8 Invented Diseases Big Pharma Is Banking on

This piece reviews several new drugs with dubious indications and effectiveness that are in the Big Pharma pipeline and are set to be promoted through insidious direct-to-consumer marketing. Resist the hype if you can...
http://www.alternet.org/story/146471/8_invented_diseases_big_pharma_is_banking_on

'Fracking' for natural gas is polluting ground water, study concludes

The results of a Duke University study in PA and NY show methane levels in drinking water that was 17 times higher than normal. 
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2011/0509/Fracking-for-natural-gas-is-polluting-ground-water-study-concludes?utm

This is actually a more complete analysis of the study and the problems that have been documented over the past couple of years in communities where fracking wells have contaminated drinking water.
Fracking Linked to Methane in Flammable Drinking Water for First Time in Scientific History
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/09/fracking-methane-flammable-drinking-water-study_n_859677.html

In a response to mounting public pressure to regulate fracking, President Obama instructed a new study on the safety of the practice. The panel is composed of industry and advocacy groups and it remains to be seen whether adequate regulatory measures will be recommended by the group. This story inaccurately suggests that fracking has been in practice for decades by not focusing on the details of the new practice that was pioneered in 2002 and involves millions of gallons of chemicals in the extraction process. There is also no mention of the Safe Drinking Water Act exemption that the industry enjoys and which safety advocates would to reinstate through the Frac Act.
Energy Department Panel to Revise Standards for Gas Extraction
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/science/earth/07frack.html