Via @biggav - Has Peak Oil Been Vindicated Or Debunked ?

The impending demise of The Oil Drum seems to have prompted something of a resurgence in interest in peak oil.

Matthew Yglesias has a post at Slate on the state of the peak oil debate - Has Peak Oil Been Vindicated Or Debunked ?. I love the way the oil price graph demonstrates the impact the supposed flood of shale oil (combined with the great recession) has (or more accurately, hasn't) had on oil prices - as we switch from depleting conventional oil to unconventional oil, the floor price for oil gets ever higher and the environmental damage per barrel gets bigger - just as peak oil theory predicts...

I will admit that I've always found the "Peak Oil" debate to be a little bit confusing, especially because both the words "peak" and "oil" turn out to have some ambiguity to them. But recently a couple of my favorite bloggers were debating the implications of the "unconventional oil" boom for the debate, with Karl Smith proclaiming peak oil dead while Noah Smith says it lives on. My approach would be to try to skip past some of these definitional issues and look at prices.

Above you see the nominal prices for Brent Crude Oil and West Texas Intermediate. As you can see, historically the prices are identical because oil is a globally traded commodity. You can also see that in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s the price was low—around 20 dollars a barrel. These were the happy days in which the oil crises of the 1970s had been put behind us, and everyone got to hail the economic genius of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. You can also see the supply disruption induced by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent geopolitical crisis that left George H.W. Bush without the reputation for economic mastery that Reagan and Clinton enjoy. Then you see a rise, then a fall, then a steady rise. Eventually the rise gets really crazy and people are in freak-out mode. Then comes a global recession and a huge collapse in prices. At this point we look around the wreckage and wonder wtf just happened. Was there an amazing oil bubble comparable to Irish real estate? Or has the recession just pushed prices down artificially?

Now with some subsequent years of data we can see that despite the slow growth in developed countries prices have very certainly not returned to the halcyon days of the Reagan-Clinton years. We can see that the Iraq/Kuwait price spike actually looks like a bit of a joke. We can see the impact of the unconventional oil, which has created this anomalous gap between the WTI price and the Brent price. It's a big gap. This is nothing to sneer at. Not only is it causing an economic boom in North Dakota and select portions of Texas, but it plausibly explains some of why America's overall economic performance has been so much better than Europe's. But even so, America's oil boom hasn't pushed U.S. oil prices back down to mid-aughts levels and it certainly hasn't pushed U.S. oil prices back down to 1990s levels. The good old days of genuinely abundant liquid fuel really do appear to be behind us.

It's probably worth noting the WTI - Brent spread mentioned above has disappeared now - you have to keep on drilling pretty fast if you want to maintain production from fast depleting shale oil wells - and the previously exponential rate of growth in drilling has now stopped as Stuart Staniford shows in the chart below - US Oil Rig Count and Oil Production.

The Slate article above references this blog post from Noahpinion - Peak Oil is dead! Long live Peak Oil!.

One of my favorite websites, The Oil Drum, is shutting down, and I am mad! Everyone is attributing the shutdown to the death of the "Peak Oil" meme, which in turn is attributed to fracking. The first is probably true; Peak Oil mania is over. But the second is false. Fracking has not killed Peak Oil. It just hasn't fit the narratives that many of the Peak Oilers spun.

Please read full and follow the BigGav at:

http://peakenergy.blogspot.com/2013/07/has-peak-oil-been-vindicated-or-debunked.html

H.R. 2576, a bill to amend title 49 requirements relating to the availability of pipeline safety regulatory documents,

H.R. 2576 would change certain requirements applicable to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) within the Department of Transportation regarding the publication of guidance and regulations. The bill would postpone, until 2015, the requirement that PHMSA only use publicly available technological standards that are free of charge in formulating certain safety regulations. The bill would also remove the requirement that the documents describing those technological standards be available on the Internet.

read complete document  (pdf, 18 kb)

#Sustainable? Hardly, 70% of All Our Food Relies on Refrigeration

One of the issues we as preppers instinctively accept and understand but struggle to explain to non-preppers, is the huge degree of fragility and multiple dependent layers upon which today's society is built.

Exactly like a house of cards, if a single component in any of the dependencies fails, the entire structure is at risk of colossal failure in a manner that would not have been possible 50 or 100 years ago.

The problem we have in explaining these dependencies is that many of them are obscured and not at all intuitively obvious.

Here's an interesting example of a surprising statistic and dependency.  70% of the food we eat passes through or is dependent on the 'cold chain' – refrigeration is needed as part of its processing, storage, and distribution.

Some of this we know about already.  It is unsurprising to learn that the milk we drink and the meat we eat has been chilled pretty much through its entire history from the minute it was first obtained.

Some other things are less obvious, but if we think about it, we're not very surprised.  Look in the produce section of your supermarket, and although you'll see things like potatoes and onions in bags or loose, displayed at room temperature, we might realize that they've been sitting in cool stores for months between when they came out of the ground and were put on display in the supermarket.

Oh – and of the potatoes we eat (the average American eats 36 lbs a year), most are not just kept chilled/cool, but are actually hard frozen.  Astonishingly, 29 of the 36 pounds of potatoes we eat are in the form of frozen French fries.  Who'd a thought?

Read on at code green:

http://codegreenprep.com/2013/07/70-of-all-our-food-relies-on-refrigeration/

275 CERCLA National Priorities List (NPL) Proposed Substances To Be Evaluated for Set 27 Toxicological Profiles

Jul 19, 2013 — Notice — Health and Human Services Department, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Agency (EPA) with regard to hazardous substances most commonly found at facilities on the CERCLA National Priorities List (NPL). Among these statutory requirements is a mandate for the ATSDR Administrator to prepare toxicological profiles for each substance included on the Priority List of Hazardous Substances. This list identifies 275 hazardous substances that ATSDR and EPA have determined pose the most significant current potential threat to human health. The availability of the revised list of...Substances To Be Evaluated for Set 27 Toxicological Profiles

Each year, ATSDR develops a list of substances to be considered for toxicological profile development. The Set 27 nomination process includes consideration of all substances on ATSDR's Priority List of Hazardous Substances, also known as the Substance Priority List (SPL), as well as other substances nominated by the public. The 275 substances on the SPL will be considered for Set 27 Toxicological Profile development. This list may be found at the following Web site: www.atsdr.cdc.gov/SPL and in the docket at www.regulations.gov

See full here: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/07/19/2013-17355/proposed-substances-to-be-evaluated-for-set-27-toxicological-profiles

Transforming Trash in Urban America into Jobs and Profits

The Partnership for Working Families

Our in-depth analysis of the 37 largest metropolitan areas in the country reveals low recycling rates, exploited workers, and an unaccountable industry.  Fortunately, there is a path to building low-impact, cost effective, and sustainable recycling systems in every region of the country.  Together these local transformations will deliver large-scale benefits for the environment, workers, communities, and the economy.   To veiw the full report click here!

Protecting Health-care Workers From Musculoskeletal Disorders Is Focus of New OSHA Campaign

A major source of injury to health-care workers is musculoskeletal disorders, often due to overexertion and manual patient handling activities. Consequently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a new outreach campaign to raise awareness about the hazards associated with MSDs. According to OSHA, improper patient handling is a leading cause of sprains, strains, and soft tissue and back injuries. As part of the campaign, OSHA is providing employers, unions and associations in the health-care industry throughout Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia with information on proper methods for lifting and transferring patients.

• Read the News Release 

• Read About Safe Patient Handling

HB 4901 Natural resources; gas and oil; hydraulic fracturing; provide for study and funding of the study.

HB 4901 is A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled "Natural resources and environmental protection act," by amending section 61501 (MCL 324.61501), as amended by 1998 PA 303, and by adding sections 61528, 61529, and 61530.

See full bill here:

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2013-2014/billintroduced/House/htm/2013-HIB-4901.htm

Pesticide in School Lunches in India leading to the deaths of 23 children

There has been a dreadful pesticide poisoning in Bihar province of India leading to the deaths of 23 children who died after eating a free school lunch.  The AP article (published in the Washington Post) suggests that the meal was laced with organophosphate insecticide, which given the rapidity of intoxication and the number of deaths could have been in a concentrated form.  All are awaiting laboratory analyses of ingredients (lentils, potatos, and rice), the cooked lunch, and the stomach contents of the deceased kids.

See http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/free-lunch-at-indian-school-sickens-dozens-of-children-killing-22-insecticide-suspected/2013/07/17/915c57ca-ef44-11e2-bb32-725c8351a69e_story.html.

Judge rules burning trash isn't renewable energy

PHOENIX — The Arizona Corporation Commission shouldn't have approved an electric generation project's planned use of power generated by a trash incinerator to qualify as renewable energy, a judge has ruled.

...Bob Stump, one of three commissioners who voted for the project, said Wednesday that he was disappointed in the decision "to hinder Arizona's quest for cost-effective, baseload renewable energy."

Stump said the Environmental Protection Agency and more than 20 states classify waste-to-energy as renewable energy and "there are some 400 plants throughout Europe and over 85 plants in the United States."

"In spite of the widespread use of this mainstream technology throughout the world, it has been shamelessly demagogued as 'dirty trash burning' by those who believe it's a threat to politically-favored forms of renewable energy," Stump added.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/07/17/2681616/judge-rules-against-trash-incineration.html

Deformed Vegetables, Fruit Reportedly Pop Up Around Japans Fukushima Nuclear Plant

ABC News - "We have seen some evidence of increased mutation rates in plants and barn swallows in Fukushima, but we have not had the funding to do the sort if rigorous science that is necessary to examine such questions in a convincing manner," he said. "The vegetable photos are suggestive but, at present, are only anecdotal. Follow-up studies need to be conducted by qualified researchers to verify the validity of these observations."

...Last year, Japanese scientists said that "abnormalities" detected in the country's butterflies may be a result of radioactive fallout from the Fukushima disaster. Researchers said that "artificial radionuclides" from the stricken power plant caused "physiological and genetic damage" to pale grass blue butterflies.

Five months after the disaster, cesium 137 and 134 were detected in more than a dozen bluefin tuna caught near San Diego. The levels were 10 times higher than tuna found in previous years.

Read full at: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/07/deformed-vegetables-fruit-reportedly-pop-up-around-japan-nuclear-plant/

Final Rule of Community Right-to-Know: Adoption of NAICS Codes for TRI Reporting

EPA 40 CFR Part 372 [EPA-HQ-OEI-2011-0979; FRL-9825-8]

Community Right-to-Know; Adoption of 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes for Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action on updates to the list of North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes subject to reporting under the Toxics Release 

Inventory (TRI) to reflect the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 2012 NAICS revision. Facilities would be required to use 2012 NAICS codes when reporting to TRI beginning with TRI reporting forms that are due on July 1, 2014, covering releases and other waste management quantities for the 2013 calendar year. In the "Proposed Rules" section of today's Federal Register, we are simultaneously publishing the 2012 OMB NAICS revisions for TRI Reporting as a proposed rule. If we receive no adverse comment, this direct final rule will become effective as specified herein, and we will withdraw the proposed rule. I

Read full here:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2013-17298.pdf

S. 1240 Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013 — Introduced

 Below is a simple summary of Congress' official bill text.

SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that—

(1) the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.)—

(A) made the Federal Government responsible for providing for the permanent disposal of nuclear waste;

(B) vested the responsibility for siting, constructing, and operating a permanent geologic repository for the disposal of nuclear waste in the Secretary of Energy; and

(C) required the Secretary to enter into binding contracts with the generators and owners of nuclear waste pursuant to which the Secretary is obligated to have begun disposing of the nuclear waste in a repository not later than January 31, 1998;

(2) in 1987, Congress designated the Yucca Mountain site as the site for the repository and precluded consideration of other sites;

(3) in 2002, the Secretary found the Yucca Mountain site to be suitable for the development of the repository, the President recommended the site to Congress, and Congress enacted a joint resolution approving the Yucca Mountain site for the repository;

(4) in 2008, the Secretary applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to construct a repository at the Yucca Mountain site;

(5) in 2009, the Secretary found the Yucca Mountain site to be unworkable and abandoned efforts to construct a repository;

(6) in 2010, the Secretary, at the request of the President, established the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future to conduct a comprehensive review of the nuclear waste management policies of the United States and recommend a new strategy for managing the nuclear waste of the United States; and

(7) the Blue Ribbon Commission has recommended that Congress establish a new nuclear waste management organization and adopt a new consensual approach to siting nuclear waste management facilities.

SEC. 102. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are—

(1) to establish a new nuclear waste management organization;

(2) to transfer to the new organization the functions of the Secretary relating to the siting, licensing, construction, and operation of nuclear waste management facilities;

(3) to establish a new consensual process for the siting of nuclear waste management facilities;

(4) to provide for centralized storage of nuclear waste pending completion of a repository; and

(5) to ensure that—

(A) the generators and owners of nuclear waste pay the full cost of the program; and

(B) funds collected for the program are used for that purpose.

Please read full at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113s1240is/xml/BILLS-113s1240is.xml

Death toll from the American anti-vaccine movement.

The Anti-Vaccine Body Count site reminds us that by avoiding life-saving vaccines, thousands of preventable illnesses and deaths have struck. Since 2007 alone, more than 110,000 preventable illnesses and 1,170 deaths have occurred. 

New Thermocell Could Turn 'Waste Heat' Into Electricity

Harvesting waste heat from power stations and even vehicle exhaust pipescould soon provide a valuable supply of electricity. A small team of Monash University researchers ... has developed an ionic liquid-based thermocell (abstract). Thermocell technology is based on harnessing the thermal energy from the difference in temperature between two surfaces and converting that energy into electricity. The new thermocell could be used to generate electricity from low grade steam in coal fired power stations at temperatures around 130C. This would be implemented by having the steam pass over the outer surface of the hot electrode to keep it hot while the other electrode is air or water cooled. 

Please continue reading at:

http://m.slashdot.org/story/188919

This is bad... Consumer Price Index up 1.8% and Energy index has risen 3.2% in only a year!

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

The all items index increased 1.8 percent over the last 12 months...energy index has risen 3.2 percent over the span, and the food index has increased 1.4 percent.

Please read on at:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

Release of OSHA's Proposed Rule on Crystalline Silica Nearing

 ForConstructionPros.com 

After years of delay in the White House's Office of Management and Budget, the construction industry will likely see OSHA's plans for silica dust exposure very soon. NIOSH reports 1.7 million US workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica each year, through activities like sawing, drilling, cutting and grinding concrete, brick and stone. Prolonged exposure to this dust can lead to an incurable lung disease call silicosis.

The July 11 issue of the American Subcontractors Association's "ASA Today" included a news piece stating that OSHA is expected to take action by the end of this year on at least 10 rules that will affect construction subcontractors. One of these issues is a proposed rule on crystalline silica, which ASA expects OSHA will publish by the end of this month.

Please read on at: http://www.forconstructionpros.com/blog/10986314/release-of-oshas-proposed-rule-on-crystalline-silica-is-nearing

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative 2013 Request for Grant Applications with webinar explaining the grant application process

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued a Request for Applications soliciting applications from states, tribes, local governments, universities, nonprofit organizations, and other eligible organizations for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants and cooperative agreements to be awarded as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, http://glri.us

EPA will award approximately $9.5 million under this request for applications for about 20 projects, contingent on the availability of appropriations, the quality of applications received and other applicable considerations. This RFA is EPA's major competitive grant funding opportunity under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for fiscal year 2013. It is one of several funding opportunities available through federal agencies under GLRI. Applications are requested for projects within the following four categories:

• Reducing exposure to toxic substances from fish consumption
• Invasive species prevention and control
• Lake Erie Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative
• Facilitation of Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP) stakeholder forums

A webinar explaining the grant application process will be held at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on Tuesday, July 30.  Register for the webinar: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/948263881

The Request for Applications and information about applying for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants are available at: http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/fund/2013rfa01/

Applications are due: 11:59 p.m. EDT (10:59 p.m. CDT), Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013.

Ethanol and Other Biomass Plants No Longer Exempt from Carbon Dioxide Emission Limits: D.C. Circuit Vacates EPA's Three-Year Deferral for Biogenic CO2 Sources

In a decision that will impact the ethanol and biomass industry, among others, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s biogenic deferral rule. The deferral rule was EPA's attempt to delay for three years the Clean Air Act (CAA) permitting requirements for sources of biogenic carbon dioxide emissions, including ethanol plants. Biogenic carbon dioxide emissions are defined in the deferral rule as emissions "directly resulting from the combustion or decomposition of biologically-based materials other than fossil fuels and mineral sources of carbon." Deferral for CO2 Emission Bioenergy and Other Biogenic Sources Under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Programs, 76 Fed. Reg. 43,490, 43,493 (July 20, 2011).

Read More

http://www.michaelbest.com/pubs/pubDetailMB.aspx?xpST=PubDetail&pub=3334

Florida now counting waste to energy in its recycling rate

Note that there are two recycling rates presented, according to this article, 35% recycling rate, or 48% rate, when including waste to energy: 

http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/20130710/NEWS02/130719998/florida-recycling-rate-up-but-is-it-by-5-or-18

How to Save on Water During the Summer | via @Sustainablog

Seeing your water bill go up lately? No doubt, watering the lawn and landscaping is driving that uptick. While the best long-term option involves a drought-resistant landscape, that may not be in the budget right now. So, are you just doomed to paying more for water during the Summer? Not necessarily…

Chances are, you're probably over-watering your plants… and the EPA's WaterSense program has some easy ideas for reducing your water use (and your water bill) almost immediately… without killing the lawn.

Got ideas of your own? Share them with us…

Please read full and follow at:

http://sustainablog.org/2013/07/how-to-save-water-this-and-every-summer-infographic/

China will double down on investing in solar power while Germany winds down government support for solar

China has raised its 2015 target for solar-electricity capacity, giving a shot in the arm to its solar companies, many of which are strugglingdue to industry overcapacity, slow global demand and overseas trade disputes.

China's State Council, or cabinet, in a statement dated July 4 but posted Monday said installed capacity for solar electricity would reach more than 35 gigawatts by 2015, and would grow by about 10 gigawatts a year between now and then. China's previous target was 21 gigawatts, and its installed capacity in 2012 was about 7 gigawatts.

The move is positive for Chinese solar companies, who will become eligible for more domestic projects, and who together provide more than half the world's solar panels.

Germany Talks about Remove Solar Subsidies by 2018

Germany will stop subsidising solar energy by 2018 at the latest, its environment minister said after last year initiating a scaling-back of generous state support for the faltering industry.

Read more »

Off the Charts ...the war on the war on poverty

Off the Charts - Next year, the nation will mark the 50^th anniversary of the War on Poverty, which President Johnson proclaimed in his State of the Union address of January 1964.  Sadly, we should expect to hear a drumbeat of attacks claiming that, as President Reagan said long ago, we fought a war on poverty and "poverty won."  Indeed, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said recently of the anti-poverty effort, "We don't have much to show for it."

The truth is very different.  A number of anti-poverty programs — including some key efforts that have their origins in the War on Poverty and some that came later, often the product of bipartisan agreement — have an impressive record of achievement.  Together, programs such as food stamps (now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP), the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid, college financial assistance and broader based programs such as Medicare, have reduced poverty and malnutrition, expanded access to health care, and opened doors of opportunity for millions of people.  To be sure, poverty remains a serious problem in the United States and remains higher here than in many western industrialized countries.  And, not every program begun in the 1960s or more recently has been effective.  But, a bumper sticker analysis of the War on Poverty and today's safety net that implies that "poverty won" misses the mark.

Take SNAP.  Chairman Ryan's budget would cut the program by $135 billion over the next ten years.  Yet, the program is a prime example of a major national accomplishment.  Before food stamps and other nutrition programs were widely available, it was not hard to find large numbers of children in very poor areas of America with distended bellies or other indications of malnutrition.  That's no longer the case.

A recent academic study looked back at the babies who benefited from the introduction and expansion of food stamps in the 1960s and 1970s and found that they grew up to be healthier and more likely to finish high school than their peers born in counties where the program had not yet been instituted.

Medicaid, created in 1965 as another core piece of the War on Poverty, also continues to make a major difference in people's lives, improving health and reducing infant mortality and childhood deaths.  The program now provides health coverage to nearly 65 million low-income Americans, including children, parents, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Various newer programs also have been effective in reducing or alleviating poverty.  Consider, for example, the EITC, a program for working families created under President Ford and expanded under President Reagan and later presidents and congresses of both parties.  Not only does the program directly reduce poverty — this tax credit kept more than 6 million Americans above the poverty line in 2011, including more than 3 million children — but research has shownthat it increases employment among single mothers and helps lead to better academic achievement among low-income children in participating families.

Those who claim that we don't have much to show from anti-poverty programs often cite the fact that the poverty rate under the government's official measure of poverty is similar now to what it was in the mid-1960s.  Such a comparison, however, is grossly misleading.  The official poverty measure counts only families' cash income before taxes.  It fails to count food stamps, the EITC, rental subsidies, and the like.  As a result, it counts the forms of assistance that have shrunk dramatically since the 1960s such as cash welfare payments to poor families with children, while leaving out the key forms of assistance that were created or expanded during this period and have powerful anti-poverty effects.

That's why analysts from a variety of political perspectives prefer the government's newer Supplemental Poverty Measure, which includes both cash assistance and "non-cash" benefits such as SNAP, the EITC, and rental assistance, and which also nets out income and payroll taxes that people must pay.  The SPM shows that without the safety net, the percentage of Americans in poverty would be nearly doublewhat it is:  29 percent of Americans would have been poor in 2011, rather than the 16 percent who were poor when safety net programs are taken into account.  SNAP alone kept 4.7 million above the poverty line.

Please read full and follow at:

http://www.offthechartsblog.org/

Wisconsin Aurora Sinai patient has 'nightmare bacteria' infection CRE superbug from central line infections is a growing health problem in hospitals

Aurora Sinai Medical Center confirmed Monday it has isolated a patient infected with a deadly superbug bacteria that officials say did not originate in the hospital.

Sinai officials declined to be more specific because of patient confidentiality rules. But they did say the bacteria typically originates outside the country. The hospital is following guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent the bacteria from spreading to other patients at the hospital near downtown, at 945 N. 12th St.

Thirty patients on the same floor as the infected individual are being tested for the bacteria. The patient's case is not a threat to the community or others in the hospital, hospital officials said.

In general, the bacteria called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, has become more drug-resistant over the past decade. At the same time, its prevalence has increased more than fourfold, according to the CDC.

CRE kills up to half of all patients it infects.

Hospitals are not required to report individual cases — only clusters of cases — and the information normally isn't made available to patients. In this case, a medical professional who received an advisory memo about the CRE case leaked it to local television stations.

CDC Director Tom Frieden has referred to CRE as "nightmare bacteria."

 ....Wisconsin is among the first six states in the nation to require facilities to report infections associated with the superbug to the state, though the surveillance is still new and many hospitals and long-term acute care facilities may not be aware of it.

Please read on at:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/aurora-sinai-patient-has-nightmare-bacteria-infection-b9954699z1-215540371.html

OSHA Strengthens Rules for 'Model Workplace' thier Star Voluntary Protection Programs, known as VPP

Companies participating in a federal program that rewards "model workplaces" with exemptions from some safety inspections now will face automatic removal after work-related deaths or particularly serious violations.

The new policy, issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, comes after a 2011 Center for Public Integrity investigation found a significant number of deaths at these sites that had resulted in few consequences for the companies involved, even after inspectors found they were at fault. The workplaces often stayed in the program, remaining exempt from regular OSHA inspections.

"We want to ensure that everyone in the program is really one of the best of the best," Jordan Barab, the agency's second-in-command, said of the changes.

After the Center series two years ago, OSHA convened a task force to conduct a review of the Voluntary Protection Programs, known as VPP. Last August, the task force issued a report urging, among other things, an overhaul of how the agency responds to serious accidents at sites in the program.

Now, that tougher stance is formal OSHA policy. Any work-related death will result in an automatic notice of termination – a significant departure from the agency's previous, ad hoc approach. The most serious types of violations also will lead to automatic termination, even if they weren't uncovered during the investigation of a death. These include infractions deemed "willful" – those in which the employer intentionally broke the rules or acted with "plain indifference" toward them – and cases that would land a company in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which targets employers with a history of intentional or repeated violations or a refusal to fix cited problems. The Center series identified a number of sites that had committed such violations but were allowed to remain in the program.

Companies can appeal the termination notice, and, though the agency is willing to entertain evidence that special circumstances may have been involved, Barab said, "The basic goal is to put the burden on the company to show why they shouldn't be terminated."

The first site that will be evaluated under OSHA's new policy is a chemical plant in Magnolia, Ark., owned by Albemarle Corp., where a contract worker fell to his death in June, Barab said. An enforcement inspection is ongoing at the site. As of July 11, the company still was touting its VPP "Star" status on its website, despite a provision in the new policy that places sites where a death has occurred on a sort of probationary status while the investigation is ongoing. Such sites are not supposed to display the VPP flag or other paraphernalia – status symbols within many industries.

A spokeswoman for Albemarle would not comment on the investigation but said in a statement, "We are firm believers in the principles behind OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program."

Please read on at Center for Public Integrity: http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/07/12/12949/impact-osha-strengthens-rules-model-workplace-program

New Facility to Divert up to 85% of Received Waste from Landfills for reuse or conversion to biofuel.

Progressive Waste Solutions has opened a waste reduction facility in Vaughan, Ontario, that the company says will redirect up to 85% of the construction, demolition and renovation waste it receives away from landfills for reuse or conversion to biofuel.

The construction and demolition industry in the greater Toronto area is estimated to produce nearly 500,000 tonnes of waste annually. The new Progressive Waste Solutions facility is equipped to process about 20% of the market's construction and demolition debris, or 100,000 tonnes of waste per year, representing the equivalent of 3,500 tractor trailer loads of material that can be diverted from landfills, the company says. The wood that is recovered at the facility will be processed into clean fuel to be used at electricity and steam generating plants, replacing fossil fuels and reducing greenhouse gas emissions downstream.

Progressive Waste Solutions invested $14 million in the facility, which is located on 10 acres of industrial land.

Ontario's Minister of the Environment, the Honourable Jim Bradley, says that with Ontario's proposed Waste Reduction Act being all about recycling wastes back into the community as raw material, the city is eager to attract more companies like Progressive Waste Solutions.

Ontario produces more than 12 million tonnes of waste every year, but only 25% of it is diverted from landfills by recycling; 60% of Ontario's waste is produced by industries, businesses and institutions like shopping malls, hospitals and offices. They are recycling only 13% of their waste, according to the Ministry of the Environment.

Please read full and follow more Environmental Management & Energy News from Environmental Leader

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/07/12/progressive-waste-solutions-new-facility-to-divert-up-to-85-of-received-waste-from-landfills/

Children’s ADHD Prescriptions Increase Nine-fold, Ages Three and Up

Heather Callaghan: The UK, like the U.S., is concerned by a baffling increase in heavy prescription drugs like Ritalin and psychotropics apparently given to children diagnosed with ADHD* as young as three – although guidelines condemn its use for children under age six.

Medical pundits called for a significant decrease and are noticing that parents are pressuring doctors for the meds to increase their children's performance. The same exact issue happens in the U.S. with doctors groups standing up against the trend. Their fear is that Ritalin is prescribed out of expediency and convenience in lieu of more expensive, time-taking options like counseling (and overall health).

Recently, child psychologists gathered at a summit in Manchester to discuss the rising "medicalization of childhood." Ritalin – methylphenidate hydrochloride – is considered safe by allopathic standards and time-tested, but is a serious drug with the ability to cause nausea, mood swings, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, heart problems, heart attacks and is linked to suicide. It is considered comparably safe to hardcore self-medicating like alcohol (think: quick dopamine shot), cocaine, and Speed. But for kids?? Three-year-olds??

The education and child psychology department of the British Psychological Society pointed out a nine-fold increase ADHD prescriptions for children. According to the NHS, in 1997, there were around 92,000 prescriptions. Compare that to nearly 800,000 prescriptions last year! This is only in the UK - the U.S. is a different story. Over here, sales of ADHD stimulants more than doubled between 2007 and 2012, from $4 billion to $9 billion. England's and Wales' own guidelines recommend a "comprehensive" program to help struggling children such as counseling and educational tools, among others.

Vivian Hill, chairperson of the BPS, finds that a comprehensive program does not always come into play. 

 Budgets have been cut and psychiatrists feel they can't follow the official guidelines, which recommend therapy before drugs.

Often, the first response now is to issue drugs, not offer therapeutic help.

She estimated that hundreds of children under age six are given ADHD drugs, and that the drugs are of no use absent other support. A study last year by the Association of Educational Psychologists backed Hill's claim. The study found that more than one hundred children under age six were in fact prescribed drugs like Ritalin, in just one locale, and affirmed the trend was more than regional.

A spokesperson from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence believes that drugs have a small role compared to psychotherapy for ADHD management. 

He said:

 These drugs are not recommended as first-line treatments for young people with mild or moderate ADHD. They are recommended as first-line therapy for school-age children and young people with severe ADHD.

A Cambridge professor echoed the thought believing that most cases weren't severe enough for drugs and that therapeutic tools could suffice, saying:

 But the parents are quite keen they should have a drug. Parents know these drugs are cognitive enhancing, so I guess they're trying to get an advantage for the child.

Please read full By Heather Callaghan and follow at:

http://www.naturalblaze.com/2013/07/childrens-adhd-prescriptions-increase.html

Smoking Kills You AND Your Earnings. "Even one cigarette is enough to trigger a smoking wage differential,"

"Even one cigarette is enough to trigger a smoking wage differential," is among the findings of a new (Federal Reserve sponsored) research study that shows smokers on average earn 19% less than non-smokers ($13.101 vs $16.261). Perhaps most interestingly, the researchers note that once you have been a smoker, you may as well smoke a pack a day as the differential is little affected by frequency. Once again, taxpayer money well-spent by the researchers at the Fed... Given these findings (and PhD logic) we suspect the Fed will introduce Quantitative Wheezing - aimed at 'rebalancing' the smoking imbalances... and boosting smokers' income by 24%...

 

 

Abstract:

It is well known that smoking leads to lower wages. However, the mechanism of this negative relationship is not well understood. This analysis includes a decomposition of the wage gap between smokers and nonsmokers, with a variety of definitions of smoking status designed to reflect differences in smoking intensity. This paper finds that nearly two-thirds of the 24 percent selectivity-corrected smoking/nonsmoking wage differential derives from differences in characteristics between smokers and nonsmokers.These results suggest that it is not differences in productivity that drive the smoking wage gap. Rather, it is differences in the endowments smokers bring to the market along with unmeasured factors, such as baseline employer tolerance. In addition, we also determine that even one cigarette per day is enough to trigger the smoking wage gap and that this gap does not vary by smoking intensity.

 

Full paper below...

Smoking Costs

Link credit:  http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-12/smoking-kills-your-earnings

Frackin Britain to tap its shale, has 50% more gas than 2 largest fields in U.S.

In late June, the British Geological Survey announced the world's largest shale-gas field. The Bowland Shale, which lies beneath Lancashire and Yorkshire, contains 50 percent more gas than the combined reserves of two of the largest fields in the United States, the Barnett Shale and the Marcellus Shale.

Please read full and follow at:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/project_syndicate/2013/07/fracking_britain_should_tap_its_shale_gas_field.html

“Weird Trick” eliminates electric bills, fat, and annoying posts?

I hate all these "Weird Trick" emails and advertising links. You know right from the title, they are promoting some "secret" method of getting something for nothing, and they are right. That something is money from your wallet, and the nothing is what you get in return. There are very few shortcuts in life. You can't get rid of your electric bill without a significant investment in Solar Panels, Inverters, Batteries, and other pieces of equipment. You can't get rid of fat without changing you eating and exercise habits.

That said, If you are serious about reducing your bills (and your waistline), there are tried and true methods of reducing your resource consumption, and efficiently using the resources given to us.

Grow a garden, and eat your own produce.
Turn lights and equipment off when not using it.
Install more efficient appliances.
Live closer to the natural sun cycles, don't stay up late at night watching TV.
Work outside more, gardening, microfarming, and more.
Use site grown wood for heat and hot water (saves money on fuel, and grows muscle / reduces fat).
Use Solar / Wind to power your home (it's not cheap up front) and insulate yourself from power outages and increasing electric / fuel bills.
Get a bicycle and reduce automobile usage when practical.
Harvest and store rainwater for domestic or irrigation purposes.

Please read full and follow at:  http://www.green-trust.org/wordpress/2013/07/13/weird-trick-eliminates-electric-bills-fat-and-annoying-posts/

Global warming “can be reversed”, scientists claim with Hi-tech new bio-energy plants

Global warming "can be reversed", scientists claim

Hi-tech new bio-energy plants could "reverse" global warming by pumping carbon dioxide into old gas wells - lowering temperatures by 0.6°C per century, according to a study.

There are already 16 projects around the world working on the technology - aiming to generate power for local homes by burning vegetation such as wood or straw and then burying the carbon dioxide it produces deep underground. "It's like drilling for natural gas, but in reverse," says Niclas Mattson of Chalmers University, Sweden, co-author of the study.

Please continue reading at:

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/13-Jul-2013/global-warming-can-be-reversed-scientists-claim

California solar installations jumped 26% in 2012 - now cheaper than coal

California solar installations jumped 26% in 2012

California had a banner year in solar installations in 2012, bringing the state 391 megawatts closer to its goal to install 3,000 megawatts by 2017.

According to a California Solar Initiative progress report by the Public Utilities Commission, those additions represent a 26% growth from 2011. The state is now equipped to produce 1,629 megawatts of solar energy across completed projects at nearly 168,000 sites -- enough to power 150,000 homes.

'Solar power cheaper than coal'

Solar is increasingly becoming one of the cheapest energy sources, even compared to large conventional power plants. Bernhard Beck, chief executive of solar power plant builder Belectric, sees a large market for growth.

Please read full and follow at:

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-california-solar-growth-20130711,0,4238121.story

For doomers the answer is always to kill people or prevent people from being born [feedly]

Steven Emmott thinks we are all doomed and tries to confuse others with weird metrics that are not in context.

Steve talks about water usage.
He does not talk about getting twice as efficient with water to get all of the agriculture and industrial and home uses we need. 
He talks about killing or restricting the population in half.
Doomers do not go to water saving solutions they go to killing people.

Like the Far Side book of horse medicine where the answer is always shoot the horse. For doomers the answer is always to kill people

Yet even shooting people would not work. There is the examples of world war one and world war two where tens of millions were shot and killed and yet world population still went up.

Doomers talk about millions starving in Africa and yet Africa's populations goes up.

The doomer preferred solution of getting rid of people does not work for the purpose that they want. Even their doomsday fantasy of struggling humans killing each other and keeping population low does not work.

Hidden Water

It takes around 3,000 liters of water to produce a burger. In 2012 around five billion burgers were consumed in the UK alone. That's 15 trillion liters of water – on burgers. Just in the UK. Something like 14 billion burgers were consumed in the United States in 2012. That's around 42 trillion liters of water.

So that seems like a lot. How much water do we have ? The US Geological survey explains

1,386,000,000 cubic kilometers (km3). Each cubic kilometer is a trillion liters of water.

The Earth's liquid fresh water in groundwater, swamp water, rivers, and lakes. The volume is 10,633,450 km3. 
68% of that water is ice.

How is the water used ?

The world uses freshwater: 
• about 70 percent for irrigation 
• about 20 percent for industry 
• about 10 percent for domestic use

Read more »