She came up with an invention to save 12 million people.

Always reach for the stars. If you fall, at least you'll land on Mercury. Or Venus. Or something. She came up with an invention to save 12 million people. Genius? Kinda.  Curator: Andrea Garcia-Vargas This is a part of a special Upworthy series about access to water in the developing world, made possible by Stella Artois and Water.org. Read more. It's so simple, you'd think more people would be using this. This is the city of São Paulo, Brazil you see in tourist pamphlets. This is the São Paulo those pamphlets won't show you. That is what Brazilians call a favela, defined as "a slum or shantytown located within or on the outskirts of [Brazil's] largest cities." Many of the people who live in São Paulo's favelas are impoverished and don't have access to basic needs — like water. In fact, 12 million people in São Paulo are running out of water. That's... More than the number of people in New York City. About the same number people that live in Illinois, Pennsylvania, or Ohio. More than the number of people in Greece. Exact numbers aside, that's a lot of people who don't have proper drinking water or water to flush their toilets or wash their clothes. One woman is trying to help out with the water shortage. Terezinha Silva is her name. Her solution? It's really simple, but it's also simply brilliant. It involves rainwater. See, there are only four steps. "Water from the ceiling? But yuck!" Keep reading. "Mosquitoes were in the water? Yuck!" Wait for it. "Filtered water! But what if the barrel gets too full?" We're not done yet. And there you have it! A barrel with usable water that started out as water dripping from the ceiling with mosquitoes. Watch to see this drought-opposing invention in all its glory.

Let's hope this small, simple solution can eventually stop this large-scale 
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What happens when you tax the rich and raise the minimum wage?

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WED FEB 25, 2015 AT 11:11 AM PST

What happens when you tax the rich and raise the minimum wage? Meet one of USA's best economies

byWalter EinenkelFollowforweinenkel

attribution: wiki commons            A governor doing his job

When Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton took office in 2011, Minnesota had more than a $6 billion dollar deficit and an unemployment rate of 7%. Today, Minnesota's unemployment rate isnow below 4% and they have a budget surplus of over $1.2 billion dollars. How did Mark Dayton do this? Did he heed his Republican opponent Tom Emmer's advice?

Make no mistake, government cannot create the jobs we need to turn our economy around, but private business people can. State government can either help improve the necessary business climate – as I will do if elected governor – or it can hurt job development, as my opponents’ proposals to maintain the status quo would do.

No. No, he didn't.

During his first four years in office, Gov. Dayton raised the state income tax from 7.85 to 9.85 percent on individuals earning over $150,000, and on couples earning over $250,000 when filing jointly -- a tax increase of $2.1 billion. He's also agreed to raise Minnesota's minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2018, and passed a state law guaranteeing equal pay for women.

We all know that equal pay for women is a slippery slope that leads to voting rights and the loss of corsets and hoop skirts. Mark Dayton's approach of making people who can afford to pay, pay, helped eliminate the deficit. Raising the minimum wage gave more people money to spend. Businesses like money and they like people who have money to spend.

Between 2011 and 2015, Gov. Dayton added 172,000 new jobs to Minnesota's economy -- that's 165,800 more jobs in Dayton's first term than Pawlenty added in both of his terms combined. Even though Minnesota's top income tax rate is the 4th-highest in the country, it has the 5th-lowest unemployment rate in the country at 3.6 percent. According to 2012-2013 U.S. census figures, Minnesotans had a median income that was $10,000 larger than the U.S. average, and their median income is still $8,000 more than the U.S. average today.

Where does this slick commie-agitator come from?

Gov. Dayton didn't accomplish all of these reforms by shrewdly manipulating people -- this article describes Dayton's astonishing lack of charisma and articulateness. He isn't a class warrior driven by a desire to get back at the 1 percent -- Dayton is a billionaire heir to the Target fortune. It wasn't just a majority in the legislature that forced him to do it -- Dayton had to work with a Republican-controlled legislature for his first two years in office. And unlike his Republican neighbor to the east, Gov. Dayton didn't assert his will over an unwilling populace by creating obstacles between the people and the vote -- Dayton actually created an online voter registration system, making it easier than ever for people to register to vote.

I might have to move to Minnesota.

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Georgia bans the box! GOP lawmaker: Cancer is 'fungus' and can be flushed out with baking soda! What happens when you tax the rich and raise the minimum wage? Meet one of USA's best economies Cartoon: Quick! What's your opinion? Tell the GOP: A Clean Bill or No Bill -- Fund the DHS Al Roker says weather phenomenon is the result of climate change LAPD kill unarmed mentally ill veteran on TV. Their defense won't shock you. Black Death in Europe was caused by climate change in Asia and trade, not rats Reid puts Boehner on spot over Homeland Security funding bill McConnell enlists Democrats to help him face down Boehner on DHS funding The GOP is finding that it's harder than it looks Media Matters: O'Reilly lied about witnessing murder of nuns in El Salvador Netanyahu refuses to meet with Democrats because he doesn't want to appear 'partisan' 49 percent of Republicans do not believe in evolution Cartoon: Punditspew, ISIS edition Monk seals and more (AMAZING photos) Barbara Boxer knocks it out of the park on GOP hatred, hypocrisy and irresponsibility (VIDEO)

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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS' IMAGES 26FEB15

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Houston We Have A Problem: Oil Workers Strike For Safety & Fair Labor

Houston We Have A Problem: Oil Workers Strike For Safety & Fair Labor

Feb 26th, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Article by Alvaro Rodriguez and Jane Nguyen published 25 Feb 2015 by MINTPRESS NEWS under the headline:

Oil workers holding picket signs in front of the Shell oil refinery in the Houston Ship Channel

In the largest strike since 1980, oil workers who are members of United Steelworkers District 13 locals (Locals 13-1 and Local 13-227) are no longer on the job in the Houston Ship Channel, the largest petrochemical complex in the world. The strike kicked off on February 1, 2015.

The three plants impacted by the strike in Houston include Shell Oil Refinery and Chemical Plant, LyondellBasell Refinery and Marathon (refinery and cogeneration facility).

The union is under attack in Texas, with USW members locked out at the Sherwin Alumina plant in Corpus Christi and the ASARCO facility in Amarillo. The attack on the union is occurring while the industry made record profits. Royal Dutch Shell announced earnings of $19 billion in 2014. LyondellBasell had record profits of $7.1 billion (EBITD) in 2014, cash generation of $6.0 billion. These profits in large part went to reward stock holders rather than repairs — with stock repurchases prioritized over worker safety —  to the tune of $7.2 billion in dividends. This largesse extended to a jump in compensation for their corporate officers.

The USW oil workers rallied at Shell headquarters in Downtown Houston (1 Shell Plaza at 901 Louisiana) on Friday, February 6 to “show management that union workers are united in their drive for a fair contract that improves safety throughout the industry.”

The safety record of Texas industry is abysmal. Texas continues to experience a large number of fatalities, chemical releases, fires and explosions. EHS Today reports that nearly 5,000 workers die each year as a result of fatal occupational injuries in Texas. These preventable deaths devastate families and workplaces.

According to a recent Dallas Morning News investigative report, “Houston has the worst record in Texas and Texas has the worst record in the nation when it comes to workplace fatalities or catastrophes.”

FULL ARTICLE

RELATED

U.S. refinery strike continues with no steps toward settlement: REUTERS 25 Feb 2015

Extracts

Reuters) – The largest U.S. refinery strike since 1980 continued through its 25th day on Wednesday with no movement toward renewed talks to end a walkout by 6,550 union workers at 15 plants, including 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of domestic capacity.

A spokesman for lead refinery owner representative Shell Oil Co, the U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, said no face-to-face meetings have been scheduled with the United Steelworkers union (USW) as of Wednesday.

“No date has been set (for talks to resume,)” said Shell spokesman Ray Fisher. “Not sure if there has been any contact (between the two sides).”

FULL REUTERS ARTICLE

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Posted in: Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell Employee Safety, United States.
Tagged: Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

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That sinking Feeling

That sinking Feeling

Feb 26th, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Financial Times article by Christopher Adams, Michael Kavanagh and Chris Tighe: 25 Feb 2015

That sinking feeling

North Sea oil was a challenge before prices halved. Now the UK industry fears a fatal blow

The plunge in prices, a tax system that deters investment and a failure by producers to co-operate could lead to a wave of early field closures and accelerated moves to decommissioning.

FULL ARTICLE

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Posted in: Oil, Oil Prices, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: North Sea Platforms · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

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HOWARD_26FEB15_GORDON AND WILKINSON FOOLED ME AROUND

from:		antonio jr. Buensuceso <antoniobuensuceso@gmail.com>
to:		Tom.Howard@waterboards.ca.gov, thoward@waterboards.ca.gov
cc:		Liz Haven , Jonathan.Bishop@waterboards.ca.gov, "Maughan, James@Waterboards" , "Gordon, Christine@Waterboards" , "Wilkinson, Wes@Waterboards" , "Cooper, Andrew@Waterboards" , anna.hernandez@waterboards.ca.gov, anna.perez@waterboards.ca.gov, "Zuccala, Debbie@Waterboards" , dzuccala@waterboards.ca.gov, Antonio Buensuceso
date:		Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 12:33 AM
subject:		HOWARD_26FEB15_GORDON AND WILKINSON FOOLED ME AROUND
mailed-by:		gmail.com

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Offshore oil drilling opponents scold Port of Seattle for Shell deal

Offshore oil drilling opponents scold Port of Seattle for Shell deal

Feb 25th, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Article by Ted Land, KING 5 News: 24 Feb 2015

SEATTLE — The Port of Seattle got quite the earful, Tuesday from a group opposed to offshore oil drilling.

They’re irate that the port is doing business with Shell, which plans to use Terminal 5, near West Seattle, as a launching point as it prepares to drill in the Arctic.

“It appears the port has forgotten that it’s a public agency entrusted with making decisions in the general public interest,” said Peter Goldman, an environmental attorney who was among more than a dozen people to testify at the port commission meeting.

They scolded the Port of Seattle for rushing the deal with Shell last month and not allowing enough public input. The agreement came as a shock to many opponents, who felt like their voices were never heard.

They say the lease deal with Shell is essentially an endorsement of offshore oil drilling. Ironic, they say, Seattle’s goal is to have one of the greenest ports in the country, as highlighted in a video on the port website, which states it’s the port’s responsibility to “preserve our environment for future generations.”

The commission listened and then moved on to other items. Opponents say they’re now planning legal action.

SOURCE

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Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Environment, Litigation, Oil, Oil Spill, Pollution, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, United States.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

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