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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
A Lansing Blow
Michigan demands 90 percent cut to mercury emissions from power plants |
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18 Apr 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| A Lansing Blow Michigan demands 90 percent cut to mercury emissions from power plants Tired of other states getting all the eco-love, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) has ordered her state's coal-burning power plants to slash mercury emissions by 90 percent by 2015. Her plan will not be a cap-and-trade system, but will allow companies to produce a 90 percent average cut across all their plants, meaning some plants can pollute mor ... |
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| Topics: Michigan, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Rhymes with unanimity
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Todd Hymas Samkara |
17 Apr 2006 |
Gristmill |
| Basically everyone agrees: we're full of chemicals. Hooray, agreement! Now what to do about it? Some California lawmakers are suggesting a program to monitor and catalog said chemicals in residents' bodies. Senate Bill 1379 would create the nation's first statewide biomonitoring program to study levels of chemical contamination in blood, urine, fatty tissue, or breast milk. Essentially it's a state-specific version of the CDC's National Report on Human Expos ... |
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| Topics: health, toxics (all these topics) |
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They Put the 'Dies' In 'Subsidies'
Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' traced back to farm subsidies |
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17 Apr 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| They Put the "Dies" In "Subsidies" Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" traced back to farm subsidies You know that massive "dead zone" that shows up every year in the Gulf of Mexico? The oxygen-starved, life-free patch of water about the size of, oh, Connecticut? That's your tax dollars at work. The zone ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Working Group, Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, Midwest, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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TRI This on for Sighs
EPA unveils mixed news on U.S. toxic emissions |
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14 Apr 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| TRI This on for Sighs EPA unveils mixed news on U.S. toxic emissions The U.S. EPA issued its annual Toxics Release Inventory this week, and it's a pessimist's dream. U.S. waterways absorbed 241 million pounds of chemicals in 2004, up 10 percent from the year before. Dioxin, mercury, and PCB releases were down, but (a fact the press failed to note) the 58 percent dioxin decline in 2004 was relative to a huge spike in 2003; compared to ... |
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| Topics: news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Lung Out to Dry
Thousands of Manhattanites suffer post-9/11 respiratory problems |
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13 Apr 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Lung Out to Dry Thousands of Manhattanites suffer post-9/11 respiratory problems With all due respect to the Free-Floating Anxiety and War Fever afflicting many in the post-9/11 world (prescription: less talk radio), at least 15,000 people have actual medical complaints related to the attack. Many victims afflicted with "World Trade Center cough" assumed it would pass once the dust settled; instead, problems have ... |
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| Topics: New York, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Is FishScam.com a scam?
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Chris Schults |
08 Apr 2006 |
Gristmill |
| I was reading the April 10th edition of The New Yorker this morning (for the cartoons, I'll admit). As I was flipping through the pages searching for the next illustration, I came across this full page ad that featured a message that caught me completely off guard. The smaller text reads as follows: Environmental scares about trace amounts of mercury in fish rely on a study of island natives who eat huge amounts of whale meat. However, scientists who study heavy ... |
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| Topics: food, mercury, oceans, toxics (all these topics) |
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Up the Arsenic
Chicken with arsenic a daily part of American diet |
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05 Apr 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Up the Arsenic Chicken with arsenic a daily part of American diet You may be getting a significant dose of poison with your Chick'n Stix. Arsenic is a U.S. government-sanctioned supplement to chicken feed -- it's used to kill parasites and promote growth -- despite being a known carcinogen and being implicated in other illnesses. Although the average American's chicken consumption has incre ... |
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| Topics: food and agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Left Behind
Pentagon aims to avoid cleanup costs by attacking EPA science |
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30 Mar 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Left Behind Pentagon aims to avoid cleanup costs by attacking EPA science Confused over who they're supposed to be killing -- their enemies? themselves? -- the Defense Department in recent years has often defied U.S. EPA recommendations for environmental cleanups and toxicity standards. Case in point: A 2001 EPA draft report estimated that the chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) -- a widespread water pollutant fou ... |
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| Topics: Department of Defense, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Slum Like It Not
In the world's slums, the worst of poverty and environmental degradation collide |
Mike Davis |
29 Mar 2006 |
Main Dish |
| This article was originally published in OrionOnline. Precarious dwellings in North Sulawasi, Indonesia. Photos: iStockphoto. A villa miseria outside Buenos Aires, Argentina, may have the worst feng shui in the world: it is built in a flood zone over a former lake, a toxic dump, and a cemetery. Then there's the barrio perched precariously on stilts over the excrement-clogge ... |
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| Topics: environmental justice, placemaking, politics, population, Poverty and the Environment, sprawl, toxics, waste (all these topics) |
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Bug Me Not
On organic pesticides |
Umbra Fisk |
29 Mar 2006 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, Recently, an article in my newspaper stated that federal and state guidelines allow the spraying of "organic pesticides" on organic crops. I thought organic crops were pesticide-free. I am very disappointed to find out that there are sanctioned "organic pesticides" which, with probably little to no independently researched information, may or may not pose a risk to my health. Tell me the paper got it wrong ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, food and agriculture, toxics (all these topics) |
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Mumbai-Bye, Birdie
India's vultures on verge of extinction thanks to cattle medication |
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28 Mar 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Mumbai-Bye, Birdie India's vultures on verge of extinction thanks to cattle medication India's once-abundant vulture population has plummeted an astonishing 97 percent in the past decade, and conservationists worldwide charge the Indian government with not acting quickly enough to save them. The culprit is diclofenac, a cheap painkiller used to treat sick cattle in South Asia; it poisons vultures when they scavenge meat off ... |
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| Topics: India, news, toxics, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Give Him a Farmhand
Tirso Moreno, farmworker organizer, answers readers' questions |
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24 Mar 2006 |
InterActivist |
| Tirso Moreno, Farmworker Association of Florida. A note from Moreno: This interview is especially timely as next week (March 27 - April 2) is national Farmworker Awareness Week. I hope you will all take a few minutes to find out more about the actions, activities, and campaigns going on around the country and see what you can do to help make a difference for farmworkers in the U.S. Do you support bans ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, environmental justice, Florida, health, InterActivist, interview, Poverty and the Environment, toxics (all these topics) |
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Cradle to Cradle
On baby nurseries |
Umbra Fisk |
20 Mar 2006 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I am pregnant and wondering if you know of any websites or resources for setting up a nursery -- for green furniture, bedding, and mattresses. We're painting the nursery with low-VOC paint and looking for low-VOC carpeting, and we gratefully accept used toys and clothes from friends and family. Janine Olsen Pine Brook, N.J. Dearest Janine, Happy to advise, based on a bit of research I've done for you in particular, but als ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
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The Not-So-Funny Farm
Tirso Moreno, farmworker organizer, answers Grist's questions |
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20 Mar 2006 |
InterActivist |
| Tirso Moreno. What's your job title? General coordinator for the Farmworker Association of Florida. What does your organization do? We work to empower communities of farmworkers and the rural poor, focusing on a wide range of issues, from workplace and community organizing to disaster preparedness and response, from vocational rehabilitation to immigrants' rights advocacy for farmworkers and students. ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, environmental justice, Florida, health, InterActivist, interview, Poverty and the Environment, toxics (all these topics) |
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If At First You Don't Succeed, Tritium Again
Illinois nuke-plant operator sued for tritium spills it tried to hide |
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20 Mar 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| If At First You Don't Succeed, Tritium Again Illinois nuke-plant operator sued for tritium spills it tried to hide Boy, we can't wait for that "safe, clean nuclear power" President Bush is always talking about, 'cause this stuff we have now is kind of nasty. The Braidwood nuclear power plant in Illinois, owned by Exelon Corp., has been leaking millions of gallons of water laced with radioactive tritium, and ... |
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| Topics: Illinois, news, nuclear power, toxics (all these topics) |
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Ward Up
Houston kids living near a Superfund site tell their stories in pictures |
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16 Mar 2006 |
Main Dish |
| Click image to view a slide show of children's photos and collages. Collage: Wassim Elmetni (age 11). "Many Diversified Interests" sounds like a line from a college application, or advice from a responsible money manager. In fact, though, it's the name of a Superfund site in the Fifth Ward, one of the oldest and most disenfranchised neighborhoods of Houston, Texas. For the most part, children g ... |
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| Topics: education, environmental justice, grassroots activism, Poverty and the Environment, Texas, toxics (all these topics) |
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Critical Mass
Massachusetts proposes tough standard for perchlorate in drinking water |
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16 Mar 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Critical Mass Massachusetts proposes tough standard for perchlorate in drinking water In a not-so-subtle jab at the Bush administration, Massachusetts has proposed a strict drinking-water standard for the toxic chemical perchlorate, which can disrupt metabolism, growth, and development, particularly in children. There is currently no federal limit on perchlorate in drinking water, though the U.S. EPA ... |
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| Topics: Massachusetts, news, toxics, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Goshutes, nukes, poverty, and the environment
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Lisa Hymas |
14 Mar 2006 |
Gristmill |
| Here's a perfect illustration of the ugly intersection of poverty and environmental degradation: the fight over whether the Goshute tribe of Utah should be able to use its reservation as a holding site for highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants around the country. Time's Margot Roosevelt describes the tribe's stark, denuded homeland: To the southwest lies the Dugway Proving Ground, where the U.S. government develops chemical and biological weapons. To the e ... |
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| Topics: nuclear power, toxics, Utah, waste (all these topics) |
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Here We Go Again
Robert Bullard explains why the response to Katrina wasn't a fluke |
Gregory Dicum |
14 Mar 2006 |
Main Dish |
| In the course of my interview with environmental-justice scholar and leader Robert Bullard, we discussed his current work on the history of environmental racism in the South. He had plenty to say about the ways that inadequate government response to disasters has affected people of color over the past seven decades. I asked him whether Katrina was part of the norm or stood out somehow ... |
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| Topics: environmental justice, health, Louisiana, politics, Poverty and the Environment, Tennessee, Texas, toxics (all these topics) |
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Justice in Time
Meet Robert Bullard, the father of environmental justice |
Gregory Dicum |
14 Mar 2006 |
Main Dish |
| Robert Bullard says he was "drafted" into environmental justice while working as an environmental sociologist in Houston in the late 1970s. His work there on the siting of garbage dumps in black neighborhoods identified systematic patterns of injustice. The book that Bullard eventually wrote about that work, 1990's Dumping in Dixie, is widely regarded as the first to fully articulate t ... |
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| Topics: environmental justice, health, Louisiana, politics, Poverty and the Environment, Tennessee, Texas, toxics (all these topics) |
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Chem and Get It
State report urges California to adopt greener chemical policy |
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14 Mar 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Chem and Get It State report urges California to adopt greener chemical policy California continues to leave the rest of the nation in the (toxic) dust: A new report commissioned by the state legislature recommends a tough "green chemistry" policy to identify, restrict, and replace the most dangerous chemicals used by American industry -- because, says the report's lead author, federal laws are not strong enough to prote ... |
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| Topics: California, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Silly Rabbit, Toxics Aren't for Kids!
Parents strive to protect kids from everyday chemical hazards |
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13 Mar 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Silly Rabbit, Toxics Aren't for Kids! Parents strive to protect kids from everyday chemical hazards There may be no more powerful force for social change in the world than worried parents. And they're turning their attention to lead in lunchboxes, bisphenol A in plastic, and other eco-nasties in their children's daily lives, switching to greener-seeming products -- like cloth totes and wax-paper wrappers for school lunches -- and sharing infor ... |
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| Topics: news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Benzene There, Might Do That
New EPA regs would slash benzene emissions from cars by 2030 |
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02 Mar 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Benzene There, Might Do That New EPA regs would slash benzene emissions from cars by 2030 The Bush administration delighted enviros yesterday (yes, we just wrote that) by unveiling long-awaited proposals to cut toxic tailpipe emissions. Of course, it took a lawsuit to get the plan released, but why look a gift regulation in the mouth? According to the U.S. EPA, the proposed rules would cut benzene e ... |
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| Topics: news, placemaking, pollution and waste, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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A House Divided
An interactive illustration of how the other half lives |
Keri Rosebraugh |
01 Mar 2006 |
Main Dish |
| Click on the image to see a full-size version. The wrong side of the tracks: we often talk about a figurative gulf between rich and poor in the United States, but as this phrase suggests, there is also a literal chasm between the classes. If you live in poverty in this country, odds are you live in the "bad" parts of town -- the parts that are dirtier, more dangerous, harder to acc ... |
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| Topics: environmental justice, green living, Poverty and the Environment, toxics (all these topics) |
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Fin and Dandy
Low-mercury fish label debuts in Northern California |
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28 Feb 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Fin and Dandy Low-mercury fish label debuts in Northern California If you love fish but avoid it because you're worried about high mercury content, you may be in luck -- if you live in Northern California, that is. Pacific Seafood Group, a large fish wholesaler, has partnered with Holiday Quality Foods, a chain of 19 grocery stores in rural Northern California, to test-market fish labeled as low-mercury. Fish to be s ... |
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| Topics: California, marine life, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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