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Tar Sands Linked to Health Problems

      

priceofoil.org - by Andy Rowell - April 1, 2014

In a landmark report to Alberta’s energy regulator, a panel of experts has concluded that odours from a controversial tar sands processing plant are linked to human health impacts.

The report, which was published [March 31, 2014], examined the emissions from Baytex Energy’s Peace River plant, which has been the subject of a number of health complaints from local residents over the last few years.

The situation has been so bad that seven families have been forced to leave.

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Regulator says Peace River area emissions potential cause of health problems
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Regulator+says+Peace+River+area+emissions+potential+cause+health+problems/9682279/story.html

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Climate Change Deemed Growing Security Threat by Military Researchers

CLICK HERE - STUDY - National Security and the Accelerating Risks of Climate Change

nytimes.com - by Coral Davenport - May 13, 2014

WASHINGTON — The accelerating rate of climate change poses a severe risk to national security and acts as a catalyst for global political conflict, a report published Tuesday by a leading government-funded military research organization concluded.

The CNA Corporation Military Advisory Board found that climate change-induced drought in the Middle East and Africa is leading to conflicts over food and water and escalating longstanding regional and ethnic tensions into violent clashes. . .

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Second U.S. Case of Deadly MERS Virus Found in Orlando

      

MERS, also known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, has made its way to the U.S. The second patient is in Orlando, Florida while the first reported case was in Indiana.

usatoday.com - Karen Weintraub and Doug Stanglin - May 13, 2014

Another patient has turned up at an American hospital with the lethal respiratory virus MERS, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today.

The agency would not identify the man but said he was a 44-year-old health care worker based in Saudi Arabia, which has been the center of the outbreak.

The man flew to the U.S. from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 1, to visit family in Orlando, traveling through London, Boston and Atlanta on the way.

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CDC Press Release - CDC announces second imported case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the United States

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Webinar - Resilience & Resilience Systems - Considerations for NYC Coastal Communities

      

ncfpd.umn.edu - April 4, 2014

Webinar - Community Resilience and Impacts of Interdependent Infrastructure Disruptions as Experienced from Hurricane Sandy (One hour long)

Presented By: 
Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H.
Chairman, Global Resilience Inititatives
Executive Director, Health Initiatives Foundation, Inc. 

Facilitated By:
John T. Hoffman, Col., USA, Ret.
Senior Research Fellow, National Center for Food Protection and Defense

Under the dynamic conditions of rapid climate change and broader global changes, resilience and sustainability are not being achieved through traditional emergency management and humanitarian approaches alone. While community-based resilience networks are now beginning to emerge in a race to stabilize New York City's coastal communities significantly impacted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, many impacted neighborhoods are still trending toward greater vulnerability plaguing recovery and preparedness for the next wave of potentially larger storms.

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One Million K-12 Students Are Homeless

      

The number of homeless students in public preschools, elementary schools, middle schools and high schools is at an all-time high.  Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

CLICK HERE - Department of Education
Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program - Data Collection Summary (34 page .PDF report)

truth-out.org - by Crystal Shepeard - November 3, 2013

. . . For many students, when they go to school each morning, they may have no idea where they will be sleeping that night.

The Department of Education released its latest report on homeless students last month and the numbers are startling. More than 1.2 million K–12 students for the 2011-12 school year were homeless.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLES IN THE LINKS BELOW:

Student homelessness hits record high

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Senators introduce pro-Keystone XL bill to bypass Obama administration

 Senator Mary Landrieu, of Louisiana. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/APImage: Senator Mary Landrieu, of Louisiana. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

theguardian.co.uk - May 1st, 2014 - Suzanne Goldenberg

Barack Obama faced a new challenge on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on Thursday when Democrats and Republicans in the Senate introduced a bill taking the decision out of his hands.

The bill, introduced by Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu and North Dakota Republican John Hoeven, would bypass Obama, authorising immediate construction of the 1,660-mile pipeline.

The two senators said they were hoping for a vote as early as next week. Landrieu said she hoped to “greenlight construction of the pipeline immediately”.

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States With Highest Rates of Preventable Deaths

Modifiable risk factors could help combat scourges like heart disease, cancer, CDC says

webmd.com - by Dennis Thompson

THURSDAY, May 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- People in the southeastern United States have a much greater risk of dying early from any of the nation's five leading causes of death, federal health officials reported Thursday.

Those living in eight southern states -- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee -- endure 28 percent to 33 percent of all potentially preventable deaths from heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke and unintentional injury, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.

"This data is yet another demonstration that when it comes to health in this country, your longevity and health are more determined by your ZIP code than they are by your genetic code," CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said during a news conference.

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We Don't Know What Normal Is Anymore: Confronting Extreme Weather on U.S. Farms

huffingtonpost.com - by Claire O'Connor - May 3, 2014

Matt Russell has seen strange weather before. As a fifth-generation Iowa farmer, he’s used to being at the whims of the skies. But ominous changes are underway at his Coyote Run Farm, and lately, he’s been trying to cope with “the wrong weather at the wrong time.”

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Chikungunya Virus Outbreak Likely in the U.S., Say Experts

submitted by John Carroll

As the chikungunya virus spreads through the Caribbean islands, travelers and even U.S. residents need to take precautions.

healthline.com - by Dana K. Cassell - May 7, 2014

Chikungunya (pronounced chik-en-gun-ye) is a viral disease transmitted to humans by the bites of infected Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which are found across the globe. .

. . . Originally believed to be a “tropical” disease, experts were surprised when an outbreak occurred in northeastern Italy in 2007. Now it has spread farther—to 14 Caribbean island countries since it was first detected on the island of St. Martin in December 2013.

Mosquitoes May Spread the Virus to the Southeastern U.S.

Because the Caribbean islands are close to the U.S., there is some concern that chikungunya will spread to the U.S., perhaps via Florida.

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CLICK HERE - CDC - Chikungunya in the Americas

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