The Shell Oil Plant and its Environmental Impact on Deer Park, TX

Fossil fuels have always been a fuel source that most of us take for granted in our daily lives. Oil, coal and natural gas have been our primary sources of energy for hundreds of years, and along the way we?ve suffered a few consequences that have endangered not only ourselves, but the environment as well. An example of this is Shell Oil in Deer Park, TX.

In 2008, Shell Oil was accused of violating the Clean Air Act and endangering the environment with excessive amounts of pollution and unsavory practices. According to the accusations, the plant was creating far more waste than had been deemed legal through the Clean Air Act. The Shell Deer Park facility, located 20 miles east of Houston, was the nation's eighth-largest oil refinery at the time of the lawsuit, which made the story a national news item.

According to reports about Shell Oil in Deer Park, TX, the facility had been producing unstable amounts of air pollutants since 2003.

When Sierra Club and Environment Texas investigated the plant, they also found that it was the second-largest producer of pollution in Harris County, making it a prime candidate for auditing and change.

Because of the amount of waste that the plant was producing, Shell was endangering not only the environment around the plant, but also the surrounding ecosystem. The company was contributing to the destruction of the environment and the ozone layer on massive levels by pumping an obscene amount of toxins into the air on a daily basis.

Since the lawsuit and further investigations into Shell practices occurred, the company has since reevaluated its environmental plan to better serve the Earth.

The company dedicates more of its time and resources to making sure that pollutants are reduced and waste is properly disposed of, leading to a greener environment. The Shell Oil in Deer Park, TX in particular has greatly reformed its ways since the national news attention it received.

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Because the Shell Oil in Deer Park, TX reversed its ways before massive ecological damage was done, the potential for significant adverse effects in the local ecosystem have been reduced greatly. A great emphasis has been placed into providing clean air for the entire region. However, because of the poor practices of the plant, some lasting damage to the environment did occur. Lakes and forest regions suffered toxic damages, while much of the ecosystem near the plant was destroyed.

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Shell Oil in Deer Park, TX is just another example of the damages that we can cause to the environment if we?re not conscious about using clean, renewable energy. However, the story of Deer Park?s Shell Oil Plant also reminds us that if we work to correct our environmental wrongs, we stand a chance at repairing our Earth.

Source: http://society.ezinemark.com/the-shell-oil-plant-and-its-environmental-impact-on-deer-park-tx-7d33ac179874.html

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Simply Bike ? cycling while pregnant: hannah of philadelphia ...

{Hannah, at 24 weeks pregnant on her Brompton bike}

Name: Hannah K

Age: 33

Location: Philadelphia (and Baltimore)

Cycling for how many years: six and a half in Baltimore

Favorite part about cycling:

I love not being beholden to bus timetables! I decide when I?m leaving the house and I don?t have to wait to transfer. Also, parking a bike is so easy, as opposed to when I would drive to work (and it?s free!). I also love the exercise I get as an added benefit.

Bike(s) you ride:

Right now I mostly ride my new Brompton; in Philly I recently switched from my Surly Traveler?s Check to my mom?s old Peugeot that I converted to a 3 speed a couple years ago since it?s more upright.

What three words sum up your cycling experience while being pregnant:

Independence, healthy, easy.

?How did being pregnant affect your approach to cycling or your daily commute:

We found out I was pregnant the weekend that we moved from Baltimore to Philadelphia. I had already planned on using the Brompton and Amtrak to get to and from the office and to get around while in Baltimore 3 days a week. Fortunately during the first trimester I was feeling great and the commute was easy ? 15 minutes from my house in Philly to the train station, just over an hour on the train, and then another 15 minutes to the office. I really like that the Philly portion is 95% on the Schuylkill bike path ? it feels quite safe since there are no cars, but I found myself worrying a little bit about traffic in Baltimore. In the end cycling is the fastest and most convenient way to get around and my route in Baltimore is one that I?ve been doing for the last five years, so it feels familiar and relatively safe. I?d say that other than making sure I take the lane and making myself highly visible (yellow jacket, extra blinky) I use the same level of caution as before.

?What (if anything) surprised you about cycling while pregnant?

How easy it?s been!

?How did your family and friends react to you cycling while pregnant?

My husband is an avid cyclist and very supportive, but he?s been good about helping me think through alternative strategies if conditions aren?t great or once I get quite big. My family as well ? both my parents bike to their university jobs in a very-flat Midwestern college town, so while I?m sure they have concerns, they trust me. Now that I?m showing, a few people at work keep asking if I?m still biking ? one woman even said ?isn?t your balance off?? and while that may be true, it?s not in the side-to-side axis!

What (if any) special accommodations did you require to continue cycling throughout your pregnancy?

I did stop riding my ?racing? style bike to my appointments and around Philly once my belly got in the way; now I take the mixte or the Brompton.

?What would you say to another woman interested in cycling while pregnant? What have you taken away from the experience? ?

So far, cycling has been the best option for me to be mobile in my new commute ? much faster than waiting for the bus! As long as you?re confident about your cycling ability and your road safety precautions there?s no reason not to try it. But go with what is comfortable for you ? not everyone I know is comfortable cycling in Baltimore even when they?re not pregnant, but knowing which routes tend to have the fewest cars or where there are protected lanes or plenty of room can do wonders for your sense of security. Also, take the lane, signal and stay out of the door zone!

?In addition to cycling, what other activities helped you stay fit and active during your pregnancy?

I was running a bit at the beginning, and now at 23 weeks I?m doing weekly prenatal yoga. I walk our dog around a large park on most of the days that I?m home which is a great excuse to be outside and roaming.

Thanks, Hannah, and all the best with the remainder of your pregnancy!?

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Source: http://simplybikeblog.com/?p=6401&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cycling-while-pregnant-hannah-of-philadelphia-baltimore

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Israeli PM wins primary, offers settler grants (AP)

JERUSALEM ? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won the leadership race of his Likud Party over his ultranationalist rival early Wednesday, hours after his government approved new incentives to entice people to move to West Bank settlements.

While Netanyahu was expected to win the leadership race decisively, a relatively strong showing by his ultranationalist rival, Moshe Feiglin suggested that many Likud voters consider the prime minister too soft on peacemaking with the Palestinians.

Likud spokesman Yigal Movermacher said early Wednesday that Netanyahu won over 75 percent of the vote.

"Likud will continue leading the country responsibly. We face great challenges that no other country in the world faces and I believe we will overcome them together in the way of the Likud," Netanyahu said in his victory speech.

Upon taking office in 2009, Netanyahu reluctantly embraced the concept of an independent Palestinian state, antagonizing hard-line Likud loyalists who believe Israel should hold on to the West Bank for religious and security reasons.

The new housing subsidies offered to West Bank settlers appeared to be aimed at appeasing those hard-liners.

The Israeli move threatened international efforts to revive Mideast peace talks, just as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was visiting the region, and drew angry condemnations from the Palestinians, who accused Netanyahu of undermining prospects for a Palestinian state.

"They are adding obstacles at a time when everyone is intensifying efforts to try to resume peace talks," said Palestinian government spokesman Ghassan Khatib.

A round of low-level peace negotiations hosted by Jordan ground to a halt last week, in large part because of continued Palestinian objections to Israeli settlement construction.

Those discussions, meant to finalize an agenda for full-fledged peace negotiations, are sponsored by the "Quartet" of international Mideast mediators ? the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia. U.N. chief Ban visited Jordan Tuesday en route to Israel and the Palestinian Authority in an effort to keep the dialogue moving.

"We must all do our part to break this impasse," Ban said. "In the short term, it is essential that provocations stop as called for by the Quartet and that the parties build confidence and sustain these nascent talks."

The Palestinians claim the West Bank and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as parts of a future state and say that continued Israeli settlement is a sign of bad faith.

They have demanded a halt in settlement construction before resuming peace talks. The alternative, they warn, is a single state in which Arabs will eventually outnumber Jews.

"I think with every additional settlement activity, the feasibility of having two states is diminished," said Khatib, the Palestinian spokesman.

This week's decision approved housing subsidies and loans for 557 communities deemed "national priority areas."

An announcement in English made no mention that West Bank settlements were included in the order. But attached to the original Hebrew announcement was a full list that included 70 settlements, most of them deep inside the West Bank in areas that Israel would likely have to evacuate to make way for a Palestinian state.

The incentives, according to the Prime Minister's office, are "meant to encourage positive migration to these communities."

In the past month's dialogue in Jordan, Israel has indicated that it wants to turn its West Bank separation barrier into the border with a future Palestine, according to two Palestinian officials. About three quarters of the settlements qualifying for the new subsidies lie on territory that would be turned over to the Palestinians under that scenario.

In a separate move, the government on Monday appointed a committee to examine land ownership issues in the West Bank.

The panel will review a 2005 government report that found several dozen outposts were built not only without state approval, but on privately held Palestinian land.

Officials said the report needs to be reviewed because its author, state prosecutor Talia Sasson, later entered politics with a dovish political party, raising questions about her objectivity.

A court-ordered evacuation of Migron, the largest unauthorized outpost, set for next month, would not be affected by the formation of the new committee, officials said.

The panel's makeup aroused suspicions it would legalize at least some of the more than 100 outposts built without government authorization, including dozens Sasson says were erected on privately held Palestinian land.

The committee's head, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Edmond Levy, spoke out against Israel's withdrawal of settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

___

Federman can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/joseffederman

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120201/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

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Everything You Need To Turn Your Keychain Into Batman's Utility Belt [Toolkit]

Without the vast riches of Wayne Enterprises at your disposal, building a utility belt with as much functionality as Batman's is out of the question. But did you realize you can get pretty close by properly accessorizing your keychain? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Xjx8K-yszdA/

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Obama, Romney Campaigns Adopt Mobile Payments For Donations

We're about 10 months away from the presidential election, and grassroots fundraising is kicking into high gear. For the first time ever, smartphone-enabled mobile payments are playing into fundraising schemes, both for Republican and Democrat presidential hopefuls.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/O70F9VdE78k/

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Late Night FDL: Gaming the System | Firedoglake

Noland?s muscular dystrophy qualified her for benefits from her father?s Social Security insurance when she was a young teen. She earns a few bucks here and there selling Avon products. Hale, 38, tinkers in Web design.

He said back pain and limited movement in one arm keep him out of the cooking jobs he once held.?But years of appeals to receive Social Security benefits have been unsuccessful.

?I know this guy in St. Joe who qualified in his late 20s, but he?ll still lift car engines, replace a transmission, work on his house,? Hale said. ?People like that make it harder for people like me to get Social Security.?

Among the non-beneficiaries around Benton County, it?s a common observation.

?There are more people on disability here than I?ve ever seen,? said William McKinney, who installs satellite TV systems and moves furniture. ?I grew up in Independence, lived in Butler, spent time in Oklahoma, in Springfield. Nothing like here?

?I think some of them are disabled just enough to be labeled that way so they feel they don?t have to work.?

Chris Stewart of the Katy Trail Community Health Centers disagreed: ?I don?t think that?s anywhere near the norm.?

She attributed the region?s high reliance on disability benefits to factors linked to poor general health: Poverty, low graduation rates, geographic isolation and higher than normal levels of drug and alcohol abuse.

As for assessing their patients? ability to work, Katy Trail physicians don?t get involved, Stewart said:

?They?ve said it puts them in a difficult situation in terms of advocacy or non-advocacy ? We provide medical records and let others make that decision,? meaning the medical advisers and administrative judges employed by the Social Security Administration.

Source: http://firedoglake.com/2012/01/30/late-night-fdl-gaming-the-system/

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Second exam important in child sex-abuse cases (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? When a child is thought to have been sexually abused, a second medical exam may be key to picking up injuries and sexually transmitted infections, a study published Monday finds.

The American Academy of Pediatrics already recommends that kids being examined for sexual assault have a follow-up exam in the weeks afterward.

But until now, no studies had looked at the benefits of doing that.

For the new report, researchers reviewed the records of 727 children and teenagers who were evaluated for sexual abuse or assault over a five-year period.

They found that almost one-quarter of the time, the patients' second exam changed the findings of the first.

In 18 percent of cases, there was a shift in the diagnosis of traumatic injuries.

Most often, the original examiner had said it was unclear whether the child had an injury suggestive of sexual assault (like tears or bruising), but the second examiner concluded that the findings were "normal."

However, that "does not in any way" mean the child wasn't sexually abused, said Dr. Nancy D. Kellogg, one of the researchers on the study and a child abuse expert at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

It's well known that sex-abuse victims often do not have telltale traumatic injuries, Kellogg told Reuters Health.

So it's what the child says that's most important.

Kellogg's team also found that the second medical exam helped pick up sexually transmitted diseases that weren't caught initially. That was true in nearly seven percent of cases.

Most often, Kellogg said, the follow-up exam caught genital warts -- which would not yet have been apparent during the first exam.

The findings, reported in the journal Pediatrics, are based on 727 children and teens who were first examined at one San Antonio ER or the regional child advocacy center. A doctor or nurse trained in child abuse cases performed the exams.

The second exam was done about a month later at the child advocacy center, by an experienced child-abuse doctor or nurse.

During the initial exam, Kellogg explained, kids are "anxious or in pain -- they're traumatized. And that can affect the examiner's ability to detect things."

But the researchers also found that the first examiner's experience mattered. If he or she had done fewer than 100 such exams, the second examiner was more likely to reach different conclusions on whether the child had a traumatic injury.

That, Kellogg said, points to the importance of having an experienced doctor or nurse do the second exam.

Some hospitals, she noted, have special "child abuse teams" who can evaluate kids for sexual assault. There may also be a nearby child advocacy center with doctors or nurses who can do the exam.

As for areas where those services aren't available, Kellogg said she hopes the current findings give less-experienced pediatricians some guidance in evaluating kids for sexual abuse.

"We were a bit surprised by the findings," she noted. "We didn't expect the follow-up exam to make such a big difference in so many kids."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/A83tBr Pediatrics, online January 30, 2012.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/hl_nm/us_second_exam_child_sex_abuse

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