Friday, January 31, 2014

Seismologist: Fracking Injection Wells Linked to Earthquakes

Seismologist: Fracking Injection Wells Linked to Earthquakes
Jan 31, 2014 | TheRealNews

Seismologist Dr. Elizabeth Cochran discusses research showing that injection wells from fracking and gas and oil production likely causing an uptick in U.S. earthquakes

Climate Change and the Magnificent Achievements of Eco-Propaganda

© Dees Illustrations
Climate Change and the Magnificent Achievements of Eco-Propaganda
Jan 31, 2014 | Global Research | James F. Tracy

Today a good deal of what qualifies as propaganda is much more subtle than overt. When an entire civilization or way of life is to be significantly altered the tried-and-true method of “repeating a lie until it becomes truth” needs to be done over a period of many years and in a multitude of varying ways to take hold and change the very assumptions and beliefs of a people.

This process is especially vital for reaching a given society’s more elite demographic—the opinion leaders who perceive themselves as “smarter than the average bear” and thus impervious to simple appeals and indoctrination.

A case in point is the agenda backed by powerful global elites and recognizable under names such as “climate change” and “sustainability.” The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report, released on September 27, 2013, came replete with an assemblage of legitimizing features along these lines (“scientific,” “scholarly,” “authoritative,” “peer reviewed,”). Also termed the “Climate Bible,” journalists and policymakers alike regard it as “authoritative” and “the gold standard” of climate science. The public is told that the official body’s findings are now clearer than ever: “human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.”[1]

Among the most vociferous agitators for the IPCC’s climate change orthodoxy are the foundation-funded, tax-exempt, progressive-left media that sit alongside the bevy of similarly tax-exempt, foundation-funded environmental organizations that together uphold and publicize the theory of CO2-based anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change (ACC).[2] Self-professed as “independent,” “investigative,” even “educational,” the so-called “alternative media” turn a blind eye to seriously scrutinizing the highly questionable IPCC’s “scientific” review of the climatological literature and its implications for the array of ambitious programs and policies stealthily introduced throughout the industrialized world, many of which are seldom subject to popular plebiscite. Think “smart grid” and “smart growth.”

Logical questions from such apparently independent organs might include, “How does the IPCC produce its findings?” and “Who benefits?” Instead, there is an almost knee-jerk response on behalf of progressive-left editors and readerships to trust and support the UN group’s purportedly objective and meticulous review of the peer-reviewed climatological literature.

Between August and December 2013 such progressive outlets published dozens of articles and commentaries whole-heartedly touting the IPCC report. For example, Truthout.org posted 25 articles, Alternet.org ran 40, MotherJones.com circulated 38, and DemocracyNow.org featured 11.

These were often presented with bleak headlines accenting the urgent appeals found in the IPCC publicity. For example, “International Scientists Warn Climate Deniers Are Enabling Earth’s Suicide” (Truthout, 9/13/13), “6 Scary Conclusions in the UN’s New Climate Report” (Mother Jones, 9/27/13), “Greenhouse Gas in Atmosphere Hits New Record: UN,” (Alternet, 11/1/13), and “’Africa is Being Pushed Closer to the Fire’: Africans Say Continent Can’t Wait for Climate Action” (Democracy Now! 11/22/13).

Uncritical advocacy of the IPCC’s anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming extended beyond headlines to media criticism. In December, for example, the progressive Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) observed that corporate controlled network newscasts routinely failed to link “extreme weather” to “global warming.” “In the first nine months of 2013,” FAIR observes,
there were 450 segments of 200 words or more that covered extreme weather: flooding, forest fires, tornadoes, blizzards, hurricanes and heat waves. But of that total, just a tiny fraction–16 segments, or 4 percent of the total–so much as mentioned the words “climate change,” “global warming” or “greenhouse gases.[3]
What is left unmentioned is that fact that all of these “extreme weather” incidents have one common denominator that FAIR and corporate and progressive media alike consistently overlook: the sun. As University of Winnipeg climatologist Dr. Tim Ball explains (here at 35:00), the IPCC’s “terms of reference” through which the body proceeds to generate its findings exclude the sun and its many demonstrable atmospheric effects as factors in the warming and cooling of the earth’s climate. It is thus no wonder that at best fringe or nonexistent causes of “climate change”–such as minuscule alterations in atmospheric gases–are pointed to with great alarm by the IPCC and its proponents.

Despite far more unambiguous and compelling scientific explanations the notion that “carbon emissions” are the foremost cause of natural climactic events has become something of a religion, and this is especially the case on the progressive-left, where adherents mechanically accept the curious agenda and its ostensibly “scientific” basis while vehemently condemning non-believers as “climate deniers.”


As Canadian journalist Donna LaFramboise has documented in her important 2011 exposé, the IPCC’s scholarly personnel is in fact heavily weighted toward what are often third-or-fourth-rate scientific talent whose eco-political stances are strictly in accord with the IPCC’s “research” agenda pushing anthropogenic climate change. IPCC authors often include climatology graduate students and even environmental activists from organizations such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund—indeed, figures with little-if-any scientific training but with clear agendas to promote.

LaFramboise further found that one third of the literature reviewed and cited by the IPCC in its 2007 report was–contrary to IPCC chief publicist Ragendra Pachauri’s pronouncements–not even peer-reviewed, and in many cases included citations of promotional literature devised and distributed by environmental activist organizations.

These unethical and compromising relationships are not difficult to explain if one is to recognize the IPCC for what it in fact is—a powerful political organization with the overarching objective of manufacturing consent and achieving transnational policy harmonization around the largely discursive construct of anthropogenic carbon-centric climate change.

The fact that the IPCC is capable of forthrightly carrying out one of the greatest scientific frauds in human history, setting long range governmental policies while enlisting allegedly intellectual sophisticates and “progressive” news media as its most devoted foot soldiers, is no small-scale feat. It is, rather, an immense achievement in modern propaganda and thought control that only hints at the powerful forces behind a much more far-reaching agenda.

Notes

[1] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “Human Influence on Climate Clear: IPCC Says,” Geneva Switzerland: World Meteorological Organization. The notion of “a 97% consensus” has itself become a common mantra for climate change fear mongering and grounds for labeling someone a “climate denier.” Yet there is limited evidence of any such consensus concerning ACC among climatologists. The oft-cited 2009 American Geophysical Union survey alleging a 98% consensus among scientists on ACC cannot sustain even modest scrutiny. See Larry Bell, “That Scientific Global Warming Consensus … Not!” Forbes.com, July 7, 2012. Another study held up as “proof” of scientific consensus, “Expert Credibility in Climate Change,” asserts only carefully qualified claims along these lines. “A broad analysis of the climate scientist community itself,” the authors point out, “the distribution of credibility of dissenting researchers relative to agreeing researchers, and the level of agreement among top climate experts has not been conducted and would inform future ACC discussions.” The brief paper assesses “an extensive data set of 1,372 climate researchers” to conclude that the scientific expertise and prominence of those who accept the IPCC’s ACC tenets surpass those who remain “unconvinced.” This begs the question, To what degree are the requisites of foundation funding related to espousing IPCC/ACC opinion? William R. L. Anderegg, James W. Prall, Jacob Harold, and Stephen H. Schneider, “Expert Credibility in Climate Change,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010.

[2] James F. Tracy, “The Forces Behind Carbon-Centric Environmentalism,” Global Research, November 12, 2013.

[3] “TV News and Extreme Weather: Don’t Mention Climate Change,” Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, December 18, 2013. It might be added that corporate media and progressive-left counterparts uniformly fail to consider other possible causes of such unusual weather events, such as geoengineering and similar “environmental modification techniques” acknowledged by the US military and undertaken in many industrialized countries. See, for example, Michel Chossudovsky, “Climate Change, Geoengineering, and Environmental Modification Techniques,” Global Research, November 24, 2013.

West Virginia Gov. Tomblin Passes Buck on Poison Water

© The LipTV
West Virginia Gov. Tomblin Passes Buck on Poison Water
Jan 30, 2014 | TheLipTV

West Virginia has been dealing with chemical water pollution around the Elk River courtesy of Freedom Industries, but Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has not been able to provide definitive answers as to if the water is safe yet. Information for the people of West Virginia about their water safety has been murky and the governor has only justified his lack of answers by saying, "...I'm not a scientist, you know." We discuss the stream of ignorance in this clip from the Buzzsaw news with Tyrel Ventura and Tabetha Wallace.


Watch the full episode here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RImf3...

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Justice Dept. says Bank of America should be fined $2.1 billion for mortgage fraud

Justice Dept. says Bank of America should be fined $2.1 billion for mortgage fraud
Jan 30, 2014 | RT

The United States government is now seeking $2.1 billion in fines from Bank of America for selling fraudulent loans that precipitated the Great Recession, more than double the amount it initially sought last year.

Back in November, the Department of Justice asked a US district judge to levy about $863 million in penalties on Bank of America after a jury found the financial giant guilty of committing fraud.

During the trial, the federal government claimed that Countrywide, purchased by Bank of America in 2008, sold shoddy home loans to US-sponsored businesses Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It argued that the company was focused on selling as many loans as possible without concern for quality, or whether or not recipients would be capable of making the payments necessary.

For its part, Bank of American denied any wrongdoing and criticized the penalty as excessive, saying Countrywide’s sales of such loans only occurred during a short period of time before the company was acquired.

According to Reuters, the new request for $2.1 billion comes after a judge asked both the government and Bank of America for a different way of assessing the penalty that should be filed. Previously, the $863 million requested by the Justice Department was based on losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Now, US District Judge Jed Rakoff is looking to calculate a penalty based on the gains Countrywide experienced rather than the losses others incurred.

While evidence from the trial suggested Countrywide earned roughly $165 million selling defective securities, US attorneys believe the penalty should be based on gross revenue rather than profit.

As noted by Reuters, a court filing on Wednesday found the government pushing the judge to deliver the maximum penalty in order to "punish defendants for their culpability and bad faith, and to deter financial institutions and their executives who would engage in similar fraudulent mortgage schemes.”
 
In addition to the fines sought from Bank of America, the US is also seeking $1.1 million from Rebecca Mairone, a former Countrywide executive who was also found liable for fraud. She has also denied any wrongdoing.

While the US continues its legal battle with Bank of America, it settled a similar case with JPMorgan Chase in November. The company agreed to pay $13 billion in fines for its role in selling fraudulent loans – $6 billion to reimburse investors, $4 billion in mortgage relief programs to homeowners and a $2 billion fine to end civil cases in five US states.

Excessive Meteors Being Witnessed, Videos of Strange Snow Shown Not Melting Across America: Are These Connected?

© Facebook/saynotobet
Excessive Meteors Being Witnessed, Videos of Strange Snow Shown Not Melting Across America: Are These Connected?
Jan 30, 2014 | ShelterSense Report

Youtube is awash with videos being made of people who are collecting snow from their yards and attempting to burn it to create water. However, no one is talking about the excessive meteors showers occurring and the comet dust that is collecting in the atmosphere.

You can check this out for yourself with the following links. First, let me say there is some disinformation occurring. For example, I used to live in Colorado and when it snowed there, the snow would barely make the streets wet, as the snow which was mostly crystals evaporated before it could melt, as Colorado is as dry as a bone and the levels of humidity are extremely low. This type of snowfall is now occurring in Atlanta and many other regions, but as shown in the videos below, does not melt when fire is applied and smells like burnt plastic.

The blame is being placed upon the idea of chemicals in the atmosphere, but again, this does not account for the changes in the atmosphere that are occurring that include both the solar system and the Milky way which have shown that all the planets have been showing changes.

Those who claim global warming need to explain why other planets in our solar system have also shown similar changes as Earth while man has never set foot there, especially when the claims are made for man-made anthropomorphic global warming.

The main characteristic of this phenomena is the fact that when the snow is lit with a fire it leaves a burn mark. This should be very concerning and seems unnatural. As a kid, we used to eat snow quite often but it never turned black under fire, and today, this would not be recommended until further analysis has been accomplished.


Video list:

Fake Snow that won't melt is really Nanobots 2014
IS THIS SNOW?
Fake Snow Be cautious for your children
NYC Brooklyn snow it turns black!

17 California Towns Will Run Out of Water in the Next 60 to 120 days

Image: ibtimes.com
17 California Towns Will Run Out of Water in the Next 60 to 120 days
Jan 29, 2014 | The Daily Sheeple | Chris Carington

State officials in California have said that 17 communities will be out of water within the next two to four months.

Wells are starting to run dry and reservoir levels are low as the state faces the worst drought in almost a century. The number of vulnerable communities is expected to increase over the coming weeks and months, and the list will be updated weekly said Dave Mazzera, acting drinking water division chief for the California Department of Public Health.


Lompico is one of the affected areas.
“We have been unable to take water out of the creek since August and well production is down, and we didn’t have that much water to begin with.” said Lois Henry from the Lompico water board. She is certain the district will soon have to truck in water.
Cloverdale has already seen the implementation of mandatory 25% rationing and a ban on lawn watering. It’s very likely that more mandatory cut backs will follow.

The 17 most vulnerable areas are:
  1. Jackson Valley Irrigation District
  2. Shaver Lake Heights Mutual Water Co District
  3. Sierra Cedars Community Services district
  4. Boulder Canyon Water Association area
  5. Camp Condor
  6. The Cypress Canyon Water System
  7. Lake of the Woods Mutual Water Co area
  8. Bass Lake Water Co area
  9. Whispering Pines
  10. Brooktrails Township Community District
  11. Redwood Valley Community Water district
  12. Willits
  13. Washington Ridge Conservation camp
  14. Ophir Gardens
  15. Lompico County Water District
  16. Cloverdale
  17. Healdsberg
Source

Delivered by The Daily Sheeple


Contributed by Chris Carrington of The Daily Sheeple.

Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!

Has Science Finally Confirmed the Existence of Acupuncture Points, Validating Chinese Medicine?

Has Science Finally Confirmed the Existence of Acupuncture Points, Validating Chinese Medicine?
Jan 29, 2014 | Waking Times | Buck Rogers

The number of acupuncturists, Traditional Chinese Medicinal (TCM) doctors, and complimentary alternative medicine (CAM) patients is growing in the United States, yet mainstream science, medicine and health insurance companies often disregard acupuncture as a legitimate medical treatment.

However, it appears that science may finally be able to visually verify the existence of acupuncture points, meridians (vessels within the body that conduct Chi, or life force energy, much like the wires in an electrical circuit), and Chi cavities within the human body. 

Using a new combination of imaging techniques and CT scans (computerized tomography), researchers have observed concentrated points of microvascular structures  that clearly correspond to the map of acupuncture points created by Chinese energy doctors nearly 2000 years ago.
“In this study published in the Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena, researchers used in-line phase contrast CT imaging with synchrotron radiation on both non-acupuncture points and acupuncture points. The CT scans revealed clear distinctions between the non-acupuncture point and acupuncture point anatomical structures.

A CT (computerized tomography) scan is a series of X-rays used to create cross-sectional images. In this study published in the Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena, researchers used in-line phase contrast CT imaging with synchrotron radiation on both non-acupuncture points and acupuncture points. The CT scans revealed clear distinctions between the non-acupuncture point and acupuncture point anatomical structures.” [Source]
The CT scans have discovered that known acupuncture points within the body have a higher density of “micro-vessels and contain a large amount of involuted microvascular structures.”

 According to Chinese medicine, life force energy is carried throughout the body in a complex system of vessels called Meridians, and follows the free flow of blood within the body. If the movement of blood is restricted within the body, then so is the movement of life force energy, thereby causing disharmony in the otherwise proper symbiotic functioning of the organs.

Continue reading..

How to Reduce Your Risk of Radiation (Updated)

How to Reduce Your Risk of Radiation (Updated)
Jan 29, 2014 | Washington's Blog

Preface: An Amazing Story From Nagasaki, Japan

As the following story shows, the right kind of food can help protect us from radiation.

In Fukushima Meltdown & Modern Radiation: Protecting Ourselves and Our Future Generations, Dr. John Apsley – a medical doctor, with degrees in nutrition and acupuncture – writes:
In August of 1945, St. Francis’s Hospital (Uragami Daiichi Hospital) in Nagasaki was located one mile from ground zero. The atomic bomb that exploded killed tens of thousands of Japanese. Many citizens died instantly, and many more passed on within days or weeks of the blast. The Director of Internal Medicine in the hospital, Dr. Tatsuichiro Akizuki, saved all staff members and most hospital patients by having them adhere to a strictly vegetarian diet of uncontaminated brown rice, fermented foods, sea algae and land vegetables. Sweets of all types were strictly forbidden, and salt sufficed as the main condiment. Another hospital exactly one mile from ground zero did not follow this dietary regimen. All other treatments remained constant. The loss of human life due to radiation poisoning suffered at this second nearby hospital approached 100%.
Dr. Hiromitsu Watanabe – from the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine at Hiroshima University – confirms:
In August 9th, 1945, the 2nd atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. At the time, physician Tatuichirou Akizuki, worked with 20 employees, caring for 70 tuberculoses patients in” Uragami Daiichi Hospital” located about 1.4km away from the hypocenter. However, these people, including Dr. Akizuki, escaped from death caused by acute radiation damage. Dr. Akizuki conjectured that the reason there was no nuclear bomb disease was that these people had consumed cups of wakame miso soup (miso soup with garnish of wakame seaweed) 3) everyday. Later, his assumption was published in the English language for the information of the Western population. On April 26, 1986, after the accident at Chernobyl, Russia, many Europeans consumed miso soup to prevent radiation diseases.
You may assume that this story is apocryphal, but Dr. Watanabe  and his colleagues have conducted tests showing that miso reduces radiation damage in mice.

What Can We do to Reduce Radiation Risks? 

This essay provides an introduction to some of the main concepts on reducing the risk from radiation. It is broken into the following sections:

I.    Step 1: Reduce Exposure
II.  Certain Minerals Can Reduce Absorption of Harmful Radiation
III. Other Vitamins and Minerals Which Protect Against Radiation Damage
IV.  Antioxidants: Helpful Weapons Against Radiation Damage
V.   Other Things Which Offer Some Radiation Protection
VI.  What To Do If Exposed to Extremely High Doses of Radiation  

Read original..

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Wrath and fury of Sinabung turns regions of Indonesia into wasteland

Wrath and fury of Sinabung turns regions of Indonesia into wasteland
Jan 28, 2014 | The Extinction Protocol

INDONESIA – This stunning time lapse footage shows the eruption of Mount Sinabung on Sumatra Island, northwest Indonesia in recent weeks. While the images may look impressive, the active volcano has cause havoc in the region with over 25,000 people evacuated from the danger area since the active flows began last September and authorities raised the alert status to the highest level in November.  The volcano, which became active in 2010 having lain dormant since the 15th century, has erupted hundreds of times since the latest activity began, sending volcanic debris as high as 4,000m into the air. This video shows the devastation wrought on a nearby village by the tons of ash descending from the air. Mount Sinabung is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. –Gizmodo
 

Coming polar plunge could be winter's coldest

© Accuweather.com
Coming polar plunge could be winter's coldest
Jan 28, 2014 | Kristina Pydynowski | Accuweather.com

A blast of frigid air will grip most of the eastern two-thirds of the United States through Wednesday and could yield the lowest temperatures so far this winter in some communities.

The impending polar plunge will rival the frigid days from earlier this January for the coldest daytime highs and nighttime lows so far this winter. This does not include South Florida.

The arctic air first plunged into the Upper Midwest, northern Plains and northern Rockies on Sunday and is continuing to press to the Gulf and Atlantic coasts through Tuesday.

The magnitude of this cold blast will be enough to produce a far-reaching threat of frostbite, hypothermia, frozen pipes and water main breaks.

Care should also be taken to ensure that livestock and other animals housed outdoors have adequate shelter.

Especially across the Midwest and Northeast, officials may decide to cancel or delay school due to the extreme cold. Some vehicles may struggle or fail to start.

While highs will be held to the 30s southward to the I-10 corridor, the Midwest and Northeast are bracing for the harshest conditions.  

Read more..

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Leaked! Food Lobby Threatens to Sue Any State that Tries to Label GMOs

Leaked! Food Lobby Threatens to Sue Any State that Tries to Label GMOs
Jan 27, 2014 | TRUTHstreammedia

The Organic Consumers Association is reporting that the Grocery Manufacturer's Association — the mega corp. lobby group that represents 300 companies and way more than just grocery stores — is using a talking points memo to basically misinform and intimidate our legislators with threats of lawsuits should they even attempt to back a GMO labeling law in their state (http://www.organicconsumers.org/artic...).

This is the same organization that is petitioning to allow GMOs to be considered "natural" on food packaging (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/art...), and the same group that is trying to get a weak voluntary federal law passed to preempt the adoption of any meaningful labeling legislation at the state level (http://truthstreammedia.com/federal-l...).

Oh, and their top lobbyist said the reason these companies are spending over $70 million to defeat state labeling is because telling you GMO is in your food would "misinform" you (http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01...).

Apparently GMOs are so awesome and wonderful, the companies that sell them are doing everything they can to keep people from knowing it.


Website: TruthstreamMedia.com
Twitter: @TruthstreamNews
FB: Facebook.com/TruthstreamMedia

Raping the planet: U.K. Fracking companies could be allowed under your home without consent

© Reuters / Phil Noble
A sign stands outside a protest camp at the entrance
to the IGas Energy exploratory gas drilling site at Barton
Moss near Manchester in northern England January 13, 2014.
Raping the planet: U.K. Fracking companies could be allowed under your home without consent
Jan 27, 2014 | RT

Government sources have admitted that they are considering overhauling UK trespass laws to make it easier to extract shale gas. Under the plans being considered by the government, fracking could take place under homes without owners' permission.

The government sources say they are mulling over these amendments to the law to make it easier for companies to explore and extract shale gas, amid worries that landowners and other parties could hold up energy companies in costly and lengthy court proceedings, the Telegraph reports.

The plans are expected to be published in the coming months, and are likely to be the most controversial yet in Prime Minister David Cameron's plans to push through fracking regardless of the environmental cost.

Under the current laws, companies need permission from all the landowners beneath whose land they drill. As shale gas exploration often involves drilling down vertically and out horizontally for more than a mile, this can mean that several landowners are involved.

If permission is not given, then the energy company is committing trespass and the company would have to take the landowner to court, which would then rule if they should be awarded drilling rights and how much compensation should be paid to the landowner.

While compensation is often only a minimal amount, less than £100, companies fear that court proceedings could be costly and drawn out by years of appeals. They have been lobbying the government to change the law.

Unsurprisingly, given how close the government and the energy companies are on shale gas, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has confirmed they are looking at whether the current laws are "fit for purpose."

Greenpeace has tried to use the existing law to encourage thousands of landowners in areas known to be rich in shale gas to decline their permission for fracking to take place. Landowners could also take out injunctions, which would present a further barrier to companies.

One option the government could take is to introduce a compulsory purchase regime, similar to what is already in place for companies needing to lay pipelines underground.

"All options are on the table. It would be difficult to implement a regime that removed any kind of compensation. You could change the rules so you have a de facto right, but then you have to pay. The compensation could be less than £100," a Whitehall source said.

Even if the trespass law was changed, companies would still need to negotiate access rights for the drilling site, planning permission from the local council, and other permissions from the government and environmental regulators.

"Shale gas and oil operations that involve fracking in wells drilled over a mile down are highly unlikely to have any discernible impacts closer to the surface," said a spokesman for the DECC.

But environmental groups, as well as many residents in areas which have been earmarked for fracking disagree. They argue that the health and environmental effects are very damaging and include earth tremors, water pollution and human exposure to highly toxic chemicals used in the process.

Fracking or hydraulic fracturing involves pumping water, sand and chemicals down a well at high pressure to fracture rocks and then extract the gas trapped within them.It has been linked to health and environmental damage in some US states where it is extensive.

Ian Crane, a former oil executive, who is now a campaigner against fracking, explained to RT the extreme dangers that shale gas exploration poses to a densely populated country like the UK.

"We've seen the effects in places like Colorado and southern Queensland in Australia. When the population density of the UK is 20 times that of Colorado and 100 times that of Queensland, I would simply implore people to do a bit of research and look at the damage and the contamination that has been wreaked in these locations around the world," he said.

He also pointed out that of the four wells drilled in the UK, seismic events have occurred at two of them, and there is a very real chance that people in areas where fracking is taking place will no longer have access to safe and clean water.

 Source: See also:

Investigation confirms the evils of fracking
Opposed to fracking? Then the corporatocracy considers you to be a terrorist
Massachusetts seeks 10 year ban on gas fracking after series of Texas earthquakes
Dangerous levels of radioactivity found at fracking waste site in Pennsylvania
Is there a media blackout on the fracking flood disaster in Colorado?

Dead Sea Life Covers 98% of Ocean Floor After Fukushima

Dead Sea Life Covers 98% of Ocean Floor After Fukushima
Jan 27, 2014 | Natural Society | Elizabeth Renter

Sea life in the Pacific Ocean is dying off at an alarming rate, and the peak of all this death and destruction coincides with a certain nuclear disaster that ironically occurred on the Pacific coast of Japan. Still, scientists analyzing what’s referred to as “sea snot” point their finger at global warming, refusing to even mention the radiation from Fukushima. Normally, this snot covers about 1% of the floor. Now, it seems to be covering about 98% of it.

According to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, life at the sea floor 145 miles out from the California coast has been analyzed for a total of 24 years now. There, the researchers measure the amount of ‘sea snot’ on the ocean floor. Sea snot is the highly technical term they use to describe dead sea life including fish, plankton, feces, and other organic oceanic matter. As mentioned, this snot covers about 1% of the floor, but now it seems to be covering about 98% of it.
“In the 24 years of this study, the past two years have been the biggest amounts of this detritus by far,” said marine biologist Christine Huffard, who works at the research station off of California. Multiple other stations throughout the Pacific have seen similarly alarming increases.
Throughout the study and the National Geographic coverage of it, climate change is blamed. Never mind the fact that the astronomical increase in sea snot occurred in conjunction with the Fukushima nuclear disaster—they don’t even bother to mention that.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred when an earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the area on March 11, 2011. To this day, the amount of damage is unclear as the Japanese government along with TEPCO (the power company that owns the nuclear power plant) seem to be content to hide the truth.

Measurements taken in March 2012 show sea snot levels to be at about 1%. Just a few months later, they had grown to 98%.

After 24 years of measuring the dead sea life and recognizing that global warming is a slow-moving and ongoing effect, the scientists would have us believe the “explosion” of sea snot that occurred in just a few months’ time was a normal effect of climate change. Yeah, right.

The sheer fact that the effects of Fukushima were not even considered make the study and its findings all the more suspicious. One would think if climate change could dramatically change the volume of sea snot in a few short months, it would have had other similarly troubling effects on other aspects of the environment during the same period—effects we would notice. But it didn’t. Fukushima did.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Why we should be talking about "Natural Capital"

© RT America
Why we should be talking about "Natural Capital"
Jan 26, 2014 | RT America

Our politicians, bankers, and corporations all tell us that we must "grow the economy" or else DIE. But that economy is destroying our planet.

A concept called "natural capital" has arisen to combat just that. The Resident (aka Lori Harfenist) discusses. Follow The Resident at http://www.twitter.com/TheResident

Sunday, January 26, 2014

University of Alaska Scientists: Fukushima Radiation May Be Making Alaska Seals Sick

University of Alaska Scientists: Fukushima Radiation May Be Making Alaska Seals Sick
Jan 26, 2014 | Washington's Blog

Is Fukushima Radiation Making West Coast Wildlife Sick?

American sailors on the USS Reagan got really sick after having snowball fights with radioactive snow blowing off of the coasts of Fukushima.

University of Alaska professors Doug Dasher, John Kelley, Gay Sheffield, and Raphaela Stimmelmayr theorize that radioactive snow might have also caused Alaska’s seals to become sick (page 222; hat tip EneNews):
On March 11, 2011 off Japan’s west coast, an earthquake-generated tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant resulting in a major nuclear accident that included a large release of airborne radionuclides into the environment. Within five days of the accident atmospheric air masses carrying Fukushima radiation were transiting into the northern Bering and Chukchi seas. During summer 2011 it became evident to coastal communities and wildlife management agencies that there was a novel disease outbreak occurring in several species of Arctic ice-associated seals. Gross symptoms associated with the disease included lethargy, no new hair growth, and skin lesions, with the majority of the outbreak reports occurring between the Nome and Barrow region. NOAA and USFWS declared an Alaska Northern Pinnipeds Usual Mortality Event (UME) in late winter of 2011. The ongoing Alaska 2011 Northern Pinnipeds UME investigation continues to explore a mix of potential etiologies (infectious, endocrine, toxins, nutritious etc.), including radioactivity. Currently, the underlying etiology remains undetermined [i.e. scientists don't yet know what caused the seals' sickness, but they think it might have been Fukushima radiation]. We present results on gamma analysis (cesium 134 and 137) of muscle tissue from control and diseased seals, and discuss wildlife health implications from different possible routes of exposure to Fukushima fallout to ice seals. Since the Fukushima fallout period occurred during the annual sea ice cover period from Nome to Barrow, a sea ice based fallout scenario in addition to a marine food web based one is of particular relevance for the Fukushima accident. Under a proposed sea ice fallout deposition scenario, radionuclides would have been settled onto sea ice. Sea ice and snow would have acted as a temporary refuge for deposited radionuclides; thus radionuclides would have only become available for migration during the melting season and would not have entered the regional food web in any appreciable manner until breakup (pulsed release). The cumulative on-ice exposure for ice seals would have occurred through external, inhalation, and non-equilibrium dietary pathways during the ice-based seasonal spring haulout period for molting/pupping/breeding activities. Additionally, ice seals would have been under dietary/metabolic constraints and experiencing hormonal changes associated with reproduction and molting.
Here are some pictures of the sick seals:

Many other West Coast animals have gotten sick. Scientists need to get to the bottom of what is making them sick, whether it’s radiation or something else.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Bread and Circuses: Michelle Obama & Subway on $41 Million Ad Campaign to Get Kids to 'Eat Healthy'...at Subway

© TruthStream Media
Michelle Obama & Subway on $41 Million Ad Campaign to Get Kids to 'Eat Healthy'...at Subway
Jan 25, 2014 | TRUTHstreammedia

Hey kids, can you say "corporatism"?

If you need any more proof that our government is essentially a fascist vehicle for corporate interests, please look no further than Michelle Obama partnering with the nation's second largest fast food chain Subway in a $41 million marketing scheme to support Obama's Let's Move! campaign -- a movement supposedly designed to help eradicate childhood obesity.

Michelle's face is apparently plastered all over Subways everywhere now... people are threatening to boycott. While papers like the LA Times are touting this move as Obama simply "tapping" Subway to help get kids to eat better, a cursory glance at the restaurant's nutrition guide shows that the average meal at Subway is anything but the paragon of health. Like all convenience food in this country, it has its fair share of chemical preservatives, artificial colors, food additives and synthetic flavor enhancers like MSG (just to name a few).

But beyond that, this is only half a tick away from America *literally* having an Idiocracy government brazenly sponsored by corporate logos and insider interests...by, for and of the mega corporations.




Website: TruthstreamMedia.com
Twitter: @TruthstreamNews
FB: Facebook.com/TruthstreamMedia

Florida Waters Becoming a Morgue for Marine Mammals?

Dead pilot whales on Kice
Island, Fla. (Photo: NOAA)
Florida Waters Becoming a Morgue for Marine Mammals?
Jan 24, 2014 | Common Dreams | Andrea Germanos

Deaths of pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins, manatees a troubling trend 
 
"Sentinels of ocean health" in Florida's waters seem to be delivering a warning.

The NOAA Fisheries reports that 25 deceased pilot whales were discovered Thursday near Kice Island off southwestern Florida.

Eight other pilot whales died or were humanely euthanized earlier in the week when they were stranded further north near Lover's Key State Park.

Contributing to the stranding situation, the NOAA says, are the close bonds the whales have. If one is sick, others may stay close by it even at the risk of getting stranded.

The NOAA says that the these events coupled with a mass stranding in December have sparked scientists to closely investigate the situation.

"This is unusual and something we're looking into and monitoring," Blair Mase, a marine mammal specialist with NOAA, told reporters.

Other marine mammals in Florida waters have taken a hit recently as well.

In 2013, a record number of manatees died, and dolphins struggled along the eastern seaboard last year as well, with eight times the historical average washing up on shores from New Jersey to Florida.

The NOAA also declared an "unusual mortality event" in the state's Indian River Lagoon system for bottlenose dolphins in 2013. The mass deaths prompted the area to be called a "killing zone."

The marine mammals' deaths may be ushering a warning about the environment.

"Marine mammals are very good sentinels for ocean and human health, and they really act like the proverbial canaries in a coal mine,” the New York Times quotes Dr. Greg Bossart, a veterinary pathologist and senior vice president in charge of animal health at the Georgia Aquarium, as saying. "They give us an idea of what’s occurring in the environment."

Noam Chomsky "What Can We Do?"

Noam Chomsky "What Can We Do?"
Jan 25, 2014 | The Chomsky Videos

(Sic) Court ruling shields public safety info due to potential ‘terrorists’

Amistad Dam (Photo by Jonathan McIntosh / flickr.com)
(Sic) Court ruling shields public safety info due to potential ‘terrorists’
Jan 23, 2014 | RT

A US appellate court decision this week could allow federal agencies to withhold public safety information related to crucial infrastructure concerns or environmental disasters because of potential nefarious use by “terrorists or criminals.”

A US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia panel ruled this week that such information can be concealed from the public by US government entities for “law enforcement purposes” because “terrorists or criminals could use that information to determine whether attacking a dam would be worthwhile.”

The case was brought by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a resource non-profit for potential government whistleblowers. PEER’s attempt to use a public information request to compel the release of emergency plans for two large storage dams on the Rio Grande River was thwarted, as was its call for inundation maps that show which areas around the dams would flood should a failure occur.

PEER says the decision “significantly expands the scope of the exemption under the Freedom of Information Act for material compiled for ‘law enforcement purposes.’”
 
“Under the standard articulated by the court, the majority of information about known risks and planned responses to virtually every emergency could be placed off limits,” PEER senior counsel Paula Dinerstein, who argued the appeal, said in a press release. “This ruling will block affected communities from learning about plans to prevent and respond to chemical spills.”
 
In PEER’s case, it had inquired with the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) about multiple emergency plans, over 75 inundation maps, and a 2009 report on the condition of the Amistad Dam - the largest dam on the US-Mexico border.

USIBWC refused to release the material even though, according to PEER, the agency had acknowledged “external reviews showing two major structures, the Falcon and Amistad Dams, are in ‘urgent’ need of repair.”
 
In its decision, the panel referenced a supposed “intelligence alert” from the US Department of Homeland Security that outlined an alleged plan by drug traffickers to blow up Falcon Dam.

“The alert states that traffickers warned some local residents to evacuate in advance of a possible attack on the dam. That record evidence confirms what common sense suggests: The inundation maps, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to endanger life or physical safety,” the ruling stated.

The USIBWC’s stated mission “is to provide binational solutions to issues that arise during the application of United States-Mexico treaties regarding boundary demarcation, national ownership of waters, sanitation, water quality, and flood control in the border region.”
 
Dinerstein pointed to recent spills in West Virginia and the Gulf of Mexico as examples where nearby residents would be left in the dark regarding actions to take in an emergency, all for the sake of shielding such information from those who might exploit it for nefarious purposes.

“Basic emergency planning should not be treated as a state secret,” said Dinerstein. “By the court’s incredibly deferential standards, virtually every federal agency could withhold maps, assessments and even phonebooks if an official can imagine a potential nefarious use for them. A vigilant public will lose access to much of the information needed to protect itself and to agitate for changes that prevent these man-made disasters from occurring.”
 
The case in West Virginia adds another layer to how the federal government handles emergency response to chemical spills. Two weeks ago, a coal-processing substance known as MCHM began leaking into the Elk River and the surrounding community from a tank at a plant owned by Freedom Industries.

Officials say state and local planners did not have an emergency response plan in case of a spill of Crude MCHM. The absence of strategy for such an accident may be explained by a federal emergency planning law - the Emergency Response and Community Right to Know Act - that does not require one for Crude MCHM because it is not listed under federal rules as an "extremely hazardous material.” Crude MCHM is also known as 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol.

The same day the leak was discovered north of Charleston, the US House passed the Reducing Excessive Deadline Obligations Act that would ultimately eliminate requirements for the Environmental Protection Agency to review and update hazardous-waste disposal regulations in a timely manner. It would also make it more difficult for the government to compel companies that deal with toxic substances to carry proper insurance for cleanups, thereby pushing the cost on to taxpayers.

In addition, the bill would result in a slower response time in the case of a disaster, requiring increased consultation with states before the federal government could call for the cleanup of Superfund sites - where hazardous waste could affect people and the environment.

The legislation is not expected to pass in the Senate, nor does it have support from the White House.

Friday, January 24, 2014

The Onslaught of Food Substances: US trashes $3.5 million daily in veggies at schools

The Onslaught of Food Substances: US trashes $3.5 million daily in veggies at schools
Jan 23, 2014 | RT America

A study out of Brigham Young University recommends paying kids to eat their fruits and vegetables as a way to get them to eat well, and as a way to cut down on the massive, $3.5 million a day waste we see at public schools. What does this teach them? The Resident (aka Lori Harfenist) discusses.

(Pathetic) Banker Peter Schiff: Fracking dangers made up by private property-snatching socialists

(Pathetic) Banker Peter Schiff: Fracking dangers made up by private property-snatching socialists
Jan 24, 2014 | Raw Story | Eric Dolan

Investment banker Peter Schiff told UFC color commentator Joe Rogan on Wednesday that socialists were making up environmental concerns about “fracking” in a secret plot to take away people’s private property.

The two public figures were debating the role of government regulations on Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.

“I think also the idea is that the government is going to be the one that is impartial, the government is going to be standing outside looking at this industry, having no vested interest in you profiting over you, or you over you, and say, ‘Hey, these are the rules and this is how we can make this fair and ethical.’ That is the idea that most people have about the government,” Rogan said.

Schiff, an ardent libertarian, said the government did have a vested interest in helping certain companies rather than others because politicians were corrupted by campaign donations. Even if campaign donations from big companies were restricted, the wealthy would still find other ways to influence the government. The only solution, Schiff said, was to limit the power of the government.

“Yeah, but someone has got to keep these corrupt evil f*cks that have billions of dollars from running amok,” Rogan replied.

“Well, who is going to run amok?” Schiff shot back.

“Who is going to run amok? Who is going to run amok? How did this financial crisis happen in the first place?” Rogan remarked.

Schiff said big banks ran amok because they were confident the government would protect them from their own risky behavior. Rogan countered that the big banks appeared to have “acted in hubris” and that humans were naturally inclined to be greedy “a**sholes” who do “wild wacky sh*t.”

But Schiff insisted that a truly free marketplace wouldn’t allow bad actors to rise to the top.


“They’re going to ultimately get weeded out. You don’t build a great lasting business being a scumbag. I mean, maybe you can succeed in the short-run, but eventually you’re going to go away. The free market is going to purge itself of the bad operators.”

The conversation then turned to the natural gas mining technique called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” Rogan doubted that the energy industry would actually self-regulate if given the chance.

“I don’t think they would. I think if they were in a situation where they are making billions of dollars and they have some sort of catastrophic oil spill or chemical spill or some sort of disaster, they would cover it up, just like it has been proven it has been done with fracking.”

Schiff said he owned fracking operations in North Dakota and doubted there were any environmental hazards.

“I think you have a lot of people on the left who — they are really socialists, but they don’t want to come out and — or communists or whatever — but so they want to clothe everything in environmentalist language. They really want to take away private property but they don’t want to come out and say it.”

Rogan was unconvinced. He said fracking had polluted drinking water to the extent that it was flammable.

“This is some sick sh*t and they are ruining parts of the country.”

Schiff claimed that more regulations wouldn’t prevent disasters. They would only hurt the economy.

“I’m not saying more regulations,” Rogan replied. “I’m saying, should you do it at all? Just because of the fact that you can do it and make wealth out of it, if you are causing massive environmental disaster should that be OK just because you’re making money?”

He added that Schiff seemed to automatically favor profits over protecting the environment. Rogan said such arguments made “people really nervous about people who are really into the market” and were “callous.”
Schiff said companies that polluted should be held accountable on a case-by-case basis. He said the biggest problem that farmers faced was the government, not pollution.

“I think the dangers are way overblown,” he continued. “I think that maybe you’ve read some things and you’ve seen some of this stuff and I think it is distorting the reality of fracking.”

Watch video below.

Forensic Lab Reveals Metal Fragments in Wheaties Junk Food Using Simple Magnet

Food Substances
© Natural News
Forensic Lab Reveals Metal Fragments in Wheaties Junk Food Using Simple Magnet
Jan 23, 2014 | TheHealthRanger

After being falsely accused of staging a hoax regarding Wheaties cereal containing metal fragments, Mike Adams the Health Ranger explains how PR Newswire and the mainstream media have become too stupid to understand basic science.


Wheaties cereal found to contain so many metal fragments that they can be levitated with magnets
Jan 23, 2014 | Natural News | Mike Adams

Wheaties breakfast cereal, manufactured by General Mills, has been found to contain so many microscopic fragments of metal that individual flakes can be lifted and carried using common magnets, a Natural News Forensic Food Lab investigation has found and documented. Photos of the microscopy investigation are posted now at labs.naturalnews.com

U.S. railroad oil spills in 2013 surpassed previous four decades combined

© Reuters / Athit Perawongmetha
U.S. railroad oil spills in 2013 surpassed previous four decades combined
Jan 23, 2014 | RT

Newly unveiled federal data indicates that more crude oil was spilled in US railway incidents in 2013 than in the prior 37 years combined, inspiring lawmakers to push for new safety standards that could avoid similarly devastating incidents in the future.

Altogether, 800,000 gallons spilled from US railroads in the years from 1975 to 2010. That data, which comes from the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration, does not include records of Canadian spills, some of which are thought to surpass one million gallons spilled on their own.

In part because of major derailments in Alabama and North Dakota, over 1.15 million gallons of crude oil seeped from train cars.

North Dakota crude, the type of oil examined in the government research, tends to have very low density, which means it is made of more volatile compounds that could increase its flammability and make the crude more difficult to clean up.

A single rail car contains approximately 28,800 gallons of oil. According to McClatchy newspapers, 400,000 carloads - over 11.5 billion gallons - were shipped across the continent in 2013. That is an astounding success rate of 99.99 percent, although the spills that did occur were problematic enough to make international headlines.

Nearly 30 cars of a 90-car train derailed in early November in rural Alabama. No one was killed in the accident, but approximately 12 of the cars burst into flames so hot that firefighters had no choice but to let the fire subside on its own. Almost 750,000 gallons spilled into the Alabama wetlands and drained into small tributaries that empty into the Tombigbee River.

The situation was almost as severe near Casselton, North Dakota on December 30. The National Transportation Safety Board told McClatchy that it is not done investigating the incident, but estimates that at least 400,000 gallons of crude oil were spilled in a derailment. The spill forced 2,400 people to evacuate their homes in subzero temperatures.

The data does not account for Canadian accidents, including the catastrophic spill in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. On July 6, a runaway train from North Dakota derailed and exploded, killing 47 people and devastating the small Quebec town.

Responding to the string of incidents, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said Tuesday that new railway safety standards are necessary and that federal officials have been too slow to introduce standards that could curb tragic derailments like the one in Casselton.

"Anyone who saw the video of that crash saw the fire that came out and the explosion. That visual picture leaves an impression on anybody, including oil producers," he told Reuters. "We do need some kind of provisional standard for the next year."

Manifesting the Mystic Morphic Field

Manifesting the Mystic Morphic Field
Jan 23, 2014 | Waking Times | Zen Gardner

There was an interesting article recently about researchers who found within the computer informational field what appears to be proof of foreknowledge of 9/11. The huge spike in chatter regarding the events immediately prior to the strikes is completely anomalous. In other words, it goes on to say, for it to be just a coincidence is next to impossible.

No big surprise. But what about this informational field?

They call this computer information world a type of “morphic field” or “information field” and it seems to be a virtual manifestation of the global mind. Not all of it of course, but the informational global mind, which at this point in history is a massive amount of generated information that’s accelerating by the hour.

Research in this field is also being investigated by other visionaries. By tracing trends in language using webbots that crawl the internet reading data with assigned values to various words, they’ve been able to often predict not only major events, trends and changes, but the specific nature and sometimes locations of future phenomena.

It’s not an exact science by any means, but this whole field starts to show the power of the literal electromagnetic informational mind as evidence of or a reflection of human consciousness, and we should pay close attention.  

Read more..

Thursday, January 23, 2014

25% of sharks and rays at high risk of extinction

A new assessment by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has revealed
that a quarter of the world's sharks
and rays are at risk of extinction.
25% of sharks and rays at high risk of extinction
Jan 22, 2014 | Times of India

A new assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has revealed that a quarter of the world's sharks and rays are at risk of extinction.

The latest update to the IUCN's "Red List" of threatened species, which found ray species to be at higher risk than sharks, is part of a first-ever global analysis of these marine species.

Researchers assessed the conservation status of 1,041 shark, ray and chimaera species, which are all so-called "cartilaginous fish," meaning they have skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. A chimaera is type of jawed fish closely related to sharks and rays.

The researchers found that sharks, rays and chimaeras face a substantially higher risk of extinction than do most other animals.

In fact, only 23 percent of shark, ray and chimaera species are categorized as being safe, or of "least concern," IUCN officials said.

Nick Dulvy, co-chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and Canada Research Chair at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, said in a statement that the analysis shows that sharks and their relatives are facing an alarmingly elevated risk of extinction, LiveScience reported.

He said that in greatest peril are the largest species of rays and sharks, especially those living in shallow water that is accessible to fisheries, where they can become entangled in fishing gear a phenomenon known as bycatch.

Source: Asian News International

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Pesticides 'making bees smaller'

Bumblebees could be shrinking because of exposure
to a widely-used pesticide, a study suggests.
Photograph: Nick Ansell/PA
Pesticides 'making bees smaller'
Jan 20, 2014 | Guardian | Press Association

Bumblebees exposed to a widely-used pesticide produced workers with lower body mass, scientists find

Bumblebees could be shrinking because of exposure to a widely-used pesticide, a study suggests.

Experts fear smaller bees will be less effective at foraging for nectar and carrying out their vital task of distributing pollen.

Scientists in the UK conducted laboratory tests which showed how a pyrethroid pesticide stunted the growth of worker bumblebee larvae, causing them to hatch out reduced in size.

Gemma Baron, one of the researchers from the School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London, said: "We already know that larger bumblebees are more effective at foraging.

"Our result, revealing that this pesticide causes bees to hatch out at a smaller size, is of concern as the size of workers produced in the field is likely to be a key component of colony success, with smaller bees being less efficient at collecting nectar and pollen from flowers."

Pyrethroid pesticides are commonly used on flowering crops to prevent insect damage.

The study, the first to examine the pesticides' impact across the entire lifecycle of bumblebees, tracked the growth of bee colonies over a four month period.

Researchers exposed half the bees to a pyrethroid while monitoring the size of the colonies as well as weighing individual insects on micro-scales.

They found that worker bees from colonies affected by the pesticides over a prolonged period grew less and were significantly smaller than unexposed bees.

Findings from the study, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc), appear in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

Professor Mark Brown, who led the Royal Holloway group, said: "Bumblebees are essential to our food chain so it's critical we understand how wild bees might be impacted by the chemicals we are putting into the environment.

"We know we have to protect plants from insect damage but we need to find a balance and ensure we are not harming our bees in the process."

Currently a Europe-wide moratorium on the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides is in force because of their alleged harmful effect on bees.

As a result, the use of other types of pesticide, including pyrethroids, is likely to increase, say the researchers.

Dr Nigel Raine, another member of the Royal Holloway team who will be speaking at this week's national Bee Health Conference in London, said: "Our work provides a significant step forward in understanding the detrimental impact of pesticides other than neonicotinoids on wild bees.

"Further studies using colonies placed in the field are essential to understand the full impacts, and conducting such studies needs to be a priority for scientists and governments."

The scientists sprayed the pesticide on the bees' pollen feed at the concentration recommended for oilseed rape.

Colony growth and reproductive output were monitored for up to 14 weeks.