Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) announced Monday she will introduce bail that would "significantly change the nation's food policy" by supporting local and regional farmers. The package of reforms and new programs, dubbed The Local Farm, Food, and Jobs Act, would encourage the production of local food by helping farmers and ranchers and by improving distribution systems, building on the success of farmers markets across the country.

Source: Food Safety News  Author: Helena Bottemiller | Oct 25, 2011

"This is about healthy local food and a healthy local economy. When consumers can buy affordable food grown locally, everyone wins," said Pingree, who owns an organic farm in North Haven, Maine. "It creates jobs on local farms and bolsters economic growth in rural communities."
Pingree tied local food system growth to creating jobs all over the country.
"We've seen explosive growth in sales of local food here in Maine and all across the country. This bill breaks down barriers the federal government has put up for local food producers and really just makes it easier for people to do what they've already been doing," the congresswoman said.

Research Brief: Is Submerged Deepwater Horizon Oil Degrading Offshore?

Comparison of the Chemical Signatures of Tar Mat Samples Deposited by Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011 with Oil Mousse Samples Collected in June 2010 (4 page .PDF report)

http://eng.auburn.edu/files/acad_depts/civil/oil-spill-research.pdf

by Jay Reeves - Associated Press - September 20, 2011

Tar balls mix with seashells washed up near Pensacola Beach, Fla., on Sept. 14 - Melissa Nelson / AP

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Tar balls washed onto Gulf of Mexico beaches by Tropical Storm Lee earlier this month show that oil left over from last year's BP spill isn't breaking down as quickly as some scientists thought it would, university researchers said Tuesday.

Auburn University experts who studied tar samples at the request of coastal leaders said the latest wave of gooey orbs and chunks appeared relatively fresh, smelled strongly and were hardly changed chemically from the weathered oil that collected on Gulf beaches during the spill.

The study concluded that mats of oil — not weathered tar, which is harder and contains fewer hydrocarbons — are still submerged on the seabed and could pose a long-term risk to coastal ecosystems.

Red snapper with abnormal stripes caught by a local commercial fisherman. Scientists are seeing a growing number of Gulf fish with lesions and other health problems and are conducting tests to determine whether they are related to the BP oil spill. / Special to the News Journal

Kimberly Blair - Pensacola News Journal - May 7, 2011

Scientists are alarmed by the discovery of unusual numbers of fish in the Gulf of Mexico and inland waterways with skin lesions, fin rot, spots, liver blood clots and other health problems.

"It's a huge red flag," said Richard Snyder, director of the University of West Florida Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation. "It seems abnormal, and anything we see out of the ordinary we'll try to investigate."

Are the illnesses related to the BP oil spill, the cold winter or something else?

That's the big question Snyder's colleague, UWF biologist William Patterson III, and other scientists along the Gulf Coast are trying to answer. If the illnesses are related to the oil spill, it could be a warning sign of worse things to come.

by Harry R. Weber - Huffington Post - June 8, 2011

The owner of the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last year said Wednesday that a Coast Guard report that faults the company for a poor safety culture and other shortcomings that preceded the disaster is full of errors.

Transocean said in a 112-page response submitted to the U.S. government that the April 22 draft report should be corrected. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement is expected to release a joint final report with the Coast Guard by late next month.

Switzerland-based Transocean insists the blast did not result from poor upkeep, that the blowout preventer was properly maintained and that the general alarm on the rig did not fail to operate automatically. It also said the engines on the rig did not fail to shut down upon detection of gas.

"When a report of this importance purports to reach conclusions and makes findings so at odds with the evidence, questions must be raised about the fact-finding process and whether an agenda, rather than evidence, served as the report's foundation," Transocean said in its response.

Letter Hand-Delivered to Governor Rick Scott today 5/4/11

re: Toxic Waters and Cholera Outbreak in Florida

OpEdNews.com - by Anita Stewart

dear Mike and group:

there seems to be a history of acknowledged trouble in the area.  here are some 
references and contacts.  a nice hurricane or two to churn up the shallow bay 
might worsen conditions further.

spaceimage: http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/EFS/printinfo.pl?PHOTO=STS083-749-28
map: http://www.baynavigator.com/Apalachicola_National_Estuarine_Research_Reserve.cfm
national research reserve: 
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Apalachicola_National_Estuarine_Research_Reserve,_Florida

'best,

Stuart

- - - - -

http://oysterradio.blogspot.com/2011/05/vibrio-cholera-traced-back-to.html
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Vibrio Cholera traced back to Apalachicola Bay oysters

            Some Apalachicola Bay oysters are being recalled after being linked 
to an outbreak of Vibrio cholera.

Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection - Eastpoint Wastewater Treatment Plant
Inspection Report - June 15, 2009 (a 13 page PDF report)

http://whiteeagletimes.yolasite.com/resources/Eastpoint_WWTP_CEI_2009-06-15_19.pdf

_______________________________

submitted by Stuart Leiderman

submitted by Stuart Leiderman

http://gulfofmexicooilspillblog.com/2011/03/20/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-
blog-indian-creek-eastpoint-waste-water-treatment-plant/
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Blog Indian Creek Eastpoint Wastewater Treatment Plant
Posted on March 20, 2011 by Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Blog
Indian Creek Eastpoint Wastewater Treatment Plant
Eastpoint Waste Water Treatment Plant Sewage Plant Waste

Eastpoint Waste Water Treatment Plant Sewage Plant Waste
TESTING RESULTS FOR INDIAN CREEK AND APALACHICOLA BAY

Scientist John Hutchison has been studying Indian Creek in Eastpoint, Florida. 
While studying the toxic water higher than usual radiation background was 
detected possibly from a source upstream. Regardless of the publicized ‘no 
health impact” of Japanese radiation in the United States it is evident the 
“Radioactive Background” will be increased. In areas with higher than normal 
radiation background this is not a welcome addition. Especially in an area 
already being bombarded with toxic chemicals. Photographs and videos taken of