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Set 200 years in our future, The Expanse is as much a sci-fi series as it is a political drama. Everyone wants to colonize the solar system and its a race to the start line. Earth is run by the United Nations, Mars is an independent nation terraforming its way to a greener future, and factions along the asteroid belt known as Belters are looking to gain more power on the interstellar stage.

The show has drawn wide praise for its stunning visuals (most sets were built-out on the largest available stages of Pinewood Toronto Studios instead of heavily relying on green screens, and in Season 4, an active quarry helped create adesolate frontier-planet look). Its also famously scientifically accurate, a choice informed no doubt by showrunner Naren Shankar who has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and previously worked as a scientific consultant for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Perhaps most impressively, though, from the beginning, the show fought for purposefully inclusive casting that is revelatory for the genre. As pointed out by Tasha Robinson at The Verge, Theres no reason to assume, sight unseen, that any given referenced characters, regardless of their position in the world, will be white men.

Still, among all these technical and narrative achievements, none are as remarkable as the way the women on the show dominate and lead the storytelling. There are women of all ages, races, body types, and sexualities in the universe of The Expanse, in positions of authority, representing the working class, pilots, soldiers, scientists, refugees, community leaders.

Even more impressive than their numbers is the fact that none of them fall into the usual tropes women in genre shows are typically confined to, such as the Girl Boss, the Mary Sue, and the Born Sexy Yesterday (a term coined by YouTuber Jonathan McIntosh who uses it to describe the sci-fi trope found in movies like Tron, The Fifth Element, and the original Planet of the Apes, where women are sexy and helpless, externally Barbie-like but internally child-like).

The minds of the women of The Expanse are always whirring, and the show delights in showing us how they work. As season five unfurls, it becomes clearer and clearer that their stories are the beating heart of the show. So lets give them their due recognition.

Naomi, played by British-Dominican actress Dominique Tipper, is officially the Rocinantes executive officer. Shes also its chief engineer, conscience, and the love interest of its captain, Jim Holden. That order is significant. Her most important role is as the ship whisperer, making sure to repair it post-battle and generally help improve the quality of its flight and operations. Her skills are showcased daily as she attends to the problems, small and large, that spaceflight entails, and the respect she commands is evident in the way Holden regularly defers to her for major decisions concerning the crew.

Naomi is also the conscience of the Rocinante, but she is not an infallible angel immune from having crises of conscience of her own. She was formerly a member of the OPA (the Outer Planets Alliance), a Belter collective seen as either terrorists or freedom fighters depending on whom you ask, and fell in love with one of the groups most brutish members, Marco Inaros, a man who has kept her from her son for years. Inaros actions at the end of Season 4 set him up as the Big Bad of the fifth season, giving Naomi the greatest personal and political motives out of anyone for going after him.

I think sometimes when we talk about representation, we forget about the flawed-ness of humans, Tipper said in a conversation with TV Guide about the image her character provides. We dont just want to see a strong Black woman trope. We want to see a Black woman who is ripped from her family, and is navigating that, and has privilege, and that makes wrong decisions and does the right thing, and youre still in love with her at the end of it. Because I think too often when we try to diversify in Hollywood or on shows, we try and portray the most wholesome version of that or the most palatable version of it, and thats where you run into problems.

Naomi is a Black woman who is the brains of the operation, a friend, a mother, a lover, someone who has been wronged and done wrong but is striving to right it all. As Samantha Olthof writes in FSRs review of The Expanse Season 5, The strong all-around performances this season are crowned by Tippers heart-wrenching delivery of Naomi.

Drummer, played by Canadian actress Cara Gee, is a no-nonsense Belter captain. A lot of her fire comes from a personal connection to the material. Gee is Ojibwe and one of the few Native actors currently working in television let alone a science-fiction series. She explained to Entertainment Weekly at New York Comic-Con that Drummers passion for Belter justice reminds her of the struggles indigenous people are going through now.

In real life, Im an indigenous woman, she says, and so for me, in particular, the questions about access to clean air and water and who has access to that is one that is extremely relevant given that so many reserves dont have access to clean water even in Canada and in the United States, and that, to me, is just so mindblowing: that we can exist in such luxury, some of us, and others so oppressed.

Although she is both strong and smart, Drummer is not the strongest fighter or the smartest engineer on the show. She is, however, one of the most powerful people in any room she enters because of her innate ability to read people and ascertain their desires. She uses this gift to plot. Shes not too proud to work under someone she served as a prized lieutenant to two different OPA faction leaders proving her adaptability or to work with past enemies because she sees its utility.

Shes not too squeamish to take out people aboard her ship who attempt a mutiny because she isnt clouded by idealism about how the groups can someday all get along. And when her legs are injured in the middle of a massive crisis, she powers through the pain and builds a solution while in her hospital bed so that she can return to help her shipmates ASAP. She is the most present of all the characters. Her mind is goal-oriented and always-active: In this moment what do I need, whose resources can I leverage to achieve my goal?

Drummers friendship with Naomi is one of the highlights of the show. Both Belter women share a goal but have two very different perspectives on how to achieve it. In one exemplary scene the two talk about a drug dealer aboard their ship who is supplying incapacitating drugs to skiff drivers. Naomi is worried about handing over the guy to Drummer for fear of letting her down but also because she doesnt want him to be violently punished. This changes when his actions cause another shipmate to lose his life and damage much-needed equipment. I dont expect you to be perfect. Or anyone, Drummer tells Naomi. That skiff driver was free to put whatever he liked into his body we all are until that freedom puts others at risk. And then we act accordingly.

Its a very enlightened leadership approach that demonstrates Drummers nuanced understanding of human behavior while also displaying her pragmatism: things that get in the way of her goal must be dealt with quickly and unsentimentally. With every scene she appears in, Drummer continues to prove she is one of the most unique women to appear in any sci-fi series.

Bobbie, a Martian soldier played by Samoan actress Frankie Adams, is a trope-busting character in a genre prone to racist stereotypes where Asian characters are concerned. This September, a tweet went viral for dissecting the harmful trope of the nonverbal woman that many women of color are forced into on-screen. Within the thread, it was particularly evident that this trope is especially common for Asian female characters (Karen Fukuhara appears twice on the list for two different nonverbal roles). In addition to being nonverbal for largely unexplained reasons, Asian characters are also typically depicted as unfeeling and expendable (author Paula Young Lee wrote about this specific trope, The Expendable Asian Crewmember, for Salon).

In The Expanse, Bobbie is the antithesis of these harmful stereotypes. She has a lively personality, is purposeful but not mechanical, and is definitely not expendable to the show. Since her introduction in Season 2, Bobbie has been given the most prized arc on any genre show: a heros journey.

In a memorable sequence that could have easily been cut (or would never even be filmed on another show), Bobbie escapes from her room in the Mars embassy using her know-how in order to MacGyver an exit. Instead of nailing it on the first round, she noodles around until she finds a tool made of strong enough material to penetrate her window: fittingly, the purple heart Mars awarded her for parroting propaganda instead of standing in her truth. We watch her work through the problem. Methodical, logical, relentless. Her attributes arent just buzzwords to satisfy a demand for more feminist storytelling, they are provable because of the material the character is given.

The shows writers also avoid the infamous Mary Sue trope by showing us how she achieves her wins and also letting us see her lose. We know Bobbie is a force of nature not because of her cool Martian war suit but because weve seen her kick ass with or without it. An interrogation scene shows she has the moral fortitude to stand up to her military command when she smells something rotten even if it means breaking from the Good Little Martian she was groomed to be her entire life.

In another scene, she and two other characters get ambushed, and Bobbie has to figure a way out. She connects to the ships site plan and comes up with a daring escape. We watch as she makes her way through a shaft John McClane-style and takes out some gunmen. The sequence isnt all adrenaline, though, because while she can bluntly take out a series of men, she isnt a machine, so she knows she doesnt have to. When she encounters an electrician who stands between her and her goal, she uses her words to find a peaceable solution.

Bobbies humanity is textual and is always present even in fight scenes. Her journey from blunt instrument for Mars to free-thinking agent of change has been one of the most rewarding on the show.

Clarissa, played by Nadine Nicole, was introduced as the older sister of Julie Mao, the missing person who set off the events of the first season. The uber-privileged daughters of early-season antagonist Jules-Pierre Mao have very different trajectories on the show. While Julie turns her back on her father and his nefarious plans for weaponizing a lethal alien protomolecule, aligning herself with the Belter revolutionaries, Clarissa is at first glance a blindly loyal daughter.

In the third season, she begins a methodical attack against Team Rocinante in an effort to seek justice for her father, whose ill-doings the crew helped bring to light. Clarissa is so committed to this assignment that she adopts an alter ego, goes undercover, and gets non-reversible modifications to her body that turn her into a lethal machine when activated. Her plans set off one of the tensest sequences in the show thus far: a multi-spaceship chase through an unexplored alien ring. Her fate seems sealed until, in a crucial moment, she overhears Holden and Naomi discuss how they need to save everyone from a potentially extinction-level event, and Clarissas view of him and of herself shifts. Her change of heart helps Team Rocinante thwart a hasty call from a captain who is seconds from killing them all.

After a seasons worth of evidence pointing to her as the most cunning and unapologetic villain the team has yet faced, Clarissa ends up being a hero in their hour of need. Instead of killing her off after one redeeming heroic act (one of the tropiest tropes ever), the show decided it was more interesting to let us watch her change and grow, and it was right. Clarissa has plenty of time to stew on her bad life choices because she ends up receiving a life sentence for committing multiple homicides.

Nicole was bumped to series regular for Season 5, and her arc in this season and on the show overall is evidence of the way The Expanse tries to complicate our understanding of simple television tropes like good guys and villains. On this show, doing something bad doesnt make you a villain at least, not permanently. Similarly, doing one good thing doesnt mean youre a good person. Clarissas character arc is a microcosm of the moral struggle that everyone on the show is going through in their own way.

Avasarala, played by Iranian-American actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, is a shrewd and incredibly fashionable politician on the show who eventually becomes the UN Secretary-General, a.k.a the leader of Earth. She sees the world as a chessboard. In the third episode of the first season, theres a scene between Chrisjen and Frank, an old friend, in which he recounts a story about the time a young Chrisjen was tasked with coming up with a card game for some friends to play.

You said we each get five cards, you dealt them out, then you pointed to the far end of the yard, and you said, Now whoever gets to the tree first, wins. You dropped your cards and were halfway there before anyone else realized what was happening. Frank explains that that was the moment he became terrified for her because it was the moment he realized she would do anything to win. The story neatly summarizes Chrisjens character. Imagine the ruthless political maneuvering of Game of Thrones Cersei but used for good instead of evil.

In Season 4, Chrisjen faces a challenge to her seat as UN Secretary-General, and the election advisers she hires to help secure the win ask her to appear more maternal to voters, to exercise soft power rather than the blunt and sweary force shes used to wielding, and she all but laughs in their faces.

The Expanse liberates Chrisjen from one of the worst constraints to which a female character can be chained: the prison cell of likeability. She is canonically and iconically unconcerned with whether people like her or not as long as she gets the job done. She is noteworthy because she is a powerful female character who is not simply a carbon copy of male leaders who came before her. This is foregrounded in the very first episode of the series, in which she is depicted as equally at ease torturing a man for information at a UN black site as playing with her grandson.

Shes the most complex character in the series, capable of extreme warmth and coldness, both manipulative and caring, at times the most arrogant and at others the wisest. Though she begins the fifth season fresh off of losing the election, she is not diminished by the loss but fortified by it. If future genre writers are looking for a way to nimbly write about women and power, hers is the mold they should cut from.

Naomi, Camina, Bobbie, Clarissa, and Chrisjen are just five of the many complex female characters that populate The Expanse. There are a lot of shows set in space, but The Expanse has distinguished itself in a classic and oft-explored genre by making sure that women are given, at minimum, equal standing with men on the show. Women are heroes and rogues, they can save the world, and they have just as much power to end it.

In the mythology of The Expanse, society has already moved past the -isms that are still plaguing our world, like racism and sexism, but the series insistence that thats not just a line in the proverbial show bible but a real, critical, and undeniable part of its writing, will undoubtedly be its greatest legacy.

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The Women of The Expanse Will Be the Shows Greatest Legacy - Film School Rejects

The search for identity and recognition is a common theme among the 2020 North Carolina Book Award recipients who are being announced virtually. Video acceptance statements from recipients are available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0D3Ny2CaPzmpuuwyMiP8trn6iVTzB-9e.

The Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction goes to William Sandy Darity and A. Kirsten Mullen of Durham, for From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the 21st Century. The husband-wife team explores the economic and social impact of slavery, the mirage of equality during Reconstruction and the multiplier effect of ongoing institutional racism to imprison African Americans in poverty while building white wealth for generations. Darity is the Samuel DuBose Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Duke University. Mullen is an author, folklorist and museum consultant.

The Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction goes to Katey Schultz of Celo, for Still Come Home, a tale of war in Afghanistan involving a young wife, her older husband and the Taliban, an American soldier, and how their lives intersect as each seeks to live their truth in circumstances often beyond their control. Schultz, author of Flashes of War among other titles, is an instructor of creative writing at Interlochen College of Creative Arts in Michigan.

The Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry goes to Dannye Romine Powell of Charlotte, for In the Sunroom with Raymond Carver, which has been described as prayerful, shimmering with incandescence, and offering sometimes blinding moments of self-recognition. In addition to being an award-winning poet, Powell has been a leader in North Carolinas literary community, serving as book editor and columnist for the Charlotte Observer for decades.

The American Association of University Women Award for Young Peoples Literature goes toMeg Cannistra of Charlotte, for The Trouble with Shooting Stars, as 12-year-old Luna explores the heavens. It also is an examination of Italian American life and the experiences of food, fireworks, acceptance and love. This is Cannistras debut novel.

The C.C. Crittenden Memorial Award for lifetime contributions to history goes to Elizabeth Buford of Raleigh, former director of the N.C. Museum of History, former deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, who has worked to preserve and protect North Carolina history for decades through historic preservation, exhibitions and special events. She is most proud of the successful transfer of National History Day from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to the Office of Archives and History, ensuring that students would learn and protect the states history by doing history, creating exhibits, writing papers and producing performances. Buford spread her good works across the state by also being a longtime leader of the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies.

The Hardee-Rives Dramatic Arts Award goes to Triad Stage of Greensboro, for nearly 20 years of consistently high theater service reaching thousands of theatergoers in the Triad with high quality, regionally authentic productions in Greensboro and Winston-Salem.

The Hugh T. Lefler Award for best college student paper goes to Scott Stegall of Monroe and Davidson College, forFiddle and Bow and Jim Crow: North Carolina Fiddlers Conventions, Confederate Memorialization, and the Culture of White Supremacy. Graduating in 2020, Stegall, an old-time musician himself, used his time as a college student to explore the intersection between music and history in North Carolina.

The N.C. Literary and Historical Association and the Federation of N.C. Historical Societies continues in their commitment to stimulate the production of literature, to collect and preserve historical material in North Carolina, and to recognize excellence in both areas,even during this pandemic.

For additional information on the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association and the awards program, visit https://www.ncdcr.gov/about/history/lit-and-hist. The program is administered by the Office of Archives and History within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

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2020 North Carolina Book Award recipients announced - The Stanly News & Press - Stanly News & Press

ESSEX -- If youve never been down Towers Road, you might not know that theres a luxurious, 7,043-square foot contemporary house that comes with additional structures and an incredible view of the rolling countryside. And its currently for sale.

Listed by Hank Gintof Jr. of Signature Properties of Vermont, 100 Towers Road in Essex has over 10 acres of land, a single-family home, a pool house with a half bathroom, and so much more. The primary house includes a grand room with large windows, an upper loft that makes for a stellar home office, a custom bar, and even a theater room.

Outside, you can find a kidney-shaped pool and an 864-square foot barn. In addition to the attached three-car garage, theres an additional 1,200-square foot detached garage, allowing you to comfortably park nine vehicles indoors.

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 6

Acreage: 10.04

List Price: $1,495,000

Highlights: Sunroom with overhead-vented cooking area, cozy fireplace, soaring ceilings, private plot but conveniently located to local amenities, garden space, spacious walk-in closet, kitchen island, and soaking tub

See this propertys full listing here.

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Have your own movie theater with this Towers Road 7000-square foot contemporary home - St. Albans Messenger

The new five-story west Little Rock headquarters of Bank OZK is a magnificent addition of modern architecture for Arkansas. However, it houses more than deposits and loans its the repository for a number of world-renowned art pieces.

Bank OZK Chairman and CEO George Gleason provided Talk Business & Politics with a personal tour of the new campus and sat down for a Q&A on the state of banking as the nation heads into 2021 and a new presidential administration.

Gleason said the motivation to build a new headquarters the third one hes built in Little Rock was to have a building that would attract young talent as well as provide a campus with the potential for future growth. It is also a destination for the public to treat as a park.

The campus setting gives our employees and our customers and the community, for that matter, an opportunity to come outside and on a beautiful day work outside, he said. We think that fosters creativity and improves job satisfaction.

Designed by Little Rock-based Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, the Bank OZK headquarters serves as a staging place for a number of major art pieces. Gleason and his wife, Linda, have been dedicated art collectors for decades. The building is filled with paintings, sculptures, and blown glass from around the world.

Gleasons passion for art appreciation began in his teenage years from a Worlds Fair experience in San Antonio. In his professional career, he was afforded the opportunity to become a serious art collector. He never dreamed he would unknowingly be pitted against billionaire Alice Walton and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art through anonymous art bids.

We would go to sales and we had done our homework and we really liked this piece or really liked that piece. And we would bid on it, but we knew what it ought to sell for. And it would just go on up. There just seemed to be this escalating trend in prices in the market, Gleason recalled.

I was sitting in the sunroom one Sunday morning when the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published their article announcing Crystal Bridges. I think there were a dozen or 13 or 14 pictures in there that she had acquired and we were the underbidder on about half of them, Gleason said. I told my wife that morning, I said, Alice is going to buy everything great and most things good. And if we want to have a third-rate collection of American art, we just need to resolve to that or we can start collecting European art. So our personal collection went all European. By the time we were back collecting for the bank, the Alice Walton effect on prices had diminished. And once again, when good items came up, we were able to buy them at a fair price.

THE PANDEMIC, THE FUTUREGleason says the bank adapted internally to the COVID-19 pandemic and helped many clients with three- or six-month deferrals on loans. However, he said while some clients suffered during the pandemic, others have thrived.

The strange thing about COVID-19 is, economically, you have winners and you have losers. Some of our customers businesses have been boosted to unprecedented levels of business volume and activity and profitability because the services they provide or the projects theyre developing or the houses or buildings, or whatever are in higher demand than ever before, as a result of COVID-19. And then you have other people like people who are in the hotel and restaurant business who had been profoundly adversely affected by it, he said.

Bank OZK did about a half-billion dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Gleason said without the quick action from the federal government, the devastation for businesses and individuals would have been worse.

I think it [PPP] is like any program of that scale that is put together quickly. It accomplished a lot of things that it was intended to do. Its been a very useful program to keeping the country going through the disaster. But when you put together a program that is going to do that much and interact with that many tens and hundreds of thousands of people all across the country, youre going to have instances of fraud and abuse and misdirection of funds that go to a place that probably wasnt intended when everybody in Washington was crafting the legislation, he said. But I will give the Fed and our lawmakers and the president great credit. The response to the pandemic was very quick and very robust.

While he worries about the rising national debt, Gleason contends that more stimulus is needed to make it through the current COVID-19 challenge.

I do think we need another round of stimulus. Im not of the camp that it needs to be outlandishly large nor does it need to be anorexically skinny. I think theres probably a good middle ground, he said. I dont think we need another PPP program. I think we do need an extension of unemployment benefits at a more moderate rate for the millions of people that are going to be on unemployment much longer than their current benefits are designed to last.

You can watch a full tour of the Bank OZK headquarters and a longer interview with Gleason in the video below.

Link:
Bank OZK CEO George Gleason gives guided tour of new HQ, talks art and banking climate - talkbusiness.net

SELBYVILLE, Del., Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest report "Electric Water Heater Market by Product (Instant, Storage), By Capacity (< 30 Liters, 30-100 Liters, 100-250 Liters, 250-400 Liters, > 400 Liters), Application (Residential, Commercial), Regional Outlook, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast 2026", by Global Market Insights, Inc., the market valuation of electric water heaterwill cross $22 billion by 2026.

Increasing urban migration, rising middle-class income groups along with growing smart city construction projects coupled with ongoing building infrastructure development, is anticipated to boost the market value. Stringent government mandates and norms to replace the existing units with energy-efficient heating systems will further augment product penetration.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/680

Increasing deployment across the remote off-grid areas along with growing product adoption across various commercial establishments comprising hospitals, resorts and hotels, among others, will fuel the electric water heater market growth. Ongoing construction of green buildings coupled with robust expansion of the service sector will spur the industry value. Furthermore, the rising middle-class income group and increasing disposable incomes will further drive the market landscape.

The storage water heater market is projected to showcase significant growth during the forecast timeframe led by key features comprising higher mass flow, low operation cost and efficient heating capability. Growing consumer spending in the real estate sector coupled with ongoing refurbishment activities to develop the prevalent building infrastructure will strengthen the market revenue.

Flexible installation with the existing electrical circuit combined with easy repair & maintenance will accelerate the product deployment across residential applications. Ongoing government incentive programs to fund commercial infrastructure construction activities comprising airports, hospitals, and educational institutions is set to accelerate product acceptance. Additionally, growing demand for energy-efficient heating equipment coupled with increasing R&D activities and product advancements will positively enhance the market share.

Stringent mandates & norms concerning the growing carbon emissions coupled with the abundant availability of gas resources will influence the Europe electric water heatermarket size. According to the European Commission, the eco-Design and labelling directives regulate the water level standards along with the technological advancements with respect to smart control heaters. Increasing water heating requirements on account of extreme climatic conditions is set to further accelerate market expansion.

COVID-19 has led to a global pandemic that has affected the global economy, impacting numerous industries comprising construction and component manufacturing, among others. The industry manufacturers all around the world bear supply shortages owing to lockdowns imposed by countries.

Eminent players operating in the electric water heater market consist of A.O. Smith, Panasonic Corporation, Rheem Manufacturing, Havells India, Whirlpool Corporation and Bosch.

Request for customization of this research report @

https://www.gminsights.com/roc/680

Some major findings of the electric water heater market report include:

Table of Contents (ToC) of the report:

Chapter 3Electric Water Heater Market Insights

3.1 Industry segmentation

3.2 Industry ecosystem analysis

3.2.1 Vendor matrix

3.3 Innovation & sustainability

3.4 Regulatory landscape

3.5 COVID-19 impact on industry outlook, 2020 2026

3.5.1 Top 10 countries impacted by COVID-19

3.5.2 Optimistic view

3.5.3 Realistic view

3.5.4 Pessimistic view

3.6 Customer requirement

3.7 Entry barriers

3.8 Price trend analysis

3.8.1 Price trend analysis, by application

3.9 Industry impact forces

3.9.1 Growth drivers

3.9.2 Industry pitfalls & challenges

3.10 Growth potential analysis

3.11 Porter's analysis

3.12 Competitive landscape, 2019

3.13 PESTEL Analysis

Browse Complete Table of Contents (ToC) @

https://www.gminsights.com/toc/detail/electric-water-heater-market

About Global Market Insights, Inc.

Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.

Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free:1-888-689-0688Email:[emailprotected]

Related Imageselectric-water-heater-market.png Electric Water Heater Market Growth Predicted at 5% Through 2026: GMI Stringent mandates & norms concerning the growing carbon emissions coupled with abundant availability of gas resources will influence the European electric water heater market growth.

Related LinksSmart Water Metering Market Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) Market

SOURCE Global Market Insights, Inc.

More here:
Electric Water Heater Market Revenue to Cross USD 22 Bn by 2026: Global Market Insights, Inc. - PRNewswire

Orchids to

Batman at All Saints Apartments, once again our hero!

the good folks at B&B Plumbing for their timely response, acumen, professionalism and exceptional customer service to repair a water heater.

those who installed the lights in the trees on Washington Street! Our downtown is a wonderland!

Dr. Wagner, Chelsea Spartz, their support staff and all the nurses in the cancer center treatment room at CRH, a heartfelt thank you for your skills, your kindness and everything you do for us, from Chris and Fred Hales.

the person in the white pickup truck at McDonalds on State Road 46 for paying our breakfast food order on Wednesday, we will pay it forward.

Audio Source for amazing customer service.

the gentleman who bought our breakfast at Jills on Tuesday.

Kaylee and Robin at the Columbus Dialysis for all your help the last few weeks, from Tom and Judy.

Wade Meyers and Nicol at the prosecutors office, from Marie.

the meeting leaders who fail to show any concern about putting teachers back into the classroom.

those considering it a plausible and sensible idea to bring children back into schools during the worst wave of COVID-19 cases.

those who insist children are asymptomatic: where is the discussion on how to keep the adults and other students informed, safe, and healthy while teaching and learning in a possible infected environment?

those contributing more than $200 million for election challenge legal expenditures but didnt read the fine print only to discover that less than 5% of that was actually used for that purpose.

the federal elected official for his art of the deal trade deficit of more than $100 billion dollars than when he took office in 2016.

opinionated, negative people.

the federal elected official who right before our eyes with the tacit approval of his political party is trying to steal the election.

the leadership of the political party who are not standing up to say the federal elected officials words are untrue.

city elected officials who keep spending money on flower pots and benches.

the federal elected official supporters who are still drinking his Kool-aid.

Tony Beach, from John, Leta, Joyce and Donna.

ANOTHER beautiful morning

Original post:
Around Town December 17 - The Republic

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Andrew J. Whelton, Purdue University; Amisha Shah, Purdue University, and Kristofer P. Isaacson, Purdue University

(THE CONVERSATION) When wildfires swept through the hills near Santa Cruz, California, in 2020, they released toxic chemicals into the water supplies of at least two communities. One sample found benzene, a carcinogen, at 40 times the states drinking water standard.

Our testing has now confirmed a source of these chemicals, and its clear that wildfires arent the only blazes that put drinking water systems at risk.

In a new study, we heated plastic water pipes commonly used in buildings and water systems to test how they would respond to nearby fires.

The results, released Dec. 14, show how easily wildfires could trigger widespread drinking water contamination. They also show the risks when only part of a building catches fire and the rest remains in use. In some of our tests, heat exposure caused more than 100 chemicals to leach from the damaged plastics.

As environmentalengineers, we advise communities on drinking water safety and disaster recovery. The western U.S.s extreme wildfire seasons are putting more communities at risk in ways they might not realize. Just this year, more than 52,000 fires destroyed more than 17,000 structures many of them homes connected to water systems. Heat-damaged plastic pipes can continue to leach chemicals into water over time, and ridding a water system of the contamination can take months and millions of dollars.

A baffling source of contamination

The cause of drinking water contamination after wildfires has baffled authorities since it was discovered in 2017.

After the 2017 Tubbs Fire and 2018 Camp Fire, chemicals were found in buried water distribution networks, some at levels comparable to hazardous waste. Contamination was not in the water treatment plants or drinking water sources. Some homeowners found drinking water contamination in their plumbing.

Tests revealed volatile organic compounds had reached levels that posed immediate health risks in some areas, including benzene levels that exceeded the EPA hazardous waste threshold of 500 parts per billion. Benzene was found at a level 8,000 times the federal drinking water limit and 200 times the level that causes immediate health effects. Those effects can include dizziness, headaches, skin and throat irritation and even unconsciousness, among other risks.

This year, wildfires triggered drinking water contamination in at least two moreCalifornia drinking water systems, and testing is still underway in other communities.

The problem with plastics

Plastics are ubiquitous in drinking water systems. They are often less expensive to install than metal alternatives, which hold up against high heat but are vulnerable to corrosion.

Today, water pipes under the street and those that deliver water to customers water meters are increasingly made of plastic. Pipes that transport the drinking water from the meter to the building are often plastic. Water meters also sometimes contain plastics. Private wells can have plastic well casings as well as buried plastic pipes that deliver well water to plastic storage tanks and buildings.

Pipes inside buildings that carry hot and cold water to faucets can also be plastic, as can faucet connectors, water heater dip tubes, refrigerator and ice maker tubing.

To determine if plastic pipes could be responsible for drinking water contamination after wildfires, we exposed commonly available plastic pipes to heat. The temperatures were similar to the heat from a wildfire that radiates toward buildings but isnt enough to cause the pipes to catch fire.

We tested several popular plastic drinking water pipes, including high-density polyethylene (HDPE), crosslinked polyethylene (PEX), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and chlorinated polyvinylchloride (CPVC).

Benzene and other chemicals were generated inside the plastic pipes just by heating. After the plastics cooled, these chemicals then leached into the water. It happened at temperatures as low as 392 degrees Fahrenheit. Fires can exceed 1,400 degrees.

While researchers previously discovered that plastics could release benzene and other chemicals into the air during heating, this new study shows heat-damaged plastics can directly leach dozens of toxic chemicals into water.

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What to do about contamination

A community can stop water contamination from spreading if damaged pipes can be quickly isolated. Without isolation, the contaminated water may move to other parts of the water system, across town or within a building, causing further contamination.

During the CZU Lightning Complex Fire near Santa Cruz, one water utility had water distribution system valves that seemed to have contained the benzene-contaminated water.

Rinsing heat-damaged pipes wont always remove the contamination. While helping Paradise, California, recover from the 2018 Camp Fire disaster, we and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that some plastic pipes would have required more than 100 days of nonstop water rinsing to be safe for use. Instead, officials decided to replace the pipes.

Even if a home is undamaged, we recommend testing the water in private wells and service lines if fire was on the property. If contamination is found, we recommend finding and removing the heat-damaged plastic contamination sources. Some plastics can slowly leach chemicals like benzene over time, and this could go on for months to years, depending on the scale of contamination and water use. Boiling the water doesnt help and can release benzene into the air.

Avoiding widespread contamination

Communities can take steps to avoid contaminated drinking water in the event of a fire. Water companies can install network isolation valves and backflow prevention devices, to prevent contaminated water moving from a damaged building into the utility pipe network.

Insurance companies can use pricing to encourage property owners and cities to install fire-resistant metal pipes instead of plastic. Rules for keeping vegetation away from meter boxes and buildings can also lessen the chance heat reaches plastic water system components.

Homeowners and communities rebuilding after fires now have more information about the risks as they consider whether to use plastic pipes. Some, like the town of Paradise, have chosen to rebuild with plastic and accept the risks. In 2020, the city had another wildfire scare and residents were forced to evacuate again.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/plastic-pipes-are-polluting-drinking-water-systems-after-wildfires-its-a-risk-in-urban-fires-too-150923.

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Plastic pipes are polluting drinking water systems after wildfires it's a risk in urban fires, too - Alton Telegraph

Now that I had already installed gigabit pro and generated the first bill, it was time to finally migrate from Verizon to Xfinity Mobile because:

The key thing to remember here is that I waited for the Xfinity Gigabit Pro to be fully installed before starting the process.

What I liked:

This finishes the initial part which was straightforward. Now comes the porting part which is not easy. I had to chat with Verizon to get that part going. Here is how it went:

One PIN is good enough for all lines

The PIN can be generated from either phone if it expires

It is ok if one number is ported first and I generate the PIN again after a few weeks to port over the next number from the next phone

Remember that if you leave Xfinity Internet, they will add a $20 to your monthly bill. I wont because I have Xfinity Gigabit Pro

Even removing the two Apple watches from the plan, my Verizon bill is:

~ $85 per month for 5 gb on Verizon

With Xfinity Mobile I will be paying ~ $15 per month for 1 gb internet (even that we dont use now at home). With $250 paid over 24 months for a 128gb iPhone 12, the bill comes to:

~ $42 per month with 1 new phone for 1 gb on Xfinity Mobile

We use around 8 gb per month (that is the max we have ever used no matter how much we have tried to use because we are not crazy enough to stream audio or video on cellular) when we go back to work, so that would be $60 per month (shared). So total with the phone at that time would be $60 + $24 = $84

~ $84 per month with 1 new phone for 10 gb on Xfinity Mobile

If one more person joins the plan later, with a new phone, we would still use under 10 gb (I know how much we use), so it would still be:

~ $108 per month, with 2 new phones for 10 gb on Xfinity Mobile

Only one of us use cellular data a lot, if that person moves to unlimited at $45 per month for that line and the other person uses 3 gb per month at $30 per month, that would be $45 + $30 + $24 = $99 per month

~ $99 per month with 1 new phone for 3 gb per month on one line, unlimited on other line on Xfinity Mobile

To be continued

Read the rest here:
How to migrate your iPhone and Apple Watch to Xfinity Mobile from Verizon after getting Xfinity - Medium

Cooking is part of many holiday plans. But be aware that the State Fire Marshal's Office is seeing an increase in kitchen-related fires.Kitchen fires, along with fires related to home heating, are the most common types of calls the Morgan City Fire Department responds to at this time of year.The most important thing a homeowner can do is have a smoke detector, Morgan City Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said Wednesday.Cockerham said unattended cooking is something that is common in fire calls they respond to, with people saying they were just gone simply for a few minutes.Thats all it takes sometimes, he said, noting that leaving something unattended on the stove for five minutes or forgetting it in the oven can lead to a fire. It may seem like five minutes, but its probably longer than five minutes.The State Fire Marshals Office urges people not to leave the home when cooking and not to leave the kitchen when cooking using a stove.Along with those steps comes the smoke detector.Smoke detectors save countless, countless lives, Cockerham said. Thats one of the best things anybody can have.As of Dec. 11, State Fire Marshal Chief H. Butch Browning reported that 70 people statewide had died this year due to fires.While that is currently less than the fatality counts of the past few years, its too many, and we dont want to see anymore, Browning said in a recent news release.For those unable to install a smoke detector due to disability, etc., the State Fire Marshals Office has the Operation Save-A-Life program, which works with local fire departments and district to install smoke alarms for free.Cockerham said his department can install those locally if Morgan City residents need them.To register online with the State Fire Marshals Office for the program, visit http://www.lasfm.org.As for heating, Cockerham said a pre-winter checkup on heaters is a good idea.Its always good to have your heater checked out before winter time gets here just as a safety precaution to see if its burning right, to see if its not full of dust, he said.Another crucial element for safety is a carbon monoxide detector, Cockerham said.We get several calls a year with carbon monoxide, the chief said. People having detectors and they work, and sometimes you dont even realize that youre breathing that stuff.Fire extinguishers also are good to have in a home, the chief said.As for Christmas decorations, Cockerham says they should be checked to ensure wiring doesnt have any frays. While he said power strips can be used, Cockerham recommended only using one that is both heavy duty and is approved by Underwriters Laboratories.Not one of these small ones that you buy, and theyre cheap, he said.However, Cockerham said do not overload the strip.He also said that its never a good idea to leave Christmas decorations on overnight and to make sure you water your Christmas tree daily if it is live.If you keep water in it, keep constant moisture in it, its less likely to catch a fire if something does happen, Cockerham said. That dont mean it wont, but its just less likely.If residents do have smoke in their house, however, Cockerham urged them to evacuate everyone and call the fire department to handle the situation.It may be a light fixture. It may still be something minor, but if you dont know where its at, then the best thing on the safety side is to get out of the house, he said.

The rest is here:
Staying safe at home: Winter increases the need to practice home fire safety - StMaryNow.com

In 2015, I married Will. In 2019, we finally took our honeymoon. It wasnt the result of four years of planning. Rather, after letting life get in the way for too long, I found a crazy deal on flights to London and booked them. I didnt consult Will, but I knew from his endearingly deep appreciation for grime music, Cockney rhyming slang, and Guy Ritchie movies, itd be a trip of a lifetime for him. Carried away with the excitement of surprising Will, I concocted a plan where Id take him to the airport under the guise of a trip to Chicago. Then, once we arrived at the airport Id declare we were headed to London!

After I realized that was insane, we talked and decided to make it a honeymoon of Wills design, since I normally plan everything. He wanted to drive around and visit mountain bike trails. Though Im supremely confident on pavementin another life I was a messenger, and in a normal year I race Pro/1/2 fieldsdirt, and the obstacles that come with it, was a new challenge for me. But wed recently both started mountain biking, and I was excited to try out my skills in a new place with my ride partner for life. We also booked a camper van to fulfill our desire to try van lifeand combine the travel and accommodation costs. Will picked the destinations and I planned the route. Wed make our way across the south of England to visit the U.K.s Whistler, BikePark Wales, hitting quaint towns with trails along the way.

Im still not sure if I should be annoyed or honored that he thinks so highly of me.

We landed in London, picked up Bonny the Van, an adorable Citron Relay complete with a bed, kitchen, and well-secured succulents, then unpacked our bikes and immediately broke them. Short on sleep and low on food, I had the bright idea to shorten my dropper post cable before we started our journey. Will followed my lead, and we were so distracted by how sick our bikes were going to look with more aesthetically pleasing cable lengths that we didnt notice we hadnt eaten a single thing all day. With our brains short-circuiting from fatigue and hunger, we both botched what should have been very simple jobs. I cut my cable too short, and Will removed both his cable and housing to a point where he was unable to reinstall either. We surrendered, decided to figure it out after wed eaten, loaded up Bonny, and started the journey west.

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

After a first stop at Stonehengemy one request for the tripwe made our way to the nearby Croft Mountain Bike Trail in Swindon and parked for the night. Will was adamant about not riding until he had a functioning dropper post. With a shrug, I put on a headlamp and took my first-ever night ride alone. Riding at night wasnt nearly as terrifying as Id always imagined. I love the peace of night rides on the road, but the fear of sharp rocks, pointy sticks, and hungry predators swirled as I approached the wooded trails. (I figure in the daytime, at least Ill see them coming.) Something did actually leap out at merepeatedlyand even if it was consistently my own shadow from the headlamp, I remained convinced there was a large animal pouncing out of every corner. At least the adrenaline rush was a lot of fun.

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Croft was reminiscent of our local trails, South Rockdale Park in Conyers, Georgia. They were flowy and relatively flat, nothing too steep in either direction. The mild jumps, occasional roots, and (barely) elevated bridges were within my ability, but also near my limit. I got back to the van, feeling exhilarated and confident. Maybe this whole trip would be a little easier than I expected.

The next day we hunted for a bike shop to fix our mess. At our first stop I found a new dropper post cable I could install. But Will needed his bottom bracket removed, and shop after shop informed us that they were too swamped to fix his bike today, tomorrow, or anytime during our trip. We even took our chances on a Google listing that turned out to be a friendly and confused guy named Phil fixing bikes out of his home. He took the bike in only to bring it back outside minutes later to explain this was beyond his ability. The situation was too ridiculous to get angry. Wed let jet lag and empty stomachs nearly derail our honeymoon.

Will and I complement each other in that rarely does one thing stress us both out. Really, Will only gets anxious over running out of gasI can live on E. I was annoyed at his insistence on a working dropper post, but as the problem-solver and usually anxious one of us, I kept making calls and googling shops. Meanwhile, with a full tank in Bonny, Will was unfazed. Wed simply either bike the U.K.s greatest trails or have a different trip.

Finally, the Swindon Cycles Superstore lived up to its name, took mercy on our pathetic souls, and got Will up and riding the next day. It meant wed have to change our plans a bit, but wed get to ride bikes!

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

After a few loops around Croft, we loaded up the van and headed west to our next stop, Woodchester Cycle Trails. We were expecting something at least on par with Croft. We found a not-quite-400-meter pump track.

It turned out to be exactly what I neededa chance to nail my fundamental skills and receive an impromptu pep talk. A local boy around 9 or 10 years old took a break from practicing his pumps and jumps to admire our bikes, tell me I looked like a pro, and ask every question that popped into his head: Where are you from? What do you do? We bonded over our lack of confidence and rode together, pushing each other a little bit more every lap.

What he and friends that joined later lacked in technical pointers, they made up for with cheerleading. I can handle a bike, but Im still scared of demolishing myself off a jump. The kids insisted on teaching Will and me how to jump off a berm. And while their advice was no, go faster! it eventually stuck and I was getting both tires in the air.

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

I still didnt understand Wills insistence on an operational dropper post. The trails we rode back home were all doable without one, and Croft was no different. But I trusted him.

The next day we reached BikePark Wales. I was in shock. Id never experienced anything like it. Even just the prep to ridesigning waivers, buying lift tickets, and attempting to wrap my mind around the billboard of a trail mapwas overwhelming. I followed Will onto the shuttle van, dazed. That trail map clued me in that this was a place where you follow gravity, like when Ive gone snowboarding, but I was still processing what Id signed up for. As the van ride kept going up, around a turn, and up again, I became aware of a few more details that werent like the mountain biking I was used to. As I glanced around at the other riders in the van, I noticed they were staring at us. We already stuck out like sore thumbs as Black cyclists in rural U.K., but I also saw a lot of full-face helmets and all sorts of padding. There I was in my road-racing kitmy only protective gear was a helmet and glasses.

It was only once we reached the dirt lot at the top that I fully realized the dire situation Id gotten myself into: We were at a downhill bike park and there were no beginner trails. I could have done a bit more research beforehand, but I was trying this new thing where I wasnt in control of everything. I trusted Will. But Will trusted back a little too much, like that I knew where we were going and that Id made the conscious decision to throw myself down a gravity trail with almost no protective gear. Even he had knee pads. Im still not sure if I should be annoyed or honored that he thinks so highly of me.

My roadie mentality told me that rocks, gravel, and roots were obstacles to be avoided at all costs. I had to relax and let my mountain bike deliberately roll over them.

We settled on the easiest-looking intermediate trail, and I did my best to follow Wills lines. Whenever it seemed like too much, I took it slow. I dont have the ego to get myself hurt when I have no idea what Im doing. The downhill features, the berms, rock gardens, and jumps, mimicked those of the trails Id done before, now just bigger and faster. I remembered to breathe, look where I wanted to go, pedal through the berms, and trust my bike. My roadie mentality told me that rocks, gravel, and roots were obstacles to be avoided at all costs. I had to relax and let my mountain bike deliberately roll over them. Wills insistence on a dropper post was making more and more sense. And now on the steepest trail Id ever ridden, I learned that going downhill made it even easier to roll over things. As the adrenaline started to build, I allowed myself to ease off the brakes enough to pick up speed.

I reached the bottom, put my heart back into my chest, and promptly made my way to the gear shop, where I scooped up the first elbow and knee pads that fit from the bargain box. I knew I had more runs in me.

I never imagined my honeymoon would be a weeklong intensive mountain bike training camp. I learned so much in just a few days and walked away with way more experience, confidence, and vocabularyand not just bike park. Our adventure of errors also built more trust in our relationship. Despite feeling very unprepared for BikePark Walesand wishing Will had encouraged me to bring protective gearIll admit that Will was right to feel that I was capable of the challenge. It was definitely not the trip I would have planned for myself, but it gave me a new appreciation for the U.K., van life, mountain bikes, and going with the flow. But Will is also never again allowed to plan anything sight unseen. I will ask all the questions.

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

HOW TO TRY #VANLIFE

With no established Airbnb of camper vans, city-specific rentals are common. But the largest renter in North America is Escape Campervans, with fleets in 13 cities starting at $40 per day. Mileage, and gear like bedding and a kitchen kit, cost extra.

Wed done our fair share of camping and can get creative. We started a system of peeing in empty pasta sauce jars, but because we werent exactly in the backcountry, we made friends with the bathrooms at 24-hour supermarkets.

Bonny had a water heater for warm showers and it was glorious, but thats not standard. If your van lacks a shower, there are three options: buy a solar shower plus pop-up shower tent; park at a campground, like KOA, with amenities; or get a national gym membership, such as Planet Fitness.

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I Thought I Knew My Spouse. Then We Honeymooned at a Bike Park - Bicycling