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determinate-negation · 1 year

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The average American produces 1,704 pounds of garbage per year, roughly three times the global average, according to a new report by the research firm Verisk Maplecroft. Across 194 countries, the researchers found that the world produces 2.3 billion tons of municipal solid waste each year, which is enough to fill 822,000 Olympic-sized pools. Of this waste, just 16% is recycled, while 46% is disposed of unsustainably in ways that harm the environment. [...] Countries like the US and Singapore are reaching their landfill capacity, while countries like China and Malaysia have refused to continue accepting trash exported from Western nations. Although the United States accounts for 4% of the global population, it’s responsible for 12% of the municipal solid waste that’s created, and historically would ship a lot of trash to other countries. China and India, meanwhile, account for 36% of the global population, but generate only 27% of all waste.

also according to a lot of studies the majority of garbage in the US is food waste which can 100% be composted and is the most environmentally destructive when sent to a landfill because it creates methane

from this source

America has got a waste problem. An average American produces about 4.40 pounds of garbage per day and approximately three-quarters of a tonne per year. If you are thinking “this can’t possibly be right, there is no way I produce THAT MUCH”, get ready for another blow. The U.S.A holds the record of producing the highest amount of garbage in the world, more than Russia, India, and even China. All that trash has to end up somewhere and as a result, the 2,000 active landfills in the US are reaching their capacity. What will happen when we run out of the room? Well, let’s ask a better question. What can we do to manage our waste better and prevent a catastrophe? Overfilled landfills are a big problem. Some states decide to simply burn the landfills, as burning reduces the volume of the trash in the landfill significantly. This frees up a lot of space, but the problem of toxic gasses and fumes being released into the atmosphere persists. Not only do these gasses contribute to climate change, but they can also deteriorate human health and end up costing millions in medical expenses. On the other hand, simply leaving the landfills as they pose other issues. The chemical and biological reactions taking place in landfills can create a lot of issues as these chemicals leach into the ground and contaminate water that municipalities may extract for use in their water systems. The piles of organic garbage also release harmful methane, a greenhouse gas more 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide. So, what can be done to alleviate these issues?

#you are all so fucking stupid btw #sustainability #waste management #mine

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demonslayedher · 10 months

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Just thinking about how Chachamaru is a male calico, at least according the Taisho Secret right before chapter 195 that calls him manly. It really doesn't surprise me that he's male, because so many references to calicos I've seen in manga, mascots, and temple architecture specify that the featured calico is male.

This is because they are rare, and therefore considered lucky.

The figure that gets thrown around the internet is that supposedly only 1 in every 3000 calicos is male. (I'll bet the people who did the often quoted study at U. of Minn. College of Vet Med would love to tell you how it's more complicated than that.) This has long made male calicos popular not only in Japan, but in other countries as well. The thing is, though, the male calico might not always be so lucky.

To be very brief about why calicos (and some other multicolored cats) are almost always female, this is because, put very simply, one X chromosome gives us the black splotches, and one X chromosome gives us the orange splotches. That might leave you wondering where the white patches come from, and this is the part where I say that genetics is never simple and you should have fun reading about it. The important takeaway here is that in order to show this color pattern, a cat needs two X chromosomes, one from its mother and one from its father.

Typically, a male cat has an X chromosome (from its female mother, who only has two X chromosomes) and a Y chromosome (from its father, who had both an X and a Y), but because the calico coating can only occur with two X chromosomes, this male cat somehow got an X, a Y, and... hmm, another X somewhere.

So not a typical XY male, not a typical XX calico... this sterile XXY male calico has an extra chromosome, and mutations often are not ideal for the health of the animal with the extra chromosome. This particular condition is Klinefelter’s Syndrome, which can lead to a male calico having cognitive and behavior issues, weaker bones, increased risk of diabetes due to higher body fat, and perhaps a shorter lifespan.

Now, none of the fictitious lucky cats I've seen have ever been portrayed as anything less than smart and pleasant, though a lot of the maneki-neko are pretty round. For everything Chachamaru is tasked with, I have to assume he's above-average when it comes to intelligence, reasonably healthy enough to handle long-distance travel, and for a cat, he's extremely, extremely cooperative. For the record, the same Taisho Secret (as well as Yushiro's statement in Chapter 194) makes it clear that for most of canon Chachamaru was a regular cat, for he was not made into a demon until right before the final showdown with Muzan. Even with her hands full making the medicine for Muzan, she still put a lot of effort into changing Chachamaru so that Yushiro wouldn't be lonely. It's ironic that Chachamaru winds up immortal, rather than doomed to a potentially shorter lifespan due to his mark...ings. In the first place, was Tamayo perhaps moved with pity for a sickly kitten and nursed him to the health he's in now?

Or did she always keep her eye out for a male calico, wanting to put some faith in them being good luck?

Also, what sticks out to me in this Taisho Secret is that Chachamaru, not having a language in which he could communicate with Tamayo, had no choice in becoming a demon. Tamayo felt sorry about that. The word bubble over manly little Chachamaru says, with bravado, "Fine by me, if that's what the woman I'm smitten with wishes." If Chachamaru truly is that smitten with her, that perhaps accounts for what an unusually cooperative cat he is. But it also reminds me of a fan theory that I saw once (and found worthy of weight) which said that perhaps Tamayo's blood technique has an effect like makes others smitten with her, and Yushiro might had been under its influence, however strongly or subtly. If such a thing were the case, it might or might not had been something Tamayo was conscious of. If she was conscious of having some effect like that, she probably felt awful about it but found it a necessary precaution to keep any demon she made under control. If she wasn't conscious of such a thing, that means she might had subconsciously developed it out of loneliness, and had been trying to keep company at her side.

#kny fandom theories and meta #kny nerdery #chachamaru #tamayo

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justinspoliticalcorner · 5 months

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Paul Blest at More Perfect Union:

The Federal Trade Commission voted Tuesday to ban new noncompete agreements for all workers and make existing noncompetes null and void for everyone except senior executives. These agreements are used to restrict 30 million American workers from changing jobs or starting their own businesses due to claims that they could use “trade secrets” in their new roles. Noncompete agreements can restrict job mobility based on geographic area (i.e., a doctor joining a new practice within 50 miles of their old one) or a time period after leaving the position (anywhere between several months to more than a year). They have been banned in multiple states in the past few years.

But the FTC has issued a uniform ban that will cover hundreds of millions of workers following a 180-day period for for-profit companies to enter into compliance. More than 26,000 comments were submitted on the rule, more than 25,000 of which supported a noncompete ban, FTC staff said Tuesday. The FTC estimated that the new rule will increase workers’ wages by up to $488 billion over 10 years, which FTC staff said would mean a $524 increase in annual wages for the average worker. The FTC also estimated that the rule would lead to more than 8,500 new businesses per year. “Right now workers are stuck in place because of these noncompetes,” FTC chair Lina Khan told More Perfect Union in an interview about the rule. “So even if they get a better job opportunity with higher wages, with better benefits, they can't actually switch jobs, which is bad for those workers. It's also bad for other workers who won't have the opportunities that are not being created because of these noncompetes.”

Five states have passed bans on noncompetes, not including New York, where lawmakers passed a ban last year that was then vetoed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. After Oregon banned noncompete agreements in 2008, researchers found, average hourly wages for all workers were boosted by up to 3 percent; the same analysis found that low-wage workers subjected to noncompetes saw a substantial negative impact on their wages. The final rule differs from the proposal in that “senior executives,” those in a “policy-making position” making more than $151,000 per year, will still be subjected to noncompete agreements signed before the effective date of the new rule.

Since announcing the proposal in early 2023, the FTC’s rule has come under fire from the business lobby. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said before Tuesday’s meeting that it will file a lawsuit to block the proposal as soon as Wednesday. A top Chamber official said earlier this week that the rule “opens up a Pandora’s box where this commission or future commissions could be literally micromanaging every aspect of the economy,” Bloomberg reported. But the FTC argues that noncompete agreements are “an unfair method of competition” that affect both high- and l0w-wage earners. In the medical profession, nearly half of all physicians are subject to noncompete agreements, according to the American Medical Association, which backs the effort to end the practice. (The FTC estimated that the new rule will result in “$74-$194 billion in reduced spending on physician services over the next decade.”)

The Federal Trade Commission voted to ban competition-stifling noncompete agreements except for senior executives.

#Noncompete Agreements #Business #FTC #Federal Trade Commission #Workers' Rights

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bungou-stray-dogs-archive · 28 days

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Doppo Kunikida card - Rainy Season

Leader skill - Radiant Hydrangeas Increases Light atk 70% Active skill - The rainy season is so refreshing Increases enemy turns by 1 Increases Light atk 70% for 1 turn Reduces Dark enemy dmg 30% for 1 turn Sub-skill 1 - I'll have to stop by next year Activates when 55 total Light orbs are cleared (47 at lv.5) Completely fills beatdown gauge Sub-skill 2 - Alright, let's look around some more Activates when hp is 85%+ (79%+ at lv.5) Reduces enemy dmg by 75 for 1 turn (100 at lv.5) Memo Kunikida Doppo enjoying the rainy season. Dressed in colorful Japanese attire and holding a tasteful parasol, he strolls through the garden in the rain. Here we find him appreciating the beauty of the blooming hydrangeas. Quotes "These hydrangeas have bloomed perfectly. The rain just makes them all the more beautiful." "I heard you can see fireflies at night. Stopping to take in the scenery once in a while can't hurt. I'll add it to the schedule." " Rain to me just means wet shoes and water droplets on my glasses. However, it's a blessing for the flowers and trees..." Affiliation: Armed Detective Agency Light affinity Atk: 1932 (Max) | 194 (Base) Hp: 7696 (Max) | 902 (Base) Special type

He's available from the Rainy Season scout, the Anniversary scout, the Kunikida Special Select scout & the Kunikida Birthday scout (EN & JP)

#kunikida doppo #bungou stray dogs #bsd mayoi

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mariacallous · 12 days

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Five years ago, in a splashy speech in Washington, DC, Jeff Bezos rolled out Amazon’s Climate Pledge, a series of commitments to show that the company was serious about addressing climate change.

A core component of that pledge, one that Bezos touted in front of members of Congress during Amazon’s antitrust hearing a year later, was putting 100,000 electric delivery vans on the road by 2030. In a blog post from this July—headlined with a picture of a Prime Rivian van driving through an open field filled with wind turbines—the company proclaims that it has now delivered 800 million packages in the US using EVs, with 15,000 trucks on the road in neighborhoods across the country.

But those EVs might not be doing much to help the climate. The company’s US delivery vehicle emissions have potentially shot up an estimated 194 percent since the Climate Pledge went into place in 2019, according to a new report.

The report, released Thursday from corporate campaigners at Stand.earth, attempts to figure out just how much damage shipping the US’s Amazon orders is doing to the planet. It finds that overall emissions from shipping packages have increased 75 percent since 2019, from 3.3 million tons of CO2 equivalents in 2019 to 5.8 million tons last year. The 2.5-million-ton difference is the equivalent of putting 595,000 additional gas-powered cars on the road for a year.

Those Rivian vans are often just delivering the last leg of a package’s life. Before coming to customers’ doorsteps, packages travel by airplane, cargo ship, and/or long-haul truck—transport methods that are both notoriously dirty and tricky to decarbonize.

Doing the math on Amazon’s delivery emissions entails a lot of guesswork. Unlike some of its competitors, Amazon does not break out details on its emissions associated with shipping and delivery. In fact, the company’s annual sustainability report doesn’t give any hard numbers at all on its logistics operations, despite Amazon dominating the US ecommerce market and delivering 4 billion packages in the US within two days in 2023.

“Stand.earth’s work is based on inaccurate data, a broad mischaracterization of our operations, and by their own admission, a methodology based on assumptions and unverified information,” Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said in a statement to WIRED. “The truth is that The Climate Pledge is an ambitious commitment for Amazon and the more than 525 companies that have signed up to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040. It’s only by taking this on that we can work collectively to transform industries such as shipping, transportation, and the built environment, and we need more companies encouraged to take this direction and quick action.” (As well as committing Amazon to addressing climate change, another aim of the Climate Pledge is to get other companies to follow Amazon’s lead.)

Kelly added: “We’ve continued to publish a detailed, transparent reporting of our year-on-year progress. We encourage everyone to track our progress through our annual Sustainability Report, which has correct data, transparent methodologies, and a third-party assurance.”

The company did not provide WIRED with any additional emissions statistics or other additional data for its shipping and delivery operations.

“We’re doing the best we can with the data available,” says Joshua Archer, a campaigner at Stand.earth and the primary author of the report. “Amazon’s [data] doesn’t even scratch the surface of this massive operations network.”

As a result, the Stand.earth report is based on a mountain of third-party data—all US-based—and math equations to get to some ballpark estimates. UPS and FedEx emissions data disclosed in those companies’ sustainability reports allowed researchers to get an idea of the emissions created by shipping packages by truck in the US. Third-party data from two aviation analytics providers helped to tally up the estimated domestic emissions associated with Amazon Air, a fleet of planes that deliver parcels for the company. Maritime shipping estimates are based on manifest data from US ports where Amazon was a signee. Many of these numbers, the report stresses, are almost certainly an undercount, as authors excluded calculations like emissions associated with package returns and packages shipped or delivered by third-party carriers due to lack of data.

The main culprit for Amazon’s increased shipping emissions, the report finds, is from airplanes: US emissions associated with Amazon Air have skyrocketed 67 percent since 2019. According to Kelly, Amazon’s overall emissions have increased since 2019 due to the company’s expansion during the pandemic.

“When you think of things people order through Amazon, a lot of them are things you don’t need the next day,” Archer says. “Nevertheless, they’re getting shipped on airplanes.”

This trend tracks with the rest of the industry. During the pandemic, port disruptions around the world forced providers to switch over to airplanes to transport cargo; much of this air infrastructure remains in place today. Simultaneously, the US ecommerce market shot up by 43 percent in 2020 as everyone stuck inside ordered more and more stuff. In 2023, the US shipped 21.7 billion parcels—that’s 687 packages every second.

There’s one area where things are improving for Amazon: according to the Stand.earth report, emissions per package have been dropping for Amazon since 2020, which, Archer says, is largely thanks to loading more parcels on bigger planes. (Kelly says that the company’s overall carbon intensity—measuring the efficiency of its operations—has improved by 34 percent since 2019, even as its overall emissions went up.) In comparison, UPS’s package emissions intensity has consistently risen since 2020, thanks in part to its increased reliance on aviation.

But even considering small improvements like these, the aggressive growth Amazon has driven over the past few years is, in many ways, incompatible with sustainability. “Keep an eye on the skies for even more A330s delivering for Amazon customers in the coming months and years,” Amazon concludes in a blog post touting its new, more efficient cargo planes. Unless greener alternatives to jet fuel become available years ahead of schedule, it will be impossible for the company to add more planes to its fleet without also making emissions jump up.

“Amazon prides itself on being an ambitious and innovative company, but it’s making quite a problem for itself with its air freight cargo growth,” Archer says. “If Amazon is serious about climate progress, that’s a really easy place to start: stop flying so much.”

Amazon is no stranger to climate criticism. Its overall emissions have skyrocketed since it rolled out the Climate Pledge in 2019, despite an incremental drop in 2023. Last year, Amazon lost the support of a key UN-backed global climate organization, the Science Based Targets Initiative, for not meeting certain deadlines to set targets to reduce emissions; it was one of nearly two dozen companies axed by SBTI from its list of climate-conscious companies. In July, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, an employee group, released a report criticizing the company’s calculations around its claim that it had met a sustainable energy goal. In 2023, Amazon quietly eliminated a goal to make half its shipments carbon neutral by 2030—a goal which, the company says, was superseded by the larger Climate Pledge.

Part of the issue in calculating emissions for Amazon is just how sprawling the challenges it faces are, thanks to its relentless vertical integration: the Wall Street Journal reported in May that in order to expand its control over its logistics processes, the company had already leased, bought, or announced plans to expand warehouse space in the US by 16 million square feet this year. Kelly said in an email in response to WIRED’s request for comment that the vast network of logistics the company has built allows it to deliver packages closer to their destination and avoid driving long miles.

Reading the company’s sustainability report is an exercise in understanding a variety of different ambitious technical and sociological climate goals across different industries involved in its supply chain. In response to WIRED’s request for comment, Kelly listed out Amazon’s membership in two business organizations advancing sustainable shipping, its membership in a buyers’ alliance encouraging the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel, and its investment in electric trucking: in May, the company put 50 electric trucks on the road in Southern California.

“I think it creates a lot of challenges for the broader transportation industry if every company just does what Amazon does and brings air freight in house,” Archer says. “Then you’ll have a situation where a lot of people are flying a lot of planes.”

There’s a real question of whether or not the company making significant changes would just move emissions from one company’s balance sheet to another’s as the rest of the industry keeps growing. Atlas Air, a subcontractor of Amazon Air, announced in May that it would stop domestic flights carrying Amazon parcels in favor of concentrating on other customers, including Chinese ecommerce titans Shein and Temu.

Still, with Amazon dominating so much of the US market—and with the capacity to kick off trends that other suppliers then follow, like expedited shipping—the company has an opportunity to set an aggressive example, like throwing a substantial effort into decreasing plane use and helping the US build out infrastructure for more sustainable long-haul trucking. (The company didn’t provide figures on how much it has spent on partnerships, research, lobbying, or other activities to decarbonize the trucking sector in the US.)

As for that splashy electric van pledge? The Stand.earth report projects that at Amazon’s current growth rates, if the company puts all the electric vans it promises on the roads by the end of the decade, that would still only account for a third of the company’s deliveries. If Amazon’s sales keep growing on pace, it would need 400,000 EVs to deliver all its packages.

“The 100,000 vans by 2030 is way too little, way too late,” Archer says.

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zuko-always-lies · 5 months

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ATLA Book 2 Character Stats

One thing I have been wondering for a while is how many lines of dialogue each character has in ATLA. I recently figured out an easy way to calculate it, so here are the stats for Book 2. You can find the stats for Book 1 here.

There are 3186 total lines of dialogue in the season. They are divided up as follows:

Sokka 499 lines, 15.66% Aang 492 lines, 15.44% Katara 412 lines, 12.93% Toph 242 lines, 7.60% Iroh 181 lines, 5.68% Zuko 169 lines, 5.30%(this increases to 194 and 6.08% if you include "Young Zuko") Azula 92 lines, 2.89% (this increases to 103 lines and 3.67% if you include "Young Azula") Jet 60 lines, 1.88% Long Feng 46 lines, 1.44% Kuei 40 lines, 1.26% Pathik 37 lines, 1.16% Chong 33 lines, 1.04% Suki 31 lines, 0.97% Joo Dee 29 lines, 0.91% Ty Lee 29 lines, 0.91%(This increases to 31 lines and 0.97% if you include "Young Ty Lee") Mai 28 lines, 0.88% (This increases to 29 lines and 0.91% if you include "Young Mai") Xin Fu 27 lines, 0.85% Zei 27 lines, 0.85%

With the more obscure characters below

Young Zuko 25 lines, 0.78% Fong 22 lines, 0.69% Young Azula 21 lines, 0.66% Yu 19 lines, 0.60% Ursa 18 lines, 0.56% Wan Shi Tong 18 lines, 0.56% Jin 17 lines, 0.53% Lee 17 lines, 0.53% Smellerbee 17 lines, 0.53% Tong 17 lines, 0.53% King Bumi 16 lines, 0.50% Lao 14 lines, 0.44% Guard 13 lines, 0.41% Tho 13 lines, 0.41% Due 12 lines, 0.38% Ghashiun 12 lines, 0.38% Ticket lady 12 lines, 0.38% Ying 11 lines, 0.35% Huu 10 lines, 0.31% Song 10 lines, 0.31% Yung 10, 0.313873195% Captain 9, 0.282485876% Dai Li agent 9, 0.282485876% General Sung 9, 0.282485876% Gow 9, 0.282485876% Oyaji 9, 0.282485876% Gansu 8, 0.251098556% Hakoda 8, 0.251098556% Kenji 8, 0.251098556% Shuzumu 8, 0.251098556% Fung 7, 0.219711237 General How 7, 0.219711237 Male student 7, 0.219711237 Pao 7, 0.219711237 Than 7, 0.219711237 The Boulder 7, 0.219711237 Trainer 7, 0.219711237 Mongke 6, 0.188323917 Quon 6, 0.188323917 Sela 6, 0.188323917 Tycho 6, 0.188323917 Ukano 6, 0.188323917 Fire Nation Man 5, 0.156936598 Lily 5, 0.156936598 Michi 5, 0.156936598 Moku 5, 0.156936598 Old man 5, 0.156936598 Ozai 5, 0.156936598 Roku 5, 0.156936598 Blue dragon 4, 0.125549278 Broadsword man 4, 0.125549278 Customer 4, 0.125549278 Earth Kingdom soldier 4, 0.125549278 Kyoshi 4, 0.125549278 Macmu-Ling 4, 0.125549278 Merchant 4, 0.125549278 Merchant #1 4, 0.125549278 Merchant #2 4, 0.125549278 Old Sweepy 4, 0.125549278 Pong 4, 0.125549278 Poppy 4, 0.125549278 Qin 4, 0.125549278 Scary prisoner 4, 0.125549278 Soldier 4, 0.125549278 Villager 4, 0.125549278 Azulon 3, 0.094161959 Fire Sage 3, 0.094161959 Florist 3 ,0.094161959 Guard one 3, 0.094161959 Ladies 3, 0.094161959 Male student #2 3, 0.094161959 Man 3, 0.094161959 Sha-Mo 3, 0.094161959 Ticket woman 3, 0.094161959 University student 3, 0.094161959 Unnamed Fire Nation boy 3, 0.094161959 Bato 2, 0.062774639 Brainwasher 2, 0.062774639 Cabbage merchant 2, 0.062774639 Captured agent 2, 0.062774639 Commander 2, 0.062774639 Girl with umbrella 2, 0.062774639 Guest 2, 0.062774639 Head of the Dai Li 2, 0.062774639 Huge round angry face 2, 0.062774639 Joo Dee replacement 2, 0.062774639 Joo Dees 2, 0.062774639 Koko 2, 0.062774639 Kyoshi Warrior #1 2, 0.062774639 Li 2, 0.062774639 Lo 2, 0.062774639 Oracle 2, 0.062774639 Pakku 2, 0.062774639 Pet store owner 2, 0.062774639 Sensitive ruffian 2, 0.062774639 Servant 2, 0.062774639 Song's mother 2, 0.062774639 Store owner 2, 0.062774639 Villager #2, 2 0.062774639 Villager #3, 2 0.062774639 Young Ty Lee 2 ,0.062774639 Adult guest 1, 0.03138732 Agent 1, 0.03138732 Audience 1 ,0.03138732 Boy's mother 1, 0.03138732 Earthbender guard 1, 0.03138732 Engineer 1, 0.03138732 Farmer 1, 0.03138732 Flyer distribution man 1, 0.03138732 Guard #2 1, 0.03138732 Guard two 1, 0.03138732 How 1, 0.03138732 Iio 1, 0.03138732 Katara (flashback) 1, 0.03138732 Kyoshi Warrior #2 1, 0.03138732 Lady on stage 1, 0.03138732 Lo and Li 1, 0.03138732 Longshot 1, 0.03138732 Lu Ten 1, 0.03138732 Man in the bar 1, 0.03138732 Old woman 1, 0.03138732 Older guest 1, 0.03138732 Palace woman 1, 0.03138732 Peasant girl 1, 0.03138732 Princess Yue 1, 0.03138732 Prisoner #2 1, 0.03138732 Red dragon 1, 0.03138732 Resistance fighter 1, 0.03138732 Resistance fighter #1 1, 0.03138732 Resistance fighter #2 1, 0.03138732 Royal messenger 1, 0.03138732 Sandbender #1 1, 0.03138732 Sandbender #2 1, 0.03138732 Second Engineer 1, 0.03138732 Shop owner 1, 0.03138732 Star 1, 0.03138732 Tea seller 1, 0.03138732 Team Avatar 1, 0.03138732 Terra Team leader 1, 0.03138732 Terra Team member 1, 0.03138732 The Hippo 1, 0.03138732 Third girl 1, 0.03138732 Train conductor 1, 0.03138732 Villagers 1, 0.03138732 Waiter 1, 0.03138732 Warrior 1, 0.03138732 Water Tribe warrior 1, 0.03138732 White Lotus member 1, 0.03138732 Young guest 1, 0.03138732 Young Mai 1, 0.03138732 Younger guest 1, 0.03138732

#ATLA #avatar the last airbender #ATLA stats #ATLA lines #ATLA stat #Avatar #Aang #Katara #Zuko #Sokka #Iroh #book 2: earth #Toph #Azula #Jet #Ty Lee #Suki #Mai #Long Feng

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fluffy-appa · 2 months

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Whenever a person fears his Lord (has Taqwa), he moves up to another level of guidance, so he keeps on increasing in guidance as long as he keeps on increasing in Taqwa.

And whenever he misses some aspects of Taqwa, he loses some guidance in accordance with the Taqwa he missed.

[al-Fawa'id, Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah), pg. 194-197]

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solarpunks · 1 year

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A rendering of a rooftop terrace installed by the Parisian startup Roofscapes.

Paris When It Sizzles: The City of Light Aims to Get Smart on Heat

With its zinc roofs and minimal tree cover, Paris was not built to handle the new era of extreme heat. Now, like other cities worldwide, it is looking at ways to adapt to rising temperatures — planting rooftop terraces, rethinking its pavements, and greening its boulevards.

In many cities, this urban remodeling project is already underway. In New York City, workers and volunteers have planted over a million trees to add shade and clean the air. In Seville, Spain, city planners are using the technology of ancient underground waterways to provide cooling for the city without depending on air‑conditioning. In Freetown, Sierra Leone, officials are creating urban gardens, improving access to clean water, and erecting plexiglass awnings over outdoor markets. In Los Angeles, public works crews are painting streets white to increase reflectivity. In India, they are experimenting with green roofs, which absorb heat and create space to grow food. But perhaps nowhere in the world do the challenges, as well as the opportunities, loom larger than in Paris, where nearly 80 percent of the buildings have zinc roofs — an affordable, corrosion-resistant and virtually inflammable innovation of the 19th century. But those roofs are, in the 21st century, deadly — heating up to 194 degrees F on a summer day. And because top‑floor garrets were not insulated, that heat is transferred directly into the rooms below.

#paris #roofscape #climate change #climate adaptation

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eddieintheocean · 4 months

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Meiofauna abundance in green, brown, and red algae

i got 73/100 in this lab report and it was interesting so have this <3

Introduction

Meiofauna are small benthic animals that are between 40 and 500 µm. They largely consist of invertebrate phyla, such as Nematoda and Crustacea (Coull, 1999). Meiofauna living on rocky shores experience a less stable environment compared to organisms living in the ocean. For example, exposure to waves is a factor that non-littoral meiofauna do not experience. As a result, meiofauna in littoral zones may seek shelter from the environment in algae on the shore (Gibbons, 1988a). The aim of this experiment was to determine whether there was a significant different between the abundance of meiofauna found in green and red algae. The hypothesis is that the abundance of meiofauna should be higher in the sample of red algae compared to the green and brown algae.

Methods

Equal weights of red, green, and brown algae were weighed and prepared in 2023. The samples were passed through a 1mm and 250µm mesh sieve. The collected meiofauna were then preserved in ethanol. To count the abundance of meiofauna, a grid was drawn on the bottom on two petri dishes (one for green and brown, and one for red). We then observed the gridded petri dishes under a microscope and used a clicker to count the number of meiofauna observed in each section of grid. In analysis of the results, a Welch’s t-test was performed to compare the two means.

Results

The red algae had a higher abundance overall than the green/brown algae with a mean of 49.6 and 20.5 respectively (Figure 1). There was a significant difference in abundance of meiofauna in red and green/brown algae (p<0.0001, t=5.56).

Discussion

With these results, we can accept the hypothesis that abundance in red algae is higher than in green/brown algae. Red algae has been shown to offer protection from exposure to waves, in comparison to subtidal beds of green algae which offer less shelter for meiofauna (Gibbons, 1988b). Despite this, further experiments should be made to determine whether the structure of the algae is the main reason for the increased abundance. For example, differing prey and food sources in each environment may be another reason for meiofauna species to live in either type of algae. There are other factors to consider too, such as predation within the environment. Environments where meiofauna are more likely to be preyed upon may also impact species abundance (Tano et al., 2016). Furthermore, there is evidence of other studies demonstrating that structural complexity and abundance may not be completely linked, or that the relationship is more complicated than it originally seemed (Russo, 1990).

Figure 1, The total abundance of meiofauna found in either green/brown algae or red algae.

Reference list

Coull, B. C. (1999). Role of meiofauna in estuarine soft-bottom habitats*. Australian Journal of Ecology, 24(4), 327–343. https://doi.org/10.1046/J.1442-9993.1999.00979.X

Gibbons, M. J. (1988a). Studies on the meiofauna of rocky shores. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8410

Gibbons, M. J. (1988b). The impact of wave exposure on the meiofauna of Gelidium pristoides (Turner) Kuetzing (Gelidiales: Rhodophyta). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 27(6), 581–593. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-7714(88)90070-4

Russo, A. R. (1990). The role of seaweed complexity in structuring Hawaiian epiphytal amphipod communities. In Hydrobiologia (Vol. 194, Issue 1). Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Tano, S., Eggertsen, M., Wikström, S. A., Berkström, C., Buriyo, A. S., & Halling, C. (2016). Tropical seaweed beds are important habitats for mobile invertebrate epifauna. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 183, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECSS.2016.10.010

#eddie learns the ocean #this was soo fun to research actually #i love little creatures alot #marine biology #meiofauna #eddie in the ocean

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yeeters-muse-archive · 5 months

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Gardevoir

Normal Weight: 657lbs (298kgs) Mega Weight: 1543lbs (699.9kgs)

Special Trait: She has a her Mega stone which gives her access to her mega form with a significant weight increase

Bio: Just a normal citizen in Poke-tropolis, this formerly hot-tempered Gardevoir one day was in an argument with the Snorlax you all know. This argument soon turned into a battle, but immediately when it started, the Gardevoir’s Trace ability picked up the Thick Fat ability of the Snorlax, making her incredibly huge as a result. This obviously made her outright furious, but it seemed that Trace worked extra hard that day as she was feeling just as hungry as a Snorlax. With that, just as fast as it began, the battle ended via forfeit with Gardevoir leaving to the nearest restaurant. She now binges daily, the lazy slob, in her apartment, feeling utterly mindless (ironically) to the taste and feeling of fullness of her stomach.

Normal Ability: Thick Fat (formerly Trace)

Mega Ability: Pixilate

Normal Stats:

HP: 110

Attack: 75

Defense: 101

Special Attack: 139

Special Defense: 147

Speed: 53

Mega Stats:

HP: 163

Attack: 105

Defense: 153

Special Attack: 194

Special Defense: 187

Speed: 37

Art by Pmumpchu on DA

Image here

Art of Mega (SIZE REFERENCE) by trinityfate62 on Furaffinity

Image here (Official Visuals)

⚠️ Warning ⚠️ : This is for @pudgy-poketropolis a muse blog that requires viewers to be of the US legal age for marriage or higher. If you wish to reblog this bio for one of my muses due to the artwork, please take this into account.

#muse bio #muse: gardevoir

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asma-al-husna · 6 months

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Allah’s name Al-Mushin— The Good Doer, the one who does ultimate good— is not mentioned in the Quran but occurs in narrations of the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Al-Muhsin is the one who loves and inspires doing good in His slaves and who possesses the perfect good and excellence in all He makes happen!

The Good Doer, the Supreme Doer of Good

Muhsin comes from the root haa-seen-noon, which points to four main meanings. The first meaning is to be and to do good and to pursue excellence The second main meaning is to be beautiful, and the third is to be kind. The fourth main meaning is to be suitable, proper, and fitting.

This root appears 194 times in the Quran in 12 derived forms. Examples of these forms are ahsana (“does good”), ahsanu (“is best”), husnan (“good”) and al-muhsineena (“the good doers”).

Linguistically, hasana is the root for the words hasan (good), ahsan (better), and (al) husna (the best). The Islamic concept of ihsaan, or excellence, comes from the same root. A muhsin (male, plural muhsineen) and a muhsina (female, plural muhsinaat) are those who do good and who when saying someone did well, can say: ahsant (-i or –a), which means “well done” or “excellent!”

Al-Muhsin refers to the One who is perfectly good in His Essence and who does all His actions in the best possible manner, achieving excellence and reaching ultimate beauty and perfection.

The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: Surely Allah is Muhsin and He loves ihsaan in everything; if you kill, kill in a good way and if you slaughtered, slaughter in a good way . . . [part of the hadith- At-Tabaraani and Al-Albaani, Saheeh Al-Jami]

Islam, emaan, and ihsaan

There are three degrees of Islam, which are Islam, eemaan, and ihsaan. Islam means submission, and when mentioned separately from emaan it refers to the religion as a whole, as Allah says: Truly, the religion with Allah is Islam. [Quran, 3:19] When Islam is used with the word eemaan (faith or belief) it refers to outward deeds and words, as Allah says: The bedouins say: ‘We believe. Say: You believe not but you only say, We have surrendered (in Islam), for Faith has not yet entered your hearts…’ [Quran, 49:14]

The second degree is eeman, which means belief committed to submission and may mean one of two things. When it is used without the word “Islam,” it refers to the religion as a whole, as Allah ‘azza wa jall says: Allah is the Wali of those who believe. He brings them out from darkness into light. [Quran, 2:257]

Allah limited the word emaan to those who adhere to His religion in full, inwardly and outwardly, as He says: The believers are only those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Verses are recited unto them, they increase their Faith; and they put their trust in their Lord. [Quran, 8:2] When emaan is used with the word Islam it refers to inward beliefs, or the actions of the heart.

Thus, when either emaan or Islam are used alone, there is no difference and they both refer to the entire religion. If there is any difference between them, Islam refers to outward physical actions and the word eemaan refers to inward actions of the heart.

The third degree is ihsaan, which in Arabic means doing something well, perfectly, and sincerely. Islamically it may mean two things: when used alone and not with Islam or eemaan it refers to the religion as a whole.

When it is used with either or both Islam and eemaan the meaning is perfecting one’s outward and inward deeds. The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam beautifully explained the meaning of ihsaan: It means worshipping Allah as if you can see Him, and although you cannot see Him, He can see you. [Al-Bukhaari, Muslim]

How can you live by this name?

1. Strive for ihsaan. Ihsaan is a complete way of life, so let this concept accompany you in all your actions. Strive for al-ihsaan in your relationship with Allah ‘azza wa jall as in being able to worship Him as if you saw Him and strive for al-ihsaan as good behaviour to others, like kindness to your parents, relatives, the poor etc.

When you have a guest, give them the best you have. When you are with your parents, show them the best of your manners. Also appreciate the ihsaan of others.

Strive for al-ihsaan as an act of excellence and in your relationship with yourself, meaning in every deed you do, you try your best! When you are at your job, do your best, when you are at school, try your best. The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: Allah has prescribed al-ihsaan in every matter. [Muslim] SubhanAllah, we are even asked as Muslims to sharpen the knife when we slaughter as to cause minimal distress to the animal.

2. Study the Quran to find out what is good. On many occasions in the Quran the muhsineen, the good doers, are mentioned. The muhsineen are loved by Allah ‘azza wa jall and close to Him and Allah even describes actions characterizing them, pay special attention to these ayaat. Allah says: And whoever submits his face to Allah while he is a doer of good (muhsin) – then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold . . .[Quran, 31:22]

Make it your mission to find out what the Quran says about what are good deeds and what their reward is, so you can apply them and become of the muhsineen inshaa’Allah!  3. Realize that Allah’s ways are excellent. Allah is the only true Mushin. He is perfect in His Names, attributes, and actions. Truly realize that everything Allah ‘azza wa jall gives and takes from you, is for your own good, and let this inspire you to complain less and start being more content. Allah’s ihsaan is general with the whole creation; He created you in a perfect way without being asked and His ihsaan is specific. He rewards the good doers with the place of ultimate good: His Paradise!

4. Ask Al-Muhsin. Allah ‘azza wa jall says in a heart-melting ayah in Surah Ar-Rahmaan: Hal jazaa’ul ihsaani illal-ihsaan – Is the reward for good [anything] but good? [Quran, 55:60] Each day ask Al-Mushin for ihsaan in all aspects of your life, in your inward and outward actions. Do you worship Allah as if you see him or at least as he sees you? Ask Him to bless you with the highest degree of ihsaan: apart from being aware He sees you, worshipping Him as if you see Him!

5. Study the names of Allah.

O Allah, Al-Mushin, we know that You are Doer of ultimate good. Adorn us with ihsaan in all our aspects of life and make us worship you as if we see You. Include us in the rewards of the muhsineen and make us live by the fact You are perfect and beyond excellence in Your dealings with us. Bless us with good in this life and the ultimate good in the Hereafter, seeing You in Paradise, ameen!

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