Hundreds Evacuated as Floods Hit Lourdes, France

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,238 Days Left 

[October 21, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. 

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,238 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 ...

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Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Flooding forces hundreds of pilgrims to evacuate Lourdes shrine in France 

Hundreds of pilgrims have been evacuated from Lourdes Roman Catholic shrine in France after heavy flooding swamped the area.

About 500 pilgrims, including the sick and disabled, were evacuated from the shrine, nearby campgrounds and parts of the southern city of Lourdes after the Gave de Pau river burst its banks following days of torrential rain, local officials said.

• Lourdes became famous after a local girl claimed she had a vision of the Virgin Mary more than 150 years ago.
• Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine each year, especially the sick and disabled.
• The shrine’s success rate in curing the sick must be a closely guarded secret!

ITALY

The Italian Supreme Court has ruled ‘mobile phone use can cause brain tumors,’ reports said.

FRANCE

Twitter’s censorship policy has been extended to block ‘offensive’ accounts in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, as well as removing anti-Jewish messages and photos in France, said a report.

United Kingdom

At least 130,000 people marched though central London to protest the government’s austerity measures, reports said.

• Similar protests were held in Belfast and Glasgow.
• “There were few reports of trouble although disabled protesters blocked Park Lane and supporters of UK Uncut threatened to take over Starbucks coffee shops,” said a report.
• Youth unemployment in the UK now exceeds one million.

ICELAND

Significant seismic activity has been reported north of Iceland. Some 350 earthquakes, which appeared to be volcanic tremors, have occurred north of Iceland since Friday October 19 [started 19:00 local time] according to Iceland Met Office (IMO).

• Two of the largest quakes struck at a depth of about 10km, measuring 4.9 and 5.2 respectively,  GEOFON Extended Virtual Network (GEVN) reported.
• The quakes occurred about 40km east of the  Tjornes Fracture Zone and 30km SW of Grímsey.
• At least 46 of the quakes measured M3.0 or larger, IMO reported.

Source: Iceland Met Office. © Veðurstofa Íslands

Related Links

• Iceland’s Bárdarbunga May Be Erupting
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE 21 April
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Links Page
• The Next Icelandic Volcano Likely to Erupt Posted April 22, 2010

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

GLOBAL WARNING

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!

Unfit for human consumption

Is the EPA selling you anything unfit for human consumption?

EPA and the Dumping of Sewage Sludge on US Farmland

Consumer groups are pressing Congress to regulate against the practice of dumping of toxic sewage sludge on our farmland. “Farmers, scientists and victims of sludge poisoning will go before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday to investigate the Environmental Protections Agency’s role in the sludge dumped on farms and other lands.” (Source)

“We have enough problems with toxic food as it is without having our food grown in toxic soil and derived from animals who have been sickened, often almost to death, because of these toxins,” said Andrew Kimbrell, the executive director of the Center for Food Safety.

What is so toxic about the sewage sludge?

A lot of toxins are found in sewage sludge including:

• E. coli
• Prions (the ones that cause mad cow disease)
• Highly toxic carcinogens used in flame retardants

Are there any victims?

Yes many! Sludge poisoning has caused serious illness, even death. Victims have reported headaches, fainting spells and nose bleeds. “Contact with sewage sludge can also cause asthma, respiratory problems and tumors. There have been several instances of death linked to exposure to the sludge.”

“It’s a very pernicious cycle here of taking the poisons out of the water but putting it back into our land, and therefore back into our food and water supply,” Kimbrell said. Dumping sludge on farmland is practiced widely because it is legal under EPA rules. About 3 million tons of sewage sludge is dumped on US farmlands each year, some 50 percent of the total production.

What About the EPA?

Citing “insufficient scientific evidence to any harmful effects” EPA nixed a petition in 1983 filed by 73 food and consumer groups asking for a moratorium on sludge dumping until the health, food and environmental impacts of the practice could be assessed.

What about the Department of Agriculture, Aren’t they also responsible?

Yes, they are. Andy McElmurray whose farm was contaminated from sewage sludge successfully sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The court ruled that the EPA’s “purposely manipulated data to squash scientific dissent,” and therefore their data was unreliable.

“Bad science and bad policy has to stop, and I think Congress has had it,” Kimbrell said. “There’s a mood for change now, and here’s where we can begin to see real change.”

Let’s hope Kimbrell would not be disappointed!