Mercury.....

 

[THavoc]

azazel1024[/url]":ahwmyig2]

THavoc[/url]":ahwmyig2]

azazel1024[/url]":ahwmyig2]

I've meet some bad people in WVA before. However, per capita (IE number of nice people I've met in different places versus number of mean people in those places), WVA definitely comes down on the side of "nicer people" than most states/places I have been. It does also come down on poorer, backwards attitudes and less educated, which makes me sadder.

Agreed. This was what I was basically saying.

Sorry, I assumed so. I just wanted to add on to what you were saying. Generally nicer people than a lot of places I've been. Part of why I love going there for backpacking and hiking when I can. I've debated retiring there when the time comes, but I just don't know that I can bring myself to.

Not a problem. Just didn't want a flame war over some misunderstanding.

 

[Redenaz]

Since I live in Charleston, WV, I feel obligated to chime in on this particular subject.

Unsurprisingly, WV's economy isn't great. We're big on beautiful vistas, difficult transportation situations, and agricultural regions that are better suited for small farms and some livestock than to significant crops. Between coal mining and chemical manufacturing, it seems like most of our economic activity is out to kill us one way or another. My grandfather worked in a coal mine when he was in high school, until one of his friends got killed and he walked out permanently, to get a less lucrative job elsewhere. He's fortunate he had other options.

We're not blind to the problems, and we're not happy to have to live with them, either. At best, I think people look up to the archetypal miner (not The Company) as someone who did what he had to do to take care of his family, because there's something heroic about the little guy who gets shafted every which way and has to make the most of it. It's too sad to live with if there isn't.

If we could get our economy off of coal/chemicals and onto eco-tourism, that would be great. Efforts have been made in that direction. "Come hiking/rafting/caving!" isn't going to replace coal and chemicals in a hurry, however, especially not when those industries are as large and entrenched as they are. Setting aside the expected amount of campaigning, political contributions, and such, it's hard to get people to vote against their own jobs, even if they know the risks and the long-term damage. We'll have to get off coal eventually, but it's a lot easier to say "Easy: Hics need to stop burning dinosaurs." than it is to rip out a significant economic sector in a region that isn't doing well already.

People can be "friendly-but-backwards" at times, but politics are the same here as anywhere else.

 

[qazwart]

If you have that as a standard, then that presupposes that global temperatures have risen over the past century, and, of course, there’s debate about that.

No. I'm sorry, you don't get to select your own version of reality.

Temperatures have risen over the last century. This isn't merely a scientific theory. This is solid fact. We have temperature reading with real live thermometers over the last 100 years. We have excellent data. This is like saying that this presupposes that grass is green or water is wet. This is hard solid undebatable data. You can't make up an excuse why you don't believe this. This isn't taking ice core temperatures. This isn't looking at trees. This is taking direct readings from a thermometer for the last 100 years and writing it down.

You can say (and disagree with the vast majority of climate scientists) why we see this. You can claim that 100 years is too short a time period for climate variation to take place. You can say, yes, the temperatures are going up, but it doesn't mean they're connected with carbon dioxide output. You can say, that there's nothing that says the temperatures won't go down in the next 100 years. You can say this is due to a hellmouth forming as it says somewhere in the New Testament, and God is going to judge all who are wicked.

What you can't do is deny basic facts and make up your own.

 

[THavoc]

Redenaz[/url]":2xcrelzg]Since I live in Charleston, WV, I feel obligated to chime in on this particular subject.

Unsurprisingly, WV's economy isn't great. We're big on beautiful vistas, difficult transportation situations, and agricultural regions that are better suited for small farms and some livestock than to significant crops. Between coal mining and chemical manufacturing, it seems like most of our economic activity is out to kill us one way or another. My grandfather worked in a coal mine when he was in high school, until one of his friends got killed and he walked out permanently, to get a less lucrative job elsewhere. He's fortunate he had other options.

We're not blind to the problems, and we're not happy to have to live with them, either. At best, I think people look up to the archetypal miner (not The Company) as someone who did what he had to do to take care of his family, because there's something heroic about the little guy who gets shafted every which way and has to make the most of it. It's too sad to live with if there isn't.

If we could get our economy off of coal/chemicals and onto eco-tourism, that would be great. Efforts have been made in that direction. "Come hiking/rafting/caving!" isn't going to replace coal and chemicals in a hurry, however, especially not when those industries are as large and entrenched as they are. Setting aside the expected amount of campaigning, political contributions, and such, it's hard to get people to vote against their own jobs, even if they know the risks and the long-term damage. We'll have to get off coal eventually, but it's a lot easier to say "Easy: Hics need to stop burning dinosaurs." than it is to rip out a significant economic sector in a region that isn't doing well already.

People can be "friendly-but-backwards" at times, but politics are the same here as anywhere else.

Actually, I was saying find a good way or two to really 'clean' coal exhaust so we can continue to use this resource until we can get renewables in place. However, the Coal Industry has no real desire to improve the situation which does impact people like you.