A new technique to extract lucrative hard-to-reach natural gas is causing earthquakes across Middle America, literally.
Hydraulic fracking - pounding streams of high pressure water and chemicals into rock formations to loosen gas deposits - has been hailed as a solution to the US's dependence on foreign petroleum. But residents of Ohio and other states worry the technology is moving the earth beneath them.
Susie Beiersdorfer was sitting in a deli in Youngstown, Ohio, on New Year's Eve, when she felt the 4.0 magnitude quake which made headlines across the US. "It felt like a truck hitting the side of a building," Beiersdorfer, a geologist who used to work in the energy industry, told Al Jazeera.
While this quake was one of the biggest to be linked to fracking and disposal of waste water from the process, it would not be the last. "They [state authorities] just released information on another quake that happened on January 13," she said.
In early January, the state government - which is responsible for regulating the industry - ordered the shutdown of five wells near Youngstown, after quakes rocked the area.
At least 11 earthquakes have been recorded around Ohio since March, causing controversy for the 177 deep well injection sites in the state which are being pumped full of nearly 37,000 barrels of toxic waste water daily.
Our good friends Malik and Preach from Occupy The Hood are calling for a mass gathering in Washington D.C., on April 24th, to demand the release of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and to end the wackness that is mass incarceration- AKA - The Prison Industrial Complex.
April 24th is also Mumia's birthday. He will turn 58. So mark your calendars and start thinking about what kind of cake you might want to bake for the event, cos, trust, this is gonna be a REVOLUTION PARTY.
The Anonymous Movie which is now playing @ Sundance.
Someone had to make it, and they should be thanked profusely for doing so. Also, thanks to the kids who have watched over this site like a hawk and protected us from bad internet juju.
Against the backdrop of a global uprising that is simmering in dozens of countries and thousands of cities and towns, the G8 and NATO will hold a rare simultaneous summit in Chicago this May. The world’s military and political elites, heads of state, 7,500 officials from 80 nations, and more than 2,500 journalists will be there.
And so will we.
On May 1, 50,000 people from all over the world will flock to Chicago, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and #OCCUPYCHICAGO for a month. With a bit of luck, we’ll pull off the biggest multinational occupation of a summit meeting the world has ever seen.
And this time around we’re not going to put up with the kind of police repression that happened during the Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago, 1968 … nor will we abide by any phony restrictions the City of Chicago may want to impose on our first amendment rights. We’ll go there with our heads held high and assemble for a month-long people’s summit … we’ll march and chant and sing and shout and exercise our right to tell our elected representatives what we want … the constitution will be our guide.
And when the G8 and NATO meet behind closed doors on May 19, we’ll be ready with our demands: a Robin Hood Tax … a ban on high frequency ‘flash’ trading … a binding climate change accord … a three strikes and you’re out law for corporate criminals … an all out initiative for a nuclear-free Middle East … whatever we decide in our general assemblies and in our global internet brainstorm – we the people will set the agenda for the next few years and demand our leaders carry it out.
And if they don’t listen … if they ignore us and put our demands on the back burner like they’ve done so many times before … then, with Gandhian ferocity, we’ll flashmob the streets, shut down stock exchanges, campuses, corporate headquarters and cities across the globe … we’ll make the price of doing business as usual too much to bear.
Jammers, pack your tents, muster up your courage and prepare for a big bang in Chicago this Spring. If we don’t stand up now and fight now for a different kind of future we may not have much of a future … so let’s live without dead time for a month in May and see what happens …
Business for agriculture is roaring. Roughly 70 million tons of apples are produced every year, competing with the production of some of the largest tech products. Many companies are taking advantage of the growing sustainable energy industry, which adds pressure to local and small businesses. This unique graphic helps illustrate the comparison on how an apple stacks up against Apple.
A recent study conducted by a German university found very high concentrations of glyphosate, a carcinogenic chemical found in herbicides like Monsanto’s Roundup, in all urine samples tested.
The amount of glyphosate found in the urine was staggering, with each sample containing concentrations at 5- to 20-fold the limit established for drinking water.
This is just one more piece of evidence that herbicides are, at the very least, being sprayed out of control.
Glyphosate in Monsanto’s Roundup Impacting Global Health
This news comes only one month after it was found that glyphosate, contained in Monsanto’s Roundup, is contaminating the groundwater in the areas in which it is used. What does this mean?
It means that toxic glyphosate is now polluting the world’s drinking water through the widespread contamination of aquifers, wells and springs. The recent reports of glyphosate showing up in all urine samples only enhances these past findings.
Monsanto continues to make the claim that their Roundup products are completely safe for both animals and humans. However, many environmentalists, scientists , activists, and even doctors say otherwise.
Glyphosate radically affects the metabolism of plants in a negative way. It is a systemic poison preventing the formation of essential amino acids, leading to weakened plants which ultimately die from it.
A formula seems to have been made to not only ruin the agricultural system, but also compromise the health of millions of people worldwide. With the invention of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crops, resistant superweeds are taking over farmland, and public health is being attacked.
As it turns out, glyphosate is also leaving behind its residue on Roundup Ready crops, causing further potential concern for public health. Glyphosate is even contributing to escalating rates of mental illness and obesitythrough the depletion of beneficial gut flora that directly regulates these functions.
But it certainly doesn’t stop there.
Researchers tested roundup on mature male rats at a concentration range between 1 and 10,000 parts per million (ppm), and found that within 1 to 48 hours of exposure, testicular cells of the mature rats were either damaged or killed. Even at a concentration of 1 ppm, the Roundup was able to affect the test subjects by decreasing their testosterone concentrations by as much as 35%.
Monsanto must be held accountable for unfair and unsustainable business practices. Mandatory labeling of GMO foods are a must and until labeling practices are standard, citizens (i.e. all of us) have to invest the time to be smarter consumers.
Occupy your table and support community-supported agriculture, local organic farmers, community gardens and fair trade products. Corporations and governments may not support sustainable and eco-friendly practices, but we can. Practice mindful consumption. Use less, use wisely, use fairly. Research and know what your supply chain is, what your food chain is. Grow as many of your own vegetables, herbs and other plants that you can. Share with your family, your neighbors, your community. For more info go to localharvest.org and organicconsumers.org . Namaste, Sasha" - OccupySTL
TEDxManhattan Fellow Stefani Bardin explores the influence of corporate culture and industrial food production on our food system. These investigations take the form of single and multi-channel videos and immersive and interactive installations. Her current project is working with gastroenterologist Dr. Braden Kuo at Harvard University where they just completed the first ever clinical study to use the M2A™ and SmartPill devices to look at how the human body responds to processed versus whole foods. She is an Honorary Resident at Eyebeam Art +Technology Center in New York and teaches in the School of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons The New School for Design and in the Food Studies Program at The New School for Public Engagement.
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 11:51AM 
By Chris Arsenault
