Gee, I wonder why the American media missed this

Turns out fracking not only pollutes the ground water -- in an era when water is about to become the new gold -- it also screws with the health of babies. And I didn't learn this through an American media report. I found it at Al Jazeera.

Living near hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — sites may increase the risk of some birth defects by as much as 30 percent, a new study suggests. In the U.S., more than 15 million people now live within a mile of a well.

Note that our fine president just mentioned fracking with pride during his State of the Union speech. Oh, he didn't actually use the word "fracking", of course. He was too scared to do that because people know that fracking is a dreadful practice. Instead, he avoided the word and simply said that our exporting of oil was up significantly. He also didn't mention anything about sick babies.

“What we found was that the risk of congenital heart defects (CHD) increased with greater density of gas wells — with mothers living in the highest-density areas at greatest risk,” Lisa McKenzie, a research associate at the Colorado School of Public Health and the lead author of the study, told Al Jazeera.

The study examined links between the mother’s residential proximity to natural gas wells and birth defects in a study of more than 124,842 births from 1996 to 2009 in rural Colorado. 

The study found that “births to mothers in the most exposed (areas with over 125 wells per mile) had a 30 percent greater prevalence of CHDs than births to mothers with no wells in a 10-mile radius of their residence.”

So, uh, maybe we shouldn't be destroying our ground water and ruining the lives of unborn children. But whatever. Industry wants it, so people's concerns are disallowed. They're only people, after all. Who cares what happens to them? Not our government. That's clear.

The article also includes this statement:

“This study suggests that if you want to have a healthy baby and you live near a fracking site, move,” Gary Wockner of Colorado’s Clean Water Action, said.

You heard the man. Move away from fracking sites if you plan to have a child. That's as clear a directive as you can get. This needs to be drummed through the heads of Americans. Oh, I forgot. The American media aren't covering this story.

Never mind.

Russian males die early because of vodka

As we head toward the Sochi Anti-Gay Bombing Olympics, let us consider the drunken nature of the Russian male:

The high and sharply fluctuating death rates in Russia are due mainly to alcohol, particularly vodka, a new prospective study of 151,000 adults confirms.

Currently, 25% of all Russian men die before the age of 55 years, compared with only 7% of UK men. Alcohol and tobacco account for most of this large difference in premature mortality (appendix, pages 3-5).

"Russian death rates have fluctuated wildly over the past 30 years as alcohol restrictions and social stability varied under Presidents Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin, and the main thing driving these wild fluctuations in death was vodka. This has been shown in retrospective studies, and now we've confirmed it in a big, reliable prospective study", said co-author Professor Sir Richard Peto from the University of Oxford, UK.

But Russia will exercise great control during the Sochi Olympics. Have no fear. Why, just yesterday president Obama said it's "safe" to go to Sochi. Uh-huh.

Did you ever wonder whether those Russian thugs were drunk when they beat up innocent gay guys, videotaped it and put this vile product on the internet? The answer is probably. But there's some consolation. At least the thugs will probably die before the age of 55.

Russia is a pig sty. Nothing new here. Lookin' good, Vladdy! Boo-yah!

Aravosis beat me to it

I was going to rip Russia from stem to stern this morning, but John Aravosis at AmericaBlog beat me to it. Just go read this.

Take that, Vladdy!

Edith would be so proud

I love that the first lady of France, Valerie Trierweiler, told reporters:

"Je ne regrette rien."

Fans of Edith Piaf's song of the same name will understand my amusement. Finally, someone said "I regret nothing" in French. And for a real purpose, too. Not just as a joke.

Mind you, when she checked in to a hospital last week for a tasteful, well-reported swoon -- after finding out the prez was leaving her for "a younger actress" (I love that phrasing; not for a younger woman but for a younger "actress") -- I lost whatever empathy I had for her. Which is not to imply that I had any in the first place.

Trierweiler seems to be living a movie rather than a life. But at least she has no regrets. It's all anyone can ask of life.

Non-African humans are mutts

So it seems Neanderthals interbred with humans in Asia and Europe. If that's where your ancestors came from, you've likely got a bunch of Neanderthal DNA in your body. The article says this interbreeding had both good and bad effects.

The researchers also showed that nine previously identified human genetic variants known to be associated with specific traits likely came from Neanderthals. These variants affect diseases related to immune function and also some behaviors, such as the ability to stop smoking. The team expects that more variants will be found to have Neanderthal origins.

I'm irritated with the article's author for failing to explain what she meant by that vague mention of smoking cessation. Being part-Neanderthal makes it harder to stop smoking -- or easier? Which is it? She doesn't say. For this huge oversight, I award her a fail.

The concept is kinda fun, though. I always hoped I had a ton of Neanderthal genes. Since my family heritage stems from Italy and Ireland, it seems I lucked out. I'm probably part-Neanderthal. Yippee!

More polar vortex talk

Last night, in honor of the bone-chilling temperatures afflicting the US, I watched "The Day After Tomorrow". What can I say? Watching a movie about the world experiencing a new Ice Age just seemed appropriate. We're not exactly freezing in place within 15 seconds, like in the movie. But we're experiencing temperatures that are lower than any I remember in NY history.

At one point in the movie, I heard Dennis Quaid's character say that climate change was shutting down the North Atlantic Gyre, the ocean current that brings warmth up from the tropics. And this is what was causing a new Ice Age.

In recent years, I wondered when and how this idea wormed its way into the American consciousness. It's kind of funny that the source is a Hollywood movie. Turns out, a new Ice Age is not on the way -- at least, on the real Earth that we occupy. And how do I know this? Because NASA told me so.

Predictably, talk of such a scenario has led to some big misconceptions. First, a slowdown or even a stoppage of the meridional overturning circulation would NOT spell the end to the Gulf Stream. Wind and large-scale turbulence drive the bulk of the Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, of which the Gulf Stream is a part. The Gulf Stream would, however, draw significantly less water from the tropics.

Second, unlike during the Younger Dryas, a weakening of the meridional overturning circulation will NOT trigger another ice age. Rising temperatures due to global warming would offset most of the temperature drop. Armadas of icebergs floating off the New Jersey coast are just Hollywood fantasies.

So there you go. No Ice Age. I'm still not thrilled about the Gyre slowing down and possibly stopping. But at least it won't look like the world depicted in "The Day After Tomorrow". Thought I'd share this news with y'all.

Obama's worst nightmare

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this:

Two Norwegian lawmakers say they have jointly nominated former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

Wouldn't that be the perfect irony? Both Obama and Snowden getting the Nobel Peace Prize? Of course, if Snowden won the prize, it would be the case that he actually, you know, did something to earn it. Obama, on the other hand, "earned" the prize by making speeches that he never followed up on. Which only adds to the deliciousness of the juxtaposition.

A lovely galaxy

This is M-83, otherwise known as the Southern Pinwheel. I think it's gorgeous. NASA image.

A polar vortex love affair

That's a picture of my new love. It's a Zippo Hand Warmer and I'll never let go of mine. Never!

I guess I saw ads for these things now and then. The product looked like a zippo lighter, only larger. Didn't seem interesting so I never considered buying one. A hand warmer? Whatever for?

And then the polar vortex arrived and my hands turned to stone -- cold, icy stone. Suddenly the idea of a hand warmer seemed appealing. So I ordered two.

They arrived yesterday and as I sit here typing, there are two warm thingies in the pockets of my polartec vest. It is such a treat to be able to stick my hands in my pockets and find, of all things warmth. They're just the right temperature: cozy-like.

When I ordered them, I thought they were the size of a Zippo lighter. Not so. They're much larger, about the size of the palm of your hand (or a large deck of cards). The edges are rounded and eminently huggable, and it comes with a velvet pouch (or more likely, something similar to velvet). You have to keep it in the pouch so it doesn't heat up too much. The pouch limits the amount of air available to it.

Yes, there's a flame in there but you never see it. After a day of use, I don't think it's dangerous, as long as you're careful. (For instance, they can't be shut off. So you have to put them in a fireproof receptacle at the end of the day.) And did I mention the end result is that you have a nice, warm, velvety-soft thing in your pocket? On cold days, the thrill never ends.

I'm in love and I'll never let go. And darn you all for not telling me about this product sooner. Mmmmm. Warmth.

digby today

Our current economic system is neither natural nor value neutral. It wildly overcompensates the financialized "labor" of those at the top of the chain--much of which has little value to society--while dramatically undercompensating the real, necessary work of the people who build, teach, manage, maintain, clean, and service things and other people. If derivatives trading were banned tomorrow, most people would barely notice the difference. Meanwhile, the lives of real people might well be vastly improved by transaction taxes, tighter controls on vulture capital, and other efforts to undo the financialization of the economy and incentivize the world's best and brightest to enter fields less dedicated to the distasteful and counterproductive task of helping ludicrously overpaid rent seekers extract even greater rates of return on investment.

digby is a national treasure. I'm thankful every day for her smarts and her vigilance.