Hydrofracking - Full speed ahead or time out?

The time to conduct the research to determine what, if any, long and short term environmental damage is caused by this procedure is NOW. BEFORE corporate investment in the procedure is so vast, lobbyists can prevent action. BEFORE the environment and water supply are seriously damaged. BEFORE we are so dependent upon the product we are willing to sacrifice our environment for it. WHILE individuals and communities still have a voice.

There certainly is enough anecdotal evidence to justify caution.

Haven't we learned enough from the Deep Water Horizon disaster in the Gulf to make us cautious?

A NY Daily News column about the environmental threats of modern hydrofracking: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/07/25/2010-07-25_natural_gas_unnatural_risk.html

A Chesapeake Energy document that describes the process:
http://www.chk.com/Media/CorpMediaKits/Hydraulic_Fracturing_Fact_Sheet.pdf

73,000 Blogs Ripped from the Internet

Last week Blogetry.com "voluntarily" shut down 73,000 blogs in response to an FBI investigation. (Click on the title for one version of the story.) The linked article reports it was done because according to the FBI tens of thousands of users shared extremist, al-Qaeda sponsored hit-lists and instructions on bomb making.

Before the FBI story emerged, the most common speculation about the reason for the shutdown credited a Federal crackdown on music and video piracy.

Several weeks ago (6/24/2010) I wrote a blog about the Internet being Dangerous for Small People and federal officials' interest in bestowing control of access to it to a tiny handful of communications giants like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast.

Several weeks before that Senator Joseph Lieberman suggested that the President needed the authority and means to "turn the Internet off" if the government believed this was necessary in the face of a terrorist threat. The alternative of fortifying this valuable resource against a cyber attack was not mentioned.

The Chinese have restricted Internet access from the get-go. Are they our model?

A cyber-terrorism attack that sabotages our banking, manufacturing, utility and defense grids is a real threat to our national security. To date, our federal government has done little to guard against it. There have been absolutely no indications that the massive blog shut-down had anything to do with that type of threat.

The widespread dissemination of personal information is another Internet threat, resulting in great part from security breaches of government and corporate databases. This serious hazard to individual welfare also goes largely unchallenged by the government. Instead we get constant, meaningless "Privacy Policy" statements from those who possess our most sensitive information.

But the government appears to be very concerned about the threat the Internet poses as a vehicle of free speech. The wild and woolly exchange of information in cyberspace is mind boggling. Its availability as a platform for expression of opinion, ideas, knowledge, experience and creativity is the last best challenge to the institutions that control our media, environment, lives, livelihoods and property. I am more than willing to share the space with those with whom I vehemently disagree in return for the right to express my own viewpoint. Besides, there is always the possibility I might learn something.

Controls can be put in place to prevent terrorist exploitation of this resource. But are there any controls to protect us from those who would muffle free speech?

In the meantime, it is probably a good idea to back up your blogs. I am.

Up, Up and Away - The Solar Impulse

Last week the "Solar Impulse" made aviation history when it stayed aloft for 26 hours, at altitudes exceeding 28,000 feet, proving a solar-powered aircraft could fly through the night.

Pictures of the craft show a beautiful, fragile silhouette against the sky - the stuff that dreams are made of. (Click on the post title to see a picture gallery.)

While part of me wishes this extraordinary feat had been accomplished by a U. S. team, sponsored by U. S. companies, that cannot detract from my excitement and admiration for the visionaries that accomplished it.

According to UPI.com, "The plane has a wingspan of more than 208 feet. The wings are covered with 12,000 highly efficient solar panels that charge the craft's 880 pounds of batteries. The plan was flown...over western Switzerland during the test."

And Reuters.com, "The projects budget is $100 million Swiss francs ($94 million), 80 million francs of which has been secured from sponsors, according to spokeswoman Rachel de Bros. Belgian chemicals company Solvay, Swiss watchmaker Omega, part of the Swatch group, and German banking giant Deutsche Bank, are the three main sponsors. Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), one of two Swiss federal polytechnical universities, is scientific advisor."

The development team hopes last week's achievement will bring in additional funding for future plans for transoceanic and trans global flights.