• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:00 to 18:10

    These are my links for February 28th from 18:00 to 18:10:

    • Low-flow toilets cause a stink in San Francisco – San Francisco's big push for low-flow toilets has turned into a multimillion-dollar plumbing stink.

      Skimping on toilet water has resulted in more sludge backing up inside the sewer pipes, said Tyrone Jue, spokesman for the city Public Utilities Commission. That has created a rotten-egg stench near AT&T Park and elsewhere, especially during the dry summer months.

      The city has already spent $100 million over the past five years to upgrade its sewer system and sewage plants, in part to combat the odor problem.

      Now officials are stocking up on a $14 million, three-year supply of highly concentrated sodium hypochlorite – better known as bleach – to act as an odor eater and to disinfect the city's treated water before it's dumped into the bay. It will also be used to sanitize drinking water.

      That translates into 8.5 million pounds of bleach either being poured down city drains or into the drinking water supply every year.

      Not everybody thinks it's a good idea.

      A Don't Bleach Our Bay alert has just gone out from eco-blogger Adam Lowry who argues the city would be much better off using a disinfectant like hydrogen peroxide – or better yet, a solution that would naturally break down the bacteria.

      As for whether the supposedly environmentally friendly, low-flow toilets are worth the trouble? Well, according to Jue, they have helped trim San Francisco's annual water consumption by about 20 million gallons.

      ++++++++

      The unintended consequences of environmental political correctness.

      Or how about an error in judgment?

    • Wisconsin Sarcasm – Gov. Scott Walker’s Response to President Obama – Dripping statement from Walker spox mocks president’s “misunderstanding” of budget repair bill debate.

      Statement in Response to President Obama’s Misunderstanding

      Madison– Today President Obama again weighed in against Governor Walker’s proposal to balance the state’s budget deficit by having state government workers contribute a modest amount toward their own pensions and pay 12.6 percent toward their healthcare premiums.

      In response to the President’s comments, the Governor’s Press Secretary Cullen Werwie issued the following statement:

      I'm sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And I'm sure the President knows that the average federal worker pays twice as much for health insurance as what we are asking for in Wisconsin. At least I would hope he knows these facts.

      Furthermore, I’m sure the President knows that we have repeatedly praised the more than 300,000 government workers who come to work every day in Wisconsin.

      I’m sure that President Obama simply misunderstands the issues in Wisconsin, and isn’t acting like the union bosses in saying one thing and doing another.

      +++++++++

      Back at you pal…..

    • Scott Walker responds to Obama: You sound a little like a union boss, you know that? – Oh, now, no he doesn’t. Union bosses are known for making thinly veiled violent threats, like the time his pal Trumka reacted to a strikebreaker being shot dead with a wink-wink about not playing with matches if you don’t want your fingers burned. The One doesn’t say stuff like that; he sits back and lets other people say it, then does his above-the-fray shtick by pleading for civility towards those on his side. Much more nuanced.

      Walker’s office issued this statement:

      “I’m sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And I’m sure the President knows that the average federal worker pays twice as much for health insurance as what we are asking for in Wisconsin. At least I would hope he knows these facts.

      “Furthermore, I’m sure the President knows that we have repeatedly praised the more than 300,000 government workers who come to work every day in Wisconsin.

      “I’m sure that President Obama simply misunderstands the issues in Wisconsin, and isn’t acting like the union bosses in saying one thing and doing another.”

      ++++++++

      Read it all