The environmental assessment of the Keystone Pipeline was corrupt. The GOP actually believes corruption is good and this is more proof.

Alberta Oil Sands 1984

...The department allowed TransCanada, the company seeking permission to build the 1,700-mile pipeline from the oil sands of northern Alberta to the Gulf Coast in Texas, to solicit and screen bids for the environmental study. At TransCanada’s recommendation, the department hired Cardno Entrix, an environmental contractor based in Houston, even though it had previously worked on projects with TransCanada and describes the pipeline company as a “major client” in its marketing materials....

TransCanada also stated, in compliance with Canadian environmental standards, they were restoring the areas where the open pit mining was occurring after the sand was removed.  There was a 60 minutes program about it.  They lied.  NASA has a complete set of pictures of the site in Alberta and there is absolutely no restoration.  If that is what TransCanada called restoration, then they speak a different language then I do.

TransCanada is also having troubles already, but, hey they ain't nothing to worry about.  The Republicans are remiss, they don't have 'environment' in their vocabulary when it comes to safeguarding the nation's farmland, any conservation concerns or health.

Alberta Oil Sands 2011, where is there restoration that returns the region back to its origianal state?  There is none!

TransCanada Shuts Pipeline After Troubles With Power (click here)

By DAN FROSCH

Published: November 10, 2011

The company proposing a controversial oil pipeline that would stretch from Canada to the Gulf Coast had a related pipeline shut down twice this week after it experienced power problems. The company, TransCanada, said that its Keystone pipeline, which runs from Alberta to Cushing, Okla., went down for three hours on Tuesday after a Canadian utility that powers the pipeline dealt with shortages....

I can see it now, this thick sludge is moving through a huge pipeline and the entire system loses power.  The sludge turns to glue and is backed up into Canada.  Then what has to be done?  Dismantling of the pipeline, millions of dollars of expense, destruction of land surrounding the pipeline as the entire length has to be opened and the thick and probably hardened sludge has to be removed with heavy equipment.  Is that oil we need?  No, for a lot more reasons than that.  But, do Repubicans care?  No.  They simply see it as a crony issue and they demand it is moved along so they get more money for their political ambitions.

...Because it takes energy to mine and separate oil from the sands, (click here) oil sands extraction releases more greenhouse gases than other forms of oil production. The mines shown in the image emitted more than 20 million tons of greenhouse gases in 2008— a product of both oil production and electricity production for the mining operation. The effort produced the equivalent of 86 to 103 kilograms of carbon dioxide for every barrel of crude oil produced. By comparison, 27 to 58 kilograms of carbon dioxide are emitted in the conventional production of a barrel of crude oil....

Republicans are corrupt to the core and if this doesn't illustrate that than I don't know what will.  They don't care about people, they care about money!

EPA has found problems with ground water in Wyoming hydraulic fracking technique.

Besides groundwater pollution there is visual pollution.  That is ugly compared to the landscape in the background. 
"W"hy?

...A U.S. (click title to entry - thank you) Environmental Protection Agency draft finding that it may have detected groundwater pollution resulting from a controversial technique that plays a huge role in modern oil and gas development isn't settled science yet...

This has absolutely nothing to do with politics.  The petroleum industry was turned loose by the Bush/Cheney regime to carry out any type of invasive extraction of oil and gas without any envronmental controls.  I want the petroleum industry to tell American this is a surprise.  It isn't and the industry knows it isn't.  It is the crudest industry on the face of the Earth and they are destroying the balance of the troposphere besides.

The petroleum industry is about punching holes in the land and allowing noxious chemicals rise to the surface.  There is no high level technology, the industry has more problems than a bus load of pregnant nuns and it always has.

Give me a break, we heard words like, "Junk Shot" and "Top Hat."  What was so difficult in developing a bulk head for the Macondo well?  That technology should have been in place a long time ago before offshore drilling was ever permitted in USA waters.  Now, the American people are supposed to believe the science behind hydraulic fracturing is as sophisticated and careful as it comes.  I don't think so.  There is no sound science behind the technology and the industry has covered it up with Public Relation campaigns that lie and deceive because they can so long as everyone is kept naive.

This is sound evidence to the negligent and greed driven directives of the petroleum industry.  Measurements DON'T LIE even though the industry does.  Now an entire aquifer is contaminated, how wonderful it that?

Gas-Fracking Chemicals Detected in Wyoming Aquifer, EPA Says (click here)

Dec 8, 2011 3:50 PM ET By Jim Efstathiou Jr.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said for the first time it found chemicals used in extracting natural gas through hydraulic fracturing in a drinking-water aquifer in west-central Wyoming.

Samples taken from two deep water-monitoring wells near a gas field in Pavillion, Wyoming, showed synthetic chemicals such as glycols and alcohols “consistent with gas production and hydraulic-fracturing fluids,” the agency said today in an e- mailed statement....

So, now what exactly is in the aquifer now?

Ethylene glycol

Prevents scale deposits in the fracking pipe - Used in Automotive antifreeze, household cleansers, deicing, and caulk.

I put that in my coffee everyday.  Only trace amounts though so it keeps my pipes clean.

Isopropanol

Used to increase the viscosity\of the fracture fluid - Used in glass cleaner, antiperspirant, and hair color

Proppant

Allows the fissures to remain open so the gas can escape - Used in drinking water filtration and play sand

Sodium or potassium carbonate

Maintains the effectiveness of other components, such as cross linkers - Used in washing soda, detergents, soap, water softener, glass and ceramics

Ammonium bisulfite

Removes oxygen from the water to protect the pipe from corrosion - Used in cosmetics, food and beverage processing, water treatment. 

After all who needs oxygen in the water?  H2O.  Yeah.  Anyone ever test this mess as a mixture to find out what THE MIXTURE does to the human body?  This is highly organic compounds.  I guarantee if these chemicals were introduced on a regular basis in combination as they are found in ground water after fracking it would result in some very sick people.  I do believe there are incidents 'on the books' already in regard to deteriorated health conditions.  That is what this does.  The chemicals interact with body chemistry and eventually kills people.  It sure as heck doesn't improve longevity.

Potassium chloride

Creates a brine carrier fluid - Used in low sodium table salt substitute

Potassium chloride is not a benign agent in the body.  High levels of potassium is very dangerous.  So, while table salt substitute is used as a food product, high amounts of it is not good for human nervous system, especially the heart conduction pathways.  The part that generates the heart beat.

Citric Acid

Prevents precipitation of metal oxides - used as food additive; food and beverages; lemon juice

Guar gum

Thickens the water to suspend the sand - Used as thickener used in cosmetics, baked goods, ice cream, toothpaste, sauces, and salad dressing

Yuck.

Petroleum Distilates

“Slicks” the water to minimize friction - Used in make-up remover, laxatives, and candy

Oh, yum-yum, just what I wanted in my water, more petroelum distillates.

The toxicity of petroleum distillates (click here) and other hydrocarbons affects the respiratory system. Aspiration of small amounts of these chemicals directly into the lung, or into the lung during vomiting of an ingested chemical, can cause chemical pneumonia, pulmonary damage, and death. Petroleum distillates with low viscosity, such as gasoline, kerosene, and mineral seal oil, possess the greatest potential for aspiration.

All household products that contain 10 percent or more of petroleum distillates, or benzene, toluene, xylene, or turpentine, are required to have hazard warnings by regulations under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

Borate salts

Maintains fluid viscosity as temperature increases - Used in laundry detergents, hand soaps and cosmetics

Polyacrylamide

Minimizes friction between fluid and pipe - Used in water treatment, soil conditioner

I don't like it in my water treatment either. 

Sodium Chloride

Allows a delayed break down of the gel polymer chains - It is table salt.

Heart condition suffers beware of the water.
　
N, n-Dimethyl formamide

Prevents the corrosion of the pipe - Used in pharmaceuticals, acrylic fibers and plastics

Glutaraldehyde

Eliminates bacteria in the water - Used as disinfectant; sterilizer for medical and dental equipment

And last but not least, the chemicalS that make fracking possible.  It DISSOLVES the rock and releases the methane.

  

Acids 
Helps dissolve minerals and initiate presssure in rock (pre-fracture)  - Used in swimming pool cleaner

There is nothing benevolent about these chemicals.  It is a known fact when they are in the drinking water people suffer a great deal after the water has been ingested.  They are long term health issues and they can be fatal.  The petroleum industry likes to point to OTHER USES of these chemicals in products most Americans can relate to, but, the DOSAGE over time is the problem.  They are all dangerous in the repeated expose to THE INSIDE of the body. 

The Landing Gear is up. It was up when it crashed.

The drone is dead.

These Bush Era projects were never cheap, were they?

...McCaskill, (click title to entry - thank you) in a letter this week to health Inspector General Daniel J. Levinson, said that Siga's product "is reported to be more expensive and has a shorter shelf-life" than the nation's standard smallpox vaccine. McCaskill's letter referred to a report by the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 13, which revealed unusual steps taken in awarding the biodefense contract to Siga, whose controlling shareholder is Ronald O. Perelman, a longtime Democratic Party donor...

I take it this Bush Era Project is about a product that is similar to Tamiflu in its development.  I don't know that Tamiflu is all that effective.  I know it was a product viewed as important during the Swine Flu outbreak, but, I don't recall it being important enough for everyone to have some in their medicine cabinet.  It sure didn't help in saving lives, maybe prevention.

Girl infected with smallpox. Bangladesh, 1973.
In ordinary type smallpox the bumps are filled with a thick, opaque fluid and often have a depression or dimple in the center. This is a major distinguishing characteristic of smallpox

I know I am grateful to have been spared such a disease when I received a vaccination.  The new drug is being developed as a Bush Era concern for an outbreak in the USA, but, if it sincerely is effective the use can be global.  I don't know off hand if the UN has a worldwide vaccination program, my guess is no.

But, McCaskill is correct, the program needs to be addressed before it is ever implimented.  The initial project is $433 million, so before all that awarded to a company or companies to put into production the effectiveness needs to be looked into.  I hope the drug is what it is supposed to be.  It would be a minor miracle drug for many people.  There are hearings next week by an FDA Advisory Panel to take testimony about it.

The really unfortunate part is if this medication is all it is supposed to be now politics is entering the scene as to the composition of the Board of Directors or something.  It is better to know the facts before the money is spent, but, my guess is this is not an empty promise.  The FDA has its responsibility to determine the benevolence and effectiveness of the drug.  Senator McCaskill was correct in bring it before the public so it receives the scrutiny it should.

In all honesty when a company is encouraged to spend development dollars on a cutting edge technology and then abandoned by the USA government after it is perfected, that is hardly a prudent policy.  The USA is experiencing a sincere shortage of vital IV drugs and if the industry is insulted further by denied success of a viable treatment for smallpox, it will discourage the industry all the more to venture into development in the first place.  I hope the investigation and the FDA hearing places the R&D in a good light for the effort put forth, but, it needs to be known to work before manufacturing begins on a large scale.

It is not unusual for the USA Government to stockpile medications in case of a national emergency.  I think Potassium Iodide is one the government keeps handy.  The military has more stuff they inject into bodies than Carter has little liver pills.

Eighty percent of children that contract the disease die from it.  Smallpox also causes blindness.  There are several variants of the virus as well.  The medication may not work on all of them.  The virus is airborne and more or less a communicable disease.

...In 1967, (click here) when WHO launched an intensified plan to eradicate smallpox, the "ancient scourge" threatened 60% of the world's population, killed every fourth victim, scarred or blinded most survivors, and eluded any form of treatment....

See that, it has been so long since Smallpox was even discussed I had forgotten the darn stuff was once eradicated.

...Through the success of the global eradication campaign, smallpox was finally pushed back to the horn of Africa and then to a single last natural case, which occurred in Somalia in 1977. A fatal laboratory-acquired case occurred in the United Kingdom in 1978. The global eradication of smallpox was certified, based on intense verification activities in countries, by a commission of eminent scientists in December 1979 and subsequently endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 1980....

So, I guess there is good reason to reconsider the expenditure of the production of the medication, but, there is the disincentive of having companies respond to requests of the USA government when asked to do so.

Surveillance of smallpox infection is probably easier than for any other infectious disease. A distinctive rash is produced (see above) which is wholly characteristic in the great majority of cases. The rash is most dense over the face and hands – unclothed and readily visible portions of the body.

How many more of these projects exist?  They all seem to run somewhere in the neighborhood of a half a billion to carry out.  Interesting number, but, then Bush/Cheney sent something like $68 billion to Baghdad in case on a air transport for the first infusion.  So, the billion number became common place during that administration.  I just find it odd there is this chronic dollar value attached to these programs.

Duration of protection following vaccination

Vaccination usually prevents smallpox infection for at least ten years.
If symptoms appear, they are milder and mortality is less in vaccinated than in nonvaccinated persons.
Even when immunity has waned, vaccinated persons shed less virus and are less likely to transmit the disease.

So, the 'concept' behind this medication development is that if there is WMD of Smallpox released into the USA there would be a treatment for it because people are no longer vaccinated for it.  Hm.  I guess it was necessary to explore this possibility. 

I am wondering if all the surveillance equipment is off now or is the CIA still monitoring Iran?

Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinal drone

It looks like a UFO.  According to Iran they stole the spy plane out of the sky.  With the look of the wheels on this one it had some capacity, huh?  It is white to hide it in the sky.  Looking from underneath it would blend with the clouds, etc.   So, Iran wants the world to believe they have found a way to invade the radio waves of the USA drone program.  Well, then why isn't the darn thing flying?

It damage.  Its fairly obvious it crashed which speaks to its continued operation and component integrity.  The wheels are probably off it or sincerely damaged that it would look like it sincerely crashed. 

I hope the USA got the information it was looking for before it went down.  I like the skulls in the blue field.  Really professional.

...The overflights (click title to entry - thank you) by the bat-winged RQ-170 Sentinel, built by Lockheed Martin and first glimpsed on an airfield in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2009, are part of an increasingly aggressive intelligence collection programme aimed at Iran, current and former officials say. The urgency of the effort has been underscored by a recent public debate in Israel about whether time is running out for a military strike to slow Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon.

In a recent speech, President Obama's National Security Adviser, Tom Donilon, hinted at secret efforts by the United States to keep watch on Iran's nuclear programme.

“We will continue to be vigilant,” Mr. Donilon said last month at the Brookings Institution. “We will work aggressively to detect any new nuclear-related efforts by Iran. We will expose them and force Iran to place them under international inspections.”...

Aye, shit happens.  War is hell.