Musings of a Liberal Texan

Factoidal Musings That Stinks Nitrate Pollution Groundwater is frequently contaminated by factory farm pollution, generally in the form of nitrates. Nitrate pollution, which can cause serious human health problems, seeps out of manure lagoons and into community sources of drinking water. About 13% of the domestic drinking-water wells in the Midwest contain unsafe levels of nitrates. > Read More There are many ways that groundwater, in particular, may be contaminated with nitrates from factory farms including: lagoon seepages, lagoon spills or leaks and the misapplication of manure onto the land. > Read More In 2001, the EPA forced five hog factory farms to supply bottled water for local residents because activities at the farms had contaminated the local drinking-water. > Read More In some instances, groundwater below fields that were sprayed with liquid manure was five times greater than levels which would be safe for humans. > Read More Half of the lagoons tested ...

Earth's Ecological Debt Crisis: Mankind's 'Borrowing' from Nature Hits New Record by Martin Hickman Today is a bleak day for the environment, the day of the year when mankind over-exploits the world's resources - the day when we start living beyond our ecological means. Evidence is mounting that rapid population growth and rising living standards among the Earth's six billion inhabitants are putting an intolerable strain on nature. For the first time an organisation ­ a British think-tank ­ has sought to pinpoint how quickly man is using the global resources of farming land, forests, fish, air and energy. The new economics foundation has calculated from research by a US academic group, Global Footprint Network, that the day when we use more than our fair share of the Earth ­ when "humanity starts eating the planet" ­ is October 9. In other words, assuming that the world has a certain quantity of natural resources that can sustainably be used up each ye...

Recent Deaths in Houston In the Houston area we have had 4 boys die after a "light" workout. Every single release of information has emphasized the term "light". The boys are unable to respond. I am curious if the fact that our air is the filthiest in the nation has anything to do with it. I am curious if the attitude of middle and high school coaches, more focused on their job and the school's stats and not on the individual player, has anything to do with it. My son was ridiculed by the football coach as he struggled with an asthma attack. Sure, winning is cool. Winning is so much more fun than losing, but if any of you have ever watched these coaches at practices, at some point we have to say - at what price?

THE CENTURY OF DROUGHT One third of the planet will be desert by the year 2100, say climate experts in the most dire warning yet of the effects of global warming By Michael McCarthy Drought threatening the lives of millions will spread across half the land surface of the Earth in the coming century because of global warming, according to new predictions from Britain's leading climate scientists. Extreme drought, in which agriculture is in effect impossible, will affect about a third of the planet, according to the study from the Met Office's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research. It is one of the most dire forecasts so far of the potential effects of rising temperatures around the world - yet it may be an underestimation, the scientists involved said yesterday. The findings, released at the Climate Clinic at the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth, drew astonished and dismayed reactions from aid agencies and development specialists, who fear that the poor o...