or Environmental News to Use.
Fun fact for the day...As "Green is the new black" in fashion these days, did you know that Henry Ford invented his own "soybean suit?"
Chromium cleanup standards stiffened. New Jersey has come up with a tough new standard for removing chromium waste from soil, three years after critics complained the agency had weakened cleanup standards for the toxic substance beyond safe levels. Newark Star-Ledger
How safe is your water? You might want to think twice before pouring yourself a glass of tap water, an environmental watchdog group says. Public water piped to 90,000 people in the Bay City area is laced with contaminants, some of them unregulated and linked to health problems. Bay City Times
Is the water safe to drink? In the wake of trace chemical discoveries in water supplying two Minnesota Counties, a legislator criticizes the Health Department, 3M scrambles to comply with pollution-control orders and residents buy filters and even give their dogs bottled water. St. Paul Pioneer Press
In Niger, trees and crops turn back the desert. In this dust-choked region, long seen as an increasingly barren wasteland decaying into desert, millions of trees are flourishing, thanks in part to poor farmers whose simple methods cost little or nothing at all. New York Times.
Poisoned: 400 of Britain's lakes. Nearly 400 of Britain's most wildlife-rich lakes are being stifled by pollution. London Independent
Water laws drying up farms. Farmers from Denver to Julesburg who are dependent on wells are at risk of defaulting on their mortgages and abandoning their farms. The ripple effect on rural school districts, rural economies and consumers of local produce will soon follow. Denver Post
Global warming threatens double-trouble for Peru. The ice atop Cordillera Blanca, the largest glacier chain in the tropics, is melting fast because of rising temperatures, and peaks are turning brown. International Herald Tribune
Updating Bush's spin on climate change. The White House is choosing the president's past words carefully in its portrayal of him as a longtime ally in the fight against global warming. Los Angeles Times
Renewable geothermal energy holds promise, but it gets little attention. Geologists believe Utah sits on one of the prime reservoirs of geothermal energy in the United States, an energy resource that is clean, renewable, reliable, and, to date, almost entirely untapped. Salt Lake Tribune
TXU fights for 11 new coal plants at $10 billion tab. A morning of 200 dozen complimentary breakfast tacos for lawmakers and aides was the opening salvo in what is likely to become this year's most expensive lobby battle as TXU Corp. fights to build 11 coal-fired electric plants costing an estimated $10 billion. Houston Chronicle
Unusual LA excursion takes passengers to sites of pollution nightmares. Instead of heading to Tinseltown or celebrity crime scenes, people can visit areas that have been the site of environmental nightmares. Monterey Herald
Scientists explore connection between pollution, intersex fish. A biological role reversal of fish in the Monocacy River and other local Maryland waterways has scientists wondering what problems might lie ahead for aquatic life -- and humans. Frederick News-Post
Grubby scandal shames our poultry industry. The Observer's website revealed last week that ministers were kept in the dark about the Hungarian connection to Bernard Matthews's turkeys. Now the fall-out from H5N1 will hit shoppers, politicians and a multi-billion-pound business London Observer
Not made in Britain. Very few of us actually know exactly what we are eating and where it comes from. The fact is that under current food-labelling rules, companies are allowed an enormous amount of leeway to confuse, at best, or even to mislead consumers. And most take full advantage of it. London Daily Telegraph
Breast cancer: epidemic makes it most common form of the disease in Europe. An epidemic of breast cancer is sweeping Europe, with a 16 per cent rise in the malignant disease in two years. It has become the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Europe, despite the fact that it almost only affects one sex. London Independent
USDA may allow China to import chickens to U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to allow China, where 14 people have died of bird flu since 2003, to sell chicken to the United States. McClatchy Newspapers.
The clean air.At a time when travellers are searching for green alternatives, one spa in the High Tatras mountains of Slovakia is well on the way to having no carbon footprint at all. Glasgow Sunday Herald
Climate change heading into classrooms. The provincial government plans to more heavily focus Ontario students' attention on climate change and its consequences for Canada and the world as it revises its science curriculum. Toronto Star
Greenhouse effect. An unusual experiment in Orange County foothills could help forecast local effects of global warming. Orange County Register
Oregon governor's legacy runs on clean energy. By the time he hands the office keys to his successor in 2011, Gov. Ted Kulongoski says, he wants Oregon to be the clean energy capital of the nation. Portland Oregonian
The coming storm. Call it 'global warming.' Call it 'climate change.' Semantics aside, those who project the impact of weather patterns on the Southern Oregon ecosystem forecast trouble on the horizon. Medford Mail Tribune
Green tags: a small step to halt a large problem. Like most Americans, Jim Hartman finds it difficult to give up driving. But he and his wife have come up with a way they believe reduces their greenhouse gas footprint. They pay $220 each year for Green Tags. Medford Mail Tribune
Eco-friendly companies help consumers make a difference. I love you so much, I saved the world. What more could your beloved ask for than that? Williamsport Sun-Gazette
O’Brien dedicated to the proposition that city be green. Worcester, MA had long been known as a gritty industrial/manufacturing center where environmentalism was seldom, if ever, on the radar screen of many city officials. But that has radically changed during the past 10 years. Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Bush energy budget bypasses Wyo coal. President Bush's proposed 2008 budget for the U.S. Department of Energy largely passes over "clean coal" projects in Wyoming and the West. Jackson Hole Star Tribune
Smog, haze prompts metro Denver air quality alert. A lung-clogging layer of smog has been blanketing the metropolitan Denver area this week, prompting health officials to warn that even healthy people are at respiratory risk. Denver Post.
Cloud seeding begins in the Sierra. When conditions are right, cloud seeding across California can bolster the state's runoff by perhaps 3 percent to 4 percent. And that could be important this year, with the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada a measly 40 percent of normal. Stockton Record
Ban for drive-thru windows? On Tuesday the Ripon, CA Planning Commission is expected to direct city staff to prepare a report about how other cities regulate drive-thru business in their towns and how to mitigate the impacts of idling automobiles — one of the leading causes of air pollution. Manteca Bulletin
Open land, but with a past. A public piece of New York City property, the location of a gas plant long since demolished, is too contaminated for habitation. New York Times.
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