Farms have become a major air-pollution source

A new study says that emissions from farms outweigh all other human sources of fine-particulate air pollution in much of the United States, Europe, Russia and China. The culprit: fumes from nitrogen-rich fertilizers and animal waste that combine in the air with industrial emissions to form solid particles — a huge source of disease and death. The good news: if …

Robert Parry – A Media Unmoored from Facts

Several weeks ago, I received a phone call from legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh who had seen one of my recent storiesabout Syria and wanted to commiserate over the state of modern journalism. Hersh’s primary question regarding reporters and editors at major news outlets these days was: “Do they care what the facts are?” Hersh noted that in the past – …

Climate change altering Greenland ice sheet and accelerating sea level rise, says York University professor

TORONTO, January 4, 2016 – The Greenland ice sheet has traditionally been pictured as a bit of a sponge for glacier meltwater, but new research has found it is rapidly losing the ability to buffer its contribution to rising sea levels, says a York University researcher. York U Professor William Colgan, a co-author on the study published today in the …

Resistance Radio – Michael Robinson – 01.03.16

Michael Robinson’s work focuses on the protection and recovery of top predators like Mexican gray wolves and jaguars. He has been associated with the Center for Biological Diversity since its founding and joined the staff in 1997. Michael holds a master’s degree in literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a bachelors from the University of Texas at Austin; he is also the author of a well-reviewed book on the history of wolves in the United States called Predatory Bureaucracy: The Extermination of Wolves and the Transformation of the West(University Press of Colorado, 2005).

Report Shows How Charter Schools Are in Business of ‘Privatization and Profiteering’

The explosion of charter schools in the U.S. is allowing individuals, corporations, and organizations to use public funds to secure their own financial gain and private profit—often at the expense of the common interest they claim to serve, a new policy brief from the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder finds. Released Thursday by Rutgers Professor Bruce …

Andrea Germanos – NASA: World ‘Locked Into’ at Least 3 Feet of Sea Level Rise

New research underway indicates that at least three feet of global sea level rise is near certain, NASA scientists warned Wednesday. That’s the higher range of the 1 to 3 feet level of rise the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) gave in its 2013 assessment. Sea levels have already risen 3 inches on average since 1992, with some areas …

Ben Spencer – The placebo effect IS real – even when patients know the treatment they are getting is fake

The placebo effect is real – even if you know the treatment you’ve been given has no medical value, research has concluded. Scientists found patients given a fake painkiller continued to feel benefits from it after they were told it was not genuine. But there was a catch. In order to feel these effects, the subjects had to be conditioned …

Yes, Those Earthquakes Are Caused by Fracking Boom, Studies Confirm By Zahra Hirji

The surge in earthquakes shaking Oklahoma, Texas and other parts of the nation’s mid-section are likely caused by million of gallons of toxic oil and gas wastewater being disposed of underground, two new studies have found. Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder and the United States Geological Survey analyzed data from earthquakes and more than 106,000 active injection wells across …

Scientists warn of hormone impacts from benzene, xylene, other common solvents – Brian Bienkowski

Four chemicals present both inside and outside homes might disrupt our endocrine systems at levels considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to an analysis released today. The chemicals – benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene – are ubiquitous: in the air outside and in many products inside homes and businesses. They have been linked to reproductive, respiratory and heart …

New study hints at spontaneous appearance of primordial DNA

The self-organization properties of DNA-like molecular fragments four billion years ago may have guided their own growth into repeating chemical chains long enough to act as a basis for primitive life, says a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Milan. While studies of ancient mineral formations contain evidence for the evolution of bacteria from …