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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Lady, Bugged
On fighting pests with pests |
Umbra Fisk |
16 May 2007 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I have a pest problem in my backyard -- specifically, some tiny (but apparently hungry) insect is making lace out of my basil leaves. I do not want to use pesticides for many reasons, not the least of which is that I cook with the herbs I grow. I think I have found a "natural" solution, but I wanted to consult you first. My garden-supply store sells praying-mantis egg cases ("The natural pest control s ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, food, gardening, green living, toxics (all these topics) |
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Trouble With a Capital B
Chemicals play a big role in breast-cancer cases, says report |
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15 May 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Trouble With a Capital B Chemicals play a big role in breast-cancer cases, says report You know how Tammy Wynette said sometimes it's hard to be a woman? Well, it just got harder: a new report finds a potential link between breast cancer and 216 chemicals, including 35 common air pollutants and 73 food or consumer-product ingredients. Racking up evidence from hundreds of existing lab tests, researchers concluded that en ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Fat rats may be evidence that we're all doomed
Are our standards for exposure to toxics all wrong? |
Kate Sheppard |
12 May 2007 |
Gristmill |
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| Topics: green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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How Much Wood Could a Wood Check Chuck?
California restricts formaldehyde in wood products |
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27 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| How Much Wood Could a Wood Check Chuck? California restricts formaldehyde in wood products It may be a land of earthquakes, smog, and drought, but California's doing something right. In the latest in a string of forward-thinking green policies, state air regulators passed restrictions on formaldehyde in wood products that are the restrictiest in the world. "There is no safe threshold for this carcinoge ... |
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| Topics: California, green living, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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At Least the Couch Is Clean
DuPont, 3M criticized for production of 'probable' carcinogen |
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26 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| At Least the Couch Is Clean DuPont, 3M criticized for production of "probable" carcinogen Public furor is simmering over a chemical used in Teflon, Scotchgard, and other miracles of non-stick, stain-resistant living. Protesters picketed DuPont's annual shareholder meeting in Delaware yesterday, upset over the company's environmental and labor policies -- including its production of PFOA (perf ... |
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| Topics: business, grassroots activism, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Latter-Day Paints
EPA says racism isn't a factor in Ford Superfund saga |
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13 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Latter-Day Paints EPA says racism isn't a factor in Ford Superfund saga A strange environmental-justice saga is unfolding in New Jersey, pitting Ford Motor Co. against a community of Ramapough Indians and their allies. Decades ago, Ford dumped thousands of tons of toxic paint sludge at a former mining area. The dump was declared a Superfund site, reportedly cleaned up, and del ... |
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| Topics: environmental justice, insanity, New Jersey, news, politics, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Heart of Glass
Wracked with plastic-bottle worries, parents turn to an old standby |
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09 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Heart of Glass Wracked with plastic-bottle worries, parents turn to an old standby Anxious parents are snatching up glass baby bottles after a February report showed that plastic bottles can contain bisphenol A, a chemical that mimics estrogen. One website saw about a tenfold increase in glass-bottle sales before running out; a company in Ohio got 300 glassy-eyed orders the day the report surfaced and saw one bottle' ... |
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| Topics: green living, news, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
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Message on a Bottle
On aluminum bottles |
Umbra Fisk |
04 Apr 2007 |
Ask Umbra |
| Umbra, Are aluminum bottles safer than Nalgene bottles? I'm looking at getting Sigg bottles for my self, wife, and son. Vendor agnostic, are the materials used by aluminum-only vendors safer than those that incorporate Lexan? Chris Webber Seattle, Wash. Dearest Chris, I swear, I pick questions and only then do I notice that yet again I have chosen one from Seattle. It is not a conspiracy. I just wanted a question to go with our r ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, green products, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Deca Dent
Washington state first in the nation to ban PBDEs |
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04 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Deca Dent Washington state first in the nation to ban PBDEs Washington state will be the first in the nation to phase out nasty fireproofing chemicals called PBDEs, which show up in the bodies of people and wildlife and may cause neurological damage. Yesterday, the state Senate passed a measure that will eventually ban home items containing deca, the most commonly used PBDE; the House had already approved the bill, and no ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics, Washington (all these topics) |
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Mrs. Sippy
On plastic and kids |
Umbra Fisk |
02 Apr 2007 |
Ask Umbra |
| Hi Umbra, What about "sippy" cups for little kids, not to mention bottles? They're all plastic, and we all know that kids are more vulnerable to environmental toxins. What's a mom to do? Janet Byron Berkeley, Calif. Dearest Janet, A mom is to check the research and purchase only bottles and sippy cups that are not considered health hazards. Umbra is to help the mom do so right now in this very column. Sip sip ... harrumph. Photo ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
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Genetically-modified malaria-resistant mosquitoes
But the Franken-mozzies will still bite ... and their eyes glow red in the dark! |
Robert Delfs |
20 Mar 2007 |
Gristmill |
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| Topics: GMOs, toxics (all these topics) |
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Healthy cars
Also known as bikes |
Sarah van Schagen |
20 Mar 2007 |
Gristmill |
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| Topics: cars, green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Levels of Risk
On chlorine |
Umbra Fisk |
12 Mar 2007 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, So I've been buying unbleached diapers for my baby, using chlorine-free laundry and dish soaps and non-chlorine bleached paper, and generally thinking that's better for me and the environment. Then I go swimming in a chlorinated pool twice a week, sometimes with my kids! Is there a difference in the type of chlorine exposure? Is swimming a health risk? It certainly bothers my nose (I think I'll start using some nose plugs). Can you ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
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Circuit Training
U.N. launches global partnership to combat unhealthy e-waste habits |
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08 Mar 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Circuit Training U.N. launches global partnership to combat unhealthy e-waste habits Faced with an annual global gadget toss approaching 40 million tons, the United Nations has launched a partnership to battle the world's heaps of e-waste and the environmental and health problems caused by impromptu e-recycling. Solving the E-Waste Problem, or StEP -- which counts governments, unive ... |
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| Topics: business, greening biz operations, news, toxics, United Nations, waste (all these topics) |
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The Knights Who Say NIH
Health agency reviews bisphenol A safety as controversy swirls |
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06 Mar 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| The Knights Who Say NIH Health agency reviews bisphenol A safety as controversy swirls Ignoring the news about bisphenol A? Time to pay attention, cuz the plastic resin is used in everyday products from baby bottles to canned goods and linked to a host of health problems. And with the National Institutes of Health reviewing the safety of BPA this week, a maelstrom is brewing: a major player in the NIH study, Sciences International, is ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Cleaning House
On disposing of toxic chemicals |
Umbra Fisk |
05 Mar 2007 |
Ask Umbra |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green cleaning, green living, toxics (all these topics) |
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Meany in a Bottle
Baby bottles found to leak chemicals, California may ban them |
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01 Mar 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Meany in a Bottle Baby bottles found to leak chemicals, California may ban them Most parents discourage their kiddos from ingesting known toxics, so a new study from green group Environment California is a bit of a bummer: when run through a simulated dishwasher 50 to 75 times, name-brand baby bottles leach the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, in levels that have caused reproductive abno ... |
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| Topics: California, green living, health, news, parenting, politics, toxics (all these topics) |
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Get Out of Jail Fee
Dutch company pays nearly $200 million to help resolve Ivory Coast mess |
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15 Feb 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Get Out of Jail Fee Dutch company pays nearly $200 million to help resolve Ivory Coast mess Six months after toxic sludge was pumped from a ship and dumped in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, leading to 10 deaths and thousands of poisonings, the company responsible will pay the country nearly $200 million. Oops, did we say responsible? Trafigura, the Dutch-based company that chartered the ship o' death, says the fee is not an admission of guilt. ... |
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| Topics: Africa, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Sixty-Two and You
U.S. EPA places limits on carcinogenic benzene in gasoline |
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12 Feb 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Sixty-Two and You U.S. EPA places limits on carcinogenic benzene in gasoline Late last week, the U.S. EPA announced a new rule that will affect most Americans' gas tanks. The Mobile Source Air Toxics rule -- or as we like to call it, the Your Car is Full of Crap rule -- limits benzene, a carcinogen that makes up about 1 percent of current gasoline mixes but poses a whopping health threat. Beginning in 2011, refiners will ... |
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| Topics: news, placemaking, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Nice Perc if You Can Get It
California to phase out toxic dry-cleaning chemical |
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26 Jan 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Nice Perc if You Can Get It California to phase out toxic dry-cleaning chemical Continuing its quest to show the rest of the country up, California has notched another first: the state's Air Resources Board has voted unanimously to phase out perchloroethylene, or perc, a toxic chemical commonly used in dry cleaning. Some 3,400 California cleaners who use the solvent -- a suspected carcinogen said to contaminate one-tenth of the st ... |
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| Topics: California, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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We're Just Saying
Scientists, states, and Congress point out that mercury is bad |
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25 Jan 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| We're Just Saying Scientists, states, and Congress point out that mercury is bad Mercury is not a problem. Mercury is not a problem. (Psst: hey readers, it's us. We interrupt this federal brainwashing to let you know that researchers who sampled more than 2,700 fish from 626 rivers and streams in 12 Western states found mercury in every one of them.) Mercury is not a problem. (The team, from the U.S. EPA and Oregon State University, s ... |
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| Topics: news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Capsize Does Matter
Beached British cargo ship leaks oil, shipping containers, motorcycles |
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22 Jan 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Capsize Does Matter Beached British cargo ship leaks oil, shipping containers, motorcycles A damaged British cargo ship beached off the country's coast is leaking oil, losing containers full of toxic materials, and threatening a World Heritage Site. On a happier note, it's provided a beachcombing bonanza, with items including BMW motorcycles, exhaust system parts, and wine barrels washing ashore. Boggled bobbies ... |
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| Topics: energy, news, oil, toxics, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
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Manipulation Nation
U.S. risk-assessment draft completely eviscerated by real live scientists |
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12 Jan 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Manipulation Nation U.S. risk-assessment draft completely eviscerated by real live scientists The Bush administration's quest to make federal-agency evaluations of public-health risks from chemicals and other products even more meaningless has been stymied. A draft risk-assessment policy issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget has been called "fundamentally flawed" by the National Research Council, which ... |
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| Topics: news, politics, toxics (all these topics) |
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All Heil Breaks Loose
Six decades after World War II, Nazi U-boat poses threat to Norway |
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11 Jan 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| All Heil Breaks Loose Six decades after World War II, Nazi U-boat poses threat to Norway What's scarier than a Nazi U-boat slinking along your shores? A Nazi U-boat sunk along your shores, with 65 tons of mercury still inside. In coastal Norway, residents are keeping a wary eye on a 62-year-old casualty of war that could pose a whole new danger. With time and seawater causing corrosion in a number of the submarine's 1,857 canisters of ... |
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| Topics: news, Norway, toxics (all these topics) |
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Poison Penn
Pennsylvania governor blocked from issuing mercury rule |
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09 Jan 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Poison Penn Pennsylvania governor blocked from issuing mercury rule Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) got green plaudits last year when he proposed a plan to scrub 90 percent of mercury pollution from the state's coal-fired power plants by 2015, but a little-known state agency is now blocking his move. The Legislative Reference Bureau has sided with the majority of state senators, who object to Rendell's plan and want ... |
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| Topics: news, Pennsylvania, politics, toxics (all these topics) |
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