GBDS.US News Articles ICR

The Cancer Risk Lurking in Your Drinking Water | E/The Environmental Magazine

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:00:00 -0700

What you need to know about chlorine.

"Dear EarthTalk: I am very concerned about the amount of chlorine in my tap water. I called my water company and they said it is safe, just let the tap run for awhile to rid the smell of chlorine. But that just gets rid of the smell, perhaps, not the chlorine?" - Anita Frigo, Milford, CT

Thousands of American municipalities add chlorine to their drinking water to neutralize contaminants. "Chlorine, added as an inexpensive and effective drinking water disinfectant, is also a known poison to the body," says Vanessa Lausch of filter manufacturer Aquasana. "It is certainly no coincidence that chlorine gas was used with deadly effectiveness as a weapon in the First World War." The gas would severely burn the lungs and other body tissues when inhaled, and is no less powerful when ingested by mouth.

Lausch adds that researchers have now linked chlorine in drinking water to higher incidences of bladder, rectal and breast cancers. Reportedly chlorine, once in water, interacts with organic compounds to create trihalomethanes (THMs) - which when ingested encourage the growth of free radicals that can destroy or damage vital cells in the body. "Because so much of the water we drink ends up in the bladder and/or rectum, ingestions of THMs in drinking water are particularly damaging to these organs," says Lausch.

The link between chlorine and bladder and rectal cancers has long been known, but only recently have researchers found a link between common chlorine disinfectant and breast cancer, which affects one out of every eight American women. A recent study conducted in Hartford, Connecticut found that women with breast cancer have 50-60% higher levels of organochlorines (chlorine by-products) in their breast tissue than cancer-free women.

But don't think that buying bottled water is any solution. Much of the bottled water for sale in the U.S. comes from public municipal water sources that are often treated with, you guessed it, chlorine. A few cities have switched over to other means of disinfecting their water supplies. Las Vegas, for example, has followed the lead of many European and Canadian cities in switching over to ozone instead of chlorine to disinfect its municipal water supply.

As for getting rid of the chlorine that your city or town adds to its drinking water on your own, theories abound. Some swear by the method of letting their water sit for 24 hours so that the chlorine in the glass or pitcher will off-gas. Letting the tap run for a while is not likely to remove any sizable portion of chlorine, unless one were to then let the water sit overnight before consuming it. Another option to consider may be a product called WaterYouWant, which looks like sugar but actually is composed of tasteless antioxidants and plant extracts. The manufacturer claims that a quick shake of the stuff removes 100% of the chlorine (and its odor) from a glass a tap water. A year's supply of WaterYouWant retails for under $30.

Of course, an easier way to get rid of chlorine from your tap water is by installing a carbon-based filter, which absorbs chlorine and other contaminants before they get into your glass or body. Tap-based filters from the likes of Paragon, Aquasana, Kenmore, Seagul and others remove most if not all of the chlorine in tap water, and are relatively inexpensive to boot.

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION?
Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it here or via e-mail. Read past columns here and check out the recent book Earthtalk: Expert Answers to Everyday Questions about the Environment

Source: The Daily Green

Is there room for Spirit in our families? by Riane Eisler | Tikkun

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 04:00:00 -0700

"Today socialists and leftists do not dream of a future qualitatively different from the present,' wrote Russell Jacoby in 1999 in The End of Utopia. 'To put it differently, radicalism no longer believes in itself. Almost everywhere the left contracts, not simply politically but, perhaps more decisively, intellectually." - Riane Eisler

Our challenge is to create the social conditions that support the realization of our enormous human capacity for consciousness, creativity, empathy, and caring. This is the core of a progressive spiritual political agenda.

Most of us share the vision of a world where peace will no longer be an interval between wars. We are seeking a world of peace. A world where every child will be wanted and truly cared for. A world where abject poverty and hunger will be memories of a brutal past. A world where our natural life-support system, our mother Earth, will truly be honored. A world where governments will invest in really caring for people - in health, in education, in welfare - rather than in weapons and armaments. In short, a world where generations to come will be able not only to survive, but to thrive.

If we look around us at the world today, it's discouraging because we seem to be going backward rather than forward. But it is precisely in periods of regression that we have to be proactive. I know from my own personal life what can happen if people don't stand up to be counted. I was born during a time of massive regression: the rise to power of the Nazis in Europe, first in Germany, and then in my native Austria. I was a very small child when I saw the Gestapo come to our home and brutally push my father down the stairs and drag him away.

But I also saw something else: spiritual courage - courage out of love, to stand up against injustice. My mother displayed it. She stood up to the Nazis and demanded that my father be released. She could have been killed, but by a miracle she wasn't. By a miracle she obtained his release, and we escaped the fate of my grandparents, my cousins, and my aunts and uncles - to be exterminated in Nazi concentration camps.

Those experiences have profoundly affected my life, and they have also profoundly affected my research. They made it very important for me to ask questions about human possibilities, about whether or not all this cruelty is inevitable, about possible alternatives.

I tried figuring this out using conventional categories - capitalism versus communism, and Right versus Left, and religion versus secularism - and they were of no help, just as they are really not much use today. All such categories merely identify particular fragments of society; not one of them really describes the whole social system. They don't even take into account the most fundamental human relations, without which none of us would be here: the relations between women and men, and between parents and children.

If we don't look at the whole of a picture, we cant connect the dots. Thus, in the research that I and others have been carrying out, we look at a database that includes not only the public sphere of politics and economics as conventionally defined, but also the private sphere of families and other intimate relations which we inhabit.

We can then see patterns. I call one of them the "partnership" model and the other one the "domination" model. My research was intended to answer the question, what kind of system supports relations of mutual respect, mutual benefit, mutual accountability, and, yes, mutual caring? And that was how we came to the partnership model.

Source: Tikkun

Organic: What it means on different products | LA Times

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 04:00:00 -0700

Some consumers are more than willing to pay higher prices for organically grown food and other products. But is the extra dollar worth it? The answer may depend upon personal priorities.

By definition, organically grown foods are produced without most conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge. Livestock aren't given antibiotics or growth hormones. And organic farmers emphasize renewable resources and conservation of soil and water.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the National Organic Program, says organic is a "production philosophy," adding that an organic label does not imply a product is superior. Moreover, some nutrition experts say, there's no need to eat organic to be healthy: Simply choose less processed food and more fruits and vegetables.

To compare the nutrient density of organically and conventionally grown grapes, researchers would have to have matched pairs of fields, including using the same soil, the same irrigation system, the same level of nitrogen fertilizer and the same stage of ripeness at harvest, acknowledged Charles Benbrook, chief scientist at the Organic Center, a pro-organics research institution.

Last summer, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a comprehensive review concluding that organic and conventional food had comparable nutrient levels.

The study outraged some members of the organic community, who criticized the study for not addressing pesticide residues, a major reason people choose organic. Nor did the study address the effect of farming practices on the environment and personal health.

Maria Rodale, a third-generation advocate for organic farming, urges consumers to look beyond nutrition to the chemicals going into our soil, our food and our bodies. "What we do to our environment, we are also doing to ourselves," said Rodale, chairwoman and chief executive of Rodale Inc., which publishes health and wellness content.

Here's a closer look at some of the factors that may influence your decision whether to buy organic products.

Fruits and vegetables

Farmers using conventional practices treat crops with pesticides that protect them from mold, insects and disease but can leave residues. Organic fruits and vegetables have less pesticide residue and lower nitrate levels than do conventional fruits and vegetables, according to a 1996 scientific summary report by the Institute of Food Technologists.

The bottom line: Pesticide residue poses little risk to most consumers, health experts say. But fetuses and children are more vulnerable to the effects of synthetic chemicals, which can be toxic to the brain and nervous system, said Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

The Environmental Working Group, a public health advocacy organization, recommends buying organically grown peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes and pears because conventionally grown versions are the most heavily sprayed. Onions, avocados, sweet corn and pineapples have some of the lowest levels of pesticides.

As for nutrition, one French study found that, in some cases, organic plant products have more minerals such as iron and magnesium and more antioxidant polyphenols. But although mounting evidence suggests that soil rich in organic matter produces more nutritious food, "we are never going to be able to say organic is always more nutrient dense; that's going beyond the science," said Benbrook of the Organic Center.

Dairy and meat

Organic dairy and meat products come from animals not treated with antibiotics or genetically engineered bovine growth hormones, which are used to stop the spread of disease and to boost milk production. Past rules on "access to pasture" were vague and didn't require that the animals actually venture into it. But a new regulation requires that animals graze for a minimum of 120 days. In addition, 30% of their dietary needs must come from pasture.

The bottom line: The dairy cow's diet is key. Organic milk has more vitamins, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid because the cows eat high levels of fresh grass, clover pasture and grass clover silage. Research published in the British Journal of Nutrition found organic milk can improve the quality of breast milk and may protect young children against asthma and eczema.

Though the FDA says milk from cows treated with bovine growth hormone is safe and indistinguishable from other milk, consumers are spooked. Dean Foods, the nation's largest dairy producer, no longer sells milk from those cows, and Kroger (which owns Ralphs), Wal-Mart, Costco, Starbucks, Dannon, Yoplait and several other companies have pledged not to use it.

As with dairy, organic meat has higher levels of omega-3s because of the higher forage content in the animals' diet. It also has lower fat overall than that from animals fed a high-corn diet, said Benbrook. Eating organic dairy or meat also can help with another issue: The use of antibiotics on farms has contributed to an increase in antibiotic-resistant genes in bacteria, say health and agriculture experts.

"Pushing animals to grow really fast has a cascade of effects on the environment and the health of the animal," said Benbrook. "We need to back off the accelerator and focus on the health of the plant, the health of the animal, as well as the nutrient composition of the food."

Source: LA Times

Hiroshima & Nagasaki Day 2010 | Wikipedia

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:00:00 -0700

During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

After six months of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities the Japanese government ignored an ultimatum given by the Potsdam Declaration. By executive order of President Harry S. Truman the U.S. dropped the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945,^[1]^[2] followed by the detonation of "Fat Man" over Nagasaki on August 9. These two events are the only active deployments of nuclear weapons in war.^[3] The target of Hiroshima was a city of considerable military importance, containing Japan's Second Army Headquarters, as well as being a communications center and storage depot.^[4]

Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,00080,000 in Nagasaki,^[5] with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day. The Hiroshima prefectural health department estimates that, of the people who died on the day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other causes. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness. In a more plausible estimate of the total immediate and short term cause of death, 1520% died from radiation sickness, 2030% from flash burns, and 5060% from other injuries, compounded by illness.^[6] In both cities, most of the dead were civilians.^[7]^[8]^[9]

Six days after the detonation over Nagasaki, on August 15, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, officially ending the Pacific War and therefore World War II. Germany had signed its Instrument of Surrender on May 7, ending the war in Europe. The bombings led, in part, to post-war Japan adopting Three Non-Nuclear Principles, forbidding the nation from nuclear armament.^[10] The role of the bombings in Japan's surrender and the U.S.'s ethical justification for them, as well as their strategical importance, is still debated.^[11]^[12]

Source: Wikipedia

Raids are Increasing on Farms and Private Food-Supply Clubs | Grist

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:00:00 -0700

Government raids of producers, distributors, and even consumers of nutritionally dense foods appear to be happening more frequently.

Sometimes they are meant to counter raw dairy production, other times to challenge private food organizations over whether they should be licensed as food retailers.

Grist offers the following advice for preparing for and dealing with a raid:

Be wary of strangers who want to join your private buying group or herdshare
Have a video camera at the ready
Have a plan of action
Read the search warrant fine print
Keep computer backups

Source: Grist July 14, 2010

The Raw Milk Revolution | Mercola.com

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:00:00 -0700

David Gumpert, who wrote the Grist article above, is the author of The Raw Milk Revolution, and if you're looking for a concise reference into the raw milk war currently being battled across the United States, this book is it.

What many do not yet realize is that this issue is about much more than raw milk. It's about your ability, your right, to purchase and consume pure, unadulterated food.

As regular readers know, I am an avid supporter of raw milk for many reasons, but even if you dont intend to ever take a sip, if you have any interest in protecting your right to unprocessed food, this is one issue you should keep up on.

Farmers and Private Food Coops Persecuted

The idea of armed federal agents storming through small farms and barns, making off with milk cartons and computers, would be quite laughable - if it werent a reality. Victims of recent government raids, as Grist reported, include:

Rawesome Foods: A private food club run by raw-food advocate Aajonus Vonderplanitz in California. Agents took thousands of dollars worth of raw honey and raw dairy products, and shut the group down for not having a public health permit (even though theyre a private food club). The FBI and FDA were also on the scene.
Traditional Foods Warehouse: A food club in Minnesota that offers locally produced foods. Agents raided the club and shut it down.
A private residence: Agents searched a home and took computers because a family allowed a raw dairy farmer to park in their driveway while distributing raw milk to residents who had ordered it.
The dairy farm and farm store of Vernon Hershberger: Three raids in a three-month period!
The farm of Sharon Palmer: Agents raided her farm three times in 18 months over issues with her labeling of goat cheese. A computer and milk used to feed chickens and pigs were confiscated.
Manna Storehouse: An Ohio food club that has been raided over licensing issues. According to Grist, Armed law enforcement officers actually held a mother and eight young children being home-schooled at gunpoint for several hours while they searched the home and food storage areas.

Agricultural agencies along with the FDA and CDC have been particularly aggressive recently in their efforts to crack down on raw milk producers and buying clubs under the pretense of public health safety. But the truth remains that not only is raw milk a health-promoting food, it is oftentimes safer than the pasteurized varieties both state and federal governments are rallying behind.

Get the Facts: High-Quality Raw Milk is Safe

As Gumpert pointed out, while no one has died in Massachusetts because of raw milk, three people died in 2007 from pasteurized milk tainted with Listeriosis.

And as In These Times reported, according to CDC data from 1993 to 2006 there were about 116 illnesses a year linked to raw milk -- that amounts to less than .000002 percent of the 76 million people who contract a food-borne illness in the United States each year!

Organically raised, grass-fed milk naturally contains hundreds of healthy, good bacteria, including lactobacillus and acidophilus. Its the presence of these beneficial bacteria that make raw milk such an outstanding food source to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in your intestine, which in turn has a significant beneficial impact on your overall immune function.

Raw milk also contains vitamins, which are virtually eliminated by the pasteurization process of commercial milk, and provides a source of natural butterfat, which is homogenized or removed in pasteurized milk.

Without butterfat, it becomes very difficult for your body to absorb and utilize the vitamins and minerals in the water fraction of the milk. Butterfat is also your best source of preformed vitamin A, and contains re-arranged acids with strong anti-carcinogenic properties.

Grass-fed raw milk even contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which fights cancer and may help reduce your body fat.

Unfortunately, the FDA and other health agencies do not acknowledge the inherent differences between pasteurized milk and raw milk.

They claim raw milk and pasteurized milk have precisely the same kind of nutritional values, completely disregarding the value of enzymes, the probiotic value of beneficial bacteria, and the importance of healthy fats.

Meanwhile, they maintain, incorrectly I might add, that pasteurization is the only way to ensure that milk is safe, when in reality it is only milk raised in unhealthy conditions, from unhealthy cows, that requires pasteurization prior to consumption.

So what is really going on? Why the major push to shut off peoples access to this healthy food source?

As Gumpert says, the regulation is "not about safety -- it's about protecting markets.

Big Dairy Does Not Want You to Drink Raw Milk

The popularity of raw milk is growing strong, despite the governments best efforts to scare health-conscious consumers away.

In Massachusetts, the number of dairies licensed to sell raw milk grew from 12 to 23 in just two years, while the Northeast Organic Farming Association stated that dairies are selling more raw milk than they were just five years ago, and consumers call in every week looking for advice on where to find it.

The conventional dairy industry, realizing this, has redoubled their efforts to make sure that raw milk sales are not able to become mainstream, where they could begin to threaten their very own livelihoods.

If raw dairy really caught on, you would think that the dairy industry would simply follow suit and begin producing raw products to meet the demand. But this would be virtually impossible.

Cows that are part of industrial dairy farms are fed grain and often raised under substandard conditions. They will therefore likely produce milk that is unhealthy to drink raw because grains, antibiotics, growth hormones, and filthy living conditions change the pH balance and the natural bacteria present in a cow's gut, which in turn affects the natural bacteria and pathogens present in their milk.

Their business depends on pasteurization, and that is why their powerful lobbyists will stop at nothing to persuade government agencies to keep raw milk bans in full force.

You Can Make a Difference in the Raw Milk Revolution

By joining the fight to make access to healthy raw milk a right for all Americans, you are not only standing up for raw milk; youre taking a stand to protect your freedom of food choice.

The FDA never had any grounds for making the sale of raw milk illegal in the first place. Even a quick review of the data shows that this food, which the FDA claims is so harmful to human health, is less harmful than countless food products that have earned the FDAs seal of approval!

If you are currently a member of a food coop that supplies raw dairy products, or if you take part in a cow-share program that allows you to purchase raw dairy direct from the farm, keep up the good work! You are taking a stand for your health and supporting the farmers that still supply real, nourishing foodstuffs.

As more people become aware of this important issue, as well as the health value of raw dairy, it will only become more difficult for the government to continue their ruthless chokehold on your access to raw food.

You can continue to learn more, and get involved in the raw milk revolution, by visiting the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund web sites. Both organizations are dedicated to protecting your right to raw milk and other nutrient-dense foods.

Source: Mercola.com

GMO's: An Evolutionary Timebomb & Genetic Roulette & Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey Smith | ICResource.com

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 04:00:00 -0700

Editor's Note: This summary is based on the research work of Genetic Roulette & Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey Smith and a presentation by Jack Leischman. GM = Genetically-Modified. GMO = Genetically-Modified-Organisms.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are the result of laboratory processes which artificially insert foreign genes into the DNA of food crops or animals. Those genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. Although banned by food manufacturers in Europe and elsewhere, the FDA does not require any safety evaluations. Most Americans say they would not eat GMOs if labeled, but the U.S. does not require labeling. GMOs are not safe, but have been in the food supply since 1996 and are now present in the vast majority of processed foods in the US. Responsible Technology

Major GM Crops & Health Concerns

Major GM crops include: a) Soy (91%); b) Corn (73%); c) Cotton (87%); d) Canola Oil (80%). All canola oil was genetically engineered from the rapeseed plant in Canada and imported to the USA. In summary, there are currently four major crops, two major traits, six countries and 2.4% of global agricultural land in production.

Major GM vegetables now on the market include: a) zucchini (50%); b) crookneck squash; c) Hawaiian papaya. GM peas and sugar have been introduced. 70% of all processed foods in USA have GM ingredients.

For your health and wellbeing avoid GMOs and at-risk ingredients. Look for goods than are nonGMO labeled with nonGMO shopping guide.

Of the 28 million high-usage organic shoppers and 54 million temperate use organic shoppers in USA most are unaware of the importance of purchasing non-GMO ingredients including some organic foods which may include them. You can access the shopping guide at: www.responsibletechnology.org

Three Evaluation Questions

How vigilant were you to avoid GM food when eating out?
How vigilant were you this week week to avoid bringing GM food home?
How active have ou been in educating people about GM foods?

Genetic Engineering

Cells are composed of a nucleus, mitochondria, chromosomes and DNA basepairs (nucleotides).

A Gene construct includes a regulatory sequence to turn the gene on or off, coding sequence, regulatory sequence to keep the gene on, plasmid backbone DNA and superfluous genetic material.

Genetic engineering must identify and isolate genes with desired traits. To create GM foods scientists then force animal/plant genes, anti-biotics, bacteria and/or viruses into other plant organisms. The gene has to be changed so itll still work in the target plant.

Plant cells must be prepared. Plant cells are transformed with a gene gun that shoots the intended gene into the cell or through bacterial infection process. Plant cells are then re-grown with the new genes through tissue transfer.

FDA Scientist Concerns

Many FDA scientists expressed concern over GM foods from the beginning of the approval process, but were summarily suppressed and ignored by the top policy makers (1992). Concerns included unexpected allergens, plant toxicants, new diseases and nutritional problems. Some of the truth has been revealed through leaks, whistleblowing and FOIA requests during lawsuits. For example, Dr. Arpad Pusztai was scapegoated for daring to reveal the truth of his research.

GMOs were banned by the European Union because farmers were concerned they couldnt sell their products to other non-GMO countries. USA farmers are now banned from selling to the European market.

Monsanto Products

The FlavrSavr Tomato was designed for a longer shelf-life, but rats refused to eat them. Other test animals also refused to eat the GM tomato. Apparently animals are smarter than humans. LibertyLink Corn. BT-Corn. Cows died after eating. Pigs and cows became sterile. Inhaled pollen created illness. BT-Cotton. Similar symptoms. Sheep died after grazing on BT-Cotton plants.

Five Problems

The process of creating a GM crop creates unpredictable changes in DNA and plant composition. Native genes are dropped with a 2-4% genetic variation in the original plant. Genes do not operate independently as is the scientific consensus. Genomes can be networked, thus changing one gene can affect others. Changes in the DNA alters the RNA, proteins and natural compounds. Proteins may be different than intended or multiple proteins created. Genes may mutate or be truncated, rearranged, read differently by the RNA.

Monsanto RoundUp Ready Plants

Herbicide tolerance (73%); Pesticide production (18%); Crops with both traits (8%).
There are more herbicide residues in herbicide-tolerant crops.
BT-Spray Vs. BT-Toxin.
Presumption of safety with BT-Toxin (bacteria gene).
Human beings do react to BT-Toxin and it does survive digestion (unlike the scientific presumption).
Gene transfer to bacteria (6 7# in gut) in human digestive tract is optimized.
BT-Toxin is more highly concentrated and lasting than the BT-Spray.

Monsanto Roundup Ready Soy Has All Five Problems

Disrupted DNA, damaged section near transgene, extra transgene fragments.
Altered nutrients and increased allergens, antinutrients and lignon production.
Reduced protein and some protein might be harmful.
Increased herbicide use required due to increased tolerance.
Gene transfer.

Genetic Mutations

Genetic mutations are highly likely in humans with a genome of 20,000 30,000 genes.

GMO Research and Assessment

None has been required by the FDA for approval and independent research is not available. All reseach has been based on biased industry studies.

Success Stories

The European Union has banned all GM foods thanks in great part to the work of Dr. Arpad Pusztai and Jeffrey Smith.
Milk products with rBGH growth hormone have been recently removed from the shelves of major retailers in the USA.

Resources

BP funds digital drive to promote oil-spill effort | Marketing Magazine

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:00:00 -0700

BP has turned to the web in an attempt to avert further criticism of its handling of the ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil leak.

The energy company is to follow up a $50m US TV ad campaign with global digital activity aimed at defending its role in the crisis.

It will spend up to $1m a month buying keyword search terms on Google and YouTube and has dedicated resources
to responding to queries and comments made on social-media sites.

President Obama recently criticised BP's spending on TV ads, suggesting the money could have been better used to help "fishermen or small businesses here in the Gulf who are having a bad time."

Nonetheless, the company plans to continue running a series of campaigns informing the public of its efforts to clean up the oil.

The latest is a digital campaign that directs web users entering relevant search terms to a dedicated BP website. A sponsored link, running globally on Google, includes the message: "Learn more about how BP is helping."

Similarly, searches on YouTube that include keywords such as oil spill' and BP' bring up a link to a video message from embattled BP chief executive Tony Hayward.

The activity, which also includes Flickr, Twitter and Facebook, is being implemented by Purple Strategies, a US agency that specialises in handling controversial public issues.

According to Giles Palmer, chief executive of Brandwatch, which measures companies' online reputations, BP's standing has been damaged by its poor management of the crisis. However, he believes that the company can still regain some of the trust it has lost.

"Imagine the celebrations around the world if we all felt part of the efforts to cap this leak,' he said. It could actually provide BP with an amazing platform to show just what it will do when the chips are down. This may be asking a lot, but it could happen."

Meanwhile, BP has been targeted by environmental campaigners. Greenpeace placed a banner on the company's London offices branding it "British Polluters" and has launched a competition inviting the public to redesign BP's logo.

Source: Marketing Magazine

Fungi Perfecti: Cleaning Up the Petroleum Problem by Paul E. Stamets

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:00:00 -0700

Paul Stamet's Statement on Mycoremediation and its Applications to Oil Spills.

The BP oil spill has inflicted enormous harm in the Gulf of Mexico and will continue to do so for months, if not decades, to come. While we will need a wide array of efforts to address this complex problem, mycoremediation is a valuable component in our toolset of solutions. Mycoremediation has demonstrated positive results, verified by scientists in many countries. However, there is more oil spilled than there is currently mycelium available. Much more mycelium is needed and, fortunately, we know how to generate it.

Here is what we know about mycoremediation, based on tests conducted by myself, my colleagues and other researchers who have published their results. (See attached references.)

Oil being absorbed by mushroom mycelium.

What we know:

More than 120 novel enzymes have been identified from mushroom-forming fungi.
Various enzymes breakdown a wide assortment of hydrocarbon toxins.
My work with Battelle Laboratories, in collaboration with their scientists, resulted in TAHs (Total Aromatic Hydrocarbons) in diesel contaminated soil to be reduced from 10,000 ppm to < 200 ppm in 16 weeks from a 25% inoculation rate of oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mycelium, allowing the remediated soil to be approved for use as landscaping soil along highways. (Thomas et al., 1999)
Oil contains a wide variety of toxins, many of which are carcinogens.
Mycelium more readily degrades lower molecular weight hydrocarbons (3,4,5 ring) than heavier weight hydrocarbons. However, the heavier weight hydrocarbons are reduced via mycelial enzymes into lighter weight hydrocarbons, allowing for a staged reduction with subsequent mycelial treatments.
Aged mycelium from oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) mixed in with compost made from woodchips and yard waste (50:50 by volume) resulted in far better degradation of hydrocarbons than oyster mushroom mycelium or compost alone.
Oyster mycelium does not degrade keratin-based hair as it produces little or no keratinases, whereas other mold fungi such as Chaetomium species (which include some high temperature-tolerant leaf mold fungi) produce keratinases.
Worms die when put into contact with high concentrations of hydrocarbon saturated soils, but live after mycelial treatments reduce the toxins below the lethal thresholds.
Spring inoculations work better than fall inoculations as the mycelium has more time to grow-out. Bioregional specificities must be carefully considered.
Amplifying native mushroom species in the bioregion impacted by toxic spills work better than non-native species.
More funding is needed to better understand and implement mycoremediation technologies.
Oil spills will occur in the futurewe need to be ready for them!

Oyster mushrooms producing on oil contaminated soil (12% = 10,00020,000 ppm). We do not recommend eating food crops from contaminated soils.
Photo credit: Susan Thomas.

Soil toxicity reduced in 16 weeks to less than ~ 200 ppm, allowing for plants, worms and other species to inhabit whereas control piles remained toxic to plants and worms.
Photo credit: Susan Thomas.

What we dont know:

The effect of salt water on the growth of mycelium on hair mats soaked in oil. The Presidio project with Matter of Trust did not test the hair mats used to soak up the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco bay. The hair mats that were tested were ones that were put into contact with motor oil and Bunker C oil collected from the bowels of the Cosco Busan, without saltwater.
The differential gradients of decomposition of the complex oil constituents from contact with Oyster mushroom mycelium. Different toxins degrade at different rates when placed into contact with mycelium.
The variables that influence the success of mycoremediation, particularly since the targeted toxins are often complex mixtures of volatile and non-volatile hydrocarbons.
How many other species of fungi could be applied for mycoremediation beyond the few that have been tested? Up to now, Oyster mushroom mycelium (Pleurotus ostreatus) has been tested successfully but there are literally thousands of other species yet to be tested for mycoremediation.
How each fungal species used pre-selects the subsequent biological populations and how these further enable plant communities as habitats recover from toxic waste exposure?
Whether or not the mushrooms grown on decomposing toxic wastes are safe to eat.
To what degree of decomposition by mycelium of toxic soils makes the soils safe for food crops.
How economically practical will it be to remove mushrooms that have hyper-accumulated heavy metalswill this be a viable remediation strategy? Which species are best for hyper accumulating specific metals?
How to finance/design composting centers around population centers near pollution threats.
How to trainon a massive scalethe mycotechnicians needed to implement mycoremediation.
How to fund Myco-Us, learning centers with emphasis on implementing myco-solutions to human made and natural catastrophes.
How extensively and diversely will mycoremediation practices be needed in the future?

Pouring crank case oil onto oyster mushroom compost after it has
produced several crops of mushrooms.

New crop of mushrooms form several weeks later. The spores released by these mushrooms have the potentialas a epigenetic responseto pre-select new strains more
adaptive to this oil-saturated substrate.

How can we help?
Knowing that the extent of this disaster eclipses our mycological resources should not be a reason to not act.

I proposed in 1994 that we have Mycological Response Teams (MRTs) in place to react to catastrophic events, from hurricanes to oil spills. We need to preposition composting and mycoremediation centers adjacent to population centers. We should set MRTs into motion, centralized in communities, which are actively involved in recycling, composting and permacultureutilizing debris from natural or man-made calamities to generate enzymes and rebuild healthy local soils.

I see the urgent need to set up webinar-like, Internet-based modules of education to disseminate methods for mycoremediation training so people throughout the world can benefit from the knowledge we have gained through the past decade of research. Such hubs of learning could cross-educate others and build a body of knowledge that would be further perfected over time, benefiting from the successes and failures of those in different bioregions. The cumulative knowledge gained from a centralized data hub could emerge as a robust yet flexible platform that could help generations to come. Scientists, policy makers, and citizens would be empowered with practical mycoremediation tools for addressing environmental disasters.

There are additional opportunities here. By encouraging strategically placed gourmet mushroom production centers near debris fields from natural and human-made disasters, we can open a pathway for mycoremediation. The aged compost that is produced after mushrooms are harvested is rich in enzymesa value-added by-product and this waste product is aptly suited for mycoremediation purposes. What most people do not realize is that most mushroom farms generate this compost by the tons and are eager for it to be used elsewhere.

On a grand scale, I envision that we, as a people, develop a common myco-ecology of consciousness and address these common goals through the use of mycelium. To do so means we need to spread awareness and information. Please spread the word of mycelium. Educate friends, family and policy makers about mycological solutions. Bring your local leaders up the learning curve on how fungi can decompose toxins, rebuild soils and strengthen our food chains. What we lack is the widespread availability of mycologically skilled technicians and educators and a more mycologically informed public. We need a paradigm shift, a multi-generational educational infrastructure, bringing fungal solutions to the forefront of viable options to mitigate disasters. An unfortunate circumstance we face is that the field of mycology is poorly funded in a time of intense need.

To support this expanded mycological awareness, I offer my books as resourcesespecially Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World and Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms. Also, please see my talk on Ted.comthis is an excellent primer for those wanting to understand how mushrooms and fungi can help mitigate disasters and heal ecosystems.

Let's become part of the solution. We may not have all the answers now but we can work towards an integrated strategy, flexible in its design, and yet target specific to these types of disasters. We should work in preparation to resolve ecological emergencies before and after they occur. Together, we can protect and heal our communities and ecosystems.

For the Earth,
- Paul Stamets

THE PROBLEM: OIL IS A COMPLEX MIXTURE OF TOXIC HYDROCARBONS

Not many people, even experts, fully grasp the diverse range of toxins that are present in oil. Bunker C oil is used as a fuel, particularly in cargo ships, and is especially dirty. Here is a list of some of the hydrocarbons typically found in Bunker C oil:

TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED SOLUTION: MYCOREMEDIATION RESOURCES

Recommended texts:

Gadd, G. 2001. Fungi in Bioremediation. Cambridge University Press.
Singh, H. 2006. Mycoremediation: Fungal Bioremediation. Wiley Interscience.
Stamets, P. 2005. Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley , California

Recommended articles:

S. Thomas, P. Becker, M.R. Pinza , J.Q. Word, 1999. Mycoremediation of Aged Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminants in Soil. NASA no. 19990031874.
S. Thomas, 2000. Personal Communication. "Subsequently to the end of the study, WSDOT retested the soils at its own expense, with a more detailed sampling regime, and found that it did indeed meet the EPA criterion of less than or equal to 200 ppm TPH, which allowed WSDOT to use the soil in highway landscaping." Nov. 30. Email to Paul Stamets.
V. ©a¹ek, John A. Glaser, Philippe Baveye, 2000. The Utilization of Bioremediation to Reduce Soil Contamination: Problems and Solutions. Nato Science Series IV. Earth and Environmental Sciences vol. 19.
M. Bhatt, T. Cajthaml and V. ©a¹ek, 2001. Mycoremediation of PAH-contaminated soils. Folia Microbiologica, Springer Netherlands ,Volume 47, Number 3 / June, 2002.
Eggen, T., and V. Sasek. 2002. "Use of edible and medicinal oyster mushroom [Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.:Fr.) Kimm.] spent compost in remediation of chemically polluted soils." International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms 4: 225261.
T. Cajthaml, M. Bhatt, V. ©a¹ek, and V. Mateju. 2002. "Bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil by composting: A Case Study." Folia Microbiologica 47(6): 696700.
T. Cajthaml, M. Moder, P. Kacer, V. ©a¹ek, and P. Popp. 2002. "Study of fungal degradation products of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using gas chromatography with ion trap mass spectrometry detection." Journal of Chromatography A, 974: 213222.
V. ©a¹ek, 2003. Why mycoremediations have not yet come into practice The Utilization of Bioremediation to Reduce Soil Contamination: Problems and Solutions, 247-266. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands .
Giubilei, Maria A; Leonardi, Vanessa; Federici, Ermanno; Covino, Stefano; ©a¹ek, Vaclav; Novotny, Cenek; Federici, Federico; D'Annibale, Alessandro; Petruccioli, Maurizio, 2009, June. Effect of mobilizing agents on mycoremediation and impact on the indigenous microbiota. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, Volume 84, Number 6, June 2009, pp. 836844(9). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Cover-up: BP's Crude Politics and the Looming Environmental Mega-Disaster | OilPrice.com

Mon, 24 May 2010 04:00:00 -0700

WMR has been informed by sources in the US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Florida Department of Environmental Protection that the Obama White House and British Petroleum (BP), which pumped $71,000 into Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign - more than John McCain or Hillary Clinton, are covering up the magnitude of the volcanic-level oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and working together to limit BP's liability for damage caused by what can be called a "mega-disaster."

Obama and his senior White House staff, as well as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, are working with BP's chief executive officer Tony Hayward on legislation that would raise the cap on liability for damage claims from those affected by the oil disaster from $75 million to $10 billion. However, WMR's federal and Gulf state sources are reporting the disaster has the real potential cost of at least $1 trillion. Critics of the deal being worked out between Obama and Hayward point out that $10 billion is a mere drop in the bucket for a trillion dollar disaster but also note that BP, if its assets were nationalized, could fetch almost a trillion dollars for compensation purposes. There is talk in some government circles, including FEMA, of the need to nationalize BP in order to compensate those who will ultimately be affected by the worst oil disaster in the history of the world.

Plans by BP to sink a 4-story containment dome over the oil gushing from a gaping chasm one kilometer below the surface of the Gulf, where the oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and killed 11 workers on April 20, and reports that one of the leaks has been contained is pure public relations disinformation designed to avoid panic and demands for greater action by the Obama administration, according to FEMA and Corps of Engineers sources. Sources within these agencies say the White House has been resisting releasing any "damaging information" about the oil disaster. They add that if the ocean oil geyser is not stopped within 90 days, there will be irreversible damage to the marine eco-systems of the Gulf of Mexico, north Atlantic Ocean, and beyond. At best, some Corps of Engineers experts say it could take two years to cement the chasm on the floor of the Gulf.

Only after the magnitude of the disaster became evident did Obama order Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to declare the oil disaster a "national security issue." Although the Coast Guard and FEMA are part of her department, Napolitano's actual reasoning for invoking national security was to block media coverage of the immensity of the disaster that is unfolding for the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean and their coastlines.

From the Corps of Engineers, FEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency, Coast Guard, and Gulf state environmental protection agencies, the message is the same: "we've never dealt with anything like this before."

The Obama administration also conspired with BP to fudge the extent of the oil leak, according to our federal and state sources. After the oil rig exploded and sank, the government stated that 42,000 gallons per day was gushing from the seabed chasm. Five days later, the federal government upped the leakage to 210,000 gallons a day.

However, WMR has been informed that submersibles that are monitoring the escaping oil from the Gulf seabed are viewing television pictures of what is a "volcanic-like" eruption of oil. Moreover, when the Army Corps of Engineers first attempted to obtain NASA imagery of the Gulf oil slick -- which is larger than that being reported by the media -- it was turned down. However, National Geographic managed to obtain the satellite imagery shots of the extent of the disaster and posted them on their web site.

There is other satellite imagery being withheld by the Obama administration that shows what lies under the gaping chasm spewing oil at an ever-alarming rate is a cavern estimated to be around the size of Mount Everest. This information has been given an almost national security-level classification to keep it from the public, according to our sources.

The Corps and Engineers and FEMA are quietly critical of the lack of support for quick action after the oil disaster by the Obama White House and the US Coast Guard. Only recently, has the Coast Guard understood the magnitude of the disaster, dispatching nearly 70 vessels to the affected area. WMR has also learned that inspections of off-shore rigs' shut-off valves by the Minerals Management Service during the Bush administration were merely rubber-stamp operations, resulting from criminal collusion between Halliburton and the Interior Department's service, and that the potential for similar disasters exists with the other 30,000 off-shore rigs that use the same shut-off valves.

The impact of the disaster became known to the Corps of Engineers and FEMA even before the White House began to take the magnitude of the impending catastrophe seriously. The first casualty of the disaster is the seafood industy, with not just fishermen, oystermen, crabbers, and shrimpers losing their jobs, but all those involved in the restaurant industry, from truckers to waitresses, facing lay-offs.

The invasion of crude oil into estuaries like the oyster-rich Apalachicola Bay in Florida spell disaster for the seafood industry. However, the biggest threat is to Florida's Everglades, which federal and state experts fear will be turned into a "dead zone" if the oil continues to gush forth from the Gulf chasm. There are also expectations that the oil slick will be caught up in the Gulf stream off the eastern seaboard of the United States, fouling beaches and estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay, and ultimately target the rich fishing grounds of the Grand Banks off Newfoundland.

WMR has also learned that 36 urban areas on the Gulf of Mexico are expecting to be confronted with a major disaster from the oil volcano in the next few days. Although protective water surface boons are being laid to protect such sensitive areas as Alabama's Dauphin Island, the mouth of the Mississippi River, and Florida's Apalachicola Bay, Florida, there is only 16 miles of boons available for the protection of 2,276 miles of tidal shoreline in the state of Florida.

Emergency preparations in dealing with the expanding oil menace are now being made for cities and towns from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Houston, New Orleans, Gulfport, Mobile, Pensacola, Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater, Sarasota-Bradenton, Naples, and Key West. Some 36 FEMA-funded contracts between cities, towns, and counties and emergency workers are due to be invoked within days, if not hours, according to WMR's FEMA sources.

There are plans to evacuate people with respiratory problems, especially those among the retired senior population along the west coast of Florida, before officials begin burning surface oil as it begins to near the coastline.

There is another major threat looming for inland towns and cities. With hurricane season in effect, there is a potential for ocean oil to be picked up by hurricane-driven rains and dropped into fresh water lakes and rivers, far from the ocean, thus adding to the pollution of water supplies and eco-systems.

To read Waynes first report that was 10 days ahead of the mainstream media visit: "The Cover-up: BP's Crude Politics and the Looming Environmental Mega-Disaster"

Source: OilPrice.com