ments are safe when used properly, but always consider asking an experienced professional for guidance; this is espe- cially true for botanicals, because some manufacturers make unsupported claims based only on their own research. Gen- erally, nonprofit organizations such as the Linus Pauling Institute (lpi.Oregon State.edu) that do not sell supplement products, present unbiased information.


Final Word


Although conflicting information con- tinues to circulate, abundant scientific evidence verifies that commonsense use of vitamin and mineral supplements is safe and usually helpful. The recom- mendation is to take enough, but not too much, of a deficiency-specific sup- plement, along with nutritious foods, in order to achieve a normal balance. A 2009 report by the U.S. National


Poison Data System indicated that the number of serious adverse events that year from the use of vitamins, minerals, amino acids or herbal supplements was extremely low, with no related U.S. deaths. Many natural healthcare experts, including naturopaths, nutritionists and dieticians, conclude that supplements are useful and in some cases, necessary, especially when treating a significant nutrient or hormonal deficiency. It’s wise to consult a knowledgeable professional before buying the antioxidant du jour mentioned by a friend from the gym.


James Occhiogrosso, a natural health practitioner and master herbalist, specializes in salivary hormone testing and natural hormone balancing for men and women. Find helpful articles at HealthNaturallyToday.com. Connect at 239-498-1547 or DrJim@ HealthNaturallyToday.com.


greenliving


FRACKING WRECKS AMERICA’S BEDROCK


Clear and Present Dangers by Sandra Steingraber


Current environmental policies must be realigned to safe- guard our health, sustain planetary life-support systems and free us from dependence upon fossil fuels.


U


nder the misleading banner of clean and green, the global natu- ral gas rush is on, and nowhere more so than in the United States. We are literally shattering America’s bedrock to bring methane out of the Earth and consuming enormous quantities of pre- cious fresh water to do so, without any clear knowledge of the health or envi- ronmental consequences. Due to econo- mies of scale and required infrastructure, fracking is an all-or-nothing proposition, and each state decides its own fate. The Marcellus Shale forms a 600-mile-long basement foundation for communities spanning New York, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. As the largest natural gas deposit in the country, it has become ground-zero for high-volume, slickwater hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Many more states are equally vulnerable (see GaslandTheMovie.com/map). In a two-to-200-foot-thick bedrock


layer up to a mile below Earth’s sur- face, the shale and its captured meth-


ane, uranium, mercury, arsenic and lead have remained locked in place for millions of years. Above it lie drinking water aquifers.


Prior to the 21st century, capturing methane gas bubbles dispersed within such a horizontal formation, instead of a vertical well, was deemed uneco- nomical and labeled unrecoverable. Now, modern drills can bore down steel piping, some portions encased in cement, and direct pressure-packed explosions of up to 10,000 pounds per square inch of water, sand and chemi- cals into the rock, fracturing it. Next, hundreds of chemicals are injected to reduce friction (thus the term slickwa- ter) so that the fracking fluid can flow easily. The mixture includes acids, rust and scale inhibitors and pesticides to kill microbes, plus sometimes gelling agents, petroleum distillates, glycol ethers, form aldehyde and toluene. The result is that gas flows back up the borehole along with 30 to 60 percent of the injected cocktail of water


natural awakenings January 2013 21


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