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Donna Resevoir and Canal

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:57:29 +0000

During the week of February 6-12, 2012, representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) will be in the area of South Alamo, Texas, to speak with residents about the contamination in the Donna Reservoir and Canal. This effort is being made to provide local residents with information about the health risks of consuming fish taken from the Donna Reservoir and Canal. The possession of contaminated fish taken from the reservoir is prohibited by the TDSHS and has been since 1993.

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Donna Resevoir and Canal

Donna Resevoir and Canal

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:57:29 +0000

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Donna Resevoir and Canal

Doctor Prescribes Preventive Medicine for Shale Gas

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:07:00 +0000

As Gasland director Josh Fox’s arrest stole the attention, politicians heard important testimony about fracking.

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Doctor Prescribes Preventive Medicine for Shale Gas

Doctor Prescribes Preventive Medicine for Shale Gas

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:07:00 +0000

As Gasland director Josh Fox’s arrest stole the attention, politicians heard important testimony about fracking.

Arrested for Excessive Sweetness

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:46:07 +0000

Put your hands up and step away from the sugar! No, not really. But one day, sugar may be a regulated substance, on par with alcohol and tobacco. The notion seems draconian at first, but once you look at the reasoning behind it, it begins to make a lot of sense. Researchers from the University of California (UC) San Francisco stipulate that excessive consumption of sugar is behind the global obesity pandemic. Sugar contributes to over 35 million deaths per year from diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Their desire is to see a healthier world with fewer health-related costs through the restriction and regulation of sugar.

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Arrested for Excessive Sweetness

Europe to target pharmaceutical pollution with new water quality rules

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:02:04 +0000

The European Commission has unveiled a new set of water pollution rules, which will for the first time include certain pharmaceutical products. The Commission is proposing to add 15 chemicals to the list of 33 pollutants that are currently monitored and controlled in EU surface waters. The popular pain-relieving drug Diclofenac is one of three pharmaceuticals to be put on the European water watch-list, which law-makers say is another step towards improving the quality of rivers, lakes and coastal waters. The 15 substances include industrial chemicals as well as compounds used in biocides and plant protection products. They have been selected on the basis of scientific evidence that they may pose a significant risk to health.

Energy Poverty Remains a Global Challenge for the Future

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:45:09 +0000

Washington, D.C.—Despite massive gains in global access to electricity over the last two decades, governments and development organizations must continue to invest in electrification to achieve critical health, environmental, and livelihood outcomes, according to new research published by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online publication.

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Energy Poverty Remains a Global Challenge for the Future

Acid Rain Change

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:06:06 +0000

Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. Measurable improvements in air quality and visibility, human health, and water quality in many acid-sensitive lakes and streams, have been achieved through emissions reductions from electric generating power plants and resulting decreases in acid rain. These are some of the key findings in a report to Congress by the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, a cooperative federal program

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Acid Rain Change

Don’t wait for wealth — better health needs basic tools

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:19:41 +0000

Encouraging demand for new and increasingly cheap interventions available now can boost health in developing countries, says Charles Kenny. The conventional wisdom is that wealthier is healthier: staying alive longer takes expensive stuff, and so a country’s quickest way to better health for its people is economic development. There’s a lot to that argument. Good nutrition, shelter, hospitals — they all cost money. And that’s surely a big part of why life expectancies in high-income countries are twenty years longer than those in low-income countries worldwide, according to World Bank data. Even within countries, household surveys suggest richer families live longer and stay healthier than poorer ones.

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Don’t wait for wealth — better health needs basic tools

NASA GISS Identifies 14 Air Pollution Control Measures to Slow Global Warming, Improve Health and Increase Crop Yields

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:19:39 +0000

Fourteen air pollution control measures, if implemented today, could not only slow the pace of global warming, according to an intensive study by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), but also improve health and boost agricultural productivity. All regions of the world would benefit as a result, NASA found, but the biggest health and agricultural gains would be realized in Asia and the Middle East as a result of greenhouse (GHG) emissions reductions.

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NASA GISS Identifies 14 Air Pollution Control Measures to Slow Global Warming, Improve Health and Increase Crop Yields

Atmospheric Particles causing more rain

admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:24:24 +0000

A rise in the atmosphere of aerosols – miniscule particles which include soot, dust and sulphates – has led to more rainfall in certain parts of the world and could provide vital clues for future climate predictions, a scientific study shows. A deeper understanding of rainfall patterns would aid scientists’ ability to predict changing trends in the climate. Aerosols can be produced from burning coal or gas, industrial and agricultural processes or by the burning of forests. As well as being harmful for human health, they are blamed for causing air pollution such as smog and smoke. “For a range of conditions, increases in aerosol abundance are associated with the local intensification of rain rates,” said the study published in Nature Geoscience by scientists from Israel’s Weizmann Institute, NASA, and other institutions.

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Atmospheric Particles causing more rain

Jobs for the Poor? Save the Wild for $1 a Day

admin — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:50:41 +0000

The best things in life aren’t really free. Fresh air, clean water, and bountiful crops all depend on healthy ecosystems. But research published in BioScience pointed out that the communities which steward those environmental resources often do not receive payment for their services.

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Jobs for the Poor? Save the Wild for $1 a Day

Africa’s first green, locavore, gluten-free beer

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:29:23 +0000

by Christopher Mims. In Mozambique, home brewing is big — not because the country is full of mustachioed, fixie-riding expats from Portlandia, but just because it’s less expensive. So when brewing giant SABMiller wanted to figure out how to sell beer to people who are already making their own, they had to do it on the cheap, reports Marc Gunther at GreenBiz . Using local ingredients and less energy turned out to be key to keeping prices competitive with the corner moonshine still. The result is Impala, a beer made from cassava, the starchy root endemic to Africa. Cassava is uniquely suited to locavorism because once it's out of the ground, it goes bad within a couple of days, so it can't be exported. You want to eat it, you have to eat it local. SABMiller processes it on site, using a mobile processing unit invented by the Dutch. The lack of hops wheat or barley in the beer also means that it happens to be gluten free — so even if this beer isn’t made by hipsters, they’ll probably be drinking it. “Africa's agricultural potential is enormous, but currently under-exploited,” he went on. “By creating market opportunities for subsistence farmers in our value chains, we are able to increase their productivity, allowing them to feed their families and generate an income for the first time.” The company said it is buying cassava from more than 1,500 smallholders.

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Africa’s first green, locavore, gluten-free beer

Cheers! Uncovering Alcohol’s Addictive Quality

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:53:29 +0000

Alcohol is one of the most addicting substances on Earth. Alcoholism is so prevalent and can be so disruptive to society that the United States once succeeded in banning it. Remnants of the Prohibition and America’s puritanical founding can still be seen in the “blue laws” of many areas. It is often an underlying factor in traffic accidents and violent crime. But if alcohol can cause such egregious behavior and cause debilitating health problems, why do alcoholics keep drinking? A new study from the University of California, San Francisco has scientifically uncovered the truth behind alcohol addiction. The answer lies in endorphins, naturally produced chemicals in the brain that create opiate-like effects.

The Real Solar War: US Manufacturers and Installers Fight Over Cheap Chinese Panels

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:53:28 +0000

There is a heated debate going on between people who are supposed to be on the same side of the aisle. Yet, when you hear their passionate arguments and the way they describe the damage the other is causing the US, you start wondering if they actually share anything in common. No, I’m not talking about Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. I’m talking about Jigar Shah and Gordon Brinser. While Brinser and Shah might not be as well-known as the Republican candidates, the debate they’re having on the future of the solar industry might be more valuable to those concerned about the future of the US economy. Basically, the debate between the two is over a petition made to the US International Trade Commission/Department of Commerce (ITC/DOC) against Chinese solar panel import. The main question at the heart of this debate is: Does the US need to focus on manufacturing at all costs, or should it look for another way to create a healthy and sustainable economy?

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The Real Solar War: US Manufacturers and Installers Fight Over Cheap Chinese Panels

Deloitte Scores 100 Percent Rating on Human Rights Campaign’s 2012 Corporate Equality Index

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:36:47 +0000

(Justmeans.com / CSR News) – New York, NY – January 11, 2012 – For the sixth consecutive year, Deloitte has been named one of Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) “Best Places to Work,” earning a perfect 100 percent rating on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The CEI measures and analyzes inclusion initiatives, company benefits, and support made available for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) personnel and the wider LGBT community. HRC’s criteria for earning a spot on this coveted list continues to be raised, including a more rigorous assessment of LGBT health benefits, full transgender inclusion, and the ability to offer effective diversity training, recruiting, resources, supplier diversity and company citizenship.

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Deloitte Scores 100 Percent Rating on Human Rights Campaign’s 2012 Corporate Equality Index

US EPA issuing new Air Quality rules

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:18:34 +0000

The Environmental Protection Agency is introducing its most ambitious clean air rules in decades, though it is making some concessions to election-minded Republicans who oppose them. The EPA, facing backlash from heavy industry, has delayed several of the rules and made adjustments in others. Some industry groups say the rules will cost companies billions of dollars and increase power bills for consumers. The EPA says money saved on healthcare costs will be greater than the amount polluters will need to invest in retooling plants to meet the new standards. So far, the major delay in the rules has been President Barack Obama’s backtracking in September on smog pollution, which came as a disappointment to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Below are important dates for the clean air rules: 2011: CROSS STATE AIR POLLUTION RULE Finalized by the EPA in July, this rule aims to slash air pollution that blows downwind from coal-fired power plants in the eastern United States. Two days before it was to take effect, a U.S. federal appeals court delayed the implementation, pending further review, after power generators complained about the deadline. The first phase of regulation had been set to begin on January 1, 2012, and the second two years later.

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US EPA issuing new Air Quality rules

Critical List: Huge wind farm to rise in Wyoming; doomsday clock ticks forward

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:50:07 +0000

by Sarah Laskow. The Obama administration is speeding towards approval for a huge wind project, 1,000 turbines strong, in Wyoming. GOP Senate candidate Linda McMahon cribbed text for her op-ed on Keystone XL from the website of pipeline builder Transcanada. There's a second tar-sands pipeline, Northern Gateway, and that one faces strong opposition , as well. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists keeps a Doomsday Clock to show how close the world is to global disaster, and yesterday it moved one minute forward — five minutes until midnight. Eek. (On the plus side: worldwide Iron Maiden singalong in three minutes! Be there!) Ahem, Northeast corridor. Just because it's warm where you live, that doesn't make you climate change refugees or anything.

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Critical List: Huge wind farm to rise in Wyoming; doomsday clock ticks forward

Chief of Staff Bill Daley resigns, environment rejoices

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:57:15 +0000

by Jess Zimmerman. Greens have been singing “won't you go home, Bill Daley” for a while (turn-of-the-century music jokes, anyone? No?). The now-former chief of staff was the guy responsible for kneecapping EPA smog regulations, and he was generally considered to be in the administration merely as a sop to Big Business. So now he's resigning , and probably the next guy will be an improvement? We hope? Critics on the left say Daley, who will be replaced by Office of Management and Budget chief Jack Lew, was too close to business interests. “While Lew's environmental ethic remains to be seen, it's hard to see how he could be worse than Daley, who seemed to do whatever big business asked of him,” said Bill Snape, senior counsel with the Center for Biological Diversity. Famous last words. Still, it's true that it would be hard for Lew to be more unpopular than Daley at this point. One environmentalist did sort of come to his defense, pointing out to The Hill that the EPA has had a pretty good record during Daley's year on the job, but that person declined to even be named. When your friends want to remain anonymous and your detractors say things like this: “Daley will be most remembered for his disastrous political and public health decision to scuttle smog standards that had scientific consensus and would have saved literally thousands of lives and millions of dollars in health care costs, not to mention help abate climate change impacts,” Snape said in an email, and also noted that some other EPA rules have been delayed, including greenhouse gas standards for power plants. … it's probably time to cut your losses.

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Chief of Staff Bill Daley resigns, environment rejoices

Light At Night Not A ‘Bright’ Idea

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:02:41 +0000

Moonlight and starlight aren’t just romantic, according to a new international study with Israeli input. This natural nighttime light is also healthier than harsh artificial light – especially LED (light-emitting diodes) white light, which suppresses the brain’s night time production of Melatonin needed to regulate our biological clocks, behavior and health.

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Light At Night Not A ‘Bright’ Idea