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Lawmakers pressed government scientists Wednesday to explain what effects a chemical used to get rid of oil will have on the Gulf’s ecosystem, even as a new report by the Obama administration characterized the effort as remarkably successful. BP applied nearly 2 million gallons of a chemical dispersant to the oil as it spewed from the broken underwater well. The aim was to break apart the oil into tiny droplets so huge slicks wouldn’t tarnish shorelines and coat marine animals, and to make the oil degrade more rapidly. A report released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that 9.6 percent of the estimated 172 million gallons of oil released into the Gulf was dispersed by the chemicals. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., called use of the chemicals a “grand experiment.” He said it was unclear whether it would limit damage from the spill, or cause greater harm. Paul Anastas, the assistant administrator for the Office of Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said that while the effects of such a large quantity of dispersants are unknown, tests so far have not found dispersants near coasts or wetlands. Laboratory tests conducted by the EPA comparing the chemicals to oil alone and to mixtures of oil and dispersants also show that they are not more toxic. Story continues below… “When you look at all of the tools to combat this tragedy … dispersants have shown to be one important tool in that toolbox,” Anastas told lawmakers. The chemical — Corexit 9500 — was on a federal list of preapproved dispersants, but in May the EPA directed BP to use less of the toxic chemical because its long-term effects were unknown. While Corexit was used in previous oil spills, BP for the first time applied the chemical beneath the water surface, where the oil was coming out of the well. Typically, dispersant is applied to oil pooled on the surface. And never before had such a large amount of the dispersant been used. ___ On the Net: EPA Dispersant Studies: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill Source: AP News Mochila insert follows… Powered by Mochila

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Walt Disney Co. agrees to sell Miramax Films for $660M; deal ends six-month bidding process. The Walt Disney Co. said Friday that it agreed to sell its Miramax Films to an investor group for about $660 million, ending a 17-year association with the studio and a six-month bidding process. Miramax’s Oscar-laden film library has more than 700 titles, including prestigious films such as “My Left Foot” (1989), “Pulp Fiction” (1994) and “Good Will Hunting” (1997). But Disney had been looking to sell Miramax amid a studio overhaul because it no longer resonated with its other family centric studio units such as Pixar and Marvel. “Although we are very proud of Miramax’s many accomplishments, our current strategy for Walt Disney Studios is to focus on the development of great motion pictures under the Disney, Pixar and Marvel brands,” said Disney president and CEO Robert A. Iger said in a statement. “We are delighted that we have found a home for the Miramax brand and Miramax’s very highly regarded motion picture library.” Story continues below… The entertainment company signed an agreement late Thursday with Filmyard Holding, an investor group led by construction magnate and Hollywood outsider Ronald Tutor. Other investors include Colony Capital LLC, a real estate investment group, and its CEO Tom Barrack. Tutor and his partners put down a nonrefundable deposit of $40 million to Disney on Thursday. Disney said the deal could close as soon as Sept. 10. Despite its past success with prize-winning films, Miramax also faces challenges. Earlier this year, Disney stopped investing in its new projects, laying off all but a handful of staff beginning in January in a major round of cost-cutting and reorganization under its new studios chairman, Rich Ross. It was one of many niche labels shuttered or downsized in Hollywood recently, plagued by high costs and few commercial hits despite their occasional critical success. The label was founded in 1979 by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who named it after their parents, Miriam and Max. It was sold to Disney for $80 million in 1993, and the brothers stayed on as managers. But the duo left in 2005 to found The Weinstein Co. after years of troubled relations with Disney and a public spat over Michael Moore’s 2004 documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which Disney refused to distribute. The Weinstein’s recent bid to buy Miramax with the financial backing of supermarket magnate Ron Burkle was halted after Burkle cut the offered price to about $565 million from $625 million. Disney shares closed Thursday at $33.71. Source: AP News Powered by Mochila

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Oil from BP’s blown out well is again seeping into the Gulf of Mexico, but this time, more slowly and scientists aren’t convinced the cap that stopped the flow last week is making things worse. The government said Monday that oil was seeping into the Gulf after days of warning that the experimental cap on the oil well could cause more leaks. Despite what at first seemed a setback, though, the federal government declared the development insignificant and forged ahead with BP’s plan for finally sealing the hole in the ocean floor. Ever since the cap was used to bottle up the oil last week, engineers have been watching underwater cameras and monitoring pressure and seismic readings to see whether the well would hold or spring a new leak, perhaps one that could rupture the sea floor and make the disaster even worse. Small amounts of oil and gas started coming from the cap late Sunday, but “we do not believe it is consequential at this time,” retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said. Story continues below… Also, seepage from the sea floor was detected over the weekend less than two miles away, but Allen said it probably has nothing to do with the well. Oil and gas are known to ooze naturally from fissures in the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. At a Monday afternoon briefing in Washington, Allen said BP could keep the cap closed at least another 24 hours, as long as the company remained alert for leaks. Since the cap was closed Thursday, beachgoers have reported less oil fouling the shore. Bob Broadway, 41, of Huntsville, Ala., said his vacation spot in Orange Beach, Ala., has improved from a month ago. Then, he said, the oil was thick “like chocolate” and the beach smelled like “an old mechanic’s garage.” “The beach looks better now than before,” he said Monday. BP and the government had been at odds over the company’s desire to simply leave the cap in place and employ it like a giant cork in a bottle until a relief well being drilled deep underground can be used to plug up the well permanently. Allen initially said his preference was to pipe oil through the cap to tankers on the surface to reduce the slight chance that the buildup of pressure inside the well would cause a new blowout. That plan would require releasing millions more gallons of oil into the ocean for a few days during the transition — a spectacle BP apparently wants to avoid. On Monday, Allen budged a bit, saying unless larger problems develop, he’s not inclined to open the cap. Also on the table: Pumping drilling mud through the top of the cap and into the well bore to stop up the oil flow. The idea is similar to the failed top kill plan that couldn’t overcome the pressure of the geyser pushing up. BP said it could work now because there’s less oil to fight against, but it wasn’t clear how such a method would affect the cap’s stability. Allen said the relief well was still the plan for a permanent fix. BP and the government are still trying to understand why pressure readings from the well are lower than expected. Allen offered two possible explanations: The reservoir the oil is gushing from is dwindling, or there is an undiscovered leak somewhere down in the well. Work on a permanent plug is moving steadily, with crews drilling into the side of the ruptured well from deep underground. By next week, they could start blasting in mud and cement to block off the well for good. Killing the well deep underground works more reliably than bottling it up with a cap. Somewhere between 94 million and 184 million gallons have gushed into the Gulf over the past three months in one of America’s worst environmental crises. BP PLC said the cost of dealing with the spill has now reached nearly $4 billion. The company said it has made payments totaling $207 million to settle claims for damages. Almost 116,000 claims have been submitted and more than 67,500 payments have been made. BP stock was down slightly Monday. ___ Powered by Mochila

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The International Criminal Court added three genocide counts Monday to the charges against Sudan’s President Omar al-Beshir in a move hailed as “a victory” by rebels. “There are reasonable grounds to believe that (Omar al-Beshir) acted with specific intent to destroy in part the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawaethnic groups” in Darfur, said a new warrant issued Monday — the court’s first for genocide. The Justice and Equality Movement rebel group called the development “a victory for the people of Darfur and the entire humanity.” “It will give hope to the people of Darfur that justice will be made,” spokesman Ahmad Hussein told AFP. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was “deeply concerned by the nature of charges against president Beshir”, spokesman Farhan Haq told a press briefing in New York. Story continues below… Ban urged the Khartoum government “to provide its full support to the work of the ICC and address issues of justice and reconciliation,” he said. In March last year, the ICC issued a warrant for Beshir’s arrest on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, its first ever for a sitting head of state. But that warrant did not include three genocide charges as requested by prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who appealed the court’s decision. In February, the ICC appeals chamber ordered judges to rethink their decision to omit genocide, saying they had made an “error in law” by setting the burden of proof too high. In Monday’s decision, the court said there were reasonable grounds to believe that villages and towns “were selected on the basis of their ethnic composition” for attack by Sudanese government forces. “Towns and villages inhabited by other tribes, as well as rebel locations, were bypassed in order to attack towns and villages known to be inhabited by civilians belonging to the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.” It also appeared likely that “acts of rape, torture and forcible displacement were committed against members of the targeted ethnic groups,” said the court. The prosecutor had presented evidence of government forces contaminating the wells and water pumps of villages inhabited by these groups, who were also subject to forcible transfer “in furtherance of the genocidal policy,” said the court. “One of the reasonable conclusions that can be drawn is that … the conditions of life inflicted on the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups were calculated to bring about the physical destruction of a part of those ethnic groups,” it added As president and commander-in-chief, Beshir likely “played an essential role in coordinating” a common plan to this end, said the judgment. The court ordered its registry to send a request for cooperation to the government of Sudan, all signatories to the court’s founding Rome Statute and all UN Security Council members who had not signed, “seeking the arrest and surrender” of Beshir on both warrants. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo accuses Beshir of personally instructing his forces to annihilate the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa. The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died since conflict broke out in Darfur in 2003, when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime for a greater share of resources and power. Sudan’s government says 10,000 have been killed. Beshir rejects the jurisdiction of the ICC, the world’s only independent, permanent court with authority to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and has refused to hand over two key allies wanted for crimes in Darfur. Moreno-Ocampo will respond to the latest ruling at a press conference in Paris on Wednesday, his office said.

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Dr. Maria New has a new strategy for treating unborn fetuses: the use of a potentially dangerous steroid aimed at preventing a rare congenital disorder that affects the adrenal gland, potentially consigning the future child to a lifetime regime of drugs. It also prevents “some of the symptoms of [this disorder] in girls, namely ambiguous genitalia. Because the condition causes overproduction of male hormones in the womb, girls who are affected tend to have genitals that look more male than female, though internal sex organs are normal.” Dr. New offers pregnant women dexamethasone, a risky steroid aimed at female fetuses that may have this disorder. Many exposed to dexamethasone through this off-label use are not being enrolled in controlled clinical trials. And yes, it gets worse. As columnist Dan Savage points out , Dr. New is also exploring the use of dexmethasone’s effects on future fetuses’ desires to explore “male careers” or have disinterest in becoming mothers. The majority of researchers and clinicians interested in the use of prenatal “dex” focus on preventing development of ambiguous genitalia in girls with CAH. CAH results in an excess of androgens prenatally, and this can lead to a “masculinizing” of a female fetus’s genitals. One group of researchers, however, seems to be suggesting that prenatal dex also might prevent affected girls from turning out to be homosexual or bisexual. Story continues below… Pediatric endocrinologist Maria New, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Florida International University, and her long-time collaborator, psychologist Heino F. L. Meyer-Bahlburg, of Columbia University, have been tracing evidence for the influence of prenatal androgens in sexual orientation…. They specifically point to reasons to believe that it is prenatal androgens that have an impact on the development of sexual orientation. The authors write, “Most women were heterosexual, but the rates of bisexual and homosexual orientation were increased above controls . . . and correlated with the degree of prenatal androgenization.” They go on to suggest that the work might offer some insight into the influence of prenatal hormones on the development of sexual orientation in general. “That this may apply also to sexual orientation in at least a subgroup of women is suggested by the fact that earlier research has repeatedly shown that about one-third of homosexual women have (modestly) increased levels of androgens.” They “conclude that the findings support a sexual-differentiation perspective involving prenatal androgens on the development of sexual orientation.” And it isn’t just that many women with CAH have a lower interest, compared to other women, in having sex with men. In another paper entitled “What Causes Low Rates of Child-Bearing in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia?” Meyer-Bahlburg writes that “CAH women as a group have a lower interest than controls in getting married and performing the traditional child-care/housewife role. As children, they show an unusually low interest in engaging in maternal play with baby dolls, and their interest in caring for infants, the frequency of daydreams or fantasies of pregnancy and motherhood, or the expressed wish of experiencing pregnancy and having children of their own appear to be relatively low in all age groups.” In the same article, Meyer-Bahlburg suggests that treatments with prenatal dexamethasone might cause these girls’ behavior to be closer to the expectation of heterosexual norms: “Long term follow-up studies of the behavioral outcome will show whether dexamethasone treatment also prevents the effects of prenatal androgens on brain and behavior.” In a paper published just this year in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, New and her colleague, pediatric endocrinologist Saroj Nimkarn of Weill Cornell Medical College, go further, constructing low interest in babies and men—and even interest in what they consider to be men’s occupations and games—as “abnormal,” and potentially preventable with prenatal dex: “Gender-related behaviors, namely childhood play, peer association, career and leisure time preferences in adolescence and adulthood, maternalism, aggression, and sexual orientation become masculinized in 46,XX girls and women with 21OHD deficiency [CAH]. These abnormalities have been attributed to the effects of excessive prenatal androgen levels on the sexual differentiation of the brain and later on behavior.” Nimkarn and New continue: “We anticipate that prenatal dexamethasone therapy will reduce the well-documented behavioral masculinization…” It seems more than a little ironic to have New, one of the first women pediatric endocrinologists and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, constructing women who go into “men’s” fields as “abnormal.” And yet it appears that New is suggesting that the “prevention” of “behavioral masculinization” is a benefit of treatment to parents with whom she speaks about prenatal dex. In a 2001 presentation to the CARES Foundation (a videotape of which we have), New seemed to suggest to parents that one of the goals of treatment of girls with CAH is to turn them into wives and mothers. Showing a slide of the ambiguous genitals of a girl with CAH, New told the assembled parents: “The challenge here is… to see what could be done to restore this baby to the normal female appearance which would be compatible with her parents presenting her as a girl, with her eventually becoming somebody’s wife, and having normal sexual development, and becoming a mother. And she has all the machinery for motherhood, and therefore nothing should stop that, if we can repair her surgically and help her psychologically to continue to grow and develop as a girl.” In the Q&A period, during a discussion of prenatal dex treatments, an audience member asked New, “Isn’t there a benefit to the female babies in terms of reducing the androgen effects on the brain?” New answered, “You know, when the babies who have been treated with dex prenatally get to an age in which they are sexually active, I’ll be able to answer that question.” At that point, she’ll know if they are interested in taking men and making babies. In a previous Bioethics Forum post, Alice Dreger noted an instance of a prospective father using knowledge of the fraternal birth order effect to try to avoid having a gay son by a surrogate pregnancy. There may be other individualized instances of parents trying to ensure heterosexual children before birth. But the use of prenatal dexamethasone treatments for CAH represents, to our knowledge, the first systematic medical effort attached to a “paradigm” of attempting in utero to reduce rates of homosexuality, bisexuality, and “low maternal interest.”

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President Obama called for “America to seize its own destiny” and stop depending on foreign oil in his Oval Office speech Tuesday. But Obama is just the latest in a long line of presidents who have tried to get the U.S. off of oil and failed, Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart says. Stewart presented a little history lesson Wednesday to remind his viewers just how hard it would be for America to beat its oil addiction. Unlike many of his predecessors, Obama is one of the few presidents who has been willing say that oil is a finite resource. “For decades we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny,” Obama said Tuesday. But the call to end the country’s dependence on oil isn’t a new one. In his 2006 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush said, “This country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum based economy and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.” Story continues below… “But back then in 2006 we didn’t do it because oil dependence had at that point only entangled us in two simultaneous wars,” Stewart noted. “But now it’s gotten us into two wars and a giant spill. That’s the push we needed,” he said sarcastically. “I wish we had taken care of this energy problem ten years ago when there was no war and the economy was great. That would have been a great time to develop a long-term energy strategy,” said Stewart. “I bet the four guys before him would have gotten us off of foreign oil too if they had thought of it,” Stewart continued. But they did. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan told a joint session of Congress, “We will continue supportive research leading to the development of new technologies and more independence of foreign oil.” In 1979, President Jimmy Carter appeared outraged at the “intolerable dependence on foreign oil.” So was Nixon, in 1974: “We’ll break the back of the energy crisis. We will lay the foundation for our future capacity to meet America’s energy needs from America’s own resources.” Stewart was nearly speechless at the failure of the last eight presidents. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me eight times, am I a f**king idiot?” he wondered. This video is from Comedy Central’s The Daily Show , broadcast June 16, 2010.

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Bill to focus on safety regulations, emergency well shutoff techniques, ‘updated criminal and civil penalties’ The top US senator pressed key lawmakers Thursday to craft legislation by July 4 to prevent the kind of “economic, social and environmental devastation” wrought by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told major committee chairs that he aimed to include their proposals in a comprehensive energy and climate change bill he hoped to bring to a full Senate vote in the next three months. “I think it is extremely important that you each examine what could be included in a comprehensive energy bill that would address the unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico,” Reid wrote in a letter. “The economic, social and environmental devastation occurring there now due to the oil pollution is unprecedented,” he said, pushing for steps to address the crisis and “reduce the risks of such a catastrophe happening again.” Story continues below… Reid’s letter went to the chairs of the finance, energy, environment, banking, judiciary, homeland security, agriculture, and commerce committees, which have jurisdiction over key parts of the overall climate bill. “I hope to bring comprehensive clean energy legislation before the full Senate later this summer,” said the majority leader. Reid suggested a need for new measures to ensure oil companies are accountable for the full damages caused by spills; compensate oil pollution-related losses; and updated criminal and civil penalties. “In addition, we must make sure that effective federal safety standards are in place and effectively enforced and that we are better equipped to avert, detect and adequately respond to disastrous failures in the future,” he said. Reid said the United States “cannot now afford to halt” domestic oil production, “but we can demand that companies operating in deepwater invest in the development and deployment of emergency response technologies and safety procedures that are sufficient to handle worst case scenarios.” And he called for a more aggressive effort to develop alternative fuels and new-energy vehicles to “move much more quickly to kick the oil habit as soon as possible” and urged proposals be unveiled “before the Fourth of July recess.” “We must act soon to ensure there are no statutory impediments to quick action in the Gulf of Mexico and to moving forward rapidly on a safer, cleaner and more secure energy policy,” he said.

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