You may forward Planet Waves Monsanto Eco to your friends. They can sign up for this free environmental newsletter from Planet Waves. Dear Friend and Reader: Last week we reported on some indications that those in the fossil fuel industry are running scared, but nothing can quite compare to the absurd 'data' trotted out July 8 by certain U.S. politicians trying to block the Obama administration's new Environmental Protection Agency carbon emission regulations (reported by Huffington Post):
For good reason: according to NASA, Mars' average temperature is about 138 degrees colder than Earth's. Smith, owner of a mining company called Mohawk Energy, seemed unaware that Kentucky's Energy and Environment Cabinet has stated that no additional coal-fired power plants will close due to the new regulations. He has since tried to explain himself, to dubious effect. From the other side of the aisle, Democratic state Rep. Kevin Sinnette told the Committee that "the world adjusted" after the dinosaurs died off, by way of dismissing global warming -- oblivious to the implications of his statement. World Council of Churches Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is Oblivious neither to science nor to ethics -- and representing 590 million Christians in its member denominations worldwide -- the World Council of Churches decided Thursday at its central committee meeting in Geneva to divest from fossil fuel companies, and recommended that its member churches do the same, The Guardian reported July 11. Although the council's own investment fund is modest compared to those of many member churches, some denominations (such as the United Church of Christ) have already divested. "The World Council of Churches reminds us that morality demands thinking as much about the future as about ourselves -- and that there's no threat to the future greater than the unchecked burning of fossil fuels," said 350.org founder Bill McKibben in a statement.
Twenty-four people were arrested in Washington, D.C., on Monday while protesting the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals, according to a July 14 EcoWatch report. More than 40 national, state and community-based groups endorsed the first-ever sit-in protest at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in response to recent applications to build 14 new export terminals. One proposed Maryland terminal called Cove Point would receive fracked gas from the Marcellus shale, liquefy it and export it to be burned in Japan and India -- a global circuit of climate damage. Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., president and CEO of environmental group Hip Hop Caucus said, "We'll keep fighting until wind turbines and solar panels crisscross our coastlines, and LNG facilities like Cove Point are defunct monuments to a dinosaur industry." Protesters were released with a citation and $50 fine. Organic vs. Conventional: New Conclusions Refuting a 2012 Stanford University study that found little nutritional difference between organically and conventionally grown produce, a review of studies to be published this week in the British Journal of Nutrition suggests the opposite is true, The New York Times reported July 11.
While the researchers do not make any health claims regarding antioxidants, they do note that other studies have suggested links between certain antioxidants and reduced rates of cancer and other diseases. Regarding differences in pesticide residue, which the Stanford study had downplayed, the abstract for the research (published online ahead of the print edition) states that, "the frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues was found to be four times higher in conventional crops, which also contained significantly higher concentrations of the toxic metal Cd [cadmium]." Cadmium, along with other heavy metals, has been linked to an epidemic of deadly kidney disease plaguing peasant farmers in Sri Lanka, as well as in India and Central America. The disease, known as CDKu, has killed over 20,000 people in the past two decades. Dr. Channa Jayasumana of Rajarata University in Sri Lanka and two colleagues have proposed a hypothesis linking the advent of agrochemical use to the onset of the epidemic -- pointing directly at Monsanto's glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup, and its ability to bond with toxic heavy metals, including cadmium. Long Overdue: Monsanto Finally Makes Good(ish) in Nitro Victims of dioxin exposure from the town of Nitro, West Virginia, can now receive up to $84 million in benefits from Monsanto, reported The State Journal (West Virginia) July 7. Benefits include medical examinations and property cleanup for those who lived, worked or attended school in areas contaminated with dioxins from the now-demolished Nitro plant that produced components for Monsanto's Agent Orange.
To avoid going to trial, Monsanto agreed in 2012 to pay millions on a 30-year medical monitoring program for residents impacted by the plant's past activities. "We are pleased to resolve this matter and end any concerns about historic operations at the Nitro plant," said Monsanto's counsel Scott Partridge in a 2012 statement. An "end to concerns" is unlikely, given the Nitro plant's history; Monsanto falsified studies of Nitro workers’ health, according to a 1989 internal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memorandum. Additionally, those falsified studies formed the basis of the EPA’s failure to regulate dioxin for many years. Monsanto similarly submitted falsified or otherwise invalid safety tests done by Industrial BioTest labs; Monsanto also used BioTest labs to skew results for its products, including PCBs as well as pesticides -- rendering Monsanto's statement (above) more than a little disingenuous. Another notable fact about the Nitro incident is that it became the subject of a lawsuit against an independent journalist that scared nearly every other editor and writer off of the dioxin issue, never to return. Additional research and commentary by Carol van Strum and Eric Francis. Cartoons and Electric Cars: Tesla Museum Closer to Reality
(See previous Planet Waves coverage of Tesla Motors' release of electric vehicle patents.) Inman had tweeted Musk back in May to share his review of his Model S and appeal to the billionaire for help; Inman began fundraising for the museum in 2012. "I'd be happy to help," Musk tweeted back, and on July 10 -- Nikola Tesla's 158th birthday -- spoke to Inman by phone to pledge $1 million, plus a supercharging station for Tesla cars in the parking lot. "From the deepest wells of my geeky little heart: thank you," wrote Inman at The Oatmeal. "Happy Nikola Tesla Day." Yours & truly,  Amanda Painter and the ECO editorial team You may forward Planet Waves Monsanto Eco to your friends. They can sign up for this free environmental newsletter from Planet Waves. Planet Waves Monsanto Watch (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday evening in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves Monsanto Watch is produced by a team consisting of Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Moreno, Amanda Painter, Amy Elliott, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward.  Good as Gold: The Planet Waves Midyear Reading If you have not already noticed, 2014 is really two years in one, with version 2.0 beginning right about now. With all of the inner planets direct, Jupiter entering a fire sign and Mars coming home to its native Scorpio, a whole new concept of life and of astrology is reaching out to us. I will be unfolding this brand new aspect pattern for all 12 signs and rising signs in my midyear reading, called Good as Gold.
I will provide ideas, strategies, motivational rants (my specialty) and ideas I've learned in therapy to get the blocks out of the way, access your courage, and invoke your vision for yourself. How do you manage the transition out of something old that is not really working and into something new, with the simultaneous demands of a learning curve, balancing yourself financially and staying inspired? These and other things are what I will be exploring. Good as Gold is available for pre-order now. We're introducing this at $39.95 for all 12 signs. As usual, we start with the lowest price for all 12, gradually raise the price, then sell one reading for about what we were initially asking for all 12. The first price increase will be Friday. So now is the time to get the best rate on the whole package, so you can listen to your Sun, Moon and rising signs, and check in with the readings for your collaborators. Here is that link Lovingly,  To unsubscribe, click here e Wiki | Friends | Editors | Contact Us Copyright © 2013 by Planet Waves, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Other copyrights may apply. Some images used under Fair Use or Share Alike attribution. |
