It's Thursday. So why the hell not Environmental News to Use?
Pesticide spurs free speech flap. If the state and federal governments get their way, night-flying planes will soon resume dousing the Monterey Peninsula with a moth-targeting pesticide. Officials say trade rules prevent disclosure of what's in the spray. Los Angeles Times
Have public-health research funds been diverted in the US? Scientists charge that the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has cut traditional environmental and public-health programs in favor of research on treating disease. Environmental Science & Technology.
Science's worst enemy: corporate funding. The biggest threat to science has been quietly occurring under the radar. The threat is money—specifically, the decline of government support for science and the growing dominance of private spending over American research. Discover.
Testimony slams Ringwood cleanup. Federal environmental regulators won't admit it, but they are siding with polluters and delaying cleanups because they don't have the money to do their jobs, according to Senate testimony. Bergen County Record
Stalled health tests leave storm trailers in limbo. Three months after the Federal Emergency Management Agency halted the sale of travel trailers to survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita over possible risks from formaldehyde and promised a health study, none of the 56,000 occupied units have been tested. New York Times.
Mercury from U.S. wildfires. A new study suggests that agricultural and forest fires together are responsible for nearly one-third of the atmospheric mercury in the U.S. Environmental Science & Technology.
Tamiflu survives sewage treatment. Tamiflu—currently the most effective pharmaceutical weapon against a potential bird-flu pandemic—survives sewage treatment, according to a new study. Researchers warn this could prompt the virus to mutate into a drug-resistant strain. Environmental Science & Technology.
PBDEs in U.S. infants mirror adult population. The largest study yet of PBDEs in U.S. infants confirms that American babies' concentrations of the persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic compounds are at least twice as high as those of European infants. Environmental Science & Technology.
Saint or strongarm? Charity chief accused of bullying Avandia critic. The man overseeing the Gates Foundation's multi-billion-dollar global health initiative helped plan an aggressive effort to squelch a researcher trying to warn the public of possible dangerous side effects to the drug Avandia, newly released e-mails show. ABC News.
US farm bill unlikely to aid good nutrition. Even deep in the US's healthy eating heartland, it is clear how decades of farm subsidies have affected what America eats. Financial Times
How one man turned a run-down store into an ethical foodie's paradise. Andrew Thornton was sick of supermarkets. But rather than suffer in silence, he bought one of his own and turned it into an ethical foodie's paradise. London Independent
City to be 1st in LED lights. Mayor John Hieftje on Tuesday proclaimed Ann Arbor to be the first city in the country to pledge to fit all its downtown street lights with the more efficient LED light bulbs. Ann Arbor News
Expert: 'green' construction gains momentum. So-called green building used to be a niche in the construction market, almost a boutique industry reserved for the wealthy or the extra-environmentally conscious. Traverse City Record Eagle
Chicken farms off U.S. terror target reporting list. Chicken farms aren't terror targets after all. Associated Press.
Warming turns Barrier Reef acidic. Waters around the Great Barrier Reef are becoming acidic at a higher-than-expected rate. Melbourne Age
Panel explores warming dangers. Asthma, allergies, malaria, heat stroke, forest fires, cholera, West Nile virus, hurricanes and malnutrition are health threats that may be linked to global warming according to experts at a conference on the human impacts of climate change held Wednesday at UCLA in California.Ventura County Star
The making of a climate movement. Memo to Congress: the Arctic is on thin ice--and so are you. The Nation.
Lawmaker pushing N-power also is CEO seeking license for Utah's first nuke plant. Rep. Aaron Tilton gave colleagues a broad outline of his company's plan to obtain a license to build Utah's first nuclear power plant, brushing aside questions about his involvement in the project while he advocates for nuclear power in the Utah Legislature. Salt Lake Tribune,
Company converts fuel tank for vegetable oil. The company Veggie Wheels converts cars into super-green diesel machines. It involves installing a separate tank to heat vegetable oil before pumping it in. National Public Radio.
Zippy new electric car looks like a three wheeled shoehorn. Tired of waiting for big auto to come up with a truly clean car, Dana Myers has developed a tiny solution to the carbon crisis. Agence France-Presse.
Welsh organic farmers to get more help. Money is to be pumped into organic farming to help fight climate change and make agriculture more sustainable, the annual Welsh organic farming conference will hear today. Cardiff Western Mail
Back away from the water. The Great Lakes are at levels that near record lows. Grand Rapids Press
Richardson's idea for water diversion must be opposed. If anyone thought that Michigan's concerns about Great Lakes water diversion was nothing more than paranoia, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson dispelled that notion last week. Kalamazoo Gazette
While Gore built, Bush destroyed. Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize provides a clear-eyed comparison of how the 2000 presidential "loser" has used his time and what the contestable "winner," George W. Bush, has done with his six years in the once most influential political office in the world. Idaho Mountain Express