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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
If By Clean You Mean Filthy
On clean coal |
Umbra Fisk |
23 Jul 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I noticed that several of the presidential primary debates were sponsored by clean coal. This was announced during breaks and several commercials aired. I have since seen several more commercials and online advertisements. Is clean coal an oxymoron? Is this a PR stunt or are there any real environmental benefits to clean coal that rival solar and wind? See www.americaspower.org. Andrew S. Brookline, Mass. Dearest An ... |
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| Topics: advice, air pollution, Ask Umbra, climate, green living, greenwashing, mercury, shenanigans, toxics (all these topics) |
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It's Us Against Chem
Feds rush to weaken workplace safety rules on toxics before term ends |
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23 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:10 AM on 23 Jul 2008 The Bush administration is trying to push through a new workplace safety rule to weaken workers' protections against toxic chemicals before Bush's term ends, according to The Washington Post. The rule, which has not been made public, would mandate a reevaluation of the methods used to measure risks to workers from toxic exposure in the workplace. The rule would also requir ... |
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| Topics: business, news, politics, toxics, United States (all these topics) |
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Flak and Tan
Most sunscreens ineffective or pose a health risk, says group |
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22 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:12 PM on 22 Jul 2008 Some 85 percent of 952 sunscreens tested are ineffective or contain potentially harmful chemicals, says this year's annual sunscreen review by the Environmental Working Group. Of 144 sunscreen products distributed by the top three leading brands -- Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena -- only one meets EWG's criteria for safety and efficacy. The group raises especial alarm about common ... |
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| Topics: green living, green products, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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The Death of Environmentalist
How to green your funeral |
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22 Jul 2008 |
From A to Green |
| Not dead yet? There's still hope for a green funeral. There's no getting around it: One day, we're all gonna die. And while most of us won't have much control over the circumstances of our deaths, there are things you can do before you go to ensure that your funeral and earthly remains are as light on the planet as you've tried to be in life. If you think about it, there are almost as many ways to green your funeral as the ... |
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| Topics: ecological footprint, green living, health, toxics, waste (all these topics) |
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Score one for Dow Chemical
In the EPA's Midwestern division, a pro-industry stalwart replaces a dioxin stickler |
Tom Philpott |
21 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Back in May, Mary Gade found herself unceremoniously ousted from her post as Midwest regional administrator of the EPA. According to an excellent Chicago Tribune article by Michael Hawthorne, Gade had been locked in a battle with Dow over the chemical giant's massive, long-standing dioxin mess in low-income areas of Michigan. Hawthorne reports that Gade crossed a line with her bosses in Washington when 'she sent contractors to test soil in [one] neighborhood where D ... |
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| Topics: Michigan, politics, toxics, US EPA, waste (all these topics) |
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It's Elementary, My Dear ... Watts On!
French downplay years-old uranium leak at nuclear plant |
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21 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:50 AM on 21 Jul 2008 A uranium leak was discovered on Friday in an underground pipe at a nuclear fuel plant in France. Authorities said the leak was probably a few years old, but insisted it really isn't all that bad since groundwater apparently wasn't contaminated and the uranium leak was relatively small. However, the reassurances were not quite as comforting to the public as they might ... |
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| Topics: France, news, nuclear power, toxics (all these topics) |
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Have you smelled the little piggies?
In eastern North Carolina, citizens and students rise up for environmental justice |
Guest author |
17 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is a guest post by David Hamilton and Jordan Treakle. David is an organizer with the Real Food Challenge, and a founding member of FLO (Fair, Local, Organic) Food at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Treakle, a UNC student, is also a member of FLO Food. Last month, about 150 people converged on Raleigh for the pinnacle of a 51-hour hog vigil. Busloads full of children and old-timers from Halifax, Duplin, Sampson, and Bladen counties, where the sten ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, air pollution, environmental justice, food, North Carolina, toxics, waste (all these topics) |
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Deflater House
On air mattresses |
Umbra Fisk |
14 Jul 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, We live in a small house, and when we have guests, the bed situation is limiting. Convenience tells me that an inflatable bed would be ideal. However, the "no vinyl, that's final" rule reigns supreme in our household. What sort of options can you suggest for a sleeping surface that is easy to store, environmentally responsible, and comfy? Sleepily, Angie Huntington Beach, Calif. Dearest Angie, The night I spent on ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, green products, health, shopping, toxics (all these topics) |
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Fumigant and Far Between
EPA cracks down on the pesticides on your peppers |
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11 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:35 PM on 11 Jul 2008 The U.S. EPA plans to tighten restrictions on five nasty soil fumigants that keep pests away from strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and peppers. The proposed mitigation measures include buffer zones, warning signs, air-quality monitoring, management and outreach plans, emergency-response training, and provision of breathing masks for farmworkers. The rules would apply to five sca ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Something to 'Hyde
Companies knew about high formaldehyde levels in FEMA trailers, Dems say |
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10 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:03 AM on 10 Jul 2008 Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said RV trailer manufacturers knew that the trailers they sold to the government had excessively high levels of formaldehyde but didn't disclose the information for fear of bad press. The trailers, which were used to house hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast, have been a touchy subject at FEMA ever since occ ... |
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| Topics: business, news, politics, toxics, United States (all these topics) |
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SKB on NPR re: PVC
Everything you wanted to know about toxic shower curtains, in my dulcet tones |
Sarah K. Burkhalter |
08 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Here I am again on the Environment Report, this time chatting about toxic shower curtains. Everything you ever wanted to know on the subject, complete with Psycho shower-scene screeching, allusions to shower-curtain licking, and quips about exhibitionism. |
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| Topics: shopping, toxics, health, shameless self-promotion, green living (all these topics) |
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Hitting the Wall
R.I. court reverses ruling, says paint companies not responsible for lead cleanup |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:41 PM on 01 Jul 2008 Three paint companies should not have to clean up lead contamination in Rhode Island homes, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The decision reverses a landmark 2006 ruling in which the state was victorious in alleging that Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries Inc., and Millennium Holdings LLC created a public nuisance by manufacturing and selling lead-based pain ... |
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| Topics: green living, litigation, news, Rhode Island, toxics (all these topics) |
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To Clean Up or Not to Clean Up ... We're Still on Defense
U.S. Defense Department fighting EPA orders to clean up Superfund sites |
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30 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:17 AM on 30 Jun 2008 Defying environmental law, the U.S. Defense Department has resisted repeated orders lately from the U.S. EPA to clean up some of the nation's most contaminated places. The DoD/EPA standoff has turned into a bureaucratic pissing match wherein the EPA has asserted its authority to order and oversee cleanup of ultra-polluted Superfund si ... |
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| Topics: Department of Defense, news, politics, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Check Mate, CheckMate
California officials yank controversial urban spraying plan |
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22 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:07 PM on 22 Jun 2008 California officials have announced that they will not spray the urban Bay Area with a pheromone this summer, delighting activists who had campaigned strenuously against the plan. The pheromone with the ominous name CheckMate LBAM-F keeps the crop-gobbling light brown apple moth from reproducing, but also has been linked to complaints of respiratory trouble in humans. Spraying had ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, California, health, news, San Francisco, toxics (all these topics) |
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It's Hard to Spray Goodbye
Ontario enacts province-wide pesticide ban; fine print upsets greens |
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19 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:07 AM on 19 Jun 2008 The Canadian province of Ontario has just passed a pesticide ban that by next spring would prohibit the use of more than 80 ingredients and 300 pesticide products across the province. However, many greens and public-health advocates have decried the just-passed legislation, saying it could ultimately end up damaging public health. The major problem with the ban, criti ... |
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| Topics: Canada, legislation, news, politics, toxics (all these topics) |
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Missouri mystery
Why are sperm counts so low in the show-me state? |
Tom Philpott |
19 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Surrounded by agriculture powerhouses Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois, Missouri sits at the southern edge of the heartland. Are the region's titanic annual lashings of agrichemicals -- synthetic and mined fertilizers, as well as poisons designed to kill bugs, weeds, and mold -- leaching into drinking water and doing creepy things to the state's citizens? And what about manure from the stunning concentration of concentrated-animal feedlot operations ... |
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| Topics: Agriculture, health, Missouri, toxics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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The Department of Defense (of itself)
DOD slows condemning research into its polluting behavior |
Liz Borkowski |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Back in April, a Government Accountability Office report explained how the White House Office of Management and Budget was holding up the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System assessments. According to GAO, the OMB started requiring an 'interagency review' process allowing agencies that might be affected by the IRIS assessments to provide comments on the documents. As a result, some of these outside agencies can effectively block completion of IRIS assessments, whi ... |
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| Topics: climate, Department of Defense, health, politics, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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When Is a Lake Not a Lake?
Canadian lakes set to be reclassified as mining-waste dumps |
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17 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:07 AM on 17 Jun 2008 Sixteen lakes across Canada are set to be quietly reclassified as allowable areas for mines to dump toxic waste. While Canadian law technically disallows chucking harmful substances into fish habitat, lakes can be reclassified as "tailings impoundment areas" under a little-known subsection of mining effluent regulations. With a lake at their disposal (literally), min ... |
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| Topics: Canada, mining, news, toxics, waste (all these topics) |
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Hitting the Squids
Deep-sea squid and octopi full of human-made chemicals |
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13 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:10 PM on 13 Jun 2008 Human-made chemicals have snuck on down into the ocean depths, showing up in the tissues of deep-sea cephalopods, says new research. In a study to be published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, researchers found various persistent organic pollutants -- including PCBs and DDT -- in nine species of octopi, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. "The fact that we detected a variety o ... |
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| Topics: news, oceans, scientific research, toxics (all these topics) |
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Better Living Through Chem-Mystery?
E.U. chemical-registration and testing law kicks in; industry gets huffy |
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12 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:58 PM on 12 Jun 2008 The European Union's comprehensive chemical law, REACH, is finally starting to take effect, requiring manufacturers and importers of chemicals to begin registering their products with a new regulatory agency. The REACH law was heavily diluted between its first introduction and final passage due to heavy pressure from the chemical industry, but it's still ... |
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| Topics: business, European Union, international politics, news, politics, toxics (all these topics) |
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Take My Breath Away
Fumes from Minn. dairy force neighbors to evacuate |
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11 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:25 PM on 11 Jun 2008 A giant dairy farm in Thief River Falls, Minn., is producing such noxious fumes that the state health department has advised nearby residents to evacuate. Excel Dairy's emissions of hydrogen sulfide have been calculated at 200 times the standard allowed by Minnesota law; neighbors' complaints include headaches, nausea, blurred vision, shortness of breath, and fatigue. "It's so strong and ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, air pollution, health, industrial ag, Minnesota, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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C6 of One, Half Dozen of the Other
Replacement for nasty chemical may be no less nasty, says EWG |
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10 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:40 PM on 10 Jun 2008 Under pressure from the U.S. EPA, eight chemical companies are phasing out perfluorooctanoic acid in nonstick, oil-resistant, and stain-resistant products -- but industry-favored substitutes may be no safer, says a new report from the Environmental Working Group. The chemical, known for brevity as PFOA or C8, has been linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and immu ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Splash Animation
On kiddie pools |
Umbra Fisk |
09 Jun 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, Regarding your obsession with vinyl, as pertains to summer parenting: Greenpeace's thorough Vinyl Alternatives list indicates that no good alternatives to vinyl kiddie pools exist. Do you think it is worth it to put a huge effort into manufacturing or finding a vinyl-free backyard wading experience? I can't stop thinking about this, and think it merits faking a question. Yours as always, Umbra Dearest Me, What a great questi ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, health, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
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Week not a total wash for environmental action in the Senate
Budget resolution includes funds to clean up nuclear sites |
Kate Sheppard |
06 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Apparently the Senate actually accomplished something this week in the environmental realm: the 2009 federal budget resolution that passed 48-45 on Wednesday included $500 million for a Department of Energy environmental management program to clean up Hanford and other nuclear sites across the country. Hanford is the decommissioned nuclear-weapons complex along the Columbia River in Washington state that manufactured the plutonium used in the first nuclear bomb. I ... |
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| Topics: Muckraker, news, politics, toxics, US Senate, waste (all these topics) |
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Too Hot to Hand Over
Dow, Boeing ordered to pay $926 million for nuke pollution |
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04 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:45 AM on 04 Jun 2008 A federal judge ordered Dow Chemical and Boeing to pay a total of $926 million for nuclear pollution at the now-closed Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant near Denver, following a jury trial that ended in 2006. The class-action suit against the companies began 18 years ago and involves some 12,000 area homeowners seeking compensation for property damages and health risks from plutonium ... |
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| Topics: business, litigation, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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