Category: Big Problems

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Analysis, Big Problems, Crazy Stuff, Globalism, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Science & Technology News

Dispersants used on BP Spill contain chemicals associated with cancer: new report

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What a non-surprise.

Many of us sounded the alarm as soon as we learned of BP’s plans to dump huge quantities of the chemical dispersant Corexit into the Gulf in an attempt to break up the oil slick. Experts were concerned, seeing as how the chemical had never been used in such quantities before, nor in such a manner — until the federal government made them stop, BP was blasting the stuff directly into the source, seeking to disperse the oil before it even reached the surface.

Well, now Earth Justice has completed a report on the chemicals that were used in the different blends of dispersant, and it appears that at least some of those fears were well-founded…

Continue reading… “Dispersants used on BP Spill contain chemicals associated with cancer: new report”

Analysis, Big Problems, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives

Scented laundry products emit carcinogens

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Dangerous scents abound.

Love the fresh smell of clean laundry? Be careful – you may just be snorting up carcinogens:

Analysis of the captured gases found more than 25 volatile organic compounds, including seven hazardous air pollutants, coming out of the vents. Of those, two chemicals — acetaldehyde and benzene — are classified by theEnvironmental Protection Agency as carcinogens, for which the agency has established no safe exposure level…

Continue reading… “Scented laundry products emit carcinogens”

Analysis, Big Problems, Crazy Stuff, Current Events, Globalism, government, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, New Discoveries

Brazil builds $127 billion “Offshore City” to harvest oil in the deep sea

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Brazil is set to start gathering oil in new places.

Want to get a feel for how crazy the post-peak oil fossil fuels industry is getting? Here’s as good an example as any: Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras is about to embark on an unprecedented oil-gathering mission. It’s about to attempt to extract 30 billion barrels of oil from reserves that are locked in deepwater sub-salt fields at least 60 miles off the coast and up to five miles underwater. In order to get at the incredibly hard-to-get oily good stuff, Brazil is spending an estimated $226 billion — and $127 billion will be spent on exploration and production alone.

The product of that venture is already taking shape: a veritable floating “offshore city” has sprung up over 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the coast of Brazil, and it will lead the effort to drill into the deep sea sub-salt…

Continue reading… “Brazil builds $127 billion “Offshore City” to harvest oil in the deep sea”

Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues

Wikileaks releases thousands more cables Covering China, Taiwan and Libya

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More Wikileaks released!

Wikileaks just dropped thousands more embassy cables today. These centered around China, Taiwan, and Libya.

The first batch to drop were 2170 cables about Taiwan. Some 3004 cables from China followed quickly behind…

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Analysis, Big Problems, Crazy Stuff, Food, Globalism, Health & Fitness

Researchers identify food price tipping point linked to rioting

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Rising food costs are a key reason behind rioting.

There’s no doubt that rising food prices in a specific area can lead to rioting. We have plenty of current and historic examples of that. But some interesting new research highlighted in Technology Review shows that once average global food prices cross a certain threshold a tipping point is reached after which “almost anything can trigger a riot, like a lighted match in a dry forest.”

Check out this graph which plots the UN Food Price Index against the dates of riots around the world…

Continue reading… “Researchers identify food price tipping point linked to rioting”

Analysis, Big Problems, Culture, Global Warming, Globalism, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Human Behavior, Latest News, New Discoveries

Growth of cities endangers global environment

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Manhattan at sunset.

The explosive growth of cities worldwide over the next two decades poses significant risks to people and the global environment, according to a meta-analysis published August 19 in PLoS ONE.

Researchers from Yale, Arizona State, Texas A&M and Stanford predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by 590,000 square miles — nearly the size of Mongolia — to accommodate the needs of 1.47 billion more people living in urban areas…

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Analysis, Big Problems, Economy, Education, Latest Trend, Money Talk

Will student loan debt be America’s next big bubble?

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Since 1999 outstanding student loan debt has grown by more than 511 percent.

“I still have student loans,” David Guard, a graduate of Gettysburg College and American University, told Fox News recently, as lawmakers and the White House bickered over the debt ceiling. “I could see an increase in those interest rates.”

 

Continue reading… “Will student loan debt be America’s next big bubble?”

Analysis, Big Problems, Birth, Crazy Stuff, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, Latest News

Boys reach sexual maturity younger and younger

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Male maturity age has shifted again.

Boys are maturing physically earlier than ever before. The age of sexual maturity has been decreasing by about 2.5 months each decade at least since the middle of the 18th century. Joshua Goldstein, director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock (MPIDR), has used mortality data to demonstrate this trend, which until now was difficult to decipher. What had already been established for girls now seems to also be true for boys: the time period during which young people are sexually mature but socially not yet considered adults is expanding…

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Analysis, Big Problems, Current Events, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Internet, Latest News

Hulu and MSN caught using supercookies to track user data

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Supercookies are not a good thing for the user.

The WSJ says that Hulu and MSN, among others, have been found using supercookies to monitor the info of those who visit their sites. Extremely difficult to detect and erase, supercookies can provide significantly more information than standard cookies.

Supercookies can be used to steal a users entire browser history, which can provide highly valuable information on their financial and health status. Microsoft claims they don’t know why supercookies were being used…

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Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Food, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, Medical Breakthrough, New Discoveries

Flaxseed might protect against death from radiation

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Another benefit from flax?

Flaxseed may protect against the damaging effects of radiation, whether from a terrorist’s dirty bomb or a routine cancer treatment, a new study in mice suggests.

Mice that ate flaxseed either before or up to six weeks after receiving a large radiation dose to the chest were more likely to survive and had fewer lung problems than mice not given flaxseed. Four months after receiving radiation, up to 88 percent of mice that ate flaxseed were still alive, compared with just 40 percent of mice who did not eat flaxseed.

Researchers have been particularly interested in finding a cheap, safe supplement to give to people who have been exposed to radiation in the event of a terrorist attack…

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