Planet DFW

Daily Roundup

Here's a sampling of some of the best environmental journalism published today:

* To read all the marketing hype, it would seem that the personal care products industry is rushing to label as natural, organic, or sustainable just about every new product coming onto the market. However, according to Chemical & Engineering News, just what manufacturers mean when they tout their products as natural, organic, or sustainable is anything but clear.

* The Star-Telegram reports that with eight power plants on the drawing board, Texas could lead the way in an American renaissance of nuclear power, according to industry leaders and some policymakers. But The Wall Street Journal reports but the high cost could lead to sharply higher electricity bills for consumers and inevitably reignite debate about the nuclear industry's suitability to meet growing energy needs. Meanwhile, large wind turbines are popping up all over the U.S., with some homeowners beginning to put up their own backyard wind turbines, according to the Great Lakes Radio Consortium.

* Families claiming that a mercury-based preservative in vaccines triggers autism will challenge mainstream medicine Monday as they take their case to a federal court, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports a measles outbreak could be devastating because of growing pockets of parents who are opting out of having their children vaccinated because of concerns about what the vaccines can do to them.

* Sad story here in the Washington Post. With thousands of amphibian species facing unprecedented threats to their survival, scientists have launched a global effort to collect them in zoos in an attempt to save them from disappearing altogether, according to the story.

* McClatchy Newspapers reports there’s good news from the government scientists who study pollution in U.S. coastal waters. A newly released 20-year study shows overall levels of pesticides and industrial chemicals are generally decreasing.

* The Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that oversees levees, lacks an inventory of thousands of them and has no idea of their condition, according to the Associated Press. The uncertainty, amid an unusually wet spring that has already caused significant flooding across many states, is creating worry even within the corps.

* Sen. John McCain, who will be the Republican nominee for president, has made the environment one of the key elements of his presidential bid. He speaks passionately about the issue of climate change on the campaign trail, according to this article in the Washington Post. But an examination of McCain's voting record shows an inconsistent approach to the environment: He champions some "green" causes while casting sometimes contradictory votes on others. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports McCain argues that global warming is undeniable and the country must take steps to bring it under control while adhering to free-market principles. This is all part of an effort by McCain to shift his attention to independents and Democrats with proposals on climate change, The Wall Street Journal reports.

* U.S. fire managers are forecasting a grim year for blazes in drought-plagued Western states, just weeks after a premature start to the Southwest's wildfire season, Reuters reports. Climate models show a warming West where snowmelt from the mountains occurs earlier and dry conditions persist longer, setting the stage for blazes that reset measures for scale and intensity. Today, 43 percent of the Forest Service budget -- $4.5 billion for this fiscal year -- is funneled to its fire program, up from 18 percent in 2000, according to the story. That means the agency has less money for everything from recreation to range management, even as fire bosses become more selective about the blazes they will fight.

-- Scott Streater

Trading in your gas-guzzler for a fuel-efficient vehicle may not save you money

It would seem to make all the sense in the world. With gas prices on the north side of $3.50 a gallon and heading up and up and up, why not head to the auto dealer and trade in that Ford Expedition for a Honda Civic or a Toyota Prius. Doing so will save money, right? Well, yes and no. While you'll certainly pay much less at the pump by doing this, the problem is that gas guzzling SUVs and pickups aren't worth nearly as much in trade-in value today as they were six months months ago because everybody's trying to get rid of their fuel-consuming vehicle.

At least that's according to this story posted on Yahoo.com, which explains there's more to the issue than sticker shock at the gas pump. By some estimates, the value of used sport utility vehicles has dropped more than 20 percent since January, according to the story. And even if your current car is paid for, you're likely to incur new monthly payments when you buy that fuel-efficient replacement.

Yahoo uses the example of a 2001 Ford Expedition XLT, which gets about 16 mpg in city driving. At $3.70 a gallon for regular fuel, it costs about $97 to fill the Expedition's 26-gallon tank. By comparison, the two-wheel-drive 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid, promises to deliver about 32 mpg in normal driving, double what the 2001 Expedition delivers. A fill-up of the Escape's 15-gallon tank at $3.70 a gallon would cost about $55. With the Escape, your annual fuel bill, assuming the same mileage and $3.70 a gallon, would be about $1,770 a year less than the Expedition. But the new Escape will cost you $5,268 in payments, not counting out-of-pocket fees and the value of the Expedition used at trade-in.

"If your prime motivator is the sticker shock at the gas pump, act with caution," the story concludes. "While a new vehicle may help you save at the pump, it can significantly increase your overall costs."

-- Scott Streater

Daily Roundup

Here's a sample of some of the best environmental journalism published today:

* The Associated Press reports that a special-effects entrepreneur from Alabama has come up with a way to fill the sky with foamy clouds as big as 4 feet wide and shaped like corporate logos -- Flogos, as he calls them.

* With the price of gas approaching $4 a gallon, more commuters are abandoning their cars and taking the train or bus instead, The New York Times reports. The Contra Costa Times also has a story on the issue.

* A new study indicates that replacing the calories from red meat and dairy products with calories from chicken, fish or vegetables could have the same impact on greenhouse gas emissions as shifting to an entirely locally-grown diet, according to this National Public Radio (audio) report.

* A team from Cornell University in New York produced a genetically modified embryo to study how early cells and diseases develop, the London Times reports. It was destroyed after five days. What's the potential benefit of doing such a thing, you might ask? The technology could potentially be used to correct genes which cause diseases such as cystic fibrosis, haemophilia and even cancer, according to the story.

* Thirty years have passed since the federal government banned the use of lead-based paint, but it continues to sicken children nationwide, particularly those who are poor and live in older cities, the Columbus Dispatch reports. So, the paper asks, should the manufacturers of that lead-based paint pay for the mess? Billions of dollars are at stake for former lead-paint manufacturers in a Rhode Island lawsuit that triggered a flurry of similar suits across the country. Columbus and Ohio filed suits more than a year ago using the same legal argument.

* Recent warnings about the chemical compound bisphenol A -- found in plastics used to make everything from sippy cups and baby bottles to cooking spoons -- is helping spur blockbuster sales for some savvy retailers, the Miami Herald reports.

* Scientists plan to pump 1 million tons of greenhouse gas more than a mile beneath a California power plant in one of the nation's largest experiments to slow global warming, the Fresno Bee reports.

-- Scott Streater

Daily Roundup

Here's a sample of some of the best environmental journalism published today:

* Consuming large amounts of acrylamide--a chemical commonly found in French fries, cakes, snacks and even coffee--appears to raise the risk of kidney cancer, Health Day News reports. This is from a study by Dutch researchers that appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

* Newsweek magazine asked dozens of thinkers for their solutions to fix the planet, from 300 mpg cars to using enormous kites to help pull ships. Meanwhile, the magazine reports that with food prices rising, the bloom is going off organics, which face the same pressures that have driven up the cost of plain old white bread. But while everyone's talking about the rising costs of food, the reality for most Americans is that things really aren't so dire.

* Many parents are taking the better-safe-than-sorry route and switching to bottles without bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that can leach out of hard, clear plastic containers such as a toddler's sippy cup, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

* Researchers report that the common weedkiller atrazine may be able to disrupt hormonal signaling in humans, according to this audio report from NPR. The herbicide is the second-most-applied weedkiller in the U.S.

* The U.S. Agriculture Department said the combination of a shrinking corn crop and the ethanol-fuel industry's swelling appetite for it will keep the price of the nation's largest crop in record territory into 2009, The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required).

-- Scott Streater

Daily Roundup

Here's a sample of some of the most interesting environmental journalism published today:

* When the Senate takes up legislation next month to confront global warming, environmental groups will have some fervent new allies: evangelicals and other Christian activists, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Some Christian leaders are using the clout they have built up in Republican circles to lobby conservatives in Congress to support regulations on greenhouse-gas emissions.

* Warning: Don't read this if you are a clean freak. A group called Which? swabbed more than 30 keyboards in its own office and found that four keyboards were "potential health hazards" because of high levels of bacteria, according to U.S. News & World Report.

* Here's some good news, I think. The Wall Street Journal reports that there's a green lining to the real-estate cloud: Developers are dropping plans to build on some choice pieces of land and instead are selling it for such uses as public parks and nature preserves.

* U.S. News & World Report also has this story that concludes human exposure to hormone-disrupting synthetic chemicals, which can leach from a slew of consumer products, is continuous and widespread. These chemicals are commonly found in plastics. In a separate story, the magazine lists various small measures you can take to reduce your exposure.

* We had a story in today's Star-Telegram about a new national report that argues the technology exists to use solar energy to power Texas completely in the next 25 years. It would take a huge array of solar panels, but they're already doing that in other parts of the country, namely Arizona, so it's perhaps more possible than we think.

* They drive hybrids, if they drive at all; shop locally, if they shop at all; pay off their credit cards, if they use them at all. They are a new breed of Gen Xers: Young and Wealthy but Normal, or Yawns, according to the Associated Press. And they live below their means to tread lightly on the Earth.

* A new study suggests that firefighters face higher-than-average risks of several types of cancer, adding to evidence that the job carries hazards beyond the fires themselves. Click here to read the story in Reuters Health. Researchers found that professional firefighters had higher-than-expected rates of colon cancer and brain cancer, according to the story. There was also evidence, albeit weaker, that they had elevated risks of bladder and kidney cancers, as well as Hodgkin's lymphoma.

* Hurricane Katrina provoked increased complaints to doctors of pneumonia, bronchitis and other lower respiratory illnesses among 144 children studied in Mississippi, according to a report released Thursday. But the story by the Washington Post reports that researchers said they could not determine the reason. The study was based on a review of medical charts and interviews with 144 children between 2 and 12 years old who were treated at Hancock Medical Center and four physician practices in Hancock County from August 2004 to August 2007. Two-thirds of the children lived in Federal Emergency Management Agency housing.

-- Scott Streater

Mirror mirror on the wall, who are the greenest consumers of them all?

The answer is Brazil and India, according to a new global survey conducted by the National Geographic Society and the international polling firm GlobeScan.

While consumers in Brazil and India tied as most "green," those in the U.S. -- gulp! -- scored as the most wasteful.

Click here to find the full report. Or just look at the graphic below.

The methodology, as explained by a magazine press release, is interesting. To create the survey, GlobeScan conducted Internet surveys of consumers in 14 countries, which together represent more than half of the world's population and use about 75 percent of its energy. Rather than measuring each nation's environmental impact, the Greendex compares the behaviors of individuals in four key areas: housing, transportation, food, and consumer goods, according to the release. For example, housing factors included dwelling size; energy use for heating, cooling, and appliances; and water needs.

You can make all the jokes you want about how the quality of life in India and Brazil is not close to what we enjoy here. I'm just passing this along.

-- Scott Streater

Nail polish brands that work -- without as many chemicals

As you probably know by now, I link quite a bit to articles in Grist, the online environmental magazine. They have this series where they test eco-friendly products to see how well they stack up against traditional brands, and to determine which ones work the best. This entry tests nail polishes that have removed the toxic chemicals toluene, formaldehyde, and Dibutyl phthalate, a controversial plastic softener that is slowly being linked to a whole host of health problems.

Why? Because these chemicals are potentially dangerous, and they are widely used. The article starts out like this: "If you've ever gone in for a manicure and, getting a good whiff of the stuff, wondered what sort of chemicals create a smell like that, you've hit the nail polish issue on the head."

So in the spirit of presenting "news you can use," the top rated eco-friendly nail polish is ... drum roll please ... Revlon Sheer Translucide nail enamel, $4.99 for a .5 fl. oz. bottle.

-- Scott Streater

Oil companies take first steps to cleaning the damage caused by gasoline additive

The New York Times reports that some of the nation’s largest oil companies have agreed to pay about $423 million in cash to settle a lawsuit brought by more than a hundred public water providers, claiming water contamination from the gasoline additive MTBE. Under the terms of the deal, submitted for approval in the federal court for the Southern District of New York, the companies also agreed to pay 70 percent of the future cleanup costs over the next 30 years. Dallas-based ExxonMobil is not part of the proposed settlement, according to the story.

Congress required a fuel-additive to help gasoline burn cleaner and produce less ozone-forming pollutants. They did not specify what additive should be used. The oil companies chose MTBE, in part because it used existing waste byproducts from the oil refining process. But the additive does not break down in the water, and has polluted drinking water across the country. Federal officials have estimated it could cost billions of dollars to clean up all the public drinking water supplies that have been contaminated with methyl tert-butyl ether, or MTBE -- a possible human cancer-causing agent. Breathing MTBE can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness and sore throat, as well as feelings of "spaciness" or confusion, according to federal health experts.

You should not forget that this fuel additive has been found -- in very small amounts -- in drinking water in Grapevine and other local water supplies. 

You also should not forget that this issue has been a pet project of U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, who worked unsuccessfully for years to try to exempt oil companies from lawsuits that would force them to do what the legal settlement described above does: clean up the mess. Specifically, Barton and former Rep. Tom DeLay from Sugar Land wanted to exempt oil companies from lawsuits that claim MTBE is a defective product, and that the companies knew this when they decided to use it to comply with federal Clean Air Act requirements. Those efforts were unsuccessful. A similar effort last year in the state Legislature also failed.

-- Scott Streater

A solar power future?

Giant 30 mile by 30 mile solar plants in west Texas could power the entire state, according to a new report from the Environment Texas conservation group. According to the report, the solar power plants could generate 148,000 megawatts of electricity -- or twice the state's current  energy use.

"Solar thermal power is ready for primetime," said Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas. “With support from policymakers, Texas could quickly get much of its energy from this abundant and clean domestic energy source at prices competitive with new nuclear or ‘clean coal’ power plants."

However, Metzger warned that solar energy tax credits that make such projects more cost effective are set to expire at the end of the year. He said the cost of energy from solar thermal power plants could be competitive with the cost of new nuclear power plants.

Four companies have proposed building eight new nuclear reactors in Texas. Those plants can cost billions of dollars. The state is also contemplating constructing billions of dollars in transmission lines to encourage the development of additional wind power.

In a recent report, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs notes that about 2.8 cents of every dollar spent on energy in Texas finances a local, state or federal subsidy.

 

-- R.A. Dyer

Daily Roundup

Here's a sample of some of the best environmental journalism published today:

* Parents and others who purchased Thomas & Friends wooden train toys that were recalled for lead paint contamination may soon get compensation for their children's exposure, the Chicago Tribune reports. A state judge approved a preliminary settlement with the manufacturer, Oak Brook-based RC2 Corp., in a deal that could be worth $30 million. Under the agreement, purchasers will get refunds or replacements and reimbursement for lead poisoning tests.

* The New York Daily News reports that 360 post-9-11 workers have died, including 80 of cancer, the state of New York has determined. Officials have determined the cause of death of 154 of the responders and volunteers who toiled at Ground Zero, the blocks nearby and at the Fresh Kills landfill, where debris from the site was taken.

* The U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected a bid by Gulf state senators to add wind coverage to a financially strapped federal program that provides flood insurance, the Houston Chronicle reports.

* The New York Times reports that a number of home goods manufacturers and designers are marketing their products as biodegradable. Not just “green,” or “sustainable,” but fully compostable, like lawn clippings or kitchen scraps. In theory, their products -- from furniture to water faucets -- would break down, eventually.

* There are increasing concerns that some synthetic fields -- particularly fraying AstroTurf surfaces that have been in place for years -- are contaminated with lead and could pose a health hazard to children, athletes and others who use them, USA Today reports.

* The Star-Telegram's Summer Olympics preview package included this story about dirty Beijing air. When the Summer Olympics begin three months from today, the athletes and the fans will be at risk from severe pollution. For almost a year, the city of Beijing has been trying to counter that, but it's having limited success.

* A great story in Vanity Fair, unless you work for Monsanto. The magazine reports that Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics -– ruthless legal battles against small farmers -- is its decades-long history of toxic contamination. The story was written by the brilliant investigative team of Donald Bartlett and James Steele, who were laid off at Time Magazine in one of the saddest examples of print journalism's slow decline.

* The Environmental Protection Agency's top science adviser defended his boss for allowing more ozone pollution than the EPA's advisory panels recommended and for holding meetings with White House officials about pollution risks that are kept secret from Congress and the public, McClatchy News reports. However, Senate Democrats criticized the EPA for impeding science in a number of recent controversial moves.

* USA Today reports that mass transit systems nationwide are taking steps to ease their impact on the environment even as they strive to provide more service to a growing number of riders. The paper reports that according to the American Public Transportation Association, members of households closest to public transportation drive an average 4,400 fewer miles a year than those who aren't near bus or rail lines. That reduces the nation's carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons a year, equal to the electric power used by 4.9 million households.

* Turn greenhouse gases to stone? Transform them into a treacle-like liquid deep under the seabed? The ideas may sound far-fetched, but scientists are pursuing them as countries prepare to bury greenhouse gases to fight against global warming, Reuters reports.

-- Scott Streater