text:
A play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news
Sinema shakes up the Senate
By ELEANOR MUELLER
YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent, Burgess scoops this morning.
"Nothing will change about my values or my behavior," the Arizona lawmaker told him in a 45-minute interview. Whether or not she sticks to that will be pivotal to Democrats' control of the upper chamber next session, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was expecting to have a cut-and-dried 51-senator majority. Now it's 50-49 … and Sinema.
And for the time being, she's wiping her hands of it: That's "a question for Schumer," Sinema said.
"I don't anticipate that anything will change about the Senate structure," she added. "I intend to show up to work, do the same work that I always do. I just intend to show up to work as an independent."
Sinema says she still plans to support Democratic presidential appointees (after scrutinizing them, of course) and maintain her committee assignments. She won't attend Democratic caucus meetings, unlike independent Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Angus King (Maine) — but, as Burgess points out, she rarely does so now.
Because Sinema is not caucusing with Republicans, Democrats will likely still have the votes to control Senate committees. And with Sinema an independent, moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will retain some — though not all — of his power as an influential swing vote.
Sinema declined to address whether she plans to run for reelection in 2024, when she is rumored to face a primary challenge from Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.). Her move is certain to embolden progressive critics — and draw GOP allies closer.
Indeed, Sinema said she maintains a relationship with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) that could come in handy given Republicans' control of the House: "We served together for a long time, we're friends," she said. And she recently began work on a bipartisan immigration deal with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), which the duo is hoping to push through in the lameduck.
As for what she's doing while the news breaks? The Ironman triathlete is likely wrapping up a "hard run" right now, "because that's mostly what I do Friday mornings." Can't relate.
SINEMA'S TAPPER SITDOWN: "Sinema leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent," from CNN
IN HER WORDS: "Sen. Kyrsten Sinema: Why I'm registering as an independent," from The Arizona Republic
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GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Dec. 9, where your fill-in host just wants to know if you've booked your train (or plane) ticket yet. Thank you for reading and be sure to check out the other home for our reporting, Congress Minutes!
SENATORS' SPENDING SCRAMBLE: Senators aren't giving up on a bipartisan bill that would require employers to provide pregnant workers with reasonable accommodations like seating and bathroom breaks — even after a surprise hotline attempt by Democrats proved unsuccessful.
On Thursday, Democratic Sens. Bob Casey (Pa.) and Patty Murray (Wash.) got the greenlight from Schumer to hit the Senate floor so they could request unanimous consent for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
Their goal: Put GOP holdouts on record as to why they wouldn't support the bill, Senate aides told Huddle, which has been stalled in the upper chamber for months despite backing from groups as varied as the ACLU and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Already, it has the support of some dozen Republican senators (and passed the House with 99 "yes" votes from GOP members).
But that wasn't enough to turn the upper-chamber tide. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) opposed the request on behalf of himself and Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) over the bill's lack of religious exemptions.
The bill's supporters wasted no time scrambling for other means of clearing it to President Joe Biden's desk. Emboldened by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)'s rebuttal of Tillis on the Senate floor Thursday, their main goal is now generating enough bipartisan support to secure it a spot in the elusive year–end omnibus, a Senate aide told Huddle.
"We're going to do work wherever we can," Murray told Huddle.
If shunted to next session, the legislation could be DOA: Key Republicans like Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.), who just received a waiver to chair the House Education and Labor Committee despite party term limits, have opposed it in the past.
But already, the year-end spending package's "ash and trash" — or unrelated riders — is overflowing with bills carved from NDAA, reconciliation and other legislation thanks to a one-two punch of an unexpectedly jam-packed session and looming GOP control of the House.
On Democrats' (unusually long) wishlist: Voting rights, the Child Tax Credit, federal permitting and cannabis banking, as Anthony and Nancy reported earlier this week. Lawmakers and aides who Huddle surveyed Thursday also referenced measures that would stop Medicare cuts, extend Medicaid in U.S. territories, protect so-called Dreamers, target child abuse, tackle domestic violence, and reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, among other things. (Plus, of course, PWFA.)
We'll be watching to see which, if any, Democratic appropriators include in the partisan proposal they plan to release Monday, as Caitlin reported earlier this week. (There's some skepticism that the CTC language, at least, will be ready in time.) But it goes without saying that Republicans will likely fight many of them. As it stands, both sides are still billions of dollars apart on domestic spending (though much closer together on defense). And with funding set to expire Dec. 16, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has already declared opposition to Monday's effort, saying Thursday he "won't allow [Democrats] to now hijack the government funding process."
JEFFRIES ROLLS OUT THE HEADS: Incoming Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Thursday named Reps. Barbara Lee (Calif.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) and Dan Kildee (Mich.) as the three co-chairs of the party's Steering and Policy Committee.
"I know that Barbara, Debbie and Dan share my goal of ensuring that each and every Democratic Member of the House is fully engaged and empowered," Jeffries said in a statement. "
The trio still need to be ratified by the committee, which Jeffries said would happen "in the coming days." He also appointed Reps. Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Salud Carbajal (Calif.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Debbie Dingell (Mich.), Teresa Leger Fernandez (N.M.), Sylvia Garcia (Texas), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Josh Harder (Calif.), Steven Horsford (Nev.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Robin Kelly (Ill.), Ann Kuster (N.H.), Grace Meng (N.Y.), Bill Pascrell (N.J.) and Nikema Williams (Ga.) to the committee.
ICYMI: The announcement came the same day as the party elected its top Senate leaders for next session.
SIGNED, SEALED, (ALMOST) DELIVERED: The $847 billion National Defense Authorization Act is headed to the Senate next week after a blowout House vote of 350-80.
The bill would boost spending on defense about $75 billion above last year — $45 billion more than Biden requested, Connor O'Brien reports. It also includes several unrelated provisions dealing with issues like intelligence and water resources. The most controversial: language that would end the Biden administration's mandate that troops get vaccinated against coronavirus barring any religious exemptions.
PAGING 'SAM FRIED-BANKMAN BANKMAN-FRIED WHATEVER': Lawmakers have yet to hear from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried on whether he will testify at a pair of hearings next week on the company's implosion.
"Sam Bankman-Fried's counsel did not respond by the stated deadline," Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and ranking member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said in a statement Thursday night. "We will continue to work on having him appear before Congress."
Brown isn't holding his breath: "We're asking Sam Fried-Bankman, Bankman-Fried, whatever, to come in" next week, he told Huddle earlier Thursday. But "we don't expect him to."
Brown and House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) have said they will consider subpoenaing Bankman-Fried if he fails to appear before their respective panels. Bankman-Fried, for his part, has indicated he'll come to the Hill — but on his own time.
The hearings will not only examine what happened at FTX, but also take a much broader look at the industry, Brown said: "FTX is the poster child now, but this is really a hearing to understand the risk of crypto investment; to understand the national security implications … and all of the things that are going on." Sam Sutton's got the details.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS BEMOAN COMMITTEE DELAYS: The GOP's uncontested committee chairs aren't exactly thrilled by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) recent directive to hold off on appointing subcommittee leadership as he navigates a narrow bid for speaker in the next Congress.
"We're all impatient," incoming House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) told Huddle. "About everything."
House Republicans have previously said McHenry is mulling tweaks to subcommittee jurisdictions, including elimination of a diversity panel and creation of one dealing with digital assets. But he said Thursday even those are on pause now: "I'm holding off on all announcements on structure."
RELATED: "House Republicans brace for doomsday scenario if McCarthy falls short of 218 votes for speaker," from CNN
BILL TRY FOR SCIENCE GUY: Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) is making his bid for Democrats' top spot on the Science, Space and Technology Committee official. Foster circulated a letter Thursday to his colleagues—a copy of which was obtained by Jordain, who scooped his plans last week—touting that he would be the only scientist to have served as the panel's ranker or chair and that he would be Democrats' "only committee leader from the Central United States."
Some Dem staffers are arguing he isn't eligible to run for the ranker spot under caucus rules because he was waived onto the committee by leadership and that he's boxed out by his membership on other panels. Jordain caught up with Foster in the Capitol, where he noted his staff is combing the rules. But Foster said it wasn't clear to him that he had run afoul of the rules but if there are "details of the caucus rules that make me ineligible, I think that's something that can be presented to the caucus as a reason to waive the rules."
WORKING ON THE WEEKEND: The Jan. 6 select committee plans to huddle Sunday on whether it should ask the Justice Department to file criminal charges against any of its investigative targets, Kyle reports. That includes former President Donald Trump, who the panel has previously accused of committing multiple crimes in his bid to subvert the 2020 election.
RELATED: "January 6 committee considers criminal referrals for at least 4 others besides Trump," from CNN
REPUBLICANS SHY AWAY FROM SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: Thirty-nine House Republicans voted for same-sex marriage protections Thursday — down from the 47 who backed an earlier version of the measure just a few months ago, Anthony points out. GOP lawmakers like Rep. Tom Emmer (Minn.) and Sen. Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.) are among those who have faced criticism for their support of the legislation in a sign of the backlash the party continues to face.
RELATED: "How senators 'defied political gravity' on same-sex marriage," from AP
WHAT ABOUT WHELAN? While Congress celebrated the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian custody Thursday, Republicans and Democrats alike also questioned why the White House has been unable to accomplish the same for American Paul Whelan. McCarthy, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and other GOP lawmakers called the move "unconscionable" and "unforgivable." While less critical of the administration, Democrats still floated Whelan's name — and Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) even called for a reevaluation of how the U.S. handles hostage situations. Anthony has more.
HUDDLE HOTDISH
LESS A HOT-DISH, MORE A SAD-DISH: Rep.-elect Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.), Congress' first Gen-Z member, tweeted Thursday that his application for a D.C. apartment had been denied.
"I told the guy that my credit was really bad," and "he said I'd be fine," Frost, 25, wrote. "This ain't meant for people who don't already have money." He added that he "ran up a lot of debt running for Congress for a year and a half," when he "didn't make enough money from Uber itself to pay for my living."
The apartment in question was in Navy Yard, Frost later told The Washington Post, though he declined to name the building. He also lost a $50 application fee.
'TOOTING OUR HORNS FOR THE FUNERAL': Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Md.) got serious laughs Thursday during his surprise appearance at the bill enrollment of the Respect for Marriage Act.
"I was here for the birth of [the Defense of Marriage Act], so I'm very grateful to be here for the funeral," Frank, one of the first openly gay members of Congress, said to chuckles and applause. "We are tooting our horns for the funeral — a much happier occasion than the birth."
GOT WEEKEND PLANS? The Middle Eastern & North African Staff Association is holding a World Cup watch party for the Morocco versus Portugal game Saturday.
— Private RNC member emails reveal anger to Trump, frustration with McDaniel's response to him, from Meredith McGraw
— Democrats now govern more Americans at the state level than Republicans, from The Washington Post's Aaron Blake
— America's allies are furious over trade rules. Democrats don't care, from Gavin Bade and Steven Overly
— Carey Parker, stalwart Senate aide to Ted Kennedy, dies at 88, from The Washington Post's Emily Langer
— Brady's exit interview: "U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady leaves Washington after 26 years of placing policymaking over headline-making," from The Texas Tribune's Stephen Neukam
Tucker Knott and Chad Yelenski will serve as chief of staff and deputy chief of staff, respectively, to Sen.-elect Ted Budd (R-N.C.), McClatchy reports. Knott is a former senior director at Pfizer who currently serves as senior adviser to Rep. Connie Conway (R-Calif.). Yelenski, who worked at the White House Domestic Policy Council under Trump, is now chief of staff to Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.).
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House is out. It next meets Monday at 2 p.m.
The Senate is out. It next meets Monday at 3 p.m.
AROUND THE HILL
12 p.m. The American Bar Association holds a virtual discussion with former Hill staff on what to expect on immigration next Congress.
THURSDAY'S WINNER: Damon Porter was the first to identify the last year, prior to 2022, that each incumbent senator won reelection: 1914.
TODAY'S QUESTION: Who was the first president to host a state dinner for France?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [email protected].
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About The Author : Eleanor Mueller
Eleanor Mueller is a labor reporter for POLITICO covering the Hill. She also authors Morning Shift, POLITICO's flagship labor and immigration newsletter.
A graduate of the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill School of Journalism and Department of Government & Politics, Eleanor first joined POLITICO as a copy editor. Before that, she reported out of newsrooms across Washington, including those of WJLA, CNN, McClatchy and USA TODAY. As an undergrad, she covered local and university politics for independent student newspaper The Diamondback, as well as state politics for nonprofit student news organization Capital News Service. Her work has appeared on The Associated Press wire, and been published in The Washington Post, among others.
Eleanor is originally from the Seattle area, where she got her start as a high school student reporting for The Kirkland Reporter.
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Ribbons and Red Tape: Ship your Horse: Two Horses To Europe in Two weeks!
Ship your Horse: Two Horses To Europe in Two weeks!
We all know that getting married often involves not just marrying your spouse, but also the in-law family. I was fortunate enough to gain a cousin-in-law who is as passionate about horses as I am! Emily is a show jumper originally from California, but a couple years ago relocated to North Carolina with her horses. In today's guest post she shares her experience shipping two of her horses to Europe, and dealing with all the regulatory and legal requirements in a period of just two weeks.
Last month I was given a dream opportunity to send two of my horses to Europe. The catch: I had less than two weeks to organize their health and travel paperwork. Normally getting a health certificate or even an updated coggins report just requires a simple call to the vet and some blood work. However, because the horses were flying internationally (essentially being exported in the eyes of the USDA), a whole different intricate set of documents was needed.
The biggest issue of all was identification paperwork. With no FEI passports or official breed association papers, it was a hassle to get documentation to prove the horses were in fact who we said they were. Think of it as being 16 years old and trying to fly from CA to NY without a driver's license; you have to resort to using a school picture ID. We ended up using a copy of the page from the official auction booklet where I originally bought the horses. It showed a side view of them jumping and a copy of their lineage. It was an unorthodox method, and since the horses' original names did not match their registered USEF show names even more paperwork had to be signed by the vet to guarantee they were in fact the same horses.
An additional issue was that one of the horses in the group was a stallion. Due to potential diseases that can be spread from breeding to infected studs, an additional set of blood work and tests was required to prove that he was not a carrier of any diseases.
I was lucky enough to have a vet who was willing to make the endless phone calls and numerous trips out to the barn to satisfy all of the requirements for the USDA and the airline. Mersant International, the intermediary for KLM airlines, sent a huge packet of explicit instructions stating exactly how many days before the departure date vaccines were to be administered and blood to be drawn. Each horse had several viles of blood taken in order to perform numerous tests. Juggling the schedule for the medical requirements seemed to turn into a complex math equation; the simplest of which, Spring time vaccines had to be given no more 60 days but no earlier than 30 days before the flight and the second round of blood work for the stud had to be exactly 10 days before he left.
On May 30th the horses were hauled to JFK in New York where they were stabled overnight at the quarantine facility attached to the edge of the airport. The next afternoon the boys were checked by a vet before loading into a trailer that would take them to yet another part of JFK. There they were paired up and secured in stalls within large metal boxes. Similar to a trailer, each box had a divider in it to separate the horses and then a small area in front of them where a person could stand. The horses' boxes were the last to load onto the 747 plane so the amount of time they were confined would be minimized. Though my trainer was given a ticket to have a normal economy seat with other passengers, he was able to go back and forth mid-flight to check on the horses. Contrary to FAA regulations he did not have to remain in his seat with his seat belt fastened for take off and landing; he was able to stand with the horses to make sure they remained calm!
After 7 hours in the air the plane arrived in Amsterdam. There, the boxes with the horses were unloaded and taken to a quarantine area where our tack was checked by customs and the horses were examined by a vet. Unlike shipping to the United States, Amsterdam did not require the horses to stay in isolation for several days. As soon as they were cleared they loaded into a trailer and were taken directly to the farm 3 hours away in Someren, at the eastern edge of the Netherlands.
When I eventually ship the horses back to the US it will be a very different process. The key factor will be from which European country they will be shipped. The horses were originally purchased in Argentina and flew from Buenos Aires to Miami, where they changed planes and landed in Los Angeles. Argentina, similar to the US, is strict with their guidelines of what animals can enter and exit the country. As a country, Argentina is free of many of the diseases the US tests for. Therefore, the three horses imported, a stallion, mare, and gelding, only had to stay in quarantine for 5 days. This time, since the horses will be returning from Europe, the gelding will stay in quarantine for 5 days, but the stallion will have to remain for 31 days and be bred to once again to test for any diseases that can be passed on through breeding. It is a frustrating necessity that the stallion is quarantined for such an extended period of time. It interrupts his training and show schedule and many stallions become a bit wild after breeding. However, it is better for the USDA to be overly cautious than to risk a potential outbreak of a disease to a country with such a large equine population.
All in all, my advice to others who consider shipping their horses abroad is to begin organizing paperwork and health forms long before you plan on shipping the horses. With this type of travel you can never be too organized!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience Emily! And best of luck with figuring out the regulations/ legalities for their return to the U.S.
Please see the other "ship your horse" posts, as well as the posts on stallion importation to the U.S.
You can find more photos of Emily's horses in transport to Europe posted to my Charlton Equine Law Facebook page.
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50 million-years ago, the heir to Tyrannosaurus stalked the forests of ancient Europe and North America, snapping up the tiny ancestors of horses, cows, and wolves in its colossal meat-cleaving beak. Gastornis was a six-foot-tall, flightless bird and the king of the food chain…or that's what we thought. For decades paleontologists looked at the huge, parrot-like head and thought the giant bird must be a carnivore, but a recent, exhaustive study drew on molecular evidence, anatomical evidence, and ecological evidence to show Gastornis was a giant herbivore! The former terror bird likely used that massive beak to crack open the abundant seeds and leaves that would have littered the forest at the beginning of the Age of Mammals. Tune in to Past Time to learn how the fossil Terror Bird became Big Bird!
To listen to the episode or subscribe to the podcast through iTunes click here. To download the episode audio file directly click here or to stream it through your browser without downloading it at all click here. For images of Gastornis terrorizing mammals and to understand the lines of evidence used by paleontologists to shift the giant bird to a greener spot in the food chain click below for the full story and images!
Gastornis the terror of the Eocene?
66 million years ago a massive object from space smacked into the Earth, ending the Mesozoic Era and the reign of dinosaur superstars like Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops. But it didn't mark the end of the dinosaurs.
Birds managed to survive the extinction event and soldiered on. Most birds have stayed small and airborne, but during the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene (about 50 million-years ago) the forests of Europe were stalked by a new bird experiment that seemed like a return to their non-avian dinosaur roots: Gastornis! This six-foot tall bird (1.8 meters) was flightless and, unlike modern flightless birds such as ostriches and emus, Gastornis had a briefcase-sized head with a large, sharp-edged beak.
When Gastornis was first discovered over 100 years ago, the French team responsible for the discovery knew it was big, but didn't fully appreciate the meat-cleaver-like beak the animal would have carried. As specimens were discovered in North America (then called Diatryma but later recognized as the same giant bird the French had discovered) the skull began to take shape and paleontologists knew Gastornis had a head unlike any other flightless bird.
The world Gastornis live in was a diminutive ecosystem with few animals larger than a pig wandering the woods. From the perspective of tiny mammals, Gastornis was a giant with a razor-sharp beak. Without a living animal to compare to the giant bird, paleontologists hypothesized the 6-foot-tall bird was chomping down on tiny mammalian prey as a top carnivore. After all, if Gastornis was a giant herbivore, it should have a small, delicate head like a modern ostrich, emu, or cassowary, right?
Over the last couple of years, paleontologists started taking a hard look at the carnivorous Gastornis hypothesis. One group of paleontologists in Washington State found a trackway from the Eocene, when Gastornis would have been walking around. By studying the footprints of the giant bird, they determined the animal didn't have large claws or talons, a pretty convincing indication of a more docile bird. Then, a few years later a German research group lead by Thomas Tütken studied the calcium in the fossilized bones of Gastornis and found the calcium used by Gastornis to build its bones was similar to herbivorous animals, not carnivorous animals. But it would take a larger study of bird bone chemistry to really investigate the part Gastornis played in its jungle ecosystem 50 million-years ago.
Delphine Angst with a Gastornis bone.
In early 2014 the French researcher Delphine Angst and a group of collaborating paleontologists published a new study of Gastornis that used three different methods for examining the giant, flightless bird's behavior. One clue to the beast's behavior came from the anatomy of that huge beak.
The size of muscles used to close the beak can be an indication of diet in many modern birds. Herbivorous birds like finches and chickens often have large jaw-closing muscles because seeds and leaves can be pretty tough to chomp through. Carnivorous birds like hawks and falcons have small jaw-closing muscles because meat is a little easier to slice open. Many muscles leave evidence of their attachment points to bone on roughened bone surfaces or even large projections that stick off of the bones. The muscles of Gastornis rotted away millions of years ago, but the team could still study the structure and strength of those muscles by looking at where they attached to the cranium (the upper part of the skull) and the mandible (the jaw). Angst and her team measured where a jaw-closing muscle called the external adductor attached to the cranium and mandible in modern birds and in Gastornis and discovered Gastornis's muscles were built more like a finch than a falcon.
The next clue to the herbivorous habits of Gastornis came from the carbon locked in the bones of the big-beaked bird. Carbon is a chemical element found in all living things. This atom is able to link up with other atoms like oxygen to form all sorts of chemicals necessary for life, including the minerals and chemicals that build and grow bone.
But all carbon isn't exactly the same size. In the atomic core of some carbon atoms are fourteen neutrons (called Carbon-14), other carbon atoms have thirteen neutrons (called Carbon-13) and still others have twelve neutrons. That variation in neutrons doesn't affect the chemical properties of the carbon atom but it does make them a little bigger or a little smaller. Atoms with the same chemical properties but different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes.
Living organisms prefer to build chemicals with the carbon isotope Carbon-12, but they will use Carbon-13 if it's handy. Plants get their carbon from the air and soil and they end up using some Carbon-13 and a lot of Carbon-12. When an herbivore eats the plant, the chemical reactions that break down the plant's tissues and build new tissues for the herbivore favor the Carbon-12, so the herbivore has more Carbon-12 than Carbon-13 than the plants. And finally, the carnivore that eats the herbivore gets its carbon from the tissues of the plant-eater. The chemical reactions in the carnivore that make new tissues prefer to use Carbon-12 and ditch the Carbon-13. In the end, carnivores have the smallest amount of Carbon-13 in their tissues of all organisms in the food chain.
Angst and her colleagues mashed up some of the bones of Gastornis and found more Carbon-13 than they would have expected if Gastornis was a carnivore eating herbivores. Instead, the amount of Carbon-13 compared to the amount of Carbon-12 was more like the isotope levels found in plant-eating animals.
Finally, the French team looked at other ecosystems around the world and observed that the largest warm-blooded animal in an ecosystem is never a carnivore. It takes a lot of energy to be a carnivorous animal, so they tend not to outnumber or outgrow their prey. If Gastornis, the largest animal walking through the forest, was surviving on meat, then we have a really weird ecosystem in France 50 million-years ago. Instead, the largest animals are usually eating plants because plants are plentiful.
Using the evidence from the muscles, carbon isotopes, and ancient and modern ecosystems, Angst and her fellow paleontologists put together a very convincing case that Gastornis was not running through the forest chomping down on the tiny relatives of rhinos, horses, and elk, but was one of the first large herbivores to evolve in Europe. With Gastornis recast as an herbivorous giant, new research questions can be tackled: What plants may have relied on the guts of Gastornis for germination? How did Gastornis fit into the North American ecosystem as an herbivore? And what do giant bird dominated ecosystems like ancient Madagascar or New Zealand have in common with Eocene Europe?
As these questions are researched and answered, we will keep you updated here at Past Time!
Episode 6 Field Guide: Tiny Horses, Galloping Crocs, and Fossilized Jungles If you want to spend more time with little horses and tiny carnivores, check out episode 6 of Past Time where we discuss a fossil site in Germany that preserves the weird jungle world that popped up a couple million years after the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct!
Walking with Prehistoric Beasts (or Walking with Bests in the UK) by Tim Haines (2001) is the companion volume for the documentary series Walking with Prehistoric Beasts which details life in extinct ecosystems during the Age of Mammals. The first episode of the series covers the European Eocene when Gastornis was stalking around. In the documentary Gastornis is presented as the Big Bad Guy which likely isn't accurate, but the animations of the forest and its other denizens is still accurate (as far as paleontologists know) and it's a lot of fun to watch (and discuss).
Magnificent Mihirungs: The Colossal Flightless Birds of Australian Dreamtime by Peter F. Murray and Patricia Vickers-Rich. In case you haven't gotten enough about giant flightless birds with enormous beaks, check out this book on a group of birds unrelated to Gastornis that roamed Australia millions of years after the European giant went extinct.
Mustoe, George E., David S. Tucker, and Keith L. Kemplin (2012) Giant Eocene bird footprints from Northwest Washington, USA. Paleontology 55: 1293-1305.
Tütken, T., P. Held, and S. J. G. Galer (2013) Isotopes in vertebrate bioapatite: proxies for climate, pCO2 and diet. Goldschmidt Conference Abstracts. Mineralogical Magazine 77: 2368.
4 thoughts on Quick Bite Field Guide: Terror Bird or Gentle Giant?
Love this post, I just wish you would not have called it a terror bird. Gastornis is only distantly related to actual terror birds. People might mistake the idea of Gastornis being a gentle herbivore for all actual terror birds.
However, keep up the great work. Great blog and podcast.
Excellent point, Nobody! "Terror bird" is a name usually applied to a group of birds called phorusrhacids, 10+ foot monster birds that were almost certainly deadly predators. Theirs is a story we will tell in the future.
Enjoyed the post. Thanks for the carbon-12 and carbon-13 descriptions. Very informative!
What a wonderful bit of scientific sleuthing by Dr. Angst and her colleagues. A great example of thinking outside the box and using technology to better understand these fascinating creatures.
I am one of the authors of the paper (Mustoe and others, 2012) describing the Gastornis/Diatryma foot tracks in the Chuckanut Formation in Washington State, USA (the genus is still Diatryma in North America, pending revision). The paper presented our evidence for vegetarianism in these giant birds based on anatomical clues in the footprints. We found a number of tracks; our hearty crew of volunteers rescued the best ones from fossil hunters. One track was preserved on an 800-kg slab of sandstone. Our team dragged it away from the known location and buried it until we could raise funds to airlift it to safety with a giant logging helicopter. It is now on display at the Western Washington University geology museum. Children love it!


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When we think about innovation in energy efficiency, we often only consider technological solutions — such as LED lights – and high tech new appliances. But these can be expensive or take a while to make a difference to household bills.
It is in-fact the everyday actions in daily life that can have the easiest and most immediate impact on energy reduction. And this is where innovation is beginning to make a real impact.
Until recently, getting people to take action on saving energy at home and where they work has been underrated and considered more difficult than simply upgrading appliances. This view is changing. Research shows that as much as 40% of energy reduction comes from 'behaviour change', making it a key part of the answer energy saving over the long term.
People need an incentive to do things differently. Changing habits to help the planet is often not enough, people want to know 'what's in it for me?'. Innovation has helped answer this question, for instance, not many online platforms have found ways to make switching off lights and turning down the heating can seem like fun and not a chore.
People need an incentive to do things differently. Changing habits to help the planet is often not enough, people want to know 'what's in it for me?' The DoNation has developed a simple yet sophisticated online pledge platform to help make sustainable living mainstream. Individuals can choose and record personal pledges to do things like cycle to work, switch energy supplier, or eat local seasonal food.
The overall aim is to help promote longer term changes in how people act and think to save energy and water, reduce waste, improve health and wellbeing and do something good for the local community. They can track how they are doing and share content with friends.
A great example of this is Alan Hayes who ran the London Marathon and chose to ask people for pledges instead of money. He raised 54 pledges of support from 39 friends and colleagues. People doing one of the actions, Lights Off (making sure unused lights are switched off), saved 1,500 hours of shining light bulbs. In total the pledges saved 2,496 kgCO₂ — that's as much as 14 flights from London to Glasgow.
"Research shows that as much as 40% of energy reduction comes from 'behaviour change, making it a key part of the answer energy saving over the long term." Advances in technology now mean that we can combine knowledge of our behaviour with the better management of our energy at home. You may have seen the advertising for Hive, from British Gas, and Nest, from Google, both of whom have taken the humble thermostat and turned it into a desirable, funky gadget that brings smart control and intelligence to our home energy consumption.
Both systems can provide a better living environment, reduce energy (and carbon emissions) and save you money. They are great examples of an acceleration in innovation that answers the question of 'what's in it for me?' for people, and for the planet.
Planet First works with organisations across the UK helping reduce energy, carbon, water and waste. They specialise in carbon footprinting, data management, stakeholder engagement and communications to deliver continuous improvement in sustainability.


We help businesses to communicate and enliven their brands in the workplace. Through the integration of graphics and environmental design, we create moments that enhance the user experience, deliver a distinct message and connect to the purpose of a business.
By integrating these concepts into an interior design, enhancing and complimenting the design, we create a meaningful and total experience.


Today's LA Times has an interesting article about US Predator and Reaper drone crashes compiled from Pentagon accident reports. The article reports that "thirty-eight Predator and Reaper drones have crashed during combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and nine more during training on bases in the U.S. — with each crash costing between $3.7 million and $5 million. Altogether, the Air Force says there have been 79 drone accidents costing at least $1 million each". These reports do not, of course, include details about crashes of the CIA's Predator's in Pakistan.
According to the Air Force reports, one drone crashed into a Sunni party headquarters in Mosul which must have been embarrassing. Another Predator drone was simply reported as 'lost somewhere in Afghanistan' after contact was lost and no wreckage found.
When one of the UK's Reapers crashed in Afghanistan in April 2008, the SAS was sent in to recover "sensitive technology" before it was blown up. The Sun provided a helpful slideshow and report!


Please join us as a vendor or sponsor for the 5th annual Wellness & Recovery Day in the Park on May 17, 2019. This is an event that is free to the public and focuses on wellness and recovery in mental health.
Any human services agency or health-related company is invited to be a vendor, FREE of charge. Vendors will need to provide their own table, chair, and a wellness-related craft or activity. Vendors should arrive at the event by 10am for set up.
We also ask each vendor to provide a gift basket, gift card, or other item to be used as a door prize at the end of the event.
To be an event sponsor, please indicate your interest on your registration. Sponsorships of any level are accepted and all sponsors will be listed on event materials.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home / India News / The BJP and the Church find common ground on 'Love Jihad' in Kerala
The BJP and the Church find common ground on 'Love Jihad' in Kerala
The CPM has called 'love jihad' a hidden agenda of the Sangh Parivar in Kerala to use religion as a tool to get minority votes for the BJP.
india Updated: Jul 17, 2017 18:39 IST
Naveen Nair
Hindustan Times, Thiruvananthapuram
BJP's Kerala chief Kummanam Rajsekharan calling on Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference president Mar Baselios Cleemis to seek his blessings, in Kerala in December 2015.(HT Photo)
Love jihad. A phrase no one had heard of till 2009. But some parts of the Christian community in Kerala are now convinced it's a real thing — that Muslim boys were seducing their girls and tricking them into marriage. And the BJP is reaping the benefits.
Mathew Mar Gregorios, the Bishop of the Syrian Independent Orthodox Church, believes that 'love jihad' is a reality and that the time has come for youngsters to stand up and fight this evil. "You should see the number of messages I get daily from parents of girls on my phone. There is a rampant conversion of Christian girls into Islam in the Malabar region. Since I am heading a Church denomination here, I have my limitations to talk about it openly,'' the Bishop tells HT.
'Love jihad' is a misnomer because it's a conversion ploy, not love, he says. "In most cases that I have seen personally and intervened too, it's just the pretence of love. Once married, the girl gets abandoned most of the times. Conversion is the only motto and it is aimed at increasing the numbers of one community. Some people have even alleged an IS link to all this, which needs to be probed.''
Those who believe in 'love jihad' point to the story from June 2016, when two Christian girls Nimisha and Merin converted to Islam and reportedly left along with their husbands to join the Islamic State in Afghanistan.
Or they point to the May 24, 2017, Kerala High Court ruling about a Kerala woman named Hadiya (formerly Akhila), who had converted to Islam from Hinduism to get married to a Muslim boy. The HC ordered her to return to her parents, and not to her husband Shafin Jahan, conveniently forgetting that she was a major who had a right to decide. Based on a habeas corpus petition filed by Hadiya's father, a bench of the HC court deemed void the marriage between the two.
Following the Hadiya case, a month ago, the Kerala High Court had directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to investigate 'love jihad'. "There are enough reasons to be concerned about. I can only tell you that a special team under crime branch has been formed to investigate love jihad,'' TP Senkumar, the DGP tells HT.
Another case is of 29-year-old Aparna Vijayan who had gone missing for 15 days (ahead of her wedding on April 11) while studying at Jewel Medical Trust in Ernakulam. When her mother finally found her, she was at Sathya Sarani Charitable Trust (an institute that aims to propagate Islam among non-Muslims, according to a DNA report, and also helps in conducting the religious ceremony) where she was reportedly taken by another student to convert her to Islam. Sathya Sarani already has cases against it at the HC and complaints from parents along with the State Human Rights Commission, who allege that their wards had been converted to Islam by the organisation and then use boys as alibis to build a good reason.
The Hadiya Jehan case may have been the tipping point for a group of young men from Kochi to set up a Christian Helpline (CHL) to fight 'love jihad'. Renjith Abraham Thomas, a former member of BJP's minority religious wing, set up the CHL and claims it has the blessings of the majority of the Church in Kerala. And that it has nothing to do with the BJP. "Out of every 10 girls who get converted to Islam, eight may be Hindus, but the remaining two are always Christians. Hence, we realised the community should have a helpline similar to what the Hindus have. We have started with social media campaigns, we have an office in Kochi and active helpline where we've started receiving calls from parents and even distraught girls,'' Thomas tells HT.
Adding fuel to the CHL claims, an unverified 'notice' has been circulating on WhatsApp offering cash rewards to Muslim youth for converting and marrying women from other religions. Sources in the state police's intelligence have confirmed to HT that an investigation has been launched on this.
It's hard not to notice that news of the helpline — or other signs of Kerala's accepting love jihad as a real, uncontested concept — is accompanied by a visit by BJP President Amit Shah to Kerala in June. Shah's meeting with bishops and cardinals points to BJP's hopes of cultivating this and other anxieties of the Christian community into votes.
"If the believers are concerned with such a scenario, then you cannot fault them for it. Though officially, the diocese has not taken a stand, we are concerned. So if there are people working towards stopping such a thing what is wrong in supporting them,'' asks Father Jimmy Poochakatt, spokesperson, Syro Malabar Church.
Not everyone is on board though. The CPM has called 'love jihad' a hidden agenda of the Sangh Parivar in Kerala to use religion as a tool to get minority votes for the BJP. Senior party leaders are saying that the RSS is behind a section of the people (those who aren't office bearers but people who've worked with them and left for other jobs or sympathisers of the Sangh Parivar like those working for its mouthpiece Janmabhoomi and other places) who claim allegiance to the 'minority morcha' which is raking up this issue at this time so as to polarise the society.
"Religion is a personal matter. What is wrong in people switching to another religion if they wish to? Renowned author Madhavikutty took the name of Kamala Surayya after embracing Islam. Similarly, actor and writer Balachandran Chullikkad converted to Buddhism. It's their choice and tomorrow they may come back to their mother religion if they are dissatisfied with their adopted one. But raising this issue in public domain is only to poison the minds of society through communal politicking,'' says CPM politburo member MA Baby.
Even as it distanced itself from CHL, saying it has no role to play in it, the BJP looks to gain political points from the division of Kerala's two largest minority communities. But it won't be easy for the BJP to wash its hands off CHL given the new bonhomie between the party and church heads, during Amit Shah's recent visit to Kerala .
"If the party wants to win in more constituencies in Kerala, the Christian vote is going to be crucial. Without their help we simply cannot win big. So, the party will obviously make all its moves to get them on its side," BJP state spokesperson MS Kumar told HT.
Love jihad is one thing. But aren't there plenty of other and obvious deal-breakers?
Among those present during Shah's visit was Alphons Kannanthanam, a member of the BJP National Executive Council and a Christian from the Christian stronghold Kanjirapally in Kottayam district, who says that the beef ban discussion was not on the table. "In spite of attempts to depict the cow slaughter notification as 'beef ban', BJP could not be alienated from Christians in Kerala, because the Bishops know the reality. The majority of the Christians see the BJP as a pro-development party, an agenda they can also easily associate themselves with,'' Kannanthanam told HT.
Perhaps the BJP believes that love jihad or similar tactics successfully deployed elsewhere could work with the Christian community in Kerala too. The CPM feels that since the BJP had learned a bitter lesson trying to warm up to the Muslim community during the Malappuram by-election, it is now working hard to appease at least the Christians.
The party added that the BJP's game plan was very evident when it conducted a felicitation ceremony on April 27, 2017, to celebrate the centenary of Philipose Mar Chrysostom, the Major Bishop of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church based in Thiruvalla in Central Kerala, also the Christian heartland. LK Advani's visit (he flew down to take part in the celebration) is not only an attempt to renew old personal ties between the BJP patriarch and the ageing, highly influential Bishop but also forge stronger bonds for the future.
Moreover, in what is seen as a shrewd move, the party's minority morcha wing conducted another programme in Kochi to felicitate the same Bishop. It was attended by KM Mani, the Kerala Congress (M) leader, who was showing off a new-found warmth for BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan on the dais. Mani even openly admitted that being gifted a lotus was 'pleasant and a new change' for him, sending out hints like hammers.
Mani's party, which was once a part of the Congress-led UDF coalition, has a sizeable influence over the Christian votes in central Kerala, and his readiness to join the NDA speaks well of the BJP's chances to woo the Christian vote.
Women activists in Kerala disagree. Not only are they rejecting the concept of 'love jihad', but many believe that this is again just a claim of the Sangh Parivar to divide the society by acting as 'champions of women'.
"I think it is a clear cut ploy by the RSS and its affiliated organs. If they have such issues with conversion they should oppose women who get converted into Hinduism also. That they are so happy to accept. Then what right do they have to oppose those who get converted to Islam,'' asks K Ajitha, a former naxalite-turned-social activist who runs an NGO called Anweshi.
On the other hand, there is the church, the High Court and the state police all ready to give the love jihad story the gleam of legitimacy. And for the BJP it's another opportunity to make inroads into the Christian vote bank in Kerala in the run up to the 2019 polls.
(Published in arrangement with GRIST Media)
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https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-bjp-and-the-church-find-common-ground-on-love-jihad-in-kerala/story-krCpAE2YLaxTLxLZuXAnhJ.html
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/leopard-that-killed-three-people-shot-dead-in-haridwar/story-KrrjnvUuhhuyhT4VIqgUqJ.html
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/india-vs-australia-virat-kohli-breaks-ms-dhoni-s-massive-odi-record-as-skipper/story-zS9LdTOOhPQZkabr28jH2O.html
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/cops-killed-people-during-anti-caa-protest-chandrashekhar-azad-after-meeting-family-members-of-those-killed/story-q7vhfO96Jw2V2QwkW7oU1O.html
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bengal-bjp-s-vow-to-send-back-lungi-clad-infiltrators-and-supporters-kicks-up-a-storm/story-2H2nBo2X8Sm9YwzB6ilntM.html

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


States compete for burgeoning self-driving car business by loosening regulations, building research centers and testing facilities — Among the States, Self-Driving Cars Have Ignited a Gold Rush — Whether it is fuel savings, safer commutes or freed-up time behind the wheel, drivers have many reasons to embrace self-driving cars.
Webvan founder Louis Borders working on $99/year shopping club offering same day delivery that will rely on heavily-automated warehouses — Webvan Founder Plots an Amazon Prime Competitor Powered by Robots — Fourteen years after his first same-day delivery service went belly up, Webvan founder Louis Borders is working on a redo.
Linden Lab working on an Oculus game similar to its Second Life offering codenamed Project Sansar, plans to release it before end of 2016 — Could the Oculus Rift help give Second Life a second life? — Second Life—the online world once considered the hottest destination on the internet—never got much past a million users.
This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:45 AM ET, August 10, 2015.
Simon Sharwood / The Register: Yahoo! parties! like! it's! 1999! with! retro! billboard! revival!


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text:
Combustion properties of mixed black liquor solids from linter and reed pulping
Su, Z.-H., Mahmoud, M. S., Fan, S., Zhang, Y., and Peng, F. (2019). "Combustion properties of mixed black liquor solids from linter and reed pulping," BioRes. 14(4), 8278-8288.
In order to find the suitable alkali recovery process for linter and reed pulping discharges, the physicochemical properties of the black liquor solids from linters pulping and black liquor solids from reed pulping were analyzed. The swelling volume index, calorific value, and pyrolysis characteristics of five samples of mixed black liquor solids were tested. The kinetics of the combustion process of the samples were further studied. The results showed that the calorific value and swelling index of the reed black liquor was higher and its inorganic content was lower. During the combustion period, the droplet undergoes four stages; drying, devolatilisation or pyrolysis, char burning, and smelt reaction. With the increase of reed pulping black liquor solids in the sample, the activation energy decreased, while the frequency factors increased. As a result, the combustion performance of the mixed solids was significantly improved.
Zhen-Hua Su,a,b,c Mohamed S. Mahmoud,d ShuJie Fan,b,c Yu Zhang,b,c and Feng Peng a,*
Keywords: Black liquor; Combustion; Alkali recovery; Kinetics
Contact information: a: Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, P. O. Box 100083, Beijing, China; b: China National Pulp and Paper Research Institute, P. O. Box 100102, Beijing, China; c: National Engineering Lab for Pulp and Paper, P. O. Box 100102, Beijing, China; d: Sanitary and Environmental Institute (SEI), Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC), P. O. Box 1770, Cairo, Egypt; *Corresponding authors: fengpeng@bjfu.edu.cn
The use of reed and cotton linters for paper production as a source of fibres has commonly been used to reduce the problem of deforestation (Hurter 1997). Linter pulping mills are mainly located in Xinjing, China. The cotton linter pulp is used in the manufacturing of cellulose nitrate (pyroxylin, kolloksilin), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), cellulose esters, filter paper, and others (Azeez 2018). Black liquor and the effluent generated in bleaching process are major pollution sources from linter pulping mills. Only a small part of the effluent is reused; most of the effluent, which has high chroma, high pH, and unknown chemicals, is discharged (Carrier et al. 2011). Swelling index expresses the water binding capacity (Singh et al. 2005). Unlike black liquor (BL) from chemical pulping of other feedstocks, it is rarely treated through an alkali recovery system due to the small quantities with low calorific value of the linter black liquor, unless there are special favorable conditions. The CODCr concentration of the linter black liquor is up to 50000 mg/L. Once mixed with other effluents, it is very difficult to meet the integrated wastewater discharge standard of 300 mg/L according to GB 8978 (1996). With the trend of further regulating effluent treatment, it will become more difficult to meet the standards. These problems have seriously hindered the development of the domestic linter pulp industry.
To meet the discharge standards, the black liquor must be treated separately to reduce the load sent to the water treatment system. There are chemical pulping mills using reed as feedstock with an alkali recovery system. The two types of black liquor may be mixed for effective alkali recovery, reducing water pollution. Therefore, dry solids of linters pulping black liquor and reed pulping black liquor were the subjects for this study. Their physicochemical properties were analyzed, including swelling volume index, calorific value, and pyrolysis characteristics of the samples with different mixing ratios of the two BL solids. The activation energy and frequency factor of the combustion process were calculated using the Coats-Redfern method. The main objectives were to examine alkali recovery of combined linter pulping black liquor and reed pulping black liquor and to provide guidance for the design of their combustion and operating conditions.
Linter pulping black liquor was produced in a laboratory cooking system in accordance with the factory cooking conditions. Reed pulping black liquor was obtained from a pulp line in Xinjiang province. The kraft pulping process was employed, which uses sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide. The physicochemical properties were determined by correlation analysis methods. A certain amount of these liquid samples were dried at 105 °C, crushed to powder with a high speed disintegrator, and stored in a sealed plastic bag. Pulping conditions and the chemical composition of the linter and reed feedstocks are listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Pulping Process and Chemical Properties of Reed and Linter Feedstocks
Analytical Equipment
The equipment used in this study included the following: Vario EL cube Elementar element analyzer, Frankfurt, Germany; TGA/DCS I STARe METTLER thermogravimetric analyzer, Zurich, Switzerland; FP6410 flame photometry, Shanghai Lepad Scientific Instruments Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China; ZDHW-5000 calorimeter, Hebi Huadian Analytical Instrument Co. Ltd. Hebi, China; EUTECH pH-700 pH meter, with a range of 0.00 to 14.00 and an accuracy of ± 0.02, Singapore; and CSR-1-20II, ASTK Technology Development Co., Ltd., Beijing, China, for bi-distilled water preparation.
Samples Preparation
The two types of black liquor (linter and reed) may be mixed for effective alkali recovery, reducing water pollution. Five samples were prepared from mixing linter and reed solid mass in a five linter:reed ratios; 0:1, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, 1:0.
Elemental Content Analysis
The C, H, N, and S contents of the sample were determined by elemental analyzer under the following conditions. The temperature of oxidation furnace and reduction furnace were 1150 °C and 850 °C, respectively. The pressure of He and O2 were 0.12 to 0.125 MPa and 0.22 MPa, respectively; K and Na content were determined by flame photometer. Si and Cl were determined by chemical titration method; O content was calculated.
Determination of the Swelling Index The swelling Index of reed and linter were determined using the following equation (Poosarla and Muralikrishna 2015),
where V0 is the initial volume of crucible; m1 is the weight of particles filling the upper blank space of the crucible with black liquor char at the bottom; m0 is the weight of dry black liquor solid; ρ is the density of the particles.
Thermal Gravimetric Analysis
Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was carried out with high purity nitrogen to protect the inert atmosphere in the furnace, remove the volatile products of pyrolysis from the sample with time, and reduce any sample alteration due to possible secondary reaction. Mixing solids of linter pulping black liquor and reed pulping black liquor was heated by rate of 10 °C/min from 50 °C to 1000 °C. The relationship between the physicochemical properties of the sample and temperature were measured. The sample weight was less than 5 mg to avoid the influences of heat transfer, secondary gas-solid reaction, and mass diffusion factor.
Physicochemical Properties Analysis of Linter Pulping Black Liquor and Reed Pulping Black Liquor
Physicochemical properties are vitally important for black liquor alkali recovery. The physicochemical properties results of linter pulping black liquor and reed pulping black liquor including pH, solids, organic matter content, inorganic matter content, elements, calorific value, and swelling volume index are shown in Table 2.
The pH of the linter pulping black liquor was higher than that of reed pulping black liquor, which was caused by high active alkali chemical to linter ratio, as high as 18% to 20%. The corresponding Na, K, and inorganic matter content of linter pulping black liquor were higher. The ratio of organic matter and inorganic matter was only 1.17, and the solid heat value was lower as well, which is not good for combustion. In addition, the holocellulose content in the raw materials of linter was as high as 90%, and the pulp yield was about 80% at the same cooking concentration.
Table 2. Physico-chemical Properties of Linter Pulping Black Liquor and Reed Pulping Black Liquor
The solids content of linter pulping black liquor was only 7.51%, far lower than that of reed, which was 12.14%. If linter pulping black liquor would be treated by alkali recovery process, its solid content needs to be enriched to more than 50% through evaporation, such that over 0.84 ton of water would need be removed for each ton of black liquor. The large energy cost of this process is one reason that linter pulping mills are not willing to install alkali recovery systems. In addition, the swelling volume index of linter pulping black liquor solid was almost zero, which was unfavorable for alkali recovery, reflecting its bad combustion performance.
Calorific Value and Swelling Volume Index of Mixing Solids of Linter Pulping Black Liquor and Reed Pulping Black Liquor
Calorific value and swelling volume index are two important parameters in alkali recovery that are determined by its combustion performance and economic efficiency. Swelling volume index describes the swelling properties of black liquor solids during dehydration and carbonation, and it has a great influence on blank liquor solid combustion conditions in the furnace.
The carbonation of the black liquor with high swelling volume index normally has a crisp shell, composed mostly of spongy material, internal holes and bubbles, which facilitate the rapid transfer of oxygen and rapid discharge of decomposition gas that can shorten the combustion time (Hu et al. 2007). The calorific value and swelling volume index of mixing solids, with the proportion based on bone dry weight of the linter pulping black liquor solids and reed pulping black liquor solids of 1:0 and 0:1, 1:2, 1:1, and 2:1 were determined. The results are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Solid Samples and their Composition, Calorific Value, and Swelling Volume Index
The data in Table 3 show that adding the reed pulping black liquor had a positive effect on combustion of linter pulping black liquor solids. With the increase of reed pulping black liquor solids ratio, the calorific value of mixed liquor solids increased gradually, but the percentage was less than 12%. The swelling volume index indicates the rate of dissolubility. The swelling volume index increased significantly, increased from 0 ml/g to 28.56 ml/g. Swelling increases in proportional with time because the weight were increased with hydration rate and granular concentrations. The swollen granules resulted in the formation of a viscous mixture after water contact.
The combustion process of alkali recovery can be divided into four stages (Grace et al. 1986), (1) Drying of black liquor: drying is the first process to occur after the liquor is introduced to the furnace. The liquor temperature remains near the boiling point until the water is gone. This delays the inception of other higher temperature processes until the liquor is dry. With macroscopic sized particles, pronounced gradients of temperature and dryness can exist within the particle. The viscosity of the liquor in the drop increases gradually. The outer layers of the drop become solid, while the inside is still a highly viscous liquid. The final shape varies from drop to drop but is often partially hollow. (2) De-volatilization or pyrolysis: Pyrolysis is the production of volatile combustibles through the thermal degradation of complex organic compounds. Pyrolysis reactions are irreversible degradation reactions caused by thermal effects. They are not oxidation reactions, although they may be accompanied by parallel oxidation reactions. The gas formed during pyrolysis makes the particle volume swell rapidly, with some particles reaching 10 to 30 times their initial volume. (3) Char burning: If the particle swells well, its combustion time is short, and its combustion efficiency is high. Thus, alkali and energy recovery of the furnace can be improved. (4) Smelt coalescence: In this step, solids such as sodium carbonate compounds and sodium sulfate melt. Sodium sulfate is reduced to sulfide again. Studies of the combustion process related to swelling generally refer only to the first two stages of the combustion. Hupa et al. (1985) revealed that evaporation and thermal decomposition time are similar for all liquors, but the char burning times sometimes exhibit a 5- to 6-fold difference. Generally, black liquor combustion is closely related to its swelling volume index. The combustion rate increases by 3.8-fold when its swelling volume index increases by 6-fold (Milanova 1988).
In general, the following conditions are required for a better swelling volume index: (1) Gas released; (2) The softening of the material. Due to the lower hemicellulose content in linter (only about 2.76%), the amount of hydroxy acids converted from hemicellulose during cooking process is relatively low, which leads to escape of the gas generated. The swelling volume index is related to its low lignin content and the content of other substances which need more research study.
Pyrolysis of Mixing Solids of Linter Pulping Black Liquor and Reed Pulping Black Liquor
To investigate the combustion performance of the mixing solids, the relationship between the physicochemical properties of the sample and temperature was measured by TGA with heating rate of 10 °C/min as the temperature was increased from 50 °C to 1000 °C. Figure 1 illustrates the pyrolysis curve of the mixing solids of linter pulping black liquor and reed pulping black liquor with different proportions. The weight loss parameters of pyrolysis for each of the samples are listed in Table 4.
Table 4. Weight Loss Characteristic Parameters of the Samples in Different Pyrolysis Zone Heating Rate /(10 °C . min-1)
Note: T1, T2 and T3 are peak temperature; W1, W2, W3 is the residue weight at different peak temperature; da1/dt, da2/dt, and da3/dt are maximum pyrolysis rate of the samples; M∞ is the final residue weight of the sample.
Fig. 1. Pyrolysis curve of the mixing solids of linter pulping black liquor and reed pulping black liquor
Pyrolysis processes of the samples can be described by several different stages with the increase of temperature, as shown in Fig. 1. According to the characteristics of the DTG curve, weight loss of the samples can be divided into 4 regions. The first region was from room temperature to 170 °C. The DTG curve shows several small fluctuations as part of combined water crystals, and some low molecular weight substances such as some low molecular weight volatile acids were separated from the samples. The weight loss rate of the five samples in this area were 1.94%, 1.67%, 1.12%, 1.27%, and 2.42%, respectively. The second region was from 170 °C to 380 °C. There was a large peak on the DTG curve, the peak temperature of maximum weight loss was at 273 °C, The weight loss percentages of the five samples in this region were 22.41%, 19.45%, 19.07%, 18.93%, and 18.71%, respectively. Lignin is an aromatic polymer with amorphous network structure; its pyrolysis occurs from 200 °C until to the end of pyrolysis (Raveendran et al. 1996). The third region was from 380 °C to 550 °C, where the weight loss peaks of DTG may come from further decomposition and carbonized reactions of polymer compounds. The maximum pyrolysis rate of the five samples were at 417 °C, 427 °C, 437 °C, 437 °C, and 446 °C, with corresponding weight loss rates of 8.08%, 10.90%, 12.13%, and 15.52% respectively. The fourth region was from 600 °C to 1000 °C, and there was a weight loss platform in the TG curve in this region. Alkali metal salt melting, evaporation, decomposition, and combustion of fixed residue carbon occur in this temperature range, producing a large number of volatile components, such as CO and CO2 (Song et al. 2007; Su et al. 2015). The weight loss rate of the five samples was 49.56%, 49.17%, 49.01%, 44.67% and 32.97%, respectively (Su et al. 2013a,b).
Kinetic Analysis
The Coats-Redfern method was used to analyze the combustion performance of the different samples by analyzing the weight loss data (Zhang 1996; Zhang and Yu 1999; Yao 2006; Wu et al. 2007). The activation energy E and frequency factor A of the combustion process were obtained, as shown in Table 5.
Table 5. Pyrolysis Kinetic Parameters of Different Samples
Note: Heating rate / (10 °C . min-1)
Table 4 shows that the linear relationship was well fitted. Thus, the kinetic equation can be used to describe the pyrolysis reaction process of organic compounds in the selected region. The activation energy increased gradually, from 18.37 kJ•mol-1 to 28.54 kJ•mol-1, with the increase of linter pulping black liquor solid proportion in the mixing solids, with an increase percentage up to 55.36%. The sample was more stable with less reactivity, and its reaction speed was slower. The frequency factor A of mixing samples was decreased with the increase of cotton pulping black liquor solids ratio, from 6.68 ×108 min-1 of pure reed pulping black liquor to 1.49 × 108 min-1 of pure linter pulping black liquor, with a decline of up to 77.69%. The greater frequency factor indicates the more effective collision frequency between the active molecules. The reaction between active molecules was more violent and its speed was much faster. The combustion performance of sample reflected from the frequency factor and the activation energy was similar. Therefore, with an increased reed pulping black liquor solid ratio, the combustion performance of the sample was better in the alkali recovery process, which was consistent with the result of combustion properties predicted from swelling volume index of the two types of solids where the ratio of linter pulping black liquor solid in the mixing sample is relatively low.
There was little difference of element content between linter pulping black liquor and reed pulping black liquor. The K, Na, and inorganic matter content in the linter pulping black liquor solid was relatively high, due to the high active alkali chemical to linter ratio. The original solid content of linter pulping black liquor was low because of the high holocellulose content of linter and high pulping yield.
Pyrolysis of linter pulping black liquor solids, reed pulping black liquor solids, and the mixed solids of the two kinds is a complicated process, which can be roughly divided into four stages: (1) drying of blank liquor drops; (2) devolatilization or pyrolysis of organic matter to form a large number of volatile substances; (3) further decomposition of polymer compounds and char burning; and (4) melting and reduction reaction of inorganic compounds.
The combustion performance of linter puling black liquor solid can be improved by mixing with reed pulping black liquor. Its activation energy was reduced, and its frequency factor and swelling volume index were increased with the increase of reed pulping black liquor ratio in the mixing sample. The alkali recovery system can be run in normal operations with proper ratio of the two kinds of black liquor instead of discharging them to an effluent treatment system. Thus, the difficulty of water pollution governance for linter pulping mill can be significantly reduced.
The authors are grateful for the support of the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFB0307904).
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Song, H., Andreas, J., and Minhou, X. (2007). "Kinetic study of Chinese biomass slow pyrolysis: Comparison of different kinetic models," Fuel 86, 2778-2788.
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Su, Z.-h., Feng, W.-y., Wang, C.-l., Xu, M., Zhang, S.-y., Zhang, Y., Cao, Y.-g. (2013 ). "Thermogravimetric analysis of aspen APMP effluent solid and corresponding kinetic study," China Pulp & Paper 32(11), 1-4.
Su, Z.-h., Zhang, Y., and Feng, W.-y. (2015). "Thermo-gravimetric properties of APMP effluent and its membrane concentrate solid and corresponding kinetic," Paper and Paper Making34(5), 1.
Wu, S.-b., Tan, Y., Guo, Y.-l., and Liu, J.-y. (2007). "Thermogravimetric properties of black liquor and corresponding kinetic analysis," Journal of South China University of Technology35(6), 59.
Yao, W. (2006). "Modification of waste water treatment process of viscose grade linter pulp production," China Pulp & Paper 25(2), 29.
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Article submitted: May 6, 2019; Peer review completed: July 16, 2019; Revised version received: July 23, 2019; Accepted: July 24, 2019; Published: August 30, 2019.


Have you ever wanted to make your media habits more intentional? Here's my story and the things I have pondered as I've tried to steward well this precious resource (the television) we've been given. See if the questions I asked myself might help you discover what it is you want to do with your family.
This post is not meant to induce guilt or put one family's media habits above another's. I'm simply sharing it here to help you think about the habits you have in your own family. Because it's my story, it includes specific habits I like or am drawn to. You have a different background, different preferences, and different needs. If you so desire, prayer can help you figure out the best media habits for your family. This post is only meant to be a catalyst to you discovering what those habits might be.
I posted this video on my Facebook page yesterday. It's just kind of a recap of some of the questions I asked myself in this post to get yourself thinking about what you want your habits to be.
As I started my quest for intentional media habits, I looked back through my history to uncover why I have the media preferences I do, what we've done in the past, what I've liked or what didn't work. These are my answers, but think of your own while you read through mine. I highly recommend reflecting on your tv-watching history to help you discover what habits you want to have today.
Growing up, we didn't have tv programming in our home. We did, however watch TONS of movies. Every Friday my dad would rent tons and tons of videos (oh the good old days!) from the library and we would be "stocked up" for the week. Most weekends, our family would watch a movie together (or even a few movies together, if we watched on both Friday and Saturday) while we ate cheap frozen pizzas and treats. I didn't realize until I was a much older, but those weekends are cherished memories to me now.
For whatever reason, the part of our media habits that I really latched on to and took with me when I left home was the idea of no tv programming. I guess I just really enjoyed that part of my growing up, and it was something I wanted to make sure was a part of my own family's culture. I was so attached to the idea that it was on the short list of things I was looking for in a spouse, "okay with no tv programming." Although Ben didn't grow up the way I did, he saw tv as a time waster and was on board with me. Win!
When we got married, we never actually got around to buying a tv. Ben had a projector he had bought in his single days and we pulled it out whenever we had a big group, and also by that point in time "cord cutting" was becoming a thing, a lot of stuff was available online, and so we used our laptop whenever we wanted to watch something. Also, my husband is a dairy boy at heart and CANNOT stay awake past 9pm to save his life-- his eyes immediately close when you turn something on in the evening ;). So "watching a show together" in the evening has never been a normal/bonding part of our relationship.
Once I had my first baby, Cheyenne, the "no screen time for kids under 2" was standard advice from the pediatrician. On top of that, a mother I really respected and admired had very strict television habits at her house. Anyway, so I became a little fanatical about the no tv thing, and while my kids did watch stuff, I always felt SO guilty. I had a theory about how I wanted our media habits to be, but it didn't mesh with our current needs.
Last year I got to a point where all of my kids were above 2 ;), I was pregnant, and I finally decided I would be okay with having the tv as part of the routine of our week because I was so worn out. None of my kids took naps anymore, and I really needed the break.
But now that we've been in this routine for the last two years, I've been feeling a pull like this is a place where I could be a better steward of the tv, this resource we've been given. Do you ever get those little nudges? Something nagging you in the back of your mind, "this needs to change"? Last week I finally sat down and reflected on our media habits and I realized having my kids "watch tv for two afternoons a week" that had once been intended as a lifesaver had morphed into something different. I realized that our media habits had become less meaningful and intentional and more of just "this is what we do."
It's caused me to reflect a lot on why we had the habits we do, and what purposes they were serving. I also found in my pondering that there were plenty of good things about media that I hadn't considered before.
Why structure your family's tv habits?
As a mother, you get to decide the culture of your home. I honestly believe that. The mother is more than just "the one in charge of the kids" or "the one who kisses all the boo-boos and makes all the birthday cakes"-- she can completely shape what is "normal" at your house. She gets to decide what the house looks like. She gets to decide what the house feels like. I'm not poo-pooing dads, but I think sometimes as women we don't realize the real, true influence we have on our husband and children. Sometimes we need to be in "crisis mode" and not much of what we do is intentional-- I totally get it. But then after the crisis is over, we don't always take the time to reevaluate. As mothers we can be home-makers, and not simply the kind, caring, birthday-cake-making female version of the parent duo. It's your real gift as a mother to create a place your kids and husband want to come home to. You don't have to "do what everybody else" in the world does at your house. What you do as a family when no one else is around, your family's "normal," can be whatever you want it to be.
Because of that, I invite you to think through the current habits you've created, you've made normal in your house. Are they the habits you really want to have? Are you in "crisis mode" because you need it? Do they take into consideration your needs as a mother or other extenuating circumstances? Do they create meaning or bring your family closer together?
I've pondered these questions for myself, and I've been trying to explore just what it is I want our media habits to be, how they've come to be, and why we do what we do. I've written down some of the things I've discovered and shared it here in case you've been meaning to reevaluate your media habits as well. These are my answers, but hopefully they will inspire you to think about what your answers would be, and help you decide if your family's current media habits are serving you the way you want them to.
1. What is it that I don't like about the tv?
You are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. Have you ever heard that? I think it totally applies to the tv. As someone who creates content, I understand that there is a person behind anything you read or view. That person or people get to decide what to highlight, what to show next, what is important. Have you ever thought about that? You are totally captive when you decide to watch something, at the mercy of whatever group of people created that content. And because I am a thinker, I'll be thinking about whatever it is I'm watching for a lot longer, even after I turn it off. In my personal life, I like to surround myself with people and ideas that are uplifting and inspiring and I feel like that's hard to find in our current media climate.
TV can be a second teacher to your kids. That can be good and bad. I try really hard to teach my kids to respect others, to love their brothers and sisters, to not whine, to have high standards, to be selfless. With a lot of the media today I feel like I'd be shooting myself in the foot, teaching them the exact opposite of what I want them to learn, if they watched that stuff. It just makes me feel more at ease knowing I don't have to constantly combat or retrain them because of something they watched on a screen in my very own home.
Watching tv is a very passive activity. Life is meant to be lived, isn't it? They'll spend plenty of time in front of the tv when they're 80 and they can no longer run, jump, lay on the floor, wrestle with siblings, roll down a hill, or bend down and pick up a toy ;). They should use their youth while they have it! Anybody can watch a tv ;).
There's only so many years your children will all be under one roof! While you certainly can make memories while watching tv, that's only one memory. Give the kids the gift of each other: give them experiences that will help them interact with, grow closer to, and connect with the other people in their house, the most important people in their life.
My kids are cranky/mean when they watch too much tv.
2. What are the positives to watching tv?
If it's part of a tradition, it can be really memorable for your kids and bonding. We've ended up having family movie nights the last few Fridays, and it's been really fun for the kids. They really look forward to the popcorn, getting out the projector and just having something "special" at home to look forward to.
You need downtime, and you're going to take it anyway. Because we don't watch a lot of tv (especially as a whole family), Ben and I usually take our "downtime" on our phones while the kids do whatever. TV can unite you to one common purpose, one common experience.
The types of media you watch together can define your family. While I was visiting my sister, we burst into song singing some of our favorite "show tunes" from musicals we watched as kids. Because we watched so many musicals growing up, my siblings and I know hundreds of songs. We all came to love the arts. Media can unite you and define you and for more than just an evening.
It can be very educational, fun, funny, or inspiring.
It's the only activity where I don't have to be a parent. The kids do play together without me, but there's no guarantee how long that will last, or how long before they come up crying because of a stolen toy or something. TV is the least likely culprit for me to have to intervene or "parent," and therefore the best break I can get. It's really important for parents to have breaks to improve their mood, get them energized to get back in the parenting game, and give them a chance to reflect and ponder on the problems/issues with their children, or simply spend time focusing on something that isn't goldfish crackers. At least in my experience, I've only been able to find such time when my kids are watching tv without me.
3. How did I recognize we needed to make a change?
I originally started our latest habits when my kids were home all day and I was pregnant. We are not in that circumstance anymore, but I haven't adjusted or reevaluated our habits for our latest circumstances.
I realized my kids were watching too much tv when I connected that I was bored and lonely on those two specific afternoons each week. If I have too much time to think about myself... I'm not doing an adequate job at the task that's been given me by God (at least in this specific instance in my life. I've found I'm happiest when I view motherhood as servanthood). I absolutely believe parents need breaks (as I mentioned above), but I believe part of the reason negative emotions have entered into my mind is because I've been too focused on myself.
I truly believe balance is a gift from God, and He's been trying to tell me what habits I need to change in order to have the balance He wishes to give me. I've been feeling this pull to write a post about media, and as I tried to write it I realized we needed to make some changes in our current habits. A happy accident (although probably intentional on God's part! ;)).
4. What do I want our habits to be, going forward?
Pondering these questions helped me realize that I'm not capitalizing on the good things media can do. Going forward, I want to find more media we can watch together as a family, and carefully pick what it is we watch that might unite our family for many more years.
I also realized that the afternoon tv watching sessions might have been too long, and I need to scale back. I've been neglecting spending some quality time with my kids. I was getting a break from my kids, but it was more of a break than I really needed. That's where the negative bored/lonely emotions were coming from (I'm not saying this is the cure for everyone, but this is part of the answer for me).
I'm not going to lie, scaling back on tv watching means a TON of work for the mom! More preparation, more planning, more deliberate activities... but those kids are worth it don't you think? They deserve to have a mom who tries, even if I DO fail a lot. Plus, with praying to Heavenly Father for help, I know He delivers even when I'm a mess. It's less important if your new habits are your "forever" habits, and more important to try to do something that is meaningful and worth it to you, and to pick yourself up and try again when you fail.
Did you think of any more good questions? Did you have additional responses for the positives or negatives? I'd love to hear!


text:
Lauren Groff
Lauren Groff is the New York Times bestselling author of three novels, The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, and Fates and Furies, and two short story collections, Florida and Delicate Edible Birds. She has won the PEN/O. Henry Award and The Story Prize, been a two-time finalist for the National Book Award and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her work has been featured in The New Yorker, along with several Best American Short Stories anthologies, and she was named one of Granta's 2017 Best Young American Novelists. She lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband and sons.
By Lauren Groff
The universally-acclaimed return of the New York Times bestselling author of Fates and Furies and Matrix. In Lauren Groff's Florida, the hot sun shines, but a wild darkness lurks. Florida is a 'superlative' book (Boston G...[SEE MORE]


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