Free Republic

And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased, and lifted up the Ark on high from the earth. For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all the face of the Earth: and the Ark was carried upon the waters. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the earth. AND ALL THE HIGH MOUNTAINS UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN WERE COVERED. (Genesis 7:17~20)

On the day the North American Monetary Union is created--perhaps on January 1, 2010--Canada, the United States, and Mexico will replace their national currencies with the amero.1 On that day, all American dollar notes and coins will be exchanged at the rate of one US dollar for one amero (). Canadian and Mexican currencies will be exchanged at rates that leave unchanged their nations' competitiveness and wealth. In all three countries, the prices of goods and services, wages, assets, and liabilities will be simultaneously converted into ameros at the rates at which currency notes are exchanged.

SACRAMENTO – Four years after electricity prices soared and blackouts rolled across California, the state is in danger of another energy crisis – this one involving gasoline and natural gas as well, said a draft report Friday. The state is a captive of its own geographic and regulatory isolation, separated by miles and mountains from many refineries and fossil fuel sources. Moreover, the state sets stricter fuel standards to trim air pollution, driving up prices and limiting availability as is evident in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, said the California Energy Commission. "California's way of life is threatened by its...

Siberians fear minus 30 is too warm for comfort By Julius Strauss in Yuchyugay (Filed: 05/03/2005) The afternoon high is a little below minus 30 degrees Celsius an hour outside the small Siberian settlement of Yuchyugay, even in the pale winter sun. But at this time of the year, locals say with a frown, it should be a steady minus 50. As cars roll across the wide, frozen rivers, traces of running water show where the current runs so fast that the ice melts, a phenomenon, the locals insist, that should only occur much later in the season. Environmental research...