phoenixswords

The Angera Declaration for Methane Action

Methane is the second most significant contributor to warming, after carbon dioxide. Methane is responsible for 30% of current warming and its atmospheric concentration continues to rise. Absent rapid and sustained reductions, methane emissions will drive faster warming in the coming decades, intensifying climate risks such as more frequent and severe droughts and heatwaves; more rapid ice-sheet loss; sea-level rise; and risks of triggering destabilizing climate tipping points.

Reducing methane emissions not only reduces climate risks, it also almost immediately improves air quality by decreasing ground-level ozone, which improves public health by reducing respiratory illness and premature mortality while preventing crop losses from ozone exposure thus strengthening food security.

Because methane is so powerful a warming agent and so short-lived in the atmosphere, its reduction offers the biggest bang-for-buck on climate action. The vast majority of that action relies on government and industry efforts, but there are a few things that individuals can do with real impact...

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy, breezy, and mild. It's supposed to rain soon.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/13/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 6/13/26 -- I pulled weeds to reach the obelisk that was between the apricot tree and birdgift tree, then moved the obelisk near the new picnic table garden.

I also raked up a patch of clinging weeds to minimize their seed dispersal.

EDIT 6/13/26 -- My partner Doug was going to mow, but now it's raining. :/

EDIT 6/13/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 6/13/26 -- The brief sprinkle of rain proved to be a cocktease. We got the mower going and my partner is out mowing now. \o/

EDIT 6/13/26 -- Mowing is done. Yay! Much more of the house yard is cleared along with a few other bits. I have access to more places I can work. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much grass has actually sprouted along the path to the east edge of the yard, which I thought hadn't come up at all.

I also planted out the last couple of water jug pots that had flowers in them. I still need to dump out the failed ones though.

Elderberry bushes are blooming way back in the orchard but I can't get to those through the tall field weeds.

EDIT 6/13/26 -- I dumped out the last of the water jugs.

I've seen a male and a female cardinal separately.

EDIT 6/13/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

.

Current Mood: busy

susandennis

Yesterday Bonny came in to say that Joan has a birthday on the 24th. ARUGH. All these people and their freakin birthdays. I decided to just get on it and get it done. For the others, I open up an empty Google doc and then open the Gemini side bar and type in what kind of picture I want. I get 4 or 5 options and usually a couple of excellent ones.

Yesterday I opened up docs and got the side bar and no image. I got the message something along the lines of I don't do images. WTF? I screwed around with it for a long time and never got any satisfaction so finally did it the old fashioned way - found an image on Google and then added my text. It's fine.

But, later, I fired up Gemini to ask WTF? And, learned a lot. Turns out they have separated the AI's and now have one for text and one for images and when implemented, fucked it up Or in Gemini speak - 'created a known issue'. It was really a very interesting conversation. Sounds like things will be back to birthday ready next week.

Beats the hell out of crawling through Reddit looking for answers.

Today is elbow coffee. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use my out of town visitors to skip out on it next week.

Baseball is at 1 and no rain in the forecast. So it will be a lovely afternoon here in the living room. I'm not going outside because we are having a heat wave. It will be over mid-week. And, at least it's not tornadoes.

My right foot is acting up again. Last time Dr. Google told me to get metatarsal pads which I did but by the time they got here, the foot was fine so I never tried them until just now. They are actually helping. Go Dr. Google! We have a lot of walking to do next week and I need my feet to be up for the challenge.

nverland posting in

recipecommunity

Coronation Coleslaw
Prep Time 20 mins Total Time 20 mins Servings 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) bag coleslaw mix
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 large mango, somewhat ripe to ripe
2 green onions
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons plain yogurt or sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
1/3 cup raisins (any kind), currants, or chopped dates
1/2 cup toasted cashews, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

Salt the coleslaw mix and prepare the mango:
Add the slaw mix to a colander and toss with the salt. Let sit and drain for 10 minutes.
While the slaw sits, prep the mango and green onions. Peel the mango and cut the flesh off of the pit. Cut into rough matchsticks.
Trim the green onions and thinly slice. Set aside.

Rinse and drain the coleslaw mix:
After 10 minutes, rinse the slaw mix under cool water. Drain and dump out on a dry kitchen towel. Gently pat dry and set aside.

Make the dressing:
Add the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, and curry powder to a medium bowl (with enough room to mix together the slaw). Stir together until combined.

Assemble:
To the bowl with the dressing, add the dried slaw mix, prepared mango, green onions (reserving a few slices of dark green for garnish), raisins, cashews (if using), and pepper. Toss well and taste, adding salt and/or more curry powder if needed.

If you plan to have leftovers, reserve the cashews and add them just before serving. Leftover slaw will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Toss again before serving.

ysabetwordsmith

Endangered California Condor Flies into Oregon for the First Time in 122 Years

Last month, a California condor flew into Oregon before returning after several hundred miles to its home in Redwoods National Park, becoming the first condor recorded in the state since 1904.

Taking a closer look, condor conservationists among northern California’s Yurok tribe concluded it was condor B9, an animal that had been born in captivity and released into the wild in 2022 by the Yurok.

The animal flew a grand total of 380 miles and 4 days in a loop, starting high in the redwoods before passing Redding in NoCal and then entering Oregon. It made stops near Medford, Cave Junction, and Brookings before recrossing state lines and returning to the national park.

That's good progress. \o/

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

In the distant past, a person’s life was very similar to their grandparents’ and grandchildren’s lives. How has the rapid pace of technological advancement changed society?

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Tennessee Joins States Requiring Data Center Owners to Pay Full Electricity, Infrastructure Costs

The Colossus 2 data center – retrieved from xAI
A new law passed in Tennessee will protect residents from incurring rising electricity costs from nearby data centers’ demands on the grid.

Republican-led bill HB 1847 prohibits utilities companies and municipalities from paying for a data center’s electrical needs, or any of the infrastructure costs involved in expansion.

Bluntly put, data centers have a bad habit of robbing people by driving up electricity, water, and other bills. They must pay ALL of their own bill, not fob it off on other people. This is driving a large and growing backlash against data centers and the AI they enable.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners
by Catherine Cassidy (Editor)

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Current Mood: busy

days_unfolding

Gracie is complaining because Bella is napping instead of playing with her. I told her that Bella gets to nap. I’m not sure how Bella can nap with Gracie barking at her though.

I have a rule about travel t-shirts that I can get only those ones for places that I’ve been. I just replaced my Roma t-shirt because I put my finger through the one that I bought in Rome. And I’ve been to Paris, so I ordered a Paris t-shirt. I saw one for Istanbul that I like, but I haven’t been there yet, so I can’t get it.

Woke up at 6 AM. Gracie had been trying to get me up for a while. I’m hammered. It’s a good thing that I showered last night because I’m going to throw my clothes on. The CPAP went well last night; maybe I’m getting used to it.

Made it to physical therapy on time (7:45 AM). It went okay. I was joking with the therapy guy about being sleepy. He said that his 7:00 appointment person asked him a question, and his mind wasn’t awake yet.

I’m trying to wake up and get some energy going.

I think that I’m going to stay home tomorrow and do yard work. Sunday, it’s supposed to rain, so I might as well be running errands. Hmm, maybe I should go get roses on Saturday though. The garden center is in the other direction from everywhere else to which I’m going. Okay, I had to place a pickup order for the following weekend.

The tornado yesterday was in North Champaign and North Urbana, so not far at all. There are some trees down and power outages.

I’m freaking tired. It’ll be an early night, I think.

I napped until right before my singing lesson. It went really, really well. My voice was relaxed and full, which I attribute to the nap.

Fed us all. I can’t stop yawning. Bedtime soon, and I can sleep in.

ysabetwordsmith

Today we went to the Marshall Farmer's Market. :D

( Read more... )

Current Mood: happy

ysabetwordsmith

3 Mule Deer Just Inaugurated California’s Newest Wildlife Crossing Bridge

A California wildlife overpass is already proving popular with the local deer—and it’s not even finished yet.

In what is certainly a ringing endorsement of the $20 million bridge, 3 mule deer were caught on camera traps using the bridge to safely cross I-97 in Siskiyou County.

Wildlife overpasses work, sometimes even before they're finished! \o/ There's also a different style of underpass for critters like turtles.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Enjoy some great pictures of the recent Venus-Jupiter conjunction.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Famous author Jane Yolen has passed away. This year she published her 450th book. My favorites included The Pit Dragon Chronicles and Great Alta.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: pensive

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sunny and warm. It stormed last night.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/12/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 6/12/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 6/12/26 -- We went out to the Marshall Farmer's Market today. :D

EDIT 6/12/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

susandennis

I did it. I emptied an entire shelf in my storage unit. That's like 1/5th of it! I kept a few things BUT also then emptied a drawer in my dresser. The decent stuff will go out into the elbow next week as 'free' for the staff but most of it got tossed right into the dumpster. Good riddance!

I put a peanut butter and jelly uncrushable into the air fryer for lunch.

And then proceeded to burn my finger on really really hot grape jelly.

Today is Julio's birthday! He is 4. I probably should start looking at pre schools.

susandennis

The heels are too pointy and the legs are too short and the toe is a little too pointy but otherwise... I have knit socks a lot but not in years. I tried a bunch of new things with these. I knit them from the toe up (roundish toe) two at a time. I knit the whole socks and then went back and put the heel in. I do like this. Among other things, it gives you far better control over how much yarn you need. After I finished them, I started a new mini monster and got almost all done when I dropped it and started new socks because I want to get the details down and make fixes - a rounder toe. A smaller heel and rounder. And a longer leg. Like twice as long with a stretchier edge. So now the new toes are done and they are for sure rounder.

I also made copious notes in Ravelry so hopefully I can improve the sock and repeat. Knitting socks is really silly because they are cheap and hand knitted socks do feel good in some situations but not nearly better enough to warrant the time and money involved BUT I love knitting them. So there will be more.

I had a lovely swim this morning and no plans for the day.

I have 3 big bags of clothing and other soft stuff (towels etc) in the storage unit that I have not looked at in nearly a year. It's time to go through them and decide. If they are worth keeping, then they move into here and something of equal whatever goes out. If they aren't worth keeping then I need to stop keeping them! I might do that today. Maybe.

Maybe I will do that today. Like right now. Well, after I get dressed and scoop out the litter box.

citrakayah posting in

common_nature

To start with, here's some photos of the local landscape:

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ysabetwordsmith

Today's theme is Mystery.

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Papua New Guinea Sets Up Protected Ocean the Size of UK–Over 77,000 Square Miles

In the legendary Coral Triangle, where the Pacific and Indian Oceans meet, 200,000 square kilometers of tropical seas will be off limits to fishing thanks to bold conservation action by Papua New Guinea.

The newly-designated Western Manus Marine Protected Area (MPA) will form part of the newly established Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves, a network of national and jointly managed protected areas spanning Fiji, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.

Score! \o/

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith posting in

recipecommunity

Tonight we made Chicken and Peas Stir-Fry. It turned out quite well.

"Chicken and Peas Stir-Fry"

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Santorini Citrus seasoning
1 tablespoon tapioca starch

Stir-fry:
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 tablespoon freeze-dried garlic
1 tablespoon freeze-dried ginger
1/2 sweet onion, sliced
1 cup sugar-snap peas or snow peas
half a 1.25 pound package of chicken thighs
1 can bamboo shoots, drained

( Read more... )

Current Mood: accomplished

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phoenixswords

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May 2026

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Network

Climate Change

Birdfeeding

Saturday

Coronation Coleslaw

Wildlife

Philosophical Questions: Change

Economics

Review: Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners

Travel T-Shirts

Today's Adventures

Wildlife

Space Exploration

Moment of Silence: Jane Yolen

Birdfeeding

So... how's your day going?

Sock it to me

Recent Hiking Trip Photos

Follow Friday 6-12-26: Mystery

Conservation

Recipe: "Chicken and Peas Stir-Fry"

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May 2026

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