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Today’s Quote

When someone tells me there is only one way to do things, it always lights a fire under my butt. My instant reaction is, I’m gonna prove you wrong. 
-Picabo Street 

Today’s Quote

Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind

                                    -Robert G Ingersoll

Today’s Quote

Sometimes the best helping hand you can get is a good, firm push

– Joann Thomas

Popular off-limits Colorado peaks reopen to summer climbing

For hikers and climbers all over the country, tackling Colorado fourteeners (peaks with elevations above 14,000 feet) is a focal point of their summer adventures. But since 2005, access to at least three of them—Lincoln, Democrat, and Bross—has been closed, creating frustration for anyone hoping to bag all 54. Private land owners with peakbagging trails on their property cited laibility concerns over open mine shafts and vandalization.

Peakbaggers, rejoice: On June 1, the Kite Lake trail reopened, giving hikers access to Mounts Lincoln and Democrat. Landowners near Bross have not yet reached a settlement, so that peak remains inaccessble. 

The trail reopening resulted from strenuous, multi-year negotiations between the private landowners and the Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative (MRHI), Colorado Mountain Club, Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, the Town of Alma, and the U.S. Forest Service-South Park District. 

The reopening remains conditional, and if hikers stray away from the trail or approach any remnant mining structures, landowners could close the trails again. So behave, hikers—and maybe we’ll get Bross on board.

—Ted Alvarez

14ers Lincoln, Democrat reopen (Examiner)

Image Credit: Uhlman

Thanks to Easy E

Arctic Circle – A Daily Global Warming Comic

(c) 2008 Alex Hallatt, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

BPA use will likely be contained

The Food and Drug Administration is revisiting safety concerns surrounding the plastic hardener Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA. The FDA is likely to ban BPA in baby bottles, cups and food containers. Sarah Gardner reports.

Today’s Quote

Don’t be afraid to take a big step if needed. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.

– Anonymous

4 Good Signs That Bisphenol A’s Days Are Numbered

 

Just since yesterday, several important events have taken place that are worth noting.

1. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak have sent a letter to the new administration at the FDA asking them the expeditiously re-evaluate the safety of BPA. They also expressed concern that the previous FDA administration relied too much on the BPA industry when forming their opinion that BPA was safe and have asked for a review of their process. The letter  reads, “News of an industry meeting last week to discuss ways to block restrictions on BPA suggest industry has little interest in scientific facts or the public health.  The FDA’s reliance on industry studies in determining BPA’s safety must be re-evaluated in light of clear signs industry is willing to mislead the American people on this public health issue.”

 2. Representatives Waxman and Stupak also sent a letter to the North American Packaging Alliance, the industry group that promotes the use of BPA in food can linings and asked for all the documents and participants in meetings to discuss BPA strategy for the past 2 months. This strategy was reported to include “befriending people that are able to manipulate the legislative process.” And “a public relations strategy they hoped would include the “holy grail” of “showcasing a pregnant woman to talk about the chemical’s benefits.” Mr Waxman and Mr. Stupak have asked for a response by June 16th.

3.  An AP newswire story this afternoon about these latest developments included a quote from the FDA saying that they would be taking a “fresh look” at BPA and that their review will be completed quickly, in “weeks not months.”  

4. Finally, a victory in California!! The bill to ban BPA in children’s products passed by a slim margin out of the state Senate.  The bill will now go to the Assembly for consideration.

To see all of what Sarah Janssen found, click HERE.

Re-Discovering H2o

I thought I had water figured out. Municipal tap and all its goodies like chlorine, fluoride, pharmaceuticals, and toilet paper residue were long gone from my reality. When I would see friends and family drinking it I would cringe inside. We are giving ourselves a light dose of antibiotics when we drink chlorinated water. And fluoride? Can anyone say mind control? Google “fluoride mind control” for some very interesting reading material.

I was a bottled water drinker. I hated the idea of all the plastic, but I tried as much as possible to buy gallon bottles and to reuse them for watering my plants or other duties. I figured they were quickly recycled anyways.

Then I started to learn about xenoestrogens (estrogens found outside of nature, such as in PLASTIC), and how they were totally screwing with our endocrine systems. Feminizing men and giving cancer to women…wha? Just because plastic is EVERYWHERE, doesn’t mean that its ok to use. We are not only what we eat, but also what we drink. Drink more plastic…could it be? So what to do about all of this? To read what Anthony Anderson found, click HERE.

House panel wants new review of BPA safety

A congressional committee is investigating whether the Food and Drug Administration gave undue influence to chemical makers after several recent reports in the Journal Sentinel revealed how government regulators relied heavily on industry lobbyists when considering the safety of the controversial chemical bisphenol A.

Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, wrote FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg on Tuesday, asking the agency to examine its relationship with industry groups. They also want the FDA to reconsider its assessment that the chemical is safe.

To read the rest of  Meg Kissinger and Susanne Rust’s article, click HERE.

National Trails Day is Gonna be Huge This Year

Oh man, my National Trails Day Party is gonna be HUGE this year. We’ll talk about our favorite trails, make some plans to do a group trail clean-up, and then drink toasts to the NTD creatorRonald Regan. Or maybe this nationally designated day will go unnoticed again. After all, NTD is the result of a 1987 report recommending all Americans be able to access trails within 15 minutes of walking out their front door, and something tells me that ambitious goal hasn’t quite been met. If you’re a great community organizer and feel like putting together an event to hack your own illegal trails out of someone else’s property, then you can register your plans with the American Hiking Society.   By Rocky Thompson

Arctic Circle – A Daily Global Warming Comic

(c) 2008 Alex Hallatt, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Today’s Quote

When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important. 
-Bill Shoemaker

Arctic Circle

 

 

 

Global Warming, we’re laughing –with it…? Well we’re at Hydro Flask we believe that we should be entitled to a good laugh every now and again. That’s why we’re going to start running Arctic Circle.

 

Click HERE for a little about the Cartoonist Alex Hallett.-

And click HERE to learn about the Characters.

FDA reviewing decision on safety of BPA

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing its conclusion from last year that a much-debated chemical used in baby bottles and food containers is safe for infants.

The news came just hours after two influential Democrats sent a letter Tuesday questioning that decision to new FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. She has pledged to restore confidence in the agency by putting science first in its decision-making process.

The FDA ruled last year that trace amounts of bisphenol-A, or BPA, that leach out of bottles and food packaging are not dangerous. But the agency’s own advisers faulted the report for relying on a small number of industry-sponsored studies. And consumer advocates said it ignored dozens of animal studies suggesting the chemical can interfere with infant hormone levels. To read the rest of MATTHEW PERRONE’s article, click HERE.

 

Dean Potter: I Do Not Have a ‘Death Wish’

Dean Potter responds to, well, the response to his latest record-breaking solo slackline walk of a 100-foot span over Taft Point in Yosemite. His response is a reasoned explanation of what goes into slacklining a massive gap with no backup and includes at least two references to martial arts and a nod to Johnny Cash.

Here’s a short sample, but the whole post is well worth the read:

It’s pretty ‘out there’ I know for many of you to understand me.  If you don’t see how consistently I practice and the amount of time I plan out everything I do, I can understand how I may seem like a madman.  Do realize though that I hold myself back and operate far below my max while freesoloing.  I do not have a ‘death wish’.  I’ve been free soloing since I was a little boy.  My will to live is the strongest force within me.  I think that is something we all have in common.

via prAna By Rocky Thompson

Ban on BPA moves forward in Ca. legislature

The bottle battle is heating up in California.

The state Senate narrowly approved a proposal today that would ban the use of a substance in baby bottles, toddler sippy cups and food containers.

The chemical called bisphenol A, but more commonly known as BPA, is said by some independent scientists to pose a threat to childhood development.

Times reporter Eric Bailey in Sacramento writes that the bill  by state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) prohibiting the use of BPA next goes to the Assembly, where it is expected to face fierce resistance from manufacturers of the infant products that contain the controversial chemical.

 To read the rest, click HERE.

HERE COMES THE SUN

Ahoy campers, and welcome to June! We’re spinning through the seasons and approaching the summer equinox, June 21st. That means the sun is tracking higher in the sky, sending its rays down through our atmosphere at a more vertical angle. So the sunlight passes through less air and the filtering affect of earth’s atmosphere is less. Add in longer daylight hours, and it’s cooking time for the next couple months – Total sunburn alert. You too, could be a lobster with a little inatttention.

Perhaps a little Dr. Science background is in order: Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, self-propagating waves that oscillate at a particular frequency. For geekaholics, the electrical and magnetic components of each wave oscillate in phase, perpendicular to each other and the direction that the radiation travels. Since oscillating electrical fields generate a magnetic field, and vice versa, these oscillating components, together, keep the wave self-propagating.

However – energy exhibits both wave-like and particle-like behaviors, (this is called the wave-particle duality). In the particle model of electromagnetic radiation, a wave consists of energy packets (particles) called photons. The wave’s frequency is proportional to the particle’s energy, so more energetic packets operate at a faster vibration and shorter wavelength. Classed by frequency (length) of waves, the electromagnetic spectrum runs the gamut from the very-long-wave radio emissions, through infrared, the visible spectrum, and on to very short wavelength “high photon energy” frequencies like ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma rays.  To read the rest of Steve Howe’s story, click HERE.

Today’s Quote

The only way to overcome is to hang in. Even I’m starting to believe that. 
-Dan OBrien

Beer Is Better Than Water For Rehydrating After Exercise.

 

Yes it’s true! Not only does beer help the rhythm-challenged boogie like a fool, it’s also been shown to rehydrate an athlete after a hard workout. Scientists at Granada University in Spain tested several individuals who ran on treadmills to the point of exhaustion. After, they tested to see whether beer or water was more effective for rehydrating the human body. Beer won. They believe that the sugars, salts, and bubbles in beer help the human body absorb fluids more quickly than water. We at Wend, of course, have known this for many, many years but are happy to finally have ’scientists’ backing up our intuition. So, drink people, stay hydrated out there. Thanks to Back Country.com for this.

Today’s Quote

When someone tells me the is only one way to do things, it always lights a fire under my butt. My instant reaction is, I’m gonna prove you wrong. 
-Picabo Street

Strategy Being Devised To Protect Use of BPA

According to internal notes of a private meeting, obtained by The Washington Post, frustrated industry executives huddled for hours Thursday trying to figure out how to tamp down public concerns over the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA. The notes said the executives are particularly concerned about the views of young mothers, who often make purchasing decisions for households and who are most likely to be focused on health concerns. To read more of Lyndsey Layton’s story, click HERE.

Today’s Quote

If at first you dont succeed, you are running about average. 
-M.H. Alderson

Ecowaste pushes passage of bill banning toxic substance in toys

MANILA, Philippines — An environmentalist group asked Congress Thursday to rush the passage of a bill protecting children from phthalates, toxic substances commonly found in toys.

The EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Greenpeace, pushed the swift passage of House Bill 5896 filed by Rep. Narciso Santiago III.

“Chemicals that could put the health and safety of our children at risk should absolutely have no place in children’s toys,” EcoWaste Coalition coordinator Rei Panaligan said in an article on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines website (www.cbcpnews.com).

Panaligan expressed hopes that Congress will prioritize the bill and ensure its approval.

Phthalates are chemicals used to soften hard plastic to make them flexible, which could “lead to developmental disorders, hormonal disruptions and reproductive abnormalities.”

The groups provided lawmakers with documents detailing the hazards of phthalates, particularly on children, who can ingest the chemical when they chew or suck plastic toys and objects.

Click HERE, to read the rest of GMANews.TV’s story