of Ecological Degredation and Global Warming. (Sorry I haven't posted in a bit...I've actually landed a temp job in the
Elections Office for my fair city....)
EPA inspector criticizes agency reviews. The Environmental Protection Agency is not conducting required reviews to ensure that low-income and minority neighborhoods get the same environmental protection as other communities. Associated Press via the Seattle PI
Nanotech nightmare? Scientists, consumer groups, government officials and businesses are at odds over whether the nanotechnology industry is a consumer's dream or a health-care nightmare. Phoenix Arizona Republic, Arizona
State to require cleaner, and maybe costlier, cars. Starting next summer, all new cars and trucks that roll off dealers' lots in Pennsylvania will meet California's emissions standards, which are the toughest in the nation. Harrisburg Patriot-News, Pennsylvania
E. coli scare may have wider impact. The Salinas Valley is known for organic farming and fresh bagged greens. Now the region has vaulted to new fame: E. coli capital of America.
Latte Times
Wash state requests EPA fine for spill at Hanford nuclear site. Washington state issued a notice of violation Tuesday to the U.S. Dept of Energy for leaking a highly toxic and potentially cancer-causing agent into ground at the Hanford nuclear reservation. Associated Press via KGW
Agent Orange health study ending. A 24-year federal health study of how Agent Orange and other herbicides have affected 1,000 pilots, airmen and soldiers who handled the defoliants as part of "Operation Ranch Hand" is scheduled to end this month. Monessen Valley Independent, Pennsylvania
Years of breathing dirty air ups women's death risk. Women who live within 50 meters of busy roads face an increased risk of dying from a heart attack, stroke or other cardiopulmonary cause, according to a new study. Reuters
Sea levels are rising faster than predicted, warns Antarctic Survey. The global sea level rise caused by climate change, severely threatening many of the world's coastal and low-lying areas from Bangladesh to East Anglia, is proceeding faster than UN scientists predicted. London Independent, England
Boulder scientist has grim drought forecast for West. Future Western droughts could last an average of 12 years, spanning half of the region and severely reducing Colorado River flows that supply millions of people, according to a NOAA scientist. Denver Rocky Mountain News, Colorado
U.S. oil consumption continues to rise. According to the Energy Information Agency, a division of the Department of Energy, U.S. consumption of oil will grow nearly 2 percent in 2007. That's another 400,000 barrels per day. National Public Radio
Lawmakers near drilling agreement. The future of drilling for oil and natural gas off South Carolina's coast could be decided within the next two weeks, as U.S. House and Senate negotiators continue to hold closed-door talks on possible compromise legislation. Hilton Head Island Packet, South Carolina http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/6107185p-5351541c.html
Hollywood A-list to battle BHP. Hollywood's biggest stars are fighting a LNG terminal proposed by the Australian company BHP Billiton that would be built 23km off the coast of Malibu. [Australian Associated Press
Farm water is suspected in outbreak. Government and other experts said water on the farms could be a likely culprit for the recent E. coli outbreak, though that has not been proved. San Jose Mercury News
Tainted spinach outbreak puts food safety regulation in spotlight. The contaminated spinach that's sickening consumers is emboldening lawmakers who want to strengthen federal defenses against future outbreaks of food-borne illness. Biloxi Sun Herald, Mississippi
Greening up the conference business. Conferences aren't just hard on us. They wreak havoc with Mother Nature as well. Down in Austin, Texas, one group's trying to do something about that. MarketPlace
Birth defects rise in China due to pollution, unhealthy lifestyles. A rising incidence of birth defects in some parts of China is being attributed to environmental pollution, unhealthy lifestyles and poor nutrition. [Agence France-Presse Birth defects rise in China due to pollution, unhealthy lifestyles. A rising incidence of birth defects in some parts of China is being attributed to environmental pollution, unhealthy lifestyles and poor nutrition. Agence France-Presse. ]
Prairies get first taste of acid rain. Acid rain, once considered a problem only in the eastern provinces, has now reached damaging levels in parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, according to new research. Winnipeg Free Press, Canada
'Environmental Justice' tour to visit Endicott. The Environmental Justice For All Tour '06 will spend next week crisscrossing the South, Northeast and West Coast in buses to view areas afflicted and review actions taken to rectify the problems. Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, New York
Great Lakes plan needs resources. The Great Lakes hold 95% of the surface freshwater in this country yet get almost no respect outside the region. Detroit Free Press, Michigan
First drugs, then terror: Now US in 'war with spinach.' First came the war on drugs. Then the war on terror. And now - in an America more than usually prone to fear, paranoia and the beeping of colour-coded alert systems - comes the war on organic spinach. London Independent, England.
Bush's climate-controlled White House. The administration claims it wasn't trying to tell government scientists what to say about climate change, but e-mails obtained by Salon prove otherwise. Salon.com
Acid test. Acidification of the oceans is the sleeping giant of global warming. Scientists are only beginning to understand what the changing chemistry could mean. San Diego Union-Tribune
GM: The cover-up. Britain's official food safety watchdog has privately told supermarkets that it will not stop them selling an illegal GM rice to the public even as it was telling the public GM rice should not be allowed to go on sale. London Independent
Degrading munitions found in over 3,000 sites off Nova Scotia. Canada and other nations commonly dumped unused weapons at sea or in harbours, until 1975. Some contain chemical weapons, and they have begun to leak. Halifax Chronicle Herald, Nova Scotia