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They came out without warning. They seemed to have been dumped off by the busload (both short and long). They clogged our ER triage area all night long with non-acute complaints. They also filled the ER treatment areas with the high-acuity consequences of their stupidity. They caused highly-educated and battle-hardened ER doctors and nurses to bang their heads against the walls in frustration and dismay. They became fodder for endless hours of break room stories for months to come. The ER was awash in knotheads. On the night about which I write, it seemed like the Great Big Knothead Circus...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Jill Cody used to feel guilty whenever she drove her car or flew on an airplane. She worried about pumping heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. But the San Jose professor found a way to ease her conscience. She paid a San Francisco company called TerraPass to offset emissions from her car and air travel by investing in wind power and reducing farm pollution. "I'm part of the solution, not the problem," said Cody, who sports a TerraPass decal on the decade-old Lexus she drives about 6,000 miles a year. "Now...