Current Events in August 2008

There's still no definitive explanation for the health problems that scores of dogs and cats across the country have recently experienced after eating Nutro pet food. One expert says the illnesses are "not consistent" and not likely caused by the food. But others are not so sure.

Dr. Steven Hansen, a veterinary toxicologist who manages the Animal Poison Control Center for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), agreed to review the complaints ConsumerAffairs.com has received about Nutro pet food.

We gave Dr. Hansen unprecedented access to our complaint files in an effort to find out why so many pets have become sick — or even died — after eating Nutro food.

"Unfortunately the cases are not consistent and appear to be anecdotal with no real definitive diagnostic findings," Dr. Hansen told us. "Without any consistent trends in findings we can not do anything any further. This does appear to us to be a situation where bad things happen, but they are not likely food-related."

But another veterinarian, this one in South Carolina, suspects Nutro's food may have played a role in the May 22nd death of a dog that was under her care.

She is trying to find an independent lab to test the food and confirm her suspicions.

As a precaution, this veterinarian has told her local police chief to stop feeding Nutro to the dogs on the city's K-9 Unit.

In other developments:

• ConsumerAffairs.com continues to receive complaints about Nutro food and its possible connection to the illnesses and death dogs and cats nationwide. In the past three months, we have received more than 150 complaints from worried pet owners, many of them longtime Nutro customers;

• ConsumerAffairs.com has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for all the complaints the agency has received in recent months about Nutro food. Despite a Freedom of Information request, the FDA has not yet produced the complaints, which were gathered by public employees at taxpayers' expense and are a matter of public record ;

• Nutro Products Inc. is closing down and laying off a total of 118 employees in City of Industry, California, according to a story posted on CoStar.com.

• A pet safety organization recently tested the Nutro food that two puppies in North Carolina ate before they died in June. The group, Pet Food Products Safety Alliance, tested the food for salmonella and e-coli. The samples were negative for those specific toxins.

Artful spinning

Nutro has posted a statement on its Web site claiming a recent ConsumerAffairs.com story falsely reported that its food had caused some pets to become sick. "Every NUTRO product that was analyzed in relation to the June 23 posting on ConsumerAffairs.com has been shown to be safe," the company wrote in response to our story.

In fact, the story in question said, "A series of mysterious illness and death dogs Nutro pet food. Scores of pet owners report their animals became ill while eating Nutro products, then recovered when they were switched to another brand." It did not directly attribute the reports to Nutro products.

As we've reported, scores of healthy pets across the country — and even some in Hawaii and Italy — have recently experienced sudden and recurring bouts of diarrhea, vomiting, and other digestive problems.

One common link among these dogs and cats is the brand of food they've eaten: Nutro.

Many pet owners who've written to us report that their pets' conditions immediately improved once they stopped eating Nutro.

An analysis of our complaints also revealed that at least seven healthy dogs have died after eating Nutro food. The owners suspect — but cannot prove — that Nutro's food played a role in their pets' deaths.

Employee reports

Former Nutro employees confirm that they have heard similar complaints about the company's food.

Several pet owners, they said, told them their dogs and cats had experienced the same types of health problems: diarrhea, vomiting, and lethargy.

The former employees reported their concerns to their supervisors, but said they were ignored. That's why they resigned.

Nutro, however, has repeatedly defended its food, saying it's "100 percent safe."

Cause still unknown

But if nothing is wrong with the food, why are so many pets getting sick after eating Nutro's products?

That's the mystery we hoped Dr. Hansen could help us solve.

He reviewed more than 50 complaints about Nutro, focusing on the cases in which pet owners had taken their dogs or cats to a vet. But those complaints, he said, revealed a myriad of illnesses.

"Right now, it looks like a mixture of reported clinical signs that reflect normal illnesses in the dog population," he said. "They don't speak to something consistently wrong with the pet food.

"Honestly, it is entirely possible that what we're seeing here (in these complaints) is a raised awareness of reporting illnesses."

In other words, pet owners are more aware of possible illnesses in their dogs and cats — probably because of the pet food recall.

What's Dr. Hansen's advice to worried pet owners?

"Speak to Nutro and your vet about your pets' illnesses. But based on what we see in these complaints, we don't suspect the food is related to these cases."

He added: "I appreciate you looking into these complaints. If we don't look at them, then we don't know what's going on. It's a good thing to ask questions and keep an eye out. And if there is a consistent pattern, then we need to keep looking. I'd rather have us be a little cautious than miss something serious."

K-9 alert

Meanwhile, a veterinarian in South Carolina is trying to solve her own mystery regarding Nutro.

Dr. Calley Hille suspects that food may have played a role in the recent death of one of her client's dogs — a 13-year-old German Shepherd named Elvis.

That healthy dog, she said, died one week after his owner switched him to Nutro's food with glucosamine. And he showed worrisome symptoms immediately after he ate the food.

"Within 20 minutes after eating the food, he started vomiting," Dr. Hille said.

A couple hours later, Elvis started having violent seizures.

"The next morning, his owners brought him in and we drew blood," she said. "The blood work indicated he had some type of food poisoning. He was vomiting, had diarrhea, and elevated pancreatic enzymes."

Dr. Hille immediately took Elvis off Nutro. A few days later, his owners found him in a puddle of water. They rushed him to Dr. Hille's office.

"I initiated CPR and also did a cardiac massage. I tried to pump his heart with my hands."

Despite her efforts, Elvis died.

"He was a healthy older dog," Dr. Hille said. "He was a beautiful 13-year-old German Shepherd. I wanted to know exactly what happened to Elvis. I wanted to know why he died."

That's why — with the owner's permission — she had the state vet do an autopsy on Elvis.

"I expected the necropsy to maybe show that he had a brain tumor, but he didn't have any neurological signs associated with that," Dr. Hille said.

Autopsy raises questions

The autopsy revealed that Elvis died of internal bleeding — apparently from a hematoma on his spleen. The findings surprised Dr. Hille — and raised more questions.

"The state vet couldn't give me any reason for Elvis to have a hematoma on his spleen," she said. "He also said there was no biological reason for Elvis to have had the seizures."

Dr. Hille, however, has a theory.

"In my opinion, the seizures caused the hematoma. It takes a blunt force for those to happen and Elvis had violent seizures. At one point, he was throwing himself against a wall. The seizures are what made the spleen start to bleed."

But what caused Elvis' sudden seizures? Could his pet food be a factor?

"It's most certainly possible that food poisoning could cause seizures," Dr. Hille said. "I'm not laying my credentials on the line and saying that Nutro caused them, but it makes sense."

She added: "Could it be a coincidence that Elvis died a week after he started eating the food? Yes. But no one can show me what that coincidence is. I asked the state vet why Elvis had the hematoma. He said he didn't know. I asked him why he had the seizures. He said he didn't know."

The state vet did not test for any toxins in Elvis' system. "I don't know why," Dr. Hille said.

But it makes her even more determined to test the food — and hopefully solve this mystery.

"We highly suspect there's a connection between the Nutro food and Elvis' seizures, which ultimately caused his death," she said. "His blood work showed signs of reaction to food. I think we can prove that if we test the food.

"But the state of South Carolina will not test it. They don't do that anymore. My problem is I don't know what to test for. I need to look into what toxins cause seizures."

There may be another culprit involved in this mystery — one that should also be tested.

"It's certainly possible that there is something in the (pet food) bags, especially if they're sitting in storage," Dr. Hille said. "If something is in the bag, the food is going to absorb it."

If those tests come back negative, is it possible that Elvis' age played a role in his death? That's not likely, Dr. Hille said.

"If it was an age thing, the state vet should have found it. And he didn't."

Baffled by Elvis' death, Dr. Hille has taken precautionary measures with other dogs she knows are eating Nutro food — specifically, members of K-9 Unit for the city of North Charleston, South Carolina.

Her husband is a handler for the dogs on that unit.

"I ran blood tests on all seven dogs in the K-9 unit," Dr. Hille said. "Three of the seven showed signs that they needed to get on better food. We have taken all the dogs off Nutro and put them on another food. "I ran those tests because of Elvis' case."

Elvis' owner applauds Dr. Hille's efforts to save her family's beloved German Shepherd. And she's just as committed to finding out what caused his sudden death.

"I don't want this to happen to someone else again," says Tracy H. of. North Charleston. "I am so distraught after having to watch my three kids see our wonderful dog die my 13-year-old son gave him CPR to try and keep him alive"

Tracy has searched for a lab — or state or federal agency — to test Elvis' food. But she's hit several roadblocks.

"I can't find anyone to test it. The Department of Agriculture (in S.C.) no longer does testing for toxicology. I called the FDA, but I got a recording. I did leave a message three times, but I never got a return call."

She's not giving up, though.

"It may cost me a great deal of money to pay for testing, but I will make sure that no one ever has to go through what my family has gone through. My sweet, sweet German Shepherd is gone forever and nothing will ever bring him back. But I will make sure that Nutro never does this to a dog again."

Nutro's response

ConsumerAffairs.com contacted Nutro about these concerns and Dr. Hansen's findings.

A company spokeswoman said all Nutro products undergo rigorous testing — beginning with the raw ingredients and ending with the finished products. And she said consumers should not worry about feeding their pets Nutro's foods.

"Nutro products are safe and conform to the standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)," Debra Fair, public relations manager for Mars Petcare, USA, said in a written statement. Mars acquired Nutro in May, 2007. "We are committed to working with these agencies and all stakeholders who share our goal of ensuring the safety of pet food products."

What about the concerns raised by Dr. Hille regarding Elvis' death?

Fair said it would be "irresponsible for us to speculate about the cause of the pet's illness" based on the limited information the company received from ConsumerAffairs.com.

"We encourage the attending veterinarian to contact us so that we can carefully review the details of the case," she said.

Fair also encouraged all consumers with concerns about Nutro to contact the company.

"While consumer concerns about Nutro product quality are rare, we take every complaint seriously. When we learn of an issue, we work with consumers to obtain information and request that samples of any product in question be submitted for testing at an independent facility."

She added: "An in-depth review is performed to determine if an issue does exist. All tested samples of product to date have been shown to be safe and conform to FDA, USDA and AAFCO standards."

She did not, however, state what toxins the company tested for or provide copies of any lab results.

Fair said that many consumers who have contacted ConsumerAffairs.com about Nutro have not shared their concerns with the company.

"A comprehensive review of our call center database shows that the vast majority of individuals posting on your site have not contacted Nutro or provided samples for testing."

Fair also said her company has made repeated efforts to contact all the consumers mentioned in a June 23 ConsumerAffairs.com story about the mysterious deaths of six dogs that had eaten Nutro. The story also focused on the sudden illnesses that pets nationwide and in Italy had experienced after eating the company's food.

"We've either spoken with or left multiple messages for all of the consumers cited in the June 23 posting," Fair said. "There is nothing that indicates that these pet health issues were caused by Nutro pet foods."

But pet owner Sharon A. of Cheektowaga, New York — who was included in our June 23 story — said no one from Nutro has contacted her.

"I've not heard from anyone at Nutro," she told us. Some of the other consumers in our June 23 story had already contacted Nutro.

But others would be hard for Nutro to find because we only identify consumers by their first names and last initials when their complaints are published. Nutro has never contacted ConsumerAffairs.com about those pet owners or asked how they could reach them, although a company spokesman said the information would be "immediately" provided.

"Whenever health and safety are involved, we are happy to immediately share consumer contact information with responsible company researchers, provided the companies agree that they will not take legal action against consumers making comments they object to," said ConsumerAffairs.com President James R. Hood. "No one from Nutro has ever bothered to contact us."

Meanwhile, Fair said her company concurred with Dr. Hansen's findings — and his suggestions to worried pet owners.

"We agree with his recommendation that it is important that consumers with concerns contact Nutro and their veterinarian."

Product shortages

Fair also addressed another issue we've raised before — the shortage of some Nutro products.

"The temporary availability issues that Nutro has experienced with certain products are operational in nature, not quality-related. Shortages of Nutro(tm) Natural Choice Lamb Meal and Rice products at some retail locations are due to the high demand for our products at a time of global shortages in lamb meal We have already secured additional, high-quality supply sources of most raw materials, and are currently working with suppliers in New Zealand and in the U.S. to establish an additional supply of lamb meal."

Some online bloggers have claimed that Nutro may recall some of its food. Fair denied that.

"We have no plans to recall Nutro products," she said.

What about the recent story about lay-offs by the company?

Fair declined to elaborate, stating: "As for the news item you shared regarding our locations in the City of Industry, we have no additional detail to add."

Fair said consumers or veterinarians with concerns or questions about Nutro can contact the company's Consumer Services Department at 1-800-833-5330.

Pet owners' experience

But grieving pet owners like Tracy say that doesn't do any good.

"I called Nutro and they said they have not had complaints of this nature and nor do they have any recalls on the dry food."

Worried pet owners can also contact their local FDA office to report their concerns about Nutro.

They can also call the ASPCA's Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.

More about pets ...

Whether it's at the Olympics or at the neighborhood pool, diving is one of the fastest growing sports in this country.

Every day millions of people do it and every four years during the Olympics, billions of people watch it. So it might surprise you that researchers are just now delving into the dangers of diving boards.

Chelsea Davis will tell you that competing at the highest levels of diving takes persistence. Day after day, dive after dive. No matter how hard she works to get it right even an experienced diver like Chelsea knows how quickly it can all go wrong. At the World Championships in 2005, she hit her head on the diving board and landed in the glare of the media.

"My nose was broken in about ten places, and I fractured my cheek bone and I sprained my neck," she said.

It was one terrifying example of something that happens every day, more often than many of us might think.

"Every year in this country, approximately 6,500 children are treated in emergency departments for diving related injury," said Gary Smith, MD at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

On average that's an injury an hour in the U.S., every hour of every day that most pools are open. According to a study just published in the journal Pediatrics, kids between the ages of 10 and 14 are the most likely to get hurt diving, and boys are taken to the hospital twice as often as girls. Experts say it's not the high risk, high dives that are to blame.

"More than 80 percent of the dive injuries were from a dive height of less than or equal to one meter. So, that is not the highest dive, that's not a platform dive, this is the lowest dive height available at the pool," said Lara McKenzie, PhD, Nationwide Children' Hospital.

A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that the most common injuries while diving were to the head, neck, and face.

Findings revealed that an estimated 111,000 diving-related injuries to persons under the age of 19 were treated in emergency departments from 1990 through 2006. Lacerations and soft tissue injuries were the most common diagnoses, representing more than 58 percent of all injuries.

Collision with the diving board or platform was the leading cause of injury -- the likelihood of collision with the diving board dramatically increased when a diver attempted a flip, handstand or backward dive.

"There is a need for increased prevention efforts to lower the risks of diving-related injuries among children and adolescents," said study co-author Lara McKenzie, PhD, MA, principal investigator in CIRP at Nationwide Children's Hospital. "The recent growth of the sport of diving, coupled with the increasing complexity and difficulty of dives, has resulted in a greater potential for both competitive and recreational diving-related injuries."

"Based on our findings, the largest age group of injured divers was 10- to 14 year-olds," said. "Although this group made up the largest number of injured divers, 10- to 19-years-olds were more at risk for an injury to the extremities. Boys were two times more likely to experience a head or neck injury or a fracture."

Recommended strategies for preventing diving-related injuries include educating divers about jumping into shallow water from the pool edge; placing visible depth indicators around the pool; constructing soft bottom pools; and removing obstacles from lakes, rivers and oceans. The presence of a lifeguard or trainer, as well as teaching proper diving techniques, could reduce the overall number of diving-related injuries.

"Parents, pediatricians, coaches, lifeguards and trainers need to be aware of the types of injuries seen during recreational and competitive diving, as well as the risk factors," said McKenzie.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has suspended its "Clear" registered airline traveler program after a laptop containing personal data on 33,000 pre-enrolled members of the program was stolen from San Francisco International Airport.

The laptop was discovered missing from a locked office at the airport on July 26. The computer, which was password-protected but not encrypted, contained data such as names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and other information.

The data included on the laptop was for new members of the "Clear" program who had not completed the registration procedure.

Verified Identity Pass, Inc (VIP)., the company running the "Clear" program, minimized the risk of identity theft from the stolen data. "There is no reason to believe this is anything other than the simple burglary of a laptop, which the local police are investigating," said (VIP) founder CEO Steven Brill. "For it to be more than that, the thief would have to hack into two different passwordsand even then would not get what identity thieves want mosta Social Security number and/or credit card information."

TSA has ordered VIP to update its security procedures, including encryption for all of its laptops, and to submit to an independent audit to ensure it is in line with TSA's standards before allowing it to resume registrations.

TSA said current "Clear" members would not be affected.

There are several "Registered Traveler" programs in operation around the country, enabling passengers to cut ahead in boarding lines by providing extensive personal data to the TSA and its contractor companies, and by paying regular fees per year. VIP's "Clear" program, with over 48,000 members and service in thirteen airports, is the largest of the programs.

VIP head Brill had previously made news for challenging the TSA's plans to increase fees for the Registered Traveler program to pay for screener salaries. Brill insisted that additional personnel were not needed to handle the "Clear" express boarding lines. The TSA eventually agreed to rescind the proposed rate hike.

Brill also supported the addition of a "ShoeScanner" tool to scan customers' feet without forcing them to remove their shoes during boarding. TSA chief Kip Hawley opposed the new technology, and the program was eventually dropped.

The laptop theft is the latest in a long string of embarrassing gaffes and privacy violations for the TSA, including the creation of a Web site designed to help passengers remove their names from terrorist watch lists that was so insecure it put them at risk for identity theft.

The "Clear" program in particular has been criticized for providing a quick way for wealthier passengers -- or criminals willing to pay-- to board flights without providing any real security benefit.

Writing about "Clear" in 2007, security analyst Bruce Schneier said, "The truth is that whenever you create two paths through security -- a high-security path and a low-security path -- you have to assume that the bad guys will find a way to exploit the low-security path."

The state of California has settled lawsuits against Heinz, Frito-Lay, Kettle Foods and Lance Inc. after the companies agreed to slash levels of the cancer-causing chemical acrylamide in their potato chips and French fries.

"The companies agreed to reduce this carcinogenic chemical in fried potatoes -- a victory for public health and safety in California," said Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. "Other companies should follow this lead and take steps to reduce acrylamide in french fries and potato chips."

In 2005, the attorney general sued McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, KFC, Frito-Lay, Kettle Foods, Lance, Procter & Gamble and Heinz, for selling potato chips and French fries containing high levels of acrylamide, a chemical known to the state to cause cancer.

Acrylamide is a by-product of frying, roasting and baking foods -- particularly potatoes -- that contain certain amino acids. In 2002, Swedish scientists discovered high levels of cancer-causing acrylamide in fried potato products.

The suit was filed against the French fry and potato chip companies under Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which requires companies to post warnings of any cancer-causing chemicals in their products unless they can prove that the levels do not pose a significant health risk.

Last year, restaurant chains including KFC, McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King agreed to post acrylamide warnings at their restaurants and to pay civil penalties and costs. In January, Procter & Gamble agreed to reduce acrylamide in Pringles potato chips by 50 percent so that no warning would be required.

Under these latest settlements, Frito-Lay, Inc., which sells most of the potato chips sold in California, Kettle Foods, Inc., maker of Kettle Chips, and Lance, Inc., maker of Cape Cod Chips will reduce acrylamide over a period of three years to 275 parts per billion.

For Frito Lay, this is about a 20 percent reduction, while for Kettle Chips, which contain far more acrylamide; this is an 87 percent reduction in acrylamide. Most Cape Cod chips are already near the compliance level, but one product, Cape Cod Robust Russets, contains over 7,000 parts per billion of acrylamide, and immediately will either carry a warning label on the package or will be removed from the market.

Frito-Lay will pay $1.5 million in penalties and costs, $550,000 will be forgiven if it can reduce acrylamide in its products in half the time required by the settlement. It will pay an additional $2 million if it fails to reduce acrylamide in the required time. Kettle Foods will pay $350,000 in penalties and costs, while the much smaller Lance, Inc., will pay $95,000 in fees and costs.

The state also reached agreement with Heinz, Inc., the manufacturer of Ore-Ida frozen French fries and tater tots, which will pay $600,000 in penalties and costs and will change its fried potatoes to contain 50 percent less acrylamide.

The U.S. FDA is studying the problem of acrylamide in fried potatoes but has not taken formal action. The FDA's website advises consumers that acrylamide can be reduced by not over-browning potatoes during cooking.

Brown said he will work with the companies to find a way to effectively give consumers information about the acrylamide in their products, while at the same time preventing undue public alarm and unnecessary warning signs concerning foods that contain insignificant amounts of the chemical.

Nearly all kids meals at national restaurant chains exceed the recommended daily intake for a child's meal, according to a report released today by a consumer advocacy organization.

"When you take a kid out to a restaurant, virtually every meal aimed at kids is above their suggested caloric intake,"said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the not-for-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

93 percent of 1,474 kids meal combos at 13 chains exceed the limit of 430 calories that experts recommend for 4-8-year-olds for one meal, according to the report from the CSPI. Topping the list were two items from Chili's kids menu that each offered just over 1,000 calories while many others contained 700 or more.

The report also found there are usually few, if any, healthy items that can be substituted for french fries and other fatty dishes that are often the default sides that come with kids meals.

Obesity rates among children have tripled over the past 20 years and part of the blame lies with restaurants, said Dr. Margot Wootan, a nutritional health expert with CSPI.

"A very large number of children already have the warning signs of heart disease,"Wootan said.

Every kids meal combo at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Sonic, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box and Chick-fil-A exceed the recommended calorie count, according to the report. Subway has the healthiest kids menu with only 33 percent of the meals exceeding 430 calories.

Wootan suggested restaurants post the caloric information on menus, offer more healthy options and that the default side dishes be swapped for healthier items.

"There needs to be more options so parents can find something healthy their kids will eat," Wootan said.

Kids meals offered at Disney resorts automatically come with healthy sides such as fruit and salads. The healthy sides can be exchanged for fries and other less healthy dishes, but 70 percent of the time, patrons keep the meal as it is offered on the menu, Wootan said.

"Kids love grapes and lots of different foods," Wootan said. "Instead, there's usually only french fries."

While some restaurants refuse to share nutritional information, many others only have it available on their Web sites, according to the report.

New York City currently requires chain restaurants to label the calorie contents on the menu in the same size font as the price and name of the item, although the New York State Restaurant Association has a pending lawsuit against the city's decision.

It's the first place in the U.S. to enact such a rule, but similar laws are pending in California and Portland, Ore. Restaurant associations are also lobbying hard in California and Portland, said Cathy Nonas, director of Physical Activity and Nutritional Programs for the New York City Health Department.

"They're spending a lot of money to hide the nutritional information," Nonas said.

Chuck Hunt, executive vice president of the New York State Restaurant Association, said the city's law violates the first amendment and is preempted by a Federal law that exempts restaurants from sharing nutritional information.

He said they are fighting the law because of the city's "inflexible" procedure when creating it.

The California Restaurant Association supports mandating that restaurants offer brochures with nutritional information at the point of sale, but not that they put the calorie count on the menu, said the association's spokesman, Daniel Conway.

"I think every time someone wants to go to a restaurant, they may not want to have this information," Conway said. "It doesn't give the customer a choice."

New York City's law follows a study of 7,000 people that found that restaurant patrons chose on average 52 less calories when given the calorie contents before they purchased their meal.

If restaurants are forced to display the calorie content on the menu, they will be forced to reformulate their menu so that is healthier, Nonas said. She compared it to the law that required processed food manufacturers to disclose whether their food contains trans fats. Since then, trans fats have nearly disappeared from that market, she said.

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

August 3, 2008
Solar power, which some hold out as a promising form of alternative energy, may have just become a lot more practical.

A researcher at MIT has developed a catalyst that he says can generate oxygen from a glass of water by splitting water molecules. His colleagues say that one simple step could lead to an efficient — and cheap — method of storing energy from the sun.

No one disputes that solar cells can generate significant amounts of energy. The problem is, they can't do it for very long each day. The sun provides abundant energy for just a few hours each day, and none at night, requiring supplemental energy sources or a big bank of batteries.

Dr. Daniel Nocera and his research team have in effect created an artificial form of photosynthesis, which is the way plants use sunlight to turn water into usable energy. Using a cheap and easy to make catalyst, they produce a reaction that in turn produces a hydrogen gas. The hydrogen becomes a fuel, which can be burned or used to power a fuel cell to generate electricity on demand.

How big is this breakthrough?

Karsten Meyer, a professor of chemistry at Friedrich Alexander University, in Germany, calls it "probably the most important single discovery of the century." True, the century is only eight years old, but still, that's saying something.

Scientists say the most significant aspect of the breakthrough is the use of an inexpensive and easy to make catalyst. That, they say, would allow the energy produced from the process to be done at a lower cost that previously believed possible.

Obviously, consumers won't see the benefits of this breakthrough in the short run. Its one thing to make it work in a laboratory, it's quite another to produce it on a scale that it can make a significant contribution to the power grid.

But because of its simplicity and the low cost of the materials involved, other researchers are expected to begin their own experiments, perhaps leading to a commercially viable hydrogen fuel system, powered by the sun.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officially voted 3-2 on Friday to penalize Comcast for its blocking of customer access to file-sharing engine BitTorrent. Although the FCC voted not to fine Comcast for its actions, the decision would set precedent against Internet service providers (ISPs) that attempt to block or shape their customers' Internet traffic.

FCC chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, and commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps, both Democrats, all stated that Comcast violated the FCC's "Internet Principles" through its shaping of customers' Internet traffic. The Policy Statement, adopted in 2005 under previous chairman Michael Powell, principles include the rights of consumers to have lawful access to the Internet, to attach devices and run applications that are legal and cause no harm, and to enjoy competition among service providers.

"We begin by affirming that the Commission can and will enforce the Internet Principles," Martin said. "This should come as no surprise. Three years ago the Commission declared that it would not hesitate to act if faced with evidence that a provider was violating the principles."

"In an age when traditional media markets are dominated by a handful of giant conglomerates, there is optimism about the rise of broadband as an outlet for creative expression and democracy," Adelstein said. "The Internet can restore decentralized and entrepreneurial voices to the media landscape that are reflective of the best aspects of the American tradition. This Order is a vital step towards maintaining the potential and promise that the Internet holds for enriching our economic, cultural and social well-being."

"Let's be clear about what todays Order does and does not accomplish," said Copps. "We do recognize that unreasonably impeding the performance of an Internet applicationand not just outright blocking a particular website or programviolates the FCC's Internet policies. We do not, however, prohibit carriers from reasonably managing their networks. And we do not prevent engineerseither now or in the futurefrom coming up with new and better ways to serve their customers."

Republican commissioners Robert McDowell and Deborah Taylor Tate dissented, with McDowell claiming that the ruling would cause regulatory and technological uncertainty among Internet providers.

"Under the new regulatory rubric of the undefined term 'reasonable network management,' engineers do not know if they are allowed to manage your Internet experience so you can watch online video without distortion, pops, and hisses," McDowell said. "Similarly, they now do not know what the government will allow them to do, or not do, to manage the growing flood of peer-to-peer applications."

Supporters of net neutrality, the principle that all Internet content should be accessed equally, cheered the ruling. Josh Silver, executive director of media reform group Free Press, said that "The FCC's bipartisan decision to punish Comcast is a major victory."

"Defying every ounce of conventional wisdom in Washington, everyday people have taken on a major corporation and won an historic precedent for an open Internet," Silver said." In a conference call discussing the ruling, Free Press' general counsel Marvin Ammori thanked the "1.6 million Americans who knocked on doors" and drew attention to the issue, both online and off.

Comcast senior vice-president Sena Fitzmaurice said in a statement to Ars Technica that the company was grateful not to be fined, but "we are disappointed in the Commission's divided conclusion because we believe that our network management choices were reasonable, wholly consistent with the industry practices and that we did not block access to Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer applications."

Comcast's Hard Road

The discovery in November 2007 that Comcast was blocking users' access to BitTorrent reignited the debate over net neutrality, with supporters pointing to Comcast's actions as clear evidence that ISPs were ready and willing to block users' ability to surf the Web freely. Comcast claimed that its actions were only at peak user traffic times, and represented only a small portion of its traffic, the majority of which continued to flow freely.

But further research found that both Comcast and Cox Communications blocked access to BitTorrent at all times of the day, regardless of customer usage and traffic.

FCC chair Martin announced in January that the Commission would investigate Comcast's actions, while the company scrambled to polish its image through cutting deals with BitTorrent and Vonage to work with them on new network management practices.

Martin's Moves

Net neutrality has been a divisive issue at the FCC, with the Democratic commissioners urging strong penalties for ISPs that block customers' access to Web sites and codified principles protecting the right to an open Internet. The Republican commissioners have generally preferred a more laissez-faire approach, advocating that any problems should be dealt with using existing law, rather than creating new laws before the problem can be fully examined.

But Martin has also distinguished himself as being exceptionally friendly to telecom companies such as AT&T and Verizon, who have challenged the cable industry by offering their own combinations of high-speed Internet, phone, and television services. Martin has aggressively pursued new regulations against the cable industry and in favor of the telecom sector, ostensibly to lower prices and offer more choices for consumers. The benefits have largely been yet to materialize.

Supporters of the ruling defended Martin's decision. "I think it's unfair to say Martin is anti-consumer," said Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge on the Free Press conference call. "He's unpredictable. Some things he's with us on, others he's against us, which is good, coming from this administration."

Sohn noted the significance of an official of the Bush administration ruling against Comcast, given its historically anti-regulatory stances. "I've been in telecommunications and business policy for over twenty years," Sohn said, "and this is the most significant decision I've seen in twenty years."

"[Martin's] decision is very pro-business," Ammori said. "The decision favors innovation, whereas a decision that would enable companies like Comcast to block content is very anti-business and anti-innovation."

What next?

Both supporters and opponents of the ruling said the door was now open for possible legislation that would codify the principles of net neutrality into law. Lawrence Spiwak of the Phoenix Center said that the ruling demonstrated that "the FCC was the appropriate agency to handle these issues, and additional legislation would be unnecessary."

Ammori said that Congressional legislation would help solidify the decision and grant it the advantage of incumbency. Several bills are pending in both the Senate and House that would use various means to prevent companies from blocking users' access to content and investigating cases when it does occur.

The issue of Internet providers increasingly using "metered" or "pay-as-you-go" broadband as an alternative to shaping traffic was brought up in the wake of the ruling, with opponents saying that without the ability to control Internet users' access, more companies would switch to metered plans in order to prevent congestion.

Sohn said that was "a false choice," and not the case in countries with more advanced and pervasive broadband penetration than the U.S. has. "Today's bandwith hog is tomorrow's normal bandwith user," Sohn said. "Companies that say they'll be using metered broadband need to stop making excuses and build out their networks to prevent congestion."

More scammers appear to be using the EPPICard as a pretense to trick consumers into revealing sensitive information. Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has issued a consumer alert about bogus text, voice and e-mail messages, claiming to come from EPPICard.

At least one state agency, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, uses the EPPICard system to administer unemployment insurance benefits, Carter said.

EPPICard is an electronic funds transfer card, used by a number of states to make payments to citizens for a variety of purposes. Instead of mailing a benefits check, for example, the state might simply deposit funds in the citizen's EPPICard account. The card can be used like a credit card at retail locations, and at ATMs.

The attorney general's office said it has received several complaints about the messages, which falsely inform recipients that their EPPICard account is closed. It instructs recipients to call a telephone number and to provide personal and/or card information.

Example Text Message:

FRM: EPPICard

SUBJ: Notification

MSG: Your EPPICard account is closed due to unusual activity, call us now at 7573200489.

"If you have received a message, purportedly from EPPICard, do not respond," said Carter. "It's nothing more than a scam designed to drain your account and steal your personal information."

An alert on the EPPICard Web site indicates that the company will never request social security numbers, card numbers or personal identification numbers (PIN) through text, voice or e-mail messages. The company urges people who believe their account has been compromised to call the telephone number on the back of the card.

More Scam Alerts ...