And no free tacos in sight.
I don't know how long you’ve had Qumin, Shep, but this has become ever poignant in the past few months. § “”
Although arsenic at high doses kills cells immediately, this study shows that arsenic can be harmful even in low concentrations, says Alan R. Parrish of Texas A&M University in College Station. Hamilton's team observed hormone-disrupting effects using arsenic concentrations comparable to 10 parts per billion (ppb) in water. "These are concentrations that people might be getting," says Parrish.
Large geologic deposits of arsenic exist in Asia, South America, and several U.S. states, as well.
In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lowered the limit of arsenic in drinking water from 50 ppb to 10 ppb. "There's a growing appreciation that arsenic has health effects at much lower doses than we originally thought," says Hamilton.
I also ordered a pound of their Major Dickason's Blend (whole bean, for the coffee mill) and a tea infuser. Amy had brought back some loose (unbagged) English teas for me when she went to Britain a while back. I bought a steeping ball for it, but too much of the leaves floated about, so I bought one specifically designed for one cup at a time.
The midway point is at a place called Bill’s Gun Shop. Apparently the place isn’t open yet, since the gates on the place are still closed. So I just turn the car around and face the road, waiting for my boss to show up, so I could see him driving past.
Half a minute later, Bill himself shows up to open the shop and gives me a funny look as he drives in.
Meanwhile there I am just sitting in the middle of Pittsylvania County in my Taurus with my bigass Nader 2000 sticker on the back, right outside a gun store, just hoping that my boss hurries the hell up, and that Bill doesn’t jump to the wrong conclusion.
Luckily, he showed up 10 or 15 minutes later. At one point I thought I heard banjos playing somewhere. § “”
The rule, which would have reduced by 80 percent the permissible standard for arsenic in drinking water, had been a priority of environmental groups for more than a decade. It had been vigorously opposed by the mining industry and by some municipalities on grounds that the cost of compliance could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars. … The 10 parts per billion standard approved by the Clinton administration is identical to the one adopted several years ago by the European Union and the World Health Organization.
Welcome back to the mentality of harmless tobacco products. Arsenic, like all heavy metals, accumulate in the body over time.
You think compliance is expensive, how about a class action wrongful death suit against your city or county? Arsenic likes oxygen more than your red blood cells do. You don’t mess around with it.
First, it was the air. Now, it’s the water. Just wait, the land is next.
Oh, nevermind. That ball’s already rolling.
I’m sure there’s some significance in some culture about bottling beer on the first day of spring.
Another two weeks are needed for carbonation for it to be finished (but it’s tasty as it is). Then it will patiently sit in the fridge until April 20th. § “”
The image above is a map showing the birthing grounds for caribou in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The dotted zone along the Beaufort Sea is known as the 1002 Area, the region of the wildlife refuge where the oil industry wants to begin drilling.
The map, as well as the rest of the site, was taken down by the USGS without warning, and the research scientist publishing them fired.
Is there any wonder why the site was taken down when it was? Given the options of coincidence or politics, the former is much more plausible, especially given the ties the executive branch has to certain related industries. § “”
We went to Devil’s Marbleyard in James River Face Wilderness. (Yes, the same one aforementioned, but on the west, not east side). Devil’s Marbleyard is a huge boulder field of Chilhowee sandstone originally deposited in a beach enviroment well over half a billion years ago. During the last ice age 12,000 years ago the enviromental conditions were just right to break apart massive beds of sandstone into the boulder field today.
Just as a courtesy note, if you just ate, you might want to get back to this part later.
Once we got up to the Marbleyard we noticed a peculiar smell. It reminded me of the ocean vaguely. Actually a funky smell from down on the wharf. Below a sharp ledge was the unmistakable sight of a bare rib cage. And a large one at that. Upon closer inspection, we saw the bridle still on the head.
There are horse trails throughout the forest, but none nearby. What we initially passed off as a big deer carcass was actually a horse that had fallen either from a small 20' cliff at the base of which it rested or further up somehow.
Below the neck and above the “knees” were just exposed bone. I’ll refrain from going into much further detail, but it really added a macabre twist to our dayhike.
We made it up to the top of trail to an overview of the James River Gorge and a nice down-strike view of the Blue Ridge. We had climbed a little over 1600' in 3 or 4 miles in an hour and a half, which worked out to be just right time and energy wise for a bunch of winter cooped professional types. It’s amazing how quickly you can get out of shape. Then we turned on around and hiked on down.
So we learned very quickly today that 1. never break-in brand new boots on the trail, 2. when you forget your camera you’ll need it most (the boulder field, horse and view from the peak) and 3. if you do do #1, bring a pair of scissors sharp enough to cut moleskin.
I think our next trip is up to Ramseys Draft (a personal favorite). § “”
