Monday, February 4th, 2013
DON MELVIN, - The Associated Press
Stephan: Although there is still great resistance as you can see in this report slowly, at least in Europe, the truth about the role of pesticides and herbicides in the decline of the bees is being recognized. Here in the U.S. nothing is happening, even as the collapse of bee colonies increases. About one-third of bee colonies was lost this last year. Of the 90 plant food stuffs humans eat 70 are utterly dependent on bee pollination.
BRUSSELS – An attempt to protect Europe’s bee population has kicked up a hornets’ nest.
On Thursday, the EU’s commissioner for health and consumer policy, Tonio Borg, proposed to restrict the use of three pesticides – called nenicotinoids – to crops to which bees are not attracted.
The three pesticides were clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam; the crops from which they would be banned include sunflowers, rapeseed, cotton and maize. The policy would take effect July 1 for the EU’s 27 nations and be reviewed after two years.
But while environmentalists welcomed Borg’s proposal as an important first step, Borg’s spokesman, Frederic Vincent, confirmed that some countries reacted unenthusiastically, preferring further study to immediate action. He declined to identify them.
Marco Contiero of the environmental group Greenpeace said Britain was firmly opposed, and Germany and Spain were either opposed or wanted more time to consider.
Luis Morago of the advocacy group Avaaz, meanwhile, condemned what he called ‘spurious’ British and German opposition and said 2.2 million people had signed an Internet petition calling for a comprehensive ban on the pesticides.
Beekeepers have reported an unusual decline in bees over the past decade, particularly in Western Europe, the European Food Safety Authority says. Bees are critically important […]
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Monday, February 4th, 2013
KIM PARKER and EILEEN PATTEN, - Pew Research - Social and Demographic Trends
Stephan: One of the unanticipated consequences of the crushing of the American middle class has been the rise of the Sandwich Generation, which this report from Pew explains. Click through to see the several charts, which you will find very useful.
Overview
With an aging population and a generation of young adults struggling to achieve financial independence, the burdens and responsibilities of middle-aged Americans are increasing. Nearly half (47%) of adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising a young child or financially supporting a grown child (age 18 or older). And about one-in-seven middle-aged adults (15%) is providing financial support to both an aging parent and a child.
While the share of middle-aged adults living in the so-called sandwich generation has increased only marginally in recent years, the financial burdens associated with caring for multiple generations of family members are mounting. The increased pressure is coming primarily from grown children rather than aging parents.
According to a new nationwide Pew Research Center survey, roughly half (48%) of adults ages 40 to 59 have provided some financial support to at least one grown child in the past year, with 27% providing the primary support. These shares are up significantly from 2005. By contrast, about one-in-five middle-aged adults (21%) have provided financial support to a parent age 65 or older in the past year, basically unchanged from 2005. The new survey was conducted Nov. 28-Dec. 5, […]
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Sunday, February 3rd, 2013
Stephan: Several readers sent me different versions of this story and, at first, I thought this is not possible. These stories are some kind of urban legend. But, to my amazement, it turns out this is true. It is hard to believe anyone, even the greediest, could be this stupid. But there you are.
I urge you to contact your Representative and Senators, and to sign the petition. This DOE plan is stupidity at an almost surreal level.
On a vital radioactive waste battlefront, NIRS has put out an alert against a scheme to ‘recycle’ vast quantities of radioactive metal from across the nuclear weapons complex into the consumer product recycling stream. NIRS asks, ‘Will the next zipper on your pants be radioactive? How about your silverware?’, and explains:
‘The Department of Energy wants to mix radioactive metal from nuclear weapons factories with clean recycled metal and let it enter into general commerce–where it could be used for any purpose.
It’s a foot in the door for revival of a vast–and discredited–radioactive waste deregulation plan defeated in 1992.
You can help stop them here.’
Please take action at the NIRS links above. NIRS’ Diane D’Arrigo has also posted more extensive talking points that you can use to write your own comments to DOE.
In an article entitled ‘Nuclear weapons waste in your hip replacement?’, John LaForge of Nukewatch reports, U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) — who is now running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Kerry as he becomes Secretary of State — has sent a strongly worded letter to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, expressing opposition to the so-called ‘recycling’ scheme.
John LaForge has also pointed out, in an article posted […]
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Sunday, February 3rd, 2013
KRISTINE TRITES, RONNIE CUMMINS, and DAVE MURPHY, - AlterNet (U.S.)/Global Possibilities
Stephan: Ronlyn and I stopped shopping at Whole Foods five years ago, when it was revealed that they were not treating their workers well, and were doing some dodgy things about GMOs. The recent comments by their CEO, John Mackey, about healthcare added to this just confirm our contempt for this company.
In addition to boycotting Whole Foods, UNFI's Woodstock Foods, and Blue Marble products, I encourage you to:
Please click through and sign the online petition in support of the striking workers at UNFI.
Call UNFI Manager Hank Heatherly at (253) 333-6769. Tell him to rehire the fired workers and return to the bargaining table immediately.
You may know that Whole Foods has been caught union-busting, but did you also know that the largest wholesale distributor of organics is under investigation for 45 violations of federal labor law?
‘The union is like having herpes. It doesn’t kill you, but it’s unpleasant and inconvenient, and it stops a lot of people from becoming your lover.
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Sunday, February 3rd, 2013
DAVID FERGUSON, - The Raw Story
Stephan: I am having a hard time accepting this, it depresses me and makes me uncomfortable but data is data, and I am afraid I am going to have to accept that about a third of the country are too stupid to handle the 21st century. Here is some more data: Fifty per cent of the people in the U.S. have an I.Q. of 100 or less, and about 15 per cent have an I.Q. lower than 85. That didn't matter much in the 13th century, but it matters a lot in the 21st.
A recent study by the Center for Public Religion has found that nearly 3 out of every 10 Americans believes that God decides the outcome of sporting events by favoring players who are virtuous and who God perceives as good.
According to the study, ‘Americans are less likely to believe that God plays a role in the outcome of sporting events than they are to believe God rewards religious athletes. While only about 3-in-10 (27%) Americans, believe that God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event, a majority (53%) believe that God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success, compared to 42% who disagree.
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