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earthsystems.org news Volume 2 Issue 30
Please, visit our site:
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FROM EARTHSYSTEMS.ORG:
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ISSUE OF THE WEEK
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Electricity Labels - Some are advocating that utility companies should inform
consumers how they generate electricity.
http://www.earthsystems.org/issues.html
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POLL OF THE WEEK
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Do you favor labeling sources of electricity?
http://www.earthsystems.org/issues.html#poll
HESTON'S REVENGE
A "killer" algae that has choked parts of the Mediterranean was found last
month for the first time in the U.S. in a San Diego-area lagoon. The
aggressive mutant strain of Caulerpa taxifolia, a mild-mannered species
native to some U.S. waters, evolved as a commercial aquarium plant, and the
plant seems to enter waterways via dumped aquariums. Machines that "mow"
other overgrown water plants can't control Caulerpa, because they break off
pieces which clone into new plants. Potentially, any locality where there are
sensitive coastal ecosystems and hobbyists with aquariums is at risk.
(http://www.anstaskforce.gov/Caulerpa.htm). Science News cover story on
invasion of Med (http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc98/7_4_98/bob1.htm)
IS THAT SOIL LENT GREEN?
According to the latest data compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency
at its Beach Watch web site (http://www.epa.gov/ost/beaches), more than 25
percent of the 1,891 beaches for which data are available were affected by at
least one closure or advisory in 1999. Most of the problems were caused by
high bacteria levels, primarily from sewage overflows or stormwater runoff.
The Natural Resource Defense Council's annual "Testing the Waters" report,
based on the EPA data, is due out on August 3.
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FROM ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE:
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/
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GET THE FACTS ON YOUR STATE'S ELECTRICITY
This Electricity Label Generator is designed to show how YOUR electricity
is produced-and how much pollution is created in the process. Where your
electricity comes from depends on where you live. To see the facts about
your electricity, enter your monthly electricity bill and select your state.
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/programs/energy/green_power/x_calculator.html
FISH FARMING IS NO PANACEA, SAYS AUTHORITY ON OCEANS
Dr. Rebecca Goldburg, an expert on aquaculture, otherwise known as fish
farming, recently co-authored an article in Nature magazine on this
increasingly important source of seafood. Dr. Goldburg explains why
aquaculture can create its own environmental problems.
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/programs/oceans/bginterview.html
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http://www.environmentaldefense.org/Join4Free/
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FROM GRIST:
http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/gist
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YANKING HIS CHENEY
This week, GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush chose
former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney as his running mate, and
enviros are already listing reasons to be wary of the new veep
contender. Cheney earned only a 13 percent approval rating from the
League of Conservation Voters as a House member from Wyoming from
1978 and 1989. While in Congress, he cosponsored a bill to open up
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and he voted
against reauthorizing the Clean Water Act and requiring industries to
publicly release information about their toxic emissions. Enviros
also accuse Cheney of having a poor environmental record in his
current role as chair and CEO of the Halliburton oil company.
read it only in Grist Magazine: Muckraker, Ben White, 07.25.00
http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/muck/muck072500.stm
HELL FREEZES OVER?
In a recent preliminary ruling, the World Trade Organization upheld
France's ban on asbestos imports from Canada, a decision that has
some enviros and labor rights activists wondering whether the global
trade group is becoming a little more sensitive to their issues. The
ruling is expected to be made final by September. This is the first
time the WTO has upheld a member nation's trade restriction designed
to protect human health. Other WTO member nations might now use the
ruling as a precedent to justify similar bans on imports of hazardous
materials.
straight to the source: New York Times, Elizabeth Olson, 07.25.00
http://www.nytimes.com/00/07/25/news/financial/wto-asbestos.html
NO-LOOK PASSES
One-third of major air polluters in the U.S. have not been inspected
in the last three years, according to a new study by the
Environmental Working Group, which found that officials in many
states are not enforcing federal clean air and water laws. Ohio,
Michigan, and Texas lead the nation in failure to inspect factories
with records of air and water violations. In 10 states, more than 40
percent of all Clean Water Act inspections were so-called
"reconnaissance inspections," in which inspectors were not required
to get out of their cars.
straight to the source: Denver Rocky Mountain News, Scripps Howard News Service, Joan Lowry, 07.24.00
http://insidedenver.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=POLLUTION-07-24-00cat=WW
straight to the source: Indianapolis Star, Associated Press, Nedra Pickler, 07.25.00
http://www.starnews.com/data/wire/out/0725ap_k6o44ce009.html
straight to the study: Environmental Working Group
http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/reports/primesuspects/
LL WILL AND GRACE
The U.S. EPA is investigating why its officials ignored evidence for
18 years that W. R. Grace and Co. used vermiculite ore tainted with
asbestos in its building products. An EPA study in 1982, during the
Reagan administration, found high levels of asbestos in the company's
vermiculite, contrary to claims made by Grace, but the agency shelved
the report and scuttled follow-up studies. As a result, Grace was
able to largely avoid government scrutiny, and nearly 200 workers and
residents of Libby, Mont., where Grace mined vermiculate until 1990,
have died over the past 40 years from ailments likely caused by
asbestos.
straight to the source: New York Times, Michael Moss and Adrianna Appel, 07.22.00
http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/072200sci-environ-asbestos.html
straight to the source: Washington Post, Dana Hedgpeth, 07.24.00
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23646-2000Jul21.html
THE ICE, MAN, GOETH
The Greenland ice sheet -- which contains almost 10 percent of all
the frozen water on the planet -- is melting at a rate of
approximately 12 cubic miles per year, according to research by NASA
scientists published in the journal Science. If melting continues at
this rate, it could cause a measurable rise in sea levels, said the
study's lead author, William Krabill. The study, the most precise
and comprehensive of its kind to date, does not specifically mention
global warming, but some scientists say its findings are in line with
climate change predictions.
straight to the source: Chicago Sun-Times, Associated Press, Paul Recer, 07.21.00
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/thaw21.html
straight to the source: Washington Post, Curt Suplee, 07.21.00
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15559-2000Jul20.html
WHO WANTS TO BE A BILLIONAIRE?
Two months after India became the second nation in the world with a
population greater than 1 billion, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee and other government leaders will meet tomorrow to develop a
strategy for slowing the nation's population growth. Since the birth
of India's symbolic billionth baby on May 11, another 3.5 million
children have been born in the nation. India is now home to 16
percent of the world's people, and if it continues to grow at its
current rate, its population could surpass China's by the middle of
this century. After the Indian government launched a mass
sterilization program in the mid-1970s, many citizens became highly
suspicious and fearful of contraception and sterilization, and the
government is still trying to recover and convince people of the
benefits of family planning programs.
straight to the source: Nando Times, Associated Press, Krishnan Guruswamy, 07.21.00
http://www.nandotimes.com/healthscience/story/body/0,1079,500230583-500334062-501907656-0,00.html
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