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Unable to Flush With Success

Sanitation a big problem worldwide, says U.N. The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of Sanitation, but we won’t wait until then to ply you with depressing statistics: One-third of the global population has no access to a toilet. In 38 African countries, more children under the age of 5 die from diarrhea […]

Temptation

Just a few days ago I met with a potential client who very much wanted me to design a rural green home on the edge of a wetland. He would have to compensate for the damage the home would do by funding the planting of native flora to help restore another wetland.

I declined even though it would have been interesting and lucrative. I am fully aware that he will just hire someone else and besmirch the wetland anyway. This happens to me on occasion. I refuse to design rural homes or cabins, especially off-grid ones, purely out of a sense of self-righteous indignation. They are sores on the face of the planet. I don't really blame those who are chasing their eco-fantasy, and I don't really blame those who will eventually do the designs for them, I just don't want to participate in the rape of the planet any more than necessary.

But today, I got the following email:

Friday music blogging: Jens Lekman

Today we bring you a Swedish singer-songwriter named Jens Lekman. On the surface, Lekman’s music is a bit of a throwback: mannered, melodic, occasionally orchestral pop, delivered with a precise baritone. It wouldn’t be out of place alongside Frank Sinatra. But listen a little closer and you hear a deadpan wit, a post-ironic self-effacement that […]

Romantic underwater secrets revealed

I came across this nugget of information when looking for something else, but thought it was worth sharing:

Scott Cummins and his colleagues at The University of Queensland have uncovered a potent mix of chemicals which acts like a cross between Chanel No 5 and Viagra -- but only if you are a sea slug.

Who knew things grew in NYC?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (Brooklyn), I got lunch with one of our Gristmill readers, Marielle Anzelone, who works as a botanist for the city of New York. We talked for well over an hour. I learned more about plants, invasive species, urban ecology, and biodiversity than I could possibly […]

Readers write in about presidential candidates, green lists, and Grist’s “suck-it” chauvinism

  Dear Editor: OK, John Edwards seems to have a really good plan, so why cast doubt on his sincerity? (“What mixture of genuine sentiment and political calculation is behind that strategy only he and Elizabeth know…”) We can’t be sure what any candidate has in his or her heart, so we can only judge […]

Sorry, Grandchildren

Climate tipping points could happen sooner than expected, says research You thought the predictions of climate chaos by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were scary? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The IPCC predicted that the massive Greenland ice sheet could completely melt in 1,000 years, raising sea levels by almost 23 feet. But in […]

This Gives Us Paws

Flame retardants linked to thyroid disease in house cats Thyroid disease in house cats may be linked to common flame retardants called PBDEs, according to U.S. EPA researchers. In a small study of 23 cats, all the felines had blood concentrations of the chemical 20 to 100 times higher than average U.S. adults — who, […]

Scaling Down

Another judge rules that hatchery fish don’t count when determining ESA status The federal government does not have to count hatchery fish along with wild fish when deciding whether to protect dwindling Northwest populations under the Endangered Species Act, U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan ruled yesterday. In 2001, Hogan had ruled in favor of builders […]

Environmental scientist Theo Colborn warns about the chemicals all around us

This guest essay comes from Theo Colborn, an environmental health analyst, professor of zoology at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and president of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX). She's one of the experts featured in Leonardo DiCaprio's new eco-documentary The 11th Hour, which opens in L.A. and New York on Aug. 17 and in other spots around North America on Aug. 24.

What a crazy world we live in when almost everyone knows what the acronym ED stands for. Millions of dollars have been poured into creating awareness of ED, erectile dysfunction, because it is profitable. This 21st-century sales-pitch strategy -- "disease mongering" -- has proven to be good for the bottom line. The irony of all this is that there is another ED out there into which millions have also been poured -- to keep it a secret. That ED is endocrine disruption, and if the public were to learn about it, bottom lines could shrink instead of grow.

Endocrine disruption should be right at the top of the list of most critical technological disasters facing the world today, up with climate change. With little notice, vast volumes and combinations of synthetic chemicals have settled in every environment in the world, including the womb environment. Synthetic chemicals at very low concentrations in the womb change how genes are programmed, cells develop, tissues form, and organs function, and thus undermine the potential and survival of developing animals, including humans. The chemicals threatening the integrity of future generations are derived from the processing of crude oil and natural gas, the same processes that are driving climate change. This is an integral part of the climate change story.