Clouds of Pollution Block Sunlight
November 25, 2008 By: GLOBE-Net
The sun is fading above cities around the world as thick clouds of pollution prevent its rays from reaching the ground, says a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The dirty brown haze, sometimes three-kilometers thick, stretches from the Arabian Peninsula to China and the western Pacific Ocean.
Click link above for full story.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Pesticides More Dangerous Than Thought
Pesticides More Dangerous Than Thought
UPI, November 13, 2008 Straight to the Source
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists studying 10 of the world's most popular approved pesticides say, when combined, the chemicals caused 99 percent mortality in tadpoles.
University of Pittsburgh researchers said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved pesticides, when mixed together, can decimate amphibian populations even if the concentration of the individual chemicals is within limits considered safe.
Such "cocktails of contaminants" are frequently detected in nature, the scientists said, noting their findings offer the first illustration of how a large mixture of pesticides can adversely impact the environment.
Associate Professor Rick Relyea, the study's lead author, exposed gray tree frog and leopard frog tadpoles to small amounts of the 10 pesticides -- insecticides carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, endosulfan, and malathion, as well as five herbicides: acetochlor, atrazine, glyphosate, metolachlor, and 2,4-D.
He used each of the pesticides alone, the insecticides combined, a mix of the five herbicides, or all 10 of the poisons. Relyea found a mixture of all 10 chemicals killed 99 percent of leopard frog tadpoles, as did the insecticide-only mixture. The study is detailed in the online edition of the journal Oecologia.
Read full study here.
© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
UPI, November 13, 2008 Straight to the Source
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists studying 10 of the world's most popular approved pesticides say, when combined, the chemicals caused 99 percent mortality in tadpoles.
University of Pittsburgh researchers said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved pesticides, when mixed together, can decimate amphibian populations even if the concentration of the individual chemicals is within limits considered safe.
Such "cocktails of contaminants" are frequently detected in nature, the scientists said, noting their findings offer the first illustration of how a large mixture of pesticides can adversely impact the environment.
Associate Professor Rick Relyea, the study's lead author, exposed gray tree frog and leopard frog tadpoles to small amounts of the 10 pesticides -- insecticides carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, endosulfan, and malathion, as well as five herbicides: acetochlor, atrazine, glyphosate, metolachlor, and 2,4-D.
He used each of the pesticides alone, the insecticides combined, a mix of the five herbicides, or all 10 of the poisons. Relyea found a mixture of all 10 chemicals killed 99 percent of leopard frog tadpoles, as did the insecticide-only mixture. The study is detailed in the online edition of the journal Oecologia.
Read full study here.
© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, September 5, 2008
E.P.A. Issues New Engine Rules
September 5, 2008 09:03 AM
E.P.A. Issues New Engine Rules
WASHINGTON — Announcing what it called new “surf and turf” standards, the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday set stricter antipollution rules for engines that run pleasure boats, lawn mowers and weed trimmers.
The agency said the rules would take effect in 2011 for lawn and garden equipment of 25 horsepower or less, and in 2010 for a wide range of inboard and outboard boat engines. Meeting the requirements will probably mean that catalytic converters, standard in modern cars, will become commonplace in lawn-equipment and boat engines.
As if to head off any notion that it is just not worth the trouble to make boats, mowers and weed trimmers cleaner to run, the agency’s administrator, Stephen L. Johnson, offered some attention-getting estimates.
Article Continues: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/washington/05mowers.html
E.P.A. Issues New Engine Rules
WASHINGTON — Announcing what it called new “surf and turf” standards, the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday set stricter antipollution rules for engines that run pleasure boats, lawn mowers and weed trimmers.
The agency said the rules would take effect in 2011 for lawn and garden equipment of 25 horsepower or less, and in 2010 for a wide range of inboard and outboard boat engines. Meeting the requirements will probably mean that catalytic converters, standard in modern cars, will become commonplace in lawn-equipment and boat engines.
As if to head off any notion that it is just not worth the trouble to make boats, mowers and weed trimmers cleaner to run, the agency’s administrator, Stephen L. Johnson, offered some attention-getting estimates.
Article Continues: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/washington/05mowers.html
Friday, August 15, 2008
Name The Problem To Solve It
Naming the Problem in Order to Solve It
By Brad Allenby
Framing the environmental challenges that we face as simply as possible allows people to act, even if ineffectually; frame it as the complex adaptive system that it is, and ...
By Brad Allenby
Framing the environmental challenges that we face as simply as possible allows people to act, even if ineffectually; frame it as the complex adaptive system that it is, and ...
Green Funerals
Lessons from Deathcare: The Greening of the American Funeral Home
By Andrew WhitakerPublished: July 28, 2008
Unlikely as it may seem, the obstacles, benefits and opportunities encountered in the greening of the funeral home business offers take-aways applicable to making change happen in any industry.
By Andrew WhitakerPublished: July 28, 2008
Unlikely as it may seem, the obstacles, benefits and opportunities encountered in the greening of the funeral home business offers take-aways applicable to making change happen in any industry.
How Banking Became Green
How Banking Became Green
By Victoria Pennington, BusinessGreen
Why the risks posed by environmental issues and climate change are similar in nature to those of the subprime crisis.
By Victoria Pennington, BusinessGreen
Why the risks posed by environmental issues and climate change are similar in nature to those of the subprime crisis.
GreenBiz Resources
GreenBiz is an information resource on how to align environmental responsibility with business success. They provide valuable news and resources to large and small businesses through a combination of Web sites, workshops, daily news feeds, electronic newsletters, and briefing papers.
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