Tesla’s Done Being an Automaker—It’s Now an Energy Company | WIRED

https://www.wired.com/2016/06/tesla-solar-city-elon-musk/

TESLA'S DONE BEING AN AUTOMAKER—IT'S NOW AN ENERGY COMPANY

Elon Musk, never a cook to stay out of the kitchen, isn't content with selling you an electric car—he wants to control how you power it too. The Tesla Motors CEO this week announced plans to purchase solar power-provider Solar City. Critics and a dropping stock price say Tesla's push beyond the auto industry, which it's hardly mastered, is a gamble too far. But  Tesla is playing the long game.

"The world does not lack for automotive companies," Musk said Tuesday. "The world lacks for sustainable energy companies."

In the two and a half months since introducing the Model 3, Tesla Motors has taken more than 400,000 deposits for the long-awaited $30,000 sedan, due to start production late next year. The rest of the industry is also slowly ramping up its electric offerings, which shouldn't cost any more than a gas-powered car by 2022. That has potential environment benefits, but it won't help much if the aging, fossil-fuel reliant American energy grid can't keep up without piling coal into the furnace.

Last year Musk announced Tesla Energy, a scheme to sell huge batteries for home and industrial energy storage. Now Tesla wants to complete the package by enveloping SolarCity, which bills itself as a complete solution for ditching fossil fuels and running your home on sun power. Musk already owns 22 percent of the company and sits on its board.

It's an enticing vision of clean energy vertical integration: If Tesla and Solar City shareholders approve the deal, a customer could someday walk into one of the bright white stores popping up around the country, buy rooftop solar panels to turn sunlight into electricity, a brand new car to use that electricity, and a 6.4-kWh battery to store anything left over.

"They're building the model of the energy company of the future," says Matt Roberts, executive director of the Energy Storage Association, an industry trade group. As electric cars spread, the energy ecosystem must adapt to support them.

One of the obstacles to increasing America's use of renewable energy is that the nation's grid doesn't store energy. It produces just enough to meet consumer demand at any given moment, but solar panels and wind turbines can't spin up whenever someone flicks a light switch the way a coal- or gas-fired power can. So engineers are investigating ways to hold onto the energy they produce for use when needed, from rock-filled trains on hills to giant hydroelectric projects, to Tesla's "Powerwall" batteries.

There's a clear business case here: Musk says he can expand the market for solar panels by offering them to people who are already considering buying an electric car, and vice versa. He didn't offer figures on how many Tesla customers were interested in strapping solar panels onto their roofs, but said he'd be shocked if they weren't. In other words, Tesla wants to offer the whole fossil fuel-free frittata. Forget "well to wheels." Tesla's talking generation to acceleration.

A distributed network of batteries in homes could help buffer the energy supply, but so could electric vehicles themselves. In Japan, Nissan is experimenting with using electric Leaf cars to give power back to homes, or to keep lights on in dealerships. Right now in the US there's not much advantage to volunteering your car or expensive home battery to help out the local grid. But within the next decade, utility companies will start jacking up rates when demand climbs—so the option to power your Xbox from your EV instead of the grid will suddenly be tantalizing. "Things like the Powerwall are an expensive product for a subset of early adopters," says Roberts, "but they're laying the foundation for what will come."

Tesla is far from alone in this view of the future; BMW and Daimler have programs that use old and new electric car batteries as energy storage systems. But Musk has a strong brand and the ability to generate publicity—rather like Apple, which recently created "Apple Energy LLC". That sub-company plans to sell consumers the excess energy it generates with its solar installations at corporate sites. Combine that with the reports and rumors that Apple's building an electric car, you can imagine another "integrated energy company" motoring into life.

~A.

Senior & Middleweight Packaging Designers - Bulletproof, US - New York, New York | Job Postings from Coroflot.com

http://www.coroflot.com/jobs/72683/Senior-n-Middleweight-Packaging-Designers

Senior & Middleweight Packaging Designers

Due to some recent wins, Bulletproof is on the hunt for Senior and Middleweight Packaging Designers to join our thriving New York office. If you have a jaw-dropping CPG portfolio and 2-4 yrs (Middleweight) or 4-6 years (Senior) experience working at some of the best design agencies on some of the biggest brands, this may be the right opportunity for you.


WHO WE ARE:
We are not an agency, we are a tribe. Strategic brand and packaging design is what we do. London, New York and Singapore is where you'll find us - and where our mix of different interwoven cultures creates a rich tapestry of seminally, strategic ideas and unrivalled creativity with a fiercely independent spirit. Our ideas drive us, our culture defines us, our people connect us. We are Bulletproof.

(If you'd like to find out more about our thinking and culture, please take a look at the recent Dieline interview with our Founder http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2016/4/12/inside-the-studio-bulletproof)


OUR APPROACH:
We have an open and collaborative approach and work on many integrated campaigns with our clients and their respective media partners. We approach each brief individually, however our ideas are always...
- driven with insight & strategy
- created with integrity & passion
- delivered with conviction & energy


THE ROLE:
You will be required to:
...deliver innovative and inspiring thinking and creative
...design independently or as part of a team, depending on each project
...creatively lead and present mid-sized projects (seniors only)
...work in collaboration with client service peers
...see jobs through from concept to print
...brief illustrators, lettering artists and general suppliers
...art direct photoshoots (seniors only)

Application Details

If you think you're the best of the best and would like to join the Bulletproof team, please email your resume & portfolio to joinus@wearebulletproof.com with Dieline Job Application as your subject manner.

NOTE: International candidates must hold a valid US working permit.

See More Jobs Like This

• »Packaging
• »Graphic Design
• »Mid-Level Staff
• »New York, NY

~A.

https://www.sott.net/article/320442-5-things-the-establishment-quietly-slipped-by-you-while-focusing-on-the-Orlando-shooting?utm_content=bufferda643&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

5 things the establishment quietly slipped by you while focusing on the Orlando shooting

After any major tragedy, we develop an obsessive need to analyze, debate, and argue every conceivable aspect of what's taken place — as if time stops. That tragedy dominates mainstream and, often, independent media headlines for days or weeks, exhaustively positing theory after theory until the public begins to lose interest.

But tragedy doesn't occur in a vacuum, and — though it might feel as if the world pressed pause to allow society to grieve — important, pertinent issues continue to arise while our attention is trained elsewhere.

As collective shock from the massacre in Orlando begins to fade, it's a good idea to review what happened as the media obsessed over the last few days.

1) A major lawsuit exposing probable electoral fraud in eleven states could effectively alter the landscape of the presidential race.

Slated to be filed by the Institute for American Democracy and Election Integrity, the lawsuit presents evidence of statistically impossible differences between exit polls and electronic vote totals.

"We are going to be filing a racketeering lawsuit under the Ohio racketeering law, the strongest in the country and we can bring in every state, our RICO statute is coextensive with the federal RICO statute ... So they're nailed," explained Cliff Arnebeck, an election attorney who chairs the Legal Affairs Committee of Common Cause Ohio and national co-chair for the Alliance of Democracy.

According to computer security expert Stephen Spoonamore, reported The Free Thought Project, when differences between exit polls and vote totals surpass 2 percent, it's an indication the vote needs to be examined. In fact, the U.S. government uses that margin for potentially stolen elections in other nations.

For this lawsuit, results of Democratic primaries in several states far exceed the 2 percent margin — discrepancies in favor of Hillary Clinton exceed 5 percent in Arkansas, Ohio, Texas, and Oklahoma. Massachusetts and Tennessee show discrepancies in Clinton's favor in excess of 8 percent — and in Georgia the difference is 11.9 percent. In Alabama, that discrepancy in the former Secretary of State is an astronomical 13.9 percent.

Nothing to see here, folks. Or, considering the corporate media blackout of this apparent massive fraud — and its consonant prattling over Clinton — it's entirely probable an orchestrated thieving of the 2016 election occurred.

2) A new study from Washington University in St. Louis exposed widely-praised, genetically-modified Golden Rice has not lived up to the beneficence the industry has promised for over two decades.

Syngenta's putative prized crop had been proffered as a nutritional gold mine with the potential to alleviate hunger and health issues in developing nations. But study results have now proven the crop a dud.

"Golden Rice was a promising idea backed by good intentions," explained study lead author Glenn Stone, a recognized expert in agricultural trends and humanitarian issues. "In contrast to anti-GMO activists, I argued that it deserved a chance to succeed. But if we are actually interested in the welfare of poor children — instead of just fighting over GMOs — then we have to make unbiased assessments of possible solutions. The simple fact is that after 24 years of research and breeding, Golden Rice is still years away from being ready for release."

Despite Monsanto's and other GM-industry proponents' repeated claims activists have been somehow responsible for the inviability of Golden Rice as one possible solution to world hunger issues, the study also debunked that theory.

"Golden Rice is still not ready for the market, but we find little support for the common claim that environmental activists are responsible for stalling its introduction," Stone noted. "GMO opponents have not been the problem."

3) A study of rape kits dating as far back as 1993 — a telling detail in itself — revealed an epidemic of serial rapists that law enforcement should have known about for decades.

An Ohio task force began testing over 5,000 shelved rape kits and discovered a startling number of serial rapists who have never been investigated and obviously have tacitly been granted permission to continue committing brutal assaults.

Though the study focused on just one state, the Department of Justice claims over 400,000 rape kits nationally have been stuffed in police evidence rooms and never investigated.

As The Free Thought Project reported, law enforcement departments around the country have abandoned investigating serious crimes like rape and murder in favor of more profitable ventures stemming from the failed war on drugs. Civil asset forfeiture allows police to rob often innocent people blind without the burden of proving any crime has been committed — so police go after small-time dealers and other minor drug criminals in order to reap the rewards.

In 1965, the murder clearance rate exceeded 90 percent. Today, that number has fallen dramatically to just 60 percent — if you've been raped, the number drops to just 3 percent. It's as if the profitability of the drug war permits law enforcement to tell sexual assault victims, 'Too bad, so sad.'

According to the Daily Mail:

"Of all serial rapists in the study, 74 percent had at least one prior felony arrest, and 95 percent had at least one felony after ... For one-time offenders, they found 51 percent had prior felony arrests, and 78 percent had at least one subsequently ... And among serial offenders, 26 percent had been arrested for at least one sexual assault before that particular crime, while 60 percent were arrested for an unrelated sexual assault later on."

While the rape clearance rate undoubtedly could be called criminal, the task force investigation has led to 250 convictions.

4) During Ramadan this year, Israel cruelly curtailed the flow of water to Palestine — leaving thousands thirsty and scrambling to find sufficient means of hydration.

In an apparent act of retaliation for terror attacks in Tel Aviv earlier this month, Israel dramatically cut the flow of water to some areas, while halting it altogether in others. This during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan — a period of reflection and giving — and in the summertime, when daily temperatures average 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Individuals need around 7.5 liters of water per day, according to the United Nations, but Israel's restrictions have left many Palestinians with as little as two or three liters a day.

"This is just really done on a whim and it is done out of spite," Richard Silverstein, a journalist and political commentator, told PressTV in an interview. "You mentioned that it is Ramadan and of course this is a symbolic act by Israel, it is sticking its thumb into the eye of Palestinians and unfortunately this is what the definition of occupation is."

That occupation has grown cruel, and acts like cutting off the region's water supply have increased with alarming frequency. Israel went so far as revoking travel and work permits — an act deemed a blanket, societal punishment for the crimes of a few by several human rights advocacy groups — following the attacks in Tel Aviv, which left four dead.

Indeed, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, the Israeli army's deputy chief of staff, even likenedthe occupation to 1930s Nazi Germany:

"If there is anything that frightens me in the remembrance of the Holocaust, it is discerning nauseating processes that took place in Europe in general, and in Germany specifically back then, 70, 80 and 90 years ago, and seeing evidence of them here among us in the year 2016."

5 ) A spate of suicides among bankers following the Libor, interest-rigging scandal had widely been reported in mainstream media as individual, unrelated occurrences. Now, however, corporate media has finally changed its narrative, admitting there might be more to the fact 40 bankers have killed themselves in the wake of the scandal.

In particular, three banker suicides — in New York, London, and Siena, Italy — within 17 months over 2013 and 2014, share a commonality in connections to Deutsche Bank.

"In each case," the New York Post reported, "the victim had a connection to a global banking scandal, leaving more questions than answers as to the circumstances surrounding their deaths."

In what came to be called the Libor scandal, European and U.S. financial regulators uncovered a conspiracy among London bankers to rig the London Interbank Offered Rate, which determines interest rates banks charged for mortgages, as well as personal and auto loans.

A number of major banks, including Deutsche Bank, were forced to pay some $20 billion in fines in the wake of the Libor revelations. Afterward, the banker suicides began.

In just one example reported by the Post, David Rossi, communications director for Italian Monte Paschi di Siena — the world's oldest bank — fell to his death under highly suspicious circumstances:

"A devastating security video shows Rossi landing on the pavement on his back, facing the building — an odd position more likely to occur when a body is pushed from a window. The footage shows the three-story fall didn't kill Rossi instantly. For almost 20 minutes, the banker lay on the dimly lit cobblestones, occasionally moving an arm and leg.

"As he lay dying, two murky figures appear. Two men appear and one walks over to gaze at the banker. He offers no aid or comfort and doesn't call for help before turning around and calmly walking out of the alley.

"About an hour later, a co-worker discovered Rossi's body. The arms were bruised and he sustained a head wound that, according to the local medical examiner's report, suggested there might have been a struggle prior to his fall."

The Free Thought Project's Jay Syrmopoulos gives a comprehensive account on these suspicious suicides, which you can find here.

Whenever tragedy strikes, a period of shock and mourning, and necessary examination of the event, inevitably and justifiably follows.

However, it remains imperative to pay close attention to additional, ongoing events which occur in the meantime — often, opportunistic politicians take advantage of the distraction to slip unfavorable legislation through.

~A.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/06/07/zika-virus-threat.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=ms1&utm_campaign=20160619Z1&et_cid=DM108898&et_rid=1534913433

Experts Admit Zika Threat Fraud

By Dr. Mercola

We're in the midst of prime mosquito season for much of the U.S. While the exact beginning and end of mosquito season are debatable, The Washington Post recently used Google search data to pinpoint the shape of mosquito season in the U.S.

Presumably, Google searchers for mosquitoes increase as mosquitoes ramp up their activity in any given area. Using this premise, The Washington Post found that mosquito searchers shoot up in May and increase steadily through July, then drop off throughout the coming fall and winter months.

In the U.S., mosquito season is viewed as more of an itchy nuisance than a health threat, but that has changed somewhat this year, at least perceptually.

Fears of Zika virus, which some believe may be associated with suspected cases of the birth defect microcephaly, started in Brazil and have quickly spread throughout the U.S. But are such fears warranted?

Experts Admit Zika Threat Risk 'Near Zero'

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide $622 million to fight Zika virus. Yet, by White House estimates, this is "woefully inadequate." They've recommended directing $1.9 billion to fight this latest declared public health emergency

But mosquito experts are questioning the extent of emergency that actually exists. Chris Barker, Ph.D. a mosquito-borne virus researcher at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, told WebMD:

"I think the risk for Zika actually setting up transmission cycles that become established in the continental U.S. is near zero."

Barker expects Zika to go the way of other tropical diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as dengue fever and chikungunya, in the U.S. with perhaps small clusters of outbreaks in southern states and little activity elsewhere.

Even in the Florida Keys (Florida, along with Louisiana and Texas, is said to be one of the states most at risk of mosquito-borne illnesses), the Monroe County Tourist Development Council reported:

"Dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika viruses are currently not a health threat in the Florida Keys including Key West …

There has never been a report of a locally acquired case of chikungunya or Zika anywhere in the Florida Keys, according to officials at the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County."

No Locally Transmitted Cases of Zika Virus Reported in U.S.

As of May 25, 2016, Zika has not been spread by mosquitoes anywhere in the continental U.S. Calls to control the Aedes mosquitoes, which may carry Zika, have increased nonetheless, including in New York state, where experts say the risk of local transmission is low.

Laura Harrington, Ph.D., chair of Entomology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York told WebMD:

"Here in New York state, there's been a lot of pressure placed on mosquito-control districts to do as much as they can. And, they're really strapped for resources, and there's not a huge risk of transmission … "

Maps released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show it's possible for Aedes mosquitoes to travel as far north as New York, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri and California. According to Harrington, the maps are inaccurate and causing unnecessary hysteria. Harrington continued:

"They're showing this mosquito in places where there's no way you're going to find them … It's really unfortunate, because it's causing a lot of hysteria in places where people should be focusing on other health issues, like Lyme disease."

GE Mosquitoes to Fight Zika Virus?

Biotech company Oxitec has created genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes that carry a "genetic kill switch." When they mate with wild female mosquitoes, their offspring inherit the lethal gene and cannot survive.

To achieve this feat, Oxitec has inserted protein fragments from the herpes virus, E. coli bacteria, coral and cabbage into the insects. The GE mosquitoes have proven lethal to native mosquito populations.

In the Cayman Islands, for instance, 96 percent of native mosquitoes were suppressed after more than 3 million GE mosquitoes were released in the area, with similar results reported in Brazil.

Oxitec is seeking to release the GE mosquitoes in the U.S. to fight Zika, but as pointed out by Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to USA Today, the GE mosquitoes have not been shown to reduce rates of diseases such as Zika. 

The GE mosquitoes may also prove to be too expensive for areas that are plagued with mosquito-borne diseases.

Environmental red flags have also been raised. The potential exists for these foreign genes, which hop from one place to another, to infect human blood by finding entry through skin lesions or inhaled dust.

Such transmission could potentially wreak havoc with the human genome by creating "insertion mutations" and other unpredictable types of DNA damage.

And according to Todd Shelly, an entomologist for the Agriculture Department in Hawaii, 3.5 percent of the GE insects in a laboratory test survived to adulthood despite presumably carrying the lethal gene.

It's important to remember, too, that Oxitec wants emergency approval based on the supposed threat of a disease that has yet to have even one locally transmitted case.

Biotech Company Calls for 'Emergency Approval' of Controversial GE Mosquitoes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed with an environmental assessment submitted by Oxitec and stated that GE mosquitoes will not have a significant impact on the environment. Technically, this is referred to as a "finding of no significant impact" (FONSI).

The FDA's report is only preliminary, but Oxitec wants the FDA to throw caution to the wind and give the GE mosquitoes emergency approval in order to fight the Zika virus.

If approved, Oxitec, in partnership with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD), plans to release the GE mosquitoes, which go by the name of OX513A, in Key Haven, Florida, an island of the Florida Keys located about 1 mile east of Key West.

More than 270,000 people have submitted comments criticizing the FDA's environmental assessment, and numerous environmental groups are calling for the agency to conduct a more thorough review of the GE mosquitoes' risks. Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said:

"The FDA really missed the mark on this one … The agency seems so eager to speed the process along that they have failed to do a real review of the potential risks, and are ignoring widespread concern in the community where the release will happen."

No Permits Required to Spray Near Water

A Clean Water Act permit is generally required to spray pesticides in areas where they might end up in water. The permit is intended to keep the toxic chemicals from contaminating water, but now the Zika virus has been used as an excuse to do away with this common-sense precaution.

The language was inserted into the Zika Vector Control Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives. It would exempt pesticide applicators from needing a Clean Water Act permit, even when spraying near water.

Critics argued the bill would do little to help fight Zika virus, since mosquito-control agencies already have authority to apply pesticides in emergency situations to prevent the spread of infectious disease without applying for permits.

Opponents say the bill has nothing to do with combatting Zika and, instead has been on the table for years, with the majority pushing for its passage "under whatever name" was convenient at the time.

Aerial Mosquito Spraying Linked to Increased Risk of Autism

Greed is pushing for a number of potentially dangerous "solutions" to combat mosquitoes and related diseases. By removing requirements for permits when spraying pesticides near water, it's likely the use of these chemicals will skyrocket, including via aerial spraying.

Unfortunately, many may suffer as a result. In research presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2016 Meeting, aerial pesticide exposure was linked to an increased risk of developmental delays and autism spectrum disorder among children. The study compared children living in zip codes where aerial pesticide spraying was used each summer to combat mosquitoes that carry the eastern equine encephalitis virus, with children living in non-aerial-spraying zip codes.

Children exposed to the aerial pesticide spraying were about 25 percent more likely to be diagnosed with autism or have a documented developmental delay than those living in areas that used other methods of pesticide application (such as manual spreading of granules).

If authorities use the supposed threat of Zika to increase aerial spraying, it could increase children's risk of brain disorders, which is the opposite of what anti-Zika campaigns are supposed to achieve.

Are There Other Potential Explanations for an Increase in Microcephaly?

It's possible Zika-carrying mosquitoes could be involved in suspected cases of microcephaly, but there are other factors that should be considered as well. For starters, the outbreak occurred in a largely poverty-stricken agricultural area of Brazil that uses large amounts of banned pesticides.

Between these factors and the lack of sanitation and widespread vitamin A and zinc deficiency, you already have the basic framework for an increase in poor health outcomes among newborn infants in that area. Environmental pollution and toxic pesticide exposure have been positively linked to a wide array of adverse health effects, including birth defects. For instance:

• Vitamin A deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of microcephaly
• The CDC lists malnutrition and exposure to toxic chemicals as known risk factors
• The CDC also notes certain infections during pregnancy, including rubella, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, and others are risk factors

Natural Ways to Repel Mosquitoes

Many experts agree that the threat of an epidemic outbreak of Zika virus on continental U.S. soil is virtually nonexistent. So you needn't go dousing your backyard in chemicals in an attempt to stay safe from the Zika virus (whose connection to birth defects is still being explored). If however, mosquitoes are bothersome for you, there are some steps you can take to encourage them to live elsewhere.

Draining standing water, including pet bowls, gutters, garbage and recycling bins, spare tires, bird baths, children's toys and so on, is important. This is where mosquitoes breed, so if you eliminate standing water you'll eliminate many mosquitoes. Planting marigolds around your yard also works as a bug repellent because the flowers give off a fragrance that bugs do not like. This is a great way to ward off mosquitoes without using chemical insecticides.

A simple house fan could also help keep mosquitoes at bay if you're having a get-together in your backyard or, for a longer-term solution, try installing a bat house (bats are voracious consumers of insects, especially mosquitoes).

It's best to avoid using bug zappers in your yard, as these may actually attract more mosquitoes while killing beneficial insects. Insect foggers designed to clear insects out of your backyard should also be avoided, as they require the use of strong, potentially harmful, pesticides and don't offer lasting protection.

Even those clip-on repellents and fans that are widely sold are best avoided, as they contain even more toxic ingredients than repellents that can be applied to your skin, and they pose an inhalation hazard.

Some experts also recommend supplementing with one vitamin B1 tablet a day from April through October, and then adding 100 mg of B1 to a B-100 Complex daily during the mosquito season to make you less attractive to mosquitoes. Regularly consuming garlic may also help protect against mosquito bites, as may the following natural insect repellants:

• Cinnamon leaf oil (one study found it was more effective at killing mosquitoes than DEET)
• Clear liquid vanilla extract mixed with olive oil
• Wash with citronella soap, and then put some 100 percent pure citronella essential oil on your skin. Java citronella is considered the highest quality citronella on the market
• Catnip oil (according to one study, this oil is 10 times more effective than DEET)