It's an overcast, coolish day here in Santa Barbara. Yesterday, I went with the Ski Club for a bike ride through the Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country. Rolling hills, meandering Angus, an occassional Bison or lama, hawks and kestrels looking for a bite to eat, and of course the grapevines.
Getting there we passed Lake Cachuma, our major source of water. It was terrifyingly low. So low we could see roadways, long ago flooded. Little rowboats marooned on dry ground, yards away from even the slightest hint of shore. Where does YOUR city get its water? How sustainable is it?
Now...onto Environmental News...to USE (below the parched fold)
UN climate report: already out of date? Some experts are worried, fearing that the IPCC's ponderous machinery, which gives birth to a new review only every five or six years, is falling dangerously behind with what's happening to Earth's climate systems. Agence France-Presse.
Climate change: Europe's most arid country battles desertification. When the world's paramount experts on global warming gather in Spain next week, they will not have to travel far to witness the impact of rising temperatures. Agence France-Presse.
Out of sight, and in the water. Across the country, buried ash is a growing but widely ignored source of pollution from coal-fired power plants, according to a researcher who has studied them. Baltimore Sun
Bay cleanup efforts expanding. A major oil spill is making San Francisco Bay look like a dirty bathtub, and the ring of black that soils the shoreline is likely to pose dire consequences for birds, mice, ducks, fish and the smallest of aquatic creatures for years to come, scientists say. San Francisco Chronicle
Chasing fire in the Amazon. Scientists want to understand how burning forests contribute to climate change — and they want to know how to slow or stop those fires. National Public Radio.
Massachusetts pushes green on all cylinders. Riding a green wave that is sweeping the country, state officials are aggressively launching legislative and legal efforts to protect the environment, cut back on energy use and solid waste, and reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. Boston Herald
Jobs go as drought bites hard. Drought has reduced the rice crop to a mere 1 per cent of its usual size and put 180 regional rice mill employees out of work. Sydney Australian
Artificial turf full of toxins that can cause cancer. Every new expanse of artificial turf contains plastic grass and about 120 tons of finely chopped tires that emit a small amount of toxic, cancer-causing, mutation-triggering chemicals and metals. New Haven Register
Gas drilling’s dirty side effect. Blasted free by millions of gallons of fresh water and chemical soup sent miles below ground, some of Earth’s baddest geological actors — radioactive elements capable of scarring soil and scourging human health — are slowly rising to the surface along with the Barnett Shale’s natural gas. Denton Record-Chronicle
Duluth sewage effluent feminizes minnows. Male minnows placed in Duluth sewage effluent not only developed female characteristics but also lost their male behavior traits and were less able to reproduce, new research revealed. Duluth News Tribune
Toxics surprise: What we have inside us. A report to be released today is the latest in a string of reports from environmental groups designed to educate -- some say needlessly scare -- Americans about the low levels of suspect chemicals in our consumer-society selves. Portland Oregonian
Organic labeling confuses farmers. The shift toward big organic has farmers feeling like they must choose between the principles of healthy eating and environmental stewardship that sprouted the organic movement and federally sanctioned organic certification, which is essentially a marketing program. Middletown Times Herald-Record
A fragmented system for food safety. Critics of the food safety system say it is too fragmented and marked by overlapping authority, and they say that may help explain why dangerous foods keep slipping through and why contamination scares are handled in sometimes inconsistent ways. Associated Press.
Energy or hype? What is it about those energy bars that are so irresistible? Is it the clever packaging, the persuasive claims or the convenience of a meal in a bar? How is it possible that we make time to surf YouTube for hours, but we can't seem to find the time for a proper meal or a snack? Detroit News
Shopping green requires basic knowledge as well as environmental commitment. As the drum beats for planet-friendly practices, more consumers are tuning in by buying eco-friendly products. But how do you really know whether an eco-friendly product is really eco-friendly? Kansas City Star
In little ways, local business goes green. Tucson businesses seem to be arriving at a convenient truth: It is possible to make small changes that help the planet. Tucson Arizona Daily Star
GM unveils luxury Cadillac Escalade hybrid. Luxury with less guilt could be the theme behind the 2009 Cadillac Escalade hybrid, which debuts today at the South Florida International Auto Show in Miami. Detroit News
A green policy takes flight. Schwarzenegger's Gulfstream 400 plane emits as much as 4.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide per hour, according to the online luxury journal Helium Report, roughly the equivalent of what a small passenger car produces in one year over the course of 8,000 miles. Sacramento Bee
Tess' trash tour. We take our trash to the curb, but where does it go after that? Tess Vigeland rides along with her neighborhood garbage man to find out. MarketPlace.
No marooning N.J. in dispute. Nineteen miles off the New Jersey coast, a New York energy-investment firm is proposing to build a $1.8 billion, nearly 60-acre industrial island to serve as a terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Philadelphia Inquirer (reg.req.)
Wind energy increasing in Wisconsin. A new crop is sprouting in Wisconsin. Janesville Gazette
Frozen vault saves crops for mankind. The world's vital seeds have a last refuge from future disaster in a mountain near North Pole. Over the next few weeks, the huge cavern will be filled with more than a million types of seed and will be officially opened in February next year. London Guardian
Cheap imports come with deadly environmental price tag. The Asian Brown Cloud, or ABC as it is known to climate scientists, is a two-mile-thick toxic umbrella that covers much of East Asia and is wafted across the Pacific Ocean to the West Coast, eventually making its way to Utah and beyond. Salt Lake Tribune
Are we creating a second generation of Downwinders? Another threat is coming our way. It's the Toquop Energy Project, a coal-fired power plant planned for construction just 14 miles north of Mesquite, Utah. Cedar City Spectrum
Where are we 35 years after Clean Water Act? This October, the Clean Water Act, regarded as one of our most important environmental and public health laws, celebrates its 35th anniversary. Gresham Outlook
Toxic chemicals from everyday products contaminate the bodies of every person in the United States. Shower curtains, water bottles, baby bottles, toys, shampoo, cosmetics, couch cushions, computers, and hundreds of other common products contain toxic chemical ingredients that leach out of the products. Is It In Us? Published by Coming Clean.
Every day children are exposed to an average of 27 personal care product ingredients that have not been found safe for kids Due to gaping loopholes in federal law, cosmetics companies can put almost any ingredient they choose into their products, with no requirement to safety test. Companies can also claim that their products are gentle and natural even when they contain artificial chemical ingredients or harsh skin irritants. Safety guide to children's personal care products. Published by Environmental Working Group.
Oil and gas production releases pollution that can have serious impacts on people's health and the surrounding air, water, and land. Although these operations are frequently located near homes, schools, and other community resources, the oil and gas industry enjoys numerous exemptions from provisions of federal laws intended to protect human health and the environment. Drilling down. Published by Natural Resources Defense Council.
With record losses and payouts far outstripping premiums in recent years, insurance rates are rising and many companies are moving out of America’s coastal states. Allstate, one of the nation’s largest insurance providers, has cut off coverage for 40,000 coastal homeowners in New York, and is no longer writing any new policies in Florida. Blown Away: How Global Warming Is Eroding the Availability of Insurance Coverage in America's Coastal States. Published by Environmental Defense.
Four months of reporting and testing find that lead is in an array of everyday items and that the system that should protect consumers has gaping holes. Our lab tests detected lead at widely varying levels in samples of dishware, jewelry, glue stick caps, vinyl backpacks, children's ceramic tea sets, and other toys and items not on any federal recall list. New worries over lead. Published by Consumer Reports.