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Environment

Fracking the Suburbs: An Explosive Combination?

truth-out.org 1

Susanne:

From the page: "âoeI think this is a bold move for these companies, to drill in suburbs, but they feel empowered to do it,â says Elisa Young, founder of the anti-coal activist group MeigsCAN in Meigs County, Ohio. âoeThe landmen quietly come in, get all their ducks in a row, and then they tell you, âThis is a done deal. You canât do anything about it.ââ

Young notes that environmental injustice has come as a shock for many of Broadview Heightâs mostly white, middle-class population. For many of them, she says, âoeItâs their first experience at seeing how these industries really operate.â"

Posted on May 18, 2013

Environment

sustainableprosperity: Why Sharing News About...

tumblr.com 14

Susanne:

"If it bleeds, it leads." Ever hear that maxim of journalism? If you want readers, go with the scary, gruesome story--that's what gets hearts pumping and grabs attention. But what grabs our attention can also scare the heck out of us and shut us down.

Remember, what we do and say doesn't just influence our friends, but also our friends' friends and our friends' friends' friends.

Scary news might "sell," but we can also feel so bombarded with the negative that our "why bother?" reflex kicks in. Fear stimuli go straight to the brain's amygdala, Harvard Medical School's Srinivasan Pillay explains. But, he adds, "because hope seems to travel in the same dungeons [parts of the brain] as fear, it might be a good soldier to employ if we want to meet fear."

So let's get better at using hope. It's a free energy source.

Hope isn't blind optimism. It's a sense of possibility--delight in the new and joy in creativity that characterizes our species. So let's break the good-news ban and become storytellers about real breakthroughs. (Below, don't miss my top ten go-to's.) I'm convinced that in the process, we will strengthen our capacity to incorporate and act on the bad news as well.

Posted on May 16, 2013

Environment

Will Ohio's Landfills Become a Dumping Ground for Radioactive...

nationofchange.org 0

Susanne:

From the page: "Radioactive waste has no place in our landfills, and it certainly has no place in a budget bill,â said Jed Thorp, Conservation Program Manager of the Ohio Sierra Club. The only way natural gas can compete with energy efficiency and renewable energy is if the industry can cheaply dispose of tons of radioactive waste."

Environmentalists warn the provision is fatally flawed because it fails to account for the basic fact that radium and uranium are highly soluble in water and eventually will leach into the landfill's water collection system and trucked to a municipal wastewater treatment plant.

They also contend the amendment would undermine the good intent of a separate law change proposed by ODNR to effectively prohibit the discharge to a river of fracking wastewater or âoebrineâ from oil and gas wells that has been treated in a wastewater treatment plant. The Kasich administration has been trying to shut down such an operation in Warren, Ohio.

The environmental groups contend that, as rainwater percolates through a landfill, radioactive constituents will separate from the materials with which they have been mixed and become part of the landfill's liquid leachate material. As such, the once-diluted radioactive material will revert to its original state, exceeding the federal limit of five pico curries per gram of material.

Landfill operators typically collect the leachate and transport it to a municipal wastewater treatment plant for treatment. Because dissolved radium and uranium cannot effectively be removed from water during the waste water treatment process, this radioactive material eventually will be discharged in "treated" water and into area rivers."

Posted on May 15, 2013

Environment

Organic Farmers on Alert Following Monsanto Ruling

commondreams.org 795

Susanne:

Monday's unanimous Supreme Court ruling against Indiana soybean farmer Vernon Hugh Bowman in favor of agriculture giant Monsanto has organic farmers on alert.

(Photo: via OSGATA.org) "I think all [...] farmers and citizens should be concerned," said Jim Gerritsen, president of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA).

OSGATA along with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is embroiled in a similar suit against the seed giant. The organic groups are suing Monsanto in a "pre-emptive strike" on behalf of organic farmers to protect against accusations of patent infringement in the case that their organic crops become contaminated by genetically modified (GM) seeds.

Such contamination can easily occur when GM seeds or pollen are carried by winds or pollinators to adjacent organic farm fields."

Posted on May 15, 2013

Energy Industry

Could New York run on renewable energy alone?

salon.com 717

Susanne:

From the page: "Three times now, Mark Jacobson has gone out on the same limb. In 2009 he and co-author Mark Delucchi published a cover story in Scientific American that showed how the entire world could get all of its energy â" fuel as well as electricity â" from wind, water and solar sources by 2030. No coal or oil, no nuclear or natural gas. The tale sounded infeasible â" except that Jacobson, from Stanford University, and Delucchi, from the University of California, Davis, calculated just how many hydroelectric dams, wave-energy systems, wind turbines, solar power plants and rooftop photovoltaic installations the world would need to run itself completely on renewable energy.The article sparked a spirited debate on our web site, and it also sparked a larger debate between forward-looking energy planners and those who would rather preserve the status quo. The duo went on to publish a detailed study in the journal Energy Policy that also called out numbers for a U.S. strategy. Two weeks ago Jacobson and a larger team, including Delucchi, did it again. This time Jacobson showed in much finer detail how New York stateâs residential, transportation, industrial, and heating and cooling sectors could all be powered by wind, water and sun, or âoeWWS,â as he calls it. His mix: 40 percent offshore wind (12,700 turbines), 10 percent onshore wind (4,020 turbines), 10 percent concentrated solar panels (387 power plants), 10 percent photovoltaic cells (828 facilities), 6 percent residential solar (five million rooftops), 12 percent government and commercial solar (500,000 rooftops), 5 percent geothermal (36 plants), 5.5 percent hydroelectric (6.6 large facilities), 1 percent tidal energy (2,600 turbines) and 0.5 percent wave energy (1,910 devices). In the process, New York would reduce power demand by 37 percent, largely because the new energy sources are more efficient than the old ones. And because no fossil fuels would have to be purchased or burned, consumer costs would be similar to what they are today, and the state would eliminate a huge portion of its carbon dioxide emissions."

Posted on May 14, 2013

Government

Vermont House passes GMO-labeling law

grist.org 0

Susanne:

A historic but cautious attempt to force food manufacturers to label products containing genetically modified ingredients passed the Vermont House by an overwhelming 107-37 vote last week.

If approved by the state Senate and signed by the governor, the bill, H. 112, would make Vermont the first state in the nation to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

But the measure likely wouldn't go into effect for two years, and it would not apply to meat or dairy. That means it would not mandate the labeling of AquaBounty fish, a transgenic Atlantic salmon that could receive U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval this year. And it would not affect Vermont's celebrated dairy industry.

Posted on May 14, 2013

Environment

Why Kinder Morgan's B.C. pipeline plans will fail

rabble.ca 58

Susanne:

From the page: "If this Texas-based Big Oil billionaire's company wants to turn the Vancouver Harbour into its very own tar sands oil gateway, then they will need to deal with the gatekeepers, the people of British Columbia.

There is a reason this is the birthplace of David Suzuki and Greenpeace. B.C. is an ecological wonderland and its people are passionate defenders of the natural world. It's poetic that this is the last line of defence between the tar sands and the Asia-Pacific region's unhealthy oil cravings.

It doesn't matter how much money Richard Kinder has, he is messing with the wrong people. Richard Kinder has met his match."

Posted on May 10, 2013

Banking

Give students the same interest rates on loans as the big...

signon.org 13

Susanne:

Give students the same interest rates on loans as the big banks

By Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator (Contact)

To be delivered to: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate.

Petition Statement.-
Wall Street banks - the ones that wrecked our economy - should not be getting a better interest rate on their government loans than young people trying to go to college.

Posted on May 10, 2013

Politics

How Big Oil Uses the Republican Party to Subvert American...

huffingtonpost.com 2,756

Susanne:

In a surprise move, the eight Republican members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee yesterday blocked a floor vote on President Obama's nominee, Gina McCarthy, as EPA Administrator. In doing so the Republican senators broke their earlier promisadditione to move McCarthy's nomination if she answered an unprecedented 1079 written questions, a quest she completed. Political observers assume the Republican roadblock is meant to derail or delay the implementation of a new EPA rule, promised by President Obama to finally regulate carbon pollution. The Republican ranking member, Senator David Vitter of Louisiana, orchestrated the double cross. Vitter is an unabashed mouthpiece for the petroleum industry and record breaking receptacle for petrodollars having received $1.2 million in oil company largesse during his public service career. With cash gushers of oily money cascading down their open gullets, the Republican leadership's mercenary devotion to Big Oil shouldn't shock us. However, the boldness of the party's most recent assault on the public interest might cause us to ponder how GOP's honchos' knee jerk slavishness to petroleum interest has infected its rank and file.

Posted on May 10, 2013

Conspiracies

2013 Profile in Courage Award Ceremony

jfklibrary.org 61

Susanne:

On May 5, 2013, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was presented the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award by Caroline Kennedy at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in recognition of the political, personal, and physical courage she has demonstrated in her fearless advocacy for policy reforms aimed at reducing gun violence.

Credit: John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

Posted on May 7, 2013

Environment

Tomgram: Ellen Cantarow, Big Energy Means Big Pollution

tomdispatch.com 34

Susanne:

Today, industrial safety issues have come home -- literally. Toxic chemicals aren't just reserved for Superfund sites; they are increasingly in our houses, our water, and our food. When something goes wrong at a fertilizer plant, it doesn't just mean workers are in danger any more, but also -- as in the case of the town of West, Texas -- a nursing home, a school, an apartment complex, and five blocks of residences in a small town. As Cantarow writes, Pennsylvania farming communities are being turned into huge, open-air laboratories by energy companies eager to make North America a twenty-first-century Saudi Arabia, with ordinary people serving as its guinea pigs. And those people are paying a heavy price: mystery illnesses, dead animals, polluted water, land made worthless, and the loss of a way of life. In the midst of this new hell, however, there's also hope. Like Gary Judson in New York, Pennsylvanians are speaking up, organizing, and doing what they can in the face of long odds and tough times. Nick Turse

Posted on May 6, 2013

Television

Doctor Who 50th anniversary: David Tennant confirmed as...

telegraph.co.uk 771

Susanne:

After months of speculation about which, if any, previous Doctor Who actors would return for the show's 50th anniversary episode, David Tennant alone has been confirmed.

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, out today, states: "Although David Tennant has returned to his role of the Tenth Doctor, the other old Doctors will not be taking part."

The hour-long 3D episode, which will air in November, began filming in April. However, rumours in February suggested that all 11 Time Lords would be involved, with those who have died recreated using technology.

However, in April, the BBC released a statement confirming that Christopher Eccleston, who played the ninth doctor, would not be appearing despite having been in talks with Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat.

Previous Doctor actors Paul McGann, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Peter Davison and Tom Baker have all discussed appearing in the episode, but say they haven't been asked.

Posted on May 5, 2013

Television

Doctor Who: The Crimson Horror - Telegraph

telegraph.co.uk 834

Susanne:

You can't accuse Mark Gatiss of lacking ambition. Victorian philanthropy, apocalypticism, optography, penny dreadfuls and a neat twist on the madwoman in the attic theory were all merrily thrown into the bubbling brew of Gatiss's story, the 100th episode of Doctor Who since it returned in 2005.

And what a centenary episode this turned out to be. In the hands of a lesser writer than Gatiss, The Crimson Horror could have buckled under the weight of its own ambition. But this crammed in idea after idea while still maintaining a terrific, breezy pace and delivering a fantastically satisfying story.

Posted on May 5, 2013

Literature

How a Scottish farmer became crime fiction's next big thing...

telegraph.co.uk 139

Susanne:

From the page: "But at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival a few weeks later, he got talking to Allan Guthrie, whose first e-book had just sold very successfully. âoeI hadnât really cottoned on to the whole Kindle thing, but I just had to pay $80 for the cover to be designed and for a few beers for my friends for proofreading. I thought Iâd give it one more go.â

Within weeks Oswald was shifting 2,000 copies a day. Readers loved his protagonist, Edinburghâs Det Insp Tony McLean, who combines old-fashioned sleuthing with supernatural intuition, and Natural Causes soon topped Amazonâs e-book chart.

âoeNothing gives you your self-confidence back like 350,000 people downloading your book,â he grins. âoeThe sales figures are updated in real time and it was really addictive. I had to ration myself to only checking them after a day on the farm.â "

Posted on May 5, 2013

Agriculture

Nestlé and Mead Johnson Nutrition dismiss call to remove...

dairyreporter.com 0

Susanne:

Abbott Laboratories shareholders reject proposal to remove GMOs from infant formula

An Abbott Laboratories shareholder proposal to remove genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) from its natural products - including its Similac infant formula range - has been rejected, the Illinois-based company has revealed.

http://www.dairyreporter.com/Manufacturers/Abbott-Laboratories-shareholders-reject-proposal-to-remove-GMOs-from-infant-formula

Posted on May 4, 2013

Agriculture

Abbott Laboratories shareholders reject proposal to remove...

dairyreporter.com 79

Susanne:

Abbott Laboratories shareholders reject proposal to remove GMOs from infant formula

An Abbott Laboratories shareholder proposal to remove genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) from its natural products - including its Similac infant formula range - has been rejected, the Illinois-based company has revealed.

http://www.dairyreporter.com/Manufacturers/Abbott-Laboratories-shareholders-reject-proposal-to-remove-GMOs-from-infant-formula

Posted on May 4, 2013

News(General)

For Boston Bombing Victims, a Long, Painful Road to Recovery...

nytimes.com 293

Susanne:

Almost two weeks after the Boston Marathon bombings, which killed three and injured more than 260, the medical toll is becoming clearer, with many of the victims suffering complex wounds that are causing intense pain and that will require several more operations.

Posted on Apr 26, 2013

Education

Portugal's Education System Faces Cuts

nytimes.com 197

Susanne:

In Portugal and other nations in Europe, the battle lines are thickening around just how many more cuts to social benefits people will take, as their economies continue to shrink and social imbalances intensify. In a watershed ruling this month, Portugal's highest court struck down some of the austerity measures included in the government's initial 2013 budget, saying they discriminated against civil servants and retirees who had been singled out for salary and pension reductions.

The court ruling and continuing budgetary difficulties have left Portugal's government -- once held up as a model of the austerity approach -- with a dwindling set of options if it is to balance its books. If the government cannot cut civil servants' benefits, as the court ruled, then it will have to cut deeper in the places where it can.

That has placed Portugal's education system, which is already one of the weakest in Europe, squarely on the chopping block, intensifying calls by Mr. Reis and others to draw the line. In recent months hundreds of thousands of Portuguese have taken to the streets in protest to defend their social benefits.

Posted on Apr 25, 2013

Nutrition

The Crazy New Research on Roundup

rodale.com 56

Susanne:

Eating food laced with Roundup could be setting us up for some major health problems, some researchers suggest, citing that power to kill gut flora. "When you disturb something in nature, there aren't any voids," explains retired pathologist and veteran glyphosate researcher Don Huber, PhD, professor emeritus at Purdue University. "You take the good guys out and the bad guys rule. And that's what's happening."
Read More: 9 Crazy Things Pesticides Are Doing to Your Body

This nightmare in your digestive tract can spark other problems, including "leaky gut," where the protective lining of the gut is compromised, allowing for toxins and bacteria to enter the bloodstream. This causes the body to send off an immune response to attack the wayward bacteria, potentially sparking autoimmune diseases.

But there's more to the glyphosate-gut conundrum "The most important piece of the story is the disruption of serotonin in the gut," says Seneff. She says glyphosate can disrupt the gut's ability to create tryptophan, the building block of serotonin, an important neurotransmitter linked to happiness and well-being. Low serotonin levels have been linked to suicide, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other ailments.

Posted on Apr 24, 2013

Agriculture

Teamster Nation: 10 shocking facts about corporate control...

blogspot.com 6

Susanne:

Fast Track is just around the corner for two giant trade deals: the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TPPA and TAFTA). "Fast track" is code for "rammed through Congress" without debate, without amendments and certainly without careful vetting of the agreements.

The Teamsters aren't against trade, they're against unfair trade. And the union's 30,000 dairy workers could be irreparably harmed by the TPPA if it allows New Zealand to dump subsidized dairy products on the U.S. market. Congress should reject Fast Track so it can carefully examine the TPPA, make sure it protects American workers and consumers and eliminate special deals that further empower multinational corporations.

Posted on Apr 22, 2013