Massive Honeybee Colony Die-Off

Updated 6-5-2013

The World Impact Of The Bee Die-Off

The trouble with bees.  Their die-off is now global.  We follow the bee problem around the world.

If bees go, we all know, humans are in trouble.  And a lot of bees have been going lately.  Huge die-offs.  Colony collapse.  All over.

The bottom line issue, of course, is that bees pollinate a big chunk of the crops that feed us.  In China now it’s gotten so bad they are hand-pollinating blossoms in orchards.  Doing by human hand what billions of bees once did.  Talk about unsustainable.

New or old  breeds of bees may save the day, but the biggest of those are killer bees.

This hour, On Point:  the latest on the lives and deaths of bees.

- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Markus Imhoof, Academy-Award-nominated director and screenwriter of the new documentary, “More Than Honey.”

Eric Mussen, extension apiculturist at the University of California Davis.

From Tom’s Reading List

USA Today: Scientists Take Swat at Honeybee Loss — “Paul Campanis lost half of his beehives on his 16-acre Nashville farm this winter. Nashville gardener David Davies has seen so little honeybee activity this spring that he’s resorted to using a paintbrush to pollinate his tomato and squash plants. The nation’s honeybees are dying off in record numbers and researchers, including at the University of Tennessee, are scrambling to figure out why.”

Reuters: Honeybee food may contribute to U.S. colony collapse -study — “Bee keepers’ use of corn syrup and other honey substitutes as bee feed may be contributing to colony collapse by depriving the insects of compounds that strengthen their immune systems, according to a study released on Monday.”

NBC News: ‘Killer bees’ leave Texas man dead, woman in serious condition— “A Texas man was stung to death after he drove his tractor into a pile of wood that concealed a hive of 40,000 “killer bees,” authorities and family members said Sunday. Every inch of exposed skin was covered with stings on the body of Larry Goodwin, 62, of Moody, Texas, family members told NBC station KCEN of Waco.”

source: http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/06/05/bee-die-off

Updated 6-5-2013

1,500 Colonies of Honeybees Die in Campeche

1,500 colonies of honeybees, from a community in Hopelchen, Campeche, died this February 6 from the fumigation of Monsanto’s GMO’s in a nearby area.

This has directly impacted more than 50 impoverished families, who recently suffered a poor corn crop due to drought. The community was relying on their sale of organic honey to compensate for the lack of maize. The current honey left by the bees is also lost due to the contamination of pesticides and transgenic pollen.

Alvaro Mena, a mayan farmer from Hopelchen and member of the Network in Defense of Maize, estimated losses at nearly 10 million pesos and is the equivalent of one year’s worth of corn and honey production for the community.

Fumigation has intensified where GM crops have been planted in Mexico. GMO’s are known to be resistant to pesticides and are planted in large monocultures, applying huge amounts of Roundup. It is no accident says Mena: it is the toxic onslaught that comes with GM crops and the threat of allowing millions of acres of GM Maize to be planted.

Mena attended the debate at which officials failed to attend and began with his witness of GMO’s. Thousands showed up to participate in the debate on GM maize on Thursday, February 7, in a packed auditorium of the Faculty of Science, organized by several networks, including #YoSoy132 Environmental Via Campesina Popular Urban Movement, and the Network in Defense of Maize.

The officials were called to discuss the authorities of Agriculture, Environment and the Interministerial Commission on Biosafety and Genetically Modified Organisms (Cibiogem), but did not attend the meeting of social organizations and visiting scientists. The two secretariats claimed that they had no position on the issue. Currently, there are thousands of hectares of experimental and pilot fields in Mexico contaminating transgenic maize fields. Cibiogem, is reported to have had a busy schedule and could not attend.

Semarnat’s response, sent the day of the debate, stated that the “reports that are pending will not go away because of a think tank debate.”  The debate was composed of academics from UNAM, CINVESTAV, Colpi, Conacyt UAAAN and was meant to determine a “public policy on GM corn.”

Several opinions are not in favor of GMOs, and many scientific recommendations have been given to the recently elected Mexico Government from the first day they took office. They have received a solid flow of documents signed by researchers from the above mentioned institutions and others (over 3,000 scientists and experts, who have a high number of national and international awards) calling to cancel transgenic maize crops in centers of origin for the risks involved, and to establish “an immediate review of the environmental and social aspects that would be impacted by planting transgenic maize in Mexico, based on rigorous science and broad public participation (…) for the consideration of the best technological options to address food production in our country. ”

read more at: http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2013/02/1500-colonies-of-honeybees-die-in-campeche/

Nick The Beekeeper

Montecito Bees A Signal of Things to Come?

Household Use of Pesticides Potential Threat to Local Bee Populations

---

Sunday, February 3, 2013

by RAY FORD (CONTACT)

Montecito — When Santa Barbara Beekeeper’s Association (SBBA) President Paul Cronshaw received a call from one of the local beekeepers that he mentors on October 8, 2012, the news was not good. Carrie Kappel, a marine ecologist at UC Santa Barbara, is one of about 20 backyard beekeepers that Cronshaw mentors as a part of his efforts to support the growth of what he calls the “backyard beekeeper” movement.

“There’s something wrong with my bees,” Kappel told Cronshaw, who quickly rushed over to examine her hive. “It was like the bees were intoxicated,” Cronshaw related. “They were stumbling about and trying to fly but weren’t able to.”

“It was devastating to see the number of dead bees outside the hive, and watch those in their death throes, twitching and stumbling around in front of the hive, unable to fly,” Kappel added. Over the next few weeks she watched as her hive went from a healthy population of almost 70,000 bees to being completely empty in less than a month with dead bodies scattered everywhere.

Then came more reports of die-offs in other local hives — a total that would eventually increase to include sixteen backyard hives. Mysteriously, the die-offs all seemed to be coming from one small part of Montecito bounded by Olive Mill on the west, East Valley Road on the north, Ortega Ridge to the west and the ocean on the south.

read more at http://www.independent.com/news/2013/feb/03/montecito-bees-signal-things-come/

EPA Approved GMO Insecticide Responsible For Killing Off Bees & Puts Entire Food Chain at Risk

Posted by: The Liberty Beacon™ Staff
Published February 18, 2013, filed under ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH

New information has come out that links an insecticide approved by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to killing off millions of Bees and puts food chain at risk. In early 2011 several leaked documents obtained by a Colorado beekeeper brought light to the fact that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA) illegitimate approval of Clothianidin, an extremely toxic pesticide made by Bayer CropScience, came regardless of the fact the agency knew it was capable of killing off Bees. As a new study emerges from Purdue University, not only is it 100% confirmed that Clothianidin is killing bees, but also that Clothinaidin’s toxicity is now found throughout the entire food chain.

More from Natural News:

The study, which was published in the online journalPLoS ONE, investigated the various methods and routes by which a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, which includes clothianidin, are harming honey bees. They discovered that both clothianidin and thiamethoxam, another component of neonicotinoid insecticides, persist in “extremely high levels” in planter exhaust material produced during the planting of crops treated with these insecticides, which runs contrary to industry claims that the chemicals biodegrade and are not a threat.

The research team also found neonicotinoid compounds in soil, including in fields where the chemicals were not even sprayed, as well as on various plants and flowers visited by bees. Based on their analysis, the researchers involved with the study determined that bees actively transfer contaminated pollen from primarily neonicotinoid-treated corn crops, and bring it back to their hives. The bees also transfer neonicotinoid compounds to other plants and crops not treated with the chemicals, which shows just how persistent these chemicals truly are in the environment.

You can read the entire report for yourself at the following link:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3250423/?tool=pubmed

“This research should nail the coffin lid shut on clothianidin,” said Laurel Hopwood, chairwoman of theSierra Club‘sGenetic Engineering Action Team, who is petitioning the EPA to finally ban these chemicals after years of needless delay. “Despite numerous attempts by the beekeeping industry and conservation organizations to persuade the EPA to ban clothianidin, the EPA has failed to protect the food supply for the American people.”

Without bees, which are now dying off at an alarming rate due to exposure to clothianidin and various other insecticides and fungicides, one third or more of the food supply will be destroyed, including at least 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables that rely on bees for pollination. This is why Dr. Neil Carman, Ph.D., scientific advisor toSierra Club, has put out a call for the EPA to immediately ban the use of clothianidin and the other neonicotinoid insecticides for the sake of protecting the food supply from irreversible destruction.

As we continue to take actions like this on the planet we continue to see that how we do things simply cannot sustain. This type of issue does not just reflect how we treat nature but also reflects how we operate as a whole. If money wasn’t so important, we wouldn’t be finding unnatural ways to do everything on this planet. If w weren’t so concerned with maintaing an economy an competition stuff like this wouldn’t affect us. This is all a perfect lesson for us to ask “What the heck are we doing to our planet?” We are at a point where our very survival is now threatened because w are fighting so hard to maintain a system we all don’t like anyway.

Read original here: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2012/04/09/epa-approved-gmo-insecticide-responsible-for-killing-off-bees-puts-entire-food-chain-at-risk/

Russians Drill Into Lake Vostok. Search For Life Under The Surface.

Russian Scientists May Have Drilled into Previously Untouched Subglacial Lake

By Tim Newcomb

International scientists teeter between excitement and concern after reports from Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Russian scientists have drilled into the untouched Lake Vostok, 2.2 miles below the surface of Antarctica.

The lake, discovered in the mid-1990s, is the world’s third largest and could hold a vast amount of scientific data, both about how lakes function below the surface of the ice in Antarctica and about the possibility of discovering previously unknown life forms. That is, if the kerosene, Freon and other chemicals used in the 20-year drilling process didn’t leak into the water and ice and contaminate the area.

Crews have tried to reach the lake for over two decades, but the going is slow, with the limited mobility of transportation in and out of the area and machinery unable to work most of the year due to the astonishingly cold temperatures.

While no formal announcement has yet been made about the breakthrough, scientists around the world say that if the Russians have indeed tapped into the lake, the body of water could completely change the way research gets conducted in Antarctica. Learning about conditions in lakes glossed over with ice could also help inform scientists about conditions on other planets.

The U.S. and Britain will join the ice drilling in search of subglacial lakes this year, as the search for information continues on how our planet’s largest reservoir of fresh water (as ice and subglacial lakes) changes and reacts to climate conditions. With more than 200 lakes beneath the ice, there’s plenty of drilling left to be done.

Read more: TIME

Russians drill into Lake Vostok, begin search for life under Antartica’s surface

Thursday, February 9, 1:45 PM Scientists are taking the search for life in extreme environments to the ends of Earth and beyond. On Wednesday Russian scientists announced they had reached Lake Vostok, a subglacial lake under Antarctica. As AP reported: Russian researchers reported Wednesday that they had reached Lake Vostok, a pristine body of water untouched by light or wind for about 20 million years. They want to know what type of microbial life — bacteria too small to see — might exist there.

SOURCE: WASHINGTON POST

Draconid Meteor Outburst

DRACONID METEOR OUTBURST: On October 8th, Earth will pass through a network of dusty filaments shed by Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. Forecasters expect the encounter to produce anywhere from a few dozen to a thousand meteors per hour visible mainly over Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. The meteors will stream from the northern constellation Draco--hence their name, the "Draconids."

Peak rates should occur between 1600 UT and 2200 UT (noon - 6 pm EDT) as Earth grazes a series of filaments nearly intersecting our planet's orbit. Analysts at the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office prepared this plot showing how the meteor rate is likely to vary:

If the maximum around 1900 UT reaches 1000 meteors per hour, the 2011 Draconids will be classified as a full-fledged meteor storm. The question is, will anyone see it? Bright moonlight over Europe, Africa and the Middle East will reduce the number of visible meteors 2- to 10-fold. The situation is even worse in North America where the shower occurs in broad daylight.

One way to enjoy the Draconids, no matter where you live, is to listen to them. The Air Force Space Surveillance Radar will be scanning the skies over the USA during the shower. When a Draconid passes through the radar beam--ping!--there will be an echo. Tune in to Space Weather Radio for live audio.

In Europe, an international team of scientists plans to observe the shower from airplanes flying at ~30,000 feet where the thin air reduces the impact of lunar glare. In Bishop, California, a team of high school students will launch an experimental helium balloon to higher altitudes, 100,000 feet or more, where the sky is black even at noon. Cameras in the balloon's payload might catch some Draconid fireballs during the peak hours of the outburst.

Stay tuned for updates as Earth approaches the debris zone.

Draconid resources:

• 2011 Draconid Meteor Shower -- from the International Meteor Organization
• Draconid Risk to Satellites -- from NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office
• Meteor Counter App -- use your iPhone to count meteors and submit the results to NASA
• live meteor radar -- from Spaceweather.com
• Draconid Meteor Outburst -- feature story from Science@NASA

http://spaceweather.com/

Preview of October's Draconid meteor shower

The meteor shower won't be visible in the United States, so head to Turkey, Israel or the Greek Isles for the best views.

By Space.comMon, Sep 26 2011 at 3:13 PM EST

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The upcoming Draconid meteor shower in October will be impressive, but few people on the ground will get a chance to appreciate its true scope.

 

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/space/stories/preview-of-octobers-draconid-meteor-shower

 

Saturday, Oct. 8

The Draconid (Giacobinid) meteor shower may have spasms of strong activity during good observing hours for Europe or possibly elsewhere. Various predictions put one or more outbursts between about 17:00 and 21:00 Universal Time (GMT). The shower's radiant is near the head of Draco, but the meteors themselves can flash into view anywhere in the sky. Unfortunately, the light of the waxing gibbous Moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors. See our article, A Mad Dash for the Draconids.

The bright eclipsing variable star Algol in Perseus should be in one of its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 7:49 p.m. EDT. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/131148373.html

 

Geo Engineering ... Chemicals being sprayed...What are they spraying?!

Solar Flare in 2012?

May 29, 2009: An international panel of experts led by NOAA and sponsored by NASA has released a new prediction for the next solar cycle. Solar Cycle 24 will peak, they say, in May 2013 with a below-average number of sunspots.

"If our prediction is correct, Solar Cycle 24 will have a peak sunspot number of 90, the lowest of any cycle since 1928 when Solar Cycle 16 peaked at 78," says panel chairman Doug Biesecker of the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
It is tempting to describe such a cycle as "weak" or "mild," but that could give the wrong impression.

"Even a below-average cycle is capable of producing severe space weather," points out Biesecker. "The great geomagnetic storm of 1859, for instance, occurred during a solar cycle of about the same size we’re predicting for 2013."

The 1859 storm--known as the "Carrington Event" after astronomer Richard Carrington who witnessed the instigating solar flare--electrified transmission cables, set fires in telegraph offices, and produced Northern Lights so bright that people could read newspapers by their red and green glow. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a similar storm occurred today, it could cause $1 to 2 trillion in damages to society's high-tech infrastructure and require four to ten years for complete recovery. For comparison, Hurricane Katrina caused "only" $80 to 125 billion in damage.

...

Right now, the solar cycle is in a valley--the deepest of the past century. In 2008 and 2009, the sun set Space Age records for low sunspot counts, weak solar wind, and low solar irradiance. The sun has gone more than two years without a significant solar flare.

"In our professional careers, we've never seen anything quite like it," says Pesnell. "Solar minimum has lasted far beyond the date we predicted in 2007."

In recent months, however, the sun has begun to show timorous signs of life. Small sunspots and "proto-sunspots" are popping up with increasing frequency. Enormous currents of plasma on the sun’s surface ("zonal flows") are gaining strength and slowly drifting toward the sun’s equator. Radio astronomers have detected a tiny but significant uptick in solar radio emissions. All these things are precursors of an awakening Solar Cycle 24 and form the basis for the panel's new, almost unanimous forecast.

According to the forecast, the sun should remain generally calm for at least another year. From a research point of view, that's good news because solar minimum has proven to be more interesting than anyone imagined. Low solar activity has a profound effect on Earth’s atmosphere, allowing it to cool and contract. Space junk accumulates in Earth orbit because there is less aerodynamic drag. The becalmed solar wind whips up fewer magnetic storms around Earth's poles. Cosmic rays that are normally pushed back by solar wind instead intrude on the near-Earth environment. There are other side-effects, too, that can be studied only so long as the sun remains quiet.

Meanwhile, the sun pays little heed to human committees. There could be more surprises, panelists acknowledge, and more revisions to the forecast.

"Go ahead and mark your calendar for May 2013," says Pesnell. "But use a pencil."

To read more CLICK HERE

Do You Pledge Your Allegiance to Obama?

This is something forwarded to me by a friend that is interesting, yet not surprising.

"Posted: January 20, 2009
9:25 pm Eastern

By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

In a new YouTube video produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, dozens of celebrities – television and movie actors, sports heroes, musicians and more – describe how they will pledge to "be the change" and "be a servant to our president."

The video opens with a quote from President Truman, "They say that the job of the president is the loneliest job in the world," something the celebrities plan to alleviate for Obama by pledging to pitch in through several causes.

Throughout the video, the celebrities pledge to support local food banks, to smile more, to be better parents, to work with the charity UNICEF, to "never give anyone the finger when I'm driving again," to help find a cure for Alzheimer's, to meet neighbors, to use less plastic, to plant 500 trees, to "be more green," to turn the lights off and to "free 1 million people from slavery in the next five years," among dozens of other pledges.

The purpose of all this pledging is summed up in the video's grand finale.
Actors Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher begin the closing scene by saying, "I pledge to be a servant to our president and all mankind."

Then, as the scene pans out, the other celebrities joint the chant: "Because together we can, together we are, and together we will be the change that we seek."
By the end of the mass pledge, the camera has panned back to a mosaic of faces that morphs into a picture of Barack Obama's face with the words, "Be the change."

While many of the celebrity promises – such as drinking less bottled water or being a better mom – may seem innocuous, other pledges touch on controversial subjects. Actress Alyssa Milano, for example, pledges "to be the voice for those that have no voice," a concept claimed by many pro-life advocates.

Other celebrities touch on politicized issues like pledging to "advance stem cell research" or to "sell my obnoxious car and buy a hybrid."

Black athlete Michael Strahan, for example, pledges "to consider myself an American, not an African American."

And while several of the celebrities attempt to portray heartfelt emotion and others attempt to be funny in their pledges, tattooed celebrity Anthony Kiedis of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers may have been going for the shock effect.

"I pledge allegiance to the funk, to the United Funk of Funkadelica," says Kiedis. Later, while kissing his own biceps, he further declares, "I pledge to be of service [kiss] to Barack Obama [kiss]."

Near the end of the video, the celebrities took turns looking into the camera and challenging, "What's your pledge?"

Not surprisingly, viewer reaction and comments on the video have been widely mixed.
One cynical poster responds, "Why did it take Obama to get elected for these Hollywood libs to pledge? Be a better father? Why did you wait so long?"
Several others responded that the celebrity pledges were "inspiring."

One poster writes, "I pledge to not stop here, but to continue to engage the community in making my community, this state, this nation and this world a better, more beautiful place."

Another contributor, however, while not criticizing the effort to volunteer or improve America, nonetheless took exception to the celebrities promising to serve President Obama.

"I pledge to keep treating the President of the United States of America as the public servant that he is supposed to be," writes the contributor. "I pledge to attempt to correct anyone who thinks that we owe some allegiance to Barack Obama the man, rather than the country he is supposed to represent."

The poster concluded, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic, for which it stands: one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

One of the comments is "And so now we see the rise of the Obama-nation of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not . . . . . . amazing, simply amazing"

Nuclear Waste From Italy. Is This Free Trade?

With the controversy regarding nuclear waste from Italy and the planned shipping and dumping in Utah some may wonder, once again, what benefits the U.S. is receiving from free trade.

Why would Italy suddenly need a dumping ground for its nuclear waste if their nuclear program was reportedly stopped in 1990?

"Italian nuclear power referendum, 1987
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Italian nuclear power referendum of November 1987, rejected expansion of the country's nuclear power industry by the construction of new nuclear power plants.

Voters were actually polled about three issues:
abolishing the statutes by which the Inter-ministries Committee for the Economical Programming (CIPE) could decide about the locations for nuclear plants, when the Regions did not so within the time stipulated by Law 393;
Abolishing rewards for municipalities in whose territories nuclear or coal plants were to be built;
Abolishing the statutes allowing Enel to take part in international agreements to build and manage nuclear plants.
Some commenter’s find that the questions were actually too technical for non-experts and were used to obtain popular consent after Chernobyl disaster in 1986.[1] [2]

Subsequently, the Italian government decided in 1988 to phase out existing plants. This led to the termination of work on the near-complete Montalto di Castro nuclear power station, and the early closure of Enrico Fermi Nuclear Power Plant and Caorso NPP, both of which closed in 1990. Italy's other two nuclear power plants had already closed prior to the decision, Alto Lazio NPP in 1982 and Latina NPP in December 1987."

While Italy has been decommissioning their Nuclear Power Plants, www.planetark.com posted an article on January 17, 2008 stating that there may be a relaunch of nuclear energy in Italy.

"Debate on a relaunch of nuclear energy in Italy, banned 20 years ago in a referendum, got a boost in the past few days when it emerged that major utilities were to draft a plan to build nuclear power stations.

Italy, with scant energy resources, wants to diversify supplies and ease its 80-85 percent dependence on fuel imports. Various energy players and politicians call for a nuclear renaissance, but their appeals have fallen on deaf ears so far."

...

"Italy does not need a new referendum to lift the existing ban but the Economic Development Ministry would need to issue a decree -- which would later have to be passed as a law -- to scrap the moratorium, energy experts say."

...

"Opponents say there are no suitable sites in Italy for building new power stations and storing nuclear waste; the construction and decommissioning costs are too high and there is still a considerable risk of accidents. (Reporting by Svetlana Kovalyova, editing by Anthony Barker)"

In a report directed by the U.S. Department of Energy regarding the Yucca Mountain, Nevada disposal site, they specifically mention that more information is necessary to understand the effect the disposal would have on the groundwater flow, as well as additional information being necessary regarding the safety with transportation of the waste.

Additionally, a letter dated April 11, 2008, written to Dr. Garrick, the Chairman for the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board from Edward F. Sproat, III, Director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management at the Department of Energy shows little regard for the concerns regarding the water and transportation issues.

Should this not be alarming to everyone in the United States? The nuclear waste is due to travel across multiple states, through many highly populated areas. Additional correspondence and documentation regarding these U.S. nuclear disposal issues can be found at www.nwtrb.gov.

While researching the topic of dumping Italy's nuclear waste in Utah, I delved into the U.S. Department of Energy site for additional information. During this research, I have found no license agreement, location research, nor do I find Energy Solutions to be one of the contractors listed for this process.

Additionally, while researching the nuclear waste topic on www.radwaste.org, I clicked on the link for Italy, called "National Radioactive Waste Disposal Site Task Force", where I was promptly told,

The page cannot be found
The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please try the following:

If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is spelled correctly.

Open the www.casaccia.enea.it home page, and then look for links to the information you want.
Click the Back button to try another link.
HTTP 404 - File not found
Internet Information Services


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The site they defered me to doesn't seem to show any indication of a relationship between Italy and the U.S. and the disposal of their nuclear waste.

EnergySolutions seems to think that, because it will make them more money, the risks for the citizens don't matter. In an article in the Salt Lake Tribune, dated May 7, 2008, the author states that

"...the company's multi-billion-dollar plan to import low-level radioactive materials from Italy's decommissioned nuclear power plants. Approximately 1,600 tons of the materials would be shipped across the country and buried in Utah after processing at an EnergySolutions' recycling facility in Tennessee."

The author also states that the eight-state Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management has the power to regulate the source of the waste dumped at Clive, the company's facility. Additionally, a defeat of the proposal is virtually assured.

However, "EnergySolutions officials claim that only the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission can regulate foreign waste imports. Company attorneys will argue that the compact does not have authority over the dump because it's a private commercial facility, that the compact's authority is pre-empted by federal statutes and regulations, and that the U.S. Constitution forbids the compact from discriminating between identical foreign and domestic materials. (The firm's predecessor, Envirocare of Utah, didn't have a problem recognizing the authority of the compact nearly 20 years ago when, with Utah's blessing, it sought and received the compact's permission to open the dump.)"

Note: I bolded "(The firm's predecessor, Envirocare of Utah, didn't have a problem recognizing the authority of the compact nearly 20 years ago when, with Utah's blessing, it sought and received the compact's permission to open the dump.)"

So, I proceeded to research by looking up the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. I clicked on the link to the EnergySolutions' Proposal and found it to be more troubling than the article in the Salt Lake Tribune. Not just 1600 tons would be imported. Here is a direct quote.

"EnergySolutions, based in Salt Lake City, is seeking a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to import up to approximately 20,000 tons (a total volume of up to approximately 1 million cubic feet) of various types of materials from decommissioned nuclear facilities in Italy. These materials would be primarily metals, wood, paper, plastic, liquids and ion-exchange resins that have various levels of radioactive contamination."

"EnergySolutions would process and recycle (as shielding blocks for use in nuclear facilities) most of the contaminated material at its facilities in Tennessee, in accordance with licenses issued by the state of Tennessee. The remaining waste would be sent to EnergySolutions’ low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Clive, Utah, for disposal in accordance with its Utah license. The company has also applied for an export license, to return to Italy any waste that does not qualify for disposal at the Utah facility."

"NRC regulations require any company wishing to import or export low-level radioactive waste to apply for a specific license from the NRC. When considering these requests, the NRC reviews the applicant’s proposal to ensure that the waste would be handled in accordance with NRC regulations to protect public health and safety and the environment. For imports, the review considers whether an appropriate facility has agreed to accept the waste for management or disposal. Under the Low Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act, the states are responsible for regulating access to low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities. The NRC consults with Executive Branch agencies and all states that would be directly affected by the proposed import before deciding whether to grant the license."

"As part of its review of the license application, the NRC is seeking public comments and has offered members of the public the opportunity to request a hearing. The following information is provided to help answer questions about the EnergySolutions proposal for importing low-level waste from Italy."

The recorded Hearing Docket number 11005711, dated March 12, 2008, with attachments from Jamie L. Golliher with Energy Solutions includes ten (10) identical letters stating the following.

Date (hand-written by each signer)
Office of Secretary
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington DC 20555
Attn: Rulemaking and Adjudications

EnergySolutions
Docket No. 110057

Subject: EnergySolutions' license application to import Italian waste.

As an employee working at the EnergySolutions Bear Creek facility in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee, I am writing in strong support of the import license application. We have safely processed foreign materials at Bear Creek for at least the last 12 years. In fact, we are currently processing material from Canada that is very similar to the material we would process from Italy.

EnergySolutions' record of the safe handling of waste materials, meeting applicable license requirement, regulation, and state and federal law demonstrates its absolute commitment to environmental safety. The Bear Creek facility has received the National Safety Council's Perfect Record Award and is in the process of obtaining the Tennessee OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs Star status. I have no doubt in my mind that if the Commission grants the license application, EnergySolutions will continue meeting its high safety standards.

I strongly urge the Commission to approve the license request.

Sincerely,

(each separately signed by the following individuals...Eric Niles, Randy S. Owensby, Mark West, Carl West, Becky Harwell (almost illegible), two others that are totally illegible, Tammy D. Payne, David Dyer, and Mathew C. Davis.)

Note: I bolded the section stating "We have safely processed foreign materials at Bear Creek for at least the last 12 years".

Regarding the status for their request for the license,

The NRC has requested the views of the states which license EnergySolutions operations (Tennessee and Utah), the low-level waste compacts in which these states are members (the Northwest and Southeast compacts), the Executive Branch and the public. The states of

Tennessee and Utah have informed the NRC that they have no technical objections to the proposed licenses. The public comment period and the time to request a hearing or petition to intervene expire on June 10, 2008.

For more information on import and export of radioactive material, please see

http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/ip/export-import.html.

April 2008

Note: I bolded "The public comment period and the time to request a hearing or petition to intervene expire on June 10, 2008".

There is a location on this site for comments regarding this project.

Regarding the NorthWest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management, here is what their site says they represent.

"NWIC was created in 1981, and consists of the member states: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. The NWIC was ratified by Congress in 1985. The eighth state, Wyoming, joined the Compact in March of 1992. The Compact is a cooperative effort of the party states to protect their citizens, and maintain and enhance economic viability, while sharing the responsibilities of low-level radioactive waste management."

"Disposal Options for Low-level Radioactive Waste Within NWIC
Low-level radioactive waste generated within the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Compacts may be disposed of at the commercial disposal site operated by US Ecology Inc. in Richland, Washington. Click on the links below:

For questions about Washington's Site Use Permits
To print out a Site Use Permit application
For state regulations regarding radioactive waste disposal
Out-of-region low-level radioactive waste that complies with the NWIC Third Amended Resolution and Order may be disposed of at the disposal site operated by Envirocare of Utah Inc. in Clive, Utah.

Send mail to our Web manager with questions or comments about this web site.

Last modified: May 2, 2008"

For those of you who are unaware, Envirocare is now EnergySolutions.

Here is part of the Third Amended Resolution and Order of the Northwest Interstate Compact, dated May 1, 2006 and signed by Lawrence Goldstein, Chair.

"3. While the Compact allows the above described wastes access to the licensed EnergySolutions facility in the Northwest Interstate Compact region, in accordance with Article V of the Compact, Utah retains the right to specifically approve each disposal arrangement before the waste is allowed access to the licensed EnergySolutions facility.

4. All federal and state environmental and other laws and regulations shall be complied with by the licensed EnergySolutions facility accepting the above referenced media or waste for treatment, storage, or disposal. The Compact has no authority and assumes no responsibility for the licensing and operation of the EnergySolutions facility.

5. It is the intent of the Committee that only those wastes approved by the compact of origin (including the Northwest Compact) be allowed. For states unaffiliated with a compact, state approval for export is required to the extent states can exercise such approval. This Resolution and Order shall constitute an arrangement under Article V of the Compact statute with any unaffiliated state or compact that approves waste for export to the EnergySolutions facility."

Note: I bolded "Utah retains the right to specifically approve each disposal arrangement before the waste is allowed access to the licensed EnergySolutions facility.", and "This Resolution and Order shall constitute an arrangement under Article V of the Compact statute with any unaffiliated state or compact that approves waste for export to the EnergySolutions facility.".

A public meeting was scheduled today May 8, 2008 for The Committee of the Northwest Interstate Compact regarding this very issue.

My question is that if this has been ratified by congress, doesn't this committee have the say regarding whether or not Utah permits the importation of this 20,000 tons of Italian nuclear waste regardless of what high horse EnergySolutions seem to think they are on?

Additionally, if we accept this waste from another foreign country, doesn't this open the flood gates for others to attempt to dump their waste in the United States?

Sources:
en.wikipedia.org
HAARETZ.com
www.planetark.com
www.nwtrb.gov
www.ocrwm.doe.gov
www.sltrib.com
www.nrc.gov
www.ecy.wa.gov

Having Babies Pollutes The Planet?

So, here's an issue for you.

Have you ever heard anyone say that childbearing is selfish?

..."oh, you're having kids? You are so selfish!"

..."Those childbearing types...they are so selfish!"

Wouldn't that sound ridiculous and uneducated for someone to talk like that?

Well, here's a story about some who say its 'selfish' to have children because you're ruining the Earth by doing so.

As put on a recap from the Glenn Beck program from CNN, "Spoken like a childless person -- obviously they wouldn't know just how selfless having a child is. Maybe if their Friday night excitement consisted of cleaning the snot bubbles out of their kids noses and trying to get a 2 year old to eat green beans they would better understand the definition of 'selfless'."

Here is a link to the article along with some priceless quotes I have excavated from its contents.

"Meet the women who won't have babies - because they're not eco friendly"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=495495&in_page_id=1879

"Had Toni Vernelli gone ahead with her pregnancy ten years ago, she would know at first hand what it is like to cradle her own baby, to have a pair of innocent eyes gazing up at her with unconditional love, to feel a little hand slipping into hers - and a voice calling her Mummy.

But the very thought makes her shudder with horror."

My Commentary: Shudder with horror?

...following her decision to not ever have children...
"At least then, we'd be doing something positive for the world, rather than something negative."

My Commentary: I agree that if she would "shudder with horror" at the thought of cradling her own baby that, yes, sterilization for her is doing something positive for the rest of us...the world.

...working with fellow environmentalists...
Toni was happy, at last, with fellow environmentalists who shared her philosophy. But when she was 25, disaster struck.

"I discovered that despite taking the Pill, I'd accidentally fallen pregnant by my boyfriend.

"I was horrified. I knew straight away there was no option of having the baby.

"I went to my doctor about having a termination..."

My Commentary: Fallen pregnant?

...She had the termination...later had appointment for sterilization...
"A week before my sterilisation, I went to an animal rights demonstration and met Ed.

"I liked him immediately, and I told him what I was doing straight away - because if he wanted children then he needed to know I wasn't the woman for him," she says.

"But Ed was relieved when I told him how I felt and said he didn't want children for the same reasons."

My Commentary: How many of these "environmentalists" are out there?

On the morning of surgery, Ed gave Toni a card saying "Congratulations".

Toni says: "After the operation, which is irreversible, I didn't feel emotional - just relieved.

"I've never doubted that I made the right decision. Ed and I married in September 2002, and have a much nicer lifestyle as a result of not having children. "

My Commentary: Congratulations? They were definitely meant for each other. Didn't feel emotional, just relieved? Not human! Additionally, of course their lifestyle is "richer" in the monetary sense of the word. They have no idea what they are missing in the sense of those wonderful moments with children who have unconditional love, missing you when you are gone, loving you when you are around, and endless other selfless and selfish benefits of having children. Their loss, but evidently much better for everyone else.

...Another case (if you can believe it--in the same article)...
"Most young girls dream of marriage and babies. But Sarah dreamed of helping the environment - and as she agonised over the perils of climate change, the loss of animal species and destruction of wilderness, she came to the extraordinary decision never to have a child.

"I realised then that a baby would pollute the planet - and that never having a child was the most environmentally friendly thing I could do."

My Commentary: A baby would pollute the planet? Do they think that humans were here by accident?

...Later in the article...
"I'd never dream of preaching to others about having a family. It's a very personal choice. What I do like to do is make people aware of the facts."

My Commentary: What facts? They are preaching. Again...Having a baby would pollute the planet?

...her husband chimes in saying...
"In short, we do everything we can to reduce our carbon footprint. But all this would be undone if we had a child.

"That's why I had a vasectomy. It would be morally wrong for me to add to climate change and the destruction of Earth. "

My Commentary: Doing all they can do to reduce their carbon footprint would all be undone if they had a child? What a way to make their decision sound so unselfish...also, that it would be morally wrong to add to the destruction of the earth. Hmm, do these people sound very stable to you in the first place? Do they sound like they are not already adding to the destruction, at least to the societal structure of the earth? Not so stable, in my opinion.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That is what makes this world go around. It's always interesting to hear what people think and do outside of my reality. This one...is really outside of my reality...thankfully.