Saturday, August 21, 2010

Velma the Vulture flees handlers – now she has to avoid airplanes

Really? It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of European/British pilots being put on alert over one escaped Ruppell’s Vulture.

Maybe it’s just me. I don’t listen to the BBC enough. Seems strange though don’t you think?

Pilots on alert for high-flying vulture

 Britain's air traffic controllers put pilots on alert this week after a vulture which can soar as high as 30,000 feet escaped from her handlers during a display.

Gandalf, a seven-year-old Ruppell's Vulture with a three-meter wingspan, has not been seen since she caught a warm thermal during a show at the World of Wings center in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on Tuesday.

Meet GOP candidate for NY governor : wealthy real estate developer Carl Paladini – he advocates prison dorms for welfare recipents

Carl Paladino

Tea party activists love this guy.What a recommendation! They just picked one of their own. He fits the profile for a patriotic tea bagger: an older white male, retired, wealthy, and as stupid as mud about how to run this country.

Just look at Paladini’s idea. The first step in rounding up the people and containing them. Can you say Fascism out loud? Real Loud? Now someone please tell him to take that flag down (behind him) – retire it in respect to it’s place in history – and to hold up his real flag (hint – it has a Swastika on it).

NY candidate: Prison dorms for welfare recipients

Excerpt:

“Republican candidate for governor Carl Paladino said he would transform some New York prisons into dormitories for welfare recipients, where they could work in state-sponsored jobs, get employment training and take lessons in "personal hygiene."

Paladino, a wealthy Buffalo real estate developer popular with many tea party activists, isn't saying the state should jail poor people: The program would be voluntary.”

Egyptian police recover stolen Van Gogh painting

Police recovered a painting (“Poppy Flowers”) by Vincent van Gogh at Cairo airport Saturday, hours after it was stolen from a museum in the Egyptian capital, the country's culture minister said.

Farouk Hosni said security officers at the airport confiscated the painting from an Italian couple as they were trying to leave the country. The work of art, which Hosni said was valued at $50 million, was stolen earlier Saturday from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum.

No further details were immediately available on how the artwork by the Dutch-born postimpressionist was stolen or recovered.

Image source - “Poppy Flowers”

Quack Ups: Let’s give it up for the long-distance ducks

It’s common knowledge that many birds migrate – some halfway around the world, others not very far at all – but a few species of duck travel amazing distances as part of their regular travels, and at phenomenal speeds. The black brant is one such record holder, making the trip from the cold climes of Alaska to the much-warmer lands of Baja, California. No need to do the math: that’s more than 3,000 miles. A distance, by the way, covered in less than 72 hours.

The ill-respected duck is also a record holder for not just distance and time but also altitude. Although they commonly aren’t high flyers, preferring to stay relatively close to the ground, ducks have been recorded soaring to close nearly 20,000 feet (that's more than 6 kilometers).

That most definitely is a ‘wow’ thing but what’s an even bigger – more like a real big WOW – is that a duck skeleton was found at 16,000 feet … in the form of a skeleton on Mount Everest. (this scientific paper discusses how ducks can actually breath and keep their body warmth at these altitudes)
For altitude, ducks are amazing, no denying that, but if you want to get really, really high you have to look at the extremely ugly Rüppell's Vulture. That might not be fair to the bird, but ugly or not this vulture wears a handsome medal for going where no bird, or even a lot of airplanes, have gone. Ducks, sure, deserve applause for 20,000 feet but the Rüppell's Vulture goes more than just one better, attaining a remarkable 38,000 feet (almost 12 kilometers). Alas, the record was set when the poor bird got sucked into a jet engine at that height but you still have to admit that it was quite an accomplishment.

Go here to read about more fantastic animals.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Age confirmed for 'Eve,' mother of all humans

Mitochondrial DNA places her existence at about 200,000 years ago

A maternal ancestor to all living humans called mitochondrial Eve likely lived about 200,000 years ago, at roughly the same time anatomically modern humans are believed to have emerged, a new review study confirms.

The results are based on analyses of mitochondrial DNA. Found in the energy-producing centers of cells, mitochondrial DNA is only passed down the maternal line, and can be traced back to one woman.

Image source

A blast from the past: a traveler’s tales and free ride

Back in 1985, I was the editor of The Desert Trail newspaper (See banner above). One day, while looking for a feature story, I had the good luck to have the story come to me in the form of a traveling man who stopped by the office.

He came out of the searing sun and into the newspaper’s air-conditioned office to sell trinkets made from aluminum cans. As I watched him talk with Nell, our secretary, I saw news potential in that sunburned scarecrow of a man.

See “As It Stands’ in this Sunday’s Times-Standard. 

Image source

Men are from Mars, Cats are from...

They know where they're from, but they're not telling

Freaky Friday News: Strangest Way to Receive Tons of Marriage Offers

One Way to Get Popular with Ladies: Set out to Walk Around The World in an Iron Mask

Harry was, to put it mildly, a bit of a rogue, a rascal, a rake, a rapscallion. Born around 1877, Harry soon proved to as wily with his businesses and investments as he'd was with the ladies, the bottle, and the cards – creating for himself a self-indulgently lavish and totally outlandish lifestyle.
But, alas – or so some stories go – Harry's luck deserted him one day and he lost it all on a foolish wager. Facing absolute ruin, Harry had few options – until, that is, the intervention of John Pierpont Morgan and Hugh Cecil Lowther (the 5th Earl of Lonsdale).
What Morgan and Lowther did was offer poor Harry an opportunity to regain his fortune. All Harry had to do was accept another, very possibly, foolish wager.

Harry, you see, had to take a stroll. But not a few dozen, or even hundred, miles... not just across England, or even down and through Europe, or into the Middle East and then China. No, ladies and gentlemen, Harry had to walk all the way around the entire Earth.

Sweet-sounding “kissing bugs’ can take your breath away

Yikes! I’ve been reading all about the bed bug infestation in this country lately. This morning I found out about this disgusting “kissing bug.”

I must have led a sheltered life because I’ve never seen bed bugs, and I’ve never even heard of kissing bugs.

I once heard someone say that when mankind nukes himself off this planet the only survivors will be cockroaches! I have a hunch bed bugs and kissing bugs will be right there with them!

Noel Aleccia writes: “If you thought bed bugs were bad, consider this: Researchers are warning about the dangers of another invasive critter, the so-called “kissing bug,” which strikes at night and bites your face.

PHOTO: Smooch! The adult female kissing bug, known as Triatoma rubida.

Properly known as triatomines, the long-feelered bugs common in the U.S. southwest are known to carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease, a potentially deadly illness with roots in Latin America. Fortunately, cases here have been rare, but that hasn’t deterred the bugs from causing damage. Most recently, they’ve been linked to dangerous allergic reactions in patients who wake up with swollen-shut eyes, itchy welts and blistered skin, struggling to breathe.

A recent study in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases advises doctors to be on the lookout for these severe allergic reactions, which can be as serious as any bee sting in people who are sensitized. In one instance, a 46-year-old woman in the foothills of San Diego woke up scratching her leg and quickly found that she was too weak to walk and short of breath. She had to be rushed to an emergency room and treated for anaphylaxis. Other victims have lost consciousness and had seizures.

The culprit? The small brown blood-suckers attracted by light to human homes. They creep in unnoticed only to emerge at night and use scent and heat to track down humans. The reason they’ve been dubbed “kissing bugs,” is from their common habit of biting the face, which is often exposed during sleep.

Data is sketchy, but researchers at the University of Arizona’s “Kissing Bug Project” report that there were 669 exposures to kissing bugs reported to U.S. poison control centers between 2000 and 2005. They figure the number of love bug bites was actually much higher because of under-reporting.

There’s not much to do about a kissing bug bite, except to avoid it. Pest control is a good idea, experts say. This is one smooch nobody wants to wake up with.”

Thursday, August 19, 2010

The top 10 most tattooed cities in America – guess which is Number One?

TotalBeauty.com scoped out the top towns obsessed with getting inked

“To figure out which U.S. cities were the most tattoo-friendly, we perused chat forums and looked up every state in several public directories, including Yellow Pages, Google listings, Tattoo Yellow Pages and AAA Tattoo Directory, to find those with the most listed tattoo and permanent makeup shops. Then we looked up which cities in those states had the most shops listed per capita with populations based on latest U.S. Census numbers. We also took into consideration the city's demographics and whether or not it hosted tattoo conventions, remembering that not all tattoo parlors were listed in the directories. Here are the cities that love ink the most:

Palin’s picks lose primaries – time for ‘Mama Grizzly’ to go into hibernation

In this Aug. 9, 2010, photo, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks during a rally for Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel, background, in Atlanta. Palin converted a failed run for the vice presidency into a job, more or less, as a driving force for American ultraconservatism and its manifestation in the nationwide tea party movement. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Perhaps there is still some sanity out there in the hinterlands. Paying Palin to stump for candidates hasn’t paid-out for the tea baggers and other assorted wackaloons. 

Primary losses blunt Palin's 'Mama Grizzly' claws

“It's been a summer of setbacks for Sarah Palin. Candidate "cubs" endorsed by the Mama Grizzly in Chief have been suffering a recent string of primary election losses.

The Republicans' 2008 vice presidential nominee promised a pack of "mama grizzly" candidates would rise up and defeat Democrats in this November's elections. But office-seekers she supported in Kansas, Wyoming and Washington state lost their primaries despite her high-profile endorsements. And Karen Handel lost her runoff contest for Georgia governor a day after sharing an Atlanta stage with Palin.”

Cannibalism still practiced: human trafficker jailed for trying to sell albino man

Image: Albino children

Kenyan sentenced to 9 years in prison for trying to make a deal with Tanzanian witchdoctors

Just what does an Albino in Tanzania cost the local witch doctor? Try $263,000! The sickening thing is what happens to the poor Albino when he/she is sold:

Excerpt:

“The victims' blood and body parts are used for potions. Witchdoctors tell their clients that the body parts will bring them luck in love, life and business.”

PHOTO - Children take a break in January 2009 in a recreational hall at the Mitindo Primary School, which has become a rare sanctuary for albino children in Tanzania.

Green and Clueless: even people who want to ‘Save The Planet’ have no idea what they’re doing.

People’s apathy, ignorance, and selfishness contribute to ignorance of all things green.

Excerpt:

“You could practically hear a collective groan from enviros across the world yesterday, when The New York Times reported on city apartment dwellers who leave their air conditioning running for days and days when they are not even home: with “utilities included” in their rent, these model citizens don’t pay for it, and they want to walk into a nice cool room when they get back from vacation or just a tough, hot slog from the subway. So much for all those 50 Things You Can Do books, magazine articles, and Web sites, all of which patiently explain that it would be really, really helpful if we didn’t run appliances when we’re not using them. Apparently, that message—which green groups have been disseminating for at least 20 years—can’t hold a candle to people’s apathy, ignorance, and selfishness.”

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Column Feedback on Atrazine – it’s being used here in Humboldt County says reader

I got a lot of interesting feedback on this Atrazine threatens public health like another Agent Orange column from last Sunday. At last count, 10 web sites picked it up. Among the emails I received, this one from a reader (whose identity I’m protecting) was the most interesting…and controversial.

So, how about it fellow Humboldters? Were you aware that Atrazine and other nasty chemicals (see list below) were/are being used here? Why hasn’t this raised anyone’s hackles? What’s up? Is this an issue the mainstream press up here wants to avoid? Hmmmmm….anyone?

images

“Hello Dave,

Are you aware that Green Diamond is spraying Atrazine, Imazapyr and 2,4D (actual AO component) in our watersheds, according to the recent Econews. Green Diamond clearcut logs broad swaths of the Mad River watershed, the source of our drinking water.

And that PL sprayed 7000 gal (or lbs) of Atrazine in 2008 in the lower Eel, before they fled in bankruptcy, according to CATS?
Atrazine is a potent endocrine disruptor according to professor Tyrone Hayes, who was booted from the manufacturer's  Atrazine review committee because he proved that vanishingly small concentrations feminized frogs (30 X below that allowed by EPA for drinking water and 120 X lower than the 12 ppb threshold for aquatic life). Atrazine drifts, persists in water from 167 days to 31 years, and contaminates rainwater as well as ground and surface waters.
It is banned in many countries.


Imazapyr is super-potent (meaning miniscule, virtually undetectable, concentrations interrupt plant development), with a neurotoxic breakdown product, which can cause a disease resembling Huntington's chorea, (which killed Woody Guthrie), and a host of other bad effects in a variety of species.

2,4D is one part of AO, is highly water-soluble, can last over 5 years in clay soils, crosses the blood-brain and placental barriers, is absorbed through the skin, can cause birth defects and lymphoma, feminizes many species, affects various endocrine organs, and is contaminated with dioxin.
There has been no effective monitoring for these or their toxic breakdown products.
Green Diamond has no business using any of these in our watersheds.
Thanks for your article.”

In addition:

Humboldt County 2008

Atrazine ... 8,449 pounds

2,4-D, ISOOCTYL ESTER ... 3,912 : THE MOST WATER SOLUBLE

Imazapyr ... 2,497

TRICLOPYR, BUTOXYETHYL ESTER ... 4,705

Also, under "outdoor flowers":

CHLOROPICRIN 3,675

CHLOROTHALONIL 1,158

1,3-DICHLOROPROPENE 6,471

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Rare double quake blamed for deadly South Pacific tsunami

Image:

I was thinking about our recent earthquake (4.5 off shore of Eureka) which most people didn’t even notice.

It hit at 5 a.m. and people just slept through it. It seems to me, with each one of these mini quakes we experience we’re getting a step closer to something bigger.

The fact is, researchers have barely scratched the surface when it comes to predicting earthquakes. Every time Mother Earth rocks and rolls, it’s a signal that serious shit could (and some day will) rock our worlds forever!

Temblors occurred along separate fault lines and ruptured differently

“The deadly tsunami that pounded several South Pacific islands last year was spawned by not one but two monstrous earthquakes, surprising new research reveals.

”Initially, it was thought that a single powerful magnitude-8.1 jolt triggered the tsunami last Sept. 29 that killed nearly 200 people in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.

Some ‘No Surprise’ News-of-the-Day stories

Image: Matthew Brady

1 in 5 U.S. teens has hearing loss, new study says -

“Earbuds may be to blame for sharp rise in hearing loss since 1988, experts say (photo of Matthew Brady, 17, of Foxborough, Mass., from a portrait in his home Friday while wearing ear phones and displaying an iPod. Brady, who has some mild hearing loss, used to listen to the device while running on a treadmill with the volume turned up.”

Mexican mayor kidnapped by drug hitmen found dead -

Official had tried to clean up corruption in town police force

Back-to-school shoppers in no hurry -

Consumers remain cautious, wait for deals on seasonal items

Insurgents kill 5 govt employees around Iraq 

“A series of attacks and roadside bomb explosions killed five Iraqi government employees on Wednesday as insurgents maintain a steady campaign of attacks against the country's institutions and security forces just two weeks before the formal end of the U.S. combat role in Iraq.”

‘Beer goggle effect’ - who needs a study to tell us what we already know?

What a surprise. Drunk guys think all women are pretty. If, after reading this article, you discover anything new about men drinking beer, please share it here.

Meanwhile:

Randy Dotinga writes: If you're looking for a hook-up, a few drinks can suddenly make other people seem more attractive -- and receptive -- than they actually are, according to two new studies that help explain the "beer goggle" effect.

First, a suds-soaked fog diminishes a guy’s ability to detect facial symmetry, a crucial component of what we think of as human beauty. When this sense is dulled, an average-looking face may seem like it belongs to a hottie, suggests research on drunk college kids in the journal Alcohol.

To make matters even worse, another study shows liquor makes guys more likely to misinterpret a friendly female glance as a bold come-on.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Another reason to buy local #24 - Salmonella outbreak prompts recall of 228M eggs

CDC, FDA launch growing investigations; hundreds of illnesses suspected

An outbreak of salmonella illnesses linked to shell eggs has prompted a nationwide recall of 13 brands of eggs produced by an Iowa company and triggered a multi-state investigation that is expected to grow.

The Associated Press estimated the total recalled at 228 million eggs, although the company in question, Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, wouldn't confirm it.

So far, clusters of illnesses linked to eggs have been confirmed in at least three states, California, Colorado and Minnesota, federal health officials said Tuesday. In California, tainted eggs have sickened at least 266 people, Los Angeles County health officer Dr. Jonathan Fielding told reporters Tuesday.”

Rewarding Failure – or Big Bucks for a Job Poorly Done

You know things aren’t right in this country when CEOs making mega bucks get rewarded for their failures.

It doesn’t seem to matter if they are fired or just quit. The Golden Parachute is there for them. The following CEOs are going  on the “As It Stands Scum-Of-The-Year” list:

CEOs are dropping like flies this year. Just this month, the CEOs of GM, Sara Lee and Hewlett-Packard announced their resignations, though each did so for different reasons.
In the case of HP, Mark Hurd was forced to resign after allegedly having an affair with a contractor and subsequently fabricating expense reports to cover up money that had gone to the woman. However, despite these allegations, Hurd, like most CEOs at major U.S. companies, will likely end up with a very generous severance package from the company. Early estimates say he may receive anywhere between $12 million and $40 million.
It’s no surprise Americans get frustrated when hearing about CEOs
earning more money in an hour than most Americans earn in a year. It’s one thing when a CEO gets paid millions of dollars for a job well done, but the executives on this list made off with incredibly generous severance and retirement packages, even as they failed their companies.

And the winner is - survey names America’s favorite burger

My high school buddy, Larry, and I went in search for the best hamburger in Kauai in 2008.

Our first search for the perfect hamburger goes back to the summer of 1969 when we traveled throughout Canada and the United States.

Since I first moved to Humboldt County back in 1978, I’ve been on the alert for good burgers. One of my favorite was from a short-lived operation out of one of those food wagons. The owner Tony, made the absolute best burger in the county. Sadly, he moved on to working for a fancy restaurant that doesn’t serve burgers!

Currently. the best burgers come from Stars (in Eureka on Harris), and Tony’s (Just off the 101 in Arcata near the BLM building). I’m still on the prowl for great burgers, so if I’m missing a good one in Humboldt…please tell me about it!

Excerpt: 

“According to the latest Fast Food Survey by Zagat, the best burger in America comes from Virginia-based chain Five Guys. But while the regional chain edged out national players in the hamburger category, Dairy Queen rules the Best Milkshakes category, while the best fries still come from McDonald’s.

The results of the survey were revealed live on TODAY Monday. The survey covered 136 fast-food and full-service chains nationwide. Voting on zagat.com, 6,518 voters weighed in on everything from chicken and cheeseburgers to smoothies and seafood. Full survey results are available at zagat.com/fastfood.”

Monday, August 16, 2010

In the next 25 years 'Chances that we'll find ET are pretty good'

Proof of aliens could come within 25 years, scientist says

I wonder why 25 years? Why not 20 years? Heck, why not ten years? Do you ever get the feeling these scientific-types are “shinning us on?” 

“Proof of extraterrestrial intelligence could come within 25 years, an astronomer who works on the search said Sunday.

"I actually think the chances that we'll find ET are pretty good," said Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in Mountain View, Calif., here at the SETIcon convention. "Young people in the audience, I think there's a really good chance you're going to see this happen."

Remember when Pat Robertson told us the world would end in 1982?

apocalypse horsemen 10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

With the upcoming disaster film “2012″ and the current hype about Mayan calendars and doomsday predictions, it seems like a good time to put such notions in context.

Most prophets of doom come from a religious perspective, though the secular crowd has caused its share of scares as well. One thing the doomsday scenarios tend to share in common: They don’t come to pass.

Remember when Pat Robertson guaranteed the world was coming to an end in 1982?

“In May 1980, televangelist and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson startled and alarmed many when – contrary to Matthew 24:36 (”No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven…”) he informed his “700 Club” TV show audience around the world that he knew when the world would end. “I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world,” Robertson said.”

Here are 10 that didn’t pan out, so far:

‘Gentlemen – charge your engines!’ Teams set off on global 'zero emissions' race

Participants will be measured in points for style, technology and popularity

Two drivers, three wheels, $350 and zero carbon emissions.

That's how Australian father-and-son team Nick and Jason Jones hope to circle the globe in their custom built electric vehicle.

The duo joined teams from Germany and Switzerland on Monday for the start of a round-the-world race aimed at showcasing green technologies.

The aim is to complete the 18,642-mile (30,000-kilometer) trip without pumping carbon into the atmosphere, a goal that Louis Palmer, the race organizer, believes can be done.

Teams from Australia, Germany and Switzerland have set off from Geneva for what they hope will be the first carbon neutral race around the world. Participants are using custom built two-seater electric vehicles that will be charged from regular power outlets along the way.

Preparing for economic doomsday: here’s seven rock-solid careers from the Stone Age that deserve consideration

If we end up bombing ourselves back to the Stone Age the survivors are going to have to make a living somehow.

That brings us to this article:

Factory work and dentistry were among jobs of a prehistoric lifetime

If nuclear war, the Great Recession or some other calamity turns the economy back to the Stone Age, what kind of jobs and industries will pay the bills? Archaeologists, for reasons more to do with academic curiosity than preparing for doomsday, have been hard at work looking for an answer.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

As It Stands: Atrazine threatens public health like another Agent Orange

atrazine_900f

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 08/15/2010 01:32:27 AM PDT

Once upon a time, Agent Orange (AO) and all of its synthetic peers were widely sprayed to kill weeds throughout the land, and overseas where Americans fought in Vietnam. The manufacturers of AO assured the people that all was well. So everyone smiled.

Soon however, dark warnings trickled into the mainstream. Soldiers came back from the bad place with cancers and other terrible diseases. The men and women in the military suffered for years until they finally got recognition and treatment from the Veterans Administration. Many veterans are still struggling today.

When enough doctors and scientists came together and pored over mountains of studies not considered important by the EPA, they discovered that AO was responsible for a wide variety of serious health conditions.

The chemical manufacturers turned to the courts with their own industry-funded studies that showed AO was safe. After years of bitter court battles the manufacturers lost and had to pay for their sins.

weedfeed_web  This is not the end of the story. It seems we have not learned from this sad chapter in our history, when greedy chemical companies got away with poisoning people in the name of profit. As baseball great Yogi Berra once said, “It's deju vu all over again.”

This time the culprit has a new name, Atrazine. It's an herbicide like AO, and an estimated 76 million pounds of it are sprayed on corn and other fields in the U.S. every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) records.

The problem; the EPA failed to notify people last fall when Atrazine was discovered in drinking water at 10 times the national safety limits. Those levels should have automatically triggered notification of customers, but that didn't happen.

Four states, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kansas are being monitored because their farmers rely heavily on Atrazine. The Huffington Post Investigative Fund found the amount of weed-killer was excessive in about 150 watersheds from 2003 through 2008, after obtaining the information under the Freedom of Information Act.

The company that makes Atrazine, Syngenta, says over 6,000 studies have been done and they claim it's safe to use. Oh really? I recall Monsanto and Dow saying the same thing about AO. And, once again no surprise, most of the companies that did the research on the herbicide's safety have financial interests in the outcome.

We shouldn't be surprised when the fact that many (at least half) of those studies have never been published or subjected to independent peer review. Why aren't the independently funded academic research papers published in major scientific journals considered by the EPA? The excuses given are about as credible as the chemical industry safety claims. drinking-water-md

In 2003, the EPA was criticized for ignoring those studies when making safety decisions on the herbicide, and because representatives from Syngenta participated in closed-door negotiations with the agency, according to documents obtained by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist specializing in health issues at NRDC, argues that relying on a company test of its own safety is an “inherent conflict of interest.” Yet the EPA says Atrazine is OK.

 The reasoning behind this claim comes from the EPA's senior analyst, William Jordan, who says they have a limited budget, and it's necessary to rely on research provided by the industry testing companies. He insists they have a strong incentive to follow guidelines.

That's not very encouraging. I'm skeptical of the safety claims when four states have already found their waterways have unsafe levels of Atrazine. We've been down this road before. There will always be a problem when you have industry influence in the federal regulatory process.

I think the EPA is finally feeling the pressure because officials are going to re-examine their stance on how much health risk the weed-killer poses. Sometime in September, the EPA will announce the results of their re-examination of Atrazine. The stakes are high. They could outright ban the use of Atrazine, or put more restriction on it. Or, they can continue to allow the staus quo, in which case the public loses.

As It Stands, my disgust with the EPA is only surpassed by my concern that once again the health of thousands of Americans is endangered because of corruption and greed.

Web sites carrying this column as of 10:03 a.m. PST

Namviet.net

ALL VOICES

Environmental Health News – Front Page – See column under OPINION

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo

One hour later…

NewsFeed – see articles under ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION

One hour later…

Vaccination News

OHIO CITIZEN ACTION under Health News (Aug 15)

My Weed Killer 

 Schema-root

 ALL BUSINESS

 

 

 

It's Time to Pay Up Donnie!

It's looks like there will be some prime real estate going on the market soon in New York City. Convicted rapist and former president ...