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2/12/12
Battling the bottle: Students and industry face off over water. Bottled water is trickling away from college campuses nationwide, thanks to the efforts of student activists and the non-profit groups that support them with campaigns like Ban the Bottle. National Public Radio
Mystery disease kills thousands in Central America. A mysterious epidemic is devastating the Pacific coast of Central America, killing more than 24,000 people in El Salvador and Nicaragua since 2000 and striking thousands of others with chronic kidney disease at rates unseen virtually anywhere else. Some point to agricultural chemicals as the cause, but others say it is the grueling nature of the work and dehydration. Associated Press
Fracturing natural gas wells requires hundreds of tons of chemical liquids. A Beacon Journal review of data recently posted on a drilling industry-supported website shows the fracking of one vertical-horizontal well in Carroll County required nearly 1 million pounds of liquid chemical additives. Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio.
U.S. becomes net energy exporter. Harry Truman was president the last time we exported more energy than we imported. Now complete energy independence may be within reach as President Obama plans to tap all domestic sources to achieve that goal. Living On Earth
Climate experts say warm U.S. winter is due in part to Arctic Oscillation. While Europe suffers a brutal winter of record proportions, the weather has been so mild in the United States that you can slip out some sunny afternoons to the golf course or bike path. McClatchy Newspapers
Stuck in the middle. Researchers have found a disparity in the proximity of gas wells to elementary schools in certain Barnett Shale neighborhoods, suggesting that, if there is a health or social cost to bear, some communities could be more affected than others. Denton Record-Chronicle, Texas.
The devastating costs of the Amazon gold rush. In Amazonian Peru, not only are gold miners burning the forest, they are stripping away the surface of the earth, perhaps 50 feet down. At the same time, miners are contaminating rivers and streams, as mercury, used in separating gold, leaches into the watershed. Ultimately, the potent toxin, taken up by fish, enters the food chain. Smithsonian Magazine
Going hog wild: Weaning antibiotic-resistant bugs out of pork. After nearly succumbing to an antibiotic-resistant infection contracted from one of his hogs, Russ Kremer went cold turkey. He swore off the antibiotics he’d long-used to boost his herd’s growth and prevent the illnesses so common in concentrated animal feeding operations. Huffington Post
Mercury poisons Massachusetts from afar. Massachusetts has slashed in-state emissions of mercury more than 90 percent since the mid-1990s, but the toxic metal continues to rain down on the state from smokestacks in other regions of the United States that have been slower to clean up their act. Milford Daily News, Massachusetts.
Shale drillers drinking from Slippery Rock Creek. Slippery Rock Creek provides the power for McConnells Mill State Park’s eponymous mill and drinking water for Ellwood City and the surrounding area. Now, the Marcellus shale industry is bellying up to the banks of Slippery Rock Creek for a good long drink, specifically 960,000 gallons a day. Beaver County Times, Pennsylvania.
2/11/12
Pandemic flu fears go viral. Last week government biosecurity officers donned full protective clothing and proceeded to dispatch all 25,000 ducks on two free-range farms in Victoria. Why? Bird flu. Next week, about 50 experts will gather in Geneva for a confidential conclave hosted by the World Health Organisation. Why? Bird flu. The Australian, Australia.
Britain calls on the world to put a price on nature. Every country in the world should measure ‘natural capital’ as well as GDP in order to create a global economy that values the environment as well as money, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman will say. The Telegraph, United Kingdom.
Pandemic flu fears go viral. Last week government biosecurity officers donned full protective clothing and proceeded to dispatch all 25,000 ducks on two free-range farms in Victoria. Why? Bird flu. Next week, about 50 experts will gather in Geneva for a confidential conclave hosted by the World Health Organisation. Why? Bird flu. The Australian, Australia.
Opposition to asbestos reaches ‘critical mass.’ Quebec’s asbestos industry has been taking a heavy pounding of late, with two damning documentaries airing on CBC and Radio-Canada, renewed calls from politicians in Quebec City and Ottawa to outlaw the cancer-causing mineral, and a review launched into some industry-funded research at McGill this week. Montreal Gazette, Quebec.
Latin America mining boom clashes with conservation. Latin America is experiencing a mining boom as prices rise fuelled by a hike in global demand, but the region is also being hit by a wave of violent protests, strikes and rallies by environmentalists. Agence France-Presse
Problems cast shadows of doubt on solar project. One of California’s showcase solar energy projects, under construction in the desert east of Los Angeles, is being threatened by a deadly outbreak of distemper among kit foxes and the discovery of a prehistoric human settlement on the work site. Los Angeles Times [Registration Required]
2/10/12
Is cadmium the new lead? Link reported between the ubiquitous metal and kids with learning disabilities. It’s a heavy metal. It’s linked to learning problems in school children. And every child is exposed. Sounds like lead? It’s cadmium. Children with higher cadmium levels are three times more likely to have learning disabilities and participate in special education, according to new research. Absorbed from the soil, cadmium is found..
BPA fosters diabetes-promoting changes. An ingredient in plastics and food-can linings coaxes cells from the pancreas to inappropriately secrete the hormone insulin, a finding that bolsters earlier links between type 2 diabetes and low-dose exposure to the chemical, bisphenol A. Science News
Study: Oil-gas pollution tops expectations. Ozone-forming air pollution measured along the Colorado Front Range by scientists is up to twice the amount that government regulators have calculated should exist, a new study finds. It pinpoints oil and gas development as the main source — a finding that could have broad implications for the petroleum industry across the Rocky Mountain region. Associated Press
As ‘yuck factor’ subsides, treated wastewater flows from taps. With climate change threatening to diminish water supplies in the fast-growing Southwest, more cities are considering the potential of reclaimed water. But will the yuck factor keep people from accepting it? New York Times [Registration Required]
California sets trends in health regulation. The state has been first to pass major public health initiatives that have spread throughout the country. California was first to require smog checks for clean air, pass anti-tobacco initiatives and bike helmets laws. CNN
Indoor ecosystems. Hardy Acinetobacter are burrowed into the crevices of my cutting boards. Counter-tops are biodiversity hot spots of bacteria and fungi, including sphingomonads that may have settled out of the tap water used to wipe the counter. The toilet seat is coated with bacteria associated with human skin. A large citizen-science survey is assessing the biodiversity of interior spaces. Science [Subscription Required]
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