Climate Change, Denialists, Weather Control; Environment, Carbon Caps, Unclean Energy, Fracking; Law and Disorder, BP, Pollution, Water; Ecology, Poached, Oceans, Forests

Climate Change

• Krugman: Interests, Ideology And Climate—"The monetary stakes, it turns out, are not the biggest obstacle to rational action on global warming." NYT
• Republican EPA chiefs to Congress: Act on climate
• Hawaii: Gov. signs climate change bill—"Being the only island state in the country, we are especially vulnerable to climate change and are on the frontlines of impacts like sea level rise."
• How the insurance industry sees climate change—"Why, if climate change is a hoax, are we paying for it?" LA Times
• Brazil Has Done More To Stop Climate Change Than Any Other Country, Study Finds
• Fiji accuses global community of abandoning the Pacific on climate change, singles out 'selfish' Australia
• Apparent pause in global warming blamed on 'lousy' data—"European Space Agency scientist says annual sea level rises since 1993 indicate that warming has continued unabated."
• Climate change will 'cost world far more than estimated'

Denialists

• Obama: Denying Climate Change Is Like Saying the Moon Is "Made of Cheese"
• Florida Congressman: If Humans Cause Climate Change, Then 'Why Did The Dinosaurs Go Extinct'?
• Koch Brothers Unveil New Strategy at Big Donor Retreat—"The Koch brothers' financial network is planning on spending almost $300 million in the 2014 election, including a new anti-environment effort."
• Coal Company CEO Threatens To Sue EPA For 'Lying' About Climate Change
• Fox News slams local newspaper for refusing to entertain climate deniers Salon
• Whitehouse: GOP is 'shrinking' from climate change challenge
• Tony Abbott seeks alliance to thwart President Obama on climate change policy—UK and NZ say no.
• Australia: Labor, Greens challenge Tony Abbott to call double dissolution election after climate bill voted down again in Senate

Weather Control

• China creates 55 billion tons of artificial rain a year—and it plans to quintuple that
• The United States Is Experimenting With Drones To Control The Weather
• Air conditioning raising night-time temperatures in the US

Environment

• The Turning Point: New Hope for the Climate—Al Gore: "It's time to accelerate the shift toward a low-carbon future."
• Chile rejects Patagonia wilderness dam project—"The Chilean government has rejected a plan to build five hydroelectric dams on rivers in the south of the country. Its decision follows years of campaigning by environmentalists and local communities."
• Germany produces half of energy with solar
• U.K. Approves Plans For What Could Become The World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm
• Oil-rich United Arab Emirates aims to be a sustainable energy pioneer—"One of the world's richest oil-based economies is Fembracing sustainable technologies, and making a surprise bid to become a clean energy leader."

Carbon Caps

• In Some States, Emissions Cuts Defy Skeptics—"At least 10 states have already met President Obama's goal of a 30 percent reduction in power plant emissions by 2030, without the economic damage that critics have warned would occur." NYT
• Ohio rebels against Obama climate change agenda with energy bill—"Governor John Kasich puts a two-year freeze on measures promoting wind and solar power and energy efficiency."
• House Republicans Are So Mad at the EPA that They Might Force Another Shutdown

Unclean Energy

• Push To Impose Extra Fees On Customers Who Install Solar Panels Sparks Outrage In Utah
• America's Coal-Producing States Weigh Their Options
• Despite Protests, Canada Approves Northern Gateway Oil Pipeline—"The project, which would send oil from Alberta to Asia, faces stiff opposition from aboriginal groups, environmentalists and community advocates." NYT

Fracking

• Drug Gangs Attacking With Tanks Block Mexican Shale Boom
• Buru to gas frack without EPA assessment—"The West Australian government has decided to allow Buru Energy to frack for gas in the Kimberley region without an Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) assessment."
• German beermakers look like winning their battle to stop fracking
• Russia in secret plot against fracking, Nato chief says—"Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia was mounting a sophisticated 'disinformation campaign' aimed at undermining attempts to exploit alternative energy sources such as shale gas."

Law and Disorder

• Court rules against homeowners in toxic water case—"The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a group of homeowners in North Carolina can't sue a company that contaminated their drinking water decades ago because a state deadline has lapsed.... even if residents did not realize their water was polluted until years later."
• Iowa high court reinstates major pollution lawsuit—"In a major environmental case, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that residents can bring a nuisance lawsuit against a Muscatine manufacturer accused of routinely blanketing their properties with soot and chemicals."
• EPA fines Buffalo for mishandling waste

BP

• Did Jindal tell us his brother's law firm represents BP before signing SB 469? We didn't get the memo from press office—Protecting corporations, screwing real people.
• BP loses bid to freeze Gulf of Mexico spill payouts—"The US Supreme Court has refused to allow BP to stop paying compensation claims while it awaits a review of its settlement with businesses over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill."
• New trial ordered for ex-BP engineer—"A new trial was ordered Thursday for a former BP engineer convicted of deleting text messages related to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico."
• Four Years After Deepwater Horizon Spill, Tar Balls Continue to Wash Up on Shore—"Researchers have analyzed oil-soaked sand patties near the Gulf of Mexico to track oil from the spill."

Pollution

• Australia drops planned Aborigine nuclear waste site
• NC AG Says Coal Ash Must Be Cleaned Up—"North Carolina's attorney general said Wednesday that Duke Energy's coal ash pits must be cleaned up to protect the state's waterways, but the costs shouldn't be passed along to consumers through higher utility rates."
• China pollution arrests rise as Beijing pushes green agenda
• Chinese official tries to blame industrial lead pollution on "pencil chewing" Salon
• Smog-busting roof tiles could clean tons of pollution, study says

Water

• Suit: Pure Life H2O complaint brought death threats—"A Philly who called Nestle's customer-service department to inquire about the fluoride content in her Nestle Pure Life water was "threatened with a bloody death" by the customer representative who took her call, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Common Pleas Court."
• Indian officials order Coca-Cola plant to close for using too much water—"Mehdiganj plant at centre of protests accused of extracting too much groundwater and releasing pollutants above limits."
• Venezuela Sacrifices Drinking Water to Pay Bondholders—"At a time when Venezuela's record $25 billion in arrears to importers has its citizens waiting hours in line to buy drinking water and crossing borders in search of medicine, President Nicolas Maduro is using the nation's dwindling supply of dollars to enrich bondholders."
• Detroit Plan to Profit on Water Looks Half Empty—"Cities and counties that have long bought their water from Detroit's vast, aging system are teaming up to bypass the bankrupt city." The cut-offs are coming. NYT
• Gwyneth Paltrow believes water has feelings: 'Negativity changes the structure of water'—Wait... what?

Ecology

• WildLeaks attracts major wildlife crime leads in first three months—"WikiLeaks-style website yields 24 tip-offs including elephant poaching, tiger killing, illegal fishery and forest destruction."
• First California condor spotted in San Mateo County since 1904
• Tufted puffin seen on Atlantic coast for 1st time since 1830s
• India: 200 crore trees to be planted along highways—1 crore is 10,000,000 so that makes it 2 billion trees. Project will employ jobless youth. Definitely a win-win.

Poached

• Alarm as 117 elephant carcasses found
• Poachers massacre 68 elephants in Congo park
• Kenya's biggest elephant killed by poachers
• Notorious poacher Bheema Bavaria arrested
• Huge haul of blood-stained ivory found in 32 suitcases at Hong Kong airport SCMP
• Orphaned baby rhino Gertjie refuses to sleep alone after witnessing his mother's death at the hands of poachers

Oceans

• Govt opens Maui's dolphin area for oil drilling
• Pacific Nation Bans Fishing in One of World's Largest Marine Parks
• Obama proposes vast expansion of Pacific Ocean sanctuaries for marine life
• Chinese fishermen held in Philippines defiant ahead of turtle-poaching trial SCMP
• Japan to press for resumption of annual whale hunt

Forests

• Saving Tasmania's forests—"The Australian government will attempt to delist part of Tasmania's forests from UNESCO's World Heritage List."
• Dying to save the Amazonian rainforest—"An environmental campaigner is killed every week in Brazil. Jonathan Watts and Karina Vieira travel to Lábrea in the heart of the Amazon to meet the people risking their lives."
• Brazil's recent fight against deforestation has been a huge success

World Oceans Day, Climate Change, Environment and Politics; Dinosaurs, Days Past, Discoveries, Destruction

World Oceans Day

• Together, We Have the Power to Protect the Ocean
• World's Most Polluted Seas Revealed
• The Ocean Cleanup—A project to remove plastic pollution.
• The end of fish—"The ones we like to eat are rapidly vanishing from the ocean." WaPo
• US coastguard releases Chinese boat accused of illegal fishing in North Pacific—"Vessel caught with half a tonne of salmon and high-seas net widely condemned as highly destructive to marine life."

Climate Change

• Between the Lines: It's not censorship by ignoring those denying climate change—"Does denying a seat at the journalistic table to climate change deniers amount to censorship and political correctness, in the sense that unpopular opinions are being silenced? As I am wont to tell
• Obama Says He 'Absolutely' Wants To Go Off On Climate Deniers In Congress
some letter writers, you are entitled to your opinions, but not your facts."
• 7 reasons America will fail on climate change
• Seas Rise, Florida GOP Leaders Balk At Climate Change
• Billionaire seeks to help climate-change victims
• John Podesta Says White House Is Ready To Spar Over Power Plant Rules
• Climate change helps seas disturb Japanese war dead—"Rising sea levels have disturbed the skeletons of soldiers killed on the Marshall Islands during World War Two."

Environment and Politics

• Jindal Signs Bill Blocking Lawsuits Against Oil and Gas Companies—"The Louisiana governor might have also effectively undercut ongoing claims against BP for the 2010 Gulf oil spill."
• Safety Gaps In Chemical Storage—"Millions of pounds of chemicals and oil are stored and shipped along the river and we've found there are gaps in laws meant to keep you safe."
• States balk at keeping oil-train info from public—"U.S. railroads forced to turn over details of their volatile crude oil shipments are asking states to sign agreements not to disclose the information. But some states are refusing, saying Thursday that the information shouldn't be kept from the public."
• Alaska Village Sues Feds to Open Road in Refuge
• How A 'Bunch Of Commies' Are Forcing The Fortune 500 To Stop Destroying Rain Forests, Overfishing, And Burning Fossil Fuels

Dinosaurs

• Dinosaur discovery: "Pinocchio Rex," the weird cousin of the T-Rex—"Qianzhousaurus -- who was smaller and more agile than T-Rex -- walked the earth 66 million years ago." Salon
• These Bones Might Be the Biggest Creature That Ever Walked the Earth
• Early Life in Death Valley—"Evidence from Southwestern deserts suggests that oxygen-breathing organisms arose on land rather than in the seas."
• Direct evidence of cooling after the dinosaur-killing asteroid impact
• Dinosaur smuggler sentenced to three months in prison in New York—"Eric Prokopi, the 'one-man black market in fossils', given lenient sentence on felony counts for his cooperation with attorneys."

Days Past

• 8 Surprising Historical Facts That Will Change Your Concept Of Time Forever
• On Ice: 100-year-old negatives discovered in Antarctic
• Ancient Egyptians transported pyramid stones over wet sand

Discoveries

• Girl's skeleton found in cave sheds light on origins of first Americans—"DNA recovered from 12,000-year-old skeleton help to dispel claims that first Americans came from Australia, Asia or Europe."
• Ancient hunting camp found beneath Lake Huron
• Over 1,000 Mayan Codices Discovered in Yucatan Ruins
• Siberian fisherman accidentally nets 4,000-year-old pagan god—"Nikolay Tarasov was about to throw the tiny figure back into the river, when he decided to take it to a local museum on a hunch. Experts say the pagan god was carved in the Bronze Age by the Okunev or Samus cultures of ancient Tisul."
• Found after 500 years, the wreck of Christopher Columbus's flagship the Santa Maria
• Dunragit road works unearth ancient treasure trove

Destruction

• Aboriginal art, 60,000 years old, vandalized in Australia—"The art is in the Burrup Peninsula of Western Australia, a national park containing examples of ancient carved rock."
• Vandals desecrate ancient standing stone at Hill of Tara in Co Meath
• Vandals destroy prehistoric rock art in Libya's lawless Sahara
• ISIS Destroys 3000 Year-old Assyrian Artifacts in Syria
• Ballymaglaff Stone Age site 'lost because of planning error'
• Illegal projects damage Effigy Mounds—"National Park Service officials approved $3 million in illegal construction projects over a decade that damaged one of the nation’s most sacred American Indian burial sites, but few have been punished for the bureaucratic failure, records show."
• Treasure hunters destroy tomb

International Biodiversity Day, Environment, Inspection; Pollution, Cities; BP, Duke, Citgo, Coal; Fracking

International Biodiversity Day

• Ottawa removing North Pacific humpback whales from list of 'threatened' species—"The decision removes a major legal hurdle that the environmental group Ecojustice said stood in the way of the $7.9-billion Northern Gateway pipeline project that would bring 550,000 barrels of diluted bitumen crude from Alberta to Kitimat."
• Queensland Government urges boycott of Ben & Jerry's ice cream over WWF 'propaganda' on Great Barrier Reef
• Great Barrier Reef's 'unprecedented' threat from dredging, dumping—"Conservation society says impact of previous sediment dumps far greater than claimed."
• Alberta to sell off land that serves as crucial caribou habitat
• Wood poaching: Men charged with slashing old-growth redwood
• China to jail eaters of rare wild animals—All for status symbol.
• Grey wolf appears in Iowa for first time in 89 years – and is shot dead—"Hunter mistook animal for a coyote and escapes being cited despite wolves being a protected species in the state, reports Mongabay."
• Madrid matadors gored by bulls at festival launch
• Marine mammals mysteriously dying in record numbers along West Coast
• World's No. 1 pesticide brings honeybees to their knees, say scientists—"A new study from Harvard implicates two neonicotinoid pesticides, imidacloprid and clothianidin, in the ongoing plague of honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder. Imidacloprid is the most widely used pesticide in the world, and both are approved by the EPA."

Environment

• U.S. Senate Republicans block energy bill, forfeit Keystone vote
• Joe Hockey warns clean energy and 'utterly offensive' windfarms are in his budget crosshairs
• Kansas Republican slams Kochs for trying to cripple state’s growing wind power industry
• Germany Sets New Record, Generating 74 Percent Of Energy Needs From Renewable Energy
• WWF staff receive death threats for opposing Virunga oil exploitation

Inspection

• US failed to inspect thousands of at-risk oil and gas wells, report finds
• Probe finds scant oversight of chemical plants—"The government has no way of fully knowing which U.S. chemical facilities stock ammonium nitrate, the substance that exploded last year at a Texas fertilizer plant and killed 14 people, congressional investigators say."
• Federal official tipped off oil company about "surprise" rail inspection—"This is what the government's crackdown on rail safety looks like." Salon

Pollution

• Second radioactive oil waste site found in North Dakota
• Cleanup continues for drilling leak near Marietta
• Oil Train Derails in Lynchburg, Virginia—Also: Crude Oil Cars and Train Derailments, Explained
• Ethanol fuels ozone pollution—"Shifts in use between petrol and ethanol in São Paulo’s cars creates unique atmospheric chemistry experiment."

Cities

• Air pollution 'too high' in most of world's cities
• Top 20 most polluted cities in the world
• Smog-Sucking Electrostatic Vacuum Cleaners May Scrub Polluted Air
• D.C. said it was recycling — it wasn't. Nearly 53 tons of plastic trash cans sent to landfill. WaPo
• Baltimore: Water Wheel operating in a rain storm

BP

• BP pipeline sprays 'oily mist' over 33 acres of Alaskan tundra
• BP oil spill may have killed hundreds of thousands of birds
• US seeks reinstatement of charge in BP spill case
• Gulf Coast oil spill settlement: BP should pay up—"It's outrageous for the company to wriggle out of the settlement for the Gulf Coast oil spill."
• BP Faces Billions in Spill Payments After Court Upholds Deal—Supreme Court appeal is last ditch effort.

Duke

• Duke Says Disposal of Coal-Ash May Cost Up to $10 Billion
• Duke Energy spends tiny percentage of revenue on coal ash cleanup
• Appeals court won't stay order that Duke Energy must stop coal ash leaks—"[I]t is unlikely the ruling will lead to any immediate action by Duke.... The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which regulates ash ponds, disagrees with the judge's interpretation of the law. And the state has joined Duke in appealing the Wake court's ruling." Wow.

Citgo

• Citgo's Corpus Christi Environmental Crimes: Too Big to Punish—"After seven years of waiting, Corpus Christi pollution victims finally learned what restitution they'll be receiving from Citgo Petroleum Corp.: nothing."
• Pollution Is a Violent Crime—Prosecute It as Such—"The corporation doesn't have to pay compensation for pollution it caused in Texas. But pollution is a violent crime—and should be prosecuted as such."
• Oil giant Citgo gets off easy in criminal case
• 10 Years of Pollution, $2 Million in Penalties—"In Texas, an old pollution case is looming over new development."

Coal

• Murray Energy sues Labor Dept over coal dust rule—"An Ohio-based coal operator is suing the Obama administration, claiming that new federal regulations to cut the amount of coal dust in coal mines are overly burdensome and costly to industry."
• Feds lower level of coal dust allowed in mines
• EPA Hails Big Victory At Supreme Court—"It's not every day that environmentalists notch up a victory in the modern Supreme Court, but that's what happened Tuesday in a 6-2 decision upholding the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to crack down on coal pollution that moves across state lines."
• Justice Scalia Makes Epic Blunder In Supreme Court Opinion
• Court strikes down Minnesota's landmark anti-coal law—Supreme Court ruling came too late? Salon
• Stanford becomes the most prominent university yet to divest from coal—"Following student protests across the country, Stanford becomes the 12th university to announce it's divesting from coal companies." WaPo

Fracking

• In Landmark Ruling, Jury Says Fracking Company Must Pay $3 Million To Sickened Family
• California City Becomes First To Vote To Ban Fracking
• Santa Cruz, Calif., bans fracking—"Scenic coastal area becomes first county in California to do so as issue becomes a statewide concern."
• Local anti-fracking activist wins world's largest environmental prize
• EPA Takes First Step Toward Regulating Fracking Chemicals
• EPA changes course on injection well approval—"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken the unusual step of withdrawing its February approval of a 7,300-foot-deep injection well being drilled to permanently store shale gas drilling waste water near DuBois, Clearfield County."
• Fracking's Air Pollution Drives Couple From Their Home of 23 Years
• Illegal Dumping of Texas Frack Waste Caught on Video—"The waste fluid from oil and gas drilling is often disposed of wherever it is convenient and out of sight, Texas watchdog group says."
• North Carolina GOP Pushes Unprecedented Bill to Jail Anyone Who Discloses Fracking Chemicals
• Read The Secret Trade Memo Calling For More Fracking and Offshore Drilling

Earth Day, Pollution, Ecology, Climate Change, Denialists, Unclean Energy, Trashing Renewables, Keystone XL, Fracking; Fat Tuesday; Obamacare, GOP Obstructionism; Big Pharma, Medical Malpractice, Vax Populi

Earth Day

• The Latest "Cosmos" Explains How Corporations Fund Science Denial—"Neil Tyson explores the surprising connection between the age of the Earth and the dangers of lead."
• Killing of environmental activists rises globally
• Documents reveal extent of Shell and Rio Tinto lobbying in human rights case—"Multinationals sought legal support from UK government to fight allegations of rights abuses in Nigeria and Papua New Guinea."

Pollution

• Why Are 20 Far-Away States Trying To Block The Cleanup Of The Chesapeake Bay?—"EPA overreach."
• Plane Search Shows World's Oceans Are Full of Trash—"Search for missing Malaysian plane shines spotlight on giant ocean garbage patches."
• James Dyson Is Designing A Giant Vacuum-On-A-Boat To Clean Ocean Trash
• China just revealed a major state secret: nearly 20% of its farmland is polluted
• China's new environment law submitted to parliament

Ecology

• Arab royal hunts down 2,100 houbara bustards in three week safari
• Japan Plans to Resume Whaling Program, With Changes to Address Court Concerns NYT
• BP refuses to fund Gulf oil spill studies—"BP is refusing to pay a large bill for US government-led studies into its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, including research into its impact on dolphins, whales and oysters." FT

Climate Change

• IPCC finally weighs in on how to avoid further climate change—"Third and final section of latest IPCC report gives policymakers a roadmap."
• Apple: climate change is real and it's a real problem—"Technology company claims 94% of its corporate facilities are now powered by renewable energy."
• Climate change to 'cost €2bn a year as droughts hit crops'
• Climate change increasing massive wildfires in West
• Climate changes visible by ZIP code with new online tools

Denialists

• Va. Supreme Court rules for U-Va. in global warming FOIA case—"The high court decision rejects an argument by global warming skeptics who wanted to see the work of a climate researcher." WaPo
• Congressman Denies Manmade Climate Change, Calls It 'An Agenda-Driven Science'—"Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) readily admits he’s 'not smart enough' to determine the roots of climate change. He is, however, able to rule out one possible cause: humans."
• Who is mucking up science education?—Wyoming Department of Education Chairman Ron Micheli: "I don’t accept, personally, that [climate change] is a fact. [The standards are] very prejudiced in my opinion against fossil-fuel development." WaPo
• States of Denial: States with the Most Federal Disaster Aid Sent Climate-Science Deniers to Congress
• Why climate deniers are winning: The twisted psychology that overwhelms scientific consensus Salon

Unclean Energy

• Triumph of the Drill: How Big Oil Clings to Billions in Government Giveaways—"Deficit hawks slam them. Execs say they don't need them. So why does petroleum still get big tax breaks?"
• Louisiana's traumatic bond with Big Oil—"What is it about the oil and gas industry that engenders such steadfast devotion from our political leaders? In case you hadn't noticed, Louisiana's government has long functioned as a wholly owned subsidiary of Big Oil."
• EPA drastically underestimates methane released at drilling sites
• World must end 'dirty' fuel use - UN
• Canadian town says 'no' to Enbridge pipeline in vote
• It's Final -- Corn Ethanol Is Of No Use—"Can we stop pretending biofuel from corn is helping the planet and the environment?"

Trashing Renewables

• ALEC Defeated Again In Attacks On Solar, Net Metering Preserved In Kansas
• Op-Ed: ALEC and the Koch brothers fight solar energy with surcharges
• Oklahoma electric utilities want higher rate for solar, wind energy producers

Keystone XL

• Jimmy Carter comes out against Keystone XL pipeline WaPo
• Keystone XL pipeline decision postponed by Obama administration WaPo
• Keystone XL delay pounds TransCanada stock

Fracking

• Ohio geologists link local earthquakes directly to fracking—"For the first time, a state study links Ohio's recent seismic events to hydraulic fracturing, not just water disposal."
• Series of small earthquakes rock Oklahoma in record seismic activity
• North Dakota Finds Itself Unprepared To Handle The Radioactive Burden Of Its Fracking Boom

Fat Tuesday

• Junk food makes you lazy, not just fat, study suggests
• Hello fruits and vegetables! "Junk food" banned from schools July 1
• Thinking 'obesity is a disease' makes you more likely to eat high-calorie foods, study finds
• Yale student , 92 lbs., stuffed her face with Cheetos, ice cream to pacify school officials
• Oscar Nominated Actor Kicked Off Plane—"He says he usually buys two seats, but only one was available."

Obamacare

• Obamacare Signups Hit 8 Million—"And both young and old are on board."
• Very Bad News For Obamacare Opponents In The Government's Latest Report
• States embracing Obamacare are doing a better job of covering the uninsured, surveys show WaPo
• Nobody believes there is any GOP alternative to Obamacare WaPo
• Poll: Republicans Admit Obamacare Might Not Be The End Of The World

GOP Obstructionism

• How the GOP Bet on Failure And Lost
• Making the GOP pay for Medicaid obstruction Salon
• Democrats Need to Start Blaming the GOP for the Death of Charlene Dill—"How liberals should talk about the Medicaid expansion."
• GOP, Insurers Bully Dems Into Retreat On Medicare Cuts
• Florida Voter Confronts GOP Representative On His Repeated Efforts To Repeal Obamacare
• For Republicans, Obama's Obamacare news changes nothing WaPo
• The Right's New Scam: Feigning Anger on Behalf of People They Encouraged to Skip Obamacare
• Cruz Still Pledging To 'Repeal Every Single Word Of Obamacare'

Big Pharma

• Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline bribed doctors to boost sales, says whistleblower
• US: A mecca for overpriced medicine
• What the Tamiflu saga tells us about drug trials and big pharma
• Big pharma struggles to balance transparency and profits

Medical Malpractice

• Grandmother 'was put in morgue freezer while still alive'
• Medical Malpractice Caps Voided in Florida
• Nursing Home Hired Strippers For Patients: Suit
• Australia: NHMRC rule homeopathic remedies useless for human health

Vax Populi

• Jenny McCarthy: I am not "anti-vaccine." This is not a change in my stance nor is it a new position that I have recently adopted.—Is she being disingenuous? Sure sounds like it. This is her legacy.
• Ontario Health Minister slams Jenny McCarthy for 'outrageously irresponsible' anti-vaccine campaign
• Mom Whose Child Died After Catching Chicken Pox Advocates for Vaccines
• Dear parents: you are being lied to about vaccines
• Measles Outbreak Traced to Fully Vaccinated Patient for First Time—This is where herd immunity can come in.
• Fear of polio virus: India, Georgia place curbs on Pakistanis—There's a danger of fake vaccination certificates.

Earth Hour, Oil Spill, Air Pollution; Ecology; Climate Change, Science Under Siege, Cosmos

Earth Hour

• State allowed logging on plateau above slope—"In recent decades the state allowed logging — with restrictions — on the plateau above the Snohomish County hillside that collapsed in last weekend's deadly mudslide."
• Duke Energy seeks to keep records from regulators—"Worried about getting a fair shake from investigators, Duke Energy is asking a judge to shield its records from North Carolina regulators and environmental groups while a federal criminal probe is ongoing."
• US House votes to allow dumping of coal mining waste into streams—"House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, called it part of an effort to stop what Republicans call the 'war on coal' and a 'pro-growth jobs bill.'"
• George Osborne is preparing to kill off Britain's renewable energy revolution—"In delivering budget, chancellor stealthily abolished a tax break that attracts private money to help build our green energy future."
• State officials abruptly cancel talk by FSU professor Diane Roberts—"Roberts [who has been critical of the administration of Gov. Rick Scott] planned to discuss Florida's environment and problems with the state's rivers, lakes and springs."
• Death threats made to Ecuadorian lawyer in Chevron pollution case—"Juan Pablo Saenz is representing small farmers trying to force Chevron to pay damages for pollution in the Amazon."
• In California, Demand for Groundwater Causing Huge Swaths of Land to Sink
• Kiruna: How to move a town two miles east

Oil Spill

• Malfunction at BP's Whiting Refinery sends oil into Lake Michigan—They've doubled their original estimates.
• Texas Oil Spill Investigation Far From Over
• Hikers find unreported oil spill into Grand Staircase monument
• Seattle scientists show how Deepwater Horizon spill caused heart damage in young tuna
• Galveston Bay Oil Spill: Wildlife Damage Expected to Get 'Much Worse'; 100 Ships, Barges At Standstill

Air Pollution

• Air Pollution Kills 7 Million a Year, WHO Says
• Most Face Masks In China Don't Work And Pollution Is Getting Worse
• China Admits Its Cities Are Failing Pollution Standards As Beijing Chokes On Smog Again

Ecology

• Tigers slaughtered in show of social stature for Guangdong businessmen—"Police seize body of freshly killed tiger and discover video evidence of electrocution and torture after raid in Zhanjiang."
• Copenhagen Zoo kills 4 lions, weeks after shooting giraffe
• Elephant thought rescued by Sir Paul McCartney found beaten in chicken shack

Climate Change

• UN Blames 2013 Storms, Floods On Human-Induced Climate Change
• Bad Astronomy: This Old Earth Is Warming Up
• How climate change will acidify the oceans
• Bill Nye, the Climate Guy—"A kids' TV star is liberals' most effective spokesman against right-wing science skeptics."
• Obama Talks Climate Change in James Cameron's Showtime Documentary—He's looking into new gas and oil regulations to address climate change.
• Climate Denier Jim Inhofe Says He Could Lead Senate's Top Environment Committee Next Year—"Inhofe has also said that humans lack the ability to affect the climate because control is limited to divine powers: 'The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what [God] is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.'" Best evidence for not having a god if this guy gets the job.
• Nate Silver's Climate Author Accused Of Threatening Critics—"Pielke argued that the cost of natural disasters has risen not because of climate change, but as a result of an increase in wealth."
• U.S. Tries To Stop India's Solar Policy While Pushing Fight Against Climate Change

Science Under Siege

• Contrarians bully journal into retracting a climate psychology paper—"After threats of frivolous libel and defamation lawsuits, a journal will retract an academically sound paper."
• How The Koch Brothers Are Hacking Science
• Billionaires With Big Ideas Are Privatizing American Science—"As government financing of basic research has fallen off precipitously, philanthropists have stepped in, setting priorities and drawing both gratitude and trepidation from scientists." NYT
• Right-wing billionaires, creationism and pseudo-science: Why is a wingnut giving commencement speech at Montana's best tech college?—"Uproar at Montana Tech as a conservative funder of creationist museums is asked to speak at top engineering school." Salon
• Special report: Taxpayers fund creationism in the classroom Politico
• GOP: Predict storms, not climate change

Cosmos

• Yes, "Cosmos" Fans, Creationists Also Deny the Science of Comets—"Last night on "Cosmos," Neil deGrasse Tyson explained how comets work, and why they're not bad omens. They are for creationists, though." I never knew Halley was had such a profound influence on Newton.
• Creationist Complains That His Side Isn't Getting Equal Time on Cosmos
• Cosmic terror: Why Neil deGrasse Tyson has religious fundamentalists so freaked—"Religious belief systems prefer a universe with mankind firmly at its center. No wonder 'Cosmos' is so threatening." Salon

Surveillance State; Climate Change; Environment, Pollution, North Carolina, Keystone XL, Fukushima, China Smog-åsbord, Unclean Energy, Fracking; Ecology, Agri-Torture

Surveillance State

• Sen. Wyden: CIA, NSA leadership have developed a pattern of false statements, misleading actions
• CIA Search of Congressional Computer Sparks Constitutional Crisis
• The C.I.A. Torture Cover-Up—"Sen. Feinstein today provided stark evidence that the C.I.A. may have committed crimes to prevent the exposure of brutal interrogation practices." NYT
• Did the CIA Chief Just Dare Obama to Fire Him?—"Under a sudden avalanche of criticism, CIA director John Brennan said President Obama can 'ask me to go.' Will he?" Wasn't he was already following the White House's directives?
• CIA feud with Senate panel puts lack of post-9/11 accountability in spotlight WaPo
• The Senate and the CIA at War—"Even Sen. Dianne Feinstein has lost faith in America’s intelligence community."
• The Senate Didn't Care Much About Surveillance Until the CIA Spied on It Too
• What Happens When the NSA Comes to Town—"The NSA set up a facility in Utah, promising jobs and industry along with it. None of that came. Now, one surveillance scandal later, residents can vote to render the facility useless in the simplest way possible. Is it worth it?"

Climate Change

• The Very, Very Thin Wedge of Denial—"To me, one of the most fascinating aspects of climate change denial is how deniers essentially never publish in legitimate journals, but instead rely on talk shows, grossly error-laden op-eds, and hugely out-of-date claims (that were never right to start with)."
• Wyoming Governor Takes Major Stand Against Modern Science—'Wyoming took an unprecedented step this week when the governor approved a budget that would prevent the state from reviewing or funding a new set of science standards that treat climate change as fact."
• GOP's "inane" war on science: Plasma physicist congressman takes on the denialists—'Retiring Rep. Rush Holt tells us why 'millions will die' due to climate change -- but why the solution is a bargain." Salon
• Climate buffoons' real motives: 5 reasons they still spout debunked garbage—"From greed to idiocy, here's the true agenda of deniers who still claim climate change isn't happening." Salon
• Climate change deniers have grasped that markets can't fix the climate—"The refusal to accept global warming is driven by corporate interests and the fear of what it will cost to try to stop it."
• Australia: Environment commissioner Kate Auty quits, drops bucket—"Victoria's environment commissioner has quit and hit out at the Napthine government's attitude on climate change, saying bureaucrats told her they were directed to refrain from even using the term."
• UN Officials Speak Out On Climate Change As Australian Drought Deepens
• Global Warming Slows Down Antarctica's Coldest Currents

Environment

• Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Gets More Protection Than Mobile's Drinking Water Supply For 250,000
• Alaska mine could be blocked to save salmon fisheries
• SF becomes first major city to ban sale of plastic water bottles
• Congress Designates the First Wilderness Area in Five Years—"32,500 acres of lakeshore along Lake Michigan have been designated as wilderness by Congress."
• Mysterious new man-made gases pose threat to ozone layer

Pollution

• Chicagoans Want the Koch Brothers to Stop Polluting The City
• Pollution's price: Will a stiff fine change the ways of Alpha coal?—Coal Firm to Pay Record Fine for Water Pollution
• NY Judge Rules for Chevron in Ecuador Case—"A federal judge on Tuesday blocked U.S. courts from being used to collect a $9 billion Ecuadorean judgment against Chevron for rainforest damage, saying lawyers poisoned an honorable quest with their illegal and wrongful conduct."
• Oil From the Exxon Valdez Spill Lingers on Alaska Beaches—"Boulder-strewn beaches in the Gulf of Alaska still harbor oil from the Exxon Valdez spill."
• Industry Attempting to Defeat Pollution Standards Before They Emerge

North Carolina

• Duke CEO: Ratepayers will cover coal ash cleanup—Gov. McCrory still trying to wash his hands of this mess.
• Ash Spill Shows How Watchdog Was Defanged—"North Carolina regulators say that under Gov. Pat McCrory, a weakened Department of Environment and Natural Resources has abandoned its regulatory role." NYT
• Violations issued against Duke for coal ash spill
• NC cites 5 Duke Energy plants for lacking permits
• Judge rules Duke must halt groundwater pollution at coal ash sites

Keystone XL

• Dozens Arrested At Keystone Protest At White House
• Study Finds Keystone XL Would Have Much Larger Impact Than State Department Suggests
• Ed Schultz: "I was wrong" about Keystone—"The MSNBC host urges Obama to say no to the pipeline." Salon
• It's Not About the Pipe—"It's about what the pipe would carry."
• Keystone XL: Just the facts

Fukushima

• Prosecutors drop charges over Fukushima nuclear disaster—"No-one has been held accountable for the second-worst nuclear accident in history."
• Three years later, the lessons of Fukushima are uglier than ever
• Fukushima operator may have to dump contaminated water into Pacific—"As Japan marks the third anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, Tepco is struggling to find a solution for hundreds of thousands of tonnes of contaminated water."
• U.S. Nuclear Agency Hid Concerns, Hailed Safety Record as Fukushima Melted
• Fukushima Radiation To Reach West Coast In April, Experts Weigh In On How Dangerous It Is

China Smog-åsbord

• Nine Chinese cities suffered more days of severe smog than Beijing—"Pollution widespread and affected millions more than previously thought, 2013 data shows."
• Wealthy Residents Depart Chinese Mainland In Search Of Clean Air
• China's 'War on Pollution' Will Be Fought by Smog-Sucking Drones

Unclean Energy

• Coal Miners Say They Were Surveilled, Harassed After Making Safety Complaints
• Alberta doctor tells U.S.: Canada is 'lying' about tar sands' health effects—"American Senators told that oil sands are linked to a huge spike in cancer, despite Canadian government claims."
• BP Splitter Refinery Seen Skirting U.S. Oil Export Ban
• This Is What Happened When Scholastic Tried to Bring Pro-Coal Propaganda to School—"'The United States of Energy' was a colorful series of lessons on the advantages of coal, aimed at 4th-graders—and sponsored by Big Coal. Here’s how educators and activists worked together to get it out of."
• Chevron pizza 'scandal' isn't one in small town

Fracking

• Fracking could be allowed under homes without owners' permission—"Ministers admit they are looking at overhauling trespass laws to make it easier for energy companies to explore for shale gas."
• Fracking Waste is Being Dumped Into the Ocean Off California's Coast
• State Senators Mitchell and Leno introduce fracking moratorium bill
• Wastewater Injection Triggered Oklahoma's Earthquake Cascade—"One of Oklahoma's biggest man-made earthquakes, caused by fracking-linked wastewater injection, triggered an earthquake cascade that led to the damaging magnitude-5.7 Prague quake that struck on Nov. 6, 2011, a new study confirms."
• Court bars anti-fracking activist from more than 300 square miles of Pa.

Ecology

• Rhino with bullet in its brain and hacked off horn wanders for days before being put down
• Uganda president wants poachers 'shot on sight'
• Australia's Shark Cull Is Killing the Wrong Sharks
• Indonesian Muslim clerics issue fatwa protecting endangered animals
• Japan to halve bluefin tuna catch—"Japanese media say the nation's fisheries agency has decided to boost protection for juvenile bluefin tuna by halving Japan's northern Pacific catch. Studies show a dramatic decline in tuna prized by eaters of sushi."

Agri-Torture

• The wrongheaded law that's making your food less safe—"If the cows providing your milk were being drugged up and abused, you'd want to know, right?" The Idaho governor doesn't want anyone to know.
• Arizona House approves livestock cruelty bill—"House Bill 2587 would reduce first-offense felony charges to a misdemeanor for farmers and others accused of abusing livestock."
• Don’t buy the Chipotle hype: There’s no such thing as "humane" slaughter—"The chain has earned praise for promoting animal welfare — but there's no getting past the bloody truth." Salon

Climate Change, Drought, Pollution, China Smog-åsbord, Environment; Agri-Torture, Food Insecurity, Ecology; Ukraine; NSA Spying, Private Messaging, Cybersecurity

Climate Change

• Why are we still debating climate change?—"Most Americans can't even name a living scientist. I suspect the closest many Americans get to a living, breathing scientist is the fictional Dr. Sheldon Cooper from CBS's sitcom 'The Big Bang Theory.'"
• Unfrozen Caveman Pundit Debates Climate Change—"If you want to argue about science, it's helps to know how the scientific method itself works."
• Cruz to CNN: Global warming not supported by data

Drought

• "It could last decades": 5 shocking facts about California's drought—"Droughts aren’t new to the golden state, but this one is for the ages and it comes with a distinct set of troubles." Salon
• California farmers brace for little or no water amid extreme drought
• California drought: Why farmers are 'exporting water' to China
• State water board considers 50-gallon daily limit—"Ration would apply to communities at risk for drought."
• California fights drought with big data, cloud computing

Pollution

• Don't Drink the Water in West Virginia
• Halliburton dodges charges again—"Halliburton Energy Services Inc. will not be charged criminally for transporting large quantities of hazardous waste for 12 years and storing it at an Indiana County site in violation of state environmental laws, the state Attorney General's Office said on Thursday."
• U.S. Magnesium dumped acid on Utah public lands
• The CEO of Exxon Stands Up for Homeowners Against Frackers (When He's the Homeowner)
• How 5 billion gallons of pig manure per year are poisoning Iowa's drinking water Salon
• Federal study says oil sands toxins are leaching into groundwater, Athabasca River
• China to spend $330 billion to fight water pollution

China Smog-åsbord

• China Like Cancer-Risking Smoker as Smog 8-Fold WHO Danger Mark
• China's toxic air pollution resembles nuclear winter, say scientists—"Air pollution now impeding photosynthesis and potentially wreaking havoc on country's food supply, experts warn."
• Smog chokes China as public, experts demand change
• Chinese man first to sue government over smog
• Smog is the best defense against laser weapons from the US, Chinese theorist says—Spin city.

Environment

• Did EPA overstep in tackling global warming? Supreme Court sharply split.
• Idaho Bill Would Get Rid Of All EPA Regulations In The State
• Colorado adopts tougher air rules for oil, gas industry
• John Kerry calls for expansion of world's marine reserves—"Secretary of state’s second environmental initiative this month signals bolder US approach to international protection."
• Google makes huge investment in clean energy

Agri-Torture

• Investigation reveals horrific treatment at KY hog farm
• Is That Sausage Worth This?—"Most sows live, give birth and then die in cages hardly bigger than their bodies. Now, that’s changing." NYT
• Idaho's 'Ag-Gag' Bill: Shameful Attempt to Hide Animal Cruelty on Factory Farms

Food Insecurity

• Slaughterhouse accused of selling meat from cows with cancer
• Food Scam: Tons of Fake Food, Drinks Seized in Interpol Bust
• Mafia and Other Criminal Gangs Selling 'Fake Food' Across Europe
• Fake food: Criminal gangs move from drugs to a new 'underground economy'
• Seamless Reportedly Home to a Bunch of Sketchy Fake Restaurants
• Fake Italian olive oil; chicken liver contamination: food safety roundup
• Fake Labels Reveal The Chemicals In Natural Foods

Ecology

• Jackie Chan interview: 'They served me shark fin soup and I said no way'—"He has karate-chopped some of cinema's most fiendish adversaries in his 40-year film career. And now Jackie Chan is taking on his toughest challenge yet: changing the mindset of a billion Chinese citizens."
• Jellyfish are taking over the seas, and it might be too late to stop them
• USDA spending $3M to feed honeybees in Midwest

Ukraine

• Rival rallies confront each other in Crimea
• In Ukraine turbulence, a lad from Lviv becomes the toast of Kiev—"When the history of the bloody turbulence in Ukraine is written, a 26-year-old who learned combat skills in the army cadets may be recorded as the man who made up Viktor Yanukovich's mind to cut and run."
• Ukraine minister disbands Berkut riot police blamed for violence—See their act of contrition.

NSA Spying

• Bush cyberczar: NSA created 'the potential for a police state'
• Op-Ed: NSA has a special fusion center in Mexican U.S. embassy
• NSA-dodging undersea cable to connect Brazil and EU

Private Messaging

• Telegram Saw 8M Downloads After WhatsApp Got Acquired
• Bye Bye, WhatsApp: Germans Switch To Threema For Privacy Reasons
• Why Skype isn't safe for journalists

Cyberecurity

• Choosing a Secure Password
• Apple finally fixes 'gotofail' OS X security hole
• 360 million newly stolen credentials on black market: cybersecurity firm

Big Oil, Environment; North Carolina, West Virginia, Pollution; All Dried Up, Food Insecurity; Ecology; Michael Sam, Marriage Equality, Russia, LGBT

Big Oil

• Bill McKibben to Obama: Say No to Big Oil
• With Only $93 Billion in Profits, the Big Five Oil Companies Demand to Keep Tax Breaks
• The Oil Industry's Fight to Kill Renewable Fuels—and Why It May Win—"For all its faults, the Renewable Fuels Standard is the only federal policy that is steadily eroding the oil industry's de facto monopoly on motor fuels."
• Ex-BP oil disaster and fracking executive to lead big government projects—"Government appoints John Manzoni as head of Major Projects Authority, which oversees HS2 and nuclear programme."
• Ex-Shell Oil president: 'I felt extorted'—"The former president of Shell Oil USA didn't candy-coat it: America's political fund-raising system, he said, amounts to legalized extortion." Tit-for-tat.

Environment

• The Sochi scandal no one's talking about: How Russia is silencing its environmentalists—"Olympic construction is destroying Sochi. And the government is cracking down on the people who dare to speak out." Salon
• This Land Was Your Land—"In Utah and other Western states, the country's most pristine wilderness faces new threats from Big Energy and its powerful allies."
• Muddying the waters far from home—"Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a brief — paid for with your taxes — attacking the legality of the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint."
• Oil Companies Are Planning to Drill in Florida Panther Habitat
• The Republican Party Now Wants States To Seize Public Lands For Drilling And Mining
• The Scientist Who Took on a Leading Herbicide Manufacturer—"After Tyrone Hayes said that a chemical was harmful, its maker pursued him."
• Donald Trump to appeal Aberdeen offshore wind farm defeat—"A legal challenge to a planned offshore wind farm which could be seen from Donald Trump's golf resort in Aberdeenshire has been rejected."

North Carolina

• NC river turns to gray sludge after coal ash spill
• NC authorities say river has elevated arsenic from coal ash spill—"Levels four times higher than what's considered safe for swimming; critics charge lax regulation."
• North Carolina Protected Duke Energy from Pollution Complaints Before the Company's Coal Ash Disaster

West Viriginia

• Despite Not Using Water, West Virginians Say Water Bills Have Spiked Since Chemical Spill
• Company Responsible For West Virginia Chemical Spill Skips Congressional Hearing
• West Virginia officials avoid calling state's water safe

Pollution

• Exxon oil spill town 'deserted land', residents still getting sick, forced to abandon homes
• Ethanol spill flows into sewage treatment plant
• 12,000 gallons of crude oil spilled between Winona and Red Wing
• 'Significant' slurry spill blackens Kanawha creek—"100,000 gallons escapes Patriot Coal facility."
• Clive Palmer's nickel refinery pumped toxic waste into Great Barrier Reef park—"Company discharged nitrogen into world heritage area on several occasions despite being forbidden from doing so."
• Three Oil Spills in Two Weeks Foul Singapore's Waters
• BP sued by Minnesota for fraud over $25 million in tank cleanups—"Minnesota's $25 million case alleges that the oil giant lied about having insurance coverage to clean up leaking underground tanks."
• Oil Companies Were Paid Twice to Clean Up Their Own Leaking Tanks—"Oil companies used state-allocated funds to clean up underground fuel leaks while also accepting payment from insurance companies for the same task, essentially defrauding state governments, according to a new report from Reuters."

All Dried Up

• California's Drought Could Be the Worst in 500 Years
• Fracking is depleting water supplies in America's driest areas, report shows—"From Texas to California, drilling for oil and gas is using billions of gallons of water in the country's most drought-prone areas."
• Sao Paulo Biggest Water-Supply System May Run Dry Within 45 Days

Food Insecurity

• Fake-food scandal revealed as tests show third of products mislabelled—"Consumers are being sold drinks with banned flame-retardant additives, pork in beef, and fake cheese, laboratory tests show."
• Recall of nearly 9 million pounds of meat not fully inspected
• Wal-Mart China to Step Up Vendor Checks After Donkey-Meat Recall
• Subway to remove 'dough conditioner' chemical from bread
• Chick-Fil-A to Use Chicken Without Antibiotics

Ecology

• UK's Prince William: We will fight illegal wildlife trade together
• Illegal hunting on the rise in Afghanistan
• US launches crack down on Africa's $10bn a year ivory poaching trade
• 400 arrested, tons of ivory seized in global trafficking crackdown
• Polish woman guilty of killing two million bees with anti-mosquito spray

Michael Sam

• N.F.L. Prospect Michael Sam Proudly Says What Teammates Knew: He's Gay NYT
• Michelle Obama: Michael Sam is an 'inspiration to all'
• Dale Hansen Unplugged: Celebrating our differences
• Michael Sam Coming out as Gay Hits His Father Hard
• Limbaugh: Straight People Are 'Under Assault By The 2-5 Percent That Are Homosexual'
• The Daily Show: Friday Night Rights—"University of Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam threatens his own NFL draft prospects by coming out as gay."

Marriage Equality

• Kentucky ban on gay marriages from other states struck down by federal judge
• Nevada attorney general seeks to withdraw gay marriage brief; Sandoval agrees
• Alabama, 9 States Join Utah Bid to Save Gay-Marriage Ban
• Gay Marriage Emerges As Issue In Colorado's Attorney General Race—"The Democrats' candidate for Colorado attorney general says the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional rights of gay couples and that the law shouldn't be defended."
• Couples Sue to Force Ohio's Hand on Gay Marriage
• Texas ban on same-sex marriage challenged in federal court
• 'New Black' explores marriage equality in U.S.—Yoruba Richen's documentary honestly portrays a polarized public as it tries to reconcile points of view on race and LGBTQ issues."

Russia

• Meet Katya, the young Russian sadist who kidnaps gay youth for sport
• Video: Gays arrested in Moscow's Red Square, singing national anthem
• You can thank Putin for these 11 amazing new gay rights protest songs
• Lesbian Sochi athlete thinks fuss over anti-gay Russia is exaggerated—Easy for her to say. She doesn't have to live there when the Olympics are over.
• Despite anti-gay laws, it's business as usual in Sochi's Mayak bar

LGBT

• First Openly Gay Boy Scout Reaches Eagle Scout Milestone
• Oklahoma restaurant that won't serve 'f*ggots' gets Internet push as 'best gay bar'
• Fredo & Pid'jin: 90% Gay