Red Flags - Environment

E-Coli Bacteria Loves The Beach — All Year Round!

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 23:45:51 -0400

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E-Coli Bacteria Loves The Beach — All Year Round!

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“The bacteria that has forced the closure of many Great Lakes beaches in recent years may not be coming from people, geese, diapers or sewage spills after all. It may be from the sand.”

Groundbreaking WHO Analysis Links Disease With Environmental Causes

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 20:25:47 -0400

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Groundbreaking WHO Analysis Links Disease With Environmental Causes

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“Nearly a quarter of global diseases are caused by exposure to avoidable environmental hazards, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report on Friday. Well-targeted interventions could prevent much of this environmental risk, saving as many as four million lives a year, mostly in developing countries, the report added.”

Rat Study Suggests Cleanliness May Be Next To Sickliness

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 20:24:24 -0400

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Rat Study Suggests Cleanliness May Be Next To Sickliness

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“Gritty rats and mice living in sewers and farms seem to have healthier immune systems than their squeaky clean cousins that frolic in cushy antiseptic labs, two studies indicate. The lesson for humans: Clean living may make us sick. The studies give more weight to a 17-year-old theory that the sanitized Western world may be partly to blame for soaring rates of human allergy and asthma cases and some autoimmune diseases.”

EPA Softens Rule Protecting Groundwater After Texas Oilman’s Letter

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 20:33:58 -0400

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EPA Softens Rule Protecting Groundwater After Texas Oilman’s Letter

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“A rule designed by the Environmental Protection Agency to keep groundwater clean near oil drilling sites and other construction zones was loosened after White House officials rejected it amid complaints by energy companies that it was too restrictive and after a well-connected Texas oil executive appealed to White House senior advisor Karl Rove.”

Private Water Companies Lose 3.6 Billion Litres Daily In U.K.

Wed, 17 May 2006 20:32:46 -0400

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Private Water Companies Lose 3.6 Billion Litres Daily In U.K.

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“Billions of litres of water are gushing out of Britain's crumbling mains network every day as the country faces its worst drought for 100 years.

Figures from Ofwat, the water regulator, reveal that the privatized water companies are losing 3.6 billion litres a day — up to 500 pints per home per day. The worst offender, Thames Water, loses 915 million litres a day, equivalent to more than 700 swimming pools.”

The Cancerous Legacy Of A Massachusetts Dye Maker

Fri, 12 May 2006 23:41:52 -0400

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The Cancerous Legacy Of A Massachusetts Dye Maker

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“State health officials recently released the results of a seven-year study that confirmed what many in MacLennan's hometown suspected: Children who swam or waded in the water near a now-closed dye manufacturing plant run an increased risk of cancer.”

Electrical Fields Causing A Range Of Serious Health Problems

Mon, 08 May 2006 20:42:40 -0400

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Electrical Fields Causing A Range Of Serious Health Problems

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Invisible "smog", created by the electricity that powers our civilization, is giving children cancer, causing miscarriages and suicides and making some people allergic to modern life, new scientific evidence reveals.

Threatened Species List Shows Loss Of Biodiversity Escalating

Wed, 03 May 2006 21:43:34 -0400

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Threatened Species List Shows Loss Of Biodiversity Escalating

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“The 2006 IUCN Red List shows a clear trend: biodiversity loss is increasing, not slowing down,” said Achim Steiner, Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). “The implications of this trend for the productivity and resilience of ecosystems and the lives and livelihoods of billions of people who depend on them are far-reaching.”

Plundering The Planet

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:19:54 -0400

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Plundering The Planet

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“We are eating our planet. Since 1950, we have taken 90 percent of all the large fish — tuna, cod and swordfish — from the world's oceans. In the deep seas, where fish reproduce much more slowly, our plundering has caused some stocks to fall by 99.6 percent. From a biological perspective, we are consuming everything there is: topsoil, forests, minerals, fish, water, land and wildlife. And we've only just begun. All over the developing world, from Moscow to Mexico City, people are dreaming of the day when they will be able to join the banquet and get their share.”

Pictorial On Global Warming

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 08:10:57 -0400

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Pictorial On Global Warming

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“While the effect of human activity on the global climate is hotly debated, physical signs of environmental change are all around us.”

Chernobyl’s Legacy: As Few As One Baby In Four Is Healthy

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 08:09:58 -0400

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Chernobyl’s Legacy: As Few As One Baby In Four Is Healthy

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“It is 20 years this week since the world's worst nuclear accident shot huge amounts of radiation into the Ukraine sky. Now hospital wards there, in Belarus and in Russia are filled with sick youngsters who are the latest, but not the last, casualties of the disaster. Juliette Jowit reports from the region, where only the wildlife is still flourishing.”

Three-Quarters Of All Fish Species Depleted

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 21:03:00 -0400

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Three-Quarters Of All Fish Species Depleted

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“It's common knowledge that we are running out of oil. What's not so well known is that we are also running out of big fish.
The harsh realization that catches of big fish marlin, sharks, swordfish and tuna are declining rapidly is beginning to sink in. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization considers about 75 percent of all fish fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted.”

EU Commission Approves Seven GM Crops Despite Safety Concerns

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 22:33:52 -0400

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EU Commission Approves Seven GM Crops Despite Safety Concerns

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“The European commission has been approving genetically modified crops for human consumption, while secretly warning about their impact on health and the environment, a report published today reveals.”

EPA Proposal Would Increase Toxic Airborne Emissions

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 17:15:16 -0400

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EPA Proposal Would Increase Toxic Airborne Emissions

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“A proposal to revise how the Environmental Protection Agency regulates airborne toxic emissions from industrial plants has sparked an outcry from the agency's regional offices, with a majority suggesting that the change would be "detrimental to the environment."

U.S. Counts Man-Made Ponds, Announces Increase In Wetlands

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 17:40:13 -0400

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U.S. Counts Man-Made Ponds, Announces Increase In Wetlands

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“By counting golf course ponds and ornamental lakes as wetlands, the federal government announced Thursday a massive gain in the number of wetlands nationwide, the first such gain ever reported.”