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Readers talk back about poverty, population, and biodiesel

  Re: Forgive Us Our Debts Dear Editor: I was angered by Jon Christensen’s assertion that conservationists and environmentalists are sitting on the sidelines while others are supposedly doing all the heavy lifting with regard to alleviating AIDS and poverty in the developing world. Just because an environmental group is not a member of the […]

Gorge Push

Northwest’s Columbia River Gorge challenged by smog, acid fog Hundreds of miles north of California’s cow-poot-clogged San Joaquin Valley (yes, that was just an excuse to mention cow poots), the Columbia River Gorge along the border between Oregon and Washington is facing its own battle of the haze, with views of nearby Mount Hood often […]

What are ‘price caps’

Hawaii has responded to soaring gas prices by capping wholesale prices at $2.74/gallon including taxes, starting September 1st. This would put the retail cap at about $2.86, slightly higher than the state-wide average but significantly lower than prices in Maui, which are over $3/gallon.

Africa goes cellular

One in eleven Africans is now ... a mobile phone subscriber.

Africa has an average of just one land line for every 33 people, but cellphones are enabling millions of people to skip a technological generation and bound straight from letter-writing to instant messaging.

Sound familiar?

Souter’s land courted

In a bizarre new development in the backlash from Kelo v. New London, a developer has put forth a plan to build a hotel on SCOTUS Justice Souter's land in New Hampshire. He plans to invoke -- you guessed it -- eminent domain to justify the land grab.

I heard it on NPR, as they say.

PBDEs may pass PCBs as biggest chemical threat

Dumb headline (unless you're a Fantastic Four fan), but a serious subject. A new chemical analysis, being released today by California EPA scientists at an international scientific conference in Toronto, shows that 30 percent of Northwest moms tested had higher levels of the toxic flame retardants PBDEs in their bodies than of well-known chemical threats PCBs. This study is a follow-up to the PBDE study of Northwest women Northwest Environment Watch did last year.

The study provides pretty unambiguous evidence that PBDEs have emerged as a major toxic menace. And it suggests that, if recent trends continue, PBDEs could soon overtake PCBs as the most dominant "organohalogen" pollutant in people's bodies.

And an interesting -- and probably significant -- side note to the study was that there was no correlation between PCB and PBDE levels. This suggests that the two classes of compounds may get into people's bodies through different pathways. At this point, the principle source of PCB contamination in people is food, particularly fish. For PBDEs, nobody is sure; but a recent exposure modeling study from Canada suggests that ordinary housedust, containing minute quantities of PBDEs sloughed off from furniture and the like, may be the principle route of exposure in people. (More here.)

Which state is full of skinny Minnies?

This just in: last year, Oregon was the only state in the U.S. where the obesity rate didn't increase. Huzzah for the Beaver State!

Though static, Oregon's 21 percent rate is not the lowest in the nation. That honor belongs to Colorado, where a mere 16.4 percent of citizens weigh in as obese. (Those looking deeper point out that it's not quite that simple. For instance, 59 percent of Oregonians are obese or overweight. "I don't think we can rest on our laurels and say we don't have a problem," said state epidemiologist Melvin Kohn.)

In both states, careful urban planning and a looove of outdoor fun are cited as contributors to good health. While some -- including the group issuing this study, the Trust for America's Health -- are calling for government intervention in the form of nutritious school lunches, smarter urban layouts, and Medicaid subsidization of fitness programs, others disagree. "I think obesity is a very personal issue," said a policy analyst from the Cato Institute. "What you eat and how often you exercise, if that comes within the government's purview, it's difficult to think of what's left that isn't."

In other words: stuff it.

The Great White Soap

USDA will certify organic soaps and cosmetics In a victory for consumers’ all-natural kissers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided it will allow worthy lip balms, lotions, and other personal-care products to carry the “USDA Organic” label after all, as well as dietary supplements and pet food. The department had decided this spring that […]

Marsh o’Potamia

Once-vast marshlands being restored in Iraq The marshlands of Iraq, drained nearly dry by Saddam Hussein, are making a surprisingly robust comeback. Seen by some as the inspiration for the biblical Garden of Eden, the lush wetlands once covered nearly 3,600 square miles near the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Mid-century drainage projects […]

Vashon Island goes energy independent

From the Seattle PI: Vashon Island, located just south of Seattle, has plans to do what every environmentalist and geo-green wants to see America do: become more energy independent. But Vashon Island is shooting for 100%.

The proposal, which is receiving nearly unanimous support from the island's famously liberal residents, is centered on a report [PDF] from the Institute for Environmental Research and Education. It suggests a variety of renewables to provide power to the 10,000 island residents. On some days, the island might even be able to send power to the mainland via the already established underwater power lines. More on giving back to the grid here.

The one potential sticking point seems to be the wind turbines and the view of the island from the mainland. But even that looks like it will go smoothly, or at least more smoothly than Cape Wind.

Google map of Vashon Island.