The Daily R-r-r-ibbit

Environmental Leader: Apple Drops Bombshell, Immediately Withdraws from US Chamber

Becoming the first major consumer brand to make a big statement against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s position on climate change, Apple has decided to leave the organization.

In contrast to PG&E, PMN and Exelon, the utilities that in recent weeks announced their intention not to renew their chamber memberships, Apple is making its exit from the chamber effective immediately, reports the Washington Post.

In a letter to the chamber, Apple Vice President Catherine Novelli wrote, “Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the Chamber at odds with us in this effort,” the Post reported.

Apple’s move comes as companies increasingly are leaning on the chamber to quit fighting the general concept of climate change, as well as efforts to make emissions a more central part of the political dialogue.

via www.environmentalleader.com

Hawk's Notes: On September 29th I posted a link to news that Exelon and other utilities would not renew their membership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. At the time I had the feeling something big was happening.

Now, seven days later, a "bombshell." Environmental Leader markets itself as "The Executive's Daily Green Briefing" so I'm very interested in their choice of words and how this speaks to the strength of the signal we may be getting about shifting attitudes in the business world.

The article goes on to talk about earlier criticism of Apple by Greenpeace, and signs that Apple may be taking the criticism to heart -- or may be feeling a shift in consumer heart.

Conference on Stopping the Psychiatric Abuse of Children

In the past year, the FDA has unleashed a crisis of epidemic proportions by approving lobotomizing antipsychotic drugs for the control of behavior in children. Diabetes. Pancreatitis. Pathological obesity. The abnormal growth of breast tissue and even lactation in young boys and girls. Heart disease. Permanently disfiguring tics and other abnormal movements (tardive dyskinesia). Agonizing muscle spasms that also defy treatment and last indefinitely (tardive dystonia). These are a few of the drastic disorders caused by antipsychotic drugs such as Zyprexa, Risperdal, Abilify, Seroquel, Geodon, and Invega.

The antipsychotic drugs work by flattening the emotions and causing docility, so that the children no longer make trouble, at least for a while. With their frontal lobe function suppressed, the kids become more robotic in their behavior, and their mental and emotional growth is stunted. Often these drugs will turn them into lifelong mental patients whose enslaved brains will continue to deteriorate under toxic assault.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Hawk's Notes: I see the collusion between the pharmaceutical industry and American psychiatry to corral treatment of mental and emotional issues under wide-scale drugging and electroshock as a huge social justice issue that very few within the profession are brave enough to confront.

Dr. Breggin has long been one of my heroes on this front, speaking truth to power on behalf of children -- many of whom are children of color -- who can't speak for themselves.

Dr. Breggin's website has much information for parents and advocates who want something better for their kids or who at least want some straight, respectful talk and information on options. He is a terrific advocate for adults as well.

Another good site to follow Big Pharma and its handmaidens is the Alliance for Human Research Protection

Utility Leaves U.S. Chamber Over Climate Dispute - NYTimes.com

One of the nation's largest electric utilities, Chicago-based Exelon Corp., won't renew its U.S. Chamber of Commerce membership in a dispute over the business group's position on global warming, a company spokeswoman said today.

via www.nytimes.com

For those of us who are environmental justice activists, this is a really interesting piece of news. Here in Tennessee we have become aware of of the stands on environmental issues by the U.S. Chamber, and how state or local Chambers of Commerce may align or diverge from the USCOC on such things as climate, land use and water quality.

Because I have a particular interest in aquatic sciences, as well as water law, management and policy I have been collecting articles on these subjects for the past few years from various sources. There is no doubt in my mind that much of the opposition to the Clean Water Restoration Act being proposed in Congress as well as a bucket load of bad water bills introduced into the Tennessee Legislature last session are often in alignment with the post-Rapanos sentiments of the USCOC, an organization that, as I recall, was among those submitting amicus briefs in the Rapanos/Carabell case when it went before the Supreme Court. (I'll try to snag a link to this in an update.)

At some point I want to tackle a longer post on the issue of human stewardship of planetary resources and the concepts of social-uplift environmentalism in contrast to beliefs of folks who say "it's my property and I can do anything I damned well please on it."

For now I'll leave you with this NYT story...please go to their pages to read the whole thing. Something important is happening here.

Frack Fluid Spill in Dimock Contaminates Stream, Killing Fish - ProPublica

by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica - September 21, 2009 4:09 pm EDT

In this photo from a Dimock resident, hay bales and plastic sheets are used to confine pools of spilled toxic drilling fluid just off Troy Rd, south of Dimock.

Pennsylvania environment officials are racing to clean up as much as 8,000 gallons of dangerous drilling fluids after a series of spills at a natural gas production site near the town of Dimock late last week.

The spills, which occurred at a well site run by Cabot Oil and Gas, involve a compound manufactured by Halliburton that is described as a "potential carcinogen" and is used in the drilling process of hydraulic fracturing, according to state officials. The contaminants have seeped into a nearby creek, where a fish kill was reported by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP also reported fish "swimming erratically".

The incident is the latest in a series of environmental problems [1] connected to Cabot’s drilling in the Dimock area. Last winter drinking water in several area homes [2] was found to contain metals and methane gas that state officials determined leaked underground from Cabot wells. And in the spring the company was fined for several other spills, including an 800 gallon diesel spill from a truck that overturned.

via www.propublica.org

Hawk's Notes: One more fracking disaster to add to the growing list.

Michael F. Jacobson on Quorn: This Fungus Ain't No Portobello

I should say from the beginning that I have nothing against fungi.

I love my sauteed shitakes and occasional grilled Portobello. I have nothing but respect for the humble, industrious yeasts that help turn flour and grape juice into bread and wine, respectively. I'm not much of a cheese eater, but even I can appreciate the mysterious molds that give Roquefort and Gorgonzolas their distinctive veins. And should I contract strep throat, pass the penicillin, please!

Of course plenty of fungi are considerably less savory, making their homes in shower stalls, locker rooms, and stinky socks.

But when it comes to eating, I draw the line at Quorn, and so should you.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Hawk's notes -- Dr. Jacobson is the Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Read the rest of his article at HuffPost.

Capitalist Health Insurance for All -- In These Times

Armies of healthcare industry flacks, lobbyists and bought-and-paid-for legislators rant that nonprofit, public insurance is a slippery slope to socialist hell, will limit your choice of physicians to Doc Watson and Dr. Kevorkian, and bankrupt the country. But, in fact, most U.S. Fortune 500 companies wouldn’t touch private insurance with a 10-foot colonoscope.

via www.inthesetimes.com

When they need to insure themselves, says Terry Allen, they create a "captive" insurance company and insure their own risk.

Part of the money we all pay in premiums for private insurance -- at least those of us who can even afford private insurance -- goes to subsidize the industry lobbyists, CEO's and corporate lawyers who try to make sure they get good money while we, the people, get as little for our money as possible.

Read the rest of Terry Allen's article at the link above for his idea on a reframing (and renaming) the public option.

EPA Releases Final Reports on Dam Integrity Assessments at 17 Coal Ash Impoundments

Release date: 09/16/2009

Contact Information: Latisha Petteway, petteway.latisha@epa.gov, 202-564-3191, 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON - As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ongoing national effort to assess the management of coal combustion residuals, EPA is releasing the final contractor reports assessing the structural integrity of 17 impoundments and similar management units containing coal combustion residuals, commonly referred to as coal ash, at nine facilities. These 17 impoundments have a “high” or “significant” hazard potential rating. A high hazard potential rating is not related to the stability of those impoundments but to the potential for harm should the impoundment fail. A significant hazard potential rating means impoundment failure can cause economic loss, environmental damage, or damage to infrastructure.

via yosemite.epa.gov

On September 8th I posted EPA's announcement that they has posted results of coal ash impoundment surveys, and that final reports would be forthcoming. Today's press release concerns final contractor reports on 17 impoundments with "high" or "significant" hazard potential.

You'll have to search around a fair amount to find out if there is a pond in trouble near you. The easiest route is to go to the Report FAQ page. There is a basic table of the facilities in question and, below that, a link to a summary table that gives a "satisfactory, fair, poor or unsatisfactory" assessment for each facility.

No facility was judged unsatisfactory, a category that would indicate immediate danger for the pond (which itself may represent a high or significant risk to people and the environment if it should break).

The one pond getting a "poor" grade was the "1964 pond" at Progress Energy's Asheville, NC plant. The 1964 pond was given a "potential high risk" rating that then triggered further study and recommendations in the final report released today. The potential risk ratings and the ultimate assessment grades are two different issues, and the implications are explained fairly well on the Report FAQ page.

All other ponds got a "satisfactory" or "fair" rating. You can take a look at the summary table to see how specific facilities were graded. Each report gives results of the assessments and recommendations for correcting any shortcomings.

TVA worker gave IG false data » Knoxville News Sentinel

A former TVA employee provided false information to the agency's inspector general in connection with an inquiry that involved U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, according to an IG's report.

The allegation was included in a report that was released to the News Sentinel under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

According to the TVA IG's "Report of Administrative Inquiry," which was released on Monday and dated June 9, the former employee denied knowing that Shuler, a North Carolina Democrat, held an ownership in The Cove at Blackberry Ridge LLC, a waterfront project in Roane County.

The report also alleged that the former employee - whose name was redacted in the report provided to the News Sentinel - denied Shuler had contacted TVA about a water-access application from Blackberry.

"Evidence indicates (redacted) knew or should have known Congressman Shuler held an ownership interest in Blackberry and that the Congressman had contacted TVA about Blackberry's (maintain and gain) application," the report said.

via www.knoxnews.com

SEIU - Domestic violence is a "pre-existing condition"?

Insurance companies have used the excuse of "pre-existing conditions" to deny coverage to countless Americans. From cancer patients to the elderly suffering from arthritis, these organizations have padded their profit margins by limiting coverage to patients deemed "high risk" because of their medical condition.

But, in DC and eight other states, including Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming, insurance companies have gone too far, claiming that "domestic violence victim" is also a pre-existing condition.

via www.seiu.org

At the end of the article at the SEIU site, there is an opportunity to take action on this issue. As a mental health professional I have worked with both women and men who have experienced violence in their relationships. I find it totally outrageous that domestic violence would be considered a pre-existing condition that would keep a person from getting insurance coverage.

Help end this abusive insurance industry practice. Take action here.

The Understory » Harper Go Home.

Before dawn this morning, a small team of climate activists is rapelling from the US observation deck at Niagara Falls. Dangling hundreds of feet above the ground, they’re sending a special welcome message to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper ahead of his first official visit to the White House.

Not that he’s feeling so welcome anyway. Obama is limiting the meeting to just one hour. While the Canadian press is calling it a slap in the face, aides say Harper will turn the other cheek. “The economy, and the clean-energy dialogue,”one aide told the Globe and Mail, “will dominate the discussions.”

Astute followers of cross-border relations will understand the code. Long on hope and short on specifics the so-called “clean energy dialogue” is actually a diplomatic marriage of convenience. Obama needs to dodge the sticky issue of oil imports from Canada’s tar sands in the midst of the Climate Legislation debate. Harper needs a story to go with his photo-op ahead of a tough election.

via understory.ran.org