Some residents oppose Wyo.-EPA frack study deal

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- People who have been living with tainted well water in central Wyoming voiced concern Friday that they were excluded from a deal that has the state taking over further study of groundwater pollution from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Northern Arapaho Tribe raised concerns after the agreement was announced Thursday between the EPA, Wyoming and Encana Corp., owner of the Pavillion gas field. The Arapaho and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe both live on the Wind River Reservation, which surrounds the drilling area.

The EPA theorized in 2011 that the petroleum industry practice of hydraulic fracturing may have contaminated the groundwater near the town of Pavillion. The EPA now says it won't issue a final report or have outside experts review the research as originally planned.

Instead, Wyoming will take over the study in Encana's field of about 125 gas wells, with help from $1.5 million from Encana.

"We went to EPA for help after the state of Wyoming and Encana refused to address the public health impacts of unbridled development in the Pavillion area," said John Fenton, chairman of the group Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens. "Now Encana has bought their way back in and is working with the state on a strategy to cover up the mess they've created. Our government's priority is clearly to protect industry rather than Wyoming citizens, our health and our property values."

Gov. Matt Mead said Friday he has been talking with affected residents and understands their suspicion. But he said the EPA has recognized that Wyoming is best positioned to act.

"I think it's right that they are concerned, and I think it's even appropriate that they are skeptical," Mead said in a phone interview. "And I think it's up to the state in leading this investigation to do it in a way that addresses their concerns."

Mead met with the affected residents and said many of them have expressed gratitude for his interest in having state agencies resolve their problems.

Some people in the Pavillion area said their water began to reek of chemicals in 2005, around the same time that Encana began to employ hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to boost production of nearby gas wells. Fracking encourages the flow of oil and gas underground by splitting open rock with a high-pressure mix of water, fine sand and chemicals pumped into wells.

Fenton and others say Wyoming agencies didn't do enough to address their complaints, so they asked the EPA to investigate. The EPA announced in December 2011 its finding that fracking could have played a role in some pollution found in two wells it drilled to sample groundwater.

A statement Thursday from the Northern Arapaho Tribe expressed concern that the state and EPA worked out the agreement without reaching out to the tribe.

Darrell O'Neal, chairman of the Northern Arapaho Business Council, said it's probably a good thing that Pavillion issues are getting attention at the highest levels.

"The governor and his associates in D.C. need to do a better job involving residents of Fremont County and representatives of tribal government in the process," he said.

Ronald Oldman, co-chairman of the tribe's business council, said EPA staff in Washington had a legal duty to consult with the tribe, "and that didn't happen as part of their dialogue with the governor."

The tribe also expressed concern that Wyoming's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will play a key role in future study despite a federal court injunction more than 40 years old that bars the commission from trying to exert any authority over minerals on tribal lands.

Other local residents say the EPA's decision to back away from further research, in favor of Wyoming taking the lead again, puts them back where they started before the federal agency got involved.

"The state of Wyoming is already on record, through action and inaction, as denying that Pavillion's groundwater contamination is a cause for concern," said a Pavillion-area farmer, Jeff Locker.

The Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which oversees oil and gas development in the state, will review the integrity of Pavillion gas wells and whether pollution could have seeped out of old drilling waste pits.

Last year, commission Supervisor Tom Doll told an audience he believed Pavillion-area residents were mostly motivated by greed. Doll resigned soon thereafter.

The new study also will re-examine previous samples from 14 domestic water wells within a quarter mile of the Encana wells. The state may also take new samples from those wells.

Mead said the state will hire outside experts to review the work and said Encana's funding won't taint the findings.

"Encana has committed money. They don't get to say they, 'Well, we will commit it if this is the result,'" Mead said.

Encana spokesman Doug Hock said one focus of the study going forward will be why the local well water tastes foul ? something company officials believed should have been the focus all along.

Hock pointed out that the EPA has acknowledged that its research has failed to establish how fracking might have caused contaminants to seep upward from the relatively shallow drilling zone to the aquifer that feeds local water wells.

"It needs to go back to looking at these specific water wells and what specifically is going on there. That's where the science has led us, and that's the proper approach," Hock said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/residents-oppose-wyo-epa-frack-173424068.html

john kerry eastbay Samantha Steele Dec 21 2012 doomsday Is The World Going To End Mayans

Feds: Nuclear waste may be leaking into soil from Hanford site

Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images file

Government officials said radioactive waste might be leaking into the soil from a nuclear site in Hanford, Washington state. Governor Jay Inslee said the situation should be treated with the "utmost seriousness."

By Shannon Dininny, The Associated Press

An underground tank holding some of the worst radioactive waste at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site might be leaking into the soil.

The U.S. Energy Department said workers at Washington state's Hanford Nuclear Reservation detected higher radioactivity levels under tank AY-102 during a routine inspection Thursday.

Spokeswoman Lori Gamache said the department has notified Washington officials and is investigating the leak further. An engineering analysis team will conduct additional sampling and video inspection to determine the source of the contamination, she said.

State and federal officials have long said leaking tanks at Hanford do not pose an immediate threat to the environment or public health.

The largest waterway in the Pacific Northwest ? the Columbia River ? is still at least 5 miles away and the closest communities are several miles downstream.

However, if this dangerous waste escapes the tank into the soil, it raises concerns about it traveling to the groundwater and someday potentially reaching the river.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement that the situation "must be treated with the utmost seriousness."

Inslee said additional testing is expected to take several days.

"Our state experts confirm that there is no immediate public health threat. Given the relatively early detection of this potential leak, the river is not at immediate risk of contamination should it be determined that a leak has occurred outside the tank," he said.

Tom Carpenter, executive director of the Seattle-based advocacy group Hanford Challenge, said, "this is really, really bad. They are going to pollute the ground and the groundwater with some of the nastiest stuff, and they don't have a solution for it."

AY-102 is one of Hanford's 28 tanks with two walls, which were installed years ago when single-shell tanks began leaking. Some of the worst liquid in those tanks was pumped into the sturdier double-shell tanks.

The tanks are now beyond their intended life span. The Energy Department announced last year that AY-102 was leaking between its two walls, but it said then that no waste had escaped.

Two radionuclides comprise much of the radioactivity in Hanford's tanks: cesium-137 and strontium-90. Both take hundreds of years to decay, and exposure to either would increase a person's risk of developing cancer.

At the height of World War II, the federal government created Hanford in the remote sagebrush of eastern Washington as part of a hush-hush project to build the atomic bomb. The site ultimately produced plutonium for the world's first atomic blast and for one of two atomic bombs dropped on Japan, and it continued production through the Cold War.

Today, it is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, with cleanup expected to last decades. The effort ? with a price tag of about $2 billion annually ? has cost taxpayers $40 billion to date and is estimated will cost $115 billion more.

The most challenging task so far has been the removal of highly radioactive waste from the 177 aging, underground tanks and construction of a plant to treat that waste.

The Energy Department recently notified Washington and Oregon that it may miss two upcoming deadlines to empty some tanks and to complete a key part of the plant to handle some of the worst waste.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz visited the site Wednesday for the first time since being confirmed by the Senate in May. He said he intends to have a new plan by the end of the summer for resolving the technical problems with the waste treatment plant.

Related:

Head of company overseeing leaking nuclear tanks at Hanford to step down

Six tanks now said to be leaking at contaminated Hanford nuclear site

Tank at Hanford nuclear site leaking radioactive liquids, Washington governor says

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2da47ec6/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C220C190A884810Efeds0Enuclear0Ewaste0Emay0Ebe0Eleaking0Einto0Esoil0Efrom0Ehanford0Esite0Dlite/story01.htm

Hollister old navy walmart black friday walmart black friday Target Black Friday PacSun apple store

A look at the immigration bill before the Senate

A look at the immigration overhaul bill now before the Senate, and details of a compromise border security amendment proposed Thursday by GOP Sens. John Hoeven of North Dakota and Bob Corker of Tennessee. The amendment has been agreed to by Democratic and Republican authors of the bill and is expected to be voted on within the next few days:

___

BORDER SECURITY

In the underlying bill:

?The bill sets goals of 100 percent surveillance of the border with Mexico and 90 percent of would-be crossers caught or turned back.

?Within six months of enactment of the bill, the Homeland Security Department must develop a border security plan to achieve those goals, including the use of drones, additional agents and other approaches; and develop a separate plan to identify where more fencing is needed.

?If the goals of a 90 percent effectiveness rate and continuous surveillance on the border are not met within five years, a Southern Border Security Commission would be established with border-state governors and others to determine how to achieve them.

?Before anyone in the U.S. illegally can get a new provisional legal status, the border security and border fencing plans must be in place. Before they can get permanent residency, the plans must be substantially completed, and a new entry-exit system must also be implemented at U.S. seaports and airports to track people coming and going. A mandatory system for employers to check workers' legal status must also be in place.

?About 3,500 new customs agents would be hired.

?The National Guard would be deployed to the border to build fencing and checkpoints and perform other tasks.

?Funding would be provided to increase border-crossing prosecutions and to create more border patrol stations.

In the Corker-Hoeven amendment:

?The amendment adds 20,000 new Border Patrol agents, doubling the deployment along the U.S.-Mexico border.

?It calls for 700 miles of border fencing to be completed, including 350 miles of new fencing to supplement 350 already in place.

?Instead of calling on the Homeland Security Department to develop a border security plan, the amendment includes details on what the plan must contain. This includes a dozen additional surveillance drones and an array of other high-tech devices to monitor the border with Mexico, including cameras and observation towers, seismic imaging and thermal imaging, and an airborne radar system initially used by the military.

?No one could get a green card until all these steps are in place. Government officials including the secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense must certify to Congress that the security measures have been implemented.

___

PATH TO CITIZENSHIP

?The estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally could obtain "registered provisional immigrant status" six months after enactment of the bill as long as:

(1) The Homeland Security Department has developed border security and fencing plans.

(2) They arrived in the U.S. prior to Dec. 31, 2011, and maintained continuous physical presence since then.

(3) They do not have a felony conviction or three or more misdemeanors.

(4) They pay a $500 fine.

?People in provisional legal status could work and travel in the U.S. but would not be eligible for most federal benefits, including health care and welfare.

?The provisional legal status lasts six years and is renewable for another six years for $500.

?People deported for noncriminal reasons can apply to re-enter in provisional status if they have a spouse or child who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or if they had been brought to the U.S. as a child.

?After 10 years in provisional status, immigrants can seek a green card and lawful permanent resident status if they are current on their taxes and pay a $1,000 fine, have maintained continuous physical presence in the U.S., meet work requirements and learn English. Also the border triggers must have been met, and all people waiting to immigrate through the legal system as of the date of enactment of the legislation must have been dealt with.

?People brought to the country as youths would be able to get green cards in five years, and citizenship immediately thereafter.

___

HIGH-SKILLED WORKERS

?The cap on the H-1B visa program for high-skilled workers would be immediately raised from 65,000 a year to 110,000 a year, with 25,000 more set aside for people with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or math from a U.S. school. The cap could go as high as 180,000 a year depending on demand.

?New protections would crack down on companies that use H-1B visas to train workers in the U.S. only to ship them back overseas.

?Immigrants with certain extraordinary abilities, such as professors, researchers, multinational executives and athletes, would be exempted from existing green-card limits. So would graduates of U.S. universities with job offers and degrees in science, technology, engineering or math.

?A startup visa would be made available to foreign entrepreneurs seeking to come to the U.S. to start a company.

?A new merit visa, for a maximum of 250,000 people a year, would award points to prospective immigrants based on their education, employment, length of residence in the U.S. and other considerations. Those with the most points would earn the visas.

?The bill would eliminate the government's Diversity Visa Lottery Program, which randomly awards 55,000 visas to immigrants from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States, so that more visas can be awarded for employment and merit ties.

___

LOW-SKILLED WORKERS

?A new W visa would allow up to 200,000 low-skilled workers a year into the country for jobs in construction, long-term care, hospitality and other industries.

?A new agriculture worker visa program would be established to replace the existing program. Agriculture workers already here illegally, who've worked in the industry at least two years, could qualify in another five years for green cards if they stay in the industry.

___

FAMILY IMMIGRATION

?Under current law, U.S. citizens can sponsor spouses, children and siblings to come to the U.S., with limits on some categories. The bill would bar citizens from sponsoring their siblings and would allow them to sponsor married sons and daughters only if those children are under age 31.

?Legal permanent residents can currently sponsor spouses and children, but the numbers are limited. The bill eliminates that limit.

___

EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION

?Within four years, all employers must implement E-Verify, a program to electronically verify their workers' legal status. As part of that, noncitizens would be required to show photo ID that must match with a photo in the E-Verify system.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/look-immigration-bill-senate-203425111.html

fantasy baseball jared sullinger jaleel white levi johnston 2013 srt viper scott walker recall fisker atlantic

Facebook Now Allows Publishers To Highlight Their Pages And Authors' Profiles In Shared Links

This isn't exactly Facebook's mystery announcement (we'll still have to wait a little bit for that), but in the shadow of its press event today, Facebook also today made a small but interesting update to its Open Graph tags for media publishers that you'll likely see in your news feed soon. Publishers can now add two new tags to their HTML that will help Facebook add links to their own Facebook pages and links to the author's Facebook profile in content previews.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/mO1to_TVTyo/

Apple.com Tony Awards e3 Edward Snowden aapl Xbox One new Mac Pro

New Moore Foundation funding supports UCSB Ecology Synthesis Center embarking on a new era

Public release date: 20-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Shelly Leachman
shelly.leachman@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-8726
University of California - Santa Barbara

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Whether it's illuminating the causes of California's exceptional plant diversity, dispelling the myth that jellyfish blooms are increasing throughout the world's oceans, or identifying key pathways for introduction of non-native forest pests into the U.S., UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) is always at the expanding frontier of ecology research.

And those are only recent examples of the ambitious endeavors undertaken by NCEAS since its 1995 inception. In fact, the center itself was considered an innovative advancement at the time, and has since inspired similar synthesis centers worldwide.

All of which makes NCEAS's latest project perhaps its most intriguing yet: making over its successful model by broadening its reach to directly include the potential users of scientific information non-governmental organizations (NGOs), policymakers, and resource managers in the process itself.

New funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will enable NCEAS to do just that. A $2.4 million, three-year grant will help cover the center's operating costs through 2015 and see the launch of new initiatives to ensure its viability, and relevance, far into the future.

"The Moore Foundation has worked with NCEAS over the years and has a deep appreciation of the work we do. This grant is the largest and most important we have received from them," said center director Frank Davis. "This will allow us to engage in exciting new initiatives while developing additional sources of support. More than 5,000 researchers have collaborated on NCEAS projects, and we still have an important role to play in tackling the environmental challenges that are too big for any one institution."

Created by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCEAS was launched in response to pleas by ecological researchers who saw a need for meaningful synthesis of scientific data. The new center bucked the scientific tradition of solitary lab or fieldwork, instead assembling interdisciplinary teams to tackle problems at a broader scale. By sharing existing data for synthesis and analysis, teams of scientists created new pathways to discovery. And by providing the best informatic resources and a stimulating environment for immersion in collaborative synthesis, the center spawned an incubator of scientific research that has altered the way ecological science is conducted.

NCEAS is seizing new opportunities with the support from the new Moore Foundation grant. While promising to stay true to its core values synthesis chief among them the center is expanding its mission. Central to that expansion is a charge to embrace use-inspired science challenges for the benefit of nature and the well-being of people.

Enter NCEAS' latest initiative, a soon-to-launch partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Society called SNAP: Science for Nature and People. Meant to address environmental protections as a means of securing food, energy, and water for people across the planet, SNAP will tackle some of society's most challenging problems such as maintaining freshwater fisheries faced with hydroelectric development, protecting and restoring wetlands for coastal defense, and devising resilient and productive agricultural systems.

"The goal of Science for Nature and People is to address the overarching issue of how you conserve nature and, at same time, meet essential human needs," Davis said. "We'll be bringing scientists together with policymakers and practitioners, and other experts from academia, to engage in the process of discovery that results in solutions. We're trying to create a new model a global center of excellence to meet those needs and create real solutions for our conservation challenges."

NCEAS will soon be issuing an open call for proposals on behalf of SNAP, as well as recruiting postdoctoral candidates for SNAP Research Associates.

"This is an exciting place to be," Davis added of NCEAS. "The new direction we're moving is going to make it even more interesting."

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 20-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Shelly Leachman
shelly.leachman@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-8726
University of California - Santa Barbara

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Whether it's illuminating the causes of California's exceptional plant diversity, dispelling the myth that jellyfish blooms are increasing throughout the world's oceans, or identifying key pathways for introduction of non-native forest pests into the U.S., UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) is always at the expanding frontier of ecology research.

And those are only recent examples of the ambitious endeavors undertaken by NCEAS since its 1995 inception. In fact, the center itself was considered an innovative advancement at the time, and has since inspired similar synthesis centers worldwide.

All of which makes NCEAS's latest project perhaps its most intriguing yet: making over its successful model by broadening its reach to directly include the potential users of scientific information non-governmental organizations (NGOs), policymakers, and resource managers in the process itself.

New funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will enable NCEAS to do just that. A $2.4 million, three-year grant will help cover the center's operating costs through 2015 and see the launch of new initiatives to ensure its viability, and relevance, far into the future.

"The Moore Foundation has worked with NCEAS over the years and has a deep appreciation of the work we do. This grant is the largest and most important we have received from them," said center director Frank Davis. "This will allow us to engage in exciting new initiatives while developing additional sources of support. More than 5,000 researchers have collaborated on NCEAS projects, and we still have an important role to play in tackling the environmental challenges that are too big for any one institution."

Created by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCEAS was launched in response to pleas by ecological researchers who saw a need for meaningful synthesis of scientific data. The new center bucked the scientific tradition of solitary lab or fieldwork, instead assembling interdisciplinary teams to tackle problems at a broader scale. By sharing existing data for synthesis and analysis, teams of scientists created new pathways to discovery. And by providing the best informatic resources and a stimulating environment for immersion in collaborative synthesis, the center spawned an incubator of scientific research that has altered the way ecological science is conducted.

NCEAS is seizing new opportunities with the support from the new Moore Foundation grant. While promising to stay true to its core values synthesis chief among them the center is expanding its mission. Central to that expansion is a charge to embrace use-inspired science challenges for the benefit of nature and the well-being of people.

Enter NCEAS' latest initiative, a soon-to-launch partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Society called SNAP: Science for Nature and People. Meant to address environmental protections as a means of securing food, energy, and water for people across the planet, SNAP will tackle some of society's most challenging problems such as maintaining freshwater fisheries faced with hydroelectric development, protecting and restoring wetlands for coastal defense, and devising resilient and productive agricultural systems.

"The goal of Science for Nature and People is to address the overarching issue of how you conserve nature and, at same time, meet essential human needs," Davis said. "We'll be bringing scientists together with policymakers and practitioners, and other experts from academia, to engage in the process of discovery that results in solutions. We're trying to create a new model a global center of excellence to meet those needs and create real solutions for our conservation challenges."

NCEAS will soon be issuing an open call for proposals on behalf of SNAP, as well as recruiting postdoctoral candidates for SNAP Research Associates.

"This is an exciting place to be," Davis added of NCEAS. "The new direction we're moving is going to make it even more interesting."

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--nmf062013.php

Victoria Soto nbc sports morgan freeman Survivor Philippines Fashion Island shooting Victor Cruz nfl standings

Insurgency threat may dim Mozambique's shine for investors

By Marina Lopes and Pascal Fletcher

MAPUTO/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - An economic take-off in Mozambique driven by bumper coal and gas discoveries two decades after the end of a civil war is facing disruption from disgruntled former guerrillas who feel they have not benefited from the post-conflict dividend.

A public threat by the ex-rebel Renamo opposition party to paralyze central rail and road links has put the Frelimo government on alert and alarmed diplomats and investors.

A slide back into the kind of all-out war that crippled the former Portuguese southern African colony between 1975 and 1992 looks unlikely.

Nevertheless, Mozambique's rebirth as an attractive tourism and investment destination could lose some of its momentum after armed attacks in the last two months blamed on Renamo.

The raids in central Sofala province killed at least 11 soldiers and police and three civilians and came after Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama returned with his civil war comrades to the Gorongosa jungle base where they operated in the 1980s.

"It does bring back all those fears of the war," said Joseph Hanlon, a senior lecturer at Britain's Open University and an expert on Mozambique.

Renamo, which signed a peace pact in 1992 with its former Marxist foe Frelimo, denied that it carried out a raid on an arms depot on Monday that killed seven soldiers. But on Wednesday it threatened to paralyze the main road through Sofala and the railway carrying coal exports to port.

There was no evidence by late Thursday that it had carried out the threat. Witness reports from Chimoio and Dondo on the Beira corridor railroad link indicated no immediate disruption.

"Everything here is absolutely tranquil. It is a normal day," Arnaldo Neves, Director of Production for Portuguese construction company Mota-Engil which is rehabilitating the railroad, told Reuters from Dondo railway terminal in Sofala.

Mozambican state railways spokesman Alves Cumbe said operations were continuing as normal on Thursday.

The Sena line to Beira port is used mainly by Brazil's Vale and London-listed Rio Tinto, which are among companies that have been developing Mozambique's coal deposits and offshore gas fields.

Vale, which is investing $4 billion in its Moatize coal mines near Tete and is the main user of the Sena line, declined to comment.

President Armando Guebuza's government said it was taking the Renamo threat seriously but insisted it would keep the country's strategic transport corridors open. Officials declined to detail specific measures taken to counter Renamo actions.

Renamo had claimed an earlier attack that killed four policemen in Sofala in April.

COMPLAINTS OF EXCLUSION

Renamo, originally founded with the help of white-ruled Rhodesia's intelligence services and then backed by apartheid South Africa, accuses Frelimo of maintaining a stranglehold over politics and the economy and stacking the election commission to ensure victory in a presidential vote next year.

"Renamo and its followers think that the political system is not inclusive enough," said Ozias Tungwarara, head of the Africa Governance, Monitoring and Advocacy Project at the Open Society pro-democracy network founded by financier George Soros.

Resentment at Frelimo's dominance of politics and elections since the end of the war has also been accompanied by opposition allegations that the party's leaders are hogging the spoils of the coal and gas bonanza.

"There is a feeling that an elite is getting rich and becoming wealthy, and that others are not," Hanlon said.

He saw Renamo's old military chiefs leading a campaign for Frelimo to cede to its former war foes a greater share of the national wealth, whether in state jobs or business patronage.

Hanlon said Dhlakama and his fighters - which some estimates put at around 1,000-strong - could certainly create a security problem for the government army from their Gorongosa jungle base by raiding and sabotaging nearby road and rail corridors.

"That central area is quite heavily forested. It's good guerrilla country. It's easy to attack traffic," he said.

But he believed neither Renamo nor Frelimo had the military capacity to go back to fighting an all-out conflict of the kind that left Mozambique in ruins two decades ago.

Hanlon saw "zero popular support" for war from a Mozambican population of 23 million which had come to appreciate an existence of peace but still remained among the poorest in the world, scraping by on an average wage of only $400 a year.

CALL FOR "GIVE AND TAKE"

But there are fears that even sporadic attacks could badly undermine recent economic gains.

"It might start as a small fire now ... but a small group of determined, disgruntled people with some military training could still cause havoc and suffering," Tungwarara said, pointing to other debilitating insurgencies in Somalia and Mali.

Held up as a post-conflict success story, Mozambique has emerged as one of the brightest stars in the "Africa Rising" narrative, enjoying growth rates of more than 7 percent.

Attacks and disruption to key coal exports and transport corridors could badly choke the enthusiasm of investors, Tungwarara added.

Hanlon said that if Renamo's "generals without soldiers" failed to make good on their threats to paralyze the country's logistics then the group's credibility was likely to suffer.

But both believed Guebuza's government should try to defuse tensions by opening up economic and political opportunities for Renamo, for example by addressing its demands for a more independent and representative electoral authority.

"The danger is that we will see increased polarization as we move towards the 2014 elections," said Tungwarara. "There is time to step back, but it requires genuine give and take".

(Writing by Pascal Fletcher; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insurgency-threat-may-dim-mozambiques-shine-investors-171026178.html

USA VS Mexico Alexis DeJoria Marshall Henderson Tubby Smith Marriage Equality opm passover

Sprint boosts Clearwire buyout offer to $5 per share, $14 billion valuation

We're deep into a bona fide bidding war here -- Sprint and Dish are both battling for an approximately 50-percent stake in Clearwire, and as of today, that former contestant's bid makes it the new front runner. To catch you up, last month Dish offered $4.40 per share for Clearwire, following Sprint's offer of $3.40 per share made way back in December. Now, the carrier has increased its bid to a whopping 5 bucks per share, which values Clearwire at just about $14 billion. (As you can probably imagine, CLWR's trading price has jumped today to match that new target.) This comes just days after Sprint filed a lawsuit to prevent the other two parties from moving forward. Whether or not CLWR's spectrum and other assets make it worth that sum is a different story, but Sprint clearly sees some solid value there.

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile, Sprint

Comments

Source: Sprint (BusinessWire)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/xaq1HIl6oqo/

bankofamerica rosh hashanah rosh hashanah boardwalk empire iOS 6 Release Date Chavez vs Martinez Yunel Escobar

How to Decode Resin Recycling - Environmental Leader

In the?American Society for Testing Materials plastics committee?s work to revise the resin identification code (RIC) standard ? ASTM D7611 ? it has changed the graphic marking symbol used to identify resin type from the ?chasing arrows? symbol surrounding a numeral from 1 to 7 that defines the resin used in the product?s packaging to a solid equilateral triangle around the number.

The RIC system was originally developed and continues to be dedicated to identifying resin content, rather than product recyclability. ASTM says that by replacing the chasing arrows graphic ? commonly associated with recycling ? with an equilateral triangle, ASTM D7611 helps bring focus back to the system?s core mission: resin identification and quality control prior to recycling.

ASTM says the revisions are intended to modernize the RIC system, making them easier to use while also addressing recent innovations in polymer applications and multi-layer materials.

The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) developed the RIC in 1988 to meet the needs of recyclers and manufacturers for a consistent, uniform coding system that can be applied worldwide. SPI began work with ASTM in 2008 to involve technical and industry stakeholders in updating and maintaining the RIC system to better address advancements in plastics materials.

Originally intended to assist waste recovery facilities in the quality sorting of plastics products prior to recycling, the RIC system has today become a vital foundational tool used by municipalities, scrap brokers, recyclers, manufacturers, consumers and others for managing the end-of-life of plastics materials.

Bridget Anderson, director, Recycling Unit, Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling, NYC Department of Sanitation, participated in the development of the revised D7611 standard as a member of the task group. She says changing the marking symbol in D7611 decouples the RIC system from the recycling message, which has caused public confusion.

ASTM D7611 provides codes for the six most commonly found resin types, with a seventh category created for all other types. These categories include: 1) polyethylene terephthalate (PETE); 2) high density polyethylene (HDPE); polyvinyl chloride (V); 4);low density polyethylene (LDPE); 5) polypropylene (PP); 6) polystyrene (PS); and 7) other, including materials made with more than one resin from categories 1-6.

As part of its ongoing efforts, the task group is assessing how to: differentiate between different melt flows within each resin; identify certain additives that might significantly change the properties of a resin; and better label individual resins (PLA, PC, ABS, Nylon, and others) that are currently designated as ?other? in the current RIC system. The task group is also discussing whether a new code is needed for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) to enable products made from this technology to be accurately identified and distinguished from products marked as HDPE or LDPE.

Eastman Chemical technology fellow Thomas Pecorini, also a member of the task group, says identifying new resins through the ASTM D7611 code system will ultimately help facilitate the recycling of these products.

ASTM is also currently updating the industry?s Standard Practice for?Phase I Environmental Site Assessments?as it tries to make such tests reflect recent changes in the due diligence world. The standards are undergoing final changes, and will be subject to approval by the EPA.

Stay Up-to-Date On Environmental Management, Energy & Sustainability News with EL's Free Daily Newsletter

Source: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/06/20/how-to-decode-resin-recycling/

Olympics 2012 Olympic Schedule 2012 NBC Olympics NBC Olympics schedule 2012 Olympics Chad Everett London Olympics

Jeff Scott Sports replied to These Nats are SWARIMNG .... members slammer........... in Baseball .

{ContentName}

","searchItemHtmlBlock":"

{Title}

\t\t","searchSearchingHtmlBlock":"

Searching...

","searchNoResultsHtmlBlock":"

No results found

","showAllHtmlBlock":"Show All...","searchErrorHtmlBlock":"

Search is currently unavailable.

","searchOptionsPopup":"ctl00_header_ctl00_w_166__fffffffff60c1bf9_ctl00_Search1_SearchOptionsPopup","searchOptionName":"ctl00_header_ctl00_w_166__fffffffff60c1bf9_ctl00_Search1_filter","lastKeyCode":"","timeout":""}}; $(document).ready(function() { Core_Search_Register(header_166); }); // ]]>

Source: http://pregame.com/pregame-forums/default.aspx?ActivityMessageId=72e3112d-3f06-497a-a993-c3878dba18f6

Foo Canoodle Isaac path Tropical Storm Isaac path Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Isaac Path Isaac Hurricane

Obese Teens Face Higher Risk Of Hearing Loss, Study Finds

You Always Buy Organic

Buying organic is wise for certain foods, such as beef or strawberries, but it doesn't make much difference for others, like avocados or eggs. And don't assume that all organic foods are healthier than non-organic options, or that organic equals healthy. Organic choices are usually pricier, for one thing. And organic high-calorie, high-fat granola bars and sugary cereals are just as bad for you as the non-organic version. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fruitnet/2628492616/" target="_hplink">Eurofruit, Asiafruit & Americafruit</a></em>

You Don't Socialize Enough

While you may feel virtuous on your long solo runs, don't forget to check in with your pals once in a while. Studies suggest that social networks are good for your health too. Try to schedule regular meet-ups with friends, whether it's a book club or poker -- it doesn't matter. (No need to make it exercise-based, although that's nice too.) Just connecting with other people, and maintaining those social networks as you age, is good for your health.

You Skimp On Sleep

Think it's a good idea to get up at 5 a.m. and hit the gym? Not if you should be sleeping instead, says Gary Rogg, M.D., a primary care physician and assistant professor at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. Studies have consistently shown that people need at least seven hours of sleep a night for optimal health, and short sleep has been associated with a host of health problems, including high blood pressure, depression, diabetes and a reduced immune response to vaccines. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/xxxlps/4897705884/" target="_hplink">Lauren Powell-Smothers</a></em>

You Lack Supplement Savvy

More is not better when it comes to vitamins and supplements, and too much of a good thing can actually be harmful. In 2011, an analysis of data on nearly 40,000 women found that those who took dietary supplements -- especially iron -- were actually at slightly higher risk of dying, although the investigators weren't sure why. "There's no really long-term studies that show unequivocal benefits of taking vitamin and mineral supplements," says Rogg. "If you're going to take supplements, take them in moderation and stick to the recommended daily doses." <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/superfantastic/4016241122/" target="_hplink">SuperFantastic</a></em>

You Get Unnecessary Tests

As with vitamins and minerals, more does not always mean better when it comes to medical tests. Especially tests marketed directly to consumers, like the cardiac calcium-scoring test. While this test -- a CT scan that identifies calcium deposits in the heart arteries -- is useful for a select group of at-risk people, it isn't for everyone, says Rogg. It also exposes you to a whopping amount of radiation -- the equivalent of 25 to 50 chest X-rays. Several U.S. medical specialty groups have launched an initiative, Choosing Wisely, to draw attention to overuse of 45 medical tests, and encourage physicians to avoid tests and procedures of questionable benefit.

You Beg For Antibiotics

Many people ask their doctor for a prescription for antibiotics or antivirals for symptoms that probably would resolve on their own, or just because they fear getting sick. And some doctors may oblige. But these drugs also carry risks, from contributing to the huge problem of drug resistance to killing off the good bacteria in your body. Let your doctor decide if your symptoms warrant medication, and skip the high-pressure tactics.

You're A Germaphobe

We all know people who never leave the house without their hand sanitizer -- you may even be that person. And yes, you should wash your hands with soap and water to kill germs that can make you sick. But evidence also suggests that some germ exposure could steer the immune system away from allergies, and that an <em>overly</em> sterile environment might be bad. (It's called the hygiene hypothesis.) Good bacteria are also key for staying healthy, particularly for the skin, digestive tract, and vagina. So "fear of germs" does not equal "good health." <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zickzangel/4623028973/" target="_hplink">PENnyshot</a></em>

You Over- Or Under-Do Alternative Remedies

Once upon a time, it was hard to get the medical establishment to recognize that acupuncture, herbal remedies or biofeedback could sometimes heal people as well as big-name drugs. Now we know that if you dismiss acupuncture as "quackery," you may be missing out on your best therapy yet. At the same time, if you over-rely on alternative medicine -- opting for a herbal remedies instead of chemotherapy, for instance -- you may also be missing out on the best cure yet. Try to keep an open mind and consult the experts to make informed choices.

You Delay Medical Care

You're healthy, so that crushing chest pain has to be heartburn, right? Or weakness and confusion can't be a stroke, right? Wrong. All too often, people stall or explain away serious symptoms, when in fact, rapid treatment can help prevent permanent heart or brain damage. Doctors say "time is tissue," meaning the faster you get treatment for a stroke or heart attack the less heart or brain tissue you lose. So don't delay if you have stroke or heart attack symptoms.

You Use Exercise Alone To Shed Pounds

Regular exercise is crucial for health and maintaining a healthy weight, but it won't help you lose weight unless you cut down your calorie intake. "Patients exercise themselves until they're blue in the face, they're frustrated, they're sort of at a loss as to why they haven't had success," says Shantanu Nundy, M.D., a primary care physician at the University of Chicago. But the truth is that exercise -- maybe because it whets the appetite, maybe because we decide it's OK to reward ourselves with a treat after that workout, maybe both -- often makes people eat more, which means you'll make up for the calories you just burned, and then some.

You Ignore Sodium

You watch your calories. You avoid meals dripping with saturated fat. But sodium? All too often that's the ingredient that gets ignored when weighing healthy options. High sodium intake has been firmly tied to an increased risk of high blood pressure, and the average American eats well over the recommended amount. Most of the excess sodium we consume comes from packaged and prepared foods, from spaghetti sauce to frozen dinners. Always check nutrition labels for sodium content; the Institute of Medicine recommends people limit their intake to below 2,300 milligrams per day, and 1,500 milligrams for people 51 and older, African Americans, and anyone with high blood pressure or diabetes.

You Guzzle Calorie-Free Soda

Artificially sweetened beverages may free of calories, but it doesn't mean they're all that great for your health. A couple of studies released at the 2011 American Diabetes Association's annual meeting suggest just the opposite. One found that older people who drank lots of diet soda saw their waistlines expand five times more over a decade than their peers who didn't drink diet soda at all, while another showed that mice fed the artificial sweetener aspartame had higher blood-sugar levels. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/31064702@N05/4521255107/" target="_hplink">Dawn Huczek</a></em>

You Drink Too Much Water

Dehydration is bad. So more water is good, right? That's true, to a point. But particularly if you're running your first marathon or some other physically taxing, long event it's important to avoid drinking <em>too much</em> water, which could lead to water intoxication (also known as hyponatremia). <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44534236@N00/4785580080/" target="_hplink">faungg</a></em>

You Lie To Your Doctor

Many of us don't tell our doc everything -- say, we smoke cigarettes or drink more than we should. Or we may take that prescription with no intention of ever filling it. Harvard Medical School researchers found that more than one in five first-time prescriptions never got filled (this was especially true for chronic conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes). But you're better off being straight with your doctor, who can help you find ways to kick the habit or find a treatment you'll actually take (or be able to afford). If you don't feel you can be fully honest with your doctor, says Nundy, you should look for a new one.

You Think You Know More Than Your Doc

With the Internet at our fingertips, we all feel smarter than we did in the past. And well-moderated online forums can be a great resource for helping people with certain health concerns get support and stay informed. But they are no substitute for a doctor's advice. "I think a common mistake is to sort of put more faith in those resources than health care professionals," says Nundy, the author of "Stay Healthy at Every Age: What Your Doctor Wants You to Know". <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/christina-t/119468257/" target="_hplink">ChristinaT</a></em>

You Think Healthy Packaging Equals Healthy Food

Food or cosmetics products that boast of being all natural may sound appealing and wholesome, but in fact, the US Food and Drug Administration has a pretty loose definition of just what that word means. The FDA is OK with any product claiming to be natural, as long as it doesn't contain added color, artificial flavor, or synthetic substances. Low fat is another tricky claim. The FDA does have clear guidelines on when a product can claim to be low- or reduced-fat, but these products may still be high in sugar, sodium, or calories -- or all of the above.

You Exercise Too Much

Pushing yourself is usually a good thing when it comes to physical activity. But your body needs rest, too, especially after an extra-hard workout. Signs that you are working out too hard can be mental and physical, and include fatigue, difficulty sleeping, decreased immunity, muscle soreness, and injury. To keep your workout fresh -- and avoid overuse injuries -- it's a good idea to vary your routine, and give yourself a day off now and then. "Sometimes, just sitting back and relaxing is better for your body than going to the gym for that hour," says Rogg.

You Still Don't Eat Your Fruits And Veggies

By now, pretty much everyone knows they should be eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. Eating plenty of produce helps reduce your risk of heart disease and several types of cancer, and can help you manage your weight too. But a state-by-state survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in 2009, just one-third of adults reported eating at least two servings of fruit a day, and only about one-quarter ate three or more servings of veggies daily. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/5428918190/" target="_hplink">USDAgov</a></em>

You Obsess Over The Details

Health shouldn't be seen as something to strive for, but as a way of life, Rogg says. "When you focus on keeping healthy as an endpoint, as opposed to a healthy lifestyle, you may tend to sort of miss the whole picture." Too often, Rogg says, people who want to be healthy focus on avoiding "bad" foods and obsess about numbers, like their body mass index. "The focus that people have to make is on being happy and on things that will make them happy, and enjoy themselves."

You Skip Vaccines

Grown ups need shots, too, but many of us don't get them -- raising our risk of contracting a host of unpleasant, deadly -- and preventable -- illnesses, from the flu to cervical cancer to shingles. Just one in five at-risk adults under 65 received the pneumococcal vaccine, for example. Recommendations for adult vaccine coverage vary based on age, health, where you travel and what you're exposed to, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends an annual flu shot for everyone, and a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis booster every 10 years for adults. Check out the full list of recommended vaccines for adults. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherbrown/6333328398/" target="_hplink">christopher_brown</a></em>

You Don't Have Healthy Friends

Good health habits are contagious, and bad health habits are, too. Several recent studies have shown that obesity, cigarette smoking -- even happiness -- spread through social networks. Try to forge friendships with people whose health habits you'd like to emulate and encouraging your friends to join you in healthy pursuits. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwynia/126370548/" target="_hplink">J Wynia</a></em>

You Avoid Doctors In General

You know you should eat better, exercise, lose weight, quit smoking -- what more can a doctor do to help? A lot, says Nundy. Studies have shown people have a better chance of trying to quit smoking, and succeeding, when a doctor advises them to do so. Doctors can also prescribe medications that can greatly increase quitting success. And while there's unfortunately no safe pill to help people lose weight, a doctor's advice can give you a better chance of succeeding in trimming down as well, Nundy says.

You Don't Read Nutrition Labels

A nutrition label -- which contains information on a food's calories, sugar, fat, and sodium content -- will tell you the real story about whether those "natural" or "low-fat" foods are actually good for you. "Just because something is turkey or chicken doesn't necessarily mean it's low-fat or low-salt," says Rogg. Be sure to pay attention to the portion size listed on the label, too.

You Think High-Tech Health Care Is Enough

While invasive treatments, like stents to prop open clogged heart arteries, may sound pretty cool, says Nundy, "you would have been much better off had you not had a blockage in the first place." So don't think the gee-whiz medical techniques of the future are going to cure you down the road, but do take a day off to get a good old-fashioned checkup. "There's no substitute for prevention," he says. "We have lots of pounds of cures, but they're not perfect."

You Don't Have A Primary Care Doctor

"A lot of people don't really have a relationship with a primary care physician or a health care facility," says Nundy. "I think that's a huge mistake." Finding a physician who you like and trust, and building a partnership with him or her over time, is one of the best things you can do for your health, according to Nundy.

You Skip Checkups

Similarly, many people may not bother to go for well visits, but just go to see a doctor when they're sick or in pain. This can mean missing important screening tests, which can catch problems early when they are much more treatable -- and also missing a chance to get to know your doctor.

You're Clueless About Health Records

Moving, switching insurance plans and changing doctors can leave your medical records scattered to the winds. You don't need to have a filing cabinet stuffed with the results of every medical test you've ever taken, but keeping track of a few key pieces of health information can go a long way toward making sure you get the health care you need, Nundy advises. At minimum, you should keep track of which vaccines you've received and when, as well as the dates and results of your most recent screening tests. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomsaint/2987926396/" target="_hplink">Rennett Stowe</a></em>

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/obese-teens-hearing-loss-_n_3466998.html

happy valentines day all star game blue ivy carter meteorite lebron james NASA asteroid