Author Archives: Guadalupe Scharff

Keeping Up With the Latest Benghazi Conspiracy Theories

by Guadalupe Scharff Posted on May 3, 2013

Mother Jones

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Have you been keeping up with the latest on Benghazi! Yeah, me neither. But I guess it’s time to correct that. It turns out there are two new developments that the wingers are pretty sure will finally blow the lid off the whole thing.

First up is a dramatically anonymous “military special ops member” who told Fox News that there was a team based in Croatia that could have been scrambled to Benghazi in time to do….something:

“I know for a fact that C-110, the EUCOM CIF, was doing a training exercise in … not in the region of North Africa, but in Europe,” the operator told Fox News’ Adam Housley. “And they had the ability to act and to respond.”

….“We had the ability to load out, get on birds and fly there, at a minimum stage,” the operator told Fox News. “C-110 had the ability to be there, in my opinion, in a matter of about four hours…four to six hours.” Being so close, C-110s would have been able to respond had there been a second attack, the source added.

And why are we only hearing about this now? Because everyone who knew about it was afraid to come forward, natch. You know how ruthless Obama can be. Today, though, Billy Birdzell, a former special ops team leader, pretty much torched the whole conspiracy theory. He makes three points. First, Obama ordered the C-110 group to launch at 2:39 am. Four hours later the attacks were over, so the team couldn’t possibly have gotten there in time to stop anything. Second, even if they’d been launched earlier, it’s fantasy to think they could have gotten to the compound within four to six hours. Third, even if, miraculously, they could have gotten there in time, they couldn’t have done anything to stop mortar fire, which is what killed the two consulate guards in the annex.

“The person in the interview is a clown,” says Birdzell. Click the link for his extremely persuasive full analysis.

So that’s one down, but next up are four, count ’em, four anonymous whistleblowers who are said to be “career-level officials at the State Department and the CIA.” One of the State Department whistleblowers is represented by Victoria Toensing, a longtime Republican operative whose name you might recall from both the Monica Lewinsky and Valerie Plame affairs. Ed Henry of Fox News asked Obama about all this at his press conference on Tuesday, but apparently even the vast apparatus of the West Wing can’t keep up with the latest Republican conspiracy theories on Benghazi. Obama had no idea what he was talking about. In any case, supposedly the four whistleblowers will be testifying in front of Darrell Issa’s oversight committee next week:

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican, has promised bombshells at the hearing, which he says will “expose new facts and details that the Obama administration has tried to suppress.”

….Lawyers Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing, who say they are trying to represent Benghazi witnesses who want to testify publicly about what they know, on Thursday repeated claims that access to their clients was being inhibited by pressure from unidentified administration officials. Mr. diGenova said on Fox News that the hurdles he faced amounted to a “cover-up” and that the Accountability Review Board failed to interview key witnesses for its report, starting with Mrs. Clinton.

And not only did Obama try to “suppress” this bombshell testimony, but now that he’s (apparently) failed, the four officials from State and CIA are in considerable danger thanks to their decision to come forward. Issa has so far declined to provide the names of next week’s witnesses because, he claims, he’s concerned about “possible retaliation whistleblowers could face at the hands of administration officials.”

What’s it all about? Beats me, but among other things I gather the witnesses are going to rehash old charges about Hillary Clinton turning down requests for more security at the Benghazi consulate and dropping the ball on the night of the attacks. There’s also a bunch of background sniping involved in the whole thing, including Toensing’s claim that the State Department refused to give her a security clearance and Issa’s pique over the rules under which his committee has been allowed to view documents. Beyond that, who knows? I guess we’ll find out next week.

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Keeping Up With the Latest Benghazi Conspiracy Theories

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Beleaguered bees catch a break as E.U. bans dangerous pesticides

by Guadalupe Scharff Posted on April 29, 2013

Beleaguered bees catch a break as E.U. bans dangerous pesticides

By Claire Thompson

Nick Foster

Now I can forage without fear.

Heads up, pollinators of the world: Now would be a great time to take that European vacation you’ve always dreamed of. The European Commission — the E.U.’s governing body — voted on Monday to implement a continent-wide ban on the class of insecticides widely suspected of contributing to colony collapse disorder, the mysterious phenomenon that’s been decimating bee populations since 2006.

In January, the European Food Safety Authority warned that three types of neonicotinoid pesticides should be considered unacceptable for use based on their danger to bees. A growing body of scientific evidence has found that, while neonics can’t be blamed directly for colony collapse disorder, they do mess with bees’ navigation, foraging, and communication abilities, throw off their reproductive patterns, and weaken their immune systems, leaving colonies more vulnerable to natural threats like mites and fungi. Neonics are the world’s most ubiquitous pesticides, used extensively on major crops like corn, soy, and canola. They’re applied to seeds before planting and then show up in the pollen bees come to collect.

Three neonics — thiamethoxam, clothianidin, and imidacloprid — will be banned for two years from use on crops bees pollinate, likely starting in December. From the BBC:

There was ferocious lobbying both for and against in the run-up to Monday’s vote, the BBC’s Chris Morris reports from Brussels.

Nearly three million signatures were collected in support of a ban. …

Chemical companies and pesticide manufacturers have been lobbying just as hard — they argue that the science is inconclusive, and that a ban would harm food production.

A study funded by major chemical manufacturers Syngenta and Bayer CropScience asserts that “If Neonicotinoid seed treatment were no longer available in Europe, there would be a significant reduction of food production,” and estimates that “over a 5-year period, the EU could lose up to €17bn [$22.3 billion].” On the other hand, 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators, “accounting for an annual value of 153 billion Euros [$200 billion],” according to a 2012 study in the journal Ecotoxicology that reviewed 15 years of research on neonicotinoids’ effects on bees. With bee populations declining at an average annual rate of about 30 percent, I’d say the odds point to a neonic ban as a risk worth taking.

Experts agree. From The Guardian:

Prof Simon Potts, a bee expert at the University of Reading, said: “The ban is excellent news for pollinators. The weight of evidence from researchers clearly points to the need to have a phased ban of neonicotinoids. There are several alternatives to using neonicotinoids and farmers will benefit from healthy pollinator populations as they provide substantial economic benefits to crop pollination.” …

The chemical industry has warned that a ban on neonicotinoids would lead to the return of older, more harmful pesticides and crop losses. But campaigners point out that this has not happened during temporary suspensions in France, Italy and Germany and that the use of natural pest predators and crop rotation can tackle problems.

The U.K. opposed the ban. The country’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Mark Walport, “has said restrictions on the use of pesticides should not be introduced lightly, and the idea of a ban should be dropped,” according to the BBC.

Efforts to ban neonics in the U.S. have gone absolutely nowhere. Last summer, the EPA rejected a petition to stop the sale of clothianidin, one of the pesticides that the E.U. is now banning. Clothianidin has been on the market since 2003, despite the fact that a leaked memo revealed that EPA scientists found a Bayer-produced study of the pesticide’s effects inadequate. EPA now plans to complete its evaluation of neonicotinoid safety in 2018.

Here’s hoping the E.U.’s landmark ban forces action on this side of the pond.

Claire Thompson is an editorial assistant at Grist.

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Beleaguered bees catch a break as E.U. bans dangerous pesticides

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Frackers dodge responsibility for earthquakes, science be damned

by Guadalupe Scharff Posted on March 29, 2013

Frackers dodge responsibility for earthquakes, science be damned

By Susie Cagle

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We’ve known for a couple of years that fracking for oil and gas has been linked to some sizable earthquakes. The shaking doesn’t actually come from the high-pressure fracking itself, but from the injection of tons of post-frack dirty wastewater into disposal wells. Only Ohio requires a risk assessment for quakes around the state’s injection wells.

Mother Jones digs into this story, speaking with numerous scientists who agree: Frack the earth and it will frack you back. “There is no shortage of evidence,” writes reporter Michael Behar.

Between 1972 and 2008, the USGS recorded just a few earthquakes a year in Oklahoma. In 2008, there were more than a dozen; nearly 50 occurred in 2009. In 2010, the number exploded to more than 1,000. These so-called “earthquake swarms” are occurring in other places where the ground is not supposed to move. There have been abrupt upticks in both the size and frequency of quakes in Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio, and Texas. Scientists investigating these anomalies are coming to the same conclusion: The quakes are linked to injection wells. Into most of them goes wastewater from hydraulic fracking, while some … are filled with leftover fluid from dewatering operations.

Flatter states are more susceptible to fracking-related quakes — as MoJo puts it, “a stone makes a bigger splash when it’s hurled into a glassy pond than a river of raging whitewater.” (But pretty please don’t take that as an invitation to drill California to shaky bits.)

The least surprising part of all this? That the industry is reluctant to accept that it might be responsible for tearing peoples’ houses down — or at least that it doesn’t want to talk to lefty magazines about it.

Some scientists are concerned that industry and government officials don’t want to work with them on the issue.

“Nobody is talking to one another about this,” says William Ellsworth, a prominent USGS geophysicist who’s published more than 100 papers on earthquakes. Among other mishaps, Ellsworth worries that a well could pierce an unknown fault “five miles from a nuclear power plant.” …

There is “a lack of companies cooperating with scientists,” complains seismologist [John] Armbruster. “I was naive and thought companies would work with us. But they are stonewalling us, saying they don’t believe they are causing the quakes.” Admitting guilt could draw lawsuits and lead to new regulation. So it’s no surprise, says [researcher Justin] Rubinstein, “that industry is going to keep data close to their chest.” When I ask Jean Antonides, New Dominion’s VP of exploration, why the industry is sequestering itself from public inquiry, he replies, “Nobody wants to be the face of this thing.” Plenty of misdeeds are pinned on oil and gas companies; none wants to add earthquakes to the list.

Geophysicists often work with oil and gas companies, further muddying the wastewater when it comes to the fracking facts. One of those scientists, Stanford professor and industry booster Mark Zoback, tells Behar: “Three things are predictable whenever earthquakes occur that might be caused by fluid injection: The companies involved deny it, the regulators go into a brain freeze because they don’t know what to do, and the press goes into a feeding frenzy because they get to beat up on the oil and gas industry, whether it is responsible or not.”

Yum, feeding frenzy! But I think we’re hungrier for some regulation. Who has time to beat up on frackers when we’re preparing for potential seismic doom?

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Using Green Energy Is easier than You think

by Guadalupe Scharff Posted on March 22, 2013

Green energy is gaining popularity around the world. That is because green energy not only conserves the natural resources available on this planet, but because it can also be more affordable for most people. Here are some smart ways to introduce green energy to your life, if you haven’t already.

Ensure that your dishwater is set to the proper temperature. Check the manual that came with it for the manufacturer’s recommendations on what the water temperature should be. Many models have an internal heating elements which can let you set your water heater to a much lower temperature, such as 120F.

A great tip to help save energy is to utilize daylight in your house. Rather than turning on your lights during the day, open up your shades, and let the sun naturally light up your home. You may even want to consider installing a skylight to really help illuminate your home.

If you are interested in saving energy, utilize the warm summer months to help you dry your clothes. Forgo the use of your dryer, and hang your wet items out in the bright sunlight. Not only will you save energy, but your clothes will smell fresh and feel wonderful.

Opt for solar lights instead of regular lighting when installing lights for outdoor use. This helps save on your energy costs, and they are very aesthetic as well. Solar lights are becoming increasingly popular, and they are a wonderful option for lighting the patio, garden, sidewalks, garage, and many other places.

When trying to decide between purchasing a laptop or desktop computer, remember that the laptop is the greener option. Laptops use as little as one-tenth of the electricity needed to power a desktop, and they usually have easily adjustable power settings that allow you to trim your energy consumption even further.

A raised floor can be a great way to save energy. Install your heating system in the raised floor: the heat will circulate much better and every room of your house will be warm. It also functions as an insulation from the cold ground in the winter and will allow air to circulate and cool off your home in the summer.

In order to save energy at home, plug your electronics, including televisions and DVD players, into power strips and when you are not using them, turn off the power strips. Not only will you be preserving energy by doing this, but you will also be saving money on your electricity bill.

If you have a tank-style water heater that you aren’t prepared to replace yet, conserve electricity or natural gas by lowering its thermostat. By changing the thermostat from the factory-set 140 degrees to 120 degrees, the heater requires 6 to 10 percent less energy to keep your water hot.

Once you introduce green energy to your life, it will become easier to implement the tips from the article. Implementing the tips will result in lower energy bills for you, but it will also contribute to a cleaner world. Think about how much green energy can help you, and apply the tips from this article.

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