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Week starting 7/11/11
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7/16/11
Food companies act to protect consumers from E. coli illness. The federal government has spent years considering whether to take steps to help keep dangerous strains of E. coli bacteria out of the food supply, a question that has become even more urgent in the face of a deadly wave of E. coli sickness that swept through Europe and raised alarms on both sides of the Atlantic. New York Times
7/15/11
American Electric Power has shelved plans to build one of the nation’s first carbon capture and storage facilities, terminating a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy.
Electrolux, Sears Kenmore, LG and Samsung are a few of the brands that have earned a new Energy Star label designating the most energy-efficient products in each category.
Forests revealed as climate giants. Forests play a larger role in Earth’s climate system than previously suspected for both the risks from deforestation and the potential gains from regrowth, a benchmark study released Thursday has shown. Agence France-Presse
Plastic bag bans: California Supreme Court upholds cities’ bans. The justices unanimously rule that local governments may impose such prohibitions without always needing an environmental impact report. Los Angeles Times, California.
San Francisco is named the #1 Green City by Siemens. As the overall leader in the Index, San Francisco’s overall exeptional performance is partly due to partnering with the private sector on innovative green initiatives such as energy awareness programs and the promotion of environmentally friendly commuting.
Teflon component linked to arthritis. High blood levels of a man-made chemical used in non-stick coatings were associated with a raised risk of arthritis in a large new study of adults exposed to tainted drinking water. Reuters
After styrene warning, concern about who’s at risk. Last month’s health warning from the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program has set off a bruising battle with the makers of styrene, a chemical compound derived from crude oil. Reuters
7/13/11
Are toxins in seafood causing ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s? Neurologist Elijah Stommel enlisted students to punch the street addresses of about 200 of his patients into Google Earth. These patients have one diagnosis he particularly dreads: ALS, which kills motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, progressively paralyzing the body. The distribution of cases that emerged on the computer-generated map of New England shocked him. Discover
EPA Wants Powers to Limit Use of 14 Chemicals - The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that companies be required to report new uses of 14 chemicals ...
Bloom Boxes Make Big AT&T Sale, But Sit 10th in Fuel Cell Rankings - Eleven AT&T sites in California will install 7.5 MW of Bloom Boxes, in one of the biggest ...
7/12/11
Climate change could kill one in 10 species by end of the century. Climate change is speeding up the rate at which animals and plants are becoming extinct. By the end of the century, one in 10 species could be on the verge of extinction because of the effects of global warming, a study has found. London Independent, United Kingdom.
Metal water bottles may leach BPA. Consumers who switched from polycarbonate-plastic water bottles to metal ones in hopes of avoiding the risk that bisphenol A will leach into their beverages aren’t necessarily any better off, a new study finds. Science News
7/11/11
Toxic metals in ‘clean’ shop towels may pose a health risk to some workers. A new study suggests that workers using laundered shop towels are in fact exposing themselves to high levels of lead, cadmium and other heavy metals. Huffington Post
7/10/11
Attack of the hyperbugs: We’ve had superbugs, but now there are strains so resilient that no drugs will kill them. An estimated 25,000 patients die of drug-resistant infections each year, with the most common, MRSA, slowly being superseded by a raft of new, even more deadly strains. London Daily Mail, United Kingdom.
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