and more Environmental News you might not find on your 6:00 p.m. newscast.
Fetal exposure to common chemicals can activate obesity. Exposure to environmental chemicals found in everyday plastics and pesticides while in the womb may make a person more prone to obesity later in life, new research indicates. Environment News Services.
Suppressed report shows cancer link to GM potatoes. Campaigners against genetically modified crops in Britain last are calling for trials of GM potatoes this spring to be halted after releasing more evidence of links with cancers in laboratory rats. London Independent
A 'green' boat: Will buyers bite? With help from former Vice President Al Gore, a fishing captain tries to hook fellow boaters on the threat global warming poses to South Florida. Miami Herald
Wind shifts devastate ocean life. The delicate interplay between the oceans and atmosphere is changing with catastrophic consequences. Entire marine ecosystems have been wiped out, devastating populations of sea birds and larger marine mammals. BBC
Dick Cheney's dangerous son-in-law. For the chemical industry, which has always had a chilly relationship with the EPA, Philip Perry has been a consistent, quiet friend. Perry's stealth moves have often benefited opponents of chemical regulation. Washington Monthly.
Toxic runoff poses risk to Reef. Satellite images of flooding in the Top End have revealed that runoff from the land is a greater threat to the Great Barrier Reef than experts believed. Perth Sunday Times
Tasmanian devil may become endangered species because of cancer. Over the past decade, a form of cancer has killed almost three out of four Tasmanian devils. Little is known about the cancer - whether from pure chance or bad luck, or by coming across a powerful carcinogen or mutagen in a dump. International Herald Tribune.
Dioxane on the defensive. A new study has found that some of the most popular baby shampoos contain an industrial solvent that is suspected of causing cancer in humans, along with damaging the liver, kidneys, and nervous system. Living On Earth.
Mountain glacier could 'vanish'. The disappearance of a glacier high in the Andes could provide the clearest evidence yet of global climate change, a senior academic has warned. BBC
Reservoirs of water found beneath Antarctic ice streams. Rivers of fast-flowing water are gushing beneath the West Antarctica ice sheet in an extensive arterial system of rapidly filling and emptying lakes, new satellite images have revealed. New Scientist
US, China 'must act to avert disaster'. The world faces a global warming disaster if the US and China do not take decisive action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, leading economists said at the United Nations yesterday. Melbourne Age
Peru's glacier vanishing. In Peru, the world's largest tropical glacier is in danger of disappearing within five years. CBC Canada
People won't part with money to stop climate change: poll. British Columbians have bought into the reality of climate change like never before, but most wouldn't spend even $100 a year extra in taxes to help save the world, results of a poll conducted by Ipsos Reid show. CanWest News
Friends of polar bears, walruses sue. Groups say oil, gas exploration rules don't fully address global warming. Anchorage Daily News
Bill aims to make recycling easier. Supermarkets, department stores and other retailers that sell beverages in HI-5 deposit containers will be required to accept the empty bottles and cans for redemption under a bill making its way through the state Legislature. Honolulu Star-Bulletin
An island of natural airborne killers. A life-threatening tropical fungus has entrenched itself on Vancouver Island's east coast, sickening humans and animals. Experts say that climate change has allowed it to thrive. Toronto Globe and Mail
Montana and Wyoming fighting for water. As the worst dry spell since the 1930s shows no signs of abating, many states are squabbling with each other and federal officials. NYTimes
Dole recalls cantaloupes in U.S. states, Quebec, due to salmonella. The Dole Fresh Fruit Co. recalled several thousand cartons of imported cantaloupes distributed in the eastern United States and Quebec on Friday after the fruit tested positive for salmonella. Canadian Press.
Peter Pan factory inspected. Government and company scientists went through one of the nation's largest peanut-butter plants in Sylvester, Ga., yesterday trying to figure out how salmonella got into batches of the spread. - Philly.com
Japan set to ban beef from plant in Nebraska. Plant owner Tyson Foods Inc. acknowledged the problem, saying the boxes of beef were mistakenly included in a shipment destined for export from its Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Lexington, Neb. Omaha.com
Moth threatens Mexican food. Officials said a moth trapped this week could be the same species that destroyed some 20 million hectares of cacti in Australia, opening the possibility the moth will spread to Mexico's cactus farming regions. Reuters.
Gardeners save the day as butterfly habitats disappear. For $16 worth of seeds, plus space and time, gardeners across the country can counter the precipitous loss of monarch butterfly habitat that has occurred in the past 10 years because of the spread of genetically engineered crops, urbanization and global warming. San Francisco Chronicle
State inspectors find invasive pest on Mexican avocados. State inspectors have intercepted nearly a dozen shipments of Mexican avocados carrying a pest never seen before in California and have petitioned the U.S. to help plug a border "leak" that could be letting the invader into San Diego County. San Diego North County Times
Go green! The great outdoors and childhood obesity. A recent study reveals environmental factors like population density, a household's proximity to grassy areas, and a household's distance to the nearest food retailer could have a substantial impact on a child's physical health. Evansville WFIE
Report on water contamination. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has released a report, "Pakistan’s Water at Risk", which states that Lahore’s water supply system has a dangerously high level of arsenic and fluorine. Lahore Daily Times
A thousand threats. Toxic chemicals don’t just hurt us in big doses. An environmental oncologist argues that myriad tiny amounts of cancer-causing agents in our environment—and even in our shampoo—can make us sick. Newsweek.