As if there isn’t enough to freak out about….

The Weather (and climate…)

My heat was running this morning. I live in Georgia. It is May and my freakin’ heat was running. It’s cold down here. What we have here is the Greenland Block.

This pattern was set in place in late February, when a Greenland block became established — high pressure over Greenland that stopped the typical west-to-east flow of systems across the United States. Instead, we got a steady dose of cold air pushed to the southeast out of Canada and Alaska.

I am sure this has nothing to do with climate change.

Someone actually said to me there is no climate change because the Smithsonian says we are still in an ice age. Here is the definition of an ice age.

Drill, Baby, Drill…..

The U.S. has more oil and gas reserves than previously estimated. The US Geological Survey has changed its estimates of recoverable oil and gas available in the U.S. The estimates have come from studies in the Williston Basin in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana.

Why is the estimate of the amount of oil going up, even as oil producers do their best to suck that oil out of the ground? Why aren’t the numbers actually going down as that oil is depleted?

There are two main reasons. The first is that geologists’ understanding of oil-containing formations is incomplete. As producers drill more wells, the geologists learn more about the formation.

The second is that the estimate isn’t actually for the total amount of oil underground, but just the amount of oil that can be recovered with existing technology. As technology improves, more oil can be accessed, and the estimate goes up.

More directional drilling and fracking, fill ‘er up!

Pucker up…..

The dangers of lead in lipstick have been debated for many years, but, now a new study says that lead may not be the only problem.

Researchers at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health tested 32 different lipsticks and lip glosses commonly found in drugstores and department stores. They detected lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum and five other metals, some of which were found at levels that could raise potential health concerns.

Lipstick and lip gloss are of special concern because when they are not being blotted on tissue or left as kiss marks, they are ingested or absorbed, bit by bit, by the individual wearing them, the study authors said.

High use of these makeup products could result in potential overexposure to aluminum, cadmium and manganese as well. Over time, exposure to high concentrations of manganese has been linked to toxicity in the nervous system.

I am starting to freak out about all the studies regarding harmful chemicals in cosmetics, skin care products, sunscreens and other beauty items.

Well, just a short list of things to keep me up at night….