Saturday Afternoon Stuff

Some tidbits I've come across recently:

• The S&P500 is up at an annualized rate of 20% since Barack Obama's inaugural.
• "The U.S., once the world’s leader in the percentage of young people with college degrees, has fallen to 12th among 36 developed nations." -- Bob Herbert, today's NY Times.
• An amazing catch where the centerfielder just about leaves the field for a hot dog.
• Arctic sea ice extent averaged for July was the second lowest in the satellite record, after 2007.
• How they lie: In an article on rightsidenews.com arguing against cap-n-trade, Paul Driessen of CFACT writes: "And for what? Cars and power plants are already 90% cleaner than their 1970s era predecessors." Of course (as I'm sure Driessen well knows), it's traditional auto pollutants that have decreased over time, not the CO2 content of gasoline. That's remained completely unchanged. Do people really think they can get away with such claims?
• David Biello: "Two German Shepherds kept as pets in Europe or the U.S. use more resources in a year than the average person living in Bangladesh."
• Haze in the Williamette Valley here in Oregon is being blamed on the wildfires in Russia.