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Nasa's Hubble finds 'smoking gun' after gamma-ray burst
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Probing the location of a recent short-duration gamma-ray burst in near-infrared light, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope found the fading fireball produced in the aftermath of the blast. The afterglow reveals for the first time a new kind of stellar blast called a kilonova.
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Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324694904578599862578566352.html?mod=europe_home
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Oil companies frack in waters off California
Companies prospecting for oil off California's coast have used hydraulic fracturing on at least a dozen occasions to force open cracks beneath the seabed, and now regulators are investigating whether the practice should require a separate permit and be subject to stricter environmental review.
While debate has raged in the U.S. over fracking on land, prompting efforts to ban or severely restrict it, offshore fracking has occurred with little attention in sensitive coastal waters where for decades new oil leases have been prohibited.
Hundreds of pages of federal documents released by the government to The Associated Press and advocacy groups through the Freedom of Information Act show regulators have permitted fracking in the Pacific Ocean at least 12 times since the late 1990s, and have recently approved a new project.
The targets are the vast oil fields in the Santa Barbara Channel, site of a 1969 spill that spewed more than 3 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, spoiled miles of beaches and killed thousands of birds and other wildlife. The disaster prompted a moratorium on new drill leases and inspired federal clean water laws and the modern environmental movement.
Companies are doing the offshore fracking?which involves pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of salt water, sand and chemicals into undersea shale and sand formations?to stimulate old existing wells into new oil production.
Federal regulators thus far have exempted the chemical fluids used in offshore fracking from the nation's clean water laws, allowing companies to release fracking fluid into the sea without filing a separate environmental impact report or statement looking at the possible effects. That exemption was affirmed this year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the internal emails reviewed by the AP.
Fracking fluids can comprise hundreds of chemicals?some known and others that aren't since they are protected as trade secrets. Some of these chemicals are toxins to fish larvae and crustaceans, bottom dwellers most at risk from drilling activities, according to government health disclosure documents detailing some of the fluids used off California's shore.
Marine scientists, petroleum engineers and regulatory officials interviewed by the AP could point to no studies that have been performed on the effects of fracking fluids on the marine environment. Research regarding traditional offshore oil exploration has found that drilling fluids can cause reproductive harm to some marine creatures.
"This is a significant data gap, and we need to know what the impacts are before offshore fracking becomes widespread," said Samantha Joye, a marine scientist at the University of Georgia who studies the effects of oil spills in the ocean environment.
The EPA and the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement or BSEE, conduct some routine inspections during fracking projects, but any spills or leaks are largely left to the oil companies to report.
In a statement to the AP, the EPA defended its oversight of offshore fracking, saying its system ensures the practice does not pollute the environment in a way that would endanger human health. Oil companies must obtain permits for wastewater and storm water discharges from production platforms that "ensure all fluids used in the drilling and production process will not adversely impact water quality," the statement said.
Oil companies also maintain that much of the fracking fluid is treated before being discharged into the sea. Tupper Hull, spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association, said fracking in general is safe and has "never been associated with any risk or harm to the environment" in over six decades in California.
California coastal regulators said they were unaware until recently that offshore fracking was even occurring, and are now asking oil companies proposing new offshore drilling projects if they will be fracking.
Because the area of concern is located more than three miles (about 5 kilometers) off the state's shoreline, federal regulators have jurisdiction over these offshore exploration efforts. However, the state can reject a permit in federal waters if the work endangers water quality.
"It wasn't on our radar before, and now it is," said Alison Dettmer, a deputy director at the California Coastal Commission.
Government documents including permits and internal emails from the BSEE reveal that fracking off the shores of California is more widespread than previously known. While new oil leases are banned, companies can still drill from 23 grandfathered-in platforms in waters where endangered blue and humpback whales and other marine mammals often congregate.
In March, a privately held oil and gas company received permission from the agency to frack some 10 miles (16 kilometers) off the Ventura County coast. The job by DCOR LLC involves using the existing wellbore of an old well to drill a new well. Three so-called "mini-fracks" will be done in an attempt to release oil locked within sand and rocks in the Upper Repetto formation.
Only a month before the application was approved, however, an official with the BSEE voiced concerns about the company's proposed frack and whether the operation would discharge chemicals into the ocean.
"We have an operator proposing to use 'hydraulic stimulation' (which has not been done very often here) and I'm trying to run through the list of potential concerns," Kenneth Seeley, the BSEE's regional environmental officer for the Pacific, wrote in a Feb. 12 email to colleagues. "The operator says their produced water is Superclean! but the way they responded to my questions kind of made me think this was worth following up on."
BSEE officials approved DCOR's application on March 7. The agency told the AP that DCOR's job would use far less fracking fluid than an onshore operation.
"For comparison, well stimulation offshore typically uses 2 percent of the liquids and 7 percent of the sand that is used routinely for onshore hydraulic fracturing," the BSEE said in a statement.
Oil industry estimates show that at least half of the chemical-laced water used in fracking remains in the environment after an operation. Environmental groups say as much as 80 percent of the fluids can be left behind. The rest gets pumped back up to the oil platform, and is piped or barged back to shore for treatment. Companies can also pump the fluids into an old well reservoir to discard it.
DCOR, which did not respond to requests for comment, is not the first company to try to tap more oil from California's offshore reserves, nor is the project the most extensive offshore frack here in recent years.
In January 2010, oil and gas company Venoco Inc. set out to improve the production of one of its old wells with what federal drilling records show was the largest offshore fracking operation attempted in federal waters off California's coast. The target: the Monterey Shale, a vast formation that extends from California's Central Valley farmlands to offshore and could ultimately comprise two-thirds of the nation's shale oil reserves.
Six different fracks were completed during the project, during which engineers funneled a mix of about 300,000 pounds of fracking fluids, sand and seawater 4,500 feet beneath the seabed, according to BSEE documents.
Venoco's attempt only mildly increased production, according to the documents. Venoco declined to comment.
Despite greenlighting offshore fracking projects for years, federal and state regulators now are trying to learn more about the extent of fracking in the Pacific even as officials and marine scientists scramble to weigh the environmental effects.
In January, Jaron Ming, the Pacific regional director of the BSEE, told employees in an email that there had been heightened interest in offshore fracking from within the agency and the public.
"For that reason, I am asking you to pay close attention to any (drilling applications) that we receive and let me know if you believe any of them would be considered a 'frac job.'"
That same month, BSEE estimated in internal emails that only two such jobs had occurred off California in the past two decades. But weeks later, as the agency worked to respond to public requests about fracking offshore, emails show it had found 12 such instances of offshore fracking.
BSEE said it cannot be sure just how often fracking has been allowed without going through every single well file.
Brian Segee, a staff attorney at the Environmental Defense Center, said the uncertainty makes him skeptical about the actual number of offshore fracks. The Santa Barbara-based environmental law firm, which formed in the wake of the 1969 oil spill, is calling for a moratorium on future fracking in the Pacific until the potential environmental effects are studied.
Most fracking efforts off California have yielded mixed results. The first time Venoco fracked offshore in the 1990s, it had limited success. Chevron's one try failed. Out of Nuevo Energy's nine attempts, only one was considered very successful, according to company and BSEE records.
The practice has been more fruitful in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, where it's more common and the porous nature of the geologic formation makes it easier to extract oil, according to regulators and oil industry experts. Still, oil companies surveyed by federal regulators said they haven't ruled out fracking projects in the Pacific in the future.
As fracking technology evolves and companies seek to wring production from old offshore wells, drilling experts caution that strict safety precautions and planning are needed.
Working in the open ocean, "you have to be a lot more careful to avoid any spillage," said Mukul Sharma, a professor of petroleum engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.
David Pritchard, a Texas petroleum engineer who has been working in offshore drilling for 45 years, said offshore fracking "no doubt adds complexity and risk."
One concern is that the high pressure fracking mixture in some jobs might break the rock seal around an old well bore, allowing oil to escape, added another expert, Tulane University petroleum engineering professor Eric Smith.
"I'd say it (offshore fracking) is safe," Smith said, "but nothing's a sure thing in this world."
Source: http://phys.org/news294757073.html
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Tweet of the Day: Steve Nash taking in some Canada Basketball
Steve Nash took on a daunting task last year when he agreed to become general manager of Canada?s Senior Men?s basketball team, a club that hasn?t had Olympic podium success since the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Germany.
Steve Nash at a press conference for Canada Basketball in 2012.
Besides running Canada?s basketball operations, Nash also focuses the majority of his time at improving his game by training in facilities all over North America during the offseason.
So how does the 2-time MVP manage to monitor all of Canada?s top players?
He?s getting a start by watching a team practice in Toronto alongside Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk.
Me and @KellyOlynyk watching @CanBball national team practice. pic.twitter.com/txl0Q0BOy5
? Steve Nash (@SteveNash) August 3, 2013
Since joining the program, Nash hired Jay Triano as head coach and brought in a longtime friend, Rowan Barrett, to be assistant GM.
The team is currently working towards competing at the FIBA Americas Championships in Caracas, Venezuela later this month.
Basketball above the US border has been on the rise of late. The most gratifying moment for Canadian fans came at this year?s NBA draft, when Toronto native Anthony Bennett was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, making history as the first ever Canadian player selected with the number one pick.
After being named GM last May, he quickly showed his excitement to begin.
?I?m thrilled to be able to take on this challenge, we have lots of work to do and I?m excited to get started.?
There?s no doubt, Canada Basketball is on the rise. Currently with 11 players in the NBA, the country is exceeding all expectations. And then, there?s this kid named Andrew Wiggins, who may be all it takes to make Canada the next powerhouse in world basketball competition.
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Both Sides in GOP?s Civil War Over Obamacare Want to Put Insurance Companies Back in Charge
By Ethan Rome
Executive Director, Health Care for America Now!
The Republicans are calling each other names in a raging internecine battle over how best to blow up Obamacare and put consumers and small businesses at the mercy of the insurance companies. In an unusual week when the Republicans are at each other?s throats, they?re still on the same side in the fight that matters: They?re for the insurance industry, not us.
The Republican debate is about whether it?s a bad idea to shut down the government and disrupt the economy unless Democrats agree to defund the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This isn?t legitimate legislative dealmaking ? it?s extortion.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) said forcing an entire government to shut down over Obamacare is a ?bridge too far.? Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) calls the idea ?silly.? Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) called it the ?dumbest idea? he?s ever heard. Burr even conceded that when the fight ends and the government re-opens, ?Barack Obama is [still] going to be president.? But upstart GOP senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas are slinging insults at these senators and accusing them of being political lightweights and cowards for accepting the world as it is.
?What I can tell you is there are a lot of Republicans in Washington who are scared,? Cruz said. ?They are scared of being beaten up politically.? This tough talk comes from a guy who didn?t come to Washington for any other reason than to stoke the tea party wing of the GOP and advance his own political goals.
The whole fuss started when Cruz and extremist senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah persuaded several other Republicans to announce that they will not support continued federal spending after Oct. 1 unless Obamacare is defunded. Fortunately, some senators took some time to think it through and then withdrew their endorsements of the letter.
Obviously, Republican senators like Cruz, Rubio and Lee feel no need to govern responsibly. They seem not to like being outdone by House Republicans, who plan on Friday to vote for the 40th time to repeal the Obamacare. That sets a pretty high bar for pointlessness, and the Senate?s Republican hardliners are trying hard to catch up.
The absurd political posturing reflects a pitched battle over GOP tactics, not goals. The Republicans still are unified in their aim to repeal Obamacare and return America to the days when insurance companies could deny our care based on health status, age and gender and jack up our rates at will.
The Republican feud is also partially about presidential politics. You can?t win the GOP primary if you?re not so far to the right you?re essentially against civilization, unless you?re a plutocrat like Mitt Romney and can afford to carpet bomb every state with TV commercials. Everyone else is required to be seriously unhinged. To mobilize the GOP faithful in 2016, some conservatives believe, you have to be the real thing ? an extremist politician who?s out-of-step with most Americans for the primary and an unabashed ?mainstream? conservative for the November election. You certainly can?t be a captive of GOP ?liberals? like Karl Rove.
The feud certainly is colorful, and it?s great fun to be in the audience for the show, but it?s just a passing phase. When the Republicans are done calling each other names, they?ll work together to enable the insurance industry to inflict the worst consumer abuses on every senior, family and small business.
What the Republicans won?t do is devote any energy to collaborating with Democrats on legislation to create jobs and help the economic recovery. After all, what good would it do to make a positive difference in the lives of millions of Americans? That?s not why right-wing extremists came to Washington. They?ve got bigger plans ? for themselves.
***
Ethan Rome served as deputy campaign manager in HCAN?s 2009 successful campaign to win comprehensive health care reform. He has been a grassroots organizer, political activist, and strategic communicator for progressive issue and electoral campaigns for more than 20 years. From 2002until 2009, Mr. Rome directed public affairs for the 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). He managed national communications and media relations for International President Gerald W. McEntee and the union?s priority organizing, legislative and political campaigns. Prior to joining AFSCME in 1999, Rome was chief policy and political adviser to the speaker of the Connecticut House.
***
Follow Ethan Rome on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@HCAN
***
This piece is republished from The Huffington Post.
Posted August 3, 2013 at 8:00 am, in Allied Approaches, From Ethan Rome
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Tony Clement gets into fight online with union
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OTTAWA - Many Canadians relaxed on what is an August long weekend for most, but instead of taking it easy in his Ontario cottage country riding, Treasury Board president Tony Clement got into an online spat with a public-sector union Saturday.
When Ontario's tourism minister took to Twitter to promote a news story about his plea to the federal government to settle with striking foreign service officers who have shut down some visa processing, Clement responded through the same social networking site.
"Where's your plea to the union?" Clement shot back, adding that he'd made a fair offer to strikers.
That's when the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) jumped in.
"If your offer is so fair, why have you refused to present it to an arbitrator without paralyzing preconditions?" PAFSO President Tim Edwards said via Twitter.
By then, Clement was fully engaged in a virtual sparring match over strikers' grievance that they're paid less than others who do similar work.
"Tim, let's sit down to resolve," Clement said. "My 'conditions' are reasonable, fair to everyone and allow us to do proper research on issues."
Saying he'd "heard that tune before," Edwards said he'd wait for a ruling on his accusation of bad-faith bargaining by the feds.
"I regret your intransigence," Clement tweeted, while also challenging postal worker Toni MacAfee.
She chastised Clement as a "bad employer" when he said foreign service officers are well paid and hold highly sought after jobs.
"What you just said is what all bad unionists say," he said in response, before the online chatter died down.
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/08/03/tony-clement-gets-into-fight-online-with-union
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In New York mayor race, lesbian candidate struggles to win women's vote
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - At Cubbyhole, a popular New York lesbian bar, for every two revelers who praised City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, in her race to become the city's first woman and first openly gay mayor, one complained about her style and political policies.
"Just because she's a lesbian, it doesn't mean I'll vote for her," said Veronica Gonzales, 32, who works for a non-profit organization. "She is not socially liberal enough, and she has this air about her like she is above it all - like she is above us."
While fellow candidate Anthony Weiner's extramarital sexual transgressions have dominated the headlines, a perplexing reality of the race for mayor of the nation's largest city is Quinn's failure to lock up the votes of women and gays, even though she herself is both.
Quinn is the only woman in the race, and the only openly gay candidate, yet she scored only 30 percent support from women in a survey by Quinnipiac University published on July 29. Polls do not break down voting preferences by sexual orientation.
The presumed front-runner of the six candidates vying to succeed Michael Bloomberg has failed to crack the 40 percent level of overall support, the percentage needed to win the Democratic primary on September 10 and avoid a runoff between the top two finishers.
In a runoff with black candidate William Thompson, Quinn would lose 50 percent to 40 percent, the Quinnipiac poll found.
Despite its progressive reputation, New York City has elected few women to citywide office. The best known was Elizabeth Holtzman, who held the top financial post of comptroller from 1990 to 1993. The most recent was Betsy Gotbaum, public advocate until 2009, although Quinn as speaker of the city council is considered the most powerful official after the mayor.
VOTERS AMBIVALENT
In New York's Greenwich Village, with its significant gay and lesbian population, support for Quinn was mixed.
Gonzales plans to vote for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who she said is "more straightforward about his agenda."
The ambivalence has contributed to a sense that Quinn is unable to close out the race, and one of the other candidates could overtake her, even as support wanes for Weiner.
"Right now, all signs point to a runoff, and with voters not connecting with anyone in particular, it's going to be a fluid race," said Lee Miringoff of the Marist poll. "It is very important for Quinn to sharpen her message so that she starts to get into a better shape to do better down the road."
Voters critical of Quinn most often mention her style, which some view as brash and calculating. Quinn's backing of a temporary change in the city's term-limits law, which allowed Bloomberg and other lawmakers to run for a third term, has also been used against her.
De Blasio has positioned himself as a liberal alternative to Quinn on issues such as funding for universal pre-kindergarten programs and preventing hospital closings.
"She needs to do better in the long run with women voters," Miringoff said. "If she is going to be successful she needs to create a greater appeal among women voters. And to do that, she needs to put her campaign in an historical context."
In recent weeks, Quinn, long an outspoken proponent of gay marriage, has sought to portray her candidacy as an historic opportunity for New York women.
This week, the Quinn campaign rolled out endorsements from the National Organization of Women and feminist political activist Gloria Steinem.
At the annual Gay Pride parade in Greenwich Village, Quinn marched alongside Edie Windsor, the New Yorker whose U.S. Supreme Court case paved the way for gay couples to receive federal benefits this year, leading more than 1,000 backers.
Quinn's campaign said it planned targeted advertisements on Facebook asking women to "Make history with Chris Quinn," and targeting women voters through house parties and phone banks.
Mike Morey, Quinn's spokesman, noted that she had fought to save education jobs, keep firehouses open and expand access to pre-kindergarten during difficult fiscal times.
"She will continue making the case through Election Day that she is the only candidate who has a real record of results delivering for the middle class," Morey said.
Back at the Cubbyhole, as a performer clad in black leather shorts and a red wig danced in the background, Jaimie Ho, 35, a structural engineer, said she was not sold on Quinn.
Ho remembered seeing Quinn at the pride parade: "She didn't seem accessible. She had a ton of body guards around her."
"I like her background. I like the work she has done in the City Council," continued Ho. "But I ask myself: Is it fair to vote for her simply because she is gay? There needs to be more substance."
(Reporting by Francesca Trianni; Editing by Greg McCune and Gunna Dickson)
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Reuters/domesticNews/~3/zsH4kFliH7w/story01.htm
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