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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
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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Batting a Thousand
Scientists trace SARS to bats, blame human mucking with nature |
Katharine Wroth |
29 Sep 2005 |
Main Dish |
| In a move likened to "a microbiological episode of CSI," a team of scientists has uncovered the culprit behind a disease that shook the world -- and that could very well strike again. Researchers announced today that they've traced the global SARS epidemic, which spread to 26 countries and infected thousands of people, to one small creature: the horseshoe bat. Small bat, big ... |
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| Topics: China, health, World Health Organization (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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Taking It All Offset
House GOPers want to cut enviro and other programs to pay for rebuilding |
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27 Sep 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Taking It All Offset House GOPers want to cut enviro and other programs to pay for rebuilding Rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is expected to run the feds around $200 billion. A group of House Republicans called the Republican Study Committee has unveiled an "Operation Offset" plan with proposed budget cuts to pay for the massive expenditure. While this nostalgic exerci ... |
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| Topics: health, news, oceans, politics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Hack in the saddle again
Are smoking bans fair? |
Katharine Wroth |
15 Sep 2005 |
Gristmill |
| Well, I'd subject you to more TV updates, but I actually went out last night and had a life. Which involved being in a smoke-filled bar for several hours. Which got me to thinking ... yuck. Seattle's one of the country's healthiest cities, yet it's only just now getting around to considering a smoking-ban referendum. If the effort passes, Seattle will join the growing list of cities (Boston, Minneapolis), states (California, Delaware), and even countries (Ireland, N ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, health, Seattle (all these topics) |
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Egrets, I've Had a Few
Feds start to assess ecological damage to refuges near New Orleans |
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12 Sep 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Egrets, I've Had a Few Feds start to assess ecological damage to refuges near New Orleans The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is beginning to gauge damage from Hurricane Katrina to the 23,000-acre Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge east of New Orleans and the Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain, home to the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Thoug ... |
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| Topics: health, Louisiana, news, US Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife (all these topics) |
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U Can't Touch This
EPA warns against skin contact with toxic New Orleans floodwaters |
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08 Sep 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| U Can't Touch This EPA warns against skin contact with toxic New Orleans floodwaters The floodwaters swamping New Orleans have become a filthy, toxic stew, testing at least 10 times over the U.S. EPA's limits for sewage-related contaminants like E. coli, viruses, and cholera-like bacteria. The EPA has warned that skin contact with floodwater could be almost as risky to human health as drinking it; searchers are giving the ... |
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| Topics: health, Louisiana, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Glow Figure
Health fallout from Chernobyl less severe than expected |
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06 Sep 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Glow Figure Health fallout from Chernobyl less severe than expected The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power-plant accident has yielded much less harm to human health than initially anticipated. According to a new report prepared for the U.N. by more than 100 experts, Chernobyl will ultimately cause about 4,000 deaths, primarily from cancer -- a lot, they concede, but far fewer than the tens of thousands once pred ... |
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| Topics: Belarus, health, news, Russia, toxics, Ukraine (all these topics) |
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Bombay Watch
Bombay bans plastic bags, saying they can clog drains and cause flooding |
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30 Aug 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Bombay Watch Bombay bans plastic bags, saying they can clog drains and cause flooding Plastic bags are maddeningly ubiquitous and ugly as sin, but did you know they can cause flooding? According to India's Maharashtra state government, millions of bags clogged up drains in Bombay's slums during monsoon season, dramatically worsening the epic late-July flooding that killed hundreds of people in the city. Now the state plans to outlaw mo ... |
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| Topics: health, India, news (all these topics) |
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What the Tuck?
Governator appoints industry flacks as state eco-regulators |
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30 Aug 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| What the Tuck? Governator appoints industry flacks as state eco-regulators California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) earned green esteem early in his tenure, but as important regulatory appointments take on an increasingly pro-industry tinge, his cred is starting to fade. The latest is Cindy Tuck, chosen to chair the state's Air Resources Board after working for more than 15 years with or on beha ... |
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| Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, health, news, politics (all these topics) |
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Always Low Standards
Wal-Mart settles with Connecticut over environmental misdeeds |
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18 Aug 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Always Low Standards Wal-Mart settles with Connecticut over environmental misdeeds Wal-Mart has agreed to pay Connecticut a $1.15 million fine for a host of environmental violations. State regulators first filed suit against the retail giant in 2001, after discovering that the company had improperly stored pesticides, fertilizers, and other hazardous materials outside, where they washed down storm drains to ... |
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| Topics: business, Connecticut, health, news, Wal-Mart (all these topics) |
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Choler ID
Climate change could lead to more disease outbreaks, researchers say |
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05 Aug 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Choler ID Climate change could lead to more disease outbreaks, researchers say It's official: Climate change is at fault for everything but bad breath -- and we give the bad breath thing about a month. The latest global malady that may be laid at the feet of greenhouse-gas-crazed weather is disease, specifically cholera, an infection that causes severe diarrhea, often resulting in dehydration, which leads to tens of thousands of deat ... |
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| Topics: climate, health, news (all these topics) |
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Big papers (finally) taking note of hormone-disrupting chemicals
WSJ, USA Today highlight dangers |
Lisa Hymas |
03 Aug 2005 |
Gristmill |
| The Wall Street Journal astounded many in the green community last week when it launched a series on toxic chemicals with an in-depth page A1 story on endocrine disruptors, which, even in teeny-tiny amounts, muck up the functioning of human bodies, according to an ever-growing body of scientific studies. Now USA Today is getting in on the game with 'Are our products our enemy?' Here, reporter Elizabeth Weise's delightfully melodramatic lead: Like the glint of a knife i ... |
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| Topics: health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Britty Twister
Estrogen exposure blamed for upswing in male chest-reduction surgery |
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03 Aug 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Britty Twister Estrogen exposure blamed for upswing in male chest-reduction surgery British men are flocking to clinics for surgery to reduce their man mammaries. Here we pause a moment to savor that sentence ... OK, done. U.K. doctors blame increased exposure to female hormones for a reported doubling over one year of the number of operations for gynecomastia, a condition in which men grow bosoms similar in structure and comp ... |
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| Topics: health, news, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
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A Little Dab'll Do Ya In
Micro-exposure to common chemicals may cause big health problems |
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26 Jul 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| A Little Dab'll Do Ya In Micro-exposure to common chemicals may cause big health problems Will wonders never cease? The Wall Street Journal, not typically known for its sympathy to green issues, had a blockbuster piece of environmental reporting plastered on page A1 yesterday. In the first part of an ongoing series, it describes new research on low-level exposure to common industrial chemicals. Turns out assumptions that have guided d ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Brussels Pouts
European Union commissioners duke it out over green legislation |
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20 Jul 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Brussels Pouts European Union commissioners duke it out over green legislation Today's meeting of the E.U.'s European Commission is a make-or-break moment for the union's sustainable-development policies, according to eco-advocates. Since taking office last November, commission president José Manuel Barroso has delayed initiatives on pesticides, the marine environment, air quality, and more, saying they might preven ... |
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| Topics: European Union, health, news, politics (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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Toxic babies
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David Roberts |
15 Jul 2005 |
Gristmill |
| You know, nothing warms the cockles of a father-to-be's heart like a study showing that babies in the womb are awash in toxic chemicals.We are abusing our children, all of us, before they are even born. Lovely.Julian Brookes has more. |
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| Topics: health, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
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The Toxic Avoider
EPA failing to get health data on scads of potentially harmful chemicals |
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14 Jul 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| The Toxic Avoider EPA failing to get health data on scads of potentially harmful chemicals The U.S. EPA hasn't collected data on the potential risks of tens of thousands of toxic substances, putting the public at risk, says a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, which regulates industrial chemicals, the EPA can't force companies to provide health data unless there ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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A beautiful day in the neighborhood
Choosing the healthiest place to raise your kids can be a complicated matter |
Sarah van Schagen |
03 Jun 2005 |
Gristmill |
| Two new reports in British medical journals suggest that choosing the right place to raise your children can have a major impact on their health and well-being. 'Duh,' you say. But let's look at the details. One study says living within 650 feet of a power line may significantly increase a child's likelihood of developing leukemia, the most common type of childhood cancer. It's a question that's been debated for a while now, and some researchers say the link is ... |
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| Topics: health, parenting, placemaking (all these topics) |
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The Bad News Forebears
Study suggests toxins' effects may be passed down through generations |
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03 Jun 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| The Bad News Forebears Study suggests toxins' effects may be passed down through generations A pregnant woman's exposure to toxic chemicals may cause harmful effects not only in her children, but in her grandchildren and theirs, a surprising new study suggests. For some time scientists have known about "epigenetic" changes: chemical modifications of DNA that affect the way it is expressed (phenotype), without changing the ge ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Well, That's One Way to Shrink the Population
Studies link common chemicals to reproductive harm |
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27 May 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Well, That's One Way to Shrink the Population Studies link common chemicals to reproductive harm Stronger evidence that a class of ubiquitous chemicals called phthalates -- found in a wide variety of plastics, nail polishes, fragrances, and other products -- are linked to adverse effects on the human reproductive system was made public Thursday. A study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found a strong correlat ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Long Day's Journey Into Night
An interview with doomsaying author James Howard Kunstler |
Amanda Griscom Little |
25 May 2005 |
Main Dish |
| James Howard Kunstler. "Check all of your assumptions at the door," James Howard Kunstler advises reporters before he commences an interview. "Don't assume that anything you think about the way we live today is going to be the same 10, five, even three years from now." The author of the new book The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastroph ... |
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| Topics: health, interview (all these topics) |
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Private Eyes Are Watching Ewe
Remote sensors, cameras able to monitor earth's health |
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10 May 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Private Eyes Are Watching Ewe Remote sensors, cameras able to monitor earth's health Technological advances in the burgeoning field of environmental monitoring are allowing scientists to take frequent and accurate measurements of weather conditions, animal behavior, and even contaminant levels without leaving their workstations. By placing tiny wireless instruments -- no larger than a cell phone or a deck of cards -- in an environmentally sens ... |
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| Topics: health, news (all these topics) |
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