| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Sense and Sensitivities Multiple Chemical Sensitivities can drive sufferers into poverty as well as ill health |
Todd Hymas |
17 Mar 2006 |
Main Dish |
| Consider the trappings of modern life: Calvin Klein Eternity, gasoline, Gore-Tex, Aveda hairspray, paint, particle board, polyurethane iPod cases. Is this the face of the future? Photo: iStockphoto. Now imagine that you're allergic to virtually all of them. Environmentalists usually think about chemical toxicity as either a dramatic local crisis (Bhopal, Lo ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, environmental justice, green living, health, Poverty and the Environment (all these topics) |
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Wallet and Grimace Stats on how much Americans pay for essentials |
Todd Hymas |
03 Mar 2006 |
Counter Culture |
| $1.99 -- price of a gallon of 1% milk at Fred Meyer, a big-box chain store, in Seattle $5.69 -- price of a gallon of organic 1% milk at Whole Foods in Seattle $4.29 -- price of a Big Mac Extra Value Meal at a Seattle McDonald's (Big Mac, medium fries, medium soft drink) Drink up! Photo: iStockphoto. $3.65 -- price of a venti (large) latte with organic milk at a Seattle Starbucks 38.7 -- average percentage ... |
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| Topics: consumerism, green living, health, lists, Poverty and the Environment (all these topics) |
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If not suburbs, then what? Only concrete alternatives will cajole people out of the suburbs |
David Roberts |
25 Jan 2006 |
Gristmill |
| Often, the first step to helping people make better choices is showing them that there are choices. One of the biggest and most important -- albeit frequently overlooked -- steps toward combating global warming, improving public health, reducing air pollution, and restoring a sense of community and fellow-feeling to American life is changing the structure of our communities. Right now, conventional wisdom is that the choice is between suburbs -- big houses, plenty ... |
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| Topics: consumerism, green living, health, placemaking (all these topics) |
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Pad Influence On composting feminine products |
Umbra Fisk |
30 Nov 2005 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, OK, the kitty-litter thing pushed me over the edge. I know you are sick of writing about gross, yucky things, but I had to ask: if kitty litter is compostable, what about biodegradable maxipads and tampons? One of the leading natural feminine-care brands touts their stuff as being biodegradable and compostable. Can this actually be possible? Liz Schlegel Waterbury, Vt. Dearest Liz, I'm not sick of writing about ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, health, waste (all these topics) |
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Want to tackle global warming? Start with heart disease. The best thing greens can do is convince the public that eco-friendly lifestyles are healthier |
David Roberts |
01 Oct 2005 |
Gristmill |
| Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. and most European countries. In the latest issue of Newsweek there's a story about it called "Designing Heart-Healthy Communities." Here's how it starts: Forecasting heart disease is becoming an ever-finer art, as researchers learn more about the risk factors. But here's a predictor you may not have heard about: street address. In a study published last year, scientists at the RAND Corp. scored ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, innovation, urban planning (all these topics) |
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More on the Prospect package Highs and lows of sweet, sweet wonkitude |
David Roberts |
28 Sep 2005 |
Gristmill |
| Enough about The Reapers. How's the rest of the American Prospect environment package? Much of it, sadly, is deathly, wonkily boring. In particular, Carl Pope ... dude. What is this pap? It's so bland, so politician-y, it takes genuine concentration even to get through it. You've written better stuff on your blog, for chrissake. This from Ross Gelbspan and this from John M. Meyer are similarly forgettable. But there are many bright moments. Bil ... |
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| Topics: climate change adaptation, consumerism, green living, health (all these topics) |
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The Wheel Deal On bicycle commuting |
Umbra Fisk |
28 Sep 2005 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, My question regards my daily half-hour (each way) bicycle commute through fairly heavy city traffic. I've been wondering if the benefits (exercise, sunshine, free and fast transport) are outweighed by the negatives (primarily breathing in diesel and other exhaust, but I'd also throw in the risk of almost getting run over, despite the cheap thrills). I am fortunate enough that my alternative would be to take the subway, not ... |
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| Topics: advice, air pollution, Ask Umbra, bikes, green living, health, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
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We Don't Need No Stinkin' Garbage Seattle to reduce landfilling by producing less trash in the first place |
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19 Jul 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| We Don't Need No Stinkin' Garbage Seattle to reduce landfilling by producing less trash in the first place Seattle is pioneering programs to cut landfill costs by stopping trash before it starts, pursuing an ambitious long-term goal of becoming a "zero-waste" city. Seattle Public Utilities is using more electronic documents, radically reducing its use of paper, and instit ... |
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| Topics: environmental planning, green living, health, news, Seattle, Washington (all these topics) |
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How toxic is your breast milk?
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Lisa Hymas |
09 Jan 2005 |
Gristmill |
| A nice treatment of this topic in today's New York Times Magazine, from Florence Williams. When we nurse our babies, we feed them not only the fats, sugars and proteins that fire their immune systems, metabolisms and cerebral synapses. We also feed them, albeit in minuscule amounts, paint thinners, dry-cleaning fluids, wood preservatives, toilet deodorizers, cosmetic additives, gasoline byproducts, rocket fuel, termite poisons, fungicides and flame retardants. If, as Ci ... |
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| Topics: food, green living, health, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
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A Mandate for All Seasons On the health/environment dividing line |
Umbra Fisk |
15 Nov 2004 |
Ask Umbra |
| Yowza. A few weeks back, in response to a question from a reader named Cassandra about the relative merits of soy milk, I asked your opinion on the dividing line between health and environmental concerns. Cassandra wanted to know if she could continue eating soy, which she considered an environmentally sound choice, without increasing her risk of breast cancer. The health/environment line is always ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, health (all these topics) |
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Smoke Signals
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03 Feb 2004 |
Daily Grist |
| Smoke Signals Activists fighting against climate change could learn much from the tactics of anti-smoking campaigners, argues Audrey Schulman in our Soapbox section. The tobacco war has been fought on many fronts, but perhaps the most important was the concerted publicity campaign that changed the images people associate with smoking. It's no longer romantic, no longer "cool." ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, climate, food and agriculture, green living, health (all these topics) |
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The Green Elephant in the Room Far Right's Environmental Commitment Weak; Whitman's Ampler |
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14 Jan 2004 |
Daily Grist |
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| Topics: green living, health, politics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Endless Summer Climate Scientists Predict More Hot Summers for Europe |
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12 Jan 2004 |
Daily Grist |
| Endless Summer Climate Scientists Predict More Hot Summers for Europe Thanks to global warming, summer heat waves like the one that killed close to 20,000 people in Europe in 2003 could recur up to once every two years by the end of the century. So claims a study conducted by a group of scientists from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and published in the lat ... |
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| Topics: climate, European Union, food and agriculture, green living, health, wilderness (all these topics) |
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Homeocidal Herbal Medicine Trade Threatens Thousands of Plant Species |
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09 Jan 2004 |
Daily Grist |
| Homeocidal Herbal Medicine Trade Threatens Thousands of Plant Species The booming worldwide market for herbal medicines threatens between 8 and 20 percent of the 50,000 known wild medicinal plant species with extinction, according to a forthcoming study by the World Wildlife Fund. Having risen by10 percent per ... |
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| Topics: Asia, China, climate, European Union, globalization, green living, health, India, North America, population, wildlife, World Wildlife Fund (all these topics) |
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Just Stick to Tofu Farmed Salmon Contaminated With PCBs, Other Nasties |
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09 Jan 2004 |
Daily Grist |
| Just Stick to Tofu Farmed Salmon Contaminated With PCBs, Other Nasties Consumers, still struggling with the news that bovine spongiform encephalopathy-laden beef will make your brain melt and mercury-laden tuna will make your children stupid, were met today with more bad news: A new study in the journal Science claims that fish-farmed salmon contain enoug ... |
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| Topics: European Union, fishing, green living, health, marine life, South America, toxics, United States (all these topics) |
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Disease on Down the Road Mark Jerome Walters' Six Modern Plagues shows how environmental damage leads to disease |
Michelle Nijhuis |
10 Dec 2003 |
Arts and Minds |
| Six Modern Plagues By Mark Jerome Walters Island Press, 206 pages, 2003 It's easy to look at disease outbreaks as acts of God, or fate, or chance. After all, diseases are often so capricious, so stubbornly beyond our full control, that it can seem as if we humans have little to do with them -- beyond suffering the consequences, that is. But in many ca ... |
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| Topics: green living, health (all these topics) |
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Hospital Scrubs Connecticut Hospital Adopts Green Cleaning Regime |
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17 Nov 2003 |
Daily Grist |
| Hospital Scrubs Connecticut Hospital Adopts Green Cleaning Regime Surgery patients and birthing mothers in Greenwich, Conn., will no longer be assaulted by that "hospital smell" in most parts of Greenwich Hospital now that the facility has made a switch to using eco-friendly cleaning products. The hospital is thought to be among the first in the U.S. to reject harsh chemicals in favor of equally ... |
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| Topics: Connecticut, green cleaning, green living, health (all these topics) |
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Better Latex Than Never On eco-friendly birth control |
Umbra Fisk |
25 Sep 2003 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I am wondering about the most environmentally safe form of birth control. From what I understand, women's birth control pills put terrible amounts of hormones into the world's waters and cause genetic mutations in fish. On the other hand, constantly using and discarding plastic condoms, including the packaging these come in, does not seem like a great solution. Are there more options out there that would ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, health, sex (all these topics) |
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Going Bananas Philippine Journalists Arrested for Reporting on Illegal Pesticide Use |
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10 Sep 2003 |
Daily Grist |
| Going Bananas Philippine Journalists Arrested for Reporting on Illegal Pesticide Use Four journalists working in the Philippines, including a New York Times correspondent, have been arrested on libel charges because of articles and columns they wrote in 2000 about the use of illegal pesticides at a banana plantation. Also arrested was Romeo Quijano, a professor of medicine at the University of the Philip ... |
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| Topics: food and agriculture, green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Working on the Chain Gang California Cancels Use of Prison Labor to Recycle Electronics |
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07 Aug 2003 |
Daily Grist |
| Working on the Chain Gang California Cancels Use of Prison Labor to Recycle Electronics California will no longer use underpaid federal prisoners to recycle the tons of potentially dangerous electronics discarded by state workers. The decision to stop shipping e-waste to prisons came in response to pressure from environmental and labor activists, who also successfully protested ... |
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| Topics: business, California, green living, health, pollution and waste, recycling (all these topics) |
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Puff the Toxic Dragon On green reasons to quit smoking |
Umbra Fisk |
15 May 2003 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I want to quit smoking. As if the risks to my health weren't enough, could you help out by twisting that knife of guilt into my tree-hugging heart and give me some environmental reasons to stop supporting the tobacco industry? Cough, wheeze, Elaine Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Dearest Elaine, I don't care whether you smoke or not. In fact, I think anti-smoking hype is often thinly disguised clas ... |
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| Topics: advice, agriculture, Ask Umbra, food and agriculture, green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Give a Hoot
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17 Apr 2003 |
Daily Grist |
| Give a Hoot Pollution in North America decreased by 5 percent between 1995 and 2000, according to a report released today by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, established under the North American Free Trade Agreement. In 2000, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico released 3.6 million tons of pollution. Of that, 1.5 million ... |
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| Topics: business, Canada, globalization, green living, health, Mexico, North America, pollution and waste, recycling, United States (all these topics) |
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Good, Clean Fun How to clean your house without hurting the planet |
The Green Guide |
18 Mar 2003 |
Earthly Possessions |
| If you think of your home as a haven from pollution, we've got some bummer news. Levels of pollutants in indoor air can be from two to more than 100 times higher than outdoors, according to the U.S. EPA. That indoor pollution is due in large part to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that evaporate, or "offgas," from home decorating and cleaning products. Make your home clean and gree ... |
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| Topics: green cleaning, green living, green products, health (all these topics) |
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Menstruation Innovation On that time of the month |
Umbra Fisk |
12 Mar 2003 |
Ask Umbra |
| Hey there, Umbra! I have a kind of gross-yet-pressing question for you: Are sanitary products (pads, etc.) environmentally friendly? I would think no, but what do you say? And what can I do about it? Thanks, Jessica Telford, Tenn. Hey there, dearest Jessica, How is it possible that we live in a country where diapers are table conversation and menstruation is considered gross? But no worries, there are many nice flowe ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, health, toxics, waste (all these topics) |
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The Motherboard of Invention
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28 Feb 2003 |
Daily Grist |
| The Motherboard of Invention As Grist reported Monday, discarded electronic equipment poses a serious environmental and health hazard in the developing world, where obsolete computers and other products are stripped and recycled. Now, we have some good news to add; 16 electronics recyclers in the U.S. and Canada have committed to keeping monitors, cables, and motherboards out of the hands of impoverish ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, pollution and waste, recycling (all these topics) |
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