Archive for the 'Environment' Category
A Conspiracy of Hogs: The McRib as Arbitrage
November 18th, 2011I have a special relationship with the McRib sandwich. Long ago, I had a friend who used to eat those things and the smell of them turned my stomach. He found my revulsion hilarious and he would taunt me by offering me some of the McRib, or blowing the putrid fumes my way. One time, […]
Japan: Radioactive Contamination in Soil Will Severely Impair Food Production
November 15th, 2011Via: Telegraph: Farmland in parts of Japan is no longer safe because of high levels of radiation in the soil, scientists have warned, as the country struggles to recover from the Fukushima atomic disaster. A team of international researchers said food production would likely be “severely impaired” by the elevated levels of caesium found in […]
Fracking Industry Executives Suggest Military PSYOP Techniques to Peers for Dealing with Public
November 9th, 2011Click through for the audio recordings. Via: CNBC: Last week’s oil industry conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Houston was supposed to be an industry confab just like any other — a series of panel discussions, light refreshments and an exchange of ideas. It was a gathering of professionals to discuss “media and stakeholder […]
China: Regime Admits 10% of Farmland Polluted with Heavy Metals
November 7th, 2011Considering the source, I’d start by doubling or tripling the estimate. Via: AFP: About 10 percent of China’s farmland contains excessive levels of heavy metals due to contaminated water and poisonous waste seeping into the soil, state media said Monday, citing a government survey. Pollution from heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cancer-causing cadmium […]
Fukushima Residents’ Urine Now Radioactive
November 4th, 2011Via: Japan Times / Kyodo: More than 3 millisieverts of radiation has been measured in the urine of 15 Fukushima residents of the village of Iitate and the town of Kawamata, confirming internal radiation exposure, it was learned Sunday. Both are about 30 to 40 km from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, which has […]
Big Picture Gallery: Thailand Flood Reaches Bangkok
November 3rd, 2011Via: Boston Globe: Flood waters inundating Thailand north of Bangkok since July have made the journey south and reached the capital. The disaster is responsible for 400 deaths in Thailand and neighboring Cambodia and Vietnam. Thailand is the world’s biggest rice exporter, but the floods have wiped out over a quarter of the country’s crop. […]
Fission Detected at Damaged Fukushima Atomic Power Plant
November 2nd, 2011Via: Bloomberg: Tokyo Electric Power Co. detected signs of nuclear fission at its crippled Fukushima atomic power plant, raising the risk of increased radiation emissions. No increase in radiation was found at the site and the situation is under control, officials said. The company, known as Tepco, began spraying boric acid on the No. 2 […]
Northeast: Snowstorm Leaves Two Million Homes Without Electricity
October 30th, 2011Update: Three Million Homes and Businesses Without Electricity —End Update— Via: Reuters: Transportation in the Northeast was hard-hit on Sunday by a rare October snowstorm that also cut power to more than 2 million homes and killed at least three people. The heaviest snow was recorded in Western Massachusetts, where 27.8 inches/(71 cm) was measured […]
Fukushima’s Cesium-137 Fallout Double What Government Claims
October 26th, 2011Via: Slashdot: “A new study posted for open peer-review suggests that the nuclear reactors at Fukushima Daiichi released far more radiation than the Japanese government initially estimated. The study [PDF] uses global radioisotope and meteorological data to calculate the size of the release from the plant. Nature News reports that, contrary to official claims, the […]
Maine Congresswoman Unveils Bill to Support Small Farms, Local Food Production
October 25th, 2011Via: U.S. House of Representatives, Chellie Pingree: Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said today she will introduce a bill later this week that includes provisions that would significantly change the nation’s food policy. The Local Farm, Food, and Jobs Act would expand opportunities for local and regional farmers and make it easier for consumers to have access […]
