Study shows air emissions near fracking sites may impact health

 In a new study, researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health have shown that air pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing or fracking may contribute to acute and chronic health problems for those living near natural gas drilling sites.

"Our data show that it is important to include air pollution in the national dialogue on natural gas development that has focused largely on water exposures to hydraulic fracturing," said Lisa McKenzie, Ph.D., MPH, lead author of the study and research associate at the Colorado School of Public Health.

The study will be published in an upcoming edition of Science of the Total Environment.

The report, based on three years of monitoring, found a number of potentially toxic petroleum hydrocarbons in the air near the wells including benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene. Benzene has been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a known carcinogen. Other chemicals included heptane, octane and diethylbenzene but information on their toxicity is limited.

"Our results show that the non-cancer health impacts from air emissions due to natural gas development is greater for residents living closer to wells," the report said. "The greatest health impact corresponds to the relatively short-term, but high emission, well completion period."

Read More:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-03/uocd-ssa031612.php

Greg Palast - The Fukushima Story You Didn't Hear on CNN

Here was the handwritten log kept by a senior engineer at the nuclear power plant: 

Wiesel was very upset. He seemed very nervous. Very agitated. . . . In fact, the plant was riddled with problems that, no way on earth, could stand an earth- quake. The team of engineers sent in to inspect found that most of these components could "completely and utterly fail" during an earthquake. 

"Utterly fail during an earthquake." And here in Japan was the quake and here is the utter failure. 

The warning was in what the investigations team called The Notebook, which I'm not supposed to have. Good thing I've kept a copy anyway, because the file cabinets went down with my office building ....

Read More:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101715893

NASA Finds Sea Ice Driving Arctic Air Pollutants

Drastic reductions in Arctic sea ice in the last decade may be intensifying the chemical release of bromine into the atmosphere, resulting in ground-level ozone depletion and the deposit of toxic mercury in the Arctic, according to a new NASA-led study.

The connection between changes in the Arctic Ocean's ice cover and bromine chemical processes is determined by the interaction between the salt in sea ice, frigid temperatures and sunlight. When these mix, the salty ice releases bromine into the air and starts a cascade of chemical reactions called a "bromine explosion."

These reactions rapidly create more molecules of bromine monoxide in the atmosphere. Bromine then reacts with a gaseous form of mercury, turning it into a pollutant that falls to Earth's surface.

Read More:

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Finds_Sea_Ice_Driving_Arctic_Air_Pollutants_999.html

Dr. Andrew Weil - Can Poison Be Good For You? Understanding Hormesis

Hormesis is a little-known term with huge implications. It refers to a fascinating phenomenon: a favorable biological reaction to low doses of chemical toxins, radiation or some other form of stress that is damaging, even fatal, in higher doses.

It was first scientifically noted by German pharmacologist Hugo Schulz in 1887, who found that disinfectants -- which, in large doses, kill yeast -- actually stimulate yeast growth when administered in small doses. Of course, many had observed it anecdotally, and poetically, before that. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously observed, "What does not destroy me makes me stronger," which gets the gist, but overstates a bit -- a more precise phrasing might be, "What stresses me within certain parameters makes me better adapted."

The mechanism of hormesis appears to be overcompensation to re-establish homeostasis -- which is a technical way of saying that an organism, or group of them, responds to small stresses by becoming more robust, or numerous, to adapt to a challenging environment.

Read More:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/hormesis_b_1214355.html?ref=daily-brief?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=012012&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BlogEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief

Nerve Gas To Be Used for Crowd Control in the UK?

A neuroscience research team has announced that the UK may be planning on implementing nerve gas and other chemical agents for domestic law enforcement. Scientists commissioned through Royal Society, the UK's national academy of sciences, says that the government commissioned them to research new developments in neuroscience that would 'be of use to the military'. The group of scientists has become aware that the government may be preparing to use incapacitating chemical agents for crowd control.

The Independent reports:

Leading neuroscientists believe that the UK Government may be about to sanction the development of nerve agents for British police that would be banned in warfare under an international treaty on chemical weapons.

Read More:

https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/02/07-4

Goodbye, Fish: Rising CO2 Direct Threat to Sea Life

New research shows the disastrous consequences the world's rising carbon dioxide levels are having on ocean life.

The Australian Associated Press reports that the new research point to ocean problems beyond acidification.  From Professor Phillip Munday, one of the researchers:

''We've now established it isn't simply the acidification of the oceans that is causing disruption, as is the case with shellfish and plankton with chalky skeletons. But the CO2 itself is damaging the fishes' central nervous systems.''

Agence France-Presse reports:

The team began by studying how baby clown and damsel fishes performed alongside their predators in CO2-enriched water.

They found that while the predators were somewhat affected, the baby fish suffered much higher rates of attrition.

"Our early work showed that the sense of smell of baby fish was harmed by higher CO2 in the water, meaning they found it harder to locate a reef to settle on or detect the warning smell of a predator fish," said Munday.

Read More:

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/01/16-6

Michael A. Smith, MD - Practical Advice for Avoiding Environmental Toxins

Nearly 70,000 industrial chemicals are now found in our everyday products, with 1,000 new synthetic chemicals introduced each year. Only a fraction of these have been tested for safety in humans.^1,2 EPA estimates suggest that the average American could be carrying approximately 700 industrial chemicals in their bodies.³ How’s that for TMI?

While it is not possible to completely eliminate toxin/toxicant exposure from all sources, there are ways to minimize it. Here are a few:

• Limit your exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This type of toxin is found in common household items like air fresheners, carpet cleaners and even disinfectants. Purchase products that are labeled as low VOC.

• Store food in containers labeled as bisphenol A (BPA)-free or phthalate-free. Don’t heat food in plastic containers.

  Look for organic produce, which is grown without pesticides, and will contain fewer residues than conventionally-produced fruits and vegetables. It turns out that washing food with plain water is just as effective in getting rid of pesticides as produce wash solutions. Peeling skins off of produce may help to further lower pesticide levels; however, the peel contains fiber and important nutrients.

  Read More:

  http://blog.lef.org/2012/01/how-to-avoid-environmental-toxins.html

Air Car to hit Indian streets by August 2012 -Will it be the next big thing around the world?

What is this?

Will it be the next big thing?

Tata Motors of India thinks so.

What will the Oil Companies do to stop it?

It is an auto engine that runs on air.  That's right; air not gas or diesel or electric but just the air around us.  Take a look.

Tata Motors of India has scheduled the Air Car to hit Indian streets by August 2012

The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy N. For Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air to push its engine's pistons and make the car go.

The Air Car, called the "Mini CAT" could cost around 365,757 rupees in India or $8,177 US.

The Mini CAT which is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis, a body of fiberglass that is glued not welded and powered by compressed air.  A Microprocessor is used to control all electrical functions of the car.  One tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, turn signals and every other electrical device on the car.  Which are not many.

Read More:

http://www.quicksnippetz.com/2011/11/air-car-to-hit-indian-streets-by-august.html

Joseph J. Mangano and Janette D. Sherman - An Unexpected Mortality Increase in the United States Follows Arrival of the Radioactive Plume from Fukushima: Is There A Correlation

The multiple nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima plants beginning on

March 11, 2011, are releasing large amounts of airborne radioactivity that has

spread throughout Japan and to other nations; thus, studies of contamination

and health hazards are merited. In the United States, Fukushima fallout

arrived just six days after the earthquake, tsunami, and meltdowns. Some

samples of radioactivity in precipitation, air, water, and milk, taken by the

U.S. government, showed levels hundreds of times above normal; however,

the small number of samples prohibits any credible analysis of temporal

trends and spatial comparisons. U.S. health officials report weekly deaths by

age in 122 cities, about 25 to 35 percent of the national total. Deaths rose

4.46 percent from 2010 to 2011 in the 14 weeks after the arrival of Japanese

fallout, compared with a 2.34 percent increase in the prior 14 weeks. The

number of infant deaths after Fukushima rose 1.80 percent, compared

with a previous 8.37 percent decrease. Projecting these figures for the entire

United States yields 13,983 total deaths and 822 infant deaths in excess of

the expected. These preliminary data need to be followed up, especially in the

light of similar preliminary U.S. mortality findings for the four months after

Chernobyl fallout arrived in 1986, which approximated final figures.

Read More:

http://www.radiation.org/reading/pubs/HS42_1F.pdf

Harvey Wasserman - 2012 Is the Year to Finally Bury Nuke Power

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-wasserman/2012-is-the-year-to-final_b_1180444.html

The year 2012 has opened with news that Fukushima's radioactive cloud may already have killed some 14,000 Americans, according to a major study just published in the International Journal of Health Services.

Germany and Japan, the world's third and fourth largest economies, along with numerous others countries, have definitively turned away from the "Peaceful Atom."

But it hasn't yet been buried. That's up to us. And 2012 is the year to do it.

We are already very close. The mythical "Nuclear Renaissance" has been gutted by Fukushima, low gas prices and the escalating Solartopian revolution in green energy. Solar panels, wind turbines, sustainable bio-fuels, geo-thermal, ocean thermal, increased efficiency and much more have simply priced atomic energy out of the market.

There is virtually no private money to build new reactors -- except where there are huge government subsidies and guarantees. In 2012 we must make those all go away.

Likewise, there are increasingly powerful grassroots movements focused on shutting reactors that still operate. Germany has shut 7, and the rest will be gone by 2022, if not earlier. In Japan, just 11 of more than 50 reactors now operate. Because local governments can prevent nukes from re-opening once they go down for refueling, Japan could emerge from 2012 without a single nuke on line.

Click to read more ...