I've had the wonderful opportunity to do some writing for our local weekly, The Independent. My wonderful editor, George, invited me to the Holiday party. Great people watching. Interesting conversation. Too much greasy food. Anyway, I'll pop in the AlkaSelzer...you catch up on Environmental News to Use.
Cutback in disclosure of toxic chemicals. The White House pressured the EPA to weaken requirements that companies annually disclose releases of toxic chemicals, congressional auditors say. Associated Press via Houston Chronicle.
A worrisome forecast for the world's crops. Studies on rising ozone pollution, shorter winters, and an expanding tropical belt do not bode well for agriculture. Christian Science Monitor.
Lingering toxins continue to cause cancer. In the largest study of its kind ever done, researchers report that banned pesticides and other toxic chemicals lingering in the environment put people at an increased risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Vancouver Sun
Tainted kids' jewelry ordered off shelves. Children's jewelry with as much as 600 times the legal limit for lead contamination was found at 11 shops around California, including at Macy's and a Gap Kids store, and ordered off the shelves. Los Angeles Times
State poised to broaden mercury warnings. Underscoring a growing concern about mercury poisoning, Massachusetts is preparing new fish consumption advisories, a sign that mercury contamination in bodies of water may be worsening across the state. Boston Globe
US strategy succeeds in Bali. The UN's Secretary General conceded Wednesday that the US had successfully blocked a proposal that called on industrialized nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020. Washington Post.
Saving water for a dry day. Billions of people tap into groundwater supplies across the world for drinking water. What if they could put back everything they took out? Environmental Science & Technology.
Sewage leak stirs fears over fish, livestock. An estimated 1 million gallons of raw sewage leaked into a creek south of Rock Hill over the weekend, killing a limited number of fish and raising concerns about the safety of livestock as far downstream as Chester County. Rock Hill Herald
Indoor 'sat-nav' could save firefighters, Experts are agreed that the risks firefighters face could be significantly reduced if they, and their commanders, knew exactly where they were in a smoke-filled building at all times. Now a tracking system that does just that has been developed. New Scientist
Trailers to be tested for formaldehyde. After months of delay, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is ready to begin testing 500 travel trailers for formaldehyde levels starting next week. New Orleans Times-Picayune
Year one of hottest on record. The Earth has experienced one of its hottest years on record for the calendar year of 2007, according to global figures released today. Sydney Daily Telegraph
Trouble in them thar hills. Glacier National Park in Montana, which once boasted 150 of the spectacular rivers of ice, is now down to 25, and the most recent data show that the remainder "may be gone in our lifetimes," an ecologist has reported. Science.
Red Cross says global warming caused record disasters in 2007. Global warming caused a record number of natural disasters across the world in 2007, up nearly 20 percent from a year earlier, the International Federation of the Red Cross said on Thursday. Agence France-Presse.
White Christmas? Dream on. In Toronto,Canada, the odds we'll get a perfect Christmas day – with snow in the air and on the ground, as Environment Canada says – aren't much better than a snowball's chance in hell. Toronto Star
State can do better with growth. VA can no longer afford to do business as usual with its land use and transportation system, a report by a Charlottesville-based environmental group says. Richmond Times-Dispatch
Gore: US blocking climate talks progress. Gore said Thursday the US is "principally responsible" for blocking progress at the UN climate conference in Bali. Fresno Bee
Saudi says no need to cut oil use to fight warming. Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday the world does not need to shift away from fossil fuels to combat global warming, suggesting pilot technology and greater efficiency as better options. Reuters.
NJ business leaders discuss energy habits. While the Corzine administration is finishing the state's first new energy master plan in 16 years, business leaders gathered to focus on the impact of the state's energy future. Gannett News Service.
Lawsuits allege milk wasn't organic. Some of the nation's largest retailers and grocery chains sold milk labeled ''organic'' that was not truly organic, recently filed lawsuits allege. Associated Press.
Chronic water shortages hit rural Chinese hard. A journey down the Yellow River reveals one of China's most pressing problems today -- the shortage of water across northern China. All Things Considered
State should review hurricane models that insurers use to set rates. Some companies have simply stopped insuring in shore areas, forcing homeowners into the state's FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort. Boston Globe
Will automakers heed the message this time? Even as they spend millions on ads touting their environmental ethics, the world's major auto manufacturers have been working through the courts and Congress to block even the most incremental measures to get cleaner vehicles on the road. Sacramento Bee
Now, with extra crunchy goodness added!
Cities cultivate 2 types of green. Cities trying to strengthen the local economy and go green see the solution in green-collar jobs. They say that jobs in the $341-billion-a-year green industry have the potential to move people out of poverty. USA Today.
Federal judge gives California OK to limit cars' greenhouse gases. California's groundbreaking law limiting auto emissions of gases that contribute to global warming passed its first court test today when a federal judge rejected car industry arguments. San Francisco Chronicle
A greener way to recover methane. Oil reservoirs could have an environmental make-over with the help of bacteria. Scientists say that increasing microbe activity would produce a more energy-efficient method of methane recovery. BBC
Brumby boasts climate change pot of gold. Victorian Premier John Brumby is talking up opportunities for the state in green innovation after returning from climate change talks in Bali. Australian Associated Press.
After centuries of keeping water out, the Dutch now letting it in. As politicians and experts from around the world gather in Bali this week to discuss climate change and the problems of projected rising sea levels and extreme weather, the Dutch are already changing the way they manage water. Agence France-Presse
Italy to meet EU's carbon cut request in full. Italy will cut annual emissions of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in 2008-2012 by the full amount the European Commission has requested, the Environment Ministry said on Wednesday. Reuters.
Wind power explored off California's coast. In many ways, wind energy seems an ideal energy source. Fields of mighty turbines spinning in rhythm could harness carbonless power and shuttle it off to homes and industries. Energy Daily
Yellow Cabs are going greener. Yellow Cab cars and vans will be motoring around the Albany area using propane in the not-too-distant future. Albany Times Union
Green is in fashion, and businesses are noticing. Retailers are dreaming of a green Christmas this year. That's green as in helping the environment -- and green as in the extra sales retailers hope to generate from their efforts. Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Woburn firm's goal? World domination. GEO2 Technologies of Woburn is a small, fledgling company with big ambitions: to have its patented filter for making diesel engines cleaner and more fuel-efficient become the standard for excellence worldwide. Boston Globe
South Fort Collins neighborhood to feature energy-efficient homes. An entire high-end housing development on the outskirts of south Fort Collins will offer energy-efficient homes based on a green-building scale native to Colorado home builders. Fort Collins Coloradoan
Governments are urged to build greener. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments called for a new wave of "green building" across the region yesterday, recommending that local governments build structures according to environmentally friendly standards and that they push private developers to do the same. Washington Post.
Ecotourism benefits nature and reduces poverty. Ecotourism, sometimes criticised as the voyeuristic indulgence of rich first-worlders, really does benefit the environment and the people who live in protected areas, a new report finds. New Scientist
Another spectacular display of Democrats caving to special interests.
A bipartisan, majority vote of 56 in favor of tightening subsidy limits on the biggest, wealthiest farms in the country was not enough to ensure passage this morning.
That's because parliamentary sabotage engineered by Democrats in favor of the subsidy lobby required a super majority vote of 60 for the Dorgan-Grassley payment "limit" amendment to prevail. As a result, this Congress will perpetuate the current, unlimited taxpayer handouts to big rice and cotton farms. Sen. Amy Klobuchar's tightening of means-testing will walk into the same Democratic procedural trap later today.
And in arranging the defeat of these two amendments, Democrats not only kept subsidies flowing unfettered to giant farms. They also prevented the savings these amendments would have generated from being invested in food stamps, conservation, organic agriculture and other chronically underfunded programs. - Mulch
Hillary and Big Meat
HRC taps a CAFO champion as co-chair of Rural Americans for Hillary
Why did Hillary Clinton turn to the CAFO industry to help run her campaign in the farm belt?
On Monday, Clinton named Joy Philippi, the former president of a the National Pork Producers Council, the main trade group representing CAFO operators, as co-chair of Rural Americans for Hillary. - Gristmill