A new study from North Carolina State University and Clemson University finds the toxin in a widely used genetically modified (GM) crop is having little impact on the crop pest corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) – which is consistent with predictions made almost 20 years ago that were largely ignored. The study may be a signal to pay closer attention to …
Guilty as Charged: Duke Energy to Pay Record Fine for Coal Ash Crimes – Deirdre Fulton
Duke Energy pleaded guilty on Thursday to environmental crimes and has agreed to pay a record $102 million in fines and restitution for years of illegal pollution, ignored warnings, and poorly maintained infrastructure. U.S. District Court Judge Malcolm Howard said it is the largest federal criminal fine in North Carolina history. But some environmentalists insist the punishment is insufficient, given …
The Green Energy Revolt – Jason Mark
Debbie Dooley is mad as hell. Since 2012, the fifty-six-year-old grandmother and former IT consultant has been waging a fierce grassroots battle against her home state utility, Georgia Power, to make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to install rooftop solar panels. Now, she’s working with allies in Florida to sponsor a ballot initiative that would allow businesses and homeowners …
Punishing Another Whistleblower – Ray McGovern
Former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was a whistleblower who was then targeted by the U.S. legal system for retaliation, which now includes a 42-month prison sentence. His real “crime” was going to the Senate Intelligence Committee to report on a dubious and dangerous covert operation that involved giving doctored nuclear-bomb blueprints to Iran. Though Sterling’s action was “within proper channels,” the …
Why So Many Americans Feel So Powerless – ROBERT REICH
A security guard recently told me he didn’t know how much he’d be earning from week to week because his firm kept changing his schedule and his pay. “They just don’t care,” he said. A traveler I met in the Dallas Fort-Worth Airport last week said she’d been there eight hours but the airline responsible for her trip wouldn’t help …
Inside the Major Political Fight for Broadband Internet That’s Brewing Across America
February 28th the Federal Communications Commission issued two decisions. One concerned net neutrality, the other municipal broadband. The first garnered by far the most attention, as it should. Net neutrality affects everyone and establishes a fundamental new principle for Internet access. But as another presidential campaign looms the FCC decision on municipally owned broadband may offer more fertile ground for …
The Political Downfall of General David Petraeus: From War Hero to Convicted Felon? Petraeus’ Plea Bargain
As a postscript headline to the mid-January article below, America’s most famous general turned CIA Director David Petraeus just worked out a plea bargain deal with the Justice Department. He admitted to leaking classified documents to his biographer turned lover Paula Broadwell. Rather than face the further humiliation of a high profile public trial, the Bilderberg member opted for the …