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How to choose between Property Rights and Big Business? Western North Dakota is currently going through an Industrial Revolution thanks to the oil and gas industry. But the rights of property holders might be getting in the way of extractive business. Between the seeming inability to safely deal with the saltwater byproducts of fracking and because of an interesting little quirk of mineral rights law there is a division growing in the conservative political minds of North Dakota. Get some popcorn because the show is going to be real interesting and divorced from much of what the blue might think of as reality.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 10:08 PM PST - 25 comments

The home stretch. It’s time to pay attention, call your members of Congress, and mobilize your networks. Crunch time: this is America's last chance at serious climate policy for a decade. It's going to be a clean energy standard & clean energy tax credits, or nothing. David Roberts explains the climate policy in the upcoming reconciliation bill, which needs all 50 Democratic votes to get past the US Senate. [more inside]
posted by russilwvong at 4:53 PM PST - 20 comments

Image Conscious: Jasmine Sanders on the Black Romantic “My cousin worked for Artistic Impressions,” she says. “I saw a painting she had and liked it, so that’s how I got started.” The painting, titled The Lord’s Blessing, is a textured oil-on-canvas by the American artist Mobassi. A mother and infant appear in profile, both a deep, sumptuous brown, their features faintly drawn. The pair are conjoined by a crescent of glitter, gold, and cream paint, the maternal bond made tactile and flashily literal. The first piece of art my aunt ever purchased for herself, Mobassi’s canvas hangs in her living room still.
posted by klangklangston at 4:00 PM PST - 3 comments

What Do You Do With A Billion Grams Of Surplus Weed? Cannabis legalization was supposed to be a licence to print money. Three years on, nobody is turning a profit
posted by hoodrich at 3:41 PM PST - 63 comments

Stephen Sondheim had been successful (and not) on Broadway for over a decade before Company [Wikipedia]. In a lot of ways, it redefined "musical", being less about a straightforward plot and more about emotional honesty and development. One major (and majorly entertaining) performance was a 2011 New York Philharmonic concert production [2h25m], with Neal Patrick Harris, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, and Patti LuPone (amongst others). But, if you like comparison/contrast studies, there are others! [more inside]
posted by hippybear at 2:01 PM PST - 13 comments

the world's largest electric vehicle, a 110-ton dump truck, to haul lime and marl off the side of a mountain to a cement factory. Perhaps best of all, it consumes no energy
posted by sammyo at 12:57 PM PST - 34 comments

An overview of archaeological investigation into pre-Neolithic use of grains: "Well before people domesticated crops, they were grinding grains for hearty stews and other starchy dishes." Lots of different archaeologists, many of them experimental archaeologists, and their recent insights into early diet. Links to all the scholarly articles at the bottom.
posted by clew at 12:04 PM PST - 8 comments

Mötorhead’s classic “Ace of Spades”, played on some really big bells. (SLYT) Lemmy would be proud, I’m sure. Also notable: look at how the carillon is pounding the keys with his fists!
posted by snortasprocket at 11:09 AM PST - 15 comments

To try to mitigate the widespread fears and pessimism about the future, Wired co-founder and lifelong techno-optimist Kevin Kelly (earlier) makes his Case for Optimism.

There are two important sets of reasons why you should be optimistic right now. One is the general case for optimism at any time. The second reason is a handful of forces at work in the world that make specific cases for optimism at this particular time, in 2021.

[more inside]
posted by PhineasGage at 8:42 AM PST - 71 comments

For nearly nine months, Tenacious Unicorn Ranch, a safe haven for trans and queer Coloradans, faced violent threats from right-wing extremists. Until, that is, they turned to their local anarchists for help. from Alt-Right Coloradans Went to War with an Alpaca Farm — And the Farm Won [from the revitalized Mel Magazine]
posted by chavenet at 7:41 AM PST - 18 comments