Bright lights? Big cancer risk

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Mark Baard

Photo: tourist_on_earth/Flickr CC

U. of Haifa scientists have found that LAN, or “light at night,” suppresses the secretion of melatonin in mice, which leads to rises in certain cancers.

This comes as more bad news to people finding themselves forced by Agenda 21-inspired urbanization schemes into dense cities that never sleep, where streetlights and other sources of artificial ambient light crash in through apartment windows.

From U. of Haifa announcement, today:

Earlier studies in which Prof. Haim has participated at the University of Haifa, have shown that people living in areas that have more night-time illumination are more susceptible to prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. The researchers’ hypothesis was that LAN harms production of melatonin, a hormone that is released from the pineal gland during the dark part of the 24h cycle and which is linked to the body’s cyclical night-day activity and seasonality. When this hormone is suppressed, the occurrence of cancer rises.

via Connection Between Light at Night LAN and Cancer Revealed.

Childfree movement gets its greenwash

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Mark Baard

Part of the problem. Photo: Alan Turkus

I am sure that some in the childfree movement feel so self-conscious about their choice not to raise kids that they need, occasionally, to create a smug, in-your-face manifesto.

The latest missive from the childfree movement, which has been around since the 1960s, comes in awash in green.

Lisa Hymas, in an essay at Grist*, claims that humans who choose not nurture other humans are making an admirable choice for the planet, and their pocketbooks.

Hymas, a disciple of Al Gore and Stephanie Mills of the Post Carbon Institute (think about that one, for a moment), writes that being childfree is a “luxurious indulgence that just so happens to cost a lot less for me and weigh a lot less on the carbon-bloated atmosphere.”

Hymas does not avoids mentioning adoption, abortion or infanticide, issues that would have introduced some ethical complexity to the piece.

The green solution, according to a Grist editor and blogger.

Hymas also uses a hackneyed rhetorical technique — the false premise — to get her point across.

She suggests, without any supporting evidence, that people with kids typically look down on those who have none.

A link to HuffPo’s coverage of Hymas’ manifesto, is below.

via Ultimate Way to Go Green? Don’t Have Kids, Writer Lisa Hymas Says – AOL News.

*Note: I have written for Grist myself, about environmental issues.

Vandals hit "Ten Commandments of the Antichrist"

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Mark Baard

Guidestones. Photo: David Noah/Flickr CC

CNN reports that the mysterious, provocative Georgia Guidestones, which call for human depopulation, have been marred by “conspiracists”:

In recent years, the monument has been hit by vandals who see in it the creed of a shadowy “New World Order” bent on subjugating humanity. It has been tagged at least three times since 2008, leaving scrawls of “God is stronger than the NWO,” vague threats of destruction and various crudities across the granite.”The worst was they put a two-part epoxy over two faces,” said Mart Clamp, whose father helped carve the stones. “You just can't pressure-wash it off, you have to get in there with a hammer-type tool and beat it off.”

via Waiting for the end of the world: Georgia’s 30-year stone mystery – CNN.com.

Interior Secretary: US needs more trees, fewer people

Posted on December 12, 2009 by Mark Baard

Carbon footprint. Photo: Samantha Jade Royds/Flickr CC

In Copenhagen, where world leaders are slapping the “pollutant” label on any carbon-based life-form with a nervous system, the US signals its cooperation:

“Carbon pollution is putting our world—and our way of life—in peril,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in a keynote speech at the global conference on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark. “By restoring ecosystems and protecting certain areas from development, the U.S. can store more carbon in ways that enhance our stewardship of land and natural resources while reducing our contribution to global warming.”

via New science estimates carbon storage potential of US lands.

Truth is, the federal government is no good steward of the environment. (In fact, it is the nation’s #1 polluter.)

And the mineral exploitation of federally-managed lands, particularly split estates, threaten to spoil water supplies for cattle ranchers, farmers and homeowners who depend on well water for their very survival.

Cops scour the land for angels of death

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Mark Baard

Photo: CC/tanya petrova

The “death with dignity” crowd in the US is in a state over law enforcement’s efforts to quash would-be Jack Kervorkians:

The internet is being kept under close watch by law enforcement to find more victims to back up their dubious prosecutions in Georgia and Arizona. Thus this is a time to be extra cautious and discreet. At trial, the defendants will be rigorously defended.

This harassment is most likely a right-wing backlash to our movement’s law reform successes in Oregon, Washington and Montana. We shall proceed.

via Law enforcement searching America for ‘assisted suicide’ cases | Assisted-Suicide Blog.

Chopped liver: Jobs at head of line

Posted on June 21, 2009 by Mark Baard

Steve Jobs gets his new liver… Tennessee has shorter waits, no residency requirement. That suggests those who can pay are getting to the head of the line for this sort of thing.

Incredibly, way back in 2003, the wait for a liver was 67 days. And if you were a member of the elite class, you could have a new liver the day after you put in for one.

The Journal, which says it has no specifics on precisely where or when Jobs had the transplant, notes that the waiting time for donated livers is substantially shorter in Tennessee than it is elsewhere. The wait time is shorter in Tennessee because fewer people come to the three hospitals in the state that do transplants. There is no residency requirement to be a recipient.

People in Tennessee wait 48 days, on average, compared to 306 nationally, according to 2006 figures from the United Network for Organ Sharing.

via Steve Jobs Undergoes Liver Transplant – ABC News.

Transhumanists envision a life at sea

Posted on May 29, 2009 by Mark Baard

Photo: Cynthia thanks mother ocean. CC/Bettina Neuefeind

Cynthia thanks mother ocean. Photo: CC/Bettina Neuefeind

Some folks are planning for a life at sea–on man-made islands:

The mission of the [Seasteading Institute] is to enable the building of ocean communities, to experiment with innovative political and social systems…The Seasteading Institute | SHARKRIDE!, May 2009

The Seasteading Institute (TSI) is backed by billionaire PayPal founder and transhumanist Peter Thiel.

Seasteading enthusiasts, apparently in no rush for a return on their investements, have contributed more than $500,000 to the institute to-date.

It is not clear whether the poor and the profane will find their way onto these islands. TSI does argue, however, that the islands might help isolate undesirables.

Winning entry. Image: CC/ejacobhansen

I’m not sure what is meant by “innovative political and social systems,” in the Seasteaders’ mission, but Aftermath News notes that the Bilderberg gang has been discussing overcoming resistance to depopulation:

The UK newspaper The Times reported that these “leading billionaires have met secretly to consider how their wealth could be used to slow the growth of the world’s population,” and that they “discussed joining forces to overcome political and religious obstacles to change.”

via Secret Bilderberg Agenda to Restructure Global Political Economy « Aftermath News.

Decaying infrastructure watch

Posted on December 27, 2008 by Mark Baard

Photo: CC/Coyote2012

Others were delayed for hours. The worst case – more than 600 passengers trying to get to the Pacific Northwest were stuck on the train and in cold waiting rooms for nearly a day. Some said they had little food and water.

“We kept getting updated notifications that the toilets were frozen, the switching lines were frozen,” a passenger said. “No one really knew what was going on.”

The train finally left Tuesday afternoon – 23 hours late – but would only go as far as St. Paul, Minnesota.

via Amtrak Troubles: Passengers Stranded For 23 Hours At Union Station; Some Say With Little Food, Water – cbs2chicago.com.

Keep watching the skies

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Mark Baard

Chemtrails are will be real. Policymakers and scientists last week were brainstorming earth changes.

A proposed "geoengineering" Flettner vessel that would move about on the world's oceans, spraying salt into the air, to make clouds more reflective. Image: The Royal Society

Climate change scientists last week met to discuss how high altitude military jets might spray sulfur into the stratosphere, to “geoengineer” climate changes. web_021107-o-9999g-0232

Read this excerpt, below. Note my emphasis on the last sentence. This is one of the reasons why Alan Watt is always on about the Club of Rome.

Richard Turco of UCLA estimated that injecting enough sulfur in the stratosphere to properly geoengineer the climate would require 3000 aircraft sorties per day, and cost $50-$100 billion per year. Model results he presented showed a large amount of uncertainty as to what might happen, and he cautioned that there was “no guarantee of success, and failure would be catastrophic”.

A. Robrock of Rutgers disagreed with Dr. Turco, and estimated that the cost of injecting the required amount of sulfur into the stratosphere would by less that $5 billion per year, provided the U.S. military would let scientists use 167 of the existing fleet of 522 F15C Eagle jets to do the job. After all, he reasoned, why wouldn’t the military want to use their aircraft to confront our enemy global warming?

via Wunder Blog : Weather Underground.

Deep Impact 08: Hurricane Wars

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Mark Baard

Image: Accuweather

Hurricane 4 Gustav is shaping up like another Katrina, and so is Tropical Storm Hanna, to the East.