tagged w/ Intelligent Design
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Kenneth Miller provides a brief explanation as to why "intelligent design" is not admissible in a science classroom.Kenneth Miller provides a brief explanation as to why "intelligent design" is not... more
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Should teachers turn to creationism to explain the gaps in evolution? Bill O'Reilly thinks so. Unsurprisingly, prominent atheist Richard Dawkins disagrees. "If a particular scientific theory doesn't work, do some better science," Dawkins said. O'Reilly also said that only teaching evolution in public schools is "fascism"Should teachers turn to creationism to explain the gaps in evolution? Bill O'Reilly... more
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Kirk Cameron is smearing Darwin, and promoting creationism. In what can only be characterized as religion gone dumb, Cameron, failed child star turned wacky Christian, is teaming up with his equally wacky buddy Ray Comfort in a campaign to deny scientific truth and promote the most ignorant of religious superstition.
Just in time for the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, Cameron and Comfort are promoting an edition of the book that features an introduction claiming to discredit the theory of evolution, making the case for intelligent design.Kirk Cameron is smearing Darwin, and promoting creationism. In what can only be... more
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"A Pensacola judge has green lighted the government seizure of Pensacola's Dinosaur Adventure Land, a creationist theme park whose owners, Kent and Jo Hovind, owe $430,400 in federal taxes. The Hovinds' excuse for not paying was that they were employed by God and thus could claim zero income and property."
Perhaps I should use this excuse come tax time. That, or my dog ate my tax forms."A Pensacola judge has green lighted the government seizure of Pensacola's Dinosaur... more
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zillah
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added this
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4 months ago
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Physicist and Nobel laureate Arno Penzias, contemplating our enigmatic universe, observes:
"Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe that was created out of nothing and delicately balanced to provide exactly the conditions required to support life. In the absence of an absurdly improbable accident, the observations of modern science seem to suggest an underlying, one might say, supernatural plan."
Albert Einstein was struck by the wondrous orderliness of the world:
"You find it strange that I consider the comprehensibility of the world (to the extent that we are authorized to speak of such a comprehensibility) as a miracle or as an eternal mystery..."
Astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle argued in The Nature of the Universe:
"Such properties seem to run through the fabric of the natural world like a thread of happy coincidences. But there are so many odd coincidences essential to life that some explanation seems required to account for them...The scientific community is prepared to consider the idea that God created the universe a more respectable hypothesis today than at any time in the last 100 years."
Needs Statement for a Habitat Place in the Suitable Universe for Complex, Conscious Life:
An abbreviated, but illustrative, list of additional requirements must be specified for a place of habitation in this universe. First, we need a star that is located in a relatively "quiet" region of the universe (e.g., not too many neighbors that are producing high intensity, sterilizing radiation). This star needs to have its highest intensity of radiation in the range that is suitable to drive the chemical reactions essential to life without destroying the products of these reactions. Furthermore, this star needs to have a very special satellite within its solar system. A partial list of the requirements this satellite must meet include:
-a planet or moon that is terrestrial--or, solid rather than gaseous;
-a temperature range suitable to maintain the universal solvent as a liquid rather than a solid or gas;
-just the right concentration of heavy (radioactive) elements to heat the core of the planet and provide the necessary energy to drive plate tectonics, to build up land mass in what would otherwise be a smooth, round planet completely covered with solvent;
-just the right amount of solvent (carefully coupled to the plate tectonics activity) to provide a planet with similar proportions of its surfaces as oceans and land mass;
-just the right protection from the destructive forces in nature such as radiation and asteroids over a reasonable amount of time; and
-just the right stabilized axis tilt and angular velocity to give moderate, regular, and
-predictable seasons and moderate temperature fluctuations from day to night.
While one is tempted to think that these requirements are easily met, given the large number of stars, it should be noted that ***there are few places in the universe sufficiently free of sterilizing radiation to provide a suitable solar system.*** The number of candidate "neighborhoods" is further reduced by the requirements of a sun with the right amount of mass to give the right electromagnetic radiation spectrum. Furthermore, the occurrence of a suitable satellite in conjunction with such a star is even more problematic.
******Only the earth in our solar system of sixty-two satellites meets the above requirements for a "home" (earth) in safe "neighborhood" like our sun and solar system, which are well placed in a quiet place in a suitable universe as described above.******Physicist and Nobel laureate Arno Penzias, contemplating our enigmatic universe,... more
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Chem Trails or contrails: What are they?
It wasn't so long ago that our city, amongst many others, was sprayed numerous times with malathion - quick cover our cars because the stuff will ruin the paint job on those oh so precious metal objects, but it won't hurt us humans one little iota.... (yes, a bit of sarcasm in that phrase)..... There was huge public outcry... and then....
Also at google in one segment:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8604844090880701786
CHEMA-KILL: THE MOVIE - 1:42:25 - Mar 28, 2009
"This movie documents evidence showing beyond the shadow of a doubt or any refutation of the facts that 'Chemtrails', eg. government 'geo-engineering aerosol operations' are fully in effect over all of the United States, the U.K., and many other parts of the world! Also covered are the historical pieces of the puzzle revealing a long standing policy of experimentation on the American and U.K. public by Western governments, and the new 'Morgellons' epidemic of non-organic parasites which infest the human body, and may well be the latest scientific experiment!"Chem Trails or contrails: What are they?
It wasn't so long ago that our city,... more
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Wonder why you might feel chronically sub standard? How about the Carcinogens, Suspected Hormone Disruptors, Neurotoxins, Developmental or Reproductive Toxicants on and in your food as a cause?
New Web Search Tool Shows What Pesticides are on Your Food (Sourced From Organic Consumers Association http://www.organicconsumers.org/ )
"The Pesticide Action Network has launched a new online searchable database designed to make the public problem of pesticide exposure visible and more understandable. Whether you want to find out what's in your apple juice, milk, peanut butter, or bottled water, this innovative tool links pesticide food residue data with the toxicology for each chemical, making this information easily searchable for the first time.
PESTICIDES :: A PUBLIC PROBLEM
Pesticides
…on our food, even after washing;
…in our bodies, for years;
…& in our environment, traveling many miles on wind, water and dust.
What’s On My Food? is a searchable database designed to make the public problem of pesticide exposure visible and more understandable.
How does this tool work? We link pesticide food residue data with the toxicology for each chemical, making this information easily searchable for the first time.pesticides are a public health problem requiring public engagement to solve.
Use the tool, share it with others: we built it to help move the public conversation about pesticides into an arena where you don’t have to be an expert to participate.
At Pesticide Action Network (PAN), we believe that pesticides are a public health problem requiring public engagement to solve. We want you to have the information you need to take action on pesticides. What’s On My Food? builds on PAN’s 27-year tradition of making pesticide science accessible."Wonder why you might feel chronically sub standard? How about the Carcinogens,... more
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ARE YOU A DESCENDANT OF THE APES?
Sometimes it is appropriate to refer to atheists as “descendants of the apes.” I’m sure all of them are highly honored by that title since they are the ones who claim that apes are their noble ancestors.This explains why atheists have devised the animalistic and heathenistic philosophy of atheism. It is because that is the best philosophy the ape’s descendants can come up with. That is as high as they can rise in their thinking. There has never been an ape during the history of apes that achieved the ability to perceive the existence of God and to worship Him. And so, it is not surprising that descendants of the apes are void of that ability as well.This also explains... [why it] must have been a terrible group of apes [these obnoxious Darwinians] descended from, because when you observe [naturally smelly] apes that exist today, all of them do exactly what apes are suppose to do. But [Darwinians infamously] cannot do anything right...
True Christians have a far more noble fountain from whence they descended. We were originally created by the Almighty God – created in His image. We did not have to evolve to a higher state, but from the beginning, were created by God as perfect as humans can be. Even though we fell from our created state of perfection in the first man Adam, our Maker brings us back by His uplifting grace. But atheists, as descendants of the apes, have never and will never reached the level of perfection in which God originally created all mankind.
If atheists were [more than fiercely-proud 98% "cousins" and "brothers" and "sisters" to the relatively unintelligent] apes [that we know would just as soon rip their heads off for any "family ties", then] they might be able to perceive the beauty of the existence of God [even the simple possibility], and [they] might have a chance at receiving God’s grace. But alas, animals don’t have that ability and God has no intention on saving animals.ARE YOU A DESCENDANT OF THE APES?
Sometimes it is appropriate to refer to atheists as... more
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echoz
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5 months ago
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Activists Risk Arrest to Stop Mountaintop Removal
Scale 20-storey tall machinery to call attention to nation’s worst form of coal mining; This is the first time a dragline has been scaled on a mountaintop removal site
COAL RIVER VALLEY, W. VA.—Moments ago, four concerned citizens entered onto Massey Energy’s mountaintop removal mine site near Twilight WV and have begun to scale a150-foot dragline machine to drop a banner that says, ‘stop mountaintop removal mining.’ The climbers plan to stay on the enormous dragline, a massive piece of equipment that removes house-sized chunks of blasted rock and earth to expose coal, until police arrest them. Equipped with satellites phones and a web camera, the climbers will be available for interviews.
This is the first time a dragline has been scaled on a mountaintop removal site, and marks the latest in a string of increasingly dramatic protests in West Virginia by residents and allies from across the country. This act of protest against mountaintop removal comes just days after the Obama Administration announced a plan to reform, but not abolish, the aggressive strip mining practice.
“It’s way past time for civil disobedience to stop mountaintop removal and move quickly toward clean, renewable energy sources,” said Judy Bonds, Goldman Environmental Prize winner and co-director of Coal River Mountain Watch of West Virginia. “For over a century, Appalachian communities have been crushed, flooded, and poisoned as a result of the country’s dangerous and outdated reliance on coal. How could the country care so little about our American mountains, our culture and our lives?”
An increasing number of concerned Appalachians and environmentalists are calling for the end to mountaintop removal, a practice that harms the people and places of Appalachia, destroys the economic potential of the Appalachian Mountains for long term clean energy opportunities and jobs, and furthers the burning of climate-killing coal.
“I’ve written letters, attended hearings and called my congressman, so far they have done nothing to stop the disastrous and unnecessary practice of mountaintop removal,” said Charles Suggs, a 25-year old of Rock Creek, WV who is one of those climbing today. “It has come to the point when we must take direct action to abolish this practice that is immorally robbing Appalachian communities of their culture, their health and their future.”
Every day, mountaintop removal mines use more explosive power than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Mining companies are clear-cutting thousands of acres of some of the world’s most biologically diverse forests. They’re burying biologically crucial headwaters streams with blasting debris, releasing toxic levels of heavy metals into the remaining streams and groundwater and poisoning essential drinking water. According to the EPA, this destructive practice has damaged or destroyed nearly 2,000 miles of streams and threatens to destroy 1.4 million acres of forest by 2020.
“We are all complicit in mountaintop removal whenever we turn on our lights, and we are all responsible to stop it. Mountaintop removal, the world’s worst strip-mining, is unacceptable. Period.” said Rebecca Tarbotton of Rainforest Action Network, a lead supporter of the action today. “This is not a practice that needs to be reformed. It is a practice that needs to be abolished. By sacrificing the Appalachian Mountains for the country’s coal addiction, we undermine future investments in 21st century clean energy solutions that will protect our planet, produce more jobs and preserve our natural resources.”
Mountaintop removal coal provides less than seven percent of all coal produced in the United States, and could be replaced with energy efficiency initiatives or renewable energy sources, instead of permitting massive environmental destruction of historic mountain ranges and essential drinking water for a relatively tiny amount of coal.
Contiuned at link above....Activists Risk Arrest to Stop Mountaintop Removal
Scale 20-storey tall machinery to... more
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and again and again..... when all our natural resources are gone, either used up or polluted beyond any repair - no water no food, well, oil and money are just not that tasty or digestible....
From Earth Justice:
"Did you know that the oil and gas industry, thanks to Dick Cheney and his old friends at Halliburton, are exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act?
That's right: thanks to a provision slipped into the highly-controversial Energy Policy Act of 2005 at the request of Halliburton, Exxon and a handful of other corporations, the oil and gas industry was exempted from having to comply with critical provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act—a law that protects underground sources of drinking water for millions of Americans.
This exemption has allowed hydraulic fracturing—a process that increases oil and gas yields by shooting an oftentimes toxic brew of chemicals underground at high pressures—to go completely unregulated by federal law.
Hydraulic fracturing is already suspected of endangering drinking water in six states. However, due to the "Halliburton Loophole" exemption, EPA lacks the authority to investigate instances of contamination and cannot regulate this controversial practice.
Thankfully, concerned members of Congress in both the House and Senate have recently introduced legislation to close the "Halliburton Loophole" and ensure that Big Oil has to follow the same laws that every other industry does.
H.R. 2766, introduced by Diana DeGette (D-CO), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), and Jared Polis (D-CO); and S. 1215 introduced by Bob Casey (D-PA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would regulate hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Please contact your congressperson and senators and ask them to cosponsor these important pieces of legislation."and again and again..... when all our natural resources are gone, either used up or... more
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And again.....
As Joni Mitchell sings: "You don't know what you've got till its gone - you pave paradise and put in a parking lot!!!!"
"The Obama administration is currently reviewing hundreds of mountaintop removal permits to make sure they are based on the best science and follow the letter of the law. But the policies currently governing these permits go against the intent of important environmental laws like the Clean Water Act.
It's up to the Obama administration to issue a new rule that prohibits mountaintop removal mining altogether. Although the administration recently promised more stringent review of permits, it has not yet taken the bold action required to end this destructive practice."And again.....
As Joni Mitchell sings: "You don't know what you've got till... more
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Yea, the politicianscorporations (one word now) are desperate alright, take from the public as quickly and as much as possible before the stupified public all wake up!!!!!
These people (or are they invaders from another planet - see the movie "The Live") are hell bent on creating hell on earth....
" Desperate to plug California's gaping budget hole, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has turned to an idea he has long opposed - offshore oil drilling.
Schwarzenegger has thrown his support behind a Texas company's proposal to tap an oil field just off the coast of Santa Barbara County. Drills lowered from an existing oil platform near Vandenberg Air Force Base would bore as many as 30 wells into the seabed over the life of the project. The state could reap $1.8 billion in royalties over 14 years.
Viewed on an annual basis, that isn't much - just over $100 million a year. But with California's government facing a $24.3 billion deficit and literally running out of money, the Tranquillon Ridge drilling project would give the governor a rare new source of revenue.
To critics, that smacks of selling out California's treasured coast."
Continued at link above:Yea, the politicianscorporations (one word now) are desperate alright, take from... more
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"Les Leopold is the author of The Looting of America: How Wall Street’s Game of Fantasy Finance Destroyed Our Jobs, Pensions, and Prosperity—and What We Can Do About It. In this video, just uploaded to Chelsea Green TV, he explains the basic concepts behind the financial collapse and Wall Street’s run on public money so that even the layperson can understand."
Meanwhile, there still seems to be plenty of money for weapons of mass destruction, cash bailouts for massive failures who fully express the description of insane that is, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results....
But why is there no cash flow for health, education, social services, road works, parks?"Les Leopold is the author of The Looting of America: How Wall Street’s Game of... more
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A tiny article on a huge problem. Hazardous left overs - the killing and maiming doesn't stop at the end of a bomb! Although not mentioned in the article, dare I mention and ask where is all the depleted uranium going?
Published on Friday, June 5, 2009 by the San Antonio Express-News
Texans Sue KBR, Halliburton Over War-Zone Burn Pits
by Guillermo Contreras
"Six people from Texas, including some soldiers, who claim they were poisoned by toxins and emissions from burn pits at U.S. camps in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing contractors KBR and Halliburton.
(photo: Dept. of Defense)The suit, moved to federal court in San Antonio from state court last week, alleges the companies operated the large war-zone pits and burned waste since 2004 that included trucks, tires, plastic water bottles, medical waste, hazardous materials, animal carcasses and even human corpses.
The suit claims burning the waste in open pits - with no safety controls - may have released toxins that harmed at least 100,000 people, including U.S. troops, contractors and civilians.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs are seeking to make the case a class-action lawsuit, citing evidence that many others are having symptoms or medical conditions that include severe respiratory ailments, asthma, sleep apnea, heart problems, tumors, lymphoma and leukemia.
Some even have died, according to the suit and news reports.
The situation has been likened by some observers to that caused by Agent Orange of the Vietnam era.
The suit was filed on behalf of Robert Cain of San Marcos; Craig Henry of San Antonio; Francis Jaeger of Haltom City; David McMenomy of Lampasas; Mark Posz of San Antonio; and El Kevin Sar of Houston.
The six exhibited symptoms ranging from acute abdominal pains, chronic respiratory infections, burning sensations in the lungs and persistent cold-like symptoms.
McMenomy had a football-size tumor removed from his hip suspected of being caused by fumes from a burn pit at Camp Al Taji, Iraq, the suit said.
The six couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.
Lawyers with Burke O'Neill LLC in Washington have filed lawsuits in 10 states, including the one in San Antonio.
Thirty-four suits have been filed or are expected to be filed in 34 states where people with symptoms have surfaced, plaintiffs' attorney Elizabeth Burke said.
The burn pits are so large, the suit said, that tractors are used to push "every type of waste imaginable" into the fire, and the flames shoot hundreds of feet into the sky, sometimes around the clock.
The suit claims the contractors failed to install incinerators to limit the toxic exposure.
"They took an enormous amount of taxpayer dollars and did shoddy work," Burke said of the contractors. "The work they did harmed the soldiers and hindered the military mission. In some bases with an Air Force presence, planes could not take off and land because of the smoke."
Houston-based KBR said it operated within the rules and regulations set by the U.S. military.
"The general assertion that KBR knowingly harmed troops is unfounded as the safety and security of all KBR employees and those the company serves remains our top priority," said an e-mailed statement from KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne.
Halliburton, which at one time was the parent company of KBR and also is in Houston, questioned why it was named as a defendant.
"As these lawsuits are based on KBR activity in Iraq and Afghanistan, we believe that Halliburton is improperly named in these cases and, as such, we expect Halliburton to be dismissed from the suits as Halliburton would have no responsibility, legal or otherwise, for the actions alleged," Halliburton spokeswoman Diana Gabriel said by e-mail."
continued.....A tiny article on a huge problem. Hazardous left overs - the killing and maiming... more
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To add to the library....
Published on Friday, June 5, 2009 by CommonDreams.org
Gag Me with Clean Coal
by Karyn Strickler
"Take a revitalizing breath of those clean coal emissions from the average coal plant, filled with carbon monoxide, mercury, arsenic and lead - all deadly toxic to humans in high amounts. Breathe deeply the pestilence that is clean coal.
If coal's impact on climate change weren't so serious, the public relations campaign that asks us to choke down "clean coal" would be farcical. "Clean coal" is a dirty joke that won't wash.
In his GQ article, entitled Black Tide, Sean Flynn says, "The term clean coal entered the lexicon in its current faux-eco-activist incarnation-with the implication that coal can be a source of nonpolluting fuel, that it can be scrubbed of its toxins and its carbon dioxide rendered harmless-with stunning speed, largely in the past two years through the expensive efforts of two groups: the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a lobbying group for coal-burning industries, and the Hawthorn Group, a marketing firm hired by ACCCE."
In an ad for ACCCE President Barack Obama is featured saying, "Clean coal technology is something that can make America energy independent...This is America. We figured out how to put a man on the moon in 10 years. You can't tell me that we can't figure out how to burn coal that we mine right here...and make it work," just as the Hawthorn Group had planned.
Contemptible as it is, the Hawthorn Group was understandably proud that Barack Obama and other candidates for President adopted their very language saying, "Soon our message was repeated back to us from the podium by the candidates themselves." In their newsletter they bragged, that before they began their clean coal campaign for ACCCE, a slim majority of public opinion leaders surveyed, opposed burning coal to generate electricity. But when their PR campaign was complete, they had 72% support.
Hawthorn succeeded in practically turning 2008 Presidential candidate events into clean coal rallies and said in their newsletter, "Building on our existing 200,000-strong grassroots citizen army, we leveraged the presidential candidates' own supporters, finding advocates for clean coal among the crowd to carry our message...We did this by sending ‘clean coal' branded teams to hundreds of presidential candidate events, carrying a positive message (we can be part of the solution to climate change) which was reinforced by giving away free t-shirts and hats emblazoned with our branding: Clean Coal. Attendees at the candidate events wore these items into the events." Hawthorn combined grassroots organizing and integrated online media to create more of a buzz.
Coal is clean -- in the same way that cigarettes are healthy. Only with clean coal, cancer is the least of your worries."
continued....To add to the library....
Published on Friday, June 5, 2009 by CommonDreams.org
Gag... more
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I don't recall Obama saying much about coal other than he supported "clean coal" as an alternative energy source... sadly, his actions should not come as a surprise...
"Stopping the Desecration of Mountaintop Removal
by Jim Hightower
Obama spaketh, and it was good: "We have to find more environmentally sound ways of mining coal than simply blowing the tops off mountains," he proclaimed.
And, yea, in the mountains and down through all the valleys of the ancient land of Appalachia, hearts were filled with joy, for here was a prophet of hope who was signaling that a change was coming - at last, the endtime was at hand for the brutish coal-mining method called "mountaintop removal," which is an abomination.
Even as the people rejoiced at this good news, coal barons trembled in their temples of black gold. For a decade, these mighty extractors of wealth had been allowed to accumulate unto themselves enormous profits by exploding the tops off the peaks in Appalachia, the oldest mountain range in all the land. With the top third of these awesome, forested mountains reduced to rubble, the barons used giant machines to strip out seams of coal, and then they simply shoved the rubble and toxic coal waste down the mountainsides, burying the valleys and streams below. It was a desecration - but the love of mammon made it the law of the land.
Then, behold, now the prophet became president, so he was in a position to put his words into action.
And act, he did. On May 15, it was announced that Barack Obama's Environmental Protection Agency had quietly approved 42 of 48 new Appalachian mining permits sought by the coal barons.
Say what? The prophet of change and hope just OK-ed more desecration by coal mining profiteers? What in the name of a mysterious God is going on here?
Politics. Politics at its weaseliest. Industry supporters point out that while Obama had expressed his concern about this detestable practice in last year's presidential race, he had not actually promised to halt it. Cute, huh?
Once he was in office, coal executives, lobbyists and other enthusiasts for bang-and-shove mining went to work on him. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and a full-throated cheerleader for whatever his state's coal industry wants, met with the head of the EPA, the chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff.
"In each of these meetings," says Rahall, "I received assurances.The Obama administration knows that it cannot turn its back on coal."
Of course, that's not the question. There are many ways to mine coal besides blowing up the environment. The question is whether Obama will turn his back on the mountains, the people and his own integrity.
The industry rationalizes its greed in the name of creating jobs for this hard-hit region - but mountaintop removal relies on dynamite and huge machines, not workers. In fact, thousands of mining jobs have been lost as corporations switched to this method. In all of Appalachia, there are only 19,000 jobs connected to every form of surface mining - and the tiniest fraction of those are in mountaintop removal. A much brighter job future is to develop Appalachia's boundless green-energy potential - a blue-green initiative that's supposed to be one of Obama's top priorities.
The good news is that the approval of these 42 permits does not mean the debate is over, even in the White House. Some 200 other applications are pending, involving much larger projects, and it's known that top Obamans are very divided on allowing any more of this crass destruction.
This is a case where public outrage can make a difference. Obama and team snuck out the 42 permits without even notifying the public, but they won't be able to ambush us on the other applications. Rather than throwing up our hands in disgust at their first action, now is the time for us to flex some grass-roots political muscle."
continued....I don't recall Obama saying much about coal other than he supported "clean coal" as an... more
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Well, yes! Poisons are toxins (sorry to be so obvious) and one day, depending upon your stature and physical composition, they will take their toll one way or another...
We don't need these poisons in our food or anywhere in our environment.... If you plant properly, nature does a far better job (understatement) of keeping our world in balance!
"Jackie Christensen was 32 when her body began to betray her. She had just returned to work after the birth of her second son and when she tried to type, two fingers on her left hand refused to cooperate. "They wouldn't go where I would want them to on the keyboard," says Christensen, who at the time -- it was 1997 -- was co-director of the food and health program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a Minneapolis think tank. "I also had what they frequently call frozen shoulder, with a very low range of motion in my left arm."
The first neurologist Christensen went to responded flippantly to her suggestion that she might have multiple sclerosis, which she had self-diagnosed because of her relatively young age and the fact that she was female. "If you want me to write that down, I will," she remembers him saying, refusing to pursue the matter further. A second neurologist thought it was all in Christensen's mind and referred her to a psychiatrist. Over the next several months, her symptoms got progressively worse, and she finally consulted neurologist number three. His startling diagnosis: Parkinson's disease.
"I thought, 'I can't have Parkinson's because I'm not old,'" Christensen recalls. But a trial of the standard treatment, a drug called L-dopa, seemed to work. Based on that clinical observation, the diagnosis was confirmed. This was in 1998, when Christensen was not quite 35, and she has been on L-dopa, with varying degrees of success, ever since."
continued below...Well, yes! Poisons are toxins (sorry to be so obvious) and one day, depending upon... more
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This book is a clearly written and level-headed review of the most recent and relevant scientific findings and for how they support modern evolutionary theory.This book is a clearly written and level-headed review of the most recent and relevant... more
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The Environmental Pollution Agency - oops, Environmental Protection Agency at it again, but it doesn't take a government agency or rocket scientist to understand toxins of any kind create health problems - perhaps they should consult the mothers of the world instead!
Newly-released report shows increased risk of cancer for those living near coal ash disposal sites
By JASON HANCOCK 5/7/09 2:43 PM
People who live near near sites used to store ash or sludge from coal-fired power plants have a one in 50 chance of developing cancer, according to a just released government report kept from the public for seven years by the Bush Administration.
The Waterloo South Quarry, one of four unlined, unmonitored sites around the state where waivers were issued allowing coal ash disposal. Those using the site include John Deere, the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. (Photo courtesy of Plains Justice)
The data, compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 and released Thursday by the watchdog groups Earth Justice and the Environmental Integrity Project, suggests that environmental contamination from the storage sites could last for a century or longer.
The Iowa Independent reported in March that there are four disposal sites across Iowa where coal ash is being stored in unmonitored and unlined containment facilities, raising concerns that dangerous materials in the ash could poison groundwater supplies, damage ecosystems and jeopardize human health.
The largely unregulated sites include three abandoned quarries in Cedar Rapids, Goose Lake and Waterloo and one mine in Buffalo. Each received a waiver from the Department of Natural Resources allowing them to accept coal ash as fill in the sites’ reclamation process.
Coal ash, also known as fly ash, is the waste produced by burning coal. The nation’s power plants produce enough ash to fill 1 million railroad cars a year, according to a 2006 report by the National Research Council. Coal-burning power plants in Iowa produce 20,000 to 30,000 tons of coal ash every year. The Hawkeye State also imports coal ash from Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.
The ash contains high levels of arsenic, lead, mercury and boron, each of which has been known to cause cancer, neurological and development problems, and other illnesses. Yet for three decades, rules governing coal ash have been left up to the states, creating a patchwork of differing regulations with questionable effectiveness."
Continued below and at link above.....The Environmental Pollution Agency - oops, Environmental Protection Agency at it... more
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