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This Ain’t Rocket Science. Oh Wait, Yes It Is.

The U.S. Pentagon is a major source of perchlorate, the main ingredient of solid rocket fuel and a toxic chemical that can cause neurological problems and developmental damage in infants and children, and possibly cancer and other serious ailments in adults. For decades, millions of Americans have been exposed unknowingly to perchlorate through their local […]

Merry Gristmas (or Whatever You Celebrate)

Kim Jong Ill

In a sign of the further souring of relations with Washington, North Korea announced yesterday that it would immediately restart a nuclear reactor that has been offline since 1994, when it nearly provoked a war with the U.S. North Korea says the Yongbyon reactor is its only option for producing electricity in light of the […]

Cell-ebrate

Every year, hundreds of millions of new cell phones come into the world — and now, thanks to a deal brokered by the United Nations Environment Programme, when they leave the world, they may do so in a relatively eco-friendly fashion. Yesterday, the giants of the electronics industry (including market leaders Nokia, Motorola, Philips, and […]

A Hull of a Problem

Oil continues to seep out of the sunken oil tanker Prestige, further threatening coastal areas of northwestern Spain that have already suffered severe damage from the spill. An estimated 33,000 gallons of fuel oil are leaking each day from numerous cracks in the vessel, officials warned yesterday. If unaddressed, the leaks could continue into 2006, […]

Music to Calm the Salvage Beast

Salvage-logging operations that extract downed trees from storm-damaged areas may actually wreak more havoc on forests than did the original storm, according to a study conducted at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The research, which was partially funded by the U.S. EPA, focused on Colorado’s Routt National Forest, where a 1997 windstorm blew down […]

Sperm Wail

Next time you’re perusing the cosmetics counter at Macy’s or the personal-care aisle of CVS, you might want to take a pass on the lip liner and aftershave. According to new research conducted by scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health, exposure to monoethyl phthalate, a chemical commonly used in cosmetics and fragrances, may […]

Umbra on skiing

Dear Umbra, With winter fast approaching, I was thinking of learning to ski. I was wondering how skiing ranks among recreational activities in terms of its environmental impact. What are all the effects of clearing ski trails, making snow, and operating ski lifts? Not to mention all the resorts and roads that sprout up to […]

The Mice That Roared

Researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, have established a first-ever link between urban air pollution and genetic damage that can be passed on from generation to generation. In a study published in the most recent issue of the U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, biologists at the university found that […]

Perc Up

The nation’s first-ever ban on perchloroethylene, or “perc,” went into effect on Friday when Southern California air quality officials approved a regulation mandating a phase-out of the chemical by the year 2020. The long lead-time to the phase-out is a concession to the dry-cleaning industry, which relies on perc to remove stubborn stains from delicate […]