Posted: 08 Jun 2014 07:09 AM PDT

Testing of methane concentration in water of Parker County, Texas indicates a link between the dangerously high levels of natural gas in local water supply and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operations in the gas-rich Barnett Shale, scientists say.
Parker County resident Steve Lipsky has known for years his water has been contaminated with high levels of methane gas. Last year, he filed a complaint with state oil and gas regulators at the Texas Railroad Commission. More recently, news broadcaster WFAA even went so far as to “ignite” local well water to highlight the issue.
After measuring gas content in his water well, state regulators said that while methane concentration in Lipsky’s water was up, the chemical makeup of the methane was inconclusive. Thus, the source of the gas remains a mystery, according to the state.
The Railroad Commission’s tests found Lipsky’s water contained 8.6 milligrams per liter of methane, not quite the federal limit of 10. Yet separate tests by a researcher at the University of Texas-Arlington found 83 milligrams per liter in the water, an incredibly high count.
“What we can say right now is that those are dangerous — that’s a dangerous level,” Zac Hildebrand told WFAA.
In response, the Railroad Commission told WFAA “the Commission is aware of elevated methane concentration levels.” An agency spokeswoman said the “sampling and test results were focused on the source of the methane gas” and not on measuring methane levels.
“For whatever reason, they do not want to have on their record the true levels that I have,” Lipsky said.
The agency measured the chemical content of gas in Lipsky’s water and that of two nearby gas development wells, known as the Butler and the Teal. The state found that “the evidence is insufficient” to connect the two samples.
Yet the test data indicates that the “chemical signature,” or isotopic analysis, of the Barnett Shale gas is 46.52, while Lipsky’s water is 46.63, obviously a close match.
“The methane and ethane numbers from the Butler and Teal production are essentially exactly the same as from Lipsky’s water well,” earth scientist Geoffrey Thyne told WFAA after reviewing the results. “It tells me that the gas is the same, and that the gas in Lipsky’s water well was derived from the Barnett formation.”
Soil scientist Bruce Payne also reviewed the testing data, and he agreed that Lipsky’s water was tainted by fracking in the area.
“The gas from [Lipsky’s well] is coming from the Barnett and it’s coming nearly straight from the Barnett,” Payne said.
The scientists said this evidence could mark the first solid link between fracking and aquifer contamination in the United States, which is seeing a boom of fracking operations from California to Pennsylvania.
“And what we seem to have here is the first good example that that in fact is happening,” Thyne said.
The fracking process entails blasting fissures in rocks thousands of meters under the earth with water and sand to release trapped deposits of oil and gas. Injection wells used to dispose of highly-toxic fracking wastewater have contributed to heightened earthquake activity across the nation. The wastewater – riddled with hazardous and often undisclosed chemicals and contaminants – has been linked to a host of human and environmental health concerns.
In addressing discrepancies between their report and the scientists’ reviews, the Railroad Commission said its “staff stands behind the conclusions reached in the May 23rd report. We are aware of other ongoing studies in the area, and we welcome the opportunity to review any future reports.”
But Lipsky said he realizes he can no longer lean on the state for protection.
“Unless people get off the couch and vote or do something, who’s going to stop them from continuing doing what they are doing?” Lipsky said.
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Posted: 08 Jun 2014 07:00 AM PDT

Babies exposed to dirt and a wide variety of household bacteria in the first year of life are less likely threatened by allergies and asthma, a new research unraveled.
Contact with bacteria and even roach allergens in the first year of life may help protect infants against future allergies and wheezing.
The study researchers followed 467 newborns for three years, monitoring them for allergies annually and testing the dust in the houses where they lived for allergens and bacteria, according to the study report published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
They found that those babies who were exposed before their first birthday to mouse and cat dander along with cockroach droppings had lower rates of allergies and wheezing by age 3, compared to those who were growing up in a super clean environment.
“The observed result was the opposite of what we expected,” said the co-author of the study Dr. Robert Wood, chief of the division of allergy and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center from Baltimore, US.
Wheezing was three times more among children who had less exposure to those allergens early in life.
They also emphasize that contact with bacteria and pet after age 1 not only is not beneficial but increases the risk.
“The reason may be that a lot of immune system development that leads someone down the path to allergies and asthma may be set down early in life,” wood explained.
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Posted: 08 Jun 2014 05:51 AM PDT

The European Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom is telling European Union countries to bring in more immigrants. The plan is to pay 6000 Euros for each refugee that is brought into Europe.
“I am speaking on behalf of the European Commission in support of the reception and integration of refugees. EU states will receive 6000 euro support for each refugee taken from the refugee camps and resettled in their respective countries” Malmstrom said in an interview.
“Each year around 80 thousand refugees are resettled, most of them find a new home in the U.S., Canada or Australia…”
“In 2013, EU countries were ready to receive around five thousand refugees for resettlement, and that is a shame”
Malmstrom poured scorn on EU countries for not doing more to bring in more immigrants from places such as Africa and the Middle East.
“I am convinced that the EU member states should do more to help people who flee their home countries due to hunger, violence and misery.”
Now that the ‘stick’ is failing, the ‘carrot’ is being used to ensure what is basically a genocide against native Europeans, is ongoing. If they have to pay people to do what they want, instead of just bossing them around like the EU used to, it just goes to show that their power is eroding. These policies are genocidal because they have been put in place to ensure that native Europeans become a minority in their own countries and even extinct in due time.

Posted: 08 Jun 2014 04:47 AM PDT

Japan has failed to mention 640 kilograms of unused plutonium in its reports to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2012 and 2013.
An official in Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission said on Saturday that the 640 kg was part of the plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel, known as MOX, that was placed in an offline reactor at the time and was considered as being used.
The MOX fuel was loaded into the No. 3 reactor of Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Genkai nuclear plant in a checkup in March 2011. It was taken out two years later as the reactor was offline following the Fukushima disaster.
On March 11, 2011, a nine-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that inflicted heavy damage on the six-reactor Fukushima nuclear plant. The cooling systems of reactors were knocked out, leading to meltdowns and the release of radioactive material.
In 2012, Japan said in its annual report to the IAEA that it possessed 1.6 tons of unused plutonium in its facilities across the country, while it had 2.2 tons in 2011. It also reported 1.6 tons in its 2013 report.
The missing plutonium was first found by a nuclear information website, Kakujoho.
Japan has the largest amount of plutonium among non-nuclear countries; therefore, it is subjected to strict international monitoring.
“From the safeguards point of view, this material is still un-irradiated fresh MOX fuel regardless of its location. If it has, indeed, not been irradiated, this should be reflected in the statements,” former IAEA official Olli Heinonen said.
No one is officially recorded as having died as a direct result of the radiation released by the meltdowns in Fukushima, but some residents of the area have committed suicide due to concerns over radioactive hazards.
Tens of thousands of people are still unable to return to their houses around the crippled plant.
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Posted: 08 Jun 2014 04:37 AM PDT

Is just four hours of porn a week enough to reduce the size of a man’s brain? According to a recent study, less than an hour a day might be enough to see gray matter decay.
For the investigation, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin recruited 64 healthy males between the ages of 21-45. By studying their porn-watching habits, they hoped to determine if there was a connection between viewing pornographic viewing and gray matter volume in a particular region of the brain, which is associated with cognition and processing.
From the get go, the men were simply told that they were participating in “a scientific study including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements.”
Later, during telephone interviews, they were told that questions about pornography would be a component of the research.
The men were then asked to fill out surveys regarding their porn viewing habits. The average participant clocked in just over four hours a week.
Researchers then showed the men both sexually explicit and non-sexual images while scanning brain activity with MRI.
“Our findings indicated that gray matter volume of the right caudate of the striatum is smaller with higher pornography use,” the author’s of the study say.
The forebrain part striatum, incidentally, helps coordinate motivation with body movement. It facilitates and balances motivation with both higher-level and lower-level functions, such as inhibiting one’s behavior in a complex social interaction as well as fine motor skills involved with delicate, voluntary movements.
Not only was an inverse correlation seen between gray matter volume and porn viewing, but real time drops in the striatium were observed when the subjects were shown sexually explicit images.
While the scientists believe it is the first evidence of the kind connecting pornographic viewing with reductions in brain size, so far they have only shown correlation, and not causation.
To put it in a nutshell, the researchers still don’t know if watching porn reduces gray-matter volume in porn-watchers, or more frequent viewers of porn have less gray matter to begin with.
“Individuals with lower striatum volume may need more external stimulation to experience pleasure and might therefore experience pornography consumption as more rewarding, which may in turn lead to more porn watching,” write the authors, who said further investigation would be required.
The report does, however, gel with previous studies, which have shown a connection between frequent porn consumption and negative social behavior. The reasoning goes that if porn can affect social behavior, it can likely affect cognitive behavior as well.
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