the news item you are not being told about
For once, I am not going to fill space talking about climate change or food or chemicals. This is going to be a blurb about media literacy.
I posted earlier about what the media isn’t telling you about swine flu. But, there is something else the major media conglomerates have decided to not tell you about either: a pulitzer prize winner.
From Salon.com:
The New York Times‘ David Barstow won a richly deserved Pulitzer Prize yesterday for two articles that, despite being featured as major news stories on the front page of The Paper of Record, were completely suppressed by virtually every network and cable news show, which to this day have never informed their viewers about what Barstow uncovered.
What did he uncover? That retired generals, that were working with major news outlets, were co-opted by the Pentagon to make the case for the Iraq war. In fact, this is what was written about what Brian Williams of NBC had to say on that evening’s broadcast:
No mention that among the five NYT prizes was one for investigative reporting. Williams did manage to promote the fact that one of the award winners was an MSNBC contributor, but sadly did not find the time to inform his viewers that NBC News’ war reporting and one of Williams’ still-featured premiere “independent analysts,” Gen. Barry McCaffrey, was and continues to be at the heart of the scandal for which Barstow won the Pulitzer. Williams’ refusal to inform his readers about this now-Pulitzer-winning story is particularly notable given his direct personal involvement in the secret, joint attempts by NBC and McCaffrey to contain P.R. damage to NBC from Barstow’s story, compounded by the fact that NBC was on notice of these multiple conflicts as early as April, 2003, when The Nation first reported on them.
So why should you care? Because the media is supressing a story. A benign story at that. So, it makes you wonder… what more to it is there? And if they are withholding information on this, possibily because of corporate obligation, don’t you wonder what else they are withholding for those same reasons?
This was a prize won by a journalist who discovered that generals were being paid by the White House and the Pentagon to sell us the Iraq War through the use of mainstream media. If you were a true journalist, like Couric, Williams, Brokaw, and all claim to be, wouldn’t you be mad that you had been lied to? So why is it they are not mad and not telling you what happened?
culinary class
by Matt DeNoto
In celebration of Earth Day recently, some university cafeterias made a small but significant change designed to raise awareness of what may be one of the biggest contributors to climate change. They cut out beef and cheese for Earth Day.
The industrial processes that go into large scale cattle and dairy farming result in a large amount of methane being produced. Then there is the pollution generated by the shipping of the products.
On top of that, Americans just eat too much beef in general. It raises the danger of heart disease and diabetes. So anything to encourage people to eat less beef is generally a good thing.
I remember taking ‘Health’ classes in school growing up. But they weren’t full year classes like math or science. They were half year classes. So for the first half of the year we’d have Health and the second half of the year would be something like shop class. And we wouldn’t even take it every year. We’d have half a year of Health, every other year. If memory serves.
Looking back, it seems silly to me how little attention health got in school. Health classes, physical education and home economics (the only class where students sometimes cooked) have all become easy targets for schools look ing to trim their budgets.
But what good is all the history knowledge in the world, if you’re not able to adequately care for your body?
My girlfriend is an amazing cook. It’s an interest she picked up from her father. Unfortunately for me, neither of my parents were much interested in cooking. In my home, cooking was a chore. I imagine it was that way in lots of homes.
Why aren’t schools picking up the slack? After all, feeding oneself is a lifelong responsibility. I don’t know that it will ever matter that I read ‘The Catcher In The Rye,’ but there are definitely times I feel helpless in the grocery store as I try to think of uses for the aisles and aisles of unfamiliar ingredients, only to find myself reaching for the old standards I’ve been making since I began living on my own.
The very concept of the ‘Freshman Fifteen,’ the number of pounds the average student allegedly gains in his/her first year of college, should be a wake up call that we are not doing enough to educate and train kids to feed themselves properly.
As my girlfriend has (slowly) taught me, food can be an incredibly creative and rewarding outlet. And since you need to eat everyday, why not encourage kids to see it as fun?
Typically, kids at school are served mass produced, generally low quality, unhealthy lunches like meatloaf and pizza. If we instead provided kids with the information and tools to make20their own lunches, we’d probably quickly see them fostering healthy habits that will last even after they’ve left school.
(Full Disclosure / Shameless Plug: My girlfriend is a recipe developer / writer for Hungry Girl.)
** edit note: all images are of vegan foods… showing that it doesn’t have to be full of meat and cheese to be tempting
swine flu: the mis-information
As we have all heard, there are great concerns over a possible pandemic of swine flu.
While I do not think this should be taken lightly, I do think the media is not providing the entire truth to this story. Whether this becomes serious or not, only time will tell. But the one fact that is not being told is that we (the public and consumer) have in our power the possibility of this absolutely NOT getting worse in the future. But, they don’t want you to know this.
You may find in the various reports that the great omission is how this all happened. So, I am going to tell you:
This all happened because of our insatiable desire for meat, and our unethical treatment of animals.
There. Done. You are not in the dark anymore. Don’t you feel better.
In order to have enough meat to provide for U.S. consumption, corporations create Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO’s), or factory farms. These are farms where large volumes of animals are raised and slaughtered to produce as much food, as quickly as possible. They have developed ways to grow these animals to as large as they can in the shortest of times. Most of this is because they fill them with growth hormones.
Because of the confined nature of the farm, along with the use of hormones, they have to do disastrous things to these animals. For example, pigs don’t like to be contained. It naturally makes them nervous, and with the addition of hormones, that behavior can get worse. As a result, many pigs have taken up the habit of gnawing on things.. any things. There is a tendency for the animals to gnaw off another animals tail. To prevent this, instead of changing the way they raise these animals, because that would affect the bottom line, they simply cut off each pigs tail. This is one resaon, all the animals have to be on a cocktail of antibiotics to prevent infection and disease.
The combination of the hormones and the antibiotics has led to an ever increasing resistant strain of bacterium and viri. Which in turn leads to an ever-increasing dose of antibiotics, and the circle continues. So, we are now in a situation where we have extremely resistant strains of this virus migrating whereever the pork is being delivered.
Hence… swine flu outbreak.
And before you jump on the anti-mexican, anti-immigration ship… aside from the fact it is racist, it is also ill-informed:
In the last several years, U.S. hog conglomerates have opened giant swine CAFOs south of the border, including dozens around Mexico City in the neighboring states of Mexico and Puebla. Smithfield Foods also reportedly operates a huge swine facility in the State of Veracruz. Many of these CAFOs raise tens of thousands of pigs at a time. Cheaper labor costs and a desire to enter the Latin American market are drawing more industrialized agriculture to Mexico all the time, wiping out smaller, traditional farms, which now account for only a small portion of swine production in Mexico.
This is not a fault of Mexico or Mexicans. This is UNITED STATES corporations using international policy to grow swine in such a way that is leading to the death of these people. THIS country is the sole holder of the blame.
The only way we can fight this current outbreak is through the localized treatment of individuals with the hope that we have an antibiotic strong enough to counter the swine flu.
The only way we can prevent this in the future is stop our current practices of how we raise animals for consumption. The only way that can stop is when we, the consumer, demand better food and eat less meat.
nafta may allow for toxic pesticide
For months there has been extensive research and findings on hormone altering chemicals. Whether we are talking about Bisphenol-A, phthalates, or any other endocrine disrupting chemical, they are all dangerous and they are all affecting our children, and more than that, our male children.
Canada has been a leader in banning these chemicals from being used in products. But one such ban is causing legal issues that I think no one was quite expecting.
Quebec has placed a ban on a common pesticide, 2,4-D, made by Dow Chemical. In response, Dow is suing Quebec under the North American Free Trade Agreement and asking for millions of dollars in damages, according to Miller-McCune. Dow claims that “the ban lacks scientific support and amounts to an “expropriation” of its business in the province (several Dow products contain 2,4-D).”
There are many legal complications to this case. For example, at one time, every country found no proof of harm being caused by these chemicals and do those studies count as equally as the current studies which are conclusively finding the opposite to be true. And, then there is another dilemma, does NAFTA override what a country’s elected officials vote on.
This is a case that will determine future rules, regulations, and authority amongst countries to determine what is right for its people. Its criticality is immeasurable.
well, could it?
Could your trash can solve the energy crisis? is the question asked by the latest issue of the New Scientist.
The article highlights one of many companies looking to convert your trash into clean, green energy.
IST is not alone in this revolution. It is one of a growing number of companies and research groups around the world working on gasification – a process that zaps household waste into energy and which, its advocates say, produces few or no harmful emissions. Yet as pilot gasification plants begin to spring up around the world, this apparent environmentalist’s dream is not being universally welcomed. Opponents argue that the process is far from clean and that its track record in terms of energy efficiency and emissions can hardly be considered green. Not to mention the fact that it encourages the throwaway society that the environmental movement has been trying so hard to get rid of. So what is the real story? Is vaporising trash the answer to our energy and waste-disposal woes, or an environmental wolf in sheep’s clothing?
It involves a process called plasma gasification, which is something I won’t go into, since the article is very informative about the process.
I am directing you to this article a.) because it is interesting, but more importantly, b.) continuing proof that people are innovative and working hard to come up with alternatives to how we view waste and energy. I think it is also important to look at criticism of these new process by looking at who is the critic. Many large, established, politically active corporations are looking at these innovations as a threat. They have the time and money for extensive ad campaigns to confuse the consumer with what is good and bad about emerging technologies.
I do think the article is well written and deserves attention so that you have this in your mind. Especially, if we start seeing the attacks by other “scientists” challenging or refuting these processes as a possibility.
happy earth day
Just for some fun….
A list of the things you could buy someone to celebrate the Earth:
1.) Buy your loved one a big bunch of perfect red roses…. the Earth LOVES creating flowers through genetic alteration, over fertilization and a good dousing of pesticides…. cause nothing says I love you more than lack of originality and giving the same thing every schmo is giving!
2.) send a greeting card: old growth forest have managed to stick around for THOUSANDS of years to make sure Hallmark can make a profit. Those trees sure are generous to us!
3.) Surprise your partner by switching out her birth control pills with a placebo… there is no better way to tell her you are ready for a kid! Besides, what’s another few kids in the face of billions?
4.) Gardening your thing… there ain’t nothing that says loving like the 36″ high pressure watering broom hose. I mean.. I know they say we can’t wash down cement… but it all goes to the ocean!
5.) The auto industry needs help, and you have a ton of kids… go buy that Range Rover you’ve been drooling over. Besides… its green!
6.) Thinking of a romantic dinner? There is no better way to say “I love you AND the Earth” more than a factory farmed, hormone filled, grain fed slab of beef… medium rare, hold the veggies!
and lastly…
7.) we may only have cold weather for a few more years, so why not enjoy it while you can… either one of you can wear the polar bear fur coat. I mean… they are dying anyway, and recycling is A HUGE priority for you….
HAPPY EARTH DAY!!! This is a day to think of IT before you think of yourself…..
my precious-s-s-s-s-s-s
There has been a lot posted about water in the last few days, that I thought I would do a group post for all of the articles.
If you read here often, you know that I care a great deal about water and its longevity as a resource. Having grown up in California during the 70′s, I was exposed to a state that was in constant awareness of our water supply. Even in times of plenty, the scarcity mentality has remained. I worry about the rumors I hear of large corporations buying up large supplies of water, so that they can one day make a profit out of our need for a basic life building block, just as much as I worry about sea levels rising and wiping out communities that have every right to exist.
I hope when I post articles about water that you read from the perspective that water is life.
AP IMPACT: Tons of released drugs taint US water
U.S. manufacturers, including major drugmakers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water – contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked, according to an Associated Press investigation.
Hundreds of active pharmaceutical ingredients are used in a variety of manufacturing, including drugmaking: For example, lithium is used to make ceramics and treat bipolar disorder; nitroglycerin is a heart drug and also used in explosives; copper shows up in everything from pipes to contraceptives.
Effective July 1, the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California reduced supplies its member public agencies for the first time since 1991.
The financial impacts of higher Delta costs due to supply reductions caused by new regulatory restraints also were primary factors behind a rate increase approved by the board in a separate action. The rate increase will take effect Sept. 1.
“Up to 19 million Southern Californians this summer will feel the impact of a new water reality that has been in the making for years, if not decades,” said Metropolitan board Chair Timothy F. Brick.
Changing Rains, via National Geographic
Warm air holds more water vapor—itself a greenhouse gas—so a hotter world is a world where the atmosphere contains more moisture. (For every degree Celsius that air temperatures increase, a given amount of air near the surface holds roughly 7 percent more water vapor.) This will not necessarily translate into more rain—in fact, most scientists believe that total precipitation will increase only modestly—but it is likely to translate into changes in where the rain falls. It will amplify the basic dynamics that govern rainfall: In certain parts of the world, moist air tends to rise, and in others, the moisture tends to drop out as rain and snow.
Blue Gold: Have the Next Resource Wars Begun, via The Nation
It has often been said that water is “blue gold” and the next resource wars will be fought, not over oil, but over water. Maude Barlow, senior advisor to the United Nations on water issues, wrotethat the way in which we view water “will in large part determine whether our future is peaceful or perilous.”
The British nonprofit International Alert released a report identifying forty-six countries where water and climate stresses could ignite violent conflict by 2025, prompting the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to affirm, “The consequences for humanity are grave. Water scarcity threatens economic and social gains and is a potent fuel for wars and conflict.”
good business, bad business
by Matt DeNoto
At the office where I work, we get a weekly delivery of the ‘Los Angeles Business Journal,’ a newspaper aimed at people with business-related interests. As I flip through the paper, one thing becomes very clear:
These people love their money, and anything that stands in the way is considered bad.
Obvious, I know. But it never really sank in for me until I started reading these stories about how much it hurt a busines s to have to follow this regulation or negotiate with that union. There was a story about how much it was costing a company to revise its balance sheets after an independent auditor found out how off their books were.
“Awwww, too bad,” I thought, “A company is losing money because it has to actually tell the truth.” Break out the violins.
But stepping back, the disparity between my perspective (as someone who puts the wellness of the world above the bottom line) and theirs shows just how far there is to go before we’re all living in a world where everyone considers the consequences of their actions. To me, it just seems fundamentally wrong to fight so hard against something as obvious as not emitting noxious fumes into the air or dumping harmful chemicals into the ground.
So how do we bridge the gap? In a twist that may or may not be ironic, they may actually be doing some of the work for us.
The uncertainty comes from whether or not you believe that a company’s media campaign actually represents the perspective of the company, or merely the image that company is trying to portray. Over the past few months, large corporations have been advertising themselves as Green, trying to tell us how they’re making the world a better place. GE has been promoting a commitment to the environment it calls Ecomagination. FOX Broadcasting has launched a series of PSAs with the tagline ‘Green it. Mean it.’ Even oil companies like Shell and BP have been putting up spots hoping to encourage the minds of consumers to link those companies with environmentalism.
For the sake of cynicism, let’s say that these companies are not actually interested in saving the planet. They’re just typical corporations that would happily dump their garbage in your pool if it would save them money. Even if all this ‘Green Branding’ is simply companies trying to profit from the enviro-‘fad’ going on right now, it’s still putting the Green philosophy out there, into the minds of the public. If it keeps up, even those in the population who have been resistant to change are going to find that those messages of change have worked their way in. Then the public will start to throw around the power it has always had: the power to vote with its wallet. After that, companies are going to have to practice what they preach.
Until then, there are still businesses out there now founded on principles of responsibility. And thanks to the internet, we can all start voting with our wallets now. For a whole marketplace of sustainable goods, visit World Of Good.
paradox lost
Many of the climate change deniers point to the Antarctic to prove their point. You see, it is actually having an ice increase, while the arctic is suffering its worse losses. So, John Turner of the British Antarctic Survey has set his sights on figuring out why this may be the case.
And, in an ironic twist, it seems the hole in the ozone is the culprit… but it isn’t going to last. Weather patterns in the Antarctic have changed due to the hole as a result warmer air is blowing over the western part of the continent and colder air is on the east.
this makes me sad
I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up the scariest thing I had to worry about was earthworms on the ground by the jungle gym. Or maybe, if there were a smog alert and I wouldn’t be able to go play in the pool.
We had is easy.
Kids nowadays…. well, this report just makes me sad:
No Kidding, One in Three Children Fear Earth Apocalypse, via TreeHugger
There’s a new bogeyman lurking in the closet, and this one isn’t imaginary. Us. One out of three children aged 6 to 11 fears that Ma Earth won’t exist when they grow up, while more than half—56 percent—worry that the planet will be a blasted heath (or at least avery unpleasant place to live), according to a new survey.
Commissioned by Habitat Heroes and conducted by Opinion Research, the telephone survey polled a national sample of 500 American preteens—250 males and 250 females.
On a sliding scale of anxieties, minority kids have it worst; 75 percent of black children and 65 percent of Hispanic children believe that the planet will be irrevocably damaged by the time they reach adulthood.
Can you imagine? I can only think it is awful to feel that scared about your future and then have to be dependent on your parents to turn it around for you. Most parents worry about grounding their kids and what impression that will leave…I laugh at the thought of some kid in therapy 30 years from now saying… “if only they had saved the world”…
But seriously, guys…. if only we would save the world
Stumble it!