Planet DFW

Daily Roundup

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

* Very interesting story in The Wall Street Journal. In 2006, the Texas oil and gas industry injected 6.7 billion barrels of liquid, mostly water, beneath the ground, and experts say that amount has been rising as new wells have multiplied and old wells are revived. Federal regulators, environmentalists and community groups worry that lax oversight is allowing some of the water -- which can be 10 times as salty as seawater and often contains oil, heavy metals and even radioactive material -- to escape from underground reservoirs, according to the story. That could lead to the contamination of underground drinking-water supplies, the pollution of soil and surface water, and sinkholes as underground structures are eroded, the paper reports.

* The Associated Press reports that much of the nation has no real recycling network for compact fluorescent light bulbs, despite the ubiquitous public relations campaigns, rebates and giveaways encouraging people to adopt the swirly darlings of the energy-conscious movement. The problem is the the bulbs contain small amounts of mercury. Public officials and others say there is a potential health hazard if the hundreds of millions of them being sold are tossed in the trash and end up in landfills and incinerators. They need to be recycled, or at least sealed in plastic bags before thrown in the trash.

* Reuters reports that babies born to mothers who are stressed out during pregnancy appear to be increased risk for asthma and allergies, according to a study presented over the weekend at a medical conference in Toronto.

* The New York Times reports that Similac Organic infant formula is the only major brand of organic formula with cane sugar, or sucrose, which is much sweeter than sugars used in other formulas. Pediatricians say there are risks in giving babies cane sugar, according to the story.

*   Former Vice President Al Gore on Sunday told graduates of Carnegie Mellon University they could become part of the next "hero generation" in American history by solving environmental problems, the Associated Press reports. In a commencement address before a record crowd of about 10,000 people, the Nobel laureate said there had already been two "special generations" of Americans: the one that founded the country and the one that defeated fascism during World War II. "You, I hope and expect, will be called upon to be part of the third hero generation in American history," by countering the threat of global warming, the story quotes Gore as saying.

* OK, I'm confused. First global warming was supposed to spawn more hurricanes. Then research has surfaced that a warming planet has not impact on the killer Atlantic storms. Now comes this report from the BBC in which U.S. researchers suggest that hurricanes and tropical storms will become less frequent by the end of the century as a result of climate change. The scientists did say that the storms that do form will be more intense, however.

* More depressing news about how we're all fat from the Washington Post. For almost two decades, young people in the United States got fatter and fatter and nobody seemed to notice. Not parents or schools, not medical groups or the government. But since the alarm was finally sounded in the late 1990s, the problem has been the country's reaction: a fragmented, inchoate response that critics say has suffered particularly from inadequate direction and dollars at the federal level, according to the story.

* The Minneapolis Star-Tribune asks: What are we going to do about coal? More than any other source, "King Coal" is satisfying the energy appetites of Americans. It is also the single biggest polluter. The ash escaping from coal plants carries one-third of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. Those environmental concerns, and expected federal regulations in the next year or two concerning carbon emissions, are killing dozens of proposed plants around the country.

* The Sacramento Bee reports that federal courts appear to have done what relentless green lobbying could not in more than seven years: rein in what critics call a de facto deregulation of the environment by President Bush's administration. The courts by and large have rejected Bush's bid to significantly rewrite America's bedrock conservation laws, particularly the Clean Air Act.

* Reuters reports that the Bush administration on Friday proposed keeping potentially oil-rich wetlands in Arctic Alaska off-limits to drilling because of their ecological sensitivity, a reversal of its earlier plan.

* The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that as Congress debates whether to limit carbon-dioxide emissions, one of the most vocal supporters of such legislation -- the nuclear-power industry -- is poised to reap a multibillion-dollar windfall if restrictions take effect.

-- Scott Streater

Daily Roundup

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

* The New York Times reports that Americans waste an astounding amount of food — an estimated 27 percent of the food available for consumption, according to a government study. It works out to about a pound of food every day for every American. Another study by the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that Americans generate roughly 30 million tons of food waste each year, which is about 12 percent of the total waste stream.

* The Washington Post reports that an epidemic of obesity is compromising the lives of millions of American children, with burgeoning problems that reveal how much more vulnerable young bodies are to the toxic effects of fat.

* For more and more people, the supermarket checkout line question "Paper or plastic?" simply isn't relevant. And it's no longer a matter of a few tree huggers taking their hemp bags shopping with them to save the world, the Baltimore Sun reports. So many good-looking reusable market bags are available these days, you can buy them and use them as a fashion accessory.

* The discovery of dangerously high levels of arsenic that prompted the closure of a popular park in Washington came as a shock to families who enjoy the green space for soccer games and picnics, according to this story in the Los Angeles Times. One possible source of the poison is especially disturbing -- it could stem from mortician practices during the Civil War.

* The Sacramento Bee reports that California lawmakers are wrestling with whether to allow into carpool lanes a high speed, fully enclosed, three-wheel hybrid under development in Los Angeles that gets 100 miles per gallon. Meanwhile, Americans are flocking to public transportation right now, demanding better gas mileage in their cars like never before, and -- just maybe -- seeking to use staggering gas prices to have a real debate about the true cost of oil dependence, the Boston Globe reports.

-- Scott Streater

Daily Roundup

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

* Let's start things off with a scary story coming from the London Telegraph and other media outlets. Researchers at the University of California-Davis say expectant mothers who used the treatment to kill their pet's fleas were twice as likely to go on to have children with autism. They found that mothers of autistic children were twice as likely to report using pet shampoos which contained pyrethrins as those who children did not have the condition. Widely used to control fleas, pyrethrins work by affecting the pest's central nervous system. In laboratory tests, pyrethrins have also been found to affect a part of the brain that protects it from chemicals within the blood. The London Times reports that the researchers will present preliminary findings today at the International Meeting for Autism Research in London.

* Is there anything worse than driving from one red stop light to the next? Well, perhaps sitting in traffic on I-35, but you get my point. It turns out such situations do more than just aggravate you. McClathchy Newspapers reports that transportation experts say that fine-tuning controls on the nation's traffic signals to synchronize them so that you're not stopping at each intersection would cut U.S. road congestion by up to 10 percent. It would also save gasoline and cut pollution. We had a story on this with some local information in today's Star-Telegram.

* Paint is leading the green building movement, due to stricter regulations, pressure from environmental groups and growing demand for eco-friendly products, leading to paints with fewer dangerous and smog-producing compounds, The New York Times reports. In the last few years, the marketplace for paint has undergone a dizzying revolution, with paint companies furiously researching technologies that will help them compete with new green lines in this changed universe.

* After you get through painting go ahead and have that glass of whiskey -- it's organic. The Wall Street Journal reports that today you can have an organic cocktail to wash down your meal of organic, cage-free chicken and spring vegetables. Now, several distillers use organic ingredients to produce their spirits. But drinkers shouldn't think that they're getting "healthy" liquor, the paper reports. The term organic is a marketing term that describes how a product is produced or handled, it doesn't mean that the product is necessarily healthier than traditionally produced products.

* The Wall Street Journal reports a growing number of cities and counties grappling with water shortages are turning to a solution that may be tough for some homeowners to stomach: purifying wastewater so that residents can drink it. Such initiatives -- dubbed "toilet to tap" proposals by critics -- have encountered resistance in the past as a result of cost and the overall yuck factor, according to the story. But the Los Angeles Times reports that Los Angeles officials plan to revive a controversial proposal to recycle wastewater as part of a plan to curb usage and move the city toward greater water independence.

* Meanwhile, this story in the journal Nature reports that a former Environmental Protection Agency scientist is suing the agency's officials and researchers at the University of Georgia in Athens, alleging that they manufactured and published false data to support the use of potentially harmful sewage sludges as fertilizers.

* The New York Times reports that a draft report says that there is no scientific evidence that synthetic turf fields in New York pose major health hazards for people playing on them. Critics, however, said the study by TRC Companies, an engineering, consulting and construction management company based in Connecticut, would not quell concerns about artificial turf because the analysis was only a review of previous scientific studies and included no original research, according to the story.

* As mentioned below, the polar bear has been designated as threatened with extinction, the first creature added to the endangered species list primarily because of global warming, according to the Los Angeles Times. But, the paper reports, environmentalists plan to sue. Why? The Department of the Interior issued special rules designed to exempt from the law offshore oil and gas drilling in prime polar bear habitat off Alaska's north coast. Moreover, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced he was taking a series of steps to short-circuit legal plans by conservation groups to use the polar bear's protected status to block new power plants and other sources of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming, according to the story.

* Meanwhile, this article in the journal Nature reports that a comprehensive analysis of trends in tens of thousands of biological and physical systems has provided more evidence to bolster the near-universal view that man-made climate change is altering the behavior of plants, animals, rivers and more.

* A $290 billion farm bill locking in the nation's food policy for five years passed the House and is expected to pass the Senate. But the San Francisco Chronicle reports the bill has a new program that will create incentives to plow millions of acres of prairie grasslands, releasing tons of carbon dioxides that contribute to global warming.

-- Scott Streater

Daily Roundup

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

* This is an important story everyone should read. The Bush administration has quietly been rewriting rules to make it more difficult for consumers to sue companies over faulty products, the Associated Press reports. Lawsuit limits have been included in 51 rules proposed or adopted since 2005 by bureaucrats governing everything from drugs to cars, from medical devices to food, according to the story.

* The Boston Globe reports that as the world goes eco-friendly, it's not clear how much environmental good will come from all the green products consumers are buying. Companies regularly tout something as green when it is not even good for the environment -- it might just be less harmful than a competitor's product or than one the company sold previously, according to the story. Consumers in the U.S. are expected to double their spending on green products and services in the next year to an estimated $500 billion. I have blogged about this over and over again. Just because a product claims to be "green" does not mean it is. Before you spend some of your hard-earned money on a product you think is good for the environment, do some research, and read the labels carefully. Visit online sites like Greenbiz, treehugger.com, and inhabitat.com. 

* Wal-Mart has ordered its suppliers to meet a new set of children's-product safety requirements that include strict limits for lead and other chemicals linked to various medical and developmental problems in children, The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required).

* Meanwhile, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, Andrew C. von Eschenbach, has written a letter to Congress to say that the federal agency needs an immediate infusion of $275 million to ensure that imported foods, drugs and medical devices are safe, The New York Times reports. Presidential appointees rarely diverge so forcefully from the president’s own spending plans, or at least avoid doing so in writing. So Dr. von Eschenbach’s action surprised agency observers and was taken as perhaps a sign of President Bush’s waning influence in the closing months of his presidency, according to the story.

* Could your earliest moments of life -- from your mother's prenatal care to the way you were delivered -- make you fat later in life? A new study by researchers at the University of Utah and Utah State University outlined in this Salt Lake Tribune story suggests the answer is yes.

* Extremes in temperature throughout the vast table of the American heartland are making 2008 one of the deadliest years for U.S. tornadoes in recent history, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The supercell thunderstorms that breed twisters have occurred farther north and earlier in the year than is typical, according to some experts, according to the story. But hold on before you jump to any conclusions. The article notes that many are quick to add that this increase in severe weather is not necessarily an indication of permanent climate change.

* Interesting story in USA Today.  Labels on some British products now list not only their fat and salt content, but their "carbon footprint" as well in an attempt to appeal to environmentally conscious shoppers.

* The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that researchers believe that a chemical used in the manufacture of non-stick cookware may be associated with changes in liver and immune function, as well as higher cholesterol levels in children, according to a preliminary analysis of data from a landmark new health study. The Star-Telegram in a 2006 project found low levels of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, in the blood of half the 12 Tarrant County residents sampled.

* The Chicago Tribune reports that the Bush administration has slipped a controversial ingredient into the $770 million aid package it has proposed to ease the world food crisis that promotes the use of genetically modified crops in food-deprived countries. Proponents say that genetically modified food crops can result in higher yields from plants that are hardier in harsh climates, like those found in hungry African nations. But The value of bio-engineered food is an intensely disputed issue in the U.S. and in Europe, where many countries have banned foods made from genetically modified organisms.

* The New York Times reports that in Alaska, Juneau has cut its electricity use by more than 30 percent in just weeks, establishing itself as a role model for how to go green, fast. According to the story, the public sauna has been closed and the lights have been dimmed at the indoor community pool. At the library, one of the two elevators was shut down after someone figured out it cost 20 cents for each round trip. The thermostat at the convention center was dialed down eight degrees, to 60. The marquee outside is dark.

* After years of opposition by environmentalists and some residents, the Nestle company said it is significantly scaling back plans in Northern California to build what would have been the country's largest water bottling plant, the Associated Press reports.

* With the death toll from China's earthquake mounting, the disaster is throwing a harsh spotlight on the widening gap between that nation's rich and poor, The Wall Street Journal reports. As the grim work continues, it is increasingly clear that the quake inflicted its greatest destruction on rural areas and on the smaller towns and cities that have mushroomed from farm fields in recent years as part of China's rapid urbanization. Such areas have far less stringent building-safety practices than China's relatively wealthy big cities, according to the story.

-- Scott Streater

Daily Roundup

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

* We had a story in today's Star-Telegram detailing a federal government analysis that concludes wind turbines spinning from California to Florida and along the coasts could supply 20 percent of U.S. electricity by the year 2030. Here are additional stories on the issue from the San Francisco Chronicle, and Wired.

* Air pollution, particularly small particle pollution that can build up in the lungs, has been found to dramatically boost an individual’s risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (that's blood clots to you and me), Science News reports. This is according to a new study in the May 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. If these blood clots break off and travel, especially to the lungs, organ damage or death may follow. Here's an additional story on the study in U.S. News & World Report.

* The New York Times reports the Nissan Motor Co. plans to sell an electric car in the U.S. and Japan by 2010, raising the stakes in the race to develop environmentally friendly vehicles. The commitment will be the first by a major automaker to bring a zero-emission vehicle to the American market, according to the story. We'll soon see whether the other big automakers follow Nissan's lead. Honda has a new hydrogen-powered vehicle set for leasing within a few months that promises a superclean car with the same interior space as a regular car.

* On the fuel-efficient vehicle (and celebrity!) front, former Beatle Paul McCartney just can't get a break when it comes to living green. According to the London Dail Mail, Sir Paul ordered an £84,000 (that's a whopping $163,548 American) Lexus LS600H hybrid vehicle, which was supposed to be shipped to Britain. But it turns out the delivery to England was by air -- a 7,000-mile flight from Japan that created a "carbon footprint" almost 100 times larger than if the car had been shipped to England. Sir Paul, according to the paper, is "said to be furious" (gotta love that phrasing). But I have to ask: Don't they have any Lexus dealerships in England?

* The Environmental Protection Agency planned to check for high lead levels Monday after a deadly tornado blew through a heavily polluted former mining town where lead-filled waste is piled into giant mounds, according to this Associated Press story. The tornado was one of several that combined to kill 22 people in the Midwest and the South over the weekend, raising the nation's 2008 total to about 100, the worst toll in a decade.

* The Washington Post reports that agricultural biotechnology companies are seeking hundreds of patents on gene-altered crops as part of a race for dominance in the potentially lucrative market for crops that can handle global warming. Three companies -- BASF of Germany, Syngenta of Switzerland and Monsanto of St. Louis -- have filed applications to control nearly two-thirds of the climate-related gene families submitted to patent offices worldwide, according to the report by the Ottawa-based ETC Group, an activist organization that advocates for subsistence farmers.

* Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain is breaking from President Bush on the issue of climate change, the Washington Post reports. McCain on Monday outlined his proposal to address climate change, offering plans that would go beyond Bush's but fall short of the bipartisan bill headed for a Senate vote next month. He argued the U.S. should adopt mandatory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and issue emissions credits to polluters that they can trade in order to spur technological innovation. Still, Time Magazine asks: How green in John McCain?

* I have to admit that I never thought of this angle regarding global warming. The Associated Press reports that as the Arctic ice cap shrinks, the Pentagon is eyeing the expanding navigable waters as possible entry points for security threats that must be monitored more closely. This is according to Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, the chief of the U.S. Northern Command. I don't know, this sounds a little too "Dr. Strangelove" to me. We must not have an Arctic ice cap gap!

-- Scott Streater

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

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

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