The results of a year-long rainwater study are in at the University of Bangalore, and it isn't good news.
The scientists found E coli, evidence of Streptococcus spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus spp, Actinomyces spp, Bacillus subtilis, Neisseria spp, and Mycobacterium sp in samples of local rain and hail. They also found fungal species like Fusarium spp and Alternaria spp.
The presence of the fungi and bacteria known for causing, among other things, meningitis and necrotizing fascitis, in common rainwater directly challenges the skeptics who claim it's impossible for Corexit or BP's genetically-created oil-eating bacteria to be raining back down on the public as precipitation.
This is, no doubt, the reason our pals over at Florida Spill Law are on this story.... more to come.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
We now know that the planet Mars once had an enormous ocean that covered over a third of its surface, about 3.5 to 3.7 billion years ago, and now we also may be able to examine some remnants of it. The Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit", which is currently stuck and unable to move on the Martian surface, has nonetheless been able to glean much valuable data about its current location. It's found evidence of subsurface water beneath it, which may be snow melt or permafrost, but could possibly also be traces of the great body of water which once ruled the red planet.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
We're still on the fence about the veracity of the "BP Blue Flu" scare story making the rounds online, but Michael Edward, on this World Vision Portal post, seems rather well-researched in his arguments and frightening conclusions.
We urge you to click through and read the entire article. Some excerpts:
In a paper published in the journal Science, Terry Hazen and his colleagues at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discovered in late May through early June 2010 that a previously unknown species of cold-water hydrocarbon-eating bacteria have been feasting on the underwater oil plumes degrading them at accelerated rates.
We can now understand why, on May 15, BP/Synthetic Genome’s CEO Craig Venter hinted of a new hydrocarbon-eating synthetic genome. Prior to that date, JCVI had already applied for numerous additional patents (we were able to find seven) regarding synthetic bio-remediation, such as bacteria synthetic genomes which provide unique DNA information required for “replication of a free-living organism”. In layman’s terms, this means the BP and Synthetic Genome scientists had already created self-replicating bacteria “wherein the assembled DNA molecule is a [synthetic] genome” back in 2007...
Nothing is known about how this new synthetic bio-remediation bacterium in the Gulf reacts with mankind. This is virgin and uncharted territory. We already know how sea mammals such as whales and porpoises have reacted. Those who haven’t escaped the affected areas of the Gulf have died… along with all other marine life and coastal vegetation. While human health effects from crude oil exposure are well known, the effects of dispersants containing oil-eating artificial bacteria are not known. It’s never been done before, let alone at the immense scale of operations now taking place.
There’s a reason the so-called “dispersants” are guarded by weapon-yielding soldiers and local armed law enforcement in warehouses and deployment yards along the Gulf coast. If a sample were to be analyzed by knowledgeable people, the biological and chemical anomalies it contains would be made public, right down to the unique DNA signature. BP keeps allowing their sorcerer’s brew to be called Corexit in order to hide the fact that it’s not just the name brand product any longer.
The physical symptoms of the BP Flu, BP Crud, Blue Flu, or whatever name you choose to call it, are as unique as the synthetic bacteria being used in the Gulf. Since mankind is carbon based, how do these synthetically created hydrogen and carbon hungry bacteria react to human flesh? Internal bleeding as well as ulcerating skin lesions are the physical signs of their computer created DNA signature...
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
From Huffington Post by way of Florida Oil Spill Law comes this datum that, at this late date, shouldn't come as too much of a surprise:
The Federal government has now reopened 2,927 square miles of the Gulf - specifically, an area just South of the Mississippi Delta - to fishing and shrimping boats. But in order to check whether it was safe to do, all they did was perform chemical tests on three samples of shrimp taken from that huge area! (They also did the ridiculous "sniff test" for petroleum odors on five shrimp samples.)
Neither the sniff test nor the chemical test are intended to detect the deadly dispersant Corexit that BP dumped into the ocean in staggering quantities, and the miniscule sampling the government has used to give the okay to such a vast portion of the Gulf is statistically meaningless.
The government's falsely cheerful assessment of the situation coincides with the revelation that University of Georgia scientists took 78 core samples of the Gulf seafloor, and only 5 contained live worms. Traditionally, live worms should have been found in every one of those samples.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
From Channel NewsAsia:
BEIJING: Super typhoon Megi is expected to be the strongest typhoon of the year in China, as it intensified while approaching the northern Philippines on Sunday, forecasters said.
Super typhoon Megi, which means "catfish" in Korean, is expected to enter the South China Sea on Monday, China's National Meteorological Centre said in a statement.
Megi could cause wild winds and huge waves in the South China Sea over the next three days, the statement said.
The centre issued an orange alert, its second-highest level warning, telling ships to shelter in ports and urging local authorities to prepare for emergencies.
Megi will likely exceed winds of 260 MPH and be capable of destroying homes and uprooting large trees. Evacuation plans are being put into place for areas to be hardest hit.
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Miami Herald is reporting that BP is considering a plan to shut down an ombudman's office instituted to allow whistleblowers to air grievances while protecting their anonymity.
Says the Herald, "The ombudsman, retired federal judge Stanley Sporkin, provides confidential access to a person outside BP who can launch third-party investigations. BP says it may bring the program in-house, perhaps as early as June."
Yeah, that makes sense. Taking something that, by its very nature, is supposed to be independent and bringing it "in-house" will instill plenty of confidence in BP's already near-mutinous ranks, I'm sure.
This latest outrage comes as BP's Mike Utsler is being ridiculed worldwide for his blatantly untrue statement that "not a single sample has failed" in Gulf seafood allegedly being tested for petroleum and Corexit contamination.
It's no wonder gas stations are abandoning the BP franchise in droves.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Some very colorful lobsters have turned up at Norwalk's Maritime Aquarium.
These aren't any old lobsters; one is sky blue, one pumpkin orange, and the other is calico with yellow spots. Lobster shells are normally blackish-green while they are alive, but genetic abnormalities can cause them to turn different colors.
Just how rare is it? The Lobster Conservancy in Maine says the chance of seeing a blue lobster is 1 in a million. For the orange and calico lobster, it's 1 in 30 million.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
From Yahoo! News:
The Obama administration, under heavy pressure from the oil industry and Gulf states and with elections nearing, on Tuesday lifted the moratorium that it imposed in April. The ban had been scheduled to expire Nov. 30, but Interior Secretary Ken Salazar moved up the deadline, saying new rules have strengthened safety and reduced the risk of another catastrophic blowout that caused more than 200 million gallons of crude to spew from BP's well a mile beneath the Gulf.
Of course, the full details are still largely not fully known regarding what went wrong with the Deepwater Horizon, and much of what we do know about it indicates that people weren't following the guidelines already in place. So to suggest that things are safer now than before is assuming that individuals in the oil industry are less greedier now than before - and if you believe that, I have some swampland on the planet Pulcova to sell you.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Recently the Captain of the Ady Gil, Pete Bethune, turned on his former Whale Wars comrades and lashed out with a mean-spirited and cowardly attack (on Facebook, of course) on Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd crew. Bethune claims that most of the important scenes on Whale Wars, including the sinking of the Ady Gil and the assassination attempt on Watson by Yakuza, were completely fake and staged for TV.
Needless to say, Watson and his crew aren't taking this libel lying down - they've responded to Bethune's crazy Facebook rants with a series of meticulously prepared refutations - read here, here, and here.
This sort of thing happens all the time and seems unfortunately to be part and parcel of dealing with humans in group situations. From corporations to religions to even community theatre troupes, you'll find there's always disgruntled ex-members of an organization who turn to the internet as a means of slandering that organization. We continue to support Paul Watson fully and wish Mr. Bethune would find a new rock to crawl under.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
From Science Daily:
The acidification of the Earth's oceans due to rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) may be contributing to a global decline of clams, scallops and other shellfish by interfering with the development of shellfish larvae, according to two Stony Brook University scientists, whose findings are published online and in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Click through to read the full frightening article.