Offshore_wind.jpgIn making the case for a rapid conversion away from heavily polluting energy sources like coal and nuclear power to cleaner generation, renewable energy advocates often confront the argument that their scheme is impossible due to the intermittent nature of sun and wind.
Challenging conventional wisdom on renewable energy's limits
Humans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say experts
For the first time since the dinosaurs disappeared, humans are driving animals and plants to extinction faster than new species can evolve, one of the world's experts on biodiversity has warned.
Conservation experts have already signalled that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction" of species, driven by the destruction of natural habitats, hunting, the spread of alien predators and disease, and climate change.
TVNL Comment: Humans have behaved like a deadly virus on this planet. We destroy everything and anything and we leave behind a planet that can not sustain life.
Illusions Of Freedom
Supposedly governments were meant to make human life easier and safer. But governments always end up enslaving humanity. That which we create to "serve us" ends up "ruling us." The US government by and for the people now imprisons millions. It takes half the income by force, over-regulates, punishes, tortures, slaughters foreigners, invades countries; overthrows governments, imposes seven hundred imperialistic bases overseas and crushes future generations with massive debts. That which we create to serve us ends up ruling us.
California State Senator Announces He's Gay After DUI Arrest
Ashburn, who consistently voted against gay rights measures during his 14 years in statewide office, came out in an interview with KERN radio in Bakersfield, the area he represents.
Ashburn has voted against a number of gay rights measures, including efforts to expand anti-discrimination laws and recognize out-of-state gay marriages.
16 Cities Sue Manufacturer Of Atrazine Weed-Killer For Contaminating Drinking Water
A coalition of communities in six Midwestern states filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking to force the manufacturer of a widely-used herbicide to pay for its removal from drinking water.
Atrazine, a weed-killer sprayed primarily on cornfields, can run off into rivers and streams that supply municipal water systems. As the Huffington Post Investigative Fund reported in a series of articles last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to notify the public that atrazine had been found at levels above the federal safety limit in drinking water in at least four states.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois by 16 cities in Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Iowa. The communities allege that Swiss corporation Syngenta AG and its Delaware counterpart Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. reaped billions of dollars from the sale of atrazine while local taxpayers were left with the financial burden of filtering the chemical from drinking water.
Painkillers may increase risk of hearing loss
Regular use of aspirin, acetaminophen and other analgesics appears to substantially increase the risk of hearing loss, especially in men younger than 50.
Researchers reported recently in the American Journal of Medicine that use of acetaminophen more than twice a week by such men doubles the risk of hearing loss, use of ibuprofen and related non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increases the risk by nearly two-thirds, and regular use of aspirin increases it by about a third.
Studies in animals and anecdotal reports in humans have indicated that high doses of the analgesics could interfere with hearing, but there have been few studies looking at regular use and none studying acetaminophen (one brand name is Tylenol), according to the study authors.
The Rightwing Witch Hunt Against ACORN
After 18 months of screaming headlines and attacks vilifying the anti-poverty group ACORN--attacks reminiscent of a New McCarthyism that threatened the group's very existence--it's clear now that this was a right-wing witch-hunt which, sadly, too many Democrats and the mainstream media failed to fact-check.
In December, the Congressional Research Service cleared ACORN of allegations of improper use of federal funding and voter registration fraud. The latest to weigh-in on the controversy is Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes. After a four-month investigation Hynes declared "no criminality has been found" with regard to the conduct of three ACORN employees in the infamous and--turns out--misnamed "pimp-prostitute" video.
In fact, a law enforcement source told the New York Daily News that the unedited version of the video which caused all the outrage "was not clear." "They edited the tape to meet their agenda," said the official.
Israel 'risking peace talks' with West Bank building
![](http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47432000/jpg/_47432419_israel0803_illit_226_ap.jpg)
Meanwhile, US Vice-President Joe Biden has arrived in the region, becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit since Barack Obama took office. Israel had promised a 10-month pause in settlement building in the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem. Israeli officials said construction was approved before the moratorium was declared.
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Mystery problem again hits bee colonies
A mysterious problem that causes bee colonies to decline is once again taking its toll on the state's beekeepers. The problem known as colony collapse disorder is characterized by a sudden drop in a bee colony's population and the inexplicable absence of dead bees.
The disorder has no known cure and appears to be cyclical. After several mild years, it has resurfaced with a vengeance, said Eric Mussen, apiculturist with the University of California at Davis. "It never went away, but this year a substantial number of beekeepers got walloped again," said Mussen, the state's leading bee expert. "And worse than they had been hit before."
Although Mussen said it is too early to tell exactly how many bees have been lost, a bee industry official said losses in the state vary from 30% to 80%.
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