Something appears to be amiss at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico's food chain.
Oil buried in sediments in the shallow waters of the Gulf is triggering genetic reactions in the gills and livers of local populations of killifish, a ubiquitous prey for marine species vital to the region's economy, according to a study published this week in the review Environmental Science & Technology. Researchers linked those genetic changes to cardiovascular problems, reproductive failures, and weakened and listless offspring.
Fish show harm from Gulf spill, study finds
Keystone XL oil would be processed in sick East Texas community
For many, the battle over the Keystone XL pipeline is about national energy strategy and global climate change. For residents of the Manchester neighborhood in Houston, it’s also about what will be processed and spewed into the air in their backyards.
Activist Doug Fahlbusch recently brought some attention to the community when he held up a sign at a Valero-sponsored golf tournament that said, “TAR SANDS SPILL. ANSWER MANCHESTER.” That protest got him carried away from the links by security guards and arrested.
Most ground turkey found contaminated with fecal and antibiotic-resistant bacteria: report
Dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been found in ground turkey on U.S. grocery shelves across a variety of brands and stores located in 21 states, according to a report by a consumer watchdog organization.
Of the 257 samples of ground turkey tested, more than half were found to be positive for fecal bacteria and overall, 90 percent were contaminated with one or more types of disease-causing organisms, many of which proved resistant to one or more common antibiotics, Consumer Reports found.
US rejects EU claim of insecticide as sole reason for bee colony collapse
A government report blamed a combination of factors for the disappearance of America's honeybees on Thursday and did not join Europe in singling out pesticides as a prime suspect.
The report, by the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, blamed a parasitic mite, viruses, bacteria, poor nutritions and genetics as well as pesticides for the rapid decline of honey bees since 2006.
Earth's greenhouse gas approaches milestone level
The ratio of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is flirting with 400 parts per million, a level last seen about 2.5 million to 5 million years ago, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.
The institution this week launched a daily Keeling curve update, showing the saw-toothed upward diagonal of rising carbon dioxide levels since the late 1950s.
Former Guantánamo chief prosecutor petitions Obama to close prison camp
A former chief prosecutor for the controversial American prison camp at Guantánamo Bay has called for the prison to be closed, launching an online petition that has gathered some 60,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.
Col Morris Davis served for two years as the chief prosecutor for terrorism trials at Guantánamo. He decided to campaign for the closure of the camp in the wake of a hunger strike that now involves more than 100 prisoners, including some 21 who are being force fed to keep them from starving to death.
Fracking Waste: Too Toxic, Even For A Hazardous Waste Site
On April 19, a truck delivering waste from a fracking operation in Greene County, Pennsylvania, was quarantined after being rejected by a hazardous waste landfill as too dangerous.
The truck was carrying highly radioactive radium-226 in concentrations 86 times higher than allowed per EPA limits.
Prairie2: Politics continues to trump science and even common sense
The Obama Administration's FDA is attempting to sidestep a Federal Judge's ruling removing all restrictions on the sale of the Morning After Pill. The so called Plan B contraceptive will now be sold on the same shelf with condoms and similar products, but will still be age limited contrary to the Court ruling.
The age will be lowered to 15, but anyone attempting to make the purchase will be required to show a valid ID to complete the transaction as the product scan code will alert the checkout clerk. This FDA rule only applies to the 'Plan B' trademarked drug, generic versions will continue to sold only from behind the pharmaceutical counter to age 17 and up, also required to 'show papers please'.
What's a monster hurricane doing on top of Saturn?
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured images of a monster hurricane at Saturn's north pole – a storm so vast and powerful it makes tropical cyclones on Earth look tame by comparison.
The storm's eye alone spans some 1,250 miles – about the distance from North Carolina's Outer Banks to central Kansas. Wind speeds at the inner eye wall have been clocked at 330 miles an hour. The storm extends for another 600 to 700 miles beyond the eye.
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