Researchers team up to tackle state’s acid mine drainage problem

|

Researchers team up to tackle state’s acid mine drainage problem

"As Penn State researchers stood on the banks of Scalp Level Run, an acid mine drainage (AMD)-polluted stream in Cambria County, a scientific question formed: How is nature removing toxic metals from the drainage at a rate faster than any other tested waters in the state, under pH conditions deemed too low to do so? For decades, cleanup efforts have involved raising the pH of AMD before using chemical oxidation to remove iron and other metals. And yet, at Scalp Level Run, the pollutants were being removed at a pH of around 3, and importantly, before entering the stream."

Today’s Almanac for Saturday November 3

|

Today is the final day before the time-shift when daylight savings time ends. Tomorrow morning, everything will be shifted an hour later, so the sun will rise an hour earlier and set at around 4:42 PM in Syracuse.

Today’s Almanac

Night before dawn is 7 hours and 13 minutes,
Dawn starts at 7:13 am and runs for 29 minutes,
Sunrise is at 7:42 am which is 4 hours and 17 minutes before noon,
High noon, the transit of the sun, is at 12:48 pm,
From twelve noon to the sunset at 5:53 pm is 5 hours and 53 minutes,
Dusk lasts for 30 minutes concluding at 6:22 pm,
Leaving 5 hours and 37 minutes until midnight.

A November scene

November 3, 2018 – Looking Ahead This Week

|

It looks like the first full week of November will be quite cold and damp, as has been the norm lately. But I’m hopeful things will improve for the second half of the week — some of the models show improving weather as the week progresses.

Weather Summary
This Afternoon. Rain is likely and Breezy and 45 degrees , 5:51 sunset.
Tonight. Chance of Showers then Chance of Rain/Snow and 34 degrees , 6:44 sunrise.
Sunday. Chance of Rain/Snow then Partly Sunny and 49 degrees , 4:51 sunset.
Sunday Night. Mostly Cloudy and 37 degrees , 6:45 sunrise.
Monday. Chance of Showers and 55 degrees , 4:50 sunset.
Monday Night. Chance of Showers and 46 degrees , 6:46 sunrise.
Election Day. Showers is likely and 62 degrees , 46 max dew point, 4:49 sunset.
Election Night. Showers is likely and 48 degrees , 6:48 sunrise.
Wednesday. Chance of Showers and 55 degrees , 4:48 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Mostly Cloudy and 37 degrees , 6:49 sunrise.
Thursday. Partly Sunny and 47 degrees , 4:47 sunset.
Thursday Night. Mostly Cloudy then Chance of Showers and 37 degrees , 6:50 sunrise.
Friday. Chance of Showers and 46 degrees , 4:46 sunset.

Raining Morning On LaGrange Road

Republicans Need A Systematic Polling Error To Win The House

|

Republicans Need A Systematic Polling Error To Win The House

"As I wrote earlier this week, Democrats almost certainly need a systematic polling error to win the Senate. By that I mean: They need for the polls to be off everywhere, or at least in certain key clusters of states, to win the Senate. A polling error in just one or two races (say, Beto O’Rourke wins in Texas) probably wouldn’t be enough: Democrats are defending too much territory and have too many problems elsewhere on the map just to get lucky."

"That conclusion about the Senate ought to be fairly intuitive, I think. Even if you credit Democrats with wins in all the toss-up races, that wouldn’t be enough — it would only get them to 50 seats. What might be more surprising is that the same conclusion holds for Republicans in the House. They need for there to be a systematic polling error too. If the polls are about right overall but Republicans are hoping to getting lucky in the swing districts, it probably won’t happen — the odds are stacked heavily against them."