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Research on the water electrolyte: Empa researcher Ruben-Simon Kühnel connecting a test cell to the charger with the concentrated saline solution. The stability of the system is determined in several charging and discharging cycles. Credit: Empa ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Water could form the basis for future particularly inexpensive rechargeable batteries. Empa researchers have succeeded in doubling the electrochemical stability of water with a special saline solution. This takes us one step closer to using the technology commercially. In the quest to find safe, low-cost batteries for the future, eventually we have to ask ourselves a question: Why not simply use water as...

Barbra Streisand took to Twitter on Thursday to share her thoughts about Trump and the GOP’s new tax plan. The actress, who is known as a frequent critic of the Trump administration, explained that the new tax plan is a trap that is deliberately meant to harm those who live in blue states, athletes, the middle class and Hollywood. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that blue states, athletes, actors, writers, producers, and directors will be punished by this scam of a tax bill, where billionaires get billions, and the middle class gets bupkis (practically nothing) – and an eventual...

The people who collect taxes in New York are acting fast to help taxpayers try to get ahead of a pitfall for homeowners in the new federal tax overhaul. The tax bill, which passed earlier this week, is confusing. Here's what we know: The bill will no longer allow taxpayers to deduct more than $10,000 in state and local income and property taxes from their federal income taxes. At the same time, it doubles the standard deduction to $12,000 for a single taxpayer and $24,000 for a family. That means more people will no longer itemize their taxes. But...

Limiting the SALT deduction could affect as many as 6 million Californians—one of every three taxpaying households in the state, according to Michael Cohen, director of the state Department of Finance. The average deduction for property taxes is about $6,000, he has told the state congressional delegation, and the separate deduction for state and local income taxes comes to nearly $16,000 per return. One option that could be considered by the Legislature would be to redefine state and local taxes as charitable contributions, which remain fully deductible under the GOP tax proposals. The idea isn’t as implausible as it seems:...

The tax overhaul would raise the taxes of some earners and make it harder for states to do the same. The ultimate effect would be to decrease governments’ ability to raise taxes and increase spending – essentially reining in state budgeteers. That is an advantage to conservatives who have long sought to advance fiscal conservatism at the state level and who see the state and local tax deduction as a subsidy for high-spending, high-taxing states – that is, blue states. “This was our point from the start,” said Jonathan Williams, chief economist at the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group...

The Republican tax overhaul will not be the punishment expected by many residents of high-tax, Democrat-voting areas. Many of those who have the most to lose from the elimination of state and local tax deductions will actually come out ahead under either the House or Senate versions of the bills. Many residents of places like New York City, which couple high taxes with high costs, fear the provisions of both bills that would eliminate or reduce the deductions they receive for the income and property taxes they pay locally. The Senate bill would preserve a property tax deduction up to...

If you have ever wondered why leaders of liberal cities and states become giddy at any new spending opportunity – investments into light rail infrastructure, social programs for illegal aliens, public schools that look like palaces, billion-dollar sports stadiums – it is not because they are more public-minded than Republicans, or possess an innate sense of altruism. It is because such projects get them re-elected, especially when people other than their constituents are picking up the tab. And, thanks largely to the State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction for federal income tax purposes, that is exactly what is happening. In...

New Jersey is potentially holding off hiking its income tax due to the possibility of the state and local tax deduction being eliminated in the GOP tax plan, according to the president of the New Jersey Senate. “I’m actually very concerned for the people of this state if this Trump tax happens, and I think we’re going to have to re-evaluate everything once that happens,” Senate President Steve Sweeney said Nov. 15 in reference to hiking the state’s tax rate on the highest earners from 8.97 percent to 10.75 percent. The Senate tax plan, which was voted out of the...

The percentage of federal individual income tax filers claiming a deduction for state and local taxes paid in 2015, ranked by state: 1. Maryland: 45.7 percent 2. Connecticut: 41.3 percent 3. New Jersey: 41.2 percent 4. Virginia: 37.3 percent 5. Massachusetts: 36.9 percent 6. Oregon: 36.0 percent 7. Utah: 35.3 percent 8. Minnesota: 34.7 percent 9. New York: 34.5 percent 10. California: 34.4 percent 11. Georgia: 32.8 percent 12. Rhode Island: 32.8 percent 13. Colorado: 32.5 percent 14. Delaware: 31.6 percent 15. Illinois: 31.3 percent 16. Wisconsin: 31.0 percent 17. New Hampshire: 30.9 percent 18. Washington: 29.9 percent 19. Iowa:...

Tax Reform: What do you call a tax break that delivers 88% of the benefits to upper-income families and subsidizes rich states at the expense of poor ones? If you're a Democrat, you call it a sacred cow. One provision of the Republican's tax-cutting plan that has drawn intense opposition from Democrats is the elimination of state and local tax deductions for those who itemize. ... Fewer than 22% of tax filers even claim the state and local tax deduction, and the vast majority of these are higher-income families. While 78% of those with incomes above $200,000 claim the deduction,...

Policymakers want to unleash economic growth in America by fixing our broken tax system. Or so they say. Now that the conversation has moved beyond just lowering tax rates, pro-growth tax reform is in danger of losing the stuff that actually makes it pro-growth. That’s because policymakers are caving to big-government advocates and other special interests. Here are the top five worst ideas that would surely dampen pro-growth tax reform. 1. Failing to enact full expensing. Full expensing—allowing businesses to deduct the full cost of their investments when they incur those costs, instead of spreading them out over many years—is...

Pass the Salt and Put on the Lights - A Homily for the 5th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • February 5, 2017 • In the gospel today the Lord describes metaphorically (i.e. figuratively) what a Christian is and what He expects of us. Note five things about what He says I. The Definitiveness of his Proclamation – The Text says You are the Salt of the earth….You are the light of the World…..But if salt goes flat it is good for nothing…..No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket.The Lord is definitive in...

What Does Jesus Mean When He Says That We Will Be Salted with Fire? Msgr. Charles Pope • July 24, 2016 • I was recently asked (through my Our Sunday Visitor column) about one of Jesus’ lesser known sayings. I would go into a little more detail in today’s post. Here is the passage:Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another (Mark 9:49-50).Some argue that these were separate sayings that were just stitched together,...

Scientists, including those from Northeastern University in the U.S., developed carbon nanotube pores that can exclude salt from seawater. The team found that water permeability in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with diameters of 0.8 nanometre significantly exceeds that of wider carbon nanotubes. The nanotubes, hollow structures made of carbon atoms in a unique arrangement, are more than 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. The super smooth inner surface of the nanotube is responsible for their remarkably high water permeability, while the tiny pore size blocks larger salt ions. “We found that carbon nanotubes with diameters smaller than a nanometre bear...

Salt or Bust! A Consideration of the Lord’s Uncompromising Stance in Calling Us the Salt of the Earth Msgr. Charles Pope • June 7, 2016 • In the Gospel today (Tuesday of the 10th week) the Lord describes metaphorically what a Christian is and what He expects of us.You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the World … But if salt goes flat it is good for nothing … No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket.Note the metaphor of salt: You are either salt, or you are nothing—in fact,...

Salt pork was a very popular meat in the 18th century. In this video we explain how to prepare you own.

Watch out for moose who like to lick vehicles. That's a warning from the Alberta government for people visiting Peter Lougheed Provincial Park about 130 kilometres west of Calgary. Alberta Parks says moose are on the trails at Chester Lake and Burstall Pass and are coming into the trailhead parking lots to lick salt off the sides of vehicles.

Ethiopian salt miners brave 140 degree Fahrenheit temperatures while working on the hottest place in earth earning on average £5-a-day. The salt mines, situated in the Afar triangle, stretch across 60,000 square miles and at their lowest point are more than 300 feet below sea level. Professional travel photographer and videographer Joel Santos travelled to the area to capture the dry beauty of this brutal expanse of land.

Scientists have discovered a new way to attack Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. The team, from Imperial College London, have revealed how the bacteria regulates its salt levels. The bacteria are a common source of food poisoning and are resistant to heat and high salt concentrations, which are used for food preparation and storage. The team hope to use this knowledge to develop a treatment that prevents food poisoning by ensuring all bacteria in food are killed. They are also investigating whether these findings could aid the development of a treatment for patients that would work alongside conventional antibiotics. Staphylococcus aureus bacterium...

The proposed guidelines, released today, recommend sodium goals by restaurant product or menu item, 150 categories in total, designed with a salt intake goal for Americans in mind. “Many Americans want to reduce sodium in their diets, but that’s hard to do when much of it is in everyday products we buy in stores and restaurants,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said. “Today’s announcement is about putting power back in the hands of consumers, so that they can better control how much salt is in the food they eat and improve their health.” The Center for Science in...