tagged w/ james Inhofe
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Detection of high concentrations of benzene, xylenes, gasoline range organics, diesel range organics, and total purgeable hydrocarbons in ground water samples from shallow monitoring wells near pits indicates that pits are a source of shallow ground water contamination in the area of investigation.
http://veracitystew.com/2011/12/14/fracking-investigation-yes-its-poisoning-the-water/Detection of high concentrations of benzene, xylenes, gasoline range organics, diesel... more
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Republicans once again seek to undo all of the work done regarding the Clean Air Act and to make caring for the future of our health and climate irrelevant. They violate the constitution by denying Americans the right to life by their blatant support of policies that perpetuate disease and death. And yet they cry about other bills being unconstitutional when it is their policies that would have us with even more sick Americans. It is immoral to the core. This act was passed forty one years ago, and because of it we have cleaner air and have saved lives. And it was a bi-partisan effort because once in our Congress caring about sick Americans, our environment and our future was not a partisan issue. The Republicans I see in this Congress are a disgrace to it. All they care about is their own economic loss in donations by not bowing down to those they really work for.
Of course, there are those polluter loving Democrats who always chime in with them and they deserve just as much of our outrage. However, there is no denying that on the whole Republicans have done more to block true progress in the areas that will best compliment a comprehensive healthcare and climate change policy. They think they know more about the environment and health than scientists and doctors do. Hopefully, this will not get far, but just to know they would go this far in denying Americans their right to life by continuing to support toxic pollution of our air and increasing GHG emissions to bring us to a tipping point that will cost more than any economic damage they can make up from this shows their true colors. We need to stand up liike others are in this world to preserve what little we have left of our voices. Clean is a RIGHT not a priviledge.Republicans once again seek to undo all of the work done regarding the Clean Air Act... more
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A prominent philanthropist, cancer survivor, and American businessman, David Koch, has given millions(http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all) to the cause of cancer research, while his company—Koch Industries—has lobbied against formal recognition of formaldehyde as a carcinogen, The New Yorker reported in a piece published today.
Koch sits on the advisory board of the National Cancer Institute—a position he was appointed to in 2004 by President Bush, reported The New Yorker.
The National Cancer Institute published a study in 2009 concluding that formaldehyde causes cancer in humans. Here’s The New Yorker, describing that study’s findings:
The study tracked twenty-five thousand patients for an average of forty years; subjects exposed to higher amounts of formaldehyde had significantly higher rates of leukemia. These results helped lead an expert panel within the National Institutes of Health to conclude that formaldehyde should be categorized as a known carcinogen, and be strictly controlled by the government.
As we’ve noted, prior to the May 2009 study, the National Cancer Institute had also performed a preliminary study that linked formaldehyde to leukemia, but members of Congress including Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and David Vitter, R-La., managed(http://www.propublica.org/article/how-senator-david-vitter-battled-formaldehyde-link-to-cancer) to delay the EPA from officially designating the chemical as a “known carcinogen.” (The EPA in June, however, released a draft assessment(http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/446155902B97B31A85257735006516D5) of formaldehyde that supports that designation, but it’s not yet official.)
In 2005, Koch Industries bought Georgia-Pacific, one of the world’s largest plywood manufacturers and a major formaldehyde producer. The company has donated to both Vitter and Inhofe(http://www.propublica.org/article/how-senator-david-vitter-battled-formaldehyde-link-to-cancer).
In a letter to federal health authorities sent last December, the company’s vice-president of environmental affairs wrote that “the company ‘strongly disagrees’ with the N.I.H. panel’s conclusion that formaldehyde should be treated as a known human carcinogen,” reported The New Yorker.
The National Cancer Institute’s director, Harold Varmus, told The New Yorker that at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center—where he used to work and where Koch donated $40 million dollars and serves on the board—it wasn’t uncommon for donors to have large business interests, but “the one thing we wouldn’t tolerate in our board members is tobacco.” Varmus was “surprised,” however, when The New Yorker told him about Koch Industries’ stance on formaldehyde.
We’ve asked Koch Industries to comment the matter but have not yet heard back.
For more, read the full New Yorker piece(http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all) a profile of David Koch and how he’s influenced American politics for right-wing causes.
Update: Koch Industries didn't respond with a comment when we emailed and called, but has issued a response to The New Yorker piece in the comments section of this post. It links to a fuller response on its own website(http://www.kochind.com/kochfacts/default.aspx), from which I've pulled out the relevant section on formaldehyde:
We believe any/all regulations should be based on sound science. Georgia-Pacific meets standards currently set for formaldehyde in a variety of applications and has provided comments on formaldehyde’s classification as part of the established regulatory development process in the United States. The debate over EPA's recent review of formaldehyde is not simply an industry concern. Several federal agencies have submitted formal comments urging caution and questioning some of the data and information on which EPA's decision was based. There are numerous indications that the science EPA has employed may not be the best and to make any final decisions prior to the current comprehensive scientific review of formaldehyde by the National Academy of Sciences would be inappropriate.
We had originally asked Koch Industries whether there's a conflict between David Koch's position on the advisory board of the National Cancer Institute and his company's opposite stance on formaldehyde. The company did not address this question in its response.A prominent philanthropist, cancer survivor, and American businessman, David Koch, has... more
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COPENHAGEN — The parade of US politicians to the climate change talks continued this morning when Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma arrived for a two-hour visit to the Danish capital. His message for negotiators was that Congress will never pass a cap-and-trade bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and he reiterated his stance that man-made global warming is not occurring.
Inhofe, who held an impromptu press conference in the Bella Center, said the chances of passage of pending climate and energy legislation were “zero” and would remain so if such a bill was financially harmful to Americans in any way.
“I figure you are going to hear from the other side,” he said, “so I wanted you to hear” this side.
For the other side of the story...and Videos...http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/sen-inhofe-arrives-in-copenhagen-to-say-us-will-not-pass-climate-bill/COPENHAGEN — The parade of US politicians to the climate change talks continued... more
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The senator who once famously declared that global warming was the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people" has now moved on to President Barack Obama.
In comments made to an Oklahoma news outlet, Sen. James Inhofe (R-KN) declared Obama's speech in Cairo attempting to ameliorate tension between the United States and the Muslim world "un-American," because he referred to the war in Iraq as a "war of choice," "and didn’t criticize Iran for developing a nuclear program."
Inhofe "also criticized the president for suggesting that torture was conducted at the military prison in Guantanamo, saying, 'There has never been a documented case of torture at Guantanamo,'"The senator who once famously declared that global warming was the "greatest hoax... more
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